Castles In The Sky

Bonegnawer

Large Animal

Hit Dice: 12d8+72 (126)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 foot, Swim 15, Climb 15
AC: 20 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +11 natural)
Base Attack/Grapple: +10/+11
Attacks: Bite +20 Melee (1d8+11), Slam +14 Melee (1d8+6, 19/20)
Damage: Bite +20 (1d8+11), 2 Claws +13 Melee (1d6+5)
Face / Reach: 10 foot by 20 Foot /10 ft
Special Attacks: Trample 1d8+9, Improved grab, Enchanted Natural Weapons, Trip
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 feet, Resistance to fire/heat, trackless step, wild empathy, Tremorsense (20 feet)
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +9, Will +5
Stats: STR- 18, DEX-21, CON-20,  INT 2,  WIS-  9, CHA- 14
Skills: Listen +15, Search +7, Spot + 11, Move Silently +4, Survival +18, Knowledge (Nature) +14
Feats: Alertness, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Survival), Stealthy Track
Climate/Terrain: Desert, Chaparral 
Organization: Varies, may be found solitary or in small groups (2-10)
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: None except themselves
Alignment: Neutral usually neutral evil
Advancement: 11-20 HD (Large), 21-20 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: +4 (Cohort)

This creature has large powerful shoulders that slope down into deep chest and rather square body. Long, straw-colored fur covers the upper body, exposing a naked pink belly. It gives the impression of a baboon crossed with a mole-rat.

A long neck covered in fine tan fur crossed by black markings rises up from a ruff around the shoulder and ends in a mole-like head with protruding teeth and small ears. Intelligent brown eyes constantly flicker to take in its surroundings while long whiskers under the jaw quiver as if tasting the air.

Hairless, pink paws with four elongated, clawed toes grace the end of each leg. A single claw of exceptionally long length and sharpness sits at the side of each paw like a stunted thumb. They stand 6-8 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh between 1,800 and 2,200 pounds each.

Combat: Bonegnawers are intelligent, omnivorous hunters. They prefer to hunt in small groups of 3-5 and have a simple language that allows them to communicate over distances to coordinate attacks.

Bonegnawers typically choose lairs with an obvious entrance and at least one hidden exit. Sentries watch the entrance constantly while the other members make sure escape routes are kept clear. Hunting parties bring back food to the waiting sentries and young.  Bonegnawers typically only attack to kill food or in response to a obvious threat or attack.

Bonegnawers prefer to organize themselves into a wedge around their opponent or prey in order to ambush it. They are capable of superb organization and advance planning. If out-maneuvered, surprised or compromised, the Bonegnawers will retreat with their trackless step ability to re-group and re-plan.

A Bonegnawer’s memory of an area is nearly eidetic; however they will always reacquaint themselves with even a familiar territory before taking on an unfamiliar or powerful opponent.

The Bonegnawer’s name comes from their strong teeth that are used to bite through bone and gnaw it into fragments to obtain the marrow. A Bonegnawer’s teeth never stops growing, forcing them to constantly gnaw on hard substances to keep them worn down.

The vestigial thumbs on the Bonegnawer’s back paws coupled with extremely flexible hind-legs allow them to manipulate objects much like a panda. They can hold small objects such as a stylus, spear or knife between the false thumb and the side of the paw. They can use and make simple tools.

The long, sharp claw on the Bonegnawer’s front paw is used most commonly to eviscerate prey or pin it down. The single ‘killing’ claw is also handy for prying insects out of cracks, opening shells, and climbing on uneven surfaces or up trees.

Long, fine whiskers around the head and jaw give the Bonegnawer a superb depth perception and spatial orientation. They can sense beings not in their view much like a spider’s tremorsense.

The skin of the Bonegnawer is resistant to pain, heat, fire and cold. They feel no pain if their skin is scraped, burned, or scratched (shallow wounds only).

Enchanted Natural Weapons (Su): A Bonegnawer gains a +1 enchantment bonus on attack and damage rolls with its natural weapons.

Improved Grab (Ex): The Bonegnawer must hit with a claw attack in order to use this ability. It can then start a grapple without provoking attacks of opportunity.

 Trackless Step (Ex): A Bonegnawer leaves no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked. It can choose to leave a trail if desired.

Tremorsense (Ex): A creature with tremorsense, an extraordinary ability, automatically senses the location of anything that is in contact with the ground and within range.

If no straight path exists through the ground from the creature to those that it’s sensing, then the range defines the maximum distance of the shortest indirect path. It must itself be in contact with the ground, and the creatures must be moving.

As long as the other creatures are taking physical actions, including casting spells with somatic components, they’re considered moving; they don’t have to move from place to place for a creature with tremorsense to detect them.

Trip (Ex): A Bonegnawer that hits with a bite attack can attempt to trip its opponent (+12 check modifier) as a free action without having to make a touch attack or provoking attacks of opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot react to trip the Bonegnawer.

 Wild Empathy (Ex): A Bonegnawer can improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions like a Diplomacy check to improve the attitude of a person. The Bonegnawer rolls 1d20 and adds +10 to determine the Wild Empathy check result. The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifference, while wild animals are usually unfriendly.

 To use wild empathy, the Bonegnawer and its target must be able to study each other which means they must be within 30 feet of each other under normal visibility conditions. Generally influencing an animal in this manner takes 1 minute, but it may take more or less time.

 The Bonegnawer may attempt to use Wild Empathy on a magical beast with an intelligence score of 1-2 but takes a -4 on the check.

 Society:  Bonegnawers are rare in the wild. Most are kept as well-trained trackers, mounts and hunting companions for their intelligence, size and surprisingly social and friendly nature when properly trained.

 The size of a pack’s territory depends on availability of food and water. Each territory can range from 8 – 154 square miles (20 – 400 square km). Packs usually contain 8-12 adults with half as many adolescents or infants. The pack is ruled by a dominate pair who produce the majority of the pack’s offspring.

 The dominate or alpha female comes into heat once every three years, she produces pheromones that render all other females sterile. Gestation takes four months. Cubs are born helpless and about five pounds in weight in groups of three to four. They rapidly gain weight and size after being nursed by all of the pack’s females. The least dominate Bonegnawer male may also lactate if there is a lack of females or an especially large litter.

 The ‘queen’ is physically larger than that any other Bonegnawer and exudes subtle pheromones that modulate their moods. Such pheromones are used in training captive Bonegnawers. The pack attends to the queen and her mate, providing them with food and protection.

 The adults dig a large complex of tunnels under a hill or other landmark where there is a clear view of the surrounding area. Bonegnawers have relatively small lungs for their body due to the low oxygen levels in the tunnels. Their blood has a very strong affinity for oxygen, which uses oxygen quite efficiently. Each Bonegnawer has a very low respiration and metabolism rate for an animal of its size, which uses oxygen minimally. In long periods of hunger, such as a drought, this rate can sink up to 25 percent.

 Cubs emerge from their den approximately two months after birth and are guarded by the pack from harm while they practice stalking and fighting. They eat their first solid food at this time, chewed up and regurgitated by the adults. In the next few months they will begin to make small kills until at about a year of age, they accompany their pack on a mock hunt staged for their benefit. After this first, critical hunt the adolescents regularly accompany hunting adults.

 After another year, the adolescents take up the duties of an adult including sentry duty and hunting. They are still favored by the adults and continue to gain size rapidly for the next year until around their third year when the pack drives them away in a concerted effort before or during the dominate female’s next heat cycle. Small packs often allow their offspring to remain.

 In captivity, Bonegnawers often fixate on their handlers as dominate members of the pack and act accordingly.  Care must be taken to keep the Bonegnawers in a submissive social standing or they will overwhelm their so-called master.

 Rank order is established and maintained through a series of ritualized fights and posturing best described as ritual bluffing. Bonegnawers prefer psychological warfare to physical confrontations, meaning that high-ranking status is based more on personality or attitude than on size or physical strength. Rank, who holds it, and how it is enforced varies widely between packs and between individual animals. In large packs full of easygoing Bonegnawers, or in a group of juveniles, rank order may shift almost constantly, or even be circular.

Their intelligence and strength allows Bonegnawers to trained into excellent mounts and hunting companions. They can learn both vocal and non-vocal commands of no more than 10 words. Trainers can learn their simple language which allows the Bonegnawer to communicate basic wants, needs and thoughts.

 Because of their odd shape, specially made harnesses and saddles must be made for each individual. Bridles are unnecessary and indeed would be uncomfortable though most riders prefer a chest strap to hold onto. Matched teams with a padded collar can pull a carriage or wagon. A light load for a Bonegnawer is 500 pounds with a heavy load being 800 lbs. 

In captivity Bonegnawers can live up to 50 years while their wild lifespan is closer to 25 years.