This vile creature resembles an upright, humanoid frog with gray flesh and reddish-gold eyes. Its humanoid arms end in wicked claws.
Tsathar CR 2
XP 600
CE Medium monstrous humanoid (aquatic)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 90 ft., scent; Perception +9
AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+2 armor, +2 Dex, +4 natural)
hp 13 (2d10+2)
Fort +1, Ref +5, Will +4
Defensive Abilities slimy
Weaknesses light blindness
Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
Melee shortspear +3 (1d6+1) or kukri +3 (1d4+1/18-20) or 2 claws +3 (1d6+1), and bite +3 (1d4+1)
Ranged shortspear +4 (1d6+1) or net +4 touch (entangled)
Special Attacks leap, summon hydrodaemon
Tsathar prefer to use short, barbed spears and kukri-like daggers in combat. They sometimes employ nets as well. They charge into combat with maniacal fury, and rarely use elaborate tactics, unless a scourge or priest is present to control them. They favor leather armor crafted from the hides of the frogs they breed. Priests favor the wicked kukri in battle.
Str 13, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 10
Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 15 (27 vs. grapple)
Feats Skill Focus (Perception)B, Improved Initiative
Skills Acrobatics +3 (+17 long jumping, +27 high jumping), Climb +5, Escape Artist +15, Perception +9, Stealth +6, Swim +14; Racial Modifiers +12 Escape Artist, +14 Acrobatics when long jumping or +24 Acrobatics when high jumping
Languages Abyssal, Tsathar
SQ amphibious, implant
Gear leather armor, shortspear, kukri, net
Tsathar are sexless, reproducing by injecting eggs into living hosts. An egg can be implanted only into a helpless host creature. The host must be of Small size or larger. Giant frogs, bred for this very purpose, are the most common host. Implanting an egg requires one minute to perform.
Accompanying the egg is an anaesthetizing poison that causes the host to fall unconscious for the two-week gestation period of the egg unless the host succeeds on a DC 20 Fortitude saving throw; this save DC includes a +8 racial bonus. If the save succeeds, the host remains conscious, but is violently ill (-10 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, and skill checks) 24 hours before the eggs hatch. When the eggs mature, the young tsathar emerges from the host, killing it in the process.
A remove disease spell rids the victim any implanted eggs. A DC 20 Heal check can be attempted to surgically extract an egg from a host. If the check fails, the healer can try again, but each attempt (successful or not) deals 1d6 points of damage to the patient.
Tsathar are incredible jumpers, able to leap up to 30 feet horizontally or 10 feet vertically. They have a +14 racial bonus on horizontal jumps, or +24 on vertical jumps, and they do not need to make a 10-foot minimum running start before jumping to avoid doubling the jumping DCs. Tsathar can always take 10 when making an Acrobatics check to jump.
When a tsathar begins its round by jumping next to an opponent it can make a full attack in the same round. A tsathar wearing medium or heavy armor or carrying a medium or heavy load cannot use this ability.
A tsathar with at least five levels of cleric can, once per day, attempt to summon a hydrodaemon (q.v.) with a 40% chance of success. This ability is the equivalent of a 4th-level spell.
Because tsathar continuously cover themselves with muck and slime, they are difficult to grapple. Webs, magic or otherwise, do not affect tsathar, and they usually can wriggle free from most other forms of confinement. This grants them a +12 racial bonus to their CMD to escape grapples, and to their Escape Artist checks.
Environment underground and temperate marshes
Organization solitary, gang (2-5), or pack (6-40 tsathar, with 1-4 tsathar scourges accompanied by 3-12 killer monstrous frogs, led by a tsathar cleric or oracle of 3rd-6th level)
Treasure standard
A typical tsathar stands 6 feet tall and weighs about 300 pounds. A tsathar scourge is slightly bulkier, of equivalent height but weighing about 350 pounds.
Tsathar prefer to live in fetid lairs deep underground or in dark swamps. When they dwell above ground, they are nocturnal. Some few surface dwelling tsathar have joined cults of assassins.
Tsathar communities are led by priestsâcommon tsathar with levels of cleric or oracle. They revere the demon-god Tsathogga, a foul toadlike demonic being that grants them access to the Chaos, Destruction, Evil, and Water domains, and the Catastrophe and Demon subdomains.
Tsathar are sexless and reproduce by implanting an egg into a host, which can be any form of living creature. Normally, creatures are captured or bred to serve as hostsâdire rats and giant frogs being common hosts. It is said that priests must be born of an egg implanted into a humanoid or other creature of great intelligence.
Tsathar Characters
Tsathar favor barbarian, ranger, rogue, and fighter classes. Those tsathar destined for priesthood become clerics or oracles.
Tsathar from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Authors Clark Peterson, Bill Webb, and Scott Greene.