Fetid Stray

This mangy stray animal growls and whimpers miserably. Stinking blue drool drips from its fangs.

Fetid Stray CR 4

XP 1,200
NE Small aberration
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +10

DEFENSE

AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+1 Dex, +5 natural, +1 size)
hp 42 (5d8+20)
Fort +7, Ref +2, Will +6 Resist acid 5; Weaknesses light blindness

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft.
Melee bite +7 (1d4+2), 2 claws +6 (1d3+2)
Special Attacks poison spray

STATISTICS

Str 15, Dex 12, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 3
Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 15 (19 vs. trip)
Feats Great Fortitude, Skill Focus (Perception), Weapon Focus (bite)
Skills Climb +10, Perception +10, Stealth +9 (+13 in urban environments), Swim +7; Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth in urban environments

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Poison Spray (Ex)

Once per day, an injured fetid stray can spray its fetid blood and bodily fluids from a wound in a 15-foot cone, dousing enemies in hallucinogenic chemicals. Creatures affected by the poison are confused until they succeed at a Fortitude save to resist the poison’s effects. Derros are immune to the fetid stray’s poison.

Fetid stray poison: Spray—contact; save Fort DC 16; frequency 1/round for 3 rounds; effect 1d2 Wis damage; cure 1 save. The save DC is Constitution-based.

ECOLOGY

Environment any urban
Organization solitary, pair, or pack (3–8)
Treasure incidental

Subterranean derros obsess over the curious nature of humanoid anatomy, but many have only limited access to test subjects. When humanoids—large, loud, and panick stricken as they are—don’t readily present themselves, the meandering attention of derro science turns to the lesser creatures that live in humanity’s shadow. In large cities where derros have established a presence, the creatures often pluck cats, dogs, and other stray animals from the streets for cruel experiments. Many die in these twisted experiments, but just as many end up as tentative successes, living miserably to be studied until their creators grow bored and return them to the streets above.

While natives of the port city don’t suspect the origins of the so-called “fetid strays,” and in fact even debate the veracity of their existence, rumors of the beasts are common enough that mothers warn their children against playing in the streets after dark.

Fetid strays are hostile to all other creatures except derros. Their bodies are patchwork affairs, cobbled together from various captives and sustained by strange derro fluids. Since the fetid strays are incapable of breeding, only continued derro experimentation maintains their sparse numbers. Despite this, they are only occasionally encountered within derro enclaves. In such environments, strays instinctually keep to the long shadows of alleys or the comforting murk of sewers. They are natural swimmers and adept climbers, able to traverse almost any urban environment with ease. If badly injured, a fetid stray can spray the murky fluids that give it life, creating terrifying hallucinations in nearby creatures.

Although hugely variable in appearance and size, most fetid strays are 2–3 feet long and weigh about 30 pounds. Mutations and variants are common.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Taldor, The First Empire © 2017, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Mark Moreland, with Crystal Frasier, Violet Hargrave, and Isabelle Lee.

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