Monsters -- Erethizon

Erethizon
Natives of coniferous woodlands, these divinity spark enhanced porcupines are quite the nuisance to loggers and trappers. While their natural weaponry is formidable, erethizon are peaceful, shy creatures that only attack when startled.

A typical erethizon is six feet long and three feet high at the shoulder. Their body is covered with a mix of stiff hairs and sharp quills, which lay flat against their body when the creature is calm. A sleek, armor plated tail extends behind the erethizon, almost the length of the animal’s body.

Erethizon CR 6
Large Magical Beast
Languages: --
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6d10+30 (63 HP)
AC 16 (10 -1size, -1 Dex, +8 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 16
Fort +10, Ref +4, Will +6
Initiative: -1; Speed: 20ft. (4 squares)
Space/Reach: 10 ft/5 ft
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Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+12
Attack: Tail Slap +8 melee (2d4+4 plus Impale)
Full Attack: Tail Slap +8 melee (2d4+4 plus Impale) or 2 Slams +2 melee (2d6+2 plus Quills)
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Abilities Str 14, Dex 8, Con 20, Int 3, Wis 14, Cha 8
Special Qualities: Resist Cold 5; darkvision 60ft, low-light vision
Special Attacks: Impale, Launch Quills, Quills
Feats Alertness, Iron Will, Weapon focus (slam),
Skills Hide +8, Listen +4, Spot +4
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Treasure: None
Environment: temperate or cold forests
Organization: solitary, pair or family (2 adults and 1-3 pups)
Advancement: 7-10 (Large) 11-14 (Huge)
Level Adjustment: --
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COMBAT
A startled erethizon lashes out with its tail before, impaling its foe before attempting to flee. If pressed it launches quills and slams until it sees another opportunity to flee.

Impale (Ex): While it appears sleek, the erethizon’s tail contains boney spines that pop out when they lash out with it. A creature hit by an erethizon’s tail slap must make a fortitude save with a DC equal to the damage dealt plus 10 or be impaled.

A creature impaled on an erethizon’s tail cannot move more than ten feet from the erethizon. The erethizon, or the impaled creature can remove the bard as a standard action, dealing additional tail slap damage.

A heal check (DC 15) can be made to remove the barb with no additional damage.

Launch Quills (Ex): As a full round action, an erethizon can launch up to two quills at its foes a ranged attack at its highest attack bonus. A successful hit deals 1d4 and lodges a quill in the target (see below).

Quills (Ex): An erethizon’s slam attack deals piercing damage plus has a chance to lodge a quill in the target’s body. Those hit by an erethizon’s slam attack must succeed on a Reflex save (DC 18) to avoid having the quill lodged in them. A lodged quill deals 1 Dexterity damage as long as it remains in the target’s body. Removing a quill requires a DC 15 heal check and deals 1d4 damage to the target. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Creatures hitting an erethizon with natural weapons or unarmed attacks, or are hit by the erethizon’s launch quills special attack also risk having a quill lodged in their body unless they succeed on a Reflex save.

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