Vote Up a Monster (3.X) #4: The Quest for Votes (Monster Complete, PEACH)

[afroakuma]

I've sworn not to do a write-in except on request.

[Fako]

I've sworn not to do a write-in except on request.

But that's because you're made of 100% awesome...we lowly beings must try to aspire to greatness somehow...

[Zeta Kai]

You know what doesn't get enough love? ToB. And, heck, since write-ins are allowed now, that's my vote.

Martial Maneuvers and Change Shape.

I'm sorry, but Martial Maneuvers is not going to be accepted at this time. Please vote for something else, if you wish. And ToB gets plenty of love.

[Keler]

I think Disease and Hearts of Men would make for good Abilities.

[kopout]

Harts of men

[Dracomortis]

Disease is always fun. Hearts of men seems to be popular, and I'm not one to ruin a new social trend before it becomes chic.

[streakster]

I'm sorry, but Martial Maneuvers is not going to be accepted at this time. Please vote for something else, if you wish. And ToB gets plenty of love.

I disagree, but solely because I think that the ToB can never have enough love.

Anywho, if I can't write that in, can I change from Martial Maneuvers to Charm/Compulsion?

[Mewtarthio]

Charm/Compulsion and Fear Aura.

[Zeta Kai]

I disagree, but solely because I think that the ToB can never have enough love.

Anywho, if I can't write that in, can I change from Martial Maneuvers to Charm/Compulsion?

Then I would remiss if I neglected to direct you the works of Krimm Blackleaf & the Vorpal Tribble. Their ToB work (well, all their work, really) is par excellence.

Your vote has been tallied, as have all others.

[UnChosenOne]

Hearts of Men and Spell Resistance.

[streakster]

Then I would remiss if I neglected to direct you the works of Krimm Blackleaf & the Vorpal Tribble. Their ToB work (well, all their work, really) is par excellence.

Your vote has been tallied, as have all others.

Oh, I've seen, I've seen! 'Twas beautiful, really - Krimm's Bleach-inspired classes were wonderful! There's so much more too - Fax's Falling Star, the Lesser Disciplines, and on, and on, and on...

And it will never be enough! It's like books!

[Human Paragon 3]

Swallow Whole! Definately! It'll be amazing when this shapechanging evil elemetnal just engulfs a PC. And, to aid with the swallowing whole, I'll recomend Charm/Compulsion effects, too. I will assume that shapechange is a given since a lot of people are supporting it, and it has the subtype. Fear Aura, on the other hand, would work contrary to Swallow Whole, since it causes people to flea, not approach. Maybe it feets that way.

[Zeta Kai]

Alright, the votes for Special Abilities are tallied, & the winners are: Change Shape, Compulsion, & Hearts of Men!

So, the creature is going to be an Elemental, with the Evil & Shapechanger subtypes. It's Size is going to be Huge. It's Alignment is going to be Neutral Evil. It's CR is going to be 8. It's Special Abilities are going to be Change Shape, Compulsion, & Hearts of Men. This sounds like it's going to be an insanely interesting critter. I hope that I am up to the task.

Voting is concluded at this point. The resultant creature is being crafted, & will be posted on Monday, November 10th. Thanks to everyone who voted.

[Heliomance]

/me notices that Zeta's spiels for each stage tend to be standardised, with the relevant voted-for results substituted in where appropriate :P

[afroakuma]

I at least employ alliterative allusions aimed at amusing ambulatory attention-deprived awesome associated artificially-communicating acquaintances.

[LucyHarris]

Lol, afro.

And Zeta, can't wait to see what the end result will be.

[afroakuma]

This will be a good one... bad one, I mean - cause bad means good to elemental evil!

/Care Bears reference

[Shadow_Elf]

Alright, the votes for Special Abilities are tallied, & the winners are: Change Shape, Compulsion, & Hearts of Men!

So, the creature is going to be an Elemental, with the Evil & Shapechanger subtypes. It's Size is going to be Huge. It's Alignment is going to be Neutral Evil. It's CR is going to be 8. It's Special Abilities are going to be Change Shape, Compulsion, & Hearts of Men. This sounds like it's going to be an insanely interesting critter. I hope that I am up to the task.

Voting is concluded at this point. The resultant creature is being crafted, & will be posted on Monday, November 10th. Thanks to everyone who voted.

I will be in France...

Perhaps your Creative-fu vibes are high this week? Perhaps you shall post it early? [/hopes dearly]

Well, this sucks.

[afroakuma]

Will you really not be able to check the site while in France?

What about your email? One of us could deformat it and send it to you.

[Shadow_Elf]

Will you really not be able to check the site while in France?

What about your email? One of us could deformat it and send it to you.

I might not be able to see it. I might.
I know nothing whatsoever about my exchange partner. For all I know he frequents these forums. For all I know he hasn't the attention span to play a video game, let alone tabletop. I truly know nothing.

And if I can check e-mail, I can check the forums, so the email proposal wont help me out much.

[afroakuma]

Very true, sad to say. Still, the mind boggles at the thought of a family in a first-world nation able to participate in an exchange program that would not have Internet access.

[Zeta Kai]

Yeah, so I said that I'd have the new monster ready by Monday. Well, my plans changed a little, so...

It's ready right now. Here it is, complete with 2 bonus monsters. Thanks to everyone who voted. Enjoy.

[Zeta Kai]

“Dreams are not without meaning wherever they may come from; from fantasy, from the elements, or from other inspiration.”
- Paracelsus (1493-1541)

Polymental

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A polymental in Fire Shift shape.

Huge Elemental (Evil, Shapechanger)
Hit Dice: 16d8+80 (152HP)
Initiative: +10
Speed: 40’ (8 squares)
Armor Class: 21 (-2 size, +6 Dex, +7 natural); touch 14; flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+28
Attack: Slam +18 melee (2d8+8)
Full Attack: 2 Slams +18 melee (2d8+8)
Space/Reach: 15’/15’
Special Attacks: Elemental Shift, Hearts of Men, Shriek
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60’, Elemental traits, Evil traits, Shapechanger traits
Saves: Fort +15, Ref +16, Will +7
Abilities: Str 26 (+8), Dex 22 (+6), Con 21 (+5), Int 18 (+4), Wis 11 (+0), Cha 13 (+1)
Skills: Bluff +12, Diplomacy +13, Hide +10, Intimidate +13, Jump +19, Listen +11, Move Silently +17, Sense Motive +12, Spot +11, Tumble +17
Feats: Dodge, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Mobility, Power Attack, Spring Attack
Environment: Any
Organization: solitary
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: N/A
Alignment: always Neutral Evil
Advancement: 17-20 (Huge), 21-23 (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: N/A

Coming towards you like a (mounting storm/spreading inferno/slow avalanche/cresting wave), a roughly humanoid figure made of (translucent winds/crackling fire/rocky soil/congealed water) appears. Its body is nearly faceless, but two eyes glow with malice from within its (windy/blazing/stony/sodden) head. It moves with deliberate prudence & measured grace, displaying a malevolent cunning that is unlike other elementals.

Origins
Untold eons ago, when the planes were first being formed by the nascent deities, the Outer Planes were made first. Next the Transitive Planes were wrought into being, followed by the Inner Planes. When the time came to create the original Material Plane, it was decided by the gods to be fashioned from an even mix of elements from the Inner Planes. The Elemental Princes of Evil (Yan-C-Bin, Imix, Ogrémoch, & Olhydra) were able to corrupt this plane, ruining it with their foul will.

The many gods & goddesses, horrified by the tainted Material Plane, unmade this plane & reformed it with the help of the Elemental Princes of Good (Chan, Zaaman Rul, Entemoch, & Ben-Hadar). With the Material Plane cleansed & evil princes chastened, the deities continued on to other tasks.

But the evil princes were not idle in their censure. They were able to claim the cast-off, infected remains of the first Material Plane, breaking it up & reconstituting it into a veritable army of monstrous humanoid beings. These wicked creatures were all composed of a thick blend of each element, suffused with malice & hatred. They became much feared in the early multiverse, & although they are much rarer then they were in ages past, many mortals still fear their singular malevolence. In fact, songs are still sung of the terror that is now known as the Polymentals.

Description
Since time immemorial, the polymentals (also known as Elemental Terrors) have been a scourge on the Material Plane, sowing fear & discord wherever they roam. They are the enemies of all living beings, even other elementals (which are given a bad name by the polymentals’ predations). A polymental can be found almost anywhere on the Material Plane, from the deepest reaches of the Underdark to the highest sanctuaries of the storm giants. They are almost invariably disguised as a pure elemental or a genasi, almost never appearing in their true form, which is described (by the rare folk who have lived to tell the tale) as a horrific mélange of dissonant elemental components, seething with hatred for itself & others.

It is nearly impossible to guess exactly what a polymental’s motivations might be, for the truth is apparently anathema to them. They rarely speak a truthful word about anything, it seems, & what few utterances that can be trusted are full of venom & spite. It is often surmised that they seek to tear apart the Material Plane through conflict among the many races. They are theorized to be actively spreading lies & deceit, tricking the different races of the Material realms into waging war upon one another, all the while pinning the bulk of the blame on the natives of the Inner Planes. A few scholars researching such matter posit that many of the recent hostilities among the Material races can be traced to polymental deceptions.

Polymentals are usually about 32’ tall, & weigh around 9 tons. They can speak Aquan, Auran, Common, Ignan, & Terran.

Combat
A polymental would usually rather avoid a fair fight if it can, preferring instead to arrange the situation in such a way as to encourage parties to battle amongst themselves. They most often do this through simple lies (backed up by Bluff & Diplomacy checks), but they can also employ their Hearts of Men ability to turn enemies against one another, if necessary. If pressed into a clash, a polymental will use its Elemental Shift to assume the form of an elemental that is the most advantageous to it, maneuvering around the combat zone & slamming opponents when it can. A shrewd adversary, a polymental will use its Shriek ability to knock foes down, giving it time to either land a killing blow or make its escape.

Elemental Shift (Su): A polymental can change its shape to emulate the form of a pure elemental or a genasi (either of the Air, Earth, Fire, or Water varieties), but retains most of its own physical qualities. A polymental is effectively camouflaged as a pure elemental/genasi, & therefore gains a +10 bonus on Disguise checks to be identified as such. A true seeing spell or ability reveals the polymental’s natural form. Spells &/or abilities that detect alignments still read a polymental as Evil. Changing shape in this manner is a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. A polymental can change into any of the following shapes, gaining the corresponding traits & abilities:

• Air: Fly 60’ (12 squares, perfect maneuverability); +2 Dex; Air traits
• Earth: Burrow 20’ (4 squares); Damage Reduction 8/--; +2 Str; Earth traits
• Fire: +2d6 fire damage with every successful Slam attack; +4 Str; Fire traits
• Water: Swim 60’ (12 squares); +4 Dex; Water traits

“O tyrant love, to what do you not drive the hearts of men?”
-Virgil (70-19BC)
Hearts of Men (Su): It is said that evil lurks in the heart of every being, & no creature knows the truth of that more than a polymental. The polymental can attempt to awaken & enhance the inherent evil in all creatures within 60’. All living creatures must make a Will save (DC19), or fall victim to their darker natures. While under this effect, a creature gains the Evil subtype, & will attempt to defend the polymental, even to the point of fighting its own (former) allies. The effect is automatically broken if the polymental takes an offensive action against the affected creature, or if the polymental dies. This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect, & is completely blocked by Protection from Evil. Creatures with the Good subtype are immune to this ability, as they have no inherent evil in their beings. The save DC is Charisma-based. This is a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Shriek (Su): Once per minute, a polymental can emit a deafening screech that forces opponents to drop to the ground in pain & fear (Paladins included). All creatures that can hear within 60’ of the polymental must make a Will save (DC22) or be rendered prone for 2d4+1 rounds, even if they are attacked. However, if attacked or violently shaken (a full-round action), a victim is allowed another saving throw. This is a sonic mind-affecting compulsion effect. Creatures that successfully save cannot be affected by the same polymental’s shriek for 24 hours. All creatures within range are deafened for 1 minute, regardless of whether or not they made their saving throw. Polymentals are immune to each other’s shrieks. The save DC is Intelligence-based. This is a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Elemental traits: All creatures with the Elemental type possess the following traits:

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• Darkvision out to 60’.
• Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, & stunning.
• Not subject to critical hits or flanking.
• Unlike most other living creatures, an elemental does not have a dual nature—its soul and body form one unit. When an elemental is slain, no soul is set loose. Spells that restore souls to their bodies, such as raise dead, reincarnate, and resurrection, don’t work on an elemental. It takes a different magical effect, such as limited wish, wish, miracle, or true resurrection, to restore it to life.
• Proficient with natural weapons only, unless generally humanoid in form, in which case proficient with all simple weapons and any weapons mentioned in its entry.
• Elementals not indicated as wearing armor are not proficient with armor. Elementals are proficient with shields if they are proficient with any form of armor.
• Elementals do not eat, sleep, or breathe.

Polymental Lore
Characters that have ranks in Knowledge (Dungeoneering) or Knowledge (Religion) can learn more about Polymentals. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DC’s.

• DC17: “There exists a malicious sort of elemental, with powers unlike its kin.” A character making this check recalls all elemental traits.
• DC22: “These creatures are called polymentals, & their elemental shape is merely a disguise.” A character making this check knows the workings of the Shriek ability.
• DC27: “Polymentals can turn even your staunch allies into bitter enemies.” A character making this check remembers the mechanics of the Elemental Shift ability.
• DC32: “They seem to enjoy fomenting conflict & hatred among the natives of the Material Plane.” A character making this check is familiar with the mechanics of the Hearts of Men ability.

A polymental in Earth Shift shape, burrowing up from the ground.


A sketch of a polymental in Water Shift shape (drawing taken from the scene of the Beach Point village massacre).


A polymental in Air Shift shape, poised to strike.

Bonus Monster: Polymental, Lesser

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Medium Elemental (Evil, Shapechanger)
Hit Dice: 8d8+16 (52HP)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 40’ (8 squares)
Armor Class: 17 (+3 Dex, +4 natural); touch 13; flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+10
Attack: Slam +10 melee (1d8+4)
Full Attack: 2 Slams +10 melee (1d8+4)
Space/Reach: 5’/5’
Special Attacks: Elemental Shift, Hearts of Men, Shriek
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60’, Elemental traits, Evil traits, Shapechanger traits
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +9, Will +4
Abilities: Str 19 (+4), Dex 16 (+3), Con 15 (+2), Int 18 (+4), Wis 11 (+0), Cha 13 (+1)
Skills: Bluff +8, Diplomacy +8, Hide +9, Intimidate +8, Jump +10, Listen +7, Move Silently +9, Sense Motive +7, Spot +7, Tumble +9
Feats: Dodge, Improved Initiative, Iron Will
Environment: Any
Organization: solitary
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: N/A
Alignment: always Neutral Evil
Advancement: 9-11 (Medium), 12-15 (Large)
Level Adjustment: N/A

Lesser polymentals are usually about 8’ tall, & weigh around 300 pounds.

Hearts of Men (Su): Same as a polymental, but with Will save (DC15).
Shriek (Su): Same as a polymental, but with Will save (DC18).

Bonus Monster: Polymental, Greater

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Colossal Elemental (Evil, Shapechanger)
Hit Dice: 24d8+192 (300HP)
Initiative: +14
Speed: 40’ (8 squares)
Armor Class: 25 (-8 size, +10 Dex, +13 natural); touch 12; flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +18/+47
Attack: Slam +23 melee (4d8+13)
Full Attack: 2 Slams +23 melee (4d8+13)
Space/Reach: 15’/15’
Special Attacks: Elemental Shift, Hearts of Men, Shriek
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60’, Elemental traits, Evil traits, Shapechanger traits
Saves: Fort +22, Ref +24, Will +10
Abilities: Str 37 (+13), Dex 30 (+10), Con 27 (+8), Int 21 (+5), Wis 11 (+0), Cha 18 (+4)
Skills: Bluff +22, Diplomacy +23, Hide +18, Intimidate +24, Jump +31, Listen +18, Move Silently +28, Sense Motive +19, Spot +20, Tumble +28
Feats: Awesome Blow, Cleave, Dodge, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Mobility, Power Attack, Spring Attack
Environment: Any
Organization: solitary
Challenge Rating: 14
Treasure: N/A
Alignment: always Neutral Evil
Advancement: 25-32 (Colossal)
Level Adjustment: N/A

Greater polymentals are usually about 64’ tall, & weigh around 36 tons.

Hearts of Men (Su): Same as a polymental, but with Will save (DC26).
Shriek (Su): Same as a polymental, but with Will save (DC27).

[afroakuma]

Excellent work, as always, Zeta. Props for the unusual Charm/Compulsion integration, although I cringe at paladins experiencing fear. Perhaps just the pain part for them, or somesuch. Love how you worked in the Elemental Princes, as well.

[Lyndworm]

Very good work, Zeta. I'm impressed at how you brought the maelstrom of votes into a maelstrom of elemental evil.

Zack

[Pronounceable]

Quite awesome. One of these is certainly the real reason behind the existence of ToEE.

[Shadow_Elf]

Very good job. This thing should be hard to manage!

[UnChosenOne]

Look's like a moster that eat's the high level PC's on it's breakfast.

[Zeta Kai]

/me notices that Zeta's spiels for each stage tend to be standardised, with the relevant voted-for results substituted in where appropriate :P

I just noticed your comment, & you're right. You caught me. I'm far too busy/lazy to customize my comments, & so I created a template for the VUAM contests as a way to ensure that all the relevant data was included.

And I'll do it again, I swear. I'm above the law.

Also, I'm glad that everyone likes this monster. I wasn't sure if you guys would like the origins, or even care about the Elemental Princes (who I feel need more love). I tried to give it an interesting motivation, one based on deception & warmongering.

[streakster]

Have I posted that I like this yet?

No?

I like this, Zeta. Very nice, and the backstory is great.