Magmar (3.5e Monster)



''You encounter a creature with a mild resemblance to a duck. Upon spotting you, it grumpily snorts, and the air around it starts shimmering with extreme heat.''

Magmar is a birdlike lava creature with a penchant for spraying flames from its mouth.

Combat
Overall, Magmar is a bit more powerful in combat than Electabuzz and Jynx; however, it's also a bit slower.

Magmar's flare attack is a short-ranged heat wave, treated as a melee touch attack. It is a secondary natural weapon (taking the according penalty) and its attack and damage rolls are influenced by Magmar's Constitution instead of its Strength (which isn't really a good thing for Magmar, as its Constitution is rather low).

 (Su): Magmar's body is very hot. Anything striking it with an unarmed attack or natural weapon takes 1 point of fire damage per HD Magmar has (10 for the sample Magmar) and must succeed on a Reflex save or suffer a burn. The save DC is equal to 10 + ½ Magmar's HD + Magmar's Constitution modifier (14 for the sample Magmar).


 *  (Ex): When making a slam attack, Magmar may elect to take a penalty on its attack roll up to its Base Attack Bonus. If it does, it may only make one slam attack for any attack action (thus, it only makes one slam if making a full attack), but its slam attack's threat range is increased by 1 per point of penalty (for instance, taking a &minus;5 penalty increases the threat range from 20 only to 14-20). The penalty taken to use Cross Chop is not applied to a roll made to confirm a critical hit. Cross Chop also adds 1d6 to its slam attack's damage per point of penalty taken, and these extra damage die are multiplied by a critical hit. Cross Chop stacks with Power Attack, should Magmar later choose to take it, and Power Attack combines perfectly with Cross Chop; this means that the attack roll penalty taken with Cross Chop is also applied to Power Attack, with no additional penalty needing to be taken, and this allows Power Attack to be used with a penalty and bonus greater than +5. Cross Chop cannot be used in conjunction with some of Magmar's other attack options, including Fire Punch. The attack penalty taken with Cross Chop applies to all slam attacks made until the end of the round. Cross Chop is a [Fighting] effect.
 *  (Su): As a Swift action, Magmar may cast fire shield. It may then dispel the effect by making a melee attack, dealing 1d6 extra Fire damage per HD and setting the opponent on fire for 2d6 fire damage per round. Doing this deals 1d6 damage per 4 HD to Magmar (minimum 1d6 at 4 HD or less). This may be cast once per 5 rounds. This is a [Fire] effect. In a Contest, using this automatically gains a fantastic success, gaining 2 points and raising the DC, but Magmar takes a -4 penalty on the following turn.
 *  (Ex): Magmar may make a slam attack as an immediate action; however, it takes a &minus;2 penalty on the damage roll. Mach Punch cannot be used in conjunction with Fire Punch. This is a [Fighting] effect.

' (Sp):' Magmar can cast smog'' as a spell-like ability three times per encounter (DC 18, Charisma-based). Smog is identical to stinking cloud, except that it poisons creatures instead of nauseating them. All creatures within the smog cloud take 2 points of damage per caster level per round, and during each round that they remain, they must succeed on a Fortitude save or suffer 2 points of Constitution damage, then suffer 2 more points of Constitution damage every 2 rounds thereafter until the end of the encounter. Success on a primary save prevents secondary damage from being incurred, with no further saves needed (assuming that the creature in question leaves smog ' s area of effect before another round of primary damage is potentially incurred). Failure on even one primary save allows secondary damage to occur until the effect is lifted (by magic or by the encounter ending). Secondary Constitution damage can be prevented by a successful Fortitude save against the same DC as the initial one, but each round of secondary damage requires a new save to prevent (success on a secondary save does not end the effect). Hit point damage caused by smog is not affected by victims' saving throws. Constitution damage can be incurred once per round of exposure, but secondary Constitution damage does not stack, even if the primary Fortitude save is failed several times. Both the hit point damage and Constitution damage are considered poison effects, so all bonuses and penalties to saves against poison (such as a dwarf's racial bonus) are applicable to smog, and creatures with immunity to poison are unaffected regardless of how poor their Fortitude saves are (and poison-immune creatures don't take hit point damage either). The Constitution damage can be stopped by neutralize poison or any other effect capable of curing a poison before it inflicts its secondary damage. delay poison does not end the effect of smog outright, but it does grant affected creatures temporary poison immunity with respect to smog, and creatures that are already poisoned do not take secondary Constitution damage for as long as delay poison ' s effects last. Magmar's caster level for smog is equal to its Hit Die (caster level 10th for the sample Magmar). Smog is treated as a 3rd-level spell, and is a [Poison] effect.

 (Su): As a standard action, Magmar may attempt to unsettle opponents and make them open up their guard a bit. Its menacing stare affects all targets within a 30-foot cone that meet Magmar's gaze, forcing them to succeed on a Will save (DC 17, Wisdom-based) or gain damage susceptibility 2/physical for 5 rounds. This is treated as a gaze attack, and thus can be avoided in any of the same ways that a gaze attack can be, but it is not continuously active; Magmar has to consciously choose to use it. (It's just like a vampire's dominating gaze in that respect.) Leer is a [Fear, Mind-Affecting] effect, with all of the capabilities and limitations that are implied by said descriptors (in other words, Magmar's wasting its time by trying to use Leer on a mindless creature or a paladin).

 (Su): Magmars have a very minor breath weapon; they can breathe fire. A Magmar's ember attack strikes in a 15 ft. line and deals 1d6 + HD + Cha mod in fire damage. Creatures in the area may halve the damage on a successful Reflex save, DC = 10 + Magmar's Charisma modifier + ½ Magmar's Hit Dice. Magmar may not use Ember for 1d4 rounds after having used it. The sample Magmar's Ember attack inflicts 1d4+5 fire damage with a save DC of 20. This is a [Fire] effect.

 (Su): As a standard action, Magmar can fill a cylinder centered on itself with a 15-foot radius and 15 feet high with with smoke from the flames on its mouth, similar to an obscuring mist effect. Fire-subtype creatures can see further through the smoke; for them, creatures 10 feet away have only concealment and creatures 5 feet away are not concealed.

The smoke dissipates after 4 rounds. This is a [Fire] effect.

 (Ex): Whenever Magmar succeeds on a Bluff check to feint an opponent, it automatically makes a slam attack on that opponent which cannot miss. It still makes an attack roll to determine whether or not the attack is a critical hit. This is a [Dark] effect.

 (Su): As a standard action, Magmar can make a ranged touch attack against a single creature within Close range. If it hits, the target takes 1d4 + HD fire damage, and is also entangled. It takes an additional 1d4 fire damage every round that it remains entangled. The target may be entangled by this effect for up to 5 rounds, after which it is automatically released. This is a [Fire] effect.

' (Sp)' Magmar may cast stinking cloud'' as a spell-like ability three times per encounter (DC 18, Charisma-based). In addition to its normal effects, this stinking cloud attempts to remove all stat boosts and other beneficial magical effects on creatures caught within it, as greater dispel magic, with a caster level equal to the caster level of the stinking cloud itself (caster level 10th for the sample Magmar). This dispel check is resolved as normal; success or failure on the saving throw does not influence its outcome. Clear smog attempts to dispel whenever affected creatures would be required to save against the stinking cloud (regardless of whether or not they actually need to save against it). This is a [Poison] effect.

' (Sp):' This functions like a fireball'', except that it has a secondary blast radius extending out to 150 feet. All creatures caught within this secondary blast radius (but not the primary blast) take 1d8 points of fire damage (Reflex save negates). Creatures caught within the primary blast radius are affected as normal for a fireball (including the 10d6 damage cap). This move is a [Fire] effect.

' (Sp):' Magmar may cast confusion as a standard action; however, instead of its normal targeting mechanism, Magmar's confusion'' is a magical ray (that is, a ranged touch attack). If Confuse Ray connects, it automatically confuses the target with no save allowed. If Confuse Ray scores a critical hit, the target becomes permanently insane, as the insanity spell. This move is a [Ghost] effect, but can affect Normal-type Pokémon.

 (Su): When making a slam attack, Magmar can wreath its fist in fire energy. This adds 1d6 fire damage to its unarmed attack and (assuming Magmar hits) forces the target to make a Fortitude save against being burned. This attack is an ordinary slam attack in all other respects. The Fortitude save DC is Strength-based. This move is a [Fire] effect.

 (Su): As a standard action usable every 1d3 rounds, Magmar may emit an explosion of magma that affects all squares within 30 feet per 10 HD (minimum 30 feet) and does 1d8 fire damage per 2 HD Magmar has. A Reflex save (Charisma-based DC) is allowed to halve the damage. Failure by 5 or more on the Reflex save results in burning. This is a [Fire] effect.

 (Su): Magmar may replicate the effects of the Drought feat as a standard action; however, the sunlight caused by Magmar lasts for only 5 rounds.

Advancement
With the power of an item known as the Magmabooster, Magmar may evolve into Magmortar. This is an overall power boost, but does reduce its speed a little bit.

At 12 HD, Magmar's Ember attack is replaced with  (Su). A Magmar's flamethrower attack strikes in a 30-ft. line or 15-ft. cone and deals 1d6 fire damage per HD plus Magmar's Charisma bonus. Creatures in the area may halve the damage on a successful Reflex save, DC 10 + Magmar's Charisma modifier + ½ Magmar's Hit Dice. Magmar may not use Flamethrower for 1d4+1 rounds after having used it. This is a [Fire] effect.

At 14 HD, Magmar learns ' (Sp)'''. This is an extra-potent fireball with no damage cap and an explosion radius of 20 feet per caster level. However, Fire Blast can only be used once every 1d2 minutes. It is a [Fire] effect and (for Magmar) the equivalent of a 5th-level spell.