Gasheklah (3.5e Monster)

''This creature’s pale eyes gleam with an alien but horribly cunning intelligence. Standing on two powerful legs, its thick fur is matted and black with an oily sheen. A muscular neck ends in a wolf-like head with oversized jaws full of ivory needles. A powerful tail bristling with bony spines sweeps back and forth behind it. Each heavy hand has two opposable thumbs, and every digit ends in claws equally suited for both digging through rock and disemboweling anything it catches.''

The Gasheklah are one of the ancient Dark Races banished from the world in the ages before men. Few know for sure where the Gasheklah were sent to, and fewer still willingly speak of them. Wholly evil, they delight in the torment and wanton slaughter of all things. An average Gashlekah stands eleven feet in height (though they rarely stand completely erect, preferring to hunch forward with heavy tails counter-balancing them). They weigh about 900 pounds.

Combat
Gasheklah are cunning and terrifying fighters, preferring to ambush their victims whenever possible. The Gasheklah’s lust for blood and carnage will cause them to keep fighting long after the tide has turned against it (on the rare occasions that this happens). They prefer close, cramped fighting to keep prey within range of their frightening moans and the spray of their black blood. Pairs or troupes will use cooperative tactics, such as to bull rush front-line fighters out of the way for their companions to charge through and attack casters and other ranged attackers in the rear, flanking whenever possible. Often a seemingly lone Gasheklah will pretend to be more wounded than it is and attempt escape, when it is in fact drawing it's opponents into an ambush.

A Gasheklah’s natural weapons are treated as evil-aligned and chaos-aligned for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.

Black Blood : When the thick hide of a Gasheklah is pierced, it spews forth its thick, black blood. Any adjacent opponent must succeed on a DC 23 Reflex save or be sprayed with the tar-like blood. The blood acts as a contact poison, and a creature struck by it must succeed on a DC 23 Fortitude save or become nauseated, with the secondary effect of 1d6 Con damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Evil Aura : The power of a Gasheklah’s aura of evil (see the detect evil spell) is equal to its HD. This usually makes for an overpowering evil aura.

Frightening Growl :  Once every five rounds a Gasheklah can emit a fearsome, almost subsonic growl. Any opponent within 60 feet must succeed on a DC 25 Will save or become shaken for 1d4 rounds. A creature who succeeds on the will save cannot be affected by the same Gasheklah’s growl for 24 hours. The save is Constitution-based, and includes a +2 racial bonus.

Rend : If a Gasheklah hits with both its claw attacks, it can rend the flesh of its opponent. This attack automatically deals an extra 2d6+10 damage.

Spell Resistance : A Gasheklah has Spell Resistance equal to 10 plus its HD.

Telepathy :  While a Gasheklah can growl, howl and snarl, they do not speak. It is believed they communicate with each other via telepathy, though attempts by other species to communicate telepathically with a Gasheklah elicit no response. Gasheklah almost invariably attempt to kill anything and everything they come into contact with.