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Large beast, unaligned
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 76 (9d10 + 27)
Speed 50 ft.
Saving Throws Dex +6
Skills Perception +5, Stealth +6
Senses passive Perception 15
Languages —
Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)
Forest Camouflage. The oritaku has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in forests, woodlands, or other terrain of abundant foliage.
Endurance Hunter. The oritaku has advantage on saving throws against exhaustion.
Keen Hearing and Sight. The oritaku has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or sight.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The oritaku makes one bite attack and two claw attacks. If it has a target grappled in its jaws, the oritaku can trade the bite attack for an additional claw attack against that target.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) piercing damage. If the target is a Large creature, it must succeed a DC 17 Strength saving throw or be grappled. If the target is a Medium or smaller creature, it is grappled and must make the saving throw end of its turn. Until this grappled ends, the target is restrained, and the oritaku can't bite another target.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage. If the target is a grappled creature, it suffers 9 (2d8) damage for 1 minute due to internal bleeding. This does not stack if the target is hit with multiple claw attacks.
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The oritaku of Pakardia is peculiar among the robust monarchs of the Known World of Kaimere, mostly in that it is not itself robust. These limber hunters are instead only about 25 ft long at most and weigh about 1-2 tons, with their dark black feathers striking and marking their blue eyes. The only signifier that they are adults is the white ruff around their ears they reach upon maturity.
Lord of the Pakardiant Forests. As stated above, these traits are most unusual among adult monarchs, although they are similar to adolescents of other species are similar in their anatomy. This marks the oritaku as a neotenic species[1], where the adults are similar to juveniles of related animals. At some point in their evolution, it became advantageous to never reach the adult size and morphology seen in mainland monarchs, likely due to the smaller average size of the prey base on Pakardia: although a large island in every respect, herbivores are much smaller than most prey in Kaimere as well as the island being colder thus favoring mammals over dinosaurs. While dainty compared to their mainland kin, the are much more massive than any of the predators on Pakardia and thus are the dominant predators in their environment.
Like the zentaur of the mainland, the oritaku is solitary and is overall quite similar in its behavior, just with a more gracile build. That means they do not mate for life and chase their young off once they reach the size of a large dog. Like all robust monarchs, intraspecific competition-that is competition between members of the same species-is mostly display, with minimal if any face biting. While they do occasionally go maneater, oritaku do not naturally view the Pakardiant as prey and they indeed view the oritaku with wonder more so than fear. Rumors do persist that oritaku that grow to the robust morph in the interior of Pakardia-looking essentially like a melanistic adult zentaur-although these rumors are completely unsubstantiated.
Variant: Sub-Adult Robust Monarch
Due to the neotenic nature of the Oritaku, the statistics make an excellent framework for adolescents or sub-adults of other robust monarchs. To create a sub-adult robust monarch of a different species, edit the statistics as follows:
Kurajaku. Add 90 ft. blindsight, change the Speed to 30 ft (50 ft. underwater), swim 40 ft., Forest Camouflage to Underwater Camouflage, and add the following traits:
- Algal Cloak. While in underwater and surrounded by water plants such as seagrass, the kurujaku may use the hide action as a bonus action.
- Aquatic Blind Senses. If outside of water, the kurajaku cannot use its blindsight.
- Dense. Once the kurujaku stops swimming, it sinks in water. It ignores the extra movement cost for moving through water while walking.
Uktan. Change Forest Camouflage to Grassland Camouflage and add the Pack Tactics trait.
Zentaur. Use the stat block as is, without any change.
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