Monster Monday: Andrewsarchus, Prehistoric Killing Machine

Today's Monster Monday is andrewsarchus, the largest known carnivorous land mammal.  This prehistoric beast stalked the warm grasslands of Mongolia in the Eocene epoch, ripping its prey apart with its two-foot-long mouth.

But before I go on about today's monster, it's time for some site news!  Thanks to my generous and awesome patrons on Patreon, we have reached the $15 per month pledge goal.  That means that d20 Despot will be transitioning to a new posting schedule: every Monday is Monster Monday, with additional posts added whenever I get the opportunity to write them.  My personal goal is two additional articles per month, which - on top of the weekly Monster Mondays - would be a 50% increase in productivity, all made possible by your patronage.  And of course, patrons pledging $5+ still get access to all my Monster Mondays months in advance, and $8+ patrons will get to vote on the final monster each month.  Anyways, back to andrewsarchus.

illus. by Bogdanov, via Wikimedia

Andrewsarchus mongoliensis

Known only from a single fossil skull, there is some debate as to the size and even the classification of this prehistoric predator.  Recent analysis places them in order Artiodactyla - hoofed mammals - with suggestions that they are closely most closely related to hippopotamus and entelodonts (dire boars).  But until more fossils are found or more studies are conducted on the original skull, the picture of andrewsarchus is hazy.  The monster presented below is based on the most common depictions of the creature which are, admittedly, not as accurate as they could be.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2016 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Strix Harpy, Doom-Singing Owl-Witch

Today's Monster Monday is the strix harpy, a savage, doom-singing owl-witch who feeds on fear and blood.

Back in January, I gave my patrons on Patreon a preview of all the rewards tiers available for backers.  Those who pledge $5+ per month get access to a new Monster Monday every week, and $8+ backers get to vote on the final monster of every month.  At the end of January, backers chose the strix harpy (which won out over the bone thief and the pricoloci) and they got it!  Now, three months later, you're getting it too!  Big thanks to my patrons - if you'd like to join their ranks in supporting d20 Despot, head on over to patreon.com/d20despot and make a pledge.  Or if you'd like to help us out without spending any hard-earned copper pieces, like d20 despot on facebook and share us with your nerdy friends!

Okay, enough self-promotion; here's your strix harpy.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2016 Jonah Bomgaars.

Harpy, Strix               CR 6

XP 2,400

CE Medium monstrous humanoid

Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +15

DEFENSE

AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+2 armor, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 natural)

hp 68 (8d10+24)

Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +9

Immune disease, fear

Weakness light sensitivity

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., fly 80 ft. (average)

Melee 2 claws +10 (1d6+2 plus 1 bleed), bite +5 (1d4+1 plus 1 bleed)

Special Attacks doom song (DC 17), rend (2 claws, 1d6+3 plus 1 bleed)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4^th)

   at will – ill omen (DC 14)

   3/day – cause fear (DC 14), charm person (DC 14), hold person (DC 15)

   1/week – augury, bestow curse (DC 16)

STATISTICS

Str 14, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 17

Base Atk +8; CMB +10; CMD 23

Feats Dodge, Flyby Attack, Great Fortitude, Toughness

Skills Fly +13, Intimidate +11, Perception +15, Perform (song) +5, Stealth +15; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +4 Stealth

Languages Common

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Doom Song (Su)

The strix harpy’s song has the power to instill the chilling fear of death and ill-omen in all who hear it.  When a strix harpy sings, all creatures aside from other harpies within a 300-foot spread must succeed on a DC 17 Will saving throw or become shaken.  A creature that successfully saves is not subject to the same strix harpy’s song for 24 hours.  The effect continues for as long as the strix harpy sings and for 1 round thereafter.  This is a sonic mind-affecting fear effect.  The save DC is Charisma based. 

ECOLOGY

Environment any

Organization solitary, pair, flight (1-3 plus 2-8 harpies), coven (2-8 plus 1 spellcaster of at least 3rd level)

Treasure Standard (leather armor, other treasure)

More bestial and hideous than even normal harpies, the strix harpy is a bloodthirsty creature who delights in inflicting fear and torment on her victims.  She resembles an owl, with large eyes set in even larger sockets and a hooked nose that gives the impression of a beak.  Her wings move as silently as an owl’s, allowing her to sneak up on prey without warning and adding to her species’ ghostly reputation.  Strix harpies are renowned for their cunning and brutality.  With their chilling doom song and host of spell-like abilities, they like to toy with their prey’s emotions, letting them stew in fear before swooping in to tear them apart with sharp teeth and talons.  Even more than other harpies, strix harpies revel in blood.  Their attacks leave seeping wounds, which the strix eagerly drink from.  By the time the strix harpy is finished feeding, she is red with gore and truly terrifying to behold. 

   Strix harpies are loners by nature, but sometimes see the benefit of joining together in hunting pairs or even covens to better prey on sentient life.  Some normal harpies seek out strix harpies to flock with, for the strix harpies’ doom songs make their prey more susceptible to the harpies’ captivating song.  Sometimes a brave mortal will seek out a strix harpy and placate it with gifts in hopes of gaining an augury from the creature.  According to legend, a strix harpy’s feathers can be used to brew a potent love potion, but such a love is doomed to a tragic end.  

-your ominous d20 despot

Monster Monday: Rustbound Skeleton

Today's Monster Monday is the rustbound skeleton, an undead creature that can reduce your fighter's armor to dust.  Bones and rusted armor fused together by necromantic energies and driven by a will to visit death and decay on the living.

Remains from the Battle of Visby, 1361

Adventurers might encounter rustbound skeletons in a crypt that has been infested with rust monsters, while investigating a shipwreck, or while traversing an old battlefield.  Check out the rustbound skeleton template below, and the example rustbound skeletal knight!

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2016 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Funayurei, the Japanese Ghost That Sinks You With a Spoon

Today's Monster Monday is the funayurei, a drowned ghost from Japanese mythology.  In the stories told by Japanese sailors, funayurei are the restless spirits of dead seamen who take their frustration out by sinking the boats of the living.  One of the spirits appears by the boat and asks for a spoon or ladle - a simple enough request, but one with deadly results.  As soon as the funayurei has the ladle, it multiplies it a thousand times over, and a thousand funayurei hands appear and begin to ladle water into the boat with alarming speed.  Soon the boat is swamped, and the funayurei drag the crew down into the depths to join them in their watery grave.

Amusingly, Japanese boats that sail waters said to be haunted by funayurei carry ladles with holes in them specifically to foil the funayurei's evil spoon-based plans.

via Wikimedia

My wife brought this monster to my attention while she was reading an interesting book called Yurei: The Japanese Ghost, by Zack Davisson.  On its own, the undead spirit of a drowned sailor is a pretty good monster, but the weird spoon thing really makes this myth stand out, so I determined to incorporate it into their stat block.  You can see the result below.  I think the abilities of the monster allow it to pose a serious threat with a spoon, but they are versatile enough that they can be deadly on their own with nary a ladle in sight.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2016 Jonah Bomgaars.

Fixing the Weapons Table, Part 9: Ranged Weapons

Welcome back to my ongoing series, Fixing the Weapons Table, wherein I channel my MA in medieval history and my near-compulsive need to tweak with game mechanics toward making the Pathfinder weapons table even better!  Today we'll take a look at ranged weapons: bows, crossbows, and slings.

In previous installments I've touched on throwing knives and hunga mungas, medieval gunpowder weapons including explosive arrows and crossbow bolts, and even the razor-sharp Indian throwing disc known as the chakram.  So what is left to say about ranged weapons?  As it turns out, plenty!  In this installment, we'll talk about bows and crossbows, sling staves, pila, and heavy javelins.  There's also tons of new ammunition types for bows and crossbows, including alchemical creations, plus I'm revising the explosive arrows and crossbow bolts from my previous entry on medieval gunpowder weapons.  So read on!

The following material given in gold text and its accompanying table is available as Open Game Content under the OGL.  Open Game Content is ©2015 Jonah Bomgaars.

Click to embiggen

The Chaining of Krampus - A Holiday Adventure

Merry Christmas and happy holidays, readers! Today I'm giving you an early present. This year's holiday adventure, The Chaining of Krampus, is now available to download for free right HERE on my patreon!

Long-time readers know that this is part two of a three-part Christmas-themed adventure sereis that began with Escape from the Lair of the Krampus. The Chaining of Krampus is a light-hearted and humerous adventure for 4-6 ninth level characters using the pfrpg system. Eight pre-made characters are provided, plus guidelines for creating your own custom characters for this adventure. It features my own monsters, including the ice cube and snegurochka, plus tons of ridiculous references to classic holiday mythology and TV Christmas specials. It was a real treat to make; I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Monster Monday: Ice Cube - The Freezing Ooze

Today's Monster Monday is an ice cube, an arctic version of the gelatinous cube that will literally chill you to the bone and leave behind nothing more than an eerily lifelike ice sculpture.

Photo by Editor at Large, via Wikimedia

Ice cubes will be making an appearance in this winter's holiday adventure, The Chaining of Krampus, a continuation of last year's Escape from the Lair of the Krampus.  I'll be trying to get that adventure finished as soon as possible - hopefully earlier than last year's embarrassing release date of December 26th.  I'll also try to make it shorter than last year's installment, which tended to take two sessions to finish.  Stay tuned to d20 Despot for more news on this free Christmas-themed adventure!

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2015 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Snegurochka - Slavic Snow Maiden

Today's Monster Monday is Snegurochka, the snow maiden of 19th century Slavic mythology.  In the tales, snegurochka is a being of pure snow whose curiosity about humans leads her to tragically melt (either from jumping over a fire as part of a game, or from falling in love).  Later, she becomes the helper and granddaughter of Ded Moroz, the Russian Santa.

I have statted her up as a supernatural being with powerful snow magic, capable of turning into a flurry of snowflakes or passing on winter's chill with her touch.  Her natural curiosity attracts her to human settlements, but a bad run-in with fire or warmth can lead her to violent outbursts against those who inadvertently threaten her with melting.

Снегурочка by Boris Zvorykin, via Wikimedia

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2015 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Ketos, Sea Monster of Divine Retribution

Today's Monster Monday is the ketos, an ancient sea monster from Greek and Biblical mythology.  This is the monster that Poseidon sent to eat Andromeda, and that Perseus petrified with Medusa’s severed head.  The ketos is also frequently shown as the sea monster that swallowed Jonah in late classical and medieval depictions of the story.  In both cases, it is a monster sent by a deity to punish the impious by eating someone.

Andromeda liberata da Perseo by Piero di Cosimo, via Wikimedia

Herakles, appropriating the myth of Perseus and Andromeda, apparently also rescued a princess from a ketos, doing so in true herculean fashion by leaping into its mouth and slaying it from within.  In 58 BC, the Romans put the bones of what they believed to be the ketos that Perseus slew on display during gladiatorial games.  The bones were described as “forty feet long, with ribs taller than an Indian elephant, and spines eighteen inches thick.” 

Image ©Peter on flikr

"Hercules Slays the Ketos" from vase painting in Athens, Stavros S Niarchos Collection.

Many medieval depictions of the inside of the whale emphasize its overwhelming heat, to the point where at least one such depiction has Jonah going bald from the heat.  In a late tenth century tale recounted by the French monk Letaldus, with parallels to the story of Jonah, a fisherman named Within is swallowed by a great whale and kills the whale by setting his boat on fire and attacking the creature’s insides with his sword.  After four days and five nights, he is washed up in the whale's carcass and emerges hairless.  The whale that swallows Within is likened to Scylla and Charybdis, and described “with snake-like teeth and with an ever gaping gullet, a gullet that could tumble entire cities to the underworld.”  

Photo by wmpearl, via Wikimedia

Jonah Cast Up, 280-290 CE, marble, late Roman, Asia Minor, Cleveland Museum of Art

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2015 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Fomorians - Horrific Giants of Irish Mythology

Today's Monster Monday is the dreaded fomorian, a race of deformed and hideous man-eating giants that were the inhabitants of Ireland before the Irish.  Well, they were the first inhabitants of Ireland, then the Firbolgs came, then they were both conquered by the Tuatha Dé Danann, and so on, but you get the picture.

The Fomorians by John Duncan, 1912 - via Wikimedia

Fomorians are generally depicted as having all manner of crazy mutations; some of them have one arm, some of them have one leg, some of them even have a goat head!  The king of the Fomorians back in the day was the dreaded Balor (modern Irish spelling: Balar, which I use to avoid confusion with D&D's Balrog knock-off), who had a single eye that destroyed all that he gazed upon, wilting crops, blasting through rocks, and laying waste to armies.  He was finally killed when his grandson, the half-tuatha-dé-danann-half-fomorian Lug, struck him in the eye with a slingstone so hard that it exploded out the back of his skull and killed twenty-seven warriors who were standing behind him.

Fomorians have been statted up for Pathfinder in Bestiary 4, as a type of titan.  I'm presenting my own take on them here, partly because I will never run a campaign in which a CR 22 monster shows up, and partly because my interpretation is a bit more in line with Irish mythology and D&D legacy.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2015 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Ammit - The Deadliest Egyptian Chimera

Today's Monster Monday is the Ammit, a soul-devouring creature from Ancient Egyptian mythology with the head of a crocodile, the forequarters of a lion, and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus - the three deadliest creatures in Egypt.

Photographed by the British Museum, via Wikimedia

The artist didn't know what a hippo looked like sitting down, so he was just like, "F*** it - stubby legs"

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2015 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Mantis Shrimp - The Fastest Claws in the Sea

Today's Monster Monday is the giant mantis shrimp, a man-sized version of the little rainbow-colored tropical shrimp that can punch so fast they boil the water around their claws and create a shockwave, and whose eyes are so good they can see colors we can't even imagine.

photo by prilfish from Vienna, Austria, via Wikimedia

If you've been on the internet in the last few years, you may have noticed a growing interest in these fascinating, terrifying, badass little rainbow murder shrimp.  Now you can bring that interest to your gaming table!

photo by SSR2000, via Wikimedia

WHOA! THAT IS FREAKY!

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2015 Jonah Bomgaars.

Rainbow Domain - Prismatic Priests and Dazzling Druids

Heimdall an der Himmelsbrücke by Emil Doepler, via Wikimedia

What do Heimdal, Renly Baratheon, and Kermit the Frog have in common? They all know the power of rainbows.  The mystery and splendor of the rainbow has inspired countless myths across the world.  In Norse mythology, the rainbow bridge connects the realm of the gods to the realm of men.  In Judeo-Christian tradition, the rainbow is the visual sign of the pact between God and Noah never to flood the earth again.  To the Australian aborigines, the rainbow serpent is a primordial creator deity that provides both fertility and disease.  With so many divine rainbow connections, it only seems right to have the option for a rainbow domain.

And since rainbows are also natural phenomena, it also makes sense to offer the rainbow domain to druids as part of their nature bond ability.  In fact, I would be lying if I said that my original intent was not to allow the creation of terrifying rainbow-blasting druids.

The following material given in gold text is available as Open Game Content under the OGL.  Open Game Content is ©2015 Jonah Bomgaars.

Fixing the Weapons Table, Part 8: Bludgeoning Weapons

Welcome back to my ongoing series, Fixing the Weapons Table, wherein I channel my MA in medieval history and my near-compulsive need to tweak with game mechanics toward making the Pathfinder weapons table even better!  Today we'll be looking at bludgeoning weapons thanks to a reader's request for more options for hammer lovers.

In my very first installment of Fixing the Weapons Table, I talked about heavy maces vs morningstars and gave the heavy mace a +2 to sunder attempts.  In my two posts about polearms, I gave you the bec de corbin and lucerne hammer and the great morningstar and pollaxe.  So what else is there to say on the subject of bludgeoning weapons?  Well, I'll be talking about clubs, mauls, and flails, introducing pick-hammers and multi-headed flails, and letting you punch people in the face with a buckler.  Sound good?  Read on!

The following material given in gold text is available as Open Game Content under the OGL.  Open Game Content is ©2015 Jonah Bomgaars.

Achievement Unlocked: 100+ Achievements for Your Game

Do you crave recognition for your mighty deeds?  Like that one time you jumped off a tower and killed a gnoll with your falling damage?  Or the time you wrestled a giant to the ground?  Or, heck, even that time you were swallowed whole by Jormunrek the Terrible, ancient red dragon?

In the spirit of videogames, and in celebration of my 100th blogpost (last week's April Fool's post), I decided to make 100 unlockable achievements for your game of Pathfinder (or D&D 3.5, or whatever).  Well, that's what I set out to do, but because I'm bad at counting I accidentally made 106, so enjoy!

The achievements have a suggested XP value for unlocking them, but the whole thing is totally subject to GM's discretion of course.  They cover all sorts of topics, from kill-counts to alignment shifts to magic item creation to critical fumbles.  Some of my favorites are based on actual events that have happened in my games, like Meat Comet, which commemorates the time a flind was wrestling with the sorcerer Azanazius atop a wooden grate and the rogue Mr. Noir jumped down from the wall of the ruined castle, crushing the flind and sending all three tumbling through the shattered grate into the prison pit below.

Without further ado, here are 106 achievements for your game.  If you unlock all of them, well, then you've obviously cheated.  But good job nonetheless.

Killing

First Blood                 10xp

Make the first kill of the campaign

Amateur Monster Hunter      50xp

Deliver the killing blow to 10 monsters

Professional Monster Hunter             100xp

Deliver the killing blow to 50 monsters

Expert Monster Hunter              250xp

Deliver the killing blow to 100 monsters

Man is the Real Monster         500xp

Deliver the killing blow to 200 monsters

Dragon Slayer        250xp

Deliver the killing blow to a true dragon of at least CR 10

Dragon Scourge 500xp

Deliver the killing blow to 5 true dragons of at least CR 10

Your GM Put Too Many Dragons in This Campaign  1000xp

Deliver the killing blow to 20 true dragons of at least CR 10

APRIL FOOLS - Expanded Elemental Bestiary Preview

O frabjous day!  Today marks d20 Despot's 2nd birthday, and its 100th* post!

*ignoring any contentless newsposts

To celebrate, I'm pleased to announce d20 Despot's first print book, available in your local gaming shop soon!  It is titled The d20 Despot Expanded Elemental Bestiary.  A few months ago, I was brainstorming ideas for a mini-bestiary to release as my first foray into the market, and I started thinking about elementals.  Most elemental-themed monsters focus on the big four - water, earth, wind, and fire - with a few delving into stuff like ice or electricity, and the odd one or two dealing with strange para-elemental forces like time or magnetism or gravity.  Then I realized that there are so many untapped elements to bring into the game!  Just as a sneak preview for you, my loyal readers, here's a peak at one of the monsters in this book: the Bismuth Behemoth!

That's some nice art, right?  Kent Hamilton has left us for bigger and better things, so I'm pleased to introduce to you d20 Despot's new artist in residence: Thunderaxe_6969!  I'm finally putting that patreon funding to good use!  Thunderaxe_6969 is an experienced artist, having painted detailed fantasy-themed murals on his fair share of vans.  Now he's a real pro, having done all 120 illustrations in the Expanded Elemental Bestiary - a task which took him weeks to complete.  The results speak for themselves.

Without any further ado, here's the bismuth behemoth!  Afterwards I'll talk a bit about some of the other monsters you can expect to see in the Expanded Elemental Bestiary

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2015 Jonah Bomgaars.

St. Patrick's Day Monster: Clurichaun - The Drunken Leprechaun

Happy Saint Patrick's Day, everyone!  This is one of my favorite holidays, because I will take any opportunity to make and eat corned beef.  In the vein of past holiday monsters, thought I would share the holiday joy with you, my loyal readers, by creating this holiday-appropriate monster:

T.C. Croker via Wikimedia

Believe it or not, this is the best public-domain picture available for a clurichaun.

The clurichaun (or cluricaune, or clobhair-ceann, or lugirgadaune) is a leprechaun-like sprite from Irish folklore that just loves alcohol and mischief.  Here are some telling quotes from The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore, by Patricia Monaghan (2004: Facts On File, Inc.):

Fond of tippling, the cluricaune would steal into wine cellars, especially those belonging to alcoholics, to steal a few bottles.  He was hard to exterminate, for if an owner tried to move, the cluricaune would simply travel along inside a cask.

One cluricaune named Little Wildbeam, who haunted a Quaker family in Cork, was most helpful if a servant left a bit of beer dripping from the cask; he shrank and wedged himself into the spigot so that not a drop was lost.  If the maids did not feed him well, the fairy came out at night and beat them senseless.  

I swear this is an actual piece of Irish folklore and not a 19th century racist caricature of an Irishman.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2015 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Shadhavar - Evil Carnivorous Unicorn

Today's Monster Monday is the Shadhavar, an evil, twisted version of the unicorn.  Shadhavars have rough black hair, poisonous horns, the ability to magically disguise themselves, and a taste for the flesh of the innocent.

Bodleian Library, MS. Bodley 764, Folio 10v : Unicornis, via Wikimedia
   

It's really hard to find a public domain picture of a black unicorn that 

doesn't look like a Lisa Frank folder, so enjoy this derpy Medieval unicorn instead.

You know what unicorns look like - just imagine it black and sinister looking.  

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2015 Jonah Bomgaars.

Monster Monday: Argonaut - Giant Ship-Killing Nautilus Used as a Living Submarine

Today's Monster Monday is the argonaut, a species of gargantuan nautilus that hunts the vast ocean depths, preying on whales, sea-serpents, and even ships.  Some aquatic races have even learned to control these mighty beasts, modifying the empty chambers of their shells and using the creatures as living submarines.

Photo: Manuae via Wikimedia

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2015 Jonah Bomgaars.

Sandbox Campaign Part 13: Blood on the Snow

This is part 13 of my ongoing Sandbox Campaign, a campaign which, for a long time now, has totally not been an actual sandbox campaign.  

Before I get started on the adventures of the Graverobbers, I have some news!  My good friend Kent Hamilton, official illustrator of d20 Despot, has launched a companion site called d20 Doodler, where he will be posting daily warm-up sketches of characters, monsters, and scenes from my campaigns or just D&D/Pathfinder-inspired stuff.  I'll be using a lot of these as preview images for my posts, but there'll be plenty more over at d20doodler.com!  Let's check out today's preview image - a sketch of Rikkit, the Graverobbers' lovable goblin sorcerer:

The Death of Rikkit Nightingale - Kent Hamilton

Oh.  That doesn't bode well.