Design a monster.

[maggotheart]

Swamp Lurker

These beasts are related to frogs, but they are bigger and meatier with greasy brown skin and look vaguely humanoid. They sometimes lurk just under the surface of water, waiting for prey to walk by, but they will also shadow animal herds and look for an opportunity to pick one of them off. When it feels like it has an opportunity, it will ambush the herd and swallow one of their members whole, and then use its powerful, frog like legs to leap away to safety. In this way it can easily target healthy adult males without fear of injury.

 

This animal becomes a problem for adventurers because it is easy for the Swamp Lurker to identify them as 'herds' and attack them. When this happens, one of the party members is swallowed by the Swamp Lurker who will then try to escape. The rest of the party must chase the creature down before it disappears with their companion. Swamp Lurkers are smart enough that they will try to lead any pursuing creatures into the territory of more dangerous predators.

 

Humanoids who are swallowed by Swamp Lurkers are generally rejected (it cant process things like metal and wood) and can usually be found somewhere nearby, maimed and near death if the creature isn't captured and killed.

[JFSOCC]

BAS

 

Once upon a time, there was a powerful magician

He had a lab in a beautiful spot in the city.

And he was happy doing his many science experiments

And then one day, the city allowed those rats in

The Scum.

A group of musicians in the tavern next door.

And all their wailing and caterwauling kept him from his work

All day and all night

He petitioned the city council to do something

But they didn't even hear him out, his litany of complaints was a minor issue compared to the amount of tax generated by these... louts.

 

Oh, how he hates musicians.

And then there was a fire, it started in the Tavern, of course it did.

But it spread to the lab, filled with unstable agents

They could hear his screams over the noise of the flames, and the flames were really quite loud. Sometimes something shattered, and yet the screams raged on.

Not screams of fear, not screams of pain, well, maybe that too.

They were screams of anger. Cursing out the bedevilled bastards for the rumour they constantly cause. Surely this too is their fault. It's ALL their fault.

 

And after the fire burned out, and only the charred remains of the lab were left, a small ephemeral black smoke rolled over the pavement, unnoticed, into the world.

An angry smoke.

They say smoke inhalation will kill you.

They're right.

 

The Angry black smoke seeks out those noise makers. It finds them in their homes, it rolls in through the crack in the door, the keyhole if it must. Shapeless as it is, it can't be harmed, not by conventional means anyhow. It climbs their legs, their torso, weightless and unfelt, and makes its way to their face, And then it pours itself into the mouth, the nose, into the lungs, and holds itself there.

And the victim starts choking.

No amount of gasping will save them now, the air will not come.

The lips turn blue

It's latest victim slumps in his seat.

The angry black smoke leaves the way it came... Did it hear a mother singing to her wailing babe across the street?

Maybe it did...

----

BAS (Black Angry Smoke)

Attacks those who make noise, so chanters are its most likely targets, though audible spell-casting of any kind will evoke its hatred.

It has but one attack, it latches on to it's targets face and fills the lungs, the target is silenced and experiences life drain until dead.

It can be called away from it's current target by incessant singing which just won't go away, nearby. If that happens it reorients itself on the new target which annoys it more.

It's completely shapeless (or rather, ever changing) and appears as a black smoke, or mist. It takes no damage from piercing, slashing or blunt weapons, and fire damage increases the vapor's power. It needs to be defeated using area damage from from cold, acid or magical damage. It can be dissolved by magic draining, or it can be grounded and make solid by cold. In which case it could be damaged by anything.

If the BAS believes it is losing the battle, it will flee, there are so many other singers to be silenced.

[BruceVC]

BAS

 

Once upon a time, there was a powerful magician

He had a lab in a beautiful spot in the city.

And he was happy doing his many science experiments

And then one day, the city allowed those rats in

The Scum.

A group of musicians in the tavern next door.

And all their wailing and caterwauling kept him from his work

All day and all night

He petitioned the city council to do something

But they didn't even hear him out, his litany of complaints was a minor issue compared to the amount of tax generated by these... louts.

 

Oh, how he hates musicians.

And then there was a fire, it started in the Tavern, of course it did.

But it spread to the lab, filled with unstable agents

They could hear his screams over the noise of the flames, and the flames were really quite loud. Sometimes something shattered, and yet the screams raged on.

Not screams of fear, not screams of pain, well, maybe that too.

They were screams of anger. Cursing out the bedevilled bastards for the rumour they constantly cause. Surely this too is their fault. It's ALL their fault.

 

And after the fire burned out, and only the charred remains of the lab were left, a small ephemeral black smoke rolled over the pavement, unnoticed, into the world.

An angry smoke.

They say smoke inhalation will kill you.

They're right.

 

The Angry black smoke seeks out those noise makers. It finds them in their homes, it rolls in through the crack in the door, the keyhole if it must. Shapeless as it is, it can't be harmed, not by conventional means anyhow. It climbs their legs, their torso, weightless and unfelt, and makes its way to their face, And then it pours itself into the mouth, the nose, into the lungs, and holds itself there.

And the victim starts choking.

No amount of gasping will save them now, the air will not come.

The lips turn blue

It's latest victim slumps in his seat.

The angry black smoke leaves the way it came... Did it hear a mother singing to her wailing babe across the street?

Maybe it did...

----

BAS (Black Angry Smoke)

Attacks those who make noise, so chanters are its most likely targets, though audible spell-casting of any kind will evoke its hatred.

It has but one attack, it latches on to it's targets face and fills the lungs, the target is silenced and experiences life drain until dead.

It can be called away from it's current target by incessant singing which just won't go away, nearby. If that happens it reorients itself on the new target which annoys it more.

It's completely shapeless (or rather, ever changing) and appears as a black smoke, or mist. It takes no damage from piercing, slashing or blunt weapons, and fire damage increases the vapor's power. It needs to be defeated using area damage from from cold, acid or magical damage. It can be dissolved by magic draining, or it can be grounded and make solid by cold. In which case it could be damaged by anything.

If the BAS believes it is losing the battle, it will flee, there are so many other singers to be silenced.

 

I like this concept, we can add to it looking at any wizard\alchemist who has been changed by his experiments and now has a vendetta aagainst a specific group. He could be cursed. So the party has to free a town from his influence, but he isn't really human anymore. He could be smoke or some kind of ethereal form but he has sentience and hungers for vengeance

[DimuthuK]

The dearly departed:

 

People who have died may not wish to leave the material plane. Their bodies have gone but their souls remain. Usually they stay around towns or cities. It depends on their life but usually they wish to carry on their lives oblivious to the fact they are dead. Hanging around people in doorways having delusional conversations with the people nearby. Sometimes alive people can hear them. Ciphers will pick up on them. They are usually harmless, only hurting themselves by not leaving. Sometimes they see people and hook on to them. This can result in a number of situations.

 

1: It inhabits the body quietly and does not disturb the individual. Living in its own dreams and illusions.

2: It realises the person is not communicating with them and tries to force communication by violently hurting their psyche. This manifests as nightmares or even aneurisms. 

3. If the individual is susceptible e.g. the ghost may have caused the victim to go catatonic. The victim is possessed and the ghost automatically lives its old life again in a new body. Of course at this stage it's presence has become noticable to people who meet it.

 

One ghost has caused a lot of chaos a few hundred years ago. A godlike named Askree had trained for most of her life as a mage. She had been struggling with split personalities but her tutor Sohur had been training her with meditation to keep her mind together. On an expedition to an ancient ruin with her mentor, she stumbled on a book that was barely preserved under dust and dirt. As a scholar of the dead language, she read the text and found the book to describe the creation of the universe. The more she read, the more she found it not to be allegory as it gave examples of certain sorcerers who had recreated the process in smaller fashion. Overwhelmed by excitement, she started an incantation, reading from the book. As her words diffused through the decaying hallways, the air dried up, and a vacuum started to form. Sensing immense forces at work, Sohur ran to his student. In horror, he found her, eyes widened, absorbed in her recitation. The sound of deepest thunder or deeper resounded from all the molecules of their locality. The almighty ohm from the creation of the universe. Sohur had to stop this before their own reality gets erased. He struck his dearest student on the head with his finger, unlocking all the mechanisms of control they had placed to keep her mind together. At the same time he introduced a paralyzing fear which drove the different minds into their hiding places leaving Askree unconscious. Sohur felt his reality bend under the forces that had been so pushed in one direction and now stopped so suddenly. The air shimmered as the last of the vibrations gradually quieted. 

  Askree was never the same again. She spent the rest of her life in one or another of her various personas. Due to the shock of Sohurs attack, she had developed many more personalities than had been present before and they clung on to their identity with grim determination due to the fear they constantly felt.  She died only a few years later.  

 However, she did not depart to the other side. Her soul wonders still, but due to her personality disorder, is able to invade many hosts at the same time. At one time she had taken over the bodies of the entire population of a small village. Each person carried a different personality and they communicated with eachother as if it were a real village. However, they were all under the control of one soul so could not go far from eachother. When a passing adventurer found the village, he knew something was wrong and questioned one of her personalities. Instead of recognising the truth of his words she quickly dispatched him with a mob of her hosts. Eventually the villagers died due to starvation. 

  Askree wonders the world still. A powerful cipher would have to face her and reintegrate the different parts of her mind. On top of this, when she is made whole, she will try and recite the words to create a new universe. This will destroy all of the current one. Of course, she cannot do this without the vocal chords of a host body. If she is able to comprehend words and listen to reason, then maybe she will leave this plane. Until then, she will be a danger to even the gods themselves. 

Edited February 21, 2013 by DimuthuK

[BruceVC]

The dearly departed:

 

People who have died may not wish to leave the material plane. Their bodies have gone but their souls remain. Usually they stay around towns or cities. It depends on their life but usually they wish to carry on their lives oblivious to the fact they are dead. Hanging around people in doorways having delusional conversations with the people nearby. Sometimes alive people can hear them. Ciphers will pick up on them. They are usually harmless, only hurting themselves by not leaving. Sometimes they see people and hook on to them. This can result in a number of situations.

 

1: It inhabits the body quietly and does not disturb the individual. Living in its own dreams and illusions.

2: It realises the person is not communicating with them and tries to force communication by violently hurting their psyche. This manifests as nightmares or even aneurisms. 

3. If the individual is susceptible e.g. the ghost may have caused the victim to go catatonic. The victim is possessed and the ghost automatically lives its old life again in a new body. Of course at this stage it's presence has become noticable to people who meet it.

 

One ghost has caused a lot of chaos a few hundred years ago. A godlike named Askree had trained for most of her life as a mage. She had been struggling with split personalities but her tutor Sohur had been training her with meditation to keep her mind together. On an expedition to an ancient ruin with her mentor, she stumbled on a book that was barely preserved under dust and dirt. As a scholar of the dead language, she read the text and found the book to describe the creation of the universe. The more she read, the more she found it not to be allegory as it gave examples of certain sorcerers who had recreated the process in smaller fashion. Overwhelmed by excitement, she started an incantation, reading from the book. As her words diffused through the decaying hallways, the air dried up, and a vacuum started to form. Sensing immense forces at work, Sohur ran to his student. In horror, he found her, eyes widened, absorbed in her recitation. The sound of deepest thunder or deeper resounded from all the molecules of their locality. The almighty ohm from the creation of the universe. Sohur had to stop this before their own reality gets erased. He struck his dearest student on the head with his finger, unlocking all the mechanisms of control they had placed to keep her mind together. At the same time he introduced a paralyzing fear which drove the different minds into their hiding places leaving Askree unconscious. Sohur felt his reality bend under the forces that had been so pushed in one direction and now stopped so suddenly. The air shimmered as the last of the vibrations gradually quieted. 

  Askree was never the same again. She spent the rest of her life in one or another of her various personas. Due to the shock of Sohurs attack, she had developed many more personalities than had been present before and they clung on to their identity with grim determination due to the fear they constantly felt.  She died only a few years later.  

 However, she did not depart to the other side. Her soul wonders still, but due to her personality disorder, is able to invade many hosts at the same time. At one time she had taken over the bodies of the entire population of a small village. Each person carried a different personality and they communicated with eachother as if it were a real village. However, they were all under the control of one soul so could not go far from eachother. When a passing adventurer found the village, he knew something was wrong and questioned one of her personalities. Instead of recognising the truth of his words she quickly dispatched him with a mob of her hosts. Eventually the villagers died due to starvation. 

  Askree wonders the world still. A powerful cipher would have to face her and reintegrate the different parts of her mind. On top of this, when she is made whole, she will try and recite the words to create a new universe. This will destroy all of the current one. Of course, she cannot do this without the vocal chords of a host body. If she is able to comprehend words and listen to reason, then maybe she will leave this plane. Until then, she will be a danger to even the gods themselves. 

 

Nice idea, and a good way to use ths type of creature.

[rjshae]

Barebear...

 

[JFSOCC]

scary looking, though bears are scary with and without hair.

 

DimuthuK, that's really cool, I like the lore as well, and I can see several ways this could be used in the game.

[DimuthuK]

Thanks guys. This is a lot of fun.

[maggotheart]

Gray Ones

 

In certain places in the world, there are ruins of ancient civilizations. To explore them is to invite death - it is well known that unnatural forces lash them like a perpetual, silent storm.  While these foul winds are incapable of disturbing the dust that thickens on the rocks, they can tear the very soul from a mortal body, leaving the flesh to starve.

 

Despite the danger, there are some who choose to explore the ruins, and a very few who manage to return to tell the tale. It is these few who can tell the tale of the Gray Ones.

 

Some creatures who are caught in the soul storms are too great to be simply washed away as humans and the other races are. Their souls linger, carried on the winds as they suffer a tormented half existence among the ruins. Among these, the greatest are the Gray Ones.

 

Whatever these creatures once were, they are now only capable of manifesting as a collection of debris vaguely resembling their previous forms. They are tall, noticeably reptilian with great bat like wings and broad faces. The only part of them that retains any life are their eyes, which burn with light and seem real, not made of rock and earth. Survivors tell of their great hatred of intruders, finding those who escaped the storms and crushing them with their immensely powerful arms and tail. They have a terrible breath attack that alternately vomits masses of crushing debris, slashing rock shards and piercing stone spikes.

 

When the foul winds pass, the Gray Ones bark to each other in gravelly broken voices, a language not spoken since ancient times. They then depart, even in the midst of battle, as though they were chained to the storms.

[JFSOCC]

A sort of vampire which instead of taking life, takes your abilities and skills, leaving its victims drained of these while taking over their role.

 

So a master weapon-smith wakes up one day, to find out he doesn't know how to wield a hammer any more. While Smith's guild has just accepted this new prodigy, who came out of nowhere.

 

The Vampire's acquired skills would degrade over time, requiring him to keep seeking victims, or move on to another field of expertise, or another place.

 

Players would encounter a befuddled weapon-smith and investigate his loss of skill, or are asked to investigate a new prodigious recruit's past after accusations of foul play surface. Or follow the vampire exposed, while the vampire leaves a trail of breadcrumbs in the form of skill damaged souls. The vampire may be a single creature or be part of a larger group, in which case their society might be exposed, finding a specific vampire might be harder as they help each other (or compete)

While every new capable recruit in any organisation is automatically suspect. (false accusations of witchcraft! I mean, vampirism!)

 

The most skilled vampires are capable of powerful illusions and know how to pose as the person they drained. These vampires kill their victims and start posing as them.

[AGX-17]

A sort of vampire which instead of taking life, takes your abilities and skills, leaving its victims drained of these while taking over their role.

 

So a master weapon-smith wakes up one day, to find out he doesn't know how to wield a hammer any more. While Smith's guild has just accepted this new prodigy, who came out of nowhere.

 

The Vampire's acquired skills would degrade over time, requiring him to keep seeking victims, or move on to another field of expertise, or another place.

 

Players would encounter a befuddled weapon-smith and investigate his loss of skill, or are asked to investigate a new prodigious recruit's past after accusations of foul play surface. Or follow the vampire exposed, while the vampire leaves a trail of breadcrumbs in the form of skill damaged souls. The vampire may be a single creature or be part of a larger group, in which case their society might be exposed, finding a specific vampire might be harder as they help each other (or compete)

While every new capable recruit in any organisation is automatically suspect. (false accusations of witchcraft! I mean, vampirism!)

 

The most skilled vampires are capable of powerful illusions and know how to pose as the person they drained. These vampires kill their victims and start posing as them.

You sure are fixated on this "enemy who steals your identity and/or all your skills and attributes permanently forever" thing.

 

Here's an enemy for you: A rock. It falls down on your head and it's invincible because it's made out of stone. But it only gets one move, which is falling on your head. Once it moves, combat is over. There's no experience for combat so it's not a loss. It doesn't stick tentacles in your butt and become you and turn you into some kind of tentacle rape monster who has to tentacle rape someone else to become them, thus permanently becoming not the protagonist and ending the main story.

Edited February 24, 2013 by AGX-17

[JFSOCC]

This:

You sure are fixated on this "enemy who steals your identity and/or all your skills and attributes permanently forever" thing.

is legitimate criticism.

It's true I've focussed a lot on that, good point, I'll try to think of a better and different one the next time.

 

However this:

Here's an enemy for you: A rock. It falls down on your head and it's invincible because it's made out of stone. But it only gets one move, which is falling on your head. Once it moves, combat is over. There's no experience for combat so it's not a loss. It doesn't stick tentacles in your butt and become you and turn you into some kind of tentacle rape monster who has to tentacle rape someone else to become them, thus permanently becoming not the protagonist and ending the main story.

is spiteful and rude, and has no place here.

If you think you can do better that what you've seen in this thread, I'm waiting. So far all you've done lately is piss on everyone else's ideas without contributing ****e yourself. So put your money where your mouth is. I expect a serious entry from you.

[Mr. Magniloquent]

I see Daddy finally struck Mommy at the dinner table--bringing an ackward pause to the otherwise enjoyable evening. Let's see if this latest monster can clear the air.

 

Name: Felicity Snail

Description: The felicity snail is a peculiar and rare beast. Encountered only within the deepest caves, and the most dark and mysterious reaches of swamps, most believe it to be only a folk-tale. As rumor has it, the felicity snail is a bright yellow slug the size of a small horse, with its great shell's spiral detailed with a deep and pulsating blue light. Adventurer's are often lured toward it by the soft blue light also emitted from it's eyes, which the felicity snail waves about in the distance as if they were sprites or faeries dancing in the dim. Once near, the felicity snail uses is finely honed abilities to pacify and then devour its smiling prey...alive!

Abilities:

• Ambrosia: The felicity snail excrets a thick mucus which cause those who come in contact with it to be filled with a deep sense of happiness and contentment. Victims suffer X% chance to lay contently but helplessly on the ground for Y rounds.
• Nostalgia: The mere scent of the felicity snail's mucus can cause intense recollection of loving memories. At all times, each opponent must resist or incur X penalty to mind-effecting spells and abilities for one hour. Furthermore, any opponent under the effects of a spell or ability granting it rage or berserk status are immediately ended on a failed save.
• Shelter: The already duable felicity snail may retract within its shell, rendering it immune to all but the most powerful weapons and magic. While sheltered, the felicity snail regernates X stamina per round.  

Attributes:

• Low: Speed, Agility
• Med: Health, Stamina
• High: Strength, Durability

[BruceVC]

 

A sort of vampire which instead of taking life, takes your abilities and skills, leaving its victims drained of these while taking over their role.

 

So a master weapon-smith wakes up one day, to find out he doesn't know how to wield a hammer any more. While Smith's guild has just accepted this new prodigy, who came out of nowhere.

 

The Vampire's acquired skills would degrade over time, requiring him to keep seeking victims, or move on to another field of expertise, or another place.

 

Players would encounter a befuddled weapon-smith and investigate his loss of skill, or are asked to investigate a new prodigious recruit's past after accusations of foul play surface. Or follow the vampire exposed, while the vampire leaves a trail of breadcrumbs in the form of skill damaged souls. The vampire may be a single creature or be part of a larger group, in which case their society might be exposed, finding a specific vampire might be harder as they help each other (or compete)

While every new capable recruit in any organization is automatically suspect. (false accusations of witchcraft! I mean, vampirism!)

 

The most skilled vampires are capable of powerful illusions and know how to pose as the person they drained. These vampires kill their victims and start posing as them.

You sure are fixated on this "enemy who steals your identity and/or all your skills and attributes permanently forever" thing.

 

Here's an enemy for you: A rock. It falls down on your head and it's invincible because it's made out of stone. But it only gets one move, which is falling on your head. Once it moves, combat is over. There's no experience for combat so it's not a loss. It doesn't stick tentacles in your butt and become you and turn you into some kind of tentacle rape monster who has to tentacle rape someone else to become them, thus permanently becoming not the protagonist and ending the main story.

 

 

This:

You sure are fixated on this "enemy who steals your identity and/or all your skills and attributes permanently forever" thing.

is legitimate criticism.

It's true I've focussed a lot on that, good point, I'll try to think of a better and different one the next time.

 

However this:

>

Here's an enemy for you: A rock. It falls down on your head and it's invincible because it's made out of stone. But it only gets one move, which is falling on your head. Once it moves, combat is over. There's no experience for combat so it's not a loss. It doesn't stick tentacles in your butt and become you and turn you into some kind of tentacle rape monster who has to tentacle rape someone else to become them, thus permanently becoming not the protagonist and ending the main story.

is spiteful and rude, and has no place here.

If you think you can do better that what you've seen in this thread, I'm waiting. So far all you've done lately is piss on everyone else's ideas without contributing ****e yourself. So put your money where your mouth is. I expect a serious entry from you.

 

 

 

Agx if you think this thread is silly thats fine, thats your prerogative. But many of us enjoy it so rather don't post anything. Your continued vitriol towards some comments is childish and unnecessary. But the reality is that we don't care that you don't like this topic, we enjoy talking about it and will continue to do so. So leave us alone and make your own topic that you feel is worthy of discussion.

[BruceVC]

 

I see Daddy finally struck Mommy at the dinner table--bringing an ackward pause to the otherwise enjoyable evening. Let's see if this latest monster can clear the air.

 

Name: Felicity Snail

 

Description: The felicity snail is a peculiar and rare beast. Encountered only within the deepest caves, and the most dark and mysterious reaches of swamps, most believe it to be only a folk-tale. As rumor has it, the felicity snail is a bright yellow slug the size of a small horse, with its great shell's spiral detailed with a deep and pulsating blue light. Adventurer's are often lured toward it by the soft blue light also emitted from it's eyes, which the felicity snail waves about in the distance as if they were sprites or faeries dancing in the dim. Once near, the felicity snail uses is finely honed abilities to pacify and then devour its smiling prey...alive!

 

Abilities:

• Ambrosia: The felicity snail excrets a thick mucus which cause those who come in contact with it to be filled with a deep sense of happiness and contentment. Victims suffer X% chance to lay contently but helplessly on the ground for Y rounds.
• Nostalgia: The mere scent of the felicity snail's mucus can cause intense recollection of loving memories. At all times, each opponent must resist or incur X penalty to mind-effecting spells and abilities for one hour. Furthermore, any opponent under the effects of a spell or ability granting it rage or berserk status are immediately ended on a failed save.
• Shelter: The already duable felicity snail may retract within its shell, rendering it immune to all but the most powerful weapons and magic. While sheltered, the felicity snail regernates X stamina per round.  

Attributes:

• Low: Speed, Agility
• Med: Health, Stamina
• High: Strength, Durability

 

Nice idea and concept, where do you get the inspiration from. I know you read loads of fantasy and you DM?

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Nice idea and concept, where do you get the inspiration from. I know you read loads of fantasy and you DM?

 

The Dragon Lance series is the only fantasy I've read, and I have actually DM'ed only a very few times, but took the solemn duty quite seriously. Playing with your favorite character was ill advised within my campaigns. 

 

Most of my RPG experience comes from many moons ago when I role played a notorious villain on a NWN 1 persistent world called Montlethia. I eventually turned content creator, so I guess that could have been considered a form of DM'ing as well. For inspiration, I think of monsters players are under prepared for, like Rust Monsters or anything that teleports or attacks the mind. Once the primary tactic of the monster is chosen, I think up a plausible reason why a monster would have that ability and then expand secondary abilities with that flavor. I also try not to have redundant abilities across different monsters, which forces me to think outside of the box.

 

For some time, I've been trying to think up a phoenix type enemy, and I've almost got it. It's going to be a burning moth type creature. That, however, is for another post when I have the details settled.

[JFSOCC]

Gater

 

A Gater can lay "gate" traps, it can teleport short distances and it can teleport you short distances.

It's also quick on it's feet.

A gate trap teleports you to a marked position on the map, usually in a room filled with hostile creatures. Which isn't so great when you're the only party member to find yourself there.

If a Gater teleports you using an activated ability instead of a trap, you are sent about 30 paces in a random direction, but on the map. A Gater uses this ability frequently and it has a very short cooldown.

Further more, it can create gates only it can use. It uses this to position itself behind isolated party members and strike them from the rear or the flank. These are two way gates and a Gater can have three pairs of them active at any time.

 

An example encounter: fail to find trap, lose rogue to goblin horde in the locked room next door, fail to find trap two, party tank finds itself crushing another party of goblins in the looked room behind the Gater. The monk moves in, finds itself teleported 30 paces along the corridor, unfortunately for him, this lures more enemies in. the cipher almost made it in, the Gater uses one of its gates and finds itself behind the chanter, strikes the chanter for critical damage. The cipher destroys the gate from his end, the rogue is dead, the fighter has slaughtered the goblins and is trying to bash through the door to rejoin combat, the monk needed to make a choice and is currently dealing with the new threat, the chanter turns around, and the mage is firing a missile, but the Gater has already teleported itself five spaces onwards and is now behind the mage, critical hit. the ranger gets teleported 30 paces, he's now in the room where the rogue died (random chance) and gets to deal with the goblins.

 

As you can see, the problem with fighting a Gater is not it's impressive combat power, it's health or armour, nor it's devastating attacks.

It's getting to fight the Gater.

 

What's worst, a Gater which is nearing defeat will try to gate away. this is a slowly cast spell, but will allow the Gater to survive without dying.

 

Abilities:

Build Portal: A Gater builds a gate at its location, moves to a new location and builds another gate, the gates are linked. It can build 3 sets of linked gates. Only it can use it. These are only visible to those passing a search check, or when they're used up until 5 seconds after they're used.

Build Gate trap: A Gater can build up to 3 trapped gates, these teleport any unsuspecting adventurers to the exit gate, these are one-way gates.

Minor teleport: A Gater can teleport any target failing to pass a reflex save in a random direction for a random amount of paces (between 15 and 45) But only to a place which can be reached by foot. (for gameplay purposes.)

Teleport Escape: A Gater can spend six seconds to call a gate to a safe location. It flees from the battle.

Sneak Attack/backstab: A Gater is a rogue-like creature in that it will always try to flank and backstab for critical damage.

 

A Gater is an intelligent creature and can accept orders. Therefore it can be encountered in a dungeon guarding treasure or critical pathways, or be part of a quest where it kidnaps and teleports away, tracking it down will be difficult enough. Cornering it will be hard.

 

It's power grows in conjunction with other enemies nearby, even weak ones, or environmental hazards. The ability to break up a party and deal with them one by one is usually enough to make it a dreaded foe. It's capability to position itself on the fly makes it the scourge of the low-health lightly armoured support classes. If you can kill it before it flees, it's got some interesting magical loot. (those who wish to learn how to teleport would be wise to look for this)

[maggotheart]

When they cast their "gate to escape", they could escape into a tiny pocket plane where they make their lair, so if you want to finish it off you have to follow it through it's 'panic gate' and kill it in its home dimension, where it is more powerful.

[Mr. Magniloquent]

I finally figured this monster out. It's a particularly devious creature to kill, and I'm rather proud of it.

 

Name: Pyre Moth

Description: The Pyre Moth is a unique moth roughly the size of a small bat. It is a dusty white color, with vibrant red trim along its thorax and wings. Pyre Moths tend to congregate in small swarms where light is present. As legend has it, a phoenix was engaged in a mortal struggle with a powerful demon. Unable to defeat the mythical bird, it cast a curse on the phoenix, disintegrating its body so that it could not be reborn. It is said that each feather of the phoenix became a pyre moth, and that they recklessly plunge themselves into fire in the hope to be reborn a phoenix once more.

Abilities:

• Immolation: When in the presence of fire, the pyre moth to the best of its ability will plunge itself into the flame before and above all else. Even the smallest spark is enough to immolate the moth entirely. This adds X fire damage to their normal attack, in addition to enabling other abilities.
• Ignite: Pyre Moths, as a standard action, may ignite another unlit pyre moth, or itself on an immolated pyre moth should it not be.
• Funeral Pyre: While immolated, if the pyre moth is slain, it will erupt into a minor conflagration, inflicting X fire damage to all within Y meters. Furthermore, any dusk moth which has died in this manner will immediately ressurect with full health and stamina, but is not immolated.

Attributes:

• Immune to & healed by fire. Vulnerable to cold and polymorph magic.
• Low: Health, Stamina, Durability, Strength
• High: Speed, Agility

[JFSOCC]

I like the pyre moth a lot! It's a flavourful creature.

[IndiraLightfoot]

Agreed, I do hope OE rip it off.  Great work!  

[BruceVC]

I like the pyre moth a lot! It's a flavourful creature.

 

 

Agreed, I do hope OE rip it off.  Great work!  

 

 

Ditto

[rjshae]

Not sure if this creature would fit the setting, but here goes:

 

Obu Spirit

 

In the dream time, before men placed their thoughts upon paper, there lived a sacred clan that dwelt deep within the great forest. The people of this clan engaged in ancestor worship, and saw desecration of the dead as the greatest crime. To ward against this, they suspended the corpses of their deceased relatives in wicker coffin baskets high up in the ancestor tree: a great oak located atop a grassy noll. Despite this defense, grave robbers still came to desecrate their dead. Hence, to protect the tree from intruders, the clan sacrificed the life of a much venerated shaman, cleaned the flesh from his bones, then transmuted the remains into a warding magic known as the obu. The bones of the shaman were marked with sacred runes, heated with branches fallen from the tree, then blessed with the remains of a recently deceased child of their clan chief. Over time, the power of the clan worship about the tree caused the bones to develop into a spirit form resembling a great cat. The clan called these the obu spirits.

 

An obu spirit appears as a shimmering, four-legged form that is barely perceptible in daylight, but glows faintly in the moonlight. It's corporeal body consists solely of the ancestor bone from which it was formed; the remainder of the spirit exists as an incorporeal shell. The obu spirits come down from the sacred tree at night to stalk and haunt the nearby wilds, then return to their tree at dawn. Because of this ancient curse, anybody seeking to loot the ancestral basket coffins that still hang from the tree will receive a mark upon their soul; a mark that the obu spirits can sense, and which they hunt at night with relentless fervor.

 

The primary attack form of the obu spirit is a soul drain; a type of vampirism that leaves the special powers of the victim neutralized and the obu spirit fortified. When the soul of the victim is sufficiently taxed and the obu spirit strengthened, blows from its ghostly form begin to apply actual physical damage, albeit in the manner of a chill strike that passes through armor and withers the flesh. Short of a magical weapon with which to strike the spirit, the only effective defense is to strike the ancestor bone; a small, moving object that is difficult to hit and harder still to damage.

 

Naturally, the present-day locals have developed a strong superstition about the ancestor tree, and mark the lands surrounding the mound as cursed. All who would visit the area are warned about of a fate worse than death. Despite this, there are a foolhardy few who still risk the attempt, believing that it is all superstitious nonsense. As a result of these treasure seekers, precious items taken from the tree are found in abundance in the fields nearby, along with the skeletons of their would-be thieves.

 

[maggotheart]

Not sure if this creature would fit the setting, but here goes:

 

Obu Spirit

 

 

I like the concept of having to strike the ancestor bone, I wonder what would happen if it was destroyed - perhaps the slayer gets cursed, or there is an explosion. Also, there would be a limited number of Obu Spirits since they all originate from one set of bones, maybe every time you destroy one, it makes the others more powerful? Then you finally have to confront the last one and it's a boss level adversary.

[JFSOCC]

rjshae, you're a masterful story teller