Snow Wasset

Image © Tom Mead, accessed at his DeviantArt page here

[The first Fearsome Critter of the World Tour block, and one of my favorites. A burrowing murder-weasel is somewhat mundane by the standards of Fearsome Critters, but that plausibility gives it a certain charm. And makes it seem like it could actually have originated from stories told by lumberjacks, as opposed to having been wholly made up to sate the market for Paul Bunyan tales and other folksy Americana.]

Snow Wasset
CR 5 N Magical Beast
This creature looks something like a furry snake as big as a python, only its head is like that of a weasel.

Snow wassets are ambush predators of the lumberwoods. They skim through the snow with remarkable speed, swimming through it as if it were liquid water. A snow wasset is a voracious carnivore that hunts by attacking from beneath the surface, inflicting bleeding wounds with its recurved teeth. These monsters aim for the heels and ankles of their prey, tearing the tendons and slowing possible escape. Few snow wassets are bold enough to attack an entire party at once, but a single humanoid or horse is fair game. 

Most snow wassets are migratory, moving north during the spring and south in the fall tracking the movement of snow pack. If they cannot move to cooler climes, or if a warm spell denies them their snow, they estivate in bogs or fens, immersing themselves in water to keep cool. A snow wasset without snow sheds its outer coat of white fur, revealing a greenish, fuzzy undercoat and small limb nubs, like those of a burrowing skink. Snow wassets require a lot of food, and thus are usually solitary. Males and females cooperate to rear young, taking turns guarding the kits while the other hunts for meat to regurgitate for the family at home.

A snow wasset is between ten and fifteen feet long.

Snow Wasset    CR 5
XP 1,600
N Large magical beast
Init+3;Sensesdarkvision 60 ft., Perception +5, tremorsense 30 ft.
Defense
AC18, touch 13, flat-footed 14 (-1 size, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, +5 natural)
hp59 (7d10+21)
Fort+8,Ref+8,Will+3
Resistcold 10
Offense
Speed20 ft., swim 40 ft., snow swimmer
Meleebite +11 (2d6+7 plus bleed)
Space10 ft., Reach5 ft.
Special Attacks bleed (1d6), blood rage, hobbling attack
Statistics
Str21,Dex16,Con17,Int2,Wis13,Cha10
Base Atk +7;CMB+13;CMD27 (cannot be tripped)
FeatsDodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Stealthy
SkillsEscape Artist +8, Perception +5, Stealth +7 (+15 in snow); Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth in snow
SQcompression, hold breath
Ecology
Environmentcold hills and forest
Organizationsolitary or pair
Treasureincidental
Special Abilities
Hobbling Attack (Ex) A snow wasset that hits a flat-footed opponent tears at its legs, slowing its movement. A creature so struck must succeed a DC 18 Fortitude save or have its speed reduced by half until it receives magical healing or a DC 15 Heal check. The save DC is Strength based.
Snow Swimmer (Ex) A snow wasset uses its swim speed when moving through snow. When it moves through snow, it can choose to leave a tunnel.