#ucelat

[thecreaturecodex]

Ucelat

“One Fire” © “Atenebris”, accessed at her deviantArt gallery here

[Commissioned by @justicegundam82​. I’ve known about Atenebris’ fanged bird monsters for years, and knew I wanted to use that design for something. This Northern Italian monster fit the bill nicely. Here is the only English language source I could find. Some Italian sources accessed on Google Translate suggested that the hunter was attacked for poaching birds, not just while hunting them. This inspired the “overzealous guardian of nature” approach I took in my flavor text.]

Ucelat CR 7 NE Magical Beast This immense creature is mostly birdlike. Its head bears the ears and mane of a horse, and its mouth is packed with sharp tusk-like teeth. Its muscular legs end in curved talons, and it appraises the world around it with glimmering eyes.

The ucelat is a guardian of primal nature that resents the intrusions of humanoids into the natural world. They are evil, but theirs is the evil of disproportionate retribution—all infractions against the unspoiled wilderness are to be punished by death. As such, they often count among their allies evil druids or more sinister fey. Their greatest enemies are the gods of civilization, who they see as upstarts and worthy only of scorn.

An ucelat commonly patrols its territory from on high, soaring above the hills and mountains it calls home in search of intruders. These it dives upon, often bombarding them with magically conjured rocks to weaken them before swooping down to clutch and tear their flesh. Ucelats have magical control over fire, and can use it to lash out at foes that shelter in places too small for them to reach. It is widely rumored that ucelats can be defeated with holy weapons or turned like the undead, but the truth is that they fear honest faith. A holy relic frightens them less than the prayers of those who believe in that relic’s power.

An ucelat has a wingspan of about thirty feet. They are long lived, and can survive several centuries if not slain in combat.

Ucelat    CR 7 XP 3,200 NE Huge magical beast Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +12, scent Defense AC 20, touch 10, flat-footed 18 (-2 size, +2 Dex, +10 natural) hp 82 (11d10+22) Fort +9, Ref +9, Will +6; +2 vs. divine spells DR 10/magic; Resist fire 10 Weakness impious Offense Speed 30 ft., fly 80 ft. (average) Melee bite +12 (2d6+3), 2 claws +12 (1d6+3 plus grab) Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks bombard, powerful charge (bite, 4d6+6) Spell-like Abilities CL 7th, concentration +9 3/day—faerie fire, pyrotechnics (DC 14), scorching ray 1/day—fire shield, shout (DC 16) Statistics Str 16, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 15 Base Atk +11; CMB +16 (+20 grapple); CMD 28 Feats Alertness, Blind-fight, Combat Reflexes, Hover, Improved Initiative, Power Attack Skills Fly +4, Perception +12, Sense Motive +9 Languages Common, Sylvan Ecology Environment temperate and cold mountains and hills Organization solitary or pair Treasure incidental Special Attacks Bombard (Su) As a standard action, an ucelat may conjure a supernatural rock-fall in a cylinder 40 feet high with a 20 foot radius. All creatures in the area take 5d8 points of bludgeoning damage (Ref DC 17 half). This counts as a magical weapon for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction. The boulders remain in the area, creating difficult terrain. An ucelat may use this ability three times per day, but must wait 1d4 rounds between uses. The save DC is Charisma based. Impious (Ex) An ucelat gains a +2 racial bonus on all saving throws against divine spells, or the spell-like abilities of extraplanar outsiders. However, it fears an honest prayer. A creature may pray aloud in a language the ucelat understands as a standard action and make a Knowledge (religion) check (DC 15). If it succeeds, the ucelat must succeed a Will save (DC 15, plus 2 for every 5 points the Knowledge [religion] check exceeds DC 15) or be panicked for 1d6+1 rounds. If the ucelat saves against the prayer of that creature, it is shaken for 1 round and immune to further prayers from that creature for the next 24 hours.