The Ahmeek
“Yes!” replied Ahmeek, the beaver, He the King of all the beavers, “Let yourself slide down among us, Down into the tranquil water.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Song of Hiawatha, Canto XVII
Last post, I updated the giant lynx from the AD&D Monster Manual for use with 5E D&D. Today, I give the giant beaver an even fully treatment, taking as my starting point the fact that beavers in Song of Hiawatha are intelligent, can talk, and have magical powers. Also, since they gave shelter to Pau-Puk-Keewis, a rather nasty character, it stands to reason that beavers are evil, which means that giant beavers would have bigger evil.
So, why are giant beavers evil? Well, they’re expansionistic and territorial, and when giant beavers expand their territory, they do by damming up rivers, which means flooding some areas and cutting off other areas from fresh water. Giant beavers control water supplies in order to bring other creatures under their domination.
Since “giant beaver” does not exactly inspire dread, let’s take Longfellow’s cue and call these new monsters the “Ahmeek”. The Ahmeek resemble human-sized beavers that have hand-like forepaws. Much of the time when on land or in their fort-dams, they amble about on all fours, but Ahmeek can waddle bipedally with comparative ease. These militaristic creatures live in fort-dams built from mostly from logs and mud. A fort-dam’s walls are seldom less than 5 feet thick, and the main points of ingress or egress are always submerged. A typical fort-dam houses about 40 Ahmeek warriors and their families, along with their leaders.
Ahmeek Warrior
Medium monstrosity, lawful evil
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 26 (4d8+8)
Speed 25 ft., swim 30 ft.
STR 14 (+2), DEX 15 (+2), CON 14 (+2), INT 9 (-1), WIS 11 (+0), CHA 8 (-1)
Skills Perception +2
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Common, Giant Beaver
Challenge 1 (200)
Hold Breath. The Ahmeek can hold its breath for 15 minutes.
Keen Hearing and Smell. The Ahmeek has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
Siege Monster. The Ahmeek deals double damage to objects and structures made of wood.
Swimby. The Ahmeek doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks when it swims out of an enemy’s reach.
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d4+2) piercing damage.
Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercing damage, or 6 (1d8+2) piercing damage if used with two hands to make a melee attack.
