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Nuckalavee

by Qit
Large Aberration (Aquatic)

Hit Dice: 11d8+44 (93 hp)
Initiative: +5 (+1 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)
Speed: 40 ft., swim 70 ft.
AC: 16 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +6 natural)
Attacks: 2 claws +13 melee
Damage: Claw 1d6+5
Face/Reach: 5 ft. by 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Breath weapon, death aura, frightful presence
Special Qualities: Rebuke/command undead, damage reduction 10/silver, fast healing 3, SR 15, immunities, fire resistance 15, fresh water vulnerability
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +1, Will +3
Abilities: Str 20, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 21
Skills: Intimidate +12, Hide +6, Jump +7, Listen +7, Search +4, Spot +6, Swim +12, Wilderness Lore +5
Feats: Improved Initiative, Power Attack

Climate/Terrain: Cold and temperate aquatic and marsh
Organisation: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 10
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 12-15 HD (Large)

A nuckalavee is a vile amphibious monster that eerily parodies centaurs, yet combines the worst traits of a troll and a white dragon. It resembles a large, hairless centaur with webbed, froglike feet rather than hooves; but its skin is thin, moist and transparent, giving it the appearance of having been flayed. A pervasive stench of rot accompanies a nuckalavee.

These vicious, destructive creatures despoil their surroundings and kill other creatures for pleasure; the very presence of one in the vicinity will invariably have good-aligned druids and rangers up in arms. Centaurs especially hate nuckalavees, possibly because the monsters so eerily resemble ugly caricatures of centaur-kind.

Nuckalavees speak Common and a severely distorted form of Draconic.

Combat
Nuckalavees attack with their clawed hands, but have several other attacks that are much more deadly.

Breath Weapon (Su): Cone of cold, 60 feet, every 1d4 rounds; damage 1d8; Reflex half DC 20.

Death Aura (Su): Creatures within a radius of 120 feet of a nuckalavee must make a Fortitude save (DC 18) or take 1d6 points of temporary Constitution damage. Creatures that fail this save must make a second save (DC 18) the next round or suffer another 2d6 points of temporary Constitution damage.

Frightful Presence (Ex): Creatures within a radius of 50 feet of a nuckalavee must make a Will save (DC 20) or be panicked for 1d10 rounds. Characters who save versus the effect become immune to the effects of that nuckalavee's frightful presence for that day. However, characters must make a second Will save (DC 20) if an ally is killed or reduced to half of his hit points by the monster's attacks, regardless of whether or not they made the initial Will save.

Rebuke/Command Undead: As an evil cleric of a level equal to the nuckalavee's Hit Dice.

Immunities (Ex): Nuckalavees are immune to cold and poison.

Resistances (Ex): Nuckalavees have fire resistance 15.

Fresh Water Vulnerability (Ex): Fresh water causes 1d6 points of damage to a nuckalavee per round of contact. Because of this, a nuckalavee cannot cross any body of fresh water that is too wide for it to jump over.

Nuckalavee Society
Nuckalavees are so horrible that they can only even tolerate each other in order to reproduce. Their newborn offspring, however, may run in packs for their first year of life--after which point they are fully adult, and as likely to kill one another as to simply go their separate ways.

Infant nuckalavees--which hatch from clutches of 1d6 froglike aquatic eggs--are 6-HD monsters with the following statistics: Str 12, Dex 10, Con 10, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 12. They have an attack bonus of +5, do 1d4+1 damage with their claws, lack the adult's breath weapon, and cannot rebuke or command undead. The range of their fear effect (Will save, DC 14) and death aura (Fortitude save, DC 13) is halved. They have a challenge rating of 5.