CorbayrantThis enormous scorpion-like creature has legs like jagged bark and a moss-colored body. It barbed tail drips foul-smelling venom and its wide mouth has multiple hinged jaws.Corbayrant CR 16Source Pathfinder #132: The Six-Legend Soul pg. 84
XP 76,800
CE Huge magical beast
Init +9; Senses blindsense 120 ft.; Perception +30
Aura virulence (30 ft.)DefenseAC 30, touch 14, flat-footed 24 (+5 Dex, +1 dodge, +16 natural, –2 size)
hp 237 (19d10+133); regeneration 5 (cold)
Fort +18, Ref +16, Will +12
Defensive Abilities barbed defense; DR 15/bludgeoning or slashing; Immune gaze attacks, mind-affecting effects, paralysis, poison, polymorph, sight-based effects, sleep effects, stunning, visual effects and illusions; Resist fire 10; SR 27
Weaknesses vulnerable to coldOffenseSpeed 40 ft., climb 30 ft.
Melee bite +27 (2d8+10 plus grab), sting +27 (2d8+10 plus poison), 2 spines +27 (2d6+10 plus contagious paralysis)
Ranged 4 spines +22 (2d8+10 plus contagious paralysis)
Space 15 ft., Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks contagious paralysis (1d4 minutes, DC 22), poison, swallow whole (5d8 piercing plus contagious paralysis, AC 18, 23 hp)StatisticsStr 31, Dex 20, Con 25, Int 14, Wis 19, Cha 16
Base Atk +19; CMB +31 (+35 grapple); CMD 47 (59 vs. trip)
Feats Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Improved Vital Strike, Iron Will, Mobility, Point-Blank Shot, Skill Focus (Stealth), Vital Strike
Skills Acrobatics +14 (+18 when jumping), Climb +18, Intimidate +22, Perception +30, Sense Motive +12, Stealth +25 (+33 in forests), Survival +11; Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth in forests
Languages Common, Sylvan
SQ plantlikeEcologyEnvironment temperate forests
Organization solitary
Treasure standardSpecial AbilitiesAura of Virulence (Su) A corbayrant emits an aura that suppresses defenses against paralysis and poisons. Creatures with bonuses on saving throws against paralysis or poison lose these bonuses while within 30 feet of a corbayrant. This aura doesn't negate general bonuses on saving throws—such as a bonus on all Fortitude saves— and it has no effect on creatures that are immune to paralysis or poison.
Contagious Paralysis (Su) A corbayrant's spines deliver a eldritch paralytic agent. A creature damaged by a corbayrant's spines or by its swallow whole attack must succeed at a DC 22 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 1d4 minutes and sprout thorny barbs that can pass on the paralysis to others. A creature that touches a target paralyzed by a corbayrant's spines or strikes the paralyzed target with an unarmed strike or natural weapon takes 1d6+10 points of piercing damage and is also affected by the corbayrant's contagious paralysis (a DC 22 Fortitude save negates the contagious paralysis but not the damage). A creature affected by contagious paralysis can attempt a new saving throw each round at the end of its turn to end the effect. When the contagious paralysis ends, the barbs fall off harmlessly and dissolve into rotten splinters. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Plantlike (Ex) Although they are magical beasts, corbayrants have many qualities common to plants. Corbayrants breathe and eat, but do not sleep. For the purposes of effects targeting creatures by type (such as a ranger's favored enemy and bane weapons), corbayrants count as both magical beasts and plants.
Poison (Ex) Sting—injury; save Fort DC 26; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d4 Con; cure 2 consecutive saves.
Spines (Ex) A corbayrant's spines are primary natural attacks that deal piercing damage and deliver the corbayrant's contagious paralysis. A corbayrant can hurl up to four spines as a standard action. This attack has a range of 90 feet with no range increment. The corbayrant can target multiple creatures with its hurled spines, but all targets must be within 30 feet of each other.DescriptionAn ambush predator that conceals itself among tall trees, corbayrants are bizarre amalgamations of insect and plant. Appearing somewhat like an oversized scorpion with barbed spines in place of claws, corbayrants have an exoskeleton made of thick layers of bark and moss. With their segmented limbs fully extended, their legs resemble tree trunks and their mossy underside blends in with the forest canopy. A corbayrant keeps its long tail curved above its body, its barbed stinger dripping viscous venom like tree sap. Corbayrants lack eyes, but they perceive their surroundings through a combination of sound and changes in air pressure.
A corbayrant’s spiny forelegs deliver a magical paralytic toxin that causes afflicted victims to sprout barbs that can transmit the paralysis to others. A corbayrant rarely waits for this paralysis to run its course, as it prefers to snatch up paralyzed victims in its large quadrisecting mouth and swallow them whole. The creature’s abdomen contains sharp thorns that exude the same paralytic toxin as its spines, which keep its prey immobile while it is being digested.
A thin, miasmic cloud surrounds corbayrants. Although visually indistinguishable from ordinary forest mist, this cloud suppresses creatures’ resistances to paralysis and poisons, making the creature a far more effective hunter.
A typical corbayrant stands 19 feet tall and weighs nearly 3 tons.EcologyCorbayrants originated in the First World and were once the favored hunters of the Green Mother, the Eldest of verdant growth and venom. During the Age of Anguish, when gnomes fled to Golarion from the First World, the corbayrants followed. History is unclear as to whether the Green Mother dispatched her corbayrants to hunt the fleeing gnomes, or whether the beasts were also refugees. In any case, the Eldest took steps to ensure that her hunters would remain on Golarion to spread chaos, severing their connection to the First World. Corbayrants spread throughout the forests of Avistan— and particularly throughout the vast Verduran Forest— gleefully preying upon travelers and sating their monstrous appetites. Patient and watchful, corbayrants can remain hidden for days or even months, waiting for the perfect time to strike at prey. Despite their exile, corbayrants retain many features that demonstrate their otherworldly origin, including a magical paralytic toxin, a whimsical and cruel demeanor, and a life span so long as to make them essentially ageless.
The corbayrants’ depredations continued until the march of Taldor’s First Army of Exploration. Pushing northward through the Verduran Forest, the armies not only annexed humanoid realms but also vanquished monsters that endangered Taldan civilization. Units of elite monster-hunters cornered and killed several corbayrants, driving the most powerful and cunning survivors deep into hiding. As millennia went by, the reclusive beasts became little more than legend, although many still prey upon animals and daring travelers who penetrate their remote forest lairs.Habitat and SocietyCorbayrants are incredibly rare, and those few that survived into the modern day are crafty and careful. Daring monster-hunters occasionally venture into their forests to learn whether rumors of surviving corbayrants are true; these brave warriors generally seek the glory from vanquishing such a legendary foe or wish to acquire a corbayrant’s rare and valuable toxins. A few druidic cabals know that corbayrants exist, but they give the creatures a wide berth and steer others well away from the monsters’ hunting grounds to avoid triggering a corbayrant’s capricious wrath.
Corbayrants dislike the company of others of their kind; they see other corbayrants as competitors and reminders of the days when they were hunted. Corbayrants can’t reproduce outside of the First World and therefore can’t expand their species, although some corbayrants are independently investigating magical methods of propagation that involve bizarre rituals and bloody sacrifices of fey creatures.
A corbayrant’s strange biology is dramatically impacted by cold environments, making it sluggish and irritable. Cold damage causes its flesh to degenerate with surprising speed, and the touch of even a single snowflake causes it excruciating agony. Although corbayrants are reluctant to relocate from their established hunting grounds, prolonged periods of cold weather usually compel them to seek warmer territory. A rare few corbayrants have adapted to other habitats, lurking in warm, fetid marshes or amid desert oases.
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