The Vrulmin

Predators of the Planes

The Vrulmin is a creature who hunts between the planes. They come over when their natural prey runs thin, and generally prefer to play with weak offerings of the Material Plane before devouring them. Careful Predators, they hunt in small packs and prefer disabling key opponents and cunning ambushes.

Planar Travel

The Vrulmin have origins on a variety of the different planes. Most often, they hunt the wild ranges of the darker planes where they can live and hunt at their leisure. Their natural ability to switch between planes means they set their homes in the far realms which garner safety. While they exist on many planes, their homes are often defensible locations within several miles of their hunting grounds.

They appear between the planes only temporarily, and only on the hunt. And while they lack the ability to travel this way often, they do so regularly and whenever possible to resist potential pursuit.

Their ability to travel between the planes is strange among beasts, and comes from their supposed celestial origin. They were kept as great pets to the hunters of old to round up prey. Without owners, they have reverted to a wolf's system of pecking order and strict obedience to an alpha.

Pack Tactics

The Vrulmin are notorious for their sophisticated hunting techniques. They will often spend one day of travel moving into a plane and seeking out travelers as prey. They attack in Guerilla tactics and often take a victim with them, luring larger prey along in chase. Once worthy prey is in pursuit, they leave a trail and lie in wait.

While they're known for their ability to travel between planes, few ever live to tell the tale of their final maneuver: The ambush. They leave their target abandoned and nearly dead and lie in wait in the Ethereal Plane. Once they sense the movement into around their victim, they strike as a group.

If a Vrulmin Alpha is present, given no other who is keeping them as pets, the Alpha will gore and tear the strongest of their ranks into another plane and leave its allies to pick off the remnants. The rest will finish off their bloody work, and they will flee to another plane by the next day. Their ability to travel usually guarantees them a safe escape.

It's not uncommon to find creatures of great power with several Vrulmin under their command. Great hunters of the planes use them regularly because of their survivability and obedience. Often, when they have an owner, there is no Alpha present. Otherwise they'll find themselves the target of their own creatures.

Cautious Creatures

Like any feline creature, and calling a Vrulmin a feline is a stretch as it is, they are cautious creatures. They do not attempt to take down a creature they are not confident about defeating.

Furthermore, they keep the weak out of their own ranks. A weak Vrulmin is a liability who's likely to bring hunters to them, and they hold no qualms about feeding on their own kind. It is rare to find an injured Vrulmin alone, and if you do you'd better leave before the rest of the pack catches up to finish it off.

Vrulmin Alpha Large Beast, unaligned Armor Class 17 (natural armor)

17 (natural armor) Hit Points 112(16d10 + 32)

112(16d10 + 32) Speed 45ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 20 (+5) 14 (+2) 3 (-4) 16 (+3) 11 (+0) Skills Perception +6, Stealth + 9

Perception +6, Stealth + 9 Condition Immunities exhaustion, frightened.

exhaustion, frightened. Senses darkvision 60 ft., truesight 15 ft., passive perception 17

darkvision 60 ft., truesight 15 ft., passive perception 17 Languages —

— Challenge 6 (2300 XP) Pounce. If the vrulmin moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a maul attack on the same turn, the target must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the Vrulmin may choose to use its Between Realms trait. Planar Travel Resistance. The Vrulmin is immune to effects that would send it to another plane of existence against its will. Planar Step. When the Vrulmin moves, opportunity attacks against is have disadvantage. Actions Multiattack. The Vrulmin makes two attacks with its claws. Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) slashing damage Maul. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target Hit: 14 (2d10 + 3) piercing damage Plane Shift (Recharges after a long rest). The Vrulmin may use its action to teleport to the nearest location on the Ethereal Plane as though it had cast the Banishment spell upon itself. Between Realms. (Recharges after a long rest) The Vrulmin opens a tear to a pocket-plane for one minute. The target is dragged 10 ft. into the other plane. Space in the pocket-plane is considered difficult terrain. At the end of one minute, any creature within the plane is ejected to the nearest location to the entrance of the plane.

Planar Origins

The origins of the Vrulmin are different depending on the packs. Most hail from the elemental plane of earth. Other, however, have spent so long roaming the Ethereal plane they have no home, growing crazed in the process. Their origins are a feature up to the DM to decide, since they travel great distances for survival.