Kahrn

Adult Larva

Large Magical Beast Small Magical Beast

Hit Dice: 10d10+50 (105 hp),dying/dead –6/–20 2d10+6 (17 hp),dying/dead –4/–17 Initiative: +5 +2 Speed: 30 feet 30 feet AC: 20 (–1 size,+1 Dexterity,+10 natural), 18 (+1 size,+2 Dexterity,+5 natural),touch 13, touch 10,flat-footed 19 flat-footed 16 Base Attack/Grapple: +10/+19 +2/–2 Attack: Claw +10 melee (1d8+5) Claw +2 melee (1d4) Full Attack: 4 claws +10 melee (1d6+5) and bite +8 melee 4 claws +2 melee (1d4),bite +0 melee (1d6) (1d8+3 + poison) Space/Reach: 10 feet/10 feet (Face/Reach:5 feet by 5 feet/10 feet) 5 feet/5 feet (Face/Reach:5 feet by 5 feet/5 feet) Special Attacks: Improved grab,rend 2d6+10,spawn,poison Rend 2d4 Special Qualities: Low-light vision,fast healing 5 Low-light vision,fast healing 2 Saves: Fort +12,Ref+8,Will +5 Fort +6,Ref+5,Will +1 Abilities: Str 21,Dex 12,Con 20,Int 7,Wis 15,Cha 14 Str 11,Dex 15,Con 17,Int 5,Wis 12,Cha 9 Skills: Listen +8,Spot +9 Listen +3,Spot +4

Feats:

Combat Reflexes,Improved Initiative,Light Light Sleeper,Multiattack* Sleeper,Multiattack*,Power Attack

*Denotes a feat from the MM.

Environment: Any Any Organization: Solitary Solitary Challenge Rating: 7 2 Treasure: Standard None Advancement: 11–15 HD (Large);16–20 HD (Huge) 3–6 HD (Small);7–9 HD (Medium) Level Adjustment: — —

This eight-limbed creature walks on four legs and uses four arms for battle,which is its sole preoccupation.The kahrn literally feeds on conflict and uses physical strife to reproduce.Kahrns once roamed the Central Plains as a fairly peaceful omnivore,albeit one quite capable ofdefending itself.Nevertheless,the kahrn herds grew thin,and the species faced extinction,unable to compete with other,more successful types ofcreatures.

Then came the dramojh.Experimentation by the dragon scions centuries ago transformed the remaining kahrns into very different creatures.While their appearance remained similar,the kahrns became creatures that thrived on combat. Bred to be soldiers,the kahrns were given minds greater than those ofsimple beasts,plus entirely new reproductive and digestive systems.Now kahrns do not eat flesh or plant life,but subsist on combat.The act ofbattle—the strife, the danger,the anger,the pain,the challenge—magically nourishes them.To gain sustenance,they must be involved in the combat;their feeding cannot be a passive act.

Moreover,combat fertilizes embryos within the creatures, allowing them to reproduce asexually in the midst ofconflict.A bud forms on a kahrn’s back,growing quickly with a cracking and snapping noise (the sound ofbones and tissue rapidly expanding).The bud bursts,spraying fluid and blood everywhere,and a kahrn larva spurts out,landing on the ground behind its parent.It’s an unsettling display to behold,but it inflicts no real harm on the parent kahrn— its natural rapid healing takes care ofit well.A kahrn can reproduce only once every six months.

The creatures love to fight,and they like combat to last a long time.With supernaturally fast regenerative abilities, they enjoy a remarkable capacity to stay in a fight. Sometimes folk in an area frequented by kahrns use the phrase “heals faster than a kahrn” to refer to someone who recovers from an injury or illness quickly.Further,and even stranger,their venom possesses healing qualities that keep their opponents alive and fighting.Kahrns hate it when foes run away or die too quickly.Sometimes they attempt to antagonize creatures that otherwise would not fight them: They strike their foe,give chase,and even make belligerent, bleating,and annoying noises.Kahrns may even observe another creature for a while to discern the best way to anger or provoke it—attacking the young or weak members ofa group,damaging or stealing an important item,and so on. They also like to corner foes or trap them in an area from which they cannot easily escape.

Kahrns once roamed in small herds but now are solitary creatures,as they no longer need one another to reproduce. Kahrns are immune to their own healing venom,so they dislike fighting each other.

Adult kahrns stand about 8 feet high and are about 6 feet long.They have broad heads and muscular arms and legs. Their bodies bend in the middle ofthe torso,with the arms connected to the upper part and the legs to the lower.Coarse yellow-brown hair covers a kahrn’s body.Their eyes are large, bulging,and white.Kahrns are usually Unbound.

Combat

For obvious reasons,the kahrn seeks out combat.Yet it enters into a fight carefully.It has no interest in fighting an opponent it cannot defeat.In combat,it usually refrains from using its bite.However,ifa weak opponent appears to be faltering,the kahrn uses the healing poison in its bite to restore and sustain it,so it can continue to fight.The kahrn will never use its bite on an obviously superior foe.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability,a kahrn must hit with a claw attack.It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack ofopportunity.Ifit wins the grapple check,it establishes a hold and can immediately rend.

Rend (Ex): A kahrn that successfully grapples with one claw or hits with two or more claw attacks latches onto the opponent’s body and tears the flesh.This attack automatically deals an extra 2d6+10 points ofdamage. Spawn (Su): After 4 rounds ofcontinuous combat,the kahrn can,as a full-round action,attempt to reproduce.The spawn forms as a bud on its back,which spurts open the following round, producing a larval kahrn.The creature can use this ability only once every six months. Poison (Ex): The kahrn’s bite carries a poison that actually heals 2d8 hit points ofthe creature it affects. Injury,Fortitude save DC 20,no secondary effect.The saving throw DC is Constitution based. Fast Healing (Ex): A kahrn with this ability rapidly heals damage,allowing it to recover quickly from even the most grievous wounds.Adults enjoy fast healing 5,while larvae gain fast healing 2.

Kahrn Larvae

Kahrn larvae look like smaller versions ofthe parents.They feed on combat like adults,and they are born hungry,eager to join in the battle that gave them life.They are about 4 feet high and 3 feet long.Their hairless bodies are covered in moist grey flesh.After about a year,the larvae mature into adults, but they are forced to fend for themselves immediately.

Their rend attack inflicts only 2d4 points ofdamage.They have no venom,nor can they create spawn.

Kahrn Encounter (EL 7)

A champion offreedom enlists the aid ofthe player characters.It seems that a band ofbrigands has captured a wild beast and keeps it in a pit.They throw slaves into the pit to fight the monster for sport,and occasionally renowned warriors volunteer to go into the pit to earn a reputation for themselves.The champion wants the PCs to help him defeat the brigands and free the creature.The champion vows to hold offthe captors while the characters go into the pit to free the monster.

However,the captive creature is a kahrn.It doesn’t want to be freed—it loves its lot and doesn’t mind the conditions in the pit,for it gets all the fighting it can handle.It’s even managed to spawn a couple oftimes,its larvae sold offto the highest bidder (presumably to happily engage in combat in other fighting pits).The kahrn fights the PCs,resisting any attempt at “rescue.”