#LifeSense

[cpiscitelli]

Al centro la terra è viva- #painting #thecenterof #heart #oilpainting #abstract #lifesensing https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn9lqBys754/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thecreaturecodex]

Sangubrax, the Smile in the Shadows

"Nightmare--Revenge" © ArtStation user Midnight, accessed at their gallery here

[Sponsored by @tar-baphon, who wanted a CR 15 herald, suitable for greater planar ally spells, for Nyarlathotep, specifically in the Bloody Tongue mask. The Bloody Tongue is one of the widest influences of the Call of Cthulhu game on greater views of the Mythos; Nyarlathotep was not associated with being a tentacle monster before that point, and was usually depicted as being mostly human, as he appears in Lovecraft. Hence, my feeling it was appropriate to make this herald appear pretty humanoid. The epithet and CR were provided for me, but I was allowed free reign otherwise.]

Sangubrax, the Smile in the Shadows CR 15 CE Outsider (extraplanar) This humanoid creature appears to be a flayed knight made of blood and gore. There is a visor covering where there should be eyes, and his face is split in a mad ear to ear grin. His arms end not in hands, but in baroque and lethal weapons. He moves with liquid grace.

Sangubrax is the Smile In the Shadows, a supernatural murderer with a penchant for targeting nobility, royalty, the powerful and influential. He is one of the Heralds of Nyarlathotep, being devoted specifically to the Mask known as the Bloody Tongue. The Bloody Tongue seeks to destabilize societies through sacrificial murders, and Sangubrax is called upon to strike at reformers, benevolent leaders, and anyone who might try to make a city, province or nation safer and more supporting of its citizens.

Sangubrax is a consummate assassin, but he has a penchant for the theatrical. Murders he commits vary in tune with the societal importance of the target. A beggar that gets in his way will merely have his throat slit, but a monarch will be murdered in broad daylight with much pomp and ceremony. His arms can become all manner of weaponry, but he prefers sword-like blades, the better to spill plenty of blood. Creatures he strikes bleed more and more until their entire life comes gushing out, and he has an extensible, chameleon-like tongue for dragging fleeing victims closer and ensuring they cannot even magically escape.

The Smile in the Shadows has a mocking, sardonic personality, even to his summoners. He believes that mortals are fundamentally incapable of ruling themselves, and that the return of the Old Gods will be a time of glorious and violent anarchy. He serves in the Prehistoric Temple in Leng, acting as bodyguard and majordomo for the High Priest Not to Be Described. Although he performs such duties loyally, he is always excited to be summoned in order to commit murder and mayhem on another plane.

Being a semi-liquid creature, Sangubrax has no set height, but weighs 200 pounds. Although he has no eyes, he can see perfectly well.

Sangubrax CR 15 XP 51,200 CE Medium outsider (chaos, evil, extraplanar) Init +7; Senses lifesense 60 ft., Perception +28, see in darkness Aura frightful presence (60 ft., Will DC 25)

Defense AC 30, touch 18, flat-footed 30 (+7 Dex, +1 dodge, +12 natural) hp 225 (18d10+126) Fort +13, Ref +18, Will +18 DR 15/lawful or good; Immune bleed, curses, death effects, disease, poison; SR 26 Defensive Abilities amorphous, evasion, improved uncanny dodge

Offense Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (perfect) Melee 2 morphic weapons +24 (2d10+6/19-20 plus exponential bleed), tongue +19 touch (pull plus no escape) Ranged morphic weapon +24 (2d10+6/19-20 plus exponential bleed) Space 5 ft.; Reach 10 ft. (30 ft. with tongue) Special Attacks pull (10 ft.), sneak attack +4d6 Spell-like Abilities CL 18th, concentration +24 At will—deeper darkness, detect good, detect law, invisibility, waves of blood (DC 19, CMB +25) 3/day—cruel jaunt, mass fester (DC 22), quickened true strike, empowered vampiric touch 1/day—decapitate (DC 22), greater shadow evocation (DC 24), regenerate

Statistics Str 23, Dex 24, Con 25, Int 20, Wis 25, Cha 22 Base Atk +18; CMB +22; CMD 40 Feats Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Empower SLA (vampiric touch), Improved Critical (morphic weaponry), Mobility, Quicken SLA (true strike), Spring Attack, Whirlwind Attack Skills Acrobatics +28, Bluff +27, Escape Artist +36, Fly +33, Intimidate +27, Knowledge (nobility) +23, Knowledge (planes) +26, Perception +28, Sense Motive +28, Stealth +36, Survival +28; Racial Modifiers +8 Escape Artist, +8 Stealth Languages Aklo, Abyssal, Common, Protean, Shadowtongue SQ compression

Ecology Environment any land or underground (Leng) Organization unique Treasure incidental

Special Abilities Exponential Bleed (Su) Whenever Sangubrax hits a creature with a morphic weapon, it deals 1 point of bleed damage. If it hits that creature again, the bleed damage doubles, to a maximum of 16 points of bleed a round for 5 hits. This doubling effect occurs even if the creature stops bleeding, such as through a Heal check or healing magic, but expires 24 hours after the last time Sangubrax struck it. In an area of antimagic or similar effect, Sangubrax’s morphic weaponry still deals 1 point of bleed damage. Morphic Weapons (Ex) Sangubrax can manipulate his body to mimic a wide array of potent weaponry, or revert to having hands, as a swift action. While the weapons may look different, they are considered natural weapons and they all do the same amount of damage. Morphic weapons deal bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage, and are treated as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. Sangubrax can also attack with a morphic weapon by hurling a portion of his body as a thrown weapon with a range increment of 60 feet (he swiftly regrows thrown portions of its body after using this attack, while the hurled portion melts away into a bloodstain after dealing damage to a target). No Escape (Su) A creature touched by Sangubrax’s tongue must succeed a DC 24 Will save or be affected by both a slow and dimensional anchor spell that lasts for 1 minute. The save DC is Charisma based.

[y-rhywbeth2]

Durge: "My mind is full of holes, and some of them are still being punched." Sister Sinda: "Let me examine your skull ... Poor dear. Poor, poor dear. Who did this to you?" Durge: "What in the hells can you see?"

I haven't actually had any blackouts in Act 2, but I can imagine Durge having lapses in regular combat.

The brain trauma was a present from the bestest Little Sister in the world. Attempted head injuries are common gifts one receives as an older sibling (though not usually with knives).

No seriously, how bad is the trauma? Is she using some kind of undead lifesense or magic to examine the brain, or has Orin just left some fascinating scars and cranial restructuring back there?

[soylent-crocodile]

Compleated (Race)

(art by Igor Kieryluk)

(Compleated are intended to fill the role of sort of miscellaneous humanoids seen across Phyrexian art. The Priests of Norn are, to me, the archetypal New Phyrexians, so that's the art we're getting!)

Compleated are not a naturally occurring race; rather, they are the result of a torturous physical remaking, or artificially created through the union of vat-grown flesh with living metal, like an eldritch lichen. Completed have a variety of different forms, but the vast majority are bipedal with two arms ending in clawed hands, and all have features that blend the qualities of armor, skeleton, and musculature, and a thick black ichor performing the job of blood. 

Completed are not necessarily evil, but possess an uncaring curiosity and fascination with blood and flesh, as well as a deep belief in the beauty of their form. Most cultures of completed often believe that they are a perfect form of life, and attempt to convert others into completed, typically without their consent.

Stats: Compleated are powerful and brilliant but unpersonable; they get +2 to Strength and Intelligence, and -2 to Charisma. Medium: Compleated are medium and have no size-based modifiers. Types: Compleated are aberrations with the phyrexian subtype. They gain darkvision 60ft. Languages: Compleated start play knowing Necril. Compleated with high intelligence can learn from Aklo, Common, Abyssal, Infernal, and Draconic. Natural Weapons: Compleated gain two claw attacks that deal 1d4 damage. The claws are secondary attacks. Natural Armor: Completed gain a +1 bonus to natural armor. Lifesense: Compleated gain the Lifesense 60ft ability, as the universal monster rule. Completed Resistances: Compleated gain a +4 racial bonus to fortitude saves against poison or disease effect, and resist acid 5. Mycosynth Flesh: A completed’s anatomy is both flesh and metal, typically arranged in the most disturbing way possible. As such, it may be targeted or affected by a spell or ability as either an aberration or as a construct, whichever produces a greater effect. 

[grayisles]

I've been cooking an AU a bit in an Adam server on discord. I am going to call it the Superhero Homunculi AU with Lilith and Adam are the first manmade homunculi with powers.

There is an age of people having powers, this is skyrocketting, people gaining them from curses, experiments, or were born with them. It's a new age of uncertainty where there are those who wish to have a normal life, others who turn to the life of crime, or are vigilantes fighting against other criminals or the system at large.

One company, Edan Corp., hopes to change things for the better. They have been crafting perfection of genetically engineered quasi-humans called homunculi born to assist humanity at large. The homunculi are created as twins to balance the other out, and if there happens to be any failures that the other will be survive and have a working blueprint to change the next batch of homunculi. The CEO of Edan Co. is known as the God of Creation, who created this substance for the homunculi that will allow them to grow fast, to an adult, as they master and unlock their their powers.

The first two homunculi that were created is Adam and Lilith, where Adam is the first of the duo to wake followed by Lilith. The two appear to be children around the age of 7 with their own handlers that are top scientists of Edan Corp.: Sera and Michael with Adam while Lucifer and Gabriel are with Lilith.

Both Adam and Lilith grow up together as if they are brother and sister. Adam is more curious while Lilith is outgoing initially. The duo are sometimes socialized by the various employee's kids, learning right from wrong from their respective handlers, and go through training from the Seraphs, aka their main handlers.

The humonculi need to be together when they are young as the substance that makes them up is unstable before it levels off after a few weeks. The Seraphs had to keep them calm and make sure they are relatively well-adjusted. While these two are the future for humanity it is important to give them some form of a childhood before throwing them to solve various problems. However, Sera and Michael are more harder on their charge that even Lilith notices when both Lucifer and Gabriel (one or both) are caring for Adam while she gets Michael and/or Sera. [going for vibes similar to Umbrella Academy]

Adam does not notice this as he pushes some of Lilith's concerns that something is off with Michael and Sera. They need them to be better and he isn't the best - he lags behind mastering his power compared to Lilith who ages faster than him as she becomes better. Both can have access to either their primary or secondary but typically the secondary manifests (looking physically 15) when the individual is aware of what they can do.

Lilith has the power of Inspiring Song - she is able to manipulate others, calm them down in large crowds or make them angry. If she sings she is able to actually change the viewpoint of the masses, it works better if they are within a certain radius of her and being physically there. She can temporarily gift someone power but only for a short time with her Inspiring Song, but this has to be her actually singing to someone. As she matures she gains the ability of Empower, which she can embolden herself with her own songs and, if someone gifts their name freely that she has, she can give them extra power by directly shaping any ability one has or gifting a small power to someone with no power. This is a permanent boost which is different than her Inspiring Song which lasts for like 20 minutes tops

Adam has the power of Nature. Initially he can control plants, how they mature, if they can be dormant etc. before having the ability to control the wind, rain, thunder and lightening. His secondary ability is Bestow. With Bestow, if Adam names someone/something - be it a nickname or something else - he gets more power to do things (enhance strength, breathing underwater, durability, tremorsense, lifesense, minor healing salve/plants etc.) and when someone is named, they are slightly changed and some of their power - be it actual or something related to what they can do - is taken by Adam. He turns it into his own (ex., he names an artist he gets a small portion of their power aka drawing a bit better). Adam doesn't use his secondary ability too often because it feels weird.

Lilith, despite her power being supportive, uses it actively and there is more ease. Adam blunders a bit with his, with his secondary ability Bestow because he uses his subconsciously - he knows that there is more to it (to Bestow and Nature) but he wasn't sure what since Nature/Bestow has more of an evolution stage for him. When he gives people nicknames - Lilith = Lily - it feels weird to him because while he gets power he takes some from other people. Lilith doesn't realize that she had some of her power taken away initially but likes that flowers seem to perk around her and can create vines.

She'll realize the true ramifications later.

When Lilith and Adam are physically 12 the CEO announces that there is a new face of heroes to answer the world's problem. Both Lilith and Adam are wearing costumes, and are helping people evacuate or get hurt. Lilith is able to Inspire and Empower firefighters and crowds they can take matters into their own hands and she is well-versed in hand-to-hand combat. Adam tries to work in the background, sometimes it's difficult to use his plants initially in combat but makes sure to use them to trap any criminals.

[I'll write more about this later, it is quite late. I just want to set up a thing where Lilith and Adam are friends/siblings before the inevitable rift happens. I'll talk more about Lucifer, Michael, Sera, and Gabriel next time]

[pathfinderunlocked]

Frostwisp - CR5 Undead

A frozen spirit transformed into a shapeless mass of cold.

Artwork by murr3 on DeviantArt.

Frostwisps are dead travelers transformed into ice spirits after being killed by wispmothers. While many frostwisps are controlled by these wispmothers, others are free-roaming undead. Frostwisps initially appear to those wandering the tundra as curious, potentially friendly spirits of frost and light, leading the to a cave or tomb where they might be able to take shelter. But the act is a trap. These places are in fact where the frostwisps died, and they are driven to ensure that others join them in dead.

Unlike most undead, if ignored, frostwisps are generally not directly hostile. They use tricks and illusions against living enemies to lure and ambush them, attacking in large groups once the target is in a secluded location. Individual frostwisps will generally only attack living creatures while they sleep or their defenses are otherwise dropped, and are particularly cautious around groups of more than one or two living creatures, preferring lone targets.

Although not mindless, and capable of coordinated strategy, frostwisps have no personality and no memory of their lives. They seek only to freeze the living to death, as they were frozen.

See also the Ice Wraithworm, another incorporeal cold enemy from Skyrim that I adapted to Pathfinder.

Frostwisp CR 5

A ball of freezing light hovers in the air, tendrils of light dancing behind it as it moves. The air around it is supernaturally cold.

XP 1,800 NE Tiny undead (cold, incorporeal) Init +6 Senses blind, lifesense 60 ft. (warm-blooded creatures only); Perception +11

DEFENSE

AC 20, touch 20, flat-footed 14 (+2 deflection, +6 Dex, +2 size) hp 52 (8d8+16) Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +8 Defensive Abilities incorporeal Immune cold, undead traits Weaknesses corporeal to fire, vulnerable to fire

OFFENSE

Speed fly 20 ft. (perfect) Melee incorporeal touch +14 (2d8 cold plus frostwisp touch) Space 2 1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft. Special Attacks frostwisp touch

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd; concentration +5)     Constant—blur     At will—dancing lights, ghost sound (DC 13)

STATISTICS

Str —, Dex 22, Con —, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 14 Base Atk +6; CMB +10; CMD 22 Feats Alertness, Blind-Fight, Lunge, Spell Focus (illusion) Skills Bluff +10, Fly +22, Perception +11, Sense Motive +9, Stealth +13, Survival +4 Languages Aquan, Necril (understands only; cannot speak)

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Frostwisp Touch (Su) A frostwisp's touch causes 2d8 cold damage. When making a touch attack, a frostwisp can choose to apply one of the following bonus effects to its attack:

If the target has the Combat Stamina feat or ability, it loses 1 point of stamina when it takes damage from this attack.

If the target has cold resistance, it loses 1d8 points of cold resistance for 1 minute (even if it took no damage from the attack). A target with cold immunity is unaffected by this effect.

The target that takes damage from this attack must succeed on a DC 16 Fortitude save or be staggered for 1 round. The save DC is Charisma-based.

A frostwisp can automatically determine whether the target of its touch attack has Combat Stamina or cold resistance, and uses this information when choosing which effect to apply.

Corporeal to Fire (Ex) Fire damage affects a frostwisp as if the frostwisp were corporeal.

[gluttonygirls]

chubbykanmuses

Poor Caster fucking exploded

The ghosts didn't have lifesense, so didn't know they had been revived and didn't rip them in half again

[advancedscurvy]

last night we had the last session for my four year long pathfinder campaign, i'd like to memorialize this incredible campaign with some really wonderful moments i had with my friends. we're already playing two "sequel" sort of campaigns set distantly in the same world, both in time and space, but i'm going to miss my character so much. ianthe, a single mother who was a storm druid "swamp trash" undine in her mid 30s, who started our campaign trying to save her son's life after the swamp she had tended to almost all of her life began to grow corrupted and claimed her child, eventually became the avatar and inheritor of the power of our universe's sun goddess, the most powerful druid on the earth, the hero of three separate countries, and is now one of the creator gods of a world we had to rewrite after an apocalypse we could not stop. in a way, we ended the story right as it truly begins with their new divine aspects. however, she was also an icon, and i will miss her every time i play. there is no character like the first character whose story you truly get to close. so here's some incredible things ianthe did:

killed the prince of atlantis in literally our second or third session because he was a clam on a beach talking about killing all humans, she was annoyed, and for literally four years our party was almost fully unable to do anything in the ocean. because ianthe mistakenly thought it was no big deal that she just smushed a clam with her staff, she never communicated this mistake to everyone else, so they never really knew why the ocean wanted to kill us until we were captured literally in the last arc and they put her on trial for murder. she was not even good at pretending to be sorry.

"oh my god, they might cut off my hair? that's my third best asset!" "what's your first and second?" (points to breasts)

the boob jokes got a lot of mileage with her, i will not deceive you. she had a dragonscale armor leotard sort of thing and had stitched a bag of holding into the bra cups, and kept her spellcasting components in there. still thinking about how before she said goodbye to one of her flings for the last time before the final fight, she said "remember me as a woman who had the best and most holy rack the world has ever seen." we love that for her.

"the guy who's attacking us is a paladin of serrenrae and his armor is covered in her sigils, right?" "yes-- where are you going with that?" "i'm her avatar, and i have all her remaining power in me, right?" "yeah, but he didn't know that." "the same dude who was insulting my dignity at the bar before the tournament?" "i don't like where this is going--" "i cast reprobation. all of his equipment is now useless to him, he loses all of his paladin levels and divine authority, and if he touches my holy symbol it burns him. he is now exiled from the faith of serrenrae."

this dude proceeded to come back as a recurring villain who really fuckin hated me, for understandable reasons, and ended up making deals with some demons and decimating our ship eventually. i still do not regret what i did.

when we finally returned to my home country ready to try to purge the swamp and face some of my backstory stuff, we found that it had been consumed by a huge mushroom superorganism that put us into deep dreams upon our arrival and picked us off in the dreams one by one. i realized this when using lifesense, i could still feel my dead friends' energies around me and couldn't figure out why. this was being manipulated by another druid who had spent his whole career serving the leshy king doing all of this, and when i finally confronted him (he was trying to offer the whole country's life force to the leshy king and use my son's body as his avatar), i was like oh you want me to choose between you resurrecting my son and the lives of countless people? i know what to do-- and stabbed myself so that i could wake up from the dream and fight the other druid personally. the leshy king orchestrating this ended up understanding what selflessness was because of my sacrifice and agreed to revive my son and give his own powers to him, in the hopes that when we rebuilt this world, my son would be able to do it right (and in the sequels, we know he does <3)

the time i stopped a volcano from exploding a whole island by expending two mythic spell slots to cast polar midnight, then creating colossal earthen walls to end the eruption, was wicked. i love flexing high level druid spells.

the time i created a tsunami to protect an entire nation from armies and armies of hybridized magical mechs

all of my many flings with random npcs that i decided were suitably fun for me. the moon god. the lady blacksmith. the pre-historic alien tarzan on dinosaur island. the lord of chaos who only showed up for a good time. the orc chieftain who asked me to do recon.

the time one of our closest allies was dying when we returned and i straight up revived him

the time i literally dried out a huge two mile radius bubble of the ocean to stop a witch from summoning one of the nameless creatures of the darkest depths of the plane of water to destroy the surface, because the witch could not breathe air and could only breathe water. we do not talk about how many other things that could only breathe water were also caught in the bubble. the spell was dispelled eventually after we stopped her, it's fine, it's fine, shhhh, we don't have to talk about it.

disguised myself as a human factory worker trying to sneak into a robot factory, ended up accidentally unionizing said factory

the time i died. the other time i died. the OTHER other time i died. i died like three times at least depending on your definition.

"don't touch the shiny rock" every time there was a shiny rock, since my vice is touching the shiny rocks. the first shiny rock i touched is how serrenrae got me in the first place

the time i filled my own bag of holding with water because i (amphibious) needed to be snuck into a palace, but was very poor at sneaking and could not hold wildshape that long, so i just stuffed myself in there like a fish in a plastic baggy, then accidentally when they took me out of there, all the water came out too so they flooded a nobleman's dining room. great work everyone

every single monologue i gave about freedom and people's right to choose their life and livelihood and authority was so fun. personally my favorite is still that every time another mythic/god hierarchy being said something about what was going to happen next she would immediately go-- "who gave you the right!" i love that i can take a character who i really didn't know for sure what her motivations would be once she got her goal, and ended up coaxing out of it a deeply interesting narrative about having nothing, gaining divine power, abusing that divine power for a minute, and then becoming a better and more realized, self aware person who respects people's autonomy and understands that a god-meddled world is a mess and the most she can do is give people a hand up, rather than exercise her own will over them. i cannot wait to see what her future followers look like.

i'll miss ianthe sm honestly. she was incredible.

[washwashgalaxy]

SENSITIVE TO SILENCE By Chichi Alintah

Sensitive to SilenceSilence falls around usWords active to seize our breathTried did we But with God permissionIt penetrates into the hearts of ❤️Against our will it isBreathing with force like the air of lifeSensing in silence to be still while standingUnseen to the world not yet knownDistancing delay with desperation‘Do not struggle whispers’ at each endConfirming in circumstancesYet, clearly…

[columbianewsupdates]

Ketones Market worth $765 million by 2028 | Key Players are Perfect Keto Group, Ketologic, Pruvit Ventures, Inc., Ketoneaid, Eastman Chemical Company, Nutrex Research Inc., and Lifesense Product

http://dlvr.it/T2C6K9

[captain-talla]

Trying something new.

Dreams of Daeros. Part one.

According to Nalar historians, this story begins a long time ago. It should be noted that this is not a complete record of galactic history, rather, it is a scene setting for what comes next.

According to the Nalar, the first of their kind were raised on ships. These people were told by their creators to keep a record of everything. They were given language, science, math, and religion. The Nalar were taught that they had an innate ability to sense life energy from solar systems away, giving them a divine duty to find and unite sentient life across the galaxy.

Their creators were called the progenitors, massive beings of psionic might. Descriptions are sparse in Nalar historical texts, but as far as is known, the Progenitors were something like massive scaled gorillas.

Eventually, after the first hundred years of the Nalar's existence, the Progenitors deposited them on a planet they called Aia. The rationale for this decision is unknown, but the suspicion of many historians is that this was in preparation for war with the Arabaeos Mind.

Unfortunately, Aia was vulnerable. So as their gods forsook them, the Nalar were found by a similarly ancient species, the Caion. The Caion resemble large armored slugs. They have no eyes or mouth, they do however possess potent psionic abilities, and used these abilities to enslave the Nalar. Due to the Nalar's ability to sense life, they were vulnerable to psionic effects, as their minds were only capable of this power due to a local of psionic shielding.

The Caion desired nothing but food. Using the Nalar's lifesense, they navigated to planet after planet, devouring the biomass of each.

It was not for fifty thousand years that the Nalar would be free. When a rebel leader known as Alber Karst lead them to victory, claiming their independence, their freedom, and some Caion FTL technology.

Then, almost one hundred thousand years later, humanity was found on the planet Dein, and joined an alliance of worlds containing the Nalar as well as several other sentient species.

Our story however starts much later, in the third year of the galactic civil war.

Later I shall share more of this with you. But for now I must sleep.

[thecreaturecodex]

Yānguĭ

"MTG - Gloom Sower" © Wizards of the Coast, by Chris Cold. Accessed at the artist's deviantArt gallery here

[Surprisingly, there's not a lot of good art of smoke monsters out there. The name "yānguĭ" is Google-translate-Chinese for "smoke ghost", as I was unable to find a specific name for this creature. This is derived from the memoirs of Ji Yun, a bureaucrat in Qing Dynasty China who recorded his various encounters with and stories he heard about the supernatural. Ji Yun recommended that the yin energy of the undead be countered with yang energy, so he sent brave soldiers with guns and explosives to fire them off while shouting in order to clear away the evil clouds. Hence, the vulnerability to fire I gave my version.]

Yānguĭ CR 8 CE Undead (incorporeal) This rolling cloud of smoke takes on shapes disturbingly reminiscent of hands and skull-like faces.

The yānguĭ are spirits of rebellion, created when an army of rebels is slaughtered on cursed land. No matter the original cause or the righteousness of the mortals that go into its creation, a yānguĭ is a depraved and destructive entity that seeks to overturn all forms of social order. Those who encounter a yānguĭ are forced to behave strangely by its maddening vapors, and its touch leaves psychic scars. Unlike many other incorporeal undead, a yānguĭ cannot create spawn directly. Instead, it delights in causing permanent madnesses in the victims it leaves alive.

Being an undead creature, a yānguĭ has no place in a natural ecosystem. They do occasionally lash out at animals and other nonsapient creatures, leaving their minds addled and draving them towards greater violence. Fortunately, they are vulnerable to fire—its energy can disrupt their necrotic existence. Even torches can be used to injure a yānguĭ (although greater firepower than that is likely to be necessary to kill one of them). Each yānguĭ arises from multiple deaths simultaneously—a unit may produce a single yānguĭ, whereas the destruction of a whole army may produce dozens of these monsters.

Yānguĭ  CR 8 XP 4,800 CE Large undead (incorporeal) Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., lifesense 30 ft., Perception +18 Aura maddening vapors (10 ft., Will DC 20) Defense AC 19, touch 19, flat-footed 14 (-1 size, +4 Dex, +1 dodge, +5 deflection) hp 104 (11d8+55) Fort +8, Ref +9, Will +11 Immune cold,incorporeal traits, undead traits Weakness purifying flames Offense Speed fly 40 feet (perfect) Melee 2 incorporeal touches +11 (2d6 cold plus 1d6 Wis damage) Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Statistics Str -, Dex 18, Con -, Int 13, Wis 19, Cha 20 Base Atk +8; CMB -; CMD 28 Feats Combat Expertise, Dodge, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility, Spring Attack, Weapon Finesse Skills Fly +24, Knowledge (history) +12, Perception +18, Sense Motive +18, Stealth +14 Languages Common, Necril Ecology Environment any Organization solitary, pair, gang (3-6) or army (7-24) Treasure none Special Abilities Ability Drain (Su) A creature struck by a yānguĭ’s touch attack must succeed a DC 20 Fortitude save or take 1d6 points of Wisdom damage. A creature reduced to 0 Wisdom must succeed an additional DC 20 Will save, or gain a random madness when its Wisdom score is restored. The save DC is Charisma based. Maddening Vapors (Su) Any creature within 10 feet of a yānguĭ must succeed a DC 20 Will save or be confused for 1d4+1 rounds. The yānguĭ does not count as the nearest creature to a confused victim for the purposes of “attack nearest creature”. This is a mind-influencing compulsion effect, and the save DC is Charisma based. Purifying Flames (Ex) A yānguĭ takes half damage from non-magical sources of fire, and full damage from magical sources of fire. A yānguĭ that takes fire damage stops emitting its maddening vapors for 1 round.

[poojascmi]

Global Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) Devices Market Is Estimated To Witness High Growth Owing To Rising Prevalence of Chronic Wounds and Increase in Surgical Procedures

The global Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) Devices market is estimated to be valued at USD 2,288.1 million in 2022 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 6.5% over the forecast period 2022-2030, as highlighted in a new report published by Coherent Market Insights.

Market Overview:

Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) Devices are used in the treatment of chronic wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers, pressure ulcers, and venous leg ulcers. These devices create a vacuum environment around the wound, promoting faster wound healing and preventing infection. NPWT devices are widely used in hospitals, clinics, and home healthcare settings. The increasing prevalence of chronic wounds and the rise in surgical procedures are driving the demand for NPWT devices globally.

Market Dynamics:

One of the key drivers of the NPWT devices market is the rising prevalence of chronic wounds. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 9% of adults over the age of 60 suffer from chronic wounds. Additionally, the increasing incidence of diabetes, obesity, and other chronic diseases further contribute to the growing demand for NPWT devices.

Another driver is the increase in surgical procedures worldwide. With advancements in healthcare facilities and accessibility to healthcare services, the number of surgeries performed has significantly increased. NPWT devices are extensively used in surgical wound management, leading to increased adoption of these devices.

Market Key Trends:

One key trend observed in the NPWT devices market is the integration of advanced technologies such as telehealth and wearable devices. These technologies enable remote monitoring and real-time data collection, enhancing patient care and reducing hospital visits. For instance, Medela AG's Vario 18 and Medela LifeSense systems offer telehealth capabilities for effective wound management.

SWOT Analysis:

- Strength: Growing demand for Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) Devices Market in the treatment of chronic wounds, Increasing adoption of advanced technologies in wound care.

- Weakness: High cost of NPWT devices, Lack of reimbursement policies in certain regions.

- Opportunity: Untapped potential in emerging markets, Increasing investments in research and development for innovative NPWT devices.

- Threats: Stringent regulatory guidelines, Competition from alternative wound care therapies.

Key Takeaways:

The global NPWT devices market is expected to witness high growth, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.5% over the forecast period, due to increasing prevalence of chronic wounds and rise in surgical procedures. North America is currently the fastest growing and dominating region in this market, attributed to the well-established healthcare infrastructure, high healthcare expenditure, and favorable reimbursement policies. The key players operating in the global NPWT devices market include 3M, Cardinal Health, Smith+Nephew, Genadyne, DeRoyal Industries, Inc., Medela AG, Convatec Inc., Mölnlycke Health Care AB, PAUL HARTMANN AG, ATMOS MedizinTechnik GmbH & Co. KG, Talley Group Ltd, Cork Medical, LLC, and Devon Medical Products.

In conclusion, the global NPWT devices market is poised for substantial growth in the coming years due to the increasing prevalence of chronic wounds and the rise in surgical procedures. The integration of advanced technologies and the focus on telehealth and wearable devices are key trends shaping the market. However, challenges such as high costs and lack of reimbursement policies need to be addressed. With the expanding geriatric population and the growing burden of chronic diseases, the demand for NPWT devices is expected to soar, presenting lucrative opportunities for market players.

[soylent-crocodile]

Mortis Hound (Monster)

(Mortis Hounds by Chippy)

(I designed these before I decided I was actually making phyrexian creatures into Specifically Actually Phyrexians, rather than just Vague Evil Forces. I think the phyrexian hound design- another design that was kept between new and old phyrexia- is just. Really cool.

And if the tags aren't warning enough, content warning for animal abuse in this one.)

CR4 NE Medium Aberration (Phyrexian)

Mortis hounds may not be the most dangerous of phyrexia's creations, but their birth is perhaps the most sadistic- they are created from the corpses of dogs, creatures many humanoids value, which are tortured, killed, and reanimated without any spark of their original soul. They are perhaps a mockery of friendship and companionship outside the glory of phyrexia, and are nearly universally reviled by those who know of them.

Mortis hounds act as scouts and trackers of phyrexia, having a particularly keen nose, inability to tire, and a fierce hunger for humanoid- and canine- flesh. Other times, mortis hounds are simply created out of stray dogs and allowed to run wild on a local population in a savage act of war.

This creature resembles a skeletal dog, with its skull replaced by a long forcep-like mouth. Misc- CR4 NE Medium Aberration (Phyrexian) HD6 Init:+4 Senses: Perception: +4, Low-light Vision, Lifesense 60ft, Scent Stats- Str: 16(+3) Dex:18(+4) Con:12(+1) Int:4(-3) Wis:8(-1) Cha:14(+2) BAB:+4 Space:5ft Reach:5ft Defense- HP:33(6d8+6) AC:18(+4 Dexterity, +4 Natural Armor) Fort:+2 Ref:+7 Will:+3 CMD:21 Resist: Cold 5 Immunity: Acid, Poison, Disease, Fear, Fatigued Special Defenses: DR5/Slashing and Piercing Offense- Bite +8(1d8+3 plus grab), 2 Claw +5(1d4+3) CMB:+7 (+9 grapple) Speed:40ft Special Attacks: Distal Jaws Feats- Multiattack, Weapon Focus (Bite) Skills- Perception +4, Survival +4 (+4 Racial bonus to Survival checks to track) Special Qualities- Shriek Together Ecology- Environment- Any Languages- Necril (Can’t speak) Organization- Pack (2-4) Treasure- None Special Abilities- Death Throes (Ex)- When a mortis hound dies, its body splinters into jagged shards. Creatures within 15ft of the hound take 2d6 slashing damage, reflex save for half. Distal Jaws (Ex)- A mortis hound’s bite attack is considered to be a manufactured weapon with reach for the purposes of ignoring defensive abilities, such as that of the spell Fire Shield. Shriek Together (Ex)- As a full-round action, any number of mortis hounds, none of which may be more than 30ft of any other, may shriek. Non-aberration creatures within 100ft of any of these hounds must make a DC12 Wisdom save or become frightened. Once a creature makes this save, it is immune to the shriek together ability of all mortis hounds for 24 hours. Each mortis hound beyond the first that participates in this shriek adds +2 to the save DC.

[global-research-reports-2023]

#Smart_Wearables #Latest #Business Top Key-players of "Smart Wearables Market" in 2023 are-  #Fitbit #Xiaomi #Apple #Garmin #Samsung #Jawbone #Misfit #Polar #Moto #Huawei #BBK(XTC) #Lifesense #Razer

[pathfinderunlocked]

Thread Severer - CR17 Construct

It's been so long since I tasted battle...

Artwork by NishatIDK on Zedge.

Thread Severer is an intelligent magic weapon that yearns for honorable combat. An ancient samurai's spirit was sealed inside this blade as a dying curse when an oni took the samurai's sword and killed him with it.

This works as a standalone boss, but if your PCs are really high level you could use it as a minion alongside a blade-wielding boss.

The weapon itself, after being defeated, is a +2 flying shock katana that has the Purified Steel ability listed below, and for which the blade itself (but not the wielder) is protected by a constant lightning shield spell. It has a caster level of 16 and a strong evocation and transmutation aura, due to the flying and shock properties. It can't be crafted and refuses to be sold, but for the game-balancing purposes of calculating a PC's wealth, you can treat it as if it were worth 134050 gp (the same as a +8 mithral katana).

As an intelligent item, it has stats of Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 10, has an Ego of 18, and its purpose is to battle honorably. It has darkvision and lifesense to a distance of 120 ft, and can understand and speak with the languages listed in its stat block. It's of lawful neutral alignment, and can inflict 1 negative level on wielders of other alignments, but it suppresses this ability against those who defeated it. It will force its wielder to make a DC 18 Will save any time they attempt to talk a foe down from combat, and if the wielder fails, Thread Severer becomes dominant for 1 day or until a critical situation occurs, typically compelling its wielder to challenge any apparent foe to honorable battle.

Fun fact, you can use a sunder maneuver during a bladed dash spell. Sunder maneuvers against magic weapons are generally a pretty bad idea compared to disarming or just killing the creature holding them, but considering that this monster is an intelligent magic weapon who is presumably interested in proving its superiority, I think a sunder maneuver is perfectly fitting. And it's a nice way to inflict a longer-term effect on the players that they might not be able to immediately fix just by sleeping for a day.

XP 102,400 LN small construct Init +7 Senses darkvision 120 ft., lifesense 120 ft., low-light vision.; Perception +20

DEFENSE

AC 27, touch 23, flat-footed 19 (+4 deflection, +7 Dex, +1 dodge, +4 natural, +1 size) hp 147 (18d10+48); force field (80 hp, fast healing 16) Fort +12, Ref +17, Will +14 Defensive Abilities enhanced deflection, hardness 14 (only when force field depleted) Immune construct traits Resist electricity 50%

OFFENSE

Speed fly 50 ft. (perfect), swim 50 ft. Melee (defensive stance) +2 katana +30/+25/+20 (1d8+12/18–20 plus 1d6 electricity) Melee (offensive stance) +2 katana +30/+25/+20 (1d8+17/18–20 plus 1d6 electricity)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 15; concentration +15)     Constant—lightning shield     At will—greater bladed dash     1/day—greater bestow curse (target cannot recover hit points) (DC 18)

STATISTICS

Str 30, Dex 25, Con —, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 10 Base Atk +18; CMB +27 (+33 sunder); CMD 43 (45 vs. sunder, cannot be tripped) Feats Arcane Strike (+4), Combat Expertise (see Wielderless Stance text), Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Great Fortitude, Greater Sunder, Improved Sunder, Iron Will, Mobility, Power Attack (see Wielderless Stance text), Sidestep (see Wielderless Stance text), Toughness Skills Acrobatics +25, Fly +38, Knowledge (history) +20, Perception +20, Swim +18 SQ katana attacks, wielderless stance Languages Common, Draconic, Giant

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Challenge (Ex) Once per day, Thread Severer can challenge a foe to combat, as a samurai. It gains a +9 bonus to damage rolls against that foe, but takes a -2 penalty to AC against creatures other than the target of its challenge. The challenge remains in effect until the target is dead or unconscious, or until the combat ends.

Enhanced Deflection (Su) It gains a deflection bonus to AC and a resistance bonus to all saving throws equal to twice its weapon enhancement bonus (+4).  These bonuses are already included in its statistics.

Force Field (Su) Thread Severer is protected as though by a technological force field, granting it 80 temporary hit points.  These temporary hit points regenerate via fast healing by 16 each round to a maximum of 80.  When the force field's hit points are depleted, it ceases fast healing, but the force field is not destroyed and continues to regenerate temporary hit points via fast healing each round until Thread Severer is defeated.  While the force field has at least 1 hit point, Thread Severer is immune to critical hits.  The force field is automatically reduced to 0 hp by disintegration effects.  This is a force effect.

Thread Severer's hardness does not apply until its force field is depleted. If an attack fully depletes the force field's hit points, excess damage is dealt to Thread Severer, but is reduced by its hardness.

Katana Strikes (Su) Thread Severer is considered to be a +2 shock katana sized for a Medium creature, which affects its attack bonus, damage, hit points, and hardness.  It effectively wields itself in combat, making katana attacks instead of natural weapon attacks.

Purified Steel (Ex) Thread Severer's attacks counts as silver.

Wielderless Stance (Ex) Thread Severer can shift between an offense stance and a defensive stance. While in its offensive stance, its attacks are treated as two-handed katana attacks, and it gains Power Attack as a bonus feat. While in its one-handed stance, its attacks are treated as one-handed katana attacks, and it gains Combat Expertise and Sidestep as bonus feats. Shifting stances is a free action that Thread Severer can choose to do at the beginning of its turn.