Monster Geographica - Marsh & Aquatic.pdf - The Secrets of the ...

9 War Whale
Huge Animal
Hit Dice: 12d8+72 (126 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: Swim 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 20 (-2 size, +2 Dex, +6 natural, +4
scale barding), touch 10, flat-footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+25
Attack: Bite +15 melee (2d6+12/19-20)
Full Attack: Bite +15 melee (2d6+12/19-20)
Space/Reach: 15 ft/10 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grapple, rage, ram
(2d8+12), shake.
Special Qualities: Battle training, blindsight 120
War whales are killer whales trained as war
mounts, raised from birth to carry orcam warriors into
battle (page 11). Bred for strength and intelligence,
they are kept in special training groups for most
of their young lives. Warriors and whales grow up
together, learning pod defense, and are willing to
sacrifice their lives for the good of the whole. Once a
training group reaches adolescence it is ready to take
its place among the pod’s defenders, and returns to
live among the rest of the community.
War whales spend most of their time near
their pod, alternately patrolling with their orcam
partner, resting, and seeing to the other needs of the
community. When a threat is sighted, all the war
whales gather together, match up with their riders, and
head out to face the threat. If for some reason a rider
is incapacitated, the whale fights as long as possible
by itself, dying if necessary to defend the pod.
Combat
War whales follow their riders’ commands
during combat. Riders typically direct their mounts to
bite or ram opponents as the situation demands. If the
whale has no rider, its reaction depends on its distance
from the pod. If attacked far from its fellows, it tries to
return to its group, but if attacked near its pod the whale
immediately gives a warning call and fights back.
If possible before entering combat, whales take
a deep breath to maximize the time they can remain
submerged. A group of mounted orcam warriors
all surfacing in tandem before submerging is an
intimidating sight indeed.
Battle Training (Ex): All war whales are
trained to attack in tandem with their riders. The rider
directs them and each whale fights in such a way that
their companions can also attack if they make a DC 5
Ride check. A battle-trained war whale also comes if
it hears its name called through whale song.
Blindsight (Ex): War whales can “see” by
emitting high-frequency sounds, inaudible to most
other creatures, that allow them to locate objects and
creatures within 120 feet. A silence spell negates this
and forces the whale to rely on its vision, which is
approximately as good as a human’s.
168
ft., hold breath, low-light vision, resistance to cold
10, whale song
Saves: Fort +14, Ref +10, Will +6
Abilities: Str 27, Dex 15, Con 22, Int 2, Wis 14,
Cha 8
Skills: Listen +13*, Spot +13*, Swim +18
Feats: Alertness, Diehard, Endurance, Improved
Critical (bite), Run
Environment: Any aquatic
Organization: Squad (6-11) or pod (12-50)
Challenge Rating: 9
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 13-24 HD (Huge), 25-36 HD
(Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: -
Hold Breath (Ex): A war whale can hold
its breath for a number of rounds equal to 8x its
Constitution score before it risks drowning.
Rage (Ex): Three times per day, a war whale
can enter a state of fierce rage that lasts 11 rounds. The
following changes are in effect as long as it rages: AC
18 (touch 8, flat-footed 16); hp increased by 24; Atk
+19 melee (2d6+15/19-20, bite); Full Atk +19 melee
(2d6+15/19-20, bite); SV Fort +16, Will +8; Str 31,
Con 26; Swim +20. At the end of his rage, the war
whale is fatigued for the remainder of the encounter. A
war whale can end its rage early.
When in a rage, the creature still obeys its
rider’s commands, but any Ride checks have their DCs
increased by 10. A war whale can enter a rage 3/day.
Ram (Ex): When making a charge attack, the
war whale may choose to ram the target. This does
2d8+12 damage and acts as a Bull Rush attack on the
target but does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Shake (Ex): If a war whale confirms a critical
hit with its bite attack against a Medium or smaller
target, it can shake the target instead of dealing
extra damage. If it chooses to shake, the whale may
immediately make a free grapple attempt against the
target without provoking attacks of opportunity. If
successful, the target is grappled and takes the war
whale’s bite damage each round it remains grappled.
The whale’s rider may attack the shake victim with a
+2 circumstance bonus to its attack rolls.
Whale Song (Ex): War whales can be trained
to use whale song to communicate over vast distances
underwater. They can communicate with other whales
up to 100 miles away, or orcam up to 5 miles distant,
but can only convey the most basic of information in
this manner.
Skills: War whales have a +8 racial bonus on
any Swim checks. War whales can always choose
to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or
endangered. They can use the run action while
swimming, provided they swim in a straight line.
*War whales have a +4 racial bonus to Spot and
Listen checks. These bonuses are lost if its blindsight
is negated.