Gabite (3.5e Monster)



''This reptilian creature appears similar to a shark... if a shark could live on land, in a desert, and move too quickly for the eye to follow.''

Gabite is a ferocious land-shark with great quickness. Few creatures are capable of escaping it.

Combat
Gabite fights much like Gible does. Gabite's merely stronger and faster (much faster), as well as having more attack options available to it; its secondary natural weapons are actually usable now, its selection of maneuver-like abilities has expanded, and it's gained more techniques.

 (Ex): A Gabite can fling dust into the eyes of living opponents. A Sand Attack has a range of 25 feet plus 5 feet per two hit dice of the Gabite. The victim must make a reflex save (DC 10 + Gabite's Con Modifier + Gabite's Hit dice), failure blinds the victim for d4 rounds plus one round per point of Constitution bonus the Gabite has.

 (Ex): Gabite may add 2d6 damage to any attack it makes as part of a charge. If it does, it takes 1d4 backlash damage. This is a [Normal] effect.

Backlash damage cannot be resisted by any means, and a creature killed by it loses 1 extra level/Hit Die if and when it is brought back to life.

 (Ex): Gabite's slam attacks inflict slashing and bludgeoning damage (instead of just bludgeoning).

It may use each of its maneuver-like abilities once before having to refresh them all as a full-round action. Gabite's maneuver-like abilities: zephyr dance, searing charge, wind stride, flashing sun, desert tempest, bloody cleaver, hungry earth.

 (Ex): Gabite fares... very poorly in cold climates. Concentrated cold is even worse. Gabite takes a -10 penalty against all [Ice] effects (including, but not limited to, anything with the Cold descriptor). If an [Ice] effect doesn't allow a save, Gabite simply takes double damage and is sad.

 (Ex): Gabite's scales are extremely sharp. Each time that Gabite is struck with any sort of attack that involves physical contact between it and its attacker, no matter how brief (including unarmed attacks, natural weapons, and the vast majority of melee touch attacks), that creature takes 1 point of slashing damage for every 2 of Gabite's HD. (The sample Gabite deals 4 points of slashing damage with Rough Skin.) Unlike similar properties of other creatures, this damage is dealt every time hostile contact with Gabite is made, which means that it can work on the same creature more than once per round. This damage is also dealt once per round to all creatures engaged in a grapple with Gabite, though a creature that is somehow able to grapple Gabite without making contact with it is unaffected by Rough Skin.

' (Sp):' Gabite may cast sandstorm'' at will, as the spell. Caster level 9th.

(Since it can use each maneuver-like ability once, this means that hungry earth can be used twice.) This is a [Ground] effect.

 (Ex): Gabite is able to make two full attacks with a single full-round action. However, if it does, it takes a -3 penalty to all damage rolls for the round. It must decide whether or not to make the extra attacks and take the penalty before beginning its attack routine. (This penalty will be cumulative if Gabite makes two full attacks with more than one full-round action in a single round - which it's perfectly capable of doing. Luckily for Gabite, it doesn't take the second penalty until it begins its second extended full attack routine.) Gabite's damage rolls return to normal at the start of its next turn. This is a [Dragon] effect.

 (Ex): Gabite is very fast, and it is able to take two full-round actions in a single round (or a full-round action, standard action, and move action, four move actions, two standard actions and two move actions, or anything else that another creature would be able to do with two rounds' worth of actions). It can also take two swift or immediate actions per round.

Being subjected to a slow effect reduces the number of full-round actions Gabite can take in a round by 1 (so it can only take 1), instead of restricting it to a single standard or move action. All other effects of slow are suffered as normal. Multiple slow effects can be stacked onto a single Gabite, up to a maximum of 2; the second slow effect reduces it to being able to take only a single standard or move action as normal for a slow effect. Other effects of slow aren't stacked. This is a specific exception to the rule that multiple slow effects can't be stacked onto a single creature. Other conditions that reduce a creature's action capacity affect Gabite much like a slow effect does for the purposes of determining how many actions per round it can take (though these conditions can't be stacked with themselves onto a Gabite like a slow effect can, though you can stack them with each other). A condition that allows for no actions in a round, such as dazing, stunning, or paralysis, does not have a reduced effect upon Gabite.

Certain actions can incur accelerated costs if Gabite overdoes them. For instance, each full-round action that it spends running counts as 1 round against its limit, so Gabite gets tired out from running 2 times faster than other creatures do. It does the same amount of running as any other creature sharing its Constitution score before it gets tired - Gabite just does it in less time. (Of course, Gabite's sheer speed puts it at a big advantage in any chase.)

Advancement
At 11 HD, Gabite learns  (Ex): The threat range of Gabite's claws increases to 18-20, and its claws are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming DR. This is a [Normal] effect.

At 14 HD, Gabite learns  (Ex): Gabite may charge while burrowing. If it emerges from the ground to launch its attack, it gains a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls. This is a [Ground] effect.

At 16 HD, Gabite learns  (Ex): Gabite gains additional power when charging, and can slam its body into foes in a most devastating manner. When charging, if it hits, the foe takes an additional 1d6 points of damage per hit die and is knocked prone if they fail a Balance check (the DC is equal to the damage dealt). If the foe is knocked prone, Gabite can continue the charge to another foe as long as it has movement left in its current charge (if it doesn't, it has to spend another full-round action to begin a new charge). This is a [Dragon] effect.

With the correct equipment, it's possible to teach Gabite to use ' (Sp):' Gabite may cast earthquake'', as the spell, once every 1d4 rounds, with a caster level equal to its HD. This is a [Ground] effect.

With the correct equipment, it's possible to teach Gabite to use  (Su): With a standard action, Gabite can cause hardened granite to form around its claws in an unusually sharp "blade" of stone and strike a foe. It makes a regular claw attack, and if it hits, it deals an additional 10d6 damage. It threatens a critical hit on a 16-20 (11-20 if it takes Improved Critical), but the bonus damage is of course not multiplied. If it hits, the stone shatters, so the ability must be activated again with a standard action. If it misses, it remains in effect for future attacks, until it successfully hits. Even though Gabite has two claws, it can still only attack once when using Stone Edge. This is a [Rock] attack. In a Contest, if it wins a point, it automatically gains a massive success, gaining an extra point and raising the DC.