Monster Manual

BARGHESTBarghest illus. by S. Wood22AZER SOCIETYAzers maintain a tightly regimented society in which everymember has a specific place. The state always takes precedenceover the individual. Azer nobles are prodigiouslystrong and wield absolute power. Azers dwell withinbronze fortresses on their home plane, only rarelyvisiting other planes to gather gems. They hateefreet, with whom they wage an eternal war forterritory and slaves.AZERS AS CHARACTERSRare among their well-ordered kind, a fewazers leave behind the absolute rule of theirkin. These explorers tend to be fierce warriors,quick to take offense.Azer characters possess the followingracial traits.— +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution,+2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom,–2 Charisma.—Medium size.—An azer’s base land speed is 30 feet.—Darkvision: Azers can see in thedark up to 60 feet.—Racial Hit Dice: An azer beginswith two levels of outsider, which provide2d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonusof +2, and base saving throw bonusesof Fort +3, Ref +3, and Will +3.—Racial Skills: An azer’s outsiderlevels give it skill points equal to 5 × (8 +Int modifier). Its class skills areAppraise, Climb, Craft, Hide, Jump,AzerListen, Search, and Spot.—Racial Feats: An azer’s outsider levelsgive it one feat.— +6 natural armor bonus.—Special Attacks (see above): Heat.—Special Qualities (see above): Immunity tofire, spell resistance equal to 13 + class levels, vulnerability to cold.—Automatic Languages: Common, Ignan. Bonus Languages:Abyssal, Aquan, Auran, Celestial, Infernal, Terran.—Favored Class: Fighter.—Level adjustment +4.BARGHESTA horrifying wolflike monster with blue-tinged fur, long sharp claws,and a fiendish glint of intelligence in its hateful, glowing eyes darts outof the shadows.A barghest is a lupine fiend that can take the shape of a wolf or agoblin. In its natural form, it resembles a goblin–wolf hybridwith terrible jaws and sharp claws. Barghests come intothe world to feed on blood and souls and thusgrow stronger.As whelps, barghests are nearlyindistinguishable from wolves,except for their size andclaws. As they grow largerand stronger,their skin darkensto bluishredand eventuallybecomes blue altogether.A fullgrownbarghest,Barghestsuch as the one described here, is about 6 feet long and weighs180 pounds. A barghest’s eyes glow orange when the creaturebecomes excited.Barghests speak Goblin, Worg, and Infernal.COMBATBarghests can claw and bite, no matter what theirform, and usually disdain weapons. Thoughthey love killing, they have little stomach fordirect combat and attack from ambushwhenever possible. Barghests start acombat by using crushing despair andcharm monster to keep opponents off balance.They try to stay away from theenemy’s main strength.A barghest’s natural weapons, as wellas any weapons it wields, are treated asevil-aligned and lawful-aligned for thepurpose of overcoming damage reduction.Its natural weapons are treated asmagic weapons for the purpose of overcomingdamage reduction.Spell-Like Abilities: At will—blink,levitate, misdirection (DC 14), rage (DC15); 1/day—charm monster (DC 16),crushing despair (DC 16), dimension door.Caster level equals the barghest’s HD.The save DCs are Charisma-based.Feed (Su): When a barghest slays ahumanoid opponent, it can feed on thecorpse, devouring both flesh and lifeforce, as a full-round action. Feedingdestroys the victim’s body and preventsany form of raising or resurrectionthat requires part of the corpse.There is a 50% chance that a wish,miracle, or true resurrection spell canrestore a devoured victim to life. Checkonce for each destroyed creature. If the checkfails, the creature cannot be brought back to life bymortal magic.A barghest advances in Hit Dice by consuming corpses in thisfashion. For every three suitable corpses a barghest devours, itgains 1 Hit Die, and its Strength, Constitution, and naturalarmor increase by +1. Its attack bonus and saves improve asnormal for an outsider of its Hit Dice, and it gains skill points,feats, and ability score improvementsnormally.The barghest onlyadvances by consumingthe corpses ofcreatures whose HitDice or levels areequal to or greaterthan its own currenttotal. A barghest thatreaches 9 Hit Dice through feedingimmediately becomes agreater barghest upon completionof the act.Change Shape (Su): A barghestcan assume the shape of a goblin ora wolf as a standard action. Ingoblin form, a barghestcannot use its naturalweapons but canwield weapons and