Kirre

Psionics Summary

Psychokinesis - Science: project force; Devotions: soften, levitation.

Telepathy - Sciences: psionic blast, tower of iron will; Devotions: awe, psionic crush, id insinuation, thought shield, intellect fortress, life detection, contact.

The kirre is one of the more vicious animals of the forests and jungles of Athas. Resembling a tiger in many ways, the kirre is a beast not to be trifled with.

At first glance, the kirre looks like a great cat, but upon closer examination, the differences quickly become clear. The kirre is eight feet in length and has eight legs, each ending in paws which sport very sharp claws. The kirre also has large horns on either sides of its head and a sharp barbed tail spike often used as a weapon. The mouth of the kirre is large and has sharp, canine teeth, which are used mostly for tearing food that has been killed. The kirre is a fur-covered animal with coloration similar to a tiger (both are striped). But where are a tiger is striped in black and orange, the kirre is striped in brown and grey. This coloration is consistent all over the kirre's body, with the exception of its face, which is all grey. The yellow eyes of this creature against the dark grey fur of its face create a fearsome appearance.

Combat: Being predators by nature, kirre are very well equipped for combat. This creature is very quick in melee combat, and therefore receives a -1 modifier to its initiative rolls. If the DM is using the “Optional Modifiers to Initiative”, kirres are treated as small creatures, receiving only a +3 modifier, instead of the normal +6 for large creatures.

During each round of combat, a kirre can attack up to seven times, using its limbs, teeth, horns, and tail as weapons. It first attacks with its foremost claws, followed by its bite and horn attack. It then attacks with its secondary claws and its tail. Each claw does 1d4 points of damage, both the bite and tail do 1d6 points, and the horn attack does 1d8 points.

Like many of the creatures of the Athas, kirres have natural psionic powers. Instead of its multiple attacks, each round the kirre can use one of its psionic powers as can any normal psionic creature. Also, the kirre has natural psionic defense modes that are always considered to be “on”. These provide the creature it with a powerful defense against psionic opponents (assuming the kirre has enough PSPs to power the defense mode being used).

Habitat/Society: Kirres are normally solitary creatures, until the approach of their mating season, at which time a male and female will join and produce offspring. Kirre litters number from three to five young. Kirres are mammals, and females produce milk for their young. Young kirres survive on milk for the first five months, at which point they begin to eat solid food such as small forest animals and other mammals.

When the female is ready to give birth, both she and her mate will make a den in a remote area of the forest where they will be unlikely to be disturbed. During the first five months after birth, both the male and female protect their den ferociously, attempting to kill any creature who threatens their young.

Ecology: Kirre are a favorite game of many hunting tribes of races who live in the forests of Athas. The meat from kirres is some of the finest on all of Athas, and it is sought after by many. Aside from a source of food, the kirre also has other uses when killed. The creature's horns can be cut off and used as spear heads; in some cases, they can be carved into ornate daggers. Also, the tail of a kirre has a sharp, bone spike at its end that can be fashioned into either an arrow head or a dart.