#warpwraith

[thecreaturecodex]

Zap Kraken

Image © Turtle Rock Studios

[Sponsored by Soluman Blevins. The second of the Evolve monsters I've done, other than the warpwraith. Mechanically, the Kraken is interesting, but design wise, it's a little drab. Because it's just a Cthulhu. The lightning bolt wings are a cool touch, but otherwise, it's very much a Cthulhu. And in a game that already has Cthulhu and his star-spawn, I wanted to differentiate it a bit. So I tied it to one of my favorite one-shot weirdo monsters from the 3e era.]

Zap Kraken CR 16 CE Aberration This immense creature has a roughly dinosaur-like body and the head of a colossal cephalopod. A vertical maw stretches between its beard of tentacles, and two large jointed appendages grow from its back and crackle with electricity. Its long tail is segmented like the vertebral column of a great beast.

Zap krakens are rare aberrant creatures that use electrical energy for both offense and mobility. Although they are enormous, they fly with surprising grace by manipulating electricity, essentially creating wings of lightning that hold them aloft. They are remarkably stealthy for their size, and can sneak up on prey from above before dropping to melee or merely blasting away with channeled lightning bolts.

Zap krakens are territorial, and maintain their territory by creating banshee mines, so called for the shriek of their explosions. These mines home in on creatures that get too close, and the zap kraken can also visit them to see what it has seen, similar to a prying eyes spell. Although zap krakens typically view other creatures as prey first and foremost, they have a mutual fondness for zeugalaks. Both species have tentacled maws and an affinity for electricity, and sages speculate that they are related to each other. A zap kraken often views zeugalaks the way a nobleman views their prized hunting hounds, using them to flush out prey or occupy melee combatants. 

Zap Kraken CR 16 XP 76,800 CE Gargantuan aberration Init +7; Senses blindsense 120 ft., darkvision 60 ft., Perception +17

Defense AC 30, touch 14, flat-footed 22 (-4 size, +7 Dex, +1 dodge, +16 natural) hp 225 (18d8+144) Fort +14, Ref +13, Will +15 DR 10/magic; Immune cold, electricity; SR 26

Offense Speed 50 ft., fly 100 ft. (good) Melee 2 claws +18 (2d6+8), tentacles +17 (4d4+8), 2 wings +16 (2d6+4 plus 1d6 electricity) Space 20 ft.; Reach 20 ft. (30 ft. with tentacles) Special Attacks banshee mines, lightning strike, shock pulse

Statistics Str 26, Dex 24, Con 28, Int 11, Wis 19, Cha 19 Base Atk +16; CMB +28; CMD 46 Feats Blind-fight, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Hover (B), Mobility, Multiattack, Stand Still, Weapon Focus (claw) Skills Acrobatics +20 (+28 when jumping), Fly +21, Intimidate +17, Perception +17, Stealth +16, Survival +17; Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth Languages Aklo

Ecology Environment warm hills Organization solitary or band (1 plus 1-4 zeugalaks) Treasure standard

Special Abilities Banshee Mines (Su) As a standard action, a zap kraken can create up to three animated mines. Treat these as the eyes generated by the prying eyes spell, only when a creature approaches within 30 feet of them (all creatures or of a type set by the zap kraken on creation), they fly towards that creature and explode. Treat this as a ranged touch attack using the zap kraken’s modifiers (+19 for a typical specimen). If it hits, the creature struck takes 4d6 points of electricity damage and 4d6 points of sonic damage. Whether the mine hits or not, it explodes, dealing this damage in a 5 foot radius (Reflex DC 23 halves). A zap kraken knows when one of its mines has detonated as long as it is within 1 mile of the mine. A zap kraken can create up to nine mines a day, but can have a maximum of three in existence at a time. The save DC is Charisma based. Lightning Strike (Su) As a standard action, a zap kraken can call down a bolt of lightning within 160 feet. It fills a column 60 feet high with a 20 foot radius, dealing 16d8 points of electricity damage to all creatures in the area (Reflex DC 23 halves). A zap kraken can use this ability once every 1d4 rounds. The save DC is Charisma based. Shock Wave (Su) As a standard action, a zap kraken can release an electrical pulse in a 60 foot radius centered on its body. All creatures in the area take 16d4 points of electricity damage and are pushed back 10 feet. A successful DC 27 Reflex save halves the damage and resists the knockback effect. A zap kraken can use this ability every other round. The save DC is Constitution based.  Tentacles (Ex) The tentacles of a zap kraken are treated as a single primary natural weapon

[thecreaturecodex]

Warpwraith

Image © Turtle Rock Studios

[Commissioned by Soluman Blevins. Evolve is a game I was only passingly aware of, since some artists I follow had done concept art for it. The premise is a fun take on an asymmetrical shooter. Four players are the humans and one is the monster. The monster starts fairly weak, but can evolve (hence the title) by killing computer controlled wildlife, which act as threats to all players.

Of the main enemy monsters, the Wraith is apparently the overpowered one, and was nerfed in later updates before the game was simply abandoned. So I knew I wanted her to be a high CR monster. I ended up picking CR 17 because in the quadrant of 16-20, that was the CR I had the least aberrations in. Sometimes game design leads to arbitrary decisions.

Also, notice how weirdly horny this design is. The Wraith has great hips and thighs for a creature with no legs.]

Warpwraith CR 17 LE Aberration This creature has a lithe, roughly humanoid torso, but its head is little more than a fanged knot of tissue. It has four arms, two of which have clawed hands and the other two of which bear oversized scything blades. Its lower body has bulbous, stabilizing structures that are vaguely thigh shaped, but these terminate not in legs but in three snaking tentacles, on which it slithers effortlessly.

A warpwraith is a powerful alien predator that can manipulate space in a variety of teleportation effects. They glide along the ground using strange forces, not quite slithering and not quite flying, able to traverse undergrowth, rubble or even cross water with ease. They hunt with hit and run strikes, tearing at prey with their claws and armblades. If they face a group, they often rush in with incredible speed, causing a shock wave as their presence ripples the fabric of space. They then grab a single opponent and rush off with them in order to tear them to pieces while their allies recover. If enemies are warded against teleportation, or if the warpwraith is feeling vindictive, it will glow with the light of a sun, simultaneously speeding up its own movements while slowing down others. Warpwraiths rarely fight until slain, using their spell-like abilities to flee and mislead pursuers.

Although warpwraiths behave like beasts, they are of near human intellect, and great canniness besides. They are often on good terms with other powerful monsters, forming alliances to achieve common goals rather than fighting for domination. They also like to taunt their enemies with brief telepathic messages, usually done from hiding long before they strike. They prefer to hunt alone—on the planet to which they are native, they are top predators, with enormous amounts of territory for each. 

Warpwraith          CR 17 XP 102,400 LE Large aberration Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +23, scent Aura supernova (Will DC 25, 60 ft.) Defense AC 32, touch 20, flat-footed 32 (-1 size, +10 Dex, +1 dodge, +12 natural) hp 237 (25d8+125) Fort +13, Ref +20, Will +19 Defensive Abilities evasion, improved uncanny dodge Offense Speed 60 ft., lighter than air Melee 2 claws +24 (1d8+7 plus grab), bite +24 (1d6+7), 2 armblades +24 (2d6+10/19-20x4) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks abduct, isolate, powerful blows (armblades), sneak attack +2d6, warp blast Spell-like Abilities CL 17th, concentration +20 (+24 casting defensively) At will—dimension door 3/day—quickened dimension door, mislead (DC 19) 1/day—interplanetary teleport Statistics Str 24, Dex 30, Con 21, Int 9, Wis 21, Cha 16 Base Atk +18; CMB +29 (+33 grapple); CMD 53 Feats Agile Maneuvers, Blind-fight, Combat Casting, Combat Reflexes, Defensive Combat Training, Dimensional Agility, Dodge, Improved Critical (armblade), Lightning Reflexes, Mobility, Power Attack, Quicken SLA (dimension door), Spring Attack Skills Acrobatics +28 (+40 when jumping), Intimidate +21, Perception +23, Stealth +24, Survival +23 Languages Aklo, telepathy 100 ft. Ecology Environment any land or underground Organization solitary Treasure incidental Special Abilities Abduct (Ex/Su) A warpwraith can move at full speed with a grappled creature, as long as the creature is at least one size category smaller than it. It can take unwilling creatures along with it when it uses dimension door—a creature can attempt a DC 25 Will save to avoid teleporting if it does not wish to. The save DC is Charisma based. Armblades (Ex) The armblades of a warpwraith are treated as primary natural weapons that deal x4 damage on a successful critical hit. Isolate (Su) A warpwraith gets its sneak attack to damage against an enemy with no allies within 60 feet, even if the creature is not flat-footed or flanked. Lighter Than Air (Ex) A warpwraith moves by floating, using its three tentacle tails to steer. Although it cannot properly fly, it ignores all difficult terrain and can move across water or other liquid surfaces without penalty. If it does find itself above the ground, it descends at a rate of 60 feet per round and takes no damage, as a feather fall spell. Supernova Aura (Su) Once per day as a standard action, a warpwraith may shed bright light in a 60 foot radius and gain the benefits of a haste spell for 1 minute. All creatures in the area must succeed a DC 25 Will save or be slowed, as per the spell, for as long as they remain within the aura and for 1d4 rounds thereafter. A creature that succeeds this save is immune to the supernova aura of that warpwraith for the next 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma based. Warp Blast (Su) As a full round action, a warpwraith can move up to twice its speed in any direction, including into the air. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity. When it arrives at its chosen location, a blast of energy goes off. All creatures in a 30 foot radius take 8d8 points of force damage and are knocked prone. A DC 25 Fortitude save halves the damage and negates the prone effect. This is a teleportation effect. A warpwraith can use this ability once every 1d4 rounds. The save DC is Charisma based.

[thecreaturecodex]

What makes the warpwraith lawful evil?

In the Evolve game, the Wraith is supposedly the monster who brought all of the monsters over from a parallel world in order to Kill All Humans (to be fair, the human's pollution is so bad that it can cross dimensional boundaries? Or something?) So a monster that is willing to team up with other monsters, and facilitate a common goal, seems to be to be a decent candidate for LE. I mentioned their intraspecies territoriality and interspecies cooperation in the flavor text.