The Power of Who?The Power of Uhul

In the cold mist they call

Ooohoo

In the shadows they hunt

Ooohoo

With sharp beaks they kill

Ooohoo

Your skin they tear

Your flesh they share

Your bones they wear

Ooohoo ooohoo ooohoo

-Anagochik chant

Uhul

Statistics by Will Wood & Eli Arndt

No. Enc.: 1d6 (4d6)

Alignment: Neutral (Chaotic tendencies)

Movement: 120' (40)

Armor Class: 6

Hit Dice: 3

Attacks: claw/claw/bite or by weapon type

Damage: 1d3/1d3/1d4 or by weapon type

Special Attacks: If the Uhul successfully strikes with both claws in one round, the Uhul also squeezes their prey in a powerful hug that does an additional 1d8 points of damage. Uhul are quite strong and when they use weapons crafted by their own people (and thus designed for their clawed big hands) they do an additional +1 point of damage. In spite of their relatively large bulk Uhuls are quite stealthy and will surprise their opponents 50% of the time.

Save: F3
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: XXII

The Uhul are monstrous humanoids of an unknown origin. Though there is no proof one way or another it is believed that they are some sort of monstrous hybrid similar to owlbears. Standing 7-9ft tall, adult Uhul are covered in a combination of feathers and fur. They have large, round, eerie eyes that seem to glow with an eerie light when they grow excited or angry. Uhul come in a variety of colors with a variety of browns with lighter colored accents being the most common. All white Uhul are often tribal chiefs, shamans of powerful leaders and warriors. Uhul eat all manner of living creatures but prefer the flesh of intelligent races, believing that they draw power from consuming them.

They arm themselves with simple weapons of bone, stone and wood with clubs, pick-axes, spears and throwing sticks being most common. Armor is nearly unheard of though some of the bones worn by the Uhul can provide them with some minimal protection as do the simple wood and hide bucklers they fashion. Uhuls also possess wicked natural weapons in the forms of talons and beaks designed for rending flesh from bone with ease.

Uhul encountered outside of the lair will always be led by a hunter of particularly impressive stature. These hunters are of 4HD and receive an additional +2 to the damage inflicted by their attacks. There is a 25% chance that any Uhul band will also be accompanied  by a leader of 5HD who has a 10% chance of wielding a magical weapon (roll randomly from treasure tables). In addition, there is a 25% chance that an Uhul party will be accompanied by 1d4 large owls (see below).

Living in bands averaging 10-12 adult individuals, these creatures lair in simple burrows dug by hands and simple tools. In these lairs there will usually be found a number of fledglings equal to three times the number of adults and a number of juveniles equal to the number of adults. Fledgelings do not fight and will always retreat deeper into the tunnels and attempt to escape through any number of back doors hidden throughout the area surrounding the lair. Juveniles fight as 1HD monsters with a single attack inflicting 1d3 damage. Each lair will also have a section of the burrow devoted to the storage of bones and remains which will be next to the personal burrow of the band's shaman, an Uhul cleric of at least 5th-level.

In addition to their young, Uhul also share their lairs with large (not giant) burrowing owls (Owl: AC 5; MV 10’/270’; HD 2; THAC0 19; #AT 3; D 1-2/1-2/1; Special: Surprises 15%; SZ S; AL N; XP 45+1/hp) which often stand guard at the entrances and escape tunnels in the lair. These owls often accompany Uhul on raids and while hunting. Their noiseless wings make them especially well-suited to surprise attacks on unsuspecting sentries or for aerial scouting. Other creatures found in Uhul lairs are likely to be scavenging vermin or fungus growing in the are of their bone larder.

Uhul lairs and the areas surrounding them are often festooned with the remains of their various victims, man and beast alike. In fact, these are not simple remains, but special magical totems and fetishes created from the very food of the Uhul who regurgitate them after consuming their meat. These are often enchanted by Uhul shamans and hold supernatural powers to warn, ward and sometimes even harm intruders into their territory. Uhul fetishes are seldom powerful but can have some limited spell-like abilities. These effects typically manifest at spell level and may exceed the level of the shaman who created them due to the ritualistic nature of their creation. These charms effect those coming within a certain range of the fetish, usually determined by the normal area effect or range of the spell imbuing them. Uhul from the lair are unaffected by these fetishes and charms, having been protected by their shaman.

Some common spell-like effects are -

• Confusion
• Entangle
• Fire Trap
• Glyph of Warding
• Hold Person
• Obscuring Mist
• Sanctuary
• Snare
• Sticks to Snakes
• Stone Tell
• Stumble

The Uhul seldom make allies out of other intelligent races, believing them all to be better for consuming than befriending. They also have enemies in many monsters that dwell in their habitats. Owl bears, bulletes, sasquatch and yetis are among those notable beasts. Humanoids tend to avoid Uhul territory out of both respect and fear with a bit of superstition added in for good measure. Settlements near Uhul territories often learn quickly how to steer clear of these creatures but often fall prey to their predation nonetheless. Livestock and travellers often go missing from from settlements too close to Uhul territories.