Cynosphinx

A jackal's head draped in a tattered headdress extends from a winged, leonine body.

Cynosphinx (CR 6)

Large Magical Beast
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Initiative: +1
Senses: Darkvision 60 feet, Low-Light Vision, Scent; Perception +8

Speed: 30 feet, Fly 60 feet (poor)
Space: 10 feet

Defense

Armor Class: 20, touch 10, flat-footed 19 (+1 Dex, +10 natural, -1 size)
Hit Points: 76 (9d10+27)
Saving Throws: Fort +9, Ref +7, Will +5
Immunity: disease

Offense

Melee: bite +13 (1d8+7 plus disease and Trip), 2 claws +13 (1d6+5)
Reach: 5 feet

Special Attacks: devour secret lore, disease, Pounce, powerful bite, trip

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 9th; Concentration +11):

• At Will- Speak with Dead (DC 15)
  
  
• 3/day- Detect Thoughts (DC 14)
  
  
• 1/day- Animate Dead, Seek Thoughts (DC 15)

Statistics

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
20 (+5)	13 (+1)	17 (+3)	15 (+2)	14 (+2)	14 (+2)

Base Attack Bonus: +9
CMB +15 (+17 Trip)
CMD 26 (32 vs. Trip)

Feats: Cleave, Fly-by Attack, Deft Maneuvers

Skills: Fly +4, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (any one) +11, Perception +8, Sense Motive +8, Survival +8

Languages: Common, Draconic, Sphinx

Special Abilities

Devour Secret Lore (Su)

When a cynosphinx reduces a living creature below zero hit points, it steals some of its essence. Treat the cynosphinx as if it were the target of an aid spell with a caster level equal to the dying target's Hit Dice. A cynosphinx can only affect a single creature with this effect once in a 24 hour period.

Disease (Ex)

Carrion fever: Bite-injury; save Fort DC 17; onset 1 day; frequency 1 day; effect 2 Con damage; cure 2 consecutive saves.

Powerful Bite (Ex)

A cynosphinx adds 1-1/2 times its Strength bonus to its bite attack.

Ecology

Environment: Warm Deserts or Hills
Organization: solitary
Treasure: standard


Cynosphinxes are hoarders of secret knowledge and guardians of abandoned ruins. Those who intrude upon the realm of a cynosphinx and fail to offer a tribute of secret knowledge provoke the beast to savage anger. Whereas androsphinxes barter information for the sake of achieving enlightenment, cynosphinxes strive to learn secrets to gain power over others. Often, a cynosphinx enters a parley hoping to secretly learn clandestine information with its ability to read its target's thoughts, steering the conversation toward such topics with leading questions. Quick to anger, the cynosphinx kills those it feels are inferior, knowing that it still has the opportunity to converse with the trespasser after its death. If the knowledge it seeks is relayed during clever, amusing conversation, the sphinx rewards the provider with invaluable clues to a desired object or location, or simply safe passage through its territory, though the cynosphinx rarely shares any of its own secrets willingly. A cynosphinx stands 12 feet tall at its powerful shoulders. Built of muscular flesh and sinew, a cynosphinx weighs roughly 1,200 pounds.

Ecology Rare even among sphinxes, a cynosphinx is a terror of the desert. Were it not for its fixation on secrets, it would be a scourge to all who dwell among the sands. Its canine head grants it a sense of smell superior to that of other sphinxes, giving it the ability to stalk prey in conditions of poor visibility. Though it possesses massive wings, a cynosphinx is an ungainly flier. In addition to hit-and-run attacks from above, one of its favored tactics is to hover over an enemy and whip up a cloud of dust and debris to blind its prey. Like all sphinxes, a cynosphinx is long-lived, but it has a particularly selfish desire to cling to its lengthy existence, making it a careful combatant who will flee rather than perish. This obsession usually leads a cynosphinx to search out the secrets of longevity and immortality, not just for its own use, but also because it knows the value mortals place on such secrets.

A cynosphinx requires little sustenance and even prefers to feed on carrion, finding rotting flesh more palatable. Because of this, an area with a few hundred gravesites can sustain a cynosphinx for several millennia. Even when a cynosphinx makes a fresh kill, the creature lets it rot for several days before devouring the carcass. Its diet mainly consists of the decaying corpses found abandoned within its lair, with bone marrow being a particular treat. Due to its affinity with the dead, and its obsessive need to learn secrets, a cynosphinx always interacts with its exhumed morsels, speaking with the dead and learning what it can before fully consuming the body. Like a scholar devouring knowledge from a book, a cynosphinx pores over both the physical and intellectual particulars of its strange corpse diet.

When a cynosphinx sees fit to mate—usually once its will to live ends—it needs a gynosphinx, just like other sphinxes do. However, due to the cynosphinx's disdain for mating, not to mention gynosphinxes' utter disgust toward cynosphinxes, this type of union is rare. In nearly every case, the resulting offspring from such a pairing is a cynosphinx. Gynosphinxes want nothing to do with such offspring, and offer no protest when the cynosphinx takes the progeny away. Before it dies, the new father brings the child to its lair, leaving its progeny a carcass to learn from and feed upon.

Habitat & Society Cynosphinxes dwell among the abandoned burial sites of civilized folk. Due to their obsession with lost secrets and their steady diet of carrion, a cynosphinx's ideal lair is a graveyard, tomb, or necropolis. When a cynosphinx takes up residence at such a site, the otherwise contemplative creature defends its territory with tenacity. However, if a visitor approaches a cynosphinx's territory with the promise of divulging secret lore, the sphinx may grant an audience. In such an instance, if the promise of lore fails to satisfy the cynosphinx, the intruder finds herself quickly under attack. Fortunately, many tombs and necropolises have tight nooks and narrow crannies far too small for a cynosphinx to maneuver in. If a clever traveler offers to explore these regions for the obsessive cynosphinx, she may find this arrangement to be just the bartering chip she needs to leave the sphinx's territory alive.

Solitary by nature, a cynosphinx truly feels comfortable only among the dead, and leaves its lair only for brief, localized patrols or when a longer journey promises to unearth lost knowledge. Cynosphinxes are always male and treat other sphinxes as inferior, save for androsphinxes. Cynosphinxes ignore criosphinxes, subjugate hieracosphinxes, and only associate with gynosphinxes for the purpose of mating—an act cynosphinxes find revolting. If a cynosphinx finds its only recourse to extend its legacy is through mating, this is usually done through blackmailing a gynosphinx or resorting to other forms of coercion or subterfuge. In fact, a cynosphinx would rather discover a means of extending its own lifespan than sire an offspring—as they view even their own progeny as threats to their well-guarded store of knowledge. Toward the androsphinx, the cynosphinx harbors a seething jealousy. Envious of the androsphinx's superior intellect, wisdom, and guile, a cynosphinx will plot to murder any androsphinx it discovers. Cynosphinxes believe they can extract a wealth of knowledge and learn powerful secrets from the carcass of a slaughtered androsphinx using their speak with dead ability. If a cynosphinx's food supply is abundant, the one category of creatures with whom it will ally is the undead. It is common for a cynosphinx to take a place at the head of an undead menace or even to serve a greater power such as a graveknight or a lich.

Cynosphinxes as Mounts Although they have the physical ability to carry a rider, cynosphinxes cannot be trained as mounts. They are intelligent beings who choose for themselves whether to accept a rider. A worthy rider is usually a powerful undead creature of evil alignment with whom the cynosphinx has an obsession, or who has promised eldritch secrets in return for service. Often, a creature petitioning a cynosphinx for this arrangement must provide such knowledge regularly for the cynosphinx to continue to grant its consent as a steed. A cynosphinx is considered a special cohort, not a normal mount.