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Message: <blockquote data-quote="D.Shaffer" data-source="post: 3238469" data-attributes="member: 8918">Cave Hodag - CR3 Magical BeastHodag, CaveIn the gloom of the cavern, you are surprised to see a small, faintly red light hovering over a boulder. After a few moments, it descends behind the rock. You hear the rustle of a few pebbles as a strange black creature, about the size of a large housecat, scampers out from behind the boulder and runs for a nearby side passage.  It runs with a strange, rolling gait, each clawed leg seeming to stretch and compress as it makes its escape and there is the faintest wisp of a foul smelling odor emanating from its direction. It looks behind it once before disappearing down the passage, giving you a glimpse of 3 red eyes, horns and glistening fangs as vanishes in the darkness.Cave Hodag CR 3Often Neutral Tiny Magical beastInit +2; Senses Darkvision 90 ft., Lowlight Vision, Scent; Listen +5, Spot +5Languages Cave Hodag, Understands (But can not speak) Common---------------------------------------------AC 22, touch 14, flat-footed 20(+2 Dex, +2 size, +8 natural)hp 22 (3 HD); DR 5/MagicResistance Telescopic Legs (See Below)Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +2---------------------------------------------Speed 30 ft. (6 squares), Climb 20 ft., Instinctive Balancing (See Below)Melee 2 Claws +7 each (1d4+1), Bite +2 (1d6), Gore +2 (1d4), and Tail Spike +2 (1d4)Atk Options Pounce, RakeSpace 2.5 ft.; Reach 2.5 ft. (5 ft. with tail)Base Atk +3; Grp -4---------------------------------------------Abilities Str 13, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 8SQ Roving Eye (See below)Feats Endurance (B), Stealthy, Weapon FinesseSkills Balance +2 (+10 on difficult terrain), Climb +10, Hide +14, Listen +5, Move Silent +9, Spot +5Advancement 4-5 HD (Small)Level Adjustment +2 (Cohort)---------------------------------------------Instinctive Balancing (Ex) The hodag is able to instinctively adjust its telescopic legs to keep itself level, allowing it to run across broken or uneven terrain.  A cave hodag gains a +8 racial bonus to balance checks when dealing with difficult terrain. Additionally, it is never considering flat footed when making balance checks on this type of terrain.  Cave Hodags also receive a +4 bonus to reflex saves to avoid being knocked prone due to traps or similar effects.Pounce (Ex) If a hodag charges a foe, it can make a full attack, including two rake attacks. Rake (Ex) 2 claw attacks, +5 melee (1d4+1)Roving Eye (Su) The third eye of a cave hodag is actually detachable and able to move on its own.  A hodag must concentrate to move its roving eye, but otherwise sees through it as normal. A hodag can not move its eye more then 100 feet away from it, and it can not cross dimensional boundaries.  If the eye is forced beyond this distance, it remains inert until it once again enters range. If a hodag's roving eye is destroyed, the hodag is blinded for 2d4 rounds. A destroyed roving eye will regenerate after this time. Treat a hodag's roving eye as a Fine creature with AC 20, 5 hp, and flight 40 ft. (perfect maneuverability).Telescopic Legs (Ex) The leg bones in a cave hodags legs are telescopic, sliding in and out of each other and allowing it to adjust its height. This allows it to act as a larger creature in certain circumstances. A cave hodag is treated as a creature two sizes larger when making jump checks or when vertical reach would otherwise be important.  Since it can also use this ability to brace itself against certain attacks, it is also treated as two sizes larger when defending against Bull Rush, Overrun, and Trip attacks.  The cave hodag never gains the improved reach or facing of a larger creature through the use of this ability.---------------------------------------------This strange, three eyed, subterranean creature is a distance relative of the ferocious black hodag.  Smaller, more intelligent, and much less vicious then its cousin, the cave hodag is content to prey on the smaller creatures of the underdark.  It generally prefers to avoid other intelligent races, but has a strange preference for kobold flesh.  Its 3 eyes are faintly bioluminescent, and it is well known for its telescoping legs and detachable eye.  Those who befriend a cave hodag quickly discover that it is fairly intelligent.  Many communities near cave hodag nests will attempt to keep them nearby as they keep down the pest population and are not aggressive like many underdark species, considering this a fair trade off for the smell.STRATEGIES AND TACTICSWhile armed with considerable natural weaponry and armor, the cave hodag is a timid creature. Given any choice in the matter, it would prefer to avoid fighting; using its superior movement abilities and small size to escape through passages other species can not pass through. Cave Hodags mostly eat creatures their size or smaller, not attacking larger creatures unless cornered or defending their young.If forced into a fight, or while hunting, cave hodags prefers to attack from ambush.  If it can do so without provoking an Attack of Opportunity, it will open the attack with a pounce, using its vast array of natural attacks to finish off its prey as quickly as possible.  Against larger targets, it will rely on its tail and stage a series of separate attacks, lashing out with its tail once before retreating to a new position.  Due to the nature of its legs, it is able to run across terrain that would slow other creatures and will often incorporate this into its attacks.A cave hodag will use its roving eye to scout ahead of it to minimize danger to itself, observe strangers, or seek out prey.ECOLOGY AND SOCIETYThe strange cave hodag is a subterranean carnivore that is distantly related to the Black Hodag.  While it resembles its large cousin in many ways, being a voracious eater and covered with protective spines and weapons, it is much smaller, smarter, and less aggressive.  While it looks fearsome, it would much rather avoid fighting anything bigger then itself. The one exception appears to be with kobolds. Cave hodags adore kobold flesh, much in the same way their larger cousins enjoy dog meat, and will often attack these larger creatures if the odds seem favorable.Besides its size and intelligence, the cave hodag has several other oddities that distinguish it from its larger cousin.  The cave hodag's third eye is detachable and capable of moving through the air on its own.  It uses this eye to hunt, scout territory, and to avoid predators. Additionally, all the eyes of a hodag are naturally bioluminescent, glowing with a faint red light when emotionally upset.  It can turn this effect on and off, and does not require it to see.  The other odd feature involves its telescopic legs.  The legs of a hodag are made up of separate segments that can slide and out of one another allowing it to close to quadruple its natural height, provide level footing, or brace against other objects.Cave Hodags live in small packs consisting of several family members and their mates, creating nests in easily defendable caves and niches. Cave Hodags mate for life, with young cave hodags being born every 10-11 years. Young cave hodags are completely helpless for the first couple years of life and are protected by the entire pack.  While hodags tend to hunt individually, any kills are brought back to the nest and shared among its members.  The entire pack will work together to defend the nest against larger predators or to take down a delicious kobold snack.  In lean times, a pack will migrate to new territory, splitting into several smaller packs to better enhance their chance of survival. The cave hodag language is a mixture of vocal signals, leg and tail movements, and flashes of light from its eyes. A cave hodag secretes chemicals from its scent glands to mark its pack's territory, most creatures find this odor to be foul smelling.Environment: While all cave hodags live in subterranean areas such as the underdark, they prefer cave complexes near the surface.  Unlike many Underdark dwellers, they actually enjoy the occasional visit to the surface world and thus often come in contact with surface dwellers.Typical Physical Characteristics:  A cave hodag is a mammal with short black fur. Its shape is roughly like that of a squat lizard with a low lying body, four legs and a long tail.  It head seems large in proportion to its body and is topped with a pair of horns.  Its face resembles that of a human with a a third eye in the middle of its forehead and a perpetual toothy grin due to its large fangs. Its legs are splayed out and oddly segmented, each foot ending in claws, 3 facing forward and 1 facing rear.  A row of curved spikes, resembling bull horns, starts at its neck and ends at its tail. The tail tip has a single spine on the end. The typical cave hodag is roughly 4 feet long, half of that being its tail. A cave hodag gives off an odor most humanoids find unpleasant.Alignment: Most cave hodags are neutral, caring more for the survival of their extended family then any moral or philosophical code.  Exceptions certainly exist, but due to their curious and non aggressive nature they are rarely evil. TYPICAL TREASURECave hodags do not seek out material wealth, but they are fond of comforts when they can get them. They will go to great lengths to gain tasty kobold flesh.FOR PLAYER CHARACTERSWizards who can get used to the smell will sometime take a cave hodag as a familiar.  A character with improved familiar can take a cave hodag as a familiar at level 7.  Adventurous cave hodags occasionally form bonds of friendship with characters, allowing them to be taken as cohorts.CREATURE LORECharacters with ranks in Knowledge (Arcane) or Knowledge (Dungeoneering) can learn more about cave hodags. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs.Knowledge (Arcane)13 This weird creature is a cave hodag, a small predator of the Underdark with keen senses. This reveals all Magical beast type information.18 The cave hodag has an impressive array of teeth and claws, but is harmless for the most part. Its skin will shrug off non magical weapons and they are known to cooperate and defend one another.23 The cave hodag has many strange features. Its extending legs allow it firm purchase on many surfaces. It also has a detachable eye that it can use to observe from a distance.knowledge (Dungeoneering)16 This is a cave hodag. They are known among underdark dwellers to be fond of kobold meat, but are relatively harmless, if not beneficial.20 Cave Hodags are intelligent creatures and form pack groups. If you see a group of cave hodags, you are most likely near their nest and should be wary less they deem you a threat.</blockquote>

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