Cacus

Fire-breathing giant scoundrels. A large humanoid.

Imagine a tall, muscular humanoid with marble colored glistening skin and tiny goat horns. Its big, warm grin reveals shiny sharp teeth.

Charismatic bully, athletic bohemian, careless liar.


 
HD: 3 +3HP Armor: none
Hit it: normal Dodge it: normal
Move: normal  

It can wrestle, pickpocket, and sneak surprisingly well for its size.

Attacks (1/round)

Shepherd Staff. The cacus makes two melee attacks with reach (1D6) and, on a hit, drag the target to an adjacent space.

Wrestle. The cacus makes one shove attack (1D6), knocking the target and stealing a small object from it.

Fire Breath (recharge 2/6). The cacus exhales a short cone of fire. Each creature in the area must dodge or take fire damage (2D6), halved on a success.



Random Encounter
  1. Monster: 1 cacus & 1D100 sheep & 1D4 athletes.
  2. Lair: A cyclopean hovel with sheep and an outdoor gym.
      OR
    Omen: A hearty, booming laughter.
  3. Spoor: A stranded sheep, branded with fire.
  4. Tracks: 2’ long barefoot tracks.
  5. Trace: Large herd of sheep.
  6. Trace: Signs of a sports competition.
Salvaging the body

You find the monster’s weapons and … (Roll as many times as the HD of the monster)

  1. Nothing, the cacus is naked.
  2. Nothing, the cacus is naked.
  3. A sheep’s pelt.
  4. A pan’s flute.
  5. A jug of oil.
  6. A few stolen jewelry. (valuable)

Cacus Body Oil. Highly slippery (You can’t be grappled), highly flammable, and highly flavourful.

2D6 Cacus Cultures

Combine the result of both tables to get the broad lines of this humanoid culture in this part of the world.

Cultures

  1. The ones that live at the edge of town.
  2. The ones that have a monopoly on all sheep in the area.
  3. The ones that train promising young athletes.
  4. That local crime family.
  5. The ones that are oil wrestling champions.
  6. The ones that produce the best olive oil.

Features

  1. They steal from the locals with total impunity.
  2. They are favored by a god.
  3. They hide a runaway teen noble.
  4. They are preparing for a big competition.
  5. They smooth-talked their way to where they are.
  6. Their territory is a sacred neutral zone.
Player Class

Play as a cacus!


DM Notes

In greco-roman mythology, Cacus was a cattle-stealing, fire-breathing giant who fought Hercules. Expending on the Creature Compendium adaptation of this myth into a DnD monster, I wanted to play on the trope of the handsome ancient greek shepherd who is also an olympian, and make it an asshole jock type of monster. — SaltyGoo

Written on November 14, 2020