Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Frightful Fridays! Monster Mayhem! Zha'arg'll

Hello and welcome to the finale of the Frightful Fridays! fifth anniversary celebration! I'd been waiting for the right moment to spring a monster based on the below image, and five years to the date of starting this feature seemed appropriate. Some of Zha'arg'll's aspects take their cue from the awesome move, Harbinger Down, and those of you who have seen the movie will pick up on those right away. Thanks for reading along during this month of monsters!

If you enjoyed these monsters, please consider taking a look at my Patreon page and pledging as little as $1/month. It is thanks to the support of my patrons that I could devote a month designing monsters (weighing in at a total of 22,000 words for the month) for the blog.


Worst Macy's Thanksgiving Parade Float Ever!
(alternatively: That's No Balloon!)


This massive eight-legged, segmented creature floats lazily. A pink fluid oozes from its mouth and the short claws at the end of its limbs.
Zha'arg'll      CR 30
XP 9,830,400
CN Colossal magical beast (kaiju)
Init +12; Senses darkvision 600 ft., low-light vision; Perception +48
DEFENSE
AC 50, touch 10, flat-footed 42 (+8 Dex, +40 natural, –8 size)
hp 774 (36d10+576); fast healing 30
Fort +35, Ref +28, Will +26
Defensive Abilities amorphous, ferocity, indestructible, reactive reshape, recovery, splashback; DR 20/epic and slashing; Immune ability damage, ability drain, acid, death effects, disease, energy drain, fear; Resist cold 20, electricity 30, fire 30, negative energy 30, sonic 30
Weaknesses vulnerability to cold
OFFENSE
Speed 60 ft., fly 90 ft. (poor), swim 90 ft.
Melee 4 slams +49 (6d10+21/19–20 plus 4d6 acid and disease)
Space 30 ft.; Reach 20 ft.
Special Attacks breath weapon (DC 43), disease, engulf (DC 49, 20d6 acid and disease), hurl foe
STATISTICS
Str 53, Dex 26, Con 41, Int 3, Wis 34, Cha 28
Base Atk +36; CMB +65 (+67 bull rush or drag, +69 sunder); CMD 83 (85 vs. bull rush, drag, or sunder, 91 vs. trip)
Feats Awesome Blow, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Greater Sunder, Greater Vital Strike, Hover, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (slam), Improved Drag[APG], Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Improved Vital Strike, Iron Will, Power Attack, Staggering Critical, Stunning Critical, Toughness, Vital Strike
Skills Fly +10, Perception +48, Swim +48
Languages Aklo (can’t speak)
SQ compression, massive
ECOLOGY
Environment any cold
Organization solitary (unique)
Treasure standard
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Breath Weapon (Su) Once every 1d4 rounds as a standard action, Zha'arg'll can expel pink vomit to a range of 300 feet. Each creature caught in the line must succeed at a DC 43 Reflex save or take 20d6 points of acid damage. A successful save halves the damage. If a creature takes any damage from Zha'arg'll’s breath weapon, it is subject to Zha'arg'll’s genetic rewrite disease (with a +4 circumstance bonus on the save against the disease on a successful Reflex save). The save DC is Constitution-based.
Genetic Rewrite Disease (Su) Breath weapon, engulf, or slam—injury; save Fort DC 43; onset 1d6 rounds; frequency 1 round; effect 2d6 points of damage to each physical ability score and staggered for 1 round; cure 4 consecutive saves. Victims otherwise immune to disease are affected by Zha'arg'll’s disease, but they receive a +8 enhancement bonus on their Fortitude saves. Heal does not automatically remove the disease; a caster level check must be attempted as per remove disease, but casting heal grants a +8 bonus to the check. Additionally, dealing 70 points of cold damage to a victim cures the disease.
If any of the victim’s physical ability scores drop to 0 as a result of this disease, it dies and transforms into a puddle of goo. Any creature touching this goo is subject to this disease. At the end of Zha'arg'll’s next turn, any puddles of goo rejoin Zha'arg'll and heal it a number of hit points equal to the slain creature’s total hit points. Any excess hit points are treated as temporary hit points and last for 1 hour.
Indestructible (Su) Zha'arg'll does not die unless it takes at least half its total hit points in cold damage. While it appears dead when its hit points are reduced to a negative amount equal to its Constitution score, its remains go dormant and respawn Zha'arg'll anew after a year. Destroying Zha'arg'll requires dealing cold damage equal to its total hit points and successfully casting remove disease or heal 7 times (using the save DC for its genetic rewrite disease, and subject to its effects on heal) within 10 minutes of dealing the cold damage.
Reactive Reshape (Ex) When Zha'arg'll is targeted by a ranged attack or a melee piercing weapon, it can spend one use of its Combat Reflexes feat to make a combat maneuver check in place of its Armor Class (against touch attacks, the combat maneuver check takes a –8 penalty).
Splashback (Ex) A creature that strikes Zha'arg'll with a melee attack must attempt a DC 36 Reflex save to avoid taking 4d6 points of acid damage and being subject to Zha'arg'll’s genetic rewrite disease. This affects creatures at a range up to 20 feet from Zha'arg'll, but every 5 feet away from it grants a +2 circumstance bonus on the save. The save DC is Dexterity-based.


Zha'arg'll, the Affliction from Beyond the Stars, comes from a now dead world where experimenters sought to create a gestalt mind to unify all the world’s populace. They learned too late they received instructions from powerful and ancient beings which wanted to terminate life in the universe. In a last-ditch effort to save the world, the leaders used magic and technology to jettison the creature into the cold depths of space. Unfortunately, they couldn’t scour the creature’s remnants, and they grew quietly into another creature and, with the world spent of its resources to deal with a repeat of the threat, laid waste to everything. Meanwhile, the original creation drifted until it crash landed in the polar region of its new home. There it waits until it feels body heat and senses intelligence, at which point it will activate and begin its reign of destruction anew.

Zha'arg'll seems relatively harmless despite its size. Its appearance is similar to a tardigrade writ large, and its stubby legs end in seemingly useless claws. However, Zha'arg'll is actually comprised of billions of microscopic tardigrades it can keep to a cohesive whole. When it strikes a target, it sloughs off thousands of the microscopic creatures, inflicting almost no harm to the composite creature. This infestation overwrites the genetic code of the victim, eventually transforming its victim’s flesh and bones into more of itself. When the victim dies, the resulting mass rejoins Zha'arg'll, adding to its mass and restoring any injuries it may have incurred.

When Zha'arg'll “dies,” it explodes in a shower of seemingly inert gore. However, its remaining viable genetic material leaks into the ground and undergoes a dormant cycle where it regrows to its full size after a year, devouring and assimilating whatever fauna it can find. As it grows, the bizarre creature sends out a subliminal pulse to nearby polar tribes This pulse promises great power to those who find it and assume it as a mantle.

Monday, October 30, 2017

Frightful Fridays! Monster Mayhem! Nameless Naga

Welcome back for the next to last October monster! The nameless naga is not quite at the Great Old One level, but it is a wonderful associate for one. It also doesn't mind consuming PCs' minds or reducing their bodies to piles of goo. If the nagas are feeling especially cooperative, they might be able to open a gate to call forth a primordial deity. Fun!

There's one more monster to go this month, and I'm looking forward to unveiling it tomorrow!



An octopus head with a mouth surrounded by tentacles tops this serpentine body, from which sprout six arms ending in wicked claws.
Nameless Naga      CR 29
XP 6,553,600
CE Huge aberration
Init +17; Senses darkvision 60 ft., true seeing; Perception +40
Aura will suppression (DC 37)
DEFENSE
AC 47, touch 25, flat-footed 30 (+17 Dex, +22 natural, –2 size)
hp 731 (34d8+578); regeneration 30 (fire)
Fort +27, Ref +28, Will +27
DR 20/cold iron, epic, and lawful; Immune ability damage, ability drain, acid, cold, death effects, disease, energy drain, mind-affecting effects, paralysis, petrification, poison; Resist electricity 30, fire 20; SR 40
OFFENSE
Speed 60 ft., climb 40 ft., fly 80 ft. (good), swim 90 ft.
Melee bite +39 (5d6+15/19–20 plus 3d6 bleed, grab, and poison), 6 claws +39 (3d8+15/19–20 plus grab), tail slap +36 (3d8+7 plus grab)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks brush with madness, constrict (tail only, 3d8+15), dissolution, eviscerate, independent grapple, poison, sneak attack +10d6, surprise slash, swallow whole (12d6 acid, AC 21, 73 hp)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 34th; concentration +44)
   Constant—true seeing
   At will—deeper darkness
Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 20th; concentration +30)
   9th (7/day)—dominate monster (DC 31), mass hold monster (DC 31), transmute blood to acid[UM] (DC 31)
   8th (7/day)—frightful aspect[UC], irresistible dance (DC 30), polymorph any object (DC 30)
   7th (7/day)—greater hostile juxtaposition[UC] (DC 27), insanity (DC 29), spell turning
   6th (8/day)—cloak of dreams[APG] (DC 28), greater dispel magic, mass suggestion (DC 28)
   5th (8/day)—baleful polymorph (DC 27), feeblemind (DC 27), hold monster (DC 27), mind fog (DC 27)
   4th (8/day)—bestow curse (DC 24), black tentacles, charm monster (DC 26), mindwipe[OA] (DC 26)
   3rd (8/day)—displacement, haste, lightning bolt (DC 23), slow (DC 25)
   2nd (9/day)—blindness/deafness (DC 22), false life, hideous laughter (DC 24), mirror image, touch of idiocy
   1st (9/day)—mage armor, magic missile, protection from law, reduce person (DC 23), shield
   0 (at will)—acid splash, bleed (DC 20), dancing lights, detect magic, mage hand, prestidigitation, ray of frost, resistance, touch of fatigue (DC 20)
STATISTICS
Str 40, Dex 45, Con 42, Int 21, Wis 26, Cha 31
Base Atk +25; CMB +42 (+46 grapple); CMD 69 (can't be tripped)
Feats Bleeding Critical, Combat Casting[B], Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Eschew Materials[B], Greater Spell Focus (enchantment, transmutation), Improved Critical (bite, claw), Multiattack, Sneaking Precision[UC], Spell Focus (enchantment, transmutation), Stand Still, Stealthy, Toughness, Weapon Focus (bite, claw)
Skills Acrobatics +44 (+56 to jump), Bluff +42, Climb +31, Escape Artist +48, Fly +17, Intimidate +40, Knowledge (arcana, planes) +39, Perception +40, Spellcraft +40, Stealth +46, Swim +31, Use Magic Device +40
Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Celestial, Common, Infernal; telepathy 120 ft.
SQ compression, improbable arcane engine
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary or coven (3)
Treasure double
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Brush with Madness (Su) After a nameless naga’s mind-affecting spell ends or is resisted, the target creature must attempt a DC 37 Will save or become confused for 2d6 rounds. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Dissolution (Su) If a swallowed creature is reduced to less than 0 hp, it must succeed at a DC 43 Fortitude save or disintegrate, healing the nameless naga by an amount of hit points equal to twice the creature’s Hit Dice.
Eviscerate (Ex) If a nameless naga maintains a grapple against an opponent, it deals 2d6 points of damage to a physical ability score of its choice in addition to the chosen action.
Independent Grapple (Ex) A nameless naga can grapple up to three creatures of two size categories lower than itself (or smaller) without negatively impacting itself.
Improbable Arcane Engine (Su) During its turn, a nameless naga can either use deeper darkness as a quickened spell-like ability or cast a quickened 6th-level spell or lower, without using higher slot.
Nameless Naga Poison (Ex) Poison—Injury; save Fort DC 43; frequency 1/round for 10 rounds; effect 2d4 points of damage to all stats; cure 3 consecutive saves.
Spells A nameless naga casts spells as a 20th-level sorcerer.
Surprise Slash (Ex) A nameless naga inflicts half its sneak attack damage to an opponent it has grappled.
Will Suppression Aura (Su) The first time a creature enters a nameless naga’s will suppression aura, it must attempt a DC 37 Will save. On a failure, it permanently loses any immunity to mind-affecting effects it possesses, and replaces it with a +8 enhancement bonus on saves against mind-affecting effects. Creatures without immunity to mind-affecting effects that first enter the aura take a permanent –8 penalty on Will saves on a failed save. This is a curse effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Nameless nagas sprung from naga covens who heeded the strange call to travel to dimensions beyond mortal reckoning and came back from the journey…changed. Their altered minds gave them greater command over arcane power and their bodies mutated to make them fearsome adversaries. They have also undertaken a mission to open their world up to the dark gods from beyond and extract information about ancient rituals from their victims to that end. As nihilistic agents of their new lords, they care little about the state of the creatures they encounter and leave gibbering, fearful wrecks in their wake.

Unlike many other nagas, nameless nagas work well together and form covens to better enact their plans. A nameless naga coven works similarly to a hag coven, but only has access to gate, interplanetary teleport[UM], mass suffocation[APG] (DC 31), and weird (DC 31). When all three nagas are within 20 feet of one another, they increase their spell resistance by 5, the save DCs for their spells increase by 2, and their regeneration changes to fast healing. A nameless naga coven can convert a different type of naga into a nameless naga during a two-day-long winter solstice ritual. This new naga must find or form its own coven.


A nameless naga is 25 feet long, including a tail reaching 8 feet in length, and it weighs 1,200 pounds.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Frightful Fridays! Monster Mayhem! Treewretch

Welcome back to the Frightful Fridays! fifth anniversary celebration. Helping round out the supremely powerful monsters is the treewretch, the failed result of a demonic attempt to create their version of the World Tree. It failed in that particular aspect, but it's turned out to be an incidental weapon of death and destruction.

I hope you enjoy the treewretch. See you tomorrow with the anniversary's penultimate monster!




Diseased earth surrounds this horrific, twisted tree covered with milky eyes and toothy maws. Several dead bodies dangle from the tree’s branches and twitch in a mocking dance.
Treewretch      CR 28
XP 4,915,200
CE Gargantuan plant
Init +11; Senses blindsight 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +37
Aura unholy aura
DEFENSE
AC 47, touch 17, flat-footed 36 (+11 Dex, +30 natural, –4 size)
hp 682 (35d8+525); regeneration 20 (fire)
Fort +33, Ref +24, Will +24
Defensive Abilities blood tears, husks, scream of pain; DR 20/cold iron, epic, and good; Immune acid, electricity, plant traits; Resist cold 20
Weaknesses vulnerability to fire
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee 3 bites +40 (2d10+17/17–20 plus grab), 5 slams +40 (3d6+17/19–20 plus grab)
Ranged 2 rocks +34 (2d10+25)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 20 ft. (30 ft. with slam)
Special Attacks destruction strike, razor teeth, rock throwing (240 ft.), swallow whole (8d6 acid and bludgeoning, AC 25, 68 hp)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 25th; concentration +34)
   Constant—unholy aura
   At will—destruction (DC 28), horrid wilting (DC 29), wail of the banshee (DC 30)
   3/day—quickened wail of the banshee (DC 30), waves of exhaustion
   1/day—cursed earth[UM] (DC 30)
STATISTICS
Str 45, Dex 32, Con 38, Int 15, Wis 37, Cha 28
Base Atk +26; CMB +47 (+49 bull rush, +51 grapple); CMD 68 (70 vs. bull rush, can't be tripped)
Feats Awesome Blow, Bleeding Critical, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Devastating Strike[UC], Greater Spell Focus (necromancy), Greater Vital Strike, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (slam), Improved Vital Strike, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (wail of the banshee), Spell Focus (necromancy), Toughness, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (bite), Weapon Focus (slam)
Skills Intimidate +44, Knowledge (arcana) +30, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +30, Perception +37, Spellcraft +30
Languages Aklo, Sylvan
ECOLOGY
Environment any land
Organization solitary (unique)
Treasure double
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Blood Tears (Su) Three times per day as a standard action, a treewretch can weep tears of acidic blood. This grants it resist 20 against fire and adds 2d6 acid damage to its slam attacks. These benefits last for 1d4+1 rounds or until the treewretch takes more than 20 points of fire damage (before applying its fire resistance).
Destruction Strike (Sp) If a treewretch confirms a critical hit, it can use its destruction spell-like ability as an immediate action. The effect is lessened, however, and only inflicts 10d6 points of damage on a failed save and no damage on a successful save.
Husks (Ex) A treewretch can expend two uses of its Combat Reflexes feat to interpose one of the dead bodies hanging from it against a ranged attack. When it uses this ability, it makes a combat maneuver check, and if the result of the check exceeds the result of the ranged attack roll, the husk takes the damage. The treewretch begins combat with 2d6 husks and loses a husk if it takes more than 20 points of damage from the intercepted attack (otherwise, the husk fully regenerates after the attack). The treewretch can spend a move action or forgo one of its slam attacks to add a dead creature within reach to its husks.
Razor Teeth (Ex) A treewrtech’s critical threat range for its bite attack is 17–20.
Scream of Pain (Su) If a treewretch is struck with a slashing or piercing weapon, it unleashes a scream that deals 1d6 points of sonic damage per 10 points of damage dealt to all creatures within 20 feet (DC 36 Reflex halves). A confirmed critical hit with a slashing or piercing weapon allows the treewretch to use its wail of the banshee spell-like ability as an immediate action. This counts against the number of quickened wail of the banshee uses it has, but it can still use this ability even if it no longer has uses of quickened wail of the banshee.

Seeking to create their own Abyssal version of Yggdrasil, several powerful demons tended a single tree on the Prime Material Plane that defiantly stood after they laid waste to the forest surrounding it. The tree gained intelligence and absorbed the malevolence of its demon caretakers. The treewretch learned about the demons’ plans to move it to the Abyss. Having no desire to leave its terrestrial home, it destroyed the demons and scattered its seeds throughout the Prime Material Plane, where one descendent of the original tree lives on multiple different worlds. The demon lords overseeing the experiment viewed it as a failure and decided to leave the trees where they rooted to sow death and mayhem.

A treewretch is a slow-moving creature, but it is incredibly reactive when it comes to combat. It grabs the bodies of creatures it has slain and uses them to deflect attacks from those who attack it from afar. It makes no effort to hide itself from detection, so it spends little time in forests except to devastate them. Demons are also drawn to a treewretch, despite the fact the creature is just as likely to kill them as any mutual foes, and lurk about the treewretch’s branches.


Upon a treewretch’s death, it explodes in a shower of foul-smelling seeds, which shoots to all corners of the world; one (and only one) takes root in a remote location and becomes a new treewretch after a week of growth. A treewretch is 28 feet tall and weighs 12 tons.

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Frightful Fridays! Monster Mayhem! Ashen Goliath

Hello and welcome back for more frightful monsters! Today's monster, the ashen goliath, is the first undead monster to make an appearance for the anniversary, but I had to save this one for a very high CR slot. It's awful and it will neutralize healers in a party, making it more awful.

I hope you enjoy the ashen goliath. See you tomorrow with the next horrific thing!



This skeletal creature seemingly composed entirely of ash towers over everything around it. A hateful glowing orb takes up most of its head.
Ashen Goliath      CR 27
XP 3,276,800
NE Colossal undead
Init +6; Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +43
Aura frightful presence (60 ft., DC 40)
DEFENSE
AC 46, touch 26, flat-footed 44 (+2 Dex, +20 natural, +22 profane, –8 size)
hp 647 (35d8+490); fast healing 20
Fort +24, Ref +26, Will +24
Defensive Abilities choking cloud, hateful deflection; DR 20/holy (or undead bane) and silver; Immune cold, electricity, fire, positive energy, undead traits
OFFENSE
Speed 90 ft.
Melee 2 slams +37 (4d6+18/19–20 plus 4d8 negative energy damage, ashen remains, energy drain)
Ranged hate-fueled cannon +21 touch (12d8+13)
Space 30 ft.; Reach 30 ft.
Special Attacks absorb positive energy, devastation at ground zero, energy drain (1d4+1 levels, DC 40), hate-fueled cannon
STATISTICS
Str 47, Dex 15, Con —, Int 8, Wis 20, Cha 37
Base Atk +26; CMB +52 (+54 bull rush, +56 sunder); CMD 86 (88 vs. bull rush or sunder)
Feats Awesome Blow, Combat Reflexes, Dazzling Display, Deadly Finish[UC], Greater Sunder, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (slam), Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Intimidating Prowess, Power Attack, Sundering Strike[APG], Toughness, Weapon Focus (hate-fueled cannon, slam)
Skills Acrobatics +2 (+26 to jump), Intimidate +69, Knowledge (religion) +37, Perception +43
ECOLOGY
Environment any land
Organization solitary or night’s army (1 ashen goliath plus 1 lich with caster level 20, 2–8 vampires of 20th level, and 10–100 undead of CR 15 or higher)
Treasure none
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Absorb Positive Energy (Su) When positive energy is used to harm undead, an ashen goliath automatically absorbs the positive energy and adds the damage to the next use of its hate-fueled cannon. When positive energy is used to heal living creatures, an ashen goliath can take an immediate action to attempt to absorb it by succeeding at an opposed Charisma check against the creature casting the spell or using an ability. If the ashen goliath is successful, it absorbs the positive energy as above.
Ashen Remains (Su) On a successful hit with its slam attack, an ashen goliath leaves a layer of ash on its opponent. This ash deals 2d8 points of negative energy at the beginning of the target’s turn until it is removed. A full-round action or exposure to strong winds removes the ash.
Choking Cloud (Su) When an ashen goliath is struck by a bludgeoning or slashing weapon, it releases a cloud of ash toward the creature that struck it, out to a distance of 15 feet. If the creature is caught in this cloud, it must attempt a DC 40 Reflex save or take 2d8 points of negative energy damage, and become nauseated for 1d4 rounds and then sickened for 1 minute. On a successful save, the creature is only sickened for 1 round and takes no damage. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Damage Reduction Only silver weapons with the holy or undead bane weapons special abilities can bypass an ashen goliath’s damage reduction.
Devastation at Ground Zero (Su) When an ashen goliath is destroyed it detonates in a blast of pure hatred, dealing 24d8 points of damage to all creatures within 30 feet of the goliath, 16d8 points of damage to all creatures between 30 and 60 feet from the goliath, and 8d8 points of damage to all creatures between 60 and 120 feet from the giant. A DC 40 Reflex save halves this damage. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Hate-Fueled Cannon (Su) An ashen goliath can attack with its hate-fueled cannon as part of a full-attack action or when it uses two move actions to move. The cannon has a range increment of 120 feet and deals untyped damage, which includes the goliath’s Charisma modifier (rather than its Strength modifier).
Alternatively, an ashen goliath can take a standard action to fire its cannon in a 15-foot-wide, 120-foot-long line, inflicting the listed damage to all creatures caught in the line (DC 40 Reflex halves). It must wait 1d4 rounds before it can use this version of its ability again; this does not prevent it from otherwise making attacks with its hate-fueled cannon. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Creatures that die as a result of damage from the goliath’s hate-fueled cannon are reduced to ash.
Hateful Deflection (Su) An ashen goliath adds its Charisma-modifier to its Reflex saves.

When an entire settlement falls in a violent attack, usually involving fire or some other overwhelming release of energy, and healers refused to come to the settlement’s aid allowing the few remaining survivors to die a linger death, an ashen goliath forms from the remains. The resulting creature is a revenge-driven machine of destruction which seeks to inflict its pain one hundred-fold. When it fights multiple foes, it scans for any opponents with holy symbols of deities that potentially lend healing powers to the opponents. It slaughters all creatures but the opponents it identified and grimly enjoys the futility of the healers attempting to restore health and life as it absorbs life-giving energy. It uses this energy to fuel its core of anger, which it unleashes on its foes in single bursts or in a destructive line. Its sheer power and malice is like a beacon to other undead creatures, which flock to the goliath. The most powerful undead attempt to manipulate the goliath for their own purposes, which suits the creature as long as it can continue unleashing its devastation. However, when an ashen goliath meets its ultimate end, not even undead creatures are safe from the apocalyptic energies it releases.


An ashen goliath is nearly 40 feet tall and weighs 25 tons.

Friday, October 27, 2017

Frightful Fridays! Monster Mayhem! Razor Trilobite Beetle

Welcome back to the Frightful Fridays! anniversary, where once again I'm hitting a Friday post (sure, posting every day helps with that). Today's beauty is its own slasher horror film, complete with decapitations. The razor trilobite beetle will make your characters' lives miserable for a round, until regeneration or resurrection spells are cast.

I hope you like the razor trilobite beetle. Stay tuned for monster number 28!



Fresh blood drips from the edges of this giant black beetle’s armor-like shell. Its tail features a number of dangerous looking barbs.
Razor Trilobite Beetle      CR 26
XP 2,457,600
N Large vermin
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft.; Perception +2
DEFENSE
AC 43, touch 17, flat-footed 35 (+8 Dex, +26 natural, –1 size)
hp 594 (36d8+432); regeneration 20 (electricity)
Fort +32, Ref +22, Will +14
Defensive Abilities roll up; DR 15/adamantine and piercing; Immune acid; Resist cold 20, electricity 10, fire 20, sonic 10
OFFENSE
Speed 50 ft., climb 50 ft.
Melee 2 slams +39 (6d6+19/15–20/x4 slashing plus 2d6 bleed, 1d6 Str bleed, and 1d4 Con bleed), tail slap +37 (3d6+6 plus poison)
Ranged acid spit +34 (8d6 acid)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks bleed (2d6, 1d6 Str, and 1d4 Con), poison, razor carapace
STATISTICS
Str 37, Dex 26, Con 35, Int —, Wis 15, Cha 6
Base Atk +27; CMB +41; CMD 59 (67 vs. trip)
Feats Lightning Reflexes[B], Multiattack[B]
Skills Acrobatics +24 (+32 to jump), Climb +21
ECOLOGY
Environment any underground
Organization solitary or colony (2–12)
Treasure none
SPECIAL ATTACKS
Acid Spit (Ex) If a razor trilobite beetle’s acid spit hits its target’s touch AC, the target takes half damage; a successful DC 40 Reflex save reduces the damage to 25%. The beetle’s acid spit has a 40-foot range increment. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Razor Carapace (Ex) A razor trilobite beetle’s slam attacks have a critical threat range of 15-20 and a critical multiplier of x4. On a roll of natural 19 or 20, followed by a successful roll to confirm a critical hit, the beetle severs its opponent’s head.
Razor Trilobite Toxin (Ex) Tail slap—Injury; save Fort DC 40; frequency 1/round for 8 rounds; effect 2d6 Dex and victim must make an additional DC 40 Fort save or become paralyzed for 2d4 rounds; cure 2 consecutive saves.
Reflect Rays (Ex) Rays and ranged touch attacks that strike a razor trilobite beetle have a 50% chance of being reflected back at their source, using the original attack roll to determine whether they hit.
Roll Up (Ex) As a move action, a razor trilobite beetle can roll itself up into a ball. It gains +4 natural armor, becomes immune to cold and fire, and increases its resist electricity to 20. Its reflect rays ability improves to reflect all rays and ranged touch attacks back at their source. In exchange, its base speed is reduced to 20 feet and it cannot climb. Additionally, it loses its tail slap and acid spit attacks.

Razor trilobite beetles live in tight underground caverns where the can better stalk their prey. They often wait on the ceilings of such locations where they drop on unsuspecting passersby. Many intelligent underground species avoid the beetles or placate them with living animals they can hunt and eat. The beetles eat roughly 50 pounds of meat a day and hungry beetles have no qualms about entering habitations and wreaking havoc. Their armored carapaces have extremely sharp edges, allowing the creatures to sever limbs and heads with ease. At best, the beetles leave prey bleeding out after slicing up their victims. Their carapaces also give them a measure of protection from various energy sources, and they reflect rays the relatively lumbering creatures cannot avoid. When the creatures become severely wounded, they roll up into a ball, which improves their carapace’s protection. Even when not in direct combat with opponents, the beetles are dangerous thanks to the digestive fluids they can spit at great distances.

A typical razor trilobite beetle is 12 feet long and weighs 1,500 pounds. The beetles have an incredible lifespan compared to most insectoid creatures, and live up to 30 years.


A razor trilobite beetle’s shell can be incorporated into the creation of a vorpal weapon. If the vorpal weapon has a critical threat range of 18–20 or better, the vorpal special ability applies on a roll of a natural 19 or 20, followed by a successful roll to confirm the critical hit. Incorporating a razor trilobite beetle’s shell in this manner increases the base price for the vorpal special ability to +6.

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Frightful Fridays! Monster Mayhem! Mistwhale

Hello and welcome back for another day of the Frightful Fridays! anniversary. It almost seems inevitable that the creatures get larger as they get more powerful. This is certainly the case with the mistwhale (and all the remaining monsters I have planned are Large or larger), but the mistwhale is a gentle giant, at least until provoked. Then it slaps its foes around (quite literally) and transforms them into fog and eats them. So, maybe the PCs will give this whale a pass and leave it alone. I know, that is highly unlikely.

Hopefully, you can appreciate the mistwhale's majesty before it gets slaughtered. See you tomorrow with monster number 27!



This enormous cetacean is visible as a darker form in the cloud of fog surrounding it.
Mistwhale      CR 25
XP 1,638,400
N Colossal magical beast
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, mistsight; Perception +34
Aura fog bank (120 ft.)
DEFENSE
AC 44, touch 4, flat-footed 42 (+2 Dex, +40 natural, –8 size)
hp 577 (35d10+385)
Fort +29, Ref +21, Will +24
Defensive Abilities amorphous; DR 20/magic; Immune cloud immunity
Weaknesses vulnerability to wind
OFFENSE
Speed fly 60 ft. (good); fog stride
Melee bite +43 (6d8+16 plus grab), slam +43 (8d8+16/19–20 plus cloudform curse)
Space 30 ft.; Reach 30 ft.
Special Attacks energy charged fog, fast swallow, swallow whole (10d6 bludgeoning damage, AC 30, 57 hp), sweeping swallow
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 35th; concentration +38)
   At will—solid fog
   3/day—quickened solid fog
STATISTICS
Str 43, Dex 14, Con 31, Int 8, Wis 33, Cha 16
Base Atk +35; CMB +59 (+61 bull rush, +63 grapple); CMD 71 (73 vs. bull rush, can't be tripped)
Feats Awesome Blow, Bludgeoner[UC], Bull Rush Strike[APG], Cleave, Cleaving Finish[UC], Critical Focus, Great Cleave, Hover, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Cleaving Finish[UC], Improved Critical (slam), Iron Will, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (solid fog), Skill Focus (Fly), Staggering Critical, Stunning Critical, Toughness
Skills Fly +22, Perception +34
ECOLOGY
Environment temperate and warm skies
Organization solitary, pair, or pod (3–6)
Treasure standard
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Cloud Immunity (Su) A mistwhale is immune to fog and cloud spells and effects. It ignores any benefits provided by a creature’s gaseous shape (from gaseous form, for example), treating the creature as solid for purposes of bypassing damage reduction and inflicting critical hits.
Cloudform Curse (Ex) A creature hit by a mistwhale’s slam must succeed at a DC 30 Will save or permanently become gaseous, as if it were the target of gaseous form. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected by the same mistwhale’s cloudform curse for 24 hours. This is a curse and polymorph effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Energy Charged Fog (Su) As a standard action, a mistwhale can cause the fog bank to deal 10d6 points of acid, cold, or electricity damage (chosen when the mistwhale uses this ability) to all creatures within the fog’s current radius. A DC 37 Reflex save halves this damage. A mistwhale is immune to its own use of this ability. The mistwhale must wait 1d6 rounds before it can use this ability again. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Fog Bank (Su) A mistwhale is constantly surrounded by a 120-ft.-radius fog. While within this fog, it gains resist 20 against acid, cold, electricity, and fire. All creatures within the fog gain concealment from opponents within 5 feet and total concealment from opponents farther away. Wind disperses the fog as follows: strong winds reduce the radius to 60 feet, severe winds reduce the radius to 30 feet, and windstorms (or stronger) reduce the radius to 10 feet. A mistwhale replenishes the fog at the end of its turn.
Fog Stride (Ex) A mistwhale can move through impeding fog (such as that produced by solid fog) without taking any penalties.
Sweeping Swallow (Ex) As a full-round action, a mistwhale can attempt to swallow whole all creatures at least two size categories smaller than itself. This works like the grapple combat maneuver, but the mistwhale does not need to make a check; it merely has to move over opponents in its path. Targets of this ability can make an attack of opportunity, but at a –4 penalty. If targets forgo an attack of opportunity, they can attempt a DC 29 Reflex save to avoid the mistwhale. The mistwhale can only target one creature per round with this ability, no matter how many times its movement takes it over a target creature. The save DC is Dexterity-based.
Vulnerability to Wind (Ex) A mistwhale is treated as if it were a Medium creature for the purposes of determining the effects high wind has upon it.

Mistwhales originated at the border between the Planes of Air and Water and migrated, forcibly, to the Prime Material Plane. The shy creatures travel from thundercloud to thundercloud, or they drive lazily in areas where fog is almost always present, to hide their presence from those that might hunt them. When the whales feel secure in their territories, they call to one another with low-pitched, rumbling songs. Despite their ephemeral appearance, they are solid creatures capable of delivering deadly blows. However, when initially threatened, they check their attacks to nonlethally harm foes with the intent of driving their opponents away. If a threat becomes persistent, mistwhales switch to lethal attacks and sweep threatening creatures into their mouths—as terrestrial whales would with krill—or transform opponents into fog to neutralize the threat. It can also electrify or change the composition of the fog surrounding it to devastate creatures within.

Mistwhales often form alliances with druids and nature-oriented flying creatures for mutual protection, but break such alliances when they see their allies proactively attacking others.


Mistwhales retreat to uninhabited locales to breed and rear their young, which require 5 years to reach maturity. A typical mistwhale is 35 feet long and weighs 5,000 pounds.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Frightful Fridays! Monster Mayhem! Hallucigenia Worm

Hello and welcome back to the beginning of the final week of the monstrous anniversary! The link below talks about a creature much smaller than the monster it inspired, but I thought it would be more appropriate as a very visible creature. Once characters survive its bizarre mindscapes, they might have to face the might of the worm itself.

The monsters get deadlier (or weirder, or both) as we get to CR 30. I'll see you tomorrow with the CR 25 monster!




The colors and general features of this massive spined, multi-legged worm shift from moment to moment. Images of familiar yet distorted memories appear at random around the creature.
Giant Hallucigenia Worm      CR 24
XP 1,228,800
CE Huge aberration
Init +12; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +42
DEFENSE
AC 42, touch 20, flat-footed 30 (+12 Dex, +22 natural, –2 size)
hp 527 (34d8+374)
Fort +24, Ref +23, Will +24
Defensive Abilities lies become reality, spines; DR 20/cold iron and lawful; Immune mind-affecting effects
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft., burrow 30 ft., fly 90 ft. (average)
Melee 4 claws +35 (3d6+9 plus grab), spine +36 (2d6+11/19–20 plus poison)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks diverting attack, hallucigenscape, nightmare curse, poison, rend (2 claws, 3d6+13)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 42nd; concentration +47)
   At will—greater oneiric horror[OA] (DC 23), mass synesthesia[OA] (DC 25), mirror image, screen, veil (DC 24)
   3/day—quickened greater oneiric horror[OA] (DC 23), quickened mirror image, quickened veil, weird (DC 27)
STATISTICS
Str 28, Dex 35, Con 32, Int 20, Wis 21, Cha 23
Base Atk +31; CMB +43 (+47 grapple); CMD 60 (can't be tripped)
Feats Agile Maneuvers, Combat Expertise, Critical Focus, Deceitful, Great Fortitude, Greater Feint, Greater Spell Focus (illusion), Impaling Critical (spine)[UC], Improved Critical (spine), Improved Feint, Improved Impaling Critical[UC], Quicken Spell-Like Ability (greater oneiric horror, mirror image, veil), Spell Focus (illusion), Weapon Finesse[B], Weapon Focus (spine), Weapon Specialization (spine)
Skills Bluff +44, Disguise +44, Fly +22, Knowledge (arcana, local, planes) +39, Perception +42, Sense Motive +39, Spellcraft +42
Languages Aybssal, Aklo, Celestial, Common, Undercommon; telepathy 180 ft.
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary
Treasure double
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Diverting Attack (Ex) As part of a full attack action, a giant hallucigenia worm can forgo one of its claw attacks to make a Bluff check to feint an opponent.
Giant Hallucigenia Worm Poison (Ex) Spine—Injury; save Fort DC 38; frequency 1/round for 10 rounds; effect 1d8 Wis drain and victim is confused for 1d4 rounds (cumulative); cure 3 consecutive saves.
Hallucigenscape (Su) Once per day, a giant hallucigenia worm can put a number of creatures equal to half its Hit Dice and within range of its telepathy into a strange mindscape. This operates similarly to microcosm[OA], but has no limitation on the total Hit Dice it can affect, and creatures with 16 or more HD that make their saves are still in the mindscape for 1d6 rounds. A DC 33 Will save partially negates this effect as per the spell (and with the above caveat). While creatures are in the mindscape, the worm spend a standard action to populate the mindscape for a particular creature with an exact duplicate of itself (but at full health) or a CR 20 (or lower) creature. If the worm chooses something other than a duplicate of the affected creature, the creation gains DR 10/— and the worm’s lies become reality ability (the save DC is lowered to 29, however). If a target creature dies in the mindscape, it returns to reality, unconscious yet stable, and with a negative number of hit points equal to its Constitution – 1. Even if the creature is healed to 0 or positive hit points, it must succeed at a DC 33 Will save to awaken; otherwise, it awakens after an hour. If a target creature manages to defeat its opponent in the mindscape, it returns to reality immediately, but with the wounds sustained while within the mindscape. Creatures that failed their initial save (or did not receive a save) are subject to the worm’s nightmare curse. This is a mind-affecting effect. Intelligent creatures do not benefit from an immunity to mind-affecting effects against this ability; they instead receive a +4 insight bonus on their Will saves, and, if they succeed, they ignore the effect entirely. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Lies Become Reality (Su) A creature that attacks a giant hallucigenia worm, or targets it with or includes it the area of effect of a spell that deals damage, must succeed at a DC 33 Will save or become convinced the attack or spell has no effect on the worm, causing the worm to take no damage. Further uses of the same attack or spell grant the creature a cumulative +2 insight bonus on its Will save. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Nightmare Curse (Su) save Will DC 33; frequency 1 day; effect 1d6 Wis drain, the victim is fatigued, and it is unable to regain arcane spells for the next 24 hours. A creature that attempts remove curse or any similar spell to remove the nightmare curse and fails is subject to this curse.
Screen (Sp) A giant hallucigenia worm only requires 1 round to use its screen spell-like ability. When it uses this spell-like ability, any previous instances are dispelled.
Spines (Ex) Any creature that makes a melee attack against a giant hallucigenia worm must succeed at a DC 36 Reflex save or be struck by the worm’s spines, taking 2d6+6 points of damage and becoming subject to its poison. Using a reach weapon does not endanger the attacker in this way. The save DC is Strength-based.

Giant hallucigenia worms spend most of their near infinite lives dreaming of civilizations predating even the most ancient mortal nations. When they awaken from their dreams, they spread chaos and incite violence by inflicting their dreams upon others. The worms create compartmentalized mindscapes from images in their minds and place their victims alone in these mindscapes. Monsters or hostile duplicates of the victims populate these surreal locations and attack the victims while taunting them about their failures. The worms use their powers of illusion to disguise the monsters as their victims’ allies, fomenting strife between those who fell under the worms’ power. The mindscapes do not kill their victims, but generate recurring nightmares and create a profound distrust of others and of reality itself. Giant hallucigenia worms are fascinated by creatures that show resilience to their mindscapes and may seek to parlay with them rather than attack. They prefer not to avoid combat but they have the physical might to defend themselves, and their hallucinogenic properties make it extremely difficult to harm them.


Very few creatures have glimpsed the worm’s true form, but it is roughly 30 feet long and weighs nearly 8 tons.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Frightful Fridays! Monster Mayhem! Waveform Kaida

Hello again! We're heading into the home stretch for this year's monstrous anniversary, Today's monster, the waveform kaida, is the flip side of yesterday's unpossibulp, but it wouldn't want to hear about any comparisons to its chaotic counterpart. This one makes a bit of a concession to players who like to metagame, since it is possible to figure out the sequences imposed by the kaida and exploit them.

I'll see you tomorrow with another monster. Thanks for reading!



This dragon has a set of wings running from its shoulders to the tip of its tail. The wings form a sinusoidal wave.
Waveform Kaida      CR 23
XP 819,200
LN Medium dragon
Init +11; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect chaos, low-light vision; Perception +22
Aura sequencing (90 ft., DC 30)
DEFENSE
AC 40, touch 30, flat-footed 32 (+7 Dex, +1 dodge, +12 luck, +10 natural)
hp 478 (33d12+264)
Fort +26, Ref +25, Will +25
Defensive Abilities progressed resistance; DR 20/chaotic; Immune paralysis, sleep, sonic; Resist acid 5, cold 10, electricity 20, fire 30; SR 34
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., fly 80 ft. (perfect)
Melee bite +40 (3d6+7/19–20), 2 claws +40 (2d6+7/19–20)
Special Attacks breath weapon (60-ft. cone, 16d8 sonic damage, Reflex DC 34 for half, usable every 1d4 rounds), eschew randomization, sequencelock curse
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 33rd; concentration +37)
   Constant—detect chaos
   At will—greater dispel magic
   3/day—interplanetary teleport, quickened greater dispel magic
STATISTICS
Str 25, Dex 25, Con 26, Int 20, Wis 20, Cha 19
Base Atk +33; CMB +40; CMD 70 (74 vs. trip)
Feats Alignment Channel (chaos—harm only), Alignment Channel (law—heal only), Blind-fight, Channel Smite, Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Death from Above[UC], Destructive Dispel[UC], Dodge, Flyby Attack, Greater Channel Smite[UC], Improved Critical (bite, claw), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Mobility
Skills Acrobatics +40, Appraise +22, Bluff +40, Craft (clockwork) +22, Disable Device +40, Escape Artist +22, Fly +40, Heal +22, Intimidate +40, Knowledge (arcana) +22, Knowledge (engineering) +40, Perception +22, Sense Motive +40, Spellcraft +22, Stealth +40, Use Magic Device +22
Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Infernal; telepathy 120 ft.
SQ no breath
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or amplification (3–6)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Aura of Sequencing (Su) When combat starts, a waveform kaida chooses a sequence over possible d20 rolls (for example, even numbers counting up from 2 to 20 and then back down to 2). All creatures making a d20 roll within the waveform kaida’s aura must succeed at a DC 30 Will save or use the next number in the sequence for the result. The Will save is not subject to the sequence and is rolled independently of it. If the save is successful, the creature rolls a d20 as normal, and the sequence does not progress. The waveform kaida is always beholden to this sequence and does not receive a Will save to avoid the effects. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Breath Weapon (Su) Chaotic creatures take an additional 8d8 points of sonic damage and are affected as if by dictum if they take damage from a waveform kaida’s breath weapon. After the first use of the breath weapon, it is reusable after 1 round; the reuse duration increases by 1 round until it reaches 4 rounds, and then resets to 1 round again.
Eschew Randomization (Su) A waveform kaida is not subject to percentile chances less than 100% to miss a foe due to concealment, nor is it subject to percentile chances to negate a critical hit (for example,from the fortification armor special ability)
Progressed Resistance (Su) A waveform kaida starts combat with the listed energy resistances. At the beginning of its turn, its resistances increase by 5. For a resistance of 30, the value instead decreases by 5 until it reaches 5.
Sequencelock Curse (Su) If a waveform kaida dies, all creatures that damaged the kaida in the past minute are affected by its sequencelock curse. Sequencelock Curse save Will DC 30; effect the creature’s d20 rolls are predetermined, counting up from 1 to 10 and then restarting at 1. Chaotic creatures take a –4 penalty on their Will saves and the sequence only goes from 1 to 5 on a failed save.

Where most kaidas protect a location, object, or creature, waveform kaidas take responsibility for the order of the universe itself. They travel to hot spots where chaotic beings work to weaken the fabric of reality, either intentionally or accidentally, and put a stop to them. They are open to negotiate, unless their opponents are obviously powerful chaotic outsiders, in which case they initiate combat without warning. Their breath weapon is a sound waveform which destructively interacts with chaotic creatures regardless of their origins. Waveform kaidas have no tolerance for lawful creatures engaging in what the dragons see as destructive behavior. Generally, the kaidas work alone, but they gather together for events threatening the stability of the universe, even deigning to challenge chaotic deities if necessary.


All waveform kaidas are 10 feet in length and weigh 250 pounds. They are immortal creatures, and a new kaida seems to spring into existence on the opposite side of the universe when another kaida dies.

Monday, October 23, 2017

Frightful Fridays! Monster Mayhem! Unpossibulp

Hello and welcome back to the October Frightful Fridays! celebration. Today's monster is one of the most unusual I've had the opportunity to work on, but it really lends itself to a strange interpretation. It's also a little work-intensive on a GM's part, depending on how he or she wants to handle all the random rolls, but it might be fun to have a player's eyes bug out when an attack roll of 44 misses it, while an attack roll of 15 hits it.

However you want to inflict this on your games, I hope you like using it. See you tomorrow with another, probably less weird, monster!



This fish-like creature has a flexible stalk atop its body supporting a pair of eyes and a single-jointed appendage ending in a pincer. It sways back and forth in the air as if swimming through it, creating a haunting whistle as it does.
Unpossibulp      CR 22
XP 614,400
CN Medium aberration
Init +14; Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +40
DEFENSE
AC 20, touch 20, flat-footed 10 (+10 Dex); weirdness armor
hp 450 (36d8+288); regeneration 15 (see variable DR)
Fort +20, Ref +22, Will +23
Defensive Abilities all-around vision, amorphous, overwhelming mind; DR 20/variable; Immune mind-affecting effects, unpredictable immunities; SR 33
OFFENSE
Speed fly 60 ft. (perfect)
Melee pincer +29 (4d6+1/19–20 plus grab)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks disorientating whistle, overwhelming mind
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 36th; concentration +40)
   At will—dimension door, greater dispel magic, insanity (DC 21)
   3/day—mislead (DC 20), quickened greater dispel magic
STATISTICS
Str 12, Dex 31, Con 26, Int 14, Wis 17, Cha 19
Base Atk +27; CMB +37 (+41 dirty trick, disarm, and grapple, +39 trip); CMD 48 (50 vs. dirty trick and disarm, can't be tripped)
Feats Agile Maneuvers, Combat Expertise, Dimensional Agility[UC], Dimensional Assault[UC], Dimensional Dervish[UC], Dimensional Maneuvers[UC], Dimensional Savant[UC], Disarming Strike[APG], Greater Dirty Trick[APG], Greater Disarm, Improved Critical (pincer), Improved Dirty Trick[APG], Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (greater dispel magic), Tripping Strike[APG], Weapon Focus (pincer)
Skills Acrobatics +40, Disable Device +40, Escape Artist +40, Fly +25, Perception +40, Perform (wind instruments) +31, Sleight of Hand +40, Spellcraft +40, Stealth +15
Languages Aklo, Common
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary
Treasure standard
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Disorientating Whistle (Su) When an unpossibulp flies, air whistles through the holes in its sides. Creatures that can hear the whistling must succeed at a DC 32 Will save or become shaken for 1 round. On a roll of a natural 1, the creature instead becomes confused for 1d4 rounds. This is a mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Overwhelming Mind (Ex) An unpossibulp’s alien mind is an unfathomable whirl of strange concepts anathematic to most minds. If a creature makes mental contact with the unpossibulp, it must succeed at a DC 32 Will save or be stunned for 2d4 rounds. On a successful save, the creature is instead staggered for 1d4 rounds. Once a creature is exposed to this unpossibulp’s overwhelming mind, it is immune to this effect from the unpossibulp for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Unpredictable Immunities (Su) At the beginning of each of an unpossibulp’s turns, roll a D8 to determine its energy immunities (1—acid, 2—cold, 3—electricity, 4—fire, 5—sonic, 6—negative energy, 7—roll a d6 twice or select two, 8—immune to all energy types). If the two d6 rolls are identical, the unpossibulp deals the damage it would have otherwise taken to all creatures within 30 feet of it (DC 32 Reflex halves). The save DC is Charisma-based.
Variable DR (Su) Lawful weapons (not +5 weapons, however) always bypass an unpossibulp’s DR. In addition, at the beginning of each of the unpossibulp’s turns, roll a d8 to determine other ways to bypass its DR (1—adamantine, 2—cold iron, 3—silver, 4—wood, 5—nonmagical weapons, 6—ranged weapons, 7—improvised weapons, 8—lawful weapons). On a result of 8, the unpossibulp takes 50% more damage from lawful weapons. Weapons that bypass an unpossibulp's DR also suppress its regeneration.
Weirdness Armor (Su) A random set of attack rolls strike an unpossibulp, rendering its Armor Class moot. A natural 1 on an attack roll always hits the unpossibulp, while a natural 20 always misses. At the beginning of each of the unpossibulp’s turns, roll a d8 to determine which attack rolls hit the unpossibulp (1—even numbers, 2—odd numbers, 3—numbers evenly divisible by 5, 4—prime numbers, 5—numbers evenly divisible by 3, 6—numbers ending in a specific digit [roll a d10 to determine], 7—palindromes, 8—perfect squares). This also applies to rolls to confirm a critical hit.

An unpossibulp is from a remote dimension where the laws of physics don’t always apply uniformly. Occasionally, a hole opens in such a reality, allowing an unpossibulp to escape and wreak havoc. The alien creature has no discernable agenda and attempts to question it about its purpose are met with baffling responses (“consumption of consumption, “egregious giraffes,” and the like). Likewise unknown are actions which provoke the creature. Brandishing weapons might not catch its attention, but it may go on the offensive based on a specific word or phrase. It also quits combat based on unspecifiable criteria, and it may create an opening to its own reality through which it escapes.


An unpossibulp measures 8 feet in length, with its body only taking up half that length. The creature is simultaneously weightless and impossibly dense when it comes to attempts to determine its weight.

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Frightful Fridays! Monster Mayhem! Cheryllian

Hello, and welcome back to another October monster! Today, my wife, Cheryl, and I are celebrating our 27th anniversary, so I decided to make a "nice" monster as a break from all the awful monsters I've subjected her to over the past couple of weeks. I then decided to name today's monster after her, because that's just the kind of dork I am.

I hope you enjoy the cheryllian, and I'll see you tomorrow with another monster!



This graceful creature has impressive eagle-like wings running a gamut of lustrous blues protruding from its canine body.
Cheryllian      CR 21
XP 409,600
CG Large outsider (chaotic, good, native)
Init +16; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect evil, scent, true seeing; Perception +35
Aura nightmare disruption
DEFENSE
AC 38, touch 22, flat-footed 25 (+12 Dex, +1 dodge, +16 natural, –1 size)
hp 412 (33d10+231); regeneration 20 (evil weapons)
Fort +25, Ref +23, Will +24
Defensive Abilities dream resurrection, evasion; DR 20/evil; Immune cold, mind-affecting effects, negative energy, paralysis; Resist electricity 10, fire 20; SR 32 (against spells cast by evil creatures only)
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft. (good)
Melee bite +39 (2d8+7/19–20), 2 claws +39 (2d6+7/19–20)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks evil's foe, excise evil influence
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 33rd; concentration +41)
   Constant—detect evil, true seeing
   At will—dream, etherealness, flame strike (DC 25)
   3/day—banishment (DC 24), heal, holy word (DC 27), quickened flame strike (DC 25)
STATISTICS
Str 24, Dex 35, Con 24, Int 20, Wis 23, Cha 27
Base Atk +33; CMB +46 (+50 disarm); CMD 64 (66 vs. disarm, 68 vs. trip)
Feats Agile Maneuvers, Blinding Critical, Combat Expertise, Critical Focus, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Greater Disarm, Greater Spell Focus (evocation), Improved Critical (bite), Improved Critical (claw), Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Mobility, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (flame strike), Spell Focus (evocation), Staggering Critical, Stunning Critical
Skills Acrobatics +30 (+34 to jump), Bluff +31, Diplomacy +37, Fly +30, Handle Animal +31, Heal +42, Knowledge (arcana, dungeoneering, nature, religion) +36, Knowledge (planes) +39, Perception +35, Sense Motive +35, Spellcraft +34
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Elven, Infernal
SQ feather gift
ECOLOGY
Environment any land
Organization solitary, pair, dream council (3–6)
Treasure none
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Aura of Nightmare Disruption (Su) When a spell with the phantasm subtype is cast within the aura, or the aura intersects with an ongoing phantasm spell or effect, a cheryllian can make a caster level check to counter or dispel the spell or effect. Creatures within the cheryllian’s aura receive a +4 morale bonus on their Will saves against phantasms.
Dream Resurrection (Su) A slain cheryllian remains dead for a minimum 24 hours unless no applicable good or neutral creatures are within sight of it when it dies. The cheryllian chooses one creature within sight and imbeds itself in that creature’s dreams (a DC 34 Will save negates this effect, forcing the cheryllian to choose another target). The next time the creature sleeps after 24 hours, the cheryllian bursts forth from the creature’s head, causing no damage and brought back to life via resurrection. The cheryllian heals the target creature as if break enchantment had been cast on the it. A cheryllian brought back to life by other means never gains negative levels as a result. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Evil's Foe (Su) A cheryllian deals an extra 2d6 points of damage and increases critical threat range to 17–20 on all its attacks against evil creatures. On successful critical hit, it deals 10d6 damage to evil creatures; this damage is untyped, but counts as positive energy damage for creatures with weaknesses to it.
Excise Evil Influence (Su) As a full-round action, a cheryllian can dispel enchantment or possession spells or effects originating from evil creatures. The creature affected by the enchantment or the possessing creature receives a DC 34 Will save to resist this ability; on a successful save, this cheryllian cannot use the ability on the enchanted or possessed creature again for 24 hours. As a side-effect of a successful excision, the creature affected by the enchantment or possession has no recollection of the time spent under the influence of the enchantment or while possessed. This ability also provides the benefits of atonement, if the creature lost abilities or changed alignment as a result of evil deeds performed while it was not in control. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Feather Gift (Su) Once per day, a cheryllian can bequeath one of its feathers to a good creature or one constantly beset by nightmares. The creature receives a +4 morale bonus on saves against enchantment and phantasm spells and effects, and it can benefit from moment of prescience (CL 25th) once without ending the feather’s ongoing benefits. If the feather’s owner becomes evil, the feather withers and blackens, forever losing its magic.

Cheryllians originally hail from the plane of Elysium, but they have remained on the Material Plane long enough that they have effectively become residents of their new home. The creatures guard dreams and grant powerful protection to those harried by evil foes that use nightmares and other mental manipulation to corrupt innocent souls. They are not aggressive unless in the presence of an evil extraplanar creature, which they can usually suss out with detect evil and true seeing. They reserve true enmity for night hags and the nightmares that carry the hags to the Material Plane to carry out their foul deeds. They also proactively target evil creatures that possess others to hide behind an innocent façade or ruin the possessed peoples’ lives. They work to undo the emotional damage done to those who fell under the control of such beings by erasing the memories of terrible crimes they committed. Cheryllians also frequently travel the Ethereal plane to scour dreamscapes of nightmares sent by evil creatures.


Cheryllians are 9 feet long, 3 feet tall at the shoulder, and weigh 150 pounds. They are effectively immortal creatures, and only a score are known to roam the Material Plane.

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Frightful Fridays! Monster Mayhem! Killduo Guardian

Hello and welcome back to the Frightful Fridays! anniversary. The monsters get extremely dangerous from here on out, starting with the killduo guardian, a two-component creature made of adamantine razors essentially. The best bet for PCs is to separate the component creatures so they can't benefit from their shared body and shared mind abilities, but they might be too smart to fall for most tactics to pull them apart.

I hope you enjoy this nasty critter. I promise that tomorrow's offering will be nicer (provided the characters are on its good side). Thanks for reading!



These two metallic quadrupeds have the exact same appearance, mixing a variety of predatory animals. They move in tandem with one another.
Killduo Guardian      CR 20
XP 307,200
N Large construct
Init +17; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +25
DEFENSE
AC 37, touch 23, flat-footed 23 (+13 Dex, +1 dodge, +14 natural, –1 size)
hp 218 (29d10+59) for each half
Fort +9, Ref +22, Will +12
Defensive Abilities hardness 20, improved evasion, shared body; Immune construct traits
OFFENSE
Speed 50 ft.; fly 60 ft. (good)
Melee bite +37 (2d8+9 plus trip), 2 claws +37 (2d6+9/19–20)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks bleeding attack +10, pounce, rake (2 claws +37, 2d6+9), sneak attack +10d6, teamed threat
STATISTICS
Str 28, Dex 36, Con —, Int 13, Wis 17, Cha 8
Base Atk +29; CMB +39 (+43 trip); CMD 63 (69 vs. trip)
Feats Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Coordinated Charge[UC], Dodge, Escape Route[UC], Greater Feint, Greater Trip, Improved Critical (claw), Improved Feint, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Mobility, Outflank[APG], Tandem Trip[UC], Toughness
Skills Acrobatics +25 (+33 to jump), Bluff +22, Climb +20, Fly +15, Perception +25, Stealth +28
Languages Common (can’t speak)
SQ camouflage, shared mind
ECOLOGY Environment any land Organization solitary Treasure none
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Bleeding Attack (Ex) This ability operates like the bleeding attack rogue talent.
Camouflage (Ex) At rest, a killduo guardian looks like a pair of highly detailed statues. A DC 30 Perception check is required to notice the guardian before it attacks for the first time. Anyone with ranks in Craft (sculptures) or Knowledge (arcana) can use either skill instead of Perception to notice the guardian.
Shared Body (Su) Each half of a killduo guardian begins combat with the listed maximum hit points. At the end of a creature’s (including the killduo guardian's) turn, if neither half of the guardian was destroyed, the hit points for each half revert to 1/2 their total hit points. This ability does not apply if the halves are more than 150 feet from each other.
Shared Mind (Su) If within 150 feet of each other, no half of a killduo guardian is considered flanked or flat-footed unless they both are.
Teamed Threat (Ex) As long as the two halves of a killduo guardian threaten a creature, they count as flanking it.

For those who want an extreme amount of protection for their treasure vaults or other precious commodities along with an aesthetic sensibility, pricy killduo guardians serve admirably. The tandem creatures are designed to work together with maximum efficiency to dispatch pesky looters and other invaders. When not in use, they look like impressively sculpted metallic statues and an ostentatious display of wealth for their owners. Similarly to golems, killduo guardians have controllers which give them basic orders, but they creatures are incredibly intelligent and devise their own tactics to carry out their orders. Uncontrolled killduo guardians retain their desire to protect valuable treasures and offer their services to creatures for adamantine, which they consume to keep themselves in fighting shape.

Each half of a killduo guardian weighs 1,800 pounds, stands 5 feet tall at the shoulder, and measures 12 feet in length.

Construction
A killduo guardian is carved from 4,000 pounds of adamantine worth 150,000 gp.

Killduo Guardian
CL 19th Price 350,000 gp
CONSTRUCTION

Requirements Craft Construct, battlemind link[UM], clone, geas, limited wish, caster must be at least 19th level; Skill Craft (sculptures) DC 30; Cost 250,000 gp