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Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Non-Dark Sun Creatures in Dark Sun - Bhaergala

There are many creatures for the various monstrous manuals that have been officially added to Dark Sun. I added some unofficially for my game and I'm sure a lot of other DMs do the same.
There is no inherent problem with this, although the flavor text often doesn't fit with the Dark Sun setting. My goal is to list the various monsters that "don't fit" and rewrite their flavor text to make them fit.

Bhaergala


Forest Bhaergala Stone Bhaergala
Climate/Terrain Forest Rocky Badlands
Frequency Rare Rare
Organization Solitary Solitary
Activity Cycle Day Day
Diet Carnivore Carnivore
Intelligence Average (8-10) Average (8-10)
Treasure Nil Nil
Alignment Neutral Neutral
No. Appearing 1 1
Armor Class 6 5
Movement 15 15
Hit Dice 4+4 5+4
Thac0 15 24
No. of Attacks 3 3
Damage/ Attack 1-6/1-6/1-8 1-6/1-6/1-8
Special Attack Pounce Pounce
Special Defense Poison resistance, spell turning Poison resistance, spell turning
Magic Resistance Nil Nil
Size L (9' long) L (9' long)
Morale Elite (13-14) Elite (13-14)
XP Value 975 1,400
Psionic Summary
Level: 3
Dis/Sci/Dev: 2/2/7
Attack/Defense: 2/3
Score: 14
PSPs: 80
Psychometabolic: Shadow-form, Accelerate, Chameleon Power, Displacement, Enhanced Strength
Telepathic: Mindlink, Contact, Eho Whip, Id Insinuation

The forest bhaergala is a large predator that roams the Crescent Forest and Forest Ridge in search of prey, while the stone bhaergala roams the rocky badlands. It is greatly feared by travelers because of its psionic powers and fondness for human and elven prey.
Both types of bhaergala looks something like a cross between a wild dog and a lion, although it is clearly not related to either creature.The fur of a bhaergala gives off a faint but unmistakable odor, which has been described as smelling like fresh bread or biscuits.
All bhaergala can mimic the speech and songs of men and elves with great skill. When hunting, it often uses this power to lure them into an ambush. Most bhaergalas can speak one, or more, of the languages of the city-states or halfling.

Combat
All bhaergala usually attack unsuspecting victims by pouncing on them from a great height. The superior agility of the bhaergala enables it to drop from as high as 60 feet without sustaining damage. After that, it suffers 1d6 points of damage (up to a maximum of 20d6) for every ten feet it falls. When it pounces on a victim, the bhaergala can strike only with its claws during the first round. If these hit, however, they inflict their maximum damage.
In normal combat, the creature lashes out with its two front claws and tears at its foes with its powerful jaws. The bhaergala is fearsome in combat and often rips great pieces of flesh from an enemy, which are then dropped for later consumption. The bhaergala has been known to keep ripping apart a body that has long since ceased fighting back.
The great constitution of a bhaergala enables it to regenerate 2 points of damage per day and gives it a +3 bonus to all saving throws vs. poison. Further, the creature has a 99% chance to survive a severe system shock.
The bhaergala has a limited ability to protect itself from magical attacks as well. Up to four times per day, the creature can turn a spell that has been directed against it. In these instances, the power acts just as would a ring of spell turning. It is important to note, however, that this is not an innate ability; it requires the bhaergala to focus its attention and prevents it from taking any other action that round.

Habitat/Society
The forest bhaergala is a solitary creature that stalks its prey from the dense underbrush common to forests. The stone bhaergala enjoys stalking prey from behind large rocks and boulders. Both types normally moves in on its prey from downwind so that its distinctive scent does not give it away before it can strike. When a bhaergala is encountered in the wilds, there is a chance that it will not attack. The bhaergala are known for their great love of song and music and can often be lulled to sleep by a talented singer or musician. The chance that a bhaergala can be sedated in this manner depends upon its own belief that it is safe and free from any threat of attack. The base chance to sing a bhaergala to sleep is 25%. This is increased by 5% if the singer is alone, by 5% per point of the singer’s Charisma over 16, and by 15% if the singer is a professional or talented performer. If the bhaergala feels threatened, has been recently injured, attacked, or is hungry and on the hunt, then any attempt at calming it is doomed to fail.
If lulled to sleep, the bhaergala naps for only 1d10 rounds, as they never sleep for longer periods of time. When it awakes, it will likely give chase to the singer if it finds that he has gone.

Ecology
Bhaergala seek out others of their kind only to mate. When they do find a partner, they mate only in areas of loose soil. Six months later, the female bhaergala gives birth to a litter of 2d4 cubs. The parents remain together for just over a year to raise their progeny. As soon as the cubs make their first kill, they are turned out from their parents’ den and must go their own way. At this point, they have all the powers and abilities of adult bhaergalas, but have only 2+2 Hit Dice. Further, their attacks cause only half the usual damage. When the last of the cubs is gone, the parents also part company, never to meet again.
An adult bhaergala usually sleeps in the boughs of tall trees, or on top of large boulders, returning to its lair only rarely. This well-hidden den is often in a cave, ruin, or similar place of desolation and serves as a storage area for whatever items the bhaergala has collected over the years. As a rule, there is little if any true treasure in the lair of a bhaergala. It often collects musical instruments and noise-makers, which are usually broken, from the bodies of its victims. From time to time, an unusual or even magical instrument has turned up in the lair of a bhaergala.

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