We return to the fantastic world of Monster Hunter for yet another creature. I’ve been thinking about going back and doing some of their earlier creatures to get some good low-level stuff, but there’s a few other big boys I want to do before then. While this creature is an almost entirely physical threat, the build for it ended up being a little more interesting than I originally thought it would be and I am proud to present the Roaring Wyvern, tigrex!
The Monster Hunter series may overuse the term ‘wyvern’ to refer to a variety of creatures, but I feel like the dragon typing is appropriate for the tigrex here – especially if you style it more as a prehistoric ancestor of modern dragons. The precursor to before they started developing their intellect and tapping into the secrets of arcane magic. I opted for a moderate to lower AC and hp since I was going to give it the DR, much as I do with most of these higher CR monsters from the Monster Hunter games. Its frenzy also helps it mitigate a hit or two while its vulnerability to electricity is drawn straight from the creature’s weaknesses in its origin game. The tigrex has a high speed on the ground, but isn’t as quite cut out for flying, leading to its glide quality. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the average damage for natural attacks of a creature the tigrex’s size put me where I wanted with average damage for this fella as it rarely works out that well for me.
Honestly, the hardest part about boulder toss was figuring out what to call it and I’m still not entirely pleased with it. However, there was a period where I was considering upping the damage and making it an ability with a cooldown, but it didn’t make sense to me, leading to the lower damage but unlimited use. For its concussive roar, I ended up referencing another monster from Paizo – the abysogh and its cataclysmic roar. All the creatures in Monster Hunter roar, which I don’t usually feature as an ability because it’d quickly become overused, but as it’s the main shtick of the tigrex, there was no way I was going to pass up on it. There are a couple more basic abilities I ended up giving it – its frenzy captures its enraged state effectively enough, pounce reflects its ferocity as it charges into combat, and trample is the obnoxious rushing back and forth it does. I adapted tail sweep from abilities possessed by true dragons, but I made a few changes to make it slightly more functional – and to better replicate the spin move he uses in-game.
His feats are pretty standard – the Vital Strike line is great for these higher-level monsters and Power Attack works well for the creature with Dazing Assault reflecting the stun that MH critters can inflict. I dipped into some crit feats for its bite, which felt like a fun thing to do for the creature. The final thing I think worth mentioning is that I was trying to work out an ability where it could do something extra to a victim its got in its jaws, but ultimately decided against that as nothing seemed to really fit.
Pathfinder 1e:
I may have mentioned it before, but designing monsters in PF2e is so much easier and, in my eyes, more enjoyable. In 1e, I have to worry about skill ranks and a creature’s Intelligence score in relation to that, but that’s not the case with 2e. This allowed me to add Intimidation to its skills, which feels like an appropriate fit. Part of me wants to give it something where it doesn’t share a penalty for not sharing a language, but I think it’s fine as is. Numbers wise, I stayed pretty standard with the tigrex and decided to give it the Attack of Opportunity reaction just because I like my monsters having some reactions to play with. I was struggling to come up with something a bit more unique for a while, but none felt like a particularly good fit. To make up for the lack of crit-based feats, I gave its jaws Strike the deadly trait that I hopefully balanced with the slightly lower attack bonus. Looking at other dragons, I borrowed Draconic Momentum from them and then looked towards bears of all creatures for the Mauler ability to represent the tigrex shaking a victim grabbed in its jaws like a ragdoll. The rest of its abilities are transfers of its 1e abilities, modified to fit in 2e.
Pathfinder 2e:
Blue's D&D 5e Version:
ENCOUNTER HOOKS
Fossil Feud: The heroes have been hired as guards for an archaeological team making its way to join a larger dig. However, they find the site strangely empty and as they begin to explore it, they find signs of a struggle that lead to a stockpile of remains. Even if the heroes are uninterested, the fresh team of archaeologists want to look at the corpses and try to identify some of those slain, but are abruptly interrupted by a tigrex. Always eager to add to its larder, it attacks the heroes and their wards, forcing the heroes to do the job they were hired for. The tigrex will attack them, but does go for easier prey if the chance presents itself, possibly leading the heroes into a chase. The heroes must protect their wards the best they can and slay the primeval creature that has claimed the archaeology site as its hunting ground.
Rampage: The leader of a tribe of raiders and savages has not only managed to tame a tigrex, but train it as a mount. Whether the heroes are hired to track down the tribe or are simply present in a town targeted by the band, they must fight through the forces. If in town, they may also have to try to save the townsfolk by running into burning buildings, creating impromptu defenses, or saving the lives of gravely wounded victims. However, ultimately, they find themselves face-to-face with the brutal leader of the clan and their equally ferocious pet. Whether able to broker a peace or forge one in combat, the heroes must bring a stop to the rampaging band.
If you want to join in on the discussion of monsters I'm building, talking about the homebrew content you're working on, or just hang out with a bunch of PF/D&D nerds, come join our Monster Monday Discord! I try to discuss monsters and character builds I'm working on there with people and we even get a few games together now and then to test monsters out.
Have a Monstrous Monday!
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