GITP Halloween Monster Competition II

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Welcome to Part Two of the Giant in the Playground 2006 Halloween Monster Contest!




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Fell Beasts

http://my.photosleeve.com/TheVorpalTribble-albums/album03/aee.jpg

The crack of a stick in a silent wood, the flicker of a shadow out of the corner of one's eye, the forboding sense of some unseen fear... is this dread that tightens your chest just your imagination or does death approach?

The second half of this competition you are to bring forth a being that is an icon of fear. A creature whoes existence is synonymous with terror.

What haunts your imagination?


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The contest begins with the posting of this thread and will continue until midnight, October 31st (EST).


Judging Categories

Creativity: How original the monster is. While an incorporeal, shadow-like creature may be cool, it's not very original and would score low (in this category, at least).
Fright Factor: How unnerving this creature is. Does its concept send shivers down your spine? Creatures with fear auras and similiar abilities do not automatically qualify as 'frightening'.
Articulation of the Theme: How well the monster fits into the Halloween or scary theme.
Plot Hook/Story: How captivating the story or fascinating the plot hook. The greatness of its tale.
http://boards1.wizards.com/images/smilies/pumpkin.gif Most Usable: The crunch factor of the monster; how mechanically sound it is, how easy its abilities are to understand and utilize, how well the abilities match its flavor, etc.
http://boards1.wizards.com/images/smilies/pumpkin.gif Best Overall: How consistently well done in each category is the creature.



The Rules

1. You will be creating a unique D&D monster.

2. The entry must include name, stat-block, physical description, basic background information, and detailed combat behavior if any. A plot hook or frightening tale in addition is optional.

3. Entries must be 3.5 edition, using the standard format listed below (not that new one).

4. Post all entries on this thread. Comments and discussions will take place on a seperate thread here (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=homebrew;action=display;num=11585088 65).

5. One entry per participant.

6. Entries copied from some other source (splatbook, alternate website, etc) will be disqualified. All entries must be a new creation, not one already posted. Merely adding class levels or templates to an already published or posted creature does not count as a new monster.

7. No reserving posts. Feel free to post a creature and tweak it, but you have to at least have the basic beast already done.


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Your Dread Judges

Abd "Mad Arab" al-Azrad
The Psychotic One
Gralamin Blackheart
Jack "The Ripper" Mann
The Were-Tribble

[McDeath]

Very interesting. I think I will create an entry. Watch this space; it will be filled once I have an idea.

[McDeath]

Hmm.

In front of you stands what looks like a giant suit of armour, adorned with blades on each gauntlet and a huge, metal-toothed mouth. Strangely, tears run from its eye-sockets, and its seems to keen softly as it charges you.

Shrieking Slicers are constructs created for killing and war; but as horrid as their intentions are, their origin is worse. Slicers are animated by the spirit and life-force of newborn children; not an hour after birth, they are ritually sliced and bound into a Slicer. The child within continually weeps, sometimes breaking into loud and violent screams. Slicers generally have a -6 on Move Silently Checks due to this.

Plot Hook: A wizard created a shrieking slicer to eliminate his superior in the Guild. Unfortunately, it crossed a river first and its reflection drove it mad. Now it is rampaging across the country, slaughtering as it goes.

Shrieking Slicer
Size/Type: Large Construct
HD: 8d10
Initiative: +4
Speed: 20ft
Armor Class: 26 (touch 6, flat-footed 22)
BAB/ Grapple: +5/+2
Attack: +7 Bite (1d8+6) or +6 Claw (1d6+3) x2
Full Attack: +7 Bite (1d8+6) and +6 Claw (1d6+3) x2
Space/Reach: 10ft/15ft
Special Attacks: Child's Wail, Realisation
Special Qualities: DR 5/piercing, construct traits, immune to mind-affecting magic
Saves: Fort +5/Ref +1/Will +3
Abilities: Str 24, Dex 10, Con 0, Int 0, Wis 11, Cha 1
Environment: Battlefield
Organisation: Solitary
CR: 7
Treasure: Sheet iron worth 120gp

Child's Wail (Su) - Once every 1d4 rounds, a Slicer may voice it anger and despair at what has been done to it. This deals 2d6 sonic damage to each creature within 30ft who can hear. All those who take damage must take a DC 20 Will save; creatures who fail are stunned for 1d3 rounds.

Realisation - If shown its reflection in polsihed metal, a mirror or water, a Slicer immediately breaks its magical controls and goes berserk. It gains a +4 morale bonus on all melee attacks, and may move an additional 5ft a round. A bersek Slicer must attack any living creature in sight, and if there are none seeks some out.

[Beldak]

For anyone who has had the pleasure of working in fast-food.
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Abyssal Layer 1937, known by the locals as the Flesh Mines, serves as the place of punishment for souls so gluttonous demon-hood was too good for them, enslaved beings worked to death by the demons, as well as the producer of sustenance for the demonic armies and their mercenaries. This layer is simply a mass of great fleshy beasts, writhing in their own filth, and living to cause pain by slowly eating each other in their own private eternal war with insatiable hunger. The beasts are so large that they can be mined as one would mine through rock, without ever killing one, harvesting flesh for the unending ever-growing hordes of the Abyss.
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Flesh Beast
As you top the unusual ground formation, you continue to hold your breathe at the horrific smell and overwhelming heat that seams to be coming from the ground of this place. You spot a cave and move inside to try to escape the fumes before they overwhelm you. Inside it is dark. You light a torch and notice something is off about the texture of the stone. You move in close to see and the whole cave shudders slightly at the smell of the flesh burned by the torch fire. A loud wind can be heard outside the cave. . . . Or was it a moan.

Flesh Beasts are the most pitiful of all the Abyssal denizens. Far too large and stupid to ever free themselves from the cycle they live in, the beasts were formally chaotic evil glutinous souls on the material plane, now trapped forever in a massive unquenchable feeding frenzy. They serve as the destination for the mortal slaves of demons that could not fight. Inside the men work till they succumb to death in the interior of the beast, mining as one would any type of ore, the flesh of the creature. Creatures who have made their lives work the infliction of pain, often house in the caves left behind by the miners.

A Flesh Beast is no smaller then a mountain, but its fleshy consistency gives it a more gentile slope and no peak to speak of. It consists of a fleshy blob with a head. Its head is typically buried below it, feeding by means of a straw-like apparatus on the beast unlucky enough to be supporting the weight of the slightly younger beast on top. The anatomy of the flesh beast is simply a digestive track and a small brain. No mining group has ever reported locating the brain and some theorize that it is no larger then a squirrel’s in the mountain sized beast. Occasionally a team may strike the digestive track and flood the tunnels with fluids best left unnamed.

Flesh Beast
Colossal+ + +
Outsider
Hit Dice: 100d8 +2099 (2600)
Initiative: -4
Speed: -- (rolling over takes years)
Armor Class: 5 (-4dex, -10size, +9 natural)
Base Attack/Grapple: 50/ --
Attack: Bite +66 4d6 +13 (Attach)
Full Attack: Bite +66 4d6+13 (Attach)
Space/Reach: --/5ft
Special Attacks: Abyssal Filth Fever, Attach
Special Qualities: Blind, Pain Sustenance, Unfathomable Size, Spell Immune, Fast Heal 100, DR 5/-, Mining
Saves: Fort +80, Ref +55, Will +55
Abilities: Str 36, Dex 2, Con 50, Int 3, Wis 3, Cha 3
Skills: (No skill has proven of any use)
Feats: Toughness x33
Environment: Abyssal layer 1937
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always Chaotic Evil
Advancement: Unlimited by outsider hit die
Level Adjust: --

Abyssal Filth Fever- This disease is a result of the natural state of the Flesh Beast and one must roll against contracting it each day they are in contact with the Flesh Beast. Fortitude DC 16, incubation period 4 days, 1d4 Con damage and 1d4 Wisdom damage.

Attach – If a Flesh Beast hits with its bite attach it burrows its tube-like mouth in and is permanently attached dealing its bite damage once every hour. All flesh beasts made their bite attack a long time ago.

Blind - Flesh beasts can not see

Pain Sustenance – Flesh Beasts actual get their digestive sustenance from the pain they inflict and not the material they absorb, but that doesn’t stop them from eating.

Unfathomable Size – Flesh Beasts are so huge they can not truly move and are pinned under their own weight. As such, they can not be grappled nor can they grapple. They are so huge they take up more space then can be represented by the Space statistic. Their raw size makes them immune to critical hits of all types and they are also immune to any save or die effect and any spell with a weight limit.

Spell Immune – Any spell that allows for a spell resistance roll automatically fails and the Flesh Beast can not choose to accept a spell and must resist every spell cast on it.

Mining – The flesh of the Flesh Beast for the purposes of mining has a hardness of 5 and 30 hp per five foot square.

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Adventure Hook –
A foul smelling portal has been discovered in the sewer of the city and minor demons have been stepping through on a regular basis and taking prisoners back through the portal. Only the adventures are brave enough to enter a world best left untouched by mortal men and women. Should they survive this layer of the Abyss they will certainly re-evaluate their lives.

[Yahzi]

A Shadow of Spiders

Medium Humanoid (Chaotic Evil)
HD: 2d8+91 (100)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 ft (6 squares)
Armor Class: 12 (+2 Dexterity), or by armor type [18 (chainmail and small shield, +6)]
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+2
Attack: Claw +2 touch (1d6 and Poison, costs the shadow HPs, see below), or by weapon [Longsword +2 melee (1d8/19-20), Heavy Crossbow +4 ranged (1d10/19-20)]
Full Attack: Claw +2 touch (1d6 and Poison), or by weapon [above]
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Poison (1d6 temporary random attribute damage, save DC 12), Web - 3x day, Swarm, Engulf, Distraction, Frightful Presence
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., Spider Climb, Immunities from Swarm trait (see below), Alter Self
Vulnerabilities: -10 save on area effect attacks, or double damage if no save allowed, Destroyed by specific spells (see below)
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +4
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10
Skills: Climb +10 (+2 Dex), Hide +4, Spot +4, Disguise +10 (Alter Self)
Feats: -
Environment: Any, but limited to a 100 ft. range around a fixed point
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: CE
Advancement: By size
Level Adjust: -

An evil creature that lives primarily on the plane of Shadow, only occasionally making contact with the Material plane to haunt an area.

The Shadow of Spiders (SS) has three forms:

Specter: On the plane of Shadow, the SS is a Huge Monstrous Spider. Unless you are also on the Plane of Shadow, you don’t care, since the only powers it can use on the Material plane are Dark-Vision and telepathic control of its swarm (if any).

Swarm: A 10 ft. square swarm of tiny, poisonous spiders. It has all of the Swarm traits (and a move of only 20 ft.), except it can be affected by mind-altering spells, since the SS controlling the swarm has an Int score.

Humanoid: The SS can assemble its swarm into a medium-sized humanoid. This is its favorite form, since it still has some advantages of the swarm, but can use weapons, armor, and disguises.

Tactics: The SS prefers to lure its victims deep into its lair by adopting a pleasing or convincing form. It is adept at visual illusions, but its auditory abilities are limited to a few stock phrases. It will pretend to be an ordinary humanoid, using weapons and armor and counting on its immunities and many hit points to defeat its foes. When the prey is sufficiently weakened, it will trap them with a Web and then Engulf. This is a horrifying effect, as the creature literally falls to pieces into a crawling swarm of spiders that blanket the target.

If in danger, the SS will disperse the swarm and retreat, reforming it elsewhere in its 100 ft. range. It will hide extra armor and weapons around its lair, since it has to leave equipment behind when fleeing in this manner. In dispersed mode it is impossible to kill without area effect attacks that affect the entire 100 ft. radius area.

If the swarm is destroyed, the area will continue radiate evil magic. The specter is still on the plane of Shadow, waiting. It will telepathically call ordinary spiders to the focus point, creating a new swarm. This process takes 1 day for every 10 hit points the swarm is lacking (this is also the process by which the swarm heals itself). A regular program of extermination over the entire area (8 hours of manual labor a day) will prevent the creature from healing in this manner.

To permanently defeat the SS, you must cast one of the following spells on the focus spot: Remove Curse, Consecrate, Desecrate, or Dimensional Anchor. (Desecrate can be used to restore the SS to full health in 3D4 rounds instead of exorcising the creature, if the caster wishes.) The SS will attempt to interrupt any such castings with whatever insects it has left. Should the spell be successful, the SS loses contact with the Material plane and will trouble you no more. (SS can only establish contact with the Material plane at random times and locations in the first place.)

Spell-like Abilities (SU): At will – Alter Self; 3/Day – Web, as a 3rd level caster.

Spider Abilities (Ex): Spider Climb as the spell, but a permanent extraordinary ability (this means it can climb like a spider even while in humanoid form). Spiders have a +4 racial bonus on Hide and Spot checks and a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks, and use Dexterity modifier instead of its Strength modifier for Climb checks. It can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened.

Claw Attack (Ex): The SS can attack with a claw attack for 1D6 damage. Since this involves touching the target and letting spiders swarm from its hand and bite, the attack is touch-based (ignoring armor). However, each point of damage inflicted also costs the SS one hit point, as each tiny spider can only bite once and then dies.

Swarm Attack (Ex): If attacking in swarm mode, the SS automatically does 3D6 damage per round to any creature in its 10 ft. radius, plus poison damage. However, each point of damage costs the swarm one hit point.

Poison (Ex): Whenever the SS inflicts damage with a claw or swarm attack, it also inflicts poison damage, 1 point of temporary attribute damage for every point of physical damage. Randomly determine which attribute is affected for each dice of damage. This effect can be avoided with a Fort save (DC 12).

Engulf (Ex): If a Shadow Spider succeeds at a Grapple as its attack for the turn, it can instantly transform into a swarm and inflict damage that turn. Since the Shadow moves slowly in swarm form (20 ft.), it prefers to do this only against targets already trapped by a web. Otherwise they tend to run away. (It can swarm at any time; but without the Grapple check, it cannot inflict damage until its next turn, and the prey will probably have escaped by then.)

Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that begins its turn with a spider swarm in its space must succeed on a DC 11 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Frightful Presence (Su): When the swarm Engulfs a victim, witnesses must make a Will save (DC 10 + ½ the Shadow’s HD). Those who make the save are shaken. Those who fail by 5 or fewer points are frightened. Those who fail by 6 to 10 points are panicked. Those who fail by 11 or more points are cowering. All these conditions last for 1d4 rounds. Those who have seen any swarm attacks of any kind before gain a +5 bonus on their saving throws. The victim of the engulf attack has a -5 penalty on his or her saving throw.

Swarm (Ex): SS can become a 10 ft. square swarm at will. Reforming into a humanoid requires 2D4 rounds. Putting on their armor and equipping their weapons takes the usual amount of time. Thus, the SS does not like to swarm. However, in swarm mode it gains all of the immunities of a swarm, plus the ability to move through small cracks and holes.

Immunities from Swarm traits (Ex): SS in humanoid form have most of the traits of swarms: immune to critical hits, half damage from slashing and piercing weapons, cannot be staggered, immune to spells and effects that target a specific number of creatures (except for mind-affecting spells), a -10 penalty on saving throws against area effect spells (or double damage if no saving throw is allowed). However, as humanoids, they can be flanked, tripped, grappled, and bull-rushed.

In swarm form they cannot be flanked, tripped, grappled, or bull-rushed. However, the swarm does not have blind-sight; it relies on the incorporeal specter’s ability to see and direct it. The specter has an intelligence score, so it can be affected by mind-altering spells.

Possessions: Whatever their victims have left them. The description is for a typical SS, who has collected decent combat equipment from its victims. If deprived of its choice equipment (forced to flee), it probably has only inferior equipment to replace it with (chain shirt and short-sword, for instance). Swarms cannot benefit from rings or potions, and cannot operate wands or scrolls, so these will be ignored by the SS.

Combat: Prefers to whittle down its opponents with regular melee (since its damage reduction to slashing makes it liable to win most sword-fights). Once its opponent is weakened, it will Web and then swarm for the kill.

Adventure hooks:
A eccentric old man living alone in a tumble-down mansion, and not known for his house-keeping skills, has become even more reclusive. Several beggars have recently gone missing, and suspicions are starting to rise. (The Shadow of a Spider has eaten the old man and adopted his form. It uses the mansion as a lair, as the oldster left a number of mechanical traps lying around to defend himself. It can disperse and reform in a different room very quickly, thanks to the many holes and cracks in the walls. It may even have different outfits in each room, and pretend to be different people.)

A beautiful woman has been seen dancing in the moonlight in a clearing in the nearby forest. A lumberjack has disappeared out of his bed in the middle of the night, but the local peasants are too afraid to investigate. (The man who originally saw the Shadow of the Spider told the lumberjack about it, convincing him it was a dryad who would reward visitors with a night of pleasure. He wanted to murder the lumberjack so he could continue his affair with the lumberjack’s wife. Thus, he will be very unhelpful and suspicious-acting if questioned.)

A black knight haunts an old tower, challenging one member of every passing party to single combat on foot. The fights are always to the death, and he never loses. (The Shadow found a suit of full plate armor, and is using it to good effect. If it is close to being defeated in the duel, it will disperse and flee to the tower, where it has hidden standard equipment. Although it might just wait for the adventurers to go away.)

[Foeofthelance]

Talia held up her hand, indicating to the rest of Merival's Merry Band to hold their positions as she checked the door for traps. Confident there were none, she pressed her ear to the mahogany. From the other side of the door she could hear faint chanting, much like Merival's when he cast a spell. She motioned for the rest of the party to move. Long hard years of adventuring had taught her letting enemy spellcasters finish their spells was always a bad thing.

Hardorin smashed the door aside, the burly dwarf easily destroying it with his axe. The party charged inside the spacious room, only to find their quarry in front of them: The evil King Nexlon. He was standing hold a large dark tome, while a large circle glowed in the floor.

Talia's eyes were immeadiately drawn to the figure inside the circle. He seemed tall for a human, wrapped in a dark robe tied shut by a braided belt. The king looked at the dark figure then pointed to the group. "Kill them!" he bellowed.

There was a slight pause as the figure seemed to consider the group for a moment. "I think not. They will be more useful to me alive." the man said. Talia watched in horror as the cord belt unwrapped into four writhing tentacles, while the robe unfurled into a pair of dark membraneous wings. The figure's arm lashed out catching Nexlon by the throat. There was a faint crackle of power as the creature crossed the glowing circle.

"But the circle!" the king gurgled as the beast choked him.
"Not nearly enough to contain one of my power. You were a fool for summoning me. Instead of you using me as a tool for your power, you shall instead be my pawn." the creature gave a mighty squeeze, and Nexlon's head popped off in a welter of blood and gore.

Merival's Merry Band charged forward intent on preventing the demon, for the creature could be no other thing, from escaping. It turned towards them, unflinching before the coming attacks.

"Not too smart, but perhaps useful yet." The tentacles lashed forward, and Talia felt one wrap around her throat. It began to choke the air from her lungs, and as she struggled, she could feel the urge to resist leaving her. Finally blackness came.

She awoke, moments later. Nexlon was standing against the wall, his head reattached to his body. His eyes were sightless and dead. She glanced around the room. Finally she spotted the creature from before. Getting to her feet, she walked over to him. Stopping a foot away, she knelt on the ground and bowed before it.

"I am yours to command lord- I am sorry, I do not know how to address you my lord." Talia said. Nearby, she saw the rest of her friends kneeling beside her.
"Rise child. As for my name, you may call me Talmascalion."

EDIT:Talmascalion is the last of the true Daemon lords. Born at the time when the gods were still bickering over who got to make what race, the true Daemons had already conquered both the Hell Dimensions and the many layers of the Abyss. They ruled with out contest for several millenia. Finally, the demons and devils had enough of their over masters, and over threw the Daemon lords. Of the eleven Daemons, ten of them were over thrown and destroyed. The last, Talmascalion, had been away to the material plane for the century the war took place.

When Talmascalion returned he found his palace razed, his treasures looted, and his armies scattered to the winds. Fortunately for him, the Lords of the Abyss and Hell were soon caught up in the Blood War, and neither was interested in dealing with a powerless Daemon lord. Talmascalion set out to rebuild his position as a lord in the lower planes. He set out by first using his powers to dominate several high powered demons and devils, then setting himself up as a mercenary. Many soon took advantage of his services, and his power grew. For unlike the demons and devils, who exterminated their foes to the last man, Talmascalion recruited the armies of those he destroyed into his own forces. He only takes care to seperate the demons and the devils, so that they do not fight each other in the heat of battle.

He also uses a large number of undead culled from various planes as shock troops. These undead are often at the front line of his forces, as they neither care nor worry about the powers those they attack may have. Talmascalion has recently begun to experiment, using Polymorph Any Object to transform the undead into more fearsome beasts.

Talmascalion has found many allies in his private war. The front lines of any attack are lead by a trio of Pit Fiends who were early conquests of his. To his amusement, Talmascalion no longer has to renew the spells binding them to him, as they are more then willing to fight for the sheer pleasure of the slaughter. Talmascalion also has a Pyroclastic Dragon mount, named Valshcsdfnkset. Valshcsdfnkset is a Wyrm aged Pyroclastic. Talmascalion raised the dragon from the egg, after having killed the dragon's parents. Valshcsdfnsket sees Talmascalion as both mother and father, and willingly fights to the death for his master. Fortunately, Talmascalion storngly favors his mount, and would also do anything in his power to prevent such a death.

Talmascalion also has gained control over three kingdoms in the material realm. Through trickery and domination he has taken control over two of the kingdoms. The third is led by its ruler, but being an undead in Talmascalion's control, Talmascalion is the one truly pulling the strings. Talmascalion actaully takes good care of the kingdoms under his control, ensuring they have fertile crops and decent sized treasuries. This is not to say Talmascalion is soft. He merely understands that healthy warriors fight better the hungry ones. And while he feels free to intervene in any dooms day plot that may crop up in any of the kingdoms, he lets the mortals deal with the occasional rampaging monster, as he sees it as an effective way to cull the herd.

Talmascalion's one fault is his love of beautiful things. Indeed, the reason he was on the material plane during the coup was he was overseeing the creation of a series of platinum statues, one for each of the gods in the pantheon. He keeps no treasures except for magical items, artworks, and jewels. Any coin found is divided up amongst his troops, or used to benefit the kingdoms in the material realm.

Talmascalion makes his current home on the 471st layer of the abyss, Androlynne. No one knows quite why he chose to make his home here, or even why, of all things, he has been seen fighting on the side of the eladrin children. More then one evil army has been caught in the midst of battle only to see a horde of evil, led by three pit fiends and a pyroclastic dragon, only to have their "reinforcements" turn on them and utterly obliterate them, much to the relief of the eladrin and their defenders.

Talmascalion
Large Neutral Evil Outsider (True Daemon)
HP 25d8+250 (366)
Initiative +13
Speed: Fly 40 (Good) Land 50
Armor Class: 46 (-1 size, +9 Dexterity, +23 Natural Armor, +5, Ring of Protection +5)

Base Attack/Grapple- +24/+32
Attack- Mighty Flame +43 or Hearttaker +36
Full Attack- 2 Mighty Flame +42, 4 Tentacle, or Hearttaker +36
Damage
Mighty Flame 3d6+26, Tentacle 1d10+13 each, Hearttaker 2d6+10+1d6 fire damage
Face/Reach 10/10/20 with Tentacles
Special Attacks: Improved Grab, Constrict, Resistance Drain, Energy Ray, Spell-like abilites.
Special Qualities: Blindsight, Spell Resistance 36, Fire Resistance 25, Cold Resistance 25, Lightening Resistance 25, Acid Resistance 25, Sonic Resistance 25, Damage Reduction 20 (Epic or Divine), Fast Healing 25, Immune to Positive Energy, Poison, and Negative Energy (Including level drain and ability drain.)
Saves: Fort 29, Reflex 26, Will 27
Abilities: Strength 37, Dexterity 28, Constitution 31, Intelligence 26, Wisdom 26, Charisma 26
Skills: Knowledge Arcana 36, Knowledge The Planes 36, Knowledge Nobility 36, Craft Weapons 36, Craft Alchemy 36, Spellcraft 36, Jump 41, Bluff 36, Intimidate 36, Handle Animal 36, Gather Information 36, Diplomacy 36, Concentration 38, Appraise 36, Spot 36, Listen 36.
Feats: Power Attack, Weapon Focus Greatsword, Weapon Specialization Greatsword, Leadership, Undead Leadership, Improved Initiative, Improved Multiattack, Improved Grapple, Improved Natural Attack (Tentacle)
Climate/Terrain: Hell or the Abyss
Organization: Solitary, with mount, or with followers/army.
Challenge Rating: 27
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Treasure: Double Standard. Convert all Gold Pieces into appropriate Art/Gems.

Combat:

Talmascalion prefers to avoid combat whenever possible, leaving it to his many followers. If he must do battle, he prefers to do so from his mount, the Pyroclastic Wyrm Valshcsdfnkset. When he does fight, he prefers to try and Dominate his enemies, usually starting with spellcasters, then those who have interesting skills or abilites. He usually targets melee opponents last, unless they close to range with him. If they do, they normally become lunch for his dragon.

Improved Grab: If Talmascalion successfully hits with one of his tentacles attacks he may start a grapple as a free action. This does not provoke an attack of oppurtunity.
Constrict: If Talmascalion succeeds in starting a grapple, he deals 1d10+13 damage to his opponent.
Resistance Drain: When Talmascalion successfully hits an opponent with one of his tentacles, the opponent must make a DC 32 Fort save or suffer a -2 penalty to Will saves. This penalty is cumulative with itself. An opponent can only be affected by this ability once per round.
Elemental Ray: To use this ability Talmascalion must make a successful ranged touch attack. If successful, he deals 12d6 damage to his opponent, of the energy type of his choice. He can use this ability once every 1d4+1 rounds.
Spell Like Abilities: 10/day Charm Person, 7/day, Command Undead, 5/day Hold Person or Heroism, 3/Dominate Monster or Mass Hold Monster. The save DC for these abilites is 30. The save DC is charisma based.

Talmascalion also casts spells as a 20th level sorcerer. His spells lists are as follows:
Spells Known: 9/5/5/4/4/4/3/3/3/3
Spells Per Day: 5/8/8/8/8/7/7/7/7/7

Level 1 Spells Known: Charm Person, Ray of Enfeeblement, Shield, True Strike, Expeditious Retreat
Level 2 Spells Known: Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Command Undead, Touch of Idiocy, Spectral Hand, Ghoul Touch.
Level 3 Spells Known: Heroism, Hold Person, Vampiric Touch, Gentle Repose
Level 4 Spells Known: Confusion, Animate Dead, Bestow Curse, Enervation
Level 5 Spells Known: Feeble Mind, Dominate Person, Mind Fog, Hold Monster
Level 6 Spells Known: Geas/Quest, Greater Heroism, Mass Suggestion
Level 7 Spells Known: Insanity, Finger of Death, Disintigrate
Level 8 Spells Known: Clone, Symbol of Death, Polymorph any Object
Level 9 Spells Known: Dominate Monster, Wail of the Banshee, Energy Drain.

Typical Combat Strategy:
Round 1: Mass Hold Monster
Round 2: Dominate any one still moving
Round 3: Attack held spellcasters with tentacles
Round 4: Repeat Round 3
Round 5: Begin Dominating held spellcasters.

Talmascalion enjoys his role as the mercenary lord of the lower planes, and uses his abilites to dominate or slay his foes to maximum advantage. He tries to avoid killing his opponents, prefering to add them to his ever growing army instead. If he is forced to kill an opponent, he prefers to do so with as little mess as possible, as it makes animating the bodies easier. He particularly enjoys draining levels from his opponents, so that he may gain control of the wights they convert to upon loss of their energy.
Items:
Mighty Flame- +5 Keen Defending Greatsword of Speed
Hearttaker- +5 Seeking Composite Longbow (+5) of Flaming Burst
Ring of Protection +5
Cloak of Resistance +5
Ring of Dispell Magic (50 Charges)

[belboz]

Dark Seed
Medium Undead
Hit Dice: 16d12 (104 HP)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 20' (4 squares)
Armor Class: 21 (+1 Dex, +5 natural, +5 deflection)
Base Attack/Grapple: +8/
Attack: Claw +10 (2d4)
Full attack: 2 claws +10 (2d4) plus bite +8 (1d4 + ability drain)
Space/Reach: 5'/5'
Special Attacks: Blight, fear aura, ability drain, dream curse
Special Qualities: Undead traits, etherealness, DR 10/silver and magic, Fast Healing 5, SR 21, Turn Resistance +2
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +14
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 12, Con -, Int 15, Wis 14, Cha 17
Skills: Hide +20, Knowledge (local) +21, Listen +23, Search +21, Sense Motive +21, Spot +23
Feats: Multiattack, Ability Focus (Dream Curse), Blind-Fight, Iron Will, Alertness, Lightning Reflexes
Environment: Cities and towns (but see below)
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 16
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: -
Level Adjustment: -

A dark seed is the spirit of one who was deeply wronged by a perversion of justice, and is unable to move on after death. Most frequently, dark seeds are the spirits of those wrongly executed, but the spirits of those who lost a loved one to wrongful execution (particularly the spirits of parents who lost children in this way). Death has perverted their righteous anger into a blind hatred for the town that did them wrong, and for all of civilization’s works.

A dark seed appears as a gaunt, charcoal-colored version of itself in life, dressed in tattered and filthy gray rags. Its nails have grown into twisted, sharp claws, and its eyes constantly weep tears and blood. Dark seeds that died violently will often bear some trace of their demise: An apparently broken neck, the stench of the oubliette, the marks of burns on its body or rags, etc.

A dark seed will haunt the town or city it deems responsible for the injustice perpetrated against it in life. It will generally, while ethereal, find a natural cavern or air pocket 6-12 feet below the surface; if this is not possible, it may move into a well or an abandoned cellar, any place where it will be hard to find. However, as explained below, such places will rarely remain urban for very long; older dark seeds haunt nothing so much as a pile of rubble in a desert or swamp.

Combat:

Dark seeds do not seek out direct combat; their means of exacting revenge upon the living is far more insidious. They will, in fact, go to great lengths not to be directly disturbed, but if disturbed they will lash out with their claws and bite, relying on their aura of fear to further weaken opponents.

Blight (su): A dark seed gradually corrupts the physical and emotional landscape around it. Once a dark seed settles in an area, it afflicts an area in a radius that increases by 175’/day (about a mile a month), until reaching a maximum radius of 100 miles several years later. The blighted area has the following effects:

Desecrated, as per the spell
Plants within the area will gradually wither and die. Grasses and similar small plants will die within a week of being within the blight area, shrubs and vines will die within a month, and trees will die within a year. Plant creatures must make a Fort save each day they spend in the area or lose 1 point of Con to ability drain; this is not recoverable by any means unless the creatures are removed from the area. Seeds planted in an area of blight will not sprout. Spells that rely on the creation of living plant material (such as Entangle) do not function.
Food or drink that spends 24 hours in the area will become rotten, stagnant, or otherwise foul; water gathered, plants harvested, or animals killed in such a region are bitter and inedible.
Those in the blighted area are irritable and short-tempered. All communication-based skill checks suffer a -8 penalty in an area of blight.
Anyone sleeping or resting in a blighted area is plagued by constant nightmares, as if suffering from the dream curse (see below). Unlike an actual dream curse, this effect can be ended by destroying the dark seed or leaving the blighted area.
Anyone entering the range affected by blight must make a Will save (DC 21, Cha-based) immediately and every 24 hours thereafter; those failing the save are shaken for the following 24 hours.
Humanoid corpses spending 48 hours in a blighted area will rise as ghasts. Other corpses (with skeletal systems) will rise as zombies. Even if such creatures are destroyed, if the corpse is not destroyed as well, they will rise again 48 hours later.
The entire area of blight is constantly filled with a faint charnel smell. Howls and strange noises are occasionally audible, just at the edge of hearing.When a dark seed is destroyed, its blight effects will end. This will end all effects above and return animated corpses to death, although it will not restore already-dead plants or already-spoiled food and drink. Note that ending the blight, though it ends the temporary version of the dream curse listed above, does not help characters affected by the true dream curse (see below).

Fear aura (su): A dark seed is constantly surrounded by an aura of fear. Anyone coming within 30’ of the dark seed must make a Will save (DC 21, Cha-based) or be affected as below for 18 rounds:



Level Effect
5 or under Cowering
6-10 Panicked
11-15 Frightened
16-20 Shaken
21+ No effect


Ability drain (su): Anyone bitten by a dark seed must make a fort save (DC 21, Cha-based) or be drained of 1d6 Con, in addition to the damage normally done by the bite.

Dream curse (su): Anyone hit by a dark seed's claws must make a will save (DC 23, Cha-based) or be affected by a horrible curse. Characters affected by a dream curse have their sleep plagued by constant nightmares; such nightmares are generally guilty dreams of failure or personal weakness. Such characters must repeat the will save (DC 23, based on Cha at the time the curse was inflicted) each night to gain any benefits from rest or sleep, and suffer the following penalties:

After a single night of missed sleep, a character is fatigued.
After a number of contiguous nights without sleep equal to the character's Con bonus +2 (minimum 1), a character is exhausted. An hour's rest will not clear the exhaustion; a full night of sleep is required.
After a number of contiguous nights without sleep equal to the character's Con score, a character will die of sleep deprivation.The curse can only be ended by a Remove Curse spell cast at CL 16 or higher.

Undead Traits (ex): As an undead monster, a dark seed has the following traits:

No constitution score
Darkvision out to 60’
Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects.
Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain. Immune to damage to its physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution), as well as to fatigue and exhaustion effects.
Negative energy (such as an inflict spell) can heal undead creatures.
Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless).
Uses its Charisma modifier for Concentration checks.
Not at risk of death from massive damage, but when reduced to 0 hit points or less, it is immediately destroyed.
Not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells or abilities. Resurrection and true resurrection can affect undead creatures. These spells turn undead creatures back into the living creatures they were before becoming undead.
Undead do not breathe, eat, or sleep.Etherealness (su): As a move-equivalent action, a dark seed can become ethereal. It can become material again with another move-equivalent action.

Turn Resistance (ex): A dark seed is turned/rebuked as if it had 18 hit dice, rather than 16.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Adventure Hook:

Until recently, a serial killer has been stalking the streets of the characters' home city (or any city important to them, where they spend a significant amount of time), performing gruesome and apparently pointless slayings (perhaps the characters have already been trying to solve this crime, or perhaps they have just returned from other business; in any case, they have not yet been successful in identifying the troublemaker). Some citizens, however, are sure they know who the killer was: A mistress of potions who did business out of the slums, an woman of strange and unpleasant habits who kept dozens of pitch-black cats and about whom unsavory rumors have circulated for years. A group of vigilantes dragged her from her home in the dead of night and stoned her to death.

In unrelated news (as far as the characters know), strange and terrible things have begun happening around the town. The marketplace and a few areas around it have become haunted. Strange noises, as if of distant voices in pain, are heard day and night; the water from the well (and more recently the ale in the tavern that fronts it) have become undrinkably bitter and stink of corpses, and the animate corpses of rats infest the cellars and the square after dark. The tavern-keeper's family has reported hideous nightmares and had to throw out their entire store of food when they found it infested--maggots in the meat and vegetables, beetles in the dry goods.

The blight is spreading quickly, and has begun to hit a few homes. Those living there have had experiences similar to the tavern-keeper's, and a small band of ghasts have been seen roving through the city streets at night.

The characters must:

Discover and destroy the undead alchemist before the city succumbs entirely to the blight. She took up residence in the by the banks of the underground river that feeds the well as vengeance for her wrongful death.
Find and stop the evil conspiracy that really lies behind the slayings before it kills again.

[The_Snark]

Stormhaunt

The storm had come up suddenly almost out of nowhere, and was now raging as fiercely as any storm the ship had seen. Haber looked in awe, holding tightly to the railing- there was a majesty to the storm, in the howling winds and dark waves, illuminated periodically by lightning flashes. Thunder punctuated his thoughts.

The sailors didn’t share Haber’s opinion, grimly setting the sails and trying to ride through the storm- there was no chance of trying to wait it out. Waves like this could capsize a ship. A few muttered about bad luck, but under the stern eye of the mate, who disapproved of superstition, it went no further than that.

Still, there could be no real danger; the crew was experienced. Haber was sure they’d come out fine, and they were making good time through the storm. Lightning flashed just then, and something caught his eye. Something large and black, dead ahead. Some of the crew saw it too- the panicked cry of, “A shoal!” came from half a dozen terrified mouths.

The captain shouted orders to tack, but the wind suddenly howled with redoubled fury. A great wave swelled, taking the ship from behind- for a moment, the cruel black rock was exposed, shining wetly in the rain, and then the ship crashed down.

Haber was flung free by the jarring impact, and landed in the water. Desperately treading the cold water and shivering from shock, he looked back towards the rock- he’d been flung away from it, fortunately, or he never would have made it. But the ship was gone, crushed and washed over the shoal into the depths. Doggedly, he set out for the rock, hoping to be able to survive until the storm abated- it was the only thing resembling land in sight.

The waves fought him, soaking and chilling him to the bone. Waves battered and soaked him, almost seeming to fight his progress. The majesty of the storm, which he admired earlier, was now entirely gone, and a dull terror had taken hold of him. Doggedly, he plowed onwards, limbs weighing him down as though they were made of iron.

Even when he felt something brush his leg, he did no more than look down, he was so tired. A wave swamped him, of course, and something took hold of his leg. It dragged him downwards, but he was almost too tired to care. His eyes began to close, and he kicked weakly. The numbness in his limbs spread and the noise of the storm seemed to diminish. So easy, he thought. All he had to do was stop fighting it.

As water flooded into his tired lungs, the last thing he saw, revealed in a flash of lightning, was an eerily human face staring up from a dark form just beneath him. Then all was dark.

Large Fey (Aquatic, Water)
Hit Dice: 12d6 +36 (78 hp)
Initiative: +5
Speed: Swim 60 ft
Armor Class: 21 (-1 size, +5 Dex, +7 natural armor), touch 14, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+14
Attack: Tail slap +11 melee (1d8+4 plus improved grab)
Full attack: Tail slap +11 melee (1d8+4 plus improved grab)
Space/Reach: 10 ft/5 ft (10 with tail)
Special Attacks: Call of the deeps, constrict 1d8+6, improved grab, stormy waters
Special Qualities: Aquatic healing, damage reduction 5/magic, darkvision 60 ft, force of nature, low-light vision
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +13, Will +10
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 9, Wis 14, Cha 16
Skills: Escape Artist +20, Hide +18*, Knowledge (nature) +14, Listen +19, Move Silently +7, Spot +19, Swim +12*
Feats: Alertness, Blind-fight, Dodge, Stealthy, Weapon Focus (tail slap)
Environment: Any water (oceans only)
Organization: Solitary, tempest (2-4), or typhoon (5-12)
Challenge Rating: 9?
Treasure: Standard (no goods, double gems and art objects)
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 12-16 HD (Large); 16-24 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: -

Drifting just below the surface is a dark form. Shaped somewhat like a great eel bent at the middle, the form has no visible features but for a face, eerily like that of a human, but distorted in size. Its eyes regard you blankly.

A stormhaunt is a creature of water and darkness, a manifestation of one of nature’s malevolent aspects. The fury of a storm on land is nothing compared to the sea, where there is no shelter, no refuge, and no rest until the storm abates.

When seen clearly, a stormhaunt is much like a human form, elongated to perhaps twelve feet and bent forwards at the waist, but without arms and with a tail that tapers to a blunt end. Its body merges seamlessly into its disturbingly humanoid face.

Stormhaunts are entirely malevolent, feeding off the despair and pain given off by creatures of the land when they die. It seeks to waylay them whenever possible. Stormhaunts often set up a lair along frequently traveled routes, preferably near potential hazards, which they direct ships into.

Stormhaunts are usually nocturnal, but if desperate may attack under the cover of a storm during daylight.

Stormhaunts can understand Sylvan and Aquan, but never speak.

Combat:

A stormhaunt is a subtle creature. It uses its ability to control wind and wave to waylay ships and travelers, preferably sinking them first. If it is unable to sink a ship for any reason, it will stay underneath it and lash its deck with winds, hoping to blow travelers overboard.

Once it has sunk a ship or otherwise swept victims into the water, it lurks under as many swimmers as possible, weakening them by battering them with spell-like abilities and the rough waters that surround the stormhaunt until they succumb. If they resist it too long, the stormhaunt tries to drag one under. Faced with serious opposition in combat, a stormhaunt will flee- preferring to continue to weaken its prey, but abandoning the fight entirely if they prove capable of following it or destroying it from a distance.

Constrict: On a successful grapple check, the stormhaunt deals 1d8+6 damage.

Stormy Waters (Su): The water within 50 ft of a stormhaunt is considered rough water. This means that any character in the water must make a DC 15 Swim check or Strength check each round. On a success, the character takes 1d3 points of nonlethal damage; on a failure, the character takes double that and, if on the surface, must make another check to avoid being swept underwater. A stormhaunt can suppress this ability at will if it wishes to conceal its presence.

Call of the Deeps (Su): Creatures around a stormhaunt find it tempting to give up the struggle against the waves and sink into restful peace upon the bottom. This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect. Each round a creature takes subdual damage from a stormhaunt’s Stormy Waters ability, it must make a DC 19 Will save. On a failure, it stops trying to resist being swept under and, if already underwater, stops trying to hold its breath and begins to drown unless capable of breathing water. A character may attempt a new saving throw each round, and if near to the surface may be able to save itself. An unaffected character may take a standard action to shake an affected character violently, granting him a new saving throw.

Force of Nature (Ex): A stormhaunt is immune to all adverse effects of natural weather, as well as the effects of rough water, its own spell-like abilities, and the Call of the Deeps ability of other stormhaunts.

Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will- control water, control weather, control wind (DC 18). 1/day- call lightning (DC 16). Caster level 10th.

Aquatic Healing (Ex): A stormhaunt heals as though having rested for a day every hour rather than every day while underwater.

Skills: A stormhaunt has a +4 racial bonus to Hide checks made underwater. A stormhaunt has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-


Adventure Hooks

The PCs are tasked with guarding a diplomatic envoy, traveling merchant, or other important individual on a voyage, part of which must go by sea. A stormhaunt haunts the narrow channel necessary to get to their destination, and the PCs must protect their charge from it.

A stormhaunt, starved for nourishment, moves into the harbor of a port city. By night, terrible storms scourge the town, ships are sunk, and any on the docks during these storms vanish. As trade dries up, the PCs are brought in to solve the problem (or simply happen to be in town). They must either confront the stormhaunt at night, seek it out during the day, or try to find somebody who’s survived one of the nighttime storms and can tell them more about what’s causing it.

A typhoon of stormhaunts begins to menace the seas actively, seeking out and destroying the warships of two fighting nations. The PCs can try to stop the stormhaunts themselves, or they can seek the aid of one or both nations in stopping the stormhaunts.

[fangthane]

Anybody with any questions as to how I came up with this beastie hasn't listened to enough of the Gorillaz. :) Fire Coming Out of a Monkey's Head is fantastic.

I found myself contemplating the Strangefolk and their soul-mining tendencies, and since in D&D things are generally more directly linked I've adapted their flavour of soul-eating shortsightedness to an evil beastie. Hopefully it'll appeal, even if it may not be the most Halloweeny thing I could've come up with :)

Strangefolk
Large Outsider (Shadow)
Hit Dice:12d8+60 (104 hp)
Initiative:+8
Speed:30 ft (6 squares)
Armor Class: 21 (+8 nat'l, +4 dex, -1 size), touch 13, flatfooted 17
Base Attack/Grapple:+12/+26
Attack:+1 Large Heavy Pick +19 melee (1d8+7, 19-20 critical X4)
Full Attack:+1 Large Heavy Pick +19/+14/+9
Space/Reach: 5'/10'
Special Attacks: Soul Grapple
Special Qualities: darkvision 120' (60' natural), fire resistance 20, outsider traits, soul fueled, spirit of the mountain, truth of the eyes (Incorporeal traits, displacement, hide in plain sight, +10 to hide checks)
Saves: Fort +13, Ref +12, Will +9
Abilities: Str 22, Dex 18, Con 20, Int 13, Wis 13, Cha 9
Skills: concentration +20, craft (distilled soul gem) +16, hide +29, knowledge (geology) +16, knowledge (the planes) +16, listen +16, move silently +19, spot +16, search +16
Feats: combat expertise, improved critical (heavy pick), improved initiative, improved grapple, weapon focus (heavy pick)
Environment: Mountain (usually near sentient settlements)
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating:11
Treasure: Double standard
Alignment: Always Chaotic Evil
Advancement: 13-20 HD (Large); 21-35 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment:

Strangefolk appear as large, shadowy figures, roughly humanoid with dark red glasses and broad, glinting toothy grins. They mine, and feed upon, the souls of the unwary. They covet gems of all sorts and especially those generated by their victims, thus they are usually found in hilly or mountainous terrain. Because of their dark glasses, they are gifted with the ability to perform much of their activity in secrecy, but their tendency to be self-destructive manifests itself in their unwillingness to yield. Often their terranean excavations bring magma flows and instability to a region, rendering it uninhabitable despite their resistance to heat, and while their ability to channel the Spirit of the Mountain is often effective defensively, it just as frequently results in a pyrrhic victory.

Combat: Strangefolk in combat generally avoid making use of their soul-mining abilities in any situation where they anticipate difficulty in actually forming a gem. In such cases they usually concentrate on the more formidable opponents in their estimation, always focusing on spellcasters before turning their attention on melee characters whose chance of missing reduces their threat level. If possible they try to take advantage of the element of surprise, potentially multiple times should their ability to hide afford it. Strangefolk who recognise they're losing a fight usually try to avoid detection and get away rather than fighting to the death, but a Strangefolk who realises that isn't an option will spitefully attempt to take at least one or two down with it.


Fire resistance: A Strangefolk has fire resistance 20; this resistance increases to 30 at 18 HD and to full immunity at 24 HD.
Soul fueled: A Strangefolk who implants a distilled soul gem into itself gains a temporary enhancement bonus to its ability scores; it receives +1 for each hit die of the soul, distributed as it chooses among its ability scores. It also receives healing equal to 4 points per hit die of the soul. The ability score bonus fades as each successive hit die is absorbed at the rate of one HD per hour, and a Strangefolk only derives benefit from the soul gem with the greatest remaining number of hit dice. Each hit die absorbed in this manner causes the victim to lose an additional level if resurrected or raised while still trapped; any attempt to raise or resurrect the victim once the gem has been expended automatically fails and only a Wish, Miracle or similar magic may return the soul to existence (after which it must still be raised or resurrected normally). Strangefolk do not breathe or eat, but survive by means of consuming the souls of their victims. Strangefolk with more than one imbedded gem absorb one hit die per hour from each gem.

Soul grapple: A Strangefolk who strikes the same foe twice in the same round, or lands a killing blow, with its heavy pick, may attempt to grapple the soul of its victim. In order to accomplish the act, the Strangefolk makes a grapple check as normal. Its victim makes a grapple check substituting its charisma modifier instead of its strength modifier. If the victim's check is greater, there is no effect other than damage. If the Strangefolk wins the grapple, it spends the next full round attempting to wind its victim's soul around the pick's tip, during which time its victim is incapable of taking any action. When the round is complete (at the Strangefolk's next action) it makes a concentration check, DC 10 + all damage sustained since its last action. If it succeeds, the victim's soul is reduced to the form of a flawless gemstone, called a distilled soul gem, which the Strangefolk may then implant. If it fails, it retains its hold and may make the same check until successful or dead, unless it opts to flee or take other action. A victim bereft of its soul dies instantly.

Spirit of the Mountain: A Strangefolk which possesses at least 3 imbedded soul gems totalling a minimum of 25 hit dice may take a full-round action to drain all imbedded gems and invoke the Spirit of the Mountain. Doing so sets off a cataclysmic sequence of events centered on the Strangefolk who triggered it, dealing 10d6 points of fire damage to all creatures within 60 feet unless a Reflex save (DC 21, con-based) is made. This damage effect persists for 2d4 rounds.

Truth of the Eyes: All Strangefolk wear unique eyewear resembling nothing so much as dark glasses; this eyewear has several magical and extraordinary properties which function only when Strangefolk wear it, and is thus useless to almost any other wearer; any successful use of Use Magic Device to attempt to activate the eyewear requires a will save (DC 35). Success allows one hour's use of their effects, while failure means the item is treated as cursed and cannot be removed; the wearer then transforms into one of the Strangefolk over the next 1d4+1 days. The glasses' effects are as follows:
(Ex) A Strangefolk wearing the glasses is partially hidden from normal sight; they receive a +10 to hide checks and receive the benefit of the Hide in Plain Sight ability.
(Ex) A Strangefolk wearing the glasses receives the listed 120' darkvision range; if the glasses are removed, this darkvision range is reduced to 60 feet.
(Su) A Strangefolk wearing the glasses appears incorporeal (but is actually merely emulating the state) and incurs a 50% miss chance, in addition to being immune to critical and sneak damage. Because the incorporeality is emulated, Strangefolk do not gain the ability to pass through solid objects or any other effective benefits a truly incorporeal creature would.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Ed's note - this is a lot trickier when I make a concerted effort to avoid plagiarising the Gorillaz ;)

Life in this mountain town has never been easy, for there are always dangers in the highlands and among the rocky peaks; recently, though, there have been strange doings. People have heard noises coming from the old abandoned mine west of town, though nobody ever goes in or out. When the local sheriff investigated, he and his men found nothing amiss but there were signs of fresh digging, and ever since he did, people have been disappearing. Just one here and one there, but the whole town is getting nervous and suspicious of one another, darkness beginning to cloud their dealings with one another. Floyd, the town fool, claims he saw shadows laughing as they ate the soul of one victim and dragged away the body, but everyone knows Floyd spends his days in a wineskin. At any rate, the mayor would appreciate any assistance in figuring out just what's going on and why; he'd appreciate even more if matters could be resolved and allow the town to return to the sleepy contentment they used to enjoy.

[The Glyphstone]

Penumbral Stalker

http://static.flickr.com/71/174498010_ca2476afaa_m.jpg

The light of the fire flickered cheerily, illuminating the boundaries of the campsite, and Torrin whistled gloomily to himself as he stared into the jumping flames. Two hours left to go on his watch, and not a peep from the woods around them. He glanced over at his sleeping companions, reassuring himself that nothing had happened to them, then looked back at the fire – and looked back again.

What was that? Some sort of movement, in the twilight zone where the firelight weakened. Torrin settled down again, deciding it was just the natural movement of the shadows – until it moved again. The rogue jumped to his feet, eyeing the patch of inky darkness with drawn rapier, as it began to ripple across the ground towards him. As it closed, it grew more distinct, appearing to resemble the shadow of some sort of humanoid creature – but there was no one standing anyone near the fire except him – his magical eyeglass disproved the presence of an concealed foe – so what was this?

Not taking any chances, Torrin thrust out with his enchanted blade, sweeping at the advancing shadow beast and carving a short line in the dirt where it “stood”, to no effect. In return, the creature swung a spindly limb at his shadow on the ground…Torrin gasped, clutching his chest with a free hand as a brutal hammer blow struck him from nowhere. The creature struck again, this time curling shadow hands around Torrin’s own shadow throat, and he choked as his air supply was cut off by an invisible force. He clawed desperately at his collar, twisting this way and that, the need to warn his helpless allies slipping away along with his oxygen reserves…


Medium Undead (Incorporeal)
Hit Dice: 8d12+32 (88 HP)
Initiative: +8
Speed: 40ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (+4 Dexterity, +4 deflection), touch 18, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+8
Attack: Shadow touch +8 melee touch (1d8+4 plus 1d4 Cha drain)
Full Attack: Shadow touch +8 melee touch (1d8+4 plus 1d4 Cha drain)
Space/Reach: 5f.t/10ft.
Special Attacks: Shadow Puppet, Hide in Shadow, Steal Shadow
Special Qualities: Incorporeal traits, undead traits, darkvision 120ft., Born of Shadow
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +7
Abilities: Str -, Dex 18, Con -, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 18
Skills: Hide +15*, Move Silently +15, Listen +12, Spot +12
Feats: Improved Initiative: Lightning Reflexes, Dodge
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: None
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Advancement: 9-15 HD (Medium); 16-24 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: -

The oddly distorted shadow of some sort of humanoid, completely disconnected from any physical form that might cast it, ripples over the ground toward you. It raises spindly arms, reaching out towards your own shadow in a decidedly predatory manner.

Penumbral stalkers are a breed of malicious, sadistic spirits that delight in the misery of their victims. Said to have first originated as the disconnected shadow of a slain hero, they have since multiplied to spread all over the land. They resemble the shadow of a humanoid, moving on their own without the need for a body to create them, though their limbs are elongated unnaturally.

The common name for these creatures is “shadow thieves”, a disturbingly accurate appellation – the ghostly grasp of a penumbral stalker can literally tear the shadow from its victim, strengthening the monster and leaving the unfortunate person a faded imitation of their former self. If the creature is not destroyed and its absorbed shadows released, the shadowless people it has attacked are doomed to a terrible half-life, shunned by people and animals alike that sense the unnatural fate they are cursed to; many end up committing suicide, unable to live with the constant feeling of loss and despair.

All penumbral stalkers understand Common and one or two other languages, though they never speak – should a stalker feel a whim to communicate with some creature (a rare occurrence), it must suffice with sign language and motions.

COMBAT
Being creatures of shadow and darkness, penumbral stalkers most frequently attack at night. If forced to hunt in daylight, they will only stalk victims who venture into areas where there are plenty of shadows from which to launch an ambush, or retreat if badly injured. A penumbral stalker will lunge out at a foe from concealment, attempting to shelter inside their shadow for protection, often moving from shadow to shadow with impunity. Once it manages to fell a foe with its touch attacks, it will absorb their shadow and retreat to nurse its wounds.

ABILITIES

Shadow Puppet (Su): Despite having no physical form of its own, a penumbral stalker displays a strange ability to interact with objects by means of their shadows. To a stalker, a shadow is just as solid as the creature that casts it, providing a easily accessible target for its attacks. The primary benefit of this ability is allowing the penumbral stalker to initiate and participate in grapples, despite having no physical body – it simply grapples the target’s shadow, which restrains the target commensurately until they can break free. Penumbral stalkers use their Dexterity modifier in place of their Strength modifier for grapple checks. An opponent cannot grapple a penumbral stalker in return or deal damage by winning an opposed grapple check, but can only attempt to break free of the grapple.

Incorporeal Traits: Despite being incorporeal, penumbral stalkers cannot fly, and must remain in contact with a solid or liquid surface at all times. They can move across any surface with ease, as if under the effects of a constant spider climb and water walk effect. A penumbral stalker cannot end its movement inside a solid object.

Hide in Shadows: A penumbral stalker can partially conceal itself inside the shadow of its prey. As long as the stalker remains adjacent to a creature or object of at least Medium size that casts a shadow, it gains cover from the creature or object’s shadow against all forms of attack. If the object or creature is of Huge size or larger, it gains total cover instead.

Steal Shadow: The touch of a penumbral stalker deals 1d4 Charisma damage in addition to its physical damage, and grants the stalker 5 temporary hit points . Should a creature be reduced to 0 Charisma by the stalker’s touch, it can take a full-round action to absorb the unconscious creature’s shadow into itself. This process strips away the victim’s shadow, and permanently adds 1 HD to the penumbral stalker with all of the commensurate benefits. Should the stalker reach 20 or more HD through this method, it can choose to spawn a new and independent penumbral stalker with 8 HD, reducing its own HD by 8 to compensate. This is a new, completely separate being, and cannot be targeted for destruction by a victim seeking to reclaim their shadow (see below) – they must seek out the original “parent” stalker for that purpose.

Even if the creature is reawakened, it is still scarred by the loss of its shadow. A being without a shadow suffers a -1 penalty to all attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks, and suffers a -1 penalty to her caster level for all level-dependent variables. This does not reduce available spell slots, is not calculated when determining if death occurs due to energy drain, and cannot be removed by any effect short of a Wish or Miracle, but is otherwise identical to the effects of a permanent negative level. Furthermore, other living creatures are unnerved and alienated by the person, even if they cannot see their disturbing lack of a shadow. All NPCs start off one attitude level worse than normal towards the character, and wild or domesticated animals will not willingly approach within 20ft. of the character. If forced to do so, they panic, and remain panicked as long as they remain within 20ft.

Aside from a Wish or Miracle-level effect, the only way to remove the curse is by hunting down and destroying the penumbral stalker that originally consumed the person’s shadow, freeing their shadow and all other shadows it may have stolen.

Born of Shadows: A penumbral stalker is heavily invested in the power of shadows, and draws both great power and protection from them. It adds its Charisma modifier to melee damage rolls, and uses its Charisma modifier in place of its Constitution modifier for determining hit points and Fortitude saves. Furthermore, penumbral stalkers are immune to all mysteries and any spell bearing the [shadow] descriptor.


Adventure Hooks:

-One or more penumbral stalkers have begun terrorizing the denizens of a small town, or the residents of a city. The PC’s must hunt down and slay the creature or creatures before it/they grows too large to contain, and steal away the shadows of too many helpless residents.

-A wealthy merchant or noble has been ambushed by a penumbral stalker, and his shadow taken from him, resulting in terrible injury to his business or social life. He tasks the PCs with finding and destroying the creature, which they must succeed at before the wracking depression and apathy take their ultimate toll on him.

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Editor's Analysis:

(Creativity) - Probably low here, considering an "incorporeal, shadow-like creature" is the example given of unoriginal...I know I've read short stories with evil shadows before, though I can't remember referencing any for this creation.
(Fright Factor) - Come on, it steals your shadow away and keeps it. Not fatal (initially), but definitely unpleasant...and creepy, right?
(Articulation of the Theme) - Living shadow, freed from the bonds of a body to carry, seeking living victims to devour...it may not be very original, but it's definitely a "fell beast".
(Plot Hook/Story) - Meh, didn't try very hard here. The creature really creates a hook for itself, but there's not much you can do with it besides.
(Most Usable) - Easy peasy. It makes a nice opponent for a mid-level party, threatening but unable to achieve an effective TPK...the worst it can do is swipe everyone's shadows, which is not fun.
(Best Overall) - Well - obviously, This is totally the best creature...right? :)

[EndlessEnnui]

Relentless Cuckolder

Backstory:

Relentless Cuckolders are the material-bound souls of ambitious or star-destined heroes and villains who died before fulfilling their great purpose. They are forever cursed to undead blandness, their unnatural lives charged with meaning only when they steal it from others. Their hunger for any sort of destiny drives them to mimic those around them who seem to have any sort of purpose-- stalking, killing, and temporarily replacing living beings until their curse of nonidentity pushes them to hunt again.

Relentless cuckolders in their natural state resemble pasty and downtrodden-looking humans -- their frightening proclivity towards cuckoldry revealed only when they find someone of destiny or ambition worth replacing. Once they pick a target, they ceaselessly pursue the victim, looking and acting more and more like the object of their desire at the same time that they destroy it.

In addition to being an implacable foe, seeming to shake off any assault, the Relentless Cuckolder threatens to force characters to helplessly watch as their friends are inexorably replaced...

Relentless Cuckolder
Medium Undead (shapechanger subtype)
HD: 13d12 (85 hp)
Init: +0
Speed: 30 fly (perfect)
Armor Class: 30 (+10 deflection, +5 natural armor, +5 profane), touch 25, flat-footed 30

BAB/Grapple: +6 / +6
Attack: +6 melee touch (1 negative level, 1 point of Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, and Cha damage)
Full attack: +6/+1 melee touch (1 negative level, 1 point of Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, and Cha damage)
Special Attacks: Leech Likeness, Helpless Witness
Special Qualities: Undead Traits, Illusion of Invincibility, Fast Healing 20, +5 Turn Resistance, Blindsight 60 ft.
Saves: +6 / +6 / +10
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 10, Con -, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10
Skills: Disguise +28, Bluff +25, Spot +15, Listen +15, Survival +15
Feats: Great Fortitude, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Skill Focus (Disguise), Track

Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary
CR: 11
Treasure: None
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Advancement: 14-20 (Medium), 21-28 (Large)
LA: -

Leech Likeness (Su): Whenever a Relentless Cuckolder succeeds on a melee touch attack against a creature and deals ability damage or energy drain, it can begin to take on the shape and abilities of that creature. The Cuckolder gains a +2 circumstance bonus on disguise and bluff checks to impersonate that creature and a +1 profane bonus on all other skill checks, all ability checks, attack rolls, special ability DCs, and saving throws. This bonus stacks with itself upon multiple attacks, up to a maximum number of iterations equal to the last victim's HD. These bonuses fade at a rate of +1 per day. A Relentless Cuckolder can make a disguise check to alter its appearance to match its current victim as a swift action each round.

Illusion of Invincibility (Su): Whenever a creature successfully targets a Relentless Cuckolder with an attack or spell, all creatures viewing the Relentless Cuckolder must succeed on a Will saving throw, (DC 20 + current leech likeness bonus) or be convinced that the attack or spell has not harmed the Relentless Cuckolder at all, regardless of actual effect. This is a mind-affecting ability.

Helpless Witness (Su): As a standard action, a Relentless Cuckolder can deliver a ranged touch attack with a range of 30 feet that threatens to render a target creature incorporeal. The subject of the attack must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 15 + current leech likeness bonus) or become invisible (per the spell improved invisibility) and incapable of affecting the material world (per the spell gaseous form) for a number of rounds equal to the Cuckolder's Hit Dice + current leech likeness bonus. Cuckolders often use this ability to clear the field of opponents so they can focus on a single victim to mimic.

Plot Hooks

A Friend in Deed... One of the party's NPC allies is currently being stalked by a Relentless Cuckolder. The undead menace seems utterly unphased by anything the (low-mid level) party can throw at it, forcing them to flee or search for creative ways to destroy the beast.

An Enemy of My Enemy... A Relentless Cuckolder is working its way through the ranks of a local city's underworld, replacing crime leader after crime leader to feed its hunger for purpose. Its power and fickleness threaten to destabilize the community, and the PCs must choose between helping or hunting the slick monster on a rampage in a world of intrigue. And then there's the matter of even figuring out who it is...

Up Close and Personal... During a dungeon crawl, a Relentless Cuckolder decides to make the party's most vulnerable member its target. While the party is definitely capable of fending it off, its tendency to flee when in danger and returning to take advantage of the moments when the party is distracted by the other dangers of the dungeon make it more than a nuisance.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

And this contest is over! Winners will be announced within the next week or so.

[Yahzi]

And this contest is over! Winners will be announced within the next week or so.
Umm... it's been 2 weeks. Or is the announcement in a different thread?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Umm... it's been 2 weeks. Or is the announcement in a different thread?
Asking one of the admins if we can get a poll set up. Not heard anything back from my judges.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

So much for that... have set up a poll. My apologies to the contestants for how long this has taken.