I hope you enjoy the melilutra. I'll see you next week (on Friday even!) with another monster. Thanks for reading!
This sleek,
brown-furred creature is the size of a wolf. Despite its daunting size, it
seems playful, especially among other such creatures.
Melilutra CR 3
XP 800
N Medium animal
Init +3; Senses low-light vision; Perception +9
DEFENSE
AC 15, touch 13,
flat-footed 12 (+3 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 30 (4d8+12)
Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +3
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft.,
swim 60 ft.
Melee bite +6
(1d6+3), slam +6 (1d6+3)
Special Attacks
playful slam, rage of one
STATISTICS
Str 17, Dex 16, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 13
Base Atk +3; CMB +6; CMD 19 (23 vs. trip)
Feats Coordinated
ManeuversAPG, Precise StrikeAPG
Skills Acrobatics
+11 (+15 to jump), Escape Artist +11, Perception +9, Swim +11; Racial Modifiers +8 Acrobatics, +8
Escape Artist
ECOLOGY
Environment
temperate rivers and lakes
Organization pair
or family (3–12)
Treasure none
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Playful Slam (Ex)
A melilutra can deal nonlethal damage with its slam attack without taking a penalty
to its attack roll.
Rage of One (Ex) When
a melilutra loses its companions (whether they are unconscious or dead), it
flies into a rage. It gains +2 Constitution and +2 Strength, but takes a –2
penalty to its AC. The rage lasts until combat ends or until one of its companions
becomes conscious. It cannot end its rage voluntarily.
Melilutras are oversized otters with a tight-knit social
structure to the point of codependence. These otters become enraged when they
can see no others of their kind and attack everything in sight as part of a
near-primal death wish. If a lone melilutra witnesses the death (actual or
perceived) of its last companion melilutra, it focuses its attacks on the
creature which dealt the killing blow. After this fury subsides, usually
corresponding with the death of all other living creatures in the immediate
area, solitary melilutras become despondent and slowly die from thirst and
starvation. If a companion melilutra recovers from its wounds and awakens, this
also ends the rage, and the surviving creatures attempt to flee.
Melilutras are omnivorous but prefer plants and fish to
other fare. Creatures stumbling on a melilutra pair or family find the animals
to be aggressively playful, especially if they are full from a recent meal. The
otters refrain from using their wicked bites and bodily throw themselves at
opponents, hoping to knock them down and then roll around on top of the toppled
victims. As highly social creatures, melilutras have developed fighting styles favoring
them working in tandem. They teach pups these styles shortly after the pups are
born and can swim and run on their own. Pups are born twice a year and are
reared by the whole family, which gets them accustomed to being part of a
tight-knit group. A displaced melilutra attaches itself to another family if it
finds one (with the family welcoming the wayward otter) or adopts a family of
ordinary otters as its family.
Melilutra Companions
A character with the animal companion class skill can rear a
melilutra from a pup and have the animal treat the character as part of its
family. The character must spend a trick to teach the melilutra to accept the
rest of the party as its family. If not, the character’s death or
unconsciousness will activate its rage.
Starting Statistics:
Size Small; Speed 30 ft., swim 40 ft.; AC
+2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4),
slam (1d4); Ability Scores Str 13,
Dex 18, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 13; Special
Attacks playful slam, rage of one; Special
Qualities low-light vision.
4th-Level Advancement:
Size Medium; Speed 40 ft., swim 60 ft.; Ability
Scores Str +4, Dex –2, Con +2; Special
Qualities can take a single teamwork feat as one of its bonus feats, and
the character with the melilutra companion is treated as having that feat as
well.
