Deep Glaurant
by Jamie BatyDMR2 27, GAZ8
Medium Monstrous Humanoid
Hit Dice: 7d8+21 (52 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), fly 30 ft. (clumsy), swim 30 ft. (6 squares), burrow 10 ft. (2 squares)
Armour Class: 16 (+6 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +7/+11
Attack: Claw +11 melee (2d4 +4) or by weapon +11 melee (by weapon +4)
Full Attack: 2 Claw +11 melee (2d4 +4) and bite +9 melee (1d4 +2) or by weapon +7/+2 melee (by weapon +4) and by offhand weapon +7 melee (by weapon +4) and 1 bite +9 (1d4 +2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft. /5 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, rake 2d4+2/2d4+2
Special Qualities: Darkness, Darkvision 60ft.
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +6
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 11, Con 16, Int 6, Wis 13, Cha 12
Skills: Climb +8, Hide +6, Listen +5, Move Silently +6, Spot +5, Survival +3, Swim +12
Feats: Alertness, Multiattack, Two-Weapon Fighting
Environment: Any underground
Organisation: Solitary, or Pair
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 8-14 HD (Medium); 15-21 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: -
These rare, evil predators inhabit caverns deep beneath the world's surface. Deep glaurants are named for their strange gulping call, which they make deep in their throats when excited. If alone, or when stalking prey, they are eerily silent.
Glaurants are scaly, massively muscled humanoids, ochre to stony grey in colour. They stand 8 feet tall, and their four limbs end in iron-strong, sharp-nailed claws which enable them to rake and rend flesh and climb over stones with equal ease. They are capable diggers and have little wings protruding from their shoulders. These wings can be folded flat or sculled with great skill, and are used as aids in swimming, climbing, and turning falls into glides, in addition to granting some modest flight. Glaurants have small, flexible horns on their heads which fold over their ears to protect against dust and to help them feel along crevices.
Deep glaurants have disdain for nearly all treasure except magical items. They especially favour weapons and other items with obvious practical applications, and they never keep magical items they cannot wield.
In the caverns where glaurants roam, they are feared by all sentient beings. In some subterranean cultures, they are the basis for stories meant to scare their young into obedience.
Combat
Glaurants are intelligent enough to arrange rockfall traps and deadly ambushes. They often use magic gained from caches, tombs, and victims as weapons against foes, or trade such items when caught at a disadvantage. A favourite attack of a glaurant is to glide onto prey from above in silence and darkness.
In melee the deep glaurant prefers to primarily use two one-handed weapons and its bite as a secondary attack. An unarmed glaurant attacks with two claws as its primary attack and uses its bite as a secondary attack. In this case it will grab an opponent hit with both claws in order to rake the target. Deep Glaurants are proficient with all simple and martial weapons. They dislike ranged and two-handed weapons.
A glaurant hunts anything and everything it sees. It fights until seriously wounded or threatened with death, or until its opponent is slain (whereupon it immediately feeds).
Darkness (Sp): Once every three rounds, a deep glaurant may shroud itself in darkness (affects a 20ft radius) as a swift action. The darkness lasts for one round. A deep glaurant's effective caster level for this ability is 14th.
Improved Grab (Ex): If a deep glaurant hits with both of its claw attacks, it deals normal damage and attempts to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If the grapple succeeds, the deep glaurant may hold the victim and may make two rake attacks with its rear claws.
Rake (Ex): A deep glaurant that gets a hold can make two rake attacks (+11 melee) with its rear claws for 2d4+4 damage each.
Skills: The deep glaurant has a +4 bonus to all Climb, Hide and Move Silently skill checks. It also has a +8 racial bonus to any swim check. It may always take 10 on a swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.