Hystrama

A monster of Forest and Mountain biomes. On average 2 meters on all four, and 3 to 4 meters in lenght.
The Hystrama's appearance couldn't scream 'do not approach me' any louder: this large quadrupedal rodent's
back and tail are completely covered in what, at first sight, could appear to be spikes, but are, in fact, woody
saplings that share a symbiotic relationship with the creature. Heavy and not particularly fast, the Hystrama
is a common sight for many mountain dwellers, since its spiky armor allows it a boldness uncommon in
herbivores. Should an incautious stranger try to approach, a few thorns shot at high speed from its tail
usually manage to dissuade the potential predator.
The Hystrama feeds mainly on mushrooms, roots, pine cones, and whatever the soil of the forest it calls
home offers, leaving behind deep holes dug out using its sharp claws. However, it shares a particularly
special bond with the trees that surround it: Hystramas are born 'naked,' without the protection offered by
their thorny armor, and only develop it at around one year of age, after rolling at length in the soil. In doing
so, seeds from the surrounding trees get embedded in their spongy backside, finding a peculiar but adequate
place to grow. The Hystrama's body changes the saplings' natural growth pattern, making them develop into
the pointy, hard thorns that will come to form its armor. While growing on the monster's body, the plants are
still able to reproduce as normal: many of their seeds fall back onto the Hystrama's back, ready to develop at
an unnatural speed should its spiky armor be damaged, while others fall to the ground, spreading the forest
wherever the Hystrama roams.
Hystramas do not make dens but instead travel along huge stretches of land in a continuous search for food.
Males and females form short-term couples that stay together for a period of around two years until their
young have started developing their own spiky armor. Once the pups are able to fend for themselves, the
territorial female signals to both the pups and her former partner that they are no longer welcome, and enters
a recovery period of around three to four years before she is ready to mate again.

Stamina: 30
Styles: +2 Mighty , +2 Precise, +0 Swift , +0 Tricky
Skills: +2 Shot, +2 Strike, +1 Hoard, +1 Display, +1 Search

Traits

GRIT. Life’s quintessential will to survive. | (Cost: 1 Success) Increase [A] by 1.

SPIKY 3. An armor of spikes, thorns or horns dissuades attackers. | If a enemy within 1 stride succeeds on a
Mighty or Swift attack against you, it immediately recevies 6 points of damage.
REGENERATION 2. The ability to regrow tissue, limbs, and even stranger extensions of your body. | (Cost:
1 Success) Restore 3 Durability to one of your parts.

Parts

Tail Spikes. Durability: 15, Range: 3-2 (Precise Shot), 1 (Mighty Strike)
If broken: Range: 1 (Mighty Strike), this Part deals half damage.

Thorny Cuirass. Durability: 30, Passive: this Part’s durability is connected to the Hystrama “SPIKY” trait.
When this Part’s durability is reduced below 20/10/1, the trait temporarily lowers one level, dealing 4/2/0
damage to attackers as opposed to the normal 6.

Active: At the cost of 2 actions and 5 durability, make a Mighty Shot. It deals [A] (not [A]x2) damage to all
creatures within 1 stride.

If broken: the SPIKY trait is temporarily disabled.

Behaviour

At the start of the round, if no creature is exposed, make the creature who dealt the highest Part damage to
you your target, preferring creatures closer to you.
While you know that creatures preferring the Mighty and Swift styles will eventually tire out by themselves,
creatures that target your Cuirass or your Tail Spikes have a chance to disarm you, and should be taken out as
quickly as possible.

During your turn, check the following:

- Are both your Thorny Cuirass and tail Spikes low on Durability? If so, try to maximize the amount of
attacks you can make, and spend every additional success on your REGENERATION. In order to attack on a
short turn you need to have prepared beforehand, so use an action on your full turn, and every action on a
turn when you would only have 1 action, to prepare the following attack.
- Has your Thorny Cuirass over 15 durability? If so, use your movement to gather as many enemies within 1
stride, then use the Cuirass active ability to damage all of them. If your target is farther than 2 strides, use
one action to close in on them and strike their weapon with a Precise Shot.

You are a slow and heavy creature with no intention to leave its territory: try and limit your moving as much
as possible, using the Precise Shots from your tail to disable the ranged attackers’ weapons and your Mighty
Strikes to discourage closer enemies. While your Thorny Cuirass is healthy you can be more aggressive,
chasing your target and trying to maximize damage through the Cuirass’ active ability, while if you are short
on durability you should stand your ground. Ultimately, you are fighting a war of attrition, and your
objective is to have your enemies tire out before you.