2022-06-26

Fantasy Monster: Dog-Baiter Gremlin

You can now support Shaper Of Worlds on Patreon.


Gremlin, Dog-Baiter

A wiry creature resembling hairless cat with disproportionate limbs and strange pustules growing on its torso.


CR 2; XP 600
CN Tiny Fey
Init +6; Senses low-light vision, smell dog; Perception +7

Defense
AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 size)
hp 18 (4d6+4)
Fort +2; Ref +6; Will +4
Defensive Abilities no smell; DR 5/cold iron

Offense
Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft.
Melee claws and teeth +4 (2d4)
Ranged throw bait +6 touch (special)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks throw bait (DC 13)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th, concentration +4)
3/day—hide from animals

Statistics
Str 10, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 7, Wis 11, Cha 9
Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 12
Feats Improved Initiative, Run
Skills Climb +15, Knowledge (nature) +5, Perception +7, Stealth +17
Language Common, Undercommon, Sylvan

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

Special Abilities

No Smell (Ex) Dog-baiter gremlins have no discernible smell and can't be detected with scent.

Smell Dog (Ex) Dog-baiters can detect dogs and other canine creatures within 60 feet as if they were using scent.

Throw Bait (Ex) Dog-baiter gremlin grow small pods on their body that give it its name. As a standard action, a dog-baiter can pull one of the pods and throw it as thrown splash weapon with range increment of 10 feet producing one of the following effects of gremlin's choice. All the saving throws have DC of 13. The saving throw DC is Constitution-based. Canine creatures directly hit with aggression or attraction baits become confused for 1d4+1 rounds on a failed Will saving throw. This is a scent-based compulsion effect.

Aggression: Anyone hit with the bait exudes a smell that provokes canids that smell it into rabid frenzy that makes them attack the marked creature for 1d4+1 rounds. Creatures that were within the 10-ft. splash radius are attacked for 1 round. Sapient or tamed canids can resist the effect with a Will saving throw. A trainer or caretakers of the affected beast can attempt a Handle Animal or wild empathy check (DC 15, +1 per 10 feet the character is away from the canid) to calm their animals as a standard action.

Attraction: The place or person splashed by the attraction bait is extremally appealing to all canids from within 60 feet for the next 1d4+1 rounds compelling them to approach and examine the mark. Sapient canids and trained beasts under orders that would be broken by approaching can resist the attraction with a successful Will saving throw.

Nap: Canids within the 10 feet splash of this pod fall soundly asleep on failed Will saving throws. Creature directly hit by the nap bait has –2 penalty to its saving throw.

Repulsion: The place or person splashed by the repulsion bait is abhorrent to canids, preventing them from approaching the mark for 1d4+1 rounds. Ordinary canids without reason or command to approach the mark are likely to stay away until the mark is washed. Sapient canids and trained beasts under orders that would be broken by approaching can resist the attraction with a successful Will saving throw. Canine creatures struck directly with repulsion bait become panicked for 1d4+1 rounds on a failed Will saving throw fleeing in a random direction.


Dog-baiter gremlins are a strain of gremlins that love to tease dogs, wolves, and other canids, provoke them into minor and major misbehaviors, and occasionally, even to attack livestock and people. As they are subpar combatants themselves, they usually sic nearby canids on their attackers and flee.


2022-06-19

Fantasy Monster: Cadaverous Capon

 You can now support Shaper Of Worlds on Patreon.

Cadaverous Capon

A bloated, decaying, oversized chicken with remnants of feathers falling off.

CR 1; 400 XP
NE Small Undead
Init +5Senses darkvision 60 ft.Perception +0
Aura wild trashing (5 ft.)

Defense
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 11 (+1 Dex, +1 size)
hp 16 (3d8+3)
Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +3
Defensive Abilities gliding fall; Immune undead traits

Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee beak and talons +3 (2d4)

Statistics
Str 10, Dex 13, Con —, Int 1, Wis 11, Cha 13
Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 12
Feats Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative
Skills Acrobatics +2 (+12 leaping), Intimidate +4, Stealth +9; Racial Modifiers +10 Acrobatics when leaping
SQ spread the taint

Ecology
Environment urban, ruins
Organization solitary, pair, or a brood (3—8)
Treasure none

Special Abilities

Gliding Fall (Ex) A cadaverous capon can beats its wings while jumping or falling, gaining listed bonus to Acrobatics checks while leaping and suffering no damage while falling.

Spread The Taint (Su) A cadaverous capon can mate with a hen, which will proceed to lay tainted eggs. While majority of them will be unviable, a few will hatch and the resulting chicks will grow into young roosters that will suddenly die and turn into new generation of cadaverous capons after 2d6 months. Eating food containing tainted eggs produces a supernatural sickness (disease, ingested; DC 13; onset 1d3 hours; frequency 1/hour; effect 1d3 Str and Con damage; Cure 3 consecutive saves. People killed by the sickness tend to spontaneously reanimate as lesser undead after 1d4 days).

Wild Trashing (Ex) All concentration checks made while adjacent to a hostile cadaverous capon suffer —4 penalty.


Cadaverous capons are a disastrous results of attempts to create magical chickens that would regrow their flesh after being eaten. It doesn't work. It can't be done. And yet, misguided researchers seek to reach that inane goal time after time.

Wealthy monasteries seem to be cursed with flocks of cadaverous capons particularly often—it is as if gluttonous monks were particularly prone to hubris of creating self-replenishing delicacies, or maybe specifically targeted with poetically cruel necromancies.

Risen Roosters (CR 1) are even more insidious threat. While they have the same statistics and abilities as Cadaverous Capons, they look and behave like regular roosters until provoked into aggression (such as when anyone attempt to slaughter them for meat, or when they witness violent death of a sapient being).


2022-06-12

Fantasy Monster: Invisible Pygmy Goat

 You can now support Shaper Of Worlds on Patreon.


Invisible Pygmy Goat

A bleating and a smell of wet wool comes out of the thin air.

CR 2; 4,800 XP
N Small Magical Beast
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +1

Defense
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 11 (+1 Dex, +1 size)
hp 13 (2d10+2)
Fort +4; Ref +4; Will +1
Defensive Abilities unabating invisibility

Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee gore +3 (1d4)
Special Attack sneak attack 2d6

Statistics
Str 10, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 13
Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 12 (16 vs. trip)
Feats Nimble Moves
Skills Acrobatics +9, Climb +8, Perception +1, Stealth +5, Swim +4; Racial Modifiers +4 Acrobatics, +4 Climb, +4 Swim
SQ compression

Ecology
Environment temperate and warm forest and plains
Organization solitary, pair, or a pack (3—6)
Treasure none

Special Abilities

Unabating Invisibility (Su)
 An invisible pygmy goat is usually invisible, mostly. It only gains +10 bonus to Stealth checks when moving or +20 when staying still (which only happens when an invisible pygmy goat is sleeping or sick) because those creatures tend to be loud, smelly, and rather unruly. After an invisible pygmy goat attacks, it becomes visible for 1d4 rounds.


Invisible pygmy goats are curious, capricious, and gluttonous magical creatures that could possible be called cute-looking, if they could be seen more often. Which is rare because of the "invisible" part.

It doesn't seem that adult invisible pygmy goats can see each other, so the pack members communicate with sounds and smells, which explains their tendency to be loud and smelly, but adult invisible pygmy goats seem to be able to see or at least detect the kids of the pack easily, despite their less intense smell—they are even louder, though, so that might be the method of their localization.

An invisible pygmy goat can be adopted as a familiar by characters with Improved Familiar feat (requires caster level 7).


2022-06-05

Fantasy Monster: Clockwork Miner

 You can now support Shaper Of Worlds on Patreon.

Clockwork Miner

A dwarf-postured figure with a lantern in place of its head. Instead of arms it has an oversized pickaxe and a mechanical drill.

CR 4; 1,200 XP
N Medium Construct (clockwork)
Init –1Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light visionPerception +0
Weakness vulnerable to electricity

Defense
AC 17, touch 9, flat-footed 17 (–1 Dex, +8 natural)
hp 42 (4d10+20)
Fort +1, Ref +0, Will +1
Defensive Abilities crush-resistant; DR 5/adamantine; Immune construct traits

Offense
Speed 20 ft.; tunneling
Melee pickaxe +8 (1d6+4/×4) and drill +8 (2d6)
Special Attacks power-drill

Statistics
Str 18, Dex 8, Con —, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 1
Base Atk +4; CMB +8; CMD 17
Skills Profession (miner) +10; Racial Modifier +10 Profession (miner)
SQ winding

Ecology
Environment underground
Organization solitary, pair, or work-group (3–10)
Treasure standard

Special Abilities

Crush-Resistant (Ex) Clockwork miners are constructed in a way that helps them withstand falls and tunnel collapses, suffering half the damage from falling and being crushed by earth, stones, avalanches and similar effects (which happens to make them resistant to hail as well).

Power-Drill (Ex) A clockwork miner is designed in a way allowing it to use its drill even when buried by stone. Their attacks ignore half the hardness of stone. The requisite maneuverability also permits clockwork miners to make drill attacks when grappled or pinned.

Tunneling (Ex) Clockwork miners can excavate a 5-ft. wide tunnel suitable for a Medium creature at rate of 5 feet of length per hour in hard stone, or double that when working in soft stone.


Clockwork miners are untiring machines used to drill stone and excavate tunnels for their masters. They don't have to worry about bad air, food, and water, and can even survive being buried for days, months, or even years.

An abandoned clockwork miners in abandoned mine might end being repurposed by goblins, kobolds, or other denizens of the depths moving into the forsaken operation.

Construction: Streaking Gauntlet
The creator has to start with making a clockwork body costing 1,000 gp.
CL 12th; Price 16,000 gp.
Requirements Craft Construct; geas/quest, stone shape, creator must be at least 12th caster level; Skill Craft (clockwork) DC 20; Cost 8,500 gp.