Hello, and welcome back to Frightful Fridays! I am partially making up for the absence with a pair of entries today, so I've got an unusual cat and dog for you. The staubvolkekatze is a curious earth elemental with an appropriately cat-like form. Meanwhile, the pugbug (name courtesy of Paris Crenshaw) hides its alien appearance behind the pug's equally alien appearance. Thanks to Derek for the find on the staubvolkekatze, and to Patrick for the find on the pugubg!
I hope you enjoy both creatures, and I'll be back with another pair of monsters to get back on track. Thanks for reading!
A billowing cloud of
dust moves of its own accord and forms the face of a cat.
Staubvolkekatze CR 2
XP 600
CN Small outsider (earth, elemental, native)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +6
DEFENSE
AC 15, touch 15,
flat-footed 11 (+3 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 size)
hp 19 (3d10+3)
Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +1
Immune elemental
traits
Weaknesses
vulnerable to wind
OFFENSE
Speed 10 ft.,
burrow 20 ft., fly 30 ft. (average)
Melee slam +7
(1d3–4 plus choking and stinging dust)
Special Attacks
choking and stinging dust, death curse
Spell-Like Abilities
(CL 3rd; concentration +4)
1/day—obscuring mist
STATISTICS
Str 2, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 5, Wis 11, Cha 12
Base Atk +3; CMB –2; CMD 12 (can't be tripped)
Feats Dodge,
Mobility, Weapon FinesseB
Skills Escape
Artist +9, Fly +9, Perception +6, Stealth +12
Languages Terran
(cannot speak)
SQ compression
ECOLOGY
Environment warm
deserts and plains
Organization
solitary, pair, or dust storm (3–8)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Choking and Stinging
Dust (Ex) A creature struck by a
staubvolkekatze’s slam attack also takes 2d6 points of piercing and slashing
damage. Additionally, the creature must succeed at a DC 12 Fortitude save or
become sickened for 1d4 rounds. If it already has the sickened condition from
this ability, it instead becomes nauseated for the duration. The save DC is
Constitution-based.
If a creature ends its turn adjacent to the staubvolkekatze,
the creature takes 1d6 points of piercing and slashing damage.
Death Curse (Su) If a staubvolkekatze dies, all
creatures it damaged during the previous minute are affected as if by cup of dustAPG (DC 13
Fortitude negates).
Vulnerable to Wind
(Ex) A staubvolkekatze takes 1 point of damage if it is subjected to strong
winds. Severe winds deal 1d4 points of damage to the staubvolkekatze, and more
powerful winds require it to succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1 per 10 mph)
to avoid destruction.
A staubvolkekatze is an inquisitive earth elemental with a weak
cohesion in the dust particles making up its form. Scholars speculate that the
first staubvolkekatze sprung into existence as a result of a larger earth
elemental’s disintegration. The creature patterned its appearance after the
first living being it encountered—a cat—and all staubvolkekatzen take the same
appearance. If left to its own devices, a staubvolkekatze is docile and will
not attack. It follows someone it finds interesting and indulges its curiosity
as long as its focus of attention allows it. Other than it becoming bored, the
only non-hostile means of discouraging its attention is to subject it to powerful
winds.
A staubvolkekatze’s curiosity leads it to ally with
spellcasters who can communicate with it. A 7th-level spellcaster with the
Improved Familiar feat and the ability to speak Terran can select a
staubvolkekatze as a familiar. The creature loses its death curse ability when
it becomes a familiar.
The little dog’s face
tears open to allow an arachnoid creature to crawl out of it.
Pugbug CR 4
XP 1,200
CE Tiny aberration
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +8
DEFENSE
AC 20, touch 16,
flat-footed 16 (+4 Dex, +4 natural, +2 size)
hp 37 (5d8+15)
Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +5
Defensive Abilities
dog shell; DR 5/piercing or
slashing; Resist acid 10
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft.
Melee bite +9
(1d4–2 plus 3d6 acid and poison)
Space 2½ ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks
shellburst
Spell-Like Abilities
(CL 5th; concentration +7)
3/day—ventriloquism (DC 13)
1/day—darkness,
misdirection
STATISTICS
Str 6, Dex 19, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 15
Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 13 (21 vs. trip)
Feats Deceitful,
Lightning Reflexes, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics
+11 (+7 to jump), Bluff +9, Climb +9, Craft (taxidermy) +8, Disguise +9 (+13
Disguise while in dog shell), Escape Artist +10, Perception +8, Stealth +16; Racial Modifiers +4 Disguise while in
dog shell
Languages Aklo,
Common
ECOLOGY
Environment any
land
Organization
solitary or pair
Treasure none
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Dog Shell (Ex) A
pugbug spends most of its life in a hardy dog shell. As a full-round action, it
can extract itself from the shell, leaving it intact for reentry. Upon doing
so, it loses its natural armor bonus and DR, but its speed increases by 10 ft.,
and it gains a climb speed of 20 ft. (adding +8 to its Climb checks).
Pugbug Poison (Ex)
Bite—Injury; save Fort DC 15; frequency 1/round for 4 rounds; effect 1d4 Dex; cure 2 consecutive saves.
Shellburst (Ex) As
a swift action, a pugbug can burst forth from its dog shell, destroying the
shell in the process. This gory display forces all creatures that see it to
make a DC 14 Will save. Failure causes a victim to become shaken.
A global war ruined a distant world populated by intelligent
arachnoid and insectoid creatures. The arachnids won the war, but their planet
will soon stop supporting life. They discovered a new world with an environment
similar to that of their world, and their greatest minds developed a way to
travel to their potential new home. Exercising caution, they elected to send a
handful of scouts to discover whether the populace would welcome their arrival,
or, barring that, whether they could destroy or enslave the inhabitants. The
scouts enjoy crafting disguises for themselves from other creatures, and they formerly
used the carapaces of their insectoid enemies to infiltrate their camps. During
their first forays into this world, they discovered the ubiquity of dogs and
the access the animals had to various locations. They decided to assume the
form of pugs, since pug eyes provide them with a perfect disguise for their
overly large eyes. Their species name is an unpronounceable set of clicks mixed
with pheromones, so they are known as pugbugs to those that have uncovered
their ruse.
Pugbug scouts maintain their disguises while they are on
this world and only extract themselves from their shells when they have been
found out and must escape. In order to preserve their disguises, they forgo
applying acid damage and poison to their bites. Pugbugs are insectivores, but
they find meat palatable and will eat scraps typically provided to dogs. They
have also discovered that digging around an ant mound is not uncommon behavior
for dogs, so they can supplement their diets without arousing suspicion.
