Mulletmanalive
2009-12-09, 07:14 PM
The Bow-back Moncupine:
The majority of the practitioners of the Way of Nine Swords and the various other martial schools that were passed over for inclusion in the vaunted temple seem to think that their styles are eternal and unending; gathered from teachers who learned them from other teachers, reaching back into infinite time. The thing that they rarely seem to grasp is that these styles were usually developed by one who watched something unconnected and had an "ah-hah" moment. In the case of the Falling Star school of bowmanship, the truth of it's origins appear to have been intentionally covered up. Perhaps for their embarrassing nature or perhaps for the fear that they might become known by the name of the beast itself.
The Falling Star discipline owes much of its origin to a beast called the Bow-back Monkupine, a bizarre creature that dwells in the deepest sweltering sub-tropical jungles of the Eastern continent. The bow-back is a narrow, squat-looking creature with gangly limbs, no visible head and a thick, layered mat of hard spines that thatch its back. The creatures move swiftly through the close bamboo and tangled uppers of the undergrowth of their home and hunt their food primarily by firing their spines with grim accuracy at small mammals and fish. The true depths of their terrifying instinctive ability with these projectiles is only truly demonstrated when they are directly threatened by some of the more aggressive and beastly creatures of the night, including the terrifying, Stone Dragon inspiring, Mountain Eater Lizard.
A bow-back is about four feet in length, with a twenty five or more inch tail, capped with a blister of spikes. Its narrow shoulders are about ten inches wide, ending slightly in front of the point where its forelimbs, long feline limbs capped with monkey-like hands and vicious claws, join its body, though any trace of head or neck is covered by the beast's spines.
Bow-back Monkupine
Small Magical Beast
HD 5d10+10 (37)
Speed 40 ft. (8 squares); Climb 40ft
Init: +4
AC 20; touch 15; flat-footed 15
(+1 Size, +4 Dexterity, +5 Natural)
BAB +5; Grp +3
Attack Spines +11 (1d6+2, 20/x3, Range 50ft)
OR Claw +8 (1d4+2, 20/x2)
Full-Attack Spines - Rapid Shot +9/+9 (1d6+2, 20/x3, Range 50ft)
OR 2 Claws +8 (1d4+2, 20/x2)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks
Special Qualities
Saves Fort +6 Ref +8 Will +1
Abilities Str 15, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 3, Wis 10, Cha 5
Skills Climb +18, Jump +10, Hide +10, Move Silently +10, Spot +8
Feats Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, AlertnessB
Environment Sub-tropical Jungle
Organization Solitary
Challenge Rating 6
Treasure None
Alignment Usually Neutral
Advancement 6-8 HD (Small), 9-15 HD (Medium)
Combat:
A Monkupine is usually a stealth predator of small mammals and fish but is known to engage in an unnerving pattern of preemptive counter-predation. Though they do not usually eat the flesh of other predators, due to a narrow horizontal mouth arrangement on their hidden head, they do attack and make a point of killing almost everything that is a direct danger to them.
Manoeuvres:The Bow-back has three classes of Manoeuvres that it can use. Once it uses one of it's Basic Manoeuvres, it adopts the Eagle's Eyes stance and may use it's Advanced Manoeuvres. Once it has used an Advanced Manoeuvre, it adopts Straife stance and can used its Finishing Manoeuvres.
Expended Manouvres are regenerated automatically if the Bowback fails to attack for 2 successive rounds.
Basic Manoeuvres: Lightning Bolt [+1d6], Blindside [Flatfoot, 1 round], Dummy Shot
Advanced Manoeuvres: Sure Shot [+20/+4d6], Take Aim [Touch]
Finishing Manoeuvres: Pilot Shot [+20/+4d6, +5/+3d6]
Eagle Eyes: When in Eagle Eyes stance, the Bow-back gains a +2 bonus to hit with it's spines and doubles it's Range increment.
Straife: When Straifing, the Bow-back's speeds increase to 50ft and it gains Skirmish +1d6/+1 as long as it moves at least 10ft.
Skills: The Bow-back has a +8 racial bonus to Climb checks and may take 10 on Climb checks, even when threatened or distracted. It additionally has a +4 racial bonus on Jump and Move Silently.
A fair proportion of martial arts are developed because of observation of various beasts in action. The fact that every monster i've ever seen connected to the TOB has been humanoid in shape and armed with weapons has always seemed a bit of a weakness and I thought it was about time to do something about that.
Fax's Falling Star Martial Discipline is used here without permission but i hope he sees the compliment i intended.
The majority of the practitioners of the Way of Nine Swords and the various other martial schools that were passed over for inclusion in the vaunted temple seem to think that their styles are eternal and unending; gathered from teachers who learned them from other teachers, reaching back into infinite time. The thing that they rarely seem to grasp is that these styles were usually developed by one who watched something unconnected and had an "ah-hah" moment. In the case of the Falling Star school of bowmanship, the truth of it's origins appear to have been intentionally covered up. Perhaps for their embarrassing nature or perhaps for the fear that they might become known by the name of the beast itself.
The Falling Star discipline owes much of its origin to a beast called the Bow-back Monkupine, a bizarre creature that dwells in the deepest sweltering sub-tropical jungles of the Eastern continent. The bow-back is a narrow, squat-looking creature with gangly limbs, no visible head and a thick, layered mat of hard spines that thatch its back. The creatures move swiftly through the close bamboo and tangled uppers of the undergrowth of their home and hunt their food primarily by firing their spines with grim accuracy at small mammals and fish. The true depths of their terrifying instinctive ability with these projectiles is only truly demonstrated when they are directly threatened by some of the more aggressive and beastly creatures of the night, including the terrifying, Stone Dragon inspiring, Mountain Eater Lizard.
A bow-back is about four feet in length, with a twenty five or more inch tail, capped with a blister of spikes. Its narrow shoulders are about ten inches wide, ending slightly in front of the point where its forelimbs, long feline limbs capped with monkey-like hands and vicious claws, join its body, though any trace of head or neck is covered by the beast's spines.
Bow-back Monkupine
Small Magical Beast
HD 5d10+10 (37)
Speed 40 ft. (8 squares); Climb 40ft
Init: +4
AC 20; touch 15; flat-footed 15
(+1 Size, +4 Dexterity, +5 Natural)
BAB +5; Grp +3
Attack Spines +11 (1d6+2, 20/x3, Range 50ft)
OR Claw +8 (1d4+2, 20/x2)
Full-Attack Spines - Rapid Shot +9/+9 (1d6+2, 20/x3, Range 50ft)
OR 2 Claws +8 (1d4+2, 20/x2)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks
Special Qualities
Saves Fort +6 Ref +8 Will +1
Abilities Str 15, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 3, Wis 10, Cha 5
Skills Climb +18, Jump +10, Hide +10, Move Silently +10, Spot +8
Feats Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, AlertnessB
Environment Sub-tropical Jungle
Organization Solitary
Challenge Rating 6
Treasure None
Alignment Usually Neutral
Advancement 6-8 HD (Small), 9-15 HD (Medium)
Combat:
A Monkupine is usually a stealth predator of small mammals and fish but is known to engage in an unnerving pattern of preemptive counter-predation. Though they do not usually eat the flesh of other predators, due to a narrow horizontal mouth arrangement on their hidden head, they do attack and make a point of killing almost everything that is a direct danger to them.
Manoeuvres:The Bow-back has three classes of Manoeuvres that it can use. Once it uses one of it's Basic Manoeuvres, it adopts the Eagle's Eyes stance and may use it's Advanced Manoeuvres. Once it has used an Advanced Manoeuvre, it adopts Straife stance and can used its Finishing Manoeuvres.
Expended Manouvres are regenerated automatically if the Bowback fails to attack for 2 successive rounds.
Basic Manoeuvres: Lightning Bolt [+1d6], Blindside [Flatfoot, 1 round], Dummy Shot
Advanced Manoeuvres: Sure Shot [+20/+4d6], Take Aim [Touch]
Finishing Manoeuvres: Pilot Shot [+20/+4d6, +5/+3d6]
Eagle Eyes: When in Eagle Eyes stance, the Bow-back gains a +2 bonus to hit with it's spines and doubles it's Range increment.
Straife: When Straifing, the Bow-back's speeds increase to 50ft and it gains Skirmish +1d6/+1 as long as it moves at least 10ft.
Skills: The Bow-back has a +8 racial bonus to Climb checks and may take 10 on Climb checks, even when threatened or distracted. It additionally has a +4 racial bonus on Jump and Move Silently.
A fair proportion of martial arts are developed because of observation of various beasts in action. The fact that every monster i've ever seen connected to the TOB has been humanoid in shape and armed with weapons has always seemed a bit of a weakness and I thought it was about time to do something about that.
Fax's Falling Star Martial Discipline is used here without permission but i hope he sees the compliment i intended.