Beast of Malar

Beast of Malar was a savage shape-changing creature, sacred to the god of the hunt Malar, whose only purpose in life was hunt, pursuit, and slaying of the prey.

Description
Beasts of Malar could shift between three forms at will. The Hunting Panther form that resembled a panther of the Prime Material Plane with sinister glowing red eyes, Claw Slayer form that was similar to a wolverine, and the Bat form. All the creature's forms had black sheeny fur with red marking that looked like blood splatter on its face, paws, and shoulders.

Abilities
Beasts of Malar's shapeshifting ability also granted them powerful regenerative ability upon the shape change. This regeneration ability could heal even the wounds that were severe or uncurable by the regular regeneration. But the Beasts' killer instinct often stopped them from taking advantage of the life-saving regeneration, as they fought to the death. The Beasts' regular regeneration was vulerable to divine magic and blessed weapons.

Behavior
The Beasts' only purpose in life was the hunt, and they used the three forms' abilities to track and kill their opponents with terrifying effectiveness. The smooth and agile Hunting Panther form was perfect for tracking the unfortunate prey with its sharp senses and speed. The Claw Slayer form had scimitar-shaped front claws and sharp rear claws with elbow hooks that were perfect for quick climbing in pursuit. The Bat form was not the best flier but still was more than capable of tracking and pursuing the prey in the air. Unlike true bats, the Beasts of Malar did not possess echolocation and preferred to keep to the other more deadly forms.

Combat
The Hunting Panther form liked to toy with its pray like many other cats of the Prime Material plane. When faced with multiple adversaries, the Beast in the Panther form dashed past front-line defenders to rend and gore spellcasters. The Panther's pounce could knock the prey down which opened the Beast to its fearsome raking attacks with the front paws.

The Claw Slayer's strategy was grabbing the prey with its sharp teeth and goring the opponent with all for appendages' claws.

The Bat form was not good for combat but it did not stop the Beast from using the form's bite and claws to kill the prey.

Ecology
The beast of Malar was not a true animal, so it did not have any other purpose but to hunt and kill. Upon its death, the beast was returned to the Malar's realm only to be rewarded and reincarnated if the deity was satisfied with the creature's hunt.

History
The worshipers of Malar, especially the northern barbarian tribes, evil rangers, dark druids, and the People of the Black Blood celebrated Shieldmeet by commencing a unicorn hunt using the Beasts of Malar. During the rest of the year, the People of the Black Blood hunted the adventurers for sport with the Beasts.

In 1372 DR, they could occasionally be found within the Forest of Lethyr.

Notable Beasts of Malar

 * Burak, an infamous half-orcish pirate of the Moonsea in the late 14 century DR had a loyal companion beast of Malar on board of the Flotsam.
 * Methim was the companion of Alaffinel, a disgraced half-celestial that was on the run from his kin across the planes circa 1370 DR.

Appearances

 * Video Games
 * Neverwinter Nights series (Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford &bull; Neverwinter Nights: Tyrants of the Moonsea)