Frightful Fridays! Frogtober! Scissor Toad

It's time for another Frogtober monster! Today's Inktober theme is "chop," and the scissor toad likes to do that, especially to fleshbags like the PCs. Fortunately, your characters will encounter it at high enough level to be able to replace limbs or (in the direst of chance) heads. It also puts on a nice show for other PCs in the audience, perhaps introducing a little fear into the combat (beyond the notion your PC might lose an arm, leg, or head).

I hope you enjoy the scissor toad, and I'll see you tomorrow with another monster!

(as mentioned earlier, I'll update this post and create a separate post when I receive art from Hugo)

This immense, sandy colored toad has massive blades for arms that do not end in claws. The toad constantly has its blade arms crossed.

Scissor Toad      CR 13

XP 25,600

N Huge animal

Init +4; Senses low-light vision; Perception +15

DEFENSE

AC 28, touch 12, flat-footed 24 (+4 Dex, +16 natural, –2 size)

hp 180 (19d8+95)

Fort +16, Ref +15, Will +12

OFFENSE

Speed 50 ft.

Melee 2 arms +22 (3d8+15/18–20)

Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.

Special Attacks rend (2 claws, 3d8+15), savage slice, terrifying cut, vorpal shearing

STATISTICS

Str 30, Dex 19, Con 21, Int 2, Wis 18, Cha 9

Base Atk +14; CMB +26; CMD 40 (44 vs. trip)

Feats Cleave, Cleaving Finish[UC], Crippling Critical[APG], Critical Focus, Deadly Finish[UC], Improved Vital Strike, Intimidating Prowess, Iron Will, Power Attack, Vital Strike

Skills Acrobatics +18 (+26 when jumping), Intimidate +9, Perception +15, Stealth –4 (+4 in deserts); Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth in deserts

ECOLOGY

Environment warm deserts or wastelands

Organization solitary, pair, or trimming (3–6)

Treasure none

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Savage Slice (Ex) A scissor toad's arm attack applies 1–1/2 its Strength modifier to damage and threatens a critical hit on a roll of 18–20.

Terrifying Cut (Ex) The sheer viciousness of death at a scissor toad’s arms is frightening to behold. If the toad kills a creature as a result of its rend special attack or vorpal shearing, it makes an Intimidate check with a +8 racial bonus to demoralize all creatures that witness the death.

Vorpal Shearing (Ex) If a scissor toad confirms a critical hit on a creature with one of its arms and can rend the creature, the creature loses a leg or an arm. The creature is sickened until it receives magical healing (or until it recovers to full hit points by natural means), and it takes 1d6 points of bleed damage each round. A creature with only one arm cannot perform actions requiring two arms or two hands. A bipedal creature with one leg cannot walk or run. It can crawl or hop, but is denied its Dexterity bonus against all opponents. A quadrupedal creature with one leg missing is reduced to half normal speed. Depending on GM discretion, a creature with more than four legs with one leg missing may be able to move at normal speed.

If a scissor toad confirms both critical hits on the same creature, the toad severs the creature’s head, as if it used a vorpal weapon.

Found in harsh deserts and other barren parts of the world, scissor toads are mercifully rare and hardly leave their territories. The toads, likely the result of magical (or other) mutation, tangle with other similarly titanic beasts populating these forbidden locales. Scissor toads are implacable foes and fight until either they or their prey/aggressors are dead. They enjoy the shear thrill of the hunt and the feel of blood spraying across their sword-like arms when they divest opponents of limbs and heads.

A normal scissor toad specimen stands 22 feet tall and weighs 1,700 pounds. Its scissor arms are incredibly long and prop up the toad higher than an ordinary toad’s limbs would. A scissor toad can live up to 10 years.