thecreaturecodex

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Angel, Cognicine

“Ethereal” © Milica Jevtic, accessed at her ArtStation here

[Commissioned by @menaceomysterio, based on the Princesses Rhyme and Reason from The Phantom Tollbooth. The commissioner was inspired by their appearance in the Chuck Jones movie as glowing, single-colored outlines and suggested they be a good aligned outsider. The trick was not finding a glowing, single-colored piece of art, but finding one that wasn’t overtly sexualized.]

Angel, Cognicine CR 4 NG Medium Outsider This luminous and beautiful humanoid has skin and hair of a single solid color. Her features are wise and kind.

Cognicines are sometimes called angels of rhyme and reason, and they are the embodiments of orderly and goodly thoughts. Weaker than many other angels, they are not generally combatants, instead traveling the good planes as diplomats, councilors and envoys. They help to coordinate the actions of angels with those of other celestial beings, as well as bridge the world of mortals with that of celestials. Their overwhelming honesty and thoughtfulness make them occasionally difficult for mortal creatures, used to deception and snap judgments, to comprehend.

Almost all cognicines travel unarmed. Although they are proficient in weapons as any outsider, they find their use to be distasteful except as a last resort. The touch of a cognicine damages the flesh of evil creatures if they so choose, and weaker fiends typically give them a wide berth. When on missions in dangerous areas, they typically are accompanied by more martially-focused celestials, and the cognicines can act in a support role, providing healing and assistance.

Cognicines vary in size and appearance as humans do, and can disguise themselves as humans by suppressing their natural radiance, although their skin and hair colors might be unusual without makeup or dye. Their features may be masculine, feminine or androgynous.

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Happy Goblinization day to those who celebrate!

Happy Goblinization Day!

2nd year anniversary and counting!

Have fun, you little monsters

[thecreaturecodex]

Amabie

“2020-03-21 Amabie Yokai (2/2) © “CKDN”. Accessed at his deviantArt gallery here

[Those of you paying attention to social media and monsters in the last couple of weeks may have seen an awful lot of this girl around. The amabie is one of several yokai luck charms from 19th century Japan, and is specifically invoked to protect against epidemics. Seems relevant right now. She’s probably a variant of the amabiko, which has a similar MO and three legged appearance, but has gotten a lot more attention. People like mermaids more than monkeys, I guess. I’ve included the amabiko below as a variant.

The stuff about her being luminous comes from the original, but I extrapolated that into a beam attack in order to give the amabie some sort of combat capacity. There are cuter amabie illustrations out there, and more humanoid ones (including one by the above artist) but I like a spookier, more alien looking version.]

Amabie CR 6 LG Aberration This strange creature has a beaked fishes’ head with intelligent eyes, fin-like ears and long flowing hair. Its lower body is divided into three tails of equal length.

An amabie is a benevolent creature whose very presence wards off sickness. They are often seen in times of epidemics in coastal areas, hoping to save the lives of the innocent from the cost of plagues.  They are bioluminescent, and creatures illuminated by their light find themselves protected against disease. What’s more, they can project their consciousness into images of themselves and provide this protection at a distance. As such, images of an amabie are seen as being good luck and prophylactic against disease. An amabie living in the water periodically enters a magical torpor to monitor the presence of these images, and provide some soothing and comfort to those near them. They rarely leave the water outside of appearing in images—they cannot survive far from shore.

What society the amabie have is primarily devoted to service towards others, and they are a beloved sight among many species of aquatic and coastal humanoids. Every amabie is a dedicated foe to evil gods of death and disease, and work to scatter their cults. Amabies are not strong physical combatants, but they can fight with their beaks and tail slaps. They can focus their radiance into beams of freezing fire, and these illuminate those struck with a similar glow. Their greatest strength is possibly their alliances—many creatures of different types will come together and rally behind an amabie on a crusade against evil. All amabie are female—the males are decidedly different in physical appearance, and referred to as amabiko (see below).

Amabiko Male amabie, known as amabiko, are somewhat ape-like in countenance, with short muzzles instead of beaks, fur covering their entire bodies, and three clawed limbs in place of tails. An amabiko has the same statistics as an amabie, except that they have a movement speed of 30 feet, swim 20 feet, 3 claw attacks that deal 1d6 damage instead of tail slaps and lack the luminous and coldfire beam abilities. An amabiko has the amphibious special quality instead of water dependency. Replace the Multiattack feat with Weapon Finesse. An amabiko is a CR 6 creature.

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Alkonost

Image © Eugenia Vi, accessed at her ArtStation here

[After a whole bunch of reruns of CR 12 magical beasts, here's a brand new one! This is, in fact, the first in a miscellaneous world folklore set, one inspired in large part by my girlfriend, @abominationimperatrix. The alkonost is a monster I was first introduced to in a wild way, in The Magic Voyage of Sinbad, a Roger Corman produced dub of the Soviet epic Sadko that appeared on Mystery Science Theater 3000. And so learning that it wasn't originally "the bluebird of happiness", and had its own tradition behind it, took a while. This art is my favorite because it incorporates the monster's origin. "Alkonost" is a Cyrillic adaptation of "Alcyone", the woman turned into the first kingfisher in Greek mythology. One of the few remaining tidbits of that story actually gets inverted in the Slavic version; instead of laying their eggs when the storms of winter are unnaturally calm, they lay straight into stormy water! So I had to incorporate that into my version, and wanted to make an alkonost in kingfisher colors.]

Alkonost CR 12 CG Magical Beast This creature has the body of a bird, with ochre and blue feathers, and the head of a human woman. Both aspects are beautiful. She has an expression of serene grace on her features.

An alkonost is sometimes called a bird of happiness or a bird of paradise. They are goodly kin to the sirens, and use their magical music only in defense or to aid others. They are incorrigible optimists that see the beauty in everything and are certain that good will ultimately prevail over evil. They are by no means naive, but assume good intentions until demonstrated otherwise. Alkonosts may deliver messages of hope and joy for goodly gods or nature spirits, and they are sometimes mistaken for angels. An alkonost is a purely mortal creature, albeit one with a lifespan measurable in hundreds of years.

It is rare that an alkonost starts a fight, but they can certainly end them. The song of bliss sung by an alkonost fills those that hear it with an overwhelming euphoria and saps them of their will to fight. Anyone who resists this effect will be targeted with the alkonost’s other magic, at first to try to convince them to lay down their arms. The talons of an alkonost are relatively weak, but the birds can create magical gusts of bludgeoning wind to fight creatures that resist their compulsions. If accompanied by allies (charmed or otherwise), alkonosts fill a support role, using bardic magic to bolster their strength.

Alkonosts tend to live on islands, tropical mountaintops and other remote locations. This is partly because they value sites of natural beauty and partly because they value solitude. The song of bliss is so beautiful that it can induce feelings of worship and dependence in those who hear it, and the goodly birds do not particularly want to have armies of devoted thralls. If their homes or persons are threatened particularly dangerous monsters, they may use diplomacy and enchantment to recruit other creatures to assist them. In these cases, alkonosts go their separate ways when their goals are accomplished.

Most alkonosts are female, but males and members of other genders do exist. Alkonosts are poor parents, but make up for it with their magical abilities; an alkonost mother lays her egg in stormy seas, whereupon it is incubated by the rocking waves and blowing winds. When it washes up on a shore, the egg hatches into a Tiny alkonost with a fully mature mind, which goes about finding itself a territory and learning new things to find wonder in. Alkonosts feed on fresh fruit and nectar as well as fish and insects; one of the ways to curry an alkonost’s favor is with finely cooked foods (since cooking without hands is very difficult).

Alkonost CR 12 XP 19,200 CG Medium magical beast Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +20

Defense AC 26, touch 23, flat-footed 20 (+5 Dex, +1 dodge, +3 natural, +7 deflection) hp 161 (14d10+84) Fort +14, Ref +14, Will +11 Immune charm and compulsion effects; Resist cold 10, sonic 10; SR 23 Defensive Abilities resplendent feathers

Offense Speed 20 ft., fly 80 ft. (good) Melee 2 talons +15 (1d6+1) Ranged air blast +19 (6d6+5) Special Attacks bardic performance (43 rounds/day, Will save DC 24; countersong, dirge of doom, distraction, fascinate, frightening tune, inspire competence +4, inspire courage +3, inspire greatness, soothing performance, suggestion), song of bliss Spell-like Abilities CL 14th, concentration +21 At will—calm emotions (DC 19) 3/day—charm monster (DC 21), quickened mental block (DC 19), modify memory (DC 21), shout (DC 21), suggestion (DC 20) 1/day—break enchantment, cloak of dreams (DC 22), geas/quest, heal (DC 23)

Statistics Str 12, Dex 21, Con 21, Int 18, Wis 24, Cha 25 Base Atk +14; CMB +15; CMD 38 Feats Dodge, Extra Performance, Flyby Attack, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Quicken SLA (mental block), Toughness Skills Bluff +18, Diplomacy +18, Fly +22, Knowledge (nature) +15, Perception +20, Perform (sing) +26, Sense Motive +18, Stealth +18; Racial Modifiers +8 Perform (sing) Languages Aquan, Auran, Celestial, Common

Ecology Environment warm mountains and islands Organization solitary Treasure standard

Special Abilities Air Blast (Su) As a standard action, an alkonost can fire a gust of powerful wind, acting as a ranged attack with a range of 60 feet. A creature struck takes 6d6 points of bludgeoning damage plus the alkonost’s Constitution modifier (6d6+5 for an average specimen), and must succeed a DC 22 Reflex save or be pushed 10 feet away from the alkonost. The alkonost can use this ability at will. The save is Constitution based. Bardic Performance (Su/Sp) An alkonost can use bardic performance as if she were a 14th level bard. She does not get other bard class abilities unless she takes levels in the bard class. Resplendent Feathers (Su) An alkonost gains a deflection bonus to its Armor Class and CMD equal to its Charisma modifier. Song of Bliss (Su) An alkonost can sing a supernaturally soothing song as a standard action, affecting all creatures in a 60 foot radius. Creatures in the area that can hear the alkonost’s song must succeed a DC 24 Will save or be effected as by a euphoric tranquility spell that lasts for as long as the alkonost concentrates on the song and the creature can hear the song, and for 1 minute thereafter. Creatures that succeed their save are immune to the song of bliss of that alkonost for the next 24 hours. This is a mind-influencing, compulsion and emotion effect, and the save DC is Charisma based.

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Agathion, Bombyxial

“Fairy Moth” © Victor Blanco, accessed at his deviantArt here

[Commissioned by @goluxexmachina. The original inspiration was an ascended panotti, hence the head wings. Bombyx is the scientific name of the silkworm moth–I could see a butterfly angel having different powers, and wanted to save the name “lepidopteral” for them. Unsurprisingly, I drew a lot of inspiration from Mothra for its abilities.]

Agathion, Bombyxial CR 7 NG Outsider (extraplanar) This radiant humanoid is covered in a layer of fine fur and has a pair of feathery antennae. Four wings grow from its body, two from its back and two from its head.

The bombyxials are the silent sentinels of the night, protecting goodly folk from sinister nocturnal monsters and patrolling the darkened skies of Nirvana. They are quiet and gentle by nature, and make for excellent diplomats and councilors. They sometimes serve as “parole officers” of the upper planes, checking in on recalcitrant sinners and helping them stay on the path of righteousness. They are used to being judged for their somewhat alarming physical appearances by closed-minded mortals. Bombyxials tend to form from the souls of good aligned monstrous humanoids, especially winged ones like strix or panotti.

A bombyxial in combat is usually one acting in defense of the innocent, and they almost always attempt to convince foes of the errors of their ways before moving to violence. Their techniques are almost exclusively nonlethal—they can strike with padded wings and hands, trap opponents in silken webs or cause them to gag on its feathery scales. They only use lethal force against irredeemable creatures like fiends and undead, and even these will be afforded opportunities for surrender if appropriate. 

A bombyxial is about five feet tall and weighs around 100 pounds. They alternate flight and fighting with their two pairs of wings, and can make wing attacks while airborne without penalty.

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Akaname

Image by estoesparajuego. See more at their deviantArt page here

[The akaname was one of the first yokai I statted up, as they’re one of my favorites. Not exactly hostile, but gross and spooky. Since I wrote this one, Paizo has developed an official akaname, found in Bestiary 5, which can be found in the PRD. Compare and contrast!]

Akaname CR 3 N Monstrous Humanoid This humanoid creature creeps around on all fours, its face concealed by a mane of shaggy black hair. It looks up, revealing its froggishly wide jaws, from which protrudes a tongue the size of a human arm.

Although the sight of a red-skinned monster lovingly combing the surfaces of a privy with its tongue is a revolting sight, the creatures behind these sightings, the akaname, are fairly benevolent urban scavengers. They delight on feeding on refuse of all types and will slip into the dwellings of townspeople to pick over their leavings. Akanames have extremely sensitive senses of taste and can be quite choosy about what filth they decide to consume. They have a particular fondness for oozes of all types, which inadvertently saves communities with an akaname population from much grief.

Akanames dwell in the shadows of settlements, sleeping by day in sewers or abandoned buildings before emerging at night to feed. Their society is rudimentary and often reflective of a distorted version of the way its host society lives. They rarely use armor or weapons, preferring to protect themselves with their muscular, acidic tongues. Akanames rarely go out of their way to attack people, but will defend themselves violently if attacked.

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The author's poorly disguised fetish

The author's proudly displayed fetish

The author's fetish you're pretty sure they don't realise they have

The author's fetish which they're firmly convinced everyone has and is just pretending otherwise

The author's non-sexual special interest which just sounds like a fetish because of their habitually unfortunate phrasing

The fetish the author is making a well-meaning effort to cater to in spite of clearly not understanding it themselves

The author's fetish that never quite makes it into the text because they keep getting sidetracked by the requisite worldbuilding

The author's utterly pedestrian sexual preference which the text treats like a bizarre fetish because they've got shit to work through

The author's seemingly innocuous recurring trope they're going to have a personal revelation about ten years down the road

The author's fetish you missed on a first reading because it's so far out of pocket, it never occurred to you that you could sexualise that

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Zilla

Image © deviantArt user “dopepope”, accessed at their gallery here

[World Tour includes world movies. It’s my theme, I get to make the rules. Unlike a lot of kaiju fans, I don’t hate the monster design from Godzilla (1998). It’s one of the least objectionable things about that movie. Doing this popped into my head one night when I couldn’t sleep, and so I had to exorcise it with a stat block. These statistics are built around the chassis of Pathfinder’s giganotosaurus. My aim was to place this in a similar power level as the Ultraman monsters I’ve been doing, and at the lower level of that spectrum.]

Zilla CR 16 N Magical Beast This creature resembles an oversized dinosaur, bipedal but with long flexible forelimbs. Spines grow along its back, the largest over its shoulders. Its head is massive and blocky with a large lower jaw and prominent chin.

Zillas are oversized mutant reptiles, possessing of a destructive fecundity. Although they closely resemble dinosaurs, they are actually giant lizards, having assumed a dinosaur like form following exposure to mutagenic energies. A zilla is an amphibious carnivore that hunts fish and whales while at sea, and various megafauna when on land. Despite their immense size, they are surprisingly stealthy, able to control their footfalls, body temperature and other physiological markers to render them harder to detect. Of course, a hundred and fifty foot reptile attracts attention, so they tend to hunt in dense forests, canyons, cities, or other terrains that afford them some cover.

Although a single zilla is a destructive menace, they rarely stay single for long. Zillas are parthenogenetic, and when amply fed can lay more than a hundred eggs at a time. They provision these with food and watch over their young for the first several months of their lives. These young are ravenous, and often resort to cannibalism if they cannot get ample food from other sources. A baby zilla balloons to full size in a matter of three to five years. Treat a baby zilla as a deinonychus with the magical beast type, the amphibious and subtle presence special qualities and a swim speed equal to its land speed. A baby zilla is a CR 4 creature.

Variant Zillas Because of their origins in mutation, many zillas have slightly different abilities. For example, a zilla might lose its roar and swallow whole special attacks in favor of a breath weapon (1d4 rounds, 16d8 fire, 140 foot line, Ref DC 27), or have smaller claws (dealing 1d6 base damage) and a tail slap as a secondary attack (dealing 2d8 base damage).

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Megapede

Image by William O’Connor, © WIzards of the Coast. Accessed at William O’Connor Studios here

[When I earlier remarked that many Dark Sun monsters had twenty+ psionic abilities, even the ones of animal intelligence, it was the megapede I had in mind. It has too darn many powers in 2e, and it’s unclear to me if it would even know how or why to use some of the ones it has. On the other hand, the 3e version has no magical abilities, although it picks up spell resistance and DR. The 4e version hits a better balance for me, and I used that one as the basis for this conversion (although I did reinstate a few defensive powers).]

Megapede CR 16 N Magical Beast This creature is a centipede the size of a house, with enormous mandibles and a pair of scorpion-like claws emerging near its head. Its body is purple and green above, sandy in color below.

The magical vermin known as megapedes are immense desert predators, widely feared in the lands they call home. They typically remain buried in the desert sand, feeling vibrations and waiting for large prey to pass overhead—an entire herd of animals or a caravan is sufficient. Emerging from its hiding place, it attacks with mandible and claw, slaughtering all it can so it can stockpile meat for an extended period. Megapedes can happily consume desiccated or partially rotten flesh, and are not above scavenging.

Megapedes have a surprising array of magical defenses, leading some scholars to speculate that they are an engineered species. They can also create powerful explosions, which they usually use to either kill a whole herd of animals in one go, or to crack open a pesky wall that impedes its progress. Megapedes are all but impossible to take captive, but they may occasionally communicate with druids, or be enticed to work with them for a hearty meal. Megapedes do not intentionally collect treasure, but they often nest in the remains of shattered caravans or ruined buildings.

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Incognitum

“Edgar’s Mastodontic Death” © deviantArt user “HodariNundu”. Accessed at his page here

[Poor Thomas Jefferson. He wanted so badly for America to have badass predators that he imagined one out of scraps of mastodons and giant sloths. The mechanics were in part inspired by old jokes about 3.0′s “Ninja Elephants”, as they had surprisingly high modifiers to Climb and Jump (since they were Str based).]

Incognitum CR 16 CE Magical Beast This monstrous beast appears as a parody of an elephant—its tusks curve downward like fangs, and its muscular trunk is studded with saw-blade scales. Its hide is a dull black that seems to absorb the light.

The incognitum is a horror of the First World, one of the group of powerful monsters called the Tane. The First World has a small population of incognitums, but they are so rare and notorious that many sages believe it to be a unique creature. An incognitum resembles an elephant seen through a glass dimly, and it has features that make it a vicious killer and remarkably stealthy. Its tusks point downwards and are independently articulated, allowing them to stab separately at multiple victims at once. Its hearing and sense of smell allow it to pinpoint even invisible prey. Its hide absorbs light, it is capable of squeezing into remarkably small spaces, and it is a surprisingly good climber. Once an incognitum has decided on a quarry, little can dissuade its pursuit except for the death of its target or itself.

When left to its own devices, an incognitum is a big game hunter par excellence. It delights in tracking and murdering other creatures, the more cunning or deadly, the better. Incognitums are carnivores that devour their prey, but they frequently take trophies, be they bones, teeth, heads or treasures collected. An incognitum’s lair is decorated with these relics, and is typically well hidden. An incognitum never forgets its treasures, and will stop at nothing to recover a stolen item.

An incognitum is slightly taller and slightly lighter than an ordinary elephant.

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reblog if you have skilled writer friends and you're damn proud of them

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Fei

Image © @a-book-of-creatures​, accessed at their site here

[ “There is a beast here whose form resembles an ox but with a white head, a single eye, and a snake’s tail. It is called the Fei. Water evaporates when it travels through it, and grass dies when it walks through it. If seen, it is an omen of a great plague throughout the world.” 

It’s a nice novelty to see a super-toxic monster in the form of a bovine instead of the usual reptile. Again, it seems to parallel a traveler’s tale monster from Greece, in this case the catoblepas. I know that there was some limited trade between imperial China and imperial Rome…I wonder if any books or oral legends made that trip, one way or the other.]

Fei CR 16 NE Magical Beast This buffalo-like monster has curved horns growing from its white head. It has a single baleful eye, and a long whipping tail.

The fei is a cruel and destructive beast, capable of killing with its very touch and infecting creatures near it with a deadly disease. Their bodies are suffused with a withering energy that dehydrates any creature that comes into contact with it—this effect functions similarly to a horrid wilting spell, and some sages propose that the spell is based on the creature. They live in deserts, and any land that is not a desert when a fei enters it will become one in short order.

Fei are typically solitary creatures—they are very rare, and meander throughout their lives in search of new and interesting things to kill. They kill for the sake of killing, rarely stopping to finish off creatures infected with its lethal fevers, and a trail of scavengers may follow (a safe distance) in its wake. They do not collect treasure, but the items of their victims left behind may encourage more metaphorical scavengers to scrounge up riches.

A fei stands about six feet high at the shoulder and weighs a little more than a ton. They speak Abyssal, but rarely have much to say.

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In spite of featuring many dragons which are clearly patterned after various dinosaurs, Dungeons & Dragons has no standard dragon type patterned after a T-rex. This is a shame both in principle, and because D&D dragons are accomplished spellcasters. I want you to picture a T-rex dragon performing somatic components with those arms.

[thecreaturecodex]

Daemon, Iniquidaemon

"Funky Leopard" © Allison Theus, accessed at her ArtStation here

[Presented in the spirit of the times.]

Daemon, Iniquidaemon CR 12 NE Outsider (extraplanar) This creature resembles a leopard, but its anatomy does not follow either biology or sanity. It has six limbs, the middle pair of which are elongated and fold against the beast’s side, and all are tipped with eagle-like, grasping talons. It has five jaws that open radially, which part to reveal muscular tongues tipped with meat hooks. Its eyes glimmer with cruel, appraising intelligence.

The iniquidaemon is the daemon of ideology. It delights in fanning the flames of self-destructive ideas that leave communities fractured and lives ruined, using honeyed words and magic to convince people to turn on each other. Countries besieged by an iniquidaemon are noted for the presence of mutilated, faceless bodies, as well as the insistent and continued denial of its members that a similar fate could ever happen to them. The iniquidaemon’s presence may even be well known, but its supernatural abilities leave most people thinking of the presence of a face-eating leopard monster as completely mundane.

An iniquidaemon prefers to have other creatures fight for it most of the time. They stoke hatred and dissent to create angry mobs, turn protectors against those they would protect, and make rulers contemptuous of their subjects and subjects apathetic to their rulers’ cruelties. They often disseminate disinformation in disguise, assuming the appearance of a public figure in order to spread lies and propaganda. Against a party of adventurers, iniquidaemons turn allies into enemies with their spell-like abilities, disrupting squad tactics easily. When they decide to start getting their claws dirty, they behave much like the big cats they resemble, pouncing and clawing at a single target. Their grotesque mouths and tongues tug at the soul as much as they do flesh, and creatures who succumb to their maw have their souls sent to Abaddon to be hunted and devoured by other daemons.

Iniquidaemons do not trust each other, knowing the treachery and deceit that accompanies their every thought and deed, but are excellent at ingratiating themselves to other daemons. They often ally with yagnodaemons and cavillodaemons, the three working together as a unit to impose idiotic cruelty onto a realm and crush anyone who fights back. They may work for the cults of all four Horsemen, and many harbingers as well, although their true allegiance usually lies elsewhere. Most iniquidaemons are loyal only to themselves and to Caracalla, their creator, who shaped them with the goal of spreading the gospel of profit above all.

Iniquidaemon CR 12 XP 19,200 NE Medium outsider (daemon, evil, extraplanar) Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +21, scent

Defense AC 25, touch 16, flat-footed 19 (+6 Dex, +9 natural) hp 157 (15d10+75) Fort +10, Ref +15, Will +12 DR 10/good; Immune acid, death effects, disease, poison; Resist cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10; SR 23 Defensive Abilities unremarkable aspect

Offense Speed 50 ft., climb 30 ft. Melee bite +20 (2d6+5 plus 1d6 Charisma drain), 4 claws +20 (1d8+5/19-20 plus grab) Special Attacks consign soul, pounce, rake (2 claws +20, 1d8+5/19-20) Spell-like Abilities CL 15th, concentration +20 At will—detect anxieties (DC 18), greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs objects only), major image (DC 18), malicious spite (DC 19), paranoia (DC 17), unholy blight (DC 19) 3/day—envious urge (DC 19), greater assume appearance, utter contempt (DC 21) 1/day—blasphemy (DC 22), curse of the outcast (DC 21), demand (DC 23)

Statistics Str 20, Dex 23, Con 21, Int 22, Wis 16, Cha 21 Base Atk +15; CMB +20 (+24 grapple); CMD 36 Feats Blinding Critical, Combat Expertise, Critical Focus, Deafening Critical, Deceitful, Improved Critical (claw), Intoxicating Flattery, Nimble Moves Skills Acrobatics +24 (+32 when jumping), Bluff +27, Climb +20, Diplomacy +20, Disguise +27, Intimidate +23, Knowledge (local, planes) +24, Linguistics +14, Perception +21, Sense Motive +21, Sleight of Hand +21, Stealth +24 Languages Abyssal, Common, Daemonic, Draconic, Infernal, 8 others, telepathy 100 ft.

Ecology Environment any land or underground Organization solitary Treasure standard

Special Abilities Charisma Drain (Ex) A creature bitten by an iniquidaemon must succeed a DC 23 Will save or take 1d6 points of Charisma drain. The save DC is Charisma based. Consign Soul (Su) Any creature reduced to 0 Cha by an iniquidaemon’s bite attack has their soul consigned to Abaddon, no matter their alignment. Attempts to return that creature from the dead must succeed a DC 23 caster level check, or the spell fails and the creature remains dead. Unremarkable Aspect (Su) Any creature that sees an iniquidaemon in its natural form must succeed on a DC 23 Will save, or think of its presence as completely innocuous. Any hostile actions by the iniquidaemon or its allies against a creature or its allies break the effect for that creature. The save DC is Charisma based.

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Please stop discrediting your ancestors' ability to tell stories by trying to find material/physical origins to their stories. Krampus isn't a cryptid, dragon stories weren't inspired by dinosaur fossils, every region has its own mythology and fae are only a thing in Celtic, English, and English-colonized regions, your ancestors were perfectly capable of doing things without help from aliens, and our world is weird enough that tales of mysterious strangers, mass disappearances, memories not lining up, and so on, are better explained as a product of OUR world than hypothetical other worlds/timelines. A lot of weird tales were spun by storytellers. Give some respect to their hard work.

[thecreaturecodex]

Sample Achaanwaapush NPC

Chop-Hop is not as smart as she thinks she is, but is still smarter than the average achaanwaapush. Rather than relying on bluster and bullying to steal what she wants, she's learned a few tricks from her kobold neighbors and uses traps to hold her victims still long enough to rob and/or kill. Chop-Hop's warren is well protected with traps, and the roads for a few miles around are strewn with snares and deadfalls. She does have a fondness for fire and explosions, however, which often belies her attempts to be stealthy.

To modify an achaanwaapush's statistics to better represent Chop-Hop, change her Skill Focus feat to Skill Focus (Craft: traps) and move her ranks in Intimidate to Craft (trap), granting her a modifier of +7. Give her 3 flasks of alchemist fire and one fuse grenade as treasure. For higher level play, add levels of ranger (trapper archetype) or rogue (trapsmith archetype)

Achaanwaapush

“Chinese Zodiac - Year of the Rabbit” © Damon Hellandbrand, accessed at his ArtStation here

[Be vewwy vewwy quiet… The achaanwaapush, or Cannibal Rabbit, appears in a Cree story. And I’m always down for more low level monstrous humanoids. I gave it an axe in reference to the Bunny Man of Fairfax County. If and when I do a block of Gamma World monsters, this stat block would be a good launching point for a hoop.]

Achaanwaapush CR 2 CE Monstrous Humanoid This creature is a humanoid rabbit, with clawed hands and a leering expression. It clutches an axe.

An achaanwaapush, or “cannibal rabbit”, is a ferocious humanoid with leporine features. They have keen hearing and excellent jumping ability, but use it to pounce on prey instead of flee from predators. Most achaanwaapush carry an axe, spear or other melee weapon, but they use their claws and teeth in combat as well. An achaanwaapush is motivated by a desire for creature comforts, and will often bully people into giving them food or a place to sleep, and then butchering them for their trouble. They are foolish, however, and easily deceived into letting down their guard or chasing a fantasy.

Achaanwaapush dwellings are typically below ground, dug out into a series of tunnels where multiple families reside. These families constantly bicker and fight with each other, rarely lethally, as well as interbreeding. Children are barely raised, seen more as a nuisance than anything, and those that can’t stay out of the way and learn to be vicious may be killed by their peers.

An achaanwaapush is tall for a Medium creature, usually standing around seven feet tall.

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(About that last reblog, the one where you're asking for funds for your art; are you saying you're open for commissions?)

No.