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Splintercat, The Forest’s Fury

Splintercat
Create

The Splintercat is a medium-sized, feline-like creature with a muscular, compact body built for explosive impact. Its sleek fur is mottled with shades of dark gray and earthy brown, offering perfect camouflage against the forest floor. Its most striking feature is its broad, wedge-shaped skull, reinforced for ramming into trees. Long, curved claws extend from its powerful paws, used for climbing and gripping, while its glowing amber eyes give it an eerie, nocturnal visage. Sharp, protruding teeth suggest a carnivorous or omnivorous diet.

Behavior:
The Splintercat is nocturnal, preferring to operate under the cover of darkness. Known for its erratic and hyperactive nature, it is a solitary creature, rarely seen even by the most seasoned hunters or campers. Its legendary tree-smashing behavior is both a hunting method and a territorial display, creating a landscape littered with shattered trunks and splintered wood. Despite its destructive tendencies, it is remarkably stealthy when moving through dense underbrush.

Habitat:
The Splintercat is said to inhabit the dense forests of the Pacific Northwest, with sightings reported as far east as the Appalachians. It thrives in remote, old-growth forests with plenty of tall trees and minimal human interference. Hollow trees and rock crevices serve as its den, where it retreats during daylight hours. Its range is marked by areas of unusual tree damage and scattered debris.

Modus Operandi:
The Splintercat’s primary method of hunting involves headbutting trees at high speeds. With a sudden burst of energy, it charges into a tree trunk, splitting it open to expose insects, birds, or small mammals that reside within. This technique not only serves its dietary needs but also leaves behind the unmistakable “signature” of its presence—splintered trees and scattered bark. Its territorial disputes are similarly resolved by smashing trees, signaling dominance without direct confrontation.

Motivation:
The Splintercat is driven by a primal need for survival and territory. Its tree-smashing behavior stems from its instinctual hunting strategies and a territorial imperative to assert its dominance in the forest. Some folklorists speculate that the creature might also engage in these displays to attract mates, using its destructive prowess as a measure of strength and virility.


  • Splintercat 5e
  • Splintercat Pathfinder
Splintercat
Create

Large Beast, Unaligned

Armor Class: 14 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points: 112 (15d10 + 30)
Speed: 40 ft., climb 30 ft.

STRDEXCONINTWISCHA
18 (+4)16 (+3)14 (+2)4 (-3)14 (+2)8 (-1)

Saving Throws: Dex +6, Wis +5
Skills: Perception +6, Stealth +6
Damage Resistances: Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 16
Languages:
Challenge: 5 (1,800 XP)


Traits

Tree Smasher.
When the Splintercat uses its Headbutt attack against an object, it deals double damage to trees, wooden structures, or similar objects.

Explosive Impact.
When the Splintercat successfully hits a creature with its Headbutt, all creatures within 10 feet of the target (excluding the Splintercat) must succeed on a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw or take 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone.

Forest Camouflage.
The Splintercat has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in forested terrain.


Actions

Multiattack.
The Splintercat makes two attacks: one with its claws and one with its Headbutt.

Claw.
Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage.

Headbutt.
Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
Hit: 16 (3d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage.

Splintering Charge (Recharge 5–6).
The Splintercat charges in a 30-foot line that is 10 feet wide. Each creature in the line must make a DC 14 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 21 (6d6) bludgeoning damage, is knocked prone, and is pushed 10 feet to the side. On a successful save, the creature takes half damage and isn’t knocked prone or pushed. The charge destroys any wooden objects in its path, including trees and structures, unless they are magical or reinforced.


Reactions

Agile Evade.
When a creature the Splintercat can see misses it with a melee attack, the Splintercat can move up to 10 feet without provoking opportunity attacks.


Tactics

  • The Splintercat is a ferocious ambush predator. It lurks in forested areas, using its Forest Camouflage to remain hidden until prey is within striking range.
  • In combat, it starts with its Splintering Charge to disrupt and scatter enemies, targeting groups to maximize its area damage and prone effects.
  • It then uses its Headbutt to focus down a single target, taking advantage of the splash damage from Explosive Impact to harm nearby foes.
  • The Splintercat prefers to target spellcasters or ranged attackers first, disrupting their positions and forcing them into melee range.
  • If overwhelmed, the Splintercat retreats into dense terrain, using Forest Camouflage to evade pursuit.

Legendary Splintercat Variant: If you want a more fearsome version, grant the Splintercat Legendary Actions, such as an extra Headbutt or a short-range leap attack!

Splintercat
Create

A spotted cat with a massive head hurtles through the trees at astonishing speed.

Originally Posted by Charlie Bell of the Paizo forums.  
On this Thread

Around the campfire, the loggers of tell tales of the ferocious splintercat. A splintercat’s diet consists of tree-dwelling insects and mammals such as bees, termites, squirrels, opossums, and raccoons. It gets at these by flying headlong at tremendous speed into any tree in which its prey might be found, smashing the trunk with its thick, blunt head. The splintercats’ hunting ranges are littered with destroyed tree trunks. The uninitiated often misattribute its handiwork to lightning or wind, but seasoned loggers can tell the difference and know to avoid a splintercat’s range.

Although splintercats do not normally hunt humanoids, their method of smashing trees with their heads causes them considerable headaches. As a consequence, splintercats are notoriously ill-tempered and territorial. A splintercat encountering an interloper in its hunting grounds usually begins its attack by ramming nearby trees to catch opponents in a shrapnel-like hail of wood fragments. Then it will circle around again for another charge, its thick head crashing into the enemy like a living cannonball. If its opponent survives the cat’s head-butt charge, it will circle around a final time, pouncing on the foe with its strong-jawed bite and razor claws. A splintercat fights tenaciously, even when injured or outnumbered, and rarely backs down when provoked.

Though superficially similar to a large bobcat or lynx, a splintercat is no natural animal, as evidenced by its supernatural ability to fly. A splintercat has a brutish, thick-skulled head, a faintly-spotted, dark brown coat, and a long, bushy tail, almost like a fox’s. An adult splintercat measures about five feet long and weighs about 140 pounds.

Splintercat CR 3
XP 800

N Medium magical beast

Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +8
DEFENSE
AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dexterity, +2 natural)

hp 30 (4d10+8)

Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +2

Defensive Abilities ferocity
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft., climb 20 ft., fly 80 ft. (good)

Melee slam +7 (1d6+3 plus hard-headed) or bite +7 (1d6+3 plus grab), 2 claws +7 (1d4+3)

Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.

Special Attacks pounce, powerful charge (slam, 2d6+6), rake (2 claws +7, 1d4+3), splinter burst
STATISTICS
Strength 16, Dexterity 15, Constitution 14, Intelligence 2, Wisdom 13, Charisma 6

Base Atk +4; CMB +7 (+11 grapple); CMD 19 (23 vs. trip)

Feats Death from Above (Ultimate Combat), Skill Focus (Perception)

Skills Acrobatics +10, Climb +11, Fly +10, Perception +8, Stealth +6;
Racial Modifiers +4 Acrobatics

SQ hard-headed
ECOLOGY
Environment temperate forests

Organization solitary or pair

Treasure none
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Hard-Headed (Ex) A splintercat’s blunt, thick-skulled head crushes wood with ease. Its slam attack ignores the hardness of wooden objects and is treated as bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing for overcoming damage reduction possessed by creatures of the plant type. A splintercat cannot attack with its slam in the same round it attacks with its bite.  

Splinter Burst (Su) A splintercat can cause trees to explode in showers of sharp splinters. To activate this ability, a splintercat must make a flying charge with its slam attack against a tree of adequate size (generally, a tree large enough to provide cover to a Medium creature is big enough). The tree takes normal damage (including the splintercat’s powerful charge ability) from this attack. The exploding wood fragments deal 3d6 points of damage to all creatures within a 10 foot radius burst (Reflex DC 15 half). The save DC is Strength-based.

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