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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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PFS StandardPine Pangolin

These creatures sleep while hanging upside down by their partially curled tails and rely on their thick wooden scales to protect them from danger. One such danger the scales negate is the falling damage from deliberately rolling up and dropping onto the head of an unsuspecting opponent, which is one of their favorite combat strategies. Beneath their scales, pine pangolin bodies secrete a thick, sticky tar that serves as a secondary line of defense.

Recall Knowledge - Elemental (Arcana, Nature): DC 23
Recall Knowledge - Plant (Nature): DC 23
Unspecific Lore: DC 21
Specific Lore: DC 18

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Pine PangolinCreature 7

Medium Elemental Plant Wood 
Source Rage of Elements pg. 208
Perception +15
Skills Nature +15, Survival +18
Str +4, Dex +0, Con +5, Int +1, Wis +2, Cha +1
AC 25; Fort +15, Ref +10, Will +18
HP 140; Immunities bleed, paralyzed, poison, sleep; Weaknesses axes 5, fire 10
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] claw +17 [+13/+9] (agile), Damage 2d12+3 piercingMelee [one-action] tongue +17 [+12/+7], Damage 2d8+3 bludgeoning plus GrabRoll Up [one-action] (move) The pine pangolin falls prone, closes up its scales, and rolls into a ball. While Rolled Up, the pangolin gains resistance 10 to physical damage and total immunity to falling damage from heights of 50 feet or less. The only action the pine pangolin can take is to Stand, and the effects of Roll Up end once the pangolin Stands.Secrete Tar [one-action] (plant) The pine pangolin secretes a brown, sticky tar within a 5-foot emanation, making those squares difficult terrain for 1 minute. Each creature that enters or starts its turn in a tarred square must succeed at a DC 25 Fortitude save or become immobilized until it Escapes. On a critical failure, the creature falls prone; prone creatures take a –2 circumstance penalty to their checks to Escape the tar. The pine pangolin is immune to the effects of its own tar.

Sidebar - Additional Lore More Wooded Origins

Pine pangolins grow in clusters of two to five individuals on giant trees, protected by a cozy layer of tar until their scales harden enough for their first drop. Snapdrakes are handcrafted for kizidhar nobility, often serving as loyal guards. Nobody knows where painted stags come from, as all who have tried to investigate have been eaten.

All Monsters in "Elemental, Wood"

NameLevel
Carved Beast6
Elemental Thicket11
Living Grove5
Moss Sloth2
Nursery Crawler3
Painted Stag9
Pine Pangolin7
Snapdrake8
Twins of Rowan13
Vegetable Lamb1
Whipping Willow4

Elemental, Wood

Source Rage of Elements pg. 204
At first glance, wood elementals might not seem to have the same destructive potential as their cousins from the Planes of Fire, Water, or Air, but don't be fooled. The woods can be a dangerous place.

Though some resemble animals, the elemental beasts presented here are still plants, and their life cycles reflect it. Vegetable lambs grow on rooted stalks, from which they can't be removed until they've matured (or perhaps ripened), leaving them dependent on their immediate surroundings for food. Moss sloths are little more than lumps of green fluff for the first century of their existence, only gaining limited mobility once they can grow their defensive wooden claws.

Elemental

Related Groups Elemental, Air, Elemental, Earth, Elemental, Fire, Elemental, Mephit, Elemental, Metal, Elemental, Water, Elemental, Wisp
The Elemental Planes—primordial realms defined by aspects of air, earth, fire, or water—are home to a diverse group of beings known as elementals. Spellcasters on the Material Plane call upon elementals for aid, though these enigmatic creatures can also travel to the world of mortals via interplanar gateways and rifts. The elementals on these pages exemplify the creatures of the Elemental Planes, but this list is by no means exhaustive.

Sidebar - Additional Lore A Brain By Any Other Name

Even if Lady Shumunue taught the wood elementals' ancestors to mimic animals, a wood elemental's consciousness is contained not in a brain but in its root system. Entities like nursery crawlers, living groves, and carved beasts use this to their advantage. That an elemental's wooden body can be carved and crafted, apparently without lasting harm, implies that they might not feel pain so long as their roots remain undamaged.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Wild But Unwild

Many wood elementals are created by kizidhar and other powerful creatures on the Plane of Wood and placed in rote roles. Populating nature preserves and sprawling estates, they can be unsure how to behave if released into the wild. They're essentially born domesticated and will likely act far differently than the wild creatures they mimic, even in natural environments. Their natural predators are few, putting the elementals at less risk, although they're still sometimes eaten by giant termites or captured by some as pets.