Morav
When Great Creatures Roamed the Earth
Creature by Stanton Fink
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Huge Undead ...A dragon of bones and mist burst forth from the moat and bit poor Edmund in half! It was as if a nightmare was remembered, and my spells were forgotten for a moment. Half our number were devoured by that thing before we could flee the castle ruins. On foggy nights, I can still hear the beast's roar in the distance..." (Laeraton Shadoweye, elven wizard of Nechuvar Springs) Moravs are the enslaved spirits of dinosaurs and other great reptiles, created through profane necromantic magic. They are usually under the thrall of evil masters, serving as guardians, while destroying everything they can, in an unending rampage. Moravs emit deep, phantasmagoric roars, while swinging their long tongues of shadowy appearance. A morav resembles the skeletal remains of a great lizard floating, filled with a shadowy, smoke-like substance. Inside their skulls, through their eye cavities, there is a fearsome, yellow glow that gradually becomes red when the monster enters combat. Combat Moravs attack irrationally, attempting to destroy every living creature they encounter, unless their master insistently orders otherwise. They always attempt to swallow their foes and drain them into their bellies, attempting to sate their unnatural hunger. Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the morav must hit with its bite attack. If it gets a hold, it automatically deals bite damage and can try to swallow the opponent. Swallow Whole (Ex): A morav can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of Large or smaller size by making a successful grapple check. Once inside, the opponent is subject to the morav’s constitution drain. A swallowed creature can climb out of the gizzard with a successful grapple check. This returns it to the morav’s maw, where another successful grapple check is needed to get free. A swallowed creature can also cut its way out by using claws or a small or tiny slashing weapon to deal 25 points of damage to the gizzard (AC 20). Once the creature exits, the hole is closed; another swallowed opponent must again cut its own way out. The morav’s gizzard can hold one large, two Medium-size, four Small, eight Tiny, sixteen Diminutive, or thirty-two Fine or smaller opponents. Constitution drain (Su): Living creatures inside a morav’s gizzard must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 22) or suffer 1d4+1 of permanent Constitution drain. Frightful Presence (Su): A morav can unsettle foes with its mere presence. The ability takes effect automatically whenever it attacks, charges or flies overhead. Creatures within a radius of 30ft. are subject to the effects if they have fewer HD than the morav. A potentially affected creature that succeeds at a Will save (DC 22) remains immune to that morav’s frightful presence for one day. On a failure, creatures with 4 or fewer HD become panicked for 4d6 rounds and those with 5 or more HD become shaken for 4d6 rounds. Creating a Morav A morav can be with the spell Create Greater Undead, cast over the remains of a dead reptile of at least Huge size by a character of at least 16th level. Since the creature is not automatically under the control of its creator when so created, it is common for it to destroy unprepared masters-to-be and wander wildly, spreading destruction. In the Land of Mists Moravs are very uncommon in the Land of Mists. However, powerful evil spellcasters familiar with this dread creature might search for its main component, the remains of ancestral lizards or dire crocodiles, into the Wildlands or the Amber Wastes. Wild moravs can also be found in the unexplored wastes of these lands. - Stanton Fink, Excerpts from the Register, Undead Sea Scrolls 2002 |
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