So, what do you think?
Hegbo, female
Medium Animal (psionic)
Hit Dice: 6d8+12 (48 hp)
Initiative: +5
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 17 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +4 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/ Grapple: +4/+10
Attack: Claw +6 melee (1d4+2)
Full Attack: 2 claws +6 melee (1d4+2) and bite +4 melee (1d6+1)
Space/ Reach: 5 ft./ 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, mother’s rage, psi-like abilities, rake 1d6+1
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, mother’s bond
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +3
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 13
Skills: Hide +5, Jump +6, Listen +10, Spot +10
Feats: Alertness, Improved initiative, Multiattack
Environment: Crescent Forest
Organization: Solitary, pair, clutch (3-5), colony (6-11)
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 7-8 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: -
Before you know what’s happening, you feel your mind being seared by an anguished squeal. Through the black veil that is engulfing your vision, you see a red reptilian biped the size of a small erdlu, four enraged eyes looking at you while a swarm of miniature versions of the beast scatter in the bushes nearby. As you fall unconscious you realize you’ve accidentally stumbled on a hegbo mother and her young.
This female reptile is native of the Crescent Forest. They can weigh up to a hundred and fifty pounds and stand at average five feet tall. Hegbo are covered in thick, flexible scales ranging from bright red to a dull rust color. Bony plates cover some parts of its body but there is always a large one on its lower back ending at the beginning of its tail. A hegbo’s hind legs are longer than the front ones and strong, making it a good jumper; the head, at the end of a long neck, is elongated and supports a downward crescent-like plate giving it the appearance of a bonokopu leaf. In the middle of its forehead, a mothering hegbo has a smooth rounded gem-like protrusion which is believed to be the center of contact with its young. It recedes when the young leave the nest. Below this pineal gland, the hegbo has four multifaceted eyes and its long beak supports many needle-like teeth. The hegbo is carnivorous and eats small animals and birds.
The female hegbo is rarer than its male counterpart. It is highly protective of its young which may be as numerous as twenty surviving hatchlings. Most of these will be males and will leave the nest after two weeks being chased away by the few fast-growing females. These will stay for months before being strong enough to leave the mother.
Mating of the hegbo is usually painful for the female since the small males swarm it; as such, many males will die in the attempt. This is a strange contrast to the mother she becomes a few months after.
The female hegbo is a protected and a venerated animal by the Gulgs and hunting it is considered poaching and is punishable by death. Many Nibenese poachers find a market for its pineal gland which can fetch as much as 50 cp in Nibenay. Domestication has been tried in the past but usually ended with the death of the handlers when the female got pregnant.
Combat
A hegbo is usually docile if not mothering. In that case she attacks if anyone comes within 60 feet of her nest, using ranged attacks first. More than one individual will make her want her litter to flee and she will attack until they are out of harm’s way. One stunned individual will usually end up as the litter’s meal.
Improved grab (Ex): To use this ability, a hegbo must hit with a claw or bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can rake.
Mother’s bond (Su): A hegbo female always has a bond with her young and can feel their pain. She can pinpoint their exact location as long as they are within 1 mile. She can also use her powers within that distance through them. The bond breaks after 2 weeks for the males and 2 years for the females.
Mother’s rage (Ex): A hegbo female that takes damage in combat while protecting its young or when its young are injured flies into a beserk rage on its turn, clawing and biting madly until either it or its opponents are dead. It gains +4 to Strength, +4 to Constitution, and –2 to Armor Class. The creature can end its rage when it feels her young are safe at which time it may flee.
Psi-like abilities (Su): At will-detect hostile intent (swift action, centered on young, unlimited range) ; 3/day-chameleon, mind thrust (6d10, DC 14); 1/day-psionic blast
Manifester level 6th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
*Includes augmentation for the creature’s manifester level.
Rake (Ex): Attack bonus +5 melee, damage 1d4+2.
Skill: The female hegbo gets a +4 racial bonus to Jump, Listen and Spot checks. It also gets a +4 bonus to Hide checks due to their coloration. A mothering hegbo in a patch of bonokopu (giant hegbo ferns) gains an additional +2 circumstance bonus to Hide checks.
Hegbo swarm, male
Tiny Animal (psionic, swarm)
Hit Dice: 4d8+4 (17hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 15 ( +2 size, +3 Dex), touch 15, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/ Grapple: +3/+4
Attack: Swarm (1d6)
Full Attack: Swarm (1d6)
Space/ Reach: 10 ft./ 0 ft.
Special Attacks: Distraction, frenzy, psi-like abilities, wounding
Special Qualities: Darkvision 30 ft., low-light vision, swarm traits
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +2
Abilities: Str 3, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2
Skills: Climb +4, Jump +4, Hide +10, Listen +5, Spot +5
Feats: Alertness, Weapon finesse
Environment: Crescent Forest
Organization: Solitary, pack (2-4 swarms), or infestation (7-12 swarms)
Challenge Rating: 2
Alignment: Always neutral
Walking through the city’s main street you hear shouts and notice a cloud coming fast towards you. In seconds, you notice an erratic swarm of brown bipedal reptiles jumping all over each other going for the city gate, taking down all pedestrians in their way. Better to get out of the way, then.
The male hegbo is a miniature version of the female. They weigh no more than 3 pounds and stand 1 foot tall. Its scales tend towards browns and greens after it has left the nest. The bony plates are almost nonexistent on the hegbo male body. The forelegs are longer in proportions with the female and also make it as good a climber as a jumper.
The pineal gland on the male counterpart is vestigial and almost indistinguishable on its forehead.
The male hegbo is by far a more common sight than the female. Lazy and sun-loving, they tend to like the cities and villages and eat the refuse found there. The swarms seem carefree and chaotic, even more so when an adult female is near and without a litter. The usually peaceful, if erratic male hegbos become frenzied little vermin that attack anything in its path, climbing and clawing to try to get at the female. The female will try to fight off the males and the swarm can lose as much as half its males in the process.
The male hegbo benefits from no protection from Gulg. On the contrary, when the swarms get too big in and around Gulg, a special hunt is called for to bring their numbers down. A few are tolerated in the city since females don’t nest so close to it but accidents have happened. A few have pet hegbo males in their possession but they know they might lose them if a frenzied swarm passed by in search of a female. They bring no economic value.
Combat
The males are usually cowards and don’t attack anything bigger than themselves. Intimidation usually wins against these little lizards. When they are in a frenzy though, they become a menace to all; even themselves.
Distraction (Ex): Any living creature vulnerable to a hegbo swarm’s attack that begins its turn with a swarm in its space is nauseated for 1 round; a Fortitude DC 14 negates the effect. Even after a successful save, spellcasting or concentrating on spells within the area of a hegbo swarm requires a Concentration check (DC 20 + spell level). Using a skill requiring patience and concentration requires a DC 20 Concentration check. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Frenzy (Ex): When an adult female without a litter in its care is present within 1 mile of a male or male swarm, the normally coward males go into a frenzy and attack anything in their path between the female the swarm. This is done without regards to their lives. What saves the victims of their attacks is that they move on unless impaired in some way (like attacking the swarm).
Psi-like abilities (Su): 3/day-burst, entangling ectoplasm (large creature), vigor (20 hit points); 1/day-chameleon
Manifester level 4th. The psi-like abilities can only be used as a swarm. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
*Includes augmentation for the creature’s manifester level.
Wounding (Ex): Any living creature damaged by a hegbo swarm continues to bleed, losing 1 hit point per round thereafter. Multiple wounds do not result in cumulative bleeding loss. The bleeding can be stopped by a DC 10 Heal check or the application of a cure spell or some other magic or psionic healing method.
Skill: The male hegbo gets a +8 racial bonus to Climb and Jump checks. It also gets a +4 bonus to Hide checks due to their coloration.
Anyway....I like the critter- reminds me a but of a valosaraptor (?sp) from JP. I do not know about the gem thing, but I could live with it. This is an interesting twist with the females being the larger of the two sexes-
Overall i will give you a
I would love to see the pictures too.
but remove the extra space between the G's and the ]'s :D
This is going to sound dumb but other than cut and paste, I'm pretty close to zero with 'puters. How the heck do I post an image?
When creating a post (or reply) there is a row of little icons below the "font", "size" and "Color" drop down menus.
The ninth one is an icon depicting a couple of mountains and a sun in a yellow sky. This is the insert picture button. When you click it a window will pop up and you enter the location of the image you want to put in your post. ie . http://www.gyregam.com/small.jpg
Easy as that.
Hope that helps. :D
I do not know about the gem thing, but I could live with it.
Its the evolution of its pineal gland (photoreceptor) and is gem-like. You can see it as a round enameled third eye... er, fifth eye in this case.
This is an interesting twist with the females being the larger of the two sexes-
Well, it does happen in nature although generally in the insect world.
Overall i will give you a
Gee, thanks, Kal.
Ce document n'existe pas.
When creating a post (or reply) there is a row of little icons below the "font", "size" and "Color" drop down menus.
The ninth one is an icon depicting a couple of mountains and a sun in a yellow sky. This is the insert picture button.
Well I know that! ;)
When you click it a window will pop up and you enter the location of the image you want to put in your post. ie . http://www.gyregam.com/small.jpg
That's where it doesn't seem to work. I'm working from my personnal account on a terminal at school and can't seem to get a hold of the right address; if indeed there is one.
Thanks anyways... I'll try to figure something out.
Ce document n'existe pas.
Hey, Grummore, you're to quick... that was a test!
The address doesn't work and I've taken it out as you can see.
Don't be so jumpy! :D
Hey PB- I posted the pics on my site so people can go and see them- as a temporary solution until they can be put up correctly. Hope you do not mind- if you want to to take them down I will- just thought I would give you a hand.
I was to do that at the moment, but you made it already. It's nice for PB.
Technical question: Is the male hegbo of the swarm subtype or is it a single monster? It gets kinda confusing when I read the entry, because the term is used for a group of hegbo but it is not listed as being a real 'swarm', MM wise.
Thanks.
Good work further developing all things Gulg PB
Technical question: Is the male hegbo of the swarm subtype or is it a single monster? It gets kinda confusing when I read the entry, because the term is used for a group of hegbo but it is not listed as being a real 'swarm', MM wise.
Thanks.
Will change to swarm cause it is.
Thanks, Meth!
Thanks, Kal and Grum, really apreciate it! :D
Hegbo swarm, male
Tiny Animal (psionic, swarm)
Hit Dice: 4d8+4 (17hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 15 ( +2 size, +3 Dex), touch 15, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/ Grapple: +3/+4
Attack: Swarm (1d6)
Full Attack: Swarm (1d6)
Space/ Reach: 10 ft./ 0 ft.
Special Attacks: Distraction, frenzy, psi-like abilities, wounding
Special Qualities: Darkvision 30 ft., low-light vision, swarm traits
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +2
Abilities: Str 3, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2
Skills: Climb +4, Jump +4, Hide +10, Listen +5, Spot +5
Feats: Alertness, Weapon finesse
Environment: Crescent Forest
Organization: Solitary, pack (2-4 swarms), or infestation (7-12 swarms)
Challenge Rating: 2
Alignment: Always neutral
I think that this creature would be better served as being presented as an individual creature (not a swarm) that has something like a pack attack feature- maybe they have a special mindlink connection that allows them to act in concert with one another and no one creature will attack a single individual- instead they could get a special bullrush or overrun attack that treats their single bullrush/overrun attack as if they were a single large creature that allows like 6 or so of the creatures to attack a single target- taking them to the ground and attacking relentlessly until that single creature is dead before moving on to a new target.
Now that would be cool- like I said, I am not a fan of them being classified as a swarm, but they could fight like one.
I'm asking because I'm doing a compilation of athasian flora, including fan-made ones. :D. Including the tubeworm cactus from A little knowledge ;).
Some new types of original swarms for DS are not a bad thing IMHO.
Now that would be cool- like I said, I am not a fan of them being classified as a swarm, but they could fight like one.
Like Meth said, bats and rats in MM have the swarm subtype.
Another question, is the bonokopu plant your creation, if so, do you have any other details about it, its use in Gulg, its appearance, etc.
Unless I've mistakingly stole the name somewhere, then yes, it's mine. The bonokopu is a large fern. Translated in common would be something like "big red-eyed leaf". The leaves are reddish with the spores growing on the posterior (near the stem) top side of the leaf. The darker ''sporange''(that's how it's called in French, anyways) or spore receptacle resembles the hegbo's pineal eye. The plant is not edible and considered sacred because it can inhabit a hegbo mother and young. It acts as a warning sign for Gulgs who don't want to bother the mothering hegbo (and feel her wrath as a really bad headache). On the downside, many poachers know what these ferns mean as well so wardens keep a close eye out to protect their city's sacred emblem.
That's all the info on it. I'm open to suggestions.
I'm asking because I'm doing a compilation of athasian flora, including fan-made ones. :D. Including the tubeworm cactus from A little knowledge ;).
Kewl.
:DI would recommend going to Photobucket and setting up an account, you can drop all your pictures in there and link to them. They even have the links ready-made in both HTML and BBcode for ease of posting.
