D&D 5E Saturday Creature Factory: The Living Godflesh of Umbras

After a hiatus it is back! Saturday Creature Factory returns. This time with a 5E edition of something I used in a published module...

Living Godflesh of Umbras

CR 6 (2,300 XP)

CN Large Monstrosity (though some would call it an aberration)

Initiative +2

DEFENSE

AC 12

HP 152 (15D10+70)

Resistance: psychic, cold, acid and radiant

Immunity: necrotic, poison, disease, prone condition (unless in risen form), frightened

Vulnerable: fire 

OFFENSE

Speed 10 feet

Multiattack special, see below.

Melee Attack – Sucking Maws +7 attack (melee, each target adjacent to or occupying the same area as the living godflesh), 1D6+4 bludgeoning/crushing damage to each target.

Melee Attack  - Flesh Absorbption +7 attack (melee, target must be occupying same area as living godflesh), 4D6 acid damage and living godflesh gains damage dealt in additional hit points. If a target is reduced to zero hit points the living godflesh gains one divine spark. When it gains 10 divine sparks the living godflesh gains 18 intelligence, 18 wisdom and polymorphs into a medium humanoid form for one day.

Statistics

STR 18 (+4), DEX 14 (+2), CON 18 (+4), INT 6 (-2), WIS 10 (0), CHA 10 (0)

Languages: none (but in risen godflesh form it gains common and either abyssal or primordial)

Senses: Superior Darkvision, tremorsense

TRAITS

Absorbing Mass: when the living godflesh moves into an area occupied by another creature, the target must make a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be grabbed by the living godflesh. It subsequently gains advantage on all attacks against that target and may initiate the flesh absorption attack.

Stories tell of a shadow god called Umbras who was slain by rival demiurges that took his place. The story says he was trapped in a planar gate that simultaneously opened…and then closed…on ten thousand locations, each one severing a piece of flesh from Umbras. The living godflesh might be the remains of this deity, now trapped in infinite planes of existence trying to pull itself together.

The living godflesh seeks to attain 10 divine sparks, which allows it to attain a moment’s clarity of mind for a day, and seek out a way to find other pieces like itself. Unfortunately each piece of godflesh is a dim shadow of the being it once was, with no magic ability to manifest in other planes and reassemble it’s lost form.

D&D 5E Saturday Creature Factory: Giant Sea Scorpion

Meet a primevil monster of the deep that occasionally likes to wade on land and snap up entire caravans in its claws....

Giant Sea Scorpion (Megalo-Eurypterid)

CR 13 (10,000 XP)

CE huge monstrosity

Initiative +1

DEFENSE

AC 18 (natural armor plates)

HP 250 (20D12+120)

Resistance: all non-magical or non-adamantine piercing, bludgeoning and slashing weapons.

Immunity: mind-affecting, charming or illusion magic have no effect on the creature (animal intelligence)

OFFENSE

Speed 30 feet on land, 60 feet in water (swimming)

Multiattack the sea scorpion may make two claw attacks and one tail stinger attack per round as an attack action.

Melee Attack – claws +11 attack (reach 15 ft; one target of huge or smaller size), 4D10+7 damage each and target is grabbed (DC 21 to escape!) on any round in which the target is already grabbed on the giant sea scorpion’s turn it deals automatic damage plus 4D10+7 additional damage to target.

Melee Attack – giant stinger +11 attack (reach 20 ft; one target), 4D12+7 damage and target must make a DC 20 save vs. Constitution or take an additional 4D12 poison damage.

Statistics

STR 24 (+7), DEX 12 (+1), CON 22 (+6), INT 1 (-5), WIS 7 (-2), CHA 6 (-2)

Languages: none

Senses: tremorsense 120’, Perception +2 (Passive 12)

TRAITS

Swimming: the giant sea scorpion is an agile swimmer and can move 60 feet per round in the water.

Muddy Camouflage: the giant sea scorpion with time can burrow into soft muddy earth along shorelines and remain very still. Atempts to detect the giant sea scorpion when it is disguised as such are Wisdom (perception) checks vs. DC 15, with disadvantage unless the prey is familiar with the terrain.

Limited Area of Attack: the giant sea scorpion can only strike targets in front of and to its sides. If a target can remain behind the creature it can remain out of its threatened area. The giant sea scorpion has to spend 15 feet of movement turning 90 degree in one direction on land (but not in the sea) as it is so large and bulky. As such, it must spend a full 30 feet of movement to turn around and attack targets behind it.

These are the apex predators of a forgotten era of time. The giant sea scorpion isn’t just an immense sea monster, it’s the king of all of the eurypterid class of primeval sea creatures, a relic of the Ordovician era that somehow has grown to be a large or larger than a house.

Despite its name the Sea Scorpion shares more in common with horseshoe crabs. It’s stinger is still deadly and just as likely to spear through a human sized target as it is to inject its painful paralytic poison. Its claws are large enough to sunder a horse. They are rarely found far from the muddy banks and shores of saltwater lakes and seas where they dwell. The giant sea scorpion is not an intelligent creature, and efforts to use it as a “watchdog” by mad wizards have usually proven disastrous.

The giant sea scorpion is otherwise a creature of instinct. It will glide effortlessly underwater looking for whatever prey happens in front of it. On land it will wallow on to shore and then conceal itself in muddy holes while laying ambush for any large prey that passes by.

13th Age: The Eladrin Knight of Thorns

Here's a foe I worked out for a recent 13th Age game that I'd like to get back to soon...

Eladrin Knights of Corrigan, part of the Order of Briar and Thorn (also called the Knights of the Thorn Crown), arrive in Octzel to sew discord and pave the way for the arrival of the Witch Queen. An ancient cult, the eladrin who serve the Unseelie Queen are loyal to a fault, and view the mortals of the prime material realm....including even elves who dwell there instead of the Fey Realm of the Weirding....as inferior beings little better than discardable play toys. 

Eladrin Knight of Thorns

Gracile, inhuman beauty that seems to fade in and out of reality.

7th level archer [humanoid]

Initiative: +12

Mithril Shortsword of Burning Light +12 vs. AC (one nearby enemy) —22 damage

Miss: 8 damage.

R: Elfshot barbed arrows +12 vs. AC (one nearby or far away enemy)—20 damage, and target is hit by secondary attack: +10 vs. MD or target falls unconscious (16+ to end, or end sif target takes 10 damage; if the target fails 4 saves in a row he goes into stasis – see special).

Natural even hit: As a free action, the eladrin can make a second barbed arrows attack against a different enemy with a –2 attack penalty. If it gets another natural even hit, it can make a third (and final) barbed arrows attack against a different enemy with a –4 attack penalty as a free action.

Feystep: If unengaged, when the eladrin attacks and rolls a natural even miss, it can step into a the feywild that turn as a move action. While in the fey realm, it can’t be seen or targeted with attacks, and it reappears anywhere nearby at the start of its next turn.

Parkour Master: A knight of thorns can climb on ceilings and walls as easily as he moves on the ground thanks to his mastery of animating vines and plants.

Invisibility: The knight of thorns can pop free and turn invisible once on Escalation Die 2+ and once again on 5+.

AC          23

PD          21           HP 100

MD        17

D&D 5E: Saturday Creature Factory: The corvus archos (Raven Lord)

The dire reach of the corvus archos is one which any adventurer may fear, even an avian hero of the sky…..

Corvus Archos (Raven Lord)

CR 7 (2,900 XP)

CN medium monstrosity (shadow)

Initiative +5

DEFENSE

AC 17 (leather +1)

HP 104 (16D8+32)

Resistance: necrotic

OFFENSE

Speed 35 feet

Multiattack the corvus archos attacks twice with its longbow or twice with its jagged blades.

Ranged Attack-longbow +9 attack (range 150/600.; one target): Hit: 1D8+6 damage piercing plus 3D6 poison damage from the black barbed arrows.

Melee Attack-jagged blades +9 attack (reach 5 ft; one target); Hit: 1D6+6 damage slashing plus target must make a DC 13 save vs. CON or target suffers 1D10 additional bleeding damage per round (requires a heal check DC 13 to stop). The bleed effect is cumulative. The blades appear to emerge from the arms and hands of the corvus archos and cannot be removed for use by others, though some say they can be used to forge magic daggers.

Statistics

STR 11 (0), DEX 20 (+5), CON 14 (+2), INT 16 (+3), WIS 14 (+2), CHA 11 (0)

Languages: common, ibixian

Senses: darkvision 120 feet, blindsight 60 feet, Perception+5 (Passive 15)

Skills: +8 Stealth, +3 Deception, +8 Sleight of Hand

TRAITS

Magic Resistance: the Corvus Archos gains advantage on saves against magic.

Keen Sight: corvus archos gain advantage when attempting to spot targets using shadow for stealth.

Swarm of Crows (recharge 5-6): The corvus archos can summon a swarm of ravens, crows and other large black birds which engulf a region 20 feet in diameter at a location within sight of the corvus archos. Each round he may move the swarm up to 60 feet. Any creature which begins its round in the swarm must move as if in difficult terrain, and must also make a DC 16 Dexterity save or take 3D6 piercing damage from the slashing claws and beaks of the swarm. Additionally, at the start of a caster's round who begins in the cloud, he must make a save vs. INT (DC 16) for any concentration spell in effect, and again for any spell he attempts to cast while in the radius of the Swarm of Crows. This is a concentration effect from the corvus archos, and if something that would disrupt concentration does so, the swarm dissipates into shadow and smoke at the end of the round in which the disruption takes effect.

Raven’s Disciple: The corvus archos can see through the eyes of any raven, crow, blackbird or rook within 10 miles of his position, as if he were in the eyes of the bird. He can speak with such birds with clarity and understanding when they are present and he can even whisper a message of one sentence or ten words and direct such a beast to relay the message to an intended target (which it must fly to for delivery).

Shadowflight: the corvus archos can cast fly as an at-will effect, manifesting shadow wings when he does so.

Shadowwalk: The corvus archos can as a bonus action teleport via shadow to another location within 60 feet. He may do this three times per short rest (encounter).

The corvus archos, sometimes also known as the raven lord or the crow lord, is an enigmatic denizen of the shadowfell who occasionally makes his way to the darker corners of the mortal realm to sew havoc. He is a tall, gaunt figure shrouded in darkness and usually wearing a cloak with ravenlike features or elements, who can extrude dagger-like blades from his forearms and hands and has a distinct prowess in the longbow.

Some have suspected a connection to other denizens of the plane of shadow such as dark creepers but none can say for sure. There is one theory that the native plane-dwellers of the shadow who worship Morrigan, the Raven Queen, manifest as the corvus archos when their priestly devotion reaches a certain point, but it has been remarked that precious few ever seem to exhibit any dedication or reverence for the dark goddess. Some believe the crovus archos is what happens to a shadar-kai who has lived too long and lost his ability to suffer, causing him to transform into an entity which must of necessity seek the suffering of others.

It is known that they can be bartered with, and while they tend to remain loners, on occasion packs of the beings have been encountered, especially in the shadowfell. A famous incident in Gloomwrought recalled by a dark dwarf of that town told of the day baron Vasghras took over; a horde of corvus archos descended on the town and slaughtered all who opposed the baron in his bid for control. Afterward, one particularly notorious corvus archos called Ember Eyes was seen taking a princely payment from the mayor.

Corvus archos can manifest a flock of crows and ravens out of shadow as part of their ability, and they delight in harrying foes at a distance with this trait while using lesser minions to close in on their targets. They strongly favor their barbed arrows, which are always laden with poison.

For reasons entirely unknown the corvus archos takes special delight in hunting the avian humanoids of the mortal plane, especially the tengu, and aarakocra.

Corvus archos are armed with +1 longbows and wear +1 magic leather armor. Their arm blades are magical, but are fused with bone and flesh along their arms, as if they wear flesh-grafted cestii and daggers; they can “flex” to retract and extract the blades as if drawing a weapon.

D&D 5E Saturday Creature Factory: Animate Collectors

Animate Collector                    

Medium construct, Lawful Neutral

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)       

Hit Points 22 (3D8+9)        

Speed 30 ft

STR 13 (+1); DEX 12 (+1); CON 16 (+3); INT 16 (+3); WIS 10 (+0); CH 6 (-2)          

Damage Resistances fire

Damage Immunity poison, disease

Senses dark vision 60 ft., passive perception 10

Languages Espanean, Old Mythric, Logos, Tradespeak

Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)

Living Construct. The animate collector is a living construct, and does not need to eat, breathe or sleep, though an animate with spell casting ability will need to meditate. Animates are immune to poison. Living contructs do have an animating spirit, however, and intelligence. As such they are not resistant to mind altering effects,

Lightning Slowness. Animates are reduced to half moving speed for one round when struck by lightning, and in that round they cannot take bonus actions or reactions.

Elemental Imbuement (fire): animates may imbue themselves with resistance to one elemental type. The sample worker drone is imbued with fire.

Actions

Fist melee weapon attack; +3 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target, hit 3 (1D4+1) bludgeoning damage

Shortsword melee weapon attack; +3 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target, hit 5 (1D6+1) slashing damage

Fire Spray ranged area attack; +3 to hit, reach 15 ft, three targets in cone range, hit 9 (2D8) fire damage, reflex save DC 13 for half.

Reactions

Armor Up. Animate collectors can “seal” their armor in reaction to an attack that they are aware of. The target gains disadvantage on the attack. This attack can be performed against any incoming strike the animate is aware of until the animate actually takes damage, at which time it is no longer able to effectively armor up until it repairs itself.

   Animate collectors are the most human looking of the sentient golems, usually appearing as lavishly decorated humanoids with etched skin made of bronze, gold, wood and ceramic plates. Their bodies are composed of a curious mixture of clay, plastic-like substances, woolen material and these black strands of an unknown carbon-like substance that radiates elemental heat.

   Collectors really don’t like to fight, although they are equipped for it if necessary. Their primary function is to observe, record, and learn about the many cultures of Chirak, and if forced to confrontation the animate will seek only to defend and avoid hurting others. Not all animates are like this, however. Some rogue collectors, or animates from the Black Dome seem to look down on organic biological beings as less than worthy, and show an utter disdain for the lives of others. Such collectors are often found in league with the Arcanists, seeking out lost and forbidden secrets for exploitation.

   In other worlds collectors would rise from any relic civilization where sentient golems or constructs were created. For example in Pergerron collectors may have existed in the era of the Saric Empire and, like Gear Maidens, may have served their elven creators, and now wait to be found and reactivated in the rubble of old cities. Some may be active now in enlightened corners of the world like Phantomax. 

   Rules for playing animates as a character race option are here.