#setting idea

[probablybadrpgideas]

A language only Tiefling Bards can learn:

Disco Infernal.

[theaggressivewriter]

Pf2e Boss Monster Design

The tight math of Pf2e allows for encounters to be built swiftly and without worry, and the same goes for homebrew monster creation. One problem with the system, however, is the boss monster. Creatures with high level stats against a group of players can feel like a slog if the players are unable to reduce the creature's AC or saves enough for damage/cc to go through. It normally takes a lot of items and tactics for a normal group to take a creature down that's 4 levels higher than the party's level (or a +4 monster), and even creature's 3 levels higher (or +3) can still feel like a slog depending on their stat block. If you're designing a boss fight, consider this one trick I've learned over the past 2 years of GMing with the system:

Lie to your players.

For different systems this could mean a lot of things, DND 5e famously is known for its GMs secretly increasing the hp of a given monster behind the screens. But for Pf2e it's less a blatant lie and more of a performance. Rather than throwing a +4 or +5 monster, you could instead throw a +1 to +3 monster and accompany them with either other creatures or traps that you present to your players as that monsters abilities. Let's make an example.

Is your monster a fire breathing mutant bear that is killing other wildlife in the area?

(Art by Deftspex)

Easy. Let's make it an Elite Black Bear (making it L3), then add a Fire Mephit (L1) to the initiative, making the combat a Severe encounter for 4 level 1 players. What does this do, and how can we make this convey what we want?

Mechanically, the Black Bear acts as the base monster that the players can target and kill and the Fire Mephit acts on its own initiative, but what you do is tell your players that it's the bear doing what the Fire Mephit is doing. The bear is the one moving and its base health is the health your party is trying to take down to 0, but the "Fire Mephit" acts on its turn as if attached to the bear. It still takes damage if hit by an aoe, but must otherwise be specifically targeted by an attack rather than the Bear itself (you should give your players some sort of heads up or a description of something that can be targeted in order to remove the ability from initiative, like pointing out that breaking its jaws would remove them on a successful recall knowledge).

What this does is a multitude of things, your solo boss monster technically has more action economy without breaking the math, your players have more tactical choices to make between getting rid of the Bear's fire related abilities, and it should make your players shit their pants from seeing a fire breathing bear.

I have a lot of other tips and tricks for boss monster design for pf2e, due to my notorious one shots being considered "Dark Souls" by many approving players. I'd like to one day turn my knowledge into a published book alongside templates, some homebrew monster designs, and some variant rules, but due to legal concerns will need to wait until I have a lawyer to assist me in understanding what I'm getting into.

[ghostopossumlives]

Inktober 3, Boots

A house made out of an old Rarakran boot

Rarak are very big

[rinkje]

Title: The New Bracelet

Artist: Henryk Siemiradzki

Year: 1883

Medium: oil on canvas

Source:

[dr-abigail-richelieu]

This is Maelle Forget, one of our more "docile" patient at the G.I.I's "Habilitation Centers". Although docile doesn't mean harmless, She's still a Vampire after all.

Hi! This is a teaser for something I'm currently Working on. A Scifi Horror Setting, with scientifically explanable Vampires, Werewolfs, Zombies, and much much more... This Setting started out as a Blindsight AU but the addition I made to the world, the Vampire biology, neurology, etc and a general desire to have more then just Vampires made me make this a separated setting (Althouth, Alot of aspects of Vampire lore was kept from Peter Watts amazing work, so yes, technically this is very much A Blindsight AU) other inspiration are from Though Potato's channel, like the whole idea of scientists researching cryptids and creatures and explaining the science. I also wanted to make it into Analog Horror but I certainly doubt my skillsets would allow me.

[seraphicsmilodon]

What if kobolds were the draconic equivalent of house fae? (Lair fae?)

Kobolds just show up in a Dragon's lair one day and start doing chores. Polishing the hoard while the dragon sleeps, slowly excavating at the lair walls so that each chamber and tunnel maintains the same size relative to the dragon as they grow, that kind of thing.

They're harmless, as long as nobody compliments them or tries to pay them wages. Woe betide the dragon who does.

[cartoonfantasychic]

Y’know what, I’ll go for it. Here’s an art piece I did a year ago, I redrew a reference photo of a theatre set. Enjoy!

[virovac]

Horror ( or fetish?) game where your living biotechnology city you find grew out of a person long ago that “ascended”

Most of your religious practices are the fetish of a voyeuristic ascended mortal, of a being who is so far removed from its original form what it finds erotic might be near incomprehensible to most minds

[magicturtle]

If I was writing a brand new setting, but with magical girl and/or super sentai-style themes, how important would it be to have colors/powers align with current tropes? Like if “blue” characters were big dummy bruisers would that give you whiplash?

[kirapackblog]

Kira travels through the Underdale multiverse, but don't forget that her homeworld is Minecraft, which also deserves your attention.

In my Minecraft-based setting, elytra, connecting with a person, fuses with him, becomes part of him and completely adopts his facial expressions.

A person can fully gesticulate with wings, like two new limbs, but, unlike him, they do not know how to lie.

If a person hides his true emotions, his mood can be understood by the elytra he wears, which will shrink, straighten, tremble, etc.

(Kira sees all the questions you have asked and reflects on the answer!)

[probablybadrpgideas]

Creepy things that could be in the forest

HOLY SHIT! TREES!

The creepy fair-folk elves from medieval folklore...are on holiday at the moment, so you've got Santa's Christmas elves trying their best to sub in.

Abandoned cabin haunted by the ghost of another, more abandoned cabin.

Various adorable animals working together to use a shotgun.

Non-ancient cult to a non-ancient horror. They were founded last week and their primordial god is a month old. You're actually their first human sacrifice, please say if you have any constructive criticism :)

Talking crows who have been on some very dodgy message boards lately. They're not dangerous but they're very problematic.

Legolas but he's done snapped

Very generic slasher who's fully aware that this is one of his late-franchise box office bombs. He's still gonna come after you with a machete, contractual obligations, but his heart's clearly not in it anymore.

Allegorical representation of the horrors of late-stage capitalism and the urban wasteland who showed up to the wrong setpiece and is hoping no-one notices.

A bear. Oh, a bear's too generic and mundane is it? Not scary enough? How about I put you in a clearing with an angry bear and see how calm you are? Huh? Thought so. There's a fucking bear. Make me a sanity check, asshole.

[theaggressivewriter]

Fungus Leshy (Boss Fight #001, 01/29/2024)

Welcome to Boss Fight, where every Monday I take a monster and make a unique boss fight out of official material. Today, we'll be making an official encounter for a L1-L2 party. I'll also be creating an upscaled version of the fight and a reimagining of the fight in the context of my personal setting in reblogs.

Have you ever wanted just a little guy to inspire fear into your players?

(Art by Andrew McIntosh)

In this week's boss fight we bring out a Leshy to take on an entire group of 4 level 1 adventurers. Let's take a Fungus Leshy (L2), and two Vine Lashers (L0) to make a severe encounter. If your party is L2, modify each of these creatures with the Elite template.

How will this encounter go down? This Leshy has a particular connection to its surrounding and can command or use the environment around it to attack and slow down its targets. This making it easier to keep enemy groups together for its aoe ability to shoot spores in a 15 foot emanation. If it has a chance, it should be hiding in plain sight as a mushroom when the party first encounters the Leshy, if it can sense hostile intentions or hear any comments on if the party is looking for it, it will attack rolling stealth for initiative along side the Vine Lashers. The Vine Lashers should use its minor grabbing abilities to deincentivize people from moving so the Leshy can use its aoe or spore pod ability if you want the Leshy to kite the party with ranged attacks.

Plot hooks:

A farmer has been having trouble with its cattle being killed by something nearby, and can't herd anything until the situation is dealt with.

A Green Hag has been kidnapping children of the local village and has said to have a hut, but so far no one has gotten past the forest. Recent eye-witness report that vines attack anyone who get near where the hut is said to be.

A local druid has lost their Leshy familiar. They say that the two of them got into a heated argument, and the Leshy ran out into the forest in hiding.

Check the reblogs to look at some custom lore for my setting involving this little creature or to see how I upgrade it from a lil fungus into a medium sized Mushroom Knight with my step by step process into homebrewing it into creation.

[sleppycrluci]

a character for a joint student setting

[tornioduva]

An idea for a setting

....So, i was thinking about wizards.

mean wizards

basically, in this alternative version of earth, the older you get, the more attuned with magic you are. only old people are able to do magic. not all of them, only some.

In older times, mages were few and far in between due to the lower lifespan. but nowadays are becoming a problem.

modern civilization has had to face the rising problem over the last two centuries of groups of old people roaming around doing whatever they want.

some are reasonable and like help around, some want to reenact old conflict they think are still going on, some just want a glass of water but summoned a dragon and don't know when they came here.

The pointy hats are required to know if someone go powers, because, as everyone knows, magic flows up, and so if you got magic, it will fill the hat and it will rise up.

Their powers are not infinite of course, and it strains them, plus no mage has been able to cure themselves of any illness or to become young again. also, there is very little knowledge of how to use magic due the users either dying out before learning or just being mentally unstable.

and that's it. i don't know, i'd like to see a story or play a game with completely deranged wizards ahah.

[cervinecomedy]

Setting idea:

In the realm all businesses, in order to operate, must have their business license stamped by the god of industry and commerce. Not by a priest, by the god themselves. The god of industry is a big supporter of workers rights and if an employer exploits their workers in any way according to the very thorough terms of the license, they will quite literally be struck down by the hand of god.

[soup-prompts]

The Library Train Station

You enter the seemingly endless library, the further you travel the more confused you become. There are branching pathways everywhere, but if you continue on your current course you'll come across a drop in the floorboards.

Within that drop is traintracks. No train. Just tracks.

Maybe there is a train, but it never stops to allow anyone to climb aboard. If it does, you'll never end up where you need to be.

However, if you walk along the tracks, you'll find yourself right back where you started.