[PF] Monster ideas?

[Shadowbane]

So the PCs are at a large stone town/castle near the mountains. Think Helms Deep but bigger.

I've failed to plan this very well, but here's the story so far.

We have a Aasimar Paladin, a Half-Elf Ranger, a Halfling Cleric, a Demonspawn Tiefling Abyssal Sorceress and a Human Two-Handed Fighter, all level 1. They're investigating a series of murders and disappearances, originally blamed on the sorceress, who the other four found at this place. The paladin of the party helped clear her name and now they're trying to find the real murderer.

The murders are grisly and extremely violent. People are found torn apart with their hearts often missing or smeared along an nearby wall. Several have been found with their throats torn out.

What they know now is that a long time ago something very, very bad happened in this castle and whatever caused it was locked away in a massive vault underneath the castle. No one will give them any hint as to what is in there or what it did - all they know is that it was bad and quite powerful. When the paladin used detect evil it radiated evil so strong it made him vomit (he's inexperienced).

What is in the vault is what is committing the murders.

What is happening now is that a humiliated ex-knight (thrown out of his order due to his behavior towards the sorceress and the party paladin's intervention) is going to open the vault. He doesn't know what's inside either, but he's slipping and going insane - if he survives, he'll be a recurring character as an anti-paladin.

So where am I stuck?

I have no idea what's in the vault. Five ECL 1 characters with a paladin really good at fighting evil things, a cleric with the ever useful Luck and Travel Domains, a ranger who specializes in hunting orcs, a fighter who's, well, a fighter and a sorceress who summons stuff. No magic items except for a few cure light wounds potions.

What could they fight that's challenging and scary but possible?

[Arbane]

Not sure offhand, but it has to be something that can get in and out, despite locked doors. So something that can turn intangible, teleport, or walk through solid walls?

Whatever it is, it'll probably be way out of their CR. One possible survival aid would be to have the castle's guards on the PCs' side in the big fight - it's a cynical thing to say, but even if whatever it is kills two a round, it's massacring less PCs that way....

[nyarlathotep]

It really depends on whether the thing is getting out on its own or if it is something regularly being let out. So I will give 2 options.

Let out by someone

Due to the king's boasting they cursed his wife to give birth to a monster, a monster with the body of a stag, the wings and talons of a hawk, and the face of a babe.

The monster is a peryton (found in the bestiary 2) but with a human face, which has no statistical difference unless you want it to speak. As a CR4 it might be a bit beyond the capabilities of a ECL 1 group depending on optimization. If you think it would be too much remove it's DR and have it use its shadow mark on an NPC as the battle begins.

If it gets out on its own

One night long ago the castle cook made a fool out of the his master by presenting a visiting dignitary a horrid dish. He protested that his work had been sabotage, but his cries fell on deaf ears. The castle's master had him entombed alive in the castle's basement.

You see however such evil is not something that can be left unavenged. The cook had a pet dog. This mutt found the wall its owner had been trapped behind and listened to his whispers and felt his despair. These emotions of a dying man infused the dog with power and so it set out to kill all those who had a part in it's master's death.

After the very public killing of the noble that ordered the entombing, the castle's other inhabitants had a specially blessed cell in order to contain it. This kept it contained for year, but vengeance is a festering thing, it gains power when denied. The dog knows that others escaped its wrath: the masons, the saboteur, the visiting dignitary; all died long ago to the ravages of old age. The animal is now taking vengeance by targeting their descendants. The cell's magic is failing but still forces him to return at the end of each night, because passing through the walls with magic causes the traveler to be plagued by a pain that grows in intensity until they return to the cell.

Statwise the dog is a half-fiend blink dog CR3 should be doable.

[Shadowbane]

Thanks! I'm gonna use the half-fiend blink dog.

[Reltzik]

Opening the vault, they discover.....

An ordinary human girl, dressed in the rags of fine clothing and apparently twelve years old, and armed with a ceremonial dagger. She attacks immediately.

The dagger is magical and enhances her abilities to the point where she's a significant threat to the party. Stat her like a 2nd level barbarian with a much bigger weapon.

The dagger itself is a +1 dagger that causes its wielder never to age, hunger, thirst, or fall sick. It's also cursed, causing the wielder to go berzerk and attempt to carry out sacrificial rituals (mostly involved cut-out hearts) that was the dagger's original purpose. The dagger is evil, not the girl. She's just another victim.

She was sealed away in the vault over a century ago, and has failed to rot there since then, until a kindly old elven nurse who was like a an aunt to her grew senile and decided to check on her. Since then, the girl has had one of the keys to her own prison.