Morph Bark
2010-06-17, 06:41 PM
First off, this idea got started in a thread over at BrillantGameologists (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=8308.0), and I decided to expand upon it and actually put it to action! (For anyone who wants to know, my name is Morpholomew there, I use that name most often.)
Bearly Legal Grizzly Swarm
Gargantuan Magical Beast (Swarm)
Hit Dice 31d8+495 (598 hp)
Initiative +12
Speed 40 ft
AC 32 (+27 natural, -1 Dex, -4 size), touch 5, flat-footed 32
Base Attack/Grapple +23/+57
Attack Swarm 6d6 and bite +45 melee (4d8+22, 19-20)
Full Attack Swarm 6d6 and 4 bites +45 melee (4d8+22, 19-20)
Space/Reach 30'/0' (10' for Gargantuan bears)
Special Attacks expert grappler, improved grab, om-nom-nom, second chance, swallow whole, trample
Special Qualities easy maintenance, hardy, linked minds, low-light vision, scent
Saves Fort +40, Ref +17, Will +31
Abilities Str 55, Dex 11, Con 39, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 16
Skills Appraise +34, Autohypnosis +37, Balance +34, Climb +56, Concentration +48, Escape Artist +34, Handle Animal +37, Heal +37, Hide +22, Intimidate +37, Jump +56, Listen +37, Move Silently +34, Perform +37, Ride +34, Search +34, Spot +41*, Survival +37, Swim +60*, Tumble +34
Feats Blind-Fight, Endurance (B), Improved Critical, Improved Initiative, Improved Toughness, Power Attack, Run, Track
Epic Feats Dire Charge, Epic Toughness, Legendary Tracker, Superior Initiative
Environment Cold forests
Organization Solitary
Challenge Rating 21
Treasure None
Alignment Usually neutral
Advancement --
Level Adjustment --
Before you a strange yet terrifying sight appears. Giant bears! With upon them: less giant bears! And stacked further on top of those are more bears, ultimately controlled and directed by a bunch of small black bears at the very top. In perfect simultaneous unison, the bears roar and it is like a sonic tsunami rolls over you. The bear armies of the wild have arrived.
All-around Vision (Ex): There is so many bears, of course they keep in touch and quite literally look out for each other. A bearly legal grizzly swarm is never caught flat-footed and gets a +4 bonus to Spot checks.
Easy Maintenance (Ex): A bearly legal grizzly swarm eats as if it were one size category smaller and isn’t picky in what it eats.
Expert Grappler (Ex): A bearly legal grizzly swarm can maintain up to four grapples without penalty and still make attacks as normal against other targets (normally, attacking other targets would impose a -20 penalty on grapple checks). The bearly legal grizzly swarm still loses one bite attack for each grapple maintained. It is never considered flat-footed while grappling.
Hardy (Ex): A bearly legal grizzly swarm has a +2 racial bonus on saves against disease and poison.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a Gargantuan grizzly must hit with a bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.
Linked Minds (Ex): The bears somehow share a consciousness with one another, which allows them to group together and act as they do, as if they were on-par with the humanoid races. Quite like a hive-mind, except the bears retain their individuality and need not be with hundreds of them to be reasonably intelligent.
Om-nom-nom (Ex): The Gargantuan bears that are part of a bearly legal grizzly swarm can make bite attacks against creatures in their space (which they have thus swarmed) or within 10 ft of them (one bear takes up one side of the swarm’s area and can only attack on that side and not from the other three sides of their area, but it can still attack anyone within the area). Each of them can do this only once per turn (meaning 4 attempts) and the swarm may not move during this turn.
Second Chance (Ex): If the bearly legal grizzly swarm is rendered unconscious through nonlethal damage, it disperses, disorganized. If it was brought down to 0 hp through lethal damage, then 30% of the bears that are part of the swarm are dead, 30% are at 0 hp and the rest are at low hp. No matter the outcome for them, the Gargantuan bears regurgitate the Small bears inside of them, unless they have any enemies swallowed as well. The Small bears inside of the Gargantuan bears are unaffected by any damage done to the swarm.
Skills: As mentioned under "All-around Vision", a bearly legal grizzly swarm gets a +4 bonus to Spot checks. Furthermore, as bears are used to swimming, they get a +4 bonus to Swim checks.
Swallow Whole (Ex): A Gargantuan bear can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of Large or smaller size by making a successful grapple check. Once inside, the opponent takes 1d10+10 points of crushing damage plus 1d10+6 points of acid damage per round from the bear’s digestive juices. A swallowed creature can cut its way out by dealing 50 points of damage to the bear’s digestive tract (AC 23). Once the creature exits, muscular action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out.
The bear’s gullet can hold 2 Large, 8 Medium, 32 Small, or 128 Tiny or smaller creatures. (This is why, after swallowing one Large creature, it cannot hold more, as the 16 Small bears inside take up as much space as one Large creature.)
Trample (Ex): A bearly legal grizzly swarm that simply moves over a creature and doesn’t end its movement with that creature in one of its occupied squares can trample that creature. It can trample multiple creatures at once. A trampled creature takes damage equal to 3d8+1½ Str modifier. The creature can either take an attack of opportunity against the swarm with a -4 penalty or make a Reflex save (DC 25 + the swarm’s Str mod) for half damage.
Bearly Legal Grizzly Swarm
Gargantuan Magical Beast (Swarm)
Hit Dice 31d8+495 (598 hp)
Initiative +12
Speed 40 ft
AC 32 (+27 natural, -1 Dex, -4 size), touch 5, flat-footed 32
Base Attack/Grapple +23/+57
Attack Swarm 6d6 and bite +45 melee (4d8+22, 19-20)
Full Attack Swarm 6d6 and 4 bites +45 melee (4d8+22, 19-20)
Space/Reach 30'/0' (10' for Gargantuan bears)
Special Attacks expert grappler, improved grab, om-nom-nom, second chance, swallow whole, trample
Special Qualities easy maintenance, hardy, linked minds, low-light vision, scent
Saves Fort +40, Ref +17, Will +31
Abilities Str 55, Dex 11, Con 39, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 16
Skills Appraise +34, Autohypnosis +37, Balance +34, Climb +56, Concentration +48, Escape Artist +34, Handle Animal +37, Heal +37, Hide +22, Intimidate +37, Jump +56, Listen +37, Move Silently +34, Perform +37, Ride +34, Search +34, Spot +41*, Survival +37, Swim +60*, Tumble +34
Feats Blind-Fight, Endurance (B), Improved Critical, Improved Initiative, Improved Toughness, Power Attack, Run, Track
Epic Feats Dire Charge, Epic Toughness, Legendary Tracker, Superior Initiative
Environment Cold forests
Organization Solitary
Challenge Rating 21
Treasure None
Alignment Usually neutral
Advancement --
Level Adjustment --
Before you a strange yet terrifying sight appears. Giant bears! With upon them: less giant bears! And stacked further on top of those are more bears, ultimately controlled and directed by a bunch of small black bears at the very top. In perfect simultaneous unison, the bears roar and it is like a sonic tsunami rolls over you. The bear armies of the wild have arrived.
All-around Vision (Ex): There is so many bears, of course they keep in touch and quite literally look out for each other. A bearly legal grizzly swarm is never caught flat-footed and gets a +4 bonus to Spot checks.
Easy Maintenance (Ex): A bearly legal grizzly swarm eats as if it were one size category smaller and isn’t picky in what it eats.
Expert Grappler (Ex): A bearly legal grizzly swarm can maintain up to four grapples without penalty and still make attacks as normal against other targets (normally, attacking other targets would impose a -20 penalty on grapple checks). The bearly legal grizzly swarm still loses one bite attack for each grapple maintained. It is never considered flat-footed while grappling.
Hardy (Ex): A bearly legal grizzly swarm has a +2 racial bonus on saves against disease and poison.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a Gargantuan grizzly must hit with a bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.
Linked Minds (Ex): The bears somehow share a consciousness with one another, which allows them to group together and act as they do, as if they were on-par with the humanoid races. Quite like a hive-mind, except the bears retain their individuality and need not be with hundreds of them to be reasonably intelligent.
Om-nom-nom (Ex): The Gargantuan bears that are part of a bearly legal grizzly swarm can make bite attacks against creatures in their space (which they have thus swarmed) or within 10 ft of them (one bear takes up one side of the swarm’s area and can only attack on that side and not from the other three sides of their area, but it can still attack anyone within the area). Each of them can do this only once per turn (meaning 4 attempts) and the swarm may not move during this turn.
Second Chance (Ex): If the bearly legal grizzly swarm is rendered unconscious through nonlethal damage, it disperses, disorganized. If it was brought down to 0 hp through lethal damage, then 30% of the bears that are part of the swarm are dead, 30% are at 0 hp and the rest are at low hp. No matter the outcome for them, the Gargantuan bears regurgitate the Small bears inside of them, unless they have any enemies swallowed as well. The Small bears inside of the Gargantuan bears are unaffected by any damage done to the swarm.
Skills: As mentioned under "All-around Vision", a bearly legal grizzly swarm gets a +4 bonus to Spot checks. Furthermore, as bears are used to swimming, they get a +4 bonus to Swim checks.
Swallow Whole (Ex): A Gargantuan bear can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of Large or smaller size by making a successful grapple check. Once inside, the opponent takes 1d10+10 points of crushing damage plus 1d10+6 points of acid damage per round from the bear’s digestive juices. A swallowed creature can cut its way out by dealing 50 points of damage to the bear’s digestive tract (AC 23). Once the creature exits, muscular action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out.
The bear’s gullet can hold 2 Large, 8 Medium, 32 Small, or 128 Tiny or smaller creatures. (This is why, after swallowing one Large creature, it cannot hold more, as the 16 Small bears inside take up as much space as one Large creature.)
Trample (Ex): A bearly legal grizzly swarm that simply moves over a creature and doesn’t end its movement with that creature in one of its occupied squares can trample that creature. It can trample multiple creatures at once. A trampled creature takes damage equal to 3d8+1½ Str modifier. The creature can either take an attack of opportunity against the swarm with a -4 penalty or make a Reflex save (DC 25 + the swarm’s Str mod) for half damage.