Zouyu

Huge monstrosity, chaotic good

Armor Class 17
Hit Points 114 (12d12 + 36)
Speed 60 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
18 (+4) 24 (+7) 16 (+3) 6 (-2) 12 (+1) 18 (+4)

Saving Throws Dex +10, Wis +4
Skills Perception +7, Stealth +10
Damage Vulnerabilities thunder
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 17
Languages understands Common but can’t speak
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

  • Distance Runner. The zouyu is capable of incredibly fast long?distance travel. When traveling at a fast pace, the zouyu can run 310 miles per day.
  • Keen Sight and Smell. The zouyu has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight or smell.
  • Pounce. If the zouyu moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be forced prone. If the target is prone, the zouyu can make one bite attack against it as a bonus action.

ACTIONS

  • Multiattack. The zouyu uses Alter Luck. It then makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
  • Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d8 + 7) piercing damage.
  • Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d6 + 7) slashing damage.
  • Alter Luck. The zouyu flicks its vibrant, multi-stranded tail and alters the luck of one creature it can see within 30 feet of it, choosing one of the following luck options. The zouyu can’t target itself with Alter Luck.
  • Bestow Luck. The target has advantage on the next ability check, attack roll, or saving throw (zouyu’s choice) it makes before the end of its next turn.
  • Steal Luck. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or have disadvantage on the next ability check, attack roll, or saving throw (zouyu’s choice) it makes before the end of its next turn. If the target fails the saving throw, the zouyu has advantage on one attack roll or saving throw it makes before the start of its next turn.

ABOUT

This elephant-sized feline has sleek fur, four upward?turned fangs in its mouth, and a long tail ending in multiple strands like a pheasant.

Familial Bonds. Zouyu live as mated pairs with large territories. The great felines are gentle and social creatures, often overlapping their territories for mutual protection.

Good Luck. For many, the zouyu are symbols of good luck and fortune. The tail feather of a zouyu, freely given, can be rendered into a liquid, which produces a luck potion. The potion brings minor good fortune, such as finding a fruit tree when hungry or shelter when it rains, to the drinker for a day. If a tail feather is taken without the zouyu’s knowledge, the potion created by the feather bestows bad luck on the drinker for a day. Such bad luck manifests as the drinker tripping over a too-perfectly-placed rock or a lightning strike felling a tree onto the drinker’s path.

Herbivores. Despite their fangs and sharp claws, zouyu are herbivores. Their preferred meals consist of fruit, bamboo leaves, and insects. The zouyu can survive on a very small amount of food despite their size.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Tome of Beasts 2. © 2020 Open Design LLC; Authors Wolfgang Baur, Celeste Conowitch, Darrin Drader, James Introcaso, Philip Larwood, Jeff Lee, Kelly Pawlik, Brian Suskind, Mike Welham.

This is not the complete license attribution - see the full license for this page