Leomarh

Leomarhs were a species of big cats that could be found across many planes and whose origins were vague.

Description
These creatures largely resembled lions with a golden-brown mane, except their forequarters were larger than their hindquarters, resulting in a slight slope to their back. Rather than fur, much of their body was covered by fine scales, though they had small beards. And their tails were long, similar to that of a snake, that ended in a bladed spade.

On average these creatures grew to be a length of.

Behavior
These creatures had an unusually high level of intelligence, above that of any lion or big cat, though they showed no signs of true sentience. They were extremely defensive of their cubs and were liable to attack anything that approached their lairs.

Abilities
Much like a chameleon, leomarhs had a natural ability to change the colors of their bodies to match their surroundings. This allowed them to reach a state of near invisibility while holding still.

Leomarhs were unusually impervious to harm from the spell magic missiles.

Combat
Prides of these creatures were known to use hit-and-runs. They would also set up expert ambushes by dividing their prides, then having several obvious attackers draw prey towards camouflaged members. They tried to drag foes down to the ground with their large, powerful foreclaws.

Leomarhs typically avoided fighting bigger foes, such as those that could call on magical energy or were heavily armed.

Ecology
Much like lions, the leomarh lived and hunted in prides.

Diet
Like most big cats, leomarhs were a carnivorous species. They were willing to attack almost anything smaller than an elephant, but their preferred prey was typically deer, goats, and bison or wild cattle. Though in some areas they would attack local peasants or lesser fiends if they were the most plentiful supply of food.

Habitats
Leomarhs were native to and most common on the plains of the Outlands. However, being planar creatures, they were capable of seeing portals and thus were sometime encountered on plains in many other planes, such as Avernus, Amoria, Arcadia, the Beastlands, Bytopia, the Gray Waste, Limbo, Mechanus, and Ysgard.

Relationships
Leomarhs were not known to interact with intelligent races or monsters and they were incapable of being tamed. Though on rare ocassions they could be found as animal companions of druids, rangers, or other individuals possessing an affinity with their local wildlife. On the plane of Outlands they were frequently hunted down, for they were perceived to pose a threat to travelers and other wildlife.

Leomarhs acted as servants of the dwarven deities Clangeddin Silverbeard and Thard Harr, as well as the demipower known as Nobanion.

Rumors
Some people thought that leomarhs were planetouched, and that they had strange powers and abilities in their bloodlines.