Frightful Fridays! Megapede

Hello, and welcome to this week's Frightful Fridays! One of my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/FrightfulFridays--yes, it's a shameless plug) patrons suggested a "millipede" made up of multiple centipedes, and the idea evolved from there. It became a swarm of centipedes with the ability to take the form of a gigantic centipede capable of crushing opponents. Plus it electrifies victims. In short, it's fun all around for characters.

I hope you enjoy this week's monster, and I'll be back with another monster next week. Thanks for reading!

Oddly, Google wasn't very forthcoming on the search for "centipede made of centipedes"

The “skin” of this massive centipede ripples. The ripples derive from thousands of centipedes comprising this creature.

Megapede      CR 9

XP 6,400

N Tiny magical beast (swarm)

Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, tremorsense 60 ft.; Perception +19

Aura electricity (5 ft., 1d6 electricity)

DEFENSE

AC 24, touch 24, flat-footed 20 (+8 deflection, +4 Dex, +2 size)

hp 102 (12d10+36)

Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +4

Defensive Abilities swarm traits, wrest metal; Immune cold, mind-affecting effects, negative energy

Weaknesses vulnerability to electricity

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., burrow 20 ft., climb 20 ft.

Melee swarm (3d6 plus 5d6 electricity, distraction, and poison)

Space 20 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Special Attacks distraction (DC 18), megapede crush (3d6 plus 2d6 electricity, DC 16), poison, slough centipedes

STATISTICS

Str 10, Dex 19, Con 14, Int 3, Wis 10, Cha 7

Base Atk +12; CMB —; CMD —

Feats Deadly Finish^UC, Great Fortitude, Improved Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Perception), Toughness

Skills Climb +12, Perception +19, Stealth +17

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate or warm land

Organization solitary or pair

Treasure none

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Megapede Crush (Ex) As a full round action, a megapede can coalesce itself into a long centipede form, allowing it to trample all creatures in a 50-foot line (allowing a chance to evade the trample or make an attack of opportunity as per the trample ability), starting at any square occupied by the megapede. At the end of this action, the megapede returns to its 20-foot space at the line’s terminus.

Megapede Poison (Ex) Swarm—injury; save Fort DC 18; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 2d4 Dex; cure 2 consecutive saves.

Slough Centipedes (Ex) As a standard action, a megapede can dislodge enough centipedes to create a centipede swarm in at least one adjacent square. This reduces the megapede’s hit point total by the centipede swarm’s hit points and reduces the megapede’s space by 5 feet; it also loses access to its megapede crush ability. If a megapede ends its turn in the same square as the centipede swarm, it can reincorporate the swarm into its mass, adding the swarm’s current hit points to its total and increasing its space by 5 feet again. A megapede cannot reduce its space below 10 feet by means of this ability.

Vulnerability to Electricity (Ex) Spells or effects that deal electricity damage to a single target affect a megapede; the electricity damage is unadjusted (not dealing +50% damage) in this case. Spells or effects that deal electricity damage and affect an area deal twice the electricity damage to a megapede. However, a megapede takes no electricity damage from another megapede's attacks or abilities.

Wrest Metal (Ex) The electrostatic field holding the megapede together also interacts with metal weapons. If a metal weapon strikes a megapede it receives a free disarm attempt that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. Its effective CMB for the attempt is +16.

A discovery by a wizard who wished to create a gigantic gestalt creature in the image of its component creatures, centipedes turned out to have the best aptitude for the electrostatic process binding them together. The resultant megapedes were loosed into the world to wreak havoc. The process gives them a modicum of intelligence as the component creatures can rapidly exchange information throughout the whole, allowing them to use basic tactics. Megapedes typically attack like typical swarms but they also jolt creatures which enter their electrical fields. They can launch out into a centipede-like form to target difficult-to-reach opponents, and they are capable of expelling centipedes from the gestalt to independently attack foes. Megapedes are carrion eaters, but they are aggressive enough to kill creatures and wait for decay to set in.

Megapedes spawn by breaking off a piece of their collective, which holds a lesser electrostatic field, when they encounter a large number of centipedes. This smaller unit absorbs the independent centipedes and grows into a full-sized creature in an hour-long process. 

Frightful Fridays! Spear Turtle

Hello, and welcome to this week's Frightful Fridays! I had this one done much earlier, but life intervened and delayed publication. Theodric (who is a new father again, congratulations!) passed the below image along to me, and I thought it would be fun to have a turtle that can catch prey at a distance to make up for its slow speed.

I hope you enjoy the spear turtle, and I'll see you next week with another monster. Thanks for reading!

A couple of notes

1. Voting for Here Be Monsters 3 ends tomorrow. Please consider a vote if you haven't done so already. Voting Booth Link

2. I'm doing a little giveaway for 3rd-party Pathfinder RPG material, plus some publishers have jumped in to sweeten the deal. Check out the thread here

3. My Patreon is still going. You get to see each week's monster early, and I will be collecting them into PDFs for patrons on a three-month basis. Patreon Link

If only I knew how to use Photoshop...

This oversized turtle has a rock-like carapace and powerful jaws. It’s most astonishing feature is the bony tongue it flicks out of its mouth at a great distance.

Spear Turtle      CR 3

XP 800

N Large animal (aquatic)

Init +0; Senses low-light vision; Perception +8

DEFENSE

AC 15, touch 9, flat-footed 15 (+6 natural, –1 size)

hp 30 (4d8+12)

Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +2

DR 2/bludgeoning

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., swim 30 ft.

Melee bite +6 (2d6+4 plus grab) or tongue +6 (1d8+4 piercing plus spearing tongue)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (15 ft. with tongue)

STATISTICS

Str 19, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 9

Base Atk +3; CMB +8 (+12 grapple); CMD 18 (22 vs. trip)

Feats Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack

Skills Perception +8, Swim +12

SQ amphibious

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate or warm water

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

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Spearing Tongue (Ex) When a spear turtle makes a successful attack with its tongue, it receives a free grapple check to impale its victim. If it succeeds at this check, it can retract its tongue, pulling the victim 5 feet towards the turtle. It does not need to make additional checks to maintain the grapple with its tongue; it deals no additional damage, but it reels its victim 5 feet closer. Unsuccessful attempts to escape the grapple deal 1d8 points of piercing damage. While the turtle has an opponent speared, it can only make a bite attack against its speared opponent.

Many animals have adaptations to overcome shortcomings in their ability to hunt and survive, and spear turtles are no exception. To compensate for their slow speed on the land and in the water, they possess a telescoping, barbed tongue, allowing them to attack and hook prey from surprising distances. The barbs extend outward immediately after the tongue strikes a target. The difficult-to-remove spear allows the turtles to pull prey toward them simply by retracting the tongue. Retracting the tongue also retracts the barbs, allowing the turtles to employ their powerful bites.

Spear turtles live in coastal areas and primarily hunt fish and aquatic mammals, since they have greater maneuverability under water. If hunting proves sparse, they move on land to attack prey, which often brings them into conflict with humanoids living near the shore. While not particularly aggressive, hungry turtles attack humanoids if no other prey presents itself. In more populated areas, they often find themselves at odds with humanoids for fish and other mutual prey. Spear turtles typically shift to other locations when competition becomes too fierce.

Typical spear turtles measure 8 feet wide and 9 feet long, and weigh 800 pounds. Like many turtles, they are long-lived, reaching lifespans of up to 60 years.

Spear Turtle Animal Companions

Starting Statistics: Size Medium; Speed 20 ft., swim 30 ft.; AC +6 natural; Attack bite (1d8) or tongue (10-ft. reach, 1d6); Ability Scores Str 15, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 9; Special Attacks grab, spearing tongue (1d6).

7th-Level Advancement: Size Large; AC +4 natural; Attack bite (2d6) or tongue (15-ft. reach, 1d8); Ability Scores Str +4, Con +2; Special Attacks spearing tongue (1d8).

More Free Monsters! (repost)

The reveals for the latest Here Be Monsters contest are out. Please check them out and consider voting after you've had a chance to read through them. Voting ends on the 12th!

(reposting because I shouldn't have been doing this while I was distracted by my day job, and I forgot that the reveals were being done hourly)

Monster 1: Strife Wasp
Monster 2: Voidweaver
Monster 3: Eon-Scarred Probe
Monster 4: Void Herald
Monster 5: Star Cinder

And finally...

VOTE!

Frightful Fridays! Faerie Dragon Noble

Hello and welcome back to another Frightful Fridays! Blog boss Theodric the Obscure pointed out the below illustration to me, and it screamed faerie dragon, but not just any faerie dragon. So, I statted up a faerie dragon noble, considerably more powerful than lesser faerie dragons, but not extremely powerful in the draconic scale.

I hope you enjoy the faerie dragon noble, and I'll be back next week with another monster. Thanks for reading!

Also Two Items of Note
I'm giving away stuff, and I'm asking for your money (or just general support). First, the now annual tradition of Christmastime third-party giveaway is taking place, and a lot of other publishers have jumped in, making it really awesome. All you have to do is sign up here: http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2u1sd?taigs-Twelve-Days-of-Third-Partymas-Year-Two, and the drawings will start on the 13th.

Next, I am pushing my Patreon (the mind-control masters at Patreon compel it). Check it out here: https://www.patreon.com/FrightfulFridays

You can find this cool illustration here

Wisps of fog and strange, colorful images surround this multi-colored dragon with insect-like wings. A glimmer of whimsy tinges its practiced, haughty expression.

Faerie Dragon Noble      CR 7

XP 3,200

CN Medium dragon

Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +15

DEFENSE

AC 20, touch 16, flat-footed 14 (+6 Dex, +4 natural)

hp 84 (8d12+32)

Fort +10, Ref +12, Will +10

Immune paralysis, sleep; SR 19

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., fly 90 ft. (perfect), swim 50 ft.

Melee bite +14 (1d8+2), 2 claws +14 (1d6+2)

Special Attacks breath weapon (15-ft. cone, euphoric bliss, Fort DC 18 partial, usable every 1d4 rounds), phantasmal knockout

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 8th; concentration +12)

   At will—greater invisibility

   1/day—break enchantment, summon (level 4, 1d3 faerie dragons 73%)

Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 8th; concentration +12)

   4th (4/day)—phantasmal killer (DC 20)

   3rd (6/day)—deep slumber (DC 17), loathsome veil^UM (DC 19)

   2nd (7/day)—haunting mists^UM (DC 18), hideous laughter (DC 16), mirror image

   1st (7/day)—charm person (DC 15), color spray (DC 17), grease, silent image (DC 17), ventriloquism (DC 17)

   0 (at will)—acid splash, arcane mark, dancing lights, detect magic, flare (DC 14), ghost sound (DC 16), mage hand, open/close (DC 14)

STATISTICS

Str 14, Dex 23, Con 19, Int 18, Wis 18, Cha 19

Base Atk +8; CMB +10; CMD 26 (30 vs. trip)

Feats Greater Spell Focus (illusion), Spell Focus (illusion), Weapon Finesse, Wingover

Skills Appraise +15, Bluff +15, Diplomacy +15, Escape Artist +14, Fly +18, Knowledge (arcana) +13, Knowledge (nature) +13, Knowledge (nobility) +13, Perception +15, Sense Motive +15, Stealth +13, Swim +14, Use Magic Device +15

Languages Aklo, Common, Draconic, Elven, Sylvan; telepathy 200 ft.

SQ faerie dragon hive mind

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate or warm forests

Organization solitary, pair, coterie (3–6), or court (7–12 plus 10–30 faerie dragons)

Treasure double

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Breath Weapon (Su) Creatures failing the breath weapon’s Fortitude save are stunned for 1d4 rounds and then staggered for 1d6 rounds. For the duration, affected creatures are immune to spells and effects with the emotion descriptor. Creatures succeeding at the Fortitude save are instead sickened for 1d4 rounds and gain a +6 morale bonus on saves versus spells and effects with the emotion descriptor for the duration.

Faerie Dragon Hive Mind (Su) As long as there are two or more faerie dragons (ordinary or noble), including at least one faerie dragon noble, within 200 feet of each other, if one faerie dragon in the group is aware of a particular danger, they all are. No faerie dragon in the group is considered flanked or flat-footed unless all of them are.

Phantasmal Knockout (Sp) A faerie dragon noble can choose to make a victim of its phantasmal killer spells unconscious (and stable at -1 hp) instead of killing the victim. When it does so, the dragon can implant a suggestion as per the spell triggered suggestion^ACG, with a duration equal to a year and a day or until completed.

Spells A faerie dragon noble casts spells as an 8th-level sorcerer.

While faerie dragons tend toward independence except with respect to their clans, they respect all elder faerie dragons, especially those who have undergone the metamorphosis to faerie dragon noble. Faerie dragons who have accrued considerable power create a chrysalis of primal matter, from which they emerge a year later as noble specimens; the dragons jealously guard the secret to this transformation process. Faerie dragons try to assume a more serious attitude after their change, but they often fall into the same stunt pulling antics as lesser faerie dragons. The escalating pranks the nobles carry out among themselves often involve large portions of their forest homes and including unsuspecting neighboring communities.

As liaisons to fey courts, faerie dragon nobles don’t have to leave the fun behind, but they prove exasperating to more serious fey. When the time comes to be serious, though, the dragons immediately make the switch, becoming terrifying in their intensity. They prefer not to use lethal force even in dire situations, even learning to temper their most dangerous spell, phantasmal killer. When implanting a suggestion within the strange dreams the dragons’ modified phantasms impart, they typically cause victims to perform highly embarrassing in front of as large an audience as possible.