New Creature - Anniversarium Golem

Like any good friend, I totally forgot to get a birthday gift to a few of my friends. I totally had my idea for what to do, but was late to do so. I'm finally done, though! For a birthday, it's only right to make a birthday cake to share. There's not better cake than one inspired by one of my favorite bosses from Super Mario RPG, Bundt. Luckily, I get to share this belated gift with not only my friends, but all of you! Check it out, after the jump.

Creature Creator Part 5: Finishing Touches

At last we come to the end. Kasama is just about ready to be called complete. All we have left are the fine details. Again, this blog will feature very little crunch to work out, so I'm also going to give some more Muscle Magic Secrets™ to help you on the way to your very own monsters. Please join me after the jump.

Creature Creator Part 4: What Manner of Creature Is This?

Our monster continues to come into her own. Last time we saw her, she became truly special. This time, it's time to grow Kasama to the best monster she can be. Let's make her big! We'll be increasing her size and giving her the kaiju template. To see how this all works, join me after the jump.

Creature Creator Part 3: Make It Special

Today we take the mass of offense and defense we made last time and give it some character! Special attacks and abilities can make your new creature very interesting and memorable. Join me after the jump where we give your monster the pizzazz it deserves! 

Creature Creator Part 2: A Good Defense and/or Offense

Last time, we took our first steps to creating the framework for our monster. This time, we're going to throw some meat on those bones! Follow me after the jump for a in-depth look at the Defense and Offense entries of a creature stat block.

Creature Creator Part 1: Nitty Gritty

I really dig monster creation. Considering that at least one third of all of this blog's posts are new monsters, I think that is pretty obvious. I don't believe that everyone is completely aware of what it takes to create a brand new monster, however. I recently statted up a new monster (big surprise!) and think that this is a perfect opportunity to break down the process I took to create Kasama from the ground up. Check out my first of a number of long winded posts after the jump.

New Monster—Kasama the Invincible

As I am wont to do, I created a new monster. It's surprising what will bring on the monster itch. This time around, it was this post on the Pathfinder Facebook group. Someone wanted to advance the dragon turtle up to colossal size. I took a shot at it and things got out of hand. My dial turned well past 11 into the kaiju territory. Check out Kasama the Invincible after the jump!

Hellmouth Unleashed!

Hell Unleashed is releasing later this month at GenCon. As I'm a Campaign Setting subscriber, I get early access to the PDF. Looking through the book, I spotted a creature that caught my eye: the hellmouth. The introductory section of the book details different ways to access Hell, including these interesting creatures. In brief, they are gigantic, ancient, wormlike creatures that dwell in the boundaries between planes. They have a head on each end which houses a mouth containing a portal to the opposite end. Very brazen creatures can make use of these portals to travel between Hell.

The book lacks details for the hellmouth, but does mention it is at least a CR 24 creature. Thus, I decided to take a shot at creating a hellmouth for myself. Check out my idea of it after the break.

New Creature—Hex Maw

I have a massive list of ideas for monsters sitting around. While deciding on what to write about, I stumbled upon this little entry: "Monster that damages prepped spells." A massive grin came upon my face, the kind that only a fellow GM can truly understand. I'm not one to hate on my players, but I think most anyone will agree that sometimes the wizard, cleric, or even the new-fangled arcanist should be scared, if only for a moment. Thus, the hex maw was born!

This creature was designed mostly to bring that caster down a peg, it's really not good for much else. However, I didn't design this with the intent of throwing one at the wizard around every turn. It's more of a one-scene wonder, meant to freak the caster out just the once (or twice!) and then move on. It should hopefully be a memorable encounter. Check it out, after the jump.

New Monster—The Yampe

I'm a big fan of Castlevania. One of my favorite monsters is the Imp. The imp is not particularly powerful or scary. It's more of an annoyance than anything else. It will latch on to your character and you will stand there, continually attacking, until you mash enough buttons to break free. Nothing too crazy. 

I wanted to recreate the imp for Pathfinder, but found myself with a little problems: the imp already exists. Mind you, it exists as a devil. However, devils are more plain evil than tricky or malicious. Not only would the current imp not really fit with the idea of the creature, but devils are also not a match for the theme. Then I remembered my first foray with the pugwampi. Premiering in Howl of the Carrion King, the pugwampi are perfect tricksters. That's when I knew that gremlins were a far better fit for the creature. Looking a little into the history of the imp, I learned that their names are most likely derived from the term ympe.

With all that information in hand, I had a gremlin to terrorize players with: the yampe. Check him out after the jump.

New Monster—The Spinner Stag

Some time ago, my group and I tried out World of Darkness. Stuff got a bit weird when I introduced a bit of time travel into the mix. This was accommodated by a creature I came to call the Spirit of Choice. The design of the creature I described was one meant to evoke infinite possibilities made manifest. I really liked that creature and decided to stat it up in Pathfinder. Check it out, after the jump.

On The Shoulders of Giants

Thanks to my players, I find myself in a situation where someone wants to climb on a dragon or some other larger creature. This has come up enough times, that I finally decided to come up with some rules on how to achieve this. They're quick and dirty, but I think they'll be enough to satisfy my table at the very least. The rules are after the jump, so let me know what you think.

Mummy's Mask Encounter: The Leopard's Eye

I'm currently running a group through the Mummy's Mask Adventure Path. Having just completed Part 1 of The Half-Dead City, my players need a little boost in experience points to keep things in line with the recommended level. I decided to whip together a very simple encounter in a haunted bar. It can be found after the jump.

Wrath of the Righteous NPCs Part 4: The Paladin

Irabeth Tirabade, righteous paladin of Iomedae, rounds out the friendly NPCs present in Book one of WotR. She is a hardy warrior, progressed after the jump.

Wrath of the Righteous NPCs Part 3: The Noble

Horgus Gwerm is a funny character. He is a typical snooty noble who is too good for the situation he finds himself in. However, he is also a fun character to watch grow. With the help of the PCs, he can leave his selfish mindset and actually prove to be a valuable ally, more for his coin than his combat prowess. The PCs can choose to bring along Gwem in their adventures and for that, I present the updated Horgus Gwerm after the jump.

New Monster—The Balekin

I have weird inspiration at times. Wesley Schneider's Bastardhall has been a locale that I've been itching to visit for years. I didn't get a chance to do so at PaizoCon 2013, but maybe this year. I've been wanting to investigate this place so much, that I even came up with a fictional product description in hopes of inspiring Wes to get to writing an adventure for it. In the description, I made up a creature called the balekin just for fun. It's something that has been sitting in my mind for a while and I figured I should stat it up. Let me present to you, the rancorous balekin, after the jump.

Wrath of the Righteous NPCs Part 2: The Wizard

I continue with my series of NPC updates for Wrath of the Righteous. Today, I'll be progressing Aarvashnial, the elven Riftwarden. Stats are after the jump.

Wrath of the Righteous NPCs Part 1: The Rogue

With the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path coming to a close, I finally have a chance to read it. The first thing I noticed are the NPCs listed on the inside covers, presented as allies and enemies. As the AP progresses, these entries also present suggestions for advancing these NPCs if they continue fighting alongside the PCs. I've decided to follow these suggestion and advance all of the relevant NPCs on the inside cover. I present the stats for the rogue, Anevia Tirabade, after the jump.

[Edits: It has been brought to my attention that rogues do not have proficiency with longbows! I've corrected this by changing Anevia's longbow to a shortbow, as it was in her first statblock.]

From the primordial ooze rises... a blog!

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System Reference Document. Copyright 2000. Wizards of the Coast, Inc; Authors: Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook. © 2010, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Jason Bulmahn, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.

The Book of Experimental Might © 2008, Monte J. Cook. All rights reserved.
Tome of Horrors © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Authors: Scott Greene, with Clark Peterson, Erica Balsley, Kevin Baase, Casey Christofferson, Lance Hawvermale, Travis Hawvermale, Patrick Lawinger, and Bill Webb; Based on original content from TSR.
Pathfinder RPG Bestiary, © 2009, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Jason Bulmahn, based on
material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.
Basidirond from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott
Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Cave Fisher from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott
Greene, based on original material by Lawrence Schick.
Crystal Ooze from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott
Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Dark Creeper from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott
Greene, based on original material by Rik Shepard.
Dark Stalker from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott
Greene, based on original material by Simon Muth.
Dracolisk from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott
Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Froghemoth from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott
Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Giant Slug from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott
Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Ice Golem from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott Greene.
Iron Cobra from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott
Greene, based on original material by Philip Masters.
Mite from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott Greene,
based on original material by Ian Livingstone and Mark Barnes.
Nabasu Demon from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott
Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Russet Mold from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott
Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Shadow Demon from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott
Greene, based on original material by Neville White.
Vegepygmy from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott
Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Wood Golem from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Authors Scott
Greene and Patrick Lawinger.
Yellow Musk Creeper from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author
Scott Greene, based on original material by Albie Fiore.
Yellow Musk Zombie from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author
Scott Greene, based on original material by Albie Fiore.
Yeti from the Tome of Horrors, © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott Greene,
based on original material by Gary Gygax.
Tome of Horrors III, © 2005, Necromancer Games, Inc; Author: Scott Greene, with Casey
Christofferson, Erica Balsley, Kevin Baase, Lance Hawvermale, Travis Hawvermale, Ian S. Johnston, Patrick Lawinger, Nathan Paul, Clark Peterson, Greg Ragland, Robert Schwalb and Bill Webb.
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Hell Unleashed © 2015, Paizo Inc.; Authors: F. Wesley Schneider and Jerome Virnich.
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