Many
generations ago, in the Kingdom of Fūd, the local population of rabbits boomed.
Before long, the rabbits were everywhere, driving the local villagers into a
panic. They pleaded with their king, Elmer, to save them, to stop the
infestation, the plague of rabbits. The king promised that he would solve this
problem.
He consulted his wisest advisor, Will Ever Coy of Oteville.
Will suggested the creation of a grand beast to eradicate the threat of hares
for all times. The king was pleased and ordered Will to commence.
A mere month later (perhaps Will had the aid of brightly
insane gods), Will unveiled to the king a mighty best, dubbed the “Harebane.”
The king was very pleased. Soon those rabbit rascals would be no more. “Unleash
the Harebane!” the king ordered, and so it was.
The hare horde, though vast and brutal (?), stood no chance
against the might of Harebane. Within days, the land was stained with the blood
of the slaughtered. The people were sickened by the massacre, and frightened by
the new beast that roamed the land.
They pleaded with the king to remove this new creature from
the realm before it turned on them. He promised he would. Of course, the people
didn’t care that the Harebane never attacked them and was, in fact, quite
friendly. The king sent out troops to kill the Harebane, and the soldiers
succeeded. The mighty Harebane was dead. The people rejoiced.
Little did the king or the people know that Will had a
created an immortal champion to defend the people from the hare horde.
The Harebane is a large, draconic beast, with blood red and
dirt-brown scales, in cross-marked patterns. It stands as large as a man, and is
easily twice as long. It has a large maw filled with massive, sharp teeth,
designed to rip and shred (despite this, the Harebane is actually a herbivore).
Its back is armor plated, and brutal-looking spikes line the head and tail. The
Harebane is unusually quick for its size, and it is a fierce combatant. When
faced with rabbits, the Harebane shows no mercy, gives no quarter. It will only
attack other creatures if they attack first, and even then, it will try to
outrun them when possible.
Adventure
Seeds
1.
Many years have passed since the Harebane was created.
In that time, the story has changed, becoming a tale of a mighty beast (now
named Foekiller) summoned to stop invading bandits. A local village has been
suffering at the hands of bandits recently, and they want to hire the PCs to go
to the ruins of Castle Fūd, find the ritual used to summon the “Foekiller”, and
call it forth. The PCs will find the Harebane living peacefully in the castle
ruins. It matches the description of the “Foekiller”, but it is smaller, and
amazingly friendly, like a dog.
2.
The PCs are hired by the mayor of a local town to
investigate reports of a “horrible monster” that has been spotted in the area
recently. This beast has been destroying gardens, and trampling fences all over
the place. The PCs will track the beast, and confront it, but it will not be
what they expected. They will have to deal with the friendly nature of the
Harebane, and explain things to the mayor.
COMBAT
Immortality (Ex): It is possible to kill a Harebane with standard methods,
but once it dies, it will be reborn again in 1d6+12 months, usually 2d10 miles
away from where it died. To prevent the beast from being reborn, one must use a
wish within one minute of the creature’s death.
Improved Grab (Ex): If the Harebane scores a hit with
its bite attack, it can attempt to start a grapple as a free action without
provoking an attack of opportunity. No initial touch attack is required. The
Harebane will only attempt to grab Small or smaller opponents. The Harebane will
attempt to swallow a grabbed opponent.
Swallow Whole (Ex): The
Harebane can attempt to swallow any opponent of Small size or less that it
successfully grabs. To do this, the Harebane must succeed in a grapple check.
The swallowed victim suffers 1d8 points of crushing damage per round, and 4
points of acid damage per round. The victim can attempt to cut his way out of
the Harebane by inflicting 20 or more points of damage with a Tiny slashing
weapon. The Harebane can hold two Small, four Tiny, eight Diminutive, or sixteen
Fine or smaller creatures in its belly.
Trample (Ex): As a standard action during its turn,
the Harebane can run over an opponent of Small size or less. The trample
inflicts 1d8+4 points of damage. Opponents who do not attempt attacks of
opportunity are allowed Reflex saves (DC 16) for half damage.
Skills:
The Harebane gains a +6 racial bonus to Wilderness Lore checks when dealing with
rabbits and their relatives.