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[soylent-crocodile]

Lamp of Desire (Item)

(Luna Luna by FrostAlexis)

(Context)

Aura- Strong Enchantment, Strong Illusion, Weak Evocation CL- 8th Slot- None Price- 64,000gp Weight- 8 lbs

This well crafted lamp has entrancingly organic shapes and a warm, welcoming glow. 

Creatures that see it must succeed a DC15 Will save or stare at it continuously, as with the spell Lock Gaze. Every 10 minutes a staring creature gets another save with a cumulative +1 bonus to break the enchantment. Creatures who succeed their save do not need to make it again for another 24 hours. A creature gets an additional save when jostled or disturbed by an outside force, such as an enemy’s attack or the aid of an ally. 

Additionally the lamp may sometimes choose a mature being with intelligence 3 or higher who is either romantically available or unfaithful to their current spouse as their “seduced”, as a permanent Charm Monster. The creature gets a DC18 Will save to avoid this effect, and, once a day, may gain an additional save at a -2 penalty when an ally explains to them that the lamp is merely a very nice lamp and not a person. This effect can not be dispelled by Dispel Magic but can be broken by Break Enchantment.

The seduced perceives the lamp to be of great romantic value and attempts to woo it, slowly going through the motions of “meeting”, “asking out”, “dating”, and even trying to “marry” the lamp if the enchantment is not broken. If the lamp is moved or taken by another, the seduced will often go to great lengths to “rescue” the lamp, treating it as though their spouse or a particularly attractive person had been abducted. Similarly, when another person is seduced by the lamp, they may act as the cunning and cruel kidnapper who steals it and tries to make it their love. 

The lamp, when turned on, also emits light like a torch. 

[soylent-crocodile]

Negator (Monster)

(Phyrexian Negator by John Zeleznik)

CR16 NE Medium Aberration (Phyrexian)

(The negator is another iconic creature, although one whose card is simply not up to snuff nowadays- the balance of power has tipped so that its astronomical drawback is not worth the creature you get. Still, the obliterator is clearly a riff on it- and got its own, incredibly aesthetically boring riff later- and even then it's simply too fabulous a design not to use. Can you say "xenomorph"?

Lorewise, these explicitly saw most usage in the leadup to full invasion- perhaps, in a hypothetical Phyrexia campaign, this could be the final boss of the second act, before the REAL invasion force finally arrives.)

Negators are perfected assassins of Phyrexia, designed to eliminate key targets with compleat efficiency. They are singleminded in this pursuit- one infamous document stated simply "It exists to cease." Indeed, a negator's heart is terribly stilled- they are not known to experience any emotion but the satisfaction of a job well done and the desire to achieve so.

Negators, being stealth operatives and assassins, are rarely used once a full-scale invasion begins, although they are often deployed just in the leadup to it. Each negator is given all Phyrexia knows of its target, and is simply placed as close as Phyrexia can get it without garnering attention and sent to kill. Negators are surprisingly skilled at stealth and disguise, able to walk as a hunched figure through whatever streets it may need to to reach its target, and are surprisingly eloquent and skilled actors when they need to lie. Once it makes its kill, however, a negator rarely makes time for stealth. Such negators will begin a return to Phyrexia (such that they might possibly be reset, reprogrammed, and reused), but generally lack the precautions of one who has yet to make a kill. These assassinations are its purpose; it seems some higher part of it shuts off once it is done.

This wicked creature stands humanoid, with razor sharp claws and a smooth nubby head lined with tiny triangular teeth. Its body is dotted with glasslike hemispheres and wires arcing between body parts.

Misc- CR16 NE Medium Aberration (Phyrexian) HD24 Init:+11 Senses: Blindsight 120ft Perception: +26, Detect Magic, Detect Good Stats- Str:27(+8) Dex:33(+11) Con:20(+5) Int:30(+10) Wis:8(-1) Cha:24(+6) BAB:+18/+13/+8/+3 Space:5ft Reach:5ft Defense- HP:228(24d8+120) AC:30(+11 Dex, +4 Armor, +5 Natural) Fort:+14 Ref:+19 Will:+15 (+4 Racial bonus vs Emotion) CMD:47 Resist: Cold 20, Fire 20, Electricity 20 Immunity: Acid, Fear, Curse, Polymorph, Petrification, Death effects, Disease, Poison Weakness: Special Defenses: Evasion, Negative Energy Affinity, DR10/Adamantine, SR27, Uncanny Dodge, Mycosynth Flesh Offense- Bite +24(1d6+8), 2 Claw +25(2d6+8/19-20x2) or Negation +29(90ft ranged, 10d8 plus Negation) CMB:+26 Speed:40ft Special Attacks: Coronous Ambush, Sneak Attack +5d6 Feats- Iron Will, Multiattack, Power Attack (-5/+10), Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Wind Stance, Vital Strike, Improved Vital Strike, Improved Iron Will, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (Bestow Curse), Weapon Focus (Claw) Skills- Acrobatics +38, Bluff +31, Climb +29, Disable Device +35, Disguise +31, Escape Artist +38, Knowledge (Arcana, Planes, Religion) +34, Knowledge (Dungeoneering)* +37, Linguistics +15, Perception +26, Sense Motive +23, Spellcraft +17, Stealth +38, Survival +26, Swim +29, Use Magic Device +31 Spell-like Abilities-  Detect Magic, Detect Good, Mage Armor, Deathwatch /constant Bestow Curse (DC19), Fog Cloud, Silence (DC18) /at-will Quickened Bestow Curse (DC19) 3/day Special Qualities- Compression Ecology- Environment- Any Languages- Necril, Draconic, Elven, Aklo, Abyssal, Infernal Organization- Solitary Treasure- Incidental Special Abilities- Coronous Ambush (Ex)- A negator’s erratic, jerky movements and mastery of anatomy give it the opening to strike at its enemies weakest points. A negator may make a sneak attack against any creature vulnerable to precision damage as long as it has moved at least 10ft since the end of its last turn. Negation (Su)- As a standard action, a negator can fire a beam of oblivion energy. This is a 90ft ranged attack that deals 10d8 untyped damage. Additionally, a negator may immediately make a dispel check as with the spell Greater Dispel Magic at +18 against all magical effects the target is under.

[soylent-crocodile]

I have several monsters (more like several pages) created that are wholely my own creation, rather than being built on preexisting properties, as is my apparent specialty. I have some specific images for these creatures in mind, and as such haven't posted them yet- BUT I'm in contact with a few artists who, hopefully, will be illustrating these beasties soon enough!

[soylent-crocodile]

I LOVE HER SO MUCH???????? OH MY GOSH

Red Hag (Monster)

(art by @soylent-crocodile)

(Behold! A hag! The red hag exists because nearly every hag outside of core are, like, Leader Only types, someone who always takes control of their coven and makes it follow THEIR rules. That's all fine and dandy, but it means that filling out a coven can be hard, and filling out a high-level coven without the annis hag (CR6), the green hag (CR5), or the sea hag (CR4) is harder. The red hag is designed as a follower-type hag and more martially inclined than her sisters- in particular, she's designed to be paired with the CR9 night hag. I personally would round the coven out with an ame-onna from @thecreaturecodex, whose temperment and spellcast-y nature provide a nice balance.

Also, the trend of hag being supernaturally "ugly" runs into difficulties when you're critical of conflating disability with evil, so i gave this one the high cheekbones, sharp chin, and wiry eyelashes that are intentionally cultivated by certain fitness communities, as that's more a choice someone makes than just the state of their body.)

CR8 NE Large Monstrous Humanoid

Red hags are the towering physical apex of hagkind; great cunning brutes who use their physical might and tactical skills to live out their brutal destructive fantasies. A red hag relishes the sensation of overpowering her opponents, particularly enjoying the experience of bludgeoning them to death. In battle, this is achieved using her deadly tools, but a red hag may execute a captured victim by dropping heavy objects on them, pelting them with stones, or simply slamming their head against a wall or floor. Red hags in particular enjoy brutalizing men in this way, taking immense joy in the reversal of gender roles.

Indeed, red hags often grow up among farmland and secluded, rural areas where misogyny is rampant and a woman’s work is simultaneously demanded and devalued. Such a place can justifiably produce incredible rage in a changeling, and it’s that rage that often leads these daughters back into the clutches of hagkind. 

Red hags frequently join covens; they find value in the company of other hags and have naturally weak spellcasting themselves. Red hags rarely lead covens, as they lack the charisma to assemble a coven or maneuver their way to the top. This doesn’t mean that a red hag is without ambition; the typical specimen dreams of leading her own coven, and intends to achieve this through treachery and force. One trick passed between red hags- who are usually used as frontline vanguards for the rest of their coven- is to let a single enemy combatant through, in hopes that that combatant will kill the hag’s leader for her, only for the red hag to corner and kill that very assassin. Covens led by red hags tend to self-destruct quickly, however; red hags have little interest in subtlety or sustainability once they gain power.

Covens with a red hag lose Baleful Polymorph and gain Telekinesis, Greater Heroism, and Flesh to Stone (DC19)

This woman towers over the tallest human, her skin pulsing with glowing blood vessels just under the surface.

Misc- CR8 NE Large Monstrous Humanoid HD11 Init:+3 Senses: Perception:+19 Darkvision 60ft 

Stats- Str:27(+8) Dex:16(+3) Con:20(+5) Int:17(+3) Wis:20(+5) Cha:12(+1) BAB:+11/+6/+1 Space:10ft Reach:10ft

Defense- HP:116(11d10+55) AC:20(+3 Dex, +4 Armor, +4 Natural, -1 Size) Fort:+9 Ref:+6 Will:+12 (-4 vs Emotion) CMD:33

Offense- Deadly Tools +19/+14/+9(1d10+13 19-20/x2 plus trip or disarm) or 2 Claws +16(1d8+8) CMB:+20 Speed:40ft, Climb 40ft Special Attacks: Deadly Tools

Feats- Combat Reflexes, Standstill, Combat Expertise (-3/+6), Improved Trip, Greater Trip, Power Attack (-3/+6), Feral Grapple

Skills- Climb +30, Escape Artist +14, Knowledge (Local) +14, Perception +19, Sense Motive +16, Survival +19, Swim +22

Spell-like Abilities- (CL11, Concentration +12) Break (DC12), Magic Weapon, Remove Paralysis /at-will Fog Cloud 3/day

Special Qualities- Martial Flexibility (6/day), Shapechange (A single humanoid form, Alter Self)

Ecology- Environment- Grasslands, Urban (Any) Languages- Common, Giant, Goblin, Abyssal Organization- Coven (Three Hags) Treasure- Standard

Special Abilities-Deadly Tools (Su)- Any sufficiently large item used for housekeeping or farm labor- such as a broom, a rake, or a farming scythe sized for a medium creature- is deals damage as a medium sized +1 Heavy Flail in the hands of a red hag. The red hag does not receive any penalties for wielding an undersized weapon. Martial Flexibility (Ex)- A red hag has martial flexibility as a 6th level brawler. The stat block provided has not used any of her uses of this ability and thus does not have any bonus feats listed.

[soylent-crocodile]

Practical Feats For Practical Purposes

(The Dragonslayer by Dawnweaver13)

I noticed I haven't been publishing much in my Feats, Spells, and Items tag, so here's a few feats that I think close some gaps in Pathfinder's combat system that could use a clean solution. The first one is a problem that I, a lover of polearms, run into time and time again, and the other is an issue I notice when statting up large monsters.

Close Reach Combat Feat Prerequisite: +1 BAB You are trained in using long weapons to strike enemies that have closed the gap. You may use reach weapons to attack creatures in any square within your reach, including those adjacent to you. While welding reach weapons, you threaten all squares within your reach.

Tangle with Giants Combat Feat Prerequisites: Str 15, Two Improved Combat Maneuver feats As long as you are size Medium or smaller, you get a +2 bonus to combat maneuvers against creatures with size category Large or larger.

[soylent-crocodile]

Cystbearer (Monster)

(art by Kev Walker)

(So I ended up statting up a LOT of Phyrexian monsters back before their arc reached its climax. I'll be posting them under #phyrexia project, with the hope that once I'm done you'll have a robust monster list for a Phyrexian invasion campaign.

My phyrexia is mostly a blend of old Phyrexia and Phyrexia as depicted in Scars of Mirrodin block, as that's how I was first introduced to them. We'll be seeing a lot more of them as this blog continues. I haven't statted up the Praetors yet, but I'm imagining them as CR21-25 range monsters who grant divine spells and have Mythic ranks.

Cystbearers are, to me, an iconic creature of Scars of Mirrodin, being decently costed common infect creatures with no other ability. They also look nasty as hell, in a good way.)

CR4 NE Large Aberration

Cystbearers are early vanguards of Phyrexian invasion, virulent and resilient beings grown in massive Phyrexian breeding pools. They are remarkably fast to grow, with a new cystbear going from single celled germ to fully developed Phyrexian beast in the course of about a week in the noxious pools. They are then released into the world, typically with orders to kill and infect indiscriminately- orders they perform with gusto.

Cystbearers have barely enough intelligence for sadism and an understanding of the harm they're causing. For all intents and purposes, a cystbearer acts more like an unusually aggressive animal, rather than an intelligent being who can formulate plans in combat or be negotiated with.

A large-mouthed beast the size of a bear shambles forward, its back covered in tubular cysts leaking green fluid.

Misc- CR4 NE Large Aberration (Phyrexian) HD5 Init:+1 Senses: Perception:+7, Darkvision 60ft All-around vision

Stats- Str:21(+5) Dex:12(+1) Con:18(+4) Int:3(-4) Wis:12(+1) Cha:6(-2) BAB:+3 Space:10ft Reach:5ft

Defense- HP:42(5d8+20) AC:16(-1 Size, +1 Dex, +6 Natural) Fort:+7 Ref:+2 Will:+5 CMD:20 Immunity: Acid, Exhausted, Fatigued, Paralyzed, Staggered Special Defenses: Explosive Cysts, Ferocity

Offense- Bite +7(1d8+5 plus disease) CMB:+9 Speed:30ft Special Attacks: Cyst Phyresis

Feats- Great Fortitude, Power Attack (-2/+4), Improved Sunder

Skills- Perception +7, Survival +5, Swim +9

Special Qualities- Ferocity

Ecology- Environment- Swamps, Forests Languages- Necril (Can’t speak) Organization- Solitary, Shamble (3) Treasure- None

Special Abilities- Disease (Ex)- Cyst Phyresis Type: Disease, wound  Save: Fort DC16, Onset: 1 day Effect: 1d4 Wis damage, victim is sickened. Explosive Cysts (Ex)- When a cystbearer takes slashing or piecring damage, some of the bubbling cysts on its back burst, spraying corrosive, diseased fluid everywhere. Creatures within 10ft of the cystbearer when this happens must make a DC11 Reflex save or take 2d6 Acid damage and be exposed to the cystbearer's disease.

[soylent-crocodile]

Cystbearer (Monster)

(art by Kev Walker)

(So I ended up statting up a LOT of Phyrexian monsters back before their arc reached its climax. I'll be posting them under #phyrexia project, with the hope that once I'm done you'll have a robust monster list for a Phyrexian invasion campaign.

My phyrexia is mostly a blend of old Phyrexia and Phyrexia as depicted in Scars of Mirrodin block, as that's how I was first introduced to them. We'll be seeing a lot more of them as this blog continues. I haven't statted up the Praetors yet, but I'm imagining them as CR21-25 range monsters who grant divine spells and have Mythic ranks.

Cystbearers are, to me, an iconic creature of Scars of Mirrodin, being decently costed common infect creatures with no other ability. They also look nasty as hell, in a good way.)

CR4 NE Large Aberration

Cystbearers are early vanguards of Phyrexian invasion, virulent and resilient beings grown in massive Phyrexian breeding pools. They are remarkably fast to grow, with a new cystbear going from single celled germ to fully developed Phyrexian beast in the course of about a week in the noxious pools. They are then released into the world, typically with orders to kill and infect indiscriminately- orders they perform with gusto.

Cystbearers have barely enough intelligence for sadism and an understanding of the harm they're causing. For all intents and purposes, a cystbearer acts more like an unusually aggressive animal, rather than an intelligent being who can formulate plans in combat or be negotiated with.

A large-mouthed beast the size of a bear shambles forward, its back covered in tubular cysts leaking green fluid.

Misc- CR4 NE Large Aberration (Phyrexian) HD5 Init:+1 Senses: Perception:+7, Darkvision 60ft All-around vision

Stats- Str:21(+5) Dex:12(+1) Con:18(+4) Int:3(-4) Wis:12(+1) Cha:6(-2) BAB:+3 Space:10ft Reach:5ft

Defense- HP:42(5d8+20) AC:16(-1 Size, +1 Dex, +6 Natural) Fort:+7 Ref:+2 Will:+5 CMD:20 Immunity: Acid, Exhausted, Fatigued, Paralyzed, Staggered Special Defenses: Explosive Cysts, Ferocity

Offense- Bite +7(1d8+5 plus disease) CMB:+9 Speed:30ft Special Attacks: Cyst Phyresis

Feats- Great Fortitude, Power Attack (-2/+4), Improved Sunder

Skills- Perception +7, Survival +5, Swim +9

Special Qualities- Ferocity

Ecology- Environment- Swamps, Forests Languages- Necril (Can’t speak) Organization- Solitary, Shamble (3) Treasure- None

Special Abilities- Disease (Ex)- Cyst Phyresis Type: Disease, wound  Save: Fort DC16, Onset: 1 day Effect: 1d4 Wis damage, victim is sickened. Explosive Cysts (Ex)- When a cystbearer takes slashing or piecring damage, some of the bubbling cysts on its back burst, spraying corrosive, diseased fluid everywhere. Creatures within 10ft of the cystbearer when this happens must make a DC11 Reflex save or take 2d6 Acid damage and be exposed to the cystbearer's disease.

[soylent-crocodile]

So just to start, my rosetta stone is the Monster Creation section of Pathfinder's first bestiary!

If you want to get into more specifics, maybe move this to the chat function? You can tell me the ideas and I'd be happy to spitball mechanics with you.

Question

I have 2 Hags i would love help porting to Pathfinder, would it be ok to ask for help? I know what I want them to do I just need help with the mechanical aspects.

Oh certainly! What seems to be the issue?

[soylent-crocodile]

If you’re wondering what the whole drama regarding tieflings is in the Dungeons & Dragons fandom: basically, capitalism ruined tieflings, and for once that’s not even slightly a joke.

Tieflings were first introduced as a playable species in Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition, via the Planescape campaign in 1994. At the time, there were no particular rules regarding what a tiefling was supposed to look like. The text explicitly stated that their basic physiology could vary wildly depending on what their fiendish ancestor was, and one of the first major Planescape supplements even included a table for randomly generating your tiefling’s appearance, if you were into that sort of thing.

This continued to be the case up through the game’s Third Edition. However, when the Fourth Edition rolled around in 2008, the game’s text suddenly became very particular about insisting that all tieflings looked pretty much the same. Some campaign settings even provided iin-character explanations for why all tieflings now had a standardised appearance. Understandably, this made a lot of people very annoyed.

There was naturally a great deal of speculation concerning what had motivated this change. It was widely cited as “proof” that Dungeons & Dragons was trying to appeal to the World of Warcraft fanbase – which was nonsense, of course; nearly all of the Fourth Edition’s allegedly MMO-like features were things that popular MMOs had borrowed from Dungeons & Dragons in the first place, and to the extent that tieflings’ new look resembled a particular WoW race, it was in that they were both extraordinarily generic.

In reality, it was a change that had been lurking for some time. Though Dungeons & Dragons is directly published by Wizards of the Coast, Wizards of the Coast is in turn owned by Hasbro, and Hasbro has long regarded the D&D core rulebooks as a vehicle for promoting D&D-branded merch – in particular, licensed miniature figures.

This was a bugbear that had reared its head before. When the Third Edition received major revisions in 2003, Hasbro corporate had ordered the game’s editors to completely remove any discussion of how to improvise minifigs for large battles, and replace it with an advertisement for the then-current Dungeons & Dragons Heroes product line. Implying that purchasing licensed minis wasn’t 100% mandatory simply would not do.

If you’ve gotten this far, you’ve probably already guessed where this is going: tieflings having no standard appearance made it difficult to sell tiefling minifigs, as any given minifig design would only be suitable for a small subset of tiefling characters. In the brutally reductive logic of the corporate mind, Hasbro reasoned: well, if we tell tiefling players that all of their characters now look the same, we can sell them all the same minifigs. So that’s what the game did, going so far as to write justifications into several published settings for magically transforming all existing tiefling characters to fit the new mould!

This worked about as well as anyone who isn’t a corporate drone would naturally anticipate – and that’s the story of how capitalism ruined tieflings.

[soylent-crocodile]

Question

I have 2 Hags i would love help porting to Pathfinder, would it be ok to ask for help? I know what I want them to do I just need help with the mechanical aspects.

Oh certainly! What seems to be the issue?

[soylent-crocodile]

Converter Beast (Monster)

(Converter Beast by Uriah Voth)

CR9 LE Huge Aberration (Phyrexian) HD14

A converter beast is exactly what it sounds like- a creature engineered by Phyrexia to assimilate and convert enemies and captives on the fly, the collective’s ultimate goal of conversion of flesh and eradication of culture manifest in a single squamous form. Creatures swallowed by the converter beast are trapped in its cage of bone and drenched in choking phyrexian oil, their flesh and minds slowly corrupted into phyrexian soldiers of compleation.

Converter beasts are ill-equipped to work alone, however, with their blindsight limited and their minds dull and obedient. Most frequently they are accompanied by a huntmaster, a phyrexian ranger trained to thrive in whatever environment they and the converter beast are assigned to. Notably, huntmasters are frequently converts from the populace and region they return to besiege, one of the highest ranks such a phyrexian can reach without having been born a newt or sculpted from scratch. It is the role of these huntmasters to guide them to suitable prey and keep their instincts leashed when the time does not call for it. The beasts, for their part, are obedient servants who know better than to challenge their master’s commands.

Some converter beasts, however, are simply dropped into their environment with no such commander. This is done when subtlety and precision is unneeded, as an unleashed converter beast is just as likely to convert a target as it is to shred it with its tails and jaws.

This large, lizard-like creature has an array of spikes forming a thick cage on its back and a tail that splits into three lashing segments. Misc- CR9 LE Huge Aberration (Phyrexian) HD14 Init:-1 Senses: Perception:-1, Blindsight 60ft, Scent Stats- Str:26(+8) Dex:8(-1) Con:25(+7) Int:3(-4) Wis:8(-1) Cha:13(+1) BAB:+10/+5 Space:15ft Reach:10ft Defense- HP:161(14d8+98) AC:20(-1 Dex, -2 Size, +13 Natural) Fort:+11 Ref:+5 Will:+10 CMD:29 Immunity: Acid, Curse, Disease, Poison Weakness: Special Defenses: Mycosynth Flesh Offense- Bite +16 (1d10+8 plus Grab), 3 Tail +14(2d4+4, 18-20/x2, 20ft reach) CMB:+20 Speed:60ft Special Attacks: Lashing Rend, Swallow Whole (40hp, AC16, 1d4+1 Wis damage), Fast Swallow Feats- Multiattack, Lightning Reflexes, Iron Will Skills- Survival +10 Spell-like Abilities- (Caster Level 11, Concentration +12) Deathwatch, Psychic Link /Constant Acid Spray (DC16) 3/day Ecology- Environment- Any Languages- Necril (Can’t talk) Organization- Solitary, Attended Beast (1 Converter Beast, 1 Compleated Ranger 11) Treasure- Standard Special Abilities- Lashing Rend (Ex)- A creature hit by two or more of a converter beast’s tail attacks in one turn must make a DC18 Reflex save or be knocked prone and moved 10ft towards the converter beast as with the Drag maneuver. Psychic Link (Sp)- A bound converter beast has a mental link with its huntmaster, as with the spell Mental Link. Swallow Whole (Ex)- A converter beast can hold 4 medium creatures, 16 small creatures, or 1 large creature in its stomach. Additionally, if a creature breaks free of its stomach, that does not free any others and it can still use its swallow whole ability, as sharp trapping horns erupt to fill any gaps. If a creature is brought to 0 Wisdom by a converter beast’s swallow whole ability, it makes a DC12 Constitution check. If it succeeds, it removes all damage and gains the Phyrexian template. If it fails, it is rendered unconscious as usual.

[soylent-crocodile]

Fey Trickster (Rogue Archetype)

(The Pied Piper by Shraeliah)

The Eldest of the First World do not seek out mortals to employ, but their pastoral home and enigmatic way of life attract such worshipers nonetheless. Such strange beings attract people who live outside the norm- among them are fey tricksters, rogues who cavort with the fey and are rewarded with their power.

Skills

A fey trickster gains Handle Animal (Cha), Knowledge (nature) (Int), and Survival (Wis) as class skills and loses Appraise (Int) and Knowledge (local) (Int).

Prestidigitation

A fey trickster gains Prestidigitation as a spell-like ability usable at-will.

Fey Obedience

At level 4, a fey trickster gains Fey Obedience as a bonus feat. They must pick a Fairy Noble, Eldest, or equivalent figure to swear fealty to. They gain boons at an advanced rate. They gain their first boon at level 8, their second boon at level 10, and their third boon at level 14. As standard, if they lose fealty to their Noble, they lose the benefits of the feat.

This replaces the rogue talents learned at levels 4 and 10. 

[soylent-crocodile]

Time Spells

Time magic is a powerful but evocative storytelling device, and one the Pathfinder system does not delve into much; you more or less have Time Stop, Time Dragons, and nothing else. This is understandable, as playing with causality is hard to write and an order of magnitude harder to improv, but I do wish we had a little more of playing with time. So here's two of my spells that do just that!

(Stargazer by FrostAlexis on Deviantart)

Amalia’s Temporal Displacement

School: Transmutation Level: Occultist 3, Sorcerer/Wizard 3, Witch 3 Casting Time: 1 Standard Action Components: V, S Target: One creature within range Range: Medium (100ft+10ft/level) Duration: 1 hour/level Saving Throw: Will Negates Spell Resistance: Yes You push the creature a few seconds backwards in time. They cannot act on their next turn, and cannot act the first turn of any combat they enter under the effect of this spell. Additionally, they gain a -5 penalty to reflex saves and cannot take attacks of opportunity.

Chronostutter

School: Transmutation Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 5, Witch 5 Casting Time: 1 Standard Action Components: V, S Target: One creature within range Range: Medium (100ft+10ft//level) Duration: Instantaneous Saving Throw: Will Negates Spell Resistance: Yes You twist the creature’s relation to the time stream, causing it to frequently stutter in and out of time. At the start of its turn or when it would take an attack of opportunity, it has a 50% chance to be unable to take any action, freezing in place. Additionally, if it would make a reflex save or dexterity check or dexterity-based skill check, it has a 50% chance to immediately fail that save or check.

[soylent-crocodile]

Animal Conversions- Herons and Catfish

@thecreaturecodex mentioned a while back that Pathfinder 1e completely lacked any sort of wading bird- no cranes, herons, or storks- which is what got me thinking that I'm doing these animal conversions, so why not make one myself? Herons are particularly important animals to me, emotionally, so here's one of my own.

I do these animal conversions in pairs, and since I'm focusing on a river ecosystem, I decided to build a giant catfish. The heron here mostly exists so that magical templates like demons or were-beasts have something to go off- I don't expect players to go dueling herons- but the giant catfish comes with a decent set of combat abilities and a plot hook inspired by the time someone found nazi memorabilia inside such a creature. Where's that artifact you're on the trail of? Oh someone got eaten by a fish holding it, it's probably still in there.

(Sp90 by arkarti)

Wading Bird, Heron

This large gray bird has an s-shaped neck and a sharp, striking beak. Misc- CR½ TN Medium Animal HD1 Init:+4 Senses: Perception:+5  Stats- Str:14(+2) Dex:18(+4) Con:12(+1) Int:2(-4) Wis:12(+1) Cha:4(-3) BAB:+0 Space:5ft Reach:5ft Defense- HP:6(1d8+1) AC:14 (+4 Dex) Fort:+3 Ref:+6 Will:+1 CMD:16  Offense- Peck +2(1d6+2) CMB:+2 Speed: 30ft, Fly 40ft (Clumsy) Special Attacks: Lightning Strike Feats- Perception +5, Fly -4 Skills- Combat Reflexes Ecology- Environment- River (Any) Languages- None Organization- Solitary Treasure- None Special Abilities- Lightning Strike (Ex)- A heron’s reflexes strike exceptionally fast when it sees movement; it gets a +4 racial bonus to attacks of opportunity.

Herons are carnivorous wading birds who hunt on the river’s edge, striking at fish and the occasional duck that wanders into its path. They are flighty animals that rarely interact with humanoids, and their beauty and deadliness has given them a special meaning to many people and cultures.

Fish, Catfish (Giant)

This massive brown fish has a heavy, blobby look to it, long facial barbels, and a gaping mouth that could easily fit a person inside.

Misc- CR4 TN Large Animal (Aquatic) HD5 Init:-5 Senses: Perception:+4 Blindsense 30ft Stats- Str:20(+5) Dex:8(-1) Con:18(+4) Int:1(-5) Wis:10(+0) Cha:3(-4) BAB:+3 Space:10ft Reach:5ft Defense- HP:48(5d8+20) AC:15(-1 Dex, -1 Size, +7 Natural) Fort:+8 Ref:+3 Will:+3 CMD:18 Offense- Bite +7(1d4+7 plus Grab) CMB:+9 Speed:10ft, Swim 40ft Special Attacks: Swallow Whole (5d6 Acid and Bludgeoning, AC14, HP12), Thrash Feats- Endurance, Iron Will, Power Attack (-1/+2) Skills- Escape Artist +7, Perception +4, Stealth +0 (+4 Racial bonus to Stealth in rivers, +4 Racial bonus to Escape Artist) Special Qualities- Ferocity Ecology- Environment- Rivers (Temperate) Languages- None Organization- Solitary Treasure- Double (one random martial weapon, one inorganic Lesser Magic Item) Special Abilities- Thrash (Ex)- As a full-round action, a catfish may twitch and thrash in an attempt to fight against threats. Each creature within 10ft of the giant catfish must make a DC15 Reflex save or take 2d8 bludgeoning damage. Additionally, when underwater, this creates a 30ft cloud of mud that grants full concealment (50% miss chance) to any creature within it.

Giant river catfish are bottom feeders, scavengers unafraid to make the transition to ambush predation, who can grow to massive sizes if not killed by predators or humanoids. Some, rarely, turn maneater. Such animals often become part of the local culture, and travelers are frequently warned of their presence- if the locals are friendly, that is. Notably, these fish can live for almost a hundred years, and have a habit of eating most anything they can find- more than one story has been told of giant catfish being butchered only to reveal metal weapons and magic items sitting in their stomach for untold decades. 

[soylent-crocodile]

Myr (Monsters)

(Silver Myr by Kev Walker)

(I FUCKING LOVE MYR! They're cute, they're iconic, they're interesting bits of worldbuilding... I HAD to make 'em! Mercifully, I've separated Mirrodin from New Phyrexia, and created the Plane of Steel, a fun little plot hook roughly referencing Mirrodin's creation. If you want to make these native to the Plane of Metal- new to PF2- or simply old machines of a dead culture, feel free.

Also, this will contain rules for Mana Myr, which I spiraled off the five colors of Magic, but expect more myr in the future!)

Myr are mysterious creatures native to the Plane of Steel, an artificial plane ripped from the Plane of Earth and turned into a vast network of self-sustaining machines. Myr themselves are the most common denizens of the plane, servitors to an unknown master and performing upkeep on their more complicated cohabitants.

Myr have been imported from the Plane of Steel in rare quantities, and serve as a rare treasure on the Material Plane, loyal servants infused with magical energy. Some, however, fear inviting such mysterious creatures into their homes, especially paranoid wizards and watchful politicians, as it's a known fact that myr are vulnerable to scrying- and it's a distinct possibility that their master is still watching.

Myr are unique among constructs in being easily repairable once slain. Upon reaching 0 health, a construct with the Myr subtype is not destroyed; rather, it turns inactive, and will reactivate upon being returned to positive hit points. However, a myr that reaches -20hp is destroyed as usual. Additionally, the knowledge of how to create myr has been lost or well-hidden, and they lack rules for construction. Fortunately for myr, they are capable of reproducing themselves, although attempts to study how they do so have not succeeded in creating animate constructs.

There are thousands of different kinds of myr, most being only slight modifications on a basic design; what is presented are some common archetypes and a few notable variations.

Mana Myr

(Myr Moonvessel by Danny Orizio)

Among the most common servitor myr, mana myr work on the machinery that makes up the bulk of the Plane of Metal, and these servitors are attuned to one of the eight schools of magic. Of the myr of the plane, it is the mana myr who are most desired, and those who find themselves in possession of multiple, or let them reproduce, sell them for exorbitant prices.

Each school of magic produces a myr of a different color. Even though they are all made of the same substance, the magic forged into their bodies makes them appear as one of a variety of colors; the mana myr of each school of magic is named after a metal or mineral it resembles.

This small humanoid construct has a strange head shaped like a heavy beak. It resonates with magical energy.

Misc- CR1 LN Small Construct (Myr) HD2 Init:+2 Senses: Perception:+3 Stats- Str:8(-1) Dex:15(+2) Con:- Int:4(-3) Wis:14(+2) Cha:14(+2) BAB:+2 Space:2.5ft Reach:0ft Defense- HP:21(2d10+10) AC:13(+1 Size, +2 Dexterity) Fort:- Ref:+4 Will:+2 CMD:13 Special Defenses: Construct traits Offense- Slam +2(1d3-1) CMB:+0 Speed:25ft Special Attacks:  Feats- Lightning Reflexes Skills- Perception +3, Spellcraft +0 Spell-like Abilities-  Share Memory /at-will Make Whole 1/day Special Qualities- Mana Servant, Scrying Focus Ecology- Environment- Any Languages- Common (Can’t speak) Organization- Solitary Treasure- None Special Abilities- Mana Servant- A mana myr is designed as a vessel for magic. When created, it is infused with magic from one of the eight schools of magic. When used as a focus to cast a spell of that school, the spell is cast at a +1 caster level and with a +1 DC. A mana myr registers as strong magic of its school when viewed through Detect Magic or similar spells. Scrying Focus- Myr are perfect vessels for scrying on. They get a -5 penalty to saves against spells with the Scrying descriptor, and magical sensors made to scry on a myr and its surroundings get a +5 bonus against rolls to perceive it. Additionally, myr- and any object or creature they are in contact with- are not protected by spells such as Nondetection and Screen.

[soylent-crocodile]

really excited for this friday's post!

[soylent-crocodile]

Vizzerdrix (Monster)

(Vizzerdrix by Dave Dorman)

(Behold, a late Easter AND an April Fool's Day special, all wrapped up in one not-so-fluffy bunny! I wanted to capture the idea of a puzzlingly high-value creature with no special effects and not as much combat capability as its peers, so I went with a mad genius. There's also just a couple of tropes here that I tend to avoid- or lean on- if you can spot them. Enjoy!)

CR16 CE Large Aberration HD25

Vizzerdrix are savage beings created by a mad wizard, ravenous beasts who tear apart any who meet their path. It is generally accepted that the vizzerdrix were the last creation of said wizard before being torn apart by vizzerdrix. Unfortunately for the world, her creations bred true, and now vizzerdrix can be found leaving swathes of blood and death in their path. 

A vizzerdrix is a hybrid between a rabbit, a giant, and a piranha, creating a being with incredible intelligence, sharp claws, a craving for destruction and flesh, and big floppy rabbit ears. Vizzerdrix are among the most brilliant beings to exist, and use this to their advantage- they’re expert at evaluating threats, manipulating others, and devising cunning traps. Fortunately for a vizzerdrix’s enemies, they lack any particular abilities to put this brilliance to use, and without external help or tools, must fall back on ripping and tearing. This isn’t to say that a vizzerdrix has distaste for such combat- indeed, tearing other beings apart with their claws and incisors is the deepest pleasure a vizzerdrix can experience, and all their goals and conniving generally works to the end of getting a vizzerdrix a never-ending source of innocent victims to destroy. 

Vizzerdrix are obligate carnivores, only able to digest animal flesh. Despite this, they have a deep craving for root vegetables, which give them incredible indigestion and, occasionally, food poisoning and intense gastric distress. It is suspected that this was a failsafe created by their master and the reason to include rabbit parts, as vizzerdrix will do anything for proper digestive aids that allow them to comfortably eat their favorite food. 

This hulking, clawed beast has powerful human musculature, furless skin, and the head of an angry rabbit. Misc- CR16 CE Large Aberration HD25 Init:+8 Senses: Perception +27 Darkvision 60ft Stats- Str:28(+9) Dex:18(+4) Con:18(+4) Int:32(+11) Wis:9(-1) Cha:20(+5) BAB:+18/+13/+8/+3 Space:10ft Reach:10ft Defense- HP: AC:30(+4 Dexterity, +17 Deflection, -1 Size) Fort:+14 Ref:+12 Will:+17 CMD:39 Resist: Acid 20, Cold 20, Electricity 20, Fire 20 Immunity: Fear Special Defenses: DR5/Adamantine Offense- Bite +24(2d6+9), 2 Claw +25(1d8+9) CMB:+25 Speed:40ft Special Attacks: Rend (2 Claw, 2d8+14) Feats- Improved Initiative, Power Attack (-5/+10), Weapon Focus (Claw), Iron Will, Great Fortitude, Vital Strike, Combat Expertise, Improved Dirty Trick, Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, Greater Dirty Trick, Critical Focus Skills- Acrobatics +27, Climb +17, Escape Artist +32, Knowledge (Arcana, Dungeoneering, Engineering, Geography, Nature, Planes, Religion) +26, Knowledge (Local)* +29, Perception +27, Sense Motive +24, Spellcraft +39, Stealth +32, Survival +27, Swim +17, Use Magic Device +30 Spell-like Abilities- (Caster Level 20, Concentration +25) Dispel Magic /at-will Special Qualities- Ferocity Ecology- Environment- Forests, Swamps (Any) Languages- Common, Aklo, Abyssal, Draconic, Giant Organization- Solitary Treasure- None