Sand hunters are a strange, intelligent form of pack hunters that live in the desert. They’re the size of a large wolf, and have hairless, scaly skin and long, flexible necks. Their lips are quite dexterous and can be used to manipulate objects and even use tools.
The sand hunters’ intelligence only exists when they’re in groups of at least 3, after which point they form a simple hive mind. Communicating through high-pitched sonic calls and mild telepathy, they can act as a single being with many bodies and use their group intellect to hunt down prey. They can even negotiate and live alongside humanoids, though few pack minds choose to do so and most are content to live wild instead.
When in a group of 6 or more, half the pack will initiate combat by attempting to stun the opponent with their sonic howl, which vibrates through the body of non-sand hunters and pierces their ears, leaving the target stumbling and helpless for a few seconds so that the rest of the pack can drag the target down. Smaller groups will only use their sonic howl to try and facilitate an escape, the entire group howling together to create the best chance of stunning and slowing the threat so they can run.
Originally from Sandstorm. Their group based abilities are a little rough, I had several versions I went through and was never 100% satisfied with the mechanical writing for them. I hope the intentions for each of them are clear. This post came out a week ago on my Patreon. If you want to get access to all my monster conversions early, as well as a spot on the Paper and Dice Discord server, consider backing me there!
5th Edition
Sand Hunter
Medium monstrosity, unaligned
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 58 (9d8 + 18)
Speed 40 ft.
Str 15 (+2) Dex 17 (+3) Con 15 (+2) Int 3 (-4) Wis 12 (+1) Cha 12 (+1)
Senses darkvision 60 ft. passive Perception 11
Languages telepathy 50 ft. (only works with other sand hunters)
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Hive Mind. Sand hunters can share an advanced group consciousness in larger groups. If at least 3 sand hunters are within range of each other’s telepathy, their intelligence score is treated as 12 (+1), and if any sand hunter within range isn’t surprised, none of them are surprised.
Keen Hearing And Smell. The sand hunter has advantage on Wisdom (Persuasion) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
Pack Tactics. The sand hunter has advantage on attack rolls against a creature if at least one of the sand hunter’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature, and the ally isn’t incapacitated.
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8+3) piercing damage.
Sonic Howl. A pack of sand hunters can use their actions to produce a sonic attack. At least three sand hunters must participate, and no two participating members can be more than 30 feet from each other. Each creature within 60 feet of a sand hunter participating in this action that can hear the sand hunter must succeed on a DC 11 Wisdom saving throw or be stunned for 1 round. The save DC increases by 1 for each sand hunter participating in this action.
13th Age
Sand Hunter
1st level troop [beast]
Initiative: +5
Bite +6 vs. AC – 5 damage
C: Sonic Howl +3 vs. MD (1d3+1 nearby enemies) – 2 sonic damage
Natural 18+: The target is also stunned until the end of its next turn.
Limited Use: At least 3 nearby sand hunters must spend their action to make this attack. The attack gains a +1 bonus to the attack rolls and a +2 bonus to damage for each sand hunter participating after the first.
Hive Mind: So long as at least 3 sand hunters are nearby each other, they all gain a +2 bonus to MD.
AC 16 PD 14 MD 11 HP 26
Writing and Rolling 