Monster Of The Week: Leucrotta

Sergeant Leonard heard the cries in the brush.  
  He abandoned his post minutes before the yips began, and even then, he trusted his lightfoot roots to carry him over the marsh to where the child lay.  He was certain everyone had evacuated; the militias were ready on the rooftops.  Their intel was good, their scouts intact.  Someone must have been left behind.  

  His boots sink into dense muck and mud, noting the deer footprints that surrounded him.  He checks the horizon once more, columns of ominous smoke rising.  Must be the war party, I still have time.  The cries sound again - someone is sobbing.  "It's all right, little one!  You can come out.  It's just me."  
  The sobbing stops, a choked reply comes shaking, "ArE yoU here TO KiLl mE?"  
Poor thing; must be scared all to hell.  He sheathes his sword, holding his hands out to the brush.  "No one's here to hurt you.  See?  Just a friendly halfling.  Let's get you out of here and home safely."  He flashes a warm smile.  
  "What is it, Sergeant?" A call resounds behind him from the outpost.
  He turns.  "Just a child.  Don't worry, I'll get them..."  A stench fills his nostrils.  Pungent and rotting, like the bile that spills forth from a rancid stomach.  The sergeant's heart drops as his hand grabs the hilt of his saber, a low rumbling chuckle vibrating the tall marsh grass surrounding him.  
  Powerful, rotting jaws clamp onto his leg.  They rend his plated greaves to ribbons and he cries out in pain.  He is yanked backwards, his saber flying from his fingers, and his body disappears into the brush.  His screams of pain are echoed by the frenetic laughter of hyenas, and the war party crests the hill, charging the town.

Children of Yeenoghu

The first of these creatures came from the hordes of hyenas spilling into the material world during Yeenoghu's rampages.  Some of the beasts that feasted on the corpses of the fallen underwent different transformations than the traditional gnolls.  Of those twisted amalgamations, Leucrotta were the most numerous.
  Clever and cruel, a Leucrotta loves to deceive, torture, and kill.  Despite there lupine appearance, these are not pets.  In fact, Leucrottas tend to be smarter and more controlled than the gnolls that often surround them.  The gnolls are entertained by a Leucrotta's ability to mimic the sounds of a suffering victim, or by its ability to "play with their food," prolonging suffering as long as possible.  With such deceptive and terrible intelligence, a Leucrotta can hold an elevated position within a tribe, but rarely leads one.  However, a gnoll chieftain might be seen riding one into battle.  But this is not a noble steed; this is a tactical advisor - an influencer to draw the most out of a kill.  Beware the fleet of gnolls that ride the dreaded Leucrottas - for they will do much worse than kill you.

Foul Deception

The Leucrotta is a stinky boi.  
  Its horrible body of transformed hyena and deer oozes a toxic stench that pollutes and desecrates anywhere it lairs.  Its breath is worse.  Dripping from its maw, fluid corrupted with rot and digestive juices kills the plant life around it.  In place of fangs, it has bony ridges harder than steel that can crush bones and open up a paladin like a soup can.
  The stench alone should probably ward off any prey before they get too close, but the Leucrotta has a few advantages on their side.  Due to their amalgamation, their tracks are indistinguishable from deer and other fauna.  Also, and more alarming, they possess a mimicry ability that they use to duplicate the call and vocal expressions of just about anything they've heard.  A crying child, a wounded bird, a missing ally; they'll use anything from their massive library to lure in potential prey and strike while they are confused.

By The Numbers

The attribute suite of this critter compliments the physical well, with a +2-4 in Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution.  Unlike other dread doggos we've come across, this one's pretty smart and perceptive, but don't count on it for any Charisma checks.  AC and HP are what you'd expect for something with natural armor, but just because most strikers can hit it, don't rush in half-cocked.
  With its connections to Yeenoghu, this creature utilizes ferocity and tactics shared by its gnoll cousins, like their Rampage feature - where if they drop a creature, they can move and attack again.  Also, a Leucrotta has multiattack, one of those attacks being with its hooves.  Couple this with a special feature that allows it to Disengage as a Bonus Action after a hoof attack, and you've got a mobile (50 speed!) threat.  And if this thing gets lucky on its bite, watch out - a critical hit from a Leucrotta rolls the damage three times, instead of twice.  If you're using doubling rules, they triple their critical hits.  OUCH.

Leucrotta In The Ionian Planes

A Leucrotta is a creature of cruelty and killing, but one that enjoys the sport of it all more than its gnoll brothers and sisters. This even minute level of control lends to each greater opportunities for planning, tactics, and learning.  I imagine behind the most successful chieftains sits a Leucrotta, bending agendas, granting advice, and guiding the power like a terrible surgeon.  Their intellect, though stronger than most of their counterparts, is outmatched by many others, so garnering a pack instead of soldiers is where their above-average wisdom shines.  However, at least in Io, packs blessed with a Leucrotta find great value in them, but can only seem to have one at a time.  This is less the gnolls's predicament and more the pride of a Leucrotta, for once it has tasted power, it has little want or use for a rival.  And if another were adopted into a pack, it is only a matter of time before one ends up dead at the bottom of a ravine.

And that does it for December, and 2020!  Up next?  Not sure.  The polls haven't closed yet.
  Celestials and Fiends are extensive.  We'll see who wins next week.  Happy New Year, friends.
​-Adamus

Help support this blog and vote on its Monster Of The Week, every month, every week, by heading over to my Patreon.