#cr 20+

[crinosg]

The Bogeyman

A tall and imposing Shadar Kai astride a Nightmare, a Blue skinned hobgoblin in a fez and robe, a chalk white Satyr with an oversized head, a huge vaguely humanoid shaped burlap sack filled with all matter of bugs and vermin. There are but a few of the shapes taken by the most infamous of the Archfey, the Bogeyman.

The Bogeyman is the lord of fear, in particular nameless irrational fear. The fear there might be someone hiding under your bed or closet, the fear that the old furnace in your basement may spring to life and devour you, the fear of the nameless things that lurk in the dark that pulls children to their doom, never to be seen again.

And like most nameless, irrational feats, the Bogeyman turns out to be not so bad when you get to know him.

The Bogeyman has never been really respected as a Fae lord. A coward and bully by nature, most people aren't truly afraid of him despite his claims on being the lord of fear. Only children are truly afraid of him, and so the Bogeyman began to slowly develop a fondness for them, even as he lurked under their bed to frighten them.

One fateful night, while lurking under the bed of a young noble to frighten her, he was shocked to hear the sounds of violence and fear coming from up above. The Bogeyman investigated and was shocked to discover the poor girl being beaten by her mother over some perceived slight earlier in the day. This was a changing moment for the Bogeyman. As he immediately frightened the noblewoman off and spirited the girl back to his domain, not to harm her but to save her.

This was when the Bogeyman's entire paradigm changed. He became the secret protector of children. He lurked under their beds and in closets to watch after them, if he did frighten them, it was to teach them to be brave, to stand up to the realm monsters in the world. And if the Bogeyman did spirit children away, it was to get them out of terrible situations.

A natural shapeshifter, few people have seen the Bogeyman's true form. And in truth it is...not that impressive. In his true form he is a weathered, gaunt pale skinned figure with long boneless arms and a one eye, dressed in a ragged jesters outfit.

The Nighmare Palace

The Nightmare Palace is the Bogeyman's domain of delight, a huge gothic castle sitting atop a lonely hill on a mountain where its always night, and the full moon always hangs. Inside the palace is huge winding network of hallways, filled with beds and closets which contain portals to the real world. The floors are strewn with all manner of candy and toys, and the walls are patrolled by all manner of monsters; ranging from goblins ans skeletons, mummies and werewolves, ghosts and vampires, and others. Despite their monstrous appearance, these monsters are much nicer than their counterparts in other domains, not requiring the feeding methods they use on other plains. These monsters aid the Bogeyman in his job of "scaring" kids, and follow strict rules to make sure they don't accidentally traumatize their charges. Any kids brought to the Nightmare palace who opts to stay will eventually turn into one of these monsters, with a prime example being Ivana, the Bogeyman's adopted daughter (who is the young noble the Bogeyman saved all those years ago) now a Vampire who feeds on the color red instead of blood, and acts as the steward of the palace when the Bogeyman is away on business.

[littlecajunlady]

Critical Role Episode 20: Trial of the Take - Part 3

This one started off a bit slow, but it got better as it went on. Definitely agree with some who think the first group was more fun, but this group had it’s moments. I don’t have much to say except that it was fun to see Wil Wheaton and his atrocious dice rolls, and Will Friedle’s first episode as Kashaw. I also made note of all that the little Vaxleth moments because come on, fake married!

4:40 – Will Friedle is engaged! (married now . . .) 9:25 – Game starts 12:50 – Liam is Grog, who has the magic carpet? (They see a fortune teller/hag who they buy a couple potions from and Vax owes the hag a favor as a payment) 28:45 - Vax "Jesus, whoever that is" – that carpenter with the dank herb 30:15 – They find the other team has to kill a dragon/Vax not happy 32:40 – KASHAW! 35:20 – Wil’s character intro - Thorbir the dwarf 38:05 - Kashaw about Keyleth “Seriously the whole time she’s like this?” 39:40 – They have to kill a rakshasa 46:25 – Wil’s first roll, it’s a 2 (They start walking, Kashaw does locate creature, they question a woman selling masks and she tells them about maulings, Keyleth gets a raven mask and Vax a snake one. Thorbir asks for a mask for a little girl) 1:02:34 – Wil rolls well, Liam “suck it haters,” mask seller tells Thorbir purple is a pretty color on him 1:05:25 – First mention of the Raven Queen? 1:06:32 - Kashaw "any more than twice and you're just playing with it pal" 1:07:50 – Wil rolls the exact opposite of 20 (They question – and nearly have to fight - some Bastions (guards) but manage to get some info) 1:16:22 – Kashaw knows the Velvet Cabaret well, Tiberius asks if he heard of it from Scanlan 1:28:42 – Break starts 1:41:12 – Break ends , Keyleth wants aliases & wonders if being Vex is too weird, Vax thinks so 1:42:35 - Kashaw “What does your twin look like?” 1:44:30 – Keyleth “Am I your wife?” Vax “Do you want to be?” (They create their aliases and make it into the cabaret) 1:52:30 – Vax/Keyleth hand holding (They meet the “owner” and fail to deceive him, then Vax knocks him out and they chase after the “owner’s” dwarf assistant) 2:26:30 – The dwarf is the rakshasa! 2:27:30 – Another small Vaxleth moment: Vax “You left (Keyleth) with (rakshasa)?” and runs for her (Rakshasa immediately goes invisible and runs into nearby room, Tiberius successfully impersonates the “dwarf” and another tiny Vaxleth moment at 2:33:10 “just a moment dear”) 2:35:40 – Vax tries to kick open the door with his just healed foot 2:36:10 – Matt trades his dice with Wil’s to see if it will help his rolls 2:42:50 – Thorbir doesn’t find a trap door. Keyleth “You thought that was gonna be good” 2:45:45 – Keyleth “I’ll follow my husband (Vax),” Matt “That’s weird” (They find a tunnel under the bed and make their way down) 2:52:30 – An Indiana Jones style boulder trap is set off (Tiberius stops the boulder and they keep going, Kashaw is suspicious of how unhelpful Thorbir is because of Wil’s low dice rolls at 2:59:30, Kashaw accidentally slides down the tunnel and then Tiberius and Keyleth slide down on purpose and they land in grossness) 3:00:54 – Will quotes The Goonies/3:02:50 – So does Liam 3:05:18 – Big creature shows up, Tiberius immediately disappears and Kashaw wonders where he went 3:06:15 - Game ends 3:14:30 – Will asks Wil to roll a 1 and he rolls a 19

[thecreaturechronicle]

Slaad, Black

Save for the great slaad masters themselves, no beings embody the raw destructive power of chaos like black slaadi. Beings of pure entropy, black slaadi appear as a toad-shaped blot of utter darkness from which its two diamond eyes gleam.

Black slaadi are an enigma, for little has been written on these vastly powerful beings. They wander the Maelstrom, pursuing inscrutable goals and spreading wanton destruction for ends that make sense only in their insane minds. A handful of black slaadi serve as emissaries for the great slaad masters, but most are too devoted to chaos to bend the knee to another being.

BLACK SLAAD (Void Slaad) CR: 20 XP: 307,200 CN Huge outsider (chaotic, extraplanar, shapechanger, slaad) Init: +12; Senses: Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +32 Aura: Entropic (20 ft.) __________________________________ AC: 39, touch 17, flat-footed 30 (+8 Dex, +1 dodge, +22 natural, -2 size) hp: 350 (20 HD); regeneration 5 (lawful weapons, lawful spells) Fort +24, Ref +14, Will +21 Defensive Abilities: Insanity (DC 29); DR 15/lawful; Immune: Sonic; Resist: Acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5; SR 31 __________________________________ Speed: 40 ft. Melee: Bite +32 (4d6+14/19-20), 2 claws +32 (2d8+14 plus poison and energy drain) Ranged: Ray of entropy +26 touch (20d10; see below) Space: 15 ft.; Reach: 15 ft. Special Attacks: Energy drain (2 levels, DC 29) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 18th, concentration +27): At will - Chaos hammer (DC 23), deeper darkness, dispel law (DC 24), fear (DC 24), fly, greater dispel magic, greater teleport (self plus 50 lb. of objects only), magic circle against law, shatter (DC 21) 1/day - Cloak of chaos (DC 27), implosion (DC 28), summon (level 9, any 1 CR 19 or lower slaad, 100%), word of chaos (DC 26) __________________________________ Str 39, Dex 26, Con 35, Int 25, Wis 28, Cha 28 Base Atk: +20; CMB: +36 (+40 sunder); CMD: 53 (57 vs. sunder) Feats: Cleave, Combat Expertise, Dodge, Great CleaveB, Greater Sunder, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Mobility, Power Attack, Spring Attack, Whirlwind AttackB Skills: Acrobatics +31, Bluff +32, Escape Artist +31, Intimidate +32, Knowledge (arcana, religion, one other) +27, Knowledge (planes) +30, Perception +32, Sense Motive +32, Spellcraft +30, Stealth +23, Swim +34 Languages: Abyssal, Draconic, Slaad; telepathy 100 ft. SQ: Change shape (shapeshift), zone of oblivion __________________________________ Environment: Any (The Maelstrom) Organization: Solitary Treasure: Double __________________________________ Poison (Ex): Bite - injury; save Fort DC 32; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d6 Con damage; cure 3 consecutive saves. The save DC is Constitution-based. Ray of Entropy (Su): Once every 1d4 rounds as a standard action, a black slaad can fire a ray of chaotic energy at a target creature with a ranged touch attack. The ray deals 20d10 points of damage and the creature is surrounded by a shroud of crackling energy. Any time the creature takes damage while the shroud persists, the shroud deals 1d10 points of damage to the creature; a successful Fortitude save (DC 29) negates the damage and dissipates the shroud. The save DC is Charisma-based. Zone of Oblivion (Su): When killed, a black void fills the space around a black slaad in a 30-ft. radius, blocking line of sight and dealing 5d10 points of damage to any creature that enters or starts its turn in the area. The zone lasts for 1 hour before dissipating. BLACK SLAAD ENTROPES The most powerful black slaadi are creatures given over totally to the power of chaos and destruction. These beings, known as entropes, border on demigodhood. A black slaad entrope is typically a CR 21 to CR 25 monster (a range shared with the various lesser slaad masters, with the range of CR 26 and above being the domain of the true slaad masters themselves). The majority of entropes simply advance in Hit Dice, but many have several levels of barbarian, fighter, or oracle, and a few have levels of alchemist, cleric, druid, or sorcerer. In addition to any benefits a black slaad entrope might gain from its class levels, all entropes possess one additional unique ability over and above those granted by its race and class. Listed here are three sample entrope abilities, but these samples are by no means the entirety of the strange powers an entrope might wield. Child of Entropy (Su): Reality itself begins to break down in the presence of the entrope. The area within 100 feet of the entrope gains the subjective gravity, erratic time, highly morphic, strongly chaos-aligned, and wild magic planar traits. The area returns to normal when the entrope leaves or dies. The entrope can suppress or resume this aura at will. Elemental Chaos (Su): A storm of elemental energy swirls around the entrope. Any creature that comes within 20 ft. of the entrope takes 2d10 points each of acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic damage. The entrope can suppress or resume this aura at will. Harbinger of Anarchy (Su): The mere sight of the entrope breaks the minds of all those who set eyes on it. Any creature that sees the entrope must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 entrope's racial HD + the entrope's Charisma modifier) or be affected as if by the insanity spell (CL 20th). The entrope can suppress or resume this ability at will.

(And that, at long last, wraps up my slaad conversions. There are a couple I missed - the flux and putrid slaadi from 4E spring to mind, and I may do them eventually - but the black slaad completes the CR 1/2 to CR 20 spread of major outsider races. Maybe now I can finally get around to their lawful counterparts...)