Creatures Worth Killing

[Torq]

Is there a list compiled somewhere of creatures worth hunting/killing for the valuable items that can be harvested from them? For example, a Unicorn (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/unicorn.htm) for its horn or a Hippogriff (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/hippogriff.htm)for its eggs.

If not, can we start one here? Also - at least to start - can we try to keep it to stuff found in MMI before moving to sources outside of core?

[Pentagon]

Dragons for their hide, hearts etc (im pretty sure that everything from a dragon is a reagent somewhere).

Blood of a celestial has uses in evil magic.

Umberhulk Hide is used in mind resistant armour I believe

Pentagon

[Torq]

Dragons for their hide, hearts etc (im pretty sure that everything from a dragon is a reagent somewhere).

Blood of a celestial has uses in evil magic.

Umberhulk Hide is used in mind resistant armour I believe

Pentagon

Good start. Do you know what sourcebook the Umber Hulk Hide is mentioned in? I didn't see reference to it (or the blood of the celestial in the MM).

[Piggy Knowles]

BoVD, page 45, has a list of rare material components, including...


liquid pain
brain fluid (gross)
chromatic dragon heart
lycanthrope fur/skin
ochre jelly/gray ooze
chromatic dragon heart
metallic dragon heart
demon flesh
demon heart
feather from an intelligent flying creature
humanoid heart, bone, brain, eye, finger, hand or blood
tongue of a creature capable of speech
Vrock feather
Yugoloth brain
souls, in various forms


Generally, incorporating these into a spell will give extra effects to the spell. For example, using a bit of powdered and dried chromatic dragon heart on a spell that deals damage has a 30% chance of doing +2d6 extra damage against a good target.

[hewhosaysfish]

Pentagon

For a second, I thought that was a fourth entry on your list and I wondered what source book Pentagons were from...

[Slipperychicken]

According to BoVD rules for body part costs, the sum of a sufficiently-butchered human corpse should be worth 1gp. That's more than a week's pay for an unskilled laborer.

"Feather from intelligent flying creature" is like 200gp 20gp just one feather. Even small birds can potentially have thousands of feathers. But a man-sized beast like a Raptoran, or a winged Angel? You do the math :smallbiggrin:

Bear in your calculations that PCs can usually only sell most items for 50% market price.

[Zombulian]

For a second, I thought that was a fourth entry on your list and I wondered what source book Pentagons were from...

Honestly until I saw the quote where it shows the name right above it, I was just as confused as you.

[Nettlekid]

Er, the feather from an intelligent creature is only 20 gold listed, not 200. Also, I can't seem to find what the actual use for the item is. It's not listed among the other optional material components.

In BoED, there are similar uses for material components, like Blink Dog teeth, Celestial Blood, Couatl scales and feathers, Lammasu claws, Lillend scales, Pegasus feathers, Phoenix feathers, Unicorn blood, a sliver of a Unicorn's horn, and Unicorn tail hairs. Presumably all of those must be acquired peacefully and willingly.

I also know (I think from the Planar Handbook) that Gorgon's Blood mixed into like, paint or mortar or something renders a wall impervious to ethereal intrusion, as by a ghost or something. That's pretty cool, right?

[Malimar]

Giant fire beetle glands are harvestable, they shed light. I had a factotum who used a vial full of glands as his primary light source for awhile.

Can't sell 'em, though; they only last 1d6 days. I mention it mostly because "gland" is a great word to be able to use dozens of times per session.

[Pentagon]

Honestly until I saw the quote where it shows the name right above it, I was just as confused as you.

Really... with people calling themselves "Nettlekid", "Slippery Chicken" and "He who says fish" and 'pentagon' confuses people! :P (As much as the mods rulings told me specifically that 'hello's should be constrained to hello forum threads... (Hi I'm pentagon, it's a metaphor for someone who insists on being different but still comparable in a typical world)


Umber Hulk was stolen from the crafting system in NWN2 SoZ I just assumed that one of the five hundred source books would include it.

Book of Vile Darkness:

Material Components of evil:

Best Brain fluid
Bit of Lycanthrope
Bit of Ochre Jelly
Chromatic Dragon Heart
Demon Flesh
Demon Heart
Devils heart
Feather of an intelligent creature
Humanoid Bone
Humanoid Brain
Humanoid Eye
Humanoid Finger
Humanoid hand
Humanoid heart
metallic dragon heart
soul in larval form
tongue of creature capable of speech
Yugoloths brain

I'm pretty sure celestial blood is somewhere in the exalted deeds/book of vile darkness but couldn't see it quickly.


Edited, oh lol didn't see my list had been beaten to :P

Just my 5 cents,

(your's faithfully,
Pentagon)

[Humble Master]

Wouldn't metal golems be rather profitable to kill? Metal is rather expensive after all and golems can weight 1,000s of pounds.

[Nettlekid]

Wouldn't metal golems be rather profitable to kill? Metal is rather expensive after all and golems can weight 1,000s of pounds.

I think a metal golem is much more valuable as a golem than as scrap metal. To create an Iron Golem, you need 5000 lbs of iron (and as the PHB states on page 112, one pound of iron is 1 sp) and 10,000 gp of magic oils and stuff. So the price of construction is 10,500 gold for just materials. They sell for 150,000, and the listed cost of creation is 80,000 gold. Which means there's about 69,500 gp worth of "other" that goes into an Iron Golem. So you basically lose 79,500 gold if you kill an Iron Golem for the metal.

[JusticeZero]

Blood bushes (https://sites.google.com/site/pathfinderogc/bestiary/monster-listings/plants/blood-bush) - seeds, 20gp per. I have not idea why anyone would pay, however.

[Zombulian]

Really... with people calling themselves "Nettlekid", "Slippery Chicken" and "He who says fish" and 'pentagon' confuses people! :P (As much as the mods rulings told me specifically that 'hello's should be constrained to hello forum threads... (Hi I'm pentagon, it's a metaphor for someone who insists on being different but still comparable in a typical world)


Yeah it wasn't so much your name but the formatting of the post made it seem like it was part of the list. Anyway, confusion over, and hello!

If it hasn't been mentioned yet, killing Aboleths for their mucus. An extremely powerful "poison" and costs 20gp per dose. Now you just have to figure out how much mucus you can harvest from an Aboleth... and if you think you can kill an Aboleth.

[Keneth]

I've always found it funny how people use signatures that have nothing to do with signatures, then sign their posts with actual signatures instead of putting that text in their sig. If Cthulhu were real, he'd be perfectly comfortable within the madness of the internet. :smalltongue:

Anyway, the idea of using monster parts as crafting or spell components has always been dear to my heart. Sadly, aside from dragon parts, there is very little opportunity to use dead monsters for anything other than trophies. What few rules there are, scattered across the splat books, are underwhelming at best. Back in 3.0, I detailed all "usable" parts for every monster in MM and MM2, and ran a fairly successful campaign where the PCs ended up tearing creatures apart limb from limb. In hindsight, it was all rather gruesome and unsettling, and the smell of rotten flesh must have been quite dreadful.

[Greenish]

Public Service Announcement: Do not kill warforged for their plating. Warforged plating (yes, including Mithral/Adamantine Body) decays to nothing after death.


This post has been brought to you by Stop Warforged Poaching Now, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of sentient constructs.

[Slipperychicken]

Really... with people calling themselves "Nettlekid", "Slippery Chicken" and "He who says fish" and 'pentagon' confuses people! :P (As much as the mods rulings told me specifically that 'hello's should be constrained to hello forum threads... (Hi I'm pentagon, it's a metaphor for someone who insists on being different but still comparable in a typical world)

It was only confusing because you posted it in such a way that it looked like a list item.

To make your lists dotted or numbered, highlight the list, then hit one of the buttons under where it says "sizes".

[Torq]

According to BoVD rules for body part costs, the sum of a sufficiently-butchered human corpse should be worth 1gp. That's more than a week's pay for an unskilled laborer.

"Feather from intelligent flying creature" is like 200gp just one feather. Even small birds can potentially have thousands of feathers. But a man-sized beast like a Raptoran, or a winged Angel? You do the math :smallbiggrin:

Bear in your calculations that PCs can usually only sell most items for 50% market price.

Is there anywhere in any of the three core rule books that mention the "feather from an intelligent creature?" I.e. a spell description in the PHB or a creature description in the MM.

I'm trying to take a little bit of control over the party's fortune (within reason), DM willing.

[Slipperychicken]

Is there anywhere in any of the three core rule books that mention the "feather from an intelligent creature?" I.e. a spell description in the PHB or a creature description in the MM.


As far as I know, it's only in BoVD, page 45, Table 3-8; Evil Spell Components. Also the actual price is 20gp, but that can still add up considerably.

It's a spell component for Spores of the Vrock (Clr 2, Demonologist 1, BoVD page 105). Kind of a terrible spell, but apparently someone is willing to pay money to cast that.

[ddude987]

Yeah it wasn't so much your name but the formatting of the post made it seem like it was part of the list. Anyway, confusion over, and hello!

If it hasn't been mentioned yet, killing Aboleths for their mucus. An extremely powerful "poison" and costs 20gp per dose. Now you just have to figure out how much mucus you can harvest from an Aboleth... and if you think you can kill an Aboleth.

Slightly off topic, is aboleth mucus considered poison? I had a dm that said any substance that requires you to make a fort save is a poison.

[Gemini476]

Slightly off topic, is aboleth mucus considered poison? I had a dm that said any substance that requires you to make a fort save is a poison.

Nope! That's a house rule. Poisons are poisons if they say they are, otherwise they might be drugs, cursed and/or weird miscellanea, like Aboleth Mucus.

Also, poisons are made with their own Craft skill, and the rest of the stuff generally uses Alchemy.

There are arguments about Trollbane's status, but let's not get into that.

[Zombulian]

Yeah Aboleth Mucus is an alchemical item. So a good thing to remember in case someone uses poison immunity when you use it on them. Crush their dreams!