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Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Surreptitious or Burrowing Tiger

"You should ask Caldwell, he was Old Master Spratt's gardener."

      "He meant well, he really did," that worthy prefaced.  
      "Master Spratt always said that no matter how much I rolled the lawn, the mole tunnels still made the croquet balls miss the hoops.  So he says to me, 'I'll get you a helper, I will'."
      "So he took Top, a wombat he'd picked up in his travels to further parts.  And he took Lily, a tiger cub he'd been given and sort o' made new creatures out o' them."
      "Well, the critters dug through the ground like butter and took care of all of the moles.  But their tunnels were even bigger!  The master gave up on croquet and put in a shuffleboard court instead."

     "But the chicken coops?"

     "O' course, when they finished w' the moles, the beasties started going after the chickens.  That's why all the chicken coops in this area in these parts are built of stone, jus' like little castles." 

Surreptitious or Burrowing Tiger (ACKS Stats)

CommonGiant
% In Lair30%10%
Dungeon EncIdiocy (1d3)/Mob(1d6)      Singular(1)/Den(1d3)
Wilderness EncIdiocy (1d3)/Mob(1d6)      Singular(1)/Den(1d3)
AlignmentNeutralNeutral
Movement60' (20') / Burrow 5'90 (30')/Burrow 5'
Armor Class33
Hit Dice2*5*
Attacks3 (Claw/Claw/Bite)3 (Claw/Claw/Bite) or 1 (Rake)
Damage1d4/1d4/2d41d6/1d6/2d6  or 2d8
SaveF1F3
Morale+1+1
Treasure TypeNone10% Chance of F
XP29350

My lack of artistic talent
on full display
The Burrowing Tiger (Vombatis tigris vulgaris) is a small marsupial predator, whose prey consists of rats, rabbit, mole, earthworms, snakes and other small creatures living on or just under the surface.  In settled regions they are considered a nuisance due to damage cause by their large (6 - 8 inch) tunnels, which damage fences, small buildings and can cause injury to man and beast if they collapse under foot.  They also tend to preying on small domesticated fowl and animals, such as chickens, ducks and rabbits.  It is vitally important in these areas that such farm stock are kept in stone floored enclosures at night.  *The rear of the burrowing tiger is a mass of tough, cartilaginous tissue providing no advantage to attacks from the rear.

The Giant Burrowing Tiger is merely a rumor from antipodal rain forests.

Excerpt from the Society Report on the fate of the Saynsbury Expedition: Sir Oswalt Saynsbury chartered the brig Skua.  The said purpose of the trip was to investigate reports of a species of surreptitious tiger (Vombatis tigris maximus) said to hunt its prey by digging pits beneath the surface of the trail for it to fall into.  Captain Grimbalde of the Skua deposes that at the South Sea Company factory near the mouth of the Bomberra river, Sir Oswalt engaged a native guide with some rough understanding of our tongue, who promised to arrange bearers for the expedition from local Dorrikimbo villages a few miles up the river in exchange for some trade junk.  His mate Wardeby, deposed that Sir Oswalt debarked with his servant, Beale, at village approximately 5 miles from the mouth of the river called Wahrwahr or Tahrway.  Sir Oswalt instructed the rest of his party to return in two days with the trade junk he had brought.  Doctor Annelsey, of the Expedition, deposed that when Wardeby returned them to the village on the stated date, neither Sir Oswalt, nor Beale nor the guide they called Johnny were present.  The chieftain or high priest of the village (the Doctor was unable to determine the man's role with any precision)  presented them with Sir Oswalt's sword and shield while making a pantomime, the Doctor thought perhaps was of someone being attacked.  Based on the lack of any positive information and the multiple reports of the Dorrikimbo people being cannibal savages - we conclude that Sir Oswalt met his death in a cooking pot.
  The Society is open to backing any member or friend of Sir Oswalt who wishes to organize another trip to the Dorrikimbo lands for revenge or discovery.

Note:  These are wombat tiger crossbreeds, loosely based on the rules for combining creatures in ACKS.  Darren Wheeler on MeWe ACKS group suggested the crossbreed.

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