New content! New look! New locale!

What comes first? The dungeon or the wilderness?

https://mythopoeicrambling.wordpress.com/2019/04/01/leveling-up-and-world-building/

The End is Near! Reset your Browsers and Feeders!

Mike took a break and is back -- you probably noticed.

I took a break...you probably thought I was dead.  I came back a few times and said I wasn't dead. If you noticed, you probably suspected that I wasn't really back.  Well, I hope I am cycling into a new phase of life.

I'm not going to promise twice-a-week posting like used to be my norm, but I have been thinking and working on things, and even carving out some little bits of time to write up some of the things I've been thinking and working on, so I have some hope for increased blog activity on my part.  I even think it's going to be productive!

At the same time, I've digested some feedback about the blog and some of my own dissatisfaction with Google.  So, I'm here to say that this blog is dead.

It's being reborn on Wordpress with a new look and new organization.  Tomorrow, April 1, I will post the first substantial new content from me in a long time. I'm going to be focusing on a very basic question about the structure of D&D in it early forms and what it may have to do with world building.  Yep, my basic obses- er, interests, have not changed. I've still got my Old School stance, but I'm not going to hate on or close myself off from new possibilites. I'll try some and see what there is to see, when opportunity presents itself. In the areas of tabletop gaming closest to where this blog dwells, we live in a time of great innovation and activity in roleplaying in general, the current edition of D&D, and frankly inspiring creativity in the OSR and OSR-adjacent DIY D&D that is blowing fresh winds my way. Pathfinder has long been dethroned by 5e, but it too is coming soon in a new iteration. Newness is in the air. The season is changing.

I hope Mike will chime in and say what his thoughts and hopes are for MPR, the second-born. Is he going to keep making PF 1.0 monsters? Is he going to make PF 2.0 monsters and/or D&D 5e monsters? I'd like to know.  And I'm going to try to discipline myself to offer some of them in conversion for those of you playing things like Swords & Wizardry -- still powering my current campaign.

https://mythopoeicrambling.wordpress.com is going to have a threefold structure -- My Rambles, Mike's Monsters, and an archive of this blog. Okay, I've already learned some hard lessons about Wordpress. There will be no tripartite structure, however, you'll see clearly that all that stuff will be there.

To everyone who contributed to this blog over the years -- readers, sharers, commenters, friends, guest writers, and above all, Mike, please accept my hearty and humble thanks.  I hope this blog contributed to your imaginative and ludic life, because sharing it with you has greatly contributed to mine. Going forward, all our blog interactions and new posts will appear there.

Please join us and see where the creation and enjoyment of mythic fantasy will take us in the future.

Yours sub-creatively,

Dr. Obscure

Mythopoetic Rambling Blogspot, February 2011-March 2019

Frightful Fridays! Flitter Scorpion

Hello there and welcome back to Frightful Fridays! It's been a hot minute since I last posted, so it's nice to get back to this again. I'll have monsters out at a more frequent pace to make up for the lack of posting for the past few weeks. It all starts with the flitter scorpion, already scary because it can fly. However, its poison is even more horrifying, especially for the low-level PCs it gets to fight, because it disrupts gravity for the victim. This allows the scorpion to sting its prey while the prey flails about helplessly, or the scorpion can just wait for normal gravity to reassert itself, causing the victim to smash to the ground painfully.

I hope you enjoy the flitter scorpion (and the horde of them forming the flitter scorpion swarm). I'll see you again soon with another monster!

Note: the image is a photoshop, but I couldn't find any attribution for it. A reverse image search turned up nothing other than a video about a flying spider, which curiously did not have this image in it.

Gossamer wings support this dark brown scorpion in flight.

Flitter Scorpion      CR 1

XP 400

N Tiny vermin

Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4

DEFENSE

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

hp 11 (2d8+2)

Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +0

OFFENSE

Speed 15 ft., climb 15 ft., fly 40 ft. (good)

Melee 2 claws +6 (1d2–4 plus attach), sting +6 (1d3–4 plus poison)

Space 2–1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Special Attacks attach, poison

STATISTICS

Str 2, Dex 17, Con 13, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 3

Base Atk +1; CMB +2; CMD 8 (16 vs. trip)

Feats Weapon Finesse[B]

Skills Climb +11, Fly +11, Perception +4, Stealth +15; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +4 Stealth

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate or warm deserts and plains

Organization solitary or hunting party (2–12)

Treasure none

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Flitter Scorpion Poison (Ex) Sting—injury; save Fort DC 12; frequency 1/round for 4 rounds; effect 1d2 Str and victim is affected as if reverse gravity (2 rounds, 30-foot maximum height) had been cast on it; cure 1 save.

A droning sound accompanies a cloud of scorpions darting about.

Flitter Scorpion Swarm      CR 2

XP 600

N Tiny vermin (swarm)

Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4

DEFENSE

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

hp 22 (4d8+4)

Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +1

Defensive Abilities swarm traits

OFFENSE

Speed 15 ft., climb 15 ft., fly 40 ft. (good)

Melee swarm (1d6 plus cling, distraction, and poison)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Special Attacks cling, distraction (DC 13), poison

STATISTICS

Str 2, Dex 17, Con 13, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 3

Base Atk +3; CMB —; CMD —

Skills Climb +11, Fly +11, Perception +4, Stealth +15; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +4 Stealth

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate or warm deserts and plains

Organization solitary

Treasure none

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Cling (Ex) If a creature leaves a flitter scorpion swarm’s square, the swarm suffers 1d4 points of damage to reflect the loss of its numbers as several scorpions continue to cling tenaciously to the victim. A creature with scorpions clinging to it takes swarm damage at the end of its turn each round. As a full-round action, it can remove the scorpions with a DC 15 Reflex save. High wind or any amount of damage from an area effect destroys all clinging scorpions. The save DC is Dexterity-based.

Flitter Scorpion Poison (Ex) Swarm—injury; save Fort DC 13; frequency 1/round for 4 rounds; effect 1d3 Str and victim is affected as if reverse gravity (4 rounds, 60-foot maximum height) had been cast on it; cure 1 save.

Flitter scorpions are winged arachnids with an unusual method of hunting. Like other scorpions, they inject their prey with poison, which debilitates their victims. However, the poison also severs the victims’ link with gravity, causing the victims to float helplessly in the air for moments before falling unceremoniously. While the scorpions’ prey hovers, the creatures deliver additional stings with impunity. If stings or their weakening poison doesn’t kill their prey, the fall to the ground as the poison subsides usually does the trick. This form of attack allows individual flitter scorpions to attack creatures much larger than themselves with considerably less fear of reprisal.

When prey is plentiful, flitter scorpions gather into great clusters and deliver multitudes of stings to whatever prey they encounter. These swarms of scorpions feast on their fallen victims and move on to the next set of prey. If they devastate too much of their potential meals, they often fall into cannibalistic frenzies, reducing their swarms to a handful of survivors.

Sages speculate powerful yet diminutive fey engineered flitter scorpions as flying steeds they could direct into battle. These sages further speculate the scorpions proved to be too difficult to control, so the fey left them behind in the mortal world to wreak havoc.

A 5th-level spellcaster with the Improved Familiar feat can gain a flitter scorpion as a familiar. While the spellcaster and the scorpion familiar are within 1 mile of each other, the spellcaster gains a +3 bonus on Fly checks and the spellcaster’s maneuverability improves by one step (to a maximum of good).

Frightful Fridays! Opportunistic Griffons

Hello and welcome back to the first post of 2019. I hope the new year has started well for you. I'm making up for lost time with five monsters for you this time around, all based on the wonderful illustrations found here. I'm applying the slightly more gentle name of "opportunistic griffons" rather than "trash griffons," since most of these critters don't prefer to eat trash (with the exception of the vulpossum), but it will do in a pinch. There was no sea gull option, so I rectified that by pairing it with the Tasmanian devil (referred to as a sacrophilus to distance it from the Earth term). It's the worst of them all, as one would expect.

I hope you enjoy the opportunistic griffons. See you next week with something else!

This delicate creature features the head, body, and tail of a mouse, and the wings, talons, and beak of a sparrow. Its gray patterning helps it blend into its surroundings.

Sparrouse      CR 1/4

XP 100

N Diminutive magical beast

Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +5

DEFENSE

AC 16, touch 16, flat-footed 14 (+2 Dex, +4 size)

hp 3 (1d10–2)

Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +1

OFFENSE

Speed 15 ft., climb 15 ft., fly 40 ft. (good)

Melee talon +7 (1d3–5)

Space 1 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

STATISTICS

Str 1, Dex 14, Con 6, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 7

Base Atk +1; CMB –1 (+1 steal); CMD 4 (6 vs. steal, 8 vs. trip)

Feats Improved Steal[APG, B], Weapon Finesse

Skills Climb +10, Fly +12, Perception +5

SQ darting scurry, invitational call

ECOLOGY

Environment any temperate land

Organization solitary, pair, nest (3–12), or horde (13–80)

Treasure none

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Darting Scurry (Ex) A sparrouse can run up to 5 times its base speed. Until the end of its turn, it gains a +2 circumstance bonus to its AC. Once it uses this ability, it must wait 1d4+1 round before using it again.

Invitational Call (Ex) Once per hour as a free action, a sparrouse alerts other sparrouses to the presence of food. This has a 50% chance of calling 2d4 sparrouses to the area; on a result of 00, the number increases to 10d4. The sparrouses arrive in waves of 4 per round starting 1d4 rounds after the sparrouse calls them and ending when all sparrouses have arrived.

Sparrouses are shy creatures who furtively grab discarded food. They are omnivorous and can hunt insects on their own, but they prefer the leavings of inhabitants in civilized areas. On rare occasions, sparrouses work up the courage to snatch food directly from their targets.

Spellcasters of any alignment with the Improved Familiar feat can gain a sparrouse as a familiar at 3rd level.

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This amalgam of pigeon and rat has the head, body, and tail belonging to a rat, and the wings, talons, and beak belonging to a pigeon.

Pidgerat      CR 1/2

XP 200

N Tiny magical beast

Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +5

DEFENSE

AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 size)

hp 5 (1d10)

Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +1

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., climb 15 ft., fly 40 ft. (average), swim 20 ft.

Melee 2 talons +5 (1d3-4)

Space 2–1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Special Attacks blinding strike

STATISTICS

Str 2, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 3, Wis 13, Cha 2

Base Atk +1; CMB +1; CMD 7 (11 vs. trip)

Feats Flyby Attack, Weapon Finesse[B]

Skills Climb +10, Fly +6, Perception +5, Swim +10

SQ homing, invitational call

ECOLOGY

Environment any temperate land

Organization solitary, pair, nest (3–12), or kit (13–100)

Treasure none

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Blinding Strike (Ex) If a pidgerat using the Flyby Attack feat makes a successful critical hit with its talon, as a swift action it can attempt a dirty trick maneuver to blind the target. This maneuver does not incur an attack of opportunity from the target.

Homing (Ex) If a pidgerat spends 1 hour in a specific location, it knows the most direct route to that location, as if it were the recipient of a find the path spell.

Invitational Call (Ex) Once per hour as a free action, a pidgerat alerts other pidgerats to the presence of food. This has a 50% chance of calling 2d4 pidgerats to the area; on a result of 00, the number increases to 10d4. The pidgerats arrive in waves of 4 per round starting 1d4 rounds after the pidgerat calls them and ending when all sparrouses have arrived.

Pidgerats are the most numerous of the opportunistic griffons. They also happen to be the least shy about humanoids and can be found weaving among them in various settlements. Many people view them as pests, and several settlements have begun programs to eradicate the creatures. However, some folk have realized the possibilities of training pidgerats, especially with their uncanny ability to find locations they have roosted in.

Spellcasters of any alignment with the Improved Familiar feat can gain a pidgerat as a familiar at 5th level.

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This bizarre creature has the talons, beak, and greasy wings found on a vulture combined with the scruffy-furred body, thin tail, and beady eyes found on a possum.

Vulpossum      CR 1

XP 400

N Small magical beast

Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., disease scent, low-light vision, scent; Perception +9

DEFENSE

AC 13, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+1 Dex, +1 natural, +1 size)

hp 15 (2d10+4)

Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +2; +4 vs. disease

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft., fly 40 ft. (average)

Melee bite +3 (1d4 plus disease), 2 talons +3 (1d3)

Special Attacks disease

STATISTICS

Str 10, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 3, Wis 15, Cha 2

Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 12 (16 vs. trip)

Feats Skill Focus (Perception)

Skills Climb +8, Fly +7, Perception +9

SQ feign death, invitational call

ECOLOGY

Environment any temperate or warm land

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

Treasure none

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Disease (Ex) Filth fever: Bite—injury; save Fort DC 13; onset 1d3 days; frequency 1/day; effect 1d3 Dex damage and 1d3 Con damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Disease Scent (Ex) A vulpossum can sense whether a creature within 30 feet is diseased or can inflict disease with an attack.

Feign Death (Ex) A vulpossum that takes damage can pretend that it is dead as an immediate action. It has a +12 racial bonus on Bluff checks to fool observers.

Invitational Call (Ex) Once per hour as a free action, a vulpossum alerts other vulpossums to the presence of food. This has a 50% chance of calling 1d4 vulpossums to the area; on a result of 00, the number increases to 2d4. The vulpossums arrive in waves of 2 per round starting 1d4 rounds after the vulpossum calls them and ending when all sparrouses have arrived.

Vulpossums can eat just about anything and often resort to tearing corpses apart or digging through trash to feed themselves. While the creatures provide a valuable service by removing corpses that might reanimate, either of their own volition or through foul magic, their bites carry disease. Volpossums alternate between aggression, where they hiss and threaten those who come near their meals or lairs, and nervousness, culminating in pretending to die when they are harmed.

Similarly to terrestrial opossums, vulpossums carry their young, even when they take flight. They often lose some of their offspring that can’t successfully cling to their parents and haven’t developed the ability to fly.

Spellcasters of any alignment with the Improved Familiar feat can gain a vulpossum as a familiar at 5th level.

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This dark-furred, dark-winged creature combines the wings, talons, and beak of a massive crow with the body, head, and striped tail of an equally massive raccoon.

Craccoon      CR 2

XP 600

N Small magical beast

Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +10

DEFENSE

AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+2 Dex, +2 natural, +1 size)

hp 19 (3d10+3)

Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +3

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft., fly 50 ft. (average)

Melee bite +4 (1d6), 2 talons +4 (1d4)

Special Attacks ring grabber, surprise steal

STATISTICS

Str 10, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 5, Wis 14, Cha 9

Base Atk +3; CMB +2 (+4 steal); CMD 14 (16 vs. steal, 18 vs. trip)

Feats Improved Initiative, Improved Steal[APG, B], Weapon Finesse

Skills Climb +8, Disable Device +8, Fly +4, Perception +10, Sleight of Hand +10, Stealth +10; Racial Modifiers +4 Disable Device, +4 Perception, +4 Sleight of Hand, +4 Stealth

SQ canny thief, incredible grip, invitational call

ECOLOGY

Environment any temperate land

Organization solitary, pair, larceny (3–12), or grand theft (13–50)

Treasure none

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Canny Thief (Ex) Sleight of Hand is a class skill for a craccoon. It has a +4 racial bonus on Sleight of Hand checks.

Incredible Grip (Ex) A craccoon gains a +8 bonus to CMD against steal combat maneuvers for items held in its talons. For an item in its talons, the DC to take the item using Sleight of Hand increases by 8.

Invitational Call (Ex) Once per hour as a free action, a craccoon alerts other craccoons to the presence of food. This has a 50% chance of calling 1d4 craccoons to the area; on a result of 00, the number increases to 2d4. The craccoons arrive in waves of 2 per round starting 1d4 rounds after the craccoon calls them and ending when all sparrouses have arrived.

Ring Grabber (Ex) If a ring is worn but not otherwise attached to a target, a craccoon can attempt a steal combat maneuver to take the ring, which is treated as an item fastened to the target (granting a +5 bonus to its CMD).

Surprise Steal (Ex) If a craccoon makes a critical hit against a target, it can attempt a steal combat maneuver against that target as a swift action.

Craccoons are the most intelligent of the opportunistic griffons, melding the inquisitiveness and cleverness of both crows and raccoons. They use their talents to take eggs, fresh food, or trash from those with whom they share space. Craccoons are inherently attracted to shiny baubles and brazenly attack targets wearing or carrying gems or jewels. Once they have acquired desired objects, they refuse to loosen their death grips on their prizes and often attempt to escape to nearby nests set within sturdy branches. Nests belonging to long-lived craccoons are veritable treasure troves.

Spellcasters of any alignment with the Improved Familiar feat can gain a craccoon as a familiar at 7th level.

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The white wings of a seagull contrast with the midnight-black fur of a sarcophilus. The creature also has the talons and beak common to seagulls as well as the long tail common to the sarcophilus.

Gulldevil      CR 3

XP 800

N Small magical beast

Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +14

DEFENSE

AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (+1 Dex, +4 natural, +1 size)

hp 30 (4d10+8)

Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +3

Defensive Abilities ferocity

OFFENSE

Speed 40 ft., fly 50 ft. (average)

Melee bite +6 (1d8+1), talon +7 (1d6+1/×3)

Special Attacks bleeding scratches, blood rage, desperate battler, rend (2 talons, 1d6+1)

STATISTICS

Str 13, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 5

Base Atk +4; CMB +4; CMD 15 (19 vs. trip)

Feats Dazzling Display, Weapon Focus (talon)

Skills Fly +7, Perception +14

ECOLOGY

Environment any temperate or warm land

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

Treasure none

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Bleeding Scratches (Ex) If a gulldevil makes a critical hit against a target, it inflicts 1d4 points of bleed damage in addition to triple damage from the critical hit.

Desperate Battler (Ex) When a gulldevil is reduced to 0 hit points or fewer, it gains a +2 morale bonus on attack and damage rolls. If it is subsequently restored to positive hit points, it loses the morale bonus at the end of its turn.

Gulldevils are vicious creatures capable of eating any organic material, including decomposing remains. However, they greatly prefer flesh from living creatures and fiercely attack anything that moves when they are hungry. If they are merely protecting their territories or meals, they make a intimidating display of their gore-caked talons along with an unnerving screech.

Gulldevils are unfit companions for most, as they can barely tolerate each other. Particularly evil, minute fey have learned magic to charm gulldevils, though, and use the creatures as mounts.