#bestiary
Inspiration: Sebecus icaeorhinus, but smaller.
A Softjaw Pretender is often confused for the very similar looking Softjaw Familiar - except a Softjaw Pretender grows much bigger (a Softjaw Familiar generally reaches 32" long and 3.5 lbs, but a Softjaw Pretender can reach 70" long and 50 lbs). A Softjaw Pretender is sometimes sold by fraudsters looking to pass it off as a Primordial Creatures version of a Softjaw Familiar, usually to justify a high price and to downplay the practical risks of keeping one.

In the wild, a Softjaw Pretender behaves like a short-burst terrestrial hunter. A Softjaw Pretender will stay motionless in cover - brush, rubble, culverts, reeds, shadowed banks - then close the last few yards in a sudden rush. A Softjaw Pretender does not typically kill by holding on and wrestling; a Softjaw Pretender kills by damage, snapping repeatedly with blade-like teeth designed to open severe wounds, then using heavy tail strikes to keep prey off balance and prevent escape. A Softjaw Pretender is a strict carnivore, highly food-motivated, and prone to gorging; when hunting is risky or easy carrion is available, a Softjaw Pretender will scavenge without hesitation.

A Softjaw Pretender is difficult to handle safely. While it is not amazingly clever, it is alert, reactive, and quick to “test” anything that crowds it. A Softjaw Pretender tolerates poor conditions better than most animals of its size, and can remain underwater for extended periods - useful for hiding, crossing obstacles, or avoiding larger threats rather than as a primary hunting method.

It’s possible to tell a Softjaw Pretender apart from a Softjaw Familiar by shape and teeth. A Softjaw Pretender looks stockier, with a big, squarish head and a heavy tail, and when a Softjaw Pretender opens its mouth the teeth look like a fairly even row of sharp “blades.” A Softjaw Familiar looks slimmer and quicker, with a narrower face, and a Softjaw Familiar mouth is less uniform - bigger grabby teeth at the front and smaller cutting teeth further back.

STATBLOCK

Attributes [-102]: ST 9 (no fine manipulators -40%) [-6] DX 12 (no fine manipulators -40%) [24] IQ 3 [-140] HT 12 [20]

Secondary Attributes [74]: Basic Lift 16.2 lbs. HP 9; FP 10 [-6]; Will 10 [35] Per 12 [45]

Weight 22 kg (approx. 50 lbs.) SM -1 (1.8 meters long, tail to tip)

Basic Speed 6.00
Basic Move: 6
Land Move: 6 (9 top speed)
Water Move 3 [-3]

Damage includes bonus for points in Brawling.

DR [9]: 1 [5]; DR3 (so +2, from top only -40%, not limbs -25%) [4]

Advantages [72]: Amphibious [10]; Breath-Holding/3 [3]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Discriminatory Smell [15]; Hard to Kill/2 [4]; Hard to Subdue/2 [4]; Night Vision/5 [5]; Peripheral Vision [15]; Reduced Consumption/2 (Cast Iron Stomach, -50%) [2]; Striker (bite; cutting; cannot parry -40%; armor divisor 0.5 (not against skin or Tough Skin) -20%) [3]; Striker (tail; crushing 5pts; long +2, +200%; cannot parry, -40%; weak[^1], -50%) [11].

Disadvantages [-163]: Bad Sight (Motion Sensitive)/5 [-5]; Cold-Blooded (65°F) [-10] Gluttony (12-) [-5]; Non-Discriminatory Hearing [-10]; Low Empathy [-20]; Quadruped [-35]; Reduced Endurance/1 [-3]; Restricted Diet (carnivore) [-10]; Short Lifespan/2 [-10]; Wild Animal [-30]; Wealth (Dead Broke) [-25]

Features [0]: Paddle Tail [0], Born Biter +3 [0]; Loud Hiss [0]

Skills [26]: Brawling (E) DX+6 [4]-13; Intimidation (A) Will+5 [2]-10; Stealth (A) DX+7 [8]-13; Survival (A) Per+5 [2]-11; Tracking (A) Per+5 [2]-15†; Jumping (E) DX+6 [4]-13; Wrestling (A) DX+6 [4]-12.

† - Includes +4 bonus from Discriminatory Smell

Skills use the By Default Rules.