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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cleon" data-source="post: 4657704" data-attributes="member: 57383">Fearsome Critters from Lumberjack Tales - The BilldadBilldadSmall Magical BeastHit Dice: 2d10+2 (13 hp)Initiative: +3Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)[80 ft. with Leap!], swim 20 ft.Armor Class: 17 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +3 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 14Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+0Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d6+3) or tail slap +5 melee (1d8+3 plus stunning tail)Full Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d6+3) or tail slap +5 melee (1d8+3 plus stunning tail)Space/Reach: 5 ft./ 5 ft.Special Attacks: Stunning tail, thunderclap leap, toxic hydromaniaSpecial Qualities: Hold breath, leap!, scent, superior low-light visionSaves: Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +2Abilities: Str 14, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6Skills: Jump +14 [+60 with Leap!], Hide +15, Listen +11, Move Silently +7, Spot +14, Swim +10Feats: Alertness, Blind-FightBEnvironment: Temperate lakes and marshesOrganization: Solitary, pair or family (3-8)Challenge Rating: 2Treasure: 50% goods (pelt & liver, see below)Alignment: Always neutralAdvancement: 3 HD (Small), 4-6 HD (Medium)Level Adjustment: —This critter looks like a bizarre cross between a wallaby, a beaver and a hawk. It's got the hooked bill and piercing eyes of a bird of prey, mighty long legs and scrawny arms like a kangaroo, plus webbed paws and a heavy, flat tail that any beaver would be proud to possess. A lustrous coat of brown fur covers the animal's body and limbs. It's also got big triangular ears like a cat.Billdads are weird-looking mammals about the size of a large beaver who live in and around large freshwater ponds and lakes surrounded by ancient forest. These are very rare animals, only being found in a few out of the way regions that meet their exacting standards.A typical billdad is 2½ feet long, not including a foot-long tail, and weighs fifty pounds or so.Billdads are best known for two traits. First, they hunt fish at night by waiting at the water's edge until they see a fish break the surface, then make an amazing leap across the water to just past the fish, who they stun with an explosive tail-slap. Second, their flesh is a strange poison which drives those who taste it to leap into the nearest large body of water and drown.CombatBilldads are very reluctant combatants, they would rather flee foes than fight them. If forced into a melee they prefer to defend themselves with their tails, in the hope of stunning their assailants and opening an opportunity to escape. They always head for water and try to flee beneath its surface, usually heading for the submerged entrance of their lair.A billdad is only likely to act aggressively in defence of its mate or offspring, or if it has been driven mad by spell or disease. In either case, it will use its Thunderclap Leap! special attack against the greatest perceived threat.Hold Breath (Ex)A billdad can hold its breath for a number of rounds equal to twice its Constitution score before it risks drowning.Leap! (Ex)A billdad can leap an immense distance as a standard or full-round action. The billdad makes a Jump check with a +30 competence bonus, and for all aspects of that Jump check its speed is increased to 80 ft. (thus adding an additional +16 on the Jump check and a maximum distance of 80 ft. for that action's movement). The Jump DC is not doubled if the billdad does not get a running start.This ability offers little protection from the impact of the Leap! If the billdad lands on a hard object after Leaping it must make a DC15 Reflex check or suffer 2d6 damage, treated as falling damage. Any object it strikes will suffer the same damage. For this reason, the billdad almost always Leaps! Into a body of water.After using its Leap! ability, the billdad must wait at least a minute (10 rounds) before it can use it again.Stunning Tail Slap (Ex)Any creature struck by the billdad's tail-slap attack must make a DC13 Fortitude save or be stunned for its next round. Alternatively, if the tail-slap hits the surface of a body of water then any creature in the water within a 10 ft. radius burst of the impact point must make a DC 13 Fortitude save or be staggered for its next round. The save DC is Strength based.Superior Low-Light Vision (Ex)A billdad can see five times as far as a human can in dim light.Thunderclap Leap (Ex)As a full round action, a billdad can use its Leap! Special Quality followed by an augmented Stunning Tail Slap doing double damage (2d8+6) to the creature struck plus stunning it for 1d3 rounds, if the target makes a Fortitude save against DC15 they merely take regular tail damage (1d8+3) and are staggered for a round.Alternatively, if the tail-slap hits the surface of a body of water,  any creature in the water within a 10 ft. radius burst of the impact point takes 1d4+1 damage and is stunned for its next round, if the creature makes a DC 15 Fortitude save they take half damage and are not stunned.The damage caused by a Thunderclap Leap's augmented Stunning Tail Slap is half bludgeoning (round up) and half sonic (round down), so a Thunderclap Leap doing 13 hit points of damage is 7 bludgeoning and 6 sonic. The save DC is Strength based and includes a +2 racial bonus.Toxic Hydromania (Su)Any creature which tastes the flesh or blood of a billdad must make a DC16 Will save or be filled with an irresistible urge to head at their top speed towards the nearest large body of water and leap into it. This compulsion lasts for 2d4 rounds, during which the creature receives a +20 enhancement bonus to their Jump checks. At the end of this period, or when the creature succeeds in jumping into deep water, they must make a second DC16 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 2d4 rounds. Such a paralyzed character can not hold their breath, so must immediately begin to make Constitution checks against drowning at the usual DC (10+1 per round).Creatures with the Aquatic subtype are affected different, being compelled to swim to shore and leap upon dry land, where they "drown" if they cannot breathe air.Toxic Hydromania is both a Mind-Affecting, Compulsion Enchantment and a Poison effect. It will affect creatures which hit a billdad with a bite attack or eat the flesh of a dead billdad, whether raw or cooked. The attacker must take at least a small mouthful to be affected, so are unlikely to be accidentally affected. e.g. a warrior hitting a billdad with an ax could cause blood to spray over them, the few drops that may enter their mouth won't be enough for Toxic Hydromania to occur.The save DC is Constitution based and includes a +4 racial bonus.SkillsA billdad has a +4 racial bonus on Listen and Move Silently checks and a +8 racial bonus on Hide, Jump and Spot checks. A billdad 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.EcologyBilldads are nocturnal-crepuscular carnivores, but pose little threat to mankind since they habitually only eat fish and are exceedingly shy, retreating at the first hint of human intrusion.The most obvious evidence a billdad's about is hearing loud splashes in a pond at night, like the sound of a paddle striking the water magnified tenfold or more, the noise of a billdad's famous fishing method. The billdad crouches on a vantage point overlooking the water, such as a grassy knoll or the stump of a tree, and waits until its hawk-keen eyesight spots a fish near the surface, mayhap a trout rising to gulp down a fly. With astonishing speed, the billdad then leaps across the water to splashdown just past the fish, where it smashes its tail down like a thunderclap. This stuns the fish, which is immediately picked up and eaten by the billdad. Tall-tale spinners have wildly exaggerated the distance a billdad can leap, boasting of effortless jumps of 60 or 100 yards. In truth, a run of the mill billdad has an average leap of a chain's length (66 feet) or so.A billdad possesses the "sixth sense" of electrolocation through receptors in its beak and face, this gives it a crude blindsense it uses to navigate in its burrows and hunt in the black muddy depths of ponds. Billdad swim too slowly to chase down fast-moving fish, but their electrosense helps them catch slower prey like bottom-dwelling fish, crawdads and turtles. Billdads mostly hunt underwater at dawn and dusk, using the leaping method during the night between, they may hunt underwater during the daytime if they or their kits are particularly hungry. A billdad may find as much food underwater with its electrolocation than it catches with its spectacular leaps.Few creatures prey upon billdads, for they have a very effective defence mechanism. Imbued in their flesh is a magical poison that compels creatures that ingest it to leap into the nearest large body of water and then paralyses them, resulting in rapid drowning. Aquatic predators are compelled to leap out onto dry land instead. There are reports that the water panther and the wooly giant pike have an innate immunity to this poison, so will happily eat billdad, but this has not been confirmed.These are very quiet animals, leading to a common belief that billdads are mute. In fact they can emit a range of soft hoots, sighing groans, grunts and very rarely startling shrieks (which appear to strartle billdads as much as they do humans), plus a burring hum which serves the same purpose as a cat's purr, but sound weirdly different. However, billdads do most of their long-distant communication by beating the ground or water with their tales, and have an semi-instinctive "language" of tail beats that can convey a range of messages. Amongst those known to master Lumberjacks are: Two extremely loud beats in rapid succession is an alarm signal; two pairs of beats in rapid succession is a territorial declaration/warning; a rapid staccato splashing is a male signaling his suitability/desire to mate – females can apparently use this signal to judge the power of the male's tail, their key criteria for his fitness as a mate; or three spaced-out and flat sounding "slaps", which signals a female's willingness to consider a suitor.Billdads get along very well with beavers, and often live in the latter species' pools. Both species recognize the meaning of the other animal's tail-slap alarm signals.Adult male billdads grow considerably larger than the females. While a female billdad grow up to five to six feet long, including tail (4 Hit Dice), the largest males may reach more than eight feet (the largest specimen on record was a "Gran'Pappy" billdad 9 feet 8 inches long, including its 3 foot 5 inch tail, estimated to weigh 310-380 pounds).During daytime billdads sleep in burrows excavated in the banks of their pool. These have two underwater entrances, the only sign above the water are a few cunningly concealed airholes that are easily mistaken for the warren of a tiny rodent. Billdads are egg-laying mammals like duck billed platypodes, producing a clutch of 2-6 eggs the size of a largish goose egg (about 5 ounces). Infant billdads are called "kits" just as beavers' young are. Unlike the platypus, the male billdad provides food for his mate while she's incubating her eggs. Once the eggs hatch the female starts making short forays outside in between nursing her young, leaving the male to guard the burrow. These excursions increase in frequency and duration until the kits are weaned, by which time both parents spend equal time guarding the burrow and fishing for food.Billdads are monogamous, once they pair with a mate they generally stick to them unto death, only seeking a replacement if their mate dies or is lost. Neither sex are above having illicit liaisons, though. Being solitary hunters, mated billdads are rarely seen together above ground. Most of the time a billdad spends with its mate is in their burrow. On very rare occasions, a male will support two females in separate burrows at the same time, or a female will share a burrow with two males; this usually occurs when a billdad "remarried" after losing a mate, then the supposedly lost mate returned.Newborn billdads weigh about four ounces and are completely helpless, lacking any natural offence or defence. Their flesh is not even poisonous until they begin to develop their incredible leaping ability when the kit has reached a few pounds in weight, the two traits are obviously connected.It is rare for a pair of billdads to succeed in raising all their young, usually only 1-3 survive long enough to leave the nest. The commonest reason for this is that the billdad's simply could not catch enough fish to feed them all. When the billdad kits start to starve, the pragmatic parents will kill the weakest and feed its flesh to the others.TreasureUnfortunately for the billdad, although this poison heartily discourages folk from eating them, it's also a very valuable ingredient for crafting items imbued with the jump spell, resulting in over-hunting that has made these critters even more incredibly rare than they were historically. The "leaping juice" is concentrated in the billdad's liver, which can easily be preserved in vinegar or alcohol; such a liver can fetch 40% of the treasure value of the billdad's Challenge Rating (240 gp for an average billdad).A billdad's fur resemble a beaver's from a distance, which may lead one to think it's of little value. There's little cachet in wearing the skin of an extraordinarily rare animal if it looks just like a common one. Up close a billdad's pelt is quite different; being fine, lustrous, silky smooth and astonishingly warm and water resistant. Billdad pelts in good condition are worth 60-200 gp (10% of Challenge Rating).A billdads liver is literally worth twice its weight in gold – 1 pound per 100 gp value, while the pelt weighs about a pound per 10 gp value.[Note that you may want a billdad's flesh to lose its toxic properties a few hours after the creature's death but retain its alchemical/magical value, to prevent it being abused as a poison.]Lore ChecksDC 12 - A billdad be a right funny lookin' varmint. It's 'bout the size of a beaver I reckon, with fur like a beaver an' a tail like a beaver too, but real big. But they's got a curved beak like a fish-hawk, an' strong back legs fur jumpin' – dem back legs like a hoppin' rat's legs, ye unnerstand, not like a frog's – but only little arms in front. They comes out at night to the edge of a pool and waits for fish to splash to the surface, den they jumps out over the water quick as a flash and smacks their tail down on that fish so hard it's like they'd set off a charge of smokepowder in the water. Dat's how dey fishes for their supper, see.DC 27 - Well I've heard of billdads but never set eyes on one meself, they's really shy critters. Dey's not real dangerous, cause a billdad would sooner run away and hide soon as they knew a man was about, although I did hear about a fellow who grabbed hold of a billdad kit, which made Papa billdad so angry he jumped ten yards in the air and came down to smack that fellow so hard with its tail it turned half that man's bones and his flesh to jelly. One think folks has been speculatin' about is whether billdad make good eatin', no one hereabouts can remember ever catching one to see what they taste like.DC 22 - Whatever you do, don't eat a billdad! Some folks may tell you they're good eatin', but that's a damned lie. Billdad meat is deadly poison, if you eat one it'll drive you mad so's you think ye are a billdad, then you'll rush over to a pond and jump into it and drown. Funny thing is, there's summat in the flesh that means those who eat it can jump nearly as far as a billdad can. There are alchemists and other learned folk who can distill jumpin' potions out of a billdad's liver. So, if you ever kill a billdad, cut out its liver and pickle it in likker or vinegar, 'cause billdad livers sell for a right pretty price. There's a good bounty on their skins as well.Advanced BilldadsThe stats for a baby and infant kit are included only for completeness, these animals are non combatives. A "Big Kit" billdad is large enough to roam around outside the nest and strike off on its own. Immature billdads do not have fully developed special attacks or special qualities, as indicated in their compact stat blocks.Baby Kit Billdad (Diminutive Magical Beast, Hit Dice: ¼d10+1 (2hp); Init: +4; Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), swim 10 ft.; AC: 18(+4 size, +4 Dex) touch 18, flat-footed 14; Base Attack/Grapple: +1/-12; Full Attack: Bite +4 melee (1d3-1); Space/Reach: 1 ft./ 0 ft.; Special Qualities: Hold breath, scent, low-light vision; Saves: Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +2; Abilities: Str 8, Dex 19, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6; Skills: Jump +1, Hide +24, Listen +11, Move Silently +8, Spot +13, Swim +7; Feats: Alertness, Blind-FightB; CR: 1/10)Li'l Kit Billdad (Tiny Magical Beast, Hit Dice: ½d10+1 (3hp); Init: +4; Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)[60 ft. with Leap!], swim 20 ft.; AC: 17(+2 size, +4 Dex, +1 natural) touch 16, flat-footed 13; Base Attack/Grapple: +1/-7; Full Attack: Bite +3 melee (1d4) or tail slap +3 melee (1d6); Space/Reach: 2½ ft./ 0 ft.; Special Attacks: toxic hydromania [Will & Fort DC11, no racial bonus]; Special Qualities: Hold breath, leap![+22 to Jump (+10 enhancement, +12 speed)], scent, superior low-light vision; Saves: Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +2; Abilities: Str 10, Dex 19, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6; Skills: Jump +8 [+30 with Leap!], Hide +20, Listen +11, Move Silently +8, Spot +13, Swim +8; Feats: Alertness, Blind-FightB; CR: ¼)Big Kit Billdad (Small Magical Beast, Hit Dice: 1d10+1 (13hp); Init: +4; Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)[70 ft. with Leap!], swim 20 ft.; AC: 17(+1 size, +4 Dex, +2 natural) touch 15, flat-footed 13; Base Attack/Grapple: +1/-2; Full Attack: Bite +3 melee (1d6+1) or tail slap +3 melee (1d8+1 plus stunning tail); Space/Reach: 5 ft./ 5 ft.; Special Attacks: Stunning tail [Fort DC 11, tail slap stuns target for 1 round, or 10' burst staggers for 1 round], thunderclap leap [Fort DC 13, tail slap 2d8+2 damage plus 1d3 rounds stun (save ½ damage, 1 round staggered), or 10' burst doing 1d4 damage plus 1 round stun (save ½ damage, no stun)], toxic hydromania [Will & Fort DC13, +2 racial bonus]; Special Qualities: Hold breath, leap![ +32 to Jump (+20 enhancement, +12 speed)], scent, superior low-light vision; Saves: Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +2; Abilities: Str 12, Dex 18, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6; Skills: Jump +13 [+45 with Leap!], Hide +16, Listen +11, Move Silently +8, Spot +13, Swim +9; Feats: Alertness, Blind-FightB; CR: 1)Reg'lar Billdad (Small Magical Beast, Hit Dice: 2d10+2 (13hp); Init: +3; Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)[80 ft. with Leap!], swim 20 ft.; AC: 17(+1 size, +3 Dex, +3 natural) touch 14, flat-footed 14; Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+0; Full Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d6+3) or tail slap +5 melee (1d8+3 plus stunning tail); Space/Reach: 5 ft./ 5 ft.; Special Attacks: Stunning tail [Fort DC 13, tail slap stuns target for 1 round, or 10' burst staggers for 1 round], thunderclap leap [Fort DC 15, tail slap 2d8+6 damage plus 1d3 rounds stun (save ½ damage, 1 round staggered), or 10' burst doing 1d4+1 damage plus 1 round stun (save ½ damage, no stun)], toxic hydromania [Will & Fort DC16]; Special Qualities: Hold breath, leap!, scent, superior low-light vision; Saves: Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +2; Abilities: Str 14, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6; Skills: Jump +14 [+60 with Leap!], Hide +15, Listen +11, Move Silently +7, Spot +14, Swim +10; Feats: Alertness, Blind-FightB; CR: 2)Big Ol' Billdad (Medium Magical Beast, Hit Dice: 4d10+8 (30hp); Init: +3; Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)[80 ft. with Leap!], swim 20 ft.; AC: 16(+3 Dex, +3 natural) touch 13, flat-footed 13; Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+8; Full Attack: Bite +8 melee (1d8+6) or tail slap +8 melee (2d6+6 plus stunning tail); Space/Reach: 5 ft./ 5 ft.; Special Attacks: Stunning tail [Fort DC 16, tail slap stuns target for 1 round, or 10' burst staggers for 1 round], thunderclap leap [Fort DC 18, tail slap 4d6+12 damage plus 1d3 rounds stun (save ½ damage, 1 round staggered), or 10' burst doing 1d6+3 damage plus 1 round stun (save ½ damage, no stun)], toxic hydromania [Will & Fort DC18]; Special Qualities: Hold breath, leap!, scent, superior low-light vision; Saves: Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +3; Abilities: Str 18, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6; Skills: Jump +16 [+62 with Leap!], Hide +15, Listen +11, Move Silently +9, Spot +14, Swim +10; Feats: Alertness, Blind-FightB, Stealthy; CR: 4)Gran'Pappy Billdad (Maximized)(Medium Magical Beast, Hit Dice: 6d10+12 (45hp); Init: +3; Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)[80 ft. with Leap!], swim 20 ft.; AC: 16(+3 Dex, +3 natural) touch 13, flat-footed 13; Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+10; Full Attack: Bite +10 melee (1d8+6) or tail slap +10 melee (3d6+6 plus stunning tail); Space/Reach: 5 ft./ 5 ft.; Special Attacks: Stunning tail [Fort DC 17, tail slap stuns target for 1 round, or 10' burst staggers for 1 round], thunderclap leap [Fort DC 19, tail slap 6d6+12 damage plus 1d3 rounds stun (save ½ damage, 1 round staggered), or 10' burst doing 1d10+3 damage plus 1 round stun (save ½ damage, no stun)], toxic hydromania [Will & Fort DC19]; Special Qualities: Hold breath, leap!, scent, superior low-light vision; Saves: Fort +7, Ref +8, Will +4; Abilities: Str 18, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6; Skills: Jump +16 [+62 with Leap!], Hide +15, Listen +12, Move Silently +9, Spot +15, Swim +10; Feats: Alertness, Blind-FightB, Improved Natural Attack (tail slap), Stealthy; CR: 5)Feat Progression: [1HD] Blind-FightB? [3HD] Stealthy?, [6HD] Improved Natural Attack (tail slap)Ability Bonus Progression: [4HD] +1 Dex</blockquote>

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