Staj

Small Magical Beast

Hit Dice: 2d10 (11 hp),dying/dead –1/–10 Initiative: +3 Speed: 30 feet AC: 17 (+1 size,+3 Dexterity,+3 natural),touch 14, flat-footed 14 Base Attack/Grapple: +2/–2 Attack: Bite +3 melee (1d4) Full Attack: Bite +6 melee (1d4) and 1 claw +1 melee (1d3) Space/Reach: 5 feet/5 feet (Face/Reach:5 feet by 5 feet/5 feet) Special Attacks: Eye extraction,improved grab Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 feet,low-light vision Saves: Fort +3,Ref+6,Will +1 Abilities: Str 11,Dex 16,Con 10,Int 11,Wis 13,Cha 13 Skills: Listen +5,Sneak +8 Feats: Light Sleeper,Weapon Finesse

Environment: Warm or temperate plains Organization: Horde (5–16) Challenge Rating: 1 Treasure: Standard Advancement: 3–4 HD (Small);5–6 HD (Medium) Level Adjustment: —

Staj are unique predators in that they often leave their prey alive.Litorians call the staj “eye hunters,” and with good reason.These vicious little creatures eat eyes.They can eat other types ofmeat,but they prefer eyes.Bred by the dramojh (said to be a failed experiment that escaped),the staj spread like a plague.They breed quickly and mature at a very rapid rate.

Litorians speak ofthe eye hunters in whispers.Dedicar, an old,honorable hunter ofthe plains,told this tale to Naervos Starshadow,a faen sage:

We were looking for game in the area we call the Sundowner region. It was a poor year, and the gazelle we sought felt the heat and drought ofthe summer worse than we. As we scoured the empty plains, we heard a distant sound. It is difficult for me now to describe to you what this sound was like. Perhaps ifyou imagined everyone you ever loved crying out in complete despair all at once, it would be similar to this sound. We moved forward, cautiously, for we knew not what we would find.

Through the tall grass, we emerged into a camp ofour people. This surprised us, for we had seen no sign offires, even though the evening shadows had grown long. We smelled no cooking meals, and we heard no children laughing. Only the terrible, mournful wail ofmany voices crying as one.

As we looked around the camp, I gripped my warclub tighter. All around us, we saw wounded litorians, each covered in blood. But we saw no enemy. I grabbed the nearest warrior by the shoulder and saw that his wounds were in his eyes—he had been blinded. “Who did this?”

I got no answer. So I approached the next warrior. She, too, had only empty sockets where her eyes had been. I looked at my brothers and they nodded. All ofus had come to the same conclusion.

Eye hunters.

We brought the people together in the center ofthe camp. Some had wandered into the grass, slashing at foes that were no longer there. They were easy to find, for we followed the trails ofblood. We found a number ofthe staj, killed by warclubs, arrows, tooth, and claw. Still, all 34 people in the camp had been blinded permanently. Everyone.

I knew that eye hunters each take only one eye. That meant, at minimum, there were almost 70 in the horde that had attacked this camp. The victims, once we managed to get them to speak, indicated that they thought there had been many more.

I shuddered at the thought ofit, and I could see my brothers did as well. We led the 34 to our own camp, where they could be properly tended. The burden ofnew mouths to feed in that poor year was difficult to bear, since none ofthem could hunt. But at least our camp was never attacked by that horde ofeye hunters.

I still have nightmares about that day.

Staj are sinewy creatures with a dark green ridge running down their backs.They look a little like black cats with long wirelike hair,but they have no tails,and their heads are longer,bearing furless snouts filled with small teeth.Their eyes are long,narrow,and yellow.They have a single whiplike tendril that rises from the spot where their head meets their spine.This appendage ends in a small clawlike extractor comprised ofthree opposing,needlelike phalanges,each quite dexterous.The staj uses this strange tendril to extract a victim’s eye.

Staj possess a surprising intellect and,in fact,jabber to each other in their own squeaky,high-pitched language. Because they think ofpractically nothing but hunting and eating,their language is very crude,short,and specific.They have no words for art,music,or philosophical concepts. Their vocabulary consists ofvarious words for eyes,danger, ambushes,eating,and so forth.

In lean times,staj turn on each other.Many older staj have only one eye because ofthis tendency.

All eye hunters are Unbound.

Combat

Staj leap toward a foe en masse,biting and tearing flesh with their vicious teeth—but this attack is actually only a distraction.The real attack comes from their whiplike tendril,which ends in a small claw.After a successful claw attack,a staj can begin the eye extraction process.Once a staj has an eye,it flees,usually leaving the victim alive.

A staj will not attack an eyeless creature and fights only in selfdefense against such a foe.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability,a staj must hit with its bite attack.It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack ofopportunity.If it wins the grapple check,it establishes a hold and can immediately make a claw attack and attempt to extract the foe’s eye.

Eye Extraction (Ex): While grappling,a staj that scores a hit with its claw attack has struck the foe in or near an eye.It then uses the claw to attempt to extract the eye.The victim must make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 11).Failure indicates that the staj has removed the eye.Obviously,a foe with no eyes is blind.Blinded characters suffer a –2 penalty to Armor Class,lose their Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any),move at halfspeed,and take a –4 penalty on Search checks and on most Strength- and Dexterity-based skill checks.All checks and activities that rely on vision,such as reading and Spot checks,automatically fail.All opponents are considered to have total concealment (50 percent miss chance) relative to the blinded character.

Creatures left with only one eye suffer a –2 competence penalty to Spot and Search checks.

Staj Encounter (EL 3)

The player characters make their way through the plains on a journey somewhere.From out ofthe tall grass,three staj leap at them.The eye hunters choose one foe and concentrate their attacks.Ifa staj manages to remove an eye,it retreats with its meal.Thus,iftwo ofthe staj succeed,the third must choose a new target,attacking all by itself.