Rune Animal Template

“The land does not seek defenders only from your kind— intellect and ‘civilization’ are poor ways to measure devotion or worth.”

So spoke Teeshal,the rune eagle.Rune animals are to normal animals what runechildren are to normal people.The same mysterious,seemingly intelligent force that selects runechildren and bestows upon them wondrous abilities (and great responsibilities) also finds representatives from among the animals ofthe world to work on its behalfas well.

Rune animals gain the ability to speak and reason,but they keep their animal natures.Sometimes even the lowliest ofthe animal kingdom,the vermin,are chosen to become rune animals.No matter what their original form or mind, however,the rune animal becomes a magical,powerful,and intelligent representative ofits kind.

Aside from the obvious differences,the main distinction rune animals have from runechildren is that rune animals become something ofa champion for their own kind. Although they still look at things holistically—they do not defend their own kind at the expense ofall others—their primary concerns in day-to-day life involve the well-being of animals oftheir own type.A rune bear looks after all bears,a rune dolphin pays attention to all things concerning dolphins,and a rune spider sees to the well-being ofspiders.

Most rune animals avoid people in the same way that normal animals do.Rune animals that are also predators can prove dangerous in the eyes ofhumanoid races,however. They’re still predators,and their increased power and ability to organize others oftheir kind makes them willing to take on more dangerous game (humans,faen,giants,and so on) ifneed be.

Rune animals look like normal members oftheir kind, except that a mystical rune is visible somewhere on their body,usually their head.

Sample Rune Animal: Rune Wolf

Medium Magical Beast

Hit Dice: 2d10+6 (17 hp),dying/dead –4/–17 Initiative: +3 Speed: 50 feet (10 squares) Armor Class: 16 (+3 Dexterity,+3 natural),touch 13, flat-footed 13 Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+4 Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d6+3) Full Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d6+3) Space/Reach: 5 feet/5 feet (Face/Reach:5 feet by 5 feet/5 feet) Special Attacks: Trip,command wolves,bolster wolves,spelllike abilities Special Qualities: Low-light vision,scent,speak with animals,DR 10/magic (or 10/+1) Saves: Fort +6,Ref+6,Will +2 Abilities: Str 15,Dex 17,Con 17,Int 10,Wis 14,Cha 8 Skills: Knowledge (nature) +2,Listen +4,Sneak +5,Spot +4,

Wilderness Survival* +4 Feats: Track B,Weapon Focus (bite)

Environment: Temperate forests Organization: Solitary,pair (one rune wolfand one normal wolf),or pack (one rune wolfand 7–16 normal wolves) Challenge Rating: 2 Treasure: None Advancement: 3 HD (Medium);4–6 HD (Large) Level Adjustment: +2

Wolves are cunning,persistent pack hunters.A rune wolf almost always leads a pack ofnormal wolves.Although it cannot command them,even creatures such as dire wolves and winter wolves show a rune wolfrespect.

Combat

A favorite tactic is to send a few individuals against the foe’s front,while the rest ofthe pack circles and attacks from the flanks or rear. * Skills: Wolves have a +4 racial bonus on Wilderness Survival checks when tracking by scent.

Trip (Ex): A rune wolfthat hits with a bite attack can attempt to trip the opponent (+1 check modifier) as a free action without making a touch attack or provoking an attack ofopportunity.Ifthe attempt fails,the opponent cannot react to trip the wolf.

Command Wolves (Su): A rune wolfcan command wolves.Trained wolves or wolfcompanions get a Will saving throw (DC 10) to resist.See ability description on next page.

Bolster Wolves (Su): Wolves within sight ofa rune wolfgain a +1 morale bonus to attack rolls and saving throws.

Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): A rune wolfcan cast the following spells as a 3rd-level magister:1/day—lesser ability boost, predict weather, saving grace, true strike. The save DC against these spells is DC 12 + spell level.

Scent (Ex): The rune wolfcan detect opponents within 30 feet by sense ofsmell.For upwind foes,the range increases to 60 feet;downwind,it drops to 15 feet.

When detecting a scent,the rune wolfdoesn’t determine its exact source,only its presence in range.The rune wolfcan take a standard action to note the scent’s direction.Once within 5 feet ofthe source,it can pinpoint the source.A rune wolfcan also follow tracks by smell,making a Wisdom check to find or follow a track.

Speak With Animals (Su): See ability description on the next page.

Creating a Rune Animal

“Rune animal” is a template that one can add to any animal or vermin.A rune animal uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Size and Type: The base creature’s type changes to magical beast.Size does not change.

Hit Dice: The rune animal’s Hit Die type changes to d10.

AC: Increase the natural armor bonus ofthe base creature by +1.

Attacks: The rune animal’s attack progression changes to that ofa magical beast,+1/HD.

Special Attacks: A rune animal retains all the special attacks ofthe base creature and also gains the following special abilities:

Command (Su): A rune animal can command animals of its exact type (black bears command black bears,Medium constrictor snakes command Medium constrictor snakes, etc.).Animals under the magical compulsion ofanother, those who are animal companions,or those with at least a year’s experience as a trained animal all get a Will saving throw (DC = 10 + halfthe rune animal’s HD + rune animal’s Charisma modifier) to resist.Otherwise,there is no saving throw.Commanded animals obey anything the rune animal says to the best oftheir ability.Any appropriate animal that can hear the words ofthe rune animal can be commanded.This is a free action for the rune animal.

Bolster (Su): A rune animal’s presence bolsters animals of its exact type.Those within sight ofa rune animal gain a +1 morale bonus to attack rolls and saving throws.

Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): A rune animal can cast the following spells as a 3rd-level magister or ofa level equal to its total HD,whichever is greater:1/day—lesser ability boost, predict weather, saving grace, true strike. The save DC against these spells is DC 12 + spell level or DC 10 + the creature’s Intelligence bonus + spell level,whichever is greater.

Special Qualities: A rune animal has all the base creature’s special qualities and also gains the following special qualities:

Damage Reduction (Ex): The animal gains DR 10/magic (or 10/+1).

Speak With Animals (Su): The rune animal can comprehend and communicate with all animals.It can ask questions of and receive answers from animals,although they are no more friendly or cooperative than normal.

Abilities: Alter from the base creature’s as follows:Str +2, Dex +2,Con +2,Int +8,Wis +2,Cha +2.

Challenge Rating: As base creature’s +1.

Level Adjustment: Most animals and vermin do not provide level adjustments.In such a case,use +2 for a rune animal.Ifit does have a level adjustment,use the base creature’s adjustment +1.

Part One: Monsters of the DiamondThrone 75 Rune Animal Encounter (EL 6)

A rune wolfand her six normal wolffollowers guard the entrance to a narrow ravine.Down the ravine lies a natural magical area called a power cyst (see “Other Features” in Chapter One of The Diamond Throne).Unfortunately,years earlier a darkbond cursed the power cyst so that anyone who entered it would receive a curse ofvengeance. Worse still,the curse spreads throughout the area,affecting animals and other creatures living nearby.As a side effect,it even withers plant life when triggered.The rune wolf knows ofthis curse and thus prevents anyone from entering the ravine.

The player characters have learned ofthe cyst but not the curse and seek to explore the area.The rune wolf,unaccustomed to reasoning with others,simply warns offthe PCs when they reach the ravine entrance and threatens them with harm ifthey do not comply.Ifthe characters ignore the wolf,she and her small pack attack.Ifthe PCs instead attempt to question the rune wolfto find out why she and her brethren stand watch,they might be able to convince her to tell the whole story.Ifthe player characters can manage to dispel or remove the curse,the rune wolfnot only allows them free access to the power cyst but also shows them where the darkbond buried some valuable treasure nearby.