Ahuitzotl

Ahuitzotl

The Ahuizotl is an unusual and disturbing monster native to the thick jungles and decrepit of Primus. This primate-canine hybrid beast's most distinguishing feature is the fully functioning hand at the end of its tail.

Ahuizotl

Medium Magical Beast

Element:

Fatigue: d+ ()

Speed: squares

Physical Base Bonus: +

Mental Base Bonus: +

Attack: Melee + ()

Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.

Special Attacks:

Defenses: Fort , Ref , Will , Wit

Physical Threshold: , Social Threshold:

Abilities: Str 10 (+0), Dex 10 (+0), Con 10 (+0), Int 10 (+0), Wis 10 (+0), Cha 10 (+0)

Skills:

Racial Features:

Feats:

Talents:

Maneuvers:

Languages:

Environment:

Organization: Solitary

Challenge Rating:

Level Adjustment:

Reward:

Special Abilities

• Need a Hand? () []

Thanks to their unique biology, Ahuizotl's have the unique ability of "assisting" themselves. Whenever they perform a skill check, they may choose a different skill (relevant to the task at hand) that would "assist" them in that task and roll a confirmation roll. If they succeed, they grant themselves an assist bonus. In addition, when assisting an ally, they use two separate skills, both of which can grant separate assist bonuses if successful.

• Mimic Voice () []

Ahuizotls can mimic voices and sounds with ease, provided they have heard them in action at some point. When mimicking such sounds, others cannot distinguish the voices as fake, but they can tell the direction and point of origin of it, or notice irregularities in the spoken subject matter, prompting a DC25 to recognize you as the source of the sounds. If you are seen moving your lips your mouth whilst mimicking, they roll a DC15 instead.

• Ventriloquism () [] - 2/Day

When using "Mimic voice", the Ahuizotl may choose a different creature or object to be the "source" of the mimicked voice and the creatures lips do not move, prompting no penalties from it. The Ahuizotl can choose to make the chosen source of the sound obvious, or hidden (requiring a DC25 to decipher that object as the "source" of the sounds). Creatures will only assume the Ahuizotl as the actual of the sound if the chosen "source" of the mimicked voice is illogical, impossible, or it is very obvious the Ahuizotl mimicked a sound.

• Tricky Tail () []

The Ahuizotl gains the following abilities from its tail: - It can anchor itself to a spot, or serve as an anchor for others, provided it can succeed an endurance check (DC15 or higher, depending on pull force). - It can make grab/restraint/manipulation of objects or creatures attempts at a distance of up to 10 feet, so long as its tail is un-restrained.

• Natural Swimmer () []

As part of its racial heritage the Ahuizotl is a born swimmer. It gains a +10 bonus to swimming in any condition (Including swimming in partially liquid substances, such as mud, in the middle of a whirlpool, or liquid rainbows, but NOT viscous substances such as jelly) and can hold its breath for up to Constitution Modifier x 10 minutes. The Ahuizotl may reduce this time by a self-determined amount, to allow others to breathe for that long.

• Water Stalker () []

An Ahuizotl can hide inside any pool of liquid large enough to accomodate its size. It gains a +10 bonus on appropriate Hide checks. The Ahuizotl can perform skill checks on anything/anypony within 10 feet of the liquid it is hiding in.

Appearance

According to the few recorded sightings of this rare and elusive beast, the Ahuizotl is a rather unusual (and some would say disturbing) looking creature. This creature is covered in dark black-purple fur with aquamarine skin, and has the hind legs of a dog-like creature with the front paws of a primate. It has a long head with pointed ears, a toothy overbite, a short mane, and eyes that seem a tad too close to its nose. The ahuizotl's mose famous feature is the fully formed and functional hand at the end of its prehensile monkey-like tail.

Behavior

The Ahuizotl is much like a large dog with smooth and slippery skin. Upon the end of its tail is a hand, much like that of a monkey or a raccoon which it uses to grasp things or to drag away its victims. This is in addition to their forepaws which they can also use. Their tail-hand is often used to anchor themselves to the ground (by grasping onto a nearby solid object) or to drag things behind themselves (very useful when swimming). Its home is often hidden in caverns below the watery depths. It will lie in wait in swampy waters or rivers seeking to drag ponies down into the depths and take them to its cavern below the waters. If it goes too long without finding a victim, it will weep like a child, like a small foal or a loved one. So that unsuspecting victims might hear it and think a foal is weeping, and when they go to investigate, they will be caught by the Ahuizotl. An Ahuizotl becomes especially adept at storing air in their mouth. While underwater, he can store up to 30 minutes of breathable air in his mouth and can use it to blow bubbles filled with breathable atmosphere. He can blow a bubble large enough to encompass a ponys head which allows the target five minutes of breathable air. Further applications can increase the time to a maximum of thirty minutes. Also, given sufficient time and a suitable underwater cavern, an Ahuizotl can fill an underwater location with air to create a habitable area filled with breathable air. Most Ahuizotl use this ability to create secret lairs where few others would be able to follow.

Trivia

• Most residents of Equestria know Ahuizotl as the primary antagonist of the best-selling "Daring Do" novels. Due to it's outlandish description, many fans of the books without the proper foreknowledge assume that the creature is something that was completely made up by the author(s?).
• Rumor has it that the Ahuizotl prefers to eat the eyeballs and hooves/claws of its victims.

Story Hooks

• Seapony Legends - There are rumors of seaponies living around a specific area (most likely a beach, in a lake, or near rocky cliffs) and visitors will often hear a hauntingly beautiful voice singing during the night. Some ponies have become enraptured by these rumors, but all who go to investigate eventually disappear without a trace. The players investigate and find that a band of Ahuizotl have made a lair near that location and have been singing to lure in travelers and potential victims. Their victims are all trapped in the underwater lair, forced to work for them or be sold to slavery.

• Haunting Hermit - A lone Ahuizotl lives in the forest or swamp, he tends to keep visitors or predators away by imitating the cries of large and dangerous monsters. Someone has recognized one of his latest cries as that of an adult dragon and they want the players to investigate this potential dragon appearance.

• Mischief Mimicry - In school, a young Ahuizotl pup has just discovered his natural ability to mimic the voices of others and has started showing it off. Some of his classmates think it's cool and it seems to be the only reason they hang around the weird-looking kid. Cue a group of kids running around town getting into trouble with one of them having the ability to mimic voices and other noises.