Prowler
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Climate/Terrain | Swamps, marshes, rivers, and lakes |
| Frequency | Uncommon-Rare |
| Organization | Solitary |
| Activity Cycle | Any |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Intelligence | Animal |
| Treasure | Nil |
| Alignment | Neutral |
| No. Appearing | 2-12 |
| Armor Class | 8 |
| Movement | 2//6" |
| Hit Dice | 7 |
| THAC0 | 17 |
| No. of Attacks | 1 |
| Damage/Attack | 2-12 |
| Special Attacks | Surprise bonus and gripping attack |
| Special Defenses | Nil |
| Magic Resistance | Nil |
| Size | L (15 feet long) |
| Morale | Steady |
| XP Value | 150 |
Description
The largest amphibian yet discovered in Dalvashia (though it is rumored there larger ones in the mysterious Jade Peninsula), the prowler is a predator, and chiefly feeds on mergs, though will accept fish and other foodstuffs as well. They have been known to occasionally take individuals along riverbanks and lakes shores, and are a threat to small boaters.
The prowler primarily lives in swamps and marshes. A lengthy creature, it has a long, slender body with short legs and a crocodile like skull. It will attack anything that comes in front of it, concealed as it is in the murky water and vegetation. Preferring to ambush its prey thus rather than hunting, it gains a +1 bonus to surprise on opponents. The teeth and jaws of the prowler are well adapted to hold struggling and slippery prey (as they often prey on fish or other amphibians). Any successful bite attack that scores on a 20 grapples the prowler's opponent; in addition to doing normal bite damage, this attack prevents any further actions by the opponent that round. From then on the opponent is held by the jaws of the beast and -2 to his or her attacks, and +2 to be hit by others. Further, the prowler does automatic damage on the victim.
The grapple is broken by one of several ways. First, he or she can make a successful "bend bars" roll. Second, if the opponent is a thief-acrobat, the thief-acrobat may tumble out of the hold, using his or her Evasion percentage as the chance to escape. Third, the prowler suffers the loss of more than half of its hit points (at which point it chooses to let go). And of course, the death of the creature in question.
Prowlers are despised by the settlers, but as they are fairly common for such a large predator and there are so many areas of wetland, there is little that can be done about them. They aren't hunted for any useful product they can provide, though cities and towns near lakes and rivers do occasionally conduct massive drives to eliminate them in a region. Generally this is only temporarily successful.