Krenshar
Climate/Terrain: Temperate Forest
Frequency: Rare
Organization: Pride
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Carnivorous
Intelligence: Semi (2 – 4)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral __________________
No. Appearing: 1 – 10
Armor Class: 5
Movement: 15
Hit Dice: 2
Thac0: 19
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attacks: 1d6
Special Attacks: Scare, Fear
Special Defenses: Nil.
Magic Resistances: Nil.
Size: M(5’ – 6’)
Morale: Elite(13 – 14)
XP Value: 120
The Krenshar is a long, low, catlike creature. Its belly fur is a light tan or off white, darkening as it moves up the body to a grayish tan, with dark grey spots and a stiff mane running from right behind its ears, to halfway down its back. Its tail is lion-like, with a tuft of hair at the end. Its face is somewhat rubbery to the touch, as the creature can, by contract certain muscle, cause the skin to fold up and off the muscles and bone of the creatures skull, giving the creature its more common name; The Skull Cat.
Combat
Krenshar hunt in prides. They use their powerful jaws to bring down prey. A Krenshar pride will usually stalk prey for a significant portion of time, looking for a weak or injured animal. The pride will then send one between 1 and 3 individuals to “flush out” the prey, usually opening by folding back their faces to reveal the skulls and muscles. This causes most creatures to make a save vs. Paralyzation with a +3 bonus or function as if the Scare spell had been cast upon them(does not effect creatures with more than 6 HD). If this fails to get the prey moving, the flushers will release a screech forcing anyone in earshot to make a save vs. spell or suffer the effects of a Fear spell. Once they prey is running, the flushers give chase, using their scare and fear screech tactics as needed to herd the targeted prey to where the rest of the pride hides so they can ambush it. Krenshar are immune to the scare and fear effects of other Krenshar.
Habitat/Society
Krenshar prides are made up of a dominant matriarch and her offspring as well as males looking to breed with the matriarch. Krenshar do not stake out territories, but instead travel as the whim takes the matriarch, only stopping when the Matriarch is near to giving birth, and a suitable lair can be found. This lair is usually a bear or wolf den that the Krenshar have taken over. The matriarch stays within the lair until the young are old enough to travel with the pride. Until that point, the next strongest female of the pride leads the hunt. When a pride leaves an area, sometimes it leaves an individual or two behind. These lone Krenshar, if they survive, often become the starts of new Krenshar prides.
Ecology
Krenshar are mid-level predators, just above wolves and bears on the food chain. Despite their catlike appearance, the Krenshar is actually more closely related to Hyenas. As such they are regarded as Holy by the handful of Gnolls who still worship Gorellik, even going so far as to having developed a special magic item, the Krenshar Headdresses, from them. Those Gnolls who have turned to Giantish Gods, or the much more common worship of Yeenoghu actively hunt and kill Krenshar, regarding them as a blemish. The animals also have additional use for wizards as the teeth, heart, and eyes may be used as alternate components for casting the Scare spell.
Krenshar Headdress
This item is the cleaned off skull of the Krenshar, with the pelt still attached at the base. The Skull is worn on top of the head, with a hide thong to keep it on the head. 3 times per day, the wearer, by clutching the skull and chanting the right phrase may use the Scare spell on all those who stand in his presence(anyone able to clearly see the eye sockets of the skull).
XP: 1,000
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