ECOLOGY

Environment warm jungles
Organization solitary
Treasure NPC gear (+1 leather armor, +1 keen composite longbow [+5 Str] with 20 arrows, amulet of natural armor +1, ring of protection +1, other treasure)

When the gods of nature or powerful spirits desire a champion to defend the animal world, they invest a token of their power in a chosen vessel—be it animal or humanoid. Traditionally, only one animal lord for a specific animal species is active on a world at any one time, although sometimes, when an extant animal lord strays from its charge or otherwise fails, the force that created it might create a replacement to send against the fallen animal lord to challenge it in a combat to the death, with the victor claiming the right to rule or a chance at redemption.

An animal lord does not dwell among humanity—the wild is its domain. How an animal lord interacts with a humanoid society largely depends on how that society treats the animals of that lord's affinity. Societies that honor and respect those animals, even if they use the animals as a food source, earn the animal lord's (sometimes grudging) respect, but those who abuse or otherwise harm animals of that lord's species find a powerful and ardent enemy in the lord.

The cat lord above uses a leopard as the base animal—this particular cat lord represents a newly created animal lord. The longer an animal lord exists, the higher its level should be.