#monster npc

[thecreaturecodex]

Ranna

"Slaadi" © Wizards of the Coast, by Sam Wood

[New Year, New Monsters! I am feeling much less burnt out than I was for the back half of 2023, and have built up a small backlog of new writing. I'm going to keep monsters I post to 2/week for now, to give myself time to go through said backlog in case the burnout rears up again when I'm back to work.

So for my first trick, is a monster NPC I actually wrote back in like September, but didn't post. Consider her an epilogue to the whole "Monster Girl Summer" thing. Ranna is @strawberry-crocodile's character, and fits with some of my other monstrous NPCs. She's Doctor Shiny's main minion, and their relationship serves as sort of a nasty counterpart to Gigi and Priscilla's. Of course, if you just want to use the stat block as a particularly burly slaad enforcer type, that works just as well as Ranna's baroque and macabre backstory.]

Ranna CR 18 CE Aberration This blue, frog-like humanoid has a triangular fanged snout, warty skin and enormous claws growing from the backs of their hands. A red gemstone is embedded in their skull, right between the eyes.

Marina Rhynne was an alchemy student at Endirion School in Absalom, prone to anxiety and to thinking with her stomach. She caught the eye of Doctor Agatha Shiny, who used the pretext of a dinner invitation and offer of a graduate program to abduct her and implant her with an alchemically treated red slaad egg. Doctor Shiny succeeded in one of her goals, which was to cause memories to be passed from the host to the parasite, but failed in that the resultant blue slaad did not maintain the intelligence of her progenitor. The resultant slaad, named Ranna, could recall her previous life in a hazy, dream-like way, but the predominant personality trait that was carried over was hunger.

Ranna is now Doctor Shiny’s Number One Minion, her assassin, procurer and lover. If Doctor Shiny needs someone eliminated or an unusual creature captured and brought to her, Ranna is the one to do it. She usually tracks her targets as an unassuming humanoid until she can set up an ambush and remove her greater hat of disguise. Ranna fights with her natural weapons almost exclusively, although she does occasionally toy with targets by battering them with heavy objects hurled by telekinesis. Although she is lapdog-loyal to Doctor Shiny and always follows her instructions for her specified victims, Ranna enjoys collateral damage, which usually involves biting bystanders. She views any red slaadi that are created through chaos phagethe way a proud parent views their children, and is happy to hear of any death and destruction they create.

Ranna’s personality is playful in a cruel way. She sees her progenitor, Marina Rhinne, as a pathetic figure, and has an air of contempt towards academic pursuits in general. She still appears as Rhynne when abroad in Absalom, and is the terror of Endirion School’s faculty, staff and students as Doctor Shiny’s personal assistant. Ranna is happy to play the bad guy so that Doctor Shiny can maintain her impeccable public reputation, and takes matters into her own claws if anyone gets too close to the truth about Doctor Shiny’s goals and activities. Ranna tends to dispose of the evidence of her murders by eating the corpses of her victims. She is also an excellent chef. Doctor Shiny does not eat food that Ranna prepares unless she is very sure of where the meat came from.

Ranna  CR 18 XP 153,600 Blue slaad slayer 9 (cutthroat) CE Large aberration (chaotic, slaadi) Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +19

Defense AC 33, touch 20, flat-footed 24 (-1 size, +8 Dex, +1 dodge, +9 natural, +4 armor, +2 deflection) hp 303 (11d8+9d10+200); fast healing 6 Fort +22, Ref +20, Will +15 Immune mind reading, sonic; Resist acid 10, cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10; SR 19

Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee +3 bite +32 (2d6+16 plus disease), 2 +3 claws +32 (2d6+16/19-20x3) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks augmented critical, opportune target, rend (2 claws, 2d6+22), sneak attack +3d6, stab and grab, studied target (swift or move action, +2) Spell-like Abilities CL 8th, concentration +11 3/day—hold person (DC 15), passwall, telekinesis (DC 18) 1/day—chaos hammer (DC 17)

Statistics Str 36, Dex 26, Con 30, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 16 Base Atk +17; CMB +31 (+33 bull rush); CMD 52 Feats Alertness,Awesome Blow, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (claw), Improved Natural Attack (bite), Intimidating Prowess, Killing Flourish, Power Attack Skills Acrobatics +20 (+24 in urban environments), Bluff +16, Climb +20, Disable Device +25, Disguise +16, Intimidate +34, Linguistics +4, Perception +19 (+23 vs. traps), Profession (chef) +14, Sense Motive +19, Stealth +21, Survival +15 Languages Common, Slaadi SQ legendary, slayer talents (surprise attack, trapfinding [trap sense +3], stalker, street stalker (Acrobatics) Gear manual of gainful exercise +4 (expended), manual of quickness of action +2 (expended), manual of bodily health +4 (expended), belt of physical perfection +4, bloodstained gloves, greater hat of disguise, soulbound eye, amulet of mighty fists +3, bracers of armor +4, boots of teleportation, cloak of resistance +3, ring of mind shielding, ring of protection +2, potion of fly (x2), potion of displacement, potion of haste, potion of lesser restoration (x2), potion of cure light wounds (x4), masterwork cooking tools, 150 gp

Special Abilities Augmented Critical (Ex) A blue slaad’s claws deal x3 damage on a successful critical hit. Disease (Su) Chaos phage; bite—injury; save Fort DC 25; onset 1 minute; frequency 1/day; effect 1d6 Con damage and 1d6 Cha damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. A creature that is reduced to 0 Con or Cha by chaos phage is immediately transformed into a red slaad. This transformation can only be reversed by a miracle or wish. A Small or Medium humanoid with levels in an arcane spellcasting class instead transforms into a green slaad. The save DC is Constitution based. Legendary (Ex) Ranna’s statistics are built with 25 point buy, and she has the equipment of an 18th level PC. These advantages increase her CR by +1. Opportune Target (Ex) If Ranna can act in the surprise round, she can study a foe as a free action and select them as her studied target. Stab and Grab (Ex) As a swift action, Ranna can attempt a steal combat maneuver against a dead or unconscious foe, or against a studied target that she has successfully confirmed a critical hit against. A dead or unconscious opponent takes a -10 penalty against this maneuver. Street Stalker (Ex) Ranna adds ½ her slayer level to Acrobatics checks made in urban environments.

[dare-to-dm]

I get a little miffed when I see people criticizing common scenarios in games like D&D such as killing bandits for being "violent" or "problematic" and suggesting that people can/should play D&D in a more non-violent way.

I agree that it is very possible to do and I'm cool with people playing games they own however they want to. But the reality is that most of D&D's mechanics were designed specifically with combat in mind. You look at any given class, and that's what the bulk of their abilities are for. For pretty much everything else, you have a "skills" system that functions, but is not developed with much depth. Most of the toys you get to play with are there to simulate fantasy violence. And part of the fantasy in such a game is that you can solve problems, save the day and be a hero with violence. Enjoying that fantasy doesn't make you a bad person, and if you don't enjoy that fantasy, you might be better served playing a game with a different design philosophy and priorities.

For comparison, imagine it's a hot summer day and you're watching some kids play outside. It's your job to keep them entertained, healthy and safe. So you want them to play a game that's going to get them physically active, have fun and cool off.

So you set out a big bin of water balloons and super soakers and a hose and tell them they should all get wet. If those kids pick up the super soakers and the water balloons and start shooting each other and playing war, it would be weird of you to then chastise them for simulating violence. After all, that's basically what those toys are explicitly designed to do. And sure, you could explain to the kids that they could instead choose to spray themselves with the hose or pop the balloons by sitting on them or whatever. There are definitely possible ways to use those toys that don't involve pretending to be violent. But if that's such a dealbreaker for you, you probably shouldn't have bought those toys in the first place. Like, you could have set up a sprinkler or a Slip'n'Slide or an inflatable pool instead. Choose the toys/the game that's designed for what you want.

And don't assume that just because I would relish taking someone out "execution style" with a super soaker that I would approve of the same thing in a non pretend situation.

[rad-batson]

Multiverse AU where different variants of Damian Wayne Al Ghul are accidentally hailed to one universe and Damian is in the middle, trying to get all of them back home, but it only gets worse and NOT for the reasons you would think.

So picture this: there’s a sea of Damian variants crowded into the Batcave. One’s a leader of the LOA. Another became the next Harley Quinn? One is a mute assassin. Another is Red Hood’s apprentice. One’s Batman. One’s a meta for some reason. Another is the leader of a revolution. One’s a monk. And another is a clone. They’re all somehow involved in vigilantism or the LOA.

And then there’s a completely normal one. He goes by Dami. He’s in college :) He works at an art studio. He’s got a heart condition. He has a boyfriend, and he has never been Robin before. In fact, he doesn’t even know his dad is Batman. So in a room full of wildly different versions, this Damian sticks out like a sore thumb. He’s like an NPC just standing in the middle of a final battle.

What he does know is that his mother, Talia, left the LOA with him when he was two because she fell in love with Bruce. Since then, the three have lived a Perfectly Normal Life as Perfectly Normal People in a moderately nice house in the suburbs of Gotham.

And you know what? No one questions it. Out of all the problems the Damians are having right now, Normal Damian is the least of them. So he just sits to the side, completely chill, and doesn’t interfere.

But then some chaos happens, the Damians are all sucked into a battle at some secondary location, Normal Dami is kidnapped, gets killed, and everyone’s super depressed about it. (Gosh, he was so nice. Why did it have to be him? Boo hoo. We didn’t even have time to recover the body.)

Until they head back to the cave…and there he is. Respawned. Alive. Confused.

He was literally dead on the floor two hours ago. They checked for a pulse! He bled out. Normal NPC Dami is supposed to be dead. But nope. He’s right there. “Hey, what happened? The last thing I remember is being tied up. Did I faint again?”

Everyone else, the whole batfamily and the mini Damian army, is like “wtf how’d you get here, buddy?” While he’s just like :) so Bruce, who put a bug on the security cameras or whatever, checks the footage and what he finds is absolutely horrifying.

Just after he died, Normal Dami’s eyes snapped open. Glowing a deep Lazarus Green. He stood up, walked out, and immediately fucking decimated the remaining group of kidnappers like a rabid animal. Literally anyone who got near him were goners, and Thank Sweet Jesus he didn’t run into anyone on the walk back because he didn’t care to clean off all that blood. Nope, he just walked right through the front doors of the manor, found a clean set of clothes, completely on autopilot, then all of the adrenaline wore off, and he collapsed from exhaustion.

So everyone watches the footage. NPC Damian is horrified. He insists that’s not him because he doesn’t kill people! How could they ever accuse him of killing people?! He has never done something like that. He can’t even walk up a flight of stairs without getting winded for Christ’s sake!

Nonetheless, he agrees to sit in their itty bitty holding cell as they do some fun little tests, and lo and behold: he is so genetically fucked up. Why? Because his DNA isn’t like the other Damians. It’s completely mutated by this green glowing substance that they know all too well.

The verdict? Normal Dami has been permanently mutated by the Lazarus Pit. The Lazarus Pit is inside of him. It IS him. Or maybe Normal NPC Damian is the Lazarus Pit.

When Normal Dami was two and he and Talia still lived with the LOA, there was an incident involving Damian drowning in the Lazarus Pit (à la Ra’s Al Ghul's Stellar Grand-Parenting Skills.) However, since he wasn’t dead, the Lazarus Pit devoured him, consumed him with violent pit madness, spat him back out, and Damian became this completely, unstoppably rage-filled toddler that can throw you over his shoulder and snap your neck. So Talia, terrified of what Ra’s would do with him, escaped to Gotham, found Bruce, begged for help, and they devised a plan.

Step 1: Raise Lazarus Damian as a completely normal kid.

Step 2: Take him to therapy. Maybe give him anger management classes. (Monitor his sugar intake. That couldn’t hurt.)

That was literally their whole plan. They had no other ideas ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Occasionally, he’d snap and kill someone in cold blood (whoopsie daisy) but his parents were an assassin and the world's greatest detective. No one’s gonna know.

Through some trial and error, they found out that abrupt adrenaline spikes were what triggered the madness. So they worked around it. They gave him calm, relaxing hobbies. They spoiled him with emotional support animals. They Never Raised Their Voices. He was homeschooled for a bit then introduced to university, but only AFTER they made sure Jon (the Indestructable Superboy) was his roommmate. (Yes, they told him. Yes, he is now part of the convoluted Keep Deadly Damian Relaxed Task Force. They’re also dating.) They got Damian a FitBit that tracked his heart rate so they could predict when his adrenaline spiked. They Life360’d his ass so fucking hard. Meanwhile, Damian just thought he had some kind of medical thing, none the wiser the entire time.

Long story short? “Chill Normal NPC Damian” Cannot Die. But he can Kill.

If he does “die” (the Lazarus Pit cannot die) then he goes into a murderous rage, kills everyone in sight, it wears off with the adrenaline, and he can’t remember what happened. This Damian is the Most Dangerous of the variants, and he doesn’t even know it because his parents decided that would be best.

And now the other Damians are scared of him, and he’s scared of himself, and no one knows why he's made of the Lazarus Pit, and they don’t know what to do with him, and they still don’t know how to get back, and some of them want to kill him, and some don't, but no one trusts him, including himself, and it becomes an all-out war over the fate of Damian.

Anyway, Normal Damian who's actually a Murderous Lazarus Spirit without even knowing it. Thank you :)

[italoniponic]

[captainsophiestark]

FHJY episode 2 was honestly one of my favorites ever, but Ally YEETING Lou's dice was especially cathartic 🙌 they did what the rest of us could only dream of

[tabletopresources]

[Pinterest]

Check out Tabletop Gaming Resources for more art, tips, and tools for your game!

[aliensupersyn]

Gon be turned every way but loose, please help him !!

Join my anime Discord and talk about anime and shit w me!

[citruscore]

new teen just dropped

[5ecardaday]

Commanders of New Capenna

Another weekend, another brand-new release from me. This time it’s back to the schedule as normal, with the results of last month’s Monster Popularity Contest (a monthly patreon poll where supporters vote to see their favorite monsters, NPCs, and other enemies come to life.) These five friendly mugs are the face commanders from the commander decks released alongside Streets of New Cappena. Each one serves a different family, and plays a different role in the glamorous politics of this 30′s-themed fantasy setting.

If you’d like early access to more content like this, the ability to vote in polls like the one mentioned above, and other patron-exclusive releases like monthly subclasses and more, you can sign up to support me for as little as $2/month!

[thecreaturecodex]

Ada Shorewalker

Image © @iguanodont

[Another OC, and one of the first ones I came up with before realizing that I could make an entire Monster Girl Summer out of it. Ada is definitely a version of myself, much like Jade Seven is. I tied her to Castle Xyntillian in this flavor text because it seemed like a good fit for for her, either as a powerful ally for lower level players, or as someone in need of rescue for higher level ones.]

Ada Shorewalker CR 8 N Monstrous Humanoid This anthropomorphic seal has long red hair and a gentle, curious expression. She wears a seal-skin cape and carries a spear.

Ada Shorewalker was always more interested in observation than in the actual hunt. While other selkies of her pack preferred to play malicious tricks on humanoids, Ada spent her time in tide pools and beach-combing, paying special attention to those land organisms that came to rest or forage on the seaside. As Ada grew up, she practiced her shapeshifting to emulate the other animals around her, and eventually grew in tune with nature to the point of learning druidic magic. She has now left her pack behind, exploring on land in order to learn more about the life that exists independently of the ocean.

Despite her gentle nature, Ada is especially interested in things like predator-prey relationships, decomposition and toxicology. Fungi are fairly rare in the ocean, and so she is fascinated by fungi and fungal creatures. When she is comfortable with someone, she often infodumps to them about all of the things she’s learned; her idea of “fun facts” is decidedly morbid and sometimes very gross. She views undeath as an aberration, but a particularly interesting one.

In combat, Ada switches from fun-loving to all business. She uses her animal focus to take on aspects like dolphin, orca or turtle, and then closes into melee with her spear or natural weapons. She prefers not to fight in wild shape mode, as Ada usually saves it to take a flying form if she needs to make a quick getaway. Ada is a little headstrong, and is not used to working alongside others, but given time and practice could become an excellent teammate.

Due to her attraction towards macabre topics, Ada Shorewalker has been considering an expedition to Castle Xyntillian. She has heard that Lake Xyntillian is home to an entire population of freshwater plesiosaurs, for example, and unusual plants and fungi grow throughout the grounds. She is confident that she can deal with any undead creatures that she encounters, because she has underestimated the sheer number of powerful undead that live on the grounds. She has no idea, for example, about powerful guests such as The Sickness or Debbie Twice-Born, or that Hubert Malevol the Huntsman has never stalked a selkie before and would be happy to add her head to his trophy collection.

Ada has red hair and a fat build in all of her humanoid forms. She gets along especially well with gnomes.

Ada Shorewalker          CR 8 XP 4,800 Female selkie druid 6 (variant feral shifter) N Medium monstrous humanoid (shapechanger) Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +14, scent Defense AC 19, touch 14, flat-footed 15 (+4 Dex, +5 natural) hp 90 (12d8+36) Fort +11, Ref +12, Will +14; +4 vs. fey Resist cold 10 Defensive Abilities resist nature’s lure Offense Speed 20 ft., swim 50 ft. Melee masterwork spear +15 (1d8+6/x3), bite +9 (1d8+4) or bite +14 (1d8+6), 2 claws +14 (1d6+4) Ranged masterwork spear +15 (1d8+4/x3) or sling +14 (1d4+4) Special Attacks animal focus (6 minutes/day), aquatic focus, powerful blows (bite), shake, wild shape (2/day, Tiny to Large animal, Small elemental) Spells CL 6th, concentration +10 (+14 casting defensively) 3rd—greater magic fang, neutralize poison (DC 16), speak with plants 2nd—barkskin, bear’s endurance, elemental speech, slipstream 1st—faerie fire, obscuring mist, produce flame, speak with animals 0th—detect magic, detect poison, purify food and drink, stabilize Statistics Str 18, Dex 18, Con 17, Int 16, Wis17, Cha 16 Base Atk +10; CMB +14; CMD 28 Feats Alertness, Combat Casting,Improved Critical (bite)B, Improved Initiative, Natural Spell, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Knowledge: nature) Skills Bluff +9, Diplomacy +9, Disguise +9, Knowledge (arcana, dungeoneering) +9, Knowledge (geography) +12, Knowledge (nature) +17, Heal +12, Perception +14, Sense Motive +14, Spellcraft +12, Stealth +13, Survival +14, Swim +21 Languages Aquan, Common, Druidic, Gnome, Sylvan SQ change shape (any Small or Medium humanoid, alter self), echo of reason, hold breath, nature sense, trackless step, wild empathy +9, woodland step Gear seafoam shawl of resistance +1, pearl of power (1st level), wand of cure light wounds, scroll of lesser restoration, masterwork spear, sling with 10 bullets,coral and pearls worth 46 gp Special Abilities Animal Focus (Su): At 1st level, as a swift action, a feral shifter can take on the aspect of an animal, gaining a bonus or special ability based on the type of animal emulated. This functions as the hunter’s animal focus class feature. The feral shifter can use this ability for a number of minutes per day equal to her druid level. This duration does not need to be consecutive, but it must be spent in 1-minute increments. She can emulate only one animal at a time. This ability replaces nature bond. Aquatic Focus (Su) Ada Shorewalker draws her animal focuses from the list for the aquatic beastmaster hunter archetype. Echo of Reason (Su) A selkie can instinctively alter the intonation of its voice to make anything it says sound more pleasing to those who understand it. When using the Bluff skill, a selkie treats its lies as one step more believable for the purposes of bonuses or penalties on the check. Shake (Ex) On a successful critical hit with its bite attack, a selkie automatically violently shakes a Large or smaller target. The target must succeed at a DC 16 Fortitude save or it is dazed for 1 round. Even on a successful save, the target still takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and skill checks for the next 2 rounds. The save DC is Constitution-based.

[presiding]

standing still in a moving scene

meagan foster by @lapinneok for the monster in the hull

[varilien]

i honestly don't remember why i did this because the way i ALWAYS am is that i cannot settle on a design i'll make edits every single time i draw it forever fdhgjhdk

also spose i'll tell y'all more about leaden skies while we're here

since wolfwood's the only licensed hunter of the group, he's the only one who can take on hunts legally, although the others are more than capable of defending themselves as necessary in an emergency

okay OBVIOUSLY milly has huge gunlancer vibes but i've set her up with a handy Knight Lance her old instructor gave her when she was just starting out with the guild. i like to think she's always making friends with hunters she meets and convincing them to show her some tricks with whatever they're proficient in

meryl has a hand-me-down Guild Knight Saber set from her family that she brought with her when she moved out to work for the guild. guild work is good work for a variety of reasons, and she's probably got more than one relative working for them as well, hence the sabers. her family is generally very supportive

vash is a pacifist. despite this, he keeps one half to a very old dual blade set on his person at all times, as well as a God's Island light bowgun. it's anyone's guess how he got so proficient with both when he refuses to fight

wolfwood has a range of proficiencies with many weapons (chapel never would have let him get so far in his studies if he couldn't be that adaptable), but he tends to favor greatswords, charge blades and heavy bowguns. his Punisher has seen him through some of the worst days of his life

that said i don't wanna draw any of these things LMAO

[riwooga]

Part 2 of DOL npcs! Criminals edition ✨

The day any of them become love interests I’ll die happy (ESPECIALLY WREN)

Anyway here’s the close up’s too, excuse the mess 😌

[quiddling]

If jake coolice has million number of fans i am one of them . if jake coolice has ten fans i am one of them. if jake coolice have only one fan and that is me . if jake coolice has no fans, that means i am no more on the earth. if world agains jake coolice, i am against the world. i love #jake coolice till my last breath.. ..Die hard fan of jake coolice . Hit Like If you Think jake coolice Best character & Smart in the world

[pcktknife]

every new thing i learn about dnd im like damn this shit crazy as hell

[pyrotechnicdarts]

mhw handler get behind me