Welcome to a Friday (whaaat?) edition of Frightful Fridays! Today's monster is courtesy of Theodric the Obscure, and it's been in the archives for a while. This week I decided that I wanted to create a horrifying murderbeast, and this fit the bill. Considering the paladin (or perhaps cavalier) going up against the piranhawk, I wanted something in the high CR range.
This feature's two-year anniversary is coming up in three weeks (excitingly enough, on Halloween). Is there anything in particular you'd like to see in celebration of the anniversary? Let me know in the comments. For now, I hope you enjoy the flechette piranhawk, and I'll be back next week with a new monster. Thanks for reading!
You can find the illustration of this deadly creature here.
This gigantic bird has the wings of a hawk, featuring a mix of feathers and scales, and the head of a fish, mouth lined with razor-sharp teeth. Its bright plumage belies its fearsome demeanor.
Flechette Piranhawk CR 15
XP 51,200
CE Large magical beast (aquatic)
Init +7; Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft., keen scent, low-light vision; Perception +30
Defense
AC 30, touch 12, flat-footed 27 (+3 Dex, +18 natural, –1 size)
hp 230 (20d10+120); regeneration 10 (fire)
Fort +18, Ref +15, Will +10
Defensive Abilities ferocity; Immune cold, electricity, fear
Offense
Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft. (good), swim 80 ft.
Melee bite +25 (2d8+6/19-20 plus grab and 1d4 bleed), 2 talons +25 (2d6+6)
Ranged 4 flechettes +22 (1d8+6/19-20 plus 1d4 bleed)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks fast swallow, rend (2 talons, 3d6+9), swallow whole (5d6 acid damage, AC 19, 23 hp)
Statistics
Str 22, Dex 17, Con 23, Int 5, Wis 18, Cha 8
Base Atk +20; CMB +27 (+31 grapple); CMD 40
Feats Devastating Strike, Greater Vital Strike, Impact Critical Shot, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Critical (flechette), Improved Initiative, Improved Vital Strike, Opening Volley, Point-Blank Shot, Vital Strike
Skills Fly +10, Perception +30, Swim +20; Racial Modifiers +8 Perception
SQ amphibious
Ecology
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or flensing (3–8)
Treasure none
Special Abilities
Flechettes (Ex) A flechette piranhawk can use its flechettes as part of a full-attack action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. The flechettes deal piercing and slashing damage.
A transmuter working on a superior version of the owlbear cast the resulting creature out when it turned out to be smaller than expected. The wizard assumed the beast, dubbed the flechette piranhawk, would live out its life terrorizing those in its domain before experiencing an undignified death. Unfortunately, the first piranhawk proved capable of fertilizing fish eggs to create yet more piranhawks, eventually leading to a growing population of the foul beasts, as subsequent generations proved equally fecund. Piranhawks are fearless and voracious predators that eat anything with flesh.
When hunting prey, piranhawks open with a volley of flechettes from close range to injure and possibly knock down their prey. They then attack the creatures they injured in an attempt to swallow smaller prey whole or to tear apart larger prey. Piranhawk flechettes are fish-like scales honed to razor sharpness. Thanks to the creatures' regenerative capability, they readily grow these scales back, allowing for a near endless supply of ranged ammunition. In the rare cases where opponents prove too difficult to handle or when piranhawks suffer tremendous injury (reducing them below 0 HP), they escape to the air or the sea.
A character who succeeds at a DC 20 Heal or Survival check can extract 1d8+1 flechettes, Large exotic light weapons that deal 1d8 points of piercing and slashing damage, and which inflict 1d4 points of bleed the first time they strike an opponent.
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