Discover Top Posts Tagged with #extraplanar outsider

Kool-Aid Man

[April Fools! Much like the mactonite, this advertising monster was inspired by a conversation I had on the Grindbin Podcast. That episode hasn't been posted yet; I'll post a link to it when it does. Needless to say, the Kool-Aid Man was not the monster in that movie. But the idea of a seven foot tall pitcher that can burst through your wall at any time is pretty terrifying, making the Kool-Aid Man an excellent accidental monster. Rather than going in a dark and edgy direction, I wanted to make my Kool-Aid Man a good faith interpretation of the concept. In gamer lore, powerful monsters like Pazuzu and Hastur listen for their names and pop in if they're said aloud. The Kool-Aid Man actually works like that, but I wanted to give limitations for why an army couldn't just summon a legion of Kool-Aid men to fight for them. And why did I give him ranks in Knowledge (history)? Well:

If you'd like to support what I do, check out the Creature Codex Patreon here!]

Kool-Aid Man CR 9 CN Outsider (extraplanar) This creature is vaguely humanoid, being in the shape of a giant pitcher with muscular arms and legs. A simple, jovial face is painted on its front side. The thing is filled with a bright red liquid with ice cubes floating atop it.

The Kool-Aid men are mysterious creatures native to the Dimension of Dream, perhaps the manifestation of a desire for the perfect beverage. Their bodies are a strange mixture of glass and flavored water, sickly sweet and tasting faintly of fruit. Although they can produce effectively infinite amounts of this beverage, they can charge some of it with healing properties, alleviating wounds, banishing fatigue and even healing ability damage. Kool-Aid men are compelled to share this beverage with others, to the point where naming it aloud, “Hey, Kool-Aid!”, can call one of these creatures into reality to serve and refresh. For some unknown reason, however, Kool-Aid men appear when summoned by bursting violently through a nearby wall. The Kool-Aid man called is happy to heal any wounds caused by flying debris if asked to by its summoner.

Kool-Aid men are boisterous and rowdy, viewing a battle and a party as essentially the same thing. They eagerly fight for their callers if requested to. Kool-Aid men throw haymaker punches backed by the sloshing liquid inside of them, and are skilled at destroying objects such as enemy weapons. If they need a quick exit, or if requested to by the one who called them, a Kool-Aid man can burst through walls of even iron or force, creating a permanent passage.

In calmer moments, Kool-Aid men are surprisingly skilled at alchemy, and use it primarily in developing new and interesting flavors. Most Kool-Aid men are red in hue, and their beverage tastes vaguely like cherry, but they can change their flavor with alchemical supplements. Kool-Aid men typically do not care who they serve or what their agenda is, as long as they can quench the thirst of their allies. The one exception is children—Kool-Aid men will never attack children of any species, and a Kool-Aid man may change its allegiance if a child asks it nicely. All Kool-Aid men are male, and speak with deep voices.

Kool-Aid Man CR 9 XP 6,400 CN Medium outsider (chaos, extraplanar) Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +19 Defense AC 23, touch 11, flat-footed 22 (+1 Dex, +12 natural) hp 114 (12d10+48) Fort +8, Ref +9, Will +12 DR 10/bludgeoning and magic; Immune ability damage, ability drain, death effects, disease, energy drain, exhaustion, fatigue, necromancy spells and effects, paralysis, poison, sleep, stunning; SR 20 Weakness answer the call Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee 2 slams +17 (2d6+5) Special Attacks burst through Statistics Str 20, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 18 Base Atk +12; CMB +17 (+21 sunder); CMD 28 (30 vs. sunder) Feats Greater Sunder, Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Iron Will, Power Attack, Vital Strike Skills Bluff +19, Craft (alchemy) +15, Diplomacy +19, Intimidate +19, Knowledge (history) +15, Perception +17 Languages Common, truespeech SQ refreshing beverage (12/day) Ecology Environment any land (Dimension of Dream) Organization solitary Treasure standard Special Abilities Answer the Call (Su) Whenever a creature says the words “Hey, Kool-Aid!”, there is a 5% chance that a Kool-Aid man is summoned. This percentage increases to 15% if the creature is suffering nonlethal damage from thirst. The Kool-Aid man appears within 30 feet of the creature that called him, using its burst through ability if any appropriate walls are present. The Kool-Aid man remains for 1 hour or until slain, and is friendly to the creature that called it, as per a charm monster effect. Regardless of whether it succeeds or fails, a creature can only attempt to call a Kool-Aid man once per day, and additional Kool-Aid men do not answer the call of that creature’s allies for the next 24 hours. Burst Through (Su) As a full-round action, a Kool-Aid man can burst a five foot wide hole through any wall a foot in width or thinner, regardless of its hardness or material. When a Kool-Aid man bursts through a wall, all creatures in a 5 foot radius of the spot he burst through on the wall’s far side take bludgeoning damage based on the wall’s material:

#pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #april fools #joke monster #kool aid man #kool aid #extraplanar outsider #advertising #ben franklin

Arravelon

Image © Monte Cook Games LLC

[Another beastie from Ninth World Bestiary 2, and one illustrating the issues involved in communicating with an art team. In the text, the arravelon is described as being "several feet across", and must be adjacent to a creature to feed on their potential, implying that they're not that big. The NWB books have a feature where an outline of some (not all) of the monsters is placed next to a human silhouette, like in a dinosaur field guide, and there, the arravelon is several times larger across than the human is tall. I decided to go with the text rather than image, and made mine Medium.

If you'd like to do your part in ensuring I have a potential future, please join the Creature Codex Patreon]

Arravelon CR 13 NE Outsider This creature is a shining red crystalline entity with four lobes, like a pair of crescents intersecting at the middle at right angles to each other. At the intersection are two bulbous eyes and a parrot-like beak.

The arravelon is a predator native to the Dimension of Time that feeds on much more esoteric things than meat. They feed instead on potential, the ability of creatures to make decisions and affect the world around them. An arravelon drains potential through dozens of intangible glowing tendrils that extend from its mouth when it comes close to a creature. The more it drains from a single creature, the more possible futures dwindle and close off, until the only possible outcome is “slain by an arravelon”. The possibilities lost take time to blossom again into causality—those who survive an arravlon’s attack find themselves beset by failure in the short term.

Arravelons can fight to defend themselves with their hard-edged bodies and sharp beaks, but use these primarily if their potential draining attacks fail. Arravelons weave in and out of melee with acrobatic flourish, making hit and run attacks testing multiple victims to see which one loses control of their potentiality easist. Although they show no interest in communicating with mortal life, arravelons are sapient, capable of solving problems and learning from mistakes, and may occasionally bark out words in Aklo as if speaking to themselves. They are often found in association with hounds of Tindalos, slipping through the boundaries of planes in similar places, and the two species do not attack each other.

Although in their natural state, an arravelon is five feet across, they can shrink down to a fraction of the size and enter torpor. This often occurs when they have devoured an enormous amount of potential in a short period of time. In torpor they resemble a red gem such as a garnet or ruby, and may allow themselves to be collected, transported or even set into jewelry in this form. This allows an arravelon to travel stealthily through the actions of others, giving it a new feeding ground to emerge into when conditions are right.

Arravelon CR 13 XP 25,600 NE Medium outsider (evil, extraplanar) Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +29 Defense AC 28, touch 19, flat-footed 19 (+8 Dex, +1 dodge, +9 natural) hp 178 (17d8+85) Fort +15, Ref +15, Will +17 DR 10/magic; Immune divination, mind-influencing effects, poison Weakness vulnerable to force Offense Speed fly 120 ft. (good) Melee bite +21 (2d6+4), 2 gores +21 (1d8+4) Special Attacks eat potential Statistics Str 19, Dex 27, Con 21, Int 8, Wis 20, Cha 18 Base Atk +17; CMB +21; CMD 40 (cannot be tripped) Feats Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility, Power Attack, Wingover Skills Acrobatics +28, Fly +32, Perception +29, Sense Motive +29, Stealth +28 Languages Aklo SQ gem form, luminous, no breath Ecology Environment any (Dimension of Time) Organization solitary or flock (2-6) Treasure none Special Abilities Eat Potential (Su) As a standard action, an arravelon can drain potential from an adjacent creature. The creature must succeed a DC 22 Will save or take 1d6 points of Charisma damage; on a successful save, the creature is instead shaken for 1 round. Each time a creature takes Charisma damage from an arravelon’s eat potential, it suffers a -2 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, skill and ability checks, which stacks with itself and other penalties. This penalty on rolls lasts for 24 hours. A creature reduced to 0 Charisma from this ability dies. The save DC is Charisma based. Gem Form (Su) As a standard action, an arravelon can transform into a Fine red gemstone. In this form, it has all of its normal hit points and hardness 8, can see and hear and feel things that touch it, but cannot move or attack. An arravelon can resume its natural form as a standard action. Luminous (Ex) An arravelon radiates bright light in a 30 foot radius and dim light to an additional 30 feet. It can resume or suppress this illumination as a free action. Vulnerable to Force (Ex) In addition to taking 150% damage from force effects, whenever an arravelon takes damage from a force effect, it must succeed a Fortitude save (calculated as if the spell allowed a save, if it does not) or be stunned for 1 round.

#pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #extraplanar outsider #arravelon #numenera

Div, Natjaghra

Still from Chasing the Kidneystone, aka Body Troopers (1996)

[Yet again, I have seen an absolutely wild movie thanks to @bowelfly, and have been compelled to write up one of the monsters from it. Chasing the Kidneystoneis a Norwegian children's film about a kid who goes inside his grandpa's body in order to defeat the kidney stone monsters causing him pain, meeting different characters representing cells and organs along the way, and also helping him break through the suppressed pain of losing his wife at a young age. Think a combination of Fantastic Voyage, Alice in Wonderland, and the Kubler Ross stages of grief. Lots of fantastic costume and design work, and the kidney stone monsters are probably the coolest. They're played by acrobats, so lots of jumping and flipping, which I wanted to convey in the entry. In adapting this into game statistics, I made them the relative size they are to the shrunken character, rather than forcing GMs to set up a Fantastic Voyage scenario in order to use them. The name is a portmanteau of natron for salt and Spenjaghra, a div associated with drought. I linked them to my other drought div in the flavor text.

If you'd like to support my writing, check out the Creature Codex Patreon here!]

Div, Natjaghra CR 5 NE Outsider (extraplanar) This humanoid creature is made out of an assemblage of whitish crystals, which are longest and sharpest on its back and claws. Its head is angular and eyeless, with a crest of crystals running down the back of its skull. It carries a large pick.

The natjaghras are divs of thirst, particularly the effects that affliction can have on the body long term. They delight in slowly tormenting their victims by giving them kidney stones, leaving them reeling with pain for weeks or even months. During this time, the natjaghra will periodically check in on their victim, ensuring that their suffering is amplified by cursing them with supernatural thirst, laying traps around their homes, or magically destroying their food and drink. These sadistic reprisals may give a creature the opportunity to slay the div, but natjaghras are sociable creatures and may recruit more and more of their kind to join the fun on subsequent visits.

Natjaghras are blind, sensing the world around them through sound, smell and vibrations. They favor heavy picks for their piercing blows and use for dismantling objects, but their claws and horns are deadly even when they are unarmed. Natjaghras are surprisingly agile, and often weave between opponents, leaping across the battlefield to inflict kidney stones and strike at vulnerable party members. Fresh water melts a natjaghra’s rocky flesh like acid does to an ordinary mortal. Natjaghras are somewhat cowardly creatures, preferring to flee a battle after trading blows if they cannot quickly win, then circling around to amplify their enemies’ torments. If their enemies are able to bring water against them, however, the natjaghras are likely to flee for good.

By the standards of divs, natjaghras are brutish and dim-witted. They prefer to live in the Material Plane in order to have more opportunities to make mortals suffer, but restrict themselves to the driest habitats. Their lairs are often caves and crevasses that natjaghras can navigate in three dimensions. Natjaghras rarely make plans beyond picking targets for repeated torture, but they can be rallied by smarter divs like pairakas and apaush to become threats to a whole region.

Natjaghra CR 5 XP 1,600 NE Medium outsider (div, earth, evil, extraplanar) Init +3; Senses blindsight 60 ft., blind, Perception +10 Defense AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+3 Dex, +1 dodge, +4 natural) hp 57 (6d10+24) Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +6 DR 5/bludgeoning and good; Immune fire, poison, visual spells and effects; Resist acid 10, electricity 10; SR 16 Weakness vulnerable to water Offense Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft. Melee 2 claws +9 (1d4+3), gore +9 (1d6+3) or masterwork pick +10/+5 (1d6+3/x4), claw +4 (1d4+1), gore +4 (1d6+1) Special Attacks touch of stones Spell-like Abilities CL 6th, concentration +8 At will—detect good, detect magic, putrefy food and drink (DC 12) 3/day—cup of dust (DC 15), dimension door, ray of enfeeblement (DC 13) 1/day—spike stones (DC 16), summon (level 4, 1 natjghra 25%) Statistics Str 16, Dex 16, Con 18, Int 9, Wis 13, Cha 15 Base Atk +6; CMB +9; CMD 23 Feats Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack Skills Acrobatics +12, Climb +15, Intimidate +10, Perception +10, Stealth +12 (+16 in rocky environments), Survival +10; Racial Bonuses +4 Stealth in rocky environments Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Infernal, telepathy 100 ft. SQ master leaper, slow fall (50 ft.) Ecology Environment warm mountains and deserts (Abaddon) Organization solitary, pair or gang (3-8) Treasure standard (masterwork heavy pick, other treasure) Special Abilities Master Leaper (Ex) A natjaghra can make Acrobatics checks made to jump without penalty without a running start. If it does get a running start, it doubles the distance traveled. Slow Fall (Su) A natjaghra takes falling damage as if the fall was 50 feet shorter. Regardless of whether it takes falling damage or not, it always lands on its feet. Touch of Stones (Su) As a standard action, a natjaghra can touch a living creature to give it kidney stones. A creature touched must succeed a DC 15 Fortitude save or be sickened. Every day, the creature can attempt another DC 15 Fortitude save to pass the stone, taking 1d4 points of slashing damage but removing the penalty. Otherwise, the stones are permanent unless removed with a remove disease or similar effect. A creature that succeeds its save against a natjaghra’s touch of stones is immune to that natjghra’s touch for the next 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma based. Vulnerable to Water (Ex) A splash of fresh water deals 1d6 points of damage to a natjaghra. Immersion in fresh water deals 10d6 points of damage a round (no save). Water spells and effects that deal damage are treated as empowered, dealing 150% damage, when used against a natjaghra.

#pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #natjaghra #div #extraplanar outsider #kidney stone #chasing the kidneystone #body troopers #it came from the silver screen

Daemon, Iniquidaemon

"Funky Leopard" © Allison Theus, accessed at her ArtStation here

[Presented in the spirit of the times.]

Daemon, Iniquidaemon CR 12 NE Outsider (extraplanar) This creature resembles a leopard, but its anatomy does not follow either biology or sanity. It has six limbs, the middle pair of which are elongated and fold against the beast’s side, and all are tipped with eagle-like, grasping talons. It has five jaws that open radially, which part to reveal muscular tongues tipped with meat hooks. Its eyes glimmer with cruel, appraising intelligence.

The iniquidaemon is the daemon of ideology. It delights in fanning the flames of self-destructive ideas that leave communities fractured and lives ruined, using honeyed words and magic to convince people to turn on each other. Countries besieged by an iniquidaemon are noted for the presence of mutilated, faceless bodies, as well as the insistent and continued denial of its members that a similar fate could ever happen to them. The iniquidaemon’s presence may even be well known, but its supernatural abilities leave most people thinking of the presence of a face-eating leopard monster as completely mundane.

An iniquidaemon prefers to have other creatures fight for it most of the time. They stoke hatred and dissent to create angry mobs, turn protectors against those they would protect, and make rulers contemptuous of their subjects and subjects apathetic to their rulers’ cruelties. They often disseminate disinformation in disguise, assuming the appearance of a public figure in order to spread lies and propaganda. Against a party of adventurers, iniquidaemons turn allies into enemies with their spell-like abilities, disrupting squad tactics easily. When they decide to start getting their claws dirty, they behave much like the big cats they resemble, pouncing and clawing at a single target. Their grotesque mouths and tongues tug at the soul as much as they do flesh, and creatures who succumb to their maw have their souls sent to Abaddon to be hunted and devoured by other daemons.

Iniquidaemons do not trust each other, knowing the treachery and deceit that accompanies their every thought and deed, but are excellent at ingratiating themselves to other daemons. They often ally with yagnodaemons and cavillodaemons, the three working together as a unit to impose idiotic cruelty onto a realm and crush anyone who fights back. They may work for the cults of all four Horsemen, and many harbingers as well, although their true allegiance usually lies elsewhere. Most iniquidaemons are loyal only to themselves and to Caracalla, their creator, who shaped them with the goal of spreading the gospel of profit above all.

#daemon #iniquidaemon #extraplanar outsider #face eating leopards #pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #social commentary

Herald, Durge

Image © Wizards of the Coast and Larian Games, accessed at Maxime Ponslet's ArtStation here.

[Sponsored by Morrivieg on the Patreon, who wanted the Slayer of Bhaal from Baldur's Gate 3 as a divine herald. The name was their suggestion, inspired by the fan-nickname for the Dark Urge path as "Durge". The look of the monster is awesome, basically General Grievous as a devil, and the BG3 version has lots of interesting and synergistic abilities. So, of course, when official D&D 5e stats for it were published in the web-book Minsc and Boo's Journal of Villainy, those abilities were stripped down to the point where it feels like a completely different and much less interesting monster. It's even the wrong size! And to top it all off, the official miniature is the size it is in the video game, so you can't even use it for the Minsc and Boo statistics! An absolute farrago all around, to put it politely.

My version hopes to capture more of the feel of the BG3 version, although the origin is tweaked to make it a herald. It's not a One Winged Angel form for powerful characters to take; it's its own entity, albeit one inspired by the actions needed to unlock it in the game. The sponsor requested it gain an ability to create spawn, which I added at the expense of some of the poison/disease mechanics of the original. Those mechanics are rather different than how PF handles poison and disease, and with all the stacking penalties and bleed the Slayer already has, it felt a bit like gilding the lily to me.

If you want to be like Morrivieg and sponsor your own monsters, come join the Creature Codex Patreon. It's a bloody good time!]

Herald, Durge CR 15 NE Outsider (extraplanar) This horrific humanoid is bristling with horns, claws and spines. It has four long arms, each of which end in six clawed fingers, and its shoulders are massive to support that bulk. It has four large horns, two growing up and back from its forehead and two growing down and to the sides from its cheeks. Its jaws are filled with needle-like teeth, and its cheeks open like tooth-studded mandibles. It walks on its toes, spines growing from its knees and elbows, and a thin lashing tail grows from its spine.

As Norgorber has multiple aspects and identities, so too do his heralds. The Stabbing Beast is Norgorber’s most familiar herald as he serves the cult of the Gray Master, Norgorber’s most public face. Those who serve Father Skinsaw hold Durge as his chosen servitor. Durge is a title and a shape, not a name: there have been multiple Durges over the ages, most of them created when the previous Durge was slain by a follower of Norgorber in order to prove their superior skill at killing. If a Durge is not replaced in this manner, Father Skinsaw creates a new one by testing his faithful, seeing which of his most loyal worshipers will kill their own family, lovers or allies in order to prove themselves.

Durge is a whirlwind of violence, tearing opponents apart with an array of natural weapons. When stalking prey, it first marks a particular victim to focus on, rendering them magically vulnerable to its attacks. Durge often opens combat with a tacking charge, goring its marked victim and knocking them to the ground. Durge’s roar can not only frighten foes, but sprays shards of bone and teeth that inflict deep, bleeding wounds. Durge is especially good at killing bleeding targets, either tearing them apart with critical strikes or pulling the life from them and into itself. If Durge is pleased with the fight put up by a victim, it will resurrect them as a bloody bones, who serves a brief apprenticeship of murder before being allowed to go their own way and kill as they see fit.

Durge’s lair is in Duskfathom, the undercity of Axis and divine realm of Norgorber. As befits the herald of Father Skinsaw, Durge believes that every murder is part of a greater plan, and that by carefully selecting who dies violently and when, the whole rhythm of the cosmos will be tuned towards greater evil and cruelty. Durge is only interested in acting as a greater planar ally if violence is on hand, and refuses to accept tasks that do not entail killing. Durge keeps a running tally of its kills, considering itself in a competition with both other powers of violence and with its previous incarnations. The Stabbing Beast considers this obsession with kill-count to be somewhat childish, but still indulges his fellow herald by keeping track as well.

Durge CR 15 XP 51,200 NE Large outsider (evil, extraplanar) Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +22, see in darkness, see invisibility Defense AC 30, touch 16, flat-footed 23 (-1 size, +6 Dex, +1 dodge, +14 natural) hp 225 (18d10+126) Fort +13, Ref +17, Will +16 DR 10/good and magic; Immune fear,paralysis, petrifaction, poison, stun; Resist acid 10, cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10; SR 26 Offense Speed 40 ft. Melee 4 claws +24 (1d4+7/19-20), bite +24 (1d6+7), gore +24 (1d6+7) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks bloodbath, create spawn, malignant wounds, marked for death, open the wound, piercing growl, powerful charge (gore, 2d6+14 plus trip), tripping charge Statistics Str 24, Dex 22, Con 25, Int 15, Wis 16, Cha 17 Base Atk +18; CMB +24; CMD 41 Feats Bleeding Critical, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Dodge, Improved Critical (claw), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Mobility, Power Attack Skills Acrobatics +25 (+29 jumping), Climb +24, Escape Artist +25, Intimidate +21, Knowledge (local) +18, Knowledge (religion) +21, Perception +22, Stealth +25, Survival +22 SQ tight fit Ecology Environment any land or underground (Axis) Organization unique Treasure standard Special Abilities Bloodbath (Su) As a standard action at will, Durge can attempt to drain the blood from a creature within 30 feet into itself. The target creature must be suffering from the bleed condition. If it fails a DC 22 Fortitude save, the creature takes 5d8 points of damage, and Durge heals the same amount. The save DC is Charisma based. Create Spawn (Su) As a standard action, Durge can cause the corpse of a humanoid or native outsider he has slain to rise as a bloody bones under his control. This bloody bones remains under Durge’s control for 24 hours, during which time it cannot use any of its spell-like abilities. After this time, the bloody bones becomes free-willed, but begins with an initial attitude of friendly towards Durge. Durge can use this ability three times per day and must be within 30 feet of a corpse to animate it in this manner. Malignant Wounds (Su) Any bleed effects created by Durge do not stop when the creature receives magical healing unless the caster succeeds a caster level check against Durge’s spell resistance. For mundane healing such as a Heal check, fast healing or regeneration, the bleeding creature must succeed a DC 26 Fortitude save in order for the healing to be a success. The save DC is Constitution based. Marked For Death (Su) As a move action, Durge can attempt to mark a target within 120 feet that it can see. If the target fails a DC 22 Will save, it is treated as flat-footed by Durge and suffers a -2 penalty on all saving throws made against spells or effects generated by Durge. This condition lasts until Durge marks another opponent or until Durge or the marked opponent are slain. Open the Wound (Ex) Durge doubles its critical threat range for all natural weapons against bleeding opponents. Piercing Growl (Su) As a standard action once every 1d4 rounds, Durge can roar, spraying teeth in a 15 foot cone. All creatures in the area take 4d6 points of piercing damage and 2d6 bleed (Ref DC 26 halves both the base damage and the bleed damage). All creatures in the area must also succeed a DC 22 Will save or be shaken for 1 minute. The save DC for the damage is Constitution based, and the save DC for the fear effect is Charisma based. Tight Fit (Ex) Durge only suffers a -2 penalty to attack rolls and AC when squeezing, and does not suffer any penalties to movement speed. When moving through an even tighter space with Escape Artist, Durge can still make melee attacks, albeit at a -4 penalty. Tripping Charge (Ex) When Durge uses its powerful charge ability, it can make a CMB check to trip an opponent as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity if it hits with its gore attack.

#pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #d&d #durge #divine herald #baldur's gate 3 #slayer of bhaal #dnd #extraplanar outsider #sponsored post

Paphos

"Umbra" © Austin Mengler, accessed at his deviantArt here

[Sponsored by @coolclaytony, and I gotta say, thank you. Their concept, a risen kyton that acts as a fairy godmother for body image, fits perfectly into the themes that have been running through my writing for more than ten years now. A creature that can sculpt your body to order and wants to do that to help people is pure wish fulfillment to a trans girl like me, and I'm sure to a lot of other people as well. The name is thematic to both bodily transformation and wish fulfillment: Paphos is the daughter of Pygmalion and Galatea (although she's not called Galatea yet) in Ovid's Metamorphoses.

The CR was chosen for play purposes; in my experience, high single digit levels are when players start to look at their characters and think, maybe I should have built them differently. So the paphos acts as a way to have a character respec in an in-universe way. Plus, they're at a good level to shift from "this character can save our asses if we get in over our heads" at lower levels and "they can generally take care of themselves but still might need to be rescued from a powerful enemy" at higher levels.

If you'd like to sponsor your own Codex entries, see bonus monsters, or just chip in and help a girl out, visit the Creature Codex Patreon here!]

Paphos CR 8 LN Outsider (extraplanar) This woman has a beautiful face and idealized proportions, but her arms are mechanical, a riot of hooks, blades, pinchers and tendrils. She wears a tight fitting robe seemingly made out of darkness.

A paphos is a patron of body image and autonomy, a surgeon that can sculpt flesh like marble and uses this power to make people’s dreams come true. They are an example of a risen fiend; paphoi come from the ranks of the kytons. Most paphoi were once kyton evangelists, those who delighted in the freedom of using their bodies as a canvas and wanting to grant that ability to others without imposing their ideas or suffering on the target. Strangely, a few paphoi were once anatomical idols, demonstrating that those constructs’ belief that they can make themselves into full outsiders is true, but not in a way their kyton masters would appreciate. Unsurprisingly, true kytons despise paphoi, and the feeling is mutual. Most paphoi live somewhat secretive lives to avoid attracting kyton attention, and many of them have left the Shadow Plane for safer domains such as Axis or the Material Plane.

Paphoi believe strongly in medical consent, and anyone seeking out their services is informed of the costs and consequences ahead of time. A paphos can perform plastic surgery that makes mortal surgeons mad with envy, being able to completely change a face, alter a subject’s gender expression to order, and even grant creatures hair, eye or skin colors far outside the norm for their species. If given more time, a paphos can even alter a subject’s body and brain to make them smarter, stronger, faster or more charming. These alterations do come at a cost, but one negotiated ahead of time: physical strength for less dexterity, trading charisma for book smarts, or the like. Paphoi can sculpt their own faces and bodies much more easily, and may do so to demonstrate a possible look to a client or simply for aesthetic purposes.

Most paphos avoid combat if they can help it, but will fight to defend themselves or against an enemy of bodily autonomy. They are advocates for ethical fleshwarping practices and oppose those who force their will upon the bodies of others, including drow, zern and the cult of Zepar. The arms of a paphos are fully mechanical, and can compress down to dexterous hands for delicate surgery or expand into nightmarish oversized claws. A paphos can alter these claws to their liking as well, granting them weapon properties to suit their needs. Against angry mobs convinced a paphos is “tampering in God’s domain”, they may use disarming, tripping or nonlethal weapons to keep their enemies alive through a fight. If fighting evil fleshwarpers, on the other hand, a paphos fights to kill.

Paphos CR 8 XP 4,800 LN Medium outsider (extraplanar, lawful) Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +16 Defense AC 22, touch 19, flat-footed 16 (+5 Dex, +1 dodge, +3 natural, +3 deflection) hp 95 (10d10+40); regeneration 2 (chaotic or silver) Fort +11, Ref +12, Will +8 DR 10/chaotic or silver; Immune cold; SR 19 (25 vs. divination) Defensive Abilities cloak of shadow Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee 2 claws +14 (2d8+4/x3) Special Attacks reconfigure armament Statistics Str 19, Dex 21, Con 18, Int 15, Wis 16, Cha 16 Base Atk +10; CMB +14 (+16 trip); CMD 30 (32 vs. trip) Feats Combat Expertise, Dodge, Fleshwarper (B), Healer’s Hands, Improved Trip, Iron Will Skills Acrobatics +14, Craft (alchemy) +15, Diplomacy +11, Disguise +7 (+17 when using sculpt flesh), Escape Artist +14, Heal +19, Knowledge (planes) +15, Perception +16, Sense Motive +16, Stealth +14; Racial Modifiers +10 Disguise when using sculpt flesh, +4 Heal Languages Common, Infernal, Shadowtongue SQ redistribute gifts, sculpt flesh Ecology Environment any land (Plane of Shadow) Organization solitary or clinic (2-4) Treasure standard Special Abilities Cloak of Shadow (Su) A paphos is wrapped in shadow that grants it a deflection bonus to Armor Class and CMD equal to its Charisma bonus, as well as the benefits of a nondetection spell (CL 10th). The paphos loses this benefit in natural sunlight. Reconfigure Armament (Ex) As a move action, a paphos can alter its claws to grant it the blocking, brace, disarm, nonlethal, reach or trip weapon qualities, or to grant its claws a critical threat range of 19-20 or a critical multiplier of x3. A paphos can only have one of these abilities at a time. The paphos above is using a x3 modifier to critical hit damage. In addition, as a move action, a paphos can alter its claws to appear and function as human hands, or to revert them to their more monstrous appearance. Redistribute Gifts (Su) A paphos can grant a willing or helpless creature an inherent bonus to an ability score at the cost of permanently reducing another ability score. This requires a surgical procedure that lasts for 2 hours per ability point transferred in this way. A paphos can transfer up to four points from one ability score to another—it cannot transfer points from multiple abilities to one ability, or reduce a single ability to improve multiple abilities at the same time. An ability score cannot be reduced below 3 by this ability. Each time a creature is subject to the redistribute gifts procedure, it takes 1 permanent negative level, plus one additional permanent negative level for each previous time it has undergone the procedure. Ability points gained or lost in this way cannot be changed back without a miracle or wish spell, or another use of redistribute gifts. Sculpt Flesh (Su) A paphos can alter the appearance of a willing or helpless creature through a surgical procedure that takes 2 hours. The paphos can adjust a creature’s height and weight within the standard range for creatures of the subject’s type and size category, adjust the creature’s gender, physical traits (such as nose size, fingernail length and foot shape), and pigmentation (including hair, eye and skin color). Pigmentation adjustments can be outside the natural variation for the species. A paphos can use sculpt flesh to alter the apparent age of a creature anywhere in the spectrum of young adult to venerable, but these changes do not alter the creature’s ability scores or its natural life span. A creature subject to sculpt flesh takes 2 points of Constitution damage from the procedure. These changes are permanent unless reversed with a limited wish, miracle or wish spell, or another use of sculpt flesh. A paphos gains a +10 racial bonus on Disguise checks made to sculpt a creature’s flesh into a copy of another creature’s appearance. A paphos can use sculpt flesh on itself with 1 minute of work, and does not take Constitution damage when using this ability on itself.

#pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #paphos #kyton #transformation #extraplanar outsider #sponsored post #monster girl #pygmalion

Siktempora, Anguish

[This is pretty close to the facial expression I made when I read that Archives of Nethys was losing their Pathfinder license. So I made sure to save pictures from all of the monsters in Monster Core 1 and 2 that I was planning to retroconvert. The anguished flame was among them, so a search brought up this siktempora, who I didn't know existed. I'm a fan of the siktemporas and have done retroconversions of all of the ones that were written for 2e only. I wrote those at a pretty rough time; around the time my students bullied me so badly I had a class reassigned, and the triumph siktempora got me harangued by a tumblr user who disagreed with my design decisions. Here's hoping that was a fluke, and I get out of the anguish siktempora without any more anguish.

One of my sources of periodic anguish is that I've been unemployed for more than a year. If you'd like to help make that a little less frightening, please join the Creature Codex Patreon here]

Siktempora, Anguish CR 13 CE Outsider (extraplanar) This creature resembles a malformed, oversized human head, its eyes rolling and its mouth filled with multiple rows of shark-like teeth. Dangling beneath its body are four insectile legs, each ending in a large hook.

Powerful emotions have a tendency to accumulate in the eddies and pools of the Dimension of Time, accruing until they manifest into living embodiments of strong emotions—the siktemporas. Anguish siktemporas are created from the pain and despair of mortals, and tend to gravitate toward areas where such emotions are commonplace. They are less common than the similar misery siktemporas, and the two lineages clash when they overlap, fighting over territory and emotions in an attempt to slake their endless thirst for pain and grief. Anguish siktemporas are stronger and more clever, but rarer and less likely to travel in groups, so the amount of misery siktemporas present often determines the outcome of these battles.

Anguish siktemporas are often called living screams; they cannot speak, but instead wail and moan constantly unless attempting stealth. They sometimes engage in telepathic communication while crying out in anguish, leading to discordant and frightening interactions. They can magnify these screams to the point of causing physical and mental damage, and when they bite down on a foe scream into their flesh to shake it apart. They are slow on the ground, moving with flailing legs more suited to tearing meat than movement, but can fly magically, drifting like sinister balloons. Anguish siktemporas can hit frightened foes harder and more accurately, and prefer to focus their attacks on those who succumb to their fear effects first.

Anguish Siktempora CR 13 XP 25,600 CE Medium outsider (chaotic, evil, extraplanar, siktempora) Init +16; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +27 Defense AC 27, touch 23, flat-footed 21 (+5 Dex, +1 dodge, +7 insight, +4 natural) hp 178 (17d10+85); fast healing 10 Fort +12, Ref +15, Will +17 DR 10/good or orichalcum; Immune disease, emotion effects, pain, poison Defensive Abilities temporal sense Offense Speed 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (good) Melee bite +24 (2d6+6/19-20 plus 2d6 sonic), 2 claws +23 (1d8+6) Special Attacks foster fear, rend (2 claws, 1d8+9), scream of despair, uncanny snap, wracking despair Spell-like Abilities CL 13th, concentration +17 At will—temporal jaunt3/day—displacementStatistics Str 23, Dex 21, Con 20, Int 21, Wis 24, Cha 20 Base Atk +17; CMB +25; CMD 41 (45 vs. trip) Feats Dazzling Display, Dodge,Flyby Attack, Great Fortitude, Improved Critical (bite), Lunge, Mobility, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (bite) Skills Acrobatics +25, Bluff +25, Escape Artist +25, Fly +29, Intimidate +25, Knowledge (arcana, history, local) +22, Knowledge (planes) +25, Perception +27, Stealth +25 Languages Aklo (cannot speak), telepathy 300 ft. Ecology Environment any land or underground (Dimension of Time) Organization solitary or pair Treasure standard Special Abilities Flight (Su) The flight of an anguish siktempora is a supernatural ability. Foster Fear (Ex) An anguish siktempora treats all creatures suffering from a fear effect as if they were flat-footed. Scream of Despair (Su) As a standard action, an anguish siktempora can wail horribly. All creatures in a 30 foot radius must succeed a DC 23 Will save or take 12d6 damage, half of which is psychic and half of which is sonic, and be frightened for 1d4+1 rounds. On a successful save, the creature takes half damage and is shaken for 1 round. An anguish siktempora can use this ability at will, but must wait 1d4 rounds between uses. The save DC is Charisma based. Temporal Jaunt (Sp) As a standard action, an anguish siktempora can vanish into the time stream, reappearing in another location. This ability functions as dimension door (so a typical anguish siktempora can jaunt up to 920 feet), but the siktempora can take other actions that round after reappearing, and the destination must be in a location the siktempora could reach normally by walking or flying. Temporal jaunts are not true teleportation—the siktempora simply travels to a later point in the time stream—so the ability can be used in areas that bar teleportation effects; however, in such areas a siktempora can travel only a distance equal to its speed. Temporal Sense (Ex) A siktempora can sense all the possible futures of the coming seconds. This grants it an insight bonus on its Initiative checks and to its Armor Class equal to its Wisdom bonus (+7 for the typical anguish siktemporas). Uncanny Snap (Su) When it rolls initiative, an anguish siktempora can move up to its speed and make a single bite attack as an immediate action. It can make this attack before or after it moves. Wracking Despair (Su) As a move action, an anguish siktempora can magnify the pain of a creature suffering from a fear effect within the range of its telepathy, dealing 6d6 points of psychic damage (Will DC 23 half). This is an emotion effect, and the save DC is Charisma based.

#pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #pathfinder 2e #anguish siktempora #siktempora #living scream #extraplanar outsider

Asura, Amnosahura

[Sponsored by @crazytrain48, based on the idea of an asura created from a divine beast rejected. Which got me thinking, and ended up with probably the most blasphemous monster in the Codex. I would like to think it's blasphemous from an informed place. The Book of Revelation is a mad, bitter work, fantasizing about all of the torments a sinful world has invited upon itself and rooted in the idea that the sacrifice of Jesus was a fundamental step in destroying the world and starting fresh in heaven for the elect. Modern Evangelical Christianity, and its obsession with Revelation in particular, is quite literally an existential threat to democracy, peace and the stability of the biosphere. So what better way to represent sacrifice curdled and corrupted than with a lamb? The imagery from Revelation is already nightmarish enough.

Interested in sponsoring your own monsters? Wanna support the Codex? Consider subscribing to my Patreon!]

Asura, Amnosahura CR 9 LE Outsider (extraplanar) This creature resembles a sheep with seven horns and seven eyes. Its white fleece is stained with blood, but still it smiles.

Once, a long time ago, a god made the perfect beast. It was intended to solve all of his worshipers’ problems, be their salvation, usher in a promised age. But the people for whom the beast was intended saw only its flaws and so slew the beast, not as a sacrifice but as a mockery. In some versions of the story, mortals made the beast instead as a tribute for their god, but the god smote it instead of accepting it, rejecting it for its imperfections. Either way the story starts, it ends the same way: the divine beast returned to life and, enraged by its ill treatment, turned its back on gods and mortals both, vowing to forever drive a wedge between them. This was the first amnosahura.

Unlike most other asuras, which seek to destroy divine works through direct violence, amnoshuras are more subtle. Through their words and deeds, they erode the meaning of sacrifice. An amnosahura may convince people to behave selfishly because sacrificing to either the gods or to fellow men is wasteful and foolish, or convince them to sacrifice everything, including morals and ethics, to the cause of an unworthy pretender. They are especially fond of needling divine beasts such as lammasu, shedu and kirin, showing them the venality of mortals and the indifference of gods, and sowing doubts about whether their service to either is worth the cost. Perhaps most dangerous are the amnosahura who act as facilitators for the cult of an asura rana. These amnosahura pose as intercessors between mortals and divinity, accepting a one-time sacrifice of blood and pain in exchange for giving their servitors carte blanche to indulge all their wicked impulses.

An amnosahura would rather talk than fight, but nevertheless is a dangerous combatant. Their many-eyed stare is deeply unnerving, and they can focus it into a single target to make them feel excruciating agony. Once they have debilitated the most dangerous looking enemy, they charge into the weaker ones, goring with their horns and leaving deep bleeding wounds. Amnosahuras work well in support roles, granting allied asuras support while sapping their foes’ combat abilities. Amnosahuras typically fight to the death, perhaps as a reminder of their origins as a sacrificial lamb.

Different amnosahuras bear different wounds—slit throats, pierced limbs, scourge marks on the back, and so forth—all of which drip with fresh blood. This blood serves them as a healing balm: if their regeneration is stopped through the application of good-aligned spells or weapons, the bleeding ceases.

Asura, Amnosahura CR 9 XP 6,400 LE Medium outsider (asura, evil, extraplanar, lawful) Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect good, Perception +20, see invisibility Aura nondetection (60 ft) Defense AC 23, touch 14, flat-footed 19 (+4 Dex, +9 natural) hp 102 (12d10+36); regeneration 3 (good) Fort +11, Ref +8, Will +12; +2 vs. enchantment DR 10/good; Immune curses, disease, poison; Resist acid 10, electricity 10; SR 20 Defensive Abilities ferocity Offense Speed 40 ft. Melee gore +16 (2d6+4 plus bleed), 2 hooves +11 (1d4+2) Special Attacks agonize, bleed (1d6), gaze, powerful charge (gore, 4d6+8) Spell-like Abilities CL 9th, concentration +12 Constant—detect good, glibness, see invisibility At will—aid, castigate (DC 15), inflict pain (DC 15) 3/day—blood armor, blood of the martyr (DC 15), waves of blood (DC 16) 1/day—harm (DC 19), heal (DC 19), mass inflict pain(DC 19) Statistics Str 18, Dex 19, Con 17, Int 15, Wis 14, Cha 17 Base Atk +12; CMB +16 (+18 bull rush); CMD 30 (32 vs. bull rush, 34 vs. trip) Feats Bull Rush Strike, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (gore), Iron Will, Nimble Moves, Power Attack Skills Acrobatics +19 (+23 jumping), Bluff +18 (+38 to convince), Diplomacy +18, Escape Artist +14, Intimidate +18, Knowledge (religion) +17, Perception +20, Sense Motive +17, Stealth +19; Racial Modifiers +6 Escape Artist, +4 Perception Languages Common, Infernal, telepathy 100 ft. Ecology Environment any land (Hell) Organization solitary or ritual (2-5) Treasure standard Special Abilities Agonize (Su) As a standard action, an amnosahura can fill a creature within 30 feet with excruciating pain. On a successful DC 19 Fortitude save, the creature is merely staggered for one round. On a failed save, it falls prone and is stunned for 12 rounds; it may attempt a Fortitude save every round to shake off the effect. A creature that succeeds its saving throw is immune to the agonize of that amnosahura for the next 24 hours. This is a pain effect and the save DC is Charisma based. Gaze (Su) Range 30 ft; effect shaken 1d4 rounds; save Will DC 19. Additional failed saves against this gaze extend the duration, but do not increase the level of fear. The save DC is Charisma based.

#pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #asura #amnosahura #extraplanar outsider #sponsored posts #holy holy holy is the lamb our god