Breath Stealing Cat

Breath Stealing Cat                                           CR1

 
N Tiny Magical Beast
Init: +3; Senses: Listen +6, Spot +6
Languages: - -
AC: 15 (+2 size, +3 Dex); t: 15, ff: 13
Hp: 4 (½HD)
Immune: - -
Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +1

Spd: 30’ (6 squares), climb 20’ (4 squares)
Melee +4 Claws: 1d2-4
Melee -1 Bite: 1d3-4
Base Atk: +0; Grap -12
Str 3, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 7

SA: Calming Gaze, Steal Breath
SQ: Low Light Vision, Scent
Feats: Alertness, Weapon Finesse (b)
Skills: Balance +11, Climb +6, Hide +18*, Listen +6, Move Silently +10, Spot +6

Climate/Terrain: Any land (usually urban areas)
Organization: Solitary
Advancement: 2-3 (Tiny)

• Calming Gaze (Su): A Breath Stealing Cat uses this ability by sitting on its victim’s chest and staring into his or her eyes.  This effect is identical to a Hold Person spell (Will DC12 negates) and has an effective range of about 1’.  This save is Cha-based.

• Steal Breath (Su): A Breath Stealing Cat loses 1 point of Constitution each day.  It regains its vitality by draining the breath from a living subject.  This attack drains 1 point of Constitution/minute unless the cat is interrupted or disturbed.  The cat drains breath until it reaches its normal maximum Con.  Victims reduced to 0 Con die but survivors recover from the ability damage at the normal rate.

• Skills: Cats receive a +4 racial bonus to Hide and Move Silently checks and a +8 racial bonus to Balance checks.  They use their Dex modifier instead of Strength for Climb checks.  In areas of tall grass or heavy undergrowth, the Hide bonus increases to +8.

Breath Stealing Cats are solitary creatures most commonly found in urban environments.  Their marking have the same wide variety of as those typically found in the common housecat.  These cats are capable of surviving on birds and rodents for short periods of time but they need to consume the breath of the living every few days or they begin to starve.  They acquire this breath by allowing themselves to be “adopted” and then draining it away while their new “owners” sleep or by preying on homeless persons of drunks that they find passed out in alleys.  Clerics of Akadi consider these animals to be blessed by their goddess as they feed on air itself and several of these cats can often be found roaming the courtyards and halls of Akadi’s temples.  The priests will allow the cats to feed on them as a sign of devotion.

Potential Plot Hooks:

#1: A string of mysterious deaths calls the people of a town to send out a call for aid, either for adventurers or the City Watch.  A number of victims of varying ages and health have succumbed in their sleep with no obvious trauma or cause of death.  A Breath Stealing Cat is behind the killing.  This hook could also be used in a modern horror or mystery setting that makes use of the supernatural.

#2: A party member finds a stray cat in a city and it follows him/her home.  The adventurer wakes up the next morning feeling fatigued for no discernible reason.  It doesn’t take long to determine that his/her new pet is to blame.  The only question remains is what to do about the creature now that it has been identified as the culprit.

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