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View Full Version : Kinderhorror and kinderfiend (MitP, PEACH)



Poppatomus
2007-06-08, 10:28 PM
I decided I needed to cancel out the gribbles (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46763)cuteness. This is the attempt. Fluff will likely be heavily edited later. Thank you for any and all feedback as well as votes yes or no. Also, if anyone has a better name than kinderfiend for the template, please tell me.


Announcement: With polls disabled, votes should be posted in the threads themselves or PMed to myself and Fax. Format your votes like this so that it will be easier to pick them out from the rest of your post: MitP Vote: Yes or MitP Vote: No. Thank you.


Kinderhorror
"Yes, I fought one. No, I don't want to talk about it. Not now. Not later. Not ever." - Garren the Scarred

Size/Type: Gargantuan Undead (Incorporeal, evil)
Hit Dice: 2d12 +15 (28 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: Fly 40 ft. (perfect) (18 squares)
Armor Class: 6 (+0 Dex, -4 size), touch 6, flat-footed 6
Base Attack/Grapple: 0/—
Attack: Shove +0 melee (1d6)
Full Attack: Shove (1d6)
Space/Reach: 40 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Shove
Special Qualities: incorporeal traits, angry wanderlust, invisible, undead traits, kinderhorror, damage reduction 10/good,
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +3
Abilities: Str 0, Dex 10, Con -, Int 8, Wis 18, Cha 18
Skills: Hide +6, Intimidate +5, Spot +6,
Feats: none
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always Chaotic Evil
Advancement: 2-12 HD (Colossal)
Level Adjustment: —

Background

Something feels...wrong, and has for the last minute. Though the sun is bright on the the thoroughfare and the children laugh happily in the streets you find yourself unsettled. Abruptly, the sense of dread lifts. So surprised are you to be suddenly back in good spirits that at first you don't even notice the screaming.

Kinderhorrors are the vengeful spirits of dead children, infants, and still born babies ripped dead or dying from the womb. The core of a kinderhorror is usually formed from souls killed systematically, as in a genocide or during a war, but it may sometimes result from less nefarious events. Sometimes these spirits become trapped on the material plane and aggregate in places of great evil, becoming corrupted and vile. Over time this teeming, angry mass collects more souls to it, eventually becoming able to influence the world that wronged them.

Kinderhorrors seek out other children, those that have been fortunate enough to survive, and infect them with their own obsessive hatred, twisting their nature. The kinderhorror seeks to share its pain with the whole world, and to win revenge by wiping out those that killed them: adults. Kinderhorrors travel from town to town, attempting to transform as many children as possible into kinderfiends before moving on.

These creatures are not-unintelligent, just single-minded. They will sometimes speak through their minions. Such conversations are limited to warnings, threats, and petulance, as though speaking with a child in a tantrum.

Special attacks and abilities


Shove

By focusing its energies the normally incorporeal Kinderhorror can take action on the material plane. Usually this is used to manipulate objects within range, allowing it to take one action with an effective strength score of ten on any
round. When focused it can also use this energy in a simple attack. In addition to taking damage, any creature that is hit must make a DC 20 REF save or be pushed backwards five ft. The Kinderhorror gains a +12 to its attack roll against a creature standing inside one of the Kinderhorror's spaces.

invisible

The Kinderhorror is perpetually considered to be under the effect of a greater invisibility spell as cast by a 25th level sorceror. If this is dispelled, the kinderhorror appears like an effervescent cloud of screaming infant skeletons, constantly swriling about eachother like a school of fish. Creatures standing within the horror that are aware of its existance ignore the normal 50% miss chance for attacking invisible creatures.


Disspirit

Creatures within a space occuied by a Kinderhorror begin to feel a constant, unnamed dread and profound sadness. Every three rounds, any creature within a space occupied by the kinderhorror must make a DC 12 Will save or be temporarily drained of 2 points of wisdom. This wisdom drain lasts for 10 minutes or until removed. This depression only grows more profound over time, and each additional round within a kinderhorror space increases the save DC by one. Regardless of its age, any creature that drops to 0 wisdom as a result of, or while subject to, this ability is affected by kinderhorror.

Any creature that has not yet reached the adulthood age catagory is unaffected by this ability. However, they must make a will save, as above, in order to voluntarily leave the area occupied by the kinderhorror.


kinderhorror

Four times per day, as a free action, the kinderhorror may use the ability from which it recieves its name. Any intellegent creature that has spent at least five rounds within a space occupied by the kinderhorror that has not yet reached adulthood must succeed at a DC 25 will save or recieve the Kinderfiend (see below) template. This lasts for 1d10 weeks, rolled independently for each victim. If the kinderhorror is not killed in that time, the effect become permanent.

Though Kinderfiends normally behave independently, when they are within a space occupied by the kinderhorror they are immediatly considered under its complete control. Their minds are considered linked with the kinderhorror as well as eachother. In order for any to be flanked, all must be. In order for any to be surprised all must be.

While so controlled, the Kinderhorror may speak through the kinderfiends. It has access to all their memories as well as any languages they may speak. When any kinderfiend within the area speaks, all do.



Combat

Usually, the kinderhorror will only descend for as long as it takes to occupy a space full of children and create a new crop of Kinderfiends. Given its frailness it usualy flees combat, taking advantage of their ability to fly to escape most land bound creatures simply by moving vertically upwards. The exception to this is if a kinderhorror sees children being threatened or kinderfiends engaged in difficult combat with adults. In either case the Kinderhorror will stay, fighting until either it or the adults present are destroyed.


Kinderfiend
"Children's knives glint in scream-filled nights" - from Darrin the Sublime's The Tragedy of the Town of Galen

Before you stands a small group of children squatting low to the ground as though playing some game. Each one holds a small, shiny object and it is only when they turn to face you that you realize that the objects are blood stained blades, and on the patch of earth that so engrossed them a moment ago rests a freshly butchered corpse.

Kinderfiend is an aquired template that can be applied to any intelligent creature that distinguishes between childhood and adulthood (referred to hereafter as the base creature). Once permanent, this template can not be removed except by a wish or miracle. If removed the base creature retains no memories from its time as a kinderfiend.

Size and Type
The creature acquires the (Evil) subtype. It uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Armor Class
The base creature receives a +2 natural armor bonus to AC. This bonus increases to +4 when within a space occupied by a kinderhorror

Attacks
The base creature retains all natural weapons and weapon proficiencies. It additionally gains automatic profficiency with any small sized or smaller slashing weapon. If the creature does not already have a bit weapon, it gains one. This bite weapon does the same amount of damage as the base creature's usual unarmed strike, but does lethal, not subdual damage. This bite attack does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

If in a space occupied by a kinderhorror the kinderfiend gains a +6 to all attack rolls and +1d6 to all damage rolls.

Damage
Any attack made by the base creature is considered evil for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.

Special Qualities
The base creature retains all previous special qualities and gains the following:

Ageless

Kinderfiends do not age, neither bonuses nor penalties accrue.

It Can't Be

Any creature encountering 3 or more kinderfiends that are involved in combat, whether with the target creature or with other creatures, must
+ake a will save with a DC equal to 15 + the number of Kinderfiends visible within 60 ft (max 30) or be considered shaken. If this roll is failed by more than 10 the creature is considered frightened. If the kinderfiends are of a different type then the creature encountering them, or it is otherwise disguised that they are children, the DC of this check is reduced by 5.

Murderous
A kinderfiend is motivated by a desire for bloodshed. It is always attempting to murder someone or something. Though it retains its memories and skills, the base creature is deprived of all emotion and emotional attachment. It will attack a friend or parent just as readily as a total stranger. It does not laugh, cry, or even speak voluntarily.

There are two exceptions to this. The first is when around non-kinderfiend children. Unless targeting them it will engage in conversation and may even attempt to play if currently without a target. This interaction is noticably forced, as though the kinderfiend were only pretending its previous personality. The kinderfiend remains morbidly concerned with death and is devoid of sympathy or empathy for the emotions of its companion, though it will not harm it, and may even aid it with simple tasks. A kinderfiend may also use the child to try and gain access to a new target or aid in a murderous scheme. The second is to discuss strategy with other kinderfiends during an attack.

Though murderous, kinderfiends are not in a state of mindless frenzy. They simply pick a creature to murder and seek to put itself in a position to do so as soon as possible. Once this is done an individual kinderfiend selects another creature. The creature chosen is normally selected from the following table, but if more than 8 kinderfiends are together at once they will combine their efforts and attack whichever has the nearest target. Kinderfiends are aware of what target another kinderfiend is pursuing telepathically, without the need for language.

{table]roll|target
1|close family member or good friend
2|authority figure the kinderfiend is familiar with (their teacher, an uncle)
3|authority figure known to the kinderfiend (another teacher in their school, a local constable)
4-6|the next adult seen by the kinderfiend
[/table]

If the kinderfiend's roll leads to an action that is no longer possible, (i.e. no creatures remain in that catagory) it is considered to have rolled a four. If no adult humanoid targets remain, the kinderfiend will target animals. If no animals remain it will target children. If a kinderfiend has not killed its target within 24 hours, it rolls again.

A kinderfiend will never harm another kinderfiend. Unless activly engaged in combat a kinderfiend will aid another kinderfiend that is in distress.

This mindlessness makes it impossible to gain class levels or to increase skills. However, if a kinderfiend gains enough XP to gain a level its BAB increases as though a fighter.

Horrible pallet
Kinderfiends still need to eat and drink, but they find any food other than raw flesh unappetizing. They will not voluntarily eat anything that has not been recently killed, and prefer to eat their own kills, usually doing so immediatly.

Hungry Wanderlust
If a kinderfiend finds no target for two days it will head towards a random town or village it knows of nearby. If it knows of none it will simply start down a random road. Any other kinderfiend it encounters on the way out of the town that does not have an active target (having rolled a four-six) will follow it.


Abilities
The base creature modifies its ability scores as follows: +4 Str, +4 Dex +4 Con, -2 Cha.

When within a space occupied by a kinderhorror these bonuses and penalties are doubled.

Skills
Kinderfiends gain the following skill bonuses: +6 Move Silently, +6 slight of hand, +6 hide, +4 spot, +4 Listen.

Alignment
Always Evil

CR
+4

DracoDei
2007-06-08, 11:50 PM
Trying to imagine a wyrmling dragon with this template... especially a metalic one... nasty...
MitP YES

Illiterate Scribe
2007-06-09, 08:00 AM
Damien!

MitP:Yes

Poppatomus
2007-06-09, 10:42 AM
Thank you for the votes. I have to say though, that my favorite plot hook that falls out of this is two fold:

First that of the adventurers needing to sift unaffected children from murderous ones since, early on at least, the kinderfiends will leave regular kids alone, maybe even play along with them or try and get them to join in.

Second is the fact that the effect lasts several weeks, even if it doesn't end up becoming permanent. So the adventurers may still have to deal with these creatures even if they manage to track down and kill their maker, but have to choose between killing these "things" or letting them live long enough to be restored to their original state. Imagine a gang of children, each coming at you with murder in their heart, but you know that killing any one of them is effectivly killing an innocent child, since in a week that's what they'll be.

DracoDei
2007-06-09, 11:28 AM
This is what subdual damage, Sleep, Hold Person, Disarm, Grapple, and Use Rope are for... but many adventuring parties may not be prepared to work that way.

Poppatomus
2007-06-09, 11:39 AM
This is what subdual damage, Sleep, Hold Person, Disarm, Grapple, and Use Rope are for... but many adventuring parties may not be prepared to work that way.

Indeed, I'm not saying it's insurmountable, but I think it is interesting, especially given the limits on things like magical sleep I think it creates an interesting and new set of problems.

Also, and I hadn't thought of this, but imagine if this happens in a village on the outskirts of a city, or in a slum. What you would do if you saw a group of adventurers, themselves looking like they just escaped from hell, with 12 little kids tied up, some magically slept, some beaten unconcious, some just bound and looking scared, and each kid has black eyes and bruises?

On a side note, what do you think of the monster itself? I was going for something that's a bit of a push over once you catch it, but can escape or make your life difficult if you don't know its around.

EvilElitest
2007-06-09, 11:56 AM
MitP YES


Scary, great fluff and cool ablities, it should be in Hero's of Horror
from,
EE

Ceres
2007-06-09, 02:16 PM
*Eats tasty milk chocolate*

Oooh! A plastic container!

Ah, darnit! Tortured souls again! I'm getting my money back...

Poppatomus
2007-06-09, 02:19 PM
*Eats tasty milk chocolate*

Oooh! A plastic container!

Ah, darnit! Tortured souls again! I'm getting my money back...

lol. Hey, at least you got the chocolate. and it wasn't even animated or a golem.

DragonTounge
2007-06-10, 12:27 PM
MitP Vote: Yes

Poppatomus
2007-06-11, 05:17 PM
Bumped the Gribble, figured I might as well bump this too.

::shameless bump::

Maerok
2007-06-11, 05:21 PM
This is what subdual damage, Sleep, Hold Person, Disarm, Grapple, and Use Rope are for... but many adventuring parties may not be prepared to work that way.

I don't think the frenzied berserker is going to really set aside time for that. :smalleek:

MitP Vote: Yes

TheLogman
2007-06-13, 05:52 PM
Horrible, terrible, knife wielding, cold, calculating, children, roaming the streets. The leader of them all is out for revenge, and no revenge can ever compensate for its immense loss. Its perfect. MitP: YES to both of them, one can't function without the other.

Poppatomus
2007-06-13, 06:07 PM
Horrible, terrible, knife wielding, cold, calculating, children, roaming the streets. The leader of them all is out for revenge, and no revenge can ever compensate for its immense loss. Its perfect. MitP: YES to both of them, one can't function without the other.

If you like this one you should check out these (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10706), which are almost perfect in so far as creepy evil goes.

Matthew
2007-06-15, 10:24 PM
Gah! MitP Vote: Yes

Couple of things, though. Should be 28 Hit Points (6.5 + 6.5 + 15 = 28) and not sure how you figured out the Skill Points. As an Intelligent Undead, it should have [5 x (4 - 1)] 15 in addition to those bonuses you listed. Also, Intelligent Undead get Feats, or so I understand to be the case.

Poppatomus
2007-06-15, 10:28 PM
Gah! MitP Vote: Yes

Couple of things, though. Should be 28 Hit Points (6.5 + 6.5 + 15 = 28) and not sure how you figured out the Skill Points. As an Intelligent Undead, it should have [5 x (4 - 1)] 15 in addition to those bonuses you listed. Also, Intelligent Undead get Feats, or so I understand to be the case.

Thanks for the feedback (and the vote). I'll check on the feats, but let me go change the Hp and skill points now. I remember having a hell of a time of it because I kept changing the attributes around

Mysticaloctopus
2007-06-17, 06:25 AM
Awesome awesome awesome! MitP Vote: Yes all the damn way!

Poppatomus
2007-06-17, 09:18 AM
Glad you like it, still looking for a better name for the corrupted kids though.