Sloth [Dark Sun]

This is nothing like a sluggish tree-hanger. The desert world's sloth is large, quick, clever and savage, its brown fur dappled with tan and brown or gray and green spots that vanish into the forest canopy. Sloths make no sound anyone else can hear, yet they clearly communicate, coordinating their attacks with precision. A family can devour an entire halfling village in a single night, and often tries.

Sloths seldom leave the forest, and within it their camouflage imposes -3 on opponents' surprise rolls. An adult rakes with two sets of dagger-length curved claws for 2d4 each and bites for 2d10. A bite roll of 18 or higher means it has locked its jaws, dealing another 1d10 each round and gaining +4 on claw attacks. It lets go only when its prey dies or the sloth loses half or more of its hit points.

A pair is a mated couple; groups of three or more include one or two young with 5 HD, THAC0 15, 1d6 claws and a 1d4 bite. The young serve as bait, dropping from a branch to swipe once and then scrambling back up while the parents close in from behind. A lone sloth usually attacks only small groups, one or two creatures dwarf-sized or larger or up to six halflings. Either way it focuses on one target until that foe is down, then moves to the next. Its thick fur gives good natural armor, and its hardy constitution grants +4 on saves against natural poisons and +2 against all others.

Sloths guard their territories fiercely, so a small forest may hold only one or two families. They never attack one another, and orphaned young are usually taken in by the first adults they meet. They lair and travel in trees, judging accurately which branches will bear their weight, and can leap 30 feet from branch to branch. With claws retracted they are equally speedy on open ground.

Families wander constantly, pausing only for the birth of one or two cubs. The male does the hunting for the first few months while the cubs develop, and by six months the young are ready to help catch halflings.

Halflings are both the sloth's favorite meal and its only natural enemy. Given a choice, a sloth targets a halfling 90% of the time, and any adult sloth has almost certainly eaten many. Halfling tribes hunt down any sloth reported nearby, both for safety and for spoils: one pelt makes warm cloaks for a whole family, and the curved claws, set on hilts, make fine daggers. A halfling who kills a sloth alone is hailed as a hero, and even a share in a group kill brings great honor.