This is now my personal blog; Meaning only text posts and reblogs from this, so if all you care about is keeping up with my art, follow my art blog @plagueriddendoodles. But, you know, friends are super welcome to see this bullshit.
I am skipping your ads as fast as I can. I'm skipping past your sponsor read. I'm muting the tv. I'm muting the tab. If they get too annoying I will simply stop trying to watch.
If advertisers can use every manipulative trick in the book to get me to buy their product, I am fully within my rights to do everything I can on my end to make their job impossible
[Some of the Numenera monsters I selected, I did so for the challenge. Numenera isn't exactly rules-light by the standards of RPGs as a whole, but is definitely less crunchy than PF1e, my game of choice. And it cares less about game balance. So the Kiprus, a creature that destroys all it touches and can duplicate the PCs, fits more easily into encounter design in a game where "encounter design" is more about atmosphere than "can the PCs kill this?" But I went ahead and did it anyway. I also got more explicit about its origins and motivations than the original; my ecological training has me wanting to give every monster some sort of niche, even if it's not something the PCs are likely to understand.
If you'd like to support what I do, see some bonus writing and monsters and maybe even sponsor your own monsters, check out the Creature Codex Patreon here]
Kiprus
CR 15 LN Outsider (extraplanar)
This strange entity looks something like a shadowy jellyfish, its entire body swirling like ink dropped in water slowed to a fraction of its normal speed. It leaves a trail of destruction behind it, soil and rocks reduced to ash and slag.
The Plane of Shadow is a dark mirror of the Material world, but the Material is a place that is always changing. Some of the reflections between planes updates automatically, but for the actions of sapient creatures and their innovations, further sampling is needed. This is the role of the Kiprus. It seeks out rare alloys, chemical compounds and other exotic materials in order to study them, then absorb them, so the Shadow Plane can duplicate them. It does the same to creatures, but does not initiate violence itself, preferring to study and absorb the bodies of the already dead. Of course, if it is interrupted in its work and attacked, it will defend itself and collect data simultaneously.
Battling the Kiprus is disorienting in the extreme. It moves very slowly, but can teleport itself instantaneously wherever it likes, and to a lesser extent, transport other creatures. The Kiprus’s first line of defense against an aggressive mortal is often to teleport them high into the air, let them fall, and then repeat if necessary. The touch of the Kiprus disassembles matter, and weapons and creatures that strike it are damaged or destroyed in the process. It can speed up and slow down time in a small area, and uses slow spells to limit enemy actions. The most feared ability of the Kiprus is its ability to make a duplicate of one of the creatures it is fighting, or even itself. These duplicates are drawn from the Plane of Shadow and are not wholly real, but can still do grievous damage to those who believe. The Kiprus does not fight until slain if it can help it, teleporting away from a losing battle.
The Kiprus is typically treated as a singular entity by those who know it exists. Its ability to manipulate space and time has led to rumors that all instances of a Kiprus are in fact iterations of the Kiprus, which the Kiprus itself neither confirms nor denies. The Kiprus can understand all languages, but communicates primarily through gestures seemingly meaningful only to itself. If it must make itself more clearly understood, it duplicates one of the creatures it wishes to parley with and has them speak for it, doing so multiple times for longer dialogues. The Kiprus understands the concept of barter, and will accept unusual materials in exchange for teleportation services, even occasionally taking creatures into the Plane of Shadow with it.
Kiprus CR 15
XP 51,200
LN Huge outsider (extraplanar, incorporeal, lawful)
Init +9; Senses blindsense 60 ft., Perception +26,see in darkness
Defense
AC 19, touch 19, flat-footed 13 (-2 size, +5 Dex, +1 dodge, +5 deflection)
hp 189 (18d10+90)
Fort +12, Ref +18, Will +18
Immune bleed, disease, paralysis, poison, sleep, stunning
Defensive Abilities anathemic energy, incorporeal
Offense
Speed fly 10 ft. (perfect)
Melee 2 tendrils +21 touch (8d6)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks duplicate, relocate
Spell-Like Abilities CL 18th, concentration +23
Constant—comprehend languages
At will—greater teleport
3/day—quickened haste, quickened slow (DC 18)
1/day—plane shift (Material or Shadow Plane only, DC 22)
Statistics
Str -, Dex 20, Con 19, Int 15, Wis 21, Cha 20
Base Atk +18; CMB -; CMD 41
Feats Dodge, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Quicken SLA (haste, slow), Toughness, Weapon Finesse
Skills Fly +32, Knowledge (dungeoneering, geography, nature, planes) +23, Perception +26, Sense Motive +26, Stealth +18
Languages comprehend languages, Kiprus Sign
Ecology
Environment any
Organization solitary
Treasure none
Special Abilities
Anathemic Energy (Ex) Any creature or object touching or striking the Kiprus takes 8d6 points of damage that ignores all hardness and damage reduction.
Duplicate (Su) As a standard action, the Kiprus can create a duplicate of any creature within 60 feet of itself, including itself. This functions as a greater shadow conjuration spell, lasting 1 minute. The duplicate follows the Kiprus’ orders, as if it were a summoned creature capable of understanding the Kiprus’ language. A creature interacting with the duplicate can recognize its shadowy nature with a successful DC 24 Will save. The Kiprus can only have a single duplicate active at a time; if it creates another one, the existing duplicate is destroyed. The save DC is Charisma based.
Relocate (Su) The Kiprus can teleport another creature within 60 feet up to 1000 feet away as a standard action. An unwilling creature can resist this effect with a DC 24 Will save. If there is not space for a teleported creature (such as if it is teleported 1000 feet straight down), treat the damage and shunting as per a dimension door spell. The save DC is Charisma based.
[Commissioned by @justicegundam82. The gigat is a Lombard monster about which I could find very little. What I could find suggested that it was a regional variation of Il Gatto Mammone, a giant cat that appears as a bogey in some Italian stories and as a magical helper in others. That name suggested the link to devils that I pursued in my flavor text.]
Gigat
CR 6 LE Magical Beast
This creature resembles an oversized cat, with a long slender body. Its ears are tufted and it has a beard-like mane. Ridges of bone run along its sides and spine.
Gigats are monstrous felines that conceal their kills with magical darkness. Most gigats lair in mountainous caves and descend to paths and villages on cloudy or moonless nights in order to hunt. They prefer humanoid prey to other kinds, and often attack travelers, beggars or other people whose disappearances will not attract too much attention. They can see perfectly well in magical darkness, and usually use that to blind foes. A gigat can cause darkness to solidify into a reflection of its own claws, slashing at faraway foes to provide distractions while it grabs and drags off its chosen victim.
A gigat is sapient despite its bestial appearance, although they are not as intelligent as the average human. Their origins are suspected of being tied to Hell, as they can see in magical darkness, resist fire and speak the language of devils. They view devils with instinctual respect, and may serve them in their plots on the Material Plane. Gigats collect treasure, and bribery with gifts and food is a key component of gigat courtship. Unsurprisingly given their association with darkness, they do not favor brightly colored or shiny items, and the treasures they collect are more likely to have interesting textures or smells.
A gigat grows to about ten feet long, with a third of that length being their bushy tails. Both males and females grow manes, but the males’ manes tend to be larger.
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