Arracor
2015-03-09, 08:53 AM
WARNING: Product may make you uncontrollably energetic. Please inform your doctor if your biceps start to multiply, or if you begin to vomit weddings.
So what I've got here is a series of 4 templates intended for the campaign I'm starting this week. tl;dr there's no Demons or Devils or other Planes; instead there's a corruptive force inherent in the land called the Blight. The Blight spreads from loci, which are born from powerful negative emotion and, if not quickly put down, become permanent stains on the landscape. Blight also spreads between these loci, no matter how distant, leading to long strings of Blight that, in turn, are far more likely than non-Blighted ground to spawn new loci, creating new points on the grid and increasing the spread.
Why is all that important? Because the Blight taints everything in it. Exposure to it has effects on living things, of increasing severity the longer they remain exposed. Long enough exposure will eventually make them mutate into proper Avatars of Blight, this world's functional equivalent of actual fiends. Step 4 represents this, with Steps 1 through 3 being the gradual ramp-up in power and abilities granted by Blight.
Obviously this is powerful stuff. It's not at all intended for players, but is instead a DM tool. This in mind, a lot of possibly odd language is because I'm mainly writing this for my own use. However! What I cannot do on my own is accurately judge the effect these templates have on effective CR. That's where you come in, GitP. You have practical experience with 5e, and you can make the calls I'm not equipped to (yet.)
Notes: The effects of each Step are not cumulative; read each Step as if it's being applied to the original base creature.
Blighted Creature – Step 1
Blighted Influence: Creature’s alignment becomes Evil.
Blighted Resilience: +1 HP per Hit Die
Blighted Strength: +2 Str
Deformity: Creature develops a natural weapon of a type they don’t already have, dealing 1d4+Str for Small creatures, 1d6+Str for Medium creatures, 1d8 for Large creatures, etc. The creature may attack with this natural weapon as a bonus action, in addition to its normal attack action.
Mindless Fury: Reaction to all creatures is Hostile, with focus given to non-Blighted creatures. Immune to Charmed.
Blighted Creature – Step 2
Blighted Influence: Creature’s alignment becomes Evil.
Blighted Perception: Creature gains Darkvision out to 60 feet.
Blighted Resilience: +2 HP per Hit Die
Blighted Strength: +2 Str
Blighted Toughness: Creature’s natural armor increases by +1, or becomes 11+Dex if it doesn’t already have any.
Blighted Venom: Natural weapons deal the creature’s Con modifier in additional Poison damage.
Deformity: Creature develops a natural weapon of a type they don’t already have, dealing 1d4+Str for Small creatures, 1d6+Str for Medium creatures, 1d8 for Large creatures, etc. The creature may attack with this natural weapon as a bonus action, in addition to its normal attack action.
Greater Deformity: Creature’s natural weapons all increase by one damage step.
Mindless Fury: Reaction to all non-Blighted creatures is Hostile; it will only attack other Blighted creatures that attack it first. Immune to Charmed, Frightened, Poisoned.
Blighted Creature – Step 3
Blighted Essence: Creature’s type changes to Outsider.
Blighted Influence: Creature’s alignment becomes Evil.
Blighted Perception: Creature gains Darkvision out to 120 feet. In addition, it gains +5 to passive Perception checks, and adds twice its Proficiency bonus to Perception checks.
Blighted Resilience: +2 HP per Hit Die
Blighted Resistance: Creature gains Resistance to physical damage dealt with a non-silvered weapon. In addition, creature gains Resistance to Poison damage.
Blighted Strength: +4 Str, +2 Dex
Blighted Toughness: Creature’s natural armor increases by +2, or becomes 12+Dex if it doesn’t already have any.
Blighted Toxicity: Creature’s blood becomes highly toxic. Any creature that attacks it in melee must make a Con save or be Poisoned (DC 10+Con+Proficiency).
Blighted Venom: Natural weapons deal the creature’s Con modifier in additional Poison damage.
Blighted Virulence: Creature can make a special attack with any single natural weapon it possesses. On hit, target makes a Con save (DC 10+Con+Proficiency); on a failed save, target is affected as per the Contagion spell.
Deformity: Creature develops a natural weapon of a type they don’t already have, dealing 1d4+Str for Small creatures, 1d6+Str for Medium creatures, 1d8 for Large creatures, etc. The creature may attack with this natural weapon as a bonus action, in addition to its normal attack action. In addition, the creature may attack a target that enters its melee range with this natural weapon as a reaction.
Greater Deformity: Creature’s natural weapons all increase by one damage step. In addition, its natural weapons all gain 5ft of additional range.
Mindless Fury: Reaction to all non-Blighted creatures is Hostile; it will only attack other Blighted creatures that attack it first, and as an action it can compel any Blighted creature of Step 2 or lower within 60ft to obey it for one hour (DC 10+Cha+Proficiency vs Cha). Immune to Charmed, Frightened, Poisoned, Stunned, Unconscious. Creature will continue to fight until killed.
Blighted Creature – Step 4
Blighted Aura: This creature has become a living manifestation of the Blight. It qualifies as a Blight locus and spreads Blight wherever it goes. It can suppress this ability at will. In addition, it can make a special touch attack in an attempt to turn any living creature into a Blighted creature; if this attack hits, target must make a Cha save (DC 10+Cha+Proficiency) or immediately gain the Blighted Creature – Step 1 template. The creature can use this ability once per long rest.
Blighted Deception: This creature can use its action to polymorph into any Large or smaller Humanoid or Monstrosity form, gaining the movement modes and speeds of that form, or back into its true form. Its stats are the same in each form, except for the speed changes noted. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies.
Blighted Essence: Creature’s type changes to Outsider.
Blighted Influence: Creature’s alignment becomes Evil.
Blighted Perception: Creature gains Darkvision out to 120 feet. In addition, it gains +5 to passive Perception checks, and adds twice its Proficiency bonus to Perception checks. Magical darkness does not impede its Darkvision.
Blighted Resilience: +3 HP per Hit Die
Blighted Resistance: Creature gains Resistance to physical damage dealt with a non-silvered weapon. In addition, creature gains Resistance to Fire, Cold, and Acid damage, and Immunity to Poison damage.
Blighted Strength: +4 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Cha
Blighted Toughness: Creature’s natural armor increases by +3, or becomes 13+Dex if it doesn’t already have any.
Blighted Toxicity: Creature’s blood becomes highly toxic. Any creature that attacks it in melee must make a Con save or be Poisoned (DC 10+Con+Proficiency).
Blighted Venom: Natural weapons deal the creature’s Con modifier in additional Poison damage.
Blighted Virulence: Creature can make a special attack with any single natural weapon it possesses. On hit, target makes a Con save (DC 10+Con+Proficiency); on a failed save, target is affected as per the Contagion spell.
Blighted Whispers: Creature gains Telepathy out to 120 feet, and any creature can understand its speech.
Blighted Wings: Creature grows a pair of wings, gaining a flight speed equal to its normal movement speed. These wings grant it 2 Wing attacks, dealing 1d6+Str for Small creatures, 1d8+Str for Medium creatures, 1d10+Str for Large creatures, etc.
Deformity: Creature develops a natural weapon of a type they don’t already have, dealing 1d4+Str for Small creatures, 1d6+Str for Medium creatures, 1d8 for Large creatures, etc. The creature may attack with this natural weapon as a bonus action, in addition to its normal attack action. In addition, the creature may attack a target that enters its melee range with this natural weapon as a reaction.
Greater Deformity: Creature’s natural weapons all increase by one damage step. In addition, its natural weapons all gain 5ft of additional range, and qualify as magical.
Unending Fury: As an action, the creature can compel any Blighted creature of Step 3 or lower within 60ft to obey it for one hour (DC 10+Cha+Proficiency vs Cha). Immune to Charmed, Frightened, Poisoned, Stunned, Unconscious. Creature will continue to fight until killed.
Yeah, those latter templates get preeeeeeeeeeetty strong. That's very much intended; the Blight is f###ing SCARY. If the party is even near a Step 3 or Step 4, there's this neat little saying about Frying Pans and Bonfires. Still, I need to know exactly how that affects CR so I know just how much lube I'll need to bring to the session to keep the party's screams from alarming the neighbors...?
So what I've got here is a series of 4 templates intended for the campaign I'm starting this week. tl;dr there's no Demons or Devils or other Planes; instead there's a corruptive force inherent in the land called the Blight. The Blight spreads from loci, which are born from powerful negative emotion and, if not quickly put down, become permanent stains on the landscape. Blight also spreads between these loci, no matter how distant, leading to long strings of Blight that, in turn, are far more likely than non-Blighted ground to spawn new loci, creating new points on the grid and increasing the spread.
Why is all that important? Because the Blight taints everything in it. Exposure to it has effects on living things, of increasing severity the longer they remain exposed. Long enough exposure will eventually make them mutate into proper Avatars of Blight, this world's functional equivalent of actual fiends. Step 4 represents this, with Steps 1 through 3 being the gradual ramp-up in power and abilities granted by Blight.
Obviously this is powerful stuff. It's not at all intended for players, but is instead a DM tool. This in mind, a lot of possibly odd language is because I'm mainly writing this for my own use. However! What I cannot do on my own is accurately judge the effect these templates have on effective CR. That's where you come in, GitP. You have practical experience with 5e, and you can make the calls I'm not equipped to (yet.)
Notes: The effects of each Step are not cumulative; read each Step as if it's being applied to the original base creature.
Blighted Creature – Step 1
Blighted Influence: Creature’s alignment becomes Evil.
Blighted Resilience: +1 HP per Hit Die
Blighted Strength: +2 Str
Deformity: Creature develops a natural weapon of a type they don’t already have, dealing 1d4+Str for Small creatures, 1d6+Str for Medium creatures, 1d8 for Large creatures, etc. The creature may attack with this natural weapon as a bonus action, in addition to its normal attack action.
Mindless Fury: Reaction to all creatures is Hostile, with focus given to non-Blighted creatures. Immune to Charmed.
Blighted Creature – Step 2
Blighted Influence: Creature’s alignment becomes Evil.
Blighted Perception: Creature gains Darkvision out to 60 feet.
Blighted Resilience: +2 HP per Hit Die
Blighted Strength: +2 Str
Blighted Toughness: Creature’s natural armor increases by +1, or becomes 11+Dex if it doesn’t already have any.
Blighted Venom: Natural weapons deal the creature’s Con modifier in additional Poison damage.
Deformity: Creature develops a natural weapon of a type they don’t already have, dealing 1d4+Str for Small creatures, 1d6+Str for Medium creatures, 1d8 for Large creatures, etc. The creature may attack with this natural weapon as a bonus action, in addition to its normal attack action.
Greater Deformity: Creature’s natural weapons all increase by one damage step.
Mindless Fury: Reaction to all non-Blighted creatures is Hostile; it will only attack other Blighted creatures that attack it first. Immune to Charmed, Frightened, Poisoned.
Blighted Creature – Step 3
Blighted Essence: Creature’s type changes to Outsider.
Blighted Influence: Creature’s alignment becomes Evil.
Blighted Perception: Creature gains Darkvision out to 120 feet. In addition, it gains +5 to passive Perception checks, and adds twice its Proficiency bonus to Perception checks.
Blighted Resilience: +2 HP per Hit Die
Blighted Resistance: Creature gains Resistance to physical damage dealt with a non-silvered weapon. In addition, creature gains Resistance to Poison damage.
Blighted Strength: +4 Str, +2 Dex
Blighted Toughness: Creature’s natural armor increases by +2, or becomes 12+Dex if it doesn’t already have any.
Blighted Toxicity: Creature’s blood becomes highly toxic. Any creature that attacks it in melee must make a Con save or be Poisoned (DC 10+Con+Proficiency).
Blighted Venom: Natural weapons deal the creature’s Con modifier in additional Poison damage.
Blighted Virulence: Creature can make a special attack with any single natural weapon it possesses. On hit, target makes a Con save (DC 10+Con+Proficiency); on a failed save, target is affected as per the Contagion spell.
Deformity: Creature develops a natural weapon of a type they don’t already have, dealing 1d4+Str for Small creatures, 1d6+Str for Medium creatures, 1d8 for Large creatures, etc. The creature may attack with this natural weapon as a bonus action, in addition to its normal attack action. In addition, the creature may attack a target that enters its melee range with this natural weapon as a reaction.
Greater Deformity: Creature’s natural weapons all increase by one damage step. In addition, its natural weapons all gain 5ft of additional range.
Mindless Fury: Reaction to all non-Blighted creatures is Hostile; it will only attack other Blighted creatures that attack it first, and as an action it can compel any Blighted creature of Step 2 or lower within 60ft to obey it for one hour (DC 10+Cha+Proficiency vs Cha). Immune to Charmed, Frightened, Poisoned, Stunned, Unconscious. Creature will continue to fight until killed.
Blighted Creature – Step 4
Blighted Aura: This creature has become a living manifestation of the Blight. It qualifies as a Blight locus and spreads Blight wherever it goes. It can suppress this ability at will. In addition, it can make a special touch attack in an attempt to turn any living creature into a Blighted creature; if this attack hits, target must make a Cha save (DC 10+Cha+Proficiency) or immediately gain the Blighted Creature – Step 1 template. The creature can use this ability once per long rest.
Blighted Deception: This creature can use its action to polymorph into any Large or smaller Humanoid or Monstrosity form, gaining the movement modes and speeds of that form, or back into its true form. Its stats are the same in each form, except for the speed changes noted. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies.
Blighted Essence: Creature’s type changes to Outsider.
Blighted Influence: Creature’s alignment becomes Evil.
Blighted Perception: Creature gains Darkvision out to 120 feet. In addition, it gains +5 to passive Perception checks, and adds twice its Proficiency bonus to Perception checks. Magical darkness does not impede its Darkvision.
Blighted Resilience: +3 HP per Hit Die
Blighted Resistance: Creature gains Resistance to physical damage dealt with a non-silvered weapon. In addition, creature gains Resistance to Fire, Cold, and Acid damage, and Immunity to Poison damage.
Blighted Strength: +4 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Cha
Blighted Toughness: Creature’s natural armor increases by +3, or becomes 13+Dex if it doesn’t already have any.
Blighted Toxicity: Creature’s blood becomes highly toxic. Any creature that attacks it in melee must make a Con save or be Poisoned (DC 10+Con+Proficiency).
Blighted Venom: Natural weapons deal the creature’s Con modifier in additional Poison damage.
Blighted Virulence: Creature can make a special attack with any single natural weapon it possesses. On hit, target makes a Con save (DC 10+Con+Proficiency); on a failed save, target is affected as per the Contagion spell.
Blighted Whispers: Creature gains Telepathy out to 120 feet, and any creature can understand its speech.
Blighted Wings: Creature grows a pair of wings, gaining a flight speed equal to its normal movement speed. These wings grant it 2 Wing attacks, dealing 1d6+Str for Small creatures, 1d8+Str for Medium creatures, 1d10+Str for Large creatures, etc.
Deformity: Creature develops a natural weapon of a type they don’t already have, dealing 1d4+Str for Small creatures, 1d6+Str for Medium creatures, 1d8 for Large creatures, etc. The creature may attack with this natural weapon as a bonus action, in addition to its normal attack action. In addition, the creature may attack a target that enters its melee range with this natural weapon as a reaction.
Greater Deformity: Creature’s natural weapons all increase by one damage step. In addition, its natural weapons all gain 5ft of additional range, and qualify as magical.
Unending Fury: As an action, the creature can compel any Blighted creature of Step 3 or lower within 60ft to obey it for one hour (DC 10+Cha+Proficiency vs Cha). Immune to Charmed, Frightened, Poisoned, Stunned, Unconscious. Creature will continue to fight until killed.
Yeah, those latter templates get preeeeeeeeeeetty strong. That's very much intended; the Blight is f###ing SCARY. If the party is even near a Step 3 or Step 4, there's this neat little saying about Frying Pans and Bonfires. Still, I need to know exactly how that affects CR so I know just how much lube I'll need to bring to the session to keep the party's screams from alarming the neighbors...?