Prairie Drake
Level 2Attacks
Abilities
Tremorsense allows a monster to feel the vibrations through a solid surface caused by movement. It is an imprecise sense with a limited range (listed in the ability). Tremorsense functions only if the monster is on the same surface as the subject, and only if the subject is moving along (or burrowing through) the surface.
The prairie drake spits a ball of dirt that explodes into a shower of rocks and mud. The attack has a range of 30 feet and explodes in a 5-foot burst. Creatures within the burst take 3d6 bludgeoning damage (DC 16 reflex). Plant creatures in the area take no damage on a successful save; regardless, once per day, plant creatures can spend 10 minutes in the area to absorb the nutrients and heal 1d8 healing Hit Points. The prairie drake can't use Dirt Breath again for 1d6 rounds.
The prairie drake makes one jaws Strike and two wing Strikes in any order.
Frequency three times per day Effect The prairie drake Strides or Burrows twice.
Requirements The monster's last action was a successful Strike that lists Grab in its damage entry, or the monster has a creature Grabbed or Restrained Effect If used after a Strike, the monster attempts to Grapple the creature using the body part it attacked with. This attempt neither applies nor counts toward the creature's multiple attack penalty. The monster can instead use Grab and choose one creature it's grabbing or restraining with an appendage that has Grab to automatically extend that condition to the end of the monster's next turn.
Description
These squat, mud-brown drakes resemble scaly pit bulls with blunt, toothy snouts. The desert drake is the prairie drake's closest known relative, as both share a strong affinity for earth, can burrow through soil, and hack up balls of dirt that they aim at enemies. But whereas a desert drake is sleek and nimble, flying through lightning storms and siroccos with ease, the prairie drake has all the grace of a chicken, barely able to flutter clumsily up a low hill or over a boulder. Owing to their largely vestigial wings, it's no wonder prairie drakes prefer burrowing over soaring.
The average prairie drake has a temperament similar to that of a wicked child who delights in tormenting others. They ambush tiny animals from underground and play with their food thoroughly before eating. To assert their supremacy over other scrubland predators, prairie drakes knock down their rivals and attack them mercilessly. They often make grisly displays from the corpses of their foes to intimidate other would-be competitors.
Prairie drakes build and live in burrow mounds just beneath the surface of their environs. They make shallow tunnels in search of large insects, rodents, and ground snakes. Prairie drakes' presence helps to turn the topsoil and encourage new plant growth, supporting other animal life and making them a keystone species for the environment. Even their breath weapon leaves behind rich "drake soil," coveted by farmers and gardeners for the potent effects it has on plants. Being seen as "useful" or "beneficial" annoys most prairie drakes, who believe such a reputation makes them look weak and conflicts with their "apex predator" mystique. After they've gotten too much positive attention, a prairie drake is apt to murder a farm animal or destroy croplands only to prove that they're far from harmless.