Ormyrr

Ormyrrs are intelligent, seminomadic creatures that live in small settlements along muddy river banks and lake shores. For the most part, they keep to themselves, except while hunting or feeding their passion for acquiring magic items.

An ormyrr has an enormous, grublike body that can measure as much as 25 feet long. At the top of the body is a froglike head that appears impossibly large and heavy. Below the head, four short but powerful arms extend out from the body. Thick, bony ridges above the eyes and a wide mouth filled with serrated teeth complete the beast’s monstrous appearance.

Hunting parties of ormyrrs can roam as far as 40 miles from their homes. They travel by river as much as possible during their forays, then come ashore for the actual hunt.

Ormyrrs have no magical ability at all, but magic fascinates them; in fact, their goal as a race is to develop a unique ormyrr magic. They covet magic and magic items, and the chance to take possession of a magic item, scroll, or book is the one thing that can make one of these normally reasonable creatures lie, steal, or attack without provocation.

Needless to say, this tendency can draw them into conflict with adventurers. Since they are innately lawful, however, those seeking to recover magic items that ormyrrs have stolen can sometimes get farther by appealing to the creatures’ sense of right and wrong than by attacking, hurling accusations, or trying to steal the items back.

Ormyrrs speak Common.

Combat

Most often, ormyrrs fight with weapons rather than with their claws. The typical ormyrr possesses at least one magic weapon, usually with a +1 or +2 enhancement bonus, and fights with more than one weapon at once to take advantage of its enhanced multiweapon fighting special quality.

A preferred tactic among ormyrrs is to hide along a river bank and ambush enemies with a hail of hurled stones, sling stones, axes, and nets. If the situation looks promising, the ormyrrs close in with drawn weapons. If not, they simply slip into the river and swim away from danger.

Constrict (Ex): With a successful grapple check, an ormyrr can crush a grabbed opponent, dealing 1d8+12 points of bludgeoning damage.

Improved Grab (Ex): If an ormyrr hits an opponent that is at least one size category smaller than itself with two claw attacks, it deals normal damage and attempts to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity (grapple bonus +23). If it gets a hold, it also constricts on the same round. Thereafter, the ormyrr has the option to conduct the grapple normally, or simply use its claws to hold the opponent (–⁠20 penalty on grapple check, but the ormyrr is not considered grappled). In either case, each successful grapple check it makes during successive rounds automatically deals damage for two claw attacks.

Enhanced Multiweapon Fighting (Ex): This ability lessens the penalty for off-hand weapon use by 2 for both primary and off hands. Thus, when combined with the creature’s Multiweapon Fighting feat, it allows the use of one or more light off-hand weapons with no penalty on the attack rolls.

Weapon Use (Ex): An ormyrr is proficient with all simple and martial weapons.

Source: Monster Manual II, page 167. This creature’s statistics block has been updated to version 3.5 as given in the D&D® V.3.5 Accessory Update for Monster Manual II.