Friday, April 22, 2016

Frightful Fridays! Katakirauwa

Hello, and welcome back to another edition of Frightful Fridays!, after much too long of a break. Theodric the Obscure received some wonderful news (which I won't share, because I am protecting his obscurity), so I'm celebrating with...an evil pig? Sure, why not?

I hope you enjoy this week's monster, and I hope to be back next week with something else. Thanks for your patience, and thanks for reading!


This pig is missing its left ear and its eyes glow red. Adding to its eerie appearance, it casts no shadow.
Katakirauwa      CR 5
XP 1,600
CE Small magical beast
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +14
DEFENSE
AC 19, touch 15, flat-footed 15 (+3 Dex, +1 dodge, +4 natural, +1 size)
hp 57 (6d10+24)
Fort +9, Ref +8, Will +4
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft.
Melee bite +11 (1d6+6)
Special Attacks create, soul-draining charge
STATISTICS
Str 19, Dex 16, Con 18, Int 5, Wis 14, Cha 9
Base Atk +6; CMB +9 (+11 bull rush); CMD 23 (25 vs. bull rush, 27 vs. trip)
Feats Dodge, Improved Bull Rush, Mobility, Power Attack, Spring Attack
Skills Acrobatics +10 (+14 to jump), Perception +14, Stealth +11; Racial Modifiers +8 Perception
ECOLOGY
Environment temperate forests and plains
Organization solitary, pair, or sounder (3–6)
Treasure none
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Create Spawn (Su) If a humanoid creature dies as a result of a katakirauwa’s soul-draining charge, the slain creature rises as a zombie 2d4 rounds later. The katakirauwa has no control over the zombie, but it does not attack the katakirauwa.
Soul-Draining Charge (Su) If a katakirauwa succeeds at a bull rush attack during a charge, it passes through its opponent’s legs, dealing 1d4 Cha damage. If the katakirauwa scores a natural 20 on its CMB roll, it instead deals 1d4 Cha drain. A creature reduced to 0 Charisma dies as a result.

Frightful stories tell of one or more unnatural pigs running rampant through a large population center, and, merely by charging between the legs of their victims, destroying their souls and leaving shambling husks in their wake. These creatures are difficult to bring down for the average townsfolk who also have to deal with friends and family turning into zombies. While katakirauwa are not highly intelligent, they are clever enough to attack at night when their lack of shadows will not give them away. Katakirauwa also make an initial attack in an outlying area to create a small pack of zombies they then lure to a settlement, allowing them to prey on people in the chaos.

Katakirauwa spontaneously generate piglet versions of themselves after they destroy four souls, but their increased numbers generally reduce their overall threat. Uncooperative creatures among themselves, an overly large group of katakirauwa falls into disarray as individuals attack each other to prevent them from stealing souls.

Powerful undead creatures often “raise” a katakirauwa and use it to soften up resistance and to bolster its ranks of undead minions.