Aural Hunter

Large aberration, chaotic evil

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 127 (15d10 + 45)
Speed 40 ft., climb 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
16 (+3) 14 (+2) 16 (+3) 7 (–2) 19 (+4) 6 (–2)

Skills Perception +7, Stealth +5
Condition Immunities blinded
Senses blindsight 60 ft. or 20 ft. while deafened (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 17
Languages
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +3

SPECIAL TRAITS

  • Blind Senses. The aural hunter can’t use its blindsight while deafened and unable to smell.
  • Keen Hearing. The aural hunter has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing.
  • Sonic Sensitivity. When the aural hunter takes thunder damage, it becomes deafened until the end of its next turn.

ACTIONS

  • Multiattack. The aural hunter makes two Claws attacks and one Rib Hooks attack. It can use Consume Sound in place of one attack.
  • Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) slashing damage.
  • Rib Hooks. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) piercing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 15) if it is a Large or smaller creature and it doesn’t have another creature grappled.
  • Consume Sound. The aural hunter siphons energy from the audible vibrations surrounding a creature grappled by it. The target must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the target takes 14 (4d6) necrotic damage and becomes deafened and unable to speak until the end of its next turn. On a success, the target takes half the damage and is able to hear and speak. The aural hunter regains hp equal to the damage dealt. Consume Sound has no effect on creatures that are already deafened and unable to speak. The aural hunter can’t use this action if it is deafened.

ABOUT

An eyeless, jawless creature comes bounding on six gangly limbs, several thin membranes stretched across bony protrusions along its back. Vicious spikes slide out from under the skin over its ribcage. The beings known commonly as aural hunters are apex predators from an otherworldly realm. Ceaseless hunger led its ancestors to prey upon the other species of its home realm until it was the sole species in a bleak and silent landscape. Well intentioned but misguided interplanar contact by others made the lonely creature aware of life on other planes. Several aural hunters escaped to the Material Plane and new prey. The aural hunter’s strange physiology makes the sounds of pain and fear its most nourishing food, but prey rarely survive an encounter with the creature.

Sound Seekers. Aural hunters primarily navigate by echolocation and feed on sonic vibrations created by other creatures. Their affinities and instincts allow them to survive in most ecosystems, but they thrive where sound carries best, such as mountain slopes and deep caverns. Since they aren’t carnivorous, aural hunters make for generous symbionts, as they often leave behind entire corpses for scavengers.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Tome of Beasts 3 © 2022 Open Design LLC; Authors: Eytan Bernstein, Celeste Conowitch, Benjamin L. Eastman, Robert Fairbanks, Scott Gable, Basheer Ghouse, Richard Green, Jeremy Hochhalter, Jeff Lee, Christopher Lockey, Sarah Madsen, Ben Mcfarland, Jonathan Miley, Kelly Pawlik, Sebastian Rombach, Chelsea Steverson, Brian Suskind, Mike Welham

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