Quillflinger (CR 4)
Medium Animal
Alignment: Usually neutral
Initiative: +3 (Dex); Senses: low-light vision, scent, Listen +4, and Spot +4
AC: 17 (+ 3 Dex, +4 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 14
Hit Dice: 3d8+6 (22 hp); DR: 5/-
Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +1
Speed: 20 ft., climb 10 ft.
Space: 5 ft./5 ft.
Base Attack +2; Grapple -3
Attack: Bite +4 melee; or 3 quills +5 ranged
Full Attack: Bite +4 melee; or 3 quills +5 ranged
Damage: Bite 1d6+3; or quill 1d6+1
Special Attacks/Actions: Fling quill, quill flurry, quills
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 10
Special Qualities: hunker down
Feats:
Skills: Climb +10, Hide +8*, Listen +4, and Spot +4
Advancement: 4-6 HD (Medium-size); 7-9 HD (Large)
Climate/Terrain: Temperate forest or hills
Organization: Solitary or Pair
Treasure/Possessions: None
Source:
Web
Quills (Ex): Melee combat with a quillflinger is dangerous. Unless opponents are using weapons with at least 10-foot reach, the quillflinger strikes each melee opponent with 1d4 quills. If the opponent succeeds at a Reflex save (DC 16), the quills that strike do not break off in his or her flesh. A quill that lodges in the skin imposes a -1 circumstance penalty to attacks, saves, and checks. Removing a quill inflicts 1d6 points of additional damage to the victim.
Fling Quills (Ex): A quillflinger can send forth a volley of 3 quills as a standard action. This attack has a range of 120 feet with no range increment. These quills are treated as thrown weapons. Sometimes a quillflinger uses this attack while hunkered down (see below). In such cases, the quillflinger makes a Listen check (opposed by the foe's Move Silently check) to garner a general bearing on where its opponent stands, and thus does not gain its Dexterity bonus to the ranged attack. If the quillflinger cannot hear an opponent, it does not fire any quills.
Quill Flurry (Ex): If a quillflinger becomes cornered or severely outnumbered, it turns its back on its opponent(s) and fire a hail of quills, which fills a cone directly behind the quillflinger. Anyone caught in the flurry is immediately struck by 2d4 quills, dealing 1d6 damage each. A successful Reflex save (DC 13) halves the damage. The quillflinger can use this attack only once per day, as it takes time for the quills to grow back.
Hunker Down (Ex): If the quillflinger is threatened in melee, and if it cannot retreat to a safe distance from its opponent(s), it curls its head and legs under its torso while on the ground and flares its quills in all directions. In this defensive position, the Reflex save DC required for melee attacks against it increases to 17.
Low-Light Vision: A quillflinger can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar low-light conditions.
Scent (Ex): A quillflinger can detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell (30-foot range in normal conditions).
Skills: *Quillflingers get a +8 racial bonus to Hide checks when hiding in forest undergrowth or the tall grass common to their natural habitat. The coloring and arrangement of their quills tends to make them look like a shrub or plant to the average observer.
Quillflingers rely on their quills in combat. They rarely move except to back away from their opponents, and they spend most of their time firing their quills from a safe distance. Most quillflingers attack only if provoked or cornered. However, they are fiercely territorial, and they viciously defend their own territory. A quillflinger rarely uses its bite attack, and it usually does so only if its opponent gets too close, is somehow immune to its quills, or is at least 1 size category smaller than the quillflinger itself.
A quillflinger can fire all of its quills at an opponent. A quillflinger can also fire quills in any direction (including straight up) regardless of the direction it's facing. When in its natural habitat in the forest, a quillflinger sometimes climbs the trunk of a large tree and fires its quills from a safe distance above its attackers.