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Scalamander
2012-12-18, 02:51 AM
The Battleloth
Intended as an example of the horrible power the Daemons wield over those who serve them, the Battleloths may prove to have a different destiny. For they are every bit as cruel and conniving as their dark creators and have managed to spread despite repeated attempts to annihilate them. Forged with the ability to become a specific, enchanted weapon that must be wielded by another, it seems unlikely that they would be able to achieve any independence. But the long centuries spent imprisoned in Carceri and other dark places of the Multiverse have hardened them and allowed them to fulfill their twisted potential in ways their Daemonic creators could have never imagined.

Original credit for the idea goes to Mike Mearls for the "By Evil Bound" article from Dragon #306. I have decided to adapt the six battleloths for the Pathfinder system, adding new abilities and flavour, as well as inventing some new additions including fearsome prototypes never meant to be released as well as the synergistic Armourloths.

Kagaloth (Sword Battleloth)
"Poised to strike, this gaunt figure stands tall, staring at you through shadowed eyes set into a sleek skull. Its skin appears metallic and unyielding but pulsing veins run all along its human-like body, ending in densely corded muscles. A single sword is held in one hand, seemingly made of the same material as itself, while the other hand gestures you forward.

“Before we deal, I request a contest of arms. Only through combat will we be able to truly judge who will be master and who will be servant. My conditions are the same. Prepare yourself.”
CR: 5
XP: 1,600
NE Small outsider (battleloth, evil, neutral, shapechanger)
Init: +1; Senses: darkvision 60ft., telepathy 100ft.; Perception +12
Languages: Abyssal
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AC: 17, touch 13, flatfooted 15 (+1 Dex, +1 dodge, +4 natural, +1 size)
hp: 60hp (6d10+18)
Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +5
Immune: acid, death effects, disease, poison; Resistance: cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10
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Speed: 30ft.
Melee: Short sword +13/+8 (1d6+7+1d6 cold) or
Melee: Power Attack +12/+7 (1d6+10+1d6 cold)
Space: 5ft.; Reach: 5ft.
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Str 18, Dex 13, Con 17, Int 14, Wis 11, Cha 14
Base Atk: +6; CMB: +10; CMD: 20
Feats: Combat Expertise, Dodge, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (short sword)B
Skills: Acrobatics +8, Bluff +12, Craft (weapons) +12, Disguise +12, Intimidate +12, Knowledge (planes) +12, Perception +10, Sense Motive +10, Stealth +8
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Environment: Carceri, Gehenna, Hades
Organization: Solitary
Advancement: Small 6-11HD, Medium 12-17HD, Large 18HD+
Treasure: Standard
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Enhanced Attacks (Su): The Kagaloth retains any magical enhancements and abilities it gains in weapon form to its natural attacks.

Guided Strikes (Su): While in its weapon form, the Kagaloth can choose to forgo its free attack and instead use the aid another action to grant its wielder a +2 bonus on its next attack roll against an opponent or a +2 bonus to its wielders AC against that opponent’s next attack. The choice is the wielders and the attack must come before the end of its next turn.

Shared Repertoire (Ex): As long as the wielder is holding a Kagaloth in its weapon form, it gains the use of the Martial Weapon Proficiency feat with the Short Sword as well as the Weapon Focus (short sword) feat. If the Kagaloth resumes its natural form or the wielder lets go of the weapon it loses the use of these feats.

Short Sword Form (Su): As a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity, a Kagaloth can become a +1 short sword with a +1 weapon enhancement (usually frost) or change back into its natural form.

In its weapon form it may make a single attack using its highest attack bonus against any target its wielder successfully strikes. It may only use this ability once per turn.
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Combat: Kagaloths will attempt to negotiate with other creatures of seemingly equal or greater power when caught unawares by proposing a contest of arms. The conditions the Kagaloth sets are usually harsh but fair and may include indentured servitude for the loser to the winner. Of course Kagaloths hate to lose and have no qualms about summoning reinforcements unexpectedly and using other dirty tricks to get the upper hand. They use their Power Attack feat unless they are not hitting enough and then switch to using Combat Expertise if things are going against them.

In weapon form they use their powers to aid their wielders attacks while telepathically offering advice wreathed in sarcasm and disgust to facilitate them to improve. They also have a habit of attempting to sunder the weapons and armour of other combatants with their extra attack, especially if they come up against other magical weapons.

Habitat and Society: Unlike the majority of their Battleloth kin who are content to live out their lives roaming across the Lower Planes, killing and dying in rapid succession, the Kagaloths believe they see a bigger picture. Their racial compulsion to create copies of themselves extends not only to the swords they are constantly forging, but the recruited Battleloths they are training as well. They see themselves and by extension all other Battleloths as creatures who may have been created as tools and cast away, but now are ready to come into their own. For the Kagaloth this future is the Blood War.

Some Kagaloth are consumed in a semi-religious cult they call the Dreams of Blood, a central tenant of which is that the Battleloth are destined to win the Blood War for whichever side wields them. Skeptical outsiders point to this as merely a clever marketing technique, but to the Kagaloth and others who endorse the message, it is their life’s calling.

Eldan
2012-12-18, 09:08 AM
Hm. I can't help but think that a 'loth weapon should have some terrible long-term drawback on the user. Like inflicting him with Mummy Rot or draining his happiness away or giving him permanent nightmares.

Amechra
2012-12-18, 09:35 AM
Well, they want to be used...

Scalamander
2012-12-18, 12:01 PM
I want them to feel useable to potential characters, even if they know the weapons true nature. While it may be evil and free-willed, in weapon form it can only fight for its wielder and use its abilities. However nothing can really stop them from transforming when they want to. Also between the Kagaloth's propensity for establishing who is the real master via constant duels and the Sagittoloths shopping around telepathically for higher paying customers, there is a very real danger in using them. Just not spelled out in stats.

Sagittoloth (Arrow Battleloth)
An emaciated bird regards you with fiery eyes set atop a wide, blunted beak and hops closer, spreading its fleshy wings for balance. It seems unnaturally gaunt and the curved claws sprouting from its scaled feet seem to resemble arrowheads made for piercing armour.

With a guttural chirp it tilts its head to the side and suddenly begins to fade into an oily black mist that quickly sucks itself down into the form of an ornately carved, black arrow, sitting on the ground where the creature had once stood.

A voice slides its way down into your ear sending icy shivers between your teeth, “Pick me up.”
CR: 1
XP: 400
NE Small outsider (battleloth, evil, neutral, shapechanger)
Init: +3; Senses: darkvision 60ft., telepathy 100ft.; Perception +6
Languages: Abyssal
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AC: 17, touch 15, flatfooted 13 (+3 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 natural, +1 size)
hp: 7hp (1d10)
Fort +0, Ref +5, Will +4
Immune: acid, death effects, disease, poison; Resistance: cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10
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Speed: 20ft., fly 80ft., (perfect)
Melee: 2 claws +6 (1d3+1)
Space: 5ft.; Reach: 5ft.
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Str 10, Dex 17, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 11
Base Atk: +1; CMB: +3; CMD: 13
Feats: Dodge, Weapon FinesseB
Skills: Bluff +4, Craft (fletching) +4, Fly +11, Perception +6, Sense Motive +4, Stealth +10, Survival +6
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Environment: Carceri, Gehenna, Hades
Organization: Solitary, pair or quiver (3-20)
Advancement: Small 1-5HD or by character class
Treasure: Standard
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Arrow Form (Su): As a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity, a Sagittoloth can become a +1 arrow or change back into its natural form. When in the form of an arrow it loses its ability to attack but retains its fly speed. If fired from a bow the wielder makes a normal attack roll, ignoring any miss chances or bonuses to AC that would come from cover or concealment as Sagittoloth adjusts its own trajectory in mid-flight.

Enhanced Attacks (Su): The Sagittoloth retains any magical enhancements and abilities it gains in weapon form to its natural attacks.

Hated Foe (Ex): A Sagittoloth gains +2 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against evil outsiders as well as a +2 bonus on weapon attack and damage rolls against them. It may also make Knowledge skill checks untrained when attempting to identify these creatures. As long as its wielder has the arrow notched in his bow, he benefits from this ability as well.
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Combat: Cowardly and likely to flee from a hostile force, the Sagittoloths only attack when they think they have an advantage over a small group or lone traveler. Their favorite tactic is to negotiate with a likely target to use them in combat for a small fee, only to broadcast its current price through telepathy to any creature willing to listen, offering to betray its wielder for slightly more. For this reason they tend to avoid potential owners they suspect are also able to use telepathy.

Habit and Society: The Battleloths are an old creation of the Daemons, but have been imprisoned in Carceri for many thousands of years and have only recently begun to re-emerge. While their unique ability to function as both a servant and a weapon has made them useful, most Daemons would prefer the treacherous creatures stayed locked up. Perhaps they see too much of themselves in their creation to be comfortable in letting the creatures serve them.

Apart from being press-ganged by stronger outsiders into forces which are inevitably used as fodder and torn apart, the Sagittoloths prefer to live in small packs called quivers. They make their homes in wide open areas where they can see something coming from all directions but usually near an active battleground, they are drawn to the sound of weapons clashing and the smell of blood being spilled.

Hunting for a mark naive enough to bargain with a Sagittoloth consumes most of their time, but somewhat more intelligent examples have been known to sneak into the quivers of adventurers and the camps of armies to eavesdrop and learn enough to trade for enchanted arrows and bows as well as the raw materials for their construction. This craft consumes the Sagittoloth upon returning to its nest and their homes are littered with the remnants of failed attempts and occasional successes.

Scalamander
2012-12-18, 01:14 PM
Hacheloth (Axe Battleloth)
Tearing through the wooden wall you thought you would be safe behind, the beast shuffles forwards snorting loudly. Although small it was bulky and its grey-black skin was covered in knotted whorls of scar tissue from old wounds, some of which look self-inflicted. Its large head ends in vertical, axe-head shaped jaws that open and close frequently, the yellowed teeth gashing together as a thin line of drool leaks towards the ground. Its arms are stunted and the feeble claws at their ends are uselessly curled inwards.

With a stamp the axe-headed creature fixes you with a fiery red glare and begins to shake convulsively, somehow losing size and gradually reforming into a wedge shaped handaxe with a black handle and chips missing from the dull grey blade.

A screech like rending metal invades your head and just above the cacophonous racket you can make a high pitched voice screaming, “We will destroy your enemies!”
CR: 2
XP: 600
NE Small outsider (battleloth, evil, neutral, shapechanger)
Init: +0; Senses: darkvision 60ft., telepathy 100ft.; Perception +5
Languages: Abyssal
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AC: 15, touch 11, flatfooted 14 (+4 natural, +1 size)
hp: 18hp (3d10+3)
Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +2
DR: 5/good or silver; Immune: acid, death effects, disease, poison; Resistance: cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10
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Speed: 20ft.
Melee: Bite +8 (1d6+4)
Space: 5ft.; Reach: 5ft.
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Str 14, Dex 11, Con 13, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 10
Base Atk: +3; CMB: +4; CMD: 14
Feats: Improved Natural Attack (bite), Power AttackB, Weapon Focus (bite)
Skills: Athletics +7, Craft (weapons) +3, Intimidate +6, Perception +5, Sense Motive +5, Stealth +10
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Environment: Carceri, Gehenna, Hades
Organization: Solitary, pair or squad (3-20)
Advancement: Small 3-7HD, Medium 8HD+ or by character class
Treasure: Standard
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Enhanced Attacks (Su): The Hacheloth retains any magical enhancements and abilities it gains in weapon form to its natural attacks.

Handaxe Form (Su): As a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity, a Hacheloth can become a +1 handaxe or change back into its natural form. In its weapon form it retains its ability to make bite attacks, which it can perform against any target its wielder successfully strikes in combat.

Shared Repertoire (Ex): As long as the wielder is holding a Hacheloth in its weapon form, it gains the use of the Martial Weapon Proficiency feat with the hand axe as well as the Weapon Focus (hand axe) feat. If the Hacheloth resumes its natural form or the wielder lets go of the weapon it loses the use of these feats.

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Combat: When in their natural forms the Hacheloth are almost completely fearless attackers, seemingly more then willing to throw their lives away attacking a superior foe. The truth of the matter is that they are rarely intelligent enough to take the measure of an enemy before engaging and once their bloodlust is up they find it almost impossible to back down.

As weapons, they encourage their wielders to attack anyone that mistreats or even slights them, some screaming telepathic curses at potential targets and daring anyone nearby to engage them. This behavior has caused more then a few owners to abandon them which only adds to the many complexes and erratic behavior the Hacheloths are known for.

Habitat/Society: Deemed failures by their creators and unwanted even by their kin, the Hacheloths are the mostly likely to be found on their own. They wander, mostly because they will be attacked by any other Battleloths whose hunting ground they invade and because the Daemons will simply exterminate them if they happen to come upon them.

Even when Hacheloths come together they fight and squabble for dominance and even after a pecking order has been established they are quick to undermine and sabotage each other if it looks like they might become the new leader. The racial desire to build perfect copies of the weapon it is patterned after is particularly strong in the Hacheloths, however their attempts are mostly inept which only adds to their unreasonable fury at the world around them.

Diplomacy is not a strong skill for the Hacheloths and most rely on bullying the weakest of creatures, like goblins and petitioners, into using them. While they are effective weapons, their willingness to push their wielder to attack anyone who slights them including vastly stronger opponents makes them dangerous allies.

Debihuman
2012-12-19, 11:27 AM
What is the Battleloth Subtype?

Do you mean this:


Daemon Subtype

Daemons are neutral evil outsiders that eat souls and thrive on disaster and ruin.

Daemons have the following traits (unless otherwise noted):

Immunity to acid, death effects, disease, and poison.
Resistance to cold 10, electricity 10, and fire 10.
Summon (Sp): Daemons share the ability to summon others of their kind, typically another of their type or a small number of less powerful daemons.
Telepathy.
Except where otherwise noted, daemons speak Abyssal, Draconic, and Infernal.


Debby

Scalamander
2012-12-19, 11:02 PM
It would be a Daemon subtype with the addition of the ability Weapon Form;

Weapon Form (Su): A Battleloth can become a specific enchanted weapon as a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity, or change back into its natural form. While in its weapon form its function as a weapon with the enchancements noted in its specific abilities. It can communicate telepathically with its wielder and anything else within range but cannot cast spells that require a material or somatic component.

The Battleloth is treated as a creature even in weapon form, it gains no hardness and any attacks against it are resolved as if it were in its natural form. It does gain a +2 bonus to its Armour Class while in its weapon form.

Since they were a servitor race they share the same racial attributes as their Daemon creators. Thanks for pointing out that I missed including that.