ghostlightgamers

[ghostlightgamers]

Hello! Do you have a favorite fiendish race in Pathfinder? And perhaps the least favorite one? If yes, how would you improve them to look better in your eyes? The diversity of fiends (and outsiders in general) is probably my favorite part of Pathfinder, so I'd like to hear your opinion about them.

They’re members of my family, boy. I love them all!

Now, that being said, I do have some favorites and least favorites.

I am a big fan of devils, and always have been. Devils have been major players since my D&D games in high school (being a teenager in post 9/11 USA gave me a lot of thoughts on the nature of Lawful Evil). I like how in Pathfinder they’re more cooperative and less backstabbing than the typical D&D version, and they have clear motivations that are great for building plots. In setting, tying them to a major mortal country is an excellent way for them to have influence in the world.

I also like the Pathfinder take on daemons, more than the D&D daemons/yugoloths. Tying them to specific means of deaths is an avenue for creating interesting new species with thematic powers, and making their leaders the Horsemen of the Apocalypse was a smart choice. I don’t think they’re perfect (as I’ve said on this blog before, I think the current Famine is a bit of a Villain Sue), but they’re cool, and I use them in games quite a bit.

My least favorite are probably the demodands. Making them creations of the titans is an interesting idea on paper, but we don’t have a lot of specifics about their goals. They’re also inherently limited to being high level threats, which makes introducing demodand influence at lower levels somewhat more challenging. Most of all, they’re just not as cool as the Planescape take on them, the gehreleths. Gehreleths had the iron triangles and the bottled armies, and were both jailers and the jailed. They were mystic and weird, and stood out as Other from the various fiendish types in a way that Pathfinder’s demodands don’t.

[ghostlightgamers]

If I Ran the Zoo: Energy Types

"Experimental Overload" © Wizards of the Coast, by Lie Setiawan. Accessed at Art of MtG here

Pathfinder 1e is built off of the chassis of Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 edition. And early in the game’s life especially, backwards compatibility was a priority. Which means that some bad decisions that D&D 3e made were grandfathered into Pathfinder 1e, and then were revised in PF2e. Energy types are one of them.

The canonical five energy types in PF1e are acid, cold, electricity, fire and sonic. Sonic damage is very rare, as is sonic resistance. There are other effects that deal damage in ways that are similar to energy types, like positive and negative energy and force damage, but are not defended against in the same way.

And then there’s poison. In previous editions of D&D, poison did hit point damage for the most part, unless it just instantly killed your character. There’s a lot of instant-kill poisons in AD&D. So it might have seemed like a good idea to change that, and to showcase the new concept of ability score damage, by making most poisons deal ability score damage. In actual practice, this means that characters have to recalculate a lot of their statistics every time they take damage from poison, slowing down play. And for low level characters without access to lots of lesser restoration spells, a fight with venomous monsters may result in days of downtime to recover. Not so great for the story driven heroic fantasy model that most D&D and PF games default to.

Both Pathfinder 2e and D&D 4e course corrected from this model, and made poison a type of energy damage. In PF2e, flat penalties to particular rolls are inflicted with status conditions like weakened and stupefied. In D&D 5e, penalties to abilities are very rare.

So, in the same spirit as PF2e and D&D 5e, I am going to make some revisions to the energy types. The Codex is going to use these energy types going forward, and I intend to go back over some older monsters in order to apply them retroactively. Mostly in terms of using the terms “mental” and “radiant” on previous monsters, but also changing some monsters that deal acid damage to poison (because that was already a change made in adaptation, so I’m changing it back) or changing the poisons of some monsters, particularly low CR monsters, from dealing ability damage to hit point damage.

Homebrew Rules: Expanded Energy Types There are eleven energy types, split into two categories. The five energy types that are the most common in nature are referred to as the primal energies—acid, cold, electricity, fire, poison. The six energy types that are more common in the Great Beyond and are controlled with magic are the esoteric energy types—force, mental, positive, negative, radiant and sonic. Positive energy typically heals the living and negative energy typically heals the undead.

Spells in PF1e that grant energy resistance, such as resist energy and protection from energy, give their full protection against the primal energy types only. Against most esoteric energy types, they give half of their normal protection. For example, a resist energy spell cast by a 3rd level caster can grant resistance 10 to acid or fire, but only resistance 5 to mental or radiant damage. These spells grant no resistance to force damage. Spells that only protect against specific energy types, such as draconic reservoir, are unchanged.

Dwarves and other playable species that gain a bonus on saving throws vs. poison gain resist 5 to that energy type as well. The breath weapon of green dragons deals poison damage, not acid damage.

[ghostlightgamers]

Note this is an unironic political statement, because the resurgent war on porn has been and will continue to be at the front lines of the free speech battle, and it's only going to ramp up both with the techlash and the current fascist administration in the US.

Remember, age verification laws are censorship laws in disguise, treat them as such!

...Also, feel free to redistribute this, with credit if you can.

[ghostlightgamers]

Dunewinder

Image © Wizards of the Coast, by Jim Nelson. Accessed at the Sandstorm Art Gallery here

[Thanks to Frank Herbert’s Dune, you can’t have a desert without worm monsters in it. Sandstorm has two, of which the dunewinder is the more interesting. Weirdly, the flavor text calls it out as being related to the remorhaz, even though it bears much more similarity among core D&D monsters to the frost worm (no legs, breath weapon, death throes). So I fixed it.]

Dunewinder CR 10 N Magical Beast This mighty creature looks something like an elephant-sized grub. Its body is covered in bristles and flaps, some of which seem to push it along and others seemingly more offensive in nature. Its maw is filled with multiple saw-like rows of teeth, each moving independently.

Dunewinders are desert relatives of frost worms. Like them, they are infused with elemental power, in this case, that of fire. They live as ambush predators of sandy wastes, and can survive a long time between meals. As such, when food is available they are ravenous, and often consume huge amounts of meat at a time. Their gullets are relatively small, so they cannot swallow prey whole. Instead, they grab it, pull it next to their barbed skin, and shred it into manageable chunks. The spines of a dunewinder ooze sticky green venom that causes blood to clot in place. When slain, the internal fires within the creature erupt, causing the dunewinder to explode in a shower of super-heated blood and venomous spines.

Dunewinders spend most of their lives beneath the ground, feeling vibrations in order to detect prey. If they need to travel quickly, they dig their way to the surface and move in a serpentine fashion like a sidewinder snake, resulting in characteristic tracks. They only come together in order to mate, which is done in a perfunctory fashion. Dunewinders are simultaneous hermaphrodites, and both partners typically impregnate the other. Eggs are laid in a leathery cocoon deep beneath the ground and abandoned. Dunewinders have few predators except each other, and cannibalism is a common source of mortality for dunewinder young.

Keep reading

[ghostlightgamers]

More features to come, including racial feats and an alternative stats if you want to use psionic alternative rules

Dohwar

[I would just like to take a moment to thank @thecreaturecodex for bouncing ideas off and proofing this entry, I am thankful for her help.]

Dohwar This small penguin-like humanoid sports a glossy black and white feather coat with a colorful brow feathers.

Dohwars are a race of small, chubby, flightless avian resembling in many ways large penguins. Native to temperate and arctic coastal regions of a far off world, they are consummate merchants, viewing most interactions through a lens of mercantile exchange and contract. A dohwar refers to marriage partnership as a "merger" and their eggs as "new wares." A dohwar is constantly seeking new means of barter and exchange, a trait that either makes them endearing or grating depending on the individual dealing with the dohwar. Dohwar tend to loath violence, viewing it as a complete dissolution of ability to negotiate with others, but in case of the inevitable, prefer a support role, leaving combat to allies or mercenaries when combat arises.

Dohwar as player characters A dohwar does not have racial Hit Dice and advances by character class. Bard, Occultist and Rogue are common classes among dohwars. A dohwar character has the following racial traits-

+2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma, -2 Wisdom: Dohwar are shrewd and charismatic negotiators, but are known to be flighty and impulsive.

Small: Dohwar gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty on combat maneuver checks and to their CMD, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.

Slow Speed: Dohwar have a base speed of 20ft. They also have a swim speed of 30 feet and gain the +8 racial bonus on Swim checks that a swim speed normally grants.

Humanoid (Dohwar): Dohwar are humanoids with the dohwar subtype.

Dohwar Telepathy: A dohwar is able to mentally communicate with any creature within 30 feet with whom she shares a language. Otherwise this ability is identical to the telepathy ability.

Hold Breath: Dohwar can hold their breath for a number of rounds equal to four times their Constitution score before risking drowning or suffocating.

Mercantile: Dohwar receive a +2 racial bonus to Appraise and on a Craft or Profession skill of their choice. Dohwar also always have Appraise and Sense Motive as a class skill.

Psychic Attunement: Dohwar receive Empath as a bonus feat at 1st level. Those who can’t use occult skill unlocks at 1st level instead gain the Psychic Sensitivity feat as a bonus feat.

Alcohol Immunity: Dohwar are immune to the effects of alcohol and alcohol addiction, however, glucose, such as found in fruit and honey, affects her in a manner similar to strong wine or beer.

Language: Dohwar begin play speaking Common and Dohwar. Furthermore, members of this race with high Intelligence scores can learn any languages they want (except Druidic and other secret languages).

[ghostlightgamers]

Dohwar

[I would just like to take a moment to thank @thecreaturecodex for bouncing ideas off and proofing this entry, I am thankful for her help.]

Dohwar This small penguin-like humanoid sports a glossy black and white feather coat with a colorful brow feathers.

Dohwars are a race of small, chubby, flightless avian resembling in many ways large penguins. Native to temperate and arctic coastal regions of a far off world, they are consummate merchants, viewing most interactions through a lens of mercantile exchange and contract. A dohwar refers to marriage partnership as a "merger" and their eggs as "new wares." A dohwar is constantly seeking new means of barter and exchange, a trait that either makes them endearing or grating depending on the individual dealing with the dohwar. Dohwar tend to loath violence, viewing it as a complete dissolution of ability to negotiate with others, but in case of the inevitable, prefer a support role, leaving combat to allies or mercenaries when combat arises.

Dohwar as player characters A dohwar does not have racial Hit Dice and advances by character class. Bard, Occultist and Rogue are common classes among dohwars. A dohwar character has the following racial traits-

+2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma, -2 Wisdom: Dohwar are shrewd and charismatic negotiators, but are known to be flighty and impulsive.

Small: Dohwar gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty on combat maneuver checks and to their CMD, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.

Slow Speed: Dohwar have a base speed of 20ft. They also have a swim speed of 30 feet and gain the +8 racial bonus on Swim checks that a swim speed normally grants.

Humanoid (Dohwar): Dohwar are humanoids with the dohwar subtype.

Dohwar Telepathy: A dohwar is able to mentally communicate with any creature within 30 feet with whom she shares a language. Otherwise this ability is identical to the telepathy ability.

Hold Breath: Dohwar can hold their breath for a number of rounds equal to four times their Constitution score before risking drowning or suffocating.

Mercantile: Dohwar receive a +2 racial bonus to Appraise and on a Craft or Profession skill of their choice. Dohwar also always have Appraise and Sense Motive as a class skill.

Psychic Attunement: Dohwar receive Empath as a bonus feat at 1st level. Those who can’t use occult skill unlocks at 1st level instead gain the Psychic Sensitivity feat as a bonus feat.

Alcohol Immunity: Dohwar are immune to the effects of alcohol and alcohol addiction, however, glucose, such as found in fruit and honey, affects her in a manner similar to strong wine or beer.

Language: Dohwar begin play speaking Common and Dohwar. Furthermore, members of this race with high Intelligence scores can learn any languages they want (except Druidic and other secret languages).

[ghostlightgamers]

Hagspawn

Dai Bakemono by Alex Konstad

Hagspawn

The sons of malicious, predatory hag mothers, hagspawn are an unfortunate people, despised by both parent of their kind. Hags continue their awful lineage by taking human males for mates,usually murdering and devouring the hapless captive later. The female children of a hag are changelings, and often quickly grow into hags like that of their mothers, but in rare circumstances, a son is born to the hag. These male children are hagspawn, half-human out-casts. Feared and hated by normal humans, and abused and neglected by their hag mothers, hagspawn must make their way in the world by dint of their strength, hardiness, and sheer determination.

     All too often, hagspawn are filled with the malice, violence, and resentment of their monstrous parent. They are quick to take offense and view even the most in-nocent remark as a hidden slight. People regard them as ill-tempered monsters, and many hagspawn perpetuate distrust of their kind by behaving exactly as expected. They look out for themselves first and regard companions as temporary allies that will abandon them when convenient. If they remain with their mothers, they are treated as bodyguards and minions rather than children, and those that leave often become mercenaries and thugs. Hagspawn are capable of working furiously to achieve a desired end and do not shy away from physical hardship or danger if the reward seems worth the risk.

     Bulky creatures, Hagspawn tend to be around 6’ and weighs around 200 lbs.

Stats

+2 Strength, +2 Constitution, –2 Charisma: Hagspawn are strong and hardy, but are sullen and ill-tempered. (1 RP)

Medium: Hagspawn are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size. (0 RP)

Monstrous Humanoid: Hagspawn are Monstrous Humanoids. (3 RP)

Base Speed: Hagspawn have a base speed of 30 ft. (0 RP)

Senses: Hagspawn have Darkvision 60ft. (- RP)

Gatecrasher: Being shunned as they are, hagspawn tend to build up a lot of aggression, and try to find outlets on the possessions of their tormentors. Hagspawn gains a +2 racial bonus on Strength checks to break objects and a +2 racial bonus on combat maneuver checks to sunder. (2 RP)

Lesser Spell Resistance: Hagspawn have a spell resistance equal to 6 + their character level. (3 RP)

Thick Hide: Hagspawn gains a +2 natural armor bonus to Armor Class. (3 RP)

Languages: Hagspawn begins play speaking Common and Giant. Hagspawn with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Abyssal, Aklo, Draconic, Infernal, Goblin, Sylvan, and Undercommon. (0 RP)

[ghostlightgamers]

An Elgon, the result of an elf having a kid with a dragon. Often are kept in elf communities for their precognitive properties (which they don’t have, in truth they’re really good at guessing). Also they eat meat, which can be a problem for the menageries elves tend to keep.