Zaydos
2014-02-07, 04:21 PM
Shine Beetle
Small Vermin
HD 1d8+2 (6 hp)
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares), climb 20-ft
Init: +2
AC 15; touch 13; flat-footed 13 (+1 size, +2 Dex, +2 natural)
BAB +0; Grp -4
Attack Bite +2 melee (1d4)
Full-Attack Bite +2 melee (1d4)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Dazzling Carapace
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60-ft, immunity to dazzle, scent, vermin traits
Saves Fort +4 Ref +2 Will +0
Abilities Str 11, Dex 14, Con 15, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1
Skills Climb +8, Listen +4, Move Silently +6, Spot +8
Feats Weapon FinesseB
Environment: Temperate and warm forests and underground
Organization Solitary, pair, nest (3-12), or enclave (5-50)
Challenge Rating 1/3
Treasure Nil
Alignment Always True Neutral
Advancement 2-3 HD (small), 4-6 HD (medium), 7-12 HD (large), 13+ HD (huge)
Level Adjustment –
About the size of a small dog, the beetle in front of you looks almost like a lustrous gem. Its chitin is a reflective and lustrous blue shining iridescently when light strikes it, the disorienting glare making it hard to look directly on the beetle.
Shine beetles were originally bred by gnomish biomancers for the purpose of providing mobile light sources in mines which would have the benefit of not igniting flammable gases or being prohibitively expensive (continual flame). Unfortunately shine beetles proved too stupid and animalistic for this purpose, moving about without discipline in the mines and incapable of being easily trained to do better. As such their original purpose was discarded. Due to their reflective carapace giving them a gem-like appearance some gnomes kept them as pets, though, and others managed to escape into the wild becoming a true breeding population. Now shine beetles can be found in various forests across the world, and even in caverns, where they feed off of small mammals, reptiles, centipedes and any other creature smaller than them and slow enough to be caught. In pacts they are willing to go after larger prey, and feral beetles will even attack humans in sufficient numbers. Stories have begun to spread about shine beetles that have grown to massive size.
Combat: Shine beetles rush a single foe, the entire hive or enclave falling upon a single creature if possible, surrounding it to tear it limb from limb. Forest dwelling shine beetles will rush upon a foe, trusting that their dazzling carapace will be enough to disorient it. In caves they are more likely to use stealth, suddenly swarming over a creature from small tunnels in the walls.
Dazzling Carapace (Ex): A Shine Beetle’s carapace is naturally reflective focusing the light that falls upon it into a painful glare. If a shine beetle is in an area of shadowy illumination it produces bright light out to 10-ft. If a shine beetle is in an area of bright illumination any creature looking at it must make a Fortitude save (DC 12; this DC is Constitution based) or be dazzled for 2 + the beetle’s hit dice rounds. A creature may avert or close their eyes to avoid this effect as if it were a gaze attack, but the beetle may not spend a standard action to invoke this ability like a gaze attack.
A beetle kept in poor conditions (not enough food, and exercise), or thoroughly isolated from its kind for long periods will lose some of its luster, and while remaining somewhat reflective will no longer shine brightly enough to increase the illumination in an area or dazzle creatures.
Skills: A Shine Beetle gains a +4 racial bonus to Listen and Move Silently checks, as well as a +8 racial bonus to Spot checks. Due to their climb speed they gain a +8 bonus on Climb checks and may take 10 when threatened or rushed.
Advanced Shine Beetle
Medium Vermin
HD 5d8+15 (37 hp)
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares), climb 20-ft
Init: +1
AC 13; touch 11; flat-footed 12 (+1 Dex, +2 natural)
BAB +3; Grp +6
Attack Bite +6 melee (1d6+4)
Full-Attack Bite +6 melee (1d6+4)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Dazzling Carapace
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60-ft, immunity to dazzle, scent, vermin traits
Saves Fort +7 Ref +2 Will +1
Abilities Str 16, Dex 12, Con 17, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1
Skills Climb +11, Listen +4, Move Silently +5, Spot +8
Feats Weapon FinesseB
Challenge Rating 2
Dazzling Carapace (Ex): Due to their increased hit dice and Con, these shine beetles have a DC 15 Fort save to avoid dazzling.
Mephon
Small Magical Beast
HD 2d10+2 (13 hp)
Speed 40 ft. (8 squares), climb 20-ft
Init: +3
AC 15; touch 14; flat-footed 12 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +1 natural)
BAB +2; Grp -1
Attack Bite +5 melee (1d4+1)
Full-Attack Bite +5 melee (1d4+1), and 4 claws +0 melee (1d3)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Odor
Special Qualities: Arboreal, Darkvision 60-ft, scent, +4 to saves versus disease
Saves Fort +4 Ref +6 Will +1
Abilities Str 13, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills Balance +8, Climb +9, Listen +7, Jump +11, Spot +7.
Feats Ability Focus (Stench)B, Weapon Finesse
Environment: Temperate and warm forests
Organization Pair, hunt (3-10), nest (6-24)
Challenge Rating 1
Treasure Mephon “Honey”
Alignment Always True Neutral
Advancement 3 HD (small), 4-8 HD (medium)
Level Adjustment –
A tad over 3’ long, not counting tail, this creature looks somewhat like a cross between a monkey and a lizard. It has eight flexible legs splayed out widely while on the ground, though wrapping around a tree’s limbs for climbing it, similar in construction to those of a lizard giving it a low profile. Its tail is flexible able, able to perform simplistic manipulation. Its head is long and straight like that of a lizard’s and it is filled with a mix of teeth made to rip flesh from scavenged corpses and molars for the chewing of plants and fruit. Its body, though, is covered in brownish fur, and it bears external ears, similar in appearance to cat ears. From the creature issues a horrible stench, like rotting meat.
Mephons are a forest dwelling species that subsists on a mixed diet of scavenged carcasses and fruit. They carry with them a charnel odor which sickens other creatures and occasionally attracts other scavengers which the mephons opportunistically hunt. Many suspect biomancers of the creation of mephons due to their odd combination of diapsid and synapsid traits, their stinking odor, and the odd traits of their “honey”. Mephons produce a sweet tasting semi-fluid substance similar in texture to honey, which they feed their (live born) young instead of providing milk. This honey is valued by chefs as a delicacy, but also by wizards due to some unique properties. 1/10th of a pound of mephon honey can substitute for a non-expensive material component, and sufficient quantities can substitute for even expensive material components. 1 lb of mephon honey is (normally) worth 5 GP, and mephon honey can substitute for a material component costing up to 2 GP per pound of mephon honey used.
Combat: Mephons hunt in nothing smaller than a pair, and occasionally up to a whole group of 10. They prefer to avoid fighting creatures larger than them in any numbers, using their odor to drive away most dedicated predators (which will generally avoid the scent of obviously rotten meat) even as it attracts true scavengers (which like it). If the hive is approached, though, mephons will grow territorial and defensive fighting to the death by launching themselves at foes, biting and clawing with their four front legs ending in sharp claws designed for climbing trees.
Arboreal (Ex): A mephlon is naturally a tree dwelling species and adapted to such life in the trees. They apply their Dexterity bonus instead of Strength to Jump checks, and retain their Dexterity bonus to AC when balancing. In addition they may take 10 on both such checks even if threatened or rushed.
Odor (Ex): Mephons have a horrible odor similar to that of rotting meat, but designed to sicken creatures even more thoroughly. Any creature within 20-ft of a mephon, or 80-ft of one if they have scent, must make a Fortitude save (DC 14) or be sickened for as long as they are within 20-ft of a mephon and 1 minute thereafter. A successful save renders them immune to that mephon’s odor for 1 minute. If they are within the area of several mephon’s odors they need only make one save, but do so with a penalty based upon the number of mephons they are within odor range of. This starts at -1 if there are 2, -2 if there are 4, -3 if there are 8, and increases by 1 for every additional doubling. Mephons are immune to the odor of themselves and other mephons.
Skills: A mephon gains a +4 racial bonus to Balance, Listen, Jump, and Spot checks. They also gain a +4 bonus on Jump checks due to their 40-ft land speed, and a +8 bonus on Climb checks and may take 10 when threatened or rushed due to their racial climb speed.
BEAR, DWARVEN WAR
Large Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 6d10+30 (63 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30 ft. (8 squares); 40 ft without armor
Armor Class: 20 (–1 size, +1 Dex, +5 natural, +5 breastplate “barding”), touch 10, flat-footed 19; 15 without armor (14 flat-footed)
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+19
Attack: Claw +14 melee (2d6+9)
Full Attack: 2 claws +14 melee (2d6+9) and bite +12 melee (2d6+4 and 1 acid)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Acidic saliva, improved grab
Special Qualities: Acid resistance 20, acidic blood, darkvision 60-ft, scent
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +3
Abilities: Str 29, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills: Listen +4, Spot +7
Feats: Armor Proficiency (Light, Medium)B, Improved Natural Weapon (Claws), Improved Toughness, Multiattack
Environment: Underground (dwarven settlements)
Organization: Solitary or pair
Challenge Rating: 5
Advancement: 7–10 HD (Large), 11-16 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment:—
Bred by dwarves for use in combat, dwarven war bears have slightly different proportions than regular bears. When on four legs their body is closer to horizontal, to facilitate their use as a mount, and their musculature have been enhanced creating larger beasts, worse predators due to their increased metabolic demands but better warbeasts. The most important changes are their adaptations to total darkness, and the acidic nature of their blood and saliva. Although far from the most dangerous acid, a dwarven war bear’s saliva is laced with enough acid to inhibit a troll from healing the wounds left from their bites, and their blood further discourages the regenerating creatures from attacking them. As trolls often are used as powerful shock troopers by the orcs and goblinoids that dwarves find themselves facing these assets make dwarven war bears valuable allies for dwarven warriors when their fortress homes are under threat. Wild dwarven war bears are rare as they are an artificially produced species which due to their added metabolic demands are less successful as hunters than natural brown bears but they can sometimes be encountered.
Combat
A dwarven war bear is a fully trained combat mount like a warhorse and is able to fight with a rider as a warhorse and is proficient in light and medium armor. A wild dwarven war bear lacks these proficiencies.
Acidic Blood (Ex): A dwarven war bear’s blood is mildly acidic. Any creature striking it in melee with a non-reach weapon takes 1 point of acid damage per 3 hit dice the war bear possesses, or per 2 hit dice if they are using a slashing or piercing natural weapon, or 2 per 3 hit dice if they are using a bite attack.
Acidic Saliva (Ex): A dwarven war bear’s saliva is also mildly acidic. A dwarven war bear’s bite attack deals 1 additional point of acid damage and all damage dealt by their bite attack is considered acid for the purpose of overcoming regeneration (but not for interaction with acid resistance, acid immunity, or damage reduction).
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a dwarven war bear must hit with a claw attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.
Carrying Capacity: A light load for a dwarven war bear is up to 1397 pounds; a medium load, 1398–2799 pounds; and a heavy load, 2800–4200 pounds. A dwarven war bear can drag 21,000 pounds.
Dwarven War Bears and Characters: I do not know how to assign a proper GP price to a CR 5 animal, advice there is welcome. A dwarven ranger or beast tamer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226621) may select a dwarven war bear as an animal companion using their effective druid level -9.
Small Vermin
HD 1d8+2 (6 hp)
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares), climb 20-ft
Init: +2
AC 15; touch 13; flat-footed 13 (+1 size, +2 Dex, +2 natural)
BAB +0; Grp -4
Attack Bite +2 melee (1d4)
Full-Attack Bite +2 melee (1d4)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Dazzling Carapace
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60-ft, immunity to dazzle, scent, vermin traits
Saves Fort +4 Ref +2 Will +0
Abilities Str 11, Dex 14, Con 15, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1
Skills Climb +8, Listen +4, Move Silently +6, Spot +8
Feats Weapon FinesseB
Environment: Temperate and warm forests and underground
Organization Solitary, pair, nest (3-12), or enclave (5-50)
Challenge Rating 1/3
Treasure Nil
Alignment Always True Neutral
Advancement 2-3 HD (small), 4-6 HD (medium), 7-12 HD (large), 13+ HD (huge)
Level Adjustment –
About the size of a small dog, the beetle in front of you looks almost like a lustrous gem. Its chitin is a reflective and lustrous blue shining iridescently when light strikes it, the disorienting glare making it hard to look directly on the beetle.
Shine beetles were originally bred by gnomish biomancers for the purpose of providing mobile light sources in mines which would have the benefit of not igniting flammable gases or being prohibitively expensive (continual flame). Unfortunately shine beetles proved too stupid and animalistic for this purpose, moving about without discipline in the mines and incapable of being easily trained to do better. As such their original purpose was discarded. Due to their reflective carapace giving them a gem-like appearance some gnomes kept them as pets, though, and others managed to escape into the wild becoming a true breeding population. Now shine beetles can be found in various forests across the world, and even in caverns, where they feed off of small mammals, reptiles, centipedes and any other creature smaller than them and slow enough to be caught. In pacts they are willing to go after larger prey, and feral beetles will even attack humans in sufficient numbers. Stories have begun to spread about shine beetles that have grown to massive size.
Combat: Shine beetles rush a single foe, the entire hive or enclave falling upon a single creature if possible, surrounding it to tear it limb from limb. Forest dwelling shine beetles will rush upon a foe, trusting that their dazzling carapace will be enough to disorient it. In caves they are more likely to use stealth, suddenly swarming over a creature from small tunnels in the walls.
Dazzling Carapace (Ex): A Shine Beetle’s carapace is naturally reflective focusing the light that falls upon it into a painful glare. If a shine beetle is in an area of shadowy illumination it produces bright light out to 10-ft. If a shine beetle is in an area of bright illumination any creature looking at it must make a Fortitude save (DC 12; this DC is Constitution based) or be dazzled for 2 + the beetle’s hit dice rounds. A creature may avert or close their eyes to avoid this effect as if it were a gaze attack, but the beetle may not spend a standard action to invoke this ability like a gaze attack.
A beetle kept in poor conditions (not enough food, and exercise), or thoroughly isolated from its kind for long periods will lose some of its luster, and while remaining somewhat reflective will no longer shine brightly enough to increase the illumination in an area or dazzle creatures.
Skills: A Shine Beetle gains a +4 racial bonus to Listen and Move Silently checks, as well as a +8 racial bonus to Spot checks. Due to their climb speed they gain a +8 bonus on Climb checks and may take 10 when threatened or rushed.
Advanced Shine Beetle
Medium Vermin
HD 5d8+15 (37 hp)
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares), climb 20-ft
Init: +1
AC 13; touch 11; flat-footed 12 (+1 Dex, +2 natural)
BAB +3; Grp +6
Attack Bite +6 melee (1d6+4)
Full-Attack Bite +6 melee (1d6+4)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Dazzling Carapace
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60-ft, immunity to dazzle, scent, vermin traits
Saves Fort +7 Ref +2 Will +1
Abilities Str 16, Dex 12, Con 17, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1
Skills Climb +11, Listen +4, Move Silently +5, Spot +8
Feats Weapon FinesseB
Challenge Rating 2
Dazzling Carapace (Ex): Due to their increased hit dice and Con, these shine beetles have a DC 15 Fort save to avoid dazzling.
Mephon
Small Magical Beast
HD 2d10+2 (13 hp)
Speed 40 ft. (8 squares), climb 20-ft
Init: +3
AC 15; touch 14; flat-footed 12 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +1 natural)
BAB +2; Grp -1
Attack Bite +5 melee (1d4+1)
Full-Attack Bite +5 melee (1d4+1), and 4 claws +0 melee (1d3)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Odor
Special Qualities: Arboreal, Darkvision 60-ft, scent, +4 to saves versus disease
Saves Fort +4 Ref +6 Will +1
Abilities Str 13, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills Balance +8, Climb +9, Listen +7, Jump +11, Spot +7.
Feats Ability Focus (Stench)B, Weapon Finesse
Environment: Temperate and warm forests
Organization Pair, hunt (3-10), nest (6-24)
Challenge Rating 1
Treasure Mephon “Honey”
Alignment Always True Neutral
Advancement 3 HD (small), 4-8 HD (medium)
Level Adjustment –
A tad over 3’ long, not counting tail, this creature looks somewhat like a cross between a monkey and a lizard. It has eight flexible legs splayed out widely while on the ground, though wrapping around a tree’s limbs for climbing it, similar in construction to those of a lizard giving it a low profile. Its tail is flexible able, able to perform simplistic manipulation. Its head is long and straight like that of a lizard’s and it is filled with a mix of teeth made to rip flesh from scavenged corpses and molars for the chewing of plants and fruit. Its body, though, is covered in brownish fur, and it bears external ears, similar in appearance to cat ears. From the creature issues a horrible stench, like rotting meat.
Mephons are a forest dwelling species that subsists on a mixed diet of scavenged carcasses and fruit. They carry with them a charnel odor which sickens other creatures and occasionally attracts other scavengers which the mephons opportunistically hunt. Many suspect biomancers of the creation of mephons due to their odd combination of diapsid and synapsid traits, their stinking odor, and the odd traits of their “honey”. Mephons produce a sweet tasting semi-fluid substance similar in texture to honey, which they feed their (live born) young instead of providing milk. This honey is valued by chefs as a delicacy, but also by wizards due to some unique properties. 1/10th of a pound of mephon honey can substitute for a non-expensive material component, and sufficient quantities can substitute for even expensive material components. 1 lb of mephon honey is (normally) worth 5 GP, and mephon honey can substitute for a material component costing up to 2 GP per pound of mephon honey used.
Combat: Mephons hunt in nothing smaller than a pair, and occasionally up to a whole group of 10. They prefer to avoid fighting creatures larger than them in any numbers, using their odor to drive away most dedicated predators (which will generally avoid the scent of obviously rotten meat) even as it attracts true scavengers (which like it). If the hive is approached, though, mephons will grow territorial and defensive fighting to the death by launching themselves at foes, biting and clawing with their four front legs ending in sharp claws designed for climbing trees.
Arboreal (Ex): A mephlon is naturally a tree dwelling species and adapted to such life in the trees. They apply their Dexterity bonus instead of Strength to Jump checks, and retain their Dexterity bonus to AC when balancing. In addition they may take 10 on both such checks even if threatened or rushed.
Odor (Ex): Mephons have a horrible odor similar to that of rotting meat, but designed to sicken creatures even more thoroughly. Any creature within 20-ft of a mephon, or 80-ft of one if they have scent, must make a Fortitude save (DC 14) or be sickened for as long as they are within 20-ft of a mephon and 1 minute thereafter. A successful save renders them immune to that mephon’s odor for 1 minute. If they are within the area of several mephon’s odors they need only make one save, but do so with a penalty based upon the number of mephons they are within odor range of. This starts at -1 if there are 2, -2 if there are 4, -3 if there are 8, and increases by 1 for every additional doubling. Mephons are immune to the odor of themselves and other mephons.
Skills: A mephon gains a +4 racial bonus to Balance, Listen, Jump, and Spot checks. They also gain a +4 bonus on Jump checks due to their 40-ft land speed, and a +8 bonus on Climb checks and may take 10 when threatened or rushed due to their racial climb speed.
BEAR, DWARVEN WAR
Large Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 6d10+30 (63 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30 ft. (8 squares); 40 ft without armor
Armor Class: 20 (–1 size, +1 Dex, +5 natural, +5 breastplate “barding”), touch 10, flat-footed 19; 15 without armor (14 flat-footed)
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+19
Attack: Claw +14 melee (2d6+9)
Full Attack: 2 claws +14 melee (2d6+9) and bite +12 melee (2d6+4 and 1 acid)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Acidic saliva, improved grab
Special Qualities: Acid resistance 20, acidic blood, darkvision 60-ft, scent
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +3
Abilities: Str 29, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills: Listen +4, Spot +7
Feats: Armor Proficiency (Light, Medium)B, Improved Natural Weapon (Claws), Improved Toughness, Multiattack
Environment: Underground (dwarven settlements)
Organization: Solitary or pair
Challenge Rating: 5
Advancement: 7–10 HD (Large), 11-16 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment:—
Bred by dwarves for use in combat, dwarven war bears have slightly different proportions than regular bears. When on four legs their body is closer to horizontal, to facilitate their use as a mount, and their musculature have been enhanced creating larger beasts, worse predators due to their increased metabolic demands but better warbeasts. The most important changes are their adaptations to total darkness, and the acidic nature of their blood and saliva. Although far from the most dangerous acid, a dwarven war bear’s saliva is laced with enough acid to inhibit a troll from healing the wounds left from their bites, and their blood further discourages the regenerating creatures from attacking them. As trolls often are used as powerful shock troopers by the orcs and goblinoids that dwarves find themselves facing these assets make dwarven war bears valuable allies for dwarven warriors when their fortress homes are under threat. Wild dwarven war bears are rare as they are an artificially produced species which due to their added metabolic demands are less successful as hunters than natural brown bears but they can sometimes be encountered.
Combat
A dwarven war bear is a fully trained combat mount like a warhorse and is able to fight with a rider as a warhorse and is proficient in light and medium armor. A wild dwarven war bear lacks these proficiencies.
Acidic Blood (Ex): A dwarven war bear’s blood is mildly acidic. Any creature striking it in melee with a non-reach weapon takes 1 point of acid damage per 3 hit dice the war bear possesses, or per 2 hit dice if they are using a slashing or piercing natural weapon, or 2 per 3 hit dice if they are using a bite attack.
Acidic Saliva (Ex): A dwarven war bear’s saliva is also mildly acidic. A dwarven war bear’s bite attack deals 1 additional point of acid damage and all damage dealt by their bite attack is considered acid for the purpose of overcoming regeneration (but not for interaction with acid resistance, acid immunity, or damage reduction).
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a dwarven war bear must hit with a claw attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.
Carrying Capacity: A light load for a dwarven war bear is up to 1397 pounds; a medium load, 1398–2799 pounds; and a heavy load, 2800–4200 pounds. A dwarven war bear can drag 21,000 pounds.
Dwarven War Bears and Characters: I do not know how to assign a proper GP price to a CR 5 animal, advice there is welcome. A dwarven ranger or beast tamer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226621) may select a dwarven war bear as an animal companion using their effective druid level -9.