Braxat (CR 9)
Large Monstrous Humanoid
Alignment: Usually neutral evil
Initiative: +1 (Dex); Senses: darkvision 60 ft., Listen +12, and Spot +13
Languages: Giant, telepathy 1 mile
AC: 18 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +8 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 17
Hit Dice: 10d8+50 (95 hp); DR: DR 10/magic
Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +10
Speed: 30 ft.
Space: 10 ft./10 ft.
Base Attack +10; Grapple +20
Attack: Huge greatclub +16 melee
Full Attack: Huge greatclub +16/+11 melee and gore +10 melee
Damage: Huge greatclub 2d6+9, gore 1d8+3
Special Attacks: Breath weapon, mind blast, psionics, spell-like abilities
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 12, Con 20, Int 15, Wis 12, Cha 11
Special Qualities:
Feats: Combat Expertise (B); Improved Bull Rush; Improved Disarm; Improved Trip; Iron Will; Power Attack (B); Weapon Focus (greatclub)
Skills: Intimidate +11, Jump +13, Listen +12, Spot +13, and Survival +12
Advancement: By character class
Climate/Terrain: Any desert or mountains
Organization: Solitary, pair, gang (3-6), warband (7-12), or tribe (20-80)
Treasure/Possessions: Standard
Source:
Monster Manual II
Braxats are violent, nocturnal hunters that stalk mountainous and desert regions. These dangerous, evil humanoids prey exclusively on intelligent beings, whom they take great pleasure in torturing, killing, and eating. Their taste for humanoid flesh can take them deep into civilized lands, where prey is plentiful and easy to catch.
A braxat is a hulking, bipedal, lizard-like humanoid that towers over many giants at its full adult height of 15 feet. Its features are a combination of those of a rhinoceros and a spiny beetle. The top of its head and its back are lined with thick, horn-covered plates, and a single, massive horn juts up from between its nostrils.
Braxats respect neither law nor authority, and they fear no one. Their awesome strength, psionic abilities, and damage reduction make them nearly unstoppable, and it is not uncommon for a single band of them to wipe out several humanoid settlements in the course of a year. Occasionally a few survivors from braxat raids band together and try to hunt the creatures down, but rarely do they succeed in exacting vengeance. Experienced adventurers have been known to hunt braxats for sport, pitting their experience and cleverness against the creatures' raw cunning and psionic abilities. As such hunters have discovered to their dismay, braxats are quite proficient at protecting themselves with deadly traps and ambushes. Most such hunts end in victory for the braxats, but now and then one is successful, yielding a few braxat-horn trophies to the hunters. These horns have no value in themselves, but artists sometimes carve intricate sculptures on them and sell them as art objects.
Braxats speak Giant, and a few of the more civilized ones make the effort to learn Common as well.
Combat
Braxats relish the hunt. They delight in their victims' fear and like to prolong the agony of their prey by stalking it for long periods, using their telepathy to create false hopes, and then crushing those hopes with new ambushes. Alternatively, braxats may send their victims telepathic taunts, detailing the grisly fate that awaits them after capture.
In combat, braxats are cruel and cunning. They prefer to soften up opponents with mind blasts and psionic assaults before closing in for the kill. They usually save their breath weapons for particularly stubborn foes. Once the opponents are damaged, the braxats wade into combat with their greatclubs.
Breath Weapon (Su): A braxat can breathe a 30-foot-long cone of cold for 3d8 points of cold damage (Reflex save DC 20 half). Once it has used its breath weapon, the creature must wait 1d4 rounds before it can do so again.
Mind Blast (Sp): This mind-numbing blast extends front the braxat in a 30-foot-long cone. Anyone caught in the area must succeed at a Will save (DC 15) or be stunned for 3d4 rounds. (When using the Psionics Handbook, replace this ability with the mind blast attack mode, as noted below.)
Psionics (Sp): At will -- dimension door, mind blank. Caster (or manifester) level 8th; save DC 10 + spell level.
Attack/Defense Modes: mind thrust, mind blast/thought shield, empty mind.
Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): At will -- blink; 1/day -- confusion, feeblemind. Caster level 8th; save DC 10 + spell level.
Telepathy (Su): A braxat can communicate telepathically with any creature within one mile that has a language.
BRAXAT SOCIETY
Braxats live in a tribal society in which males and females have equal social status and access to leadership positions. Each tribal leader must prove his or her worthiness annually in a ritual combat with a single challenger who has earned the right of contest through successful raiding over the past year.
Young braxats are trained to fight from the time they can stand. Deadly combat between young braxats over potential mates, lairs, or treasure is encouraged to ensure that only the strongest and cleverest survive to reproduce.
Once a young braxat is deemed worthy to join a warband, that group becomes his or her second family. Switching to a different warband occurs only rarely - usually when most of a band has been killed in battle. Aggression between bandmates is strictly forbidden, since cooperation is vital to a successful hunt.
Killing a bandmate is punishable by the immediate execution of both the offender and his or her family.
BRAXAT CHARACTERS
Because of the braxat's affinity for hunting, its favored class is ranger, although some braxats prefer to take levels in barbarian or fighter. Evil druid braxats are rare, but not unknown.
A braxat PC's effective character level (ECL) is equal to its class level +16. Thus, a 1st-level braxat ranger has an ECL of 17 and is the equivalent of a 17th-level character.