Avernus razorback

Avernus razorback

(Creature)

Type

Outsider
(evil, extraplanar, fire, lawful)

CR

9

Environment

Any (Hell)

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Source: For Queen & Empire, pg(s). 84

Avernus razorbacks are a species of boar-like outsiders native to Avernus, the first level of Hell.

Appearance

An Avernus razorback resembles a massive ebon boar with crimson patches on its coarse fur, blood red eyes, and jagged obsidian-like tusks.

Ecology

The exact origin of Avernus razorbacks is debated. Some argue that the beasts are the manifestation of Avernus' malice; others argue they are descendants of daeodons brought from the Material Plane to drink from the River Styx and eat the reeds in the ocean Eridanos and, consequently, became infused with the essence of Hell.

Avernus razorbacks are omnivorous and capable of eating almost anything, preferring meat (especially that of intelligent prey), consuming the flesh and soul alike. Unlike normal boars, they are active predators, and will become less ferocious if they do not regularly eat meat.

Avernus razorbacks roam Hell in large herds that even devils give a wide berth. They are most common on Avernus and rarer in deeper layers, especially Nessus, whose boundaries are tightly guarded by the Nessian warhounds of Asmodeus, who consider Avernus razorbacks pests. Each herd is led by a strong alpha female, who constantly has to battle for dominance with other females; males are usually so aggressive and voracious that they regularly bring ruin to a pack that they have claimed. Members of a herd regularly mate, giving birth to young after four months. Adult females generally have to protect the piglets from hungry adult males, and are incapable of producing milk: Avernus razorback piglets have to hunt from birth.

Avernus razorbacks reproduce significantly more slowly outside of Hell. Many devils attribute Eridanos or the River Styx to be the catalyst of their reproduction, although some alchemists claim that they can artificially reproduce this catalyst.

Society

Avernus razorbacks are usually too unruly to be domesticated, and only kept by brave or foolhardy citizens of diabolic nations like Cheliax to get rid of enemies without leaving evidence or the chance of resurrection. Rumour has it that some Avernus razorbacks have escaped into the Chelish wilderness, but no evidence for such a herd has been confirmed.

The blood, meat, and tusks of an Avernus razorback can all be harvested for special use: the tusks can be crafted into daggers, the meat is prized as a delicacy and drug in Cheliax, and the blood keeps some of the soul energies of the prey and can be used in blood sacrifices.