Why, that's an Abolderithicus!

The final comments are in from last week's "Weekly What the Heck". The result is the abolderithicus, a giant mutant aboleth that has eaten a beholder by phagocytosis, but the beholder fused with it.

I'd like to thank Ripper and Jeff (with special thanks to Ripper for the name) for their ideas, all of which have been mashed together to create:

Abolderithicus

An abolderithicus is a weird starfish-shaped cross between an aboleth and a beholder. It sprays poisonous, flammable mucus at its enemies or grabs them with its tentacles and dessicates them. Its eyes are usually used to daze people, and hold them immobile in their tracks to be prone to its mucus attacks. If royally ticked, the abolderithicus uses its fiery eye rays to ignite its mucus.

Level 18 Minion

Abolderithicus Staryu

XP 500

Medium aberrant magical beast (aquatic)

Initiative +12 Senses Perception +16; darkvision
HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.
AC 32; Fortitude 30, Reflex 30, Will 31
Speed 4, swim 8

mHydro Pump (standard; at-will)

+23 vs. AC; 8 damage.

CWater Gun (standard; at-will) * Zone

Close blast 3; targets enemies; +19 vs. Reflex; 4 damage, and the target is immobilized (save ends). The zone is filled with mucus and enemies treat the area as difficult terrain until the end of the encounter (also see mucus ignition).

Surf (move; at-will)

The abolderithicus can shift any number of squares as long as all of the squares it passes through are currently mucus zones.

Alignment Evil Languages Deep Speech
Skills Athletics +20 (+30 when jumping)
Str 22 (+15) Dex 17 (+12) Wis 25 (+16)
Con 22 (+15) Int 22 (+15) Cha 25 (+16)

Abolderithicus Staryu Tactics

Abolderithicus staryus uses water gun as often as possible to give themselves and their fellow abolderithici as much area to surf on as possible.

Level 15 Controller

Abolderithicus Starme

XP 1,200

Large aberrant magical beast (aquatic)

Initiative +10 Senses Perception +13; darkvision
HP 148; Bloodied 74
AC 29; Fortitude 27, Reflex 27, Will 28
Speed 4, swim 8

mHydro Pump (standard; at-will)

+20 vs. AC; 1d10 + 5 damage, and the abolderithicus regains 5 hit points.

RDazing Gaze (minor; at-will)

Ranged 20; +19 vs. Will; the target is dazed until the end of the abolderithicus' next turn.

CWater Gun (standard; at-will) * Zone

Close blast 3; targets enemies; +17 vs. Reflex; 2d8 + 7 damage, and the target is immobilized (save ends). The zone is filled with mucus and enemies treat the area as difficult terrain until the end of the encounter (also see mucus ignition).

CMucus Ignition (free, when first bloodied and again when the abolderithicus is reduced to 0 hit points) * Fire

Close burst 3; targets creatures within any mucus zones; +17 vs. Reflex; the target takes 5 ongoing fire damage (save ends). Any mucus zones in the area burn away and are no longer considered difficult terrain.

AMucus Burst (standard; at-will) * Zone

Area burst 3 within 10; targets enemies; +17 vs. Reflex; 1d8 + 7 damage, and the target is immobilized (save ends). The zone is filled with mucus and enemies treat the area as difficult terrain until the end of the encounter (also see mucus ignition).

Surf (move; at-will)

The abolderithicus can shift any number of squares as long as all of the squares it passes through are currently mucus zones.

Alignment Evil Languages Deep Speech, telepathy 10
Skills Athletics +17 (+22 when jumping)
Str 20 (+12) Dex 16 (+10) Wis 23 (+13)
Con 20 (+12) Int 20 (+12) Cha 23 (+13)

Abolderithicus Starme Tactics

Abolderithicus starmes use water gun and mucus burst as often as possible to give themselves and their fellow abolderithici as much area to surf on as possible.

Level 19 Artillery

Abolderithicus Wistar

XP 2,400

Large aberrant magical beast (aquatic)

Initiative +12 Senses Perception +16; darkvision
HP 142; Bloodied 71
AC 31; Fortitude 31, Reflex 31, Will 32
Speed 4, swim 8

mHydro Pump (standard; at-will) * Weapon

+26 vs. AC; 1d10 + 6 damage, and the abolderithicus regains 5 hit points.

RChaos Cube (standard; recharge 4 5 6)

Ranged sight; up to 3 targets; +24 vs. Fortitude; 3d6 + 7 damage. This damage bypasses all resistances.

RDazing Gaze (minor; at-will)

Ranged 20; +24 vs. Will; the target is dazed until the end of the abolderithicus' next turn.

CWater Gun (standard; at-will) * Zone

Close blast 5; targets enemies; +22 vs. Reflex; 3d6 + 7 damage, and the target is immobilized (save ends). The zone is filled with mucus and enemies treat the area as difficult terrain until the end of the encounter (also see mucus ignition).

CMucus Ignition (free, when first bloodied and again when the abolderithicus is reduced to 0 hit points) * Fire

Close burst 5; targets creatures within any mucus zones; +22 vs. Reflex; the target takes 5 ongoing fire damage (save ends). Any mucus zones in the area burn away and are no longer considered difficult terrain.

AMucus Burst (standard; at-will) * Zone

Area burst 4 within 10; targets enemies; +22 vs. Reflex; 2d6 + 7 damage, and the target is immobilized (save ends). The zone is filled with mucus and enemies treat the area as difficult terrain until the end of the encounter (also see mucus ignition).

Surf (move; at-will)

The abolderithicus can shift any number of squares as long as all of the squares it passes through are currently mucus zones.

Alignment Evil Languages Deep Speech, telepathy 20
Skills Athletics +20 (+30 when jumping)
Str 22 (+15) Dex 17 (+12) Wis 25 (+16)
Con 22 (+15) Int 22 (+15) Cha 25 (+16)

Abolderithicus Wistar Tactics

An abolderithicus wistar prefers to lead from the rear, out of reach of its foes. It uses water gun and mucus burst as often as possible to give itself and its fellow abolderithici as much area to surf on as possible. It uses chaos cube if it cannot reach any enemies with mucus burst.

Abolderithicus Lore

A character knows the following information with a successful Dungeoneering check.
DC 20: Abolderithici blend traits of beholders and aboleth, using eye rays and flammable mucus against their enemies.
DC 25: The oldest and largest abolderithici are spellcasters that can blast enemies at long range with cubes of pure chaos.

Encounter Groups

Abolderithici are served by kuo-toa and servitors just as true aboleths are.
Level 18 Encounter (XP 9,900)
* 1 abolderithicus starme (level 15 controller)
* 5 abolderithicus staryus (level 18 minion)
* 1 aboleth slime mage (level 17 artillery)
* 2 aboleth lashers (level 17 brute)
* 4 kuo-toa guards (level 16 minion)

Level 19 Encounter (XP 12,200)
* 2 abolderithicus wistars (level 19 artillery)
* 4 abolderithicus staryus (level 18 minion)
* 1 aboleth overseer (level 18 controller)
* 4 aboleth servitors (level 16 minion)

As a grumpy old D&D guy, I completely don't get the pokemon and Sega game references, but I'm still pretty pleased with how these things came out. I really like the progression of powers as they get tougher, and the way surf and mucus ignition will be more and more useful as you get more of them in an encounter flinging mucus around.

Weekly What the Heck

Welcome to the twelfth installment of my regular feature here at the Near TPK. With continuing apologies to one of my favorite blogs, the Daily WTF, I present... The Weekly What The Heck.

Each Saturday at 10 AM Central Time I'll post one of Jen's drawings of some kind of whacked-out creature, and ask my readers: "What the heck IS that?"

I hope my readers will approach the challenge in the spirit of "Yes, and ..." - building on previous responses so everyone's ideas can be used in the final writeup. Comments are now closed on last week's entry, and I hope to have the final writeup posted tonight. Comments will be accepted on this week's entry until I post next week's entry.

So... What the heck is that? What should it do? What is up with that thousand yard stare?

Why, that's a Christmas Treant!

The final comments are in from the Christmas Bonus What the Heck (the current Weekly What the Heck is still taking comments for 15 more hours). The result is the christmas treant, a hideous gift-moving (or at least ornament-waving), cat-eating abomination.

I'd like to thank Jeff and greywulf (with special thanks to Jeff for the name) for their ideas, all of which have been mashed together to create:

Christmas Treant

Christmas treants are large leafy beasts that eat any fresh meat, but have a preference for cats and small humanoids. They distract their prey with shiny baubles to lure them into the treant's grasping branches. This of course works exceedingly well on cats.

Level 9 Lurker

Christmas Treant Shrub

XP 400

Medium fey beast (plant)

Initiative +10 Senses Perception +6; low-light vision
HP 78; Bloodied 39
AC 23; Fortitude 22, Reflex 20, Will 20
Vulnerable fire (a christmas treant takes ongoing 5 fire damage [save ends] when damaged by fire).
Speed 2; see also engulf

mBranch Thrash (standard; at-will)

+14 vs. AC; 2d8 + 3 damage.

MEngulf (standard; at-will)

Reach 2; small or smaller target only; +12 vs. Reflex (automatically hits a dazed creature); the target is grabbed and pulled into the treant’s space; the target is dazed and takes ongoing 5 damage until it escapes the grab. A creature that escapes the grab shifts to a square of its choosing adjacent to the treant. The treant can move normally while creatures are engulfed within it.

CDistracting Baubles (minor; at-will) * Charm

Close burst 3; +10 vs. Will; the target is pulled 1 square.

CNarcotic Pollen (standard; recharge 3 4 5 6)

Close blast 3; +10 vs. Fortitude; 1d8 + 4 damage, and the target is dazed (save ends). Miss: Half damage, and the target is not dazed.

Alignment Unaligned Languages -
Skills Stealth +11
Str 16 (+7) Dex 15 (+6) Wis 15 (+6)
Con 18 (+8) Int 2 (+0) Cha 10 (+4)

Christmas Treant Shrub Tactics

A christmas treant uses narcotic pollen as often as possible to daze enemies and distracting baubles as necessary to get them within reach of engulf once they are dazed.

Level 13 Controller

Christmas Treant Bush

XP 800

Large fey beast (plant)

Initiative +10 Senses Perception +10; low-light vision
HP 134; Bloodied 67
AC 27; Fortitude 27, Reflex 25, Will 25
Vulnerable fire (a christmas treant takes ongoing 5 fire damage [save ends] when damaged by fire).
Speed 2; see also engulf

mBranch Thrash (standard; at-will)

+18 vs. AC; 2d8 + 5 damage.

MEngulf (standard; at-will)

Reach 3; medium or smaller target only; +17 vs. Reflex (automatically hits a dazed creature); the target is grabbed and pulled into the treant’s space; the target is dazed and takes ongoing 10 damage until it escapes the grab. A creature that escapes the grab shifts to a square of its choosing adjacent to the treant. The treant can move normally while creatures are engulfed within it.

RNeedle Fling (standard; at-will)

Ranged 5; +18 vs. AC; 1d10 + 4 damage, and the target is dazed (save ends).

CDistracting Baubles (minor; at-will) * Charm

Close burst 5; +15 vs. Will; the target is pulled 1 square.

CNarcotic Pollen (standard; recharge 3 4 5 6)

Close blast 3; +15 vs. Fortitude; 1d10 + 6 damage, and the target is dazed (save ends). Miss: Half damage, and the target is not dazed.

Alignment Unaligned Languages -
Str 20 (+11) Dex 19 (+10) Wis 19 (+10)
Con 22 (+12) Int 2 (+2) Cha 10 (+6)

Christmas Treant Bush Tactics

A christmas treant bush uses the same tactics as the christmas treant shrub with one exception: It uses needle fling to attack targets that are too far away to be affected by its narcotic pollen.

Christmas Treant Lore

A character knows the following information with a successful Nature check.
DC 20: Christmas treants are strange fey plants that distract and daze with their baubles and pollen, then engulf their disoriented prey.

Encounter Groups

Christmas treants are sometimes found in the company of mischievous fey.
Level 12 Encounter (XP 3,500)
* 1 christmas treant bush (level 13 controller)
* 2 christmas treant shrub (level 9 lurker)
* 2 banshrae dartswarmers (level 11 artillery)
* 1 banshrae warrior (level 12 skirmisher)

I don't have a lot to say about this one except that family gatherings happened later than usual this year so I'm glad I got back and got it posted (almost) on time. Also, "move your presents" didn't become a power verbatim, but it did directly inspire the distracting baubles power. Finally, we went out and got a slightly better picture of one of the decorated bushes that inspired the original drawing.

Why, that's a Mer.. Drag... Goblin... Born... Folk?

The final comments are in from last week's "Weekly What the Heck". The result is the merdragoblinborn, the result of ancient unions between fecund goblins and endlessly cross-fertile sea dragons, possibly with some troll mixed in... ew.

I'd like to thank Jeff, jermwar and Donny_the_Dm (with special thanks (I think) to Jeff and jermwar for the names) for their ideas, all of which have been mashed together to create:

Merdragoblinborn

Merdragoblinborn are small aquatic humanoids that come in many shapes and colors. They appear as a grotesque combination of goblin and seahorse. They swim in an ungainly fashion, using their flipper fins to propel themselves through the water much in the way a bat flies through air. However, the leathery flippers are more suggestive of an evolution possibly from ancient sea dragons, eons ago on their mother's side, rather than of any mammalian heritage.

Level 8 Minion

Merdragoblinborn Follower

XP 87

Small natural humanoid (aquatic)

Initiative +9 Senses Perception +7
HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.
AC 22; Fortitude 20, Reflex 22, Will 20
Speed 2, fly 4 (clumsy), swim 6

mBite (standard; at-will)

+13 vs. AC; 6 damage.

Scrag's Resilience * Healing

If the merdragoblinborn follower is reduced to 0 hit points by an attack that does not deal acid or fire damage, it rises on its next turn (as a move action).

Alignment Evil Languages Draconic, Goblin
Skills Endurance +12
Str 17 (+7) Dex 20 (+9) Wis 17 (+7)
Con 17 (+7) Int 14 (+6) Cha 14 (+6)

Merdragoblinborn Follower Tactics

In the presence of a strong leader (an ecclesiastic or schoolmaster), merdragoblinborn followers fight with fanatical zeal. If their leader is killed, merdragoblinborn followers tend to flee.

Level 6 Soldier

Merdragoblinborn Ecclesiastic

XP 250

Small natural humanoid (aquatic)

Initiative +8 Senses Perception +7
HP 73; Bloodied 36
Regeneration 5 (if the merdragoblinborn ecclesiastic takes acid or fire damage, regeneration does not function until the end of its next turn)
AC 22; Fortitude 18, Reflex 18, Will 19
Speed 2, fly 4 (clumsy), swim 6

mMace of Warding (standard; at-will) * Weapon

+13 vs. AC; 1d10 + 3 damage, and the merdragoblinborn ecclesiastic gains a +1 power bonus to AC until the end of its next turn.

MDread Strike (standard; recharge 5 6) * Fear, Weapon

Requires mace; +11 vs. Will; 2d8 + 3 damage, and the target is immobilized.

Fortune of the Fonz (free; encounter)

The merdragoblinborn ecclesiastic can reroll an attack roll. It must use the second roll, even if it’s lower.

Scrag's Resilience * Healing

If the merdragoblinborn ecclesiastic is reduced to 0 hit points by an attack that does not deal acid or fire damage, it rises on its next turn (as a move action) with 5 hit points.

Alignment Evil Languages Draconic, Goblin
Skills Endurance +11
Str 17 (+6) Dex 16 (+6) Wis 19 (+7)
Con 17 (+6) Int 16 (+6) Cha 19 (+7)

Merdragoblinborn Ecclesiastic Tactics

Merdragoblinborn ecclesiastics employ straightforward melee tactics, wading into the fray and making use of dread strike as often as possible. They use fortune of the Fonz on the first dread strike to miss. Merdragoblinborn ecclesiastics coordinate well with others of their kind, flanking enemies and concentrating their attacks on any opponents utilizing acid or fire.

Level 9 Controller (Leader)

Merdragoblinborn Schoolmaster

XP 400

Small natural humanoid (aquatic)

Initiative +7 Senses Perception +9
Despair (Psychic) aura 3; enemies within the aura take a –2 penalty to attack rolls against any merdragoblinborn.
HP 97; Bloodied 48
Regeneration 5 (if the merdragoblinborn schoolmaster takes acid or fire damage, regeneration does not function until the end of its next turn)
AC 23; Fortitude 21, Reflex 21, Will 23
Speed 2, fly 4 (clumsy), swim 6

mBite (standard; at-will)

+14 vs. AC; 2d6 + 3 damage.

RBlinded by the Cool (standard; at-will) * Cold

Ranged 10; +13 vs. Fortitude; 2d6 + 5 cold damage, and the target is binded (save ends).

RIncite Rage (immediate reaction, when an ally uses scrag's resilience; recharge 4 5 6)

Range 10; the targeted ally can shift 2 squares and make a free basic attack.

Lead the Flock (move; at-will)

Three allied creatures within 10 squares of the merdragoblinborn schoolmaster (and within its line of sight) shift.

Fortune of the Fonz (free; encounter)

The merdragoblinborn schoolmaster or an ally within 10 squares can reroll an attack roll. The target must use the second roll, even if it’s lower.

Scrag's Resilience * Healing

If the merdragoblinborn schoolmaster is reduced to 0 hit points by an attack that does not deal acid or fire damage, it rises on its next turn (as a move action) with 5 hit points.

Alignment Evil Languages Draconic, Goblin
Skills Endurance +12
Str 16 (+7) Dex 16 (+7) Wis 20 (+9)
Con 17 (+7) Int 17 (+7) Cha 20 (+9)

Merdragoblinborn Schoolmaster Tactics

A merdragoblinborn schoolmaster prefers to lead from the rear, out of reach of its foes. It uses blinded by the cool on foes making ranged attacks. When another merdragoblinborn within 10 squares uses scrag's resilience, the merdragoblinborn schoolmaster uses incite rage to allow that merdragoblinborn to make a free attack.

Merdragoblinborn Lore

A character knows the following information with a successful Nature check.
DC 15: Merdragoblinborn are usually scavengers, but have been known to attack in "flocks". Flock of Merdragoblinborn is also the name of a bardic group with a signature hairstyle which is semi-popular with adolescent halflings.
DC 20: Merdragoblinborn are led by clerics of a strange god. The rank and file follow these leaders fanatically.

Encounter Groups

Merdragoblinborn are almost always found in flocks under the leadership of clerics of Fonz.
Level 9 Encounter (XP 2,000)
* 8 merdragoblinborn followers (level 8 minion)
* 2 merdragoblinborn ecclesiastics (level 6 soldier)
* 2 merdragoblinborn schoolmasters (level 9 controller)

Regenerating minions. That's a new one, I think.

Weekly What the Heck

Welcome to the eleventh installment of my regular feature here at the Near TPK. With continuing apologies to one of my favorite blogs, the Daily WTF, I present... The Weekly What The Heck.

Each Saturday at 10 AM Central Time I'll post one of Jen's drawings of some kind of whacked-out creature, and ask my readers: "What the heck IS that?"

I hope my readers will approach the challenge in the spirit of "Yes, and ..." - building on previous responses so everyone's ideas can be used in the final writeup. Comments are now closed on last week's entry, and I hope to have the final writeup posted tonight. Comments will be accepted on this week's entry until I post next week's entry.

So... What the heck is that? What should it do? Are the pointy bits for show or for turning PCs into hamburger?

Christmas Bonus What the Heck

Since I have a long weekend next weekend, and thus more time available to write up the result, I present... The Christmas Bonus What The Heck!

For this special bonus edition of the Weekly What the Heck, Jen has provided us with a Christmas-themed bonus creature drawing. So as per normal I ask everyone: "What the heck IS that?"

I hope my readers will approach the challenge in the spirit of "Yes, and ..." - building on previous responses so everyone's ideas can be used in the final writeup. Comments will still be accepted on last Saturday's entry until tomorrow morning, and there will still be an entry as normal tomorrow. Comments will be accepted on this entry until 10 AM Central Time on December 26th.

So... What the heck is that? What should it do? Would you believe it really exists in my neighborhood?

Why, that's a Ridgeback!

The final comments are in from last week's "Weekly What the Heck". The result is the ridgeback, a peaceful and loving animal that just happens to double as a war machine...

I'd like to thank Reverend Mike and greywulf (with special thanks to Reverend Mike for the name) for their ideas, all of which have been mashed together to create:

Ridgeback

Ridgebacks are massive lizards covered in long spines. Normally peaceful and loving animals, they are often tamed and used as mounts, but not in the traditional fashion (large spines tend to injure the bum). Instead a dual-bucket saddle is employed, where two riders of relatively equal weight hang off to either side of the ridgeback's spines as it moves. As the beast only possesses a single rear leg, the ride is extremely uncomfortable, to say the least. Archers are trained to take into account its curious hopping gait, leading to their arrows taking a strange rise-and-falling motion in flight.

Level 2 Skirmisher

Ridgeback Loper

XP 125

Large natural beast (mount)

Initiative +6 Senses Perception +3
HP 38; Bloodied 19
AC 16; Fortitude 14, Reflex 15, Will 14
Speed 7

mGore (standard; at-will)

+7 vs. AC; 2d6 + 2 damage.

Hopping Gait (while mounted by a friendly rider of 2nd level or higher; at-will) * Mount

The ridgeback grants its rider(s) a +2 bonus to attack rolls on ranged attacks. If, on its turn, the ridgeback ends its move at least 4 squares away from its starting point, it also grants its rider(s) an extra 1d6 damage on ranged attacks until the start of its next turn.

Alignment Unaligned Languages -
Str 14 (+3) Dex 17 (+4) Wis 14 (+3)
Con 14 (+3) Int 2 (-3) Cha 10 (+1)

Ridgeback Loper Tactics

The ridgeback loper tries to remain out of melee and mobile for as long as possible, so its riders can take full advantage of its hopping gait.

Level 6 Brute

Ridgeback War Machine

XP 250

Huge natural beast (mount)

Initiative +5 Senses Perception +5
HP 89; Bloodied 44
AC 18; Fortitude 19, Reflex 17, Will 17
Speed 6

mGore (standard; at-will)

Reach 2; +9 vs. AC; 2d8 + 4 damage.

MTrample (standard; at-will)

The ridgeback war machine can move up to its speed and enter enemies’ spaces. This movement provokes opportunity attacks, the ridgeback war machine must end its move in an unoccupied space, and if a target scores a critical hit on the ridgeback with its opportunity attack the ridgeback must immediately change direction and avoid that target's space. When it enters an enemy’s space, the ridgeback makes a trample attack: +7 vs. Reflex; 1d8 + 4 damage, and the target is knocked prone.

Hopping Gait (while mounted by a friendly rider of 6th level or higher; at-will) * Mount

The ridgeback grants its rider(s) a +2 bonus to attack rolls on ranged attacks.

Alignment Unaligned Languages -
Str 19 (+7) Dex 15 (+5) Wis 14 (+5)
Con 19 (+7) Int 2 (-1) Cha 10 (+3)

Ridgeback War Machine Tactics

A ridgeback war machine runs back and forth across the battlefield, attempting to trample as many foes as possible while still keeping its riders out of melee where they can use ranged attacks.

Ridgeback Lore

A character knows the following information with a successful Nature check.
DC 15: Though fearsome when charging, a ridgeback can sometimes be turned aside by an attack that strikes its sensitive underbelly.

Encounter Groups

Ridgebacks are almost always encountered serving as mounts to archers. A ridgeback loper can carry two medium-sized humanoids in baskets slung over its sides. A ridgeback war machine can easily carry four medium-sized archers.
Level 2 Encounter (XP 625)
* 1 ridgeback loper (level 2 skirmisher)
* 2 elf archers (level 2 artillery)
* 2 elf scouts (level 2 skirmisher)
Level 7 Encounter (XP 1,550)
* 1 ridgeback war machine (level 6 brute)
* 4 gnoll huntmasters (level 5 artillery)
* 2 gnoll claw fighters (level 6 skirmisher)

Not our greatest creation, IMHO, but I only had two comments to work with... maybe I'll get more this week (hint, hint).

Weekly What the Heck

Welcome to the tenth installment of my regular feature here at the Near TPK. With continuing apologies to one of my favorite blogs, the Daily WTF, I present... The Weekly What The Heck.

Each Saturday at 10 AM Central Time I'll post one of Jen's drawings of some kind of whacked-out creature, and ask my readers: "What the heck IS that?"

I hope my readers will approach the challenge in the spirit of "Yes, and ..." - building on previous responses so everyone's ideas can be used in the final writeup. Comments are now closed on last week's entry, and I hope to have the final writeup posted tonight. Comments will be accepted on this week's entry until I post next week's entry.

So... What the heck is that? What should it do? What does it look so cranky about?

Field Notes of V - The Crystals

Further exploration has uncovered additional strange details. In addition to the base humanoids, another unexpected feature of the dungeon was its overall architecture as a large edifice located within a huge natural cavern. We emerged on two occasions into what can only be described as underground courtyards. Each one contained a well and seven dead oak trees. Hob scampered over the rooftops but accomplished nothing except collapsing part of one. We also ascertained that all urns we had located were empty.

In the first courtyard, in addition, we discovered a single living plant. I was unable to identify it in the field, but research since returning to town has revealed that it was a marshmallow plant. It may have been kept for its medicinal properties. Another possibility is suggested by one particular 800-year-old book which I uncovered during my studies.

Particularly rare specimens have been found growing in moderately low light to almost no light. Popular lore purports that this phenomenon occurs only upon the graves of great heroes or upon sites of great battles, but evidence suggests that the plant has some fungal properties that explain this anomaly.

We also located the altar alluded to by the old woman. Its surface was blackened, burned and cracked. Both the alleged crystal and the alleged angel were missing, and the floor in front of the altar was melted. In light of this disturbing find, we brought in the old woman, who was surprised and dismayed at the state of the altar. She said there should be a large crystal on the ceiling of the large cavern. We used a light spell to verify the presence of this large crystal.

The old woman then told us what little she knew. According to her, the crystals are repositories of the power of a now-dead elven or fey deity, whose name is unknown to her. She stated that her associate, the elven scholar Targos Grisha, told her that the crystals glowed. Note: the crystal on the ceiling was not glowing.

The old woman paid us 420 gp for our securing of the urns, and provided us with a letter of reference with which to go see the scholar in Weaversburg.

M&M Character - The Druid

It's 2-for-1 M&M character night at the Near TPK. The next game is tomorrow night and I thought the GM might like to see all the new characters before game time.

The amusement value has worn off of Hwacha! (didn't take long), so I've worked up a blaster with more options... Lots more options...

The Druid, PL 10, 150 points
Gender male, Age 37 (he's not old!), Height 5' 11", Weight 160 lbs.

STR 12, DEX 14, CON 14, INT 12, WIS 16, CHA 14
Tough +2, Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +6
Attack +2/+6, Grapple +3, Defense +1, Init +10

Climb +5, Concentration +7, Diplomacy +4, Handle Animal +10, Intimidate +4, Notice +7, Search +3, Sense Motive +5, Stealth +4, Survival +11
Animal Empathy, Attack Focus (Ranged) 4, Defensive Attack, Endurance 2, Fearsome Presence 2, Improved Initiative 2, Redirect, Sidekick 6, Stunning Attack, Teamwork 2, Track, Trance

Communication 4
Sense Type: Mental, Power Feats: Subtle 2 (unnoticable) (Free (Active) - Extended, 1 mile - Sustained)

Comprehend 4
Animals - Speak To, Animals - Understand, Plants - Speak To, Plants - Understand (None (Passive) - Personal - Continuous)

Druidic Rites (Magic 10)
AP: Control Winds (Element Control 10)
Element: Air (Standard - Perception - Sustained)
AP: Creeping Doom (Alternate Form 4)
(Free (Active) - Personal - Sustained)
AP: Cure Critical Wounds (Healing 10)
DC 20 (Full (Active) - Touch - Instant)
AP: Dominate Animal (Animal Control 10)
DC 20 (Standard (Active) - Perception - Sustained (Lasting))
AP: Element Control 10
Element: Earth (Standard - Perception - Sustained)
AP: Element Control 10
Element: Water (Standard - Perception - Sustained)
AP: Finger of Death (Blast 10)
DC 25 (Standard (Active) - Ranged, 100ft. - Instant)
AP: Flame Strike (Blast 7)
DC 22, Drawbacks: Full Power, Extras: Area, Burst (35 ft. radius - General)
(Standard (Active) - Ranged, 70ft. - Instant)
AP: Harm (Life Control 5)
DC 15 (Standard (Active) - Perception - Instant (Lasting))
AP: Hold Person (Paralyze 6)
DC 16, Power Feats: Affects Insubstantial 1 (half ranks), Improved Range 1
(150 ft. incr), Extras: Range 1 (ranged) (Standard (Active) - Ranged, 60ft. -
Instant (Lasting))
AP: Lightning Bolt (Blast 5)
DC 20, Extras: Area, Line (5x125 ft. line - General), Alternate Save (Fortitude)
(Standard (Active) - Ranged, 50ft. - Instant)
AP: Obscuring Mist (Obscure 5)
Radius: 100 ft.; Affects: Two Sense Types (2/r) - Vision, Extras: Selective
Attack, Action 1 (move) (Move (Active) - Ranged, 50ft. - Sustained)
AP: Plant Control 10
Radius: 50 ft.; DC 20 (Standard (Active) - Ranged, 100ft. - Instant)
AP: Thunderclap (Stun 5)
DC 15, Extras: Area, Explosion (50 ft. explosion - General), Range 1 (ranged)
(Standard (Active) - Ranged, 50ft. - Instant (Lasting))
AP: Transport via Plants (Teleport 20)
2000 ft. as move action; DC 30, Extras: Accurate, Flaws: Short-Range, Medium
(Plants) (Move (Active) - Personal - Instant)
AP: Wind Buffet (Blast 6)
DC 21, Power Feats: Affects Insubstantial 1 (half ranks), Knockback 1, Extras:
Area, Cone (60 ft. cone - General) (Standard (Active) - Ranged, 60ft. - Instant)

Immunity 4
Disease, Environmental Condition: Cold, Environmental Condition: Heat, Poison
(None (Passive) - Personal - Permanent)

Mind Reading 1
DC 11, Power Feats: Subtle 2 (unnoticable), Extras: Sensory Link, Action 2 (free),
Mental, Duration 2 (continuous) (Free (Active) - Perception - Continuous (Lasting))

Shillelagh (Device 6) [Lose] [Only You]
Device: Deflect 3
Deflects: All Ranged Attacks (3/r), Extras: Automatic, Ranged (Range: 300 ft.) [2
ranks only], Reflection, Action 3 (reaction) (Reaction (Active) - Touch - Instant)
Device: Strike 4
DC 19 (Standard (Active) - Touch - Instant)

Super-Senses 1
Scent (None (Passive) - Personal - Continuous)

That Sidekick 6 feat? Why, that's his animal companion, of course!
Greywulf (Wolf)
S13 D15 Co15 I8 W12 Ch6
Tough +2 Fort +4 Ref +2 Will +1
Atk +3 Def +4 Grp +4 Init +2
Notice +3, Stealth +4
Improved Trip
Super-Senses 3 - Scent, Tracking: Scent 1 (half speed), Low-Light Vision

I think I definitely get the alternate power thing now. In replacing my one-trick pony character, I seem to have gone to the opposite extreme...

M&M character - Mu

Jen has been working up possible replacements for ALICE...

"At first I thought she was clingy, but then she just slipped away..." - an ex-boyfriend

Mu (a.k.a. The Cling), PL 10, 150 points
Gender female, Age 23, Height 5' 8", Weight 150 lbs.

STR 10, DEX 18, CON 14, INT 10, WIS 14, CHA 10
Tough +2/+12, Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +5
Attack +10, Grapple +14, Defense +2, Init +4

Acrobatics +8, Concentration +10, Drive +8, Notice +14, Sleight of Hand +8, Stealth +8
Acrobatic Bluff, Grappling Finesse, Improved Grab, Improved Grapple, Improved Pin, Improved Trip

Concealment 1
Feat: Close Range; Flaw: Partial; Extra: Perception

Force Field 10

Friction Control 10
Allows: Increase (Snare)
AP: Environmental Control 1
Hamper Move 25%; Feats: Affects Insubstantial, Dimensional (All), Progression - Increase Area 6, Selective; Extra: Perception
AP: Friction Control 10
Allows: Decrease (Trip)
AP: Friction Heat (Blast 10) * Heat
DC 25; Extras: Concentration, Perception; Flaw: Limited 1 - moving targets only
AP: Nullify 10
DC 20; Counters: Snare; Extras: Perception, Concentration
AP: Paralyze 10
DC 20; Extra: Perception; Flaw: Limited 1 - machines with moving parts only
AP: Static Cling (Blast 10) * Electrical
DC 25; Extra: Perception

Immovable 10

Immunity 7
Entrapment, Friction

Super-Movement 8
Wall-Crawling 2, Trackless, Sure-Footed 2, Water Walking, Air Walking 1, Slow Fall

Super-Senses 3
Tremorsense

I think I'm starting to get how alternate powers work. I think I'm liking what I see... stay tuned, later tonight I'll post the result of my newfound love of the APs.

M&M character - Digital Dave

While visiting my friend Dave in Chicago, we were lamenting how he lived too far away to join our Mutants & Masterminds game. The idea of having him join in via Skype or something came up, and how we could then have a digital Dave. Thus was born...

Digital Dave rides the power lines and lives in the machines.

Digital Dave, PL 10, 150 points
Gender male, Age unknown, Height unknown, Weight 0

STR 10, DEX 10, CON 10, INT 16, WIS 14, CHA 10
Tough +0, Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +3
Attack +4, Grapple +4, Defense +0, Init +0

Computers +15, Notice +6, Search +7
Stunning Attack, Teamwork 3, Well-Informed

Concealment 10
All senses, Extra: Continuous; Flaw: Permanent

Backup Copies (Duplication 10)
Feats: Absorption Healing, Mental Link, Progression 3 (10 duplicates); Extras: Heroic, Survival, Continuous

Electrical Control 5
Extra: Affects Corporeal; Flaw: Limited - only while within 5' of power lines
AP: Datalink 4
Radio Sense; Feat: Machine Control; Extra: Area (Omni-directional)
AP: Teleport 9
Feat: Easy; Extra: Accurate; Flaws: Long-Range, Medium - Electrical Lines

Immunity 14
Aging, Critical Hits, Life Support, Starvation & Thirst, Sleep

Insubstantial 4
Incorporeal; Extra: Continuous; Flaw: Permanent

The IT gags are endless. Teleport away and create a duplicate... off-site backup! Shut down enemy computers... The Digital Dave Virus! Create a duplicate and teleport it into the villain's base through his computer, like an email... "You've got.... DIGITAL DAVE!"

Into the Demonweb Forest, Part 5

And so the girls continued their trek through the spider-haunted forest. We got through one more fight last Sunday, and this time I pulled out another of my homebrew spiders. I again used the Ruins of the Wild dungeon tile set with my homebrew forest map, placing a couple of 10' x 40' chasms just off the path. This group of spiders just leaped from the trees with no subtlety or strategy.

1 tarantella (level 5 controller, 200 xp)
2 deathjump spiders (level 4 skirmisher, 350 xp)
5 crab spiders (level 4 minion, 214 xp)

I still haven't updated the tarantella to incorporate Mike Mearls' excellent slow/slide suggestion, so I couldn't take full advantage of the chasms. It didn't matter anyway because the tarantella got locked down by the paladin in round one and wound up hitting with its bite once in the entire combat, then missing the secondary (poison) attack. All in all, a very disappointing performance.

The girls are getting really good at killing spiders, especially the crab spider minions. The tiefling fire wizard unleashes fire shroud on them with great glee.

After the fight I again used Mike Mearls' "fancy" wandering monster skill challenge rules. This time even though the girls failed most of their rolls, I rolled a 6 on the encounter check and there was no encounter anyway. They decided to cover part of one chasm with leaves and branches, then rappel down into it and hide there for a long rest. This time they rolled much higher on their "don't attract wandering monsters" checks, and none of my multiple rolls during the night resulted in an encounter.

Analysis:
I wish I'd updated the tarantella and then actually affected someone with its poison, but oh well.
I'm actually glad I didn't roll any encounters during their rest - it's always easier to start a session with everyone at full strength and one action point than having to write all the numbers down and then find the correct scraps of paper at the beginning of the next session.

Why, that's a Scorpire Vampion!

The final comments are in from last week's "Weekly What the Heck". The result is the scorpire, a body-snatching, head-severing, hypnotic-gazing conspirator.

I'd like to thank icosahedron, Jeff, The Recursion King, Scott, Gomez and Reverend Mike (with special thanks to icosahedron for the name) for their ideas, all of which have been mashed together to create:

Scorpire

Scorpires are strange creatures that look like a vampire head with scorpion legs and three scorpion tails growing out where the neck should be. It doesn't have its own body, but it makes up for that by borrowing others'. Its habit is to find a convenient corpse, sever its head, and settle in. It possesses the ability to guide the body while so attached. It can sometimes pass for human, provided the body is in good condition. If the body is in poor condition, it may be mistaken for an undead creature such as a ghoul or zombie, but it is not undead -- it's a living creature, despite its similarities to the vampire.

Level 3 Lurker

Scorpire Scuttler

XP 150

Tiny natural magical beast

Initiative +6 Senses Perception +4
HP 38; Bloodied 19
AC 17; Fortitude 15, Reflex 15, Will 16
Speed 5

mBite (standard; at-will) * Poison

+8 vs. AC; 1d6 + 1 damage, and ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends).

mClaws (standard; at-will)

+8 vs. AC; 1d10 + 1 damage.

MScorpilock (standard; recharge 4 5 6)

The scorpire scuttler makes a bite and claw attack against the same target. If both hit, the target is grabbed (until escape). An attached scorpire can't use its bite or claws and gains a +5 bonus to its AC and Reflex defenses.

M...and the Three Tails (standard; at-will) * Poison

The scorpire scuttler makes three attacks against a creature it has grabbed; +6 vs. Fortitude; the target takes ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends).

RHypnotic Gaze (minor; recharge 6) * Gaze, Charm

Ranged 5; +6 vs. Will; the target is dominated (save ends). Aftereffect: The target is dazed (save ends).

Alignment Unaligned Languages Common
Skills Bluff +9, Insight +9
Str 12 (+2) Dex 12 (+2) Wis 17 (+4)
Con 14 (+3) Int 14 (+3) Cha 17 (+4)

Scorpire Scuttler Tactics

The scorpire scuttler attempts to flee combat unless it can catch an opponent alone. In this case it will attempt to use its scorpilocks and the three tails attacks to quickly kill the victim and steal its body.

Level 3 Controller

Scorpire Vampion

XP 150

Medium natural humanoid

Initiative +1 Senses Perception +4
HP 46; Bloodied 23
AC 17; Fortitude 15, Reflex 15, Will 16
Speed 6

mSlam (standard; at-will)

+8 vs. AC; 2d6 + 1 damage.

MBite (standard; at-will) * Poison

+8 vs. AC; 1d6 + 1 damage, and ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends).

CConfounding Stare (standard; recharge 5 6) * Gaze, Psychic

Close blast 3; +5 vs. Will; the target slides 3 squares and is dazed (save ends).

RHypnotic Gaze (standard; recharge 6) * Gaze, Charm

Ranged 5; +7 vs. Will; the target is dominated (save ends). Aftereffect: The target is dazed (save ends).

Bodily Collapse (when first bloodied)

The scorpire vampion's body collapses, leaving only a bloodied scorpire scuttler.

Alignment Unaligned Languages Common
Skills Bluff +9, Insight +9
Str 14 (+3) Dex 10 (+1) Wis 17 (+4)
Con 14 (+3) Int 14 (+3) Cha 17 (+4)

Scorpire Vampion Tactics

A scorpire vampion opens with hypnotic gaze in order to gain an ally. It then uses confounding stare as often as possible to keep enemies away from itself and near its allies.

Level 7 Lurker (Leader)

Scorpire Viscount

XP 300

Medium natural humanoid

Initiative +9 Senses Perception +7
HP 64; Bloodied 32
AC 21; Fortitude 19, Reflex 19, Will 20
Speed 6

mBite (standard; at-will) * Poison

+12 vs. AC; 1d8 + 2 damage, and ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends).

mShort Sword (standard; at-will) * Weapon

+12 vs. AC; 2d6 + 2 damage.

CConfusing Stare (standard; recharge 6) * Gaze, Psychic

Close blast 3; +8 vs. Will; the target charges its nearest ally and makes a melee basic attack against it.

RHypnotic Gaze (minor; recharge 6) * Charm

Ranged 5; +13 vs. Will; the target is dominated (save ends). Aftereffect: The target is dazed (save ends).

Yes, My Liege! (immediate interrupt, when targeted by a ranged attack; at-will) * Charm

The scorpire viscount can change the attack’s target to an adjacent ally of its level or lower.

Alignment Unaligned Languages Common
Skills Bluff +12, Insight +12
Str 14 (+5) Dex 14 (+5) Wis 19 (+7)
Con 16 (+6) Int 16 (+6) Cha 19 (+7)

Scorpire Viscount Tactics

A scorpire viscount prefers to stay behind a line of lackeys where it can use its hypnotic gaze at long range. It keeps some lackeys close at hand (in case it needs to use yes, my liege!) and the rest at a safe distance forward (so it can use confusing stare on any enemies that break through the line).

Scorpire Lore

A character knows the following information with a successful Nature check.
DC 20: By itself the scorpire vampion is a feeble creature, but it can become a formidable opponent depending on the host it chooses. They are somewhat intelligent creatures and target creatures in leadership positions.

Encounter Groups

Scorpire vampions are sometimes found lurking around actual undead to disguise their true nature (until a fresher body comes along). Scorpire viscounts often insert themselves into positions of power and surround themselves with sycophantic dupes.
Level 3 Encounter (XP 750)
* 1 scorpire vampion (level 3 controller)
* 1 zombies (level 2 brute)
* 4 zombie rotters (level 3 minions)
* 1 gravehound (level 3 brute)
* 1 corruption corpse (level 4 artillery)
Level 6 Encounter (XP 1,250)
* 1 scorpire viscount (level 7 lurker)
* 8 human lackeys (level 7 minion)
* 1 human mage (level 4 artillery)
* 1 human berserker (level 4 brute)

The scorpire viscount is an adventure hook machine. Jen and I came up with two mini-campaign ideas centering around him during just one ten minute conversation.

• Random villagers are disappearing. It seemed to start when the charismatic new duke came to town, but he couldn't be the culprit... could he?
• A new ruler has set up draconian laws, almost all of which carry beheading as punishment. The bodies are never seen again. What's going on?

Weekly What the Heck

Welcome to the ninth installment of my regular feature here at the Near TPK. With continuing apologies to one of my favorite blogs, the Daily WTF, I present... The Weekly What The Heck.

Each Saturday at 10 AM Central Time I'll post one of Jen's drawings of some kind of whacked-out creature, and ask my readers: "What the heck IS that?"

I hope my readers will approach the challenge in the spirit of "Yes, and ..." - building on previous responses so everyone's ideas can be used in the final writeup. Comments are now closed on last week's entry, and I hope to have the final writeup posted tonight. Comments will be accepted on this week's entry until I post next week's entry.

So... What the heck is that? What should it do? Is it preparing to attack or ask if you have any Grey Poupon?

Into the Demonweb Forest, Part 4

It's been a while since the girls were over to continue their slog through the spider-haunted forest, but this past Sunday we met again. I said last time that I should try the giant webby spider again with one instead of two and more other spiders, so this time that's what I did. I also recently picked up the Ruins of the Wild dungeon tile set from WotC to see what the tiles are like, so I used all the stream ones to make a creek across the same homemade forest battle map, with a log across where the path crossed it.

1 giant webby spiders (level 5 controller, 200 xp)
2 deathjump spiders (level 4 skirmisher, 350 xp)
4 crab spiders (level 4 minion, 175 xp)

One of the crab spiders blew a Stealth check and earned a charging smackdown from the dwarf before the battle was actually joined. The webby spider waited until the ranger crossed the log (first there was a lengthy discussion about finding a way to not use the log), then used webbed terrain, hitting the dwarf and clogging the path with webs. The ranger was free to close on the webby spider and began to make its life miserable while its friends came out of the woods all around the party.

The girls made pretty short work of the spiders, though the deathjump spiders gave them a few tense moments by using death from above to shift long distances and come down on party members isolated across difficult terrain. The memorable moment in this fight was the end, when the last deathjump spider was taken out by a charging flaming sphere (can a flaming sphere charge? I'm still not sure...).

After the fight I used Mike Mearls' "fancy" wandering monster skill challenge rules. I started at a base 15+ on d20 chance for an encounter and let the girls roll Stealth, Nature, or whatever against DC15 to increase the number. They got it up to 18... and I rolled a 19. Another deathjump spider and two more crab spiders attacked. It wasn't a tough fight, but it happened when they were already low on encounter powers so it packed a little extra punch. I thought it conveyed the "crawling with spiders" nature of the forest nicely.

Analysis:
The single webby spider with more allies worked a lot better, and the creek with the log was a nice extra touch. The tiles worked pretty well as spice, though I'm not sure trying to make a big outdoor map with just them would work all that well.

M&M - First Impression

Our first Mutants & Masterminds session was kind of disappointing. I blame a number of factors, some having to do with the game itself and some not, but I think the biggest factor is simply that the first scene in the introductory adventure makes a lousy introduction to the game. Spoilers for the intro adventure follow.

I'll start with my overall impression: The author could not have created a more frustrating villain to put on the scene if he'd tried. For an (even slightly) experienced group that was already a team this would probably have been a reasonable adventure scene. For heroes who haven't met before (a circumstance considered by the author and mentioned several times) it was a disaster.

The scene is a bank, the heroes are in civilian garb and/or patrolling (we had both). A bunch of thugs and two supervillains enter, and one of the supervillains lays down a selective visual and auditory obscure effect that covers the entire bank and part of the street outside but doesn't affect the bad guys. So we've got heroes who haven't been played before and might not even know each other. Any in the bank are immediately rendered effectively blind and deaf. Any outside patrolling have no way to find out what's going on, even after they get inside.

So we wound up with, out of four heroes, one on the outside unable to look in (Vulkyrion), one in the bank entryway unable to see or hear what's going on after the initial entrance of the bad guys (Enigma), and two inside the bank who lost initiative to the second villain and immediately got blasted, staggered and stunned (ALICE and Hwacha!). Enigma dropped an area confuse that caught about half the thugs before the bad guys moved around so much that he/she didn't know where they were any more. ALICE and Hwacha! each burned their sole hero point to stop being stunned. Hwacha! threw out his own obscure so at least the bad guys would be blind as well. ALICE with its tremorsense was the only hero that could see, but it has no effective attacks and couldn't direct the others because we couldn't hear, either.

In the end, Hwacha! blundered into a group of thugs while trying to back away from the one covering him. Having noted that all damage in M&M is non-lethal unless specifically stated otherwise, he dropped a non-lethal suspension-of-disbelief-breaking fireball at his own feet that filled the entire bank and dropped all the bad guys, most of the bank patrons, and ALICE in one blast. This at least killed the blinding/deafening effect and allowed Vulkyrion to swoop in and have his host of summoned vikings quickly tie up all the bad guys.

Even as the player whose character "saved the day", I must say I found the whole thing highly unsatisfying.