Skunk

Skunks are omnivores of temperate and subtropical forests, easy to spot by the long white stripe that runs from the face along a black-furred back to the tail tip.

A threatened skunk turns its rear toward the danger, and if the threat does not back off fast, it sprays a 10-foot cube of foul musk. Anyone inside saves vs. poison or is nauseated for 1-4 rounds, losing half Strength and Dexterity and retreating to retch. Those who pass but linger must save again every round. Regardless of that first result, a separate save vs. poison determines whether musk got in the eyes; failure means 1-4 rounds of blindness.

Cornered, a skunk may bite, but it almost always sprays first. When several are present, track where each cloud lands. Skunks shrug off one another's nausea effect but can be blinded by the acidic musk like anything else.

Ordinary cloth hit by the spray must save vs. acid or rot into uselessness, and so must magical cloth; no amount of washing saves a failed item. Flesh, leather, metal and other materials need repeated washing and airing over several days. Vinegar does the job in a few washes, certain spells and magic items handle it easily, and a carefully poured potion of sweet water clears the gear for two to five adventurers, the exact number hinging on the amount of gear and the care taken.

Skunks are solitary wanderers of deep forest with no social structure, living largely off the leftovers of bigger predators.

The musk comes from a heavily muscled sac near the tail and forms a heavy mist that can linger a week or longer, depending on wind and the space it fills. A skunk killed quickly by surprise has a 50% chance of yielding usable musk; from a giant skunk, that prize can fetch close to 200 gp from a sage or alchemist, since it goes into smoke bombs and the ink for stinking cloud scrolls. The fur is worth little and the meat is bitter unless heavily spiced. Raised from young, skunks make delightful pets that double as cheap scrap-eaters and guard animals.

A giant skunk is simply an enormous skunk with a worse spray: its cloud measures 20 feet wide, 20 feet high and 60 feet long, and all saves against it suffer a -4 penalty.