Fantasy Monsters: Dead Men's Chest

You can now support Shaper Of Worlds on Patreon.

Dead Men's Chest

A chest made of bones fused together walks on skeletal arms and legs. Skulls adorn the corners, with their jaws acting as hinges for the lid.

CR 5; XP 1,600

NE Medium Undead

Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., treasure sense; Perception +14

Defense
AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+2 deflection, +2 Dex, +4 natural)
hp 55 (10d8+10)
Fort +4; Ref +5; Will +8

Defensive Qualities all-around vision, channel resistance +2; Immune undead traits

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

Melee 4 slams +9 (1d4+2)

Statistics
Str 14, Dex 15, Con —, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 13
Base Atk +7; CMB +9; CMD 24 (30 vs. trip)

Feats Acrobatic Step, Combat Reflexes, Defensive Combat Training, Improved Initiative, Nimble Moves

Skills Climb +10, Perception +14, Profession (navigator) +11, Stealth +15

Language understands Common, can't speak

Ecology
Environment warm aquatic, ruins
Organization solitary, pair, or trove (3–5)
Treasure double

Special Abilities

Treasure Sense (Su) A dead men's chest detects presence of coins, discarded pieces of jewelry, and precious gems within 60 ft. radius, even when concealed or buried. It can sense a general direction and distance toward any coin, piece of jewelry, or precious gem that was taken away from it unless concealed with magic of 4th or higher spell level.

Dead men's chest occasionally spawns when a buried treasure is surround by bodies of greedy individuals who were killed to hide those riches. The bones meld and fuse around the valuables forming a grotesque chest, they memories splinter and mix, and a singular will emerges, driven and torn between skittishness—desiring to preserve its wealth, equating its booty with itself, avarice—fill itself with more valuables than it can contain, and vengefulness—lashing at anyone who would try to steal from it and those who wronged the individuals whose memories the dead men's chest shares.

The dead men's chest is particularly unpredictable when it faces the person or people who personally killed the individuals from which it spawned—it fears and hates them immensely.

A dead men's chest often goes dormant for long periods of time, when it finds a spot it considers safe, at least until disturbed in some way. Some dead men's chest regularly relocate between multiple hiding spots, others, driven by half remembered circumstances of their creation, try to remove markers leading to their resting place, or leave misleading traces. A few particularly intelligent ones even go as far as create false hiding places, and set a few booby traps, though they rarely have patience and focus to create a really complex set up.

Fantasy Monster: Unbound Ba

You can now support Shaper Of Worlds on Patreon.

Unbound Ba

An owl-like shape with a face of a deceased person.

CR 2; XP 600
LN Tiny Undead (incorporeal)

Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +8

Defense
AC 17, touch 17, flat-footed 15 (+3 deflection, +2 Dex, +2 size)
hp 22 (3d8+9)
Fort +4; Ref +3; Will +5

Defensive Qualities channel resistance +4, incorporeal, sanctified dead; Immune undead traits

Weakness corpse-bound

Offense
Speed fly 30 ft. (perfect)

Melee spectral talons +6 incorporeal touch (2d4 nonlethal plus curse of ba)

Special Attacks curse of ba (DC 14)

Statistics
Str —, Dex 14, Con —, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 17
Base Atk +2; CMB +0; CMD 10

Feats Flyby Attack, Lunge

Skills Fly +20, Knowledge (local) +4, Knowledge (nobility) +4, Knowledge (religion) +7, Perception +8

Language Celestial, Common (whatever form it might have taken at the time of the death)

Ecology
Environment urban, ruins, tombs
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure standard

Special Abilities

Corpse-Bound An unbound ba is inseparably linked to the body from which it spawned. if the body is destroyed, the ba slowly dissolves into nothingness over the next day. An unbound ba always knows the direction towards its tomb and its corpse. If an unbound ba is reduced to 0 hit points, it vanishes and reforms in its tomb in 1d4 days.

Curse Of Ba (Su) Spectral talons—injury; save Will DC 14; frequency 1 day; effect nightmares preventing natural healing of hit point and ability damage, and rendering the victim fatigued for the next day. The curse can be broken by making a proper offering of expensive food, liquor, perfumes, and clothing at the deceased's tomb, and making a successful Knowledge (religion) check against DC of 20 (or more if the local funerary rituals has significantly changed since the deceased's passing). If the dead has no tomb or it has been desecrated, a shrine to the deceased needs to be constructed, reflecting the deceased station in life. Casting remove curse might be cheaper if the deceased had royal blood. The saving throw DC is Charisma-based.

Sanctified Dead (Ex) An unbound ba is created by sacred rituals that invoke powers of life, death, and rebirth. It is empowered by consecrated areas in the same way as regular undead are affected by desecrate, and healed by positive energy used to heal (including all healing spells, and positive energy channeled to heal living things). While an unbound ba is generally evasive of desecrated ground, it affects it normally, and it is otherwise reacting to negative energy in usual way.

Certain mortuary practices involve intricate rituals and procedures, aimed at preserving the body and exalting the spirit of the deceased to ensure continued favorable existence in the afterlife. Occasionally, due to mistakes, distractions, or interruptions to the proceedings, or more rarely malicious interference or curses placed on the deceased, the whole process might go wrong leaving behind spiritual vestiges, ghosts, and other undead beings.

Unbound ba has the face of a deceased person from which it sprang, and shares the dead's dominant personality traits and significant memories, though the former tend to be exaggerated. While it retains alignment of the dead, it might be somehow confused about its state and nature, expecting to be recombined with its ka to form the immortal spiritual whole. Some are distraught by their plight and hostile toward anyone approaching their tomb, others seek revenge for perceived wrongs on the living or trying to help those they cared for.

Fantasy Monster: Treeraffe

You can support Shaper Of Worlds on Patreon.

Treeraffe

A very tall creature looking like a cross between a giraffe and a palm tree.

CR 6; XP 2,400
N Large Plant

Init +2; Senses far vision, low-light vision; Perception +15

Defense
AC 19, touch 11, flat-footed 17 (+2 Dex, +8 natural, –1 size)
hp 75 (10d8+30)
Fort +10; Ref +5; Will +5; +4 vs. being knocked prone

DR 2/slashing; Immune plant traits

Offense
Speed 50 ft.

Melee 2 slams +10 (1d6+4)

Ranged coconut +10 touch (2d6 plus 2 splash)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.

Special Attacks throw coconuts

Statistics
Str 18, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 7
Base Atk +7; CMB +12; CMD 24 (32 vs trip)

Feats Acrobatic Steps, Nimble Moves, Run, Throw Anything, Weapon Focus (coconut)

Skills Perception +15

SQ long legs

Ecology
Environment plains and forests
Organization solitary, pair, or herd (5–10)
Treasure standard

Special Abilities

Far Vision (Ex) A treeraffe extreme height lets it notice objects and creatures from faraway. Its visual Perception checks increase DC by 1 per 100 feet of distance, and it ignores range penalties to its throw coconut attacks.

Long Legs (Ex) A treeraffe can move through spaces occupied by Medium or Smaller creatures, though it provokes attacks for doing so. It can walk through water 15 feet deep without having to swim or hold breath (though it moves at half speed when doing so, and can't run or charge through water deeper than 5 feet). They are also surprisingly stable, gaining additional +4 bonus to CMD against trip attempts, and saving throws against effects that would knock them down.

Throw Coconuts (Ex) A treeraffe grows many small but hard coconuts on its leafy head-crown. It can shake its head in a way that causes one or more of those coconuts to fall off and land on enemies with a surprising accuracy. Each coconut dropped counts as thrown splash attack—though it doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity—with the usual 20 ft. range increment dealing 2d6 points of bludgeoning damage on a direct hit, and 2 points of piercing damage in a 5-ft. splash. When taking a full attack action, a treeraffe can either throw one coconut in addition to making its two slam attacks, or throw up to three coconuts at different targets.

Treeraffes are motile plants that can be confused with giraffes from a distance, especially when sharing habitats with them. They seem to be a four-legged palm trees roaming grassy plains and sparse forests, either alone, or in small groups. While they might look like they are foraging through the day, they are actually seeking water, and patches of particularly fertile soil to root for the night.

As plant creatures, they are often at odds with herbivore animals and beasts, including giraffes that they resemble, but they often peacefully coexist with carnivores, birds, many vermin, and some small primates that travel on them between groves, and patches of suitable woodlands. They also seem to carry windborne seeds or even occasional saplings of other plants with them.

A few nomadic tribes discovered how to tame treeraffes, using them as beasts of burden—while they require far more effort to load or unload than horses, donkeys, or camels, they are much safer from predator attacks. Particularly old and big treeraffes (with giant template added once, or twice) can even carry small huts build around their torsos.

Giant Treeraffe (CR 7) has AC 20 (+1 Dex, +11 natural, –2 size), 95 hp, Fort +12, Ref +4, DR 3/slashing. Atk slam +11 (1d8+6), coconut +8 (3d6 plus 3 splash), CMB +15, CMD 26 (34 vs. trip).

Elder Treeraffe (CR 8) has AC 20 (+14 natural, –4 size), 115 hp, Fort +14, Ref +3, DR 5/slashing; Atk slam +11 (2d6+8), coconut +5 (4d6 plus 4 splash, 10 ft.), CMB +19, CMD 29 (37 vs. trip).

*Both retain their Acrobatic Step and Nimble Moves due to their long legs, despite technically not meeting Dexterity requirement.

Twelve Years A Game Designer

I started this blog over twelve years ago, in anticipation of my first (English) publication and the first paid-one.

It was Commander, released by Amora Game exactly twelve years ago (or at least I posted about that on 2nd of November).

And it was funny, in that my first publication was sort-of-happy accident...

Wait... How do you get published accidentally?!

Oh, boy...

I was—just for funsies—designing a Captain class, in a forum posts on Paizo message boards. It was an attempt to capture the spirit of the class of the same name from Lord Of The Rings Online for Pathfinder (1st edition). And then, unexpectedly, I was contacted by Greg LaRose from Amora Game, who told me that he wanted to publish a similar class when he saw my creation and he wanted to use my work as the basis for rework of what he had in mind.

After shaking off the initial dazed condition, I somehow negotiated a very neat deal with Greg, and the commander was born as a fusion of what I had in mind, and what Greg had in mind...

After some less than stellar initial release, we went through revision that ended receiving four out of five stars from Endzeitgeist.

I collaborated with Greg multiple times after that over years, as well as doing some things for Green Ronin, Jon Brazen Enterprise, Little Red Goblin Games, LPJ Designs, Wayward Rogue Publishing, and Zenith Games. I hope I haven't missed anyone.

I ended writing things for 1st edition of Pathfinder, 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons, Chronicle System (that's Green Ronin's Saga Of Ice And Fire mechanics), and Savage Worlds.

With that said, it has been years since my last publication—currently I am doing little when it comes to designing beyond writing weekly blog posts, though I am in no way shape or form rejecting the possibility of more things coming in the future (I have no intention of dabbling in self-publishing).

Fantasy Monster: Hungry Hut

You can now support Shaper Of Worlds on Patreon.

Hungry Hut

A rather inconspicuous hut standing in a small grove.

CR 9; XP 6.400
NE Gargantuan Aberration

Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 120 ft.; Perception +15

Defense
AC 23, touch 7, flat-footed 22 (+1 Dex, +16 natural, –4 size)
hp 114 (12d8+60); fast healing 10
Fort +9; Ref +7; Will +12

Defensive Abilities all-around vision; Immune disease, electricity, poison, slowed, staggered

Offense
Speed 10 ft.; creeping

Melee 3 tentacles +16 (1d8+10 plus pull)

Space 20 ft.; Reach 30 ft.

Special Attacks pull (tentacle, 20 ft.), swallowing maw (10d6 acid, AC 18, 22 hp)

Statistics
Str 30, Dex 12, Con 20, Int 11, Wis 19, Cha 13
Base Atk +9; CMB +23; CMD 37 (can't be tripped)

Feats Blind-Fight, Defensive Combat Training, Improved Critical (tentacle), Lightning Reflexes, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (tentacle)

Skills Disguise +16 (+36 when mimicking buildings), Knowledge (local) +15, Perception +19, Use Magic Device +15

Languages Common, one other local language

SQ mimic building

Ecology
Environment urban or rural
Organization solitary, pair, or neighborhood (3–6)
Treasure standard

Special Abilities

Creeping (Ex) A hungry hut is such massive and lumbering creature, that it ignores difficult terrain, and displaces obstacles that are Large or smaller unless they are part of the ground itself and made of hard stone or harder substance fused with the ground. It can't be knocked prone. Only Colossal creatures or mythic magic can attempt to forcibly move it. Moving through a hungry hut's space requires climbing or running across its roof (and usually triggers swallowing maw).

Mimic Building (Ex) A hungry hut can assume a general shape of a Gargantuan building, such as a hut, a cottage, or a similarly sized house or a building (though never outhouses for some reason). A hungry hut cannot substantially change its size. While most of its body is hard and has rough texture, it can produce softer flaps to mimic things such as curtains. A hungry hut gains +20 racial bonus to Disguise checks to mimic buildings, and it can use it in place of Stealth to avoid being recognized as a threat. Disguise is always a class skill for hungry hut.

Swallowing Maw (Ex) When a Large or smaller creature is pulled to a space adjacent to a hungry hut, or takes an action that would provoke an attack of opportunity while adjacent to a hungry hut, the hungry hut can, as a free action, attempt a grapple check against the creature, swallowing it whole if successful. A hungry hut can have Large or up to four Medium creatures swallowed at the same time, digesting their remains in 1d4 rounds after they die while swallowed. Swallowed creatures gain grappled condition, and can attempt to escape by winning a grapple check, or cutting their way out with a light slashing or piercing weapon, dealing 1/5th of the hut's hit points in the process, similarly to swallow whole universal monster ability.

Hungry huts are quite likely a larger and more dangerous relatives of the common mimics. Too large to fit inside dungeons or most other constructions, they disguise themselves as small buildings instead, either pretending to be a cozy cabin at the edge of forest, an abandoned house in the slums, or, more rarely, together with a few siblings imitate a quiet thorp. 

At least once, denizens of a remote village came to a mutually beneficial deal with one of those creatures, directing bandits, invaders, and other undesirables to a hungry hut living in the middle of the settlement, claiming it to be the headman's house. It took three missing tax collectors and one royal messenger mistaken for the former for the ruse to be discovered. Allegedly, the monster's presence also helped keep in check misbehaving children and stray dogs.

Mawed Mansion (CR 12) are even more dangerous, Colossal-sized specimens with 16 HD. They have AC 27 (–1 Dex, +26 natural, –8 size), hp 184, Fort +12, Ref +6, Will +16; Atk 3 tentacles +15 (2d6+12 plus pull, 40 ft.); Str 34, Dex 8, Con 24; CMB +32 and CMD of 45. They have Iron Will and Improved Vital Strike in addition to hungry huts' regular feats. All their skill bonuses are 3 points higher, and their mimicking abilities are even more developed gaining +30 racial bonus for a total bonus of 49 when disguised as buildings. They occupy 30-ft. space, and have 60 ft. reach with their tentacles. Their swallowing maw inflicts 10d10 points of acid damage, escaping requires dealing 36 points of damage against the internal AC of 23.

Fantasy Monster: Chestnut Golem Swarm

You can now support Shaper Of Worlds on Patreon.

Chestnut Golem Swarm

An amassed legion of tiny manikins made out of chestnuts, with some of them even wearing chestnut shells as impromptu helmets.

CR 2; XP 2,400
N Diminutive Construct (swarm)

Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +0

Defense
AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+4 size)
hp 22 (4d10)
Fort +1; Ref +1; Will +1

Defensive Abilities multiplication, swarm traits; Immune construct traits, weapon damage

Weakness vulnerable to fire

Offense
Speed 15 ft., climb 15 ft.

Melee swarm attack (1d6)

Special Attacks distraction (DC 12), chestnut rain (3d6 nonlethal, Ref DC 13 negates)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Statistics
Str 1, Dex 10, Con —, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 1
Base Atk +4; CMB —; CMD —

Skills Climb +3, Perception +0, Stealth +12

Ecology
Environment urban, forests
Organization solitary, pair, or park (3–10)
Treasure standard

Special Abilities

Chestnut Rain (Ex) A chestnut golem swarm can throw a rain of chestnuts as a standard action, striking 5-ft. radius burst within 15 feet. All the creatures within the area that fail a Reflex saving throw (DC 13) suffer 3d6 points of bludgeoning nonlethal damage. The chestnut golem swarm can't use this ability again until they move over the area that was bombarded by chestnut rain, or another space covered in chestnut and chestnut shells. The saving throw DC is Constitution-based and includes +1 racial bonus.

Multiplication (Su) A chestnut golem swarm is capable of creating more of individual chestnut golems to replenish the loses. A chestnut golem swarm standing within an area covered in chestnuts and chestnut shells may recovers 2d6 hit points as a standard action, clearing the area of chestnuts.

Individual chestnut golems are little more than home-made toys, seasonal poppets made for children by their magically-inclined caretakers that rarely last until the next year, being broken or lost long before the following fall.

However, when too many chestnut golems are made and gathered in a single area, either because too many children brough they seasonal toys, or because they ended being discarded at the same time, they might synchronize into small armies, moving together and building more of themselves. They often keep traversing parks and chestnut groves, fighting mock battles between each other, or actual battles against creatures that would steal chestnuts for food, ingredients, or trinkets. They might also attack entities that disturb chestnut trees, or even someone who unwittingly starts cleaning or gathering fallen leaves under which the swarm might hide.

Only rarely, chestnut golem swarms can survive more than a few months past the fall, though, replenishing their ranks until all the remaining chestnuts in the area that weren't buried are consumed.

An individual chestnut golem has a price of about 2 gp, and take Craft Wondrous Item feat prestidigitation spell, and about a minute to make. It takes approximately 1,500 chestnut golems to form a functional swarm. 

Fantasy Monster: Dratgon

You can now support Shaper Of Worlds on Patreon.

Dratgon

A scruffy beast covered in patches of scales and fur, with scaly, pink tail, a pair of bat wings, and a rat-like head on a short neck.

CR 7; XP 3,200
NE Large Dragon

Init +9; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +15

Defense
AC 20, touch 14, flat-footed 15 (+5 Dex, +6 natural, –1 size)
hp 85 (10d12+20)
Fort +11; Ref +12; Will +11

Defensive Qualities swarm shape; Immune disease, paralysis, sleep

Offense
Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft. (poor), climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.

Speed (swarm shape) 15 ft., climb 15 ft., swim 15 ft.

Melee bite +14 (2d6+5 plus disease), 2 claws +14 (1d8+5)

Melee (swarm shape) swarm (6d6 plus distraction and disease)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (0 ft. in swarm shape)

Special Attacks disease (DC 17), distraction (DC 17), noxious breath (30-ft. cone, DC 17, nauseated 1d4+1 rounds or dazzled for 1 round)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th, concentration +9)

Constant—speak with animals (rats and rat-like animals only)

3/day—commune with rats (as commune with birds, excepts affects local rats)

Statistics
Str 20, Dex 20, Con 14, Int 7, Wis 15, Cha 9
Base Atk +10; CMB +16; CMD 31 (35 vs. trip)

Feats Combat Reflexes, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Nimble Moves

Skills Climb +10, Fly +12, Knowledge (local) +11, Perception +15, Stealth +14, Swim +10

Languages understands Draconic

SQ compression, rat-kin

Ecology
Environment underground (sewers)
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure standard (trinkets and trash collected by rats)

Special Abilities

Disease (Su) Galloping filth fever: Bite or swarm—injury, physical contact with infected—contact; save Fort 17; onset immediate; frequency 1/hour; effect 1d3 Dex damage and 1d3 Con damage; cure 3 consecutive saves. Anyone coming in physical contact with the victim of galloping filth fever has to make a Fortitude saving throw or become infected as well. Prolonged or repeated contact (such as taking care of the sick) forces a new Fortitude saving throw each hour. The saving throw is Constitution-based.

Noxious Breath (Su) A dratgon can breathe a cloud of noxious fumes covering 30-ft long cone-shaped spread once every 1d4+1 rounds. Creatures caught within the cone become nauseated for 1d4+1 rounds on a failed Fortitude saving throw (DC 17). A successful saving throw renders them dazzled for 1 round instead. The saving throw DC of this poison effect is Constitution-based.

Rat-Kin (Ex) A dratgon recognizes rats, and is recognized by them as kin. It can influence rats, dire rats, rat swarms, and similar rat-like creatures of animal-intelligence as if using wild empathy with an additional +4 bonus (for a total bonus of +13). It can affect animal-intelligence, rat-like magical beasts with a –4 penalty. Animal-intelligence rats never attack dratgon, and it is completely immune to rat swarm damage, natural, magically controlled, or summoned.

Swarm Shape (Su) A dratgon can polymorph into a swarm of dire rats as a standard action. It counts as swarm of Tiny creatures in such form, with AC 19, listed speed and swarm melee attack. Dratgons use this ability to traverse pipes, half-collapsed parts of sewers, and occasionally venture underground, or kill victims in a way that leaves much less attention than their full-scale bites. If a dratgon in a swarm shape moves to space occupied by a mundane or summoned rat swarm, it can take a swift action to absorb the rat swarm regaining hit points equal to the rat swarm's current hit points.

A strange draconic beast that can be occasionally found in the sewers below particularly large and cities, a dratgon looks like a loveless child of a dragon and a rat, or three. While dragons are indeed known for their fecundity and ability to crossbreed with creatures of all kinds, it's really unlikely that they would found suitable rat paramours. Which makes the origins of dratgons a mystery—are they an experiment gone wrong? A descendants of a particularly desperate dragon? A lineage of rats that feasted on a preserved dragon carcass until they grew to resemble their fodder? A lineage of petty dragons that feasted on rats until they degenerated until they started to resemble their prey? Victims of a curse?

Other dragons have little respect for those creatures, considering them degenerate cousins at best, and twisted mockeries at worst, rarely if ever acknowledging any possible kinship.