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keicordelle · 2 months

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You know, I was going to make a post about how, for all that Mizora says she can't undo the magic that transforms Wyll, there are plenty of ways a powerful enough spellcaster could restore him to his original body, but when I went to read up on the spells I had in mind-- there really isn't, huh?

The obvious go to is True Resurrection. I mean, you don't even need the dead person's body to restore them to life, the spell creates one for them. And admittedly, the spell description is a little vague about restoring them to their own body, but I have to assume that's the intent. It does restore undead to their non-undead form, so it can alter the body of whoever it resurrects, but given that it states that so clearly, I'm reluctant to assume it'd be the same for someone altered in a different fashion (say, a werewolf, or perhaps someone twisted into a devil as a result of their pact). It does clear curses and other nefarious effects, so if it's a curse laid upon him then maybe it would work. But I think the chances of it simply giving him back his devilish body are pretty high, and given the 25k gold price tag on it, that's not really a risk I'd want to take.

Resurrection is similarly worded, except it can't clear curses or raise undead, so probably even less likely to restore Wyll's human body.

Clone can restore your youth, but given that it requires an offering of flesh to cast, I think it's safe to assume the test-tube grown Wyll would also bear horns and pointy bits where he does not particularly want them. If even Mizora can't undo the magic that turns him, I have to assume it's transformed him down to his DNA, and growing a new body from that same flesh will result in the same appearance.

Reincarnation could craft him a new body with a reasonably high likelihood of not being a tiefling, but he wouldn't necessarily be human -- and even if he was, it crafts him an entirely new body, like hitting the randomizer on a character creator. There's almost a 0% chance he'd end up looking like he used to. So new appearance yes, original body no.

If he felt like dipping into less savory techniques, he could try Magic Jar and then possessing someone else's body, but again, that doesn't really help him regain his human form.

True Polymorph could work, depending on how you define "creature". Is a human a different creature than a tiefling? Or are we talking broad categories here? Do I need to turn from a humanoid into an aberation? (This could work though to turn a mindflayer back into a humanoid though, couldn't it? Hmm...) The changing of stats makes the idea of tiefling-human transformation a little awkward, but it could work. Maybe. Just make sure he's stripped down before you cast it, or you're losing all that lovely gear you spent 17 levels gathering.

And of course there's always Wish, but I'm not sure there's a Wizard in the world who wants to risk that 33% chance of never being able to cast it again.

But I also feel like all of that is moot, because I really don't think Wyll would take you up on it if you offered. For all that his new form discomforts and discomfits him, I think he'd refuse to part with it. He wears his altered, intimidating form with pride, because it stands for his beliefs, his refusal to bow down in the face of evil when his morals are on the line. For all that he looks the part of a devil, that body represents his complete and utter goodness, and even if that's probably not how he sees himself, I think that he would want to keep his body if only to show that you can look like the most monstrous version of yourself and still hold true to your virtue. And once he's had some time to grow accustomed to the horns and the stares, he would not wish to erase his body and what it stands for, even if the opportunity presented itself.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #wyll ravengard #d&d #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 wyll #~k

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redslug · 9 months

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Architecture

This species of humanoid insects is not eusocial but still prone to living in close proximity to one another. It results in large buildings resembling hives or nests being the most frequent form of dwelling. Such habit is present among all prominent variations ( yes "moths", "beetles", "wasps" etc. are not actually different species in this case) of this polymorphic species. The shapes may vary: wasps like forming their settlements in holes drilled in large cliffs and mountains, beetles are more partial to sprawling subterranian superstructures with only minor parts sticking out of the ground, and moths prefer condensed nests that conserve heat better. The "Hives" grow over time as more and more bugs start to live there. Usually there isn't a concrete plan for expansion so most often these dwellings assume organic and Giger-esque shapes.

#anthro #insect #wordbuilding #moth #illustration

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thirdtofifth · 10 months

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Protean Scourge Medium monstrosity (shapechanger), neutral evil Armor Class 17 (natural armor) Hit Points 161 (19d8 + 76) Speed 40 ft., climb 10 ft. Str 20, Dex 17, Con 19, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 19 Damage Immunities poison Damage Resistances cold, lightning; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered Condition Immunities petrified, poisoned Senses darkvision 60 ft. passive Perception 12 Languages Abyssal, Common, Infernal Challenge 12 (8400 XP) Magic Resistance. The protean scourge has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Shapechanger. The protean scourge can use its action to polymorph into a Small or Medium humanoid, or back into its true form. Its statistics, other than its size, are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies. Spellcasting. The protean scourge is a 8th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). The protean scourge has the following sorcerer spells prepared: Cantrips (at will): dancing lights, mage hand, prestidigitation 1st level (4 slots): charm person, color spray, mage armor 2nd level (3 slots): mirror image, scorching ray, spider climb 3rd level (3 slots): blink, haste 4th level (2 slots): greater invisibility Actions Multiattack. The protean scourge makes either two attacks with its claws and one attack with its gore; or three attacks with its scythe and one attack with its gore. Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8+5) slashing damage. Gore. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10+5) piercing damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature, it must succeed on a DC 17 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. Scythe. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6+5) slashing damage. Reactions Split. When the protean scourge is subjected to damage, it splits into two new protean scourges if it has at least 10 hit points. Each new protean scourge has hit points equal to half the original protean scourge's, rounded down. Each new protean scourge can cast spells, but they share a pool of spells per day as if they were one creature. The two protean scourges can recombine in a process that takes one minute and requires both protean scourges to be within 5 feet of each other. The separate protean scourges are incapacitated while recombining, and only two protean scourges who were originally separated from each other can recombine.

These deadly shapechanging assassins are often mistaken for denizens of the Abyss. With abnormally-long legs and pebbly red skin, the confusion is understandable. They love killing above all else, and seek out opportunities to do so, happily submitting to the service of evil warlords and the like to sate their bloodlust. These thoroughly-cruel creatures stand around 7 feet tall and weigh 200 pounds.

Originally from the Monster Manual III

#d&d 5e #dungeons and dragons #d&d homebrew #dnd #dnd 5e #dnd 3.5 #d&d #d&d monster #thirdtofifth monstrosity #thirdtofifth CR 12

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frostybearpaws · 3 months

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ight, my dragon ladies <3

Sevika and Ambessa, red and black dragons respectively.

Sevika has interacted with Mama Medarda in the past, there was a fight over noxian land ruled by a well respected but feared dragon who had died. It was a mad scramble to take even a sliver of the territory once possessed. At the time, Sevika lost and still carries the scars to this day.

It will not happen again.

Instead she was forced out and made her home in the land that became Piltover and Zaun.

She considers both swaths of land to be her territory and anyone who posses a significant enough threat will be dealt with swiftly. Ambessa's presence is not welcome, but now that she is older and larger she is more equipped to handling what Ambessa throws at her.

Sevika is about half a millennia younger than Ambessa and the fact that she is younger but about the same size as our lovely, terrifying acid spitter really just pisses Mama Medarda off, this is on top of the fact that she lacks draconic etiquette and is truly a barbarian by dragon's standards "Even my daughter knows more about being a dragon than you do, wyrmling!"

Both Sevika and Ambessa have the ability to Polymorph, however Ambessa uses this ability sparingly only going into a humanoid if she has to hold a diplomatic meeting with someone (or she's meeting with her daughter.)

Sevika polymorphs like there's no tomorrow. Her typical form is a humanoid, however on any given day she might be the orange tabby that drapes itself over Silco's shoulders. A crow hanging in the rafters. A fiery red parrot that's trying to steal your shiny bracelets, rings, and necklaces. Be careful what you say, she's always watching. ;)

#sevika #arcane sevika #arcane ambessa #ambessa medarda #DnD!Arcane AU #arcane #arcane league of legends #arcane netflix

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soylent-crocodile · 2 months

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Red Hag (Monster)

(art by @soylent-crocodile)

(Behold! A hag! The red hag exists because nearly every hag outside of core are, like, Leader Only types, someone who always takes control of their coven and makes it follow THEIR rules. That's all fine and dandy, but it means that filling out a coven can be hard, and filling out a high-level coven without the annis hag (CR6), the green hag (CR5), or the sea hag (CR4) is harder. The red hag is designed as a follower-type hag and more martially inclined than her sisters- in particular, she's designed to be paired with the CR9 night hag. I personally would round the coven out with an ame-onna from @thecreaturecodex, whose temperment and spellcast-y nature provide a nice balance.

Also, the trend of hag being supernaturally "ugly" runs into difficulties when you're critical of conflating disability with evil, so i gave this one the high cheekbones, sharp chin, and wiry eyelashes that are intentionally cultivated by certain fitness communities, as that's more a choice someone makes than just the state of their body.)

CR8 NE Large Monstrous Humanoid

Red hags are the towering physical apex of hagkind; great cunning brutes who use their physical might and tactical skills to live out their brutal destructive fantasies. A red hag relishes the sensation of overpowering her opponents, particularly enjoying the experience of bludgeoning them to death. In battle, this is achieved using her deadly tools, but a red hag may execute a captured victim by dropping heavy objects on them, pelting them with stones, or simply slamming their head against a wall or floor. Red hags in particular enjoy brutalizing men in this way, taking immense joy in the reversal of gender roles.

Indeed, red hags often grow up among farmland and secluded, rural areas where misogyny is rampant and a woman’s work is simultaneously demanded and devalued. Such a place can justifiably produce incredible rage in a changeling, and it’s that rage that often leads these daughters back into the clutches of hagkind.

Red hags frequently join covens; they find value in the company of other hags and have naturally weak spellcasting themselves. Red hags rarely lead covens, as they lack the charisma to assemble a coven or maneuver their way to the top. This doesn’t mean that a red hag is without ambition; the typical specimen dreams of leading her own coven, and intends to achieve this through treachery and force. One trick passed between red hags- who are usually used as frontline vanguards for the rest of their coven- is to let a single enemy combatant through, in hopes that that combatant will kill the hag’s leader for her, only for the red hag to corner and kill that very assassin. Covens led by red hags tend to self-destruct quickly, however; red hags have little interest in subtlety or sustainability once they gain power.

Covens with a red hag lose Baleful Polymorph and gain Telekinesis, Greater Heroism, and Flesh to Stone (DC19)

This woman towers over the tallest human, her skin pulsing with glowing blood vessels just under the surface.

Misc- CR8 NE Large Monstrous Humanoid HD11 Init:+3 Senses: Perception:+19 Darkvision 60ft

Stats- Str:27(+8) Dex:16(+3) Con:20(+5) Int:17(+3) Wis:20(+5) Cha:12(+1) BAB:+11/+6/+1 Space:10ft Reach:10ft

Defense- HP:116(11d10+55) AC:20(+3 Dex, +4 Armor, +4 Natural, -1 Size) Fort:+9 Ref:+6 Will:+12 (-4 vs Emotion) CMD:33

Offense- Deadly Tools +19/+14/+9(1d10+13 19-20/x2 plus trip or disarm) or 2 Claws +16(1d8+8) CMB:+20 Speed:40ft, Climb 40ft Special Attacks: Deadly Tools

Feats- Combat Reflexes, Standstill, Combat Expertise (-3/+6), Improved Trip, Greater Trip, Power Attack (-3/+6), Feral Grapple

Skills- Climb +30, Escape Artist +14, Knowledge (Local) +14, Perception +19, Sense Motive +16, Survival +19, Swim +22

Spell-like Abilities- (CL11, Concentration +12) Break (DC12), Magic Weapon, Remove Paralysis /at-will Fog Cloud 3/day

Special Qualities- Martial Flexibility (6/day), Shapechange (A single humanoid form, Alter Self)

Ecology- Environment- Grasslands, Urban (Any) Languages- Common, Giant, Goblin, Abyssal Organization- Coven (Three Hags) Treasure- Standard

Special Abilities-Deadly Tools (Su)- Any sufficiently large item used for housekeeping or farm labor- such as a broom, a rake, or a farming scythe sized for a medium creature- is deals damage as a medium sized +1 Heavy Flail in the hands of a red hag. The red hag does not receive any penalties for wielding an undersized weapon. Martial Flexibility (Ex)- A red hag has martial flexibility as a 6th level brawler. The stat block provided has not used any of her uses of this ability and thus does not have any bonus feats listed.

#soylent original #monsters and races #homebrew #pathfinder #witch #dungeons and dragons

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12pt-times-new-roman · 2 months

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c3e87

We open on the Bells Hells traversing through the storms on foot, with Kraveris in sight through the cleft valley of a mountain. There's one travel roll left, and they roll another, more severe storm.

As the storm abates, there's another flare -- it feels the same, but every Ruidusborn gets 15 temporary hitpoints (does not stack with the flares from before, as with normal temp hp).

FCG casts sending on Ira (twice), and it's like there's a haze between them and the Changebringer so it takes more effort than normal to cast the spell, and the spell itself takes longer to find its destination, but it does work. "Bells Hells here, on the moon with you. We've got information and treasure. And plans. So many plans. Laudna says hi. Where can we find you?" // "Oh, my. You've finally come along! Welcome to the crimson land of the strange and beautiful. I've been busy watching, learning." // "In relation to Kraveris, where might we find you? Please be specific and brief so that we may speak more in person. Laudna still says hi." // "But where's the fun in that? I'm very interested to talk, but I want to see how interested you are in finding me."

They decide to try to connect with the Volition to get access to the city. Imogen tries a sending to Vesh. "You didn't trust us before. Maybe the dispatching of Admuda will convince you. We need to find the Volition. We're here to help. Outside Kraveris." // "Look. If you must talk, find me in the Jagged Edge, within the Clutch. Tell Jodot that you are of the Vanguard, and looking for a contract."

Then, they head to one of the outposts that stands outside the walls of the city itself.

Fearne notes that she could potentially look like a reiloran because she's been practicing her magic, and they work out that because the reiloran's low-level telepathy doesn't give a direction if the creature is unknown, they can do a bit of telepathic ventriloquism to make it seem like she's actually talking.

That brings up a good point though: couldn't they polymorph into reilorans? The ones they've encountered have been of varying class levels, so some of them have had to be lower than level/CR 11, and it's not like PCs haven't polymorphed into other humanoid creatures before.

As they approach the outpost, they see another figure that they haven't seen before: eight feet tall, clad in leather armor, with furred legs almost like a sasquatch. Fearne disguises herself as a reiloran, and Imogen speaks through her: "New recruits for the Vanguard. Our caravan broke down, and yours was the nearest outpost."

This figure has a deep voice, southern accent, and isn't sure why they'd bring recruits here -- it seems like there are fewer reilorans and more armed (possibly drafted) civilians manning the outpost. But they let them through, their ruse works for now.

The tower, though pretty tall, is also empty except for motion-sensitive lanterns and some barebones provisions.

While FCG ritual casts telepathic bond, Ashton and Laudna go up to the top of the tower. There are crenulated parapets here, fit to take cover behind or put a spyglass through; one of the guards, another of the sasquatch-type people, actually has an Exandrian firearm, and the other is a bormodo with a spyglass.

Chetney learns that the name of the outpost is Tyran A.

While Laudna scouts with Pate, Ashton trades questions with the bormodo. They ask what strawberries, apples, and blueberries taste like. Ashton gets the name of a bar, and learns that the Clutch is an outer ward of the city.

With Pate, Laudna sees something carved into the earth, and a protrusion that looks almost like a warhorn (which indicates that telepathy is more of a short-ranged thing, and they need actual sound to project over long distances). In the city, for as refined as she would've expected, it appears that the surface has been eroded away, dilapidated; the fine details and sharp edges have been worn down, there are no bustling throughfares, and it reminds her of Bassuras. (Almost like the majority of the city's infrastructure and populace is below-ground.)

Orym gathers some information about the "Attrition" (I'm assuming he purposefully mispronounced "Volition," but I dunno if I missed something) -- they can come from anywhere, they can be anyone, "it's just kind of a gut feeling... if you hear something loud and dangerous, you run." The sasquatch-guy points out a ruin that was once an outpost.

The two reiloran guards defer to Fearne because Imogen told them she's the Willmaster, and the facade almost cracks because of the latency between Fearne receiving their telepathy and Imogen talking back to them -- but Fearne just makes the deception check. The reilorans refer to "the Will" as if it's some kind of independent council or agency that hires and gives orders to the Willmaster, but this might also be their name for the Weave-mind.

Breaking news: Sam, after a whole-ass campaign playing a bard, learns how ritual spells work.

As they all gather at the base of the tower and prepare to head toward the city, Imogen puts the circlet back on.

They approach the walls of the city, having gone around the main gates, and find that there are homes and businesses clustered together like eggs on the surface-level. Laughter, and they see a group of children petting, grooming some kind of livestock.

Break time!

They descend onto the main street of a semi-subterranean village on the outskirts of Kraveris, and approach the two children: a reiloran and a bormodo -- Asha and Kolito, respectively. The reiloran is speaking with her actual voice, not telepathy.

They tell them that "the Clutch" is this entire section of the city, outside the walls where the buildings are clustered like eggs. They aren't allowed to go underground because they're "clutch-folk" -- their families aren't important enough to be allowed into the lower layers of the city.

All of the above-ground city is the Keluma-Kraveris, and the below-ground part is the Vatera-Kraveris. "The Crumbles" are the parts of the city where the upper layer has crumbled down into the lower layers, and it's a kind of wretched hive, "where the rough folk live."

They also take interest in Chetney -- "you're so small, but so old!" Also, Chetney continues to be fantastic with kids, which is hilarious to me -- they've never had toys before, only dreams of them, and Chetney makes them some.

Hold up-- Chetney says that the more he makes toys, the less special they get. Did he get Condensed Capitalism, The Feat from Nana Morri?

The guardian of these children comes around the corner, and looks afraid of the Bells Hells. There's a nervousness, a reticence, that belays the relationship that the people of the Clutch have with the Emperium. They say that the Emperium wants to put every resource toward "the coming move," implying that they would draft or otherwise steal away or use their small, seven-year-old children to support their war effort. They also point the Bells Hells to the Jagged Edge.

As they move through town, they see a mixture of the native people of Ruidus: bormodos, reilorans, and the gray-furred sasquatch-like people they saw at the outpost. The majority of them are civilians, thin, living rough, afraid. They scatter, and so do the Bells Hells -- but they botched the stealth roll. There's the sound of scratching on stone as two avadons (giant faceless moon wolves), saddled with reilorans on their backs, trudge through the street. Other figures walk behind it as it moves through, accompanying a wheeled container, heading from the entryway to the city toward the outside. One of the avadons sniffs out Fearne: "you're out in strange places, Vanguard... there have been a number of rising attacks against this city, we're on alert. What is your business? Answer my question, Exandrian. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

Fearne fumbles her way through the conversation with some decent rolls, but Imogen -- without consulting the party, even though they have telepathic bond up -- takes it upon herself to collapse a building onto the reilorans and every surrounding civilian.

Fearne wildshapes into a tiny-ass fly and tries to get away, triggering an attack from the avadon, and we go into initiative!

They have two choices: either grab Fearne and run, which would let the enemies alert the city, or take everyone out so they can't raise the alarm. It sounds like they're going with the latter, but with some foresight to not cast fireball in the middle of a populated city.

Foregoing the collapsing building plan, Imogen just throws some stones at them, and everyone's engaged and seen at this point so there's no escaping this.

Ashton update: When Ashton deals a critical hit, attacks against that creature have advantage until the start of their next turn. Notably, the wording on this feature -- as Talisein read it -- specified "character," not "creature."

Laudna casts blight through Ashton's hammer, which -- after a spellcasting ability check based on the spell's level -- lets her split the spell and target 2 creatures instead of 1.

Orym update: One of the battle maneuvers he took was riposte.

FCG update: FCG's "toll the dead" is re-flavored to "scramble the dead," and he plays the modem dial-up sound when it happens.

The battle is over and everyone's alive, so they toss all the bodies into the portable hole so that no one else can talk to them later. "We're getting way too good at that -- let's run." Meanwhile, Imogen and Laudna use prestidigitation to get rid of the blood on the streets, and they investigate the cart: it has a 1ftx1ft heavy metal container, which also goes into the hole.

They see a witness in a window, and Laudna sends Pate to intimidate them -- they're an older civilian reilora, spooked. "'ey! You! You don't say a thing. No peeping! Shh. Don't worry; we're all friends here! Look, we even cleaned it up for you! It's a service we provide here. So, what did we learn?"

In the aftermath, they immediately head to the edge of the city. They just barely make a deception check to pass themselves off as people who belong; there are folks talking to each other, gathering -- it's a sense of a military occupying its own city, and it's been like this for a while now. In the Treshi scry ball, they see the faintest blip near the entrance to the city.

FCG casts locate creature on Jodot, and gets a ping within 1,000 feet -- they're far into the city, through this decaying Escher painting that is the surface-level, but they all follow the signal until they come to what appears to be some kind of mercantile district, where hovels, tents, and cabins give way to stained glass, magical lanterns, dyed cloths, and signposts. There are home decor shops, dye shops, gifts -- some have chimneys with smoke. But they eventually come to the outside of a massive kiln, with a structure built around the base of it with a sign carved like the memory of a handwriting. Inside is the clanging of metal, like a workshop.

Inside, it's very warm, and carries the smell of a kiln firing clay. There are all kinds of weapons here -- scimitars with obsidian edges, spears with shards of glass. There are also little knickknacks: models of wuccors, the glass rendition of a dancing reiloran. It's a unique mixture of artistry and weaponry, manned by a tall, rotund, male sasquatch-like creature with stark white hair and heavy goggles, chipping away at a tiny piece of something.

They have a nordic-type accent, I think. The Bells Hells use the key-phrase that Vesh gave them, and they roll insight to see if they're walking into a trap: with FCG's nat20 insight check, they see that the shopkeep is legit.

Jodot walks into a back room, and nearly 5 minutes later, a reiloran shrike emerges: she has dark green eyes with a scar like a C that curves from her eye to the edge of her mouth. As she enters, she's taller than any of them but with a natural hunch to her form. "So. You have my attention -- you said you needed a contract, yes? You wear, ah... deceptive attire. It shows promise. What is your business here in Kraveris? Do you need help smuggling things in, out? What do you want?"

Vesh is speaking with her mouth and voice, like the children from before. She lives among many people, and feels it's best that they all live at the same level. Ashton lays it all out: "We're here to figure out how to stop those who want to release the One Who Sleeps." Imogen clarifies that they're not here to stop reilorans from coming to Exandria, but Ludinus from enacting his plans.

They are not on the opposite side of this conflict from Vesh -- she's not part of the Volition, but she's a liaison between them, so she can show them where to find them. The Volition signals their current safehouse by a different color, and she pulls one from behind a curtain: a deep, royal purple, freshly-dyed. The safehouse is hard to find, so they'll need a vantage point: somewhere in the Banners, a district of the city. She gives them the name of an associate, who will let them through in exchange for wealth. He works at dusk, so they have a few hours, and Vesh can guide them there.

The weapons that used to be built here before the Emperium take-over channeled the lightning from Ruidian storms into attack power.

Stepping back to where she came, Vesh disappears, and Jodot emerges: he allows them to stay in his shop for a short time, so they can rest before heading out again. Chetney offers gold for a gold-plated scythe. Jodot takes the gold and slides it into the kiln, where it'll be melted down, because gold doesn't have much value here apart from being a rare material to work with.

Vesh lets them stay in the basement for an hour to recoup and take a short rest, but they have to be gone by the end of it. Meanwhile, Laudna asks how much the sculpture of the dancing reiloran is -- with a persuasion check, Vesh gives it to her, on the condition that if the Bells Hells are captured and the dancer found, Vesh will give them up.

In the basement of this workshop, they take short rest. Imogen re-attunes to the circlet, while Chetney and Orym investigate the box. The construction of it is familiar -- it's the same as the Cerberus Assembly boxes they procured from the Paragon's Call encampment, and there is a trapped magical lock on it.

Now that sending is working again, FCG wants to contact Frida, and they all wonder why it's suddenly working again. They look at the scry ball, and see that Otohan has moved closer to the center of the city.

They talk a bit about the disparity between classes here on Ruidus, and Imogen expresses that people here might be "better off if they could come to Exandria... they've never seen trees, or anything like that." Orym says that it's beautiful on Ruidus, too, but they want to see what the Dreamers see -- and Laudna recognizes that it's easier to sway those who have been stepped on when they're trying to rally a force against the oppressive Vanguard.

Ashton notes that it's too easy to make assumptions, so they're not exactly infiltrating but they aren't integrating either -- and Chetney, in stride, notes that it wouldn't be the worst thing if half of them got captured. (it would. it would indeed be a terrible thing if half of them got captured. all of them is one thing, but splitting up? disastrous.)

Halfway through this discussion about expendability, Imogen gets a message from Vesh: "wait. Don't move." A half-dozen footsteps sound above them, Laudna casts darkness on the basement, and all they have is the sound of footsteps and silence as we pick up next episode.

#critical role #note watches c3 #critical role spoilers #critical role campaign 3 #critical role c3 #critical role liveblog #long post #achievement get: learned a word from a critical role episode

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thecreaturecodex · 9 months

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Protean, Yexhul

"Naga" © Igor Klymenko, accessed at his ArtStation here

[This monster is picking up a plot thread I laid down years ago: how to introduce slaadi into the Pathfinder cosmology. It also continues me use of anagrams as the namesakes of proteans. This one is fairly short, so I suspect it's going to be one of the more solvable ones.]

Protean, Yexhul CR 16 CN Outsider (extraplanar) This serpentine creature has four arms, each ending in a clawed hand. Instead of a single head, a riot of dozens of small necks and heads grow from its shoulders like the branches of a great tree. The scales of its chest have eyespots, like the feathers of a peacock.

Yexhuls are the proteans that observe and meddle with animal evolution. Yexhuls push animals in new directions, both by introducing organisms into new habitats and by physically altering organisms, taking what is typically a slow and orderly process and interjecting sometimes bizarre flights of fancy. The touch of a yexhil can alter the abilities of an organism permanently, and the transformations they imbue are heritable. A number of the magical beasts found on Material worlds, especially those that are incongruous hybrids of two animals, are yexhul creations.

No two fights with a yexhul are likely to progress the same way, as these creatures can alter their bodies on the fly. They also have an experimental approach to violence, changing their abilities in different ways for different fights, and summoning different animals to assist them in combat. Although they have many heads, a yexhul can only bite a single target at once, striking with all of their jaws simultaneously (unless it gives itself more bite attacks with its acclimation ability). If their enemies are gaining the upper hand, a yexhul will turn them into something harmless with baleful polymorph, or use primal regression to disable their ability to cast spells.

Most other types of proteans distrust yexhuls, as they were the creators of the Spawning Stone. That continent-sized chunk of reality brought to the Maelstrom was an enormous experiment in the survival of the fittest, and its “fittest”, the slaadi, swiftly escaped the Spawning Stone and eventually the Maelstrom entirely, running amok through the planes. Yexhuls, for their part, consider the slaadi a resounding success, and they are among the proteans more likely to work with slaadi than against them. Annunaki are a species that have a great dislike for yexhuls, and try to exterminate them when their paths cross.

One of the great philosophical debates among yexhuls concerns domestication. Some yexhuls consider it a natural outgrowth of evolution, and use their abilities to make unusual species more likely to associate with humanoids and start the process of becoming domesticated. Other yexhuls consider artificial selection by any hands other than their own to be a grave insult. Some even “un-domesticate” animals, rendering livestock and pets aggressive and uncontrollable or helping feral populations adapt better to the wild. Other proteans encourage this infighting, as it keeps the yexhuls from conducting any more experiments as far-reaching as the Spawning Stone.

Yexhul CR 16 XP 76,800 CN Large outsider (chaos, extraplanar, protean) Init +10; Senses all-around vision, blindsense 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft., Perception +26

Defense AC 31, touch 15, flat-footed 25 (-1 size, +6 Dex, +16 natural) hp 241 (21d10+126) Fort +15, Ref +18, Will +17 DR 15/lawful; Immune acid, electricity, sonic; Resist cold 10; SR 27 Defensive Abilities amorphous anatomy, freedom of movement

Offense Speed 40 ft., fly 60 ft. (perfect) Melee bite +27 (3d8+10 plus 1d6 cold), 4 claws +27 (1d6+7 plus 1d6 cold), tail slap +22 (1d12+3 plus 1d6 cold and grab) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. (15 ft. with tail) Special Attacks constrict (1d12+7),powerful blows (bite), probing bite, rend (2 claws, 1d6+10), specialization, trample (DC 27, 1d8+10) Spell-like Abilities CL 16th, concentration +22 (+26 casting defensively) Constant—speak with animals At will—atavism (DC 20), hold animal (DC 18), magic circle vs. law (DC 19), pup shape (DC 19) 3/day—animal growth, baleful polymorph (DC 21), quickened chaos hammer (DC 20), summon nature’s ally VII (animals only) 1/day—animal shapes, plane shift (DC 23), polymorph any object (DC 24), primeval regression (DC 23)

Statistics Str 25, Dex 23, Con 23, Int 24, Wis20, Cha 22 Base Atk +21; CMB +29 (+33 grappling); CMD 46 Feats Combat Casting,Dodge,Flyby Attack, Great Fortitude,Greater Vital Strike, Improved Initiative,Improved Vital Strike, Mobility, Power Attack, Quicken SLA (chaos hammer), Vital Strike Skills Acrobatics +24, Bluff +27, Climb +25, Fly +18, Handle Animal +27, Intimidate +27, Knowledge (arcana, religion) +25, Knowledge (nature, planes) +28, Perception +26, Spellcraft +25, Stealth +26, Survival +26, Swim +25 Languages Abyssal, Protean, speak with animals SQ acclimation (7 points, energy attacks (cold), reach (tail), rend, trample) change shape (animal or magical beast, beast shape IV), wild empathy +27

Ecology Environment any (Maelstrom) Organization solitary, pair or council (3-6) Treasure standard

Special Abilities Acclimation (Su) A yexhul can alter its physical traits on the fly. It has a number of evolution points equal to 1/3 its Hit Dice, which it can spend on any evolution as if it were a summoner’s eidolon. It may take any evolution legal for a serpentine shape, and treats its Hit Dice as its summoner level for the purpose of qualifying for evolutions. A yexhul can change its acclimations by taking 1 full round, and can carry them over into its alternate forms with change shape if it so desires. Change Shape (Su) A yexhul may change shape at will, but does not heal when it reverts to its normal form. Probing Bite (Ex) The many heads of a yexhul strike simultaneously, but reach around obstacles. A yexhul’s bite ignores any cover short of total cover, as well as ignoring shield bonuses to Armor Class. Specialization (Su) As a standard action, a yexhul may touch a creature to alter its ability scores. An unwilling creature can resist this with a DC 26 Fortitude save. The creature touched gains a +6 bonus to one of its ability scores, but a -2 penalty to two of its other ability scores, as chosen by the yexhul. This is an instantaneous effect, and can only be removed with a break enchantment, limited wish, wish or miracle spell. This bonus is passed on to this creature’s offspring. If a creature’s Intelligence is raised above 3, it gains the ability to speak and understand one language of the yexhul’s choice (typically Protean). These penalties cannot lower a creature’s ability scores below 1. A creature that successfully saves is immune to the specialization of that yexhul for the next 24 hours. No creature can be specialized in this way more than once simultaneously. This is a polymorph effect, and the save DC is Charisma based. Wild Empathy (Ex) A yexhul can use wild empathy as a druid with a level equal to its Hit Dice.

#protean #yexhul #pathfinder rpg #pathfinder 1e #slaad #evolution

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sunflower-priestess · 6 days

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Heard, dear mutual! But… if Jace is a high-enough level Sorcerer, casting true polymorph (or any of a variety of disguise spells) should be easy for him… 🧐

That’s true! There was also some precedent for beings connected to Ankarna having a humanoid form, with Bakur. Obv that was different since he was an elf who turned into a fiend, and Jace would just be a disguise. But, Bakur and the giant were also compared to each other as Ankarna’s lieutenants- could be a roundabout hint that the giant has another form too. Also, you’d think someone would notice a 15-foot dude stomping around the town to kill Lydia’s clone/Yolanda/the farm owners. The giant must have some kind of disguise.

Overthinking this plot is the best.

#fhjy #fhjy spoilers #fantasy high

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ambyandony · 19 days

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Narancia Ghirga - Monster AU Profile

Narancia Ghirga, a mischievous shapeshifter with reckless habits, undying loyalty, and a shaky sense of belonging.

Preface about species type:

This post will be introducing many polymorph-related vocabulary terms which will be included in the Monster AU 'dictionary'; you don't need to worry about getting confused, because I'll stick with layman's terms for the most part, I'm just including the more formal terms for fun and fake education. They are all words I made up.

Narancia's a bit of a special case; his specific classification is unknown, making him fall into the special category of tochnopolymorph (TOECH-no-paw-lee-morf), also known as a non-specific shapeshifter (NS3), or 'true polymorph'. There are many, many different 'breeds' of polymorphs, but they often have defining features, a true form, set forms, and/or a different classification (such as zooanthrope, selkie, Diego Brando, etc.).

Narancia, however, is one of the types that do not fit into a known further specification. Though he has a natal form (protomorph) that is usually assumed to be his 'true form', Narancia is versatile and does not have a 'true form' (as he's never defined one for himself), only a default; his default form is the same as his protomorph. He can change any physical aspect of himself to a certain extent and can transform into anything provided it isn't too big (as accumulating significantly more matter into his being spontaneously is not generally within the extent of his capabilities, and usually transforming beyond his own mass involves fucking around with internals and is just in general kind of really horrifying).

Note that the rules that apply to Narancia do not apply to all polymorphs, or even all tochnopolymorphs, necessarily.

His clothes stay with him when he shifts, but whether this means that; 1. his clothes are actually a part of his body, 2. he internalises his clothes when he shapeshifts, and then externalises them when he returns to human/protomorph or, 3. some other bullshit; is unclear.

Details related to Polymorphism:

His tail, which is somewhat feline, leonine, or heraldic unicorn-like, is prehensile, meaning it can grab and hold things. It can also extend and shorten at will.

He has tapeta lucida. His eyes are reflective when light shines on them, but they also seem to glow in the dark somewhat.

Could trans his gener in any way at any time he wants to. Except legally. He presumably generally doesn't. But he could. And if he does. It's none of our business.

Many of his theriomorphs (animal forms), such as cats and dogs, have black fur since that's the colour of his hair, and purple eyes, which is a risk to give him away, as the colour is unusual. When questioned about the giveaway, he says, "I'm a shapeshifter, not a fucking chameleon!" However, his ability to imitate other humanoids to a semi-convincing degree, including the all-around-pale Pannacotta Fugo, suggests there are probably other factors involved.

If given enough time, he, like most tochopolymorphs, can regenerate any sort of piercing damage (like cuts, stabs, and bullet wounds). Polymorphic regenerative 'invulnerability' reportedly "does not extend to fall damage"; and may not recover a major pierce through the heart, as they don't have the time to heal it because they are dying right fucking now!!

It's important to note that if something is removed, it would take significantly more effort to restore it, as it would likely require him to redistribute his remaining mass to keep his shape, so if he lost an arm, he'd have to sacrifice some height to restore the arm.

This is only a temporary solution, because even though this method allows him to retain his shape, his missing mass still should be restored, particularly because if it's not, then the arm will still be missing in protomorph, which is activated by instinct.

A lehkomorph, or simple formshift, is a shift into a form that isn't too different from the protomorph, such as Narancia's human-passing form(s). A vazkomorph, or complex formshift, is a shift into a form that's significantly different from the protomorph, such as most theriomorphs and animal forms. Impersonation transformations (simulaforms) are either-or depending on the case; transforming into a small child would be considered a complex formshift due to a difference in general structure.

It's hard for Narancia to maintain both a complex formshift and Aerosmith at the same time. When he retains an animal form, it can be a challenge to summon, control, or use his Stand ability. Whether this is a focus issue, a hypothetically common trait for polymorph Stand Users, or something else, it's hard to say.

Transforming into something too big generally leaves him very sore when he changes back, and he can be quite whiny about it, but, as you'll learn in a bit, the whining... may or may not kinda be warranted. Overuse of shifting capabilities is also known to commonly cause soreness and sometimes dislocations or deformations as the body forgets how to put itself back together properly. Shapeshift responsibly.

To properly redistribute his size, when taking a much smaller form, sometimes 'mass-carriers' need to be formed to store the extra mass less conspicuously; if he were to take a child form, he might have to form with longer hair or a "backpack".

Larger forms usually require the opposite - as gross as it is, a form that is significantly larger usually requires internal mass to be redistributed, meaning that he would probably externalise and/or compress his own organs, which is generally incredibly painful and often very unhealthy; this should only be performed in dire circumstances, and even then, should generally be avoided, because it can be life-threatening.

There is some leniency; Narancia taking the form of an inconspicuous kitten but transforming into a properly-sized humanoid form breaks this restriction, and there are other exceptions, though he generally tries to keep his mass consistent. Taking a smaller form with no mass-carriers usually results from mass-shedding, which can be done voluntarily but is unpleasant. Mass restoration is the harder step of the process, but usually is aided by eating. This is likely the reason that Narancia was able to regain his humanoid form once he’d eaten.

The current only known case study of one of the most horrifying shapeshifter afflictions: form decay! Thanks a lot, Prosciutto.

Though able to regenerate physical damage well, things such as illness, immune issues, and infection are a different matter, as they are things he is unable to control, and they can be very severe for him. He was susceptible, and it culminated in the eye infection.

Though he is a polymorph with no technically set form, his protomorph is very distinctive and suggests something more species-specific. In particular, most of his features appear feline in some capacity, his face especially, not to mention his mannerisms and body language, which are quite catlike.

There may be some implication that the frequent morphing contributes to jaw pain or discomfort that Narancia seems to alleviate by chewing, biting, or eating things he is really not supposed to have in his mouth—like he's teething.

Details about Narancia:

Has a bad habit of slinking around in the dead of night, going into other people's rooms and then promptly fleeing upon waking them up. Cryptid behaviour.

Smug, somewhat childish, and thinks he's SO cool with his shapeshifting. Look, just... let him have this

Likes to just slightly change his appearance to mess with people and see how long it takes them to notice as a prank. Usually, he does this with Mista because he knows he can get away with it. Fugo fell for it at first but when he caught on he started to get mad about it. Just because it's annoying and distracting.

He also used to impersonate Fugo just to mess with him, but it freaked Fugo out, so he stopped doing it because it stopped being as funny when Fugo was scared rather than angry. Narancia never figured out why it scared him so much. Fugo gets twice as freaked out about it post-Pompeii arc. For some reason.

Impersonating Fugo around the others worked at first, but they could usually figure out if it was Fugo or Narancia by speech patterns and body language. Even when he tries to speak like Fugo, Narancia's tone gives him away.

But also, to save time, if they look at the face, they can tell practically right away if it's Fugo or Narancia. Narancia has some form of prosopagnosia—face blindness—so he can never mimic the face quite right (short of copying someone's face while he's staring at it), and something always looks noticeably wrong. He generally distinguishes people by their hair, scent, and voice. He's not completely unable to distinguish the way someone's features look, so he can replicate them if he's looking at them, but as soon as he's not looking, he is unable to recall what someone looks like or recognise someone's face. He doesn't recognise Bruno with his hair down and sometimes struggles to recognise Mista without his hat on.

Absolutely touchstarved (e.g. desires cuddling and petting) but he's a bit awkward about it, especially when it comes to physical affection with other men (very 'no homo' vibes), although he is sort of willing to display physical affection with Mista more openly because it's a 'bro thing' (it is not a bro thing). To remedy this oxymoronic situation, Narancia usually assumes his cat theriomorph when seeking affection, in which he feels less weird about receiving affection and the others feel less weird about petting him.

Regarding the street kids Narancia used to run with before he got arrested, it's a fair assumption to make that they knew Narancia wasn't human and (whether themselves a pack of juvenile werewolves or just a group of humans) hung out with him like he was a more-or-less normal person, and that's why he wanted to run with them. They let him feel like he fit in, which is something he'd struggled with his entire life due to a lack of exposure to any of his own kind, leading him to be unsure if he could ever belong anywhere.

Because he could be anything and transform himself in any way, he wasn't sure that any identity he gave himself was really his or if he was just conforming to what other people wanted. He didn't know how to be "himself", but running with the street kids at least gave him something, a name for himself, a place to belong, maybe a role to fill that wasn't just 'whatever they need at the moment' (though he certainly did a lot of that). But "Bro" was mostly just using him because his shapeshifting abilities were really useful and really convenient for framing him.

Fugo happened upon a sickly, injured kitten on his way to Libeccio's one day. He picked the kitten up despite better judgement, having sympathy for the tiny creature, and, despite the biting and scratching that his poor arms sustained, brought the kitten to Buccellati. They gave the kitten a little bit of food, and when they left it alone in a room for five minutes while they tried to figure out what to do about it, they came back in to find a scruffy boy halfway fallen off a chair, and no kitten to be seen. The rest of Narancia's backstory proceeds as normal, except that Fugo goes fucking ballistic at him because he, a creature with complex cognitive function, fucking bit him!!! Voluntarily!!! That's so fucked up!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!!!

Giorno stole his gender and that's why he's canon lesbian of the day

Likes... being pet on the head... but will punch you in the jaw if you try. Unless he wants you to do it. he's very fickle...

Has a nasty case of undiagnosed ADHD and/or something else, probably made slightly worse by the fact he's inhuman and thus already has some pretty odd tendencies. Struggles to sit still, hyperfixates yet struggles to focus (particularly in an academic environment), has some sensory issues and has a severe need to be stimming in 90% of his waking moments. His favourite style of stimming seems to be spinning things, including pocket knives, pens, and Aerosmith's propellers. The way he spins pens shows a very very impressive dexterity.

Seems to always have about 12 pocket knives on his person at any one given time. You take one knife away from him and he pulls another out of his fucking shoe and shanks you in the gut. Allegedly has 3 knives under his pillow, as he warned Limbo.

Incredibly expressive. His lack of a definite form allows his body (especially his ears, in his protomorph) to reflect his expression or mood to a much greater extent than a human's could. In the case of his ears, it's very much like cat body language.

The ORIGINAL catboy. Step aside, True Catboy Ghiaccio and Semantic Catboy Tiziano! I don't care that hes not a cat!!! shut the fuck up!!!!!

he does hiss at people

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the-griffons-saddlebag · 1 year

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💎 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺! Prized Pet Protector Wondrous item, uncommon or rare ___ A typical "prized pet protector", an uncommon item, is a colorful bandana featuring swirling paisleys and various pet-themed designs. You can tie this bandana around the neck of a willing beast with a challenge rating of 1 or lower using an action. The bandana changes size to comfortably fit around the creature's neck and can't be removed against its will. When the beast is reduced to 0 hit points while wearing the bandana, but not killed outright, the creature is harmlessly shunted to a special demiplane. The creature reappears after 8 hours in an empty space within 10 feet of you with all its hit points. The bandana's magic then ceases to function until 2 days have passed. The following "prized pet protector" is a rare variant with additional properties. It's made of fine silk, and its designs are embroidered with golden thread. A beast that wears it also gains a +2 bonus to saving throws. If the beast wearing the bandana is a transformed humanoid or other creature, such as by the "polymorph" spell or similar magic, the bandana has no effect on it. The bandana can be worn over a collar. ___ ✨ Patrons get huge perks! Access this and hundreds of other item cards, art files, and compendium entries when you support The Griffon's Saddlebag on Patreon for less than $10 a month!

#illustration #digital art #dungeons and dragons #dnd #d&d

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laurelnose · 4 months

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Forgive my desperate urgency but you are The Person whose opinion I must have on this topic-- I don't know very much about D&D and especially not about dragonborn, I am only in the BG3 fandom for Vibes, but this came up as of course it did because I'm me--

DO DRAGONBORN HAVE GIZZARDS

please we must discuss this

A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION DESERVING OF SERIOUS CONTEMPLATION

So dragonborn are descended directly from chromatic/metallic/gem dragons in some way (the exact way is a point of theological contention). The difference between those three dragon types is, to the best of my limited knowledge, not germane to the discussion. I will consider dragons as a single category.

Dragons are definitely not reptiles. They are warm-blooded and they act like cats. I do not actually think the cat thing is relevant to them being reptiles or not, Forgotten Realms wiki, but thank you anyways. So they are not like crocodiles, but are they like birds? Probably not. Although they did evolve from proto-dragon species which were among the few survivors of the cataclysm that killed the dinosaurs. Much like birds! (Or maybe they were created by the gods. Whatever. I’m not getting into a Faerûnian creationism debate. Anyways, in this context only, por qué no los dos.)

Dragons are preferentially carnivorous, but functionally omnivorous, with an emphasis on the omni. They can eat and digest just about anything, including inorganic materials. This ability is because of their “innate elemental nature”, which kind of makes me think dragons don’t really have digestive systems as we know them. They’re more like great primordial engines. I think this precludes gizzards in the dragons themselves — how would they get stones in their gizzards if their digestive system can break down stone? What would they even use them for? So if dragonborn have gizzards, they did not get them from the dragons.

Dragonborn do not seem to usually be capable of regularly digesting rocks, so if they swallow inorganic matter it should stay where it’s put. Baby dragonborn are born toothless and are fed by a lactating parent (dragonborn → monotremes??) until they grow teeth, and then are graduated through soft foods up to regular food (consisting of much more meat than your average humanoid). They are capable of digesting non-meat foods, but it doesn’t look like they have the dentition to chew non-meat foods. Which is why birds of just about all diets have gizzards — they don’t got no teeth! I’m going to go with either dragonborn have trouble eating vegetarian meals, as they have no grinding molars, or they do have gizzards. Courtesy of whatever primeval force or deity created them, maybe.

I also considered whether, if dragonborn are normally gizzardless, the Dark Urge specifically might have been created with special dietary capabilities, but you don’t need a gizzard for, say, osteophagy. (Notably, the only primarily osteophagous bird, the bearded vulture, has lost its gizzard.) And I feel like the other things animals use gizzards to digest are not quite On Theme, as it were. However, they might possibly, like bearded vultures, have a hardened, partially keratinized digestive lining for dramatic osteophagy (involving sharp broken-off pieces of bones).

On a different hand, dragonborn manifest draconic abilities at different levels, ranging from different or multiple breath weapons, dragonfear, or abilities from Bahamut or Tiamat. I wonder if some dragonborn, maybe those with particularly strong breath weapons (since the breath weapons are formed from elemental energy produced by dragons’ unique diets), might also manifest the ability to Just Eat Fucking Rocks. Not a glamorous ability! But very fun I think! Possibly more fun for dragonborn which do not natively have gizzards, as having a sort of elemental furnace in their belly instead of a stomach would then enable them to more comfortably eat food like salads.

On another totally different hand, polymorphed dragons (or not polymorphed, if you’re not a coward) are supposed to be able to hybridize with most of the humanoids, producing children that may take after either or both parents, and aarakocra and kenku are Right There. I mean, not in BG3, but, y’know. Half-dragons and dragonborn are different, but still interesting.

Also, dragons in the Forgotten Realms taste like turkey. I don’t know what you can do with this information but I feel like you would enjoy knowing it

#asks #bomberqueen17 #i am also only in bg3 fandom for the vibes atm lmao. maybe this will change if i ever actually finish a run

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