Buy me a coffeeJackalwere
“Beware the Jackalwere: Shape-shifting nightmares hunting your darkest fears – can you survive the encounter?”
Appearance: Jackalweres possess an unsettling hybrid form, combining the lithe and humanoid body of a slender figure with coarse fur, reminiscent of a jackal. Their heads are adorned with sharp, pointed ears and a set of gleaming yellow eyes that exude an eerie intelligence. Sinewy muscles ripple beneath their fur, and their hands end in razor-sharp claws that betray their predatory nature.
Behavior: Cunning and opportunistic, Jackalweres are known for their ability to adapt and survive. They are expert shape-shifters, often taking on the guise of ordinary jackals to observe and stalk their prey unnoticed. Despite their predatory instincts, Jackalweres are intelligent and possess a sinister cunning, employing illusions and deception to confuse and terrify their victims before striking.
Habitat: Preferring arid and desolate landscapes, they are commonly found in the vast stretches of deserts and abandoned ruins. They are adept at blending into their surroundings, using their keen senses and shape-shifting abilities to navigate the harsh terrain unseen. Hidden dens in the heart of the deserts serve as their lairs, where they hoard stolen treasures and plan their next elusive moves.
Modus Operandi: They are notorious for luring unsuspecting travelers into traps through illusionary tactics. They create mirages, imitating distress calls or feigning vulnerability to draw in curious victims. Once the prey is within striking distance, the Jackalwere reveals its true form, ambushing with swift and lethal precision. Their preference for stealth and surprise makes them formidable adversaries.
Motivation: Motivated by a primal instinct to survive and thrive, Jackalweres often seek to expand their territories and secure dominance in their chosen domain. Some are drawn to accumulating treasures and artifacts, amassing wealth to establish themselves as feared entities. Their enigmatic motivations may also involve serving higher, more malevolent powers that grant them supernatural abilities in exchange for service and chaos.
Jackalwere 5e
Jackalwere Pathfinder
Jackalwere
Medium Monstrosity, Chaotic Evil
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 52 (8d8 + 16)
Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 (+1) | 15 (+2) | 14 (+2) | 10 (+0) | 11 (+0) | 10 (+0) |
Skills Perception +2, Stealth +4
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 12
Languages Common, Abyssal (if applicable)
Challenge 2 (450 XP)
Shapechanger. The jackalwere can use its action to polymorph into a specific jackal or back into its true form, which is humanoid. Its statistics are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn’t transformed.
Keen Hearing and Smell. The jackalwere has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
Pack Tactics. The jackalwere has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the jackalwere’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.
Actions
Multiattack. It makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing damage. If the target is a humanoid, it must succeed on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with were-jackal lycanthropy.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) slashing damage.
Legendary Actions
It can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The jackalwere regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Move. It moves up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Deceptive Mirage (Costs 2 Actions). The jackalwere creates an illusory duplicate of itself within 30 feet. The duplicate appears indistinguishable from the jackalwere and can move up to its speed. The duplicate lasts until the start of the jackalwere’s next turn or until it is dispelled with a successful DC 13 Intelligence (Investigation) check.
Terrifying Howl (Costs 3 Actions). The jackalwere releases a haunting howl. Each creature of the jackalwere’s choice within 30 feet that can hear the howl must succeed on a DC 11 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened until the end of the jackalwere’s next turn.
This armored humanoid has a jackal’s head, bulging muscles, and a gaze that makes the world drift away.
Jackalwere CR 2
XP 600
CE Medium magical beast (shapechanger)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +7
DEFENSE
AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 13 (+2 armor, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 natural)
hp 22 (3d10+6)
Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +2
DR 5/cold iron
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee mwk battleaxe +6 (1d8+2/x3), bite +0 (1d6+1) or bite +5 (1d6+3)
Special Attacks sleep gaze, weapon intuition
STATISTICS
Str 15, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 12
Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 19
Feats Alertness, Dodge
Skills Acrobatics +7, Bluff +6, Perception +7, Sense Motive +3, Stealth +7, Survival +6; Racial Modifiers +2 Bluff, +2 Survival
Languages Common
SQ change shape (human, hybrid, and jackal; polymorph), jackal empathy
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Change Shape (Su)
A jackalwere has three forms. Its natural form is that of a jackal, but it can also take the form of a human or a human-jackal hybrid. A jackalwere’s human form is fixed—it cannot assume different human forms. A jackalwere can use its sleep gaze in any of its forms. In jackal form, it functions as a dog. In its hybrid form, a jackalwere can make a bite attack as a secondary attack, while in human form it lacks its bite attack entirely.
A jackalwere can shift into any of its three alternate forms as a move action. Equipment does not meld with the new form between human and hybrid forms but does between those forms and its jackal form.
Jackal Empathy (Ex)
It can communicate and empathize with jackals (use stats for Small dog), and can use Bluff as if it were Diplomacy to change a jackal’s attitude, receiving a +4 racial bonus to do so.
Sleep Gaze (Su)
Sleep for 3 minutes (a standard action rouses the creature, as does damage), 30 feet, Will DC 12 negates. A creature that succeeds at the saving throw cannot be affected by the same jackalwere’s sleep gaze for 24 hours. This is a sleep effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Weapon Intuition (Ex)
It is proficient with simple and martial melee weapons.
ECOLOGY
Environment warm deserts
Organization solitary, pair, hunt (1-2 jackalweres and 3-8 jackals), or pack (2-5 plus 3-12 jackals)
Treasure standard (leather armor, masterwork battleaxe, other treasure)
Evil, supernatural jackals born with the ability to assume human form. Some folks superstitiously consider jackalweres to be emissaries of evil spirits or wicked desert gods, and it is easy to understand why, as they can take the shape of a human and possess a keen intellect; however, they also have a taste for murder and humanoid flesh.
In its hybrid form, they stand 6 feet tall and weighs 150 pounds.
Section 15: Copyright Notice
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 3, © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors Jesse Benner, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, James Jacobs, Michael Kenway, Rob McCreary, Patrick Renie, Chris Sims, F. Wesley Schneider, James L. Sutter, and Russ Taylor, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.