Stealthy predator. The nandie-bear gains Advantage on stealth checks in its natural habitat of rocky hills, forested badlands or jungle.
Unsettling aura. The nandie-bear has a malign aura: any animal of Int 8 or below within within 400 feet must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or be noticeably skittish and unsettled. Animal Handlers are at Disadvantage to control tame animals.
Multiattack. The nandie-bear makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) piercing damage.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be grabbed (escape DC 14) and take an additional 2d6 more slashing damage.
If the nandie-bear rules a nandie-ape colony, its haunting howl also calls the colony's nandie-apes to come to its assistance. Typically, 1d4 nandie-apes will arrive per round for 1d3 + 3 rounds, for a total of between 4 and 24 nandie-apes. If a nandie-bear is close to its nandie colony, 1d4 nandie-apes (or more) will arrive every round until the colony's entire population has turned up.
Description
A kerit, commonly known as the nandie-bear, is a loathsome carnivore that inhabits rocky hills and tropical forests. A nandie-bear's favorite food is humanoid flesh, they prefer to eat victims from the head downwards.
Their appearance is hard to describe, a terrifying mixture of gorilla, bear and hyena that varies from individual to individual. Nandie-bears have shaggy black or red-brown fur and large curved claws like a bear or sloth. Some have disturbingly human faces reminiscent of a malevolent neanderthal. A nandie-bear normally walks on all fours, with its back sloping upwards as its forelegs are longer than its hindlegs. It can rear up on its hindfeet to stand 8 feet or so tall, but usually only does so to fight or scan its surroundings.
Nandie-bears have a curious semi-parasitic relationship with nandie-apes (also known as koddoelo). They either live alone or as the leader of a colony of nandie-apes. They never associate with their own kind except to mate. The females abandon their babies to be raised by nandie-apes, like a cuckoo leaves her eggs in another bird's nest.
A nandie-bear is eerily silent, the only sound they ever make is a horrifying howl that is one of the most terrifying sounds of the jungle. Despite their bestial appearance they are about as smart as an orc and possess keen instincts and bestial cunning. While they cannot speak, they are able to communicate in the Kerit sign language with other nandie creatures.
Tyrant of the Apes. If there's a nandie-ape colony within a nandie-bear's territory, the nandie-bear will almost invariably have taken it over. They rule the colony by terror, forcing the apes to collect food for it. If they fail to satisfy its hunger it will go hunting or devour one of its nandie-ape followers.
Solitary Hunters. A nandie-bear always hunts alone even if it rules a nandie colony, if only because the nandie-apes incessant chattering would warn away prey. They only hunt at night and are astonishingly stealthy. If a nandie-bear encounter powerful prey they use their Haunting Howl ability before attacking, to demoralize and scatter their opponents (and summon nandie-ape reinforcements if they rule a colony).
(Originally appeared in White Dwarf Magazine #18 (Apr/May 1980) as part of "The Halls of Tizun Thane" by Albie Fiore.)
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