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The Vorpal Tribble
2010-06-01, 10:41 AM
ACHOO!
http://collectingseminar.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/sneeze.jpg

Got that sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever so you can't rest feeling? Pollen is in bloom and summer flu is on its way. Epidemics are only a matter of time. It's a great time to be alive isn't it? Disease can bring the mightiest beast down, and all can fall prey to these tiny assassins. It's time to quarantine! Give form to the essence of pestilence and infect us with your imagination.


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/

The contest begins with the posting of this thread and will continue until the 20th of June.

Soon after a poll will be opened for everyone to vote for their favorite that will last until midnight of the last day of the month.


Rules

1. You will be creating an original D&D creature. A creature capable of spreading a unique disease in some manner.

Examples
Cancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88371)
Fevercramp Flies (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2548874#post2548874)
Red Death (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89573)


2. The entry must include name, complete stat-block, physical description, basic background information, and detailed combat behavior if any. A plot hook or similar in addition is optional but encouraged. Incomplete entries will be disqualified upon the deadline.

3. Entries must be 3.5 edition, using the standard format listed below (not that new one seen in the Monster Manual IV-V, except for a lore section which is encouraged).

4. Post all entries on this thread. Do not post conversation here. Any and All Comments and discussions will take place on a separate thread here (this is a link) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5578957#post5578957).

5. One entry per participant. No double-teaming.

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. Adding class levels to an already published or posted creature does not count as a new monster. Nor does adding templates. There must be an original base creature devoid of any template added on as the actual entry. Samples of the original base creature with a template may be posted in 'addition' but will not be judged.

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



-=-=-=-=-=-

Add a banner to your signature!
(guaranteed to be within limits of forum guidelines)

http://i47.tinypic.com/35li97n.jpg (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8605702#post8605702)

http://i47.tinypic.com/ela2bc.jpg (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8605702#post8605702)


Banner Code
http://i47.tinypic.com/35li97n.jpg (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8605702#post8605702)

OR

http://i47.tinypic.com/ela2bc.jpg (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8605702#post8605702)

The Vorpal Tribble
2010-06-01, 06:53 PM
Vorpal Tribble's Guide To Making Monsters (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43009)

As well, here is the standard 3.5 monster format. Only complete entries will be accepted. If there are any questions feel free to ask me or post queries in the GITP Contest Chat Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5578957#post5578957).

-=-=-=-

No Parsed Stat Block Code
Name

<Size> <Type>
Hit Dice:
Initiative:
Speed: (# squares)
Armor Class: (), touch, flat-footed
Base Attack/Grapple:
Attack:
Full Attack:
Space/Reach:
Special Attacks:
Special Qualities:
Saves: Fort +, Ref +, Will +
Abilities Str , Dex , Con , Int , Wis , Cha
Skills:
Feats:
Environment:
Organization:
Challenge Rating:
Treasure:
Alignment:
Advancement:
Level Adjustment:

Description/background/characteristics

Combat

Ability descriptions

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

- Optional -

Lore

Plot Hook/Story if any

Name

<Size> <Type>
Hit Dice:
Initiative:
Speed: (# squares)
Armor Class: (), touch, flat-footed
Base Attack/Grapple:
Attack:
Full Attack:
Space/Reach:
Special Attacks:
Special Qualities:
Saves: Fort +, Ref +, Will +
Abilities Str , Dex , Con , Int , Wis , Cha
Skills:
Feats:
Environment:
Organization:
Challenge Rating:
Treasure:
Alignment:
Advancement:
Level Adjustment:

Description/background/characteristics

Combat

Ability descriptions

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

- Optional -

Lore

Plot Hook/Story if any

SlaadLord
2010-06-02, 01:56 PM
Rampant Runner
Medium Outsider (Evil, Native)
Hit Dice: 12d8 + 36 (90 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
AC: 20, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+4 Dex, +6 natural)
Base Attack/ Grapple: +12/+14
Attack: Touch +16 melee (touch of incabulos) or sickle +16 melee (1d6 + 2 plus touch of incabulos)
Full Attack: Touch +16/+11/+6 melee (touch of incabulos) or sickle +16/+11/+6 melee (1d6 + 2 plus touch of incabulos)
Space/Reach: 5ft./5ft.
Special Attacks: Breath weapon, touch of incabulos
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60ft., fast healing 5, incubation aura, immunity to disease, no shelter before the plague, SR 16, resist acid and cold 10, viral symbiosis
Saves: Fort +11, Ref +12, Will +9
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 18, Con 17, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 7
Skills: Bluff +13, Disguise +13, Hide +19, Intimidate +13, Listen +16, Move Silently +19, Spot +16
Feats: Ability Focus (Breath Weapon), Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Weapon Finesse
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary, plague (2-6), or blight (7-12)
Challenge Rating: 10
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always Neutral Evil
Advancement: By class level; favored class cleric
Level Adjustment: -

The rampant runners are the direct creations of the god of plague and death, Incabulos. Charged by their vile god to dash across the land spreading disease to all corners of the world, rampant runners present a legitimate danger for humanity.

A rampant runner resembles a grown human man or woman, withered and thin from a long period of illness. Their flesh is alternately necrotic and covered in pustules, and fluids leak constantly from their mouth and ears. Despite their appearance, rampant runners are quite hardy and quick on their feet. Rampant runners stand approximately six feet tall and weigh about 150 lbs. They speak Common.

Combat
Rampant runners employ hit-and-run tactics, striking with their touch attack or sickle against any they can reach before dashing away.
Breath Weapon (Ex): 30-foot cone, once every 1d4 minutes, damage 6d6 and exposure to the Ravenous plague, Reflex DC 21 half damage but does not negate exposure. The Ravenous plague is a disease spread only by the Rampant Runners, but which is so highly contagious that there is virtually no shelter from it once it is released. Fortitude DC 21, incubation period 1 day (but see incubation aura, below), damage 1d6 Str, Dex, Con, and Wis. The victim becomes highly contagious, the disease transmitting from him with contact, ingestion, or injury. The save DCs are Constitution-based.
Touch of Incabulos (Su): A rampant runner is so infested with the essence of Incabulos that his mere touch is virtually bristling with disease. Anyone the rampant runner touches rolls 1d8 and consults the following chart to see what disease they must save against. The save DC for all of these diseases is 19. The saving throw DC is Constitution-based.


Roll Disease
1 Blinding Sickness
2 Cackle Fever
3 Filth Fever
4 Mindfire
5 Red Ache
6 The Shakes
7 Slimy Doom
8 Roll twice; re-roll further rolls of 8

Incubation Aura (Su): Whenever someone within 60 feet of a rampant runner contracts a disease, the incubation period is measured in rounds rather than days.
No Shelter before the Plague (Sp): A rampant runner can open any locked door at will, as per the knock spell.
Viral Symbiosis (Su): Certain spells function differently against a rampant runner. Any magical effect that cures disease whose caster manages to bypass the rampant runner's spell resistance requires the rampant runner to make a saving throw (DC 10 + the caster's primary spellcasting ability modifier + the spell's level) or die instantly. Even on a successful saving throw, the rampant runner takes 2d6 points of damage per level of the spell. It cannot recover from such damage naturally. If a rampant runner is the target of a contagion spell, it recovers half of its maximum total hit points instantly.

Chainsaw Hobbit
2010-06-02, 07:48 PM
Plaguespawn Bodak
Medium Undead
Hit Dice 9
Hit Points 60 (9d12)
Initiative +7
Speed 6 squares
Armor Class 23, touch 13, flat-footed 20
Base Attack/Grapple +4/+7
Attack Slam +8, 1d8 + 3 + Filth Fever
Full Attack Slam +8, 1d8 + 3 + Filth Fever
Space/Reach 1/1
Special Attacks Plague Gaze
Special Qualities Vulnerability to Sunlight, Damage Reduction, Spell Absorption, Spell Resistance, Immunity to electricity, Resistance to acid, Resistance to fire, Undead Traits
Saves Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +7
Abilities Str 17, Dex 17, Con --, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 12
Skills Listen +13, Move Silently +15, Sense Motive +7, Spot +13.
Feats Alertness, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus(Slam).
Organization Solitary or group (2-5).
Challenge Rating 10
Treasure 50% items, 25% coins.
Alignment Usually Chaotic Evil
Advancement By character class
Level Adjustment +10

Plaguespawn Bodaks were created by a powerful necromancer who spread influence through disease and sickness. They are more decomposed than normal bodaks and are worm-ridden and twisted. Instead of killing with a gaze the Plaguespawn Bodak infects the creature with magical plague.

Combat
Plaguespawn Bodaks start battle by using Plague Gaze until they are threatened in melee at which point they fight to the death.

Plague Gaze(Su) Fortitude save DC 17(+4 HD, +2 Racial, +1 Cha, +0 Feat) negates
range 30 feet, Fortitude negates. The target contracts 1 of the following Diseases, roll a d6 to determine which.
1-Filth Fever
2-Cackle Fever
3-Red Ache
4-Mindfire
5-The Shakes
6-Slimy Doom

Vulnerability to Sunlight(Ex) Bodaks loathe sunlight, for its merest touch burns their impure flesh. Each round of exposure to the direct rays of the sun deals 1 point of damage to the creature.

Damage Reduction(Ex) 10/Cold Iron

Darkvision(Ex) 60ft

Immunity to electricity(Ex)

Resistance to acid(Ex) 10

Resistance to fire(Ex) 10

Undead Traits(Ex) 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.Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless).

Spell Absorption(Su) Whenever a spell fails to penetrate a Plaguespawn Bodak's spell resistance, the creature gains one of the following benefits, chosen at the time that the spell resolves.
Fuel The Plaguespawn Bodak gains +4 enhancement bonus to Strength and temporary hit points equal to 5X the level of the failed spell for 1 minute.
Burst of Stench Living creatures within 3 squares take 1d4 con damage.
Arcane Shield The Plaguespawn Bodak gains +4 enhancement bonus AC and saving throws for 1 minute.

Spell Resistance(Ex) 20
-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Lore
Knowledge (arcana) 20 A Plaguespawn Bodak is an offshoot of the bodak that spreads disease instead of killing with it's gaze.
Knowledge (arcana) 25 The Plaguespawn Bodak is resistant to magic and can absorb spells and use the as fuel.

TheLogman
2010-06-02, 10:05 PM
"Them's the sort that can't imagine any better revenge than just spreading their pain to everyone. You know the saying 'misery loves company'? Yeah, well it don't, but that doesn't stop these nasties from spreading their problems to everyone they can get their grubby hands on." - Paul Scholaris, Professional Undead Hunter

Lost Hope

Size/Type: Medium Undead (Incorporeal)
Hit Dice: 5d12 ( 32hp)
Initiative: +7
Speed: Fly 60 ft. (good) (12 squares)
Armor Class: 15 (+3 Dex, +2 deflection), touch 15, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+8
Attack: Incorporeal touch +5 melee (1d4 plus "The Realization")
Full Attack: Incorporeal touch +5 melee (1d4 plus "The Realization")
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Grip of Death, "The Realization"
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., daylight powerlessness, improved grab, incorporeal traits, +2 turn resistance, undead traits, unnatural aura,
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +6
Abilities: Str Ř, Dex 16, Con Ř, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 15
Skills: Hide +11, Intimidate +10, Knowledge (Religion) +6, Listen +12, Search +10, Sense Motive +8, Spot +12, Survival +2 (+4 following tracks)
Feats: Alertness, Improved Grapple(B), Improved Iniatiative
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary, gang (2-5), or pack (6-11)
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: —

Before you stands a large black vaguely humanoid form with long, thick arms that end in huge hands.

Lost Hopes are a special breed of undead, created when a humanoid that had been infected with a disease dies without treatment, alone and forgotten. The twisted loss of hope and utter despair contorts the soul, forming the individual into a Lost Hope. Lost Hopes seek only to spread their own misery, seeking out victims to grapple or touch and infect. The Mind Virus that is "The Realization" then spreads across the population, causing entire cities to collapse into a mass of hopeless victims.

Because of the negative effect "The Realization" can have on a healer, Lost Hopes often infect patients already in hospitals, often who already have some other disease, as a way of seeking revenge against the world for failing to provide enough care and healing in the Lost Hope's time of need.

Combat

A Lost Hope typically hides inside walls and attacks when it has the element of surprise on its side. It typically grapples the weakest members of a party, and then once it infects one member, it moves on to another. Since its main objective is to just spread fear and despair, a Lost Hope may move on once it successfully infects an entire group, leaving the group to feel the effects later.

Grip of Death (Su) : Although it is normally incorporeal, a Lost Hope can make grapple checks as if it was a corporeal creature on the material plane. A Lost Hope may initiate grapples against opponents on the material plane. A Lost Hope makes Grapple checks using its Charisma modifier instead of its Strength Modifier. Otherwise, treat a grapple initiated by a Lost Hope as a standard grapple. Any grapple attempt that is initiated against a Lost Hope automatically fails, and if at any time a Lost Hope loses in in an opposed grapple check, the grapple simply ends.

Improved Grab (Ex) : To use this ability, a Lost Hope must hit with an Incorporeal Touch Attack. A Lost Hope can uses its Charisma modifier for grapple checks.

"The Realization" (Su) : Spread by Incorporeal touch or damage received during grapple, Fortitude DC 17, incubation period 1 day, damage 1d6 Cha. Each day after the first, the character must make a DC 17 Fortitude Save and a DC 17 Will Save. If the character fails both saves, the character takes 1d6 Cha damage. If a character fails one but not both saves, the disease damage for the day is only 1d4. If a character succeeds on both saves, he/she takes no damage. Two days in a row of successful saves against the disease cures it. The Will and Fortitude DC are Cha based.

"The Realization", however, is unique in that it also spreads from person to person. After the 1 day incubation period, any character that spends more than 5 minutes in conversation with an infected character must make a DC 15 Will Save or also become infected with "The Realization". Similarly, any character that attempts to cure a character afflicted "The Realization" with a spell or special ability such as "Remove Disease" or a spell or ability of similar power must make a DC 15 Will Save or become infected.

A character infected with "The Realization" takes on a much paler look. Dark bags appear below the character's eyes, and they become despondent and potentially depressed. As an infected character takes more and more Charisma damage, he/she becomes more and more convinced of the hopelessness of life and the meaninglessness of his/her existence. Any person that spends more than one minute of conversation with a person infected with "The Realization" may make a DC 15 Sense Motive check to realize the change in demeanor.

A person who is reduced to 0 Cha by "The Realization" is reduced to a comatose state. If the Cha damage is not healed within 24 hours, the infected's brain shuts down, completely overwhelmed by a realization of a total absence of hope, and the character dies.

Unnatural Aura (Su) : Animals, whether wild or domesticated, can sense the unnatural presence of a Lost Hope at a distance of 30 feet. They will not willingly approach nearer than that and panic if forced to do so; they remain panicked as long as they are within that range.

Lore

{table] Knowledge (Religion) or Gather Information Check | Lore Learned
15 | Lost Hopes are a kind of Incorporeal Undead that spreads despair.
20 | Lost Hopes spread despair by spreading a disease that attacks the body and the mind.
25 | A Lost Hope's disease can be spread from person to person by talking with them for too long, or even from a person to a healer.
[/table]

Adventure Hooks

- The Party Encounters the Lost Hope in the lair of some other monster that spreads disease, or in a disease infested area; the Lost Hope fell to one of those diseases and seeks to spread its misery to the players.

- The Party discovers that a strange plague is attacking the healers of a local temple or hospital. The source is a Lost Hope that infected one of the patients, starting an epidemic.

- An entire city has become infected with "The Realization", with thousands already dead. The Party must find the swarm of Lost Hopes that caused this and save the remnants of the city.

strawberryman
2010-06-04, 03:50 AM
((The inspiration for an envy-inducing disease mostly came from Parsee Mizuhashi (http://touhou.wikia.com/wiki/Parsee), but the similarity ends at the chosen emotion. ...well, and the picture I chose, but. :smalltongue: That said, the major hook here is the implications the disease causes between a party, and NPCs, or even members who have been infected.))


Envious Plaguebearer
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/8470/enviousplaguebearer2.jpg
A former half-elf envious plaguebearer

Medium Undead
Hit Dice: 12d12+60 (138 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 20 (+4 Dex, +6 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+9
Attack: Slam +9 melee (1d6+3 plus disease)
Full Attack: 2 Slams +9 melee (1d6+3 plus disease)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Disease, envious gaze, envious rage
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., envious mind, turn resistance +2, undead traits, unholy grace, unholy toughness
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +12, Will +12
Abilities: Str 17, Dex 19, Con Ř, Int Ř, Wis 8, Cha 21
Skills: —
Feats: —
Environment: Any Urban
Organization: Any
Challenge Rating: 11
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: —

A thin, emaciated, pale figure stands in front of you. It seems to have been human at some point, and yet, any humanity it may have once had is gone, apparent only in the maddened, piercing green eyes it possesses.

Very few know where the first signs of the vicious disease that spawns the envious plaguebearers first originated, and yet all who encounter these pitiable beings know one thing — the creatures thrive on one emotion; envy. Despite their status as mindless undead, there is one emotion that always runs through their heads; envy for life, envy for possessions... It doesn't go much further than simple desire for things that others have; they have no concept of ownership after the fact.

Combat

Envious Plaguebearers are fairly simple in their tactics. They immediately fly into an envious rage as soon as their turn starts, and strike at (usually) living foes with furious tenacity.

Disease (Su)
Green-eyed Jealousy—slam, Fortitude DC 21, incubation period 1 day, damage 1d4 Int and 1d4 Con (plus see below). The save DC is Charisma-based.

Green-Eyed Jealousy (Envious Plague)
Aptly named, Green-Eyed Jealousy is a disease that strikes quickly, and for traveling parties of adventurers, can be devastating. The victim suffers uncontrollable envy towards those that they may consider better than them, even as the supernatural disease wracks their body and minds. The most recognizable symptom of this disease are the victim's eyes turning a luminescent shade of green, and even their blood takes on a green tinge. As the disease progresses, their skin pales, and they occasionally bleed green ichor from their eyes, usually in situations where their envy is at its greatest. This disease deals 1d4 Intelligence damage and 1d4 Constitution damage; in addition, at the beginning of every day (at the same time as the save against ability damage), the victim must succeed at a Will save at the same DC of the Fortitude save to resist damage (even if they resist the ability damage), or succumb to envy for the next 24 hours. Whenever they are within eyesight of another sentient (Int 3+) being with any of the qualities below, they suffer a -1 penalty to attack rolls, damage rolls, skill checks, ability checks, and saves:
More HD
Higher Wealth
Prestige among many peers
Other qualities at the DM's discretion
If they choose to act against this creature offensively, or in some other manner, they instead gain a +1 morale bonus to those same rolls. This disease requires two successful Fortitude and Will saves to fight off. A creature that dies from this disease (by being reduced to 0 Constitution) rises 24 hours later as an Envious Plaguebearer; a creature that is reduced to 0 Intelligence from this disease suffers the effects of an envious rage (see below), attacking any being within the above guidelines until their Intelligence is restored (or the disease is removed).

Envious Gaze (Su)
Creatures who meet an Envious Plaguebearer's gaze must make a Will save (DC21) or be rendered Confused, as the spell; except, they will always attack beings that they perceive as being 'better' than them in some way (see the Green-Eyed Jealousy disease for guidelines). If this doesn't apply, they randomly attack an ally, or move as close as possible. Creatures that succeed on their save are immune to the effects of the gaze for 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Envious Rage (Ex)
This functions as a Barbarians rage, except the Envious Plaguebearer gains +6 to Strength, the duration is equal to 3 plus their Charisma modifier, and they must always attack (or move as close as possible to) living creatures with 3 or more intelligence. They may use this ability once per day.

Envious Mind (Su)
Creatures who attempt to read the thoughts of an Envious Plaguebearer must succeed at a Will save (DC21) or contract Green-Eyed Jealousy, as if they had been hit by a slam attack. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Unholy Grace (Su)
Envious Plaguebearers gain their Charisma bonus as a bonus to all their saves.

Unholy Toughness (Su)
Envious Plaguebearers gain their Charisma bonus as bonus hit points for every hit die they possess.

Mindless Traits
Envious Plaguebearers have immunity to mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects) and automatically fail Intelligence checks, and do not gain skill points or feats.

____________

Lore
{table=head]Knowledge (religion) check|Result
22|Envious Plaguebearers are undead that have insatiable envy for almost anything else that lives... and the envy they harbor can spread like wildfire (Reveals Green-Eyed Envy disease).
27|Envious Plaguebearers fly into a rage at the sight of living beings, mostly humanoids (Reveals Envious Rage ability).
32|Envious Plaguebearers can inflict their envy on unsuspecting victims with a gaze (Reveals Envious Gaze ability).
37|Attempting to make sense of an Envious Plaguebearer's mind telepathically is dangerous, and an unguarded mind can be infected with their jealousy (Reveals Envious Mind ability).[/table]

Hooks
A small farming community has come under the effects of a plague that makes those affected act on the most vicious impulses of envy imaginable; the king has sent the party to investigate the cause...
A horde of Envious Plaguebearers is heading towards the capital of a kingdom; the party must stop them before they reach the city and begin the spread of their plague...
A lone Envious Plaguebearer has been attacking passerby near a bridge with high traffic, causing disaster for nomads and caravans.

Mulletmanalive
2010-06-04, 07:15 AM
This entry was inspired strongly, but is different both in flavour and crunch to a creature from Deadlands: Hell on Earth. Beyond being a guy who makes killer graffiti, this bears little direct resemblence and is partially based on a famous 'graffer from Bristol, who was similarly described as "a plague."

[Yes, I'm British. I spell according to our conventions, as does my spellchecker]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

A Plague on our Fair Streets:

"A blight spreads across the beautiful archetecture of our fair city; ameteurish dawbs painted by those who have no real talent and even less moral fibre. Perhaps the worst is the so called "Banksie" who brazenly signs his paintings, one of which, a carnival of animals of sinister aspect, currenly adorns and befouls our beloved church!" - Mayor Tony Vasquez.

Most people pay very little attention to politicians, though when a slogan has been bounced around between street corner criers and newspaper headlines for long enough, it seeps into public consciousness. In the case of Tony Vasquez, his habit of describing the graffiti that was being applied all over the town of Munceford Illinois as "a plague" or "a blight" seems to have caught the attention of whatever forces create fey.

The initial result was the creation of the artist "Banksie," whose name was taken from the tag applied with the great and wonderful pictures he painted overnight. Each image depicted a beast or creature or vehicle that was beautiful and nigh perfect, but had a deeply unnerving side if looked at in a certain way...

From there, the sense of terror became worse as the mayor began talking of "Moral Breakdown" and "growing, aggressive cancer," which had people afraid before the disappearances began.

The fuller story:
In 1888, Anthony Joshua Vasquez, the son of an old money Don from California, became the mayor elect of the rapidly growing city of Munceford, Illinois. Until a few years before, Muncceford had been little more than a small travelling stop and fishing village built on territory taken from a native tribe some years prior. By the time Vasquez took the reigns, the town had grown; first from nitrate mining in the area and then later from the building of the railroad which took a turn in the area. As with a lot of mayors, Vasquez's first move was popular, beginning a scheme of public works that were needed but thanks to the ongoing hostilities just a thousand miles to the south, the town could ill afford.

Despite some initial misgivings, the projects took off and soon the older, wooden buildings of the town's core had been replaced by brick constructions and things of fine imported granite. The town's civic hall and basilica instantly became famous across the north; a haven of sorts amongst the virtual decay that the Long War was bringing to the Union.

The trouble was, to prevent atrophy, Vasquez had to keep pushing; a decision that would cause the town's fortunes to begin to change a little. Taxes went up and money being taken from departments like the civic police, leading to an increased dependence on private security for the rich and increased corruption elsewhere. As always, Vasquez had a response to this, setting in place a selection of building standards that required specific decoration and tending for all properties, with fines being levied against those who failed to meet them.

This led to greater uniformity and a constant feeling of the loss of individuality, especially as corrupt police and corporate strongmen made life difficult for folks during the little freedom they had outside their long working hours.

No-one is sure who the first graffiti artist was in the town, but one sunny morning, a giant caricature of Mayor Vasquez appeared on the side of one of the warehouses near the railway tracks, for all coming into the town to see. Vasquez started an investigation, informing the press that this menace would be brought to justice and "public order" would be restored as soon as possible. The culprit was never found and new paintings would appear.

Some days, it would just be a single slogan that could be scrubbed off simply, almost always directed at Vasquez and sometimes pointing out some questionable dealings that he had made over the years; on others, great images, some of shocking skill would appear, as often as not, signed by the name "Banksie." This was too much for Vasquez.

He focused almost entirely on Banksie when speaking to the media, partially because he was uncatchable and partly because of a preternatural knowledge of Vasquez's underhand dealings with the railways. He was condemned in the press and it became very clear that the mayor's office believed Banksie to be a single individual, possibly one of the magic users that folk had been hearing tell of. The truth was far simpler; Banksie had originally been a single, disgruntled butcher's apprentice by the name of Duane Towers. After his father was fined repeatedly, as a result of the fines keeping him too poor to correct his home's design to public board standards, Banksie took to the streets at night and painted in two colours, white and black, using skills gained painting the signs in the morning.

The trick was, after the name Banksie became known, others began to use the alias. Duane was arrested while painting his sixth picture and viciously beaten but the paintings continued to arise and both Banksie's name, skill and inside knowledge continued to grow.

It was around this time that Vasquez bribed the papers to report about the disease of graffiti that was spreading through their fair town and the breakdown of peace and order that was coming with it. In truth, crime hadn't actually worsened besides the graffiti but that didn't stop anything and everything getting embellished to high heaven. Tattoos were more common, the red light district was corrupting the souls of those around, dogs were eating babies. And it was all Banksie's fault, this cancer spreading through the city.

Duane was eventually released but by that point, the belief in Banksie had begun to crystalise into a set image, rather like that of Robin Hood or Johnny Appleseed. Worry starts to do strange things and business men would leave out small drinks of beer to prevent Banksie from getting to their shop windows. In general, the taggers took a sip from everywhere and went home without painting anyway, but Banksie himself kept attacking Vasquez. Thing was, Duane and the four or five others who had gone by the name of Banksie weren't doing it anymore…

Tensions continued to rise as Vasquez's campaign continued in force; Banksie was at fault, a moral disease and only through vigilance could they inoculate themselves. Between the rising tensions with the police and detectives [private armies for the most part] and the constant bombardment about plagues, people began to get sick with worry, to the point that no-one noticed that people were starting to go missing.

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As I turns out, the focused belief and fear that Vasquez had mustered for this artist thief with a grudge against him had pushed the creature into the status of local legend and as people seemed to have this odd idea that the paintings were appearing as if by magic, that became a part of the deal too. All that nascent belief coalesced into a creature with just the faintest hint of divinity, that was fed by fears. This entity was simply Banksie.

The disappearances in town weren't originally anything to do with Banksie, but as the trend for tattoos based on Banksie's work became more and more popular, so did the number of people going missing with such tattoos. This trend caused further additions to the Banksie legend, ones that would soon be his fault, but were originally the doings of a couple of bone-collectors operating out of Chicago and using H.H. Holmes' hoo-ha to cover their trail. Soon, the paintings themselves were alive and able to possess people.

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At least two agencies, including the Pinkerton's Special Investigations Division and the Royal Society Executive have started to pick up on the trends, but theirs is a race against time before Vasquez goes and says something else stupid and makes the whole thing worse. Again...

Banksie
Medium Fey (Earth)
Hit Dice: 10d6+10 (43 hp)
Init: +4
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares);
Armour Class: 21 (+4 Dex, +7 Deflection); touch 21; flat-footed 17
BAB: +5; Grapple: +2/Escape Artist +17
Attack: Paint Spray +9 Touch (1d3 Subdual + Blindness [DC 22 Ref/Neg])
Full Attack: Paint Spray +9 Touch (1d3 Subdual + Blindness [DC 22 Ref/Neg])
Space: 5 ft.; Reach: 5 ft, 15 ft w/Paint Spray
Special Attacks: Create Graph, Urban Symptoms
Special Qualities: Art Tunnel, Dissolve, DR 25/Local, Purification Vulnerability, Rhetorical Ressurrection, SR 20
Saves: Fort +4 Ref +7 Will +9
Abilities: Str 12, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 17, Wis 15, Cha 25
Skills: Balance +17, Climb +14, Craft (Caligraphy) +16, Craft (Painting) +19, Escape Artist +17, Hide +20, Jump +14, Move Silently +20, Tumble +17
Feats: RoofwalkerCityscape, Skill Focus [Craft (Painting)], Stealthy, Urban StealthRaces of Destiny
Environment: Urban
Organization: Solitary (Unique [Presently])
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: 1d12 doses of Marvelous Pigments
Alignment: Neutral
Advancement: 11-20 (Medium) or by class; Favored Class Bard

Down the alley is a man of medium build painting animatedly. He appears to simply be making gestures and paint appears on the walls, though at other times, he seems to be using the oddly shaped tips of his fingers to alter details. His speed is phenominal and in his tight wollen skullcap and short jacket gathered at the waist, he appears to be dancing.

The original Banksie was and still is a human. The original's real name is Duane but this entity is something else; a fairy being that continues his original attempts to infuriate the mayor who fired him as a clerk.

Combat:
Banksie engages in combat only to defend itself before making its escape through its Art Tunnel. If attacked by a single individual, it tends to simply blind the target, kick them a few times and then go back to what it was doing. It almost always flees groups, especially mobs of youths throwing stones. Banksie suffers a racial -4 Grapple penalty for his mix of flimsiness and brush-tip hands.

Art Tunnel [Su]: By spending 1 minute painting one, Banksie can create a portal from paint. He usually does this before he begins work. Should he need to escape, he can dive into the portal and emerge from any shadow within the city limits. The tunnel dissolves 1 round after it is used, so pursuit is possible if you are fast enough. The destination point for a tunnel is set when it is painted.

Create Graph [Su]: Banksie has an almost unlimited power of creation. By spending 5 minutes visualising and then 1 minute per CR of the creature being painted, he can create a painting so lifelike that it will animate as a Graph creature when it is out of his sight. There is no real limit to how often Banksie can do this but he generally paints between one and four over a given night, depending on how thickly Mayor Vasquez laid it on the day before.

Damage Reduction [Local] [Ex]: Banksie is hugely resistant to outside influences due to the assumption that it is something wrong with the city that allows him and other graffiti artists to exist. His damage reduction applies against any weapon, magical or otherwise, that comes from outside the city. Because of his vulnerability to city street stones, Banksie always flees from stone throwing youths.

Dissolve: When slain, Banksie explodes into a burst of paint with the qualities of a Paint Spray attack in a 10ft radius around him and a collection of paint covered propaganda leaflets directed against Vasquez.

Paint Spray [E]: The hands of the fae Banksie are a mass of brush tips and strange valves that spray paint. When desperate, he can direct these nozzles into the faces of those around him. Doing so has a range of 15ft, deals 1d3 Nonlethal damage and the victim must make a DC 22 [Cha based] Reflex save or be blinded. This applies until the liquid is washed out, with a further Fort save, DC=Rounds since application, or be permanently blinded. In this latter save's case, there is not stat attached.

Purification Vulnerability: As Banksie was created by constant statements that graffiti is a deadly plague, reality seems to have made it so. If he is the target of a spell that cures disease, he suffers 1d10 damage, +1d10 damage per level of the spell, no save allowed.

Rhetoric Ressurrection [Ex]: Banksie is basically a creature of ideas. If he is killed by Vasquez is not made to shut up and the papers stopped from printing more sensationalist stories about the "plague of graffiti," Banksie will return to life in 1d6 nights time. He holds no grudge...in fact, he doesn't seem to really remember anything from night to night.

Urban Symptoms [Su]: There is some truth to Vasquez' statements that Banksie brings about Urban Decay; it's just not true when he's not around... All terrain within 100ft of Banksie becomes Difficult Terrain as cobbles crack, trash gathers and tiles loosen on roofs. This applies only as long as Banksie remains.


Graph Creatures [Template]:
The major symptom of the "Disease" that Banksie spreads is a spate of images painted on walls in the city. The trick is that these paintings are actually alive and unlike Banksie itself, are outright malevolent. It is actually conjectured that Banksie has neither power nor knowledge relating to these things once they are created, something that is reinforced by the fact that they have never acted to defend him when he is attacked, rather moving in once he has escaped.

The Graph Creature template may be applied to any corporeal creature that the artist can successfully paint [anyone but Banksie would be unable to apply it to a Huge or larger creature under most circumstance due to the difficulties of painting such a thing]. This base creature is referred to as a model from now on.

Size/Type: Size remains identical, though it can fit through Fine spaces [see below]. They become totally two-dimensional, however. Type becomes Construct with the Living and Augmented subtypes.

Hit Dice: Leave unchanged. Do not recalculate hp.

Movement: Replace all movement modes with Glide equal to their fastest movement speed. Glide is a unique ability to move across any suitable flat surface rather like flying. They are still slowed by Very Difficult Terrain but not Difficult terrain.

Those with 10+HD or a Fly speed can move across Water as a reflection.

Thos creatures that had a Fly speed before being turned also gain the ability to hitch a lift on pieces of paper and blowing leaves, allowing them to effectively Fly at their original speed with Clumsy manoeuvreability.

AC: Graph creatures lose any Natural Armour they may have had and gain an equal Dodge bonus as their greater size allows them to flow around blows more easily.

Attacks: Graph creatures retain the attacks they had in life, modified as follows:
Graph creatures can only attack a creature's shadow [the most 2D part of them]. Creatures more than 10ft off the ground are thus immune to their attacks [the shadow ceases to be representitive of them].
Graph attacks deal only Subdual [Non-Lethal] damage as they attack the soul of the target. The exception is that they can deal lethal damage and literally devour the bodies of the unconscious.
Graph, unlike other beings that attack shadows, are not stopped when the light is too bad to see the shadow, but the target must be able to see the Graph. During such twilight times, the Graph gains a +2 bonus to hit.
Graph attacks ignore all forms of DR except DR/Magic

Special Attacks: The Graph retains all special abilities that its model possessed, except those that involve the introduction of foreign matter [Poison, Disease, Impregnation]. All its other abilities are modified to deal Subdual [Non-Lethal] damage only. In addition, it gains the following abilities:


Infest [Ex]: By moving into the space of a target and beginning a grapple against the root of its shadow, the Graph can attempt to shift from the ground or walls and onto the body of the target. Doing so requires the Graph to successfully Pin the target in a grapple, at which point the grapple ends completely and the victim gains a tattoo in the form of the attacking Graph.

In this form, the Graph is immobile and takes on either the role of Mutterer, Friend or Enemy as a possessor [see Fiendish Codex I, pg 23 for more details]. The infesting Graph can be driven out by all the normal exorcistic methods and retains their vulnerability to Remove Disease and its ilk.

Shadow Grapple [EX]: Graphs can grapple, despite being 2-D by attacking the shadow of the target. This has the odd effect of making it look rather like the target is wrestling with himself. The Graph retains the full spread of grapple options while like this and cannot be attacked because it is always partially covered by the shadow of the victim. Once the grapple begins, it's the victim's problem.


Special Qualities: A Graph retains none of the special qualities of the model, instead gaining the following:

Living Construct Subtype: A Graph is subject to Critical hits and Sneak attacks, along with Mind Affecting spells, though it is immune to poison, disease, level drain and conventional Death effects.

Two Dimensional: [Ex] Graphs are living images. They move along the ground and walls. Those with at least 10 HD or a Fly speed can also move across water as a reflection. It can fit through any space where a gap actually exists and suffers no penalties for squeezing, ever. It can move through enemy squares much like it were incorporeal.

2-D creatures are immune to Grappling damage, Falling damage and cannot be moved by any means, including teleportation. The Single exception is to trick them onto a seperable object and hold it off the ground, which will keep them in place.

If pierced with an iron stake, they are held in place until the stake is removed.

Material Hardness: Graph creatures gain a Hardness score equal to the material that they are occupying the surface of, usually Stone [8], Glass [1], Wood [5] or Clay [3]. Damaging the Graph leaves score marks in the underlying material that would be considered criminal damage and vandalism.

Urban Blight: Between Vasquez' rhetoric and public perception, the Graphs were born out of an imagined disease. They can be slain instantly, on a failed Fortitude save, by an effect that removes disease or curses.

Environment: Becomes Urban only

Alignment: Always Neutral Evil

Challenge Rating: Model +1


Example Graph Creature:

Graph Lion
Large Construct (Living, Augmented Animal)
HD 5d8+10 (32 HP)
Speed Glide 40 ft. (8 squares); Cannot cross water
Init: +3
AC 15 (-1 size, +3 Dex, +3 Dodge), touch 15, flat-footed 12
BAB +3; Grp +12
Attack Claw +7 melee (1d4+5)
Full-Attack 2 claws +7 melee (1d4+5) and bite +2 melee (1d8+2)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks Improved Grab, Infest, Pounce, Rake 1d4+2, Shadow Grapple
Special Qualities Living Construct, Low-light vision, Material Hardness, Scent, Two Dimensional, Urban Blight
Saves Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +2
Abilities Str 21, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills Balance +7, Hide +3*, Listen +5, Move Silently +11, Spot +5
Feats Alertness, Run
Environment Urban
Organization Solitary or Mural [2-50 random Graph creatures]
Challenge Rating 4
Treasure None
Alignment Always Neutral Evil
Advancement 6-8 HD (Large)

A beautiful and anatomically accurate painting of a male lion comes bounding towards you along a tall smooth wall, its growl being heard through your feet.

Combat:
The Graph lion charges and attempts to render its targets unconscious so it can eat them.

Improved Grab [Ex]: To use this ability, a graph lion must hit with its bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can rake.

Pounce [Ex]: If a graph lion charges a foe, it can make a full attack, including two rake attacks.

Rake [Ex]: Attack bonus +7 melee, damage 1d4+2.

Skills: Graph Lions have a +4 racial bonus on Balance, Hide, and Move Silently checks.

Lore:
As always, there are two additional levels of Lore that cover common rumour and hearsay. Gather Information/Knowledge (Local): DCs start with a base of the creature's HD but this tends to be "accepted truth" rather than anything truly factual.
{table]DC:|Lore

10|Banksie is the most prolific of the Graffiti artists in the current plague

15|People have been disappearing since the most impressive paintings of Banksie's have been appearing.

20|Banksie only began painting in ernest after Mayor Vasquez singled him out as the worst of the artists for befouling the town.

25|Some people claim that it isn't the artists or crime that are killing folk but the paintings which seem able to move...

30|Only weapons made within the city limits seem to have much effect on Banksie.

35|Its as if the city has actually become infected by perception at the moment.[/table]

The Vorpal Tribble
2010-06-21, 09:53 AM
The contest has ended and voting begun.

Click here to cast your vote in Achoo! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8750685#post8750685)

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Josha's entry has been disqualified for failing to meet contest theme requirements in the way of a new, unique disease.