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Dune Stalker

Image by Raven Mimura, © Wizards of the Coast

[The AD&D Fiend Folio has two monsters, the dune stalker and the phantom stalker, that serve as Earth and Fire counterparts to the Monster Manual's invisible stalker. Why there isn't a water equivalent, I am not sure. Maybe there was one that was cut during development, or the authors considered the water weird to fill that niche. I've already done my take on the phantom stalker a long time ago with the scorching hunter, but never got around to the dune stalker. Until now. All three D&D versions of the dune stalker have a save or die effect, which is probably why it hasn't gotten an update since the 3.0 Monster Manual II. I've "softened" it to merely doing more hp damage than usual for its CR, stretched out over a few rounds in order to maximize tension while also increasing the likelihood for a character to get saved.

Speaking of maximizing tension, I've been unemployed for a year and my writing is my main source of income. Help save me by donating at the Creature Codex Patreon here]

Dune Stalker CR 9 NE Outsider (elemental) This hulking humanoid creature has a large, roughly triangular head with a leering face, broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Its skin is a rusty red hue and sandy texture. Its arms are long and muscular, the bony clawed fingers nearly touching the ground.

Dune stalkers are malevolent creatures of Earth that are consummate trackers and masters of sonic vibrations. Their own name for themselves is “katalofon”. They despise cold and moisture, and often dwell in areas where elemental earth and fire overlap. Katalofons are favored by Ayrzul and are used by the Fossilized King as spies and assassins, roaming far from the Blistering Labyrinth to collect intelligence and strike down his enemies. Their skill at tracking is such that mortal spellcasters often summon them to hunt down their own enemies. Dune stalkers resent being summoned and are uncommunicative around mortals, leading to rumors that they cannot speak.

Given their skill at tracking, a dune stalker will often follow a party at a distance for hours or days, spying on them in order to learn about their strengths and weaknesses. They attack from ambush, using their skill at climbing and leaping to set up in an inaccessible spot. From their ambuscade, they fire bolts of sonic energy from their mouths. When opponents close the gap into melee, or if they try to flee, the katalofon gets close, grabbing their target and pressing their faces together in what’s called the “kiss of death”. The kiss of death is lethal sonic vibrations that reverberate through a victim’s hard tissues, killing them by shattering their skeletons. After setting up one kiss of death, a dune stalker will often drop the suffering victim and attempt to give a kiss of death to another enemy. If summoned to perform a task, or if working for the will of Ayrzul, dune stalkers fight to the death. If engaged in cruelty for their own amusement, they flee when badly injured.

Dune stalkers stand between six and seven feet tall fully upright, but find stooped postures more comfortable.

Dune Stalker CR 9 XP 6,400 NE Medium outsider (earth, extraplanar) Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +21 Defense AC 23, touch 15, flat-footed 18 (+4 Dex, +1 dodge, +8 natural) hp 114 (12d10+48) Fort +11, Ref +8, Will +10 DR 10/magic; Immune elemental traits, fire; SR 20 Offense Speed 40 ft., climb 20 ft. Melee 2 claws +15 (1d8+3 plus grab) Ranged sonic pulse +16 touch (4d6 sonic) Special Attacks kiss of death Statistics Str 17, Dex 19, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 16 Base Atk +12; CMB +15; CMD 30 Feats Dodge, Improved Initiative, Mobility, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Toughness Skills Acrobatics +23 (+27 jumping), Climb +26, Intimidate +18, Perception +17, Sense Motive +17, Stealth +19, Survival +21; Racial Modifiers +4 Acrobatics, +4 Survival Languages Common, Terran SQ desert walker, improved tracking Ecology Environment warm and temperate deserts (Plane of Earth, Plane of Fire) Organization solitary or squad (2-6) Treasure standard Special Abilities Desert Walker (Ex) A dune stalker ignores difficult terrain from rubble, sand or other natural desert terrain features. Improved Tracking (Ex) A dune stalker takes no penalty to Survival checks when tracking and moving at any speed. Kiss of Death (Su) A dune stalker can make a melee touch attack against a creature it is grappling as part of the action to maintain the grapple. If it hits, the creature takes 3d6 sonic damage and is stunned for 1 round. A successful DC 19 Fortitude save halves the damage and negates the stunning. Regardless of whether the save succeeds or fails, the creature is affected for the next 2 rounds, taking 6d6 points of sonic damage and stunned for 1 round on the second round, and 9d6 sonic damage and stunned for 1 round on the third round. A successful DC 19 Fortitude save each round halves the damage and negates the stunned condition for that round. A creature cannot be under the effect of multiple kisses of death from the same dune stalker at the same time. Although the effect cannot be dispelled, it ceases in the area of a silence spell. The save DC is Constitution based. Sonic Pulse (Su) As a standard action at will, a dune stalker can fire a beam of sonic energy as a ranged touch attack at a range of 100 feet. A creature or object struck takes 4d6 points of sonic damage (no save).

#pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #d&d #dnd #dune stalker #katalofon #elemental #earth elemental

Conspirator Dragon

Image © Paizo Publishing

[This is something of an experiment in a number of different ways. Firstly, this is the first true dragon I'm converting of my own initiative, instead of being sponsored to do it. Secondly, I am trying to encourage more people to subscribe to the Patreon at the $1 tier. I have almost twice as many free subscribers as I have paid ones, and while I want to keep the bulk of my monsters paywall free, perhaps having multiple dragon stat blocks will entice some folks to upgrade. So this is only the adult stat block, and the example stat blocks for the young and ancient dragons will be at the $1 tier for now. I do intend on eventually releasing paid monsters on the blog for free, but it will be at a delay.

As for the monster itself... with Pathfinder 2e Remastered shaking off the last scraps of the SRD, that meant that it lost the classic D&D chromatic and metallic dragons. Which on the one hand is a shame, because they're so iconic, but on the other hand, Pathfinder had been using its own original dragons more and more, and this shift encouraged them to create more original dragons. And I do mean "original". The conspirator dragon is a take on the "dragons are manipulating humanoid society" trope that D&D loves, only going in a weird body horror adjacent direction. PF2e Remastered lacks explicit alignments, but due to the conspirator dragon's super manipulative nature, I went with NE. I figure that these Remastered dragons are all less tied to their alignments than the classic ten, so feel even more free than usual to shift the conspirator dragon's alignment to the needs of your game. I'm using poison for the breath weapon because that's the way it is in the original. If you dislike poison dealing hp damage, change it to acid.

If you'd like to see stat blocks for young and ancient conspirator dragons, as well as other exclusive content, please visit the Creature Codex Patreon here]

Dragon, Conspirator NE Dragon (CR varies) This dragon is lean and wrinkled, as if its skin is designed to expand and contract. It has slim forelimbs with delicate clawed hands and walks upright. Its wings are more like enlarged hands, with claws protruding from the membrane. Its tail is long and worm-like, and fleshy tendrils emerge from its back. Strangest and most disturbing is the outline of a humanoid face on the upper surface of its head.

Conspirator dragons are sinister creatures with occult powers and a compulsion to manipulate the affairs of civilizations. They insinuate themselves into society in one or more humanoid guises and bending the will of the people around their own. Sometimes this is for the purpose of gaining wealth and power, but other times it is merely for the dragon’s entertainment. Most conspirator dragons become nobles, courtiers and others with access to privilege, but some pose instead as powerful warlords and allow humanoids to believe they’re in control rather than the other way around. Conspirator dragons are patient and subtle, but when their schemes are threatened, move quickly to crush their opposition and remove any evidence of their draconic nature.

From birth, a conspirator dragon can weave a flesh suit, conjured from ectoplasm and wrapping around itself in an impossibly perfect simulacrum of humanity. As wyrmlings, conspirator dragons disguise themselves as humanoid infants, taking on larger forms and more proactive roles as they age. Elder conspirator dragons sometimes masquerade as giants, especially if they seek physical conquest, but more often they maintain disguises of Medium size even as they grow much larger. A conspirator dragon’s musculature is designed to fold and deflate, with biological straps and latches that help hold their forms tight. The strain of condensing into a flesh suit is released as dangerous force if the suit is destroyed through violence or if the dragon chooses to.

The breath of a conspirator dragon is a cone of toxic smoke—the toxin denatures quickly, leaving swathes of necrotic tissue in its wake, but the smoke lingers and provides useful concealment for a quick escape or hit and run attacks. Even an infant conspirator dragon can generate deadly psychic vibrations at a distance, which they can use whether in their natural or disguised forms. As they age, conspirator dragons gain access to potent mind-influencing magic, and by adulthood a conspirator dragon often surrounds itself with charmed minions to do most of the fighting for it. Elder conspirator dragons become a mental blank spot, automatically passing from the memories of most creatures who encounter them in their natural form.

Conspirator dragons see themselves as above mere mortals, and speak in condescending tones when not in character. They are typically quite charming and persuasive, but rarely if ever afford themselves actual fondness towards any of their pawns. Their treasure hoards include as many secrets and extortion materials as they do physical treasures, such as copies of letters and evidence of crimes. Conspirator dragons usually live in cities, but may keep a lair in the wilderness nearby in order to stretch out into their draconic forms and relax.

Instructions for how to build a conspirator dragon, as well as the statistics for an adult conspirator dragon, are below the cut.

#pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #dragon #conspirator dragon #pathfinder 2e #body horror #patreon

Chromacorn

"Purifying Power" by Edgar Sánchez Hidalgo, © Blizzard Entertainment Inc. Accessed at the artist's ArtStation here

[Sponsored by @thetygre, who wanted a modern meme unicorn as a counterpoint to the exalted unicorn. The instructions were to make them player facing, which inspired me to give them some flexibility in how they could be used in a party. Some of the sources I drew inspiration from include Uni from the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, the Gravity Falls episode "The Last Mablecorn", and Donkey from Shrek.

If you'd like to be the unicorn investor who funds my great work, or just chip in a few bucks to help out, please visit the Creature Codex Patreon here]

Chromacorn CR 2 N Magical Beast This undersized equine has a proportionately large head and short legs. Its mane and tail are luxurious and rainbow-hued, and a gleaming metallic horn grows from its head.

Chromacorns are small, magically gifted kin to unicorns, embodying joy and whimsy. They like bright colors, sweet flavors, sparkles and rainbows, and can generate them through illusions if none are to be found in their immediate environment. Chromacorns vary in alignment as people do, but no matter their alignment have child-like personalities. Chromacorns universally consider adventuring to be fun and fascinating. Unlike ordinary unicorns, which are reclusive and distant towards mortals, chromacorns often seek people out, trying to find a kindred spirit to befriend and join on their adventures. Unfortunately, chromacorns lack the ability to detect alignment or to take no for an answer, leading them sometimes to bad ends and sometimes to deeply irritate those they hope to impress.

Most chromacorns do not seek out combat, although evil ones will occasionally pick fights they think they can win, especially if they are accompanied by a party of adventurers. Their horns are magic and can deal considerable damage on a charge. Chromacorns use their spell-like abilities to defend themselves, distracting enemies with illusions or stunning them with a color spray. A chromacorn can teleport, leaving a dazzling rainbow in the path between its starting point and its destination, but whether that is used to dive headlong into combat or to escape it depends on the chromacorn’s personality.

A chromacorn can be taken as a familiar by a character with the Improved Familiar feat. The character must be at least 7th level and have an alignment within one step of the chromacorn’s alignment. They may also join adventuring parties as a cohort (counting as a 6th level character for that purpose). Chromacorn cohorts often take levels in bard, sorcerer or oracle, or may take the giant template once instead of a level, willing themselves to become big enough to ride.

#pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #magical beast #chromacorn #unicorn #sponsored post

Needlefolk

Image by Tony DiTerlizzi, © Wizards of the Coast. Accessed at the Great Library of Greyhawk here

[The needleman is one of those monsters that's never the same twice. The original was a White Dwarf creation, the result of a botched raise dead spell incorporating the pine needles a corpse was laid on and fusing them into the resultant creature. Which makes you wonder why this happens so often that you could get encounter groups of up to 50 of them. It lost this origin in the 1e Fiend Folio, but retained its zombie-like appearance. 2e gave them an attempt at a realistic ecology, although it made them explicitly deciduous; they change color and go dormant in the winter, because the author I think didn't make the connection between needles and pine trees. 3e kept that flavor, but Tony DiTerlizzi provided the best illustration yet; its stick insect-like appearance foreshadows the look of the sprites in the Spiderwick books. And in 5e, they got updated as the "needle blight", becoming evil for the first time but losing their enmity with elves.

This version is picking and choosing bits I like best from all of the previous versions, but putting a new spin on why they don't really have a society, just hanging out in the forest despite being intelligent. Making them workers for a single tree also turns them into something of a spin on the orcwort, a monster that appears a couple pages later in the 3.0 Monster Manual 2. That's a giant carnivorous tree that grows vegetable orcs, "wortlings", to gather food for it. The orcwort doesn't really work well, because the orcwort is a CR 20 and its wortlings are CR 3, and D&D 3.x is the worst edition to do a "powerful boss with lots of weak minions" battle in. I avoid that problem by keeping the needlefolk's tree out of combat. It's just a tree.

If you don't mind me needling you a bit, check out the Creature Codex Patreon.]

Needlefolk CR 2 N Plant This bipedal creature resembles a humanoid insect made of plant material. Its head is small, featuring mandibles and eyestalks, and its long neck and shoulders are covered in sharp pine needles. Its limbs are spindly, ending in thorny claws.

Needlefolk are sapient carnivorous plants native to coniferous forests. They can perform photosynthesis, but cannot root in soil, and so occasionally feed on small animals to gain nitrogen and other minerals. They hunt birds, squirrels and other game by firing clusters of needles from their shoulders, which also serve to protect them from large herbivores that don’t mind their meals moving around. Needlefolk quite literally grow on trees; some magical confiers can grow needlefolk instead of the usual cones under periods of stress. The needlefolk protect the tree from loggers, beavers and other existential threats, tend to it to remove diseased wood or parasitic fungi, and carry its reproductive cones and plant them in environments where they’re likely to grow well. They do not especially care if other trees in the area are disturbed. If two needlefolk trees grow close to each other, their needlefolk will go to war, the winners eventually killing the losing tree to remove the competition.

Needlefolk are typically peaceful towards humanoids who leave their trees alone, but become violently agitated in the presence of elves. Needlefolk can sense the presence of elves at a remarkable distance, and when they do, recruit their fellows into armies to wage war. The incensed needlefolk will not hesitate to attack the companions of elves, but once all elves in the party are slain, retreat. The specificity of this ire raises questions as to its cause. The leading hypothesis is that some fey power granted trees the ability to grow needlefolk as a way to create a weapon against elves, but who holds this grudge and why is still a mystery.

#pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #needlefolk #needleman #dnd #d&d #tony diterlizzi #plant

Granite Glyptodont

Image © Paizo Publishing

[As I have said before, I like how Paizo replaced generic elementals with individual creatures with their own abilities. I do not like how little flavor text each of these gets, typically one or two sentences. So like with a number of these retro-conversions, I had to expand on a single sentence in order to give this a full niche for encounter building and personality.

If you'd like to support me as I approach my monster 2100, please join the Creature Codex Patreon here]

Granite Glyptodont CR 8 N Outsider (elemental) This bulky creature looks something like a rhinoceros-sized armadillo made of stone. It has a blunt, squared off muzzle, a high back, and a long tail ending in a slab of jagged rock.

Granite glyptodonts are a lineage of earth elemental that embodies the patience and stability of stone. Effectively immortal unless slain through violence, granite glyptodonts dwell near rock formations and mineral deposits of great beauty and watch them slowly build and erode naturally. They tolerate the presence of other creatures if they have come to observe respectfully, but any attempt to damage, destroy or alter the glyptodont’s chosen geological formation is met with violence. Although a granite glyptodont’s tail can crush flesh and shatter bone, it also petrifies them. A granite glyptodont takes moral satisfaction in demonstrating the patience of stone to mortal creatures first-hand, and those who free themselves from their stony state are allowed to leave peacefully if they show evidence of contrition. Those that cannot free themselves become part of the glyptodont’s statue garden, where their slow erosion can also be contemplated.

#pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #pathfinder 2e #granite glyptodont #elemental

Nindoru, Idja

Image © Paizo Publishing

[Sponsored by @justicegundam82. As with most of the nindoru I've done retroconversions for so far, a lot of the mechanical work was in paring down the power level to more suited for what Pathfinder 1e considers appropriate for the CR. The idja can reduce PC actions and confuse, so they're still pretty powerful even without a Strength of 22.

If you'd like to join justicegundam82 in sponsoring your own monsters, or if you just want to help out, please join the Creature Codex Patreon here]

Nindoru, Idja CR 6 CE Outsider (native) This creature resembles a rotting giant, with arms shattered and stretched until they move like tentacles. It wears a cape made of moldy straw, and holds a broken katana in its hands. The creature has no head, merely a wicker cage filled with blood-red butterflies affixed to the stump of its neck.

The idja are nindoru of forgetfulness, formed from the souls of those who reached enlightenment but renounced it in favor of the pleasures of the flesh. In their wracked form as nindoru, they have lost their heads entirely, their brains replaced with butterflies carrying fragments of the memories of their past lives and those of their victims. Idja consider their existence futile and unfair, intentionally losing themselves in their memories of fleeting pleasures day and night. As such, idja do not sleep, and are used by other nindoru as guardians and jailers.

The very presence of an idja causes memory lapses and forgetfulness, causing enemies to forget their tactics and purpose even in mid-battle. Their shattered arms are elastic and flexible, granting them superior reach even by comparison to other Large creatures. Idja favor weapons associated with high status, such as katanas, and like other nindoru can wield them easily no matter how rusted or broken they are. An idja can release its memory butterflies in combat, confusing enemies with glimpses of other lives. Although idjas are not very smart, they are tactically minded enough to coordinate attacks and spell-like abilities to eliminate one target at a time, all the better to shred their soul and create another nindoru to wallow in the same misery.

#pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #pathfinder 2e #sponsored post #nindoru #idja #native outsider

New PF1e Creature: Likhoradka, Ogneya

This conversion was short and sweet! I'm pretty satisfied with this critter, except for the swarm form ability. Please tell me if you think it's fine or if it should be toned down (or up). Other than that, enjoy!

Also, see here for general likhoradka traits.

LIKHORADKA, OGNEYA

Image (c) mimir.net, Ogneya

This grotesque hybrid between a bat and a mosquito has large bat-like ears, four spindly limbs ending in clawed hands, and bulging yellow eyes.

LIKHORADKA, OGNEYA CR 4

XP 1’200

NE Small Outsider (evil, extraplanar, likhoradka)

Init +4; Senses; darkvision 60 ft., scent; Perception +14

Aura debilitating aura, miasmatic presence (10 ft., bonecrusher fever, DC 14)

DEFENSE

AC 18, touch 15, flat-footed 14 (+4 Dex, +3 natural, +1 size)

hp 39 (6d10+6)

Fort +3, Ref +9, Will +6; -2 vs. gas

Damage Reduction 5 / good; Immune cold, disease, poison (except gaseous); Resist acid 10, electricity 10

Spell Resistance 15

Weakness gas vulnerability

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., fly 40 ft. (good)

Melee 2 claws +10 (1d3+1), bite +10 (1d4+1 plus 1 bleed)

Special Attacks bleed (1)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th, concentration +6)

At will - bleed (DC 10), detect magic

3/day - death knell (DC 12), itching curse (DC 11), ray of enfeeblement (DC 13)

1/day - debilitating pain (DC 13), invisibility

STATISTICS

Str 12, Dex 19, Con 13, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 10

Base Atk +5; CMB +5; CMD 19 (23 vs. trip)

Feats Combat Expertise, Flyby Attack, Weapon Finesse

Skills Bluff +9, Fly +18, Heal +9, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Knowledge (nature) +9, Knowledge (planes) +9, Perception +14, Stealth +16; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception

Languages Abyssal, Common, Infernal

Special Qualities swarm form

ECOLOGY

Environment any (Abaddon)

Organization solitary, pair, swarm (3-6) or infestation (7-12)

Treasure none

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Gas Vulnerability (Ex): An ogneya has a -2 racial penalty on saving throws against gas- or scent-based attacks (like a stinking cloud spell or a troglodyte’s stench). An ogneya’s immunity to poison does not apply to such attacks.

Miasmatic Presence (Su): An ogneya’s miasmatic presence causes bonebreaker fever in those who fail their saving throw.

Bonecrusher Fever: Miasmatic Presence – save Fort DC 14; onset immediate; frequency 1/day; effect 1d4 Dex damage; cure 2 consecutive saves

Swarm Form (Su): As a standard action, an ogneya can turn into a swarm of Diminutive biting mosquitoes. In this form, it assumes all the standard swarm traits and becomes immune to weapon damage. Its characteristics become: Armor Class 18, touch 18, flat-footed 14 (+4 Dex, +4 size); Speed 5 ft., fly 40 ft. (good); Melee swarm (2d6 plus distraction) and its Strength score falls to 1. Turning back into its standard form is a standard action for the ogneya. An ogneya can stay in swarm form for no longer than 6 consecutive rounds, and must wait one hour between uses of ths ability in order to use it again.

Among the likhorada, the ogneyas are creatures of sweltering heat, stagnant water, and exhausting fever. Their preferred hunting grounds are steaming jungles, marshes, river deltas, and overcrowded ports, where insects breed in abundance and exhausted laborers offer easy prey.

Unlike many fiends, ogneyas are neither patient conspirators nor grand strategists. They possess an almost childlike enthusiasm for spreading sickness, chattering excitedly as epidemics blossom around them. They compete with one another over whose fever can claim the most victims, and tales tell of whole swarms descending upon bustling harbor cities after hurricanes or floods, eager to turn natural disaster into widespread pestilence.

The one genuine vulnerability of the ogneya is poison gas. Smoke, toxic vapours, and noxious fumes all disrupt the swarm. It is the oldest protection against mosquitoes: light a smudge-fire, burn the right herbs, and the ogneya are repelled.

ELDER OGNEYA

While bonecrusher fever is their typical disease, a few ogneyas, more ancient than most of their kin, can spread different maladies. Suck ogneyas are stronger than their lesser kin, having the advanced simple templates, and spreading malaria with their miasmatic presence (save Fortitude DC 16; onset immediate; frequency 1/day; effect 1d3 Con damage and 1d3 Wis Damage; cure 2 consecutive saves).

#pathfinder rpg #pathfinder 1e #conversion #outsider #tw: body horror #likhoradka #cr 4 #tw: disease #dengue

Jermlaine

[Oh how the star of the jermlaine has fallen! These vicious little humanoids might be considered one of the breakout stars of the Fiend Folio, as they turned up in lots of AD&D Forgotten Realms adventures, got a two page spread in the 2e Monstrous Manual, and even got cover status on the AD&D DC comic:

But after a rather desultory appearance in 3e's Monster Manual 2 that stripped out most of their flavor text, the jermlaines all but vanished. I suspect it's because they got usurped by a core monster. The idea of a small weak monster that fights in droves, sets lots of traps, and uses sophisticated and unfair tactics got transferred to kobolds thanks to "Tucker's kobolds" in Dragon Magazine and adventures like Dragon Mountain and The Sunless Citadel. And since kobolds are pathetic in a cute way and jermlaines are just sort of gross... the shift was never really questioned.

The 2e version of jermlaines calls them gremlins, which is fair, as the name is a mispronunciation of gremlin (like calling goblins "gerblins"). And jermlaines are fey in 3.0. But they don't really have magical abilities, and the Dragon Magazine "Ecology of the Jermlaine" article stresses their connection to gnomes. So I went that direction. There's plenty of gremlins in Pathfinder anyway (the jinkin even has a name very close to one of the jermlaine's aliases, jinxkin), and not a lot of Tiny humanoids.

If you'd like to support my writing and research into the nooks and crannies of D&D, please join the Creature Codex Patreon here]

Jermlaine CR ½ NE Humanoid (gnome) This tiny humanoid is the size of a human baby but clearly full grown, as well as filthy and disheveled. It wears little more than scraps, and its skin hangs loosely over its body. Its head is bald and conical, and it has jug ears.

Gnomes are well known for following their passions and obsessive interests in specific topics, and the jermlaines are an example of how this can potentially lead to an ill end. At least to others; jermlaines seem perfectly content with their lot in life. The ancestors of the jermlaines were gnomes who were fascinated by rats and sought to not only communicate with them better, but alter their own society and bodies to emulate them. Whether through alchemical mutation, druidic magic, the influence of their fey heritage or some combination thereof, these gnomes became smaller in stature and developed greater fecundity at a cost to their lifespans. Their name, jermlaine, is a corruption of the word “gremlin”, adopted by the jermlaine as mockery of the common misunderstanding that they belong to that lineage of destructive fey pests.

Jermlaines live lives as aggressive scavengers. They live (literally) in the shadows of other Darklands peoples such as caligni, drow, duergar or troglodytes, stealing their stored food and more portable supplies. They disdain larger humanoids to the point of cruelty, and typically fight to capture and humiliate instead of kill. Jermlaines will trap passages with trip wires, pits and nets, waiting to ambush creatures that pass through. Foes are swarmed while prone or entangled and beaten unconscious, then stripped, shaved (jermlaines favor humanoid hair for making ropes and nets), tied up and left near the lair of a predatory monster. Some creatures have learned that jermlaines living nearby result in occasional treats of humanoid flesh, and so consider them allies.

Jermlaines live in densely packed burrows accessible only through tunnels too narrow for larger humanoids to access easily. They love rodents of all kinds, treating rats, dire rats or osquips more like peers than pets; jermlaine clans with osquips rarely keep other types of rodents, lest they be devoured. Jermlaines are exceptionally fecund, with a single mother able to give birth to a dozen children in a year, who are fully grown within two years. Women are more likely to remain in the burrow to rear their many children and make tools and weapons, and men more likely to be sent out to forage and claim territory. Jermlaines are excellent alchemists, and are often equipped with acid, alchemist fire, tanglefoot bags and other alchemical weaponry. If a burrow becomes too crowded, the jermlaines will split apart, although these splintered families still often stay in touch, and members of one may join another if their burrow is wiped out.

A jermlaine stands about one foot tall and weighs ten pounds on average. Their baggy skin is sometimes mistaken for ponchos in low light, and helps them slip through tight spaces and out of the grip of their foes. Jermlaines do not live long—they are old by twenty, and thirty years is ancient by their reckoning.

#pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #d&d #adnd #jermlaine #gnome #gremlin #humanoid

Conspirator Dragon

If you'd like to see stat blocks for young and ancient conspirator dragons, as well as other exclusive content, please visit the Creature Codex Patreon here]

Instructions for how to build a conspirator dragon, as well as the statistics for an adult conspirator dragon, are below the cut.

#pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #dragon #conspirator dragon #pathfinder 2e #body horror #patreon

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