Template: Frogrider

[Fax Celestis]

Creatures born within a faerie circle sometimes pick up elements of the fey themselves. Those who embrace these elements become amalgams of the fey and their racial heritage, which usually come to be known as frogriders.

Creating a Frogrider
Frogrider is an inherited template that can be applied to any corporeal non-fey creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature).

Size and Type
The creature’s size becomes Tiny, granting all benefits and inflicting all penalties for size as normal. The creature's base type becomes Fey.

Hit Dice
The base creature's hit dice become d6s, if their racial hit die before the template was a d4 or a d6. If their racial hit die before the template was a d8 or higher, their hit dice become d8s.

Speed
The base creature's land speed becomes 20', unless this would increase the speed of the creature. All other forms of movement drop by 10', to a minimum of 10'.

Attacks
The base creature retains all natural weapons and weapon proficiencies. The frogrider's base attack bonus is as a cleric of the same hit dice, or as their base racial attack bonus, whichever is higher.

Special Attacks
The base creature retains all special attacks that their base race gave them.

Special Qualities
The base creature retains all previous special qualities and gains the following:

Damage Reduction (Ex)
A frogrider has damage deduction 5/cold iron. If the base creature already has damage reduction, increase it by five points and make it weak to cold iron.

Low-Light Vision (Ex)
A frogrider has the ability to see outdoors on a moonlit night as well as they can during the day.

Fey Immunity (Su)
A frogrider is immune to racial spell-like abilities of creatures of the Fey type.

Mount (Ex)
A frogrider receives a special mount: a frog the size of a house cat. The frog is detailed below.

Saves
A frogrider retains saves it had prior to template application.

Abilities
The base creature alters its ability scores as follows: -4 Str, +4 Dex, -2 Con, +2 Int, -2 Wis, +2 Cha

Skills
The base creature receives 1 rank in Ride and 1 rank in Handle Animal for each hit die it has.

Feats and Spells
The base creature retains all feats and spellcasting ability. It also gains the Mounted Combat and Mounted Archery feats.

Alignment
Usually chaotic.

Advancement
As base creature.

CR
+1

LA
+1

Frogrider Mounts
Size/Type: Small Animal

Hit Dice: 1d8 (4 hp)

Initiative: +1

Speed: 25 ft. (5 squares)

Armor Class: 12 (+1 size, +1 Dex), touch 12, flat-footed 11

Base Attack/Grapple: +0/-13

Attack: Tongue +0 melee (1d3)

Full Attack: Tongue +0 melee (1d3)

Space/Reach: 2 1/2 ft./5 ft.

Special Attacks: —

Special Qualities: Amphibious, low-light vision

Saves: Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +2

Abilities: Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 4

Skills: Hide +21, Jump +10, Listen +4, Spot +4

Feats: Alertness

Environment: Temperate marshes

Organization: One

Challenge Rating: 1/2

Advancement: As animal

Level Adjustment: —

Becoming a Frogrider
Frogriders are not made, they are born. Actually, they are born inside of fey-circles, which occasionally alters the racial patterns of growth of creatures born (or incubated) inside their bounds.

Frogriders disassociate with their racial bretheren at a young age--whether by choice or by kidnapping. The fey are rather protective of the frogriders, and as such tend to ensure they stay within the fey's grasp.

The fey also use a form of enlarge person on regular frogs, in addition to a version of permanency, to give the frogriders their unique mounts.