Category: Book of Beasts

Pathfinder: Grave Hulk

Grave Hulk by Eric Quigley

It is another Shadowsfall Friday. Today, we bring you a monster straight from the brain of Richard Moore. He wrote this one for his home game sent it over to me to send off to you. If you use it in your game, buy him a drink if you see him at a convention.

As always you can find more awesome monsters like this for your game in the Book of Beasts: Monsters of the Shadow Plane at the JBE Shop, DriveThruRPG, Paizo, and the Open Gaming Store.

Grave Hulk CR/HD 9

Init –2; Perception +17 (darkvision 60 ft.)
Size Large (10 ft.); Speed 30 ft.

Defenses

AC 25 (touch 14, flat-footed 19); Fort +10, Ref +10, Will +10; CMD 29
hp 126

Attacks

Melee 2 claws (reach 10 ft.) +17/+17 (2d6+15)
Attack Options (DC 16) awesome blow, energy explosion (1/day, 20-ft. radius, 1d6+9 slashing); CMB +15

Statistics

Str +7, Dex –2, Con —, Int —, Cha +4
XP 6,400; NE undead

Special Abilities

Absorb Corpse (Su) As a move action, a grave hulk can grab the body of an unconscious Medium-sized or smaller living creature at less than 0 current hp, automatically dealing claw damage to it. If the creature dies from this blow, the grave hulk absorbs its body into its form, gaining 4 temporary hit points per hit die of the absorbed creature.

A grave hulk is formed from dozens of dead bodies, their putrefying flesh and bone twisted by necromantic magic into a vaguely humanoid form that stands some ten feet tall. It reshapes its body as it moves, manifesting new claws and limbs seemingly at random and even discharging bone shards in destructive showers when surrounded by foes.

Although a grave hulk can be made out of approximately 25 corpses via create greater undead, most grave hulks either occur naturally in areas suffused with extreme levels of negative energy or are constructed in rituals that profane the culture or religion of the dead whose bodies will comprise the creature.

In combat, a grave hulk prefers to use its awesome blow in conjunction with its superior reach to keep foes at bay, instinctively discharging its energy explosion ability whenever three or more enemies are within its radius of effect. It is not smart enough to distinguish friend from foe in most cases, however, so poorly-worded instructions from its master could have disastrous consequences for a novice necromancer who attempts to control one.

0

Pathfinder: Kytons

Like all outsiders, kytons do not feed on the same food as humans. That does not mean they do not need to consume something to sustain their existence. For devils, it is despair. Any type of despair will do but they particularly love the aroma of despair from oppression. If a soul they take for their own gives up and accepts that there is no escape from Hell, they feed upon that despair. That is their food. Which is why devils work so hard to make someone give up and accept the terrible situation around them instead of fighting to change it. For azatas, it is joy. They feast upon the child-like joy and wonder of a soul experiencing a place for the first time. This is why the chaotic good plane constantly sprouts new flowers and features an ever-changing landscape, perfect for adventure.

Kytons feed upon willful surrender. They love someone that willingly accepts pain. These outsiders will never remove the ability for a soul to not accept the pain they offer because a forced surrender taints the taste of that surrender to them, making it unpalatable to them. So the pain they offer is pleasurable to those that give of themselves willingly. This differs from devils in that a devil always aims to outmaneuver their target, so they have no choice but to give in to a devil; such actions are an anathema to a kyton. The chainclad want that sweet taste of willingness.

Below are some of the images of kytons of Shadowsfall. Some of these will be in the upcoming campaign for Shadowsfall while others will be in a a future Shadowsfall monster book.

Below is a whelp kyton, one of the lowest form of kytons in existence. Its eyes are not under a blindfold as many believe. It keeps what humans would consider eyes closed until it uses its unnerving gaze where the target sees itself in a similar position of voluntary servitude as the whelp. The chain it wears around its neck attacks anyone that attack it. Additionally, the chain lifts it off the ground by the neck when it needs to fly. It carries out small jobs that are beneath the status of more powerful kytons. For all this, it gets to feed upon the willing submission from those that kneel to its master.

Kyton, Whelp CR/HD 2

Init +1; Perception +7 (darkvision 60 ft.)
Size Tiny; Speed 15 ft., fly 30 ft.

Defenses

AC 14 (touch 12, flat-footed 12); Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +5; CMD 12; Concentration +5
hp 20; DR 5/good or silver; Immune cold, fear effects

Attacks

Melee chain +3 (1d8+3), 2 claws –2(1d6+1)
Attack Spells (DC 13 + spell level) 1/day—inflict light wounds, scare
Attack Options unnerving gaze (30 ft., DC 13, shaken for 1 round); CMB –1

Statistics

Utility Options alertness, telepathy 60 ft.
Dex +1, Int +2, Cha +3; Bluff +10, Escape Artist +7, Fly +7, Perception +7, Perform (act) +10, Sense Motive +10, Stealth +10,
XP 600; LE Outsider (kyton)

Be sure to download all our Pathfinder books at the JBE Shop, DriveThruRPG, Paizo, and the Open Gaming Store.

0

Pathfinder: The Undead of Shadowsfall

Last week, we announced that we are creating our own setting known as Shadowsfall. It is a worlds where a lich tried to take over the world, killed the sun goddess, and was destroyed by the other gods. Here, you are a survivor fighting for the living in the aftermath of all that. Nine out of every ten creatures are undead and more than half of them are mindless.

So saying that undead feature prominently in any Shadowsfall game is an understatement. With the survivors either in protected cities, living near some fortification to retreat there when the undead hordes come close, or wandering the wastelands hunting for food and slaying small groups of walking corpses they encounter, seeing a zombie or skeleton here is as common as seeing a goblin, kobold, or orc in a standard fantasy setting. Today I just want to take a few moments and share with you some of the undead creatures that “live” in this land of poor sunlight. Long time fans of JBE will recognize these pieces as being from the Book of Beasts: Monsters of the Shadow Plane.

You can also see some of the other walking corpses like the orc skeletal champion and a ravager wolf. Today, however, we’re going to share with you the stat block for the unquiet giant. This big brute is jovial in the way it smashes everything in its sight. Its a fun monster to have wandering around.

Unquiet Giant CR/HD 13

Init +0; Perception +17 (darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision)
Size Huge; Speed 30 ft.

Defenses

AC 30 (touch 16, flat-footed 23); Fort +14, Ref +14, Will +14; CMD 35 (39 vs bull rush)
hp 198; DR 15/slashing; Immune undead immunities
Weakness easily distracted

Attacks

Melee greatclub +22/+17/+12 (3d8+23) or 2 slams +22 (3d6+25)
Ranged spirit stone +16/+11/+6 (28)
Attack Options improved combat maneuver, rock throwing (120 ft.), stun attack (13/day, Fort DC 14); CMB +26 (+30 bull rush)

Statistics

Str +9, Con —, Wis +4, Cha +6; Climb +21, Intimidate +17, Perception +17
XP 25,600; CE undead (giant)

Special Abilities

Easily Distracted (Ex) Although it is immune to all mind-affecting spells and spell-like abilities, an unquiet giant is highly susceptible to mundane distraction. At the start of its turn, it must succeed a DC 15 Wisdom check to fight normally. If it fails, it attacks a random creature within its reach.
Spirit Stone (Su) An unquiet giant imbues every stone it throws with the essence of its final battle, flying unwaveringly, and even veering to follow its target. An unquiet giant uses its Charisma bonus instead of its Dexterity bonus to its attack rolls when throwing rocks. All rocks thrown in this manner are considered to be magic weapons for purposes of damage reduction.

0

Pathfinder: Orc Skeletal Champion

Image by Eric Quigley

We’re bringing you our Pathfinder blog this week on Monday instead of Friday like usual since last week was the GM’s Day Sale that occupied us. This week we are bringing you an orc skeletal champion. To make this one, we had to write a skeletal champion graft. We will be sure to include it in a future Pathfinder 1e monster book we create. We are after all first and foremost monster designers and making new monster books is something we can hardly stop ourselves from doing. We move creating these baddies so much that we just have to share them with you. Anyways, we hop you enjoy this monster in your game.

Be sure to check out all our Pathfinder books at the JBE Shop, DriveThruRPG, Paizo, the Open Gaming Store, Amazon, and Noble Knight Games.

Orc Skeletal Champion CR/HD 4

Init +7; Perception +12 (darkvision 60 ft.)
Size Medium; Speed 30 ft.

Defenses

AC 19 (touch 13, flat-footed 16); Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +5; CMD 20
hp 44; DR 5/bludgeoning; Immune cold, undead immunities
Weakness light sensitivity
Defensive Options channel resistance +4

Attacks

Melee +1 scimitar +8 (1d6+13/18–20)
Ranged composite (+4) longbow +6 (1d8+9/x3)
Attack Options combat reflexes, create spawn, power attack; CMB +8

Statistics

Str +4, Dex +3, Con —, Wis +1; Climb +12, Intimidate +9, Perception +12
XP 1,200; CE undead (orc) fighter

Special Abilities

Combat Reflexes (Ex) Orc skeletal champion can make up to 5 attacks of opportunity each round and can make attacks of opportunity when flat-footed,
Create Spawn (Su) Any creature killed by the orc skeletal champion rises as a skeleton in 1d4 days and is under the command of the orc skeletal champion. The orc skeletal champion can have up to 10 skeletons under its command at once.
Power Attack (Ex) Orc skeletal champion’s scimitar attack changes to +6 (1d6+22/18–20)

1

Pathfinder RPG: Carrion Bug

Last week, I write my first Pathfinder monster in quite some time and I remember how much I enjoy doing it. In fact you might even say I caught the “bug” again. So I couldn’t help myself and I created another one.

The image that caught my eye this week is a bug eating a long decomposing corpse. Naturally my first thought was to Shadowsfall with how useful this would be. Humans and other intelligent living creatures
would want to keep these guys around since they could be useful in devouring zombies and making sure their own fallen do not rise again as undead. Yet they would still be a problem, eating the things that eat the things that eat the things that become food for the players. So even if the forces of the living wanted them around, they would still need to keep their numbers under control. So thinning their numbers would be a solid low level adventure.

If you like this monster, please let us know in the comments below and take a look our other monster books here at JonBrazer.com, DriveThruRPG, Paizo, and the Open Gaming Store.

Carrion Bug CR/HD 1/2

Init +0; Perception +2 (darkvision 60 ft.)
Size Small; Speed 30 ft.

Defenses

AC 13 (touch 12, flat-footed 12); Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +0; CMD 12
hp 11

Attacks

Melee bite +1 (1d4+1 plus disease)
Attack Options (DC 9) disease (onset 1d3 days, frequency 1/day, effect 1 point of Con damage, cure 1 save); CMB –1

Statistics

Utility Options mindless
Dex +1, Con +3, Int —, Wis +2
XP 200; N Vermin

0

Pathfinder: Ravager Wolf

I mentioned last month that we at JBE decided to continue with Pathfinder 1e support. Having said that, we decided to not continue on as business as usual. Since Paizo will be ending support for PF1 soon, we no longer feel the need to continue on in their footsteps; we want to do things our way. One of those ways is that we do not care for the core Bestiary monster creation rules. Personally, I never followed them. If anything, I did them backwards from the way the Bestiary described them. So all our monsters from here out will be using the Pathfinder Unchained monster rules. Today being Friday, I decided to make one for fun. Let me introduce you to the Ravager Wolf.

First a little background. The artwork was originally intended for the Book of Beasts: Monsters of the Shadow Plane, however, we cut it for space. I always liked this image of a wolf with its guts cut out and felt bad we never used it. So today I am creating a monster around this image. The ravagers are corpses of animals that are consumed by the darkness and are reanimated into unlife. Each is more vicious than their mundane counterparts as they suffer from a constant hunter and an unquenchable desire to feed. Even worse, as they get more powerful, they get more intelligent. This one here is one of the weaker ones as well as one of the most commonly encountered. These creatures are without mercy and will attack as soon as see an opportunity.

Be sure to follow the JBE blog since we will be posting more monsters and other options while we are working on new Pathfinder 1e projects. Also, be sure to tell you friends that we at JBE are working on some awesome Pathfinder projects. We need your help in letting everyone know that plans to stick with 1e PFRPG that we are here for them.

We hope you enjoy this monster.

Ravager Wolf CR/HD 3

Init +5; Perception +11 (darkvision 60 ft., scent)
Size Medium; Speed 30 ft.

Defenses

AC 17 (touch 12, flat-footed 12); Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +4; CMD 18
hp 33; Immune undead immunities

Attacks

Melee bite +6 (1d12+4 plus bleed), 2 claws +1(1d4+2)
Attack Options bleed (1d6, DC 15 or any magical healing); CMB +6

Statistics

Str +4, Dex +1, Con —, Wis +2; Climb +8, Perception +11, Survival +8
XP 800; CE undead

2

Pathfinder: Wild Hunter

With Christmas not far away, we figured we would share one if our classic monsters from the Book of Beasts: War on Yuletide. If you are getting up in levels and needing something higher level for your game, the wild hunter might be just what you’re looking for in a holiday themed game. Maybe the wild hunter needs the players’ help to hunt down the three spirits hunting some old money lender. Perhaps there’s a powerful hunt that makes someone see the world where they never existed. Or you could try it backwards in that someone is turning bad children until ghosts before their time and the wild hunter cannot attack a still living creature, requiring the adventurers’ help. The possibilities are endless.

Download Book of Beasts: War on Yuletide today.

Wild Hunter CR 13

XP 25,600
N Huge outsider (extraplanar, psychopomp)
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, spiritsense 60 ft.; Perception +19
Aura fear aura (30-ft. radius, DC 19)
Defense
AC 26, touch 13, flat-footed 21 (+8 armor, +5 Dex, +5 natural, –2 size)
hp 189 (18d10+90)
Fort +16, Ref +16, Will +9
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4; DR 5/cold iron and magic; Immune death effects, disease, poison; Resist cold 10, electricity 10
Offense
Speed 40 ft.
Melee +1 ghost touch keen longsword +22/+17/+12/+7 (3d6+6/17–20)
Ranged +1 ghost touch composite longbow +22/+17/+12/+7 (3d6+6)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attack trample (2d6+7, DC 24)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 9th, concentration +9)
Constant—seal of fate
Statistics
Str 20, Dex 20, Con 20, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 11
Base Atk +18; CMB +25 (+27 bull rush, overrun); CMD 40 (42 vs. bull rush, overrun)
Feats Bloody Assault APG (–5/1d4 bleed), Charge Through APG, Devastating Strike UC, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Devastating Strike UC, Improved Overrun, Improved Vital Strike, Power Attack (–5/+10), Vital Strike
Skills Handle Animal +17, Knowledge (nature) +17, Knowledge (planes) +17, Perception +19, Sense Motive +19, Stealth +10, Survival +20, Swim +18
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Infernal
SQ ghost touch
Ecology
Environment any
Organization solitary
Treasure double (+1 keen longsword, +1 composite (+5 Str) longbow, and +4 hide armor)
Special Abilities
Fear Aura (Su) Creatures within a 30-foot radius of the wild hunter that fail a DC 19 Will save become frightened for 1d8 rounds. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by this fear aura for 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Ghost Touch (Su) A wild hunter’s attacks are treated as if it had the ghost touch weapon special ability.
Lord of Spirits (Su) The wild hunter can command up to 18 HD of ghosts.
Seal of Fate (Sp) This spell-like ability functions like a rest eternal spell against any creature killed by the wild hunter, except that remove curse and break enchantment do not negate this effect. Only a miracle or wish can undo this effect.
Spiritsense (Su) The wild hunter notices, locates, and can distinguish between living and undead creatures within 60 feet, just as if it possessed the blindsight ability.

0

Pathfinder: Jack-In-Irons

It was just last month that we released our latest Pathfinder adventure Deadly Delves: The Dragon’s Dream. This amazing high-level Pathfinder adventure is a perfect way to move through he upper levels of play. It features high level challenges, monsters, traps, haunts and much more. We already shared one of those high level monsters—the godling. Today we are sharing with you another one of those terrors, the jack-in-irons.

This monster is nothing but a chain inhabited by a spirit—whether angry, confused, or in pain—making it an undead creature. It is difficult to hit, owing to the fact that a miss just passes right through the links. Atop a mound of hit points and resistance to spells and channeled energy, it can hit with a melee attack out to a range of 120 feet. this means that just about anywhere you can see is a potential place for it to kill something. It originally appeared in the Book of Beasts: Legendary Foes, a monster book for high level games. You run a high level game download this adventure and monster book from the JBE Shop today.

Jack-In-Irons CR 17

XP 102,400
CE Medium undead
Init +7; Senses bloodsense 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +34
Aura frightful presence (120 ft.; DC 29)

Defenses

AC 32, touch 17, flat-footed 25 (+7 Dex, +15 natural)
hp 273 (26d8+156)
Fort +16, Ref +15, Will +20
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, hardness 10; Immune cold, spiked chain, undead traits; SR 28
Weaknesses vulnerable to force damage

Offense

Speed 20 ft.; fly 20 ft. (poor)
Melee 6 spiked chains +28 (2d4+8/19–20 plus grab)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 120 ft.
Special Attacks chain command, rend (2 spiked chains, 2d4+12), sundering rend

Statistics

Str 26, Dex 24, Con —, Int 15, Wis 20, Cha 22
Base Atk +19; CMB +27 (+31 grapple, sunder); CMD 44 (46 vs. sunder)
Feats Bleeding Critical, Combat Refexes, Critical Focus, Disruptive, Great Fortitude, Greater Penetrating Strike, Greater Sunder, Hover, Improved Sunder, Penetrating Strike, Power Attack (–5/+10), Spellbreaker, Weapon Focus (spiked chain)
Skills Fly +32, Intimidate +35, Knowledge (religion) +31, Perception +34, Sense Motive +34, Stealth +36
SQ fighter’s iron

Special Abilities

Bloodsense (Su) A jack-in-irons knows if any creature within 60 feet has ever killed a living creature.
Chain Command (Su) All chains (including spiked chains) within 120 feet of a jack-in-irons are under this undead creature’s command. A creature wielding a spiked chain within 120 feet of a jack-in-irons must succeed on an opposed Charisma check against the jack-in-irons to attack with the weapon. On a failed check, the creature cannot wield its weapon in combat.
Fighter’s Iron (Ex) A jack-in-irons counts as a 19th-level fighter for purposes of qualifying for feats.
Spiked Chain Immunity (Su) A jack-in-irons is immune to damage from spiked chains.
Spiked Chains (Ex) A jack-in-irons’ spiked chains threaten a critical hit on a 19–20. These spiked chains cannot be disarmed.
Sundering Rend (Ex) A jack-in-irons can perform a sunder attempt with its spiked chains. If two spiked chains successfully deal damage to an object with a sunder attempt, they automatically deal rend damage to the sundered object.

0

Pathfinder: Phantasm Swarm

Swarms are a pain in the butt. Physical weapons are of not much use against them if at all. Spells that target only a single creature are downright useless. You have to rely on area effect spells to take them out. Otherwise, you’re running away.

Incorporeal creatures are a pain in the butt. Physical weapons are of little use. Spells that don’t deal force damage or positive energy are not very effective. You’re have to rely on a small selection of spells and certain divine casters to take them out. Otherwise, you’re running away.

So when creating the Book of Beasts: Monsters of the Shadow Plane, I thought why not combine the two. That would make a monster that is just downright terrifying and perfect for a higher level game. The only thing that would make it even worse is if one of those classes you would normally rely upon were less effective. That would be evil! The result of that is below.

You can find this creature and more that are equally awesome in the Book of Beasts: Monsters of the Shadow Plane at the JBE Shop. This book is also available at DriveThruRPG/RPGNow, Paizo, and the Open Gaming Store.

Phantasm Swarm

A cloud of dark malevolent energy manifests itself as a roiling mass of angry skulls and grasping hands. The parts move and act as one – a single entity driven to destroy all that is holy.
PHANTASM SWARM CR 12
XP 19,200
CE Tiny undead (incorporeal, swarm)
Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +32

DEFENSE

AC 23, touch 23, flat-footed 16 (+4 deflection, +6 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 size)
hp 102 (12d8+48)
Fort +8, Ref +12, Will +14
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +2, incorporeal, swarm traits; Immune undead traits; SR 20 (divine spells only)

OFFENSE

Speed fly 40 ft (perfect)
Melee swarm (1d8 Wisdom damage)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks distraction (DC 22), hatred of religion (+2 Wis)

STATISTICS

Str —, Dex 23, Con —, Int 13, Wis 22, Cha 18
Base Atk +9; CMB +13; CMD 28
Feats Dodge, Hover, Improved Initiative, Improved Lightning Reflexes, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility, Skill Focus (Perception), Skill Focus (Stealth), Step Up
Skills Fly +33, Knowledge (religion) +16, Perception +27, Spellcraft +16, Stealth +35
Languages Aklo, Common
SQ divine spell resistance

ECOLOGY

Environment any (Plane of Shadows)
Organization solitary, pair, or mass (3-5)
Treasure none

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Divine Spell Resistance (Su) A phantasm swarm has spell resistance against divine spells equal to 8 + its total HD. Arcane spells are not subject to this spell resistance.
Hatred of Religion (Su) The only thing a phantasm swarm hates more than religious holy/unholy symbols are those bearing them. The Wisdom damage dealt by the swarm attack is increased by +2 if the targeted creature possesses some kind of obvious holy/unholy symbol or channels energy.
Wisdom Damage (Su) A phantasm swarm’s attack deals 1d8 points of Wisdom damage to a living creature. This is a negative energy effect. A creature dies if this Wisdom damage equals or exceeds its actual Wisdom score.
It is done. These souls will never reincarnate nor will they be at peace. We have made them an offer and they chose to reject it. They refuse to work for us; they will have all eternity together to regret their decision. It is too late for them to reconsider now. Their souls are now damned for all time. Let them writhe in torment and remember their loss with no end. Pain is all they shall ever know.
– Thykan Rast, cleric of Asmodeus, “Ledger of Souls”
It is said that souls that reach their final reward forget their earlier lives. Less known is that souls forbidden from this reward never forget. Over the course of centuries, clusters of these tortured souls have gathered together on the Plane of Shadows to form a phantasm swarm, an entity more powerful than just the combined ectoplasmic energy of the souls alone. Its collective hatred for priests and all divine casters—the living intermediaries to the afterlife—gives a phantasm swarm power. The ghostly lynch mob now seeks revenge.
A phantasm swarm, armed with all its loathing of divinity, will attack any creature it identifies as an agent of a deity, regardless of the religion or alignment. Wearing a holy/unholy symbol or simply invoking the name of a deity may be enough for a phantasm swarm to exact retribution for its wretched state of disembodied unrest on a worshipful creature.
Magic bludgeoning weapons deal half damage to a phantasm swarm. All other magic weapons deal one quarter damage. Mundane weapons do no harm this furious soul cloud.

0

Powered by WordPress.com.

Up ↑