Buy me a coffeeDire Raccoon: Nature’s Shadowed Scavenger
“Terrifying Forest Stalker: This Dire Raccoon Is Bigger, Smarter, and Deadlier Than You Ever Imagined!”
The Dire Raccoon is an unnervingly massive predator, standing nearly 5 feet tall at the shoulder and stretching up to 12 feet in length, including its thick, bushy tail. Its coarse fur is a deep charcoal gray streaked with jagged black stripes, providing natural camouflage in forest shadows. The iconic raccoon mask is distorted, with jagged, elongated markings around bloodshot, amber eyes that seem to glow faintly in low light. Its claws are razor-sharp and disproportionately long, used for ripping into flesh, tree bark, or even weak barriers. Its teeth, yellowed and jagged, include prominent canines capable of puncturing armor or bone.
Behavior
Despite its size and strength, the Dire Raccoon is not a mindless brute. Highly intelligent, it has been observed using tools and problem-solving to bypass traps or open locked containers. Nocturnal by nature, it prowls under cover of darkness, moving with eerie silence. While it is opportunistic like its smaller kin, it also exhibits predatory tendencies, ambushing prey with terrifying precision. It is fiercely territorial, attacking anything that encroaches on its domain. However, it often avoids prolonged combat, relying on guerrilla tactics and cunning to wear down enemies.
Habitat
Dire Raccoons thrive in dense, ancient forests, particularly those steeped in mystery or magic. They favor areas near water sources, such as rivers or swamps, and are often found lurking around abandoned ruins or decaying structures. While primarily forest dwellers, sightings near rural villages or urban outskirts suggest a disturbing adaptability to human encroachment.
Modus Operandi
The Dire Raccoon employs stealth and ambush as its primary tactics. It stalks prey silently, using its keen senses of smell and hearing to pinpoint weakness. Its padded paws allow it to move undetected, striking suddenly from shadows with a flurry of slashes and bites. It is known to hoard shiny objects and trinkets, often baiting prey by leaving valuables in the open. The Dire Raccoon’s ability to climb and leap great distances makes it nearly impossible to corner. If outmatched, it will retreat into the treetops or dense undergrowth, often doubling back to attack from an unexpected angle.
Motivation
The Dire Raccoon’s motivations are primal yet cunning. It is driven by an insatiable hunger, particularly for fresh meat, and an almost obsessive compulsion to hoard shiny or magical objects. Some scholars speculate that these creatures are cursed or magically altered raccoons, imbued with a malevolent intelligence and territorial instinct. They seem to kill not just for sustenance but to eliminate perceived threats to their dominance. Their behavior around magical artifacts suggests a deeper connection or obsession with arcane energy, leading some to theorize that they are guardians—or thieves—of ancient magical secrets.
In short, the Dire Raccoon is a shadowy predator of the night, blending animalistic instincts with unsettling cunning, making it a formidable and unpredictable foe for any adventurer daring to cross its path.
Dire Raccoon 5e
Giant Raccoon 3.5
Dire Raccoon
Large Beast, Unaligned
Armor Class 15 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points 84 (8d10 + 40)
Speed 40 ft., climb 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 (+4) | 16 (+3) | 20 (+5) | 6 (-2) | 14 (+2) | 10 (+0) |
Saving Throws Dex +5, Wis +4
Skills Perception +6, Stealth +7, Sleight of Hand +7
Damage Resistances Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Condition Immunities Frightened
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 16
Languages —
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
Traits
Keen Senses. The Dire Raccoon has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell or sight.
Shadow Stalker. In dim light or darkness, the Dire Raccoon can take the Hide action as a bonus action. While hidden in these conditions, it can move at full speed without revealing its position.
Unerring Thief. The Dire Raccoon has advantage on Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) checks to steal objects or manipulate items. If it successfully steals a magical item, it immediately senses its properties as if it had cast identify.
Opportunistic Hunter. When a creature within 5 feet of the Dire Raccoon is incapacitated or prone, the Dire Raccoon can make a bite attack against that creature as a reaction.
Actions
Multiattack. The Dire Raccoon makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
- Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 12 (2d6 + 4) piercing damage. - Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 14 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage.
Shadow Leap (Recharge 5–6). The Dire Raccoon teleports up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space it can see that is in dim light or darkness. Creatures within 5 feet of the Dire Raccoon after it teleports must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 14 (4d6) necrotic damage.
Howling Snarl (Recharge 6). The Dire Raccoon lets out a terrifying snarl, forcing all creatures within 30 feet that can hear it to make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, creatures are frightened for 1 minute. A frightened creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
Tactics
- Ambush Predator: The Dire Raccoon uses its stealth and mobility to strike from unexpected angles. It hides in dim light or darkness, attacking isolated prey.
- Shadow Leap: If the battle turns against it, the Dire Raccoon uses its Shadow Leap ability to reposition or escape. It may also use this to close gaps quickly for a devastating attack.
- Targeting the Weak: With its Opportunistic Hunter trait, it will prioritize incapacitated or prone creatures, often using its Howling Snarl to frighten opponents and set them up for quick attacks.
- Smart Retreats: The Dire Raccoon rarely fights to the death, retreating into the shadows if heavily injured, only to return when it senses vulnerability in its foes.
Environment: The Dire Raccoon is most often found in dense forests, swamps, or abandoned ruins. It may also venture into urban areas to scavenge for magical trinkets or other valuables.
Treasure: The Dire Raccoon’s lair often contains a hoard of stolen items, including small magical trinkets, shiny objects, and other valuables. Adventurers may find anything from gold coins to minor magical items among its stash.
Giant Raccoon
This massive raccoon is larger than a horse.
Originally Posted by Shade of the En World forums.
Like their smaller cousins, giant raccoons are nocturnal omnivores, foraging for fruit, berries, and smaller creatures.
Giant raccoons mate in mid-winter. Males are polygamous, while females are monogamous. The female gives birth to a litter of one to seven young in the summer. Males are solitary, while mothers accompany their young until they can fend for themselves, usually by their first winter.
A giant raccoon is 9 feet long and weighs 50 to 90 pounds. Giant raccoons live 300 years.
| Raccoon, Giant | |
| Large animal | |
| Hit Dice | 4d8+8 (26 hp) |
| Initiative | +3 |
| Speed | 40 ft. (8 squares), Climb 20 ft. |
| Armor Class | 16 (-1 size, +3 Dexterity, +4 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 13 |
| Base Attack/Grapple | +3/+12 |
| Attack | Bite +7 melee (1d6+5) |
| Full Attack | Bite +7 melee (1d6+5) and 2 claws +2 melee (1d6+2) |
| Space/Reach | 10 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks | – |
| Special Qualities | Low-Light Vision, Scent |
| Saves | Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +2 |
| Abilities | Strength 20, Dexterity 17, Constitution 14, Intelligence 2, Wisdom 12, Charisma 11 |
| Skills | Climb +13, Hide +3, Jump +9, Listen +7, Move Silently +11, Sleight of Hand +14, Spot +5 |
| Feats | Alertness, Stealthy |
| Environment | Any forest, plains, or urban |
| Organization | Solitary or family (1 plus 1-7 young) |
| Challenge Rating | 2 |
| Treasure | None |
| Alignment | Always neutral |
| Advancement | 5-8 HD (Large); 9-16 HD (Huge) |
| Level Adjustment | – |
COMBAT
A giant raccoon is an opportunist, and generally avoids direct combat unless cornered. Because they often forage through refuse, giant raccoons occasionally carry disease.
Skills: A giant raccoon has +2 racial bonus on Hide, Move Silently, and Spot checks, a +4 racial bonus on Listen checks, and a +8 racial bonus on Climb and Sleight of Hand checks. It can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened.
Originally appeared in Dungeon Magazine #66 (1998).