Fantasy Monster: Scouring Mist

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Scouring Mist

A shimmering, bluish mist, blurring and eroding some of the things it touches while leaving others pristine.

CR 9; XP 6,400
N Fine Construct (swarm)

Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +27

Defense
AC 20, touch 20, flat-footed 18 (+2 Dex, +8 size)
hp 115 (21d10)
Fort +9; Ref +11; Will +9

Defensive Abilities swarm traits; Immune construct traits, weapon damage

Offense
Speed fly 20 ft. (perfect)

Melee swarm attack (10d6 plus disassemble)

Special Attacks devour, distraction (DC 20)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Statistics
Str 1, Dex 14, Con —, Int 11, Wis 10, Cha 13
Base Atk +21; CMB —; CMD —

Feats Great Fortitude, Hover, Improved Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Improved Iron Will, Improved Lightning Reflexes, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Run, Skill Focus (Craft [sculpture]), Skill Focus (Perception)

Skills Craft (sculpture) +27, Fly +18, Perception +27, Stealth +18

Ecology
Environment ruins, urban, underground
Organization solitary, pair, or gallery (3–10)
Treasure standard

Special Abilities

Disassemble (Su) Any physical creature or object reduced to 0 hit points by scouring mist swarm attack is torn apart and destroyed, leaving only a fine powder, as per disintegrate. The scouring mist memorizes the shape and structure of disassembled beings. A scouring mist can selectively destroy parts of larger immobile objects leaving tangle of delicate threads and wires forming intricate sculptures of objects and creatures previously disassembled by that particular mist.

Scouring mists look like clouds of polish dust, and they behavior would not be out of place in a sculptor's workshop, either, as they scour exposed stone and other substances into sublime, if disturbing sculptures.

Their origins are not well known—though they seem to be most prevalent in ancient ruins, abandoned quarries, and deep caverns, suggesting they might be the creation of a long gone civilization. Other suppositions propose they are remnants of a forgotten sculptor-deity, magical tools that eons of erosion turned into dust, or leftovers from early stone-golem creating processes.

Whatever their source might be, scouring mists seem to act with intelligence, and deliberation, though they do not communicate in a recognizable manner. They don't seem to recognize other beings as sapient or intelligent—it is not uncommon for them to turn people and animals into dust, only to create their semblance somewhere along their way. They don't seem to be able to gain new patterns for their sculptures any other way, which is a shame and the reason to be wary of them.

Fantasy NPC: Sir Genserik, The Queen's Guard

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Sir Genserik, The Queen's Guard

A middle-aged man in the attire of a royal guardsman, his moustache slowly greying on his tired and somewhat absent face.

CR 10; 9,600 XP

LN Medium Undead (incorporeal)

Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +13

Defense
AC 24, touch 16, flat-footed 21 (+8 armor, +3 deflection, +3 Dex)

hp 114 (12d10+48)
Fort +14, Ref +10, Will +10

Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, incorporeal, rejuvenation; Immune undead

Offense
Speed fly 30 ft. (perfect)

Melee spectral halberd +17 (10d6 plus push, pull, or reposition, 5 ft, Fort DC 21 for half damage and no forced movement)

Special Attacks whirling halberd

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

Base Atk +12; CMB +15; CMD 28
Feats Ability Focus (Whirling Halberd), Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lunge, Toughness

Skills Fly +26, Knowledge (nobility) +12, Perception +13

Language Common, Duc

SQ spectral armament, telekinetic manipulation

Notable Gear +2 halberd, +2 breastplate, cape of resistance +3 (the real items that were the template for their spectral copies are sunk in the moat together with sir Genserik's long-dead body)

Spectral Armament (Su) While all the elements of sir Genserik's gear are really merely an extension of his ghostly body, on any superficial observation and even a passing contact they seem and feel to be normal, if high-quality, well-maintained, and likely moderately magical pieces of equipment. Only those who carefully observe sir Genserik and have a reason to be suspicious, or engage in deliberate physical contact extending beyond accidentally bumping into him may attempt a Will saving throw (DC 24) to see past the illusory mundanity hiding his current state. The saving throw DC is Charisma-based and includes +5 racial bonus.

Telekinetic Manipulation (Su) Despite being immaterial ghost, sir Genserik can unconsciously manipulate his surroundings to a limited degree, opening and closing doors, chests and windows, lighting and extinguishing candles, and carrying small objects (though never more than one or a handful of small trinkets that could be held with a single hand) when asked to.

Whirling Halberd (Su) Sir Genserik can make an incorporeal touch attack with his spectral halberd against single opponent as a standard action or an attack of opportunity. Alternatively, as a full-round action, he can make an attack against each opponent in his reach as if using Whirlwind Attack feat. Anyone struck by sir Genserik's spectral halberd can halve the damage with a successful Fortitude saving throw (DC 19). Sir Genserik can choose to push away, pull, or reposition anyone who failed that saving throw, forcing each of them to move 5 feet in direction of his choice. The saving throw DC of this psychokinetic ability is Charisma-based.

Sir Genserik was a trusted and loyal guardian of the late Queen, and it is an open secret that her untimely death had struck him deeply—turning him morose and far more more silent and distant than he was before. Some courtiers even noted in private that he seems to vanish without trace whenever he is not fulfilling his duties. The fact that the mournful Prince-Consort seems to hate his guts—never speaking to him directly to the point of avoiding contact whenever remotely possible, certainly does him no favors. While everyone knows it is unfair to blame the faithful warrior for not preventing the Queen's accidental death—it was not on his watch when she fell out of her own chamber's window, after all—few are willing to speak in his defense, afraid to join him in unjustified disgrace.

The truth is, that sir Genserik could not prevent his beloved Queen's death because he was already dead when her husband pushed her out of her tower—killed by the Prince-Consort an hour or so earlier, when he adamantly refused to reveal the identity of the Queen's lover, ignoring threats, pleas, and bargains the wronged husband offered—while his steadfast denial was dictated by his undying loyalty to the Queen, he really didn't know, or didn't care. His murdered threw his corpse into moat afterwards, where the remains of his skeleton and his attire remain hidden to this day.

He doesn't know that he is dead—he remember nothing of that night, which brings him even more pain and regret, feeling that he slept soundly through the death of the one person he was sworn to protect, his Queen. He mistook the look of terror that appeared on the Prince-Consort's face when he saw him on the next day for condemnation for not being there to save her—a feeling that gnaws at his cold heart since then. He feels shame for his self-perceived failure, his mind stuck at reimaging whatever he could do, fantasizing how he might save her, if he only was there. He has no inkling that she was murdered, though, the last moments of his own life that would made blatantly clear what followed are forever hidden from him.

The Prince-Consort doesn't really understand what happened either—he does recall  his futile attempts to get the answers from sir Genserik, killing him, and dumping his body into moat, but when he saw him the next morning he started to question his own senses, not sure if that murder was something that actually happened, a wrathful fantasy of a frenzied mind, a bout of madness, or a cruel joke of some dark power... He keeps avoiding sir Genserik because he doesn't want to think of what happened, nor does want to face what he thinks might be a sign of going mad.

Fantasy NPC: The Ghost of The Singing Nanny

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The Ghost of The Singing Nanny

A little old halfling lady, wrapped in mismatched pieces of clothing adequate for a servant, with a few pieces adapted from courtly attires.

CR pitiful non-combatant, though rather hard to find and catch

CG Small Undead Humanoid (halfling)

Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +32

Defense
AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+2 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 size)

hp 50 (20d8–40)
Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +16

Offense
Speed 20 ft.

Melee cane +12 (1d4–4)

Ranged sling +18 (1d3–4)

Statistics
Str 2, Dex 14, Con 6, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 18

Base Atk +15; CMB +10; CMD 27
Feats Alertness, Defensive Combat Training, Dodge, Mobility, Nimble Moves, Run, Skill Focus (Perform [sign]), Skill Focus (Profession [midwife]), Skill Focus (Profession [nanny]), Skill Focus (Stealth)

Skills Climb +21, Knowledge (history) +26, Knowledge (local) +26, Knowledge (nobility) +26, Perception +32, Perform (sing) +7, Profession (midwife) +32, Profession (nanny) +32, Sense Motive +30, Stealth +35

Language Common, Duc, Elven, Halfling, Sylvan

Notable Gear ring of invisibility

While only a few servants in The Queen's Wing of the castle claim catching a glimpse of The Ghost of The Singing Nanny before she vanishes into thin air, many more heard her singing—inhabitants of the castle remain divided whatever that is a good or a bad omen... After all, the good old Nanny died of grief after the Queen fell to her death leaving behind her three young  children and the heartbroken Prince-Consort, and the castle wasn't the same afterwards...

Despite what everyone thought, though, the old Nanny didn't die at that time, or at all—nor was the Queen's death a mere accident. She was pushed out of the tower's window by her husband after he learned of her affair, and that at least one of the children was sired by someone else. The Prince-Consort never learned which, though, which remained thorn in his heart from then on.

The Nanny, being the witness for both the affair, and the murder, appropriated the ring of invisibility that the Queen had been using to sneak away for her trysts, and vanished before she could have been questioned. She had nowhere to go outside of the royal castle that was her home for more than a century, so she decided to stay in its shadows, sleeping in hidden passages, taking food, clothing, and whatever else she needed–which she considers a pension earned by decades of faithful service to the royal family.

With age, her memories and caution slowly deteriorate, and occasionally, servants, or more rarely courtiers might notice her here and there, or hear her singing nursery rhymes to herself, echoing through the corridors.

Her senile head does hold the secrets that would shake the very foundations of the royal family, and could trigger a dynastic crisis if revealed—and who knows who is aware of the skeletons in the closet, who would be willing to seek them, and who would try to reveal them, and what others could do to keep them hidden forever, or at least until the opportune moment.

Fantasy Monster: Fish-Out-Of-Water

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Fish-out-of-water

A sizeable bubble of water floating across air with a weirdly looking fish swimming inside.

CR 5; XP 1,600
N Medium Aberration (aquatic)

Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +14

Defense
AC 18, touch 15, flat-footed 16 (+3 deflection, +2 Dex, +3 natural)
hp 55 (10d8+10)
Fort +4; Ref +5; Will +8

Defensive Abilities water bubble

Weakness susceptible to freezing

Offense
Speed swim 30 ft.

Melee tail slap +10 (2d6+3)

Statistics
Str 14, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 1, Wis 13, Cha 7
Base Atk +7; CMB +9; CMD 21 (can't be tripped)

Feats Blind-Fight, Improved Initiative, Run, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (tail slap)

Skills Perception +14, Swim +10

Ecology
Environment any non-aquatic
Organization solitary, pair, or shoal (3–12)
Treasure standard

Special Abilities

Susceptible To Freezing A water bubble surrounding a fish-out-of-water is susceptible to effects that can freeze water or deal cold damage, staggering the fish-out-of-water for one round, while its psychokinetic abilities prevent the water from actually freezing.

Water Bubble (Su) A fish-out-of-water is surrounded by a psychokinetically maintained bubble of water that protects it from surrounding environment and allows it to swim through air, a few feet over the ground—which allows the fish to ignore difficult terrain caused by surface itself, but not anything that extends higher than two or three feet. Anyone attacking a fish-out-of-water suffers –2 penalty to attack rolls and inflicts half the bludgeoning and slashing damage (unless they have freedom of movement effect or otherwise ignore penalties for fighting in water), and anyone trying to move through its space, is treated as if moving through a square of deep water. The fish-out-of-water is unaffected by fighting in water penalties because of its instinctive psychokinetic control over the bubble itself. The water in the bubble constantly circulates, expelling any impurities and contaminants. It also replenishes itself by drawing moisture from the air, and trace amounts of water from nearby sources. A fish-out-of-water in environment completely devoid of oxygen suffocates after 1d4 hours.

A fish-out-of-water is a weird fish that thrives on dry land... By taking its own piece of ocean  wherever it flies swims. While looking exotically, with too many and often asymmetrical fins here and there, its behavior is not that different from an animal in its favored environment—though a lot of land life is unprepared to deal with them, making fish-out-of-water a surprisingly efficient invasive species.

Alleged sightings of much larger specimens showing here and there are never backed up with hard evidence. They always seem to come from fishermen known for their exaggeration when it comes to fish size.

Fantasy Monsters: Dead Men's Chest

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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

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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

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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.