Quarl
Image by Mark Allen, © Emperors Choice Games. From Arduin Eternal: Bestiary and Treasures
[Commissioned by @crazytrain48. The quarl is seemingly inspired by the coeurl, the psychic tentacled cat monster from Voyage of the Space Beagle that also inspired the displacer beast. The kirre from Dark Sun is another monster that borrows from the coeurl, although more accurately it takes the six legs from the displacer beast and quarl and gives the monster an exaggerated version of the coeurl’s psychic abilities. A relatively faithful coeurl appears in one of the 3.5 Pathfinder AP issues, but has not been reprinted elsewhere, as it was published as not OGL-compliant by request of the Van Vogt estate.]
Quarl CR 8 NE Magical Beast This cat-like monster has six legs, saber-like teeth and a single red eye set in the center of its forehead. It is black with grey striping.
Quarls are feline monsters found on the Plane of Shadow. They are living creatures, not made of planar essences, and are suspected of being descended from mundane big cats transplanted intentionally or wandering there by accident. Quarls are incredibly fast and nimble, and they strike from ambush. Most of their victims are not even aware that they are being stalked until the quarl is already on them, and few survive long enough to fight back.
Quarls typically live alone or in mated pairs. They care for their young until they are almost fully grown, and so family groups are sometimes seen. Quarls and shadow mastiffs hate each other, and the battles between the two species are lengthy—a single quarl may battle for territory with a pack of shadow mastiffs for hours at a time. Evil denizens of the plane, such as kytons and wicked shae, may keep quarls, but these are closer to employment or enslavement than they are to owning domestic animals.
A quarl is about the size of a leopard on average. In the wilder parts of the Plane of Shadow, giant quarls the size of tigers are not unheard of.