#getting attached to hapless NPCs

[honourablejester]

Okay, this is rather (VERY) spoilery for the 2nd book of the Eight Petals Argent solo adventure series, but I just want to quickly talk about my fondness for this one (rather important) NPC:

Because we fucked up the portal programming, we accidentally dragged our pen-pusher employer through the gate with us, and he was not remotely prepared. To quote:

“Me? I…” Arold splutters. “I never meant to get near that portal. You must have done something wrong with the levers! I should still be in Waterdeep right now!”

Rufio sighs deeply.

“If I knew you’d bring me on this trip,” Arold continues, “I could have worn some trousers.” He lifts the hem of his robe, showing how uselessly he’s equipped for adventuring.

He literally doesn’t even have pants. He doesn’t have his spellbook. He has pretty much nothing. We dragged this poor pantless wonder on a desert island adventure with curses and pirates and horrible monsters, and pretty much everything that could possibly go wrong for him (short of actual death, thankfully) promptly did go wrong. He got happy fixing a device, gets it working again, and it immediately flies off on him:

The three of you watch the painted creature fly away.

“Shit,” Arold says when the dragon has passed beyond sight.

We come across a horrible massacre climbing a mountain and he, a half-elf pencil pusher, encounters the lovely site of another half-elf torn in two. We find her legs later.

“Half a half-elf,” Arold muses, pointing out her slightly pointed ears. The Seekers’ agent sits down in the dirt with a vacant expression. You remember that Arold never signed up to see the dangers—and sometimes horrors— that come with adventuring. Watching him stare into space, absently touching his own ears, makes you wonder whether he’ll return to his old, pampered lifestyle once you’re all safely back in Waterdeep. Sights like this can change a person.

And then, because we fucked up protecting him early on, long-term effects happen, and he winds up in a coma. And to fix him we have to destroy at least part of what he’s been sent to get. Like. He did not sign up for any of this. Later on, when we get him back alive and rescue arrives, complications happen, and we have to demand something of him rather strenuously. He gives it immediately. When everybody’s reunited again after said complications:

Arold is next off the landing boat, followed by some of the Homeward’s sailors carrying luggage. Arold hugs you fiercely.

“We should not have become friends,” the half-elf says, his voice serious. “It made me feel guilty to wish you were in my place during that voyage.”

He hugs me. We dragged him (accidentally, but still) through absolute hell, nearly got him killed, and he hugs me. And then argues on our behalf with our mutual employers to get us extra money despite the fact that we literally blew up half of what we were sent to get.

And as a crowner, he comes by our place to tell us this after some … other complications have happened, so he busts in all cheerful and walks face-first into a very tense mood. Poor bastard:

“Money!” the half-elf says, joyously. A moment later, he seems to intuit the pervading mood and tempers his enthusiasm. His voice turns solemn.

I have just finished this book (Fight for the Dawn Saber), and I have to say I am very fond of this poor bugger. I will kill people for Arold. Not a bother. And, given complications, I may well have to, but that’s fine. That’s absolutely fine. I’m gonna pick him up, and I’m gonna put him somewhere safe, some nice office with no pirates or constructs or infected aberrations, and I’m gonna shank anyone who looks at him funny. It’ll all be fine.

Sorry. Just. He’s been through a lot. I really want to just wrap him up and give him soup and (if at all possible) gently steer him out of the firing line. This was absolutely not the job he signed on for.

Anyway. Carry on.  

[hermanwatts]

Fantasy and Adventure New Releases: 29 February, 2020

Xianxia magical protectors, infernal collections agents, and dungeon fairy assistants fill this week’s list of fantasy and adventure new releases.

Annex (Artorian’s Archives #3) – Dennis Vanderkerken and Dakota Krout

Headmaster. Exile. Gladiator.

Backed into a corner, Artorian must play fast and loose with the laws of the land. To gather what he needs to progress, he will need to sacrifice what he’s gained in order to get this far.

With his new school and friends facing their most deadly challenges yet, Artorian finds an opportunity to keep them safe. The cost of it may be access to the new home he’s built, but that was never intended to be for him.

When he can ensure their safety, Artorian will begin pursuit of his grandchildren once more. If he finds them, will they want to be saved… or will they have found a taste for the darker powers they have accrued? It’s time to make the hard choices.

Death or graduation.

Axestorm (Sky Realms Online #3) – Troy Osgood

Hall had hoped things would finally start to settle down. He should’ve known better.

He’s been trapped within the new version of Sky Realms Online for months. Mostly at peace with it, he’s started to make a new life within the game world. He’s found a woman to love, the NPC Druid Leigh, and a village to call home.

Skara Brae is still mostly ruins but he now has friends and citizens to help rebuild. But he’s still missing many of the resources needed.

A quest for one of those resources, an airship, will send Hall and his companions far away to the cold island of Huntley, home to Storvgarde tribesmen and the Dwarven citadel of Axestorm Hall.

What should have been a simple voyage by airship will become much more as Hall will face shipwrecks, stolen Dwarven artifacts, rampaging tribesmen, a blast from his past, and more mysteries from a game they no longer know.

The Players will find themselves more connected to the world of Hankarth than ever before or they even thought possible and Hall will face his greatest challenge. Fighting for his life and his beliefs.

Will Hall survive long enough to learn who or what the Champions are?

Blood Tally (Valkyrie Collections #2) – Brian McClellan

Alek Fitz is the lead reaper for Valkyrie Collections, an agency that gathers debts for the paranormal elements of the world. Bound into modern-day slavery by a contract he cannot break, sold by parents he never knew, Alek works alongside demons, spirits, witches, and even Death himself to collect on deals made with humanity.

When Alek is forced to take a job from a local vampire hunting down a run-away thrall, he is immediately thrust into a world of blackmail and backstabbing, where the Rules are nothing more than an inconvenience to ancient, supernatural predators. For the first time, Alek has more to fear from his clients than from his debtors.

But Alek is the best in the business. It’ll take more than a Vampire Lord to keep a good reaper down.

The Dungeon Fairy (The Hapless Dungeon Fairy #1) – Jonathan Brooks

All that Tacca GloomLily ever wanted to be since she was very little was a Fairy Assistant to a Dungeon Core. After her negatively portentous birth, however, she was never fully accepted by her superstitious peers and instructors at the Dungeon Assistant Preparatory School; nevertheless, she persisted in her studies and graduated at the top of her class. Unfortunately for her, the “hands-on” training she was supposed to receive from a Mentor and his Bonded Dungeon Core didn’t go the way she would’ve hoped. In fact, the stigma attached to her origins finally made itself known in the form of horrendously “bad luck”; the rotten part of her newly discovered luck was that it adversely affected Cores that she happened to be near, and not just herself. What can a Dungeon Assistant Fairy do when every Dungeon Core she gets near ends up being destroyed? Tacca had no idea, but a solution eventually presents itself – though it’s one that she never saw coming…

The King’s Man (The Zero Enigma #7) – Christopher Nuttall

The City of Shallot is on the verge of revolution. The Great Houses are mustering their forces, readying themselves for a shift in the balance of power. The poor have found a new leader and are – finally – demanding their rights. Shadowy figures and old ghosts are prowling the streets. It is only a matter of time before the unease and unrest explodes into violence, as the wealthy and powerful seek to secure themselves in a changing world. And dark forces are laying plans to take advantage of the chaos …

A newly-graduated student, the son of a proudly independent merchant, Adam Mortimer is recruited into the Kingsmen and charged with helping to track down the anarchists and terrorists before they trigger an explosion. But, as he delves into the mystery, he finds himself caught between the scars of his childhood and his hopes for the future, loyalties tested as he finds himself caught between old friends and new.

And, as infernal devices begin to terrorise the city, Adam must risk everything to save the people he loves …

Primary Target (Six Assassins #1) – Jim Heskett and Nick Thacker

The Denver Assassins Club has one rule for its members: Step out of line and you become the next target.

Ember Clarke is a nimble killer-for-hire.

She only accepts jobs to snuff out dirtbags who deserve it, like the serial rapist currently in her crosshairs; the latest of her contracts.

But when a rival Club hitman shows up to steal the contract — and put a knife in her back — she has no choice but to add another stiff to her body count.

But she quickly learns that the Club will not tolerate killing another member, even in self defense.

Her punishment?

A grueling six-week gauntlet of being stalked by her peers, starting with an eagle-eyed sniper from another branch of the Club.

Can Ember turn the tables on the first of six, or will this hunter’s next bullet have her name on it?

In Ember’s new world, it’s kill-or-be-killed.

And there are plenty who want to kill her.

Soul Bound (Dweller Saga #1) – A. J. Flowers

The gods are dying. 

Thane has served his goddess for thousands of lifetimes, but even he knows that time is running out. There’s only one way to save her, to save all of Dweller kind, and it’s a suicide mission.

The host is a boy named Jakob. His ancient soul is one of the rare sources of power still recycling in the world of flesh. Thane has taken so many souls to his goddess, but this one could save them all.

It’s only when Thane learns the truth of the gods does he deny them their power. Souls aren’t recycled. They’re destroyed, and his goddess isn’t a deity… she’s a monster.

Permanently melded with his human host, Thane meets his soulmate, a woman who captures his heart like his goddess never did. He’ll do anything to protect her, and the gods know it.

Word of Truth (Buried Goddess Saga #6) – Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle

The end is coming. It’s time to make a last stand…

Whitney, Lucindur and the others couldn’t stop Nesilia from returning in a new form. Many died in their failed attempt, but not all hope was lost. Sora is free and more powerful than ever, ready for vengeance against the Buried Goddess. Together, they’ll have one last shot at stopping her, but it may be too late.

Nesilia’s army tears across Pantego, killing everything in their path. The Drav Cra stand with her under Freydis, Babrak leads a Shesaitju fleet in her name. Demons and monsters from Elsewhere are slaves to her will.

In order to have any chance of fighting back, Sir Torsten Unger and Caleef Mahraveh arrange a marriage in an effort to unite their rival kingdoms. But if the people of Pantego can’t come together once and for all, Nesilia will drown all the world in darkness.

Fantasy and Adventure New Releases: 29 February, 2020 published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[swipestream]

The April Foolio of Fiends

The April Foolio of Fiends! Arthur will try not to eat you, at least not on purpose.

Happy April First, everyone!

We here at Gnome Stew are dedicated to bringing you the finest of gaming material, so we are proud to present The April Foolio of Fiends, an astounding collection of ridiculous monsters in a variety of systems. Feel free to use and abuse these foolish folks in your own games. We don’t condone cruelty to monsters, but they’re just as eager to have fun with you, so have at it!

This is just a taste of all the foolishly fun fiends we’ve created for you. The full collection of critters is available in a pay-what-you-want PDF at DriveThru RPG. The best part is that all proceeds are going to benefit Child’s Play, a game industry charity dedicated to improving the lives of children in a network of over 100 hospitals worldwide. You get to have fun with these ridiculous rascals and we all get to help make the lives of some kids a little brighter.

Mapless Fury

By Camdon Wright, Art by Toast

In a world full of monsters, traps, portals to unknown dimensions, and inns full of quest giving magicians sometimes you get a little turned around. Only the most foul of creature would take advantage of these moments of assistance to send you in the wrong direction. The mapless fury has no mercy when it comes to disrupting your travel plans.

Seeming able to point in all directions at once, a mapless fury will do its best to send you in the opposite direction of your intended goal. If you return to ask for clarification it will send you in an equally wrong but brand new path claiming to have forgotten to tell you about a crucial turn. Mapless furies seem very friendly and helpful.

Which way to go?

MAPLESS FURY (5e) Medium Undead, Chaotic Neutral Armor Class 11 Hit Points 71 (13d8 + 13) Speed 30 ft.

STR 11 (+0), DEX 12 (+1), CON 12 (+1) INT 19 (+4), WIS 17 (+3), CHA 17 (+3)

Saving Throws: INT +7, WIS +6, CHA +6 Skills: Arcana +7, Deception +6, Insight +6, Perception +6, Persuasion +6, Stealth +4 Senses: Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 16 Challenge: 1

Special traits

Always Helpful: All Persuasion checks are made with advantage.

Actions

Dominate Travel: The mapless fury chooses one creature that can understand spoken language, and begins to give them directions. The target must make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature will follow whatever directions the mapless fury has given them for one hour. The affected creature will not follow any directions that would cause direct harm to themselves or their party like walking off of a cliff. The affected creature makes a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw at the end of the hour. Failed save: The creature continues on following directions given for 24 hours. All spell effects dissipate at the end of that 24 hours. After a successful save, the creature is no longer controlled, but is confused for 15 minutes about how they got where they are.

Disorienting Touch: Will only attack when defending itself as it is only trying to be helpful. Attack +3 to hit, 11 (2d8+3) psychic damage.

Mimic Beer

by J.T. Evans, Art by Crystal Neagley

This nefarious creature slips into taverns, alehouses, and other establishments that serve fine drinks. The mimic beer will peruse nearby labels of dwarven stouts, halfing porters, gnomish lagers, and elven pilsners until it finds an appropriate draft to take the place of.

Unsuspecting barkeeps will pass the mimic beer down the bar to a hapless patron. When the patron brings the drink to their mouth to enjoy a quality brew, the mimic beer will explode into shards of glass in an attempt to kill or maim the patron.

While relatively weak, the sudden attack of a mimic beer can bring down even the heartiest consumer of alcoholic beverages, especially if they’ve already downed a few draughts earlier in the night.

Though attacks by mimic beer are rare, they become much more frequent during the creatures’ mating season, a time often referred to as Oct-faux-beer-fest.

But is it an ale, a lager, or a stout?

MIMIC BEER (Fate) High Concept: Fake Beer Trouble: The Trick’s On You! Other Aspects: Perfect Replication, Tastes Great, Less Filling Scale: Good (+3) Skills: Good (+3): Fight, Deceive Fair (+2): Notice, Will Average (+1): Burglary, Stealth Stunts: Reproduce Label: Once per day, the mimic beer can perfectly reproduce the label from a nearby bottle of brew. Once the label is set for the day, the mimic beer can’t change its label until the next day. Explosive Attack: As the first attack during a scene, the mimic beer can gain a +2 Fight on its attack and place either the aspect of Shocked or Outraged on the target. Physical Stress: Ο Ο Mental Stress: Ο Ο Ο Size: The size of a large bottle of beer.

  Nab-Catcher-Bot

by Angela Murray, Art by Nuactna

That is one very annoyed cat.

A mad scientist once thought he had solved his city’s stray dog problem with a robot programmed to round them up humanely. But then, like most interesting robots, it got some ideas of its own. This nab-catcher-bot has gone off-script and decided that they needed to help in the canine revolution that only they see happening.

As a result, this nab-catcher-bot has been causing chaos throughout the city as they round up all cats they find, as well as the occasional squirrel and raccoon. Thankfully the birds don’t seem to qualify.

Where it’s taking all these annoyed felines (and other critters) no one is sure.

NAB-CATCHER-BOT (Dungeon World) (Solitary, Medium, Robotic)

8 HP 2 armor

Taser Net (d6 damage) Reach, Stuns

Special Qualities: Metal chassis

Instinct: To round up furry things Ignore original programming Assist all good puppers

Anger Drake

by Chuck Lauer, Art by KC Preston

A semi-intelligent, distant relative to the couatl, the anger drake is native to similar ecology, but is much smaller and much, much cuter. Though not able to speak, anger drakes seem to understand the concepts of goodness and law well enough to follow them broadly.

Prone to flitting around humanoids playfully in order to gain their attention and affection, the anger drake makes a distinctive sound that has been described variously as “like a purr dipped in honey,” “a unicorn yawning after a nap” or “the most obnoxious thing I have ever heard. How can you stand that? Kill it. Kill it now.”

For whatever reason, characters and NPCs of neutral or evil alignment find the mere presence of an anger drake to be insufferable to the point of self-destruction, and will often go to extreme measures to just get rid of the things. While anger drakes understand physical aggression, they appear to be driven to find the good in even the most violent individuals, never attacking, even in self-defense, and only flying away when asked politely by a good character or when dropped to fewer than 20 hit points.

But it’s soooo cute…

ANGER DRAKE (5e) Small celestial, lawful good Armor Class 19 (natural armor) Hit Points 80 Speed 30 ft, fly 90 ft

STR 3 (-4), DEX 20 (+5), CON 17 (+3) INT 6 (-2), WIS 20 (+5), CHA 20 (+5)

Saving Throws: CON +5, WIS +7, CHA +7 Damage Resistances: Radiant Damage Immunities: Psychic, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks Senses: truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 15 Languages: None Challenge: 3

Special Traits

Innate Spellcasting: The anger drake’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring only verbal components (specifically, its distinctive cry).

At will: detect evil and good, detect magic 3/day: bless, create food and water, cure wounds, lesser restoration, protection from poison, sanctuary, shield 1/day: dream, greater restoration, scrying

Aura of Affection or Obnoxiousness: Each creature within 100 feet of the anger drake that can see or hear it must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw each round or be affected by the Aura of Affection or Obnoxiousness. Characters of a Good alignment find the creature adorable, and cannot make any attacks, direct or indirect, against it. Characters of a Neutral or Evil alignment find the anger drake irritating beyond the point of reason, and can take no action other than attacking the creature until it is driven away or asked to leave.

Grumbleface (Chitterface)

by Jared Rascher, Art by Toast

The Grumbleface/Chitterface is a fey that has attached itself to mortal rituals surrounding coffee. As with most faeries, the mortal behavior being mimicked is, slightly, exaggerated.

In the morning, it begins in its chitterface form, until it is either asked a question that requires cognitive energy to answer, or until it is exposed to sunlight. Once either of these triggers happen, the chitterface transforms into the grumbleface.

The grumbleface is not nearly as aggressive as it sounds, but its bellowing about needed coffee and need to avoid human contact is enough to cause stress and concern in any near it. If it goes too long without coffee, it may begin to actively destroy any work it previously did that has not been completed.

The grumbleface cannot be changed until it has had “enough coffee,” at which point, it transforms back into its chitterface form. The chitterface form is far less intimidating, but shortly after transforming, the chitterface will let out a burst of questions about daily projects and ancillary tasks that might be equally overwhelming.

In some instances, the grumbleface/chitterface transformation will trigger in the afternoon, often triggered by “one too many stupid questions.”

Get that mid-level manager a coffee, quick!

GRUMBLEFACE (CHITTERFACE) (Fate) High Concept: Highly Motivated Faerie Creature Trouble: High Energy Can Be High Maintenance Other Aspects: Not Even Supposed to be Here Today, This Needs to be Redone from Scratch, Wait—I Have An Idea! Skills: Great (+4): Intimidate (Grumbleface)/ Organization (Chitterface) Fair (+2): Throw Paperwork (Grumbleface)/Navigate Co-workers (Chitterface) Stunts: They Have a Point (Grumbleface): Whenever the grumbleface causes stress with an intimidation attack, they can also give that character a “They Have A Point” aspect with a free invoke. If the character with this aspect spends their turn drinking coffee, they may remove this aspect and the free invoke. Making Up for Lost Time (Chitterface): Whenever the grumbleface transforms into its chitterface from, the chitterface immediately makes an area attack on everyone in its area and all adjacent areas, using its Organization skill. This causes stress to everyone that fails to defend against the attack, as they cannot answer questions fast enough to get the chitterface up to speed. Stress: The chitterface does not have traditional stress boxes, only a set of countdown boxes.

Countdown (Enough Coffee) Ο Ο Ο Ο Trigger (All Boxes): Character has made an overcome action to determine what kind of coffee the grumbleface needs and how best to deliver it. Outcome: The grumbleface transforms into a chitterface

Countdown (One Too Many Stupid Questions) Ο Ο Ο Ο Trigger (All Boxes): Someone asks the chitterface a question that is obvious or has nothing to do with the current situation, and another character has failed in an overcome action to determine how to answer the superfluous question. Outcome: The chitterface transforms into a grumbleface.

Dracomanticoreasaurus

by Jen Adcock, Art by Laura Sorenson

Yeah, it’s all the things.

  DRACOMANTICOREASAURUS (Dungeon World) (Large, Solitary, Magical, Intelligent)

16 HP 5 armor

Bite (2d12+5 damage, 3 piercing) Reach, Forceful

Special Qualities: Entrancing look, Shooting tail spikes

Instinct: To charm prey Preen Act with disdain

  Little Bunny Tooth Tooth

by Matt Neagley, Art by Crystal Neagley

Little Bunny Tooth Tooth hopping through the forest, scooping up the field mice and knocking out their teeth.

Down came the Good Fairy and said:

“Little Bunny Tooth Tooth, I don’t want to see you scooping up the field mice and knocking out their teeth. I’m going to give you a chance to change, and if you don’t, I’m going to feature you in a book of silly monsters.”

But the very next day…

Little Bunny Tooth Tooth hopping through the village, Visiting the children and knocking out their teeth.

Down came the Good Fairy and said: “Little Bunny Tooth Tooth, I don’t want to see you bothering the children by knocking out their teeth. I gave you a chance to change, and now I’m going to feature you in a book of silly monsters.”

But that very night…

Little Bunny Tooth Tooth skulking through the forest found a little cottage And stole some pearly teeth. Then out came the Good Fairy and said: “Little Bunny Toof Toof, I don’t like you attitude. You’re such a little cretin, Give me back my teef!”

And then she put him in a book of silly monsters.

Well, that tooth was kind of hurting…

LITTLE BUNNY TOOTH TOOTH (5e) Tiny fiend, chaotic evil Armor Class 13 Hit Points 23 (8d4 + 3) Speed 40 ft.

STR 15 (+2), DEX 17 (+3), CON 13 (+1) INT 11 (+0), WIS 12 (+1) CHA 14 (+2)

Skills: Deception +4, Stealth +5 Senses: passive Perception 11 Languages: Infernal, Sylvan, Common Challenge: 1 (200)

Special traits That Rabbit’s Dynamite: Whenever Little Bunny Tooth Tooth’s final attack roll is 3 higher than it needs to be to hit a target, the target must make a DEX or CON save, DC 13 or Little Bunny Tooth Tooth rips out 1d4 of their teeth. If the target has a full helm or other such protection, Little Bunny Tooth Tooth must score a critical hit to rip out teeth. (Humans have 32 teeth. Dogs have 42, Horses have 40. Warning! Do not Google pictures of horse teeth unless you have a paper due soon and want to be unable to sleep.) Dentamancy: Little Bunny Tooth Tooth starts each encounter with 1d8 teeth in his bag of teeth and gathers more with his That Rabbit’s Dynamite ability. He can expend up to one tooth a round (he holds it up and it rots away) as a bonus action to gain a hero point.

Actions Bag Swing/Rabbit Punch Melee Weapon: Attack +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. one target. Hit: 10 (3d4 +3) Bludgeoning damage. This attack may trigger Little Bunny Tooth Tooth’s That Rabbit’s Dynamite ability.

Hermit Mermaid

by Chris Sniezak, Art by Toast

The hermit mermaid is a mer-creature that finds living creatures that are large enough to kill and then occupy by using their bodies as a propulsion engine within the water. They most commonly utilize fish as their tails, because they are excellent propulsion and the mouths are often easy to slide into. Because of this, they are regularly mistaken for your coral variety merfolk. Though, the dead fish eyes on their bodies are often a dead giveaway to their true nature.

When they’re not attached to a creature their lower bodies are a mass of nerve endings that probe and writhe in the water. The bioelectric currents they send out are what they use to kill their prey before sliding inside the carcass and taking it over. When in a body they are carnivores and will eat any fresh meat they come across and have a special fondness for humanoids.

Once in a body they exist within it until they grow out of it. The hermit mermaids never stop growing as long as they keep finding larger and larger bodies to exist within. There’s even a rumor of a hermit  mermaid who inhabits a kraken’s body.

A hermit mermaid’s stats depend a lot on what it’s lower body is. You’ll be choosing between sets of numbers to make this monster fit the flavor you decide for your hermit mermaid.

Wouldn’t wearing a shark hurt?

HERMIT MERMAID (5e) Medium humanoid, neutral Armor Class 13 Hit Points 28 (8d8 – 8) Speed 0 ft., Swim. 15 ft

STR 10 (+0), DEX 12 (+1), CON 9 (-1) INT 15 (+2), WIS 14 (+2), CHA 16 (+3)

Senses: Darkvision 120ft., passive perception 12 Languages: common, primordial Challenge: 3 (450)

Special Traits Plug and Play: When the hermit mermaid has a dead body it can can take a minute to enter that dead body and gain the following:

The higher of the AC, movement, Str, Dex, and Con.

Any Physical special abilities of the body that make sense for it having been took over. Of course anything to do with the mouth or the brain is just out since the creature is dead and the hermit mermaid inhabits the mouth.

Add the former creatures maximum HP to the hermit mermaid’s total HP. When taking damage the HP gained from the creature are the first lost.

Add any attacks that make sense.

If the hermit mermaid leaves the body it loses all of the benefits.

Actions Punch: Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 2 (1d4) bludgeoning. Shocking Neromass: Melee Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 21 (6d6) lightning damage and the target must make a DC 13 constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of the hermit mermaid’s next turn. The hermit mermaid can only use this attack when they’re not utilizing a dead body.

The April Foolio of Fiends published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames