Talk:Bestiary

For future MMM and monster template stuff:

• consider collapsing the current "clades" of monsters into just a few distinct varieties, and within one collapsed clade, we add special abilities that only show up if the monster is of a high enough CR (we could even have certain special abilities disappear if they are too high a CR). While this may seem like more work, it would mean we are effectively building more monsters each time we build a monster. Furthermore, this would let us broaden up the range in which a monster could appear.
• If we did this, I would suggest we add two fields: Min-CR and Max-CR that would let us manually set where they appear. Having a min/max we manually set would also let us reserve certain monsters to ONLY show up in one or just a few CR's.
• This would be in addition to setting aside certain abilities that only show up if the monster is assigned a particular Role.
• The more I think about it, the more I think we should ask Ben to make the MMM allow us to 'lock' certain monsters to certain roles. For example, dragons should always have a role, though it doesn't necessarily have to be a threat or villain. As I've said previously, a green dragon as a killer, or even shooter, doesn't seem like a terrible fit to me. Black dragons as killers also make a certain amount of sense. Allowing red dragons to be either threats or villains also makes sense to me (with the villain version being the one where you have to wipe out their cult).

• We could maybe achieve this by making "no role" into a kind of Role, and having fields for which roles are allowed for a given monster. Within the UI, the 'allowed roles' would be selectable, and the non-allowed roles would be greyed out.

Yanuleth
Hemogoblin

duergar should cast darkness and/or silence, thematically, across all variants in the clade

high level caster-type monsters should have a crappy (weak) debuff ability to allow them to un-debuff their allies if they need to.

Water elementals - sneak role
Fire elem - killer
Earth - tank
Air - shooter

Copyrighted Monsters

Everything in the 3.5 Monster Manual is open content, except the following:

• Beholder (and gauth)
• Carrion Crawler
• Displacer Beast
• Umber Hulk
• Githyanki
• Githzerai
• Slaad (all types)
• Mind Flayer
• Kuo-Toa
• Yuan-ti (all types)

New Subtypes

Addressing the 'Legendary Monster' thing: Can we add a new subtype 'Monstrosity' which is applied to all high level (epic?) animals, magical beasts, vermin, and swarms? This cleanly separates them, can have fluff text about how they arise, give them a base 'goodie'.

plan b here: monstrosity indicates an exceptional example of a relatively 'normal' thing, so mainly applies to animals and beasts. they tend to be bigger and have roles, plus get a 'goodie' like resistances against things beyond their reach, or something.

And while we're at it, a sub-type 'Prodigy' for constructs, fey, humanoids, monstrous humanoids, and proteans?

i've been putting prodigy on sentient constructs, so far. maybe attach a Will save bonus?  Immunity to Psychic and fear effects?

(RD) We should talk about which types and subtypes, if any, should have automatic template features, and what those should be (e.g. fire subtype has some automatic resistance to fire, etc.).

descriptive subtypes: i've been using disease, maybe we should put in poison, drain, and swallow? maybe grappler? incorporeal?  just to give something to search against?

Add more Remorhazes

• Glacial
• Wintry
• Piercing
• Bitter
• Chilled
• Arctic
• Frosted
• Bleak
• Severe
• Blasting
• Siberian
• Stinging

add grubs as henchmen for worms, behirs, remorhaz's and possibly treants

More Undead Names

• Cursed Wanderer
• Night Terror
• Death Shroud
• Bone Lord
• Reaper
• Cairn Revenant
• Phantasm
• Night Haunt
• Phantom Drifter
• Spectral Apparition
• Moribund Pall

Formians

Thought: Give upper formians ability to dominate vermin, but keep them tiny. Suddenly this HUGE devastation vermin is acting like it has a brain...because its being driven around as a pet by a formian. suddenly this clade has serious firepower!

Chitterlings - fold this idea into the formians?

• moar BUGS!
• chitterlings: garrulous, horrid, grating, detestable, invidious, abhorrent, piercer, splitter, rupturer
• chitterlings are insect and vermin, but are immune to formian control and eat them. think ant-eater pillbugs. they'll have to be pretty beefy!

Fuernoch

• because it's just a cool word
• fire-associated things from the First World

Bahairim

• ba - HAI - rim
• something between a construct, an aberration, and a devil (but not really any of these), akin to the cenobites from Hellraiser. Adherents of the Duergar Book of Silence (and the book of whispers), and "allies" to the Duergar.

here's a thought: how about daemons? the old nycadaemons, mezzodaemons, arcanadaemons, etc?  neutral evil, not demon or devil but sort of a mix?

I'm tentatively okay with the idea of daemons as long as they actually add something to our story/cosmology.  If they're just a hybrid of demons and devils with no better basis than that, I'd rather skip them.  Regarding the type for the bahairim, let's just stick with aberrations. You can never have too many aberrations, and they can be as weird and varied as we want.

Snakes

unscramble low-level snakes and acculturate all into a smooth-ish curve

add new snakes: deadly poison, hoop, spring, sidewinder, rasping,

Frogs and Toads

unscramble and add

toads: clammy, horned, massive, gulper, caustic, warty, plague, deadly

frogs: jewel, gleaming, tree, rain, poison, hunting, riding

Curs and Hounds

get rid of all dogs, replace with curs (low level), and hounds (epic+).

Current hounds:

• Yeth Hound 7
• Howling Hound 8
• Baying Hound 14
• Timbre Hound 19
• Thorn Hound 22
• Spike Hound 25
• Quill Hound 28
• Spine Hound 31

Update to:

• Feral Cur
• Mangy Cur
• Infested Cur
• Rapacious Cur
• Stalking Cur (sneak)
• Insolent Cur
• Truculent Cur (heavy)

Cur Packs:

Hound Packs:

Wolf Packs:

NOTES:

• Souterraine = Ropers
• add Solarians, all as Proteans
• add Sombre Crool, Umbral Crool and Verdant Crool, all as Humanoids
• add Dracoliches

• Zombie, Putrid, Corrupted, Void, Starlight, Starburned, Salt, Cavernous, Twitching, Darkened, Leaping, Frostburned, Wretched, Vile, Tenebrous, Drowned, Sodden, Zombie types
• Troll, Cave Troll, Mountain Troll, Stone Troll, Star-Blinded Troll, Giant troll, Jagged Troll, Swamp Troll,
• Ogre Mountain Ogre
• Giant Beast Giant

Dragon Notes

• All dragons have fear auras (Terrible Majesty, Will saves), see drakes for prototype (must playtest drakes!)
• All dragons have a sonic PBAOE attack (Terrible Roar, Fort saves) with a large aoe.
• All dragons have breath weapons (Reflex saves) that have an immediate effect and change terrain (except Blacks, which use illusion/conjuration).
• All dragons can do claw/claw/bite/wing/wing/tail on full melee.

• Claw/claw/bite = standard attack routine
• Wing/Wing/Tail = Standard attack routine against an area of effect (2x2 adjacent squares up to 4x4 AOE)

• White Dragons - (betrayal) cold cone, creates (and ignores) rough terrain (ice), Melee attacks do forced movement only on rough terrain, chance to slow and even freeze-solid those in blast (torpid - entangled - petrified), rez effect is white out blizzard
• Black Dragons - (deception) negative energy cone. Use illusions, conjuration (create pit, spiked pit, etc), confusion and compulsion, rez effect is Swarm of Darkness
• Green Dragons - (corrosion) acid cone, provides lingering concealment as fog cloud, dragon ignores it, stealth and regen within cloud, sneak attack damage, realllly long tail (tail attack is ranged attack) rez effect is gas blowout
• Blue Dragons - (storm) lightning line, creates a 'wall of static' which does damage if you walk through it, teleport (ride the lightning) with pbaoe thunderclaps (sonic) at destination, rez effect is tornado
• Red Dragons - (destruction) fire cone, sets area on fire and lays down a wall of fire with each breath, PBAOE melee, regular melee deals extra fire damage, claws and bite do siege damage and free sunders. Rez effect is volcanic eruption

Mid level bad guys

• Stone Giant Mapper CR13 Weaker, younger, out looking for treasure
• Stone Giant CR14 Solid citizen
• Stone Giant Herder CR15 Animates stones and makes caves
• Stone Giant Warrior CR17 TOUGH FIGHTER
• Stone Giant Defender CR18 Very tough, defensive attacks and counterattacks
• Stone Giant Sorceror CR19 Ranged debuff/damage
• Stone Giant Ordinate CR20 Best fighter, also buffer

• Forest Giant Gatherer CR14 Weaker, younger, out looking for food/money
• Forest Giant CR15 Solid citizen
• Forest Giant Raider CR16 Fast sneaky scout, ranged attacks
• Forest Giant Savage CR18 Fast, strong fighter
• Forest Giant Artisan CR19 Ranged attacks with debuffs, throws nets and stick-traps
• Forest Giant Tree Tamer CR20 Animates trees as pets
• Forest Giant Matriarch CR21 Strongest debuffer and buffer/healer

Issue challenges

• Frost Giant Scout CR15 Sneaky, looking for victims/plunder
• Frost Giant CR16 Solid citizen
• Frost Giant Reaver CR17 Fast, high damage melee attacker
• Frost Giant Berserker CR19 Fast, very tough, melee attacker/tank
• Frost Giant Scald CR20 Ranged buffer/debuffer(bard)
• Frost Giant Glacierborn CR21 Animates ice (as pets)
• Frost Giant Despot CR22 Best fighter, best buffer.

Issue challenges

• Fire Giant Picker CR17 Out looking for coal and metal
• Fire Giant CR18 Solid citizen
• Fire Giant Soldier CR19 Tough fighter, melee and ranged
• Fire Giant Champion CR21 Really tough, high damage
• Fire Giant Firebringer CR22 Animates fires as pets
• Fire Giant Vulcanist CR23 Throws lava, fire aura, tough fighter
• Fire Giant Thane CR24 Best fighter, best debuffer

Issue Smites

• Cloud Giant Scudder CR19 Younger, weaker, random wanderer
• Cloud Giant CR20 Misty citizen
• Cloud Giant Tornado CR21 Very fast, high damage, aura
• Cloud Giant Thunderhead CR23 Throws lightning, peals of thunder
• Cloud Giant Lightstruck CR24 Aura of lightning, good melee
• Cloud Giant Aerialist CR25 VERY fast, good damage, forced movement
• Cloud Giant Parhelion CR26 Insubstantial, does light damage, best melee and buffer

Issue Smites

• Storm Giant Squall CR21 Younger, weaker, random wanderer
• Storm Giant CR22 Misty citizen
• Storm Giant Hurricane CR23 proning aura, windwall, melee attacks have aoe wind, lots of pushes
• Storm Giant Wracker CR25 Strong melee, creates floods(aura), causes avalanches
• Storm Giant Destroyer CR26 Ranged AOE blasts of wind, very high damage, does siege damage
• Storm Giant Stormcaller CR27 Has storms as pets
• Storm Giant Kahn CR28 Most powerful, huge melee and ranged attacks

Issue Judgments

• Death Giant Precursor CR24 Goes around trying to find dying people
• Death Giant CR25 Solid citizen
• Death Giant Measurer CR26 Cuts lives to 'proper length'. Very strong melee
• Death Giant Quieter CR28 Drainer/debuffer, strong ranged attacks(needles of darkness)
• Death Giant Peacegiver CR29 AOE drainer/debuffer, strong melee
• Death Giant Gravedigger CR30 Attacks from underground, entombs, very strong melee
• Death Giant Noble CR31 Strong ranged and melee

Issue Judgments

• Fomaorian CR27 The worst of the worst
• Fomaorian Slaver CR28 Ranged debuffs/captures, subdual damage
• Fomaorian Skindancer CR29 Stealth, disguise, sneak attacks. Ridiculously sneaky for their size. Shapeshifter
• Fomaorian Whisperer CR31 Invisible, ranged debuffs, backstabs, flanks, buffs allies
• Fomaorian Jailer CR32 Very tough, forced movement (pulls), high damage, lots of subdual
• Fomaorian Headsman CR34 massive melee with beheading axe. massive
• Fomaorian Sightless CR35 The Boss.

High level bad guys:

• Helleskrieg Worldshadow 38
• Helleskrieg Superior Worldshadow 39
• Helleskrieg True Worldshadow 40
• Helleskrieg Majestic Worldshadow 41

• Helleskrieg Lord 39
• Helleskrieg Superior Lord 40
• Helleskrieg True Lord 41
• Helleskrieg Majestic Lord 42

• Helleskrieg Tyrant 40
• Helleskrieg Tyrant Dominus 41
• Helleskrieg Tyrant Imperious 42
• Helleskrieg Tyrant Ceasarius 43

Demons

Special Defenses: DR 5/cold iron or good, ER 10/acid, ER 10/cold, ER 10/fire, ER 10/negative energy

Immunities: electricity, poison

Deal Fire + Negative energy damage

Summon SPAWN other demons

attacks never harm other demons

Demonic Possession: Sp, make Will save. If fail, remove Demon from play and the character is Possessed. While Possessed, the player is Confused. IE, the player becomes a chaotic attacker, targeting friend and foe, and the Demon is off the field of play and cannot be harmed until the possession ends. There are various ways to remove Possesion, but one of the 'basic' ways to do it is the application of any Positive Energy healing to the victim. In such case, the healing effect of the positive energy is negated, and instead the Demon is forced out. The Demon's body will reappear on the battlefield within thirty feet of the space of the possessed character. If there is no safe space within thirty feet, it will appear in the closest open space that can safely contain it, which may be off the battlefield completely. The referee gets to choose where the demon will reappear, and it is almost always going to be in a remarkably inconvenient place.

Devils

Special Defenses: DR 5/silver or good, ER 10/acid, ER 10/cold, ER 10/electricity, ER 10/negative energy

Immunities: fire, poison, disease

deal Fire damage that does extra to Good aligned creatures

Teleport as move

aura that either improves devil offense/defense or reduces enemy offense/defense

attacks never harm other devils

• The Vig: Devils have to pay tithes to their entire management chain — a big ponzi scheme that keeps the strongest even stronger. Tithes can be paid in the form of souls (the best currency), but also blood (preferrably "of the innocent"), mana, or treasure.

Devilish Impulses: Sp, character makes a Will save. If failed, the Devil may make the player character take a full round of actions, up to and including expending an action point, and the referee gets to chose the targets of those actions. On its own initiative tick, the Devil may then take its own actions as normal. On the player character's initiative, they may then take their own full round of actions. Yes, this will use up a player characters spells, potions, etc, and if on their turn those resources are gone, they must choose a different action.

There are various ways to remove Devilish Impulses, but one of the 'basic' ways to do it is the application of any Positive Energy healing to the victim. In such case, the healing effect of the positive energy is negated, and instead the Devil's compulsion on the afflicted victim is ended. Note that often the effects of Devilish Impulses can be quite subtle, such as the player "forgetting" to use Selective Spell on a fireball, etc.

Devilish Impulses can be used out of combat, often to devastating results for an afflicted community.

Undead

• Ghosts, incorporeal, do psychic damage and have a fear aura

"Intolerable, Heinous, Freakish, Hideous, Horrible, Obscene, Vicious Ghost"

• Apparition
• Phantom
• Poltergeist
• Revenant
• Death Omen
• Death Echo

Feed on fear and death

• Shadows, incorporeal, do Str drain and negative energy damage

"Onyx, Sable, Ebon, Murky, Stygian, Starless, Void Walker"

Feed on light and death

• Spectres, incorporeal, lay fear statuses on each attack, does negative AND cold damage

"Chill, Frigid, Icy, Numbed, Gelid, Polar, Heimal Spectre"

Feed on warmth and death

• Atropals

• Atropal Annihilator 31 Add physical damage to claws, bite, azoic aura

  Atropal Enervator 32 Mass Harm

  Atropal Ravenous 33 Add pull to aura

  Atropal Malcontent 34 Teleport movement

  Atropal Drifter 35 LOTS of Stealth skill, able to use teleport with stealth

  Atropal Stygian 36 Miss Chance added to Aura

  Atropal Dominator 38 Add Dominate Person to Baleful Glare

  Atropal Mentor 40 All the above

treants

higher level treants should have henchmen, like the pets of giants, such as flocks of birds that keep watch for them, swarms of vermin that defend them, squirrels that act as sneaks and scouts, etc

aboleths

• burbling mucus
• bile froth
• spittle spume