#heputwisa

[thecreaturecodex]

Protean, Heputwisa

"King of Spades" © deviantArt user RayEtherna, accessed at her gallery here

[More proteans! I went for the mammalian design for this protean as an homage to D&D's arcanaloths, especially the Planescape depiction of them as hyper-competent conspiracy masterminds. To go with that theme, I gave it a number of SLAs drawn from Ultimate Intrigue, which is a book I haven't used much. As a reminder, all of my proteans have names that are anagrams for people who are thematically linked to their purview. See if you can figure it out! There's also a reference to an upcoming protean lord I'm working on, although it might be a while before that comes to fruition.]

Protean, Heputwisa CR 18 CN Outsider (extraplanar) This creature looks like an unusual combination of canine and serpentine forms. Its head is like that of an exaggerated jackal, with a long muzzle and pointed ears. A mane of hair grows along its neck and shoulders, which is accentuated by jagged spines. Similar spines grow from the wrists above its clawed hands, and along its long serpentine lower body.

A heputwisa is a powerful protean that embodies conspiracies and lies. They craft and cultivate rumors, spreading them from person to person and watching them mutate and take a life of their own. Few heputwisa are content with a single conspiracy at once, and they often stoke multiple false beliefs at once, some of which are at odds with each other. Some create their own conspiracies more directly, forming cells of rebels that plot against the status quo, or infiltrating a lawful organization to disrupt it and stymie its efforts. Some heputwisas are content to merely create criminal networks or incite revolutions, whereas others seek nothing less than the breakdown of consensus reality.

Heputwisas usually enter combat in disguise, taking the shape of another as an apparent betrayal. Their combats are often as much for show as they are to inflict physical damage, and they may flee after a couple of rounds if they feel they have made their point. The bite of a heputwisa causes its victims’ bodies to revolt against themselves, suffering warpwave after warpwave. Perhaps most dangerous is their ability to disrupt teamwork with their sheer presence. A heputwisa might float over an army squadron invisibly, causing their tactics to fall apart without lifting a finger.

Heputwisas are among the most solitary of the proteans, as they typically view others of their own kind as rivals. Two heputwisas in the same area will usually devote their energy and resources to uncovering the other’s conspiracies, which results in escalation and frequently violence. Only the presence of a protean lord can cause heputwisas to work together, and even then usually at some distance, each contributing to part of a greater conspiracy. The protean lord Etna is one of the greatest patrons of heputwisas, and at least a half dozen of these proteans are sewing seeds of dissent to achieve her ultimate, ambitious goal of regime change in Hell.

Heputwisa             CR 18 XP 153,600 CN Large outsider (chaos, extraplanar, protean) Init +10; Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft., Perception +29 Aura betrayal (30 ft., Will DC 29), cloak of chaos (DC 25)

Defense AC 33, touch 20, flat-footed 26 (-1 size, +6 Dex, +1 dodge, +4 deflection, +13 natural) hp 312 (25d10+175) Fort +21, Ref +24, Will +23; +8 vs. mind-influencing DR 15/lawful; Immune acid, divination; Resist electricity 10, sonic 10; SR 29 Defensive Abilities amorphous anatomy, freedom of movement, mind blank

Offense Speed 30 ft., fly 90 ft. (perfect) Melee bite +33 (2d6+9 plus lingering warpwave), 2 claws +33 (1d8+9), tail slap +31 (2d8+4 plus grab) or touch +33 (ego whip) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks constrict (4d8+9), ego whip, sneak attack +3d6 Spell-like Abilities CL 20th, concentration +27 Constant—cloak of chaos (self only, DC 25), mind blank, tongues At will—aura alteration, compulsive liar (DC 19), greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs only), invisibility, paranoia (DC 19), rumormonger (DC 19), suggestion (DC 20) 3/day—confusion (DC 21), deceitful veneer (DC 21), quickened glibness, quickened greater dispel magic, modify memory (DC 22), they know (DC 21) 1/day—crime wave (DC 24), demand (DC 25), mislead (DC 23), pox of rumors (DC 25), word of chaos (DC 24)

Statistics Str 29, Dex 23, Con 24, Int 24, Wis20, Cha 25 Base Atk +25; CMB +35 (+39 grapple); CMD 46 (cannot be tripped) Feats Combat Expertise, Deceitful, Dodge, Great Fortitude, Greater Vital Strike, Improved Feint, Improved Vital Strike, Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Power Attack, Quicken SLA (glibness, greater dispel magic), Vital Strike Skills Appraise +28, Bluff +35, Diplomacy +31, Disguise +35 (+55 to resemble a specific person), Fly +22, Intimidate +31, Knowledge (history, planes) +31, Knowledge (arcana, local, nobility) +28, Perception +29, Sense Motive +29, Spellcraft +28, Stealth +26, Use Magic Device +28 Languages Abyssal,Common, Protean, tongues SQ change shape (greater polymorph), perfect copy

Ecology Environment any land or urban (Maelstrom) Organization solitary Treasure standard

Special Abilities Aura of Betrayal (Su) All creatures within 30 feet of a heputwisa must succeed a DC 29 Will save or become filled with dissension. Creatures that fail their saves are no longer treated as allies to other creatures and can't provide flanking, use or benefit from teamwork feats or aid another actions, or allow other creatures to move through their space. Any spell or effect that requires a willing target fails if used on an affected creature, and even harmless effects require an attack roll (if applicable) and require affected creatures to attempt a saving throw to resist their effects (if a save is allowed). In addition, if a creature casts a beneficial spell or uses a beneficial supernatural ability (such as channel energy) while in the area of the aura of betrayal, it must succeed a DC 29 Will save or include the heputwisa in the effect. This is a mind-influencing effect, and the save DC is Charisma based. Change Shape (Su) A heputwisa can change shape at will, but does not gain the healing benefit as is usual for a protean. Constrict (Ex) A heputwisa’s constriction deals bludgeoning and piercing damage. Ego Whip (Su) The touch of a heputwisa inflicts severe doubt. A creature touched by a heputwisa is affected by an ego whip IV spell (CL 25th, Will DC 29). A heputwisa can inflict this penalty along with one of its melee attacks as a swift action. Lingering Warpwave (Su) A creature bitten by a heputwisa must succeed a DC 29 Fortitude save or be affected by a warpwave. Each round, it must attempt another DC Fortitude save—if it fails, it is affected by a warpwave again until it succeeds a save to end the effect. A dispel chaos or similar effect removes a lingering warpwave. The save DC is Constitution based. Perfect Copy (Ex) A heputwisa can masquerade as a specific individual using its change shape ability, gaining a +20 to all Disguise checks to appear as that individual.

[thecreaturecodex]

Protean Anagram Solutions

When I started making proteans last summer, I decided to name them all after a person, shuffling the letters in the name to make an anagram. I challenged my followers to figure out who each protean was named after.

So here's the solutions. Some of these people got when the monsters were originally posted. Others I got no replies on.

The temortanga, protean of fashion, was named after Stefani Germanotta, aka Lady Gaga

The alengos, protean of plant life and ecology, was named after Henry Gleason, an ecologist who argued against a universal "climax community" and that every ecosystem had a unique balance of plant life.

The ricretillo, protean of weather, air and water, was named after Evangelista Torricelli, who invented the barometer and was the first to explain how winds form from differences in air pressure and temperature.

The cthilpuk, protean of emotions and moods, was named after Robert Plutchik, who created a psychological classification for emotions.

The yexhul, protean of evolution and animal life, was named after the Huxley clan, particularly Thomas Henry Huxley, first generation evolutionary biologist, and his grandsons Julian (a eugenicist) and Aldous (who parodied eugenics in Brave New World as a dig at his brother).

The heputwisa, protean of conspiracies and lies, was named after Adam Weishaupt, founder of the Bavarian Illuminati.

The renegwe, protean of plate tectonics, earth and fire was named after Alfred Wegener, proponent of continental drift

[thecreaturecodex]

Protean, Cthilpuk

"Naga Rei" © Fur Affinity user TrinityLight, accessed at their gallery here

[Posting this has been a fucking chore, believe me. The hidden character limit for tumblr counts HTML tags, whether you put them in yourself or copy them over from another document. And although it used to be able to break up the text into different blocks internally for its coding purposes, it no longer can with the new draft saving program. Which means that the formatting is going to be slightly different from now on, with more spaces within each stat block. I'm still going on hiatus; I'm traveling this week. But normal service should resume next week, rather than me having to find a new hosting service. Fingers crossed.

So the monster in question. The mesmerist is one of my favorite classes in PF1e, because it's so versatile. You can use it for everything from a sinister manipulator to a wacky stage magician, a faith healer to The Shadow. I wanted the cthilpuk to be similarly versatile. I intend these to be able to be allies to some parties, enemies to others, and even change allegiance over the course of the game.

A few miscellaneous notes. The anagrams I'm using for protean names are getting weirder and more obscure; I'm going to post a list of all of them when this project is over. The art itself is not NSFW, but the gallery page is in its description of this character; be prepared. And there's a teaser of one of the other proteans I have yet to stat up but have planned.]

Protean, Cthilpuk CR 14 CN Outsider (extraplanar) This blue-scaled serpentine creature has a humanoid torso with four clawed arms. Its head has a cobra-like hood, and both its hood and its eyes swirl with mesmerizing colors.

Cthilpuks are proteans that represent one of the most changeable of things; the emotions of sapient creatures. A cthilpuk can be a counselor, a rabble-rouser or a terrorist, depending on its mood. They are comfortable in urban spaces, and often live in mortal or planar cities in disguise for months or years. Undercover, they are often very friendly, going out of their way to talk to people and then using the information they gather to adjust the person’s moods and behavior. Cthilpuks are strong believers in self-actualization for chaotic individuals, but enjoy driving lawful people into spirals of doubt and despair.

A cthilpuk would usually prefer to avoid combat, instead using its hypnotic stare and psychic magic to influence a creature’s mood, and then talk them into doing something that the protean wants them to do. Still, sometimes violence is the appropriate solution to their problems. The bite of a cthilpuk locks the mind into an emotional pattern, typically a self-destructive one. In a fight, most cthilpuks try to bite as many creatures as possible with different decoctions of emotional venom, cast a spell or two into the fray, and then sit back to watch the chaos. In their natural form, they can even split their hypnotic gaze, working their will through the stare of both their real eyes and the eyespots in their hood.

Although a cthilpuk will gladly toy with the emotions of everyday people, they do most of their work in places of high tension and chaotic potential, always to instigate further changes rather than to uphold the status quo. They are often beloved of revolutionaries and despised by governments, although they do not particularly care about the moral status of either revolutionaries or governments they interfere with. In this role, they often work as underlings for heputwisa proteans. They are patient in their work of manipulating emotions; they appreciate a sudden shock as much as any protean, but know that the most useful minds are ones that have convinced themselves of their course of action, rather than having it forced on them from outside.

Cthilpuk CR 14 XP 38,400 CN Large outsider (chaos, extraplanar, protean) Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect chaos, detect law, Perception +22, thoughtsense 60 ft.

Defense AC 29, touch 13, flat-footed 25 (-1 size, +4 Dex, +16 natural); +2 vs. lawful targets hp 195 (17d10+102) Fort +11, Ref +14, Will +16; +2 vs. lawful targets DR 15/lawful; Immune acid, emotion effects; Resist electricity 10, sonic 10; SR 25 Defensive Abilities amorphous anatomy, freedom of movement

Offense Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (perfect) Melee bite +22 (2d6+6 plus emotional venom), 4 claws +22 (1d4+6), tail slap +17 (2d8+3 plus grab) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Psychic Magic CL 14th, concentration +20 (+24 casting defensively) 30 PE—calm emotions (2 PE, DC 18), crushing despair (4 PE, DC 20), emotive block (3 PE, DC 19), euphoric tranquility (6 PE, DC 22), fear (4 PE, DC 22), good hope (3 PE), overwhelming grief (4 PE, DC 20), rage (3 PE, DC 19), reckless infatuation (3 PE, DC 19), smug narcissism (5 PE, DC 21), serenity (6 PE, DC 22) unadulterated loathing (3 PE, DC 19), unshakeable zeal (6 PE, DC 22) Special Attacks bold stare (allure, sapped magic, susceptibility, timidity), hypnotic stare (-3), split stare Spell-like Abilities CL 14th, concentration +20 (+24 casting defensively) Constant—detect chaos, detect law, protection from law (DC 17) 3/day—empowered chaos hammer (DC 20), confusion (DC 20), greater dispel magic 1/day—greater teleport, word of chaos (DC 22)

Statistics Str 23, Dex 19, Con 23, Int 18, Wis 22, Cha 22 Base Atk +17; CMB +24 (+26 disarm, +28 grappling); CMD 38 (40 vs. disarm) Feats Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Empower SLA (chaos hammer), Improved Disarm, Intimidating Glance, Psychic Virtuoso, Quicken Spell, Self-Sufficient Skills Appraise +16, Bluff +21, Diplomacy +21, Fly +22, Heal +25, Intimidate +21, Knowledge (arcana, history) +16, Knowledge (local, planes) +19, Perception +22, Sense Motive +22, Spellcraft +16, Survival +22 Languages Abyssal, Common, Protean, Undercommon, telepathy 100 ft. SQ change shape (greater polymorph), undersized weapons

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

Special Abilities Emotional Venom (Su) The bite of a cthilpuk injects emotions, not traditional venom. A creature bitten by a cthilpuk must succeed a DC 24 Will save or be affected by one of the following emotional states. This lasts for 1 minute. A creature so affected can attempt to control its emotions by making another DC 24 Will save as a move action; if it succeeds, it dispels this effect, and gains a +4 bonus on all future saves against that cthilpuk’s emotional venom for the next 24 hours. A creature may only suffer the effects of one type of emotional venom at a time Anger: A creature under the effects of anger emotional venom must make an attack of opportunity against its allies whenever its allies take actions that would provoke an attack of opportunity from that creature. These attacks count against the affected creature’s attacks of opportunity in a round. Dedication: A creature under the effects of dedication emotional venom cannot move away from an adjacent opponent unless it succeeds a DC 24 Will save. Success on this save allows the creature to move, but does not end the effect. Despair: A creature under the effects of despair emotional venom suffers a -4 morale penalty on attack rolls and damage rolls. Fear: A creature under the effects of fear emotional venom is shaken. Hatred: A creature under the effects of hatred emotional venom takes a -4 penalty to AC, but gains a +1 morale bonus to attack and damage rolls. Jealousy: A creature under the effects of jealousy emotional venom must attempt to make saving throws against all spells, including harmless and beneficial spells. Zeal: A creature under the effects of zeal emotional venom must succeed a DC 24 Will save each round or be compelled to take the same action as it took last turn. If unable to do so (such as casting a spell that has been expended), it must mimic those actions as closely as possible (i.e. cast another spell on the same target). Succeeding this Will save allows the creature to choose a new action, but does not break the effect of the venom. This is a mind-influencing emotion effect, and the save DC is Charisma based. Hypnotic Stare (Su) A cthilpuk has the hypnotic stare and bold stare class abilities of a mesmerist with a class level equal to its racial HD. Mesmerist levels stack with cthilpuk Hit Dice for the purposes of the stare class feature, but not other class features, such as spellcasting or mesmerist tricks. Split Stare (Su) A cthilpuk may use its hypnotic stare on two opponents at once. When it does so, it inflicts a -2 penalty to one target, and a -1 penalty to the other. Using its split stare is mentally taxing—a cthilpuk suffers a -4 penalty to Concentration checks while using this ability. A cthilpuk can only use this ability in its natural form.

[crazytrain48]

Hmmm...reading this reminds me of your take on Shagrath, what with him being a daemonic harbinger of conspiracy theories and all. Would a particularly evil-aligned heputwisa be willing to join forces with the Red Moon Spider, spreading Shagrath's conspiracy theories upon unsuspecting people in his behalf? Or would they be too chaotic and independent-minded to be a reliable ally, just as likely to leave Shagrath and possibly take a few of his cultists with them for their own use? Just thought this would be an interesting monster plot hook either way.

Protean, Heputwisa

"King of Spades" © deviantArt user RayEtherna, accessed at her gallery here

[More proteans! I went for the mammalian design for this protean as an homage to D&D's arcanaloths, especially the Planescape depiction of them as hyper-competent conspiracy masterminds. To go with that theme, I gave it a number of SLAs drawn from Ultimate Intrigue, which is a book I haven't used much. As a reminder, all of my proteans have names that are anagrams for people who are thematically linked to their purview. See if you can figure it out! There's also a reference to an upcoming protean lord I'm working on, although it might be a while before that comes to fruition.]

Protean, Heputwisa CR 18 CN Outsider (extraplanar) This creature looks like an unusual combination of canine and serpentine forms. Its head is like that of an exaggerated jackal, with a long muzzle and pointed ears. A mane of hair grows along its neck and shoulders, which is accentuated by jagged spines. Similar spines grow from the wrists above its clawed hands, and along its long serpentine lower body.

A heputwisa is a powerful protean that embodies conspiracies and lies. They craft and cultivate rumors, spreading them from person to person and watching them mutate and take a life of their own. Few heputwisa are content with a single conspiracy at once, and they often stoke multiple false beliefs at once, some of which are at odds with each other. Some create their own conspiracies more directly, forming cells of rebels that plot against the status quo, or infiltrating a lawful organization to disrupt it and stymie its efforts. Some heputwisas are content to merely create criminal networks or incite revolutions, whereas others seek nothing less than the breakdown of consensus reality.

Heputwisas usually enter combat in disguise, taking the shape of another as an apparent betrayal. Their combats are often as much for show as they are to inflict physical damage, and they may flee after a couple of rounds if they feel they have made their point. The bite of a heputwisa causes its victims’ bodies to revolt against themselves, suffering warpwave after warpwave. Perhaps most dangerous is their ability to disrupt teamwork with their sheer presence. A heputwisa might float over an army squadron invisibly, causing their tactics to fall apart without lifting a finger.

Heputwisas are among the most solitary of the proteans, as they typically view others of their own kind as rivals. Two heputwisas in the same area will usually devote their energy and resources to uncovering the other’s conspiracies, which results in escalation and frequently violence. Only the presence of a protean lord can cause heputwisas to work together, and even then usually at some distance, each contributing to part of a greater conspiracy. The protean lord Etna is one of the greatest patrons of heputwisas, and at least a half dozen of these proteans are sewing seeds of dissent to achieve her ultimate, ambitious goal of regime change in Hell.

Heputwisa             CR 18 XP 153,600 CN Large outsider (chaos, extraplanar, protean) Init +10; Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft., Perception +29 Aura betrayal (30 ft., Will DC 29), cloak of chaos (DC 25)

Defense AC 33, touch 20, flat-footed 26 (-1 size, +6 Dex, +1 dodge, +4 deflection, +13 natural) hp 312 (25d10+175) Fort +21, Ref +24, Will +23; +8 vs. mind-influencing DR 15/lawful; Immune acid, divination; Resist electricity 10, sonic 10; SR 29 Defensive Abilities amorphous anatomy, freedom of movement, mind blank

Offense Speed 30 ft., fly 90 ft. (perfect) Melee bite +33 (2d6+9 plus lingering warpwave), 2 claws +33 (1d8+9), tail slap +31 (2d8+4 plus grab) or touch +33 (ego whip) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks constrict (4d8+9), ego whip, sneak attack +3d6 Spell-like Abilities CL 20th, concentration +27 Constant—cloak of chaos (self only, DC 25), mind blank, tongues At will—aura alteration, compulsive liar (DC 19), greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs only), invisibility, paranoia (DC 19), rumormonger (DC 19), suggestion (DC 20) 3/day—confusion (DC 21), deceitful veneer (DC 21), quickened glibness, quickened greater dispel magic, modify memory (DC 22), they know (DC 21) 1/day—crime wave (DC 24), demand (DC 25), mislead (DC 23), pox of rumors (DC 25), word of chaos (DC 24)

Statistics Str 29, Dex 23, Con 24, Int 24, Wis20, Cha 25 Base Atk +25; CMB +35 (+39 grapple); CMD 46 (cannot be tripped) Feats Combat Expertise, Deceitful, Dodge, Great Fortitude, Greater Vital Strike, Improved Feint, Improved Vital Strike, Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Power Attack, Quicken SLA (glibness, greater dispel magic), Vital Strike Skills Appraise +28, Bluff +35, Diplomacy +31, Disguise +35 (+55 to resemble a specific person), Fly +22, Intimidate +31, Knowledge (history, planes) +31, Knowledge (arcana, local, nobility) +28, Perception +29, Sense Motive +29, Spellcraft +28, Stealth +26, Use Magic Device +28 Languages Abyssal,Common, Protean, tongues SQ change shape (greater polymorph), perfect copy

Ecology Environment any land or urban (Maelstrom) Organization solitary Treasure standard

Special Abilities Aura of Betrayal (Su) All creatures within 30 feet of a heputwisa must succeed a DC 29 Will save or become filled with dissension. Creatures that fail their saves are no longer treated as allies to other creatures and can't provide flanking, use or benefit from teamwork feats or aid another actions, or allow other creatures to move through their space. Any spell or effect that requires a willing target fails if used on an affected creature, and even harmless effects require an attack roll (if applicable) and require affected creatures to attempt a saving throw to resist their effects (if a save is allowed). In addition, if a creature casts a beneficial spell or uses a beneficial supernatural ability (such as channel energy) while in the area of the aura of betrayal, it must succeed a DC 29 Will save or include the heputwisa in the effect. This is a mind-influencing effect, and the save DC is Charisma based. Change Shape (Su) A heputwisa can change shape at will, but does not gain the healing benefit as is usual for a protean. Constrict (Ex) A heputwisa’s constriction deals bludgeoning and piercing damage. Ego Whip (Su) The touch of a heputwisa inflicts severe doubt. A creature touched by a heputwisa is affected by an ego whip IV spell (CL 25th, Will DC 29). A heputwisa can inflict this penalty along with one of its melee attacks as a swift action. Lingering Warpwave (Su) A creature bitten by a heputwisa must succeed a DC 29 Fortitude save or be affected by a warpwave. Each round, it must attempt another DC Fortitude save—if it fails, it is affected by a warpwave again until it succeeds a save to end the effect. A dispel chaos or similar effect removes a lingering warpwave. The save DC is Constitution based. Perfect Copy (Ex) A heputwisa can masquerade as a specific individual using its change shape ability, gaining a +20 to all Disguise checks to appear as that individual.