Archer Frog |
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Medium Animal
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| Hit Dice: 3d8+3 (16) |
| Initiative: +2 |
| Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), swim 30 ft. |
| Armor Class: 16 (+2 Dex, +4 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 14 |
| Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+5 |
Attack: Tongue +5 ranged (1d8+3)
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Full Attack: Tongue +5 ranged (1d8+3)
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| Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. (15 ft. with tongue) |
| Special Attacks: Attach, drag, melt in mouth, tongue |
Special Qualities: Low-light vision
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| Saves: Fort +6,
Ref +5, Will +1
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| Abilities: Str 17,
Dex 15, Con 13,
Int 1, Wis 10,
Cha 10 |
| Skills: Hide +12, Jump +5, Listen +2, Move Silently +6, Spot +2, Swim +11 |
Feats: Stealthy, Weapon Focus (tongue)
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| Environment: Temperate marsh |
| Organization: Solitary, pair, or pack (3-6) |
| Challenge Rating: 2 |
| Treasure: None |
| Alignment: Always neut |
| Advancement: 4-6 HD (Medium), 7-9 HD (Large) |
| Level Adjustment: - |
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This man-sized frog is mottled green and brown.
Archer frogs are solitary hunters. They prefer to hunt creatures of Small size or larger, as tinier creatures require greater precision to hit with their tongues.
The large throat-sac of an archer frog can create an extremely loud bellow, which is used in mating rituals.
Humanoids such as bullywugs, grippli, and lizardfolk occasionally domesticate archer frogs, training them as guards or mounts. The barbed tips of their tongues can be fashioned into spearheads and other weapon parts. Those who hunt archer frogs wait to strike until the frog has attached to prey, as it results in bonus prey for the hunter.
An archer frog is 6 feet long and weighs 220 pounds.
COMBAT
Archer frogs are ambush hunters, lying in wait until prey comes near and surprising it with a swift tongue attack. They prefer to strike at solitary prey, as they are nearly helpless once they've caught a target with their barbed tongues.
Attach (Ex): If an archer frog hits with a tongue attack, the tongue buries itself in its target, held in place by numerous barbs on the tongue's surface. Each round thereafter that a creature remains impaled by the tongue, it incurs a cumulative -1 circumstance penalty on attack rolls, saves, and skill checks. On the archer frog's turn in subsequent rounds, it attempts to drag its prey closer (see below).
A single attack with a slashing weapon against the tongue (made as an attempt to sunder a weapon) that deals at least 6 points of damage severs the tongue. Removing the barbed tongue (a full-round action) deals 3d4 points of damage to the victim, but if the character removing the tongue makes a successful Heal check (DC 20), this damage is reduced to 1d4 points.
Drag (Ex): After spearing a victim, an archer frog attempts to drag the victim closer on the archer frog's turn in each subsequent round. This activity resembles the bull rush maneuver, except that the archer frog drags its victim 10 feet closer +1 foot for each point by which its Strength check exceeds the victim's.
Melt in Mouth (Ex): Once the archer frog has dragged a speared victim to its space, it automatically holds the victim in its mouth. Each round that the victim spends in the frogs mouth, it takes 1d4 points of acid damage. To escape the hold, the victim must first either sever or remove the frog's tongue from itself (see above) and then succeed on either a grapple check or an Escape Artist check opposed by the frog's grapple check. An archer frog can hold a creature up to its own size category within its mouth in this manner.
Tongue (Ex): The archer frog's barbed tongue serves as its only weapon. It acts as a ranged weapon with a range of 20 feet (no range increment).
Skills: An archer frog has a +8 racial bonus on Hide and Jump checks. It also has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.
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1998 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Originally found in Dragon Magazine #247 |
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