Cerberans (3.5 Monster/race, PEACH!)

[Admiral Squish]

Cerberans

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Medium Outsider (Good, Lawful, Native)
Hit Dice: 2d8+4
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 ft (6 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (+1 dex, +5 breastplate, +2 natural armor), 11 touch, 17 flat-footed
Base Attack/Grapple:+2/+9
Attack: Guisarme +5 melee (2d6+4) or Claw +0 melee (1d6+1) or three bites +5 melee (1d6+3)
Full Attack: Guisarme +5 melee (2d6+4) or 2 claws +0/+0 melee (1d6+1) or three bites +5 melee (1d6+3)
Space/Reach: 5 ft/5 ft
Special Attacks: Triple Fang
Special Qualities: Powerful Build, Three Heads
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +7
Abilities: Str 17, Dex 13, Con 16, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 9
Skills: Diplomacy +1*, Intimidate +6*, Jump +8, Listen +9*, Search +0*, Sense Motive +5, Spellcraft +3, Spot +9*, Tumble +6, Use Magic Device +4
Feats: Combat Reflexes
Environment: Carceri
Organization: Solitary, Patrol (3-6), Force (20-50)
Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure: standard
Alignment: Usually LG
Advancement: N/A
Level Adjustment:+2

An extremely tall figure stands before you, largely humanoid but for the three canine heads that sprout from it's shoulders. It's body is covered with tough fur and it's clawed hands clutch the haft of a polearm as it growls threateningly at you.

The cerberans are the guardians of the prison plane carceri. Wheras foul demodands serve to police and punish the souls trapped there, the cerberans are guardians of the few gateways out of the prison plane. Cerberans are large, humanoid-looking creatures, with three wofllike heads, and thick fur ranging between white, black, gray, brown, and sandy blonde. Cerberans live and die as warriors, establishing fortresses around working exit portals on both sides, and hunting the spirits that manage to make their way to the mortal world.

Cerberans are often believed to be related to the guardianals, but the connection is distant. While the demodands resent themselves and their self-appointed tasks, the cerberans are honored by their duty, and strive to maintain the sanctity of their fortresses against all the prisoners of the plane. Countless silver-tongued infiltrators, stealthy fugitives, and even mighty murderers have met their end against the fortress walls of the cerberans.

Combat
(The cerberan depicted in the stat block had base ability scores of 13, 11, 12, 8, 10, 9 before racial adjustments)
Cerberans are stalwart foes, taking tactical positions and allowing their foes to come to them and striking with their polearms as they close in. They favor polearms of all sorts, including guisarmes, glaives, ranseurs, and even halberds. Many cerberans possess class levels in martial classes.

Three Heads (Ex): Cerberans possess three heads, each with their own mind. These heads provide a +4 bonus to spot and listen checks, and a +4 bonus to will saves. Cerberans also cannot be flanked, due to their extra heads watching their backs. Finally, each head of a cerberan has a slightly different personality, and traits. Roll a d20 on the following chart to determine the traits randomly. If the same trait comes up twice, reroll.
(The cerberan in the stat block possesses the Angry, Friendly, and Meticulous heads)
{table=head]d20|Trait|Benefit
1|Hands-on|+2 on craft checks.
2|Angry|+2 on intimidate checks
3|Sneaky|+2 on hide checks
4|Friendly|+2 on diplomacy checks
5|Brave|+2 on saves vs fear
6|Deceitful|+2 on bluff checks
7|Meticulous|+2 on search checks
8|Nervous|+2 on initiative checks
9|Observant|+2 on spot checks
10|Poised|+2 on balance checks
11|Willful|+2 on saves against charm and dominate effects
12|Scholarly|+2 on any checks involving one knowledge skill
13|Focused|+2 on concentration checks
14|Stealthy|+2 on move silently checks
15|Suspicious|+2 on sense motive checks
16|Greedy|+2 on appraise checks
17|Likable|+2 on gather information checks
18|Self-sufficient|+2 on survival checks
19|Artistic|+2 on perform checks
20|Magical|+2 on use magic device checks.
[/table]

Powerful Build (Ex): The physical stature of a cerberan lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category larger. Whenever a cerberan is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), the cerberan is treated as one size larger if doing so is advantageous to them. A cerberan is also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature’s special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect them. A cerberan can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, their space and reach remain those of a creature of their actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject’s size category.

Triple Fang: The three wolflike heads of a cerberan can attack in sync to deliver a devastating trio of bites as a standard action. The proximity of the heads means that all bite attacks must be made against the same opponent. For each bite attack after the first that successfully hits an opponent, the cerberan deals an addition 1d4+str mod damage as the heads pull away from each other, tearing at flesh.


Cerberans as Characters

• +4 str, +2 dex, +4 con, -2 int
• Outsider: Cerberans possess the outsider type with the native subtype.
• Medium Size
• Cerberan base land speed is 30 feet.
• Darkvision 60
• Racial Hit Dice: A cerberan begins with two levels of outsider, which provide 2d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +2, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +3, Ref +3, and Will +3.
• Racial Skills: A cerberan’s outsider levels give it skill points equal to 5 × (8 + Int modifier, minimum 1). Its class skills are Appraise, Balance, Bluff, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge (the planes, religion, nature, architecture and engineering), Move Silently, Perform, Search, Sense Motive, Survival, and Use Magic Device. It gains a +4 racial bonus on spot and listen checks.
• Racial Feats: A cerberan’s outsider levels give it one feat.
• Natural Armor: A cerberan's fur and thick skin provide a +2 natural armor bonus.
• Three Heads: See above
• Powerful Build: See above
• Triple Fang: See above
• Automatic Languages: Common and Cerberan. Bonus Languages: Abyssal, Aquan, Auran, Celestial, Ignan, Infernal, Terran, Undercommon
• Favored Class: Warblade
• Level Adjustment: +2

[Admiral Squish]

Hello again, playground! Me again! This one was just spur of the moment. Started it last night, finished it just now. Basically, I've been reading Spinnerette and wanted to play one, so I made it happen.

There are a few things that concern me about this one. First and foremost the triple fang ability. Is that too much? Should I perhaps remove the extra rending damage? Other than that, I was considering making some of the options on the heads more interesting, like giving them some low-level SLAs, or a 1st-level maneuver or something like that. But then I'd have to make all of them something like that, because +2 to X skill is way too weak for that. Then there's the general concern that they're too strong/too weak for their ECL. I started at the target of 2 RHD/+1 LA, but then as things kept piling on, I ended up upgrading to the 2 RHD/+2 LA model, just 'cause outsider HD are pretty strong.

[Pyromancer999]

1) Spinnerette for the win.

2) This looks good. Still, SLAs or something might be good, as the one in Spinnerette is able to at least banish the creature from hell in the comic.

[Steward]

I think you should weaken the triple head bite damage. 1d4 + Str is huge -- if they have a 16 in Str (the minimum I would expect for an average warrior), they could theoretically deal 20 points of damage for each of their additional attacks, at first level. That's enough to drop a lot of low-level monsters in one blow.

I recommend just changing it to Str bonus instead of straight Str. That way they're getting something cool but it's not too overpowering at low-levels.

+2 LA seems reasonable, since they're getting bonuses to three stats.

[Pyromancer999]

Y'know, looking it over, I sort of think that maybe there should be separate mental stats for each head.

[radmelon]

Interesting race. I've never read the comic, but I just may start.

[Tacitus]

Hmm... is there a reason the stat block suggests different stat adjustments than the listed racial adjustments later on? An elite array (or any array but 10s and 11s for that matter) is generally only used for something with any sort of class level, and in such a case includes what the stats were before racial adjustments.

[Admiral Squish]

1) Spinnerette for the win.

2) This looks good. Still, SLAs or something might be good, as the one in Spinnerette is able to at least banish the creature from hell in the comic.

I'm thinking minerva's probably a gish of some sort, especially since she makes a comment about being 'swords and sorcery rolled into one'. So, her ability to banish the demon was more by virtue of her class levels than her heritage. Plush, she plane shifted twice that we've seen so far.

I think you should weaken the triple head bite damage. 1d4 + Str is huge -- if they have a 16 in Str (the minimum I would expect for an average warrior), they could theoretically deal 20 points of damage for each of their additional attacks, at first level. That's enough to drop a lot of low-level monsters in one blow.

I recommend just changing it to Str bonus instead of straight Str. That way they're getting something cool but it's not too overpowering at low-levels.

+2 LA seems reasonable, since they're getting bonuses to three stats.

It's supposed to say str bonus. Must have missed it. Fixed.

Y'know, looking it over, I sort of think that maybe there should be separate mental stats for each head.

I thought of that, but that just gets really, really awkward/complicated. And then you have to work on which head is doing what task, and so on. I also considered making it so each head could save separately against mind-affecting effects, but I figured that was too powerful.

Plus, based on the comic, the mentions their memories sync up while she sleeps. This leads me to believe that the three minds are very deeply connected. I suspect that it's like having an extra layer of separation between the halves of your brain. But in this case, it's a left brain, right brain, center brain. It's the same brain, and they share mostly everything, but each is wired just a little bit differently.

Interesting race. I've never read the comic, but I just may start.

It's very good. The cerberus doesn't show up for a few chapters.

Hmm... is there a reason the stat block suggests different stat adjustments than the listed racial adjustments later on? An elite array (or any array but 10s and 11s for that matter) is generally only used for something with any sort of class level, and in such a case includes what the stats were before racial adjustments.

I used the non-elite array as a base, just because the racial mods alone would make it relatively pathetic as a monster. If I must include the pre-racial stats, I shall.

[Tacitus]

Brain spark, maybe look to the Synad from... Complete Psionic? More or less three brains in one head iirc. I remember like nothing about them other than that, though.

[Pyromancer999]

Brain spark, maybe look to the Synad from... Complete Psionic? More or less three brains in one head iirc. I remember like nothing about them other than that, though.

They are something that would interesting to reference at first though, but they're sort of opposites: The Synad is three minds in one brain, while the Cerebrus in Spinnerette is more one mind in three brains.

[Admiral Squish]

Brain spark, maybe look to the Synad from... Complete Psionic? More or less three brains in one head iirc. I remember like nothing about them other than that, though.

Yeah, and one of the synad minds is apparently clairvoyant, and the other shares knowledge with his entire race. Not much the same deal.

So, anyone else?