#spookisimus

[thecreaturecodex]

Spookisimus

Image by Walt McDougall. Accessed at Monster Brains here

[Walt McDougall’s Good Stories for Children was first runner up in the poll I ran a few months ago for what projects I should tackle, but it got delayed until now. This was primarily because the end of the school year was kicking my ass, so I wanted lower-effort projects like conversions. Of course, I ended up spending a lot of time and effort on those conversions, but whatever.

McDougall himself was a pioneer in the field of political cartooning in the United States. His cartoons were credited with influencing elections and making the art a must-have for newspapers in the late 19th century. His “Good Stories for Children” were syndicated around the US and collected into several books. He even drew an Oz comic strip, written by L. Frank Baum, for a few years, but the two men apparently did not like each other.

This particular story of the Spookisimus is a Scooby-Doo affair. The monster is a costume worn by a band of robbers, Chinese dragon style, to scare their victims, and the hero is a sensible boy who doesn’t believe in superstitions. Of course, I’ve never let a monster being fictional in its own source material stop me before. I did want to keep that theft MO in making it an actual monster.]

Spookisimus CR 8 LE Aberration This fearsome creature looks something like a giant reptilian grub with the head of a bearded cat. It has enormous hollow eyes, whiskers radiating from its cheeks and ears, and four rows of legs in parallel. Patches of luminescent scales run along its flanks.

Despite their monstrous appearances, the strange creatures known as spookisimus have very simple and understandable motives. They are greedy. A spookisimus is a collector of fine things, and will gladly rob other creatures to get them. They tend to prey on small villages and other remote settlements, clearing away those that would stop them with ferocious bellows and stinking gases. Their whiskers are in fact prehensile tendrils, which they use to manipulate objects. Opening doors, rifling through cabinets and snatching away weapons are all common applications of this ability.

Because a spookisimus is so large, they often have difficulty getting to well-hidden valuables. Some spookisimus rely on humanoid or smaller monstrous minions, ensuring that they get paid with some part of the bounty. In fact, a spookisimus can be a hub of economic activity for monsters that have no access to more conventional markets—they buy and sell objects, appraise treasures, and eat anyone who would attempt to steal from or cheat them.

A spookisimus is an omnivore, with a taste for pickled vegetables, preserved meats and beer. Although they may have staff of other species on hand, they usually view other spookisimus as competition, and keep their distance. They do reproduce normally, but their courtship is more a business proposition. Extensive dowries are prepared, childcare duties negotiated, and a joint fund contributed to in order to start the young spookisimus off on the right path when the parental investment reaches maturity.

Spookisimus             CR 8 XP 4,800 LE Huge aberration Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +16 Aura luminous (20 ft.) Defense AC 21, touch 9, flat-footed 20 (-2 size, +1 Dex, +12 natural) hp 97 (13d8+39) Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +11 DR 10/magic; Immune fear Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee bite +13 (2d8+9) Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks bellow, sulfurous belch, trample (2d6+9, DC 22) Statistics Str 22, Dex 13, Con 17, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 16 Base Atk +9; CMB +17 (+19 disarm); CMD 28 (30 vs. disarm, cannot be tripped) Feats Combat Expertise, Deft Hands, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Nimble Moves, Vital Strike Skills Appraise +6, Climb +14, Disable Device +15, Intimidate +16, Perception +16, Sense Motive +13, Sleight of Hand +15, Swim +14 Languages Common, Undercommon Ecology Environment any forests or underground Organization solitary or family (2-4) Treasure double standard Special Abilities Bellow (Su) As a standard action, a spookisimus can roar, causing all creatures that can hear it within 120 feet to become panicked for 1 minute. A successful DC 19 Will save reduces this to shaken for 1 round. A creature that successfully saves is immune to the bellow of that spookisimus for the next 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma based. Luminous (Ex) A spookisimus radiates normal light in a 20 foot radius and dim light in a 40 foot radius, as a torch. It can extinguish or resume this illumination with a move action. Sulfurous Belch (Ex) A spookisimus can breathe foul-smelling gas in a 40 foot cone as a standard action. All creatures caught in the cone are nauseated for 1d6+1 rounds, or sickened for the duration if they succeed a DC 19 Fortitude save. A creature that saves is immune to the sulfurous belch of that spookisimus for the next 24 hours. A spookisimus can use its sulfurous belch three times a day, but must wait 1d4 rounds between uses. The save DC is Constitution based.

[thecreach]

[thecreaturecodex]

Jagmetty

Image by Walt McDougall, accessed at Monster Brains here

[The story which the jagmetty comes from is the same as the wood wolves...although apparently those are wood sharks! I must have gotten them mixed up in my head with timber wolves at some point. So the wood wolf isn’t really a McDougall monster (although the stats could be reskinned as a shark easily enough).

But anyway. I read this story immediately after the one with the spookisimus, and there are some similarities. Both of them are glowing monsters, and the jagmetty’s obsession with stuff is reminiscent of the spookisimus being a costume worn by a gang of thieves. So I wanted to put a little time between the two monsters, for fear they would seem redundant.]

Jagmetty CR 10 CE Aberration This creature has a body like a turtle and legs like an elephant. It has three heads, all on long necks. One is that of a hairy lizard, one a woolly fish, and one a scaled pelican. Its shell emits a dazzling light.

A jagmetty is a peevish and bizarre creature. They are quarrelsome and covetous, but prefer to converse than to fight, at least at first. In these conversations, they usually interrogate creatures as to their possessions, hoping to take particularly interesting items for themselves. They are also carnivorous, and do not hesitate to try to eat their conversation partners once they have tired of the company.

Jagmetties radiate light and heat—their innards are scalding hot. They can spray their steaming spittle at a considerable distance, and use this attack before closing to melee with jaws and stomping feet. Their internal furnaces are something of a liability, however, as a slain jagmetty will literally explode.

The three heads of a jagmetty all have slightly different personalities, and can and do speak to each other, but consider themselves the same individual entity. They nevertheless bicker with each other, only agreeing on matters of treasure and food. Jagmetties are hoarders by nature, and keep vast collections of junk. Some treasures can be found within these troves, but usually after careful consideration only. Their lairs are messy and chaotic, and prone to pests and scavengers.

Jagmetty        CR 10 XP 9,600 CE Large aberration (fire) Init +5; Senses all-around vision, darkvision 60 ft., Perception +23 Aura dazzling (30 ft., DC 19) Defense AC 25, touch 10, flat-footed 24 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +15 natural) hp 126 (15d8+60) Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +11 DR 10/bludgeoning and magic; Immune fire; Vulnerable cold Offense Speed 40 ft. Melee 3 bites +15 (1d8+4). 2 slams +14 (1d6+4) Ranged 3 scalding spittle +11 touch (4d6 fire) Special Attacks death throes Statistics Str 19, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 14 Base Atk +11; CMB +16 (+18 bull rush); CMD 27 (29 vs. bull rush, 31 vs. trip) Feats Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (bite) Skills Acrobatics +18 (+22 when jumping), Appraise +12, Bluff +12, Climb +17, Diplomacy +12, Intimidate +15, Perception +23, Sense Motive +19, Survival +13; Racial Modifiers +4 Acrobatics, +4 Perception Languages Aklo, Common, Sylvan SQ pouch, sure-footed Ecology Environment warm mountains Organization solitary Treasure double standard Special Abilities Dazzling Aura (Ex) A jagmetty radiates bright light in a 30 foot radius. All creatures in this radius must succeed a DC 19 Fortitude save or be dazzled as long as they remain in the aura and for 1 minute thereafter. The save DC is Charisma based. A jagmetty can suppress or resume the aura as a move action. Death Throes (Su) When slain, a jagmetty explodes, dealing 6d6 bludgeoning and 6d6 fire damage to all creatures in a 30 foot radius (Reflex DC 21 halves). This also scatters any items in the jagmetty’s pouch. The save DC is Constitution based. Pouch (Su) The pouch of a jagmetty’s pelican head functions as a bag of holding IV. Scalding Spittle (Ex) As a standard action, a jagmetty can spit from each of its heads. Treat this as a ranged touch attack with a range of 50 feet and no range increment. A creature struck by each glob of spittle takes 4d6 fire damage. Multiple spittle attacks from the same jagmetty in the same round count as a single attack for the purposes of overcoming fire resistance. Sure-Footed (Ex) A jagmetty gains a +4 racial bonus on Acrobatics checks, and is not considered flat-footed when using Acrobatics or Climb on uneven or narrow surfaces.