[Commissioned by @glarnboudin. I’ve watched three episodes of The New Scooby-Doo Show as an adult for monster-based purposes now, and all of them feel less “horror mystery” than “adventure pulp”. The monsters are less drawn from horror tropes and more giant animals, the settings are far-flung locales, the clues are perfunctory (even by Scooby-Doo standards). This, unfortunately, also means we’re three for three with episodes with unfortunate racial caricatures. In the episode “Jeepers, It’s the Jaguaro”, the “head-hunters” that worship the jaguaro are particularly bad, but so is Casey Kasem trying to do a Speedy Gonzales-esque “latin” accent as a pilot.
Incidentally, I like this image of the jaguaro because it bothers to give the damn thing jaguar spots!]
Jaguaro CR 10 N Magical Beast This massive beast resembles an oversized ape, except for its black-furred head, which is like that of a saber-toothed cat.
The jaguaro is a powerful jungle predator infused with elemental earth. They are able to transform themselves into stone statues at will, waiting between lean seasons for food to return to their territories. With their affinity for stone, jaguaros often excavate caves into cliff sides as a redoubt to hide their slumbering statue forms. Such caves attract creatures seeking shelter, and thus ensure the jaguaro has an ample source of prey.
In combat, a jaguaro prefers to spring from ambush, transforming into flesh and blood and striking in the same motion. Their diamond-hard claws can chisel through wood and stone with ease. They are typically distrustful of large structures, and a jaguaro on the rampage will destroy bridges and houses. Jaguaros are peevish and determined, and may chase prey for hours before giving up.
Jaguaros are occasionally discovered by humanoids in their statue form. Some cultures venerate the creatures as god-like beings of destruction or hunting, and others instead domesticate the beasts. The jaguaro itself may view even the most fawning petitioners as a source of food unless it is soothed through the use of magic, wild empathy or lots of bribes of meat. The most ambitious of these cultures may carve their own jaguaro statues, hoping to attract a curious jaguaro investigating a possible rival or mate. A jaguaro can live for hundreds of years, and multiple generations may venerate or work with the same beast.
Although jaguros do not collect treasure, their very bones are laced with diamonds. A jaguaro’s carcass yields diamond dust worth half the standard treasure value for a creature of its Challenge Rating.
[Commissioned by @glarnboudin, with a very interesting pedigree. This creature is a speculative evolution concept by Robert Bakker, an iconoclastic paleontologist. He developed it for an episode of the Discovery Channel documentary Paleoworldas a “missing” carnivore, a bone-crushing macropredator in the style of an entelodont. Of course, entelodonts weren’t specialist macropredators, but the facts never got in the way of a good Bakker story.]
Ursapotamus CR 11 N Magical Beast This massive quadruped stands taller than an elephant. Its jaws are long and hippo-like, except that they are filled with an array of shearing teeth. Its body is that of a long-legged bear, with flat feet ending in sharp claws.
The ursapotamus is a huge hyper-carnivore that feeds on megafauna. It is an artificial hybrid, possibly created in an attempt to emulate the ammut as a sacred animal. Even though neither bears nor hippos are solely carnivorous, ursapotamus are. They tend towards being strongly seasonal, gorging themselves during the wet season and retreating into aestivation during the driest months.
An ursapotamus is an ambush hunter, striking from cover of water, grass or both. They prefer reed beds and marshy grasslands to open rivers and lakes. Like a bear, they are capable of rearing onto their hind legs when attacking. An ursapotamus uses its massive bulk to shove grabbed opponents while simultaneously inflicting deep, bleeding punctures with its tusk-like teeth. They usually hunt large game, such as elephants, rhinos or hippos, but human sized prey will be taken.
Ursapotamuses are solitary for most of their lives, ranging over wide territories in search of prey. They mate when the opportunity occurs, but like bears can delay pregnancies until their dormancy period. A mother ursapotamus is usually awoken by her cubs being born, and feeds them with fatty, energy rich milk until they are old enough to walk on their own, whereupon they accompany her in her hunts and learn the tools of the trade.
An ursapotamus stands between ten and twelve feet high at the shoulder. They can live to fifty years of age, but such ancient individuals are rare.
