| Shator | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Naming | |||
| Others | Shator Demodand Great Shator Shaggy Demodand | ||
| Morphology | |||
| Body type | Humanoid | ||
| Average height | 6' | ||
| Average weight | 560 lbs | ||
| Intelligence | |||
| Sapience | Sapient | ||
| Aggressivity | Very high | ||
| Ecology | |||
| Place of origin | Lower Plane of Tarterus | ||
| Diet | Carnivore | ||
| Locomotion | Bipedal Powered flight | ||
| Related species | Farastu, Kelubar | ||
| Status | Data Deficient (listed as "very rare" in-game, but this refers to their commonality on the Prime Material Plane, not their own home realm) | ||
| Behind the Scenes | |||
| Universe | Dungeons & Dragons | ||
| Created by | Gary Gygax | ||
Shators are the ruling nobility of Tarterus, but unlike their demodand cousins, they do not excrete any substances; instead they possess "shaggy" flaps of skin. They are of chaotic neutral alignment.
A few notable shator are known to exist: The first is Dyr’ryd, founder of the Cagewrights; the second is Drigor, who has become trapped within the demiplane of Ravenloft. Xideous is working on revising the Book of Keeping hidden within the criminally and irreversibly insane ward of the Gatehouse in Sigil, though in doing so he has garnered a price on his head by the Yugoloths. The final notable shator is Utmodach, who is a commander of a large group of Demodand warriors serving Nerull.
Monster Manual descriptions[]
2nd Edition[]
The great shator, or shaggy demodand, is the most fearsome of its kind. It is the shortest and broadest of the demodands, and its hide hangs in overlapping patches which give it its common name. While it is capable of dealing massive amounts of damage with nails and jaws, a shator has sufficient manual dexterity to employ large weapons (footman's mace, bastard sword, etc.). One will do so at +4 on its to-hit roll and +9 on strength bonus, but only 1 attack per round is then possible. As a monster of this sort understands its options fully, the most intelligent plan of attack will always be taken. This means that, if possible, spell-like powers will be used primarily. A shator can employ at the 15th level the following spell-like powers at will, 1 at a time, 1 per round: beguile (as a rod of beguiling, usable once per day), cloudkill (once per day), detect good, detect invisibility, detect magic, dispel magic (3 times per day), ESP, fog cloud (3 times per day), gaseous form, invisibility, ray of enfeeblement (once per day), stinking cloud (once per day), tongues, and weakness (as reversed strength, usable 3 times per day). A shator can summon 1-8 of its fellows on the Plane of Tarterus. Success chance is 60%. Only +3 or better magic weapons will harm a shator. Because of its overlapping hide, edged weapons are at -1 in hitting and damaging a monster of this sort. (Such edged weapons include long, broad, bastard, and 2-handed swords. Short swords are excluded.) Acid or poison has no effect on a shator. Cold or fire cause only half normal damage. Fear magic or illusion magic (illusion and/or phantasm) are powerless against a shator. Shator have excellent auditory and olfactory senses, and, when they use these along with their normal visual capabilities (including infra- and ultra-), they can be surprised only 10% of the time.
Shator are 6-feet tall, squat, and broad. Their humanoid form appears draped in shaggy skins. The huge heads are mostly mouth with jaws resembling those of a giant bulldog. Their effective strength is 21, and their weight is around 560 pounds. Shators are the ruling nobility of Tarterus.