| Hit Dice: | 10d10+70 (125 hp) |
| Initiative: | +0 |
| Speed: | 30 ft. (6 squares) |
| Armor Class: | 19 (–1 size, +10 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 19 |
| Base Attack/Grapple: | +10/+20 |
| Attack: | Bite +15 melee (2d6+6) |
| Full Attack: | Bite +15 melee (2d6+6); 2 claws +10 melee (1d6+3) |
| Space/Reach: | 10 ft./10 ft. |
| Special Attacks: | Improved grab, rend 2d6+9 |
| Special Qualities: | Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent |
| Saves: | Fort +14, Ref +7, Will +4 |
| Abilities: | Str 23, Dex 10, Con 24, Int 3, Wis 12, Cha 8 |
| Skills: | Hide +2, Spot +10, Survival +3; racial bonuses |
| Feats: | Cleave, Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Track |
| Environment: | Temperate marshes |
| Organization: | Solitary |
| Challenge Rating: | 8 |
| Treasure: | None |
| Alignment: | Usually neutral |
| Advancement: | 11–15 HD (Large); 16–30 HD (Huge) |
| Level Adjustment: | +5 (cohort) |
This hulking biped has the mass of a giant. It has a stooped frame, a gray, hairless body, and broad shoulders. Its arms are long and sinewy, and its clawed hands scrape along the ground as it walks. Its sloped forehead bears six small, yellowish eyes. Its mouth is wide and powerful-looking, filled with black teeth.
Bestial and savage, the gray render is a deadly predator found in remote wilderness areas.
These beasts are thought to be composed of dense muscle and bone, granting them the strength and stamina of a giant. A gray render stands about 9 feet tall in spite of its hunched posture and is about 4 feet wide. It weighs about 4,000 pounds.
Rangers have reported seeing renders uproot trees 3 feet in diameter with their jaws and tear them into splinters in just minutes.
Gray renders are never found in groups. Each of these asexual creatures produces one offspring and carries it for a time in a pouch, but thereafter the young render must fend for itself.
A unique quality of the gray render is its tendency to bond with, protect, and provide for another creature (or group of creatures) native to its surroundings. This strange behavior seems contrary to its otherwise savage nature, yet gray renders have been found with wolves, lions, horses, displacer beasts, owlbears, unicorns, hippogriffs, and occasionally even humanoid groups. Whether accepted or not, the render always attempts to remain fairly close, watching over its adopted charge(s) and daily bringing an offering of meat. It never willingly harms adopted creatures and retreats if they attack it. Most adopted creatures quickly begin to appreciate having such a powerful ally and accept and even rely on the gray render.
A gray render attacks to kill, whether to bring down prey or to protect itself or those it has adopted. When hunting, it sometimes attempts to hide and wait for prey to wander close.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a gray render must hit with its bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.
Rend (Ex): A gray render that wins a grapple check after a successful bite attack establishes a hold, latching onto the opponent’s body and tearing the flesh. This attack automatically deals 2d6+9 points of damage.
Skills: Gray renders have a +4 racial bonus on Spot checks due to their six keen eyes.
Source: Monster Manual (version 3.5), page 138.