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[thecreaturecodex]

Ver

“Brave Warrior” © Russell Jones. Accessed at his Art Station page here 

[Originally called “ver’men”. I removed the pun as the mandatory name, but it remains as an option. Incidentally, the art above makes them look a bit more noble than I intended, but I like it much better than the original Hackmaster art. Like I said in the nittaewo entry, there’s already a thematically similar canon species that’s playable (in this case, ratfolk), and I wanted these to have racial HD and be less inherently sympathetic as a contrast.]

Ver CR ½ NE Monstrous Humanoid This creature appears to be a rodent walking upright, with rounded ears and a stump of a tail. Its face bears a grim expression.

Vers, sometimes called vermen or mousefolk, are sinister, intelligent rodents. They live in the shadows and margins of other societies, including those of other evil humanoids such as goblins and kobolds. They are versatile omnivores, but raise none of their own food. Theft and piracy have an almost sacred nature to the ver, and they believe that nothing should be gained by honest labor if it can be obtained by stealing.

Ver warrens are filthy, cramped places, frequently home to rodents of both normal and unusual size. Ver are natural tinkerers and trap-builders, and the longer a ver tribe has occupied a region, the more elaborate and sadistic the traps will be. Ver society is meritocratic—the cleverest and meanest ver is the one that claws their way to the top, and these ver rulers frequently have levels in character classes. Rogue is the most common class among the ver, and spellcasting ver frequently become witches.

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Are you going to convert the rest of the 2e hags

Maybe eventually? But they're not my current priority. My current priorities are

A few more themeless monsters to get back into the writing groove

Alien Mephilas from Ultraman (as a malebranche)

Doing my first full class on the Creature Codex (and yes, it will be monster themed)

Figuring out how to, then launching, a Patreon

I don't want to put any timelines on any of these (it made a lot of very ambitious plans in 2023 and they all collapsed with my energy, after all), but I'm hoping that all four of these goals are hit by the end of the year.

[thecreaturecodex]

Thri-Kreen

Image by Brian Despain, © Wizards of the Coast. Accessed at the Monster Manual II Art Gallery here

[The thri-kreen was never meant to be a PC race. At least, not originally. They originally appeared in the AD&D Monster Manual II with 6 Hit Dice and a load of special abilities. In Dark Sun, thri-kreen player characters didn’t get all of these abilities all at once, but were partitioned out over the first six levels. The ones with racial HD were called “tohr-kreen”… which then got retconned when 6 HD thri- and tohr-kreen both existed separately later in 2nd edition. The tohr-kreen were forgotten for a long while. 3e made thri-kreen a race with 2 HD and used their level adjustment system. I certainly played a thri-kreen character that abused the heck out of the Multiweapon Fighting chain. 4e toned them down to be a bit more in tune with the player powers of the rest of their Dark Sun races, and 5e went back to the AD&D 1e model, where they are just monsters, not player characters at all.

So I had a lot of history to choose from. I wanted to make them PCs, but that required toning them down significantly from their 3e levels. I created feats that help them get more towards that value, but still not entirely. PFRPG is much stingier with multiple attacks than 3.x was, and a PC race with five attacks from the get-go is right out. A lot of their mechanical flavor has already been swiped by Pathfinder races (the kasatha got the deserts and four arms; the trox got the big bugginess and natural attacks), so I wanted to make sure they were differentiated. I consulted with my friend @bowelfly​ for what they thought were vital to the feel of a thri-kreen, as they are a connoisseur of bug people.]

Thri-kreen CR ½ CN Monstrous Humanoid (kreen) This humanoid mantis is a dusty yellow color. It has four arms, but two seem to be its primary ones. It wears little clothing and carries multiple strange weapons.

The thri-kreen are sometimes called “mantis warriors”, as this describes both their physical appearance and their cultural values. Thri-kreen are nomadic hunters, and combine keen loyalty with a fierce need for competition. Members of a clan would hardly consider betraying one another, but they jockey constantly for position, and fights to the death are not unheard of to obtain a leadership role from a leader considered past their prime. They are skilled and patient hunters, moving frequently to avoid depleting prey items or causing undue ecological stress. Thri-kreen mate for life, and the care of the young is shared between all members of the clan. They grow to adulthood quickly, being mature within 5 years of age, and are considered ancient if they live to the age of 35. Thri-kreen often decorate their chitin exoskeletons with etchings and paints, the latter only for special occasions.

Thri-kreen prefer to attack from ambush, using their ability to change color to hide and their remarkable leaping ability to spring to the attack. The weapons of a thri-kreen are among their only possessions, and are thus well cared for. The primary melee weapon used by thri-kreen is a two-headed, crescent-bladed polearm called a gythka (treat as an orc double axe). As ranged weapons they use oversized shuriken known as chatkcha (treat as a starknife). Unusually, armor is only worn by the boldest and most confident thri-kreen, as it interferes with their camouflage abilities.

Thri-kreen advance by character class. Most of them choose classes with a full base attack bonus, like fighter, ranger or brawler. Their spellcasters are typically psychics, especially with the lore or self-perfection disciplines. Those that cast divine spells are usually druids—they do not trust gods, which they cannot see or taste, as opposed to natural forces which they can.

Thri-kreen as Player Characters Thri-kreen do not have racial Hit Dice, and advance by character class. A thri-kreen character has the following attributes

+2 Dex, +2 Con, -2 Cha Thri-kreen are nimble and tough, but have alien minds and emotions. Monstrous Humanoid Thri-kreens are not subject to spells and effects that target humanoids only Medium Size A thri-kreen gains no benefits or penalties from its size Low-light vision +1 natural armor Normal Speed Bite A thri-kreen gains a bite attack as a primary natural weapon that deals 1d4 points of damage Chameleon Skin (Ex) A thri-kreen can change the color of its carapace to match its environment. It gains a +4 racial bonus to Stealth checks if it is wearing no armor and only light clothing. If wearing light armor, or clothing that covers the body, it gains a +2 racial bonus on Stealth checks. If wearing medium or heavy armor, it gains no bonus. Master Leaper (Ex) A thri-kreen gains a +4 racial bonus on Acrobatics checks made to jump. It takes no penalty to Acrobatics checks made to jump without taking a running start. If it does take a running start, it doubles the distance covered. Secondary Arms (Ex) The secondary arms of a thri-kreen cannot be used to wield weapons or shields, but can be used to draw or stow small objects as a swift action. They can be used to provide somatic components even if both hands are full. Weapon Familiarity (Ex) A thri-kreen treats starknives as a simple weapon, and treats orc double axes as a martial weapon. Languages Thri-kreen start play speaking Kreen. A thri-kreen with an Intelligence bonus may choose from the following languages: Common, Dwarf, Elven, Gnoll, Halfling, Sylvan.

Statistics for a sample thri-kreen character, and feats for thri-kreen characters, under the cut

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Hold that thought. I have enough unique hag lineages that I could make a whole post about changeling abilities for them. And, in fact, should.

Sweet Hag

Image © Paizo Publishing, accessed at Archives of Nethys here

[I have spent the last couple of weeks moving, and I am tuckered out. But I still have an urge to write monsters, so I figured I'd start with a conversion or two, which are easier than wholly original monsters.

The sweet hag has basically replaced the green hag in Pathfinder 2e Remastered, and I totally get that change. Jenny Greenteeth is a relatively obscure regional bogey, whereas Hansel and Gretel is one of the most famous fairy tales. And making it so the candy witch is actually made of candy? Delightful! This conversion is relatively close to the original, although I toned some of the ability scores down because of how much higher the numbers are in PF 2e for things like damage and save DCs.]

Sweet Hag CR 4 NE Monstrous Humanoid This creature looks like a humanoid woman, but her flesh ripples and twists unnaturally, as if she were made with caramel and taffy instead of skin and muscle. Her eyes are glittering gumdrops, and her fingers are tipped with rock candy claws.

Sweet hags are among the most notorious of hag lineages, and also one of the more subtle. Rather than plotting grand plots of ruination, sweet hags lure people in with tempting treats, then eat the diners themselves. They prey mostly on children and the young at heart, particularly those who are impoverished and desperate for a friendly face and a filling meal. Sweet hags are usually in human guise when interacting with others, maintaining a pleasant facade, but turn cruel and vicious when they are opposed.

A sweet hag can use its magic to place spells inside of candies, cookies or cakes, and those who eat these succumb to a variety of effects. Many sweet hags use charm person spells delivered in this way to string victims along, often bewitching a whole group and picking them off to eat one by one while putting the rest to work. Their touch induces a long-lasting fatigue, and repeated touches induce a deep sleep filled with dreams of decadent sweets. Of course, most who fall asleep to a sweet hag’s touch do not live long enough to report back on their dreams.

Although sweet hags can conjure desserts out of thin air, they use this to supplement confections cooked the old fashioned way. Sweet hags spend much of their time in the kitchen, and have an obsession with food and eating that can potentially be manipulated. Some sweet hags focus on a particular type of treat (gingerbread is traditional), whereas others are culinary magpies. Sweet hags often join covens, where they are valued both for their abilities and their willingness to accept a subservient position rather than battling for control with the other hags. A coven with a sweet hag member adds glibness and curse of the outcast to the list of spells it can use.

Sweet Hag CR 4 XP 1,200 NE Medium monstrous humanoid Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +9

Defense AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 Dex, +3 natural) hp 42 (5d10+15) Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +6 DR 5/cold iron; SR 15

Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee 2 claws +8 (1d6+3 plus soporific touch) or touch +8 (soporific touch) Special Attacks infuse sweet Spell-like Abilities CL 5th, concentration +9 Constant—tongues At will—charm person (DC 14), ghost sound (DC 13), invisibility, light, message, purify food and drink, touch of fatigue (DC 13) 1/day—create sweets, deep slumber (DC 16), hideous laughter (DC 15), hold person (DC 16), reduce person (DC 14)

Statistics Str 17, Dex 16, Con 17, Int 15, Wis 14, Cha 16 Base Atk +5; CMB +8; CMD 21 Feats Deceitful, Improved Initiative, Power Attack Skills Acrobatics +7, Bluff +9, Disguise +9 (+17 using change shape), Knowledge (local, nature) +5, Perception +9, Profession (cook) +6, Stealth +10 Languages Aklo, Common, Giant, Sylvan, tongues SQ change shape (female humanoid, alter self)

Ecology Environment temperate forests and urban Organization solitary or coven (3 hags of mixed type) Treasure standard

Special Abilities Create Sweets (Sp) This spell functions as create food and water, except that it makes candy, cookies, cakes or other sweet foods of the caster’s choice. This is equivalent to a 2nd level spell. Infuse Sweet (Su) As a standard action, a sweet hag can touch a candy, cookie, cake or other sweet and cast one of its spell-like abilities into the food. The first creature to eat that comestible is affected by the spell, and makes any relevant saves at a -2 penalty. Sweets infused and not eaten lose their magic after 24 hours. Soporific Touch (Su) A creature touched by a sweet hag as a standard action, or hit with its claw attack, must succeed a DC 15 Fortitude save or be fatigued for a day. A creature that is already fatigued or exhausted instead falls into a deep sleep for 1 minute, but can be woken up as normal for a sleep spell. This is a mind-influencing sleep effect, and the save DC is Charisma based.

[thecreaturecodex]

Sweet Hag

Image © Paizo Publishing, accessed at Archives of Nethys here

[I have spent the last couple of weeks moving, and I am tuckered out. But I still have an urge to write monsters, so I figured I'd start with a conversion or two, which are easier than wholly original monsters.

The sweet hag has basically replaced the green hag in Pathfinder 2e Remastered, and I totally get that change. Jenny Greenteeth is a relatively obscure regional bogey, whereas Hansel and Gretel is one of the most famous fairy tales. And making it so the candy witch is actually made of candy? Delightful! This conversion is relatively close to the original, although I toned some of the ability scores down because of how much higher the numbers are in PF 2e for things like damage and save DCs.]

Sweet Hag CR 4 NE Monstrous Humanoid This creature looks like a humanoid woman, but her flesh ripples and twists unnaturally, as if she were made with caramel and taffy instead of skin and muscle. Her eyes are glittering gumdrops, and her fingers are tipped with rock candy claws.

Sweet hags are among the most notorious of hag lineages, and also one of the more subtle. Rather than plotting grand plots of ruination, sweet hags lure people in with tempting treats, then eat the diners themselves. They prey mostly on children and the young at heart, particularly those who are impoverished and desperate for a friendly face and a filling meal. Sweet hags are usually in human guise when interacting with others, maintaining a pleasant facade, but turn cruel and vicious when they are opposed.

A sweet hag can use its magic to place spells inside of candies, cookies or cakes, and those who eat these succumb to a variety of effects. Many sweet hags use charm person spells delivered in this way to string victims along, often bewitching a whole group and picking them off to eat one by one while putting the rest to work. Their touch induces a long-lasting fatigue, and repeated touches induce a deep sleep filled with dreams of decadent sweets. Of course, most who fall asleep to a sweet hag’s touch do not live long enough to report back on their dreams.

Although sweet hags can conjure desserts out of thin air, they use this to supplement confections cooked the old fashioned way. Sweet hags spend much of their time in the kitchen, and have an obsession with food and eating that can potentially be manipulated. Some sweet hags focus on a particular type of treat (gingerbread is traditional), whereas others are culinary magpies. Sweet hags often join covens, where they are valued both for their abilities and their willingness to accept a subservient position rather than battling for control with the other hags. A coven with a sweet hag member adds glibness and curse of the outcast to the list of spells it can use.

Sweet Hag CR 4 XP 1,200 NE Medium monstrous humanoid Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +9

Defense AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 Dex, +3 natural) hp 42 (5d10+15) Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +6 DR 5/cold iron; SR 15

Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee 2 claws +8 (1d6+3 plus soporific touch) or touch +8 (soporific touch) Special Attacks infuse sweet Spell-like Abilities CL 5th, concentration +9 Constant—tongues At will—charm person (DC 14), ghost sound (DC 13), invisibility, light, message, purify food and drink, touch of fatigue (DC 13) 1/day—create sweets, deep slumber (DC 16), hideous laughter (DC 15), hold person (DC 16), reduce person (DC 14)

Statistics Str 17, Dex 16, Con 17, Int 15, Wis 14, Cha 16 Base Atk +5; CMB +8; CMD 21 Feats Deceitful, Improved Initiative, Power Attack Skills Acrobatics +7, Bluff +9, Disguise +9 (+17 using change shape), Knowledge (local, nature) +5, Perception +9, Profession (cook) +6, Stealth +10 Languages Aklo, Common, Giant, Sylvan, tongues SQ change shape (female humanoid, alter self)

Ecology Environment temperate forests and urban Organization solitary or coven (3 hags of mixed type) Treasure standard

Special Abilities Create Sweets (Sp) This spell functions as create food and water, except that it makes candy, cookies, cakes or other sweet foods of the caster’s choice. This is equivalent to a 2nd level spell. Infuse Sweet (Su) As a standard action, a sweet hag can touch a candy, cookie, cake or other sweet and cast one of its spell-like abilities into the food. The first creature to eat that comestible is affected by the spell, and makes any relevant saves at a -2 penalty. Sweets infused and not eaten lose their magic after 24 hours. Soporific Touch (Su) A creature touched by a sweet hag as a standard action, or hit with its claw attack, must succeed a DC 15 Fortitude save or be fatigued for a day. A creature that is already fatigued or exhausted instead falls into a deep sleep for 1 minute, but can be woken up as normal for a sleep spell. This is a mind-influencing sleep effect, and the save DC is Charisma based.

[thecreaturecodex]

Quit my job due to harassment and just moved

"get fat! eat more to grow boobs! you need to eat!" i know asshole do you wanna pay for my fucking groceries?

[thecreaturecodex]

Nittaewo

[The nittaewo from Sri Lanka is another cryptid that Heuvelmans tried hard to strip the more folkloric elements from in order to claim it was a real organism. If you’re looking to add a Heuvelmans-esque australopithecine to your games, use the orang-pendak. If you want an awful little monkey-man, use this.]

Nittaewo CR ½ CE Monstrous Humanoid This small humanoid is covered in reddish fur and holds its long arms above its head. It screeches at you, bearing oversized talons.

The nittaewo are dwarfish creatures that combine features of man and apes, particularly gibbons. Although many of these ape-men, such as yeti and sasquatch, are peaceable and retiring, nittaewo are violent carnivores with a taste for intelligent, terrified meat. They are highly sociable creatures in their own way, living in large colonies led by the strongest and most cunning of their ilk. These elite nittaewo are usually clerics, commanding respect through their mastery of sinister magic and worshiping evil gods or demon lords.

Nittaewo have little material culture to speak of—they have mastered fire, which they use to light caves, cook meat and commit arson attacks. They do not use weapons, preferring their disproportionately huge talons, but covet armor and seek it out through raiding when possible. Their tribes live in scattered shelters made in trees, cliffs and caves. They will, however, steal the dwellings of other peoples if possible. Nittaewo attacks are typically conducted in numbers—gangs of nittaewo will first stalk prey silently, and then descend as a shrieking horde.

A nittaewo stands about three feet tall, with arms nearly that long, and weighs about 100 pounds. Male and female nittaewo do not differ dramatically in appearance, like their gibbon forbears.

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With all your creations, do you have any suggestions for something that would make a great fire fairy type pokemon or ice poison, i am stumped

The argolito that I statted up for the codex is a shooting star spirit I interpreted as a fiery fey. Will o' wisps in folklore are associated with fairies as often as they are ghosts, so that could also be a direction to go in. And one of the old fashioned names for them is hinkypunks, which I just love and already sounds like a Pokemon. And given how fairies in Pokemon overlap with tsukumogami (like Klefki and Mimikyu), making a Fire/Fairy out of a candle or lamp seems reasonable. Maybe even as a regional variant or convergent line of the Litwick line.

As for Ice/Poison... the easiest way to go might be to have a venomous animal with "freezing toxin". Like my freeze bees. But we can get weirder than that. CFCs are chemicals that were used as refrigerants that are both quite toxic and responsible for the hole in the ozone layer; a fridge-like monster leaking gasses, or even just a misty cloud of CFCs, could be a fun take. Methane gets trapped in ice easily; methane clathrates or melting permafrost could be the basis for a fakemon. Or even one step further; a virus released from melting permafrost could be monsterized by combining a snowflake or ice crystal with a virus shape

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The devastating difference between how much time it takes to write something vs how fast people read it lol

[thecreaturecodex]

we need playing pretend now more than ever

[thecreaturecodex]

So I'm still looking at my Blade Beasts stats and fiddling around with the big google doc i have. I have quite possibly the biggest bb post i'll make all prep'd (I just need the art) and I'm looking at my early drafts. And I have a question for you all.

[thecreaturecodex]

Cliessid

Image by “JML:, © Frog God Games.

[Swords and Wizardry seems to share a lot of assumptions about player motivations as old-school, 1970s-era D&D; namely, that the players are amoral jerks concerned primarily with profit. For example, the sample plot hook built around these cute little guys involves them being enslaved to work in a sewer, and striking back with the help of a psychic crabman to get fair wages or else. The plot hook indicates that the PCs are expected to be on the city’s side, but I don’t think I’ve ever run a game for a group that wouldn’t be more interested in supporting the Glorious Crustacean Revolution.

Incidentally, unless I am forgetting something (and with more than 1100 monsters, odds are that I am), this is the first time that I’ve written a monster with sequential hermaphroditism! Which is bizarre, because that’s one of my favorite reproductive adaptations.]

Cliessid CR 1/3 LN Monstrous Humanoid This small, shelled biped has lobster-like claws for hands, two short legs that end in three toes splayed in a Y-like shape, and two clusters of tentacles, one around the mouthparts and one growing from the top of its head like hair.

Cliessids are small crustacean-like creatures that are native to aquifers, underground rivers and flooded cave systems. Cliessids are omnivorous, feeding on small cave creatures, algae, fungi and detritus. They fight primarily to defend themselves and their territories, as cliessids are strongly clannish and territorial. This territoriality can bring them into conflict with other peoples, particularly if they colonize a sewer system—cliessids do not distinguish between natural and artificial passages, and usually blur the lines between the two.

Cliessids live short but productive lives. They are fully grown in a matter of months, and die of old age before their tenth birthday. They are broadcast spawners and sequential hermaphrodites—all cliessids are born male and become female if they survive long enough and are well fed. Once their population grows too large in a given area, a few cliessids will leave to colonize a new home range. Such divergent populations are usually strangers of their home population within a few years, and cultural contact between colonies is rare. They are industrious and often modify their caves to suit their needs by carving out niches and boltholes with their claws. Some urbanized humanoids have attempted to enslave cliessids to work as sewer maintenance, but the little crab-men do not take kindly to threats of force. Urbanized cliessids may turn the tables and end up exacting wages for their efforts, turning to guerrilla warfare or intentionally blocking pipes to get what they want.

A cliessid stands about three feet tall and weighs fifty pounds. They advance by character class, with rogue and fighter being popular choices. They are more likely to manifest mental gifts than other forms of magic, and psychics and other occult classes are relatively common among them.

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Humbug

“Mr. Humbug - Phantom Tollbooth Concept Art” © Anthony Sixto, accessed at his ArtStation page here

[Commissioned by @menaceomysterio. The character notes on the above art refer to the Humbug’s personality in the Phantom Tollbooth movie directed by Chuck Jones–affable, befuddled and easily led. He’s also decidedly cutesy, fitting for a late-period Chuck Jones project. This is compared to the book, where he’s blustering, combative and peevish, but still overall good-hearted. No wonder Norton Juster hated the movie.]

Humbug  CR ½ N Medium Monstrous Humanoid Standing here is a beetle the size of a man, wearing fine clothes and clutching a cane. Their mandibles have bristles along them, giving them a mustached appearance.

Humbugs are brash, garrulous dwellers of underground caverns. Humbugs are naturally social creatures, living in small settlements in the dark parts of the earth. They are cooperative among each other to defend themselves against the various horrors of the subterranean realms. When they are able, many humbugs will travel to surface realms in search of strangers to converse and argue with. Humbugs usually have outgoing and forceful personalities, barging into other peoples’ lives with nary a concern. They are argumentative for the sake of argument, sometimes supporting both sides simultaneously to keep the discussion going. This good-natured belligerence can get humbugs into trouble, but someone willing to put the effort in to befriend a humbug will find them a staunch ally.

Humbugs are hexapods, walking on four legs and using two arms for manipulating objects. Their gait is somewhat slow, but stable. Their ancestors may once have been flighted, but they are too heavy and their wings too small. Their wing cases, however, are still flexible and can be used by a humbug to intercept blows and defend themselves. Most humbugs have a sense of vanity and decorate themselves with jewelry or fine clothes. Humbugs tend towards neutral alignments, as their tendency to see and support multiple viewpoints keeps them from becoming too extreme in outlook.

Humbugs are equivalent in height to humans, but their broader frames mean that they weigh more than a human of their height.

Humbugs as Player Characters A humbug does not have racial Hit Dice and advances by character class. A humbug character has the following traits +2 Con, +2 Cha, -2 Wis Humbugs are sturdy and have forceful personalities, but tend towards foolishness Monstrous Humanoid A humbug is immune to spells and effects that target humanoids specifically, such as charm person or enlarge person. Normal Size Humbugs are Medium sized, and gain no bonuses or suffer no penalties due to their size Slow and Steady Humbugs have a movement speed of 20 feet, but their movement is not impeded by medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load Darkvision 60 ft. Quadrupedal A humbug gains a +4 to its CMD on trip attempts, and its carrying capacity is calculated as if it were a quadruped. Conversely, armor must be built to fit it specifically Blustering A humbug gains a +2 racial bonus on all Bluff and Intimidate checks. Elytra A humbug wearing light or no armor gains a +2 shield bonus to its AC by using its wing covers. This does not occupy a hand, but does not stack with carried shields. Languages Humbug characters begin play speaking Common and Undercommon. A humbug with an Intelligence bonus can choose from the following bonus languages: Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Terran.

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Why the fuck did there used to be aquatic gargoyles in D&D

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Aikelar

“Jake the Alligator Man” © deviantArt user “TheMushman”, accessed at their gallery here

[A two-fer, as this draws inspiration from both Jake the Alligator Man (a gaff currently in a Washington State museum) and the “mud mermaids” newspaper hoax of 1894.]

Aikelar CR ½ CN Monstrous Humanoid This creature appears to be a miniature centaur, only its lower body is that of an alligator rather than that of a horse.

Aikelars, sometimes disparagingly referred to as “mud mermaids”, are crocodilian creatures that dwell in swamps and marshes. They are highly social creatures and live in sizable communities deep in the swamps. Most aikelar dwellings are constructed from mud and vegetation, something like a beaver lodge. The entrances are submerged, but the interior is dry and clean, and frequently heavily decorated. Most aikelars have Stone Age material cultures, as metal ores are rare where they live. Metal weapons are therefore much prized, and aikelars will happily trade for or steal them.

Aikelars are not inherently evil, but their monstrous appearance leads to them frequently being distrusted by civilized people. The upper body of an aikelar closely resembles a halfling, albeit one that is greenish and slightly scaled, and some aikelars may test the waters of conversing with other humanoids by hiding their lower bodies and pretending to be a halfling. Aikelars most commonly engage with goblins, lizardfolk and boggards, but these relationships can vary from peaceful cohabitation to uneasy truces to outright warfare. Most aikelars worship powers of nature and water, but cults of demon lords are known among aikelar with strong boggard cultural influences.

An aikelar is about six feet long and stands three feet tall. They are short lived compared to other humanoid races, and typically die from old age before fifty years old.

Aikelar as Characters +2 Dex, +2 Con, -2 Cha: Aikelars are tough and quick, but have little self-confidence or poise. Medium size Reptilian subtype Slow speed Anaikelar has a land speed of 20 feet and a swim speed of 30 feet. It gains a +8 racial bonus on Swim checks and can take 10 on Swim checks even when rushed or threatened. Undersized weapons An aikelar uses manufactured weapons as if it were one size category smaller than its actual size. Low-light vision Darkvision 60 ft. +1 natural armor Natural attack An aikelar gains a tail slap attack  as a primary natural weapon that deals 1d6 points of damage. Swamp Stride An aikelar ignores all difficult terrain from mud, water or natural vegetation in a marsh setting Lesser Hold Breath An aikelar can hold its breath for a number of minutes equal to its Constitution score before it risks drowning. Languages An aikelar begins play speaking Draconic. Aikelars with a high Intelligence score may choose from the following languages: Aquan, Boggard, Common, Goblin.

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Cynocephalus

“Baboon Lizard”  © deviantArt user “TheRafa”. Accessed at their deviantArt page here

[Although the cynocephalus is traditionally depicted as a dog-headed man, classicists have interpreted it as being based on traveler’s tales of baboons. So I went in a baboonier direction, which did make finding art a little more difficult. I also wanted to fill the CR sweet spot between ogres and trolls. There aren’tany CR 4 giants in the first couple of PF bestiaries.

Also something I feel is worth adding: there’s a Christian saint who’s sometimes depicted as a cynocephalus: Saint Christopher. Thinking about Chris here inspired me to expand on the flavor text in this repost.]

Cynocephalus CR 4 CE Giant This hulking giant is dressed in a loincloth and has the head of a snarling baboon. It bares its fangs in a fearsome grimace.

Cynocephali are hideous giants native to the distant shores and jungle islands of the world. Their name comes from their dog-like appearance, although sages would argue that they have more in common with baboons than actual canines. Cynocephali culture is rudimentary and centered around family life. Each cynocephalus cares deeply about his kin, but fights over resources and dominance are common. Such clashes rarely result in fatalities. A cynocephali clan may consider an entire island chain to be their territory, each island ruled by a troop within the clan. Most cynocephali are violent brutes, and most of their interaction with other peoples is through armed conflict. However, non-evil cynocephali do exist, mostly arising from individuals who have left their clan for one reason or another. On rare occasions, they may even become good, using their immense strength and fearsome demeanor to help others instead of hurt them.

Cynocephali are omnivorous, feeding on fruits, nuts and animal flesh. They culturally enjoy the meat of other sapient creatures, and many clans hold beliefs that eating parts of their enemies will give them strength and cunning. They season their meat with wild spices growing in their territory such as cinnamon and camphor, and the cunning giants use rumors of such valuable spices as bait to attract more victims.

A cynocephalus stands about eight feet tall and weighs four hundred pounds. They rarely wear armor, although this has more to do with their preferred climate than their technological advancement.

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Cuca

Image © J. Prenhacca Juneru, accessed at their ArtStation here

[One of the things I’m planning on doing with the World Tour theme is to have one hag per continent. The monster witch is a very common archetype, after all. This example is from Brazil, with a very convoluted pedigree. “Coco”, “cuca”, “cucuy”, etc, are all common names for bogeymen in Spanish and Portuguese. Tying the name cuca to an alligator-like hag was specifically the invention of Monteiro Lobato, an author who wrote a series of children’s books, Sitio do Picapau Amarelo. The cuca was an antagonist in only one of those books, but when they were adapted into TV, Cuca was promoted to a recurring antagonist, and the link between Cuca and Alligator was solidified. Also, she looks like this in the TV show:

The TV version of Cuca is something of a camp icon in Brazil, I’m led to believe.

Since Cuca is usually depicted at a cauldron or with potions, I decided to give my version alchemist abilities.]

Cuca CR 8 CE Monstrous Humanoid This creature is a humanoid alligator a head taller than a human, with luxurious hair. She clutches a wooden cane.

A cuca, or alligator hag, is a powerful creature of swamps and caves. They are universally malicious and have a taste for children, so are often used as bogeys and threats. A cuca is said to sleep only once every seven years, and so they have plenty of time to plot against the world of men and make their foul brews. Cucas are gifted alchemists, and often have plenty of poisons, potions and alchemical weapons on hand.

Cucas often travel abroad in disguise, using illusions to appear as a humanoid. They typically take a few rounds to prepare themselves with spells and extracts before they launch an attack, but most cucas have a short temper and can be goaded into foregoing such strategy. Cucas are gluttonous, and if they have an opportunity to snap up a Small opponent, will do so and swallow them whole. A cuca knows the advantage of a tactical retreat, but may lose themselves in the heat of battle.

Cucas live in flooded caverns, areas of swamp sectioned off by tall trees, and other such lairs. They require a dry place to set up their alchemical equipment, but typically sleep partially submerged. Their dwellings are often guarded by crocodiles and venomous snakes. A cuca is a consummate bully—she is cruel to her underlings and sycophantic to anyone obviously more powerful than her. A cuca is just as likely to cooperate with cruel fey as they are with other hags, and some actively avoid covens. A coven with at least one cuca member has access to the following spell-like abilities: animal shapes, greater magic fang.

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