Horg |
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Medium Magical Beast
(Extraplanar)
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| Hit Dice: 4d10+16 (38 hp) |
| Initiative: +2 |
| Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), fly 50 ft. (good) |
| Armor Class: 16 (+2 Dex, +4 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 14 |
| Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+8 |
| Attack: Claw +7 melee (1d12+4/18-20 plus lingering acid) |
| Full Attack: 2 claws +7 melee (1d12+4/18-20 plus lingering acid) and bite +5 melee (1d8+2 plus lingering acid) |
| Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks: Lingering acid |
| Special Qualities: All-around vision, breathless, darkvision 60 ft., ethereal jaunt, flight, immunity to mind-affecting spells and abilities, inalienable, low-light vision, resistance to cold 10 and electricity 10, spell resistance 10 |
| Saves: Fort +8,
Ref +6, Will +4
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| Abilities: Str 19,
Dex 15, Con 18,
Int 10, Wis 17,
Cha 8 |
Skills: Hide +6*, Move Silently +11, Search +7, Spot +11
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| Feats: Flyby Attack, Multiattack |
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| Environment: Space or Ethereal Plane |
| Organization: Solitary or warband (3-18) |
| Challenge Rating: 5 |
| Treasure: Standard (in lair only) |
| Alignment: Always neutral evil |
| Advancement: 5-12 HD (Medium) |
| Level Adjustment: — |
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This black-skinned creature is vaguely humanoid, standing roughly seven feet tall. Its long, membranous wings each end in a single foot-long, scimitar-like claw. Its short, muscular legs end in three-taloned feet. Its chest, back, and groin are covered with thick calluses, and it has no overt genitalia. Its long torso is topped with an asymmetrical bulbous head. Seven pus-white yellow eyes ring its head, each with no discernible pupil. A circular, tooth-filled maw is positioned atop its head.
Horgs are an enigmatic race of magical beasts found mostly in space, usually near asteroid belts. Their original home plane or world is unknown, but they are clearly extraplanar, for they can make brief jaunts into the Ethereal Plane like ethereal filchers and marauders, and upon their deaths, horg bodies vanish to presumably return to their unknown point of origin.
Little is known of horgs, for they resist all attempts to communicate with them. If captured, a horg simply wills itself to die, and the swiftly vanishing body makes it impossible to learn much of their anatomy. What can be observed of the horg is that they are pack hunters, born for battle, and apparently view retreat as unacceptable.
The horg reproductive process is also a mystery. Horgs do not appear to be sexually differentiated, and no immature horg has ever been seen.
Although intelligent, horgs have never been observed using tools or manufactured weapons. They do seem to collect treasure from intelligent prey, which they carry off to their lairs after raids. An individual can rarely be found with more than a few coins on its person, however.
A horg stands about 7 feet tall with a 12-foot wingspan and weighs 250 to 300 pounds. Its hairless body is covered with dry, dusty, flexible skin, hardened into calluses in vital areas.
Horg do not speak, and appear to lack any vocal organs. They are never seen to communicate with one another, but seem to be aware of each others' position in battle and are able to coordinate small-unit tactics through unknown means.
COMBAT
Horgs prefer to feed while in flight. They utilize their ethereal jaunt ability to get the jump on opponents, and use pack tactics to great effect. Horgs never retreat, even when outnumbered or outclassed, but generally observe prey before attacking to determine the likelihood of success before launching the attack.
All-Around Vision (Ex): Horgs are exceptionally alert and circumspect. Their many eyes give them a +4 racial bonus on Spot and Search checks, and they can't be flanked.
Breathless (Ex): Horgs do not breathe, so they are immune to drowning, suffocation, and attacks that require inhalation (such as some types of poisons).
Ethereal Jaunt (Su): A horg can shift from the Ethereal Plane to the Material Plane as a free action, and shift back again as a move action (or during a move action). The ability is otherwise identical with ethereal jaunt (caster level 15th).
Flight (Ex): Although a horg possesses wings and flaps them while flying, its flight is actually supernatural in nature. This allows it to fly at a speed of 50 feet with good maneuverability, even in the vacuum of space. This also grants it a permanent feather fall effect (as the spell) with personal range.
Inalienable (Su): Horgs are immune to all effects that would banish or dismiss them from any plane, including spells such as holy word, dismissal, and banishment, among others. This ability does not prevent them from using ethereal jaunt, however.
Lingering Acid (Ex): Horgs emit a corrosive fluid from their teeth and claws. A successful hit deals an additional 2d4 points of acid each round for five rounds, unless somehow neutralized. Consecutive attacks stack.
Skills: Horgs have a +4 racial bonus on Move Silently checks. *A horg's dead-black skin grants it a +8 circumstance bonus on Hide checks made in shadowy areas and the blackness of space.
In Greyspace
In the Spelljammer setting, horgs are found mostly in the asteroid belt known as The Grinder, where they harass ships and settlements. |
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1992 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Originally found in Greyspace |
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