Walking Waste Disposal
Otyughs are large aberrations, with mouths filled with sharp teeth, 4 legs and tentacles. They prefer to live underground, loving to eat of the filth and refuse of other races, this makes them excellent forms of garbage disposal.
Description
An otyugh is oval shaped and about 8 feet wide with a bloated body weighing about 500 lb. It stands on 4 legs and has 3 tentacles protruding from its body. Each tentacle has an end covered in throny spikes making them excellent weapons when the otyugh needs to defend itself. One of these tentacles, sat on the top of the otyugh’s body, has a pair of eyes and a nose rather than spikes. Having these organs on the end of a tentacle allows the otyugh to easily adjust its point of view. Its mouth is filled with sharp teeth.
Otyughs are somewhat intelligent creatures and despite their beastial appearance, are even capable of simple language in the common tongue. They are, however, filthy creatures with a very differing attitude towards hygiene and cleanliness than other intelligent species. Unsurprisingly, a wound from an otyugh is likely to cause disease or an infection due to the massive quantities of filth they consume.
Although Otyughs are able to eat meat, they generally do not hunt unless circumstances force them to do so either through hunger or protection. Usually, they stay hidden in their lairs, eating waste and other things most creatures won’t touch. If an otyugh does attack another creature, they’ll typically use their tentacles to grab and squeeze the creature, dragging it into its mouth.
Ecology
Usually, an otyugh will find a secluded, underground area for its lair with profuse amounts of refuse. Sewers work well for this and though they might not typically make their way into an area of civilisation, if it did find its way there, it would be very happy to make a sewer its lair. Other races are sometimes known to use an otyugh’s generally unaggressive nature and penchant for all things filthy to use them as natural waste disposal as well as guardians of secret entrances in underground places. Some examples of this include an otyugh beneath the Temple of Mystra in Wheloon and one found in the sewers beneath Waterdeep.