Avalancher

Avalanchers are bizarre and dangerous creatures that live along the rocky slopes of tall mountains. They are scavengers that use their ability to cause avalanches to bury potential prey, allowing them to feast at their leisure. While dangerous to hunt, avalanchers are prized by mountaindwelling races as a prime source of meat, although killing an avalancher is a mighty chore. Some races even “herd” avalanchers by keeping them penned on plains where their fearsome abilities pose little threat.

To the casual viewer, an avalancher resembles a large boulder of the same coloration and texture as the surrounding terrain. Occasionally, it will stretch out its single eye that sits on the end of a tough tendril to scout the landscape. An avalancher spends most of its time immobile but can move with startling speed on spindly, crablike legs.

An avalancher is 6 feet tall and weighs 400 pounds.

Avalanchers speak rudimentary Terran.

While not particularly bright, avalanchers possess a deep cunning and use their intimate knowledge of mountainous terrain to their advantage. An avalancher’s preferred tactic is to hide on a rocky slope above a game trail or other path, using its cause avalanche ability to send a torrent of rocks down on its prey. It also bull rushes opponents, knocking them off cliffs to their deaths on the rocky crags below. It will use its transmute rock to mud ability against opponents that would not other wise be affected by a sliding avalanche. If losing a combat, an avalancher will trigger its cause avalanche ability and “ride” the rocks down to safety⁠—​being immune to bludgeoning damage, it is not harmed using this tactic.

Cause Avalanche (Su): Three times per day, an avalancher can let loose a low, rumbling noise that causes avalanches. This avalanche originates within 30 feet of the avalancher and must take place on terrain that has both loose rock and a significant slope (DM’s discretion). The avalanche moves down a 45-degree slope at a speed of 30 feet per round (slower on a gentler slope, faster on a steeper one). It spreads outward in a cone, dealing 2d6 points of damage to anyone caught in its path (DC 15 Reflex half). Creatures that fail this save must make a DC 20 Reflex save or become buried beneath the rocks. Buried characters take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage per minute. If a buried character falls unconscious, he or she must make a DC 15 Constitution check or take 1d6 points of lethal damage every minute thereafter until freed or dead.

Transmute Rock to Mud (Sp): Once per day, an avalancher can use transmute rock to mud as the spell. Caster level 9th.

Skills: An avalancher has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened. An avalancher gains a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks when in areas of rocky or mountainous terrain.

Avalanchers are most commonly encountered in the mountains northwest of the Eldeen Reaches, although larger specimens are known to dwell in the Mror Holds.