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Mashallah
2019-05-16, 02:09 AM
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Owlcat CR 2
XP 600
N Tiny Magical Beast
Init +7; Senses Low-Light Vision, Darkvision 60ft; Perception +11
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DEFENSE
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AC15, touch 15, flat-footed 12 (+2 size, +3 Dex)
hp 17 (3d10+0)
Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +4
Defensive Abilities Uncanny Dodge
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OFFENSE
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Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (good)
Melee 2 claws +8 (1d2-2)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks Pounce, Rake (2 claws +8, 1d2-2), 1d6 Sneak Attack
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STATISTICS
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Str 7, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 3, Wis 16, Cha7
Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 14 (18 vs. trip)
Feats Weapon Finesse, Improved Initiative
Skills Climb +11, Perception +11, Stealth +19; Racial Modifiers +4 Climb, +4 Perception, +4 Stealth
Languages Normally none, can be taught to understand (but not speak) one language
SQ Magical Beast Traits
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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Pounce (Ex)
When an Owlcat makes a charge, it can make a full attack (including rake attacks if the creature also has the rake ability).


Rake (Ex)
When an Owlcat grapples its foe, it gets two free claw attacks at 1d2-2 damage against that grappled foe. An Owlcat must begin its turn already grappling to use its rake, it can’t begin a grapple and rake in the same turn.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex)
An Owlcat has the ability to react to danger before it's senses would normally allow it to do so. An Owlcat cannot be caught flat-footed, nor does it lose it's Dex bonus to AC if the attacker is invisible. It still loses it's Dexterity bonus to Armor Class if immobilized. An Owlcat with this ability can still lose it's Dexterity bonus to Armor Class if an opponent successfully uses the feint action against it.

Magical Beast Traits
Magical Beasts are similar to animals but can have Intelligence scores higher than 2 (in which case the creature knows at least one language, but can't necessarily speak). Magical Beasts usually have supernatural or extraordinary abilities, but are sometimes merely bizarre in appearance or habits.
-Darkvision 60 feet.
-Low-light vision.
-Magical beasts breathe, eat, and sleep.

Improved Familiar
This creature can be taken as an improved familiar at level 3.
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ECOLOGY
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Environment: temperate forests
Organization: solitary, pair, or pack (3–12)
Treasure: none

The exact origin of the owlcats has been lost to history, however, most scholars agree it was likely the doing of some wizard in ancient times, perhaps out of a desire to have exotic pets. Whatever the exact origin, owlcats proved to be adept hunters and quickly carved out an ecological niche for themselves as their population boomed.

Nowadays, owlcats live in most temperate forests, where they are rather successful ambush predators, hiding on trees and swooping down on unsuspecting prey when they notice it. However, their excellent hiding capabilities and a keen intelligence make them very difficult to find whenever they are not deliberately showing themselves.

Owlcats are crepuscular creatures, hunting mostly during dusk and dawn, sleeping on trees throughout most of the night, and hiding from other predators while conserving energy throughout the day.

Adult owlcats hunt alone, but can be found roosting singly, in pairs, or in family groups. They have a very wide range of vocalisations, ranging from the hoots so often associated with owls, to whistles, screeches, screams, purrs, snorts, chitters and hisses.

There are reports that some people have successfully domesticated owlcats, but it is an uncommon occurrence due to how difficult owlcats are to find. Because of those reports, owlcats are sought-after as pets by the rich, and a kitten can fetch a high price.

noob
2019-05-16, 04:45 AM
So it is because the druid decided to have a familiar and so instead of having an owlbear now the druid have an owlcat?
I see nothing that makes it CR2: a random orc with a two handed sword will have roughly the same damage output and quite near attack throws: the only things it got beyond a pair of orcs is flight otherwise two orcs is much more threatening(and is cr 1 if an orc was cr 1/2).
Do not forget to compare this creature to a blood hawk too: blood hawk are cr 1 and are stupidly deadly flyers(the bleeding!!)
(I just did read the pathfinder version and spotted they removed the "make the target lose all blood" part)

Edit: I just noticed: it is CR2 and brings the same xp as a cr 1 creature.
Something is weird.

Mashallah
2019-05-16, 07:44 AM
So it is because the druid decided to have a familiar and so instead of having an owlbear now the druid have an owlcat?
I see nothing that makes it CR2: a random orc with a two handed sword will have roughly the same damage output and quite near attack throws: the only things it got beyond a pair of orcs is flight otherwise two orcs is much more threatening(and is cr 1 if an orc was cr 1/2).
Do not forget to compare this creature to a blood hawk too: blood hawk are cr 1 and are stupidly deadly flyers(the bleeding!!)
(I just did read the pathfinder version and spotted they removed the "make the target lose all blood" part)

Edit: I just noticed: it is CR2 and brings the same xp as a cr 1 creature.
Something is weird.
600XP is the CR2 experience in Pathfinder, which is what I made this for. And 3 hit dice make it much tougher than a blood hawk. I don't think I can justify a CR 1 magical beast with 3 hit dice. Also, a first round sneak attack pounce that deals an average of 14 lethal + 4 non-lethal damage if all 4 attacks hit is quite potent for CR 2, especially with the high stealth and initiative all but ensuring it gets the drop on its enemy.

Ashiel
2019-05-17, 11:30 AM
I personally think CR 2 is decent enough. They're a lot like mini-tigers in that they are all but certain to score a surprise round charge and down a flat-footed creature in their expected CR range. While they only inflict 1 point of nonlethal damage with their base attack damage, the natural sneak attack combined with a +10 to hit on a charge w/ pounce is all but assured to land about 4d6 damage (averages 14) on a flat-footed target at 1st-3rd level.

The fact that it has low-light and darkvision is pretty dangerous too since it's probably more active at points of the day when it would naturally be able to Stealth from light levels alone. Also, with a +19 Stealth modifier, taking-10 out of combat it's Stealth result is essentially "Yes" at this level (DC 29 + 1 / 10 ft. between it and its target, +3 is still surprise round charge range).

It's quick initiative also means it can certainly either finish off a prey much larger than itself, or grapple and fly away with a smaller prey (such as familiar). At first glance, this thing is actually pretty frightening for creatures significantly larger than itself, since it's very likely that it can just perform hit and run tactics in its natural environment (swooping from tree to tree in the dark, using Stealth as it does to vanish before coming in for another dive), and would likely be a big threat to things like wizard familiars or animal companions. It's smart enough to prioritize targets based on apparent threat (even real life animals can recognize things like weapons and armor and this is low human intelligence). The fact it has 3d10 HD also means that simply slapping it once isn't going to down and might come back if its first dive doesn't finish its hunt.

As an improved familiar, in natural sneak attack and pounce + rake makes it IMHO a very good chassis for buffing, and it's certainly going to work just fine as a scout.