The thunderous roar of the crowd seemed to shake the very ground that the band of heroes stood upon, only the announcer’s magically amplified voice managing to rise above it. A tired sigh at the circumstances leaked from the fighter as he rolled his neck. Beside him, the silver-haired rogue and patted his arm comfortingly as the gate opposite them rattled and began to lift. Its chain clanked and clattered as the gate raised and a lone figure stepped from the shadows. It was a single woman, scarred and battered, but far from broken. Her gaze was harder than the blade she grasped in one hand. Before any of the band could act, something moved in the shadows beyond her, seeming to unwind before emerging into the sun-filled arena. Its svelte body was covered in dark, purplish scales and pale plates that needle-like spines emerged from. A long, powerful tail flicked to and fro behind it as it loomed behind the gladiator. As its eyes fixed upon the party opposite the colosseum, for a second, they almost looked identical to those of its companion, filled with focus and fury.
Discussion of this creature may contain spoilers for the 1st episode of Love Death + Robots, so proceed with caution.
The khanivore is a creature that was featured in an episode of Love Death + Robots entitled Sonnie's Edge, which in turn is based off of a short story of the same name written by Peter F. Hamilton and included in his book A Second Chance of Eden. Khanivore is a genetically engineered beast used in arena fights that is under the control of the titular Sonnie. It comes out in the course of the story that Sonnie is not merely controlling Khanivore but her consciousness is housed within it. Khanivore is a strong but nimble outfighter of a monster that uses her long tail, which can split into four swift tentacles, to fight outside of the reach of her opponents. When pulled in close, she uses her claws and won her fight by using her jaws to rip out her foe's throat. In the short story in which Khanivore is featured, it is explained that Khanivore lacks most internal organs to remove vulnerabilities and is filled with oxygenated blood before each fight.
I built the khanivore for Monster Monday because it came up in a discussion in the MM Discord. There was some challenge to this, having to both translate the khanivore to a fantasy setting and make it a common creature rather than a singular, unique beast. Building the khanivore as a magical beast, I focused on making it a skirmisher that fights alongside a partner that it bonds with. To really emphasize this connection, a mind shared between multiple bodies, the khanivore uses its adaptable tactics to gain a teamwork feat that it shares with its bond though it does already have Outflank. Leaning into the material from the short story, khanivore has the amorphous ability, giving it immunity to critical hits and precision damage, referencing its lack of internal organs. To emphasize the skirmisher aspect of the khanivore, it has feats such as Dodge and Mobility and can also make use of its pounce ability. It keeps enemies at bay with the long reach of its stingers and its Combat Reflexes. During its featured fight, the khanivore can grab creatures with its tentacles and throw enemies, represented by its hurl, to push enemies off-balance.
Pathfinder 1e:
Many of the same ideas for the PF1e khanivore are echoed in the 2e khanivore, including using an Attack of Opportunity to threaten a great area. It has both Hurl, which is based off of Whirling Throw, and Perforate to throw people off-balance and leave them vulnerable to both itself and to its bonded partner. I couldn't make the ability make as much sense in 1e, but I was able to put together Braid Tendrils to represent the fact that the khanivore can attack with its tail or separate its tendrils. To make this worth doing, I bumped up the damage of the braided tail, but it might still not be enough. From testing out the monster, we determined that the khanivore needed more Hit Points, but it was otherwise fne.
Pathfinder 2e:
Blue's D&D 5e:
ENCOUNTER HOOKS
Predator-Prey Relationships: The heroes have been taken captive and forced into an arena to fight for the amusement of their captors. They regularly capture adventuring parties and force them to battle monsters and other warriors that they have captured. After several victories, the heroes are prepared to face the champion of the arena - a highly skilled warrior bonded to a khanivore.
Friends Forever: If the party comes across a khanivore by chance that the party decides to spare, it might develop a connection to one of the party members. It will follow the party and possibly attempt to bond to that member, providing some extra power to the party but also presenting something of a danger to the party member should it die. Eventually, the khanivore grows too protective of its partner and turns on the party, attacking them for putting its partner in dangerous situations.
If you're interested in joining the discussion on what creatures I'm working on or just discussing your own homebrew works, check out our Discord! If you want to get some teasers or help us get to our yet unlisted milestones for extra content, check out the Twitter.
Have a monstrous Monday!
Comments