Here it is, NarlethDrider, the Canopy Scorpion. A few of the templates were a bit ambiguous, as I applied them to the “wrong” type of monsters (baboons aren’t humanoids, which might have screwed up the tauric template a bit). Hmm… maybe they should be allowed the use of their hands; those six arms are somehow useless… Anyway, I did the best I could, although the CR might be a little low. They seem to have a LOT of sensory abilities that could really change the nature of a fight. But here they are:
Canopy Scorpion: Insectile Tauric Baboon/Large Monstrous Scorpion.
Large Aberration
Hit Dice: 5d8+ 10 (32 hp)
Initiative: + 6.
Speed: 50ft, climb 50ft.
AC: 20 (+2 Dex, +8 natural)
Base Attack/Grapple: + 5
Attack: 2 Claws +8 (1d6+3), Bite +8 (1d6+3)
Full Attack: Attack: 2 Claws +8 (1d6 +3), Bite +8 (1d6 +3), Sting +3 (1d6+1 + poison).
Face/Reach: 10 ft x 10 ft/ 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, Squeeze, Poison
Special Qualities: Vermin, Scent, Darkvision 60ft, Tremorsense 60ft, Wide Vision
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +3.
Abilities: Str 17, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 4.
Skills: Hide +16 (8), Spot +21 (8), Climb: +15 (0)
Feats: Improved Initiative, Cleave, Alertness (bonus feat)
CR: 4 (CR 5 in a dead magic zone)
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the canopy scorpion must hit with its claw attack. If the attack succeeds, it may attempt to grapple its opponent as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. If it gets a hold, it hangs on and stings.
Squeeze (Ex): A canopy scorpion that gets a hold on an opponent of its size or smaller automatically deals damage with both claws, and can bite and sting at its full attack value.
Poison (Ex): This poison is injected after every successful sting attack. It’s fortitude saves have a DC of 18, and damage is temporary: 1d6 Str initial,1d6 Str secondary.
Vermin Traits (Ex): Canopy scorpions are immune to mind affecting abilities, feats, or spells.
Scent (Ex): Canopy scorpions can detect opponents within 30 feet by sense of smell. If they are downwind from their opponents, this range increases to 60ft. If they are upwind, it drops to 15ft. This ability allows a general sense of the source of the smell; it can only be pinpointed if it is within 5ft. This ability allows the canopy scorpion track its prey, following by its sense of smell. The DC for a fresh trail is 10, with a +2 to the DC for every hour the trail has gone cold. It is unaffected by surface condition and poor visibility. Otherwise it functions as the Track feat.
Darkvision (Ex): This ability functions exactly like in the PHB, with a range of 60 ft.
Tremorsense (Ex): The canopy scorpion can automatically sense the location of anything within 60ft as long as it is in contact with the ground or with surrounding plant matter.
Wide Vision (Ex): Because of its multiple eyes, a canopy scorpion has a +4 racial bonus to spot checks, and cannot be flanked. These abilities stack with all other skill bonuses, including other racial bonuses.
Skill Bonuses (Ex): Canopy scorpions gain a +4 racial bonus to climb, hide and spot checks. This bonus stacks with all other skill bonuses, including other racial bonuses. Its climb speed grants it an additional +8 bonus to all climb checks.
History and Description:
Created by the Necromancers of the Ju’lessa jungle, Canopy Scorpions are perfect guardians for the City of the Dead.
The Ju’lessa jungles have never been a stable place. They are, in fact, a roiling green sea of chaos: new species constantly emerge from the riots of plant matter, and are just as quickly destroyed. You never know quite what to expect when you journey into its depths.
Long ago, the jungle was a simple forest. At the center was an ancient temple to a god of death. Great battles of magic were fought around the temple, as it was a scourge upon the surrounding nations. The land became tainted with magic: blood and arcane energy seeped deep into the earth, turning it sour. The temple fell, but the taint remained. And slowly the jungle itself became a greater threat than the temple had ever been.
Enter the Necromancers. They preached a neutral view of death: it was a natural part of life, and unlife was simply the next step. As the surrounding kingdoms fell prey to the strange creatures that emerged from the jungle, their farmland disappearing as the vicious green spread, the Necromancers made an offer. They would suppress the jungle’s growth, as long as they were given the use of the temple within. They promised not to use it for evil, and the nations agreed. A great spell was cast, the jungles receded, and the Necromancers took the temple for their own, and built a great city around it.
And so it was, and now is, that the entire Ju’lessa jungle is a zone of dead magic, save for the City of the Dead at its heart. True, it is still a place of constant change, as all jungles are. But no longer does dark magic fuel its growth.
But the dead magic presented the necromancers with a problem. They needed to guard their city. They could not defend the entire border of the jungle, nor could they defend just the city; the jungle was where the defenses would have to be made.
Mundane defenses, pitfalls, spikes and traps, were the first thought. And they were easily installed. But still, in a city of mages, who could defend a place where magic did not function?
Charrum Darius was their salvation. He was not actually a necromancer, but close to it. He was not fascinated with unlife but rather the alteration of life itself. Specifically, he was a passionate crossbreeder. And so the mantel fell on his shoulders to create a creature through magic, which was in the end devoid of any magic. And so the Canopy Scorpion was born.
With the body of a scorpion, and a baboon’s torso emerging from its neck, itself with six arms and eyes, and covered with chitin, the canopy scorpion was a sight to behold. It climbed using both the six arms on its baboon torso, and the six legs on its scorpion abdomen. Its claws emerged from behind the baboon torso, and were quite powerful. Its tail was long and sharp, and dripped with venom. And its mouth was a horrible amalgam of a baboon’s sharp teeth and an insect’s mandibles, huge and vicious.
The canopy scorpions possessed extraordinary sensory organs: their many eyes provided a huge range of vision, even in the dark. Their noses somehow survived the crossbreeding process, and are used to sniff out prey. Additionally, their many appendages can sense the most minute of vibrations, letting them sense any enemy that touched the ground. Their poison was a natural secretion, in no way magical but still potent.
Tactics: Canopy scorpions typically hide in the upper reaches of the jungle’s trees. They drop down on their prey silently, hoping for surprise. If they do attack first, they typically grab with their powerful claws before biting at their victims neck (to silence the screams). When they are granted a full attack action, they sting their victims and bite and claw until they die, then use their cleave attack to grab the next one and repeat the process.
Even out of their natural habitat, canopy scorpions are extremely good at sensing intruders, as their scent and tremorsense abilities let them find invisible opponents (even if they are flying, they still smell). They are always alert. At the first sign of opponents, they will attempt to hide (so that they can surprise whatever it is) and, baring that, they will simply charge the being.
