Welcome to the first installment of Frightful Fridays! Takes Over April! For the month of April, I will be posting a monster every weekday and Saturday, going from A to Z. Today's monster doesn't seem all that frightening, but it does have a cat's temperament and intelligence to at least try to enforce its will. As an added bonus, I have included the Feline domain which allows a cleric of, say, Bast to summon up one of these critters, among other things.
Thanks very much to Patrick for finding this picture and for naming the aerolion. I hope you enjoy today's monster, and that you'll return for tomorrow's "B" monster!
Aerolion CR 1
XP 400
CN Tiny outsider (native)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +6
Defense
AC 15, touch 15, flat-footed 12 (+3 Dex, +2 size)
hp 9 (2d10–2)
Fort –1, Ref +6, Will +4
Resist cold 5
Offense
Speed 15 ft., fly 30 ft. (good)
Melee bite +7 (1d3–3), 2 claws +7 (1d2–3)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 2nd; concentration +4)
1/day—cure light wounds (DC 13) or inflict light wounds (DC 13)
Statistics
Str 4, Dex 16, Con 9, Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 15
Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 10 (14 vs. trip)
Feats Skill Focus (Stealth), Weapon Finesse(B)
Skills Escape Artist +8, Fly +16, Heal +6, Knowledge (religion) +5, Perception +6, Stealth +19
Languages Common
Ecology
Environment any terrestrial
Organization solitary, pair, or pride (3–8)
Treasure incidental
An aerolion has deceptive cuteness and vulnerability, but it can take down an unprepared opponent with claws, teeth and its innate spellcasting ability. The creature is smaller than a typical cat and weighs 5–7 pounds; its wingspan measures about 8 inches across.
An aerolion hails from another material world where cats are worshipped as deities. An aerolion is considered one of the least of the divine beings, but it still bears some measure of power from the reverence paid to all felines on its home world. Occasionally, a normal cat that begins to think of itself as a superior being finds itself whisked away to this world to receive its due, and an aerolion takes its place. This happens with surprising frequency, allowing a multitude of aerolions to grace other, faraway worlds. An aerolion attaches itself to a suitable humanoid companion and verbally demands that its new subject pay it respect. Luckily for most, the creature only wants a comfortable place to sleep and a flayed rodent or two per day as a show of obeisance.
A 7th-level chaotic or true neutral spellcaster with the Improved Familiar feat can gain an aerolion as a familiar. Alternatively, a spellcaster with an appropriate alignment and a cat familiar can exchange her cat for an aerolion without requiring the Improved Familiar feat. If she loses the aerolion, she cannot gain another one without also taking the Improved Familiar feat.
An aerolion may be added to the list of creatures a caster can summon with summon nature’s ally II.
Feline Subdomain
Associated Domain: Animal
Replacement Power: The following granted power replaces the speak with animals power of the Animal domain.
Claws (Ex) You grow retractable claws that you can conceal with a Slight of Hand check (which includes a +8 circumstance bonus). You can make two claw attacks, as if they were primary natural attacks, that deal 1d3 points of slashing damage (1d2 for Small characters; 1d4 for Large characters). At 8th level, your claws gain the masterwork quality and may be enchanted per the rules for magic weapons.
Replacement Domain Spells: 1st—jump, 2nd—summon nature’s ally II (aerolion, young cheetah or young leopard only), 6th—cat’s grace (mass).
