Friday, December 27, 2013

Frightful Fridays! Mashup Marathon! Stomatopetrel

Mantis shrimps have captured the imagination of many people in the past year, so seeing a mashup that features a mantis shrimp was no surprise. I hope I captured its ability to perceive its surroundings in an entirely different fashion to any other creature. Another mashup will make its way onto the blog in another 60 minutes!

This giant, multihued bird has a hard carapace that seems not to affect its ability to fly.
Stomatopetrel CR 6
XP 2,400
N Large magical beast
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +18

Defense
AC
19, touch 11, flat-footed 17 (+2 Dex, –1 size, +8 natural)
hp 68 (8d10+24)
Fort +9, Ref +8, Will +5

Offense
Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (good)
Melee bite +12 (1d8+5) and slam +12 (2d8+5/19-20 plus stun)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 8th; concentration +10)
Constant—arcane sight, see invisibility

Statistics
Str 21, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 5, Wis 16, Cha 14
Base Atk +8; CMB +14; CMD 26
Feats Flyby Attack, Improved Critical (slam), Improved Initiative, Vital Strike
Skills Acrobatics +8, Fly +8, Perception +18; Racial Modifiers +8 Perception

Ecology
Environment warm forests or swamps
Organization solitary, pair, or flock (3–6)
Treasure none

Special Abilities
Stun (Ex)
When a stomatopetrel strikes a target with its slam attack, the target is stunned for 1 round if it fails a DC 17 Fortitude save. If the stomatopetrel succeeds at a critical hit, the target is stunned for 1d4 rounds if it fails the Fortitude save. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Derived from a combination of two highly aggressive creatures, the mantis shrimp and the petrel, stomatopetrels are near murderous flying beasts possessing an array of senses that render hiding from them nearly impossible. Stomatopetrels prefer to fly past their prey and attack with their mighty carapaced wings, which potentially cause their prey to become insensate, whereupon the creatures alight upon their victims and further pummel them while also attacking with their less powerful beaks.