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Arabuk

Arabuk CR 8

XP 4,800
N Large animal
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +16

DEFENSE

HP 125
EAC 20; KAC 22; (+4 against combat maneuvers in home territory)
Fort +12; Ref +12; Will +7
Defensive Abilities territorial pride; Immunities cold; Resistances sonic 10

OFFENSE

Speed 60 ft.
Melee bite +19 (3d4+14 P) or antlers +19 (3d4+14 B plus 1d6 So)
Multiattack antlers +13 (1d6+14 P plus 1d6 So), bite +13 (1d6+14 P), 2 claws +13 (1d6+14)
Ranged antler reverberation +16 (2d8+8 So plus staggered [DC 16]; critical deafen [DC 16])
Offensive Abilities pounce

STATISTICS

Str +6; Dex +4; Con +2; Int –4; Wis +2; Cha +0
Skills Athletics +21, Stealth +16 (+8 in home territory), Survival +16
Other Abilities arctic guardian

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Antler Reverberation (Ex)

Using its antlers to amplify its chattering, an arabuk can make a ranged attack as a standard action against a single target. This attack has a range increment of 40 feet, targets EAC, and has the deafen critical hit effect. A creature hit by the attack must succeed at a DC 16 Fortitude save or become staggered for 1 round.

Arctic Guardian (Ex)

An arabuk ignores difficult terrain and visibility penalties from snow and heavy snow.

Territorial Pride (Ex)

An arabuk rarely masks its presence, taking a –8 penalty to Stealth while in its home territory. Instead, it becomes a pillar of obstinacy, gaining a +4 circumstance bonus to AC against combat maneuvers unless the attacker is two or more size categories larger than the arabuk.

ECOLOGY

Environment arctic
Organization solitary, mating pair, or glaring (1 plus 2–4 arabuk yearlings)

All arabuks have a set of large antlers, curved symmetrically in a crown above their heads. Their patterned, leopard-like bodies assist them in blending in with the rugged tundra.

When hunting, the creatures’ padded and clawed front feet allow them to evenly spread their weight as they traverse precarious snowbanks. Arabuks can also leap great distances and balance on the jagged edges of mountains with their sturdy and powerful hoofed back legs.

Most arabuks live in solitude except to mate, due to their tendency to obsessively guard their territory. Ancient ice clans took advantage of this trait by using the beasts to protect their vulnerable settlements. Few Ice Clans have held onto their arabuk herds, and those that have must exercise great caution in managing the temperamental yearlings to harvest the antlers they shed each year.

Thanks to the unique composition of arabuks’ antlers, they vibrate with high intensity in the presence of sound waves.

This effect enables arabuks to amplify their vocalizations into deafening attacks. When hunting, they chatter and click their jaws while eyeing their prey intensely, producing a swelling sound from their antlers that they unleash in a concentrated assault. Their amplified yowls can have enough power to shake entire mountains and cause avalanches, but producing such intense vocalizations is painful for arabuks. Consequently, they exercise careful control over their sonic attacks.

Arabuks occasionally form groups called glarings, usually composed of several similarly aged arabuk yearlings following the guidance of a more established elder arabuk. Due to the harsh nature of their arctic environs, few arabuks survive for more than 5 years, but a fierce and lucky few live up to 25 years.

Mature arabuks are a regal sight to behold, as they appear much larger than their younger counterparts and stride with confidence through their territories. The plush manes of white fur surrounding their necks make them easily identifiable. While younger arabuks keep their heads low as they stalk the snow drifts, mature arabuks keep their heads upright, and the wind through their antlers produces a haunting song that echoes across the snow-muted landscape. When lost in a blizzard, travelers can rely on this song to follow the arabuk, who’s undoubtedly traveling to fairer weather.

The Ice Clans and other conservation groups often stay on the lookout for hardy freelancers to capture potential mating pairs of arabuks. The frigid weather, competition against poachers, and the arabuks themselves make this lucrative opportunity dangerous, however. Arabuks’ sonic attacks rarely affect the environment when they hunt, but when acting in defense, they unleash desperate bursts that gradually weaken the surrounding terrain’s integrity and cause ever more frequent and dangerous avalanches. Xenowardens and other protectors of nature insist that with protection and a careful breeding program, these majestic creatures might one day return to their role as the respected and regal guardians of their worlds poles.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Starfinder Alien Archive 4 © 2020, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Kate Baker, Tineke Bolleman, James Case, Jessica Catalan, JN Childs, Ed Chuck, John Compton, John Curtin, Adam Daigle, Katina Davis, Crystal Frasier, Leo Glass, Basheer Ghouse, Amanda Hamon, Sasha Laranoa Harving, Thurston Hillman, Joan Hong, Jenny Jarzabski, Jason Keeley, Mike Kimmel, Avi Kool, Chris Lambertz, Luis Loza, Ron Lundeen, Carmen Marin, Hilary Moon Murphy, Adrian Ng, Emily Parks, Joe Pasini, Lu Pellazar, Samantha Phelan, Jessica Redekop, James Rodehaver, Simone Sallé, Chris S. Sims, Kendra Leigh Speedling, Owen K.C. Stephens, and Viditya Voleti.