Manticore

A monster with the head of a man, the body of a lion and a spiked missile-throwing tail. A typical manticore is about 10 feet long and weighs about 1,000 pounds. Manticores can speak but rarely choose to do so.

Source(s)

3.5E Monster Manual I, 3E Monster Manual I, Monstrous Compendium Volume 1, Expert Boxed Set, 1E Monster Manual 1, Rules Cyclopedia, Classic D&D Game, Monstrous Manual

Manticore
Size/Type	Large magical beast
Hit Dice	6d10+24 (57 hp)
Initiative	+2
Speed	30 ft. (6 squares), Fly 50 ft. (clumsy)
Armor Class	17 (-1 size, +2 Dexterity, +6 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple	+6/+15
Attack	Claw +10 melee (2d4+5) or 6 spikes +8 ranged (1d8+2/19-20)
Full Attack	2 claws +10 melee (2d4+5) and bite +8 melee (1d8+2);or 6 spikes +8 ranged (1d8+2/19-20)
Space/Reach	10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks	Spikes
Special Qualities	Darkvision 60 ft., Low-Light Vision, Scent
Saves	Fort +9, Ref +7, Will +3
Abilities	Strength 20, Dexterity 15, Constitution 19, Intelligence 7, Wisdom 12, Charisma 9
Skills	Listen +5, Spot +9, Survival +1
Feats	Flyby Attack, Multiattack, TrackB, Weapon Focus (spikes)
Environment	Warm marshes
Organization	Solitary, pair, or pride (3-6)
Challenge Rating	5
Treasure	Standard
Alignment	Usually lawful evil
Advancement	7-16 HD (Large); 17-18 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment	+3 (cohort)

Combat

A manticore begins most attacks with a volley of spikes, then closes. In the outdoors, it often uses its powerful wings to stay aloft during battle.

Spikes (Ex): With a snap of its tail, a manticore can loose a volley of six spikes as a standard action (make an attack roll for each spike). This attack has a range of 180 feet with no range increment. All targets must be within 30 feet of each other. The creature can launch only twenty-four spikes in any 24-hour period.

Skills: *Manticores have a +4 racial bonus on Spot checks

Ultimate Equipment Guide II

Author  Greg Lynch, J. C. Alvarez

Publisher Mongoose Publishing

Publish date 2005

Cruel and vicious, a manticore makes a powerful guardian animal or mount. To be used as a mount, some of the spikes along the creature’s back must be removed.

Young

Purchasing a creature when it is young and immature is more expensive than purchasing it when it is still in the egg, but also has two distinct advantages. The first and most obvious is that the creature has already successfully hatched, while purchasing an egg means gambling the creature will survive. The second is that the creature is old enough to be trained, meaning it is much closer to being able to serve the buyer as a mount, pack animal or guardian beast.

Manticore Young: 7,000 gp

Training

Left untrained, a beast like a manticore is worse than useless it is dangerous. A skilled trainer is able to teach  the creature to serve a human master, though the necessary training regimen varies wildly from creature to creature. The price listed for training includes any potential healing needs the trainer may have in the course of working with the beast.

Manticore Training: 2,500 gp