Creature: Mange-Cat

Name: Mange-Cat
Level: 3 (9)

"Your best defense against the menace of a mange-cat pack is to not be on the ground in the first place." -Dakkal of the Empty Hand

    The first warning anyone has of the presence of a mange-cat is usually the hollow sound underfoot when someone walks across the trap door the beast lurks beneath, waiting to pounce. Once it strikes, the usual impression is a blur of claws and fangs bursting from below the ground, followed by the screams of the victim coming from beneath the ground.
    A mange-cat is a tawny-colored eight-legged feline analogue roughly the size of a mountain lion, covered in coarse, oily fur that collects dust to better camouflage the creature. Four rusty orange eyes frame a long muzzle, with a pair of tufted ears constantly twitching and swiveling atop the creature's head. The mange-cat's fangs are hollow, delivering a soporific venom to weaken and immobilize their prey.

Motive: Hungers for flesh
Environment: Any temperate environment, either alone or in a small pack of 2-4 mated pairs sharing a communal den with multiple entrances.
Health: 12
Damage Inflicted: 2
Armor: 0
Movement: Short unless pouncing from ambush, when they can only strike within immediate distance.
Modifications: Perception and Stealth as level 6
Combat: When given the chance, mange-cats prefer to strike from ambush, using the tunnels they dig through their hunting range, concealed beneath a trap door made of plant matter, dirt, and a thick web-like glue they use to bond the material together. During this initial attack, they act as a level 5 creature, striking with their four front legs. Victims of a successful ambush attack must make an additional level 5 Might Defense check or be dragged under the trap door with the mange-cat.
    In the confines of their tunnels, the animals put all eight legs and their fangs to use, attacking twice per round, with the second attack being a bite that requires an additional Might Defense check to avoid the effects of the venom, or else suffer a two step disadvantage on all actions for the next hour. The tight confines of the space also hamper victims, making the use of any large or unwieldy items one step more difficult.
    If forced into the open, a mange-cat prefer to perform run-by attacks, ducking under any cover it can find while it harasses its victims. Packs of mange-cats will coordinate their efforts to hamper the defenses of their prey, putting all Speed Defense checks by their victim at one step lower.
    If reduced to 25% or less of its full health, a mange-cat will abandon the fight and flee, unless defending a nesting chamber of larval mange-cats or a pregnant mate.
Interaction: Mange-cats tend to prefer fresh food, but are content to scavenge if it seems the easier option; a clever individual or group can pass through an area inhabited by the creatures by leaving either live helpless prey animals or large cuts of meat near known trap doors. Over time, this will lead to the mange-cats associating them with easy meals, giving them free passage - something that that can be used to their advantage by leading enemies into the area.
Use: A town has discovered that proper treatment can lead to the mange-cats occupying a perimeter around their town, creating a hungry minefield which unwary people might wander into.
    Travelers along a well-traveled road have begun disappearing; investigation discovers that a pack of mange-cats have moved in and have dug lair entrances right next to the road.
    A noble with an interest in biology wants either larval mange-cats or a pregnant adult to study the development of these ambush predators, and is willing to pay well for samples.

GM Intrusion:  A second, unnoticed trap door concealed another mange-cat who strikes from ambush at the weakest party member, dragging them beneath the ground and biting them.
    A dose of the creature's venom is unusually strong, forcing a level 4 Might Defense check to avoid passing out entirely.