Frightful Fridays! Deific Kaida

Welcome back to Frightful Fridays! featuring one of the more esoteric dragons I've ever created. I realized I had given most of the classes a kaida that augmented their abilities, with the exception of divine spellcasters. So, the deific kaida starts off its life as an "untainted" manifestation of divine energy (represented by its access to the Divine subdomain), but it seeks out creatures that worship deities or have a strong philosophy and bonds with those items to achieve a greater understanding of the divine. By playing around with energy channeling or domain accesses, this kaida is useful for clerics, inquisitors, and many other divine characters (however, not for oracles; their kaida will have to wait for another time).

The extra ties in with some of the deific kaida's abilities and allows characters with access to domains to benefit from an additional domain.

That's it for this week. I'll be at ConCarolinas this weekend, where I'll be running a game in which the characters are drakes, which is what put me in the mood to work on another kaida. While you're waiting for next week's monster, Flash will have a new shield feature for you on Sunday. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

Illustration found here

This little dragon glows with divine energy and its strange outline of a body seems to twist into a variety of divine symbols.

Deific Kaida CR 2

XP 600

N Tiny dragon

Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +10

Defense

AC 16, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+2 Dex, +2 size, +2 natural)

hp 22 (3d12+3)

Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +7

Immune magic paralysis and sleep, dragon traits

Offense

Speed 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (good)

Melee bite +1 (1d3-4) and 2 claws +1 (1d2-4)

Space 2.5 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Special Attacks channel energy, domain access

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd; concentration +7)

1/day—bless water, identify

Statistics

Str 3, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 15

Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 9 (13 vs. Trip)

Feats Improved Channel, Quick Channel

Skills Diplomacy +8, Fly +16, Heal +10, Knowledge (religion) +15, Perception +10, Sense Motive +10, Spellcraft +7, Stealth +10; Racial Modifiers +8 Knowledge (religion)

Languages Common, Draconic; telepathy (60 feet)

SQ bond with divine item

Special Abilities

Bond with Divine Item (Su) A deific kaida can choose to bond with a holy/unholy symbol or a deity's favored weapon (provided the weapon is wielded by someone who worships the deity). When it does so, its image appears on the bonded item. While a deific kaida is bonded with an item, the owner may cast spiritual weapon 3 times per day; the weapon takes the shape of the kaida. Additionally, the kaida grants an insight bonus equal to half its Knowledge (religion) bonus to Knowledge (religion) checks made by the character possessing the item.

Channel Energy (Su) A deific kaida can channel energy as a cleric with a level equal to the kaida's Hit Dice (a typical deific kaida can channel energy 5 times per day, dealing 2d6 damage, DC 15 Will save for half). An unbonded deific kaida chooses whether to channel positive or negative energy and cannot change this choice until after it bonds with a divine item. A bonded deific kaida allows a character who possesses the bonded item to channel energy additional times per day equal to half the kaida's channel energy uses.

Domain Access (Su) A deific kaida has access to one domain or subdomain of its choosing (a typical kaida starts with the Divine subdomain), and it gains the domain powers and can use domain spells as spell-like abilities, as if it were a cleric with a level equal to the kaida's Hit Dice (the spells are reflected in the kaida's spell-like abilities). A kaida cannot change its domain until after it bonds with a divine item. A bonded deific kaida either increases the effective character level of the bonded item's owner by 2 with respect to domain powers, or it allows the owner to access an extra domain from her deity's domain list, gaining the domain's powers and access to domain spells.

A deific kaida embodies divine energy in all its forms and coalesces into specific divine energy as it encounters other beings. Holy or unholy symbols, weapons favored by deities, and other divinely touched items attract a deific kaida, which seeks to bond with an item to gain greater knowledge of deities or philosophies. As a being primarily composed of energy, the 2 foot long kaida only weighs 5 pounds.

An "unspoiled" deific kaida starts off with access to the Divine subdomain and channels negative energy, primarily as defense against predators. However, once the creature gets a taste of other divine energies by bonding with items, it changes up its domain access and may decide to channel positive energy. The dragon likes to bond with multiple different items and will sometimes change bonds in the middle of a battle involving characters of opposing faiths.

A spellcaster can choose a deific kaida as a familiar. The spellcaster must be at least caster level 4th, have the Improved Familiar feat, be able to use a domain power or channel energy, and provide a holy symbol or her deity's favored weapon with which the kaida can bond.

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Permeated Symbol

Aura moderate evocation; CL 7th

Slot neck; Price 14,100 gp; Weight 1 lb.

Description

A deity's power suffuses this masterwork holy (or unholy) symbol. When the wearer of this symbol channels energy, the DC to resist the channeled energy increases by 2. Additionally, the wearer can select an additional domain from which he can gain domain spells, and he gains the domain power available to first level characters for the selected domain. The selected domain must be one that the wearer's deity offers (or, for those characters not devoted to a particular deity, must conceptually fit with the character's other domain[s]).

Construction

Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, imbue with spell ability, creator must have access to domain spells or powers; Cost 7,100 gp

Sunderday is here once again for your viewing pleasure...

Gah, late again! I’m guessing you guys are starting to see a pattern right...

I thought that rather than do a long run of Shield Gems, like I did with the Shield Walls, I’d break them up and intersperse some actual new shields in amongst them. So this week I’m gonna give you something that I’ve been toying with in my head for months now after I found this awesome picture. I think it’s pretty self explanatory, so I’ll just launch straight into it. Enjoy!

This shield uses the Stone Shield variant that I used for the Shield Wall of the same name (damn those Dwarves, being all pragmatic and naming everything the same). For ease I’ll reprint the stats for it here.

A Stone Shield has all of the same properties as a Tower Shield (except cost), save that it is only the size of a Heavy Steel Shield and therefore cannot be set as cover like a Tower Shield can. Different varieties exist, some using a single piece of stone and others being made from interlocking stone pieces, but all function in the same way. The cost for a Stone Shield is 50gp.

Medusa Shield

Aura Moderate Transmutation; CL 11th

Slot shield; Price 72,766gp; Weight  45 lb.

DESCRIPTION

This +1 Stone Shield is carved to bear the lifelike face of a Medusa on its front, myriad snakes springing forth from its surface as if to strike. When a command is given, the eyes of the Medusa glow a sickly green and the snakes do actually start to writhe. While the snakes are harmless, anyone within 30’ looking at the wielder (GM’s discretion) must save or be affected by a flesh to stone spell. This is treated as a Gaze attack and anyone within 5’ of the wielder is automatically subjected and has a -2 to their save to avoid its effects.

Instead of this blanket use of the shield, the wielder can instead choose to focus its effects upon one target within 100ft. The target does not need to be able to see the shield and because of this they receive a +2 to their save.

The shield can be used up to three times per day in any combination of attacks.

CONSTRUCTION

Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, flesh to stone; Cost 36,383gp

Frightful Fridays! Acid Bathynomus

Hello and welcome back to Frightful Fridays! which returns to delightfully creepy vermin for this week's entry. The bathynomus giganteus is just an oversized isopod, much like if your typical pillbug or wood louse went on a stroll through radioactive waste before visiting. The real world creature lives underwater, but that shouldn't stop the fantasy version from having fun above the sea. This monster also has the added bonus of attaching itself to a character before disgorging flesh-melting acid on the character.

Today's extra comes from the imagined acid bladders that float around within the creature's carapace--bladders the characters could potentially benefit from, if they survive.

Thanks for reading this week's Frightful Fridays! entry, and I'll be back next week with yet another monster. In the meantime, check out Flash's cool new shield item on Sunday, and maybe we can get a post from Theodric himself.

This cute li'l guy was found here

This creature looks like a giant pillbug with several raspy legs and mandibles that drip with acid.

Acid Bathynomus CR 6

XP 2,400

N Small vermin

Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +8

Defense

AC 20, touch 12, flat-footed 19 (+1 Dex, +1 size, +8 natural)

hp 67 (9d8+27)

Fort +9, Ref +4, Will +3

DR 5/bludgeoning; Immune acid

Offense

Speed 30 ft., climb 10 ft., swim 40 ft.

Melee 4 claws +11 (1d4+3 plus attach) and mandibles +5 (1d6+1)

Special Attacks acid spit

Environment

Ecology any temperate or warm coastline or ocean

Organization solitary, pair, or dissolution (3–12)

Treasure none

Statistics

Str 16, Dex 13, Con 17, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 10

Base Atk +6; CMB +8 (+12 grapple); CMD 19 (can't be tripped)

Feats Weapon Focus (claw)(B)

Skills Acrobatics +1 (+9 when jumping), Climb +11, Perception +8, Swim +11; Racial Modifiers +8 Acrobatics when jumping, +8 Perception

SQ amphibious

Special Abilities

Acid Spit (Ex) Once every 1d3 rounds, an acid bathynomus spits a 15-foot line of acid. Any target in the line takes 2d4 points of acid damage (DC 17 Reflex save for half). The save DC is Constitution-based.

Attach (Ex) If an acid bathynomus hits a single opponent with at least two of its claws, it can latch on to that opponent. While the bathynomus remains attached it automatically deals damage with 2 claw attacks, and it adds 4 to the Reflex save DC to avoid its acid spit.

Content to traverse its underwater environment and hunt prey there, an acid bathynomus sometimes arrives on land because it has run out of food, or thanks to an unfortunate fisherman who snags the creature a net. The creature makes its home just as well along the shore of its former home and continues to hunt prey using the same flesh-dissolving technique it uses underwater. An acid bathynomus measures 3 feet in length and weighs 40 pounds.

The bathynomus is a prodigious leaper and usually aims for its opponent's torso or head, where it latches on with at least on pair of its barbed legs. A number of bladders hold enzymes that the creature uses to convert seawater into a caustic acid. Fortunately for the bathynomus, its shell is utterly resistant to acid, so the messy stream of acid that it fires at its opponents does not harm the creature. An acid bathynomus prefers to grasp a victim before the creature spits acid at it, since the bathynomus's victim has less chance to avoid the acid striking it. Once it has dissolved its prey into sludge, it feeds; its mandibles are somewhat weak, but, if necessary, it can use them to tear into prey that proves resilient to its acid.

A typical acid bathynomus lives for 20 years and produces a number of young during it relatively short life, many of which do not survive the harsh underwater realm. Rumors persist regarding a giant version of an acid bathynomus as large as a full-grown elephant, but no such creature has surfaced.

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Acid Bathynomus Bladder

By careful extraction (requiring a DC 25 Knowledge (nature) check followed by a DC 20 Heal check), a character may procure at least one bathynomus bladder from the creature's corpse (1 + 1 for every 5 points by which the Heal check exceeds the DC). Ten minutes after a character fills a bladder with 2 quarts of seawater, the bladder creatures 4 "doses" of acid. A character can squirt one dose of the acid from the bladder in a 10-foot line, dealing 2d4 points of acid damage to each target in the line (DC 15 Reflex save for half). Alternately, a character can throw the bladder as a splash weapon, which deals 1d6 points of acid damage per remaining dose (1 point per remaining dose splash damage). The enzymes in the bladder will only work once, but they remain active for a week after the bathynomus's death.

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.