#vroat

[chimeride]

After much deliberation, here's another monster from Arduin, the Vroat--a cross between a giant toad and a crocodile, thus earning the nickname "Jumping Jaws"! (Simple, but extremely effective. This one's one of my favorites.)

Vroat, the 187th Known One.

[thecreaturecodex]

Vroat

“Stalking Vroat” by Michio Okamura, © David A. Hargrave. Accessed at Lizard’s Gaming Blog here

[Commissioned by @crazytrain48. The Arduin Grimoires are a fascinating example of early 3rd party writing for Dungeons and Dragons. They’re chaotic, weirdly organized, full of typos and generally a snapshot of fan culture in the mimeograph era before the Internet. And, relevant to this blog, they’re full of monsters.

There have been several revamps and revivals of Arduin. The Arduin Eternal bestiary has waaay more rules than the very minimalist OD&D style of the original text. My conversions are going to draw from both editions. Also, the flavor text is almost entirely original, and is heavily inspired by the natural history of cane toads. I’ve got invasive species on the brain, it seems.]

Vroat CR 4 N Magical Beast This fat reptilian monster appears as a giant toad with a scaly body and the long jaws of an alligator.

Vroat are the amphibious equivalent of owlbears—a fusion of two predatory animals, one small and one large. In this case, the vroat are toad/crocodile hybrids. Like owlbears, they are an artificial creation that escaped the wizards that made them and have ranged across continents since then. A single vroat is a menace to travelers through its territory, and vroat are rarely found singularly. They breed incredibly rapidly, and can reach high population densities wherever there is enough water for them.

A vroat will eat anything that it can catch. They favor smaller prey (halflings are ideal), but will attack man-sized targets with relatively little provocation. A vroat’s favored method of attack is to leap from ambush, knocking a prey item to the ground and savaging it until it stops moving. If in groups, they do not coordinate their strikes—each vroat pounces on a single target of its choice, and if the vroat outnumber their prey, they will begrudgingly share the meal.

Vroat behavior is variable—some of them are homebodies who rarely leave the comfort of a swampy patch, whereas others will range incredible distances in order to exploit new territories. These rover vroat often have less offspring than stationary vroat, but they establish an expanding range at a frightening clip. Vroat have a habit of displacing other predatory species, either by outcompeting them for prey or simply by killing and eating them themselves. Although an adult vroat can survive out of water indefinitely, they breed in water and their tadpoles are fully aquatic for about six months before emerging as vroatlets.

A vroat stands about three feet high at the shoulder and weighs around one hundred fifty pounds. Larger and stronger specimens are not unheard of, especially when food is prevalent.

Vroat     CR 4 XP 1,200 N Medium magical beast Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +5, scent Defense AC 16, touch 11, flat-footed 15 (+1 Dex, +5 natural) hp 38 (4d10+16) Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +2 Immune fear, poison; Resist acid 10 Offense Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft. Melee bite +7 (1d8+4 plus trip) Special Attacks leaping charge, powerful charge (bite, 2d8+6) Statistics Str 17, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 8 Base Atk +4; CMB +7; CMD 18 (22 vs. trip) Feats Improved Initiative, Power Attack Skills Acrobatics +5 (+13 to jump), Perception +5, Stealth +5 (+9 underwater), Swim +15; Racial Modifiers +8 Acrobatics when jumping, +4 Stealth underwater SQ hold breath Ecology Environment any marshes Organization solitary, pair or chorus (3-24) Treasure incidental Special Attacks Leaping Charge (Ex) A vroat succeeds a DC 20 Acrobatics check made to jump when it makes a charge attack ignores any attacks of opportunity that would be provoked by its movement that round.

[oldschoolfrp]

Greybeardgamer’s collection of Arduin-inspired miniatures, L: Archive Miniatures Phraint and Vroat (by Nevile Stocken and Steven Lortz), C: Texas Miniatures insect warrior (Richard Kerr), R: Phraint and Vroat from Emperor’s Choice (William Watt) which still are in production.