Frightful Fridays! (Thanksgiving Week Spectacular) Culinary Kaida

Hello, and welcome back to this week-long monster jamboree. My mind turns toward food as I approach the Thanksgiving holiday in America, and I also realized it had been quite a while since the previous kaida on this blog. So, the two ideas came together in the culinary kaida, guardian (and consumer) of food. Given its voracious appetite, this dragon might be of use against tomorrow's monster.

I hope you enjoy the culinary kaida, and I'll see you tomorrow with a scary Thanksgiving-themed creature. Thanks for reading!

Oh yeah! I don't think I've nagged you enough about the Here Be Monsters Contest. Enter today!!! (or at least by the deadline)

http://aswordforhire.blogspot.fi/2016/11/here-be-monsters-3-from-beyond-stars.html

I couldn't find a rotund dragon with a chef's hat, but this one was irresistible

This portly, aquamarine dragon breathes out smoke smelling of exotic spices.

Culinary Kaida      CR 2

XP 600

LN Tiny dragon

Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +6

DEFENSE

AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 size)

hp 22 (3d12+3)

Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +3

Immune disease, ingested poison, paralysis, sleep

OFFENSE

Speed 10 ft., fly 50 ft. (average)

Melee bite +7 (1d3–4 plus dehydration), 2 claws +7 (1d2–4 plus starvation)

Space 2½ ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Special Attacks breath weapon (30-ft. cone, blindness and sickness, Reflex DC 12 partial, usable every 1d4 rounds)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 11th; concentration +14)

   At will—detect poison, prestidigitation, purify food and drink (DC 13)

   3/day—create food and water

   1/week—heroes' feast

STATISTICS

Str 2, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 16

Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 9 (13 vs. trip)

Feats Endurance, Weapon Finesse

Skills Appraise +7, Craft (alchemy) +7, Diplomacy +9, Fly +10, Intimidate +3 (+11 in kitchens), Perception +6, Profession (cook) +11, Sense Motive +6, Spellcraft +6; Racial Modifiers +8 Intimidate (in kitchens), +8 Profession (cook)

Languages Common, Draconic

SQ this is my kitchen

ECOLOGY

Environment any urban

Organization solitary or pair

Treasure standard

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Breath Weapon (Su) Creatures failing the Reflex save against a culinary kaida’s breath weapon are blinded for 1 round and sickened for 1d6 minutes. Creatures that succeed at the Reflex save are not blinded and only sickened for 1d6 rounds.

Dehydration (Su) If a culinary kaida successfully bites an opponent, the victim must succeed at a DC 12 Fortitude save or become dehydrated. On the first failure, the creature is treated as if it had gone 24 hours without water. On each successive failure, the creature is treated as if it went an additional 4 hours without water. Once the cumulative hours exceed its Constitution score, it must make a Constitution check (DC equal to 10 + the number of hours beyond its Constitution score) or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage as per the thirst rules. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Starvation (Su) If a culinary kaida strikes an opponent with a claw, the victim must succeed at a DC 12 Fortitude save or starve. On each failure, the creature is treated as if it had gone 1 day without food. If the cumulative days (including any from actual starvation) exceed 3 days, the creature must make a Constitution check (DC equal to 10 + the number of days beyond 3) or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage as per the starvation rules. The save DC is Constitution-based.

This Is My Kitchen (Su) When a culinary kaida is in a kitchen or other setting where cooking primarily occurs, it gains a +8 bonus on Intimidate checks. Additionally, it does not suffer a penalty from being a smaller size than its target in such settings.

Culinary kaidas preserve the edibility of food and water, ensuring others cannot become ill from eating food and drinking liquids they oversee. When they have the time and inclination, they also prepare elegant meals, rivaling those created by renowned chefs. A typical culinary kaida is 2 feet long from snout to tail, has a 3-foot wingspan, and weighs 20 pounds (thanks to their healthy appetites).

Thanks to their expertise with food and drink, culinary kaidas often end up in kitchens and other food preparation locales, where they quite often take charge. Many kaidas are authoritarian figures in the kitchens they supervise and berate those who fail to maintain the high standards set by the dragons. In kitchens where culinary kaidas have less experience than the head chefs, the dragons often argue about cooking and preparation with their superiors. A rarer path for the kaidas takes them to royal palaces where they act as food tasters, using their detect poison spell-like ability to protect nobility. These opportunities remove them from food preparation but allow them to enjoy exquisite dishes; they still can’t resist occasional visits to kitchens to “improve” the quality of food made there.

In combat, culinary kaidas prefer to incapacitate foes, usually by starving or dehydrating them. Once they have subdued their opponents, they create food and water to restore them to health. The kaidas also use their breath weapons—filled with strong spices that induce blindness and nausea in creatures exposed to the breath weapon—to debilitate their foes.

A 7th-level lawful or true neutral spellcaster with the Improved Familiar feat and at least 3 ranks in Profession (cook) can select a culinary kaida as a familiar. Provided the creature remains well-fed, it happily travels with the spellcaster.