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.