Here at the Smoking Wyrm, we sometimes hear stories of creatures or entities that we’d love to share with you, but for whatever reason, they may not ever make it into the pages of the Tales from the Smoking Wyrm. Or we may just want to tell you about it *RIGHT NOW*. So we’ll instead showcase them in an occasional feature we’re going to call “Wyrm Wildlife.”
Thus, as our first entry, and with heartfelt apologies to Randall Munroe at xkcd, we present the Omnitaur!
Omnitaur: Init +0; Atk slam +6 melee (1d6+2) or special; AC 16; HD 6d8+12; MV 30′ or fly 30′ or special; Act 2d20; SP infravision 60′, mutating form, magic resistance (25%); SV Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +4; AL C; Crit M/d12.
Bizarre even amongst the countless hybrid experiments already unleashed upon the world by mad thaumaturges, the omnitaur is a creature that simply has no reason nor right to exist. Its endlessly shifting form is at home in nearly any environment, and yet clearly native to none. Hide, scales, feathers, and fur boil up in patches across its body, drift across its frame as if floating islands of flesh, only to be absorbed back into its brawn elsewhere. Oddly enough, the face of an omnitaur is nearly always fixed—some say in the visage of the enchanter who first gave form to the beast—even as its snout oscillates from piercing beak to fanged muzzle and beyond.
The eldritch legacy that shaped omnitaurs grants them a limited defense against magic, and all spells cast against an them are subject to a 25% chance of failure before any saving throws are rolled. Sages have documented that this legacy can also, over time, alter an omnitaur’s forms to become more suited to its local environs—a specimen living in a savannah environment might display the spots of of the camelopard, while one found in arctic climes might brandish the teeth or claws of a polar bear.
An omnitaur seems to have some control over its features—for example, when leaping from a cliff, it will sprout wings so as to not fall from the sky; or when taking to the water, gills manifest to allow deep dives in search of aquatic prey—but it is unknown whether this is an instinctual effort at self-preservation, or simply the arcane energies that helped shape it responding to the surrounding environment. Nonetheless, when under duress (e.g., combat), the omnitaur’s body ripples and mutates constantly, altering its predominant form (and abilities) every 1d3 rounds. To determine this form, roll 1d10 and consult the following table:
Roll 1d10 | Predominant form | Ability gained |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fish | MV swim 60′ |
| 2 | Lion | Bite +6 melee (2d4+2) Rend : If the omnitaur hits the same target with two slam attacks on the same round, it automatically scores a critical hit. |
| 3 | Snake | Bite +4 melee (1d4 plus poison, DC 13 Fort save or 1d4 Stamina) |
| 4 | Shark | Bite +8 melee (2d6) MV swim 40′ |
| 5 | Bull | Gore +6 melee (1d8+4) Bull rush : When the omnitaur charges, in addition to a +2 attack bonus and a -2 AC penalty, if its gore attack hits, it deals an extra 1d8 damage, and the target must make an opposed Strength check (vs. +8) or be hurled back 20′ and knocked prone. |
| 6 | Dragon | AC 20 Breathe fire : The omnitaur can breath fire 3/day in a cone 40′ long and 20′ wide at its end, causing 3d8 damage to all creatures in the area (DC 16 Ref save for half). |
| 7 | Horse | MV 60′ Trample : On a successful slam attack, the omnitaur deals double damage (DC 15 Ref for half). |
| 8 | Leopard | Bite +6 melee (1d8) Pounce : If the omnitaur moves at least 20′ straight toward a creature and then succeeds on a slam attack the same turn, it gains a free bite attack against that target. |
| 9 | Ram | Headbutt : If the omnitaur moves at least 20′ straight toward a creature and then succeeds on a slam attack the same round, the target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength check or be knocked prone. |
| 10 | Hawk | Bite +2 melee (2d3) MV fly 60' Peal : The omnitaur can emit a piercing screech in a cone 20’ long and 20’ wide at its end. All creatures in the area take 2d6 damage and are stunned for 1d6 rounds (DC 12 Fort save for half and negates stun). |
| 11-13 | — | Roll twice, using 1d10 |
| 14-15 | — | Roll thrice, using 1d10 |
| 16 | — | The omnitaur can choose its predominant form. |
The Omnitaur first appeared on the xkcd webcomic, and is adapted for use with DCC under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License.