Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Kavoras - New Athasian Monster

Kavoras

Climate/Terrain: Anywhere, except forest and silt sea.
Frequency: Common
Organization: Solitary or Cast
Activity Cycle: Day
Diet: Omnivore
Intelligence: Non- (0)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 3-300
Armor Class: 7
Movement: 4
Hit Dice: 1/2
Thac0: 20
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attacks: 1
Special Attack: None
Special Defense: None
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: T (8" Long)
Morale: Unreliable (2-4)
XP Value: 7

Kavoras, Giant
Climate/Terrain: Rocky Badlands & Stony Barrens
Frequency: Very Rare
Organization: Solitary or Pair
Activity Cycle: Day
Diet: Omnivore
Intelligence: Non- (0)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 1-2
Armor Class: 0
Movement: 14 Cl 8
Hit Dice: 8+4
Thac0: 13
No. of Attacks: 2
Damage/Attacks: 3-14/3-14
Special Attack: Grapple
Special Defense: None
Magic Resistance: 25%
Size: L (12' Long, 12' Tall)
Morale: Champion (15-16)
XP Value: 3,000

Kavoras
These armored creatures roam their prospective territories, searching for food. They are sandy brown in color and blend well with their surroundings. They all have six legs and two claws, which are quite large compared to their bodies. Kavoras dislike humidity and are never found near bodies of water.
An adult kavoras weighs 1/2 pound. An adult giant kavoras weighs 3,500 pounds.

Combat
A kavoras would rather flee, than fight, but will fight if cornered, or picked up. Their tiny pinch is not much of a threat, causing only 1 point of damage.
Giant kavoras will attack when hungry, or threatened. They prefer to attack them from above, climbing quickly down a cliff and attacking with their giant claws. Each claw strikes for 1d12 + 2 points of damage and has a chance of grappling an opponent. A victim must roll a successful open doors check, or be grappled. Grappled opponents automatically take 1d12 + 2 damage per round of being grappled. Grappled opponents may attempt to break free with a successful open doors check on subsequent rounds. Each roll to break free is a full round action.
Giant kavoras have a 25% magic resistance. It is unknown why the creatures have developed this defensive ability.

Habitat/Society
Standard kavoras travel in huge groups, called casts, and, despite being omnivores, love feeding on carrion. They will not fight to protect others of their kind.
Kavoras mate during sun descending and a female will lay thousands of eggs. Females abandon their eggs shortly after laying them. Young kavoras are extremely tiny and helpless. Most are eaten by small predators, including other kavoras.
Giant kavoras are solitary, but may be encountered, during sun descending, as a mated pair. Giant kavoras eat carrion, but also hunt for prey. They mate during sun descending and a female will lay a few dozen eggs. She will abandon these eggs shortly after laying them. Most of the eggs will be eaten by predators. Giant kavoras are 1 foot long when born, with 2 hit dice. Young grow at 1 foot per year and 1 hit die per year, until reaching max length and hit dice. Damage of claw attacks should be adjusted accordingly and the grapple attack is not gained, until fully grown.

Ecology
The meat of a kavoras is mild and sweet. It is considered quite tasty. Unfortunately, it takes ten kavora to provide a single pound of edible meat. This meat sells in most city states for 6 bits per pound. The chitin of the kavoras can be used to make a couple of arrowheads, at most. It takes 14 kavoras to provide 1 pound of standard chitin.
The giant kavoras provides 700 pounds of meat. The meat is acidic and inedible, except by the most desperate, or undiscerning, of creatures. The giant kavoras provides 400 pounds of standard chitin and 125 pounds of armor grade chitin.

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