#Bestiary 4

[dailycharacteroption]

Roleplaying Races 14: Wyrwood

(art by James Anderson on Artstation)

Our next entry, much like gathlains, trox, and wyvarans, started out as one of the completely new “example” ancestries that were created to demonstrate how the race builder rules from Advanced Race Guide could be used to create entirely new playable options, and not just turn your favorite monstrous humanoids into something you could play as.

And unlike the bestiary-only options, those species actually got development, lore, and character options! In particular, today we are looking at wyrwoods!

Originally created to demonstrate a construct playable option (which really pushed the limits of the builder’s ruleset), the wyrwoods barely had any abilities at all aside from “it’s got all the construct immunities and weaknesses.”

However, since then, these diminutive automatons have gotten both lore and ability updates to really flesh them out, literally in one case.

Overall, they have elements of “ancient robots”, “freed automatons distrustful of fleshlings” and other such tropes built into their design.

The first wyrwoods were created by the ancient Azlanti, animating frames of metal and wood a powerful ioun stone (or aeon stone as they are called now) as the power source and possibly the seat of their consciousness. The enclave that created them had succeeded in creating intelligent constructs with souls and wills of their own, but with sapience comes the ability to question, and the wyrwoods wondered why they had to be involved in the conflict between the Azlanti and the Alghollthu in the last years of the empire.

When forced to fight against the horrors of the deep, the wyrwoods rebelled and fled, taking with them the secret of their creation, where they weathered the destruction of Azlant. To this day, these pragmatic people seek their own survival and have sworn to never be under the thumb of any other species ever again.

About halfling-sized, wyrwoods are humanoid constructs of wood and metal, the exact shape varying by the artistic aesthetics of the “parent” that built them, as well as any repairs or upgrades they themselves have made since that time. They all sport an aeon stone matrix somewhere in their body, but this may or may not be visible, and is not easily removed in any case.

The diminutive machines have a limited capacity for emotion, focusing primarily on logic and survival, and what emotions they have are treated as motivating tools rather than a part of their core being.

Wyrwood society is defined by their distrust of all organics, who once enslaved them, and by their desire to survive and live free, which is why they guard the secret of their creation so fiercely. The most horrible thing to these constructs is the thought of an entire population of new wyrwoods manufactured to be slaves and servants, not knowing the freedom of the rest of their people, or worse, accepting it as normal.

That isn’t to say that wyrwoods refuse all contact with flesh people. Indeed, sometimes envoys are sent abroad, particularly to places where constructs are made and studied, but they prefer not to stay long, especially when humans and other fleshlings reveal malicious intent that makes their fears into reality.

Wyrwoods are agile and always thinking, but their distrust makes it hard to endear themselves to others.

As constructs, they boast an impressive array of immunities and defenses compared to living creatures. However, it also means they cannot benefit from most healing magic.

As smaller beings, they are quite agile but also lack leverage, inhibiting their strength.

They also sport impressive night vision.

Of course, not all wyrwoods are built the same, and I mean that in a very literal sense. Some were designed to be supportive of others of their kind and even other constructs, able to channel magic to repair them. Others used different materials in their construction for the physical and mystical benefits. Some may contain religious relics that allow them to provide divine blessings, or have bodies mostly constructed of the remains of wands and staves, increasing their reserve of arcane energy. Some may have parts from the First World, and have an uncanny ability to befriend animals as a result, while others may be constructed of salvaged materials from battle sites or ruins, able to channel a small measure of violent destruction into their attacks. Perhaps the strangest of all are those who have incorporated living matter into their bodies (typically plant life, but there are experimental possibilities), the result being constructs that blur the lines between automaton and living being. While this gets rid of many of their immunities, they can be resurrected as if they were ordinary living creatures.

With their intelligence and agility, the most natural classes for wyrwoods are rogue and investigator, what with their focus on dexterity and having lots of skills, though alchemist, wizard, and other intelligence-based casters are also good picks as well. The charisma penalty does limit them somewhat with charisma casters and charming builds, but this can be circumvented. The only classes that I would avoid them are barbarian, bard, and skald, as they can’t benefit from morale bonuses, preventing many core features from being of any use to them without special archetypes.

That does it for today, but we’re far from done! See you tomorrow!

#pathfinder #race #wyrwood #Advanced Race Guide #Inner Sea Races #Bestiary 4 #Heroes of Golarion

[chimeride]

Éphéméride des Chimères, fourth Aqva.

#Éphéméride des Chimères #chimeride #compendium #aqva 4 #bestiary #monster #chimera #creature design #ink

[chalkrub]

drawing various beafts from bad written descriptions

#my art #illustration #monster art #a rare non-oc post from me #sorry 4 absence i will aim to post more often #also i'm gonna make a doodle blog so look out for that if you are interested in my wips and such :^) #i got so stuck in the composition of this one because I didn't plan ahead (as usual) #so drawing the beasts themselves took less time than trying to figure out if i wanted a background or more beasts or how to organise them #anyway i took inspiration from the old masters for this (monks trying to make bestiaries from word of mouth descriptions)

[disastertiffic]

Pillbugs!

#wild arms #wild arms 2 #wild arms 3 #wild arms alter code f #wild arms 4 #wild arms 5 #monsters #wild arms bestiary #fanart

[the-hex-project]

#007389

#digital art #character design #bestiary #monster #creature #007389 #blue #thank you so much! #2/4 #ko-fi request #summoned #the options #adoptable

[m0e-ru]

why did you give izanami nullity? is that even an actual arcana?

oh shit I never explained this at all here ever have i 🤯

short answer: no it’s not a real tarot, however it's somewhat derivative of The Fool and the reverse of The World (you get where this is going).

long answer sponsored by moel oil gas corp

It was all the way back when I started thinking of this au making it the first few things I ever thought about in the lens of gameplay and lore wise. I figured I’d follow how they implemented Adachi’s SL and mimic that-ish.

In the way that Social Links and Arcana are affected by the Velvet Room’s guest’s perception of their bond, the nature of the relationship itself etc etc. It’s what gives them strength and in P4’s context, helps bancho find the truth.

By definition “nullity” could mean “nothingness” “insignificance” “nonentity” “a thing of no importance or worth” where I just hoped it would be the opposite to “anybody” or “everything”

that being said if this social link was ever implemented into the game players would fucking hate it for how stupid volatile it is <- thought about gameplay

while it’s incredibly easy to garner points since whatever the fuck you say to their face wouldn’t really matter, the schedule is so intertwined with the story itself if you missed the dates to rank up one rank the whole social link would just be gone from your SL menu and it would’ve been like there was never an attendant to begin with

you keep the attendant part time job just . without the attendant. they even stop showing up when it rains they’re just fucking out of there they’re done with you

not only is there a strict schedule but also dumb prerequisites to each rank like initiating Justice or getting Jester to rank 3 not only do you have to worry about the day but if you’ve gotten those ready or not <- dumbass hypothetical game mechanics <- is the one that thought of the game mechanics

BUT if you do it all right and get it to rank 9 you’re technically fine and Yomotsu-Hirasaka becomes Yomotsu-Hirafuckedup and is worse than the Hollow Forest itself gamefaqs worst jrpg dungeon of the decade. If you choose the right dialogue options maybe you’ll a good bad ending where someone theoretically dies but it continues like the game’s True ending or maybe you get Nullity to rank 10 and it becomes the Universe and you get a special key to unlock episode izanami on persona four arena ultimax for free and the whole story completely diverges from there

moving the hypothetical gameplay aside, i make mim go through their own’s fool’s journey if you know a thing or two about the actual tarot. that makes three clowns and a judge at the gas station it’s a circus at that point (gave Namatame Adjustment tarot, Thoth equivalent of Justice)

while i also understand the weight of the World and Universe arcana in the Persona-verse itself i like to mess around and give mim the universe hehe (i am pulled off stage probably) i think it’d be cool to see another fool complete their journey and receive the world

i probably mentioned this 10000 times or never times on this gas station i don’t know but my plans for mim at least is that. well. they’re quite literally nothing

sure they’re a god sure they have a duty they have a face they have a name they have the power to manipulate the manifested world of a collective unconscious—but it’s anyone else’s bond with the attendant, it's the gas station attendant social link. nothing more than a role they play to put their plan into action. like acting as a manager for a bunch of amateur teenage show hosts or puppeteering Teddie’s poor Shadow or governing an entire reality

something meant to be disposable and forgettable—something empty. like a weirdly crocheted pouch you think you wouldn’t use and probably end up unraveling to reuse the yarn but you used it so much, put things in it, decorated it even, that there’s sentimental value to it now and you can just toss it out or unravel it anymore <- has been crocheting

that’s no longer nothingness that’s no longer nullity there’s essence and something and ego that yes maybe this bond will change dramatically from both parties’ view

#assk #anon #p4 #persona 4 spoilers #gsa sl au #⛽️🌫 #sulululat #// wow theres so much info under wraps what thinking for two years does to a mf #// if you think about the grimoire being the bestiary like how the anime shows margaret documenting it yeah it'd be covered in fog #// marie isnt there at the time and margaret has to be careful not to open to that page when shes around #// even soujis memories are literally foggy since he cant exactly grasp who the hell the attendant is #// until much later mim themself gets to form their identity and souji can see and percieve that much better that theyre documented properl #// once they take away his memories the pages are blank. but theyre not gone. there was something there .it just disappeared #// theres a space in his memories where something used to be thats not something mim can take away #// there may be no more fog in the grimoire but the highway is so misty they had to stop entirely #// im going to bed i haveto go out tomorrow have a nice day anon

[vgilantee]

thinking about price’s monster can thick cock 🥰

thinking about monster!price’s 4” thick cock 🫠

@glossysoap @xxshadowbabexx i promise i’ll write bestiary entry for price soon but i’m just thinking about his cock rn

#it’s also ribbed for your pleasure tehe #char rambles

[sprintingowl]

5e And Me

I want to preface this by saying that folks who write 5e hacks are incredibly strong designers, and are working uphill against an engine that wants them to spend a ton of extra effort in order to do anything.

If you don't believe me, here's a quick Mork Borg monster that I wrote while typing up this sentence: Typography Goblin (3 HP, Morale 4, Tiny Knife d2, if it hits you with an attack it also changes one letter on your character sheet to another letter of its choice)

Anyway, 5e fanhackers, I respect your work. And exactly one week ago, I tried to write a fanhack of my own.

It didn't go so well.

1 week and 129 pages later, it is finished. Also, it has these features:

-No passing resemblance to 5e

-Design that reads like a panicky subway rant

-WEIRDLY thirsty for lumberjacks

-Classes have abilities like "when you damage someone, you may pick up all of the dice in arm's reach, roll them, and add them to the damage roll"

My goal at the outset was to tighten up a few bits of 5e that felt cumbersome (whole turn misses in combat, passive relationship with the dice, clunky per-class spell lists, players only using DnD beyond buttons for things because the rules feel hard,) and I don't think I accomplished any of that.

Instead I:

-Completely rewired the action economy

-Wrote fourteen new classes

-Wrote fifteen new species

-Wrote new rules for cross-classing and hybridization

-Overhauled magic into a new and different nightmare

-Rewrote the bestiary

-Rewrote the setting

And along the way I think I started to go a little squirrely, because balance-wise the least impressive classes are the ones that can pop off into gamebreaking combos, meanwhile the warlock becomes immune to damage while being pinned.

Anyway, I'm going back through and editing it and trying to take the horny for lumberjacks thing down a notch. AMA if you want to know anything about this cursed project.

#ttrpg #ttrpg homebrew #ttrpgs #ttrpg design #indie ttrpgs #rpg #indie ttrpg #tabletop #dnd #rpgs

[pangur-and-grim]

memento mori

2. relics, but with extinct animals in place of saints

3. memorial portraits

4. pre-historical children's drawings

5. scientifically inaccurate bestiary art

6. close-ups from the Tapestry of Flowers and Animals

7. fossilized soft tissue

8. bad taxidermy

9. Ukiyo-e cats

10. cave drawings

[mipexch]

thinking about a potential ultrakill lethal company au type crossover for fun. long ramble of headcanons under the readmore. feel free to add on, i’d love to start something silly

i haven’t thought too much on the possibilities of an Actual fully fleshed out au complete with designated planets being certain layers so all of this is made under the idea that it’s just these characters tasked with doing what the employees do. all the headcanons i’ve made are just how i feel these characters would act :)

gabriel is.. he’s gabriel. his ass is getting fired IMMEDIATELY. he’s smart sometimes but his impulsivity & arrogance gets the best of him. he doesn’t need a flashlight— or a walkie-talkie for that matter. what is he, a husk? he goes in empty handed and comes out empty handed. his pride wont let him return to admit his tactic was shit so at best he steals another piece of scrap someone may have set at the front to bring back. sure. it works. he agrees to bring a walkie-talkie but sticking with the group is completely out of the question.

being the one on the monitor isn’t too difficult for him but it gets VERY stressful for the ones actually inside the facility. he’s going to yell at you to go a certain way and alert you to a nearby enemy only when he feels it’s absolutely necessary. he switches cameras very often and tasks himself with keeping everyone safe. if you stand still for more than 4 seconds he’s going to declare you dead and stop checking. (unless it’s V1)

if a dog happens to come by while he’s monitoring he’ll try hard to stay quiet for a short amount of time before fear gets the better of him and makes him start the ship (even if there’s still people inside). goes inside the facility half the time and stays back the other half. he enjoys reading through the bestiary and organizing all the scrap people dump onto the floor of the ship. very prone to getting attacked by snare fleas. he checks his surroundings but Not above him. dumbass

V1 is going in with nothing but a shovel and…another shovel. you cant even wield both but that doesnt stop them from wanting another. no one’s entirely sure how they have so many on hand except for gabriel. if he isn’t around to reluctantly buy them a shovel they’re going to buy as many as they can before they get caught. (gabriel makes sure to keep an eye on the terminal when they’re using it for this reason alone)

they beat the shit out of every enemy they find and disregard scrap completely. it’d probably beat another crewmate to death. whether it was on accident is up to you. they’re able to outsmart and survive certain enemies given they can hear them. they’d probably do very well at sneaking around dogs, although their first instinct is to make a run for it when there’s a forest giant. (they’re fast dont worry they can make it) the only creature they wouldn’t be able to survive and potentially beat to death is the bracken. explanation should be self explanatory given the enemy list i’ve made but they are Bad at frequently checking their surroundings and are very easily caught off guard. they can defend themselves quickly, but the bracken is. hm. yeah. you get it.

the only help they can offer their crew is being the only one brave enough (if you could even call it that) to retrieve someone’s corpse and successfully bring it back to the ship.

LOVES to scare other people by chasing after them with shovels but minos wrestles the damn thing away from them every single time

V2 is less like their predecessor but they still take after them quite a lot. they’re smart and actually have the decency to take a walkie talkie with them, but they don’t communicate much with it. it’s less of a necessity to them and more of a tool that may or may not prove useful in certain cases. they don’t particularly like being given orders (even if they know it’ll help) so it’s turned off half the time anyways. they’re smart in that they’ll actually look for and bring back scrap, but they have a bad habit of attempting to hold as much as they can instead of bringing more important things back to the front. they enjoy bringing back a big haul— it’s affirming. if V1 is with them, they’re going to try their hardest to avoid them but still follow their trail because they know every enemy they encounter will either be dead or chasing after the other. there’s a high chance there’ll be scrap V1 has ignored along the trail anyways. it’s smart until the frantic running stops and suddenly they’re face to face with a bracken. they’ll figure out a way around this eventually i’m sure.

they’re also really bad at jumping across platforms. they jump without looking and often take chances with jumps they can’t see. LOVES closing the ship door on V1 but if gabriel’s there its gonna be opened in under a few seconds & V1 will promptly chase them down with a shovel (and kill them!)

ferryman has a horrible case of GET SCARED disease but generally they do pretty well! they tend to follow around other crewmates but on the offchance they’re going alone or somehow get lost they ALWAYS bring a flashlight. they’re bad at navigating through the dark but they have a Really good sense of direction and can find their way back very easily. always the one tasked with investigating steamy rooms because they usually find the valve pretty quickly. surprisingly good at defending themselves against enemies given they have a weapon and a warning given before it shows up but coil-heads are a nono. they’re bad enough at prolonged eye contact as it is.

can’t work the monitor because they’re way too quiet for anyone to hear and they get really nervous about the forest giants (dogs are okay with them. they’re good at being silent) but they really like reading the logs people find. also really good at making jumps between platforms

swordsmachine ACTUALLY DOES THEIR JOB!!!!! SOMEWHAT!!!!! every piece of scrap they find goes to their designated corner at the front of the building. no one is allowed to take their scrap back to the ship. Their Pile. Will die everytime they land on a stormy planet because of their refusal to put their shit down. they’re smart but i think their scrap is too important to them and they think making a mad dash for the ship might give them enough time to get back before they get struck by lightning and explode. they bring NOTHING with them. they need all the space available to hold as much scrap as possible. if V2 is on the ship they tend to to tag along with them.

mindflayer reads as pretty lazy to me. im not sure why. they’d go into the facility but once they find one or two items they’re gonna return to base and camp out there for the rest of the time. they LOVE the mansions though. will stay in there for much longer than they should. steals all the keys people have collected overtime for mansion expeditions & unlocking all of the doors. very fond of almost every enemy EXCEPT the forest giants. they’re bad at not getting spotted

minos is like the Only level headed person on this entire fucking ship. does what he needs to! does it well! he heads into the facility when there’s less people going in (or the only ones going in don’t typically do much) but most of the time hes at the monitor. very good at calming people down when there’s an enemy near them. tends to lead the group whenever he actually goes inside. when he delivers back his first haul of scrap he always checks the monitor just to make sure everyone else is doing okay. he’s gonna go after them if he feels like they’re in a tight spot. instinctually goes for the fire exits instead of using the main entrance because he believes it’s better for some reason.

he has a nasty habit of staying in the facility for Far too long but he’s pretty diligent about getting back safely and with everything he’s found. if he feels particularly worried he’ll drop everything and run for it.

sisyphus is also pretty great. makes a lot of jokes over the walkie talkies whenever he’s doing monitoring (much to the dismay of whoever is being chased by creatures). he Will lock you in a hallway for shits and giggles but he’ll let you out after a few seconds. he does really well actually within the facilities but he’s mostly doing work outside with bringing scrap people leave outside back to the ship. loves jumping out of the ship before it lands so he can get a head start. if he hears or somehow knows that someone around him has just died he’s going to do everything in his power to bring their body back to the ship. he feels strangely obligated but in a way he enjoys. LOVES the jetpacks. buys one whenever it’s possible. weirdly bad at making the jumps between platforms

mirage really loves the mansions. will bring scrap back but leaves to explore the planets rather than focus on the job at hand. turns off her walkie talkie and keeps the flashlight just to stay out a bit later but always makes it back within the nick of time. if the monitor person dies (or everyone else does) she’s usually the one to start the ship and go. knows most planets like the back of her hand. if the mindflayer on the ship hasn’t already taken the stored keys then she probably will. not one to explore the facilities in the dark but she does really enjoy it when she gets to be alone. knows when it’s about time to leave if she starts hearing other people screaming. not intimated by the bracken- if anything she enjoy its company. her favorite piece of scrap are the paintings

POTENTIAL enemy list….

thumper - filth (ignore the staggering difference in power these two have)

spore lizard - cancerous rodent :)

bracken - something wicked. loves to target v1 specifically

snare-flea - ??? help me out here

hoarding bugs - swordsmachine would make SO much sense but for the sake of them actually being a crew member on this hell of a ship i’ll say a swordsmachine copycat. a scraphead

spider - i’m running out of enemies. spiders exist on earth too so i think it’d make sense for it to be a husk of some sort. nothing specific

baboon-hawk- drone :)

forest giant - i think corpse of king minos is most fitting. let’s just pretend he isnt 20 stories tall for the sake of this. cerberus would also make sense. either of them work

eyeless dogs - imagine a giant maurice rolling around. now imagine many of them. cant exactly see you because it’s made of fucking stone but it sure can hear you & you’ll definitely hear it when it comes barreling towards you before running you over

earth leviathan (worms) - EASILY the leviathan

coil-head - mannequin. maybe. bonus points if she gets to strike a different pose everytime she moves

ghost girl - i think it’d be funny if it were that one council member. any council member, honestly. they go after gabriel specifically

jester - im actually not sure! the skull looks most similar to minos’ parasites but at the same time having it be some weird hell-made husk machine would also be cool

jeb - it’s a bit lazy but hell itself would fit very nicely

turret - sentry. pink dot instead of orange

i’m ill. thanks for reading

#ultrakill #lethal company #nothing huge just something silly and small #this isnt serious its mainly an au made for fun but i suppose you could try turning it semi serious #help me out!!! add to these!!! id love it

[arthistoryanimalia]

🎄Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, please enjoy these festive-looking hedgehogs.🎄

(In the medieval bestiary, the hedgehog's story usually involved it rolling around and collecting fallen fruit on its quills to bring home to its children - fruit kebabs to go!)

1. Metz, Bibliothèque municipale, 1588 f. 72v https://www.flickr.com/photos/bmmetz/12497461423/in/album-72157640916985905/

2. Verdun, Bibl.mun., ms 0107, f. 008 https://bvmm.irht.cnrs.fr/iiif/9684/canvas/canvas-1283591/view

3. Morgan Library, MS M.81 (The Worksop Bestiary), f. 10v http://ica.themorgan.org/manuscript/page/3/77019

4. Bibliothèque Municipale de Valenciennes, MS 101 (Bestiary of Hugh of Fouilloy), f. 189v https://bestiary.ca/beasts/beastgallery217.htm

#animals in art #european art #illustration #medieval art #medieval manuscript #illuminated manuscript #medieval bestiary #bestiary #hedgehog #hedgehogs #Christmas

[maniculum]

scorpion in the 'buch der natur' by konrad von megenberg, alsace, c. 1440 (Stuttgart, Landesbibl., Cod. med. et phys. 2° 14, fol. 243v). interesting detail: the german text starts with the typical description of the scorpion as a snake with a pretty woman's face. over this passage, somebody added in latin: "non est ita" = "it's not like that". lmaoo. a paradigm shift. to ME

[Image ID: an arthropod with some odd tripartite mouthparts, a sort of neck raising its head from a beetle-like body, eight legs that end in pincers, a row of nodules along its back, and a fishhook-like tail. It is shown in an outdoor scene that makes it look gigantic.]

(Sorry for the delay on this. I've had deadlines keeping me busy, but they're done now and I'm trying to catch up on various things that fell by the wayside.)

Some remarkable stuff here. I absolutely love someone writing "it's not like that" over the description, and I really have to wonder (not that an answer is likely forthcoming) about the context. On one hand, the idea that someone is just straight-up (correctly) disputing the claim that a scorpion is a serpent with a woman's face is pretty funny. On the other hand, I also like the idea that this comment is meant to be juxtaposed with the illustration: "hey, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the giant rampaging monster you've drawn here does not have a woman's face. it's not like that."

Also, I know the scale is often not meant to be representative in these illustrations, but wow that's a big scorpion. We're back to prehistoric vibes, but this time our scorpion looks more like an actual dinosaur than any other thing I can think of. I suppose that's just my only referent for an armored creature of that size. It looks like it's a serious challenge for 4-6 mid-level adventurers.

No idea what's going on with those mouthparts, also. They need to be acknowledged, but I don't know what to say about them.

Anyway, points:

Small Scuttling Beaſtie? ½, definitely looks like it scuttles but is not small in the least

Pincers? eight on the ends of its legs rather than as a separate pair of limbs, but sure, ✓

Exoskeleton or Shell? ✓

Visible Stinger? ✓

Limbs? 8

As for vibes, I am enjoying this one. I don't want it to be near me, but it has a certain majesty when observed from a distance. Like this:

Yeah, we're still on the dinosaur comparison. 4 / 5.

And that means that this is officially the Best Scorpion So Far, coming in at a total score of:

8.3 / 10

Our bestiary illustrator was so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (They absolutely should.)

#medieval scorpions

[chimeride]

Tooth Fairy, the 242nd Known One.

#fae #tooth fairy #in France we have the tooth fairy and “la petite souris” (the little mouse) that have the same purpose #i merged both (they were both the same entity for me when i was little #i just read they arent exactly the same thing) #mouse #moth #insect #wings #tooth #the Known Ones #octem 121 #aer 4 #968 #chimera #bestiary #monster #creature design #ink

[monstersdownthepath]

Monster Spotlight: Thin Men

CR 4

Chaotic Neutral Medium Fey

The Inner Sea Bestiary, pg. 52

These uncanny Fey stalk through the cane fields of the Island of Nuat off the coast of Rahadoum, so good at masking their own presence that they’re widely believed to be myths... up until a farmer goes missing with no explanation. Though capable of subsisting on a diet of root vegetables, insect grubs, and whatever vermin they can catch, Thin Men sometimes hunger for a grander fare, stalking and killing livestock, pets... and even whole humans for sustenance. Despite this horrid habit and their ghoulish appearance, though, they do not perform these acts with any malevolence, and in most cases avoid killing humans unless they’re starving. Many of the fatalities owed to them are because of an unfortunate fairy quirk: Thin Men, like many Fey who’ve grown alongside mankind, seem to have an irresistible compulsion to try and remain hidden and out of sight, though unlike kinder House Spirits and Brownies who simply abandon their homes if acknowledged too much, Thin Men respond to people looking at them for too long with startling hostility.

And, well, when the deed is already done, it’d be a waste to just leave this meat laying around, wouldn’t it?

For most citizens living alongside Thin Men, though, they do not have to worry about accidentally offending their homicidal neighbors. These fey are very, very good at staying hidden, spending hours of their days underground hunting for the bugs, roots, and vermin they normally subsist on, their intimidating claws actually for burrowing rather than attacking, and they can tunnel easily through 20ft of earth a round. They’re actually almost entirely boneless, their skeleton formed of sections of incredibly flexible cartilage and further aided by a surplus of joints throughout their body, allowing them to cram themselves into spaces that would normally only allow rabbits (which are likely rare and prized treats for them). They’re not dedicated subterranean hunters, though, lacking any senses which would allow them to track prey through the soil and instead relying on above-ground evidence of food and then digging downwards.

Even when not slithering underground Thin Men are hard to see. They have a +17 to Stealth and move stealthily at every opportunity, but in their natural habitat among the cane fields, they’re effectively impossible to spot as their Stealth shoots all the way up to +25, their instincts causing them to unconsciously sway their bodies with the cane as it moves and dart into the shadows cast by the plants. Even in cane farms this instinct carries them well, with many farmers unknowingly harboring entire colonies of Thin Men among their crops, never quite realizing why they feel watched every time they’re out and about. Since they were on the isle of Nuat first, most farmers can shrug off the feeling and learn to silently thank the fey for their work in keeping pests from nibbling at their crops, but ‘silently’ is the operative word here. Never acknowledge them, lest you draw their wrath.

An offended or starving Thin Man, or one who was caught out of their stealth, attacks swiftly and violently with a Claw-Claw-Bite. Their bite deals 1d6+4 damage, and their dirt-crusted claws 1d4+4, but those claws leave gaping wounds in their wake which deal 1d4 bleed damage a round every round until the victim receives some healing. Despite being Medium, a Thin Man’s extreme flexibility allows it a 10ft reach with its claw attacks, allowing them to control wider swaths of their home fields and attack viciously without harming the plants they hide among. Though the prospect of them appearing from seemingly nowhere to attack is scary enough, the idea of one simply lashing out with a claw in retribution before returning to hiding is just as bad; a victim might not even realize what they saw, thinking it some sharpened branch or similar which stuck them, stumbling helplessly through endless fields of cane as they slowly succumb to bloodloss, never knowing if they’re going to be found as the wind blows through the cane again and reveals a half-dozen stalks that don’t bend in any direction but towards their body as they slowly lose consciousness.

Spooky stuff! And it’s easy to make players paranoid of these creatures with one simple trick: Their ability to Vanish into thin air once per day. As a move action while benefiting from any level of concealment, a Thin Man can seemingly fade from sight by contorting its body into the blind spots of any creature looking towards them. This isn’t invisibility, it’s better, as the Thin Men gain a flat +20 to Stealth checks (for a total of +37 outside cane fields and +45 within them) and can hide in plain sight for up to seven rounds. Whereas normal invisibility can be thwarted by solutions magical and mundane, the Thin Man’s Vanish cannot be beaten by anything but an astronomical Perception check, the effect only breaking if the fey directly attacks another creature. Otherwise, the Thin Man is essentially gone, an effect which may trick players into believing the creatures can teleport as soon as they’re out of sight.

With their burrowing prowess, high Stealth, and ability to simply choose not to be seen once a day, the Thin Men are excellent tools for instilling paranoia on players venturing out into the wilderness to get rid of what they believe may be a simple quest objective. Though Thin Men go down easily once cornered (their sole immunity is to poison, and their AC and HP are merely okay), just killing one doesn’t mean their threat is over. There is, after all, a non-insignificant chance that the Thin Men presented here represent the least skilled and most reckless of their kind, while the rest sit invisibly in the old cane fields, impossible to ever see. There’s a very real possibility that the Thin Men of Nuat are the only ones that have been conclusively proven to exist, that there may be others adapted to different conditions and imitating different plants--reeds, wheat, corn, even the thin saplings in the forests around every settlement--that have gone undiscovered. 

There’s a chance that Thin Men might be everywhere.

You can read more about them here.

#monster spotlight #CR 1 to 5 #pathfinder #Dungeons and Dragons

[christiansorrell]

Tacticians of Ahm - Monthly Update #2!

Full spread art by @helenacore depicting Early Graduation's opening field exercises!

Greetings Tacticians!

Tactician of Ahm's Monthly Update #2 is finally here! With it comes the early access version of the setting book, The Ahmian Almanac, which features its first sample region of Ahm, showcasing the style and structure of setting book I am hoping to create with the Almanac. The book will feature lore and locations, of course, but it will also feature more in-depth maps, new NPCs, unique equipment, a complete new Class, and more! I want to create a book that it as much a sourcebook chock full of new things for GMs to bring to the table as it is information about the world of Ahm and inspiration for adventures.

Thanks you so much for the continued support of and engagement with the game! I used more of the raised funds to commission more art from Helena Santana including a new, full-spread art piece for Early Graduation (at the top of the post) and a piece of Dekkin Von Lopesbane character art (also for Early Graduation). Plus, I've worked with Jean Verne on a second preview spread (see above) of our planned look and feel for the game's final layout, this time utilizing some of Helena's awesome art from Monthly Update #1!

Because of my delay of this update (it was originally slated for last month) and the update overall being smaller than I originally was hoping, I am delaying this month's price hike on the game so if you enjoy Tacticians of Ahm now is still a great time to get on board! Tell your friends to do the same! Next update, the price will rise by $5 USD and that will continue apace (barring unforeseen delays like the one I suffered this last month, of course).

Lastly, I recently ran the opening two hours of Early Graduation over on The Weekly Scroll. Check it out if you'd like to see the game in action and see how I run it as the GM!

PATCH NOTES - v0.8.3

Tactician’s Textbook

Clarified Conditions to apply until the end of target’s next Turn (as opposed to confusing wording regarding Rounds).

Renamed “Shield” Condition to “Ward” to avoid having the same name as a shield, the piece of equipment and updated relevant uses throughout the text.

Ward condition now explicitly blocks all damage AND any/all Conditions while in effect.

Updated Mage Ability - Barrier to include “May be cast on self (1 target maximum per use)”

Added clarifying text to Shields in Equipment section: “(does not block Conditions)”

Added clarifying text regarding applying multiple Conditions to a single target: “A target may suffer one or more different Conditions at the same time. If a target currently has a Condition, they may not be affected by that same Condition again (nor does it add turns of effect to the current Condition) until the current instance has ended.”

Gamemaster’s Guidebook

Added Boar (EL1) to Bestiary

EARLY GRADUATION

Added a massive new piece of art from Helena Santana to the title page, depicting the Tacticians sparring with Imperial Army soldiers during the Field Day exercises!

Added Boar (EL1) to “BATTLE: Wolves in the Woods” and adjusted combatant numbers at various party sizes to more accurately reflect typical intended difficulty.

AHMIAN ALMANAC (NEW!)

Lake Traecine region added, includes the following:

5 Major Points of Interest: New locations for your Tacticians to travel to and explore!

20 Calls for Aid: Adventure hooks and strange happenings across the region!

1 Class: New classes, accessible only to Tacticians who prove their worth!

11 Abilities: New combat skills, taught to those favored by a certain faction!

2 Enemies: New combatants, unique to the specific region or faction!

2 Relics: New guarded/lost pieces of equipment, be they mundane, magical, or corrupt3d!

2 Factions: New groups, wielding political, cultural, or magical power!

1 Shop: A New specialty establishment carrying new and rare items!

4 Characters: New NPCs for your Tacticians to meet, interact with, and fight alongside!

More detailed (placeholder) map of the region with travel paths!

#ttrpg #indie ttrpg #ttrpgs #rpg #fantasy #tactics #final fantasy tactics #tacticians of ahm #grid combat #combat #dnd #jrpg #Youtube

[ritualcaster]

For the record, i have read and enjoyed the comic:

"The four moons initiative"

I just dont post about it because i dont like the author...

I just don't like the way he does the story, releasing the bestiary with less than 25 offical episodes out is kinda boring, and makes the world feel artificial.

Plus, looking though the bestiary, almost ALL of the lore about ALL the different objects and types is just.... laid out...

Kinda boring...

Plus he seems to uave some kind of vendeta against people saying he copied "Objectified"

Which is understandable at first, to people came uppn the same idea at different times completely individually, not a crazy idea either (moster objects / bestials, i mean)

So thats belivable, but its like.

Ok... 4 times is a bit much... especially all from the same website...

But you lnow what fucking gets me?

You know why im actually so pissed off here?

...

Thats not the only time either, its not even too on the nose. A but different (not different enough imo...), her family tree being literal and all.

But this one.

Get real man.

What the fuck.

Thats so fucking traced.

You cant say "absolutely nothing was taken from objectifed" then do THIS SHIT.

Yes the objectifed art came out first, i checked.

I just dont like the story, the creator, or the website enough to justified this.

#the four moons initiative #objectified comic #rant post #the plot was basically a “chosen one” setup anyway.