Emberjaw
Beast · no Crown (Meridian)
T2d6Minor
Stocky hyena-like predators with oversized jaws lined with cherry-red glowing teeth that generate intense heat on contact, cauterizing wounds and heating metal armor.
Tier 2 · Role Minor · Pool Vigor 2 (+2 overflow) · AC 12 · ATK +4 · Save DC 13 · Dmg 2 (flat)
| Stat | Score | Mod | Die |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body | 16 | - | - |
| Mind | 8 | - | - |
| Sense | 14 | - | - |
| Heart | 14 | - | - |
| Cunning | 14 | - | - |
| Fate | 14 | - | - |
A Minor has no attribute mechanics: the scores describe the creature, they do not roll.
Passives
Thermal Bite
Metal armor struck by its bite glows painfully hot: the wearer takes 1 Vigor damage at the start of each of their turns until the armor is doused or shed.
Maneuvers
Furnace Snap
Clamps its jaws at full heat onto a creature within 5 ft. The target makes a Body save (DC 13): on a failure it takes 2 damage as the heat sears straight through armor; on a success it takes 1 Vigor damage.
Circle Prey
Moves up to half its speed without provoking reactions, working around to flank.
Reactions
Heated Snarl
When a creature moves within 5 ft, it snaps and the creature takes 1 Vigor damage from the heat rolling off its jaws.
Tactics
GM tactics
Emberjaws hunt in small packs, targeting wounded or armored prey. They prioritize targets in metal armor to exploit Thermal Bite. They circle prey to flank before closing for the kill.
Running it
Rules
- Vigor equal to Tier, with an overflow of the same size behind it: 2, then 2 more. Neither half regenerates.
- A hit deals a flat 2, no roll. A crit (natural 20 only) rolls d6 and never lands below 2.
- Crits on a natural 20 only.
- Minor: no stat modifiers or dice in play; its scores describe the creature, they do not roll.
- At 0 Vigor it breaks and flees, out of the fight but alive; Fanatics fight on into the overflow instead.
- Total damage reaching 4 kills it outright, and a single blow of 4 or more kills it on the spot.
- Vigor damage is simply damage against a Minor: its whole pool is Vigor.
- Group morale: when its group loses half its number, fled or dead, the rest check morale.
- NPCs never take wounds.