Monster Spotlight: Su

CR 8

Chaotic Evil Medium Magical Beast

Bestiary 5, pg. 238

Miserable and filled with hate, the Su stalk through thick forests they call home in search of meat and insects to quiet their irritating, mewling young, for whom they hold paradoxical amounts of disgust, envy, and adoration. The disconcertingly humanoid Whelp Family the beasts carry on their back are their own offspring, creatures with immense psychic power but no ability to use it without their parent’s direction. As a Su whelp grows, it gradually changes shape and loses access to its psionic powers, gaining the intelligence needed to use them just as they begin to slip away, something that causes them no end of horrid frustration. By the time they’re an adult, a Su has just enough psionic power to use 100ft of telepathy... and nothing else, relying on the screaming infants that crawl around their bodies--eternal reminders of what they once had but lacked the awareness to appreciate--for psychic defense.

Despite the resentment they may feel for their young, the Whelp Magic they possess is incredibly potent, though the younglings can only use their power as a cudgel with no finesse. Each Whelp (to a maximum of 6) grants their parent 3 points of Psychic Energy (max 18), and they can use these points to cast Id Insinuation II to confuse a single target, Thought Shield II to grant themselves +6 to Will saves against mind-affecting effects (bringing them to a +12 to Will), or most dangerously Mind Thrust III to deal 10d8 typeless damage to any creature with an Intelligence score. What’s worse is that due to the Whelps technically being separate beings than the Su, the parent can command them to use their psionic magic as a swift action even while it’s occupied elsewhere.

Thus it can blast two different targets for 10d8 damage, the same target twice, or inflict confusion on two targets, or any combination of offense. The Whelps can also hold concentration on a spell for their parent, allowing both uses of Id Insinuation stick if it needs them to. Scary! And unfortunately for travelers that may be traipsing through Su territory, the beasts are unable to bring themselves to directly harm their own children... so they tend to take out their fury and annoyance on any Humanoid they see, eager to have an outlet for their negativity. With a +19 to their Stealth while in forests, the ability to climb just as swiftly as they walk (40ft) for added cover, and no obvious components when using their psychic magic, a Su can remain hidden and cause a caravan to attack one another or themselves with Id Insinuation, or simply crumple up the weakest-looking creature it sees with Mind Thrust, leaving everyone else struggling to explain what the hell just happened. Though each spell normally casts 3 PE and thus restricts the Su to 6 casts each day, all of its spells can be undercast, a mechanic that allows a psychic caster to use a lesser version of a spell they know and thus use up less energy. Since there’s little difference between Id Insinuation I and II, the beast may elect to just use the first version for only 2 of its PE, stretching its daily reserve a little further. Mind Thrust II also deals a modest 5d8 damage and costs just 2 PE, though the beasts will rarely opt for less damage.

Should a Su feel confident about entering melee, or if it’s exhausted its PE for the day and is thus forced to, it’s no less dangerous. They possess Pounce and a CCB attack to make full use of it, their claws dealing 1d6+4 damage and their bite 1d8+4. Anyone successfully Grabbed by their bite is not only Raked for 1d6+4 extra damage every round the victim can’t break free, but the Su's tearing teeth also inflict 1d6 bleed damage even if the victims DO get away. Though their swift actions tend to be eaten up by their psychic spells, they can use their Prehensile Tails as a swift action instead to make a steal, disarm, dirty trick, OR trip combat maneuver against an adjacent foe without triggering an AoO, giving them significantly more complex tactics than one would expect against such a bestial creature.

Their DR 10 can only be pierced with magic, so the first order of business is typically to disarm foes that possess magic weapons (or turn such enemies against each other with confusion), though tripping foes so they have to waste time getting back up (robbing them of their Full-Attack) is also viable. Pilfering valuable-looking trinkets and potions and having them off to the Whelps for them to investigate/destroy/use is another reason not to near the mischievous and malicious carnivores while wearing your potion belt. Dirty trick is the most versatile, robbing a target of one of its senses for several rounds or inflicting all manner of negative status ailments... like just whacking some poor soul in the family jewels to sicken them before following it up with a Full-Attack or a Mind Thrust while they’re still reeling. Hey, it’s a dirty trick for a reason! And Su have no desire nor need to fight honorably. They’re here for a meal! ...and to let off some steam.

You can read more about them here.