The Spillgut

It Feels Everything

I thought it was crawling the wrong way. Like... like its belly was leading. Then the guts came out. Gods help me, the guts were looking for me.

Among the horrors birthed in the festering tide of the Blight, few evoke as much unease as the Spillgut.

Unlike the more common Shambler or Drowned, the Spillgut is not simply a rotting corpse driven to motion—it is a sentinel. These creatures patrol Blighted grounds with a grotesque, crawling grace, moving not on feet, but on inverted limbs and bloated muscle, bent backwards like broken toys. Their torsos are torn wide open, their entrails repurposed into a living network of prehensile, twitching tendrils that slither across the ground like worms searching for sound. These viscera are not idle—they feel, listen, and seek.

The Spillgut does not rely on sight or sound to detect intruders. Instead, it senses vibrations, shifts in pressure, or the faintest splash of water disturbed by a careless foot. Step too close, and the tendrils will stiffen and rise like cobras before the Spillgut lets out its piercing shriek—a wet, ragged cry that echoes through the fog and calls the dead to feast.

Spillguts are rarely found alone. They stalk ruined workyards, flooded tunnels, or collapsed settlements in the Pale and other high-infestation zones. Their primary role appears to be warning and enhancing nearby Blightborn, making them battlefield priority targets when a fight breaks out.

In combat, a Spillgut’s tendrils lash out with shocking reach, striking enemies from up to 15 feet away. These attacks aren’t just physical—they grapple, trip, and drag prey closer. But the true threat lies in their Screech, a pulse of Blighted resonance that empowers nearby undead with increased ferocity. Allies hit by the call lurch faster, bite harder, and resist damage longer—suggesting some kind of hive influence through resonance or shared rot memory.

If the creature is eliminated, its unnatural effect dissipates. Spillguts are relatively fragile—but allowing one to cry out even once can shift the balance of a small encounter into a nightmare.

Spillguts are susceptible to stealth-based ambushes and ranged attacks, especially when unaware. While their detection radius is wide, they often focus attention on the first intruder they detect—allowing for tactical distractions and flanks.

If caught unaware, a coordinated group may be able to kill one before it screeches, avoiding a full-blown escalation.

Stat Block

Medium undead, unaligned

Damage Immunities: Poison
Condition Immunities: Poisoned, Exhaustion
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 10
Languages: —
Challenge: 1 (200 XP)

Special Traits

• Intestinal Feelers:
  The Spillgut exudes bloated intestinal tendrils from a gaping tear in its stomach, crawling blindly along the ground in a 15-foot radius. This area is considered difficult terrain for non-Blightborn creatures. The tendrils react to movement, air currents, and sound, making stealth extremely difficult around them.
  
  
• Inhuman Screech (1/day):
  As a bonus action, the Spillgut unleashes a wet, piercing scream from its distended torso. All Blightborn within 120 feet gain the effects of Bless for 1 minute (add 1d4 to attack rolls and saving throws). This effect cannot stack.
  
  All non-Blightborn creatures in the same radius must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or suffer the effects of Bane (subtract 1d4 from attack rolls and saving throws) for the same duration. This effect cannot stack.
  
  If the Spillgut is killed, these effects end immediately.
  

Actions

• Tendril Slam: 
  Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target.
  Hit: 8 (1d10 + 2) bludgeoning damage.