Legends & Lairs - Monsters Handbook - Magical Beasts

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MONSTERS HANDBOOK

BONUS CHAPTER

Magical Beasts

Combining magical abilities with the sheerferocity of a mighty animal, magical beasts areoften drawn from mythology, folk tales, andother sources to threaten characters in fantasygames. In most cases, a magical beast is mere-ly a wild animal that through a trick of magichas gained abilities not normally possible in thenatural world. Some can breathe fire, otherscan petrify their opponents, and still others canslip into the ethereal plane at will. Magicalbeasts make good opponents because of theircombination of combat skills and magical abil-ities allow them to handle a wide range of partyabilities. Most of these creatures have abilitiesthat enhance their prowess in melee, posing adifficult challenge for both the characters abil-ities and the players problem solving skills.Best of all, most magical beasts are either clas-sic gaming monsters or inspired by myth. Theyresonate with players, as their appearance andbackground firmly cast them as powerful,vicious monsters.

In the core d20 rules, the following monsterscount as magical beasts: basilisk, behir, blinkdog, chimera, cockatrice, dark mantle, displac-er beast, dragonne, ethereal marauder, frostworm, giant eagle, giant owl, gorgon, kraken,krenshar, lamia, lammasu, manticore, pegasus,

phase spider, remorhaz, roper, shocker lizard,sphinx, spider eater, tarrasque, unicorn, winterwolf, worg, and yrthak. The celestial andfiendish templates may be applied to beasts andanimals to yield magical beasts.

Building Magical BeastsMagical beasts foremost asset is their excellentcombat skills for creatures of their hit dice.They have a base attack bonus equal to theirHD, a d10 hit die, and quite good Strength,Dexterity, and Constitution scores. On top ofthose advantages they stack special abilitiesthat duplicate spells, magical attacks that allowthem to strike several characters at once, andother unique abilities that make each magicalbeast a unique, difficult opponent. However,these monsters almost invariable have quitepoor Intelligence scores. Thus, they serve bestas minions used by villains, rampaging beasts,and other supporting roles rather than as vil-lains themselves. It is simply implausible toexpect the players to accept a chimera or a gor-gon as a powerful, scheming villain. Instead,such monsters are best presented as tools usedby clever villains or impersonal, destructivemonsters that must be stopped.

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ClassesWith their generally low Intelligence scoresand good combat abilities, fighter and barbar-ian are both good picks to enhance magicalbeasts. Barbarian may seem like an obviouschoice. That classs rage and extra movementabilities serve magical beasts quite well.However, since these monsters normally relyon innate magical talents to gain an edge in bat-tle. While raging, creatures cannot use super-natural abilities, spell-like effects, or spells.Thus, the barbarian class may take away just asmuch as it gives to magical beast.

On the other hand, the fighter improves a mag-ical beasts hit points, combat skill, and grantsit a few more feats. The beasts combat abilitiesimprove without infringing on the use of itsinnate magical talents. In addition, the playersmay be surprised to find magical beasts usingfeats such as Sunder, Spring Attack, or WeaponSpecialization against them. Most playersassume that an animal, even one with the headof a dragon or the ability to breath cones offrigid cold, cannot take character levels.

The rogue is also a very good class to takewhen you want to give the players a little sur-prise with a magical beast. Rogues give a mag-ical beast plenty of skill ranks to spend, some-thing they normally lack, and a sneak attackthat can prove quite useful for creatures thathave movement modes that allow them toattack with surprise. The one big drawback tothis class is the magical beasts generally poorIntelligence scores. Most magical beasts gainonly four or five skill ranks per level in roguedue to their low Intelligence scores. However,blink dogs, phase spiders, remorhazes, darkmantles, ethereal marauders, and frost wormsare ideal candidates for this class. The sneakattack damage they gain is an excellent addi-tion to their spread of abilities.

For the vast majority of magical beasts, spell-casting classes make little sense. Few of thesecreatures have a humanoid body type, prevent-ing them from casting spells even if they hadthe ability scores necessary to use magic. Theone critical exception to this rule is the lamia.These monsters have humanoid arms and tor-sos along with the ability scores necessary to

use divine and arcane magic. Furthermore,lamias rely on spell-like abilities rather thanmelee combat to defeat adventurers. As

they lack any offensive spells amongst theirability, a level of sorcerer or wizard can givethem spells such as magic missile, shield, andshocking grasp that can protect them in battleand increase their ability to dish out damage.

FeatsSince magical beasts primarily rely on goodmelee attacks to defeat their foes, any feat thatimproves their damage or their attack bonus isa good choice. Weapon Focus, Point BlankShot, Weapon Specialization, and PowerAttack are all useful for magical beasts.Against poorly armored spellcasters, powerattack allows them to quickly drop their foebefore he can use many of his spells. WeaponFocus helps offset a fighters high AC, whileWeapon Specializations extra damage isalways helpful.

Combat Casting is the perfect feat for mostmagical beasts with reach, though of coursethose with a Dexterity of 11 or lower gain noth-ing from it. Dodge, Mobility, and Spring Attackcan play havoc with a partys plans. Most play-ers never expect a chimera or worg to use aSpring Attack against them. That feat is perfectfor fast creatures and those that use burrowingas one of their movement rates. Such creaturescan tunnel through the ground, attack, then bur-row back beneath the surface using SpringAttack.

Many magical beasts have good Wisdomscores to reflect their keen senses and instinct.Thus, they can gain the Stunning Fist feat ifyou do not mind wasting a feat on ImprovedUnarmed Strike. The stunning attack grantedby the feat allows a magical beast to slow downthe partys fighters and make it easier to hitthem. As an optional rule, you may allow amagical beast to count half its HD, rather thanhalf its level, when determining the save DC ofits stunning attack.

Armor Proficiency may seem like a strangechoice for magical beasts, but an intelligentcreature that raises and trains these monstersmay teach them to fight while wearing barding.Since magical beasts rely on natural andDexterity bonuses to AC, a suit of armor canvastly improve their durability.

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EquipmentObviously, most magical beasts cannot useequipment made for humanoids. Lamias arethe one and only exception to this rule, as theirhumanoid upper bodies allow them to carryweapons, shields, and armor. For such crea-tures, weapons and armor allow them to func-tion much more effectively in melee combat.

Other magical beasts can use barding toimprove their defensive abilities. While thesecreatures must take the appropriate armor pro-ficiency feats to avoid suffering any penaltiesto their attacks and checks, their improvedArmor Class more than makes up for the featchoice. Barding comes in all the standardarmor types. Barding costs twice as much for amagical beast as the appropriate armor costsfor a humanoid of the same size. Remember,armor for Large creatures costs double andweighs twice as much as the listed types.Armor for Huge creatures is four timesthe weight and price, while protectioncosts and weighs eight times asmuch as normal armor forGargantuan creatures and 16times for Colossal ones.

MagicMagical beasts have little to no usefor magical spells and the vastmajority of items. Aside from lamias,who are discussed above, most crea-tures that fall into this category lack thephysical traits and ability scores to makeuse of arcane or divine magic.

Some types of magic items can be used bymagical beasts without modification. A traineror allied humanoid can slip a ring on a beastspaw, while an amulet. medallion, or necklacecan be tied around its neck. A belt could be tiedaround a magical beasts waist. In some casesa beast could be fitted with a headband or pairof goggles, but normally the creature could notwear or remove the item without aid. Similarly,a magical beast can be fitted with bracers orbracelets above its fore or rear paws.

In addition to the normal magical item forms,items can be specially crafted for magicalbeasts. Collars, leashes, and specially designedand crafted vests can be imbued with magicand given to magical beasts. In particular, a

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wizard, cleric, or other powerful spellcasterwho captures, trains, and uses a magical beastas a guardian doubtlessly uses his talents tohelp improve its abilities.

Training Magical BeastsAs mentioned above, magical beasts work wellwhen they are used to reinforce other, moreintelligent monsters who can use the beastagainst the characters. Otherwise, these mon-sters are nothing more than wandering, destruc-tive menaces.

Magical beasts are much more difficult to trainthan their mundane counterparts. The baseHandle Animal DC to train one is 30 + themagical beasts HD. Training a magical beastin this manner takes three months. Rearing amagical beast requires one year of work and aHandle Animal check (DC 25 + the magicalbeasts HD) in order to domesticate it.

Once a magical beast has been domesticated, itcan be taught a variety of tricks through train-ing as described in the paragraph above. Amagical beast can be taught the followingtricks.

Accept a Rider: Some magical beasts are largeenough and have the proper body shape toaccept a rider. A blackguard riding a warhorseis a daunting foe. One mounted upon a chimerais a deadly enemy. Full rules for using magicalbeasts as mounts are given below.

Hold Special Ability: In battle or in the dailyuse of a magical beast, its owner may wish forit to refrain from using its special abilities. Forexample, a trained cockatrice can be taught tonever use its petrifying touch unless specifical-ly told to. Creatures taught this trick never usetheir ability unless ordered to. At that point, thecreature uses its full abilities at the DMs dis-cretion.

Train as War Mount: Once a creature istaught to accept a rider, it must be furthertrained to work with a rider in combat. A mag-ical beast used in combat without this trainingforces its rider to use his Ride skill to controlthe mount in battle (DC 20), as per the Rideskill. If this check fails, the rider may take noactions for a round, but the magical beast may

act as normal.

Use Special Ability: Similar to hold specialability, this trick allows the beasts owner toorder it to use one of its special abilities.Otherwise, the creature attacks and uses itsabilities at the DMs discretion.

Magical Beasts as MountsBrutal warlords, followers of dark gods, andother mighty champions of evil commonly rideinto battle upon the back of a fearsome, trainedbeast. A horse, elephant, or similar mundanecreature lacks the terror and combat abilities ofa gorgon, chimera, or manticore. The followingrules apply to the Ride skill when a character orNPC uses a magical beast as a mount.

The base DCs for the standard uses of the Rideskill remain the same when a character rides amagical beast. Of course, if a character lacksthe Ride skill for a specific magical beast, hisranks in Ride are reduced by five when ridingthat creature.

With a Ride check (DC 20), the rider maydirect the magical beasts attacks as a freeaction. The rider chooses whether the beastuses a magical ability, who it attacks, and soon. Otherwise, the DM decides who the beastattacks and whether or not it makes use of aspecial attack. Normally, the magical beastattacks its closest foe or the person in its threat-ened area that dealt the most damage to it.

Magical Beast PrestigeClasses

Normally, magical beasts lack the focus andcognitive ability to master the specialized tal-ents and skills offered by prestige classes.However, sometimes a dedicated trainer whoraises a magical beast from birth can train it tofollow complex orders, master new fightingtechniques, and expand its combat abilities.Magical beasts with the elder template, detailedbelow, generally have the experience and men-tal acuity needed to follow a prestige class.

Fearsome Charger

The fearsome charger is a specially trained ani-mal, beast, or magical beast that carries an elitewarrior into battle. Unlike other creatures usedas mounts, the fearsome charger is molded intoa powerful combatant in its own right. Many

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evil warlords ride griffons, chimeras, gorgons,and other vicious creatures whose true valuelies in their fighting ability, rather than theirquality as mounts. Only the most experiencedhorse trainers and animal handlers are capableof imparting the fearsome chargers abilities toa creature.

Hit Die: d10.

Requirements

To become a fearsome charger, a creature mustfulfill all the following criteria:

Base Attack Bonus: +6.

Race: Four-legged animal, beast, or magicalbeast capable of bearing a rider. In addition, thefearsome charger must be raised from birth bya trainer to accept a mount and perform thisclasss special combat maneuvers.

Class Skills

The fearsome chargers class skills (and thekey ability for each) are Climb (Str), Hide(Dex), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Ride (Dex),Spot (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of thefearsome charger prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The fear-some charger is proficient with all forms ofarmor. They gain no proficiency with weaponsor shields.

Fearless: Countless hours of drills have inuredthe fearsome charger to the distractions, sights,and sounds of the battlefield that spook lessercreatures. It gains immunity to all fear-basedeffects.

Nimble Mount: The fearsome charger learnsto compensate for its riders shortcomings inbattle. Whenever the chargers rider attempts touse his Ride skill, the fearsome charger alsomakes a Ride check, using its riders ranks asits own. The higher of the two total rolls countsas the skill check result. In addition, the lowertotal counts as aiding the higher one. The fear-less charger uses this ability as a free action.

Coordinated Fighter: In combat, the fearsomecharger sets its enemies on their heels. Its greatclaws, long fangs, and terrifying special attackspromise to rend and tear its foes. They paymore attention to the chargers attacks than itsriders efforts. Compared to a remorhazs jaws,a lance or sword seems like a puny threat. Thefearsome chargers rider gains a +1 circum-stance bonus to his melee attacks while hismount is capable of fighting.

Shield Rider: The fearsome charger may optto absorb a blow meant for its rider. If an attackhits the chargers passenger, it may opt to makea Reflex save. If the result of this check isgreater than or equal to the total attack roll,resolve the hit against the fearsome charger. Ifthe attack roll is not high enough to hit themounts AC, the attack counts as a miss.Otherwise, roll damage and resolve any specialeffects as normal. This action may only be per-formed once per round.

Dodge on the Fly: Whenever the fearsomecharger and its rider must make a Reflex save,both roll as normal. The higher of the tworesults applies to both the charger and itsrider. The fearsome chargers experienceon the battlefield allows it to work with

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its rider to dodge spells, attacks, and othereffects. It instinctually maneuvers out ofharms way, working with its rider rather thanpanicking and going against him.

Improved Coordinated Fighter: At 4th level,the fearsome charger learns to feint, growl, andmenace its foes to further distract them. Thebonus granted by the coordinated fighter abili-ty increases to +2.

Spirited Warrior: At 5th level, the fearsomecharger exhibits the traits that earned the pres-tige class its name. In combat, the chargersrider may now control the charger as a freeaction. Thus, on a charge or similar maneuverits rider may use the full attack action.However, a rider with the Spirited Charge featdeals extra damage only on his first attack ofthe round.

Thundering Charge: Once per day, the fear-some charger can focus its concentration andenergy into a single, brutal charge against anopponent. When using this ability, the chargerdeals double damage with its attacks and maymake a bull rush attack against its foe that doesnot draw an attack of opportunity.

A Special Note on Using This PrestigeClass

In a campaign where the characters commonlyride into battle on horses and other animals,they may want to use this prestige class toimprove their mounts abilities. Obviously, youare free to prohibit its use amongst PCs. Afterall, this class is aimed primarily at elite units ofcavalry or villains who ride into battle onstrange and wondrous magical beasts.However, if you wish to allow a charactersmount to take levels in this class, here are some

guidelines to maintain play balance.

The mount counts as a character whose totallevel equals its CR plus levels in this and otherclass. Include the mount when calculating thepartys level for awarding XP and dividing XPawards amongst the characters. By the sametoken, be sure to include the chargers CRwhen calculating an EL.

Limit a mount to gaining levels only in thisclass. Once it has progressed through all fivelevels, it continues to receive a share of XP butcan no longer gain levels in this or other classes.

For the fearsome charger to gain a level, it mustbe instructed by an expert who charges 500 gptimes the chargers new level to train him. Thisprocess takes two weeks and the chargers ridermust participate in these drills.

Optionally, a fearsome charger only grants itsabilities to the specific rider who trained withit. Thus, if the PCs defeat a black knight whorode a fearsome charger into battle, they cannottake the horse for their own without losing itsabilities.

Hobgoblin War Beast

When the grim legions of the hobgoblin kingsmarch to war, they commonly enter battlealongside chimeras, gorgons, spider eaters, andother vicious creatures they have capture, mer-cilessly trained, and broken to their needs. Thetechniques used by hobgoblins leave the crea-tures scarred for life. Civilized animal keepersare almost universally horrified by the vicioustorture, punishments, and conditioning used tobreak in a hobgoblin war beast, but the resultsare indisputable. Countless battles have tippedin the hobgoblins favor when a small forma-tion of manticores or worgs have charged intothe fray and scattered their enemies to thewind.

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Fearsome ChargerLevel Base Attack Fort Ref Will Special1 +1 +2 +0 +0 Fearless, nimble mount2 +2 +3 +0 +0 Coordinated fighter3 +3 +3 +1 +1 Shield rider4 +4 +4 +1 +1 Dodge on the fly, improved coordinated fighter5 +5 +4 +1 +1 Spirited warrior, thundering charge

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Under the vicious care of a hobgoblin trainer,the war beast slowly transforms into a barelycontrolled, vicious marauder. Driven by thepain and torment inflicted on them by theirtrainers, war beasts launch themselves into bat-tle with a vicious abandon. They rely on rawfury and bloodthirst to cleave through enemyranks and put their foes to flight.

Hit Die: d10.

Requirements

To become a hobgoblin war beast, a creaturemust fulfill all the following criteria:

Intelligence 6 or lower.

Base Attack Bonus: +5.

Race: Animal, beast, or magical beast.

Special: A hobgoblin beast handler must raisea creature from shortly after its birth in orderfor it to qualify for this class. Without the hob-goblins brutal training, a beast cannot masterthe skills and training this class offers.

Class Skills

The hobgoblin war beasts class skills (and thekey ability for each) are Climb (Str), Hide(Dex), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Spot (Wis),and Swim (Str).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of thehobgoblin war beast prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Hobgoblinwar beasts are proficient with light, medium, andheavy armor. They gain no other proficiencies.

Beast of War: Hobgoblin war beasts are com-pletely immune to all fear effects. They are sothoroughly trained to stand in the face of anenemy charge or other attacks that not evenmagical effects can break their courage.

Savage Fury: Prodded into battle by theircruel handlers, the war beast attacks with a sav-age ferocity that sends poorly trained or ner-vous troops running for cover. Any creaturewith fewer HD than the war beast that comeswithin 60 feet of it must make a Will save (DC10 + war beasts total HD) or suffer a 2 moralepenalty to all attacks and checks until the beastis defeated or the encounter ends. This is a fear-based effect.

Bonus Feat: At 2nd and 4th level, the warbeast gains an additional feat choice. It maytake any feat for which it meets the requiredprerequisites.

Sentinel Beast: War beasts are trained to ferretout infiltrators and are relentlessly punisheduntil they learn to seize on the smallest soundand raise an alarm. The war beast gains a +4bonus to all Listen and Spot checks.

Beast of Blood: War beasts are trained todevelop a taste for the flesh and blood ofhumans, dwarves, elves, and other races hob-goblins commonly battle. If the beast hits anopponent with a bite attack, it may immediate-ly make a second bite attack that deals halfdamage if it hits as it tears its opponents fleshand attempts to devour him.

Sustained Attack: Through conditioning,training, and perhaps a small dose of magicalbreeding and alteration, war beasts gain theability to use their special attacks and abilitiesmore often than untrained monsters. If thebeast must wait a given interval, eitherstatic or random, before re-using an spe-

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Hobgoblin WarbeastLevel Base Attack Fort Ref Will Special1 +1 +2 +0 +0 Beast of war, savage fury2 +2 +3 +0 +0 Bonus feat, sentinel beast3 +3 +3 +1 +1 Beast of blood, sustained attack4 +4 +4 +1 +1 Beast of terror, bonus feat5 +5 +4 +1 +1 Beast of fury

cial ability, reduce the length of that time byhalf. For example, a forst worm with three lev-els in this prestige class can use its breathweapon once every half-hour rather than oncean hour. A behir could use its breath weaponevery 30 seconds rather than once a minute.

Beast of Terror: At 4th level, years of brutaltraining and torturing the war beasts inner rageand blood fury turn it into a howling, trem-bling, blood thirsty fiend. Its savage fury abili-ty now causes creatures subject to its effectwho fail their save to flee in a blind panic for2d4 rounds as per the spell cause fear. Afterthis duration, the victims of this ability sufferthe penalties listed under savage fury.

Beast of Fury: By 5th level, the war beast hasbeen reduced to little more than a killingmachine. It exists in a perpetual state of barelyrestrained violence punctuated by brief spurtsof rampant slaughter on the battle field. Thewar beast gains a +4 bonus to Strength andConstitution in battle, though it suffers a 2penalty to AC. If the beast has the rage ability,these bonuses stack with the ones it gains whileraging. Unlike rage, this ability lasts until the

encounter ends. It automatically activates onthe creatures first action of an encounter.

Magical Beast FeatsWhile most magical beasts lack the intelligencenecessary to concoct new tactics and ideas toimprove their fighting ability, most have theinstincts and experience necessary to learn afew tricks they can pull on adventurers. Notethat beasts and animals may also use some ofthe feats listed here.

Agile Runner [General]

Combining quickness and agility, a beast withthis feat can sprint around corners, circle itsprey, and navigate with ease even at top speed.

Prerequisite: Four-legged creature, Dex 13+.

Benefit: When running, a creature with thisfeat may turn with a successful Dexteritycheck. The base DC for this check is 10. Foreach turn beyond the first, increase the DC by2. For example, the DC for the first turn is 10,12 for the second, 14 for the third, and so on.On a failed check, the creature stops moving inits current space and loses the rest of the actionit used to run.

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Normal: Creatures may normally only run in astraight line.

Special: Flying creatures with a Dexterity of15+ may take this feat and use it while flying.Winged creatures that have fewer than fourlegs may use Agile Runner while flying but notwhile running on the ground.

Alter Supernatural Attack [General]

Through practice, luck, or a quirk of heredity,some magical beasts learn to alter the shapeand size of their innate, supernatural abilities.

Prerequisite: Area effect supernatural attack,magical beast.

Benefit: When using an area effect supernatur-al attack, the magical beast may opt to create aline, cone, or spread with its attack. The groundcovered by this attack depends on the attacksnormal form. Attacks with a radius, such as aspread, may be turned into a cone or line witha range equal to that radius. Attacks that nor-mally function as a line can be converted into acone with half the range or a spread with halfthe radius. Cones can be converted into lineswith twice the range or a spread with a radiusequal to half the cones range. All of the alteredeffects must be centered on the beast usingthem. Otherwise, all aspects of the abilityremain unchanged.

Camouflage [General]

Years of hunting in a specific environmenthave altered the magical beasts natural coatand coloration to the point that it blends in withits environment.

Prerequisite: Animal, beast, or magical beast.

Benefit: Creatures with this feat must choose aspecific environment, such as arctic, subter-ranean, or jungle. While in this terrain, theygain a +4 bonus to all Hide checks.

Cornered Beast [General]

The closer a beast is brought to death, thefiercer it fights. Creatures with this feat sum-mon untapped reserves of strength and ferocityto overwhelm their enemies when things are attheir worst.


Benefit: When reduced to half or fewer hitpoints, a monster with this feat gains a +4bonus to Strength and a +2 bonus to Will saves.In addition, the creatures throws itself into thefight, biting and tearing at its foes. It may makean additional attack with its primary weaponeach round when using the full attack action.This attack and all others it attempts with thataction suffer a 4 penalty. Once this abilityactivates, the creature may not flee combat andfights to the death.

Improved Pounce [General]

When using a pounce attack, either through afeat or an innate ability, a creature may attempta free grapple attack against its target. Usingthe force of its attack and its sheer weight, theanimal leaps on its foe, tears into him with itsclaws and bite, and uses its momentum toknock him to the ground in a tangle of arms,legs, and claws.

Prerequisite: Pounce special attack or feat.

Benefit: When using the pounce maneuver,either through a special ability or via thePounce feat, the attacker may make a grappleattack that does not draw an attack of opportu-nity as if the creature had the improved grabability. In order to gain this attack, the pounc-ing creature must hit with at least one of itsstandard attacks.

Normal: A creature that can pounce may onlytake a full attack action or may attempt to grap-ple, not both.

Improved Supernatural Attack [General]

Through a trick of nature, magical experimen-tation, or years of practice, a magical beast canlearn to focus its supernatural abilities andimprove their effectiveness.

Prerequisite: Magical beast, any supernaturalability.

Benefit: A creature with this feat selects one ofits supernatural abilities to which it applies.The save DC to resist that ability increases bytwo. If the creature has several innate spellabilities described under one header, it mustchoose one of those spells for use with this feat.

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Monstrous Trample [General]

When attempting to overrun an opponent, thiscreatures size and bulk allows it to crush itsfoes underfoot, leaving a trail of broken bonesand spilled blood in its wake.

Prerequisite: Animal, beast, or magical beastwith four or more legs.

Benefit: When using the overrun combataction, the creature with this feat deals damageto enemies its trips that are one or more sizecategories smaller than it is. These creaturestake damage according to the table below.

Trampler Size Damage InflictedTiny 1d2Small 1d3Medium-size 1d4Large 1d6Huge 1d8Gargantuan 2d6Colossal 2d8

Normal: While using the overrun attack, afour-legged beast may attempt to trample othercreatures. However, dealing damage in thismanner draws an attack of opportunity fromthe creature being trampled and any creaturethat threatens the trampler.

Power Surge [General]

By focusing its internal energies, a magicalbeast can unleash a single, powerful blast of itssupernatural attack that hammers its foes butburns out the ability for the rest of the day.

Prerequisite: Improved Supernatural Attack,which must be applied to the same ability asPower Surge is to be used with.

Benefit: Once per day, a magical beast maychoose to increase the damage, range, or areaof an ability to which the ImprovedSupernatural Attack feat has been applied by50%. Alternatively, the creature may opt toincrease the save DC of this attack by an addi-tional four, for a total bonus of +6 after apply-ing the Improved Supernatural Attack feat.After using an ability in this manner, the magi-cal beast may not use it again in any form for24 hours. Using this feat drains its magicalenergy and places incredible stress on its inter-

nal organs.

Pounce [General]

With a great leap to attack, a beast can unleashthe full fury of its claws and fangs while throw-ing itself into the fray.


Benefit: During the first round of combat, acreature with this feat may move then use astandard action to make a full attack. Note thatthis feat may be used if the move action is usedto charge.

Normal: Creatures without this feat may onlyuse a standard attack after moving.

Magical Beast TemplatesThe two templates included in this chapterallow you to modify magical beasts for useagainst low-level parties or to grant them spell-casting abilities and extra special qualities notnormally found amongst the base creature type.

Elder Magical Beast

Through magic, divine intervention, or perhapssimply after countless years of life, some mag-ical beasts develop speech, enhanced magicalabilities, and other wondrous features. Thesecreatures are invariably older and much wiserthan their normal kin. They have the collectedwisdom and knowledge of centuries spent uponthe world. Some sequester themselves in dis-tant caves, content to spend much of their timein a deep slumber, awakening only occasional-ly to feed. Others have much greater ambitions.They gather humanoid tribes under their ban-ner, spawn children to serve as them, and plancampaigns of conquest.

Creating an Elder Magical Beast

Elder is a template that may be added to anyanimal, beast, or magical beast. The elderbeasts creature type becomes magical beast. Itgains spellcasting ability, the capacity forspeech, a higher Intelligence score, and morepowerful supernatural attacks.

An elder magical beast uses its base creaturescharacteristics except where noted below.

Size: Centuries of life have allowed the elderbeast to attain a greater height and length thannormal. Increase its size category by one step.

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Hit Dice: The elder magical beast gains fourHD. These ancient monsters are larger andtougher than normal.

AC: Elder beasts gain a +4 bonus to the natur-al AC modifier. Their hides toughen and growthicker with age, turning aside even thesharpest blade. In addition, be sure to apply thecreatures new size modifier to AC.

Attacks: The elder beasts base attack bonusincreases by 4. In addition, be sure to apply thecreatures new size modifier to attacks.

Damage: The creatures natural attacksincrease in damage as per the standard rules forincrementing a creatures base size and HD.

Face/Reach: The creatures face and reachchange according to its new size. Use the stan-dard listed facing and reach for creatures of theelder magical beasts new size.

Special Attacks: An elder magical beast gainsthe following special attack. In addition, thesave DC of its existing supernatural abilitiesincreases by two.

Spell Abilities (Su): At will, three times per dayeach, the elder magical beast may cast any

three 1st-level divine or arcane spells of itschoice as a 5th-level caster.

Special Qualities: Elder magical beasts aregranted the following special qualities. In addi-tion, the save DC of its existing supernaturalabilities increases by 2.

Speech (Ex): The creature may now speak threeplus its newly determined Intelligence bonuslanguages.

Spellcasting Affinity (Ex): Their great knowl-edge of magic and arcane lore allows eldermagical beasts to use spells with somatic andmaterial components adapted to their bodyforms. Thus, an elder basilisk could learn anduse arcane spells even though it lacks hands.

Saves: Due to their great age and experience,elder magical beasts gain a +2 bonus to all Willsaves.

Abilities: The elder creatures Intelligencebecomes 12 + 1d8 or its base score, whicheveris higher. Its Charisma and Wisdom become 10+ 1d10 (roll for each) or its base scores,whichever are higher.

Skills: The elder beast gains skill ranks equal

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to three times its new Intelligence score. It mayspend these on any skill; count them all as classskills.Feats: The elder beast gains one additionalfeat.Climate/Terrain: As base creature plus subter-ranean.Organization: Solitary, or in command of 2 5 base creatures of its race and/or 20 100humanoids.Challenge Rating: As base creature +1.Treasure: Twice standard.Alignment: As base creature.

Young Magical Beast

A young magical beast is a creature that has notyet grown to its full potential. Its attacks areweaker, it has fewer HD, and its magical abili-ties are easier to resist in comparison to a fullygrown member if its species. A young magicalbeast is best used to set a powerful monsteragainst a party not yet powerful enough to takeon a standard magical beast.

Creating a Young Magical Beast

Young is a template that may be added to anymagical beast. The beasts creature typeremains the same. Its combat abilities, specialqualities, and magical attacks are weaker thannormal, but its lower challenge rating allowsthe creature to be incorporated into low-leveladventures.

A young magical beast uses its base creaturescharacteristics except where noted below.

Size: Not yet fully grown, the young beast isone size category smaller than its base creature.Adjust its size modifiers to attacks and AC asnormal.

Hit Dice: The young magical beast loses fourHD to a minimum of one. Adjust its hit pointsaccordingly.

Speed: Younger creatures are slower than theiradult versions, as they lack the strength, longlimbs, and agility of their elder counterparts.Reduce their speed by 10 feet for all movementmodes. If this reduces a modes speed to 0 orless, the creature cannot make use of that mode.If this eliminates all of a creatures movementmethods, grant it a speed of 5 feet in one of its

movement modes.

AC: Reduce the base creatures natural ACmodifier, if any, by two to a minimum of 0.Younger creatures have thinner hides than theiradult counterparts.

Attacks: Reduce the young beasts base attackbonus by one for each hit die it lost as a resultof this template. See the HD header above formore information.

Damage: The younger creatures naturalattacks deal less damage than normal. Use thestandard rules for increasing a creatures HD todetermine the creatures new attack damage.Instead of looking up the creatures damage andfinding its corresponding damage for increasingits size, reverse the process by finding its basedamage in the increased size column and find-ing the corresponding base damage.

Face/Reach: The younger creature has a faceand reach appropriate to its new size.

Special Attacks and Qualities: Reduce thesave DC for the younger creatures supernatur-al and spell-like abilities by two.

Saves: Reduce the young beasts Fortitudesave by two and its Reflex and Will saves byone each.

Abilities: The younger creature is weaker andless aware of its environment than adults of itsspecies. Apply the following modifiers to itsscores, reducing no ability below 1: Strength4, Constitution 2, Wisdom 2, Charisma 2.

Skills: The young beast loses eight skill ranks.Feats: The young beast loses one feat.Climate/Terrain: As base creature.Organization: As base creature.Challenge Rating: As base creature 2.Treasure: Half normal.Alignment: As base creature.

New Magical Beast SpecialAttacks and Qualities

With their mix of mundane forms with super-natural abilities, magical beasts are often creat-ed as the result of meddling gods, arcane exper-iments run out of control, or otherworldlyforces that warp and twist creatures into newforms. Often, these forms incorporate attacks,abilities, and physical characteristics from awide range of animals. Presented here are a set

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of new special attacks and qualities dividedinto animal packages. To create a magicalrhino-crocodile crossbreed, simply apply therhino package to the crocodile creature or vice-versa, depending on the CR you want. Thesepackages may be applied to animals, beasts,and magical beasts. All of the creatures createdthrough the use of these packages count asmagical beasts.

In addition to the packages presented here, therules from Chapter 1 present a host of genericabilities applicable to magical beasts or for cre-ating new ones, such as energy resistance,flight, spell abilities, and so on.

Additional Body Parts

Rather than add features found in the animalworld to creatures, some researchers, experi-menters, and theorists prefer to graft wholeparts from one creature to another. The follow-ing modifications may be added to any animal,beast, or magical beast. Such additions changetheir base creature type to magical beast.

Extra Legs: A creature with two additionallegs grafted to its body moves at a slightlyfaster than normal pace. It gains a +10 footbonus to its ground speed. Other forms ofmovement, such as flight and burrowing, areunchanged by this addition.

Relative Cost: NA; Absolute Cost: 25 CP;Prerequisites: Animal, beast, or magical beast.

Ram Head: Grown in a nutrient rich bath toreach a size appropriate to the body it is to beadded to, the rams head grants its recipient anadditional gore attack made at its best baseattack bonus. The gore attacks damage isdetermined by the creatures size. In addition,the creature gains a +4 bonus to Spot andListen check due to its extra set of sensoryorgans. In addition, the creature may attemptbull rush attacks with this head without draw-ing attacks of opportunity.

Creature Size Gore DamageTiny 1d3Small 1d4Medium-size 1d6Large 1d8Huge 2d6Gargantuan 2d8Colossal 4d8


Serpent Head: The serpents head rests at theend of a long, sinuous neck that extends fromthe creatures torso. It grants its recipient anadditional bite attack that deals damage andpoison based on its size, as listed in Table 91.In addition, the serpents head has an addition-al 5 feet of reach.


Alligator/Crocodile

Granted the tough, leathery hide and long,toothy maw of these amphibious predators, abeast gains a powerful bite attack, improvedarmor, and the ability to latch on to an oppo-nent and tear him to pieces with its powerfuljaws. Creatures modified with traits from alli-gators or crocodiles gain these animals distinc-tive snout, coloration, and rough, green hide.

Bite Attack (Ex): If the creature does notalready possess a bite attack, it gains one atthe damage listed below. In addition, if thecreature does have a bite attack use thehigher damage between the value listed

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here and its standard statistics.

Creature Size Bite DamageTiny 1d4Small 1d6Medium-size 1d8Large 2d6Huge 2d8Gargantuan 4d8Colossal 8d8

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, thecrocodile-modified creature must hit an oppo-nent of the same size or smaller with its biteattack. The beast automatically deals bite dam-age each round it maintains its hold.

Natural Armor (Ex): The base creature gainsa +2 bonus to its natural AC modifier. If it lackssuch a modifier, it gains one at +2.


Cheetah

Renowned for their incredible speed and sud-den bursts of acceleration, creatures crossbredwith or magically altered to gain the attributesof a cheetah are faster than normal and capableof springing upon opponents like bolts of light-ning. Creatures modified in this manner typi-cally have longer legs and sleeker bodies than

normal.Improved Speed (Ex): Imbued with a

cheetahs powerful legs and sleek build, thebeast gains a +20 bonus to its ground speed.Other movement modes are not altered by thisability.

Sprint (Ex): Once per hour, a beast can take acharge action to move ten times its normalspeed.

Relative Cost: NA; Absolute Cost: +1 CR;Prerequisites: Animal, beast, or magical beast.

Scorpion

The giant scorpions deadly stinger has claimedthe lives of many adventurers over the years.Researchers who use arcane processes to meldthis creatures form to another commonlyreplace the base creatures tail with a long, seg-mented stinger that drips venom from itsbarbed end. In battle, the newly augmentedcreature weakens its foes with a few stabs of itsstinger before closing into to finish them off.

Improved Grab (Ex): While combining ascorpion with a second creature does not grantthis ability, it does augment it in creatures thatalready have it. Those with this ability auto-matically hit held targets with their stingerattack. Roll damage as normal.

Poison (Ex): The table below lists the poisondelivered by the scorpion stinger. Larger crea-tures deliver greater doses of stronger poison.

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Serpent Head Poison and Bite DamageSize Fort DC Initial and Secondary DamageTiny 9 1 StrSmall 10 1d2 StrMedium-size 11 1d3 StrLarge 14 1d4 StrHuge 16 1d6 StrGargantuan 20 1d8 StrColossal 25 2d6 Str

Size Bite DamageTiny 0Small 1Medium-size 1d3Large 1d4Huge 1d6Gargantuan 1d8Colossal 2d6

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Stinger (Ex): The long, agile scorpion stingerstrikes with a vicious barb that deals damage asper the table below. The stinger attack has areach 5 feet longer than the creatures naturalreach. In addition, the stinger delivers a dose ofnoxious venom.

Creature Size Stinger DamageTiny 1d2Small 1d3Medium-size 1d4Large 1d6Huge 2d4Gargantuan 2d6Colossal 2d8


Squid/Octopus

Though seemingly an odd choice for magicalexperimentation and crossbreeding, a landcreature modified with an octopuss anatomygains a host of tentacle attacks to use against itsenemies. Normally, these additional limbs areset along the creatures shoulders, allowing it tobatter opponents while tearing into them withits fangs and claws.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, theoctopus beast must hit a smaller opponent witha tentacle attack. If it gets a hold, it can con-strict.

Constrict (Ex): A beast deals double tentacledamage with a successful grapple checkagainst its opponents of the appropriate size.

Tentacles (Ex): A creature with this modifica-tion gains four additional tentacle attacks eachround. These attacks are made at 5, or 2 ifthe creature has the Multiattack feat, and dealdamage as determined on the table below.

Creature Size Bite DamageTiny 1Small 1d2Medium-size 1d3Large 1d4Huge 1d6Gargantuan 1d8Colossal 2d6


Tiger/Leopard

A tiger or leopard mix results in a creature witheither of these great cats distinctive coloring,savage fangs, and sharp claws. In some cases,the creature develops facial features similar toa cats. Creatures crossed with either of thoseferocious animals gain the ability to pounceupon their enemies, tearing into them with thefull force of their attacks, and rake foes withtheir rear claws after latching on to them withtheir jaws.Improve Grab (Ex): The beast must hit withits bite attack in order to use this ability. If itgrabs an opponent, it may use its rake.

Pounce (Ex): If a beast leaps upon a foe duringthe first round of combat, it can make a fullattack even if it has already taken a moveaction.

Rake (Ex): A beast that gets a hold can maketwo rake attacks at its highest base attack bonuswith its hind legs for 1d3 damage each. If thebeast pounces on an opponent, it can also rake.

Relative Cost: NA; Absolute Cost: 75 CP;Prerequisites: Animal, beast, or magicalbeast.

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Scorpion Stinger PoisonSize Fort DC Initial and Secondary DamageTiny 11 1d2 StrSmall 11 1d3 StrMedium-size 15 1d4 StrLarge 18 1d6 StrHuge 26 1d8 StrGargantuan 36 2d6 StrColossal 54 2d8 Str

Viper

When crossed with a snake, a creature gainspoisonous fangs it can use to inject venom intoits opponents. Normally, creatures granted thistrait have long, ropy necks that resemble a ser-pents body. Their torsos are covered in patch-es of scales, while their heads are altered toresemble a snakes.

Poison (Ex): In addition to its normal bitedamage, the altered creature deals poison withits bite with a Fortitude save (DC 13) and ini-tial and secondary damage of 1d6 Constitution.


Example CreatureIn the years that Sets faith has spread acrossthe land, no greater temple has been erected inhis name than the Black Spire of Peregost. Thehigh priest of Set in that city, Tarthus Armal,has bred a hideous mixture of serpent and lionto patrol the gardens that ring the templesinner fane. Considering that Sets priests are

said to gather their greatest ritual treasures invaults beneath the Black Spire, such defen-

sive measures are regularly tested. Somethieves whisper that the treasure itself is but aruse designed to lure regular meals of humanflesh to Tarthuss priests. As not a single goldpiece worth of treasure has yet to be liberatedfrom the Black Spire, such rumors may tell thetrue tale of the matter.

Lion Serpent of Set

Large Magical Beast

Hit Dice: 5d8+4d10+18 (62 hp)Initiative: +3 (Dex)Speed: 60 ft.AC: 17 (1 size, +2 leather

barding, +3 Dex, +3 natur-al)

Attacks: 2 claws +11 melee, ser-pent tail +11 melee, bite+6 melee

Damage: Claw 1d4+5, serpent tail1d4+2 plus poison, bite1d8+2

Face/Reach: 5 ft. by 10 ft./5 ft. (10 ft.with serpent tail)

Special Attacks: Pounce, improved grab,rake 1d4+2, poison (DC14, 1d4 Str/1d4 Str)

Special Qualities: Scent, improved speed,sprint

Saves: Fort +8, Ref +9, Will +4Abilities: Str 21, Dex 17, Con 15,

Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6Skills: Balance +7, Hide +4,

Jump +7, Listen +6, MoveSilently +11, Spot +6

Feat: Armor Proficiency (light)Climate/Terrain: Gardens of Set, Black

Spire of PeregostOrganization: Solitary, pack (2 5)Challenge Rating: 6Treasure: NoneAlignment: Always neutral evilAdvancement: 6 8 HD (Large)

Crafted from a dark ritual that transforms a lioncub into a horrid beast, the lion serpent of sethas the forequarters of a combination lion andcheetah and the rear body of a serpent. Its tailends in a hissing snakes head whose fangs dripwith venom. A lion serpent strikes like a bolt oflighting, leaping upon its prey in an instant,crippling them with its venom, and feastingupon them at its leisure.

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Documents

Legends & Lairs - Monsters Handbook - Magical Beasts