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Baku

Large Fey, Neutral Good (80%)

Deva Movanic Male-turnaround.gif

Description

(from Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix I - 1994)


In the book Magic and Mistery of Ind, Vimalanda Rey passes along a revealing tale of the baku:


"I learned the art of coppersmithing from an old man in my village named Lohajangha. He was a kind and gentle fellow, and his patience at the work taught me not only how to work with metal, but how to have patience and fixity of purpose. He never laughed at my mistakes, but always applauded my triumphs. He taught me lore of the woods surrounding my village: which herbs heal, which stones may be cut into sparkling gems. He taught me the principles of art: symmetry, harmony, and mystery. Only once did I see him angry.


"A runner came to our village with the sad news that a woman who rules the next village had been trampled by a strange evil beast that looked like a small elephant.


"Lohajangha called me to him. I saw his eyes, which normally sparkled with joy, were dark as storm clouds. He said to me, 'Vimalanda, I am giving you my shop. I had hoped to work here longer, but I have other business I must attend to. Vimalanda, do not cling to this shop - from here, someday, you will be called for a greater mission. When the time comes, you will know, and you will make use of my lessons then.'


"He turned to leave the village, but I begged him to tell me what was going on.


"He took me with him into the woods, and there he showed me his true form. He said that after this revelation, he could no longer work among men, and that he had to go fight the evil baku, who had killed in the next village.


"I asked if he knew the evil one.


"'Yes,' he said, 'it is my brother.' Then he ran like lightning into the dense woods. I never saw him again, save in dreams."


A baku looks like a strange elephant with a lizard’s tail. It has an elephantine head, complete with trunk, but its trunk is rarely longer than four feet. (Baku traditionally regard longer trunks as indicators of high abilities, but this is only superstition.) Two curving tusks jut upward from the creature’s lower jaws. The front feet look like an elephant’s, but the rear feet have leonine pads equipped with claws. Dragonlike scales cover a baku’s back and thick tail; on male baku, the scales continue over the back of the head. The rest of the hide is rhino-tough.


Combat: Despite its size and bulk, a baku can move rapidly, attacking with a goring butt and two foreleg stomps. It stomps only man-sized opponents or those less than 6 feet tall. A baku’s trunk can hold simple devices such as weapons or wands, so a baku of wealth or status may attack with a magical weapon or device. Baku can use psionics to become invisible at will. They expend no PSPs for this, and the power check always succeeds.


A baku’s trumpeting roar affects creatures of certain alignments: Neutral good baku affect only evil creatures, dark (evil) baku affect good creatures, and holy baku can affect either good and/or evil creatures at their discretion. Any vulnerable creature wirhin 40 feet suffers 1d8 points of damage; it must also make a successful save vs. paralyzation or flee in panic as if affected by fear (as cast by a 12th-level wizard). Baku can trumpet once every four rounds.

Neutral good baku are usually timid, peace-loving creatures, but they resolutely battle evil and malicious monsters.


Psionics Summary

LevelDis/Sci/DevAttack/DefenseScorePSPs124/6/17MT,PsC/All=Int200

Clairvoyance — Science: aura sight; Devotions: comprehend writing, danger sense.

Psychometabolism — Sciences: animal affinity, metamorphosis; Devotions: absorb disease, cell adjustment, ectoplasmatic form, lend health, reduction.

Telepathy — Sciences: psionic crush, superior invisibility; Devotions: awe, conceal thoughts, contact, invisibility, mind link, mind thrust, telepathic projection, truthear.

Psychoportation — Science: probability travel; Devotions: dream travel, astral projection.


Habitat/Society: Baku come from the Outlands. They seldom travel in desolate settings and prefer to move invisibly among humanity.


Most baku (80%) are creatures of good will. They secretly dwell among humankind to serve its interests. Good baku favor societies in semitropical forests.


About 15% of all baku are of evil alignment. These baku, called The Dark Ones by their brethren, also move among humankind, thwarting the plans of their good brothers and causing suffering wherever they go.


The remaining 5% of baku are true neutral. Other baku know them as Great Ones or Holy Ones. Although no discernible abilities set them apart from their brethren, other baku reverently obey them. Holy baku always have an Intelligence of at least 18.


Ecology: Among evil merchants, baku tusks are worth 200 gp each. Good-aligned buyers regard traffic in tusks as an atrocity, and even neutrals regard it as tasteless. Holy baku who hear reports of tusk merchants sometimes travel long distances, either physically or by astral projection, to counsel the merchants against their evil trade. If a merchant ignores the counsel, the baku may try to enlist local adventures to steal the tusks and give them decent burial.

Alternate Versions

Size

Hero Forge: 11 ft. (XXL)
Lore: 9 ft. (at shoulder)
Suggested: Large to Huge

Other Monikers

Dream Eater

Appearance

Abilities

- Invisibility
- Consumes nightmares
- Psionic spellcasting
- Great strength and constitution
- Gore, stomp, trampling, pounce

A baku looks like a strange elephant with a lizard’s tail. It has an elephantine head, complete with trunk, but its trunk is rarely longer than four feet. (Baku traditionally regard longer trunks as indicators of high abilities, but this is only superstition.) Two curving tusks jut upward from the creature’s lower jaws. The front feet look like an elephant’s, but the rear feet have leonine pads equipped with claws. Dragonlike scales cover a baku’s back and thick tail; on male baku, the scales continue over the back of the head. The rest of the hide is rhino-tough.

Home Plane

Outlands

Stat Block

5th Edition:

- DanDWiki.com (homebrew)

2nd Edition:

- mojobob's website

Pathfinder:

- d20pfsrd.com

Sources

- Planescape Monstrous Compendium Vol. I (1994)

- mojobob's website

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