Athach

Another refugee from the Known World/Mystara (the aranea being the first so far), athaches are hideous three-armed giants.  Lacking much of a history, either mythologically or in role-playing, athaches give GMs an excuse to explore and invent.  Are they a cursed by the gods?  Primordial throwbacks like ettins and firbolgs?  Degenerate hill giant mutations that bred true?  These questions may not interest the party.  But it’s always nice to have a medium-sized mystery for your players to explore—nothing earth-shattering, but true to your world and worth uncovering for parties who like knowledge as much as treasure.

Village folk always said the miller’s family was so miserly they needed three hands to hold all their gold.  After a particularly long, curse-haunted winter, perhaps the folk were right.  Travelers reaching the mill find it a shattered hulk inhabited by athaches.

A sage is convinced he can create a solution to eradicate green slime.  The key ingredient is attach poison, milked from the source. Fortunately, a pair have taken to manning the local ford, harassing travelers for gold and pigs.

A stone giant seer has always lived in the heart of Elmsford, offering engineering advice to his smaller neighbors.  Word (sent by xorn) of his grandson’s naming day puts him in mind to travel.  He needs an escort, though, as his path home takes him through hills warded by athaches, animate myths, and yeth hounds.

—Pathfinder Bestiary 2 33