Tales speak of a horrid creature that can gore the legs of a hunter without stove pipes on his legs. The beasts can sing tenor and mate as fast as a flash of lightning. I speak, of course, of the terrible critters known as the jackalope. I promise, I’ve seen one in the field out back and those things are faster than a bullet. But, wouldn’t you know it, I caught one! Come on in and I’ll let you take a look at the jackalope.

This furred creature resembles a large rabbit save for the stag antlers growing from its head.
Jackalope                         CR 2
XP 600
N Small animal
Init +3; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +7
DEFENSE
AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+3 Dex, +1 size)
hp 19 (3d8+6)
Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +3
Weaknesses alcohol attraction
OFFENSE
Speed 50 ft.
Melee bite +5 (1d4+1), gore +5 (1d4+1 plus 1 bleed)
Special Attacks toppling charge
STATISTICS
Str 12, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 15, Cha 13
Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 15 (19 vs. trip)
Feats Run, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +3 (+11 when jumping), Bluff +9, Perception +7, Perform (sing) +2, Stealth +11; Racial Modifiers +8 Acrobatics when jumping, +8 Bluff
Languages Common (mimicry only)
SQ sound mimicry
ECOLOGY
Environment temperate and warm plains
Organization solitary, pair, or down (3–8)
Treasure none
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Alcohol Attraction (Ex) A jackalope automatically detects the smell of strong alcohol as if it were upwind at all times. Unless fleeing for its life, a jackalope is always compelled to find the source of the alcohol, moving towards it as per suggestion. An injured jackalope can ignore this compulsion with a successful DC 15 Will save.
Toppling Charge (Ex) When a jackalope charges and successfully deals damage with its gore attack, it can attempt a free trip combat maneuver. This trip does not provoke attacks of opportunity and the jackalope receives an additional +2 bonus to the attempt. Creatures wearing metal armor covering their legs or creatures made of metal, such as iron golems, are immune to this effect.

This mass of horned rabbits rattles and squeaks as it move.
Jackalope Swarm              CR 4
XP 1,200
N Tiny animal (swarm)
Init +8; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +10
DEFENSE
AC 16, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+4 Dex, +2 size)
hp 38 (7d8+7)
Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +3
Defensive Abilities swarm traits
Weaknesses alcohol attraction
OFFENSE
Speed 50 ft.
Melee swarm attack (2d6 plus 2 bleed)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks distraction (DC 14)
STATISTICS
Str 10, Dex 19, Con 12, Int 1, Wis 13, Cha 7
Base Atk +5; CMB —; CMD —
Feats Improved Initiative, Run, Skill focus (Perception)
Skills Acrobatics +4 (+12 when jumping), Perception +10, Perform (sing) +3, Stealth +15; Racial Modifiers +8 Acrobatics when jumping,
Languages Common (mimicry only)
ECOLOGY
Environment temperate and warm plains
Organization solitary, pair, or herd (3–6 swarms)
Treasure none
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Alcohol Attraction (Ex) A jackalope swarm automatically detects the smell of strong alcohol as if it were upwind at all times. A jackalope swarm is always compelled to find the source of the alcohol, moving towards it as per suggestion.

Jackalopes are elusive beasts. They resemble rabbits, but the their tough antlers allow them to fiercely fight with creatures larger than them. On its own, a jackalope can grow to the size of a small dog and is a sizable threat for common folk. People are especially caught off guard by jackelopes as they tend to use their ability to mimic voices to cause distractions, allowing them get to open chicken coops or gardens. More feared than a single jackalope, however, is a swarm of jackalopes. Dozens of jackalopes tend to intermingle, eventually becoming a tangle of antlers with dozens of jackalopes moving as a group. These jackalopes rarely grow as large as they would on their own, due to having to share their food, but what they lack in size, they make up for in ferocity. Jackalope swarms tend to avoid mimicing voices, as the mass of hundreds of voices would only alert other creatures, and instead prefer to barrel over prey and food. These swarms usually go unnoticed until too late as the swarms have the capacity to grow eerily silent while searching for food. Jackalopes are not the only fierce rabbit-like creatures. Cousins of the jackalope include the wolpertinger, skvader, and the dreaded esquilax.

In Your Game

Of Bunnies and Booze
A night of heavy drinking stirs up a local jackalope den. The night starts off with the PCs fending off one or two of the critters, only to learn that the largest den sits under the town and all of the jackalopes within have caught whiff of the alcohol.

Runaway Bride’s Band
The PCs are tasked with finding a missing wedding band. A local NPC swears that he saw it on the antler of a jackalope. The PCs must track down the creature and recover the ring.

The Taming of the Jackalope
The PCs meet a pixie ranger that implores the PCs assist with a quest. The pixie wishes to capture and tame a jackalope as a mount. However, the pixie insists on not bringing any harm to the creature. The PCs are tasked with creating a large pen without the jackalope’s notice. Once penned, the pixie intends to break the jackalope as part of an amusing rodeo.

Monstrous Origins

I feel like most North Americans have at least heard of the jackalope. It is one of the legendary creatures that is more amusing than terrifying. Its true origins vary, but its legend picked up steam in the late 1800s through the early 1900s. The jackalope is said to have a number of different abilities including that to imitate voices and sing along with a cowboy’s song. I threw the sound mimicry ability as well as some ranks in Perform (sing) to help with this. Additionally, jackalopes are said to be fans of whiskey, which is why this jackalope has the affinity for alcohol. I was originally just making the singular jackalope, however Perram clued me in to the nature of a jackalope swarm and I just had to do it. This is a little sillier than my other monsters, but sometimes, folklore and monsters are just silly and fun.

That’s it for this week! Please let me know if you are interested in seeing more of the funny side of monsters, like the jackalope here. If a jackalope hops in to your campaign, or you have any request for a future Monstrous Physique, please drop me a line at KnowDirection@hotmail.com.