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Roperite

Roperite
Image © Traci Shepard, accessed via @crittercompendium

This bizarre creature looks to be equal parts lizard, roadrunner and jackrabbit. Its lower jaw is a wickedly sharp beak, but its upper jaw is extended into a leathery loop.

Taken from the Creature Codex

Roperites are strange avian predators native to the dry, scrubby hills and plains known as chaparral. Vicious and aggressive, they consider anything that crosses their path to be potential prey. Roperites are so named due to the strange sinewy lasso that dangles from their skull. When not in use, their lasso coils inside of the creature’s sinuses; the launching mechanism is little more than a controlled sneeze. Prey grabbed by a roperite is rapidly yanked to the ground and torn to pieces with its beak and sharp claws.

Roperites live in loose flocks that merge and split depending on the season and the availability of resources. A lone roperite will rarely tackle prey larger than a jackrabbit, but a large flock of roperites will gladly pursue horses and bison. Within a flock, the largest and oldest member is generally dominant, but such dominance extends to little beyond determining the direction the group will travel. They are monogamous and the bond between mates will last until one of the pair dies. Roperites lay eggs and have broods of three to six chicks at a time—the aggressive chicks usually reduce that number by about half within a week of hatching. A roperite stands about five feet tall and weighs eighty pounds.

Roperite                CR 2
XP 600
N Medium magical beast
Init 
+6; Senses low-light vision, Perception +5
Defense
AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12(+2 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 
22 (3d10+6)
Fort 
+6, Ref +8, Will +2
Offense
Speed 
50 ft.Melee bite +5 (1d6+3) or lasso +5 touch (grab plus trip)
Special Attacks 
rake (2 claws +5, 1d4+2)
Statistics
Str 
14, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 7
Base Attack +3; CMB +5 (+9 grapple); CMD 17
Feats 
Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes
Skills 
Acrobatics +6 (+14 jumping), Perception +5, Stealth +6
Ecology
Environment 
temperate hills and plains
Organization 
solitary, pair or flock (3-12)
Treasure 
none
Special Abilities
Grab (Ex) 
A roperite can use its grab special attack against creatures of up to Large size. Whenever a roperite uses its lasso to grab, it is not treated as having the grabbed condition. A creature grabbed by a roperite can escape either by escaping the grapple as normal or by cutting off the lasso, which can be accomplished with a successful sunder attempt using a slashing weapon. A roperite’s lasso has hardness 0 and 7 hit points. A roperite without its lasso cannot use its grab or trip abilities. A roperite can grow its lasso back after 1 month.

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