This muscular, cougarlike cat has fearsome teeth and a thick tail ending in a spiked ball.
Digmaul CR 3
XP 800
N Medium animal
Init +9; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +5
AC 16, touch 15, flat-footed 11 (+5 Dex, +1 natural)
hp 32 (5d8+10)
Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +2
Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft.
Melee bite +8 (1d6+4), 2 claws +8 (1d4+4), tail +3 (1d4+2)
Special Attacks ball tail
Str 18, Dex 20, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 7
Base Atk +3; CMB +7; CMD 22 (26 vs. trip)
Feats Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Stealth), Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +9, Climb +12, Perception +5, Stealth +14
A digmaul has a spiked ball at the end of its tail, which it can use as a secondary natural attack that deals 1d4 points of bludgeoning and piercing damage. The digmaul can substitute a trip or bull rush combat maneuver check for its normal tail attack. Such a combat maneuver check doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity and receives a +4 racial bonus; a digmaul that fails its trip attempt by 10 or more in this way is not tripped.
Environment temperate forests
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure none
Digmauls are stealthy ambush predators, and their victims often catch a hint of their musky odor just seconds before the beasts leap upon them. In many places, only hermits, pioneers, and adventurers come across these feline hunters as they press into uncharted wildernesses, but in areas where humanoid populations have recently expanded, communities encroaching into formerly pristine forests may also have to contend with these cunning killers. Some talespinners warn that humanoids are the preferred prey of digmauls, and charlatans use this falsehood to stir up fear and get people to buy charms and unguents said to ward against digmaul attacks.
Digmauls make their homes in remote woods, where they climb up into trees to leap down on unsuspecting prey, tackling their victims and beating them to death with bulbous, spiked tails. When actively hunting and not simply relying on opportunity, digmauls stalk their prey for hours, sometimes even days, keeping a safe distance and making use of their superior stealth to remain unnoticed.
They use their keen noses to follow their quarries’ trails when they lose sight in the thick, dark forests. Some stories claim that humanoids native to the forests where digmauls hunt have been successful in training these ferocious cats to guard their secluded domains, though such feats may rely on druidic magic.
Though only having animal intelligence, digmauls communicate with one another in a manner similar to bird calls. They also use their tails to drum on logs to warn of danger, and to attract mates during mating season. These drumming sounds can be heard at distances of 1 to 2 miles.
A digmaul stands nearly 3 feet tall at the shoulder, is 6 feet long, and weighs 180 pounds.
Even rarer than ordinary digmauls are those specimens referred to as silvercats, whose lustrous, blue-gray pelts shimmer in moonlight. Silvercats are digmauls with the advanced simple template. Their ball tail lacks the spikes of a digmaul’s but has greater force behind it. While the tail deals only bludgeoning damage, the racial bonus on trip and bull rush combat maneuver checks with the tail increases to +6.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 5 © 2015, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Dennis Baker, Jesse Benner, John Bennett, Logan Bonner, Creighton Broadhurst, Robert Brookes, Benjamin Bruck, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, Thurston Hillman, Eric Hindley, Joe Homes, James Jacobs, Amanda Hamon Kunz, Ben McFarland, Jason Nelson, Thom Phillips, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Alistair Rigg, Alex Riggs, David N. Ross, Wes Schneider, David Schwartz, Mark Seifter, Mike Shel, James L. Sutter, and Linda Zayas-Palmer.