Bestiary‎ > ‎(Bestiary) By Type‎ > ‎Magical Beasts‎ > ‎

Shantak

Larger than an elephant, this scaly, bird-like creature has a vaguely horse-like head and vast, slime-encrusted wings.

Shantak CR 8

XP 4,800
CE Huge magical beast
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +3

DEFENSE

AC 21, touch 11, flat-footed 18 (+3 Dex, +10 natural, –2 size)
hp 104 (11d10+44)
Fort +11, Ref +10, Will +6
Defensive Abilities slippery; Immune cold, disease

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., fly 80 ft. (average)
Melee bite +17 (2d6+8) 2 talons +17 (1d8+8 plus grab)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.

STATISTICS

Str 26, Dex 17, Con 19, Int 8, Wis 17, Cha 10
Base Atk +11; CMB +21 (+25 grapple); CMD 34 (42 vs. grapple)
Feats Awesome Blow, Flyby Attack, Hover, Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, Wingover
Skills Escape Artist +11, Fly +13; Racial Modifiers +8 Escape Artist
Languages Aklo
SQ no breath, share defenses, starflight

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Share Defenses (Su)

As a free action, a shantak can extend its no breath ability and cold immunity to a single creature touching it. It can withdraw this protection as a free action.

Slippery (Ex)

A shantak’s scales seep slippery slime. This grants the creature a +8 bonus on all Escape Artist checks and to its CMD against grapples, and imparts a –5 penalty on all Ride checks made by creatures attempting to ride a shantak.

Starflight (Su)

A shantak can survive in the void of outer space. It flies through space at an incredible speed. Although exact travel times vary, a trip within a single solar system should take 3d20 hours, while a trip beyond should take 3d20 days (or more, at the GM’s discretion)—provided the shantak knows the way to its destination. Shantaks speak in a shrill voice that sounds like glass grinding against stone. They are intelligent creatures and cannot be trained as mounts—a would-be shantak rider must use diplomacy or magic to secure a shantak’s cooperation as a mount, and even then, shantaks have a tendency to deliberately strand riders in dangerous areas.


ECOLOGY

Environment cold mountains
Organization solitary, pair, or flock (3–12)
Treasure none

Many shantaks have a strange and irrational fear of certain creatures, such as the faceless nightgaunts said to dwell in certain remote mountains, or specific types of harpies or gargoyles in more civilized regions. A shantak avoids confrontations with these types of creatures if possible.

A shantak’s ability to travel the gulfs of space ensures that these scaly, bird-like creatures can be found on numerous worlds. Yet despite this unique ability, shantaks are generally quite reluctant to seek out new worlds unless faced with no other option, for a shantak knows well that an attempt to fly to an unknown world could easily result in being lost forever in the gulfs of space.

Section 15: Copyright Notice - Bestiary 2

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 2, © 2010, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors Wolfgang 
Baur, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, Graeme Davis, Crystal Frasier, Joshua J. Frost, Tim 
Hitchcock, Brandon Hodge, James Jacobs, Steve Kenson, Hal MacLean, Martin Mason, Rob 
McCreary, Erik Mona, Jason Nelson, Patrick Renie, Sean K Reynolds, F. Wesley Schneider, 
Owen K.C. Stephens, James L. Sutter, Russ Taylor, and Greg A. Vaughan, based on material 
by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.