#pikadon

[jareckiworld]

Shinjiro Okamoto (1933-2020) — The Botanical Elements: Pikadon II [acrylic on canvas, 2006]

[thecreaturecodex]

Pikadon

Still from Love and Peace (2015)

[Today kicks off a whole week of theoretically Christmas themed content. First up, the main monster from Love and Peace, one of my favorite Christmas movies and one that is upsettingly difficult to get a hold of. Do you want a magical realism movie about anxiety, rock and roll, giant turtles and talking dolls with anxiety? Of course you do. The stats below do not fully reflect Pikadon's entire arc (no Santa Claus is involved, for example), but a way to convert it into a self-contained creature.

The word "pikadon" is postwar Japanese slang for an atomic explosion: pika for flash and don for bang. Pikadon in the movie gets that name because his owner overhears it on TV and decides "it sounds like a kaiju". Foreshadowing. If you want to drop those connotations, just call it a wishing turtle.

Want to spread some holiday cheer for an unemployed writer? Come join the Creature Codex Patreon!]

Pikadon CR 11 CG Magical Beast This creature resembles a green pond turtle the size of a table. Its eyes are large and bright, and it chirps and coos in an endearing way.

Turtles are seen as figures of stability and longevity in many cultures. This expectation, combined by the latent wishcraft in people’s deepest desires, occasionally results in the creation of a pikadon, or wishing turtle. Pikadons are usually found in ponds, lakes and rivers associated with good fortune, whether they be in remote areas or in the heart of a bustling city. Pikadons are good hearted creatures that want to help people, especially people who feel trapped or hopeless. A pikadon will read that person’s desires (or just listen to them tell their woes) and translate it into a wish. Each wish gets wrapped up in the magic of song, and a pikadon sings a unique song for every wish made on it.

Of course, pikadons are not very smart. The wishes they grant can have wide reaching and unintended consequences based on how their benevolent but dim brains interpret them. In addition, wishers can get addicted to the power of having their dreams coming true and become corrupted by their sudden rise in fame or fortune. In that case, pikadons turn on their wishers, typically by wishing for an ironic comeuppance. If a corrupted wisher turns violent, or if someone tries to force a pikadon to grant a wish when it doesn’t want to, it can assume colossal size. Pikadons still aren’t particularly fast or aggressive when they’re the size of a building, but their sheer mass can still do quite a bit of damage.

Some pikadons get a case of wanderlust, and join a troop of adventurers for a time. Each of their wishing songs retains a trace of its previous magic, granting a pikadon the ability to support itself and its allies with song like a bard. Pikadons traveling with a party usually spread their wishes out among party members, granting each member a single wish before reserving wishes for people who the party comes across or for emergencies (like the deaths of party members). Pikadons do not like combat, and do not participate in physical violence unless pushed to the extreme. If a pikadon finds its life too stressful and exciting, it might choose to wish itself back into being a mundane turtle.

Pikadons can speak Common, but organizing their thoughts into coherent sentences requires some concentrating. Most of the time, they communicate in musical baby talk.

Pikadon CR 11 XP 12,800 CG Medium magical beast Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +10 Defense AC 25, touch 8, flat-footed 25 (-2 Dex, +17 natural) hp 150 (12d10+84) Fort +14, Ref +2, Will +9 DR 10/magic; SR 22 Defensive Abilities bulletproof Offense Speed 10 ft., swim 20 ft. Melee bite +14 (1d6+3) Special Attacks bardic performance (31 rounds/day, move action, DC 21, countersong, dirge of doom, distraction, fascinate, inspire competence +4, inspire courage +3, inspire greatness, soothing performance, suggestion), change size, detect desires Spell-like Abilities CL 12th, concentration +17 1/week—wish (DC 24) Statistics Str 14, Dex 7, Con 23, Int 5, Wis 16, Cha 20 Base Atk +12; CMB +16; CMD 24 (28 vs. trip) Feats Alertness, Charming Performance, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lingering Performance, Toughness Skills Climb +6, Perception +10, Perform (sing) +19, Sense Motive +10, Swim +14; Racial Modifiers +8 Perform (sing) Languages Common SQ hold breath, slow and steady Ecology Environment temperate or warm land and freshwater Organization solitary Treasure none Special Abilities Bardic Performance (Su) A pikadon gains the bardic performance ability of a 12th level bard. Bard levels stack with pikadon HD for the purposes of determining bardic performance, but not other bard abilities such as bardic knowledge or spells. Bulletproof (Su) A pikadon treats its AC as its touch AC for the purposes for ranged touch attacks, such as firearm attacks, alchemical weapons or ray spells. Change Size (Su) As a standard action once a day, a pikadon can become Colossal in size, gaining the trample special attack in addition to the other changes. A pikadon remains Colossal for 1 hour or until it changes back as a standard action. A pikadon’s statistics when Colossal are as follows: AC 25, touch 0, flat-footed 25 (-8 size, -2 Dex, +25 natural); Speed 20 ft., swim 40 ft.; Melee bite +19 (4d6+22); Space 30 ft.; Reach 30 ft.; Special Attacks trample (2d8+22, Ref DC 31); Str 40; CMB +35; CMB 43 (47 vs. trip); Skills Climb +19, Swim +27 Detect Desires (Su) A pikadon can detect desires as per the spell. This functions at CL 12rd and can be activated or suppressed as a free action. A pikadon is always treated as having spent three rounds concentrating on the spell, thus granting the maximum amount of information. A creature can resist this effect with a DC 21 Will save. The save DC is Charisma based. Slow and Steady (Ex) A pikadon’s speed is never reduced due to armor or encumbrance.

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

[mimimiterudake]

ラブ＆ピース 2015 Sion Sono 園 子温

[mado-moiselle]

Some of the Inktober2015 draws. The full gallery is available at: https://www.behance.net/gallery/56482167/Inktober-2015

[nuclear-warrior]

Love & Peace (2015) dir. Sion Sono

[jareckiworld]

Gérard Gantois — Pikadon (acrylic stencil and canvas, on wood, 1987]

[nuclear-warrior]

Love & Peace (2015) dir. Sion Sono