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Legacy of the Dragons
Lasher Beast Large Aberration Hit Dice: 6d8+12 (39 hp), dying/dead –3/–15 Initiative: +0 Speed: 40 feet AC: 18 (–1 size, +9 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 18 Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+10 Attack: Lashing tendrils +6 melee (1d6+4 plus poison) Full Attack: 2 lashing tendrils +6 melee (1d6+4 plus poison) and bite +1 melee (1d8+1) Space/Reach: 5 feet/10 feet (Face/Reach: 5 feet by 5 feet/10 feet) Special Attacks: Grasping hooks, poison Special Qualities: Blindsight 60 feet, DR 5/magic (or 5/+1), immunity to poison, light sensitivity Saves: Fort +9, Ref +2, Will +6 Abilities: Str 15, Dex 10, Con 15, Int 7, Wis 13, Cha 8 Skills: Listen +5, Sneak* +11, Spot +6 Feats: Great Fortitude, Opportunistic Attack†, Weapon Focus (lashing tendrils), Weapon Specialization (lashing tendrils) Environment: Any subterranean Organization: Solitary, pair, or pack (3–24) Challenge Rating: 4 Treasure: Standard Advancement: 7–12 HD (Large); 13–20 HD (Huge) Level Adjustment: +4 This monster has dull, grey skin, an eyeless, beaked face, and long arms that end in fleshy tendrils. In battle, it lashes its enemy with these tendrils, exposing the foe to a variety of toxins delivered by means of small hooks within them. A lasher beast can use these hooks to capture its opponents, holding them in place while it continues to pump venom into them. Lasher beasts dwell in caverns and passages beneath the earth, where they hunt a variety of monsters. They are not normally aggressive toward humanoid explorers, but they experience a strange reaction to light sources. They are eyeless, but their skin is sensitive to light of any sort. They do not take damage from this sensitivity under most circumstances, but the discomfort annoys them and causes them to seek out and extinguish all but the dimmest lights. For this reason, lasher beasts commonly attack adventurers and other surface-dwellers who wander into their territories. While they are too simple to establish a formal culture or civilization, lasher beasts usually congregate in large caverns where they hunt as packs. They are fiercely territorial among themselves and have been known to wage small wars for control of hunting grounds. During these chaotic melees, lasher beasts sometimes strike out at all creatures they encounter, making them unpredictable and potentially deadly enemies.
The lasher beasts’ primary value lies in their ability to synthesize a wide variety of toxins. Their tendrils have a number of glands that produce poison at a prodigious rate when these creatures engage in battle. A creature may suffer from a poison that saps its strength from one blow and then be exposed to one that drains its agility on the next attack. Some animal handlers have learned to control the poisons a captive lasher beast produces by varying its diet. Since these monsters break down food and use it in part to create their venom, feeding them a specific blend of herbs and alchemical mixtures can yield particular types of poison.
Combat In battle, a lasher beast prefers to focus on a single target to slowly overwhelm with its poison. It prefers to attach both sets of its tendrils to a single victim, pumping him full of poison while gnawing on him with bite attacks. Taking advantage of their natural camouflage, lasher beasts usually lurk near well-traveled pathways in their native environment. They wait for a solitary target to pass by before attacking. They sometimes attack obviously powerful or heavily armed targets in hopes of quickly subduing them with poison. Explorers must take particular care to avoid attracting lasher beasts with a light source. These monsters attack anyone bearing a torch or similar item in preference to other opponents. Luckily, illusions and other tricks can deflect their attention. * Skills (Ex): A lasher beast’s dull grey hide allows it to hide in underground areas with relative ease. It gains a +15 racial bonus to all Sneak checks to hide from sight while in a subterranean environment, for a total skill modifier of +11 after accounting for size. Grasping Hooks (Ex): A lasher beast’s tendrils are sown with sharp, vicious hooks that allow it to catch and hold creatures it attacks. If the creature hits an opponent with its tendril attack, it may initiate a grapple as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. Should the lasher get a hold, it automatically deals tendril damage and exposes its target to its poison on its action as long as it maintains the hold. The lasher’s opponents suffer a –4 competence penalty to all grapple checks to break free because of these hooks. A lasher beast can sink both sets of tendrils into one target or it may take hold of two separate opponents. Poison (Ex): Unlike other creatures that deliver a poison attack, a lasher beast uses a wide variety of venom. Its poison glands create variable poisonous mixtures that have different effects on targets each round. These poisons always require a Fortitude save (DC 15) to resist; each time a target fails its save, randomly determine the exact nature of the poison by rolling 1d4 and referring to the following table. A lasher beast’s poisons are delivered via injury in amounts too small and weak to deal any secondary damage.
