Sunderday isn't dead yet!

Hello everyone and welcome back to the long overdue post I promised you. Last weekend just got way too out of hand for me. Game Night, followed by my mother’s Birthday Party, followed by Mother’s Day meant that I was exhausted and just didn’t get my work completed in time for a Sunday entry. I had planned to get it to you a little late, but then to top it off I went and got sick. So anyway, enough with the excuses and on to something nice and new for you to try out.

As I said in my last entry, this item hearkens back to my first serious foray into game design, the 2009 RPG Superstar. I unfortunately didn’t make it to the dizzying height that my fellow blogger Mike did, but it made me realize that maybe (after my first few poorly executed  toe dips) I could actually make something worthwhile after all. In that contest, my entry was something I called the Dazzler. It was a small gem that could be attached to a shield and let you utilize a cantrip at will through your shield. I obviously can’t use that same item here (although I can link to it http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2j21t?Dazzler#1 ) so I thought about what other lower level spells could be used in a similar fashion. Over the next few weeks, instead of giving you a new shield, I’ll instead be giving you some new Shield Gems to enhance your character's existing shields. First up we have a nice passive Shield Gem that I’m sure will be of use to just about everybody who uses a shield. Enjoy!

Shield Gems

Shield Gems are small jewels that can be attached to a shield by a skilled Armorsmith (DC 15 Craft check). If a check is failed by more than 5 there is a 50% chance the Shield Gem is ruined.

Most appear to be regular gems at first glance, but upon closer inspection, they usually have something that sets them apart (such as a faint glow, sigils etched into their surface, etc).

Some Shield Gems can be activated without attaching them to a shield, and in this case it will be stated in their entry.

Mender

Aura Faint Transmutation; CL 3rd

Slot –; Price 3,000gp; Weight –

DESCRIPTION

At first glance this gem appears to be nothing more than a common lump of hematite. Upon handling the gem however, the bearer notices that it is slightly warm to the touch.

Anyone holding a Mender can touch it to an item and use it to cast mending at will. This takes time however and the bearer must hold the Mender against the item to be fixed for 10 minutes for it to work.

When attached to a shield however, this mending process is expedited. The round after the shield it is attached to is damaged, the Mender automatically repairs 1d4 points of damage. It continues to do this every round until either the shield is fully repaired or it gains the broken condition. The round after the shield gains the broken condition, the Mender removes the condition and leaves the shield on half its original hit points. It will then continue to be repaired as normal each round after that.

In order for a Mender to be able to repair a magical shield, the caster level of the person making the Mender must be double that of the effective bonus of the shield to be repaired. The basic Mender can repair both normal and +1 shields. A +2 shield needs a caster level of 4th to work, 6th for +3, 8th for +4, etc, all the way up to 20th level for the ability to repair a +10 shield. Prices for these are as follows: +2 = 4,000gp, +3 = 6,000gp, +4 = 8,000gp, +5 = 10,000gp, +6 = 12,000gp, +7 = 14,000gp, +8 = 16,000gp, +9 = 18,000gp, +10 = 20,000gp.

CONSTRUCTION

Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, mending; Cost 1,500gp

Frightful Fridays! Zloty

Welcome back to Frightful Fridays! which returns with a doozy of a monster. In a Paizo messageboard thread that I frequent (Forums are Way Too Long, now on its 5th iteration and near 85,000 posts in this iteration), the topic of the zloty came up. Drejk, who hails from Poland, explained that it was Polish currency, but Freehold DM joked that it sounded like a monster I came up with (a fair point). Several days later Scott suggested a four-armed, killer platypus, and I paired up that concept with the name zloty. Then, in my search for an image to go with today's monster, I came across the piece below, and it screamed "ZLOTY!" to me. So...that is the origin for this creature.

Today's extra takes its inspiration from the zloty's amazing adaptability, which seemed like something druids could recreate as a spell.

I hope you enjoy today's Frightful Fridays! monster, and I'll be back next week, perhaps with something less daft. Who knows? Also, make sure to come back on Sunday for Flash's new shield--he will definitely have one ready this week, or the zloty will get him. Thanks for reading!

The zloty pictured just before scientists opened a portal to an unknown world, through which the creature exited.

Image found here

This massive creature with a duckbill, six legs—four of which feature wicked claws—and a beaver's tail looks like it was assembled by a drunken god.

Zloty CR 19

XP 204,800

CE Gargantuan aberration

Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +37

Defense

AC 28, touch 4, flat-footed 28 (-2 Dex, -4 size, +24 natural)

hp 315 (30d8+180); ability score fast healing, fast healing 10

Fort +16, Ref +8, Will +21

Defensive Abilities adaptive armor, affliction adaptation, death resistance, energy adaptation; Resist acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5, negative energy 5, sonic 5; SR 30

Offense

Speed 60 ft., burrow 30 ft., swim 40 ft.

Melee bite +30 (3d6+12/19–20 plus bleed and grab), 4 claws +30 (1d8+12 plus grab), spur +25 (1d8+6 plus poison), tail slap +25 (1d8+6)

Ranged spur +20 (2d6+12 plus poison)

Space 20 ft.; Reach 20 ft.

Special Attacks bleed (2d6), fast swallow, poison, pounce, replenishable spurs, swallow whole (6d6 acid damage, AC 22, 31 hp)

Statistics

Str 34, Dex 6, Con 23, Int 13, Wis 18, Cha 11

Base Atk +22; CMB +38 (+42 grapple); CMD 46

Feats Blind-Fight, Crippling Critical, Critical Focus, Deadly Finish, Diehard, Eldritch Claws, Endurance, Greater Blind-Fight, Improved Blind-Fight, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Opening Volley, Power Attack, Snatch, Stunning Assault

Skills Intimidate +33, Perception +37, Stealth +27, Survival +37, Swim +53; Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth

Languages Common (can't speak)

Special Abilities

Ability Score Fast Healing (Ex) A zloty heals 1 point of ability damage for each ability, at the beginning of its turn. The creature also heals 1 point of ability drain every 24 hours.

Adaptive Armor (Ex) If a zloty takes weapon damage, the zloty immediately gains a +1 bonus to its natural armor.

Affliction Adaptation (Ex) For every failed save against a disease, poison or effect that causes a harmful condition, the zloty gains a cumulative +4 resistance bonus to future saves against that disease, poison, or harmful condition. This bonus also applies to the same poison, disease, or harmful condition from a different source.

Death Resistance (Ex) A zloty dies when it reaches negative hit points equal to double its Constitution score. If a zloty's hit points reach 0 or lower, its fast healing increases by 5 (to a maximum of fast healing 30).

Energy Adaptation (Ex) When a zloty takes damage from an energy type, its resist energy value doubles for that energy type. If a zloty takes damage from an energy type while it has resist energy 20 for that energy type, the zloty gains immunity to that energy type.

Replenishable Spurs (Ex) After a zloty uses its spur as a ranged attack, it cannot make a spur attack during its next turn as its spur grows back.

Zloty Spur Poison (Ex) Spur—injury; save Fort DC 31; frequency 1/round for 8 rounds; effect 1d6 Con and 1d6 Dex; cure 3 consecutive saves. The save DC is Constitution-based.

A zloty takes evolutionary growth to an incredible new level. The creature seems to be a bizarre assemblage of parts of random creatures and has an impressive array of natural weaponry, including a painfully poisonous spur that it can regrow after firing it at an opponent. In addition to a zloty's offensive capabilities, it boasts astonishing adaptability, featuring skin that thickens as the creature takes damage, and powerful resistances that improve to the point they render the zloty immune to energy damage, poison and disease. Perhaps most alarming, a zloty has chameleonic skin and a surprisingly light tread, making the creature difficult to spot considering its size. A zloty is 40 feet tall and weighs 20 tons.

A zloty is not native to this world, and the most common theory holds that the creature arrived from a magic-dead world (which may account for its spell resistance). The theory goes on to explain that the people of that world created the zloty as an experiment, somehow manipulating the creature's fundamental makeup without the aid of magic. Attempts to magically recreate a zloty have failed, sometimes spectacularly, but a sect of druids has managed to duplicate some of the creature's rapid adaptability in a spell.

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Zloty Adaptability

School transmutation; Level druid 7

Casting Time 1 round

Components V, S, DF

Range touch

Target creature touched

Duration 1 hour/level

Saving Throw Fortitude negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)

The subject of zloty adaptability begins with resist energy 5 to all energy types, fast healing 2, and a +4 natural armor bonus (which stacks with other natural armor bonuses). If the subject takes damage from an energy type, the resist energy value provided by the spell increases by 5 (to a maximum of 20) for that energy type. If the subject takes weapon damage, its natural armor bonus increases by +1 (to a maximum value equal to the caster level). Finally, if the subject's hit points drop to 0 or below, the subject immediately stabilizes, and fast healing provided by this spell increases by 2 (to a maximum of 10). This spell overlaps and does not stack with resist energy and protection from energy.

Frightful Fridays! Spider Squirrel

Welcome back to Frightful Fridays! Today's monster features a return to spider-related mashups which occur here with a disturbing frequency. While this creature was originally slated to appear in the A-Z challenge, it got bumped for the street kaida and then last week for vorpal bunnies. Still it was too creepy/cute to completely disregard, so here it is now. Spider "squirrel" is a misnomer, but it flows better than spider "chipmunk," so consider the stripes to be warning markings on some weird, mutant squirrel.

Today's extra takes the mashup concept further to combine acorns and webbing in an explosive mix represented by a druid/ranger spell.

Thanks for reading today's Frightful Fridays! I'll be back next week with a creature that co-opts the name of a country's currency. Also, while you're waiting for that, please check out Flash's new shield on Sunday!

Image found here

When this gray squirrel emerges from the shadows, it reveals its extra sets of arachnid legs and tiny fangs that drip with venom.

Spider Squirrel CR 2

XP 600

N Tiny magical beast

Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +12

Defense

AC 15, touch 15, flat-footed 12 (+3 Dex, +2 size)

hp 22 (3d10+3)

Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +1

Offense

Speed 20 ft., climb 10 ft.

Melee bite +8 (2d4-3 plus poison)

Space 2.5 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Special Attacks poison, web (+8 ranged, DC 13, 3 hp)

Statistics

Str 4, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 5, Wis 10, Cha 13

Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 11 (19 vs. trip)

Feats Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse

Skills Climb +9, Perception +12, Stealth +15 (+23 in forests); Racial Modifiers +8 Perception, +8 Stealth in forests

Ecology

Environment temperate forests

Organization solitary, pair, mob (3–12)

Treasure incidental

Special Abilities

Spider Squirrel Venom (Ex) Bite—injury; save Fort DC 13; frequency 1/round for 4 rounds; effect 1d6 Str; cure 2 consecutive saves.

Combining a squirrel's frenetic and a spider's aggressiveness, the spider squirrel is a terror in any woods it inhabits. Fortunately, for a forest's denizens, a spider squirrel is actually omnivorous and spends more time gathering nuts and berries and storing them in web sacs than hunting other creatures. If this were not the case, a single spider squirrel would quickly depopulate its habitat. A typical specimen measures 1 foot in length and weighs 15 pounds.

Presumed to be a creation of some mad wizard, a spider squirrel actually seems to be an organism accidentally resulting from a pocket of wild magic encroaching on a forested area. At least no one has discovered notes on a spider squirrel's creation scrawled by an insane progenitor, unlike the copious notes discovered regarding the owlbear and spiderbear. Whatever their origin, spider squirrels breed true, and a thriving population of the creatures exists in hidden forest pockets. While a spider squirrel rarely hunts other creatures, it is extremely aggressive in protecting its territory and will attack creatures as large as a grizzly bear in an attempt to drive them off. Of course, animals and vermin that blunder into a spider squirrel web become fodder for the creature, but its web is only strong enough for smaller specimens.

A spellcaster can choose a spider squirrel as a familiar. The spellcaster must be at least caster level 7th and have the Improved Familiar feat. Additionally, and owing to their strange insertion into the natural order, a spider squirrel can be summoned with summon nature's ally III (or more powerful versions).

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Webcorn

School transmutation; Level druid 2, ranger 1

Casting Time 1 round

Components V, S, DF

Range touch

Targets 1d4+1 acorns touched

Duration 1 hour/level (see below)

Saving Throw none (see below); Spell Resistance no

When you cast this spell, you transform a group of 2–5 ordinary acorns into a tiny web-filled bomb. When thrown, the acorn explodes in a sticky mass of webs, which grapples all creatures in a 10-foot-radius spread (a successful Reflex save avoids the grappled condition). These webs persist for 1 minute per caster level, but a grappled target may break free of them with a successful Escape Artist check or combat maneuver check as a standard action (DC equal to the spell's DC). Likewise, a creature moving through the webs must make the same check as part of the move action; failure means the creature becomes grappled in the first square of webbing it enters.

A Free Pathfinder Adventure for You

Friend, FaWTLy, fellow rambler, and sometime guest blogger Paris Crenshaw is offering an adventure for Pathfinder characters levels 7-9.  Monastery of the Silent Moon is available for free download now.  If you haven't had the opportunity to see Paris' quality work, do so now.  Then get ready to give Clockwork Gnome Publishing some cash.

Final Shield Wall Sunderday!

I can hear a lot of you breathing a sigh of relief that this will be the last week of Shield Walls. Sorry to get your hopes up last week, but I promise this is it (at least until Paizo bring out some new Wall Spells). Next week takes me back to where my RPG design journey began and thankfully gives you all something lower priced that helps make my articles a little more accessible to the common player.

For now, enjoy the last two Shield Walls, one low powered but a very useful utility item and one more high end powerhouse!

Shield Wall

These shields come in many different varieties; two shield walls are described below.

All Walls brought into creation by a Shield Wall can only be formed vertically and cannot be moved or pushed in any way.

To create a Wall, the bearer must place the shield in front of herself at the midpoint of where she wants the Wall to be formed. The Wall then comes into being from a point touching the facing edge of the shield. A Wall always lasts for 1 round per Caster Level and cannot be dismissed early. Each Wall ability can be used three times per day, although any other abilities the Shield may possess are always active. Unless stated in the Description, they require a Standard Action to activate.

A new Wall cannot be brought into existence until any previous Wall has expired.

Campfire Shield

Aura Faint Evocation; CL 5th

Slot shield; Price 15,159gp; Weight 6lb.

DESCRIPTION

This blackened +1/+1 Flaming Light Steel Shield (+1 AC bonus and +1 to hit in melee) is always warm to the touch. As with a normal flaming weapon, it can be commanded to burst into flames on command and when being used to shield bash acts like any other weapon of its ilk.

Once per day however, it can be laid on the ground and commanded to flame. Doing so will activate a campfire shield centered upon it. The shield gives off light and heat equivalent to a small campfire and is still harmful to anyone but the person who activated its ability.

CONSTRUCTION

Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, campfire wall; Cost 7,579gp 5sp

Spellbane Shield

Aura Strong Abjuration and Evocation; CL 17th

Slot shield; Price 284,617gp; Weight lb.

DESCRIPTION

This +5 Living Steel Tower Shield is a potent defense for fighters against anyone using magic against them. It can be used to create a wall of suppression as per the spell and can be used to store either one greater dispel magic or two dispel magic spells as if it had a modified spell storing ability. Triggering this ability is the same as a regular spell storing shield, and at the wielder’s discretion, targets whoever hit the wielder with one of the stored spells. Only those two spells can be stored.

It also provides the wielder with Spell Resistance 15.

CONSTRUCTION

Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, wall of suppression; Cost 142,308gp 5sp

Frightful Fridays! Deadly Duo

Welcome to the first Frightful Fridays! of May. I intended to post the only monster that fell out of my original April lineup (to make room for the street kaida), but Gregg posted a picture today that commanded my attention. The bunnies pictured below are vorpal rabbits, and they are still having trouble taking down that T-Rex. With a lucky hit by one of these cute bunnies, that T-Rex will lose its head, though. 

Today's extra is, well, another monster. Since mine is the nth iteration of the vorpal rabbit, I figured I'd give you something else along the same lines but hopefully quite different: the razorwire porcupine.

I hope you enjoy these nasty little animals with their nasty, big, pointy teeth and nasty, big, stabby quills. Come back on Sunday for Flash's new shields, and I'll see you next week. Thanks for reading!

Image found here

A single bunny rabbit sits amid a field of bones of decapitated bodies, its fangs strangely sharp for a simple herbivore.

Vorpal Rabbit CR 8

XP 4,800

N Tiny Animal

Init +8; Senses low-light vision; Perception +21

Defense

AC 23, touch 17, flat-footed 18 (+4 Dex, +2 size, +6 natural, +1 dodge)

hp 90 (12d8+36); regeneration 10 (fire)

Fort +11, Ref +12, Will +4

Defensive Abilities evasion; DR 10/epic; SR 19

Offense

Speed 50 ft., burrow 10 ft.

Melee bite +15 (8d6-4/19-20/x4)

Space 2.5 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Special Attacks vorpal bite

Statistics

Str 2, Dex 19, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 13

Base Atk +9; CMB +11; CMD 18 (22 vs. trip)

Feats Dodge, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Mobility, Spring Attack, Weapon Finesse

Skills Acrobatics +24 (+32 jump), Perception +21, Stealth +16; Racial Modifiers +16 Acrobatics, +8 Perception

Ecology

Environment any forest or cave entrance

Organization solitary, pair, or shredding (3–8)

Treasure incidental

Special Abilities

Vorpal Bite (Ex) When a vorpal rabbit confirms a critical hit with its bite attack, its target must succeed at a DC 19 Fortitude save; failure means the rabbit severs the target’s head from its body. A target that succeeds at the saving throw still takes quadruple damage from the critical hit. The save DC is Constitution-based.

In a world where fearsome predators roam freely, the small creatures that regularly fall prey to these eating machines develop mechanisms that help them to flee or hide from these menaces. Occasionally, though, the hunted evolves in such a way that it becomes the hunter; such is the case with a vorpal rabbit, which has razor-sharp teeth capable of removing its foe’s head. Woe betide the hunter that mistakes a vorpal rabbit for a typical rabbit. Other than the indication that the creature’s teeth are much sharper than expected, a vorpal rabbit has the same outward characteristics as a regular rabbit.

Another strong indicator that one confronts a vorpal rabbit is the fact that the creature sits placidly when other creatures approach, rather than scampering off in fear. Since a vorpal rabbit is as much a carnivore as those that mistakenly hunt it, it patiently waits for its prey to make its first move. Once the surprised target is gored to death or decapitated, the vorpal rabbit devours its flesh, stripping the corpse to bone in a matter of two hours.

Druids and rangers aware of a vorpal rabbit’s presence give the creature a wide berth, but they make sure to have charm animal or similar spells prepared just in case the rabbit decides to go wandering. In fact, many druids and rangers place items they do not wish to fall into others’ hands in a vorpal rabbit’s lair, usually sneaking by while the rabbit is murdering some other creature.

A vorpal rabbit cannot be taken as a familiar or animal companion, but one can be summoned using summon nature’s ally VI.

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Illustration found here

This porcupine stands amid a field of mangled corpses that look like something took a scourge of razors to their flesh.

Razorwire Porcupine CR 6

XP 2,400

N Tiny Animal

Init +6; Senses low-light vision; Perception +16

Defense

AC 20, touch 14, flat-footed 18 (+2 Dex, +2 size, +6 natural)

hp 67 (9d8+27)

Fort +9, Ref +8, Will +2

Defensive Abilities evasion; DR 5/magic

Offense

Speed 30 ft.

Melee bite +10 (1d6-4), tail slap +10 (4d6-4 and bleed)

Ranged quills +10 (2d6 and bleed)

Space 2.5 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Special Attacks bleed (1d4), hobbling

Statistics

Str 2, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 9, Cha 11

Base Atk +6; CMB +12; CMD 12 (16 vs. trip)

Feats Agile Maneuvers, Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (quills), Weapon Focus (tail slap)

Skills Perception +16, Stealth +16; Racial Modifiers +8 Perception

Ecology

Environment any forest

Organization solitary, pair, or nettling (3–10)

Treasure incidental

Special Abilities

Hobbling (Ex) While a foe suffers from bleed damage caused by a razorwire porcupine, the foe’s land speed is reduced by half.

Quills (Ex) Any creature daring to attack a razorwire porcupine with light or one-handed melee weapons, natural weapons, or an unarmed strike take 1d6 points of slashing damage and 1d4 points of bleed. A creature grappling a razorwire porcupine takes 3d6 points of slashing damage and 1d4 points of bleed each round it does so.

Sometimes an animal already has a defense mechanism built in to deter predators, but every now and again, that defense mechanism needs bolstering to scare of the most determined creatures. A razorwire porcupine’s quills have developed into deadly slashing weapons that cause vicious wounds when they strike. A razorwire porcupine looks nearly identical to a typical porcupine with the exception of its quills, which are thinner and less stiff.

A razorwire porcupine cannot be taken as a familiar or an animal companion, but it can be summoned with summon nature’s ally IV.