Bhaergala

A bhaergala was solitary creature found in temperate or tropical woodlands and jungles. It was a large predator whose favorite prey was humanoids.

Description
It resembled a combination of wolf and lion. Its fur had a unique smell, similar to freshly baked bread. It could mimic speech and spoke Common.

Combat
The bhaergala favored ambushes. It would pounce upon its target, from downwind, and attack with their claws. It could drop from up to 60 feet (18.3 meters) without harming itself. It would use its teeth to tear chunks of flesh from its targets, and was known to toss them aside for later consumption. The bhaergala had limited magical resistance, and could turn a spell back at its target, but only four times in a 24-hour period. This ability was not innate and required focus from the bhaergala.

A defense against the bhaergala was that it could be lulled to sleep with a song. This defense would fail if the creature felt threatened, was injured, attacked or was interrupted while hunting.

Ecology
Being a solitary creature, it would only seek out other members of its species to mate with. The mating process would only occur in a sandy area. Gestation was 6 months long. The parents of young bhaergala would remain together for up to a year, until the young could kill on their own.

The bhaergala had a den but preferred to sleep in tall trees. The den was visited rarely and was used as a storage space. The bhaergala would collect musical instruments and occasionally magical artefacts. These would come from the bodies of its prey.