The Demented One
2007-07-07, 10:33 PM
Feral Creatures
It has been said that civilization is just three missed meals and twenty-four hours of chaos away from utter chaos and destruction, a savage and feral apocalypse. It is not unheard of for thinking, rational men to lose all trace of culture or humanity, and to become feral creatures, once-sentient beings reduced to the level of animals. Some Feral creatures were born and grew up outside of civilization, never developing beyond an animal level, while others were once normal, until they suffered some cataclysmic crisis that rendered them feral. Feral creatures resemble other creatures of their kind, but they have clearly animalistic body language, often going on all fours, and have developed more powerful muscles, and even fangs and claws, to survive life in the wild. They have an animalistic level of intelligence, and cannot speak in comprehensible language, nor take levels in classes.
Creating a Feral Creature
Feral is an applied template that can be added to any aberration, dragon, fey, giant, humanoid, or monstrous humanoid.
Size and Type
Size and Type remain unchanged.
Hit Dice
If a Feral creature had any class levels before gaining the template, then it loses all those levels, but gains 1 extra HD for each lost level.
Speed
A Feral creature’s base land speed increases by 10 ft.
Natural Armor
A Feral creature’s natural armor bonus to AC increases by one, plus an additional one for every four HD it has.
Attack
If a Feral creature was proficient with manufactured weapons, but also had natural weapons, then it loses it proficiency, but its natural weapons become primary natural weapons, and their damage dice advances by one step. A Feral creature that has no natural weapons gains a bite attack, which is a primary natural weapon, and two claw attacks, which are secondary natural weapons. Feral creatures lose any form of proficiency with weapons, shields, or armor that the base creature might have had. The damage of a Feral creature’s natural attacks depends on its size, as below.
Bite Attack
{table=head]Size|Damage
Fine|1
Diminutive|1d2
Tiny|1d3
Small|1d4
Medium|1d6
Large|1d8
Huge|1d10
Gargantuan|2d6
Colossal|2d8
[/table]
Claw Attack
{table=head]Size|Damage
Fine|1
Diminutive|1
Tiny|1d2
Small|1d3
Medium|1d4
Large|1d6
Huge|1d8
Gargantuan|1d10
Colossal|2d6
[/table]
Special Attacks
A Feral creature retains all the special attacks of the base creature and also gains the following attacks. However, it does lose special attacks that allow it to cast spells or manifest powers (but not use spell-like or psi-like abilities).
Pounce (Ex)
Whenever a Feral creature makes a charge, it can make a full attack at the end of the charge.
Special Qualities
A Feral creature retains all the special qualities of the base creature and also gains the following attacks.
Damage Reduction (Ex)
A Feral creature with at least 4 HD gains damage reduction 1/–. For every four additional HD it has, its damage reduction increases by one.
Scent (Ex)
A Feral creature can detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell. A Feral creature can detect opponents by sense of smell, generally within 30 feet. If the opponent is upwind, the range is 60 feet. If it is downwind, the range is 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or Troglodyte stench, can be detected at three times these ranges.
The Feral creature detects another creature’s presence but not its specific location. Noting the direction of the scent is a move action. If it moves within 5 feet of the scent’s source, the Feral creature can pinpoint that source. A Feral creature with the Track feat and the scent ability can follow tracks by smell, making a Wisdom check to find or follow a track. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10. The DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry’s odor is, the number of creatures, and the age of the trail. For each hour that the trail is cold, the DC increases by 2. A Feral creature tracking by scent ignore the effects of surface conditions and poor visibility.
Low-Light Vision (Ex)
A Feral creature can see twice as far as normal in dim light. If a Feral creature already had low-light vision, then it may instead see four times as far as normal in dim light.
Abilities
Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +4, Dex +2, Con +2, Wis +2, Cha -6. A Feral creature’s Intelligence score is either 1 or 2, depending on the base creature’s Intelligence score. If it was below 10, then the Feral creature has an Intelligence of 1; if it was equal to or above 10, the Feral creature has an Intelligence of 2.
Feats
A Feral creature gains Track as a bonus feat.
Skills
A Feral creature gains a +4 racial bonus on Listen, Spot, and Survival checks. A Feral creature cannot use any Intelligence-based skills, nor may it use any Charisma-based skills except for Handle Animal and Intimidate.
Challenge Rating
As the base creature +1.
Alignment
Alignment changes to True Neutral.
Advancement
A Feral creature always advances by HD. If the base creature advanced by class level, then it instead advances by HD, up to a maximum of 20 HD. However, if it did not already advance by HD, then it does not change size when advancing HD.
Level Adjustment
None.
It has been said that civilization is just three missed meals and twenty-four hours of chaos away from utter chaos and destruction, a savage and feral apocalypse. It is not unheard of for thinking, rational men to lose all trace of culture or humanity, and to become feral creatures, once-sentient beings reduced to the level of animals. Some Feral creatures were born and grew up outside of civilization, never developing beyond an animal level, while others were once normal, until they suffered some cataclysmic crisis that rendered them feral. Feral creatures resemble other creatures of their kind, but they have clearly animalistic body language, often going on all fours, and have developed more powerful muscles, and even fangs and claws, to survive life in the wild. They have an animalistic level of intelligence, and cannot speak in comprehensible language, nor take levels in classes.
Creating a Feral Creature
Feral is an applied template that can be added to any aberration, dragon, fey, giant, humanoid, or monstrous humanoid.
Size and Type
Size and Type remain unchanged.
Hit Dice
If a Feral creature had any class levels before gaining the template, then it loses all those levels, but gains 1 extra HD for each lost level.
Speed
A Feral creature’s base land speed increases by 10 ft.
Natural Armor
A Feral creature’s natural armor bonus to AC increases by one, plus an additional one for every four HD it has.
Attack
If a Feral creature was proficient with manufactured weapons, but also had natural weapons, then it loses it proficiency, but its natural weapons become primary natural weapons, and their damage dice advances by one step. A Feral creature that has no natural weapons gains a bite attack, which is a primary natural weapon, and two claw attacks, which are secondary natural weapons. Feral creatures lose any form of proficiency with weapons, shields, or armor that the base creature might have had. The damage of a Feral creature’s natural attacks depends on its size, as below.
Bite Attack
{table=head]Size|Damage
Fine|1
Diminutive|1d2
Tiny|1d3
Small|1d4
Medium|1d6
Large|1d8
Huge|1d10
Gargantuan|2d6
Colossal|2d8
[/table]
Claw Attack
{table=head]Size|Damage
Fine|1
Diminutive|1
Tiny|1d2
Small|1d3
Medium|1d4
Large|1d6
Huge|1d8
Gargantuan|1d10
Colossal|2d6
[/table]
Special Attacks
A Feral creature retains all the special attacks of the base creature and also gains the following attacks. However, it does lose special attacks that allow it to cast spells or manifest powers (but not use spell-like or psi-like abilities).
Pounce (Ex)
Whenever a Feral creature makes a charge, it can make a full attack at the end of the charge.
Special Qualities
A Feral creature retains all the special qualities of the base creature and also gains the following attacks.
Damage Reduction (Ex)
A Feral creature with at least 4 HD gains damage reduction 1/–. For every four additional HD it has, its damage reduction increases by one.
Scent (Ex)
A Feral creature can detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell. A Feral creature can detect opponents by sense of smell, generally within 30 feet. If the opponent is upwind, the range is 60 feet. If it is downwind, the range is 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or Troglodyte stench, can be detected at three times these ranges.
The Feral creature detects another creature’s presence but not its specific location. Noting the direction of the scent is a move action. If it moves within 5 feet of the scent’s source, the Feral creature can pinpoint that source. A Feral creature with the Track feat and the scent ability can follow tracks by smell, making a Wisdom check to find or follow a track. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10. The DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry’s odor is, the number of creatures, and the age of the trail. For each hour that the trail is cold, the DC increases by 2. A Feral creature tracking by scent ignore the effects of surface conditions and poor visibility.
Low-Light Vision (Ex)
A Feral creature can see twice as far as normal in dim light. If a Feral creature already had low-light vision, then it may instead see four times as far as normal in dim light.
Abilities
Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +4, Dex +2, Con +2, Wis +2, Cha -6. A Feral creature’s Intelligence score is either 1 or 2, depending on the base creature’s Intelligence score. If it was below 10, then the Feral creature has an Intelligence of 1; if it was equal to or above 10, the Feral creature has an Intelligence of 2.
Feats
A Feral creature gains Track as a bonus feat.
Skills
A Feral creature gains a +4 racial bonus on Listen, Spot, and Survival checks. A Feral creature cannot use any Intelligence-based skills, nor may it use any Charisma-based skills except for Handle Animal and Intimidate.
Challenge Rating
As the base creature +1.
Alignment
Alignment changes to True Neutral.
Advancement
A Feral creature always advances by HD. If the base creature advanced by class level, then it instead advances by HD, up to a maximum of 20 HD. However, if it did not already advance by HD, then it does not change size when advancing HD.
Level Adjustment
None.