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View Full Version : The Horrible Bad Thing (Creature)[PEACH]



metalshop
2007-11-19, 11:15 PM
Ok, this is my first serious attempt at making a creature that follows some semblance of consistant rules. Before this my DMing style ran more along the lines of "Making it up as I go along." so I may have gotten some things wrong.
Any comments would be welcome.
The Garna Hor

Size/Type: Huge Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 18d8+90 (189 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 50 ft., burrow 30 ft., climb 40 ft.
Armor Class: 21 (+3 Dex, -2 Size, +11 Natural), touch 11, flat-footed 18.
Base Attack/Grapple: +18/+38
Attack: 4 claws +21 melee (2d4+4) and Bite +26 melee (4d4+8)
Full Attack: 4 claws +25 melee (1d8+10) and Bite +20 melee (2d8+10)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Explosive Emergence, Stunning Roar, Crush.
Special Qualities: Immunity to Cold, resistance to fire 10, damage reduction 15/-, darvision 60 ft., tremor sense 20 ft, Frightful Presence, Spell Resistance 25.
Saves: Fort +18, Ref +12, Will +8
Abilities: Str 26, Dex 16, Con 21, Int 4, Wis 10, Cha 15
Skills: Hide +8, Listen +4, Spot +5, Jump +20, Climb +18.
Feats: Snatch, Improved Grapple, Improved Natural Attack (bite), Weapon Focus (bite), Blind-fight, Power Attack, Skill Focus (climb).
Environment:
Organization: Solitary, Breeding Pair (sometimes with cub), Catastrophe (3-9).
Language:Common, Giant.
Challenge Rating: Alignment: Usually Chaotic Neutral.
Advancement:

Fluff: At first glance, the Garna Hor appears to be a gigantic, six-legged polar. Standing anywhere from 10 to 18 feet tall at the shoulder, the Garna Hor (Horrible Bad Thing), is a dangerous predator, adapted to hunting in the most inhospitable regions of the world, from the frigid north, to the caves of the under-dark, to the streets and alleys of large cities. No one knows the origin of this terrible hunter, but all agree that even one can be a threat on par with a dragon.
Their massive size gives them an advantage in any fight, and their extra limbs give them stability, extra attacks, and a skill at climbing which is unparalleled in any creature of similar size. It is not uncommon to see urban Garna Hor climbing up sheer building walls and leaping from rooftop to rooftop, or to see forest-dwelling Garna Hor unleashing a reign of terror from the upper canopy.
What makes them most truly feared, however, is not their climbing skills but rather their ability to burrow beneath the earth. Opening up a tunnel in front of them with their forelimbs, and closing it up behind them with their rear set of legs, they can move about undetected beneath the ground and emerge beneath their prey, with a massive explosion of dirt and rocks which can scatter even the most experienced party.

Description: Before you stands a creature out of a nightmare, a massive six-legged bear, easily as big as a house. It's teeth and claws are overdeveloped, even for its size, and there is a troubling glint of intelligence in its bestial eyes.

Combat

Crush (Ex): This special attack allows a jumping Garna Hor of at least Huge size to land on opponents as a standard action, using its whole body to crush them. Crush attacks are effective only against opponents three or more size categories smaller than the Garna Hor (though it can attempt normal overrun or grapple attacks against larger opponents).

Frightful Presence (Ex): A Garna Hor can unsettle foes with its mere presence, much like a dragon. The ability takes effect automatically whenever the Garna Hor attacks, charges, or uses its Explosive Emergence ability. Creatures within a radius of 30 feet × the difference between their size category and the Garna Hor's are subject to the effect if they have fewer HD than the Garna Hor. A potentially affected creature that succeeds on a Will save (DC 10 + ½ Garna Hor’s HD + Garna Hor’s Cha modifier) remains immune to that Garna Hor’s frightful presence for 24 hours. On a failure, creatures with 4 or less HD become panicked for 4d6 rounds and those with 5 or more HD become shaken for 4d6 rounds. Garna Hors ignore the frightful presence of other Garna Hors.

Snatch: The Garna Hor can choose to start a grapple when it hits with a claw or bite attack, as though it had the improved grab special attack. If it gets a hold on a creature three or more sizes smaller, it squeezes each round for automatic bite or claw damage. The Garna Hor can drop a creature it has snatched as a free action or use a standard action to fling it aside. A flung creature travels 1d6 x 10 feet, and takes 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet traveled.

Explosive Emergence: If a Garna Hor has at burrowed at least 20 ft in one round it may to chose to burst forth from the ground, sending earth and and stones flying in all directions. This deals 5d6 damage to everything in a 20-ft.-radius, Reflex save for half (DC 18). Creatures must make a DC 16 Strength check or be hurled back 10 ft. as though Bull Rushed (incurring 1d6 points of falling damage) and then falling prone. Unattended objects of less then large size automatically fail the save and objects of greater than large automatically succeed (though they still take the damage).

Stunning Roar: Every 1d4 rounds the Garna Hor may let out a bellowing roar which echoes off of distant mountains and shakes the resolve of all who hear it. Anyone within 50 ft must make a DC 22 Fortitude save or be stunned for 1d4 rounds. Anyone within 1 mile must make a DC 20 will save or be shaken for 1d4 minutes (the DC increases to 24 if the Garna Hor is visible.)

hamstard4ever
2007-11-20, 12:04 AM
Wow, this thing is pretty sweet! I'm not a great judge of CR but I'd probably place this around... CR 15? Its HP is medium at best and its AC is rather poor for a monster with a CR in the teens, but DR 15/- is pretty huge. Then again at those levels magic is better for defeating enemies anyhow, and it doesn't have a lot of magic defenses (decent energy resistance, but again, when you're putting it up against a wizard with 7th or 8th level spells energy damage is not what it should be afraid!) Stunning Roar is pretty much the only thing which would make it possibly viable at CR 15 and that seems a bit questionable, since most characters around that level would shrug off a DC 18 save too often to make it really dominant. So possibly bump it down to 14 or 13. It does have some nasty potential with stacking fear effects, but the shaken effect from the roar is only a DC 18 too.

It's definitely a really awesome thematic enemy, but balancing it is a bit tricky. The features that make it really cool (throwing people around, lots of fear effects, mass stun, heavy DR) are things that a medium-level party could be crippled by pretty easily but which really high-level characters mostly won't care about. Finding a happy medium there is a bit tricky.

metalshop
2007-11-25, 09:24 PM
I bumped up the save DC's on Stunning Roar, and slapped a Spell Resistance on. As is, could it stand as a CR 15 monster now?

(I may post a Garna Hor cub as a weaker version, if I get the time.)


Comments welcome!:smallbiggrin:

magic_unlocked
2007-11-26, 07:02 AM
Looks pretty good. As for the spell resistance, it depends hor powerful you want it to be. Generally, you want SR to be 10 + CR. [I think] That way, a caster has a 50% chance of spell failure. And much more of a threat. As you have it, SR 19 for a CR 15 monster, all the caster needs is a 4 or higher on the caster level check to bypass, and has a 15% at spell failure, based on raw numbers. If they have spell penetration or greater spell penetration, only a 2 and 1, respectively, on the caster level check will result in failure.

There's my two cp. Hope it was coherent. :smalltongue:

metalshop
2007-11-26, 01:18 PM
Thanks for the help!

SR is now 25.

magic_unlocked
2007-11-26, 05:07 PM
Glad I can help. Oh, another thing, since you gave this thing intelligence, albeit, rather low, it can speak a language. Any creature with an Int of 3 or higher has full sentience and can grasp as well as use, language, so, in theory, it can set up more... favorable conditions for tactics. Also, what do you think about them being pack-hunters? I can see a pack of these bringing down a dragon....

Mewtarthio
2007-11-26, 05:34 PM
Oh, another thing, since you gave this thing intelligence, albeit, rather low, it can speak a language. Any creature with an Int of 3 or higher has full sentience and can grasp as well as use, language, *snip*

Not necessarily. The Tarrasque, for instance, is far too hungry to bother learning speech, and probably doesn't have the proper control over its voice to do so anyway (of course, if you slap a tongues effect on him, he can communicate in an intelligent way, though he probably doesn't have anything interesting to say).

metalshop
2007-11-26, 05:35 PM
In terms of language I'm giving it common and maybe one race specific language for flavor.
For tactics it's gonna use a lot of ambush fighting.
And for pack hunting, you'll notice that I listed a group of 3 or more as being a Catastrophe (like a Murder of crows or a pack of wolves, only worse):smallbiggrin:
If there's more than two in an encounter they will probably have at least one try to burrow up from underneath, one leaping down from on high (cliff, tree, or building), and one standing in front of the PCs to attract their attention away from the two that are attacking. (That one will also be the one to bust out with stunning roar.) If those three posts are filled but they still have any Garna Hor left over (what a concept) then the extras will come in via burrow.

magic_unlocked
2007-11-26, 07:45 PM
Right, the Tarrasque... I keep forgetting that think has an Int of 3. And as for the pack tactic thing, that would be a hard thing to beat. A tri-attack from three angles. Anyway, i can't remember if these things have tremorsense, cause, if they don't and use their burrow ability, all of their targets have total concealmeant... i think...

metalshop
2007-11-26, 09:48 PM
Right, the Tarrasque... I keep forgetting that think has an Int of 3. And as for the pack tactic thing, that would be a hard thing to beat. A tri-attack from three angles. Anyway, i can't remember if these things have tremorsense, cause, if they don't and use their burrow ability, all of their targets have total concealmeant... i think...

They've got Tremor Sense out to 20 ft, so they can sit 20 feet bellow ground, sense someone on the surface and still burrow far enough to be able to do an Explosive Emergence.

magic_unlocked
2007-11-26, 10:05 PM
Just making sure. Hmm... I'm wondering if I should post some of my homebrew stuff here... I have a neat template that can be put on monsters...