Snallygaster

This lean, scaly beast has broad wings, horns, a single eye, and writhing tentacles within its sharp, toothy beak.

Snallygaster (CR 3)

Medium Aberration
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Initiative: +2
Senses: Darkvision 60 feet, Scent; Perception +7

Speed: 20 feet, Fly 60 feet (good)
Space: 5 feet

Defense

Armor Class: 15, touch 12, flat-footed 13 (+2 Dex, +3 natural)
Hit Points: 30 (4d8+12)
Saving Throws: Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +6

Offense

Melee: bite +6 (1d8+3/x3 plus bleed), 2 claws +6 (1d4+3), sucking tentacles +1 (1d4+1 plus Grab)
Reach: 5 feet

Special Attacks: aerial charge, Bleed (1d6), sucking tentacles

Statistics

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
17 (+3)	15 (+2)	16 (+3)	5 (-3)	14 (+2)	9 (-1)

Base Attack Bonus: +3
CMB +6 (+10 Grapple)
CMD 18 (22 vs. Trip)

Feats: Fly-by Attack, Skill Focus (Stealth)

Skills: Fly +10, Perception +7, Stealth +9 (+13 in forests)

• Racial Modifiers: +4 Stealth in forests

Languages: Aklo (can't speak)

Special Abilities

Aerial Charge (Ex)

When a snallygaster charges downward at an angle of 45 degrees or more, its bite attack deals double damage (or triple damage on a critical hit). Bleed damage is not multiplied for this attack.

Sucking Tentacles (Ex)

A snallygaster uses its retractable tentacles to suck blood from its victim's bleeding wounds. If a target has a bleed effect and the snallygaster grabs it with tentacles or maintains a grapple against it, the target takes double the normal bleed damage at the beginning of its next turn. When the snallygaster is using its tentacles, it cannot make bite attacks.

Ecology

Environment: Temperate Forests or Mountains
Organization: solitary or pair
Treasure: none


The snallygaster is a hideous amalgamation of lizard and bird that preys on unwary travelers. Its claws and beak have an almost metallic sheen to them, hinting at their sharpness and strength. Black stripes run the length of its scaly blue hide all the way to the tip of its long, sinuous tail.

The snallygaster's serpentine neck terminates at a small, birdlike head with a single eye set in the center of the forehead. In place of a tongue, its long throat contains a slobbering mass of tentacles that twist and squirm grotesquely whenever the creature extends them.

A typical snallygaster measures 9 feet from the tip of its tail to the point of its beak, with a wingspan of 15 feet and a weight of approximately 200 pounds. The snallygaster is an ambush predator, attacking its prey from above. Once it spots a potential victim, it dives toward its unsuspecting foe, using the fall to build up momentum.

Once its foe lies dead or unconscious, the snallygaster uses its tonguelike tentacles to slurp up the victim's blood. The only thing a snallygaster craves more than blood is alcohol, and it spends much of each autumn scouring its territory for fermenting fruit, on which it gorges itself until thoroughly inebriated. Intoxicated snallygasters are extremely aggressive.

Snallygasters prefer to nest in wooded, mountainous regions. They are primarily active during the day, which they spend searching for food or scaring off rivals. Whether or not a female snallygaster finds a mate, it lays one to two eggs per year.