#there can only be like 15 gnomes spawned at one time

[twiggybeing]

thinking about that time I made a gnome farm in terraria...

cant give exact numbers, but it was a hell of a lot more efficient than any other ones i'd seen online

[exsanguidus]

Below is a streamlined compilation of information about Cazador Szarr and the Szarr Spawn. I used this Reddit post and this Tumblr post as references, as well as my own gameplay exploration and deductions.

Baldur's Gate Vampire Masters:

612 - 698: Eravask the Forebear

698 -713: Zholtan Farr the Eviscerator

713 - 888: Madame Tallon the Well-Preserved

888 - 955: The Interregnum (temporary suppression by Lathanderians)

955 - 998: Blaiseuse the Coryphee

998 - 1019: Dykson Nightbinder

1019 - 1019: Failbleur the Fleeting

1019 - 1138: Hideous Gathwycke "Who Knew Not Satiety"

1138 - 1204: Donnela Szarr the Architect

1204 - 1276: Vellioth the Martinet - Cazador's Vampire Master

I. Always dominate. Allow none to be your equal. · Vellioth recalls when Cazador reached out to a former friend. His punishment was to watch as Vellioth drained his friend dry. II. Power comes from solitude. To share with others is to be weak, and to be weak is to fail… and die. · Vellioth recalls when Cazador rebelled against him. Cazador suffered eleven years of impalement… because he failed. III. Act not in haste. A near immortal has time to plan, time to act when others will pay the price of action. · Vellioth recalls Cazador, his lesson learned, killing him in the Rite of Perfect Slaughter. How they both laughed! Vellioth recalls Cazador boiling the flesh from his skull and then, to mock him, clamping his Schooling Scroll in Vellioth's jaws.

1276 - 1492: Cazador Szarr the Avid - Elf - Vampire Lord

I. First, thou shalt not drink of the blood of thinking creatures. II. Second, thou shalt obey me in all things. III. Third, thou shalt not leave my side unless directed. IV. Fourth, thou shalt know that thou art mine.

Note: Kozakuran language (from Kara-Tur) was forbidden for Cazador's Spawns to learn.

Other Vampire Masters:

Mrel Alkam - Vampire Master of Athkatla

Cazador seems to be in a rivalry with this Vampire Lord, based on the letter you can find in Cazador's Corner.

Cazador's Seven Spawn:

Aurelia - Tiefling

Likely the oldest Spawn, due to being one level higher than the rest if you examine her stats.

Astarion Ancunín - Elf

Astarion states he was one of Cazador's first Spawn. Not the first, but one of the first. This implies there was at least one Spawn created before him.

Former Magistrate in Baldur's Gate.

Born 1261 DR. Turned 1300 DR. Kills Cazador in 1492 DR.

Astarion was 15 years old when Cazador killed Vellioth and took over as the Vampire Master of Baldur's Gate. He was 39 when he became a Spawn. Astarion is 231 during the events of the game and when he kills Cazador. This means he had been a Spawn for 192 years during the game.

Petras refers to Astarion as a "runt" and "the runt of the litter" when you find him and Dalyria while playing the origin Astarion run. This ties into my theory that Astarion, despite being one of Cazador's first Spawn, was deemed the Scapegoat within their vampiric family. This also goes into my other theory that all of the Spawn, to some degree, participated in each other's abuse; be it actively, such as how Petras and Astarion seemed to have a mutually verbally abusive relationship, or passively, by simply not speaking up or trying to show too much fondness for one another, as a means to try and gain greater favor with Cazador.

Violet - Elf

States in her diary that she put garlic in Yousen's bed as a prank because he was a "whining runt", which caused him to break out in a rash.

Unsure if she's older or younger than Yousen, despite refering to him as a runt. Astarion is also referred to as a runt by Petras, though its inferred that Astarion is older than Petras.

Leon worried most about Violet harming Victoria, based on his diary.

Yousen - Gnome

Astarion seems to be racist against Gnomes, based on dialogue suggesting he views gnomes as animals and in how he gives backhanded compliments to a gnome Tav.

In Act 1, after he bites Tav, if you tell him to only drink from animals, he asks: "I mean, elves and humans are obviously out, but goblins? Kobolds? Gnomes?"

Astarion expresses distaste at the idea of saving Nere just for the sake of saving the gnome slaves trapped with him, if Tav talks to him and mentions the idea.

It's unknown if Astarion's dislike and dehumanization of gnomes existed before Yousen became a Spawn or if this developed due to consistent negative interactions with Yousen over their centuries being forced to play brothers. Either way, it's him generalizing and discriminating an entire race, and that should still be recognized as problematic.

Dalyria - Elf

Former Physician General to the Parliament of Baldur's Gate.

Believed that vampirism was some sort of blood disorder that could be cured.

Seems to be close to Petras, or at least close enough to actually have a visceral reaction when Astarion puts Petras in the sunlight. This may be because they're close in age, though its unknown if she or Petras is older of the two.

It could be argued she's fairly young due to the fact that, when you play origin Astarion, she seems to genuinely believe that they're all a family. She's far more vocal about the idea of family, telling Astarion "I can't believe you'd turn on us! On your own family!" if he attempts violence towards Petras. This could potentially showcase her naivety and gullibility of being a younger Spawn not yet fully experienced with the full breadth of Cazador's cruelty or her lack of experience truly competing with the other Spawn for her own self-preservation.

Pale Petras - Human

Around 100 years in age, deduced by his dialogue with Dalyria where he states he's had to feed on rats and dogs for 100 years.

Leon Onufrio - Human

Sorcerer. Based on various journals and notes in the palace, Leon was still able to cast magic; deduced by the fact he cast a spell to protect Victoria so as to make attempting to feed from her unappealing to the other Spawn.

Has been a Spawn at least 6 years.

Was the Favored Spawn for 5 out of the recent 6 years. Violet claimed the spot for one year.

Victoria - Human · Child, Daughter of Leon. · Dalyria's journal claims that Victoria is still "pureblood", implying Victoria is still fully Human and not a Dhampir, hence her wanting to use Victoria's blood as a potential cure. Leon's journal also states that Cazador forced Leon to bring Victoria with him to the palace after Leon had been turned, implying she hadn't been turned. · Cazador weaponized her safety as a method to maintain control over Leon. · If you use Speak with Dead on Victoria's body in the guest room, she claims she was an orphaned child who had been lured by Dalyria before she was killed. · Leon's journal reveals he had been making plans with Figaro to disguise and sneak Victoria out of Cazador's clutches. It can be deduced that he succeed and swapped his daughter with the orphan Dalyria had lured, and somehow enchanted or disguised her to look like Victoria.

Amanita Szarr / Lady Incognita

Cazador's niece who was forcibly turned into a vampire. Her entries claim that Cazador personally summoned her.

Her various entries begin in 1477, when she was 13. Astarion was turned in 1300 DR, so he would have been alive during these events and would have been aged 216. Which means this occurred 15 years before the game.

Wrote a journal detailing that the blood diseases Red Thrombosis and Thandals Paroxsym could give a vampire a brief illness if they ingest infected blood. She also states a vampire could train themselves to recognize infected prey by scent before biting them.

Servants:

Antwun Dufay - Chamberlain

Lurianna Sauvage - Werewolf · Lover of Antwun

Godey - Skeleton - Right Hand

Syrin - Human

Greenfern - Wood Half-Elf

Vilhelm - Human

Varderola - Human

Astarion's Named Victims:

Sebastian

Astarion states he was one of his first victims.

Wensleydale

Hapdim

Gondlemead

Likely Astarion's most recent victim, due to being the only Level 1 when you check the prisoners' stats.

Note: Please look at this post that clarifies Larian potentially made an error regarding the dates on his tombstone.

[thecreaturecodex]

Siktempora, Triumph

Image © Paizo Publishing. Accessed at Archives of Nethys here

[The triumph siktempora might be my favorite of that flavor of outsider. Look at how smug he is! What a jerk.]

Siktempora, Triumph CR 14 LN Outsider (extraplanar) This creature resembles a small humanoid with four arms and too many joints in their legs. They wear a robe of gold and various medals and badges. Their face is locked into a triumphant grin, never adjusting or changing expression.

Triumph siktemporas are created on the Dimension of Time as reflections of great emotional satisfaction for a job well done. Anything from winning a war to successfully removing a particularly onerous splinter can theoretically spawn a triumph siktempora. They travel the planes in search of victories, as they see their sense of purpose in always striving to win or die trying. Athletics competitions and pitched battles are natural habitats for a triumph siktempora, but they may also intervene in legal battles or other contests of skill. Triumph siktemporas believe in following the rules of a competition very strictly, and go out of their way to punish cheaters and those who manipulate luck.

A triumph siktempora fights with their fists and feet rather than with teeth or claws or manufactured weapons (although they will engage in weapon duels if challenged). They are fond of combat maneuvers, especially against single targets, and are skilled wrestlers despite their small size. Although their facial expressions rarely change, they can add a thrust of emotional energy to their smug grins that literally harms their opponents psychically. Triumph siktemporas are somewhat disdainful of creatures without naturally rapid healing, like themselves, and often go out of their way to harass anyone healing themselves or others.

A triumph siktempora typically stands about three feet tall, and may be mistaken for halflings or gnomes. They rarely disguise themselves intentionally, unless entering a masquerade or other costume contest.

Triumph Siktempora      CR 14 XP 38,400 LN Small outsider (extraplanar, lawful, siktempora) Init +9; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +25 Aura cheaters never prosper (50 ft., Will DC 23)

Defense AC 29, touch 20, flat-footed 24(+1 size, +1 dodge, +4 Dex, +4 insight, +9 natural) hp 189 (18d10+90); fast healing 15 Fort +16, Ref +15, Will +10 DR 10/good or orichalcum; Immune disease, mind-influencing effects, pain, poison

Offense Speed 60 ft., air walk Melee unarmed strike +27/+22/+17/+12 or +25/+25/+20/+20/+15/+15/+10 (2d6+8) Special Attacks burst of uncanny speed, clinch victory, pugilist training, winning smile Spell-like Abilities CL 14th, concentration +19 Constant—air walk At will—temporal jaunt 1/day—plane shift (self only)

Statistics Str 26, Dex 18, Con 20, Int 19, Wis 19, Cha 21 Base Atk +18; CMB +25 (+27 disarm, grapple, trip); CMD 40 (42 vs. disarm, grapple, trip) Feats Combat Reflexes,Dodge, Improved Disarm, Improved Grapple, Improved Trip, Improved Unarmed Strike (B), Mobility, Power Attack, Step Up, Spring Attack, Whirlwind Attack (B) Skills Acrobatics +21 (+33 when jumping), Climb +29, Diplomacy +23, Heal +22, Intimidate +23, Knowledge (planes) +25, Perception +25, Perform (any one) +26, Sense Motive +25, Swim +29 Languages Aklo (cannot speak); telepathy 300 ft.

Ecology Environment any land (Dimension of Time) Organization solitary, pair or ceremony (3-6) Treasure incidental

Special Abilities Burst of Uncanny Speed (Su) On the first round of combat, a triumph siktempora moves as if it were affected by a haste spell. It can use Whirlwind Attack on this first round of combat as a standard action, making one melee attack or combat maneuver at its highest base attack bonus against each opponent within reach. Cheaters Never Prosper (Su) A creature gaining a luck bonus to any die rolls, or gaining a reroll from luck effects (such as the Luck domain or the fortune hex) within 50 feet of a triumph siktempora must make a DC 23 Will save or be staggered for 1 round. The save DC is Charisma based. Clinch Victory (Su) A triumph siktempora can make an attack of opportunity against any creature taking an action to heal itself, even if that action (like a channel energy or using a wand) does not normally provoke attacks of opportunity. Pugilist Training (Ex) A triumph siktempora gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. It deals damage with its unarmed strikes, and gains access to the flurry of blows ability, as if it were a monk with character levels equal to its Hit Dice. Temporal Jaunt (Sp) As a standard action, a triumph siktempora can vanish into the time stream, reappearing in another location. This ability functions as dimension door (so a typical triumph siktempora can jaunt up to 960 feet), but the siktempora can take other actions that round after reappearing, and the destination must be in a location the siktempora could reach normally by walking. Temporal jaunts are not true teleportation—the siktempora simply travels to a later point in the time stream—so the ability can be used in areas that bar teleportation effects; however, in such areas a siktempora can travel only a distance equal to its speed. Temporal Sense (Ex) A siktempora can sense all the possible futures of the coming seconds. This grants it an insight bonus on its Initiative checks and to its Armor Class equal to its Wisdom bonus (+5 for the typical triumph siktemporas). Winning Smile (Su) As a standard action, a triumph siktempora can flash a smile at an enemy within 15 feet. The creature targeted takes 10d6 points of damage, and all of its attacks deal nonlethal damage against the siktempora for the next round. A successful DC 23 Will save halves the damage and negates the nonlethal damage effect. This is a mind-influencing emotion effect, and the save DC is Charisma based.

[obsoletesystem]

D&D Ask Meme

@wisdom-fangs​ asked me to do all the questions of this D&D ask post. So I did. 1. A favorite character you have played. I really like playing monstrous characters. Currently in Adventurers League, I play Frattek Venvaris, bugbear rogue/barbarian, who is a delightfully goofy character. But I also miss playing Bajur Mashoir, a very charismatic lizardfolk "voodoo" shaman, whose catchphrase was: "As you can see, I am an alligator, sir..." spoken in a thick southern brawl. 2. Your favorite character that someone else has played. During a one shot the guy that played an evil halfling warlock sacrificed himself to blow up the big bad with a block of dynamite. The true MVP. 3. Your favorite side quest. Idk. 4. Your current campaign. I DM a homebrew campaign, in which the party is stuck between sides in a war between the local Jarl and a fey duchess who has taken over a part of the woods. I also participate as a player in a slight homebrewed Salt Marsh campaign, in which I play a tiefling cleric of Pelor. She's got a Sad Backstory. 5. Favorite NPC. The Loathesome Gribble, an NPC in the game I DM, who is a very small tiefling sorcerer with an immense knife collection and a four-armed aasimar monk girlfriend. He is found in the most of unlikely places and his signature spell is "Gribble's Hand of Sand", which may or may be not magical, as it blinds a creature with sand, but the material component is just a handfull of coarse sand. 6. Favorite death (monster, player character, NPC, etc). The druid in our home game charged into giant stag form at a huge burning construct (The Burning Man from Burning Man, but moving), missed his attack, upon which the Burning Man rolled nat 20's on BOTH ITS ATTACKS. No advantage, no nothing, just two straight 20's. He grabbed the stag by its antlers, turned its head 360 degrees, and dropped a flaming, mutilated dwarf to the ground. 7. Your favorite downtime activity. I always like to do something that tells a little bit about the culture of the creature I play. When I was on haitus because of school, I described how Frattek had spend some time with his little bugbear niece, and had just returned from a fun little war (seeing as bugbears love to fight). 8. Your favorite fight/encounter. We had to fight a vampire spawn in a dank, dark basement, but it was light outside, and Frattek is incredibly good at grappling creatures, so we dragged the vampire out from his basement into the sunlit street, and then made a run for it as we had broken into a house. 9. Your favorite thing about D&D. Coming together with friends and not drinking (a lot) or smoking weed. I like doing those things too, but it is also fun to just hang out and play games where heavy drinking is not really handy. 10. Your favorite enemy and the enemy you hate the most. Dragons are the best, spellcasters are the worst. Spellcasting Dragons are the bees knees. My players, however, are going to hate a certain spellcaster very much. Once they find out... 11. How often do you play and how often would you ideally like to play? Usually once a week, but I'd love to be able to balance twice a week. One day as player, one day as DM. 12. Your in game inside jokes/memes/catchphrases and where they came from. "Name and occupation, please" comes from when we played Pathfinder, and one of the characters died, but I didn't want to get rid of him yet or he was set up to be reincarnated or some shit idk. Anyway, his soul arrives in purgatory, which turns out to be this bureaucratic office, where he has to stand in line for a long, long time, before arriving at a booth/desk type situation, in which an Ophanim angel (one of them burning wheels full of eyes) floats that asks with a bored sigh "Name and occupation, please". The player answered, and was set up for reincarnation, which involved shooting his soul from a cannon/drop tube into the unborn baby of a local woman. The child grows up unnaturally quickly, and because it has the soul of a mature orc barbarian, it is more than a little trouble. Nephertheless, the "Name and occupation, please" gag remained forever. 13. Introduce your current party. My Homeboys, the Lords of Okab Volal, are Nazreen, a wood elf ranger who missed her wolf, played by @tabula-wasa​, Tophr Thanestone, the previously mentioned dwarf druid who was murdered by a giant flaming effigy and subsequently reincarnated/put into the body of a frost elf woman (something he hasn't come to terms with) played by our bearded friend Glenn, and Adelon Vrena, half-elf bard/cleric/divine soul sorcerer a.k.a. Healer Supreme, who is really righteous but not above torturing a captive githyanki, and played by Arnaud. The Schadestenen (meaning "Damage Stones", as in dice), which is the OG Adventurers League group in the Spellenhoorn in Hoorn, consist of Aiden Rainbowscale (Albino orphan wood-elf monk/barbarian), Fjorgyn (dwarven cleric of Moradin, who died last week and still suffered from the Death Curse. RIP.), Frattek Venvaris (Bugbear barbarian/arcane trickster and gladiator/luchador, played by me), Gideon Thornton (cowardly Half-Orc Hexblade), Grommash Hellscream (Stereotypical Half-Orc Barbarian. Great guy.), Ruldra (disgraced Hobgoblin undead-hunting Ranger), Cadence (Powerful but stupid Half-elf Grave Cleric/Divine Soul Sorcerer who never learned how to read), Ullr (Arnaud's Gloom Stalker and Human Machine Gun), and Darin (half-elf ranger and Master Of Backflip). The Peeps from Salt Marsh, DMed by the guy that plays Darin, in which Arnaud plays William Wisenose, The Awfully Lucky Halfling Build (halfling wizard/bard/whatever), Cadence's player plays Sylver Ravenstar (half-elf bard/hexblade/run away princess), her friend plays Samm Enoch (Aasimar Bard and Very Handsome Man), Aiden's player plays Ankis (Aasimar Celestial Warlock and very secretive about both these facts because Back Story), and his friend plays Vena Malum (Human Bloodhunter, who is really buff and does that swirly thing with her falchions, and oh my...), Grommash's player plays Morgain of Astora (human paladin of Pelor, and companion/boyfriend/substitute son to my character), and I play Paytsarra Avèry (winged tiefling cleric of Pelor). Praise the sun. 14. Introduce any other parties you have played in or DM-ed. We had one party consisting of a drider, a very evil dwarf, a fire genasi, a gnome psychic, and a kenku ninja at one point. When the evil dwarf died, and I introduced the guy's new drow "medic", I knew I lost all cohesion of the group. 15. Do you have snacks during game times? My players do. I don't like snacks that much. 16. Do you play online or in person? Which do you prefer? In person. I tried playing online, and I think I would do again, but only if I'd have a really good headset. 17. What are some house rules that your group has? In the Salt Marsh campaign you double the value of the dice on a crit, which I think is disappointing. I just wanna roll a lot of dice :( 18. Does your party keep any pets? @tabula-wasa​'s ranger has a dire wolf...somewhere...

19. Do you or your party have any dice superstitions? Not that I know of. I do know some of my dice seem to roll better than others. 20. How did you get into D&D? How long have you been playing? I found a d&d character creation app on the web ages ago, and that sparked my interest. Later I joined a warhammer fantasy role play group with a friend I had been rp-ing online with a lot, but this was the real deal, at Arnaud's house. He dmed number of campaigns for us, and later he joined my pathfinder group which turned into a D&D 5th edition group. 21. Have you ever regretted something your character has done? Yeah. Frattek decided to be a hero and tried to assassinate an ogre torturer. He failed his shot. We had to fucking run. 22. What color was your first dragon? The first dragon I fought as a character was a young Red Dragon. Even at 5th level, we whooped its ass. He found himself in a cave, surrounded by fools, and we beat him to pulp. The first dragon I put in front of my players was a young White Dragon. It kicked their asses. 23. Do you use premade modules or original campaigns? I usually homebrew my own campaigns, but I have dmed some AL sessions. 24. How much planning/preparation do you do for a game? Not an incredible amount, but for my home game I prepare ideas months, even years, in advance. For DMs 25. What have your players done that you never could have planned for? A lot. The most notable was casting Dispel Magic on the demiplane-item the cultists were in... and then opening the demiplane underwater. 26. What was your favorite scene to write and show your characters. I had these zombies that always repeated the last thing they said before they died, which was cool and creepy. But the thing I really wrote out was the description of how an Astral Ship warps space around itself, and what that looks like from the people on the deck of the ship. 27. Do you allow homebrew content? If it's well written, absolutely, but there is a lot of shit out there. 28. How often do you use NPCs in a party? When it makes sense, but I try not to do that too often. 29. Do you prefer RP heavy sessions or combat sessions? I prefer RP sessions, but I am leaning more toward combat. On the other hand, I don't think it completely excludes each other nor should it. I am of the opinion that 30. Are your players diplomatic or murder hobos? Rather diplomatic, but they can definitely kick ass. For Players 31. What is your favorite class? Favorite race? I like casters, and I will always have an affinity for wizards, but arcane tricksters and eldritch knights are cool too. I like elves, and I like monstrous races; goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears. I like things that are pretty and scary, or creepy and goofy. 32. What role do you like to play the most? (Tank/healer/etc?) I usually mix a bit of tank and dps. I don't like being very frail, but I do enjoy doing a lot of damage in one shot. 33. How do you write your backstory, or do you even write a backstory? I tend to write a character from a concept, and then build out the backstory. How did this person become the person they are today? Even if you have something of a bugbear, or a hobgoblin, or a yuan-ti. They have had a childhood, they have role models, they have culture. But what is that? What defines a character? What makes them they way they are? I don't like playing monstrous races that have been adopted by a "better, nobler race" like humans and elves and dwarves. I get the appeal, but I also think it is a little trite, and a little condenscending, almost. I think a lot about what defines a monstrous identity, and being a Cultural Anthropologist, I think a lot about the way culture shapes the values and morality and thus also behaviour of a creature. Do hobgoblins tell their children bedtime stories? What are they about? How will a bugbear struggle in regular humanoid society, where his violent urges -natural to him- are equally, or even more excessively violently repressed and punished? Is this just for bugbears? Will they then look for each other, and find each other in their shared cultural/natural tendencies? Are there goblinoid lawyers or activist groups, that seek to protect other goblinoids from unjust treatment under laws that aren't theirs? How will your life be if you are a second or third or even fourth generation inhuman creature in a human society? Do they dream of returning to a society that is 'theirs'? And is there even such a thing? And if there is, will they actually fit in, or forever be an outcast, neither hob nor man? I tend to poke at such questions with my character backstories. 34. Do you tend pick weapons/spells for being useful or for flavor? Everything is useful, since everything is always situational. If you plan only for situations in which you are going to kill every living thing, then you shouldn't pick something like Rope Trick, or Magic Circle. But you do you. I very much dislike decoupling "flavour" from functionality. This is a game of make-belief, so everything you do is flavour. The mechanics are an abstraction of a fantastic reality, and though inherently important to the working of the game (without rules, it would merely be improvisation, which is also a kind of game, but schwa), it is all flavour. People that brag about how much average damage they can do with this or that specific build tire me. 35. How much roleplay do you like to do? All of the roleplay! But please let me punt goblins into the garbage sometimes!

[badlandsloop]

Okay! Welcome to the post where I yammer on about this setting I invented for a D&D campaign that’s dead but I’m using to do a one-shot session. This is a broad view of the world at large but for map space, I had to scooch the landmass closer than they are. There is a GOOD amount of sea between the land continents and islands.

1. During the Dragon occupation of humanity, many humans fled to the northern islands in search of safety. What they found was a bleak barely habitable ice nightmare. But it’s better than dragons. So they founded the country Bjorngard and developed a society similar to that of the Norse/viking. The success and stability and society of Bjorngard are thanks to a mighty celestial who turned the first people into Aasimar, she dubbed her creations the Valkyries. Bjorngard is not he only origin point for aasimar on this plane but it is the most common. The Celestial infused the blood of all Bjorngardians with radiance, tho a new valkyrie may not awaken their blood until later in life.

2. The Anythe Archipelago is the ‘home’ of the tortles. and the seafloor adjacent is the domain of the tritons. Home is in quotes because a tortle’s home is his shell and they are naturally prone to wander the seas. Tritons built alien cities beneath the waves and credit themselves for holding back the tide of the Elemental Plane of Water. As Anythe, the capital of triton society is built as a bulwark against the weakening fabric of the material plane there.

3. Yamanarta is a similar case to Bjorngard. Humans fled from the dragons and founded a society. These Refugees found a land of elves and gnomes enslaved by their cousins from the Underdark. The humans helped drive the drow and deep gnomes beneath the surface. Yamanarta is the home of many monk monasteries and samurai orders. Ruled by a commune of 4 shoguns, this country values the honor of war and the virtue of peace. Though it sounds contradictory to the outside it is treated as a balance among Yamanarta‘s many scholars. The Underdark continue to kidnap and enslave the people of Yamanarta which is why they are always ‘at war.’

4. Deep in the forests and Bluepeak Mountains to the north dwell the Firbolg. A mysterious jury in the trial of the material plane. Their long lives and commitment to noninterference make their society a strange one. Mostly tho they are treated like a myth, like bigfoot or some shit.

5. Long long ago a war between the elemental planes of air and earth held a violent war on the material plane. Only recently 200years did this conflict end and Chirinia was born. A floating island of stone and dirt hovers over the sea, created in the climax of the final battle as earth and air magic mixed. Aaracocra from the plane of air stayed behind as scouts and formed the society on the floating rock. As time passed, kenku from all of the the world flocked to Chirinia to try and recapture their flight. Tabaxi followed suit as their natural wanderer tendencies lead them to the most stunning sight in all of the world.

6. Faylen’Dael, where nature and arcane are nearly one and the same, is the realm of the elves is a strange continent, and Island with a giant landlocked sea. Forests stretch around the ring and elves build cities that are impossible to differentiate from the massive trees in which they live. Gnomes populate the lower levels. Despite occupying the same territory, elves and gnomes have never gotten into major conflict. They share the land with the beasts and a vertical biome, beasts on the forest floor, gnomes in the tree’s trunks and elves in the canopy. Faylen’Dael is the thinnest veiled place in the material realm, meaning the feywild and shadowfell are nearly accessible by foot. Elven society is patient to a point of contemplation over action. Some Elves spend months with their minds utterly occupied by a single thought. Gnomes similarly are lost in thought but instead of one, they brainstorm seemingly infinite ideas swirling together.

7. The northern half of the continent is the country Xath, the land of dragons. Heavily populated by Dragonborn tribes, these mountains are in constant conflict. Southern Xath is home to metallic dragonborn, keepers of ideas of good. Western Xath is home to marble dragonborn, who uphold laws and tradition above all else. Northern Xath is the territory of the Chromatic Dragonborn, selfish and evil being who work together only to better themselves. Among the mountains live another sect of dragonborn, the gemstone dragons. These dragons are chaotic to the core and their scales come in countless variations of gems.

8. Northern Xath is the site where the Elemental Plane of Earth pressed up against the material plane. After the war with the plane of air, the earthfolk rarely cross. The Chromatic dragons use this unfettered earth magic to build their caves and spawn mountains to bar their enemies.

9. Metalic dragons have become dormant as of late. After the chromatic dragons conquered humanity they withdrew to their mountains. The world at large does not differentiate the different types of dragonborn or dragons. All are seen as the villains who took over the world and almost made humankind extinct. They keep to themselves and aide the world by battling the chromatic dragons, making sure their power never reaches what it once was.

10.The port city of Xithslyvania is the closest the chaotic gemstone dragons have to a settlement. Technically a dwarven trade city the gem dragonborn love the varying cultures and endless distractions of Xithslyvania. The Dwarven rulers of the city recognized this boon as so great they renamed the city to Draconic language. If a Gem Dragonborn holds on to a possession is almost always so they can hock it in Xithslyvania.

11. Orcs are not farmers and their god fuels them with violence and destruction so the Western coast of the continent is called the Badlands. A blasted nightmare-scape, the orcs raid and pillage in the worship of Gruumsh. As humanity returned to its feet after the dragons were driven out the orcs saw their chance. They nearly brought finished the dragons’ goal of extinction.

12. When the madness of Gruumsh compelled the orcs to destroy humanity they succeeded on one of the human countries. From this devastation though a half-orc rose up as a hero. He rallied his half-orcs who denied Gruumsh and pushed the orc horde back. For their heroism the half-orc country, Riverwall was founded. Riverwall now holds the orcs at bay and shelters the Halfling society in Bonshire. Bonshire is a relatively new community compared to many others on this list. Halflings sick of the conflict on the eastern continent migrated over. The open plains and rolling hills of the location appealed to them and they bonded with the half-orcs over drinks and stories.

13. Humankind defeated the dragons who ruled them but the war took its toll on the land. Each human country was scarred by powerful magic so that it is locked in one season. NorthSpring is in perpetual advent. Things begin but do not mature, instead locked in a state of youth. NorthSpring is the home of the Bard’s Guild and ruled by a monarchy. There is little danger natural or personal in Northspring as the people are locked in revelry.

14. Summerhold is locked in heat and light. It is home to the Fighter’s Guild and is ruled by democratically elected officials. It is the seat of sport and exploration in human society. Many caravans routes crisscross the plains, providing trade and travel to the rest of the continent.

15. Wintergrace is trapped in snow and ice and death. It is the seat of the Mage’s Guild and ruled by the mightiest wizards. Laws are strict here to regulate magic and keep the safety of the people. Due to its adjacency to the lost ruins in the south many clerics live there to study what human society/religion was before the dragons. This has created a schism with the arcane wizardry of the rulers but infighting leads to dying to the cold so it’s mostly debate.

16. Marshfall Basin is a complex of varying terrains and is a mix of harvest time and dying plants. The leaves on trees grow orange and fall within days only to repeat the process. The Thieves’ Guild hides among the cities. Merchants rule the country and decree countless laws, that no one follows.

17. The Lost Vale sits beneath the human countries. It is the unreclaimable ruins of the old draconic rule and prior human society. Around the lake lives ghostwise halflings who keep to themselves. And in the ice lives the kobolds. After the dragons left, the kobolds had no masters or idols so their society kinda imploded. Vastly directionless the kobolds horde magic items from the ruins or die in the process.

18. Gorisher is Lizardfolk territory. The lizards were slaves to dragons before humanity and aided them in their liberation. For that reason, they are not considered monsterous like they are on many other DND worlds. Humans and Lizardfolk work together frequently as their ideas and goals are so different they can share the spoils of cooperation. Lizardfolk revere nature but are pragmatic enough to realize how civilization can aide them. Their behaviors are utterly alien to humans and vice versa but a common enemy made these two opposites allies. Lizardfolk come in shades of brown and green, depending on how close they live to Marshfall Basin and it’s autumn leaves. A variant of lizadfolk exists in few numbers, the Ashen Lizardfolk tribes were wiped out but several of these black scaled beings still wander the world.

19. Gorundr, home of the goliaths. The titan mountains were once home to the giants until their mysterious disappearance. Goliaths see themselves as stewards of the giants’ home and prepare for their return. As such they train for combat and breed like rabbits. Physical enjoyment is very important to goliaths as their lands are rough and awful. They view themselves as superior to the other races but enjoy their company greatly. Especially Humans and halflings. Interestingly enough the Goliath views on humans are identical to those that humans have to halflings. They see them as directionless, small, harmless, shortlived, and most of all fun.

20. The Dwarves control the mines so they have tradeport cities all over the world. Steelport is one such colony, named in common for its vast human population. Trade and immigration are very very important in human countries as their season locked curse fucks them up.

21.Baezenad is a new country in the desert. Founded by Tieflings sick of the racial prejudice in other countries, this place is on the verge of the plane of elemental fire. The being of that plane have no desire to interact with the material plane but it is adjacent to the 9 Hells. Fiends used to travel through the fire plane to reach the world but Baezenad built a city there to harvest the fiendish power without letting them enter the plane. Baezenad is a country ruled by desire and ambition but is very accepting of all peoples.

22. Four-Lake Hills is the home of all Halflings. Without ambition but filled with desire, halflings are up for anything. Surrounded by the mighty Dwarven lands they are safe and sound from threats. Because of that their culture has flourished.

23. Adamant is the home of the Dwarves. Dwarves are strong of body and will. They run most of the mines in the world and rule the trade with little corruption or greed. Dwarves have a complex caste system. The upper castes rarely migrate and rule the trade colonies from afar but lower castes frequently migrate away, leaving an issue with the working class among dwarf society.

[donegeonsndragons]

Narratuary: Session 11 Highlights

Nagas are distracted by handsomeness, emotions are dealt with, and the final missions revealed.

So real talk, I’ve been having a lot of trouble dealing with how to appropriately scale monster encounters. Just as I get an idea of how powerful of a monster would be a good challenge for the group, they defeat them way too quickly (as seen in the fights below). I don’t want to be an overly antagonistic DM but I need to give them some form of challenge. I’ve done some more research after this session (thanks to an article I was sent by one of my players) and now I have a way to calculate it! Which is good, because over the next couple of sessions we’re going to need it.

Premise: the party traveled to the southern island to escort Councillor Astorio to a meeting with a professor well versed in wild magic and the Magidemic. After a tense encounter with some xenophobic elves, they made their way to the gnome village where the professor lived. After Carlin is reunited with his family and everybody realizes that his mother Spriggy is the professor Councillor Astorio is meeting, they gather some information from Spriggy and go to conduct an experiment on an off-shoot of an arckey. The experiment rips open a hole between planes, and a naga has slipped out of the new portal...

The group tries to diplomatically talk their way out of the situation, with Carlin doing a lot of complimenting and apologizing for trespassing on her domain

She attempts to charm Carlin, but he shrugs it off

Annoyed and looking for amusement, she attacks the group

Councillor Astorio immediately gets her and Spriggy out of the way

Things are going fine for the naga until Innchie casts phantasmal force on her and she fails her saving throw

She suddenly sees a handsome male version of what she is, with the right amount of toned muscles and a man bun, and this phantasmal male naga picks her up in a princess hold and says he’s come to rescue her

As she is entranced by this, the group manages to get so many hits on her

However, knowing that nagas don’t really have male versions and they definitely don’t look like that, she breaks out of the phantasmal force trance a bit too late

Innchie casts Hunger of Hadar

Innchie: if you didn’t like the nice slither, you’re going to get the evil ones

Considering she already had a javelin and a pike sticking out of her, the final blow from Igtbtgh with an arrow through the eye was enough to kill her

Innchie goes and carves around the head of the naga, snapping the vertebrae over her knee in order to break the head off

She continues to wrap the head in parchment in what now looks like a bloody poorly-wrapped present

The group tries to figure out if there’s a way to close the portal, but nobody knows how or if there’s even a way to

As this happens, Igtbtgh is able to hear movement coming from the direction of Avalore and everyone gets into defensive or hiding positions

Spriggy casts a major illusion over the portal to hide it

The elf that they had spoken to arrives, alongside 15 others

They investigate the headless naga body and confront Spriggy, saying that they told her to stop poking around the glade

Spriggy attempts to stand up for herself, but isn’t a great liar (like mother like son)

However, with a combination of Baldwin saying that this was gnomish land and Councillor Astorio saying that the group was only trying to defend the land and herself, the elf backed down a bit

The elf warns if there had been any damage to the arckey, they will find Spriggy and will deal with it then

The party makes their way back to the gnomish village, and Councillor Astorio can’t thank them enough for coming with her to the island and keeping everyone safe

Carlin suggests that Councillor Astorio maybe send some High Council people to the village and make sure everything is kept diplomatic and safe for his home town

Councillor Astorio agrees, and then says she’s going to take a walk for a bit

Innchie and Carlin decide to join, with Innchie a few feet back (and Rupert keeping an ear out) and Carlin just behind Councillor Astorio

Councillor Astorio and Carlin start talking about how Spriggy really loves Carlin, as when Councillor Astorio pulled her away from the naga fight, Spriggy didn’t want to leave Carlin behind

Carlin is awkward about this, however when Councillor Astorio says that she’s jealous of that, he asks if there’s something she wants to talk about 

She laughs, saying that no one has asked out right

She tells him that her birth parents were murdered by someone driven mad by wild magic when she was too young to remember them

She was then adopted by Councillor Terra Astorio, who raised her to be a good politician but never gave her much parental love

Carlin says he’s sorry she never got the childhood she deserved, but that he’s glad she told him

She smiles at him, placing a hand on his shoulder, and thanking him for listening and that she believes that Carlin and the others are close allies, even possibly friends

Innchie OOC: I think you just got promoted Carling OOC: yay!

After they get back to the camp, Rupert gossips about all of it to Innchie who was out of ear reach

The next morning, they all head back to the port (making sure to avoid Avalore)

Carlin gives his parents a small gift and a hug

They set sail, back to Fortuna

Although there are no storms on the horizon, Innchie notices a flurry of activity under the surface of the water 

She meditates for a bit, casting augury and seeing if there’s an omen about what would happen if they changed course to avoid the commotion, which shows nothing either good or bad

She tells the captain, who keeps an eye on it

As they reach the section of the ocean where the commotion is, Innchie hears scratching, and 5 humanoid creatures with green skin, milky white eyes, and varying aquarian features (sharp teeth, fins, quills, tentacles) scrabble on board

Sea creature fight!

They’re easy targets, being slow and dextrous, and so the party has little trouble

Innchie eldritch blasts one so that its quills are stuck in the wood of the side of the ship

Carlin and Baldwin stab a bunch of them

Igtbtgh lifts one over his head and chucks it back into the ocean

The final one tries escaping, but is attacked by Baldwin and Carlin and it falls over back into the ocean dead

The fight is done by the time the captain arrives, and the sailors clean up

Baldwin is able to identify these creatures as sea spawn, humanoids that were transformed by water based wild magic into mindless flesh-eating creatures

Back in Fortuna, the party goes back to Councillor Astorio’s office, where they meet up with Dee and Solvyre and they’re all paid

Dee whispers in Councillor Astorio’s ear, and she goes from looking calm to frowning

She tells the group that the next two items are close to each other, but they’re very dangerous missions

One of them is in the town of Omi’s Crown in the western mountains, where a curse likely stemming from an item related to the Magidemic or wild magic seems to have stopped all trade 

The second one is a mysterious building that has popped up in the woods of the northern part of Narratuary, where people have gone in and either never returned, or told tales of deadly traps 

Councillor Astorio tells them that they can take whoever they’d like with them, and that she’ll provide as much help as she can 

She also gives them all necklaces with stones of far-speech, which will allow them to communicate with each other within a 500 foot range

Carlin takes this moment to give her a necklace that he made especially for her, saying it was from the group (really it was from him)

She thanks him and smiles, putting the necklace on

Innchie OOC: I think you just got promoted again Carlin OOC: yay!

The party now has a week to prepare for the journey ahead of them...

[thecreaturecodex]

Beldam

“The New Mother” © Verreauxi Aquilae, accessed at their deviantArt page here

[Welcome to Bogeys Week! This week, we’re covering a variety of tutelary monsters, literary horrors and other Things That Go Bump. The first is an act of creature syncretism, remixing the Other Mother from Coraline with her literary antecedent, the “New Mother” from the story of the same name by Lucy Clifford. Seek it out, it’s short and haunting. I was worried that a fairly obscure children’s story from a century ago wouldn’t have any available art, but the first result for Google Image Search nailed it.]

Beldam This wooden monstrosity stands like a tree grown into the shape of an immense crone. She taps behind herself with a heavy wooden tail, and eyes like glass orbs are set into its gnarled face. The spindly creature stands twice as tall as a man, creaking with deliberate and uncanny movement.

No creature represents the decay of reality as strongly as a beldam. These bizarre intelligent plants native to the Plane of Shadows are obsessed with consuming lives and “season” their victims by trapping them in a web of illusions specifically tailored to each victim. As the poor soul slowly realizes that their fantasyland is not what it seems, the beldam often engages in rigged contests and games designed to drive their victims into an even deeper sense of despair. Once the beldam is revealed for what it truly is, it consumes the life-force of its victim and transforms it into a literal shadow of itself to join the beldam’s “family”.

Beldams do not associate with others of their kind but do gather to their sides all manner of horrible monsters to serve it. Some of these creatures have foolishly entered bargains with the beldam and serve to avoid being killed and eaten, but others are poor souls that prefer the beldam’s world of fantasy to the harshness of reality. Every hundred years or so, a beldam is driven to reproduce and plants a seed in some remote location. For fifty years, the juvenile beldam is merely a tree, albeit one that bears an uncomfortable resemblance to the human form, until it uproots itself in order to spread chaos and misery.

A beldam stands fifteen feet tall and weighs 800 pounds. They are seemingly immortal and are only able to be killed by violence.

Beldam                                CR 16 XP 76,800 CE Large plant (extraplanar) Init +8; Senses darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision, Perception +27 Defense AC 33, touch 13, flat-footed 29 (-1 size, +4 Dex, +20 natural) hp 230 (20d8+140), regeneration 10 (fire, positive energy) Fort +19, Ref +11, Will +11 DR 15/silver and good; SR 27 Defensive Qualities negative energy affinity, plant traits, shadow blend Weakness light blindness Offense Speed 40 ft., climb 30 ft. Melee 2 claws +23 (2d10+9 plus energy drain), bite +23 (4d6+9 plus grab), tail slap +21 (2d8+14) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. (15 ft. with tail) Special Attacks create spawn, energy drain (1 negative level, DC 27), powerful tail, swallow whole (4d6+14 bludgeoning damage and energy drain, AC 20, 23 hp) Spell-like Abilities CL 20th, concentration +27 (+31 when casting defensively) Constant—detect thoughts (DC 19), true seeing At will—fabricate, major creation, persistent image (DC 22), mirage arcana (DC 22) 3/day—baleful polymorph (DC 22), quickened improved invisibility 1/day—decaying veil (DC 22), plane shift (DC 22), polymorph any object (DC 25), project image (DC 24) Statistics Str 29, Dex 19, Con 25, Int 20, Wis 18, Cha 24 Base Atk +15; CMB +25 (+29 grapple); CMD 39 Feats Combat Casting, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Improved Critical (claw), Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-like Ability (greater invisibility), Staggering Critical, Vital Strike Skills Bluff +30, Climb +40, Diplomacy +30, Disguise +30, Intimidate +27, Knowledge (nature) +28, Perception +27, Sense Motive +27, Stealth +23, Use Magic Device +30 Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Common, Elven, Gnome, Sylvan SQ uncanny mind Ecology Environment Plane of Shadow Organization solitary or family (1 plus 1-8 greater shadows) Treasure double standard Special Abilities Create Spawn (Su) Any creature killed by a beldam rises as a full-powered greater shadow 1d4 rounds after it is slain. A beldam can control any number of greater shadows. Decaying Veil (Sp) This ability functions as veil, except that every hour that passes, the  disguise grows thinner, granting all effected creatures a -1 penalty to Disguise checks until the bonus reaches +0. When this occurs, the spell ends. This is the equivalent of a 5th level spell. Powerful Tail (Ex) A beldam’s applies 1.5 times its Strength bonus to its tail slap damage. Shadow Blend (Su) In any light conditions except for direct sunlight, a beldam gains full concealment (50% miss chance). Uncanny Mind (Ex) A beldam gains skill ranks and class skills as if it were a creature of the fey type.

[thecreaturecodex]

Hematothere

[Roger Corman really loved the trope of monsters that eat people and gain their memories and voices. Attack of the Crab Monsters, Night of the Blood Beast, hell even Little Shop of Horrors]

Hematothere CR 12 LE Monstrous Humanoid This bulky humanoid appears to be composed of soil—rocks are embedded in its form and tendrils as if of roots snake along its body. Its large head features a short trunk-like snout, under which sneers a large maw bristling with fangs. Its muscular arms end in large clawed hands.

Hematotheres are creatures of living earth with a strong affinity with death and negative energy. It has been theorized that they began their existence as gargoyles haunting unhallowed graveyards, slowly being transformed by fell energies. Other sages hold that the hematothere is native to another planet, and travels from world to world by assuming liquid form and hiding within meteorites. Regardless of their origins, hematotheres desire nothing more than to be worshipped as living gods, and use their unusual powers to achieve it.

The hematothere life cycle requires the use of a humanoid corpse, which is restored to life while serving as an incubator for the creature’s young. Although a hematothere lays dozens of tiny eggs in the host it selects, as they grow the ravenous creatures devour each other as well as the host’s tissues, eventually resulting in a single offspring per host. The hematothere’s spawn constantly communicate telepathically both with their parent and with the host itself, subtly changing the host’s behavior so that it is friendly to the hematothere and sympathetic with its goals. Hematotheres thus seek to resurrect and control figures of civil or military authority, the better to carry out its whims.

Hematotheres are charming and wheedling creatures despite their monstrous appearances, and use lies and half-truths to convince people that they are fonts of eternal life and wisdom. Their ability to sift through memories and mimic voices give them ample proof that those consumed by it “live forever”, and they often gain new victims from the ill, elderly and desperate. Although they are generally cowardly they are fierce fighters when cornered, using their powerful natural weapons and a slew of spell-like abilities. They most fear those truly touched with divine power, as positive energy burns them as if it were fire.

Hematothere       CR 12 XP 19,200 LE Medium monstrous humanoid (earth) Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +23Defenses AC 27, touch 13, flat-footed 24 (+2 Dex, +1 Dodge, +15 natural) hp 158 (16d10+70) Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +14 DR 10/magic and cold iron; SR 23 Defensive Abilities negative energy affinity Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee 2 claws +22 (1d8+6 plus energy drain), bite +22 (2d6+6 plus bleed) Special Attacks bleed (2d6), eat brains, energy drain (1 level, DC 24), infesting resurrection Spell-like Abilities CL 16th, concentration +22 Constant—nondetection, see invisibility At will—dispel magic, ray of enfeeblement (DC 17), suggestion (DC 19) 3/day—bestow curse (DC 19), dispel magic, empowered inflict serious wounds (DC 19), unholy blight (DC 20) 1/day—charm monster (DC 20), enervation, resilient sphere (DC 22), waves of exhaustion Statistics Str 22, Dex 15, Con 20, Int 23, Wis 18, Cha 23 Base Attack +16; CMB +22; CMD 33 Feats Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Dodge, Empower Spell-like Ability (inflict serious wounds), Great Fortitude, Mobility, Spring Attack, Whirlwind Attack Skills Bluff +22, Diplomacy +22, Disable Device +18, Intimidate +25, Knowledge (any three) +25, Perception +23, Spellcraft +22, Stealth +21 Languages Aklo, Common, Dwarven, Gnome, Infernal, Terran, Undercommon SQ fluid form, lore master, sound mimicry (voices) Ecology Environment temperate hills or underground Organization solitary, family (1 plus 1-4 young hematotheres) or cabal (2-5) Treasure double standard Special Abilities Eat Brains (Su) As a full-round action, a hematothere can consume the brains of a helpless or dead humanoid. If the opponent is helpless, this functions as a coup de grace attack using the hematothere’s bite. When a hematothere eats brains, it gains a +1 bonus on all d20 rolls for the next 24 hours and 5 temporary hit points. The bonuses accrued from multiple consumed brains stack. Fluid Form (Su) As a standard action, a hematothere can transform itself into an amorphous mass of mud. In this form, it is immune to critical hits and sneak attacks, and can squeeze through Tiny spaces without penalty. However, it cannot use any of its natural attacks. The hematothere can transform back into its natural shape as a standard action. Infesting Resurrection (Su) A hematothere can bring the dead back to life, and in so doing create an incubator for its young. A hematothere can only use infesting resurrection on the body of a creature that has been dead for fewer than 16 days and is intact (as per a raise dead spell), and the resurrection requires ten minutes of uninterrupted contact. When the ritual is completed, the creature is restored to life but remains comatose for the next 12 hours. When it awakens, it takes 1d4 points of Constitution drain, and continues to take 1d4 points of Constitution drain each day as the hematothere’s offspring consume its life force. When the creature reaches 0 Constitution, it is killed and a hematothere with the young simple template is born.

While containing a young hematothere, the resurrected creature gains a number of benefits. It can use the hematothere’s lore master ability and gains the benefits of any brains consumed by the hematothere that resurrected it. It can also communicate telepathically with the hematothere at a range of 1 mile. However, the creature is treated as being charmed by the hematothere.

An implanted hematothere can be removed in a number of ways. Magically, it can be removed with a break enchantment against CL 16th (although the charm effect must be dispelled separately), a limited wish, wish or miracle. It can also be removed surgically with a DC 30 Heal check—this check deals 1d4 points of Constitution damage regardless of success, and on a failed check, the patient must succeed a DC 20 Fortitude save or die. Lore Master (Ex) A hematothere treats all Knowledge skills as class skills, and can make Knowledge checks untrained. Once per day, plus one additional time per brain it has consumed within the last 24 hours, it can make a Knowledge check with a +10 bonus as a move action. Negative Energy Affinity (Ex) A hematothere is injured by positive energy and healed by negative energy, as if it were undead. Sound Mimicry (Ex) A hematothere can imitate voices with a successful Bluff check opposed by a Sense Motive check. Creatures unfamiliar with the voice being imitated take a -8 penalty on their Sense Motive. A hematothere gains a +8 on any Bluff check made to imitate a voice it has heard for more than 10 minutes, or to imitate the voice of someone whom it has eaten the brains of. It cannot mimic the effects of spellcasting or sound-based abilities (such as bardic music), although it can mimic the sound of these abilities. This does not allow the hematothere to speak or understand languages it doesn’t know.