Azulgard

**Azulgard** is a pale blue Fanged Beast that thrives in certain cavernous ecosystems located within the Old World and the New World. It is notable for its humanoid appearance and habit of applying a clay-like substance to its arms, which forms stone cesti when hardened.

## Physiology

Azulgard is a bipedal, somewhat humanoid monster that shares traits with mammals and reptiles, having ears and legs like a rabbit's, a head like a rat's, arms like a kangaroo's, and spikes and scale-like scutes akin to those seen on some protomammals. Its torso is rotund, whereas its limbs are somewhat muscular, and it is about twice as tall as a male hunter. It is completely bald, with its hide and scutes being pale blue with ash blue spots and its underbelly being light grey. Small, cream-coloured spikes can be found on the sides of its face, above its eyes, and on its back. Large incisors can be found on the front of its mouth, and it has a short, rat-like tail. Its eyes are red and have round pupils.

### Placement in Food Chain

Azulgard is a low-level herbivore that faces competition for food and territory from other monsters within or above its rank, such as Gendrome, Iodrome, Gypceros, Tetsucabra, Kecha Wacha, Congalala, and Basarios. It subsists on herbs, grasses, nuts, and fruit found within cavernous ecosystems, but will eat meat if times are tough, with its preferred prey being small animals like bugs, rodents, and birds. It is preyed on by a large number of monsters, such as Great Girros, Nerscylla, Rathian, Khezu, Lavasioth, Agnaktor, Odogaron, Kushala Daora, Teostra, and Vaal Hazak, but can defend itself via the use of cesti-forming clay and fetid fumes from its mouth.

### Behavior Towards Other Monsters

Azulgard responds aggressively to anything that gets too close to its prized hoards, lashing out at them with a barrage of vicious attacks, but will flee if outmatched.

### Tracks

Azulgard leaves **Azulgard Footprints**, **Prized Stashes**, and **Clay Mounds** on the ground and **Azulgard Scratches** and **Clay Markings** on walls.

### Special Locale Interactions

Azulgard can be found feeding on vegetation, collecting shiny ores, or stashing shiny ores in its dens when undisturbed.

### Special Behavior

If Azulgard is in the same area as other monsters, it may roar at them and initiate an assault or Turf War.

## Abilities

Azulgard is a good jumper, using its strong legs to traverse areas, and its long ears provide it with a keen sense of hearing that allows it to detect predators from afar. It is fairly proficient at hand-to-hand combat, utilizing punches and kicks against enemies, and it can bolster its punches by applying a clay-like substance to them, which forms stone cesti once it hardens. It can also spit this substance at enemies to slow them down, or overload their sense of smell with putrid gases.

HP
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* Base HP: 2,900 HP

* Low-Rank (0.55x): 1,595 HP

* High-Rank (0.70x): 2,030 HP

* G-Rank (1.30x): 3,770 HP

## Breakable Parts/Damage Effectiveness

### Damage Effectiveness

* Damage Types
* Elements
* Status Effects
* Items

### Breakable Parts

Head- The ears will break.

Clayed Arms- The clay layer will break off.

Rocky Arms- The rocky layer will break off.

## Attacks

**One-Two Punch**

Azulgard throws two straight punches at the hunter while moving forward. Both punches deal low damage. When its arms are covered in clay or rock, the punches will deal more damage and inflict Earthblight.

**Flurry of Punches**

Azulgard throws multiple hooks while standing in place, then throws a single, more powerful hook. Each punch thrown during the flurry deals low damage, whereas the final hook deals low-medium damage. When its arms are covered in clay or rock, the punches will deal more damage and inflict Earthblight.

**Bolo Punch**

Azulgard drops its back hand, making it look like it will use its straight punches, then throws an uppercut. This attack deals low-medium damage. When its arms are covered in clay or rock, the punches will deal more damage and inflict Earthblight.

**Jab and Grab**

Azulgard opens its arms wide, then attempts to wrap them around the hunter. If it succeeds, the hunter will take low damage and become pinned. Once the hunter is pinned, Azulgard will put them in a chokehold with one arm and repeatedly punch them with the other, doing low damage with each punch, and the punches' damage output will increase if covered in clay or rock. If the hunter fails to escape the attack in time, it will use its Heavy Kick attack on them.

**Rabbit Kick**

Azulgard propels itself forward, using a kick with both legs. This attack deals low-medium damage.

**Donkey Kick**

Azulgard propels itself backward, using a kick with both legs. This attack deals low-medium damage. It will often use this against hunters standing behind it.

**Heavy Kick**

Azulgard rears back, pauses for a moment, then releases a mighty kick with both legs strong enough to floor itself. This attack deals medium-high damage, but leaves it open for counterattacks after it gets used until it gets back up.

**Pounce**

Azulgard jumps at the hunter with its feet pointed at them. This attack deals low-medium damage.

**Belch**

Azulgard lets out a large burp, sending a stream of pressurized gas towards the hunter. This attack deals low damage and inflicts Soiled. It will often use this as a counterattack against hunters who make it flinch or knock it down.

**Clay Spit**

Azulgard spits a ball of clay at the hunter. This attack deals low damage and inflicts Earthblight.

**Face Guard**

If its arms are coated in rock, Azulgard will sometimes block its face with them, deflecting any attacks that hit them unless Mind's Eye is activated. Hitting it while it uses this move will result in the monster throwing a jab at the hunter, dealing low-medium damage and inflicting Earthblight.

**Stone Slam**

If its arms are covered in rock, Azulgard may jump in the air, then slam them on the ground, releasing a cluster of rocks that cover a wide area. This attack deals medium-high damage and inflicts Earthblight.

**Apply Clay**

Azulgard licks its arms, forming a layer of clay over them. This slightly bolsters their defenses, increases the power of its punches, and allows them to inflict Earthblight. If the clay layer is allowed to dry, it will turn to stone, further increasing the arms' defenses and power and giving them the ability to deflect weapons with sharpness lower than Green.

## Trivia

* Azulgard's name is a portmanteau of Azul, which is Spanish for "blue", and vanguard.
* Azulgard's inspiration was the Gnome of Girona, a Spanish hoax that revolved around the remains of a misshapen ruminant fetus. According to reports, the fetus was bluish, completely bald, and had reddish eyes and a rodent-like snout.
* When exhausted, Azulgard will fail to use its ranged attacks, and may fall over after using some of its physical attacks. It can recover stamina by feeding on herbs, berries, or ore.
* Azulgard's cestus-forming clay was meant to flesh it out, as Nin10DillN64 felt that it would be too bland without it.