Dothrog

Large Aberration

Hit Dice: 4d8+4 (22 hp),dying/dead –2/–12 Initiative: +0 Speed: 20 feet,swim 30 feet AC: 15 (–1 size,+6 natural),touch 9,flat-footed 15 Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+9 Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d6+2) Full Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d6+2) Space/Reach: 10 feet/10 feet (Face/Reach:5 feet by 5 feet/10 feet) Special Attacks: Improved grab,stinging stream,swallow whole Special Qualities: Agile leaper,low-light vision,prodigious leaper Saves: Fort +5,Ref+1,Will +1 Abilities: Str 14,Dex 11,Con 12,Int 5,Wis 10,Cha 8 Skills: Jump* +30,Spot* +7 Feats: Affinity With Skill (Jump),Power Leap†,Weapon

Focus (bite)

Environment: Temperate marsh Organization: Solitary,pair,or pod (3–12) Challenge Rating: 3 Treasure: Standard Advancement: 5–8 HD (Large);9–16 HD (Huge) Level Adjustment: +2

This lizardlike beast has a large,spherical body,two massive hind legs,and a pair ofpuny forelimbs much like a tyrannosaurus rex’s arms.It has slimy,scaly skin and round, bulging eyes.A dothrog maintains a small colony ofits young within its body.It drinks tremendous amounts of water and swallows prey whole to feed them.In battle,it can blast a foe with a combination ofmucus and a stream ofits stinging,tadpolelike young.These creatures are usually little more than a nuisance in swampy areas,though they can cause severe injury when they combine their melee attacks with their acidic mucus.

Dothrogs have a strange life cycle that has drawn the interest ofmany researchers.They reproduce asexually,with a single dothrog spontaneously producing a swarm ofviable young every few years from within its gullet.Dothrogs continually have small clusters oftheir young within their stomachs,but the vast majority ofthese tiny creatures never mature into adults.A “pregnant” dothrog swallows prey and digests it to give its spawn sustenance.After a few months,it belches them into the swamp’s waters,thereafter requiring them to fend for themselves.These creatures undergo a rapid,explosive period ofgrowth soon after their liberation. Within a few months,they mature into adult dothrogs.

In their tadpole form,dothrogs are easy to capture but difficult to tame.Still,their ferocity makes them a popular mount for creatures that dwell in swamplands.Their strength and impressive leaping ability can prove useful to an owner,but training a dothrog is a difficult task.The stubborn creatures prove resistant to most training methods,but a trained dothrog is a faithful companion.

Combat

Dothrogs are usually skittish and fearful ofhumanoids,but hunger can drive them to attack almost anything.They prefer to harry an opponent with repeated,quick strikes.A dothrog may leap in to bite an opponent and jump away before its foes can ready a response.Many expeditions into wet areas have been surprised by a dothrog that leaped into their midst,swallowed a guide or pack bearer,and disappeared into a thick grove oftrees or similar terrain before the other explorers can counterattack. * Skills (Ex): With their long,powerful legs,dothrogs gain a +20 racial bonus to all Jump checks.Their wide,large eyes give them a +4 racial bonus to all Spot checks.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability,the dothrog must hit with its bite attack.Ifit gets a hold,it can attempt to swallow its opponent.

Stinging Stream (Ex): Dothrogs carry their stinging, tadpolelike young within their gullets.Ifone ofthese creatures stands in a pool,it can gulp down water and then forcibly eject a combination ofacidic mucus and stinging, tiny young dothrogs at an opponent.This attack functions as a ranged touch attack that deals 2d6 points ofacid damage with a maximum range of30 feet and no range increment.Ifa dothrog has a creature in its gullet when it uses this attack,the swallowed foe flies from its mouth toward the target.The swallowed creature takes 1d6 points ofdamage and lands prone in the target square.Ifthe attack hits, the target takes an additional 1d6 points ofdamage from the impact.

SwallowWhole (Ex): A dothrog can try to swallow a Medium or smaller opponent that it has grabbed.It must make a successful grapple check to force an opponent down its gullet.Once inside,the opponent takes 1d8+2 points of damage as digestive fluids and the dothrog’s young eat away at it.A swallowed creature can cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 10 points ofdamage to the dothrog’s gizzard (AC 10).Once the creature exits, muscular action closes the hole;another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out.A dothrog’s interior can hold one Medium,two Small,or four Tiny or smaller opponents.

Agile Leaper (Ex): With their strong legs,dothrogs can leap high into the air with a minimum ofeffort and wasted motion.They never provoke attacks ofopportunity due to moving iftheir movement consists entirely ofa jump.For example,ifa dothrog jumps through a threatened area,it does not provoke attacks ofopportunity.

Prodigious Leaper (Ex): A dothrog’s massive hind legs allow it to leap through the air with ease.In addition to the racial bonus to Jump checks mentioned above,a dothrog is considered to be making a running long jump even ifit does not move before attempting a Jump check.

Trained Dothrogs

Raising,training,and riding a dothrog takes a tremendous amount ofskill and patience. These creatures resist most attempts to domesticate them,and adults are impossible to train.Swamp folk may capture dothrog young to raise,but even these creatures rarely prove pliable to instruction.However,a trained dothrog is a valued boon.It can prove to be a versatile and faithful pack animal and fighting beast.

Training a young dothrog takes longer than normal and is a daunting task.It takes one year to properly raise a dothrog,and the Handle Animal check DC is 20 + twice its HD.Thus,only expert trainers commonly attempt to teach these creatures.

A trained dothrog gains a +2 competence bonus to all Will saves and a +1 competence bonus to all attacks against creatures that threaten its master. A key component oftraining a dothrog involves teaching it to recognize its owner and master as a parent.In the wild,dothrogs never develop emotional attachments to their parents,but with training and care they can build intense,deep feelings for those that they see as their caretakers.

With proper tutelage,dothrogs can develop a surprising mastery ofsimple fighting techniques.With six months of training and a Handle Animal check (DC 30),a domesticated dothrog can gain the ability to acquire levels in the warrior class.The dothrog receives XP equal to 1/10 ofthe share a character would gain for an adventure and progresses through that class as normal.It gains feats, improves its Hit Dice,and even acquires skills just like a character.

Swamp folk commonly outfit dothrogs with studded leather barding,riding saddles,and specially designed satchels (price and weight as for an exotic pack saddle) that keep the equipment they carry secure as they move.

Dothrog Encounter (EL 5)

While traveling through a swampy area,the characters come across a narrow bridge that connects one low hill to another.The area between the hills is flooded with thick, murky swamp water.Ifthe characters attempt to cross here,two dothrogs leap from a nearby patch ofgrass to attack them.A gang ofbandits has trained the beasts to grab travelers,swallow them,and bear their captives to the bandit camp.There the unfortunate victims are expelled, tied up,robbed,and held for a steep ransom.

The characters may have to chase the monsters in order to rescue one oftheir companions.Unbeknownst to them, the bandits lurk nearby to better control their pets.Ifthe PCs travel to the bandits’ camp,they discover that it consists ofseveral buildings suspended above an area ofdeep water and connected by tall platforms.The bandits ride dothrogs through the area and already hold several captives waiting to be ransomed.Until payment is made,the captives are kept within wooden cages half-submerged in the murky water.