Revenge of the Fleshweaver! [Vote up a Hybrid Creature]

[Lyndworm]

Squirrel x Emu? That sounds pretty cool.

I'm not sure whether I'd prefer a squirrel from the Pteromyini tribe or not... A "flying" flightless bird would be hilarious, though.

[Eldan]

Does anyone know stats for an Emu/Ostrich or a squirrel anywhere? Not that I couldn't brew them myself (squirrels are slightly changed monkeys), but itwould save some time.

[Lyndworm]

I don't think that WotC ever printed Ratite statistics, though I'm sure that someone on the Internet has already posted some homebrew stats.

The Fiend Folio has stats for a "terror bird," and the Arms & Equipment Guide has stats for an "axebeak." Both are Large sized and both are 3.0, though there is an update for the Fiend Folio.

The axebeak is specifically stated to be ostrich-like, if it helps.


Mechanically, squirrels and rats are probably interchangeable. Maybe drop the swim speed/Swim skill bonus and increase the land and climb speeds to 20ft with a Jump skill bonus.

[RollynT.Glal]

Voting for Penguins and Insectivores. If I may be more specific Macaroni Penguins and Star-Nosed Moles, for no other reason than they're both the most flamboyant of their families.

[Eldan]

Here we go. The picture is pretty bad, I didn't have much time. Sorry.


Grey Squimu

Spoiler

Medium Animal
HD 2d8+4 (13 hp)
Speed 50 ft. (10 squares)
Init: +2
AC 13; touch 12; flat-footed 11
(+1 natural, +2 dex)
BAB +1; Grp +2
Attack Kick +2 (1d6+1 bludgeoning and slashing) or bite +2 (1d3+1 slashing and piercing)
Full-Attack Kick +2 (1d6+1 bludgeoning and slashing) and bite -2 (1d3+1 slashing and piercing)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks -
Special Qualities Up the wall
Saves Fort +5 Ref +5 Will +1
Abilities Str 13, Dex 14, Con 15, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills Balance+6*, Spot +6
Feats Run [b], Endurance [b], Power Attack
Environment Lightly forested tropical and subtropical savannahs
Organization Solitary or troupe (2-8)
Challenge Rating 1
Alignment True Neutral
Advancement 3-5 HD (medium), 6-9 HD (large)

*Squimus have a +4 racial bonus to balancing due to their strong, dextrous feet

Up the Wall (ex): Squimus do not truly climb, as one might assume. Instead, they have mastered the trick of running up sheer surfaces at full speed. If they have moved at least half their land speed on flat ground already, they can spend a second move action to move up to their land speed up any sheer surface, as long as they end in a place where they can stand and balance, such as a branch.

Squimus are animals of the lightly forested grasslands and savannahs. They are extremely fast and persistent runners that have been known to outrun horses on longer journeys.
What sets them apart from many other savannah animals with similar lifestyles is that the Squimus are able to, and in fact like, to spend a good deal of time in the treetops. While the ycan not truly climb, due to their short and rather weak arms, they are able to gather momentum on flat ground and then simply speed up a tree, to then perch on branches, where they eat and sleep before moving on again when an area is cleared of food.
For their diets, Squimus prefer fruit and nuts they gather from trees, using their arms to hold the nuts and their sharp teeth to crack them, but will also eat insects and seeds from the ground.
One extraordinary thing about Squimus is their excellent memory. In times of abundance, they dig shallow holes between the roots of trees, using their strong, clawed legs. These holes are filled with nuts and fruits, then cowered with lose dirt. Since Squimus journey along the same routes every year, they will then uncover these hoardes in later years.
For reproduction, Squimus form temporary pairs. The male and female build a treetop nest of twigs together. After mating, the female will lay three to six fist-sized, bright green eggs.

Squimus can be used as mounts for small-sized or smaller creatures and, in fact, make excellent mounts for scouts and shock troops, due to their endurance and high speed.

[Eldan]

What kind of Mammal:

Category	Example Creatures	Votes
Insectivores	Shrews, aardvarks, moles, hedgehogs.	1
Paenungulata	Elephants, manatees, dugongs.	0
Xenarthra	Sloths, armadillos, ant-eaters.	3
Primates	Lemurs, monkeys, non-human apes.	1
Lagomorpha	Hares, rabbits.	0
Rodents	Mice, rats, squirrels, hamsters.	2
Cetacea	Whales, dolphins, porpoises.	0
Even-Toed Ungulates	Pigs, hippopotamuses, camels, deer, giraffes.	2
Odd-Toed Ungulates	Horses, rhinoceroses, tapirs.	0
Chirophtera	Bats.	0
Carnivores	Cats, bears, seals, dog-likes.	1

What kind of Bird:
This one I had to trim down massively. Even if I just went out and eliminated everything I didn't know myself, there's still just too many groups of birds left.

Category	Example Creatures	Votes
Waterfowl	Ducks, geese, swans, grebes.	0
Fowl	Turkeys, chickens, pheasants.	0
Gulls & Waders	Snipes, gulls, terns, puffins, plovers.	0
Procellariiforms	Albatrosses and petrels.	0
Penguins	You know these.	1
Pelican-likes	Pelicans, frigatebirds, cormorants.	1
Stork-likes	Storks, herons, ibises.	0
Vultures	Vultures, condors.	1
Flamingos	These, too.	0
Raptors	Hawks, eagles, kites, buzzards, ospreys.	1
Pigeons	Pigeons, doves.	0
Parrots	Cockatoos, parrots, lorikeets, budgies.	0
Cuculiformes	Cuckoos, roadrunners, hoatzin, turacos	0
Owls	True and barn.	3
Apodiformes	Swifts and hummingbirds.	1
Kingfishers	Kingfishers, bee-eaters, hornbills.	0
Woodpeckers	Come on, now.	0
Songbirds	Non-corvid passerines, pretty much, for this contest.	0
Ratites	Ostriches, emus, cassowaries, rheas, and kiwis.	1
Corvids	Ravens, choughs, jays, magpies.	1

[/spoiler]

[Aldreck]

Vulture/Xenarthra.

[Amechra]

Xenarthra/Apodiform

Yes, I want Hummingsloths, the fastest slow creature ever!

[3WhiteFox3]

Rodent/Owl

[Eldan]

Table updated. I'm giving this a few more hours until I get home. However, the current leader is Xenarthra/Owl.

[Eldan]

Polls closed. Xenarthra/Owl it is.

One last poll, then. I don't think owls are all that different in game characteristics, but if you have a favourite, feel free to vote on a look. I'll also add some extinct forms, since extinct Xenarthra are fun.

What kind of Xenarthra will be mixed with an owl?
Armadillo
Glyptodon (Extinct giant armadillo)
Modern Sloth
Extinct Giant Land Sloth
Anteater

[radmelon]

Giant land sloth

[dethkruzer]

Armadillo

EDIT: For the Owl aspect, I'd go with the Long-eared Owl

[Aldreck]

Armadillo!

[Keynub]

My vote goes to the Armadillo.
As for the owl's aspect, my preference goes to the Snowy Owl.

[Dracomortis]

Voting for Glyptodon.

[THEChanger]

Giant Land Sloth

Because you always vote for the Giant Land Sloth when you have the opportunity.

[Temotei]

Armadillo and snowy owl for the owl's aspect.

[3WhiteFox3]

Armadillo; owl preference: Snowy Owl.

[Lyndworm]

Originally Posted by Eldan

Here we go. The picture is pretty bad, I didn't have much time. Sorry.

*snip*

All of that is awesome. All of it.



I'll throw my vote to Armadillo, preferably a pink fairy, as they're adorable and awesome.

[Eldan]

Calling it. I don't think I even need to count, it's an Owlmadillo. Armadillowl? Nah. Owlmadillo.

Specifically, the Snowfairy Owlmadillo, though I must say that I can't really draw "cute".

So many body plans. Winged Armadillo with owl head? Armoured body, clawed front legs, owl head? Owl with armadillo head? Four owl legs? Choices, choices.

[Amechra]

Owl with an armadillo shell over it's body, and wings that are more leathery than feathery?

[radmelon]

Perhaps it hunts by curling up and dropping on its prey. *CLONK*

[Eldan]

Awesome, I'll do that.

[Eldan]

So, apparently, Fairy Armadillos don't roll.

Guess what. I don't care.

[Eldan]

Picture didn't turn out so well. You can hardly tell where the scales and where the feathers are. Oh, well.

Snowfairy Owlmadillo

Spoiler

Tiny Magical Beast
HD 1d10+2 (7 HP)
Speed 10 ft. (2 squares); Fly 30 ft. (average), Burrow (10 ft.)
Init: +2
AC 18; touch 13; flat-footed 17
(+1 dex, +5 natural, +2 size)
BAB +1; Grp -10
Attack Talons +4 melee (1d4-3)
Full-Attack Talons +4 melee (1d4-3)
Space 2.5 ft.; Reach 2.5 ft.
Special Attacks Drop
Special Qualities Low-light vision, Darkvision 60 ft., Blindsense 20 ft.
Saves Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +2
Abilities Str 4, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6
Skills Listen +12*, Move Silently +1/+9*, Spot +6
Feats Weapon Finesse [b], Alertness
Environment Temperate Forests
Organization Solitary
Challenge Rating 1/2
Treasure None
Alignment True Neutral
Advancement 2-3 HD (small), 4-5 HD (medium), 6 HD (large)


*Snowfairy Owlmadillos have a +8 racial bonus on listen and move silently checks.

Drop (ex): As a full-round action while flying, Snowfairy Owlmadillos can roll their entire body into an armoured shell and drop on their enemies with bone-breaking force.
As part of this attack, the Owlmadillo must be flying at least 30 feet above an enemy, then drop into their enemy's space. This attack deals 1d6 bludgeoning damage to the enemy, who can make a reflex save (DC 12, this is wisdom-dependent) to avoid the attack.
While doing this, the Owlmadillo ignores all falling damage from the first 40 feet of its fall.

Owlmadillos are the only known members of the Order Strigixenarthra or strange-jointed owls, as they are also known in the common tongue. These birds are armoured in a suit of overlapping leathery scale that covers most of their bodies except for the wings and faces: their backs, stomachs, back of the neck and even top of the head. Only the wings, faces and tails are feathered as in the owls they closely resemble.
The Snowfairy Owlmadillo is the smallest and by far most vividly coloured of all the Owlmadillos. Where most are just mottled in a mixture of light and darker brown shades, the Snowfairy owlmadillo has feathers of pure white with black stripes and a black-and-pink checkered back armour. No one quite knows what the meaning of that strange colouration is, as it can certainly not serve any function in camouflage. Everything from the jest of some strange god to fey intervention to sexual selection has been suggested.
Owlmadillos spend most of their lives on the ground, except for when they need to flee or hunt. Their legs are outfitted with long, broad and very strong claws, which they use to dig shallow burrows in the ground. While nesting, the female will spend most of its time lying in the entrance to the nest curled into a tight ball, presenting only its leathery shell to the outside, thus serving as kind of armoured plug closing off the entrance.
The shell of an Owlmadillo is relatively heavy. While certainly protective, it makes flying for long stretches of time tiring to these beasts. However, there is another advantage to it: Owlmadillos can curl into a tight sphere even in midair between wingbeats and drop on unsuspecting prey or predators from a great height, killing them. Naturalists have found everything from Toadshrews over Foxadders to fully grown Crocodeer in the characteristic craters left behind by Owlmadillo impacts.

[Eldan]

Been sick, feeling better now, Owlmadillo fluff is up, gogo round two!

Animal Groups:

Category	Example Creatures	Votes
Arthropod	Spiders, scorpions, lobsters, crabs, insects, millipedes, etc.	0
Amphibian	Frogs, toads, salamanders.	0
Bird	You know those. They taste like chicken.	0
Echinoderm	Starfish. And only starfish.	0
Fish	They swim. They might be sharks.	0
Mammal	Mice, elephants, monotremes, and everything in between.	0
Mollusc	Slimey things. Snails, squids, octopodes, mussels, clams.	0
Reptile	Crocodiles, lizards, snakes.	0

I'm also starting up an index.

[dethkruzer]

assuming it's the "pick two", then I'll go with Arthropod and Echinoderm

[Blightedmarsh]

I vote Mollusk and Mammal.

Attack of the 50' dirigible squid-bat.

[Debihuman]

Since you mentioned them in the Owlmadillo's fluff, how about: toadshrews, foxadders and crocodeer? Kudos on a really great owlmadillo. The only info you missed was weight and perhaps height. I imagine these weigh more than a bowling ball if they can take out a crocodeer. :-)

Debby