Tsathar

This vile creature resembles an upright, humanoid frog with gray flesh and reddish-gold eyes. Its humanoid arms end in wicked claws.

Tsathar (CR 2)

Medium Monstrous Humanoid (Aquatic)
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Initiative: +6
Senses: Darkvision 90 feet, Scent; Perception +9

Speed: 30 feet, Swim 30 feet
Space: 5 feet

Defense

Armor Class: 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+2 armor, +2 Dex, +4 natural)
Hit Points: 13 (2d10+2)
Saving Throws: Fort +1, Ref +5, Will +4
slimy
Weaknesses: light blindness

Offense

Melee: shortspear +3 (1d6+1) or kukri +3 (1d4+1/18-20) or 2 claws +3 (1d6+1), and bite +3 (1d4+1)
Reach: 5 feet
Ranged: shortspear +4 (1d6+1) or net +4 touch (entangled)

Special Attacks: leap, summon hydrodaemon

Statistics

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
13 (+1)	14 (+2)	12 (+1)	12 (+1)	12 (+1)	10 (+0)

Base Attack Bonus: +2
CMB +3
CMD 15 (27 vs. Grapple)

Feats: Skill Focus (Perception), Improved Initiative

Skills: Acrobatics +3 (+17 long jumping, +27 high jumping), Climb +5, Escape Artist +15, Perception +9, Stealth +6, Swim +14

• Racial Modifiers: +12 Escape Artist, +14 Acrobatics when long jumping or +24 Acrobatics when high jumping

Languages: Abyssal, Tsathar

Special Qualities: Amphibious, implant

Special Abilities

Implant (Ex)

Tsathar are sexless, reproducing by injecting eggs into living hosts. An egg can be implanted only into a helpless host creature. The host must be of Small size or larger. Giant frogs, bred for this very purpose, are the most common host. Implanting an egg requires one minute to perform. Accompanying the egg is an anaesthetizing poison that causes the host to fall unconscious for the two-week gestation period of the egg unless the host succeeds on a DC 20 Fortitude saving throw; this save DC includes a +8 racial bonus. If the save succeeds, the host remains conscious, but is violently ill (-10 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, and skill checks) 24 hours before the eggs hatch. When the eggs mature, the young tsathar emerges from the host, killing it in the process. A remove disease spell rids the victim any implanted eggs. A DC 20 Heal check can be attempted to surgically extract an egg from a host. If the check fails, the healer can try again, but each attempt (successful or not) deals 1d6 points of damage to the patient.

Leap (Ex)

Tsathar are incredible jumpers, able to leap up to 30 feet horizontally or 10 feet vertically. They have a +14 racial bonus on horizontal jumps, or +24 on vertical jumps, and they do not need to make a 10-foot minimum running start before jumping to avoid doubling the jumping DCs. Tsathar can always take 10 when making an Acrobatics check to jump. When a tsathar begins its round by jumping next to an opponent it can make a full attack in the same round. A tsathar wearing medium or heavy armor or carrying a medium or heavy load cannot use this ability.

Summon Hydrodaemon (Sp)

A tsathar with at least five levels of cleric can, once per day, attempt to summon a hydrodaemon (q.v.) with a 40% chance of success. This ability is the equivalent of a 4th-level spell.

Slimy (Ex)

Because tsathar continuously cover themselves with muck and slime, they are difficult to grapple. Webs, magic or otherwise, do not affect tsathar, and they usually can wriggle free from most other forms of confinement. This grants them a +12 racial bonus to their CMD to escape grapples, and to their Escape Artist checks.

Ecology

Environment: Underground or Temperate Marshes
Organization: solitary, gang (2-5), or pack (6-40 tsathar, with 1-4 tsathar scourges accompanied by 3-12 killer monstrous frogs, led by a tsathar cleric or oracle of 3rd-6th level)
Treasure: standard


Tsathar (pronounced \"suh-Thar\") are a race of froglike humanoids that dwell in fetid swamps and dark caverns deep beneath the earth. They worship a strange and terrifying demonic being known as Tsathogga, and often hunt down and capture individuals of other humanoid races to serve as sacrifices or victims in their foul breeding pits. Tsathar prefer to use short, barbed spears and kukri-like daggers in combat. They sometimes employ nets as well. They charge into combat with maniacal fury, and rarely use elaborate tactics, unless a scourge or priest is present to control them. They favor leather armor crafted from the hides of the frogs they breed. Priests favor the wicked kukri in battle. Scourges prefer to loose their servant frogs on opponents, allowing common tsathar soldiers to engage opponents hand-to-hand. This is not to say that they are not capable fighters, for they certainly are. They favor barbed shortspears, twisted kukri-like daggers, and light armor such as leather or studded leather. They also often carry nets to snare their charges or foes. If their frogs are in danger, they leap in with their spears and attack. A typical tsathar stands 6 feet tall and weighs about 300 pounds. A tsathar scourge is slightly bulkier, of equivalent height but weighing about 350 pounds.

Tsathar Society

Tsathar prefer to live in fetid lairs deep underground or in dark swamps. When they dwell above ground, they are nocturnal. Some few surfacedwelling tsathar have joined cults of assassins. Tsathar communities are led by priests-common tsathar with levels of cleric or oracle. They revere the demon-god Tsathogga, a foul toadlike demonic being that grants them access to the Chaos, Destruction, Evil, and Water domains, and the Catastrophe and Demon subdomains. Tsathar are sexless and reproduce by implanting an egg into a host, which can be any form of living creature. Normally, creatures are captured or bred to serve as hosts-dire rats and giant frogs being common hosts. It is said that priests must be born of an egg implanted into a humanoid or other creature of great intelligence.

Tsathar Characters

Tsathar favor barbarian, ranger, rogue, and fighter classes. Those tsathar destined for priesthood become clerics or oracles. +2 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom. Darkvision: Tsathar can see in the dark up to 90 feet. Scent. Racial Hit Dice: A tsathar begins with two levels of monstrous humanoid, which provide 2d10 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +2, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +0, Ref +3, and Will +3.

Racial Skills: A tsathar's monstrous humanoid levels give it skill points equal to 2 x (4 + Int modifier). Tsathar gain a +12 racial bonus on Escape Artist checks from their slimy ability, a +14 racial bonus on Acrobatic checks when making long jumps, and a +24 racial bonus on Acrobatic checks when making high jumps.

Racial Feats: A tsathar's monstrous humanoid levels give it one feat. In addition, all tsathar gain Skill Focus (Perception) as a bonus feat. AC: +4 natural armor bonus. Weaknesses: Light blindness. Natural Weapons: Tsathar can fight with 2 claws that deal 1d6 base damage and a bite that deals 1d4 base damage.

Weapon Proficiency: Tsathar are automatically proficient with the kukri, net, and shortspear. Special Attacks: Leap, summon hydrodaemon (see above). Special Qualities: Amphibious, implant, slimy (see above). Languages: All tsathar begin play speaking Abyssal and Tsathar. Bonus languages for tsathar, are Aklo, Common, Draconic, Gnome, Terran, and Undercommon.