The ranger stumbles from the brush, struggling to get her bow at the ready only to find a large umbrella planted in the ground standing in the starlit grove. She frowns and glances back to the trail she had been following, crouching next to the ground and studying the large, bird-like print. A sharp ruffle caused her to whirl around, bringing up her bow with an arrow nocked only to find the glade empty – even the umbrella gone. Her eyes widen and she whirls wildly but she can’t find anything. It’s only when a sharp cry pulls her gaze skyward as the aknosom, with its wings splayed and fire gathering in its beak, dives towards her.
I won't be getting Monster Hunter: Rise until it comes out on PC, but I want to do some builds for the new monsters before that. While the great izuchi has a neat design, it is very similar to the great jaggi in how it functions and hunts like a pack, so I decided to build a stat block for the aknosom since it was slightly more interesting. For the 1e version of the aknosom, I liked magical beast as its creature type, which got it darkvision. I went for a slightly lower AC to balance out the bonus from its shield crest, which is based off of a turtle's shell retreat. The aknosom looks like it's a decent flyer, so I went for good maneuverability. Its attacks are pretty basic, but I gave it what I felt was a fun set of special attacks. Powerful charge is meant to simulate the attack it makes when it arranges its frill into a cone and charges. It can use its breath weapon to either launch its enflamed venom in a cone or around it, firing them like a mortar. The last of its special attacks, sweeping wing, lets it disrupt a number of foes around it, which it can take advantage of with its Combat Reflexes. I also wanted to work in its habit of standing on a single leg and envisioned it as a way of being able to easily stabilize itself when people try to trip it.
Pathfinder 1e:
For the PF2e version, not much has changed though it is now classified as an animal since they are more generous with that term in second edition. The main addition comes in the form of its Crest Deflection, which I included the ability to break, possibly bringing this closer to any other MH creatures I've built. While I still envision Powerful Charge using its gathered crest, I simply based it off of its beak for simplicity. I tried to give its attacks a good mix of damage, traits, and abilities, so I hope those look good.
Pathfinder 2e:
Blue's D&D 5e:
ENCOUNTER HOOKS
Firebird: An aknosom has settled in the nearby forest and begun igniting the terrain to send animals fleeing, only to swoop down and capture prey as they try to evade the fire. This latest fire has grown too close to the local village, leading to some of the elders to reach out to the heroes to contend with the monster. However, when the heroes confront the creature, it uses its well-practiced hunting tactic to set the forest ablaze around them. Amongst the smoke and flames, the heroes must contend with the vicious aknosom, avoiding falling flaming trees and other dangers that can pop up every round.
This week was supposed to be an original monster, but due to lack of art, I swapped in this cool creature real quick. Next week will be another MH monster and will be the biggest one that we've done from that franchise. We have a Monster Monday Discord where we chat about stuff we're homebrewing, across a swath of systems, and just general stuff, and we also have a Twitter where you can see teasers for upcoming posts. Have a Monstrous Monday!