Squealer

A squealer is a hideous predator with a hoglike face and tough hide under a fine coat of mottled green and brown fur. It walks on two legs and has three clawed arms: two 4 feet long and a third, 5 feet long, growing from its back. Besides the shriek behind its name, it mimics wounded beasts, terrified human screams or a crying baby.

Squealers prefer to lure prey into ambush with their voices. Their fur hides them among leaves, giving -2 to opponents' surprise. When a victim is close, the squealer either drops on it, an attack that deals 5d4, or drags it up into the branches.

On the ground, or hanging by its legs, it bites and claws with its three arms. A hit with the back arm hoists the victim into the air for continued mauling. It may instead hang by that third arm and attack with teeth and the other two; if both of those hit, it hugs the prey for 2d4 per round, biting and raking with its hind claws. A held or hugged victim loses Dexterity bonuses to AC; held prey attacks at -2, and hugged prey cannot attack unless already gripping a small weapon. Escape requires a bend bars roll.

It can carry 500 pounds in its back arm or its other two, often climbing higher to keep its catch from rivals. A favorite trick is to haul prey high and let it fall, especially prey that has hurt it. If the ambush fails, it chases relentlessly through the canopy, leaping up to 30 feet across or 15 feet up, and gives up only against many foes or much larger ones. A squealer that is not hungry may knock or choke its catch senseless and lash it to a trunk with vines.

They live only in forests close enough to swing through, nest high in leaves and branches, and live alone, gouging boundary trees deeply. During a short spring mating season pairs appear, and their bloodlust then makes them even more aggressive. Males and females look identical. The female gives birth in the male's territory, and the 2-5 infants go into a pouch on his belly. After several months the young scramble up to the highest boughs, coming down only to eat his leftovers or tied-up captives, until he drives them off at about a year old. Young have adult AC and Hit Dice but only 1-2 hit points per die, cannot claw well, and bite for 1d4.

Squealers like fresh meat and may keep captives alive for days, even feeding them. They ignore treasure, but since they eat near their nests, the ground beneath is often strewn with valuables. Infants removed from the pouch need warmth and pre-chewed meat to survive. Raised from birth, a squealer makes a loyal guard that learns several commands; an untrained one fetches up to 3,000 gp and a trained one up to 10,000 gp.