PDA

View Full Version : [Pathfinder Monster] (x)(X)(x) tHe BeST IS yET to COmE ...



Golden-Esque
2011-09-08, 08:12 PM
Springwane 13,

We began this expedition with the highest hopes. It was simple, really. People had gone missing over the past several weeks; a few young lads and a lass. People say that they were having trouble sleeping; they were coughing their lungs out and they kept mumbling about 'someone being out to get them.' And them they vanished.

You can imagine that their mums were quite upset about the whole thing. Upset enough to hire a bunch of adventurers like myself to go and look for'em. The others are nice enough; never met a gnome I never thought to be a wee bit strange, though. Regardless, we set off into the woods first thing tomorrow. But really, I'm not expecting much; entire tribes of goblins have died by my blade. What's a few missing kids?

Springwane 15.

Been a few days since we've left. Had to clear out a few rapid animals, a couple kobolds; nothing major. Until later, when we think we might have found where the kids had been staying, at least, for a little while. It was an old, run-down cabin. The villagers told us all about it; some nutty wizard used to stay there, claiming that 'the one from beyond it all' was out for his blood. That he wanted to scrape and claw and rip him apart. Needless to say, he died alone, and his cabin went into disrepaid.

Well, when we took a look inside of the old, rotten place, we could definitely tell it was used recently. Spoiled provisions, tracks of displaced dirt and dust and the like. The ranger wandered around and checked out the little things; I, on the other hand, stared at the big thing. A giant circle with an 'x' running straight through it. The wound looked fairly new, as paint had been chipped all around the marking, but it was hard to say. Macro; that's the ranger, said he found tons of that mark all over the place. In windows, in books, under chains, everywhere. We've decided that we're going to stay the night; after all, the 'little bookworm' found a cache of tomes he wants to read. They're diaries. Thinks they'll help. I don't like the feel of this place, but I guess we'll see.

Springwane 16,

I'm officially freaked out now. I wasn't, at first. Old man Linealechatter; that's our little bookwork wizard, started reading the tomes. Said it talked about some 'creature' that appeared to have a bunch of names for it. Operator was apparently common, but on the final page, the words 'Slenderman' were carved into the cover. Apparently this 'creature' is beyond our world. Likes to rip people's minds apart. Linealechatter wants another night here to read. He seems hooked. I don't like the feeling of this.

Springwane 17,

****, I must be out of my mind. I keep feeling like I see something. Where? I don't know. Off in the woods. At all times of the day too, not just at night. It's in the corner of my eyes. Dancing, toying with me. Linealechatter didn't get much sleep last night, and all three of us; Lineale, Marco, and myself all broke out in this strange cough. And I feel cold, no matter how many blankets I got on, I feel cold. Something is going on here.

Springwane 18

We found one of the kids. He wandered up into the cabin, shaking. Marco calmed him down, we gave him some of our supplies to try and help. He was blubbering about how he couldn't remember anything about the past week and a half. Lineale scanned his mind; says it really was blank. We asked him what was wrong. Said that something started following him and his friends ever since they started hanging around this cabin. We asked him what he thought it was, and he pointed out to the forest. "That," he said softly. We followed his finger and we saw it too. It was a man, wearing some weird clothes and looking really tall and wrong; like someone had stretched him out. And he didn't have a face. That was weird too. Lineale screamed, "It's the Operator!" and ducked under a table. Marco pulled out his longbow and shot it, only it wasn't there anymore. It was in the cabin. And it had Lineale.

I don't remember anything after that. Only that Lineale's gone. And the kid is still blubbering. I feel like crying too, and even as I write this down, I feel like I'm still being watched.

Springwane 25 (?)

Woke up this morning in the local inn. I don't know what happened. Calender in the room says that it's five days later. Calen; the writer, up until this point, is dead. The boy is missing. All I have is what's in this book. He's still watching me. He's toying with me; I know this game. I don't know what it is, but I know this game. He's marked me. He wants to wear me down until I break. Just like Calen did. Just like Lineale. Probably like those kids too. I see him now, he's everywhere. He's behind every shadow, a face in every crowd. How long until he wins?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

This Pathfinder monster is a homage to what is possibly the scariest mythos to come of our generation. The monster itself pays a good deal of respect to its source material, as well as to the other people on this board who have been brave enough to try and give rules and existence to that which cannot, should not, and does not exist. For that, Hyooz and The Demented One, I am thankful.

The Operator is dialing. Can you resist the urge to answer? (view) (https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxkdW1wYnVja2V0ZG5kfGd4OjZk NGE0YzQzYjZhNGM3NGY)

If you keep it, he will keep you. (download) (https://sites.google.com/site/dumpbucketdnd/things-to-share/S%28X%29.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1)

Enjoy...


http://www.deviantart.com/download/126757003/The_Slender_Man_by_Pirate_Cashoo.jpg

Debihuman
2011-09-09, 07:12 AM
Not to rain on your parade, but as soon as I saw Regen 80 for a 30 HD monster with a 22 CR I nearly gave up.

How is this not a TPK and where is the fun in that?

Debby

Golden-Esque
2011-09-09, 01:21 PM
Not to rain on your parade, but as soon as I saw Regen 80 for a 30 HD monster with a 22 CR I nearly gave up.

How is this not a TPK and where is the fun in that?

Debby

Oooh, that's not good. No one that gives up ever survives very long in a Slenderman story! :-P Before you grow too disheartened, here are some points you may have overlooked, as well as a few comments at the end from yours truly.


The Slenderman is a CR 22 monster with 30 Hit Dice. This is about the same as the tarrasque, though the tarrasque is 3 CR higher. He was the monster that I referenced when building the Slenderman.
The average HP for a 30 HD monster, according to the Bestiary, is 370. The Slenderman is lower than this by about 80 hit points. The tarrasque and the jabberwocky, the only creatures currently in the same "above CR 20" ballpark as the Slenderman, both have nearly double this number.
The reason that the Slenderman's HP is so low is because it is a Large creature and its Constitution is about 15 points lower then some of those other high CR monsters.
Slenderman has an AC of 22, which 14 points lower than the suggested value for a 30 HD monster. If not for his constant displacement ability (which can be temporarily suppressed by clever PCs) he'd be extremely easy to hit.
The average damage range for a 30 HD monster is 90-120. The Slenderman fails pitifully in this category, with having 6 attacks that deal 1d6+7 damage each. Each of its tentacles have a chance to make a free eviscerate attack (an extra 6d6 damage on a constrict or as a semi-rend). This puts the Slenderman's potential damage range at 63 - 126. The high range is assuming that the Slenderman has four enemies grappled and hits with both of his claws against one creature to use eviscerate. Even in all of these situations, it relies on the Slenderman hitting with 12 seperate attacks and still, that 126 damage would have to be spread out between four to five different PCs. (NOTE: This damage range will be lower now, that's to his update.)


As my closing remark, the Slenderman is designed to be used like other monsters are. He's designed to invoke a feeling of dread; he's definitely a PC humbler in the sense that he easily be hit, take ridiculous amounts of damage, and then the players have to watch as their damage literally melts away. I can think of nothing so psychologically jarring to a player then for all of their options to systematically not work, and both in Pathfinder and in the stories the Slenderman exists in, he's not a beat-down-the-door monster; he's a subtle creature who works by psychologically destroying his foes. That was the feel that I was going for with this version of the Slenderman.

Now, is there a way to kill him? Perhaps, but like Pathfinder's version of the tarrasque, I intentionally left that vague. His description gives some plot hooks for the GM to consider, but ultimately, it is up to the GM to decide how Slenderman can be bested. To be honest, Slenderman is not a monster that I would splash into a game on a whim. He's a monster that deserves to have an entire story centered around him; maybe something Elder Evil style. Only instead of saving the world, you're trying to save yourself. Because really, the heart of any good Slenderman story, of any good horror story, is a mystery surrounded by the primal urge to survive.

With that, I did take your one rather blunt suggestion into account. I agree that 80 might have been a bit of an overkill, especially when combined with Impossible Biology (which I don't think you got to yet), so I toned Slenderman's regeneration down.

UPDATE:

Regeneration reduced from 80 to 50. Impossible biology damage cap reduced from 40 to 25.
Eviscerate can no longer be triggered like rend (it does not interact with the Slenderman's claw attacks) and damage done by eviscerate has been reduced from 6d6 to 3d6.
Added the Slenderman's critical threat details for its weapon. Because those are important and where missing for the claws xD.

Ilorin Lorati
2011-09-10, 12:56 AM
...I was just about to make a slendy based monster for my campaign setting.

Wow, talk about seriously good timing.

Looking at him, I fail to see any problems. He's best suited to being a BBEG, which is fine as he's ****ing slenderman.

The only thing I'd say to change is to not bury proxy info that deep into the on-sheet fluff.

Curious
2011-09-10, 03:47 AM
You- you- I didn't know what this was, so I checked TV Tropes, and it linked me to Marble Hornets.

It is pitch black outside, and foggy.

Golden-Esque
2011-09-10, 12:10 PM
You- you- I didn't know what this was, so I checked TV Tropes, and it linked me to Marble Hornets.

It is pitch black outside, and foggy.

Aw man, I am so sorry! Just remember that despite all the stuff you'll find on the web, slender man is entirely fictional. Fun story, making that stat block was how I ghat myself out of slender paranoia. A lot of the slender man's scare factor comes from feast of the unknown, and everything is less scary with a stat block! :smalleek:

Zale
2011-09-10, 07:16 PM
I-It makes me want to go stay in a permanent anti-magic sphere..

And never leave.

Anyway, I guess this would make a good Characters-Never-Want-To-Sleep-Again monster. :smalleek:

Golden-Esque
2011-09-10, 08:53 PM
I-It makes me want to go stay in a permanent anti-magic sphere..

And never leave.

Anyway, I guess this would make a good Characters-Never-Want-To-Sleep-Again monster. :smalleek:

Do you know what's REALLY scary? Even though you're in your bubble, the Slenderman's Aura of Trauma ability is extraordinary, so even then you're not safe from its mind-rending paranoia ....

That was also completely intentional, of course! >: )

But yes, in my opinion, a horror game works best with good roleplayers where the CHARACTERS are scared out of their minds, but the players are still cohesive.

Golden-Esque
2011-09-10, 09:00 PM
...I was just about to make a slendy based monster for my campaign setting.

Wow, talk about seriously good timing.

Looking at him, I fail to see any problems. He's best suited to being a BBEG, which is fine as he's ****ing slenderman.

The only thing I'd say to change is to not bury proxy info that deep into the on-sheet fluff.

I kind of want to make a REAL proxy template instead of just hiding it in there. If I do, I might expand that document into an "Adventures of Slenderotica" mini SPLAT book, giving a nice Slenderman horror story (like the one I put in this post), the Slenderman stats, expanded fluff and history, scenarios for banishing him, and actual Proxy rules. I'd like to make templates for Hollowed, Sleepers, Berserkers, Revnants, etc. Finally, I'm thinking of making a Wildblood Sorcerer Archetype alternate for the Aberration bloodline; the Slendertouched Bloodline. That could be fun ....

Curious
2011-09-10, 09:36 PM
Well, I survived the night, but I don't think I'll ever watch Marble Hornets while alone and in the dark again. Thanks for the reassurances Golden, and kudos on the monster, it's really cool.

Ilorin Lorati
2011-09-10, 10:53 PM
I kind of want to make a REAL proxy template instead of just hiding it in there. If I do, I might expand that document into an "Adventures of Slenderotica" mini SPLAT book, giving a nice Slenderman horror story (like the one I put in this post), the Slenderman stats, expanded fluff and history, scenarios for banishing him, and actual Proxy rules. I'd like to make templates for Hollowed, Sleepers, Berserkers, Revnants, etc. Finally, I'm thinking of making a Wildblood Sorcerer Archetype alternate for the Aberration bloodline; the Slendertouched Bloodline. That could be fun ....

That would actually be pretty awesome as a whole, and I would definitely work it into my campaign.

It would give you a chance to bring proxies up to scary level - looking at it again, right now players are likely to just kill any proxies that trouble them, which would kinda ruin the scary factor. :\

Golden-Esque
2011-09-12, 02:58 PM
Update for all of you crazy people out there:

I was bored this weekend, so I put together a little treat for any Slenderfans we have on the Playground!

You can click on this link to view my special treat to all of you, (https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxkdW1wYnVja2V0ZG5kfGd4OjJj OTUwYTFiYzM4YWJhZjM) or, if you're exceptionally brave, you can click on this link to download it for yourselves. (https://sites.google.com/site/dumpbucketdnd/things-to-share/TheTomeofSlenderotica.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1)

I call my horribly weird creation the "Tome of Slenderotica," and here's a quick rundown of what you'll find within:

A prologue featuring a group of adventurers that have a rendezvous with old Slendy himself.
A chapter informing a slenderblind reader just what, exactly, the Slenderman is and a little bit about him and his powers.
The stat block found higher up in this thread, with a few additional pieces of information.
A special section on proxies; what they are, how they're created, and quick rules for creating four types of proxies; the agent, the hollowed, the sleeper, and the revenant.
Some tips and suggestions for including the Slenderman in your campaign adventures.
New player options for a Slenderman campaign; a new Wildblood Sorcerer option and three new character traits.