An effort to force myself to finish the Bestiary for the Mountain at the End of the World. Stats are for the GROG, so base AC is 0 ascending and base attack is 10 + HD ascending. Morale would be 7 + CHA modifier, if you don't feel like assigning it by fiat.
Those of these that have a class associated with them are playable, if the players have built a solid enough relationship with their cultures to justify it.
A lot of things in here are stolen from other blogs, particularly crab man builders and ratmen.
A lot of things in here are stolen from other blogs, particularly crab man builders and ratmen.
Beastmen
'Beastman' is a catch-all term for sentient humanoids found on, in, or under the Mountain that are not present in the civilized lands of the Old World and thus not, at least by most, considered 'human'. Many of them are just as smart, sophisticated, and ethical as 'humans' despite this, though perhaps in different ways.
Alpaca Men
HD 1 HP 4 Size Small AC 3 (leather)
Init +1 Speed 30'
Strength 10 +0 Dexterity 12 +1
Intelligence 10 +0 Charisma 10 +0
STR Attack 11 melee shortspear 1d8 brace
DEX Attack 12 range 30' shortspear 1d8
Speaks Their own language, but some have learned a smattering of Common
Equipment 3 shortspears (medium brace 1d8, throw 30'), leather armor (AC 2 E 1), 2d10 intricately painted wooden beads worth 1 sp each
Alpaca men are goblin-sized, but have long necks that bring their heads nearly to eye level for a hobgoblin or orc. They live in small, single-family dwelling clusters woven from their own wool—of which they produce a prodigious amount. Their homesteads are distributed throughout their alpine territory, semi-nomadic and often camouflaged as a defensive strategy against the much more numerous, larger, and more violent llamafolk polity present in the same area with which they are constantly at war. They are prone to paranoia and machismo.
Surefooted: Alpaca men can move at full speed without rolling Dexterity on sloped or broken ground.
Wool Coat: Unless recently sheared, alpaca men take half damage from cold effects, always count as having protective equipment against cold weather, and treat temperate or warmer weather as dangerously hot.
Spit: Alpaca men can spit up a sticky mass of spittle and chewed grass as a ranged attack within 30'. If the attack hits, their target is blind until they spend a full round clearing the mess from their eyes. Alpaca men can't use this ability while hungry, and must eat between each use.
You can play a beaded knight if your party befriends the alpaca men, perhaps by defending them from a llamafolk raid or helping them recover some familial artifact that was stolen in a previous attack. Reroll Dexterity.
Starting Equipment: Hundreds of wooden and metal beads woven into coat (4 AC 0 E), shortbow (heavy bow, 1d6) with 20 arrows, 2 copper hand axes (light headsplitter melee, 1d6, throw 10'), snow goggles, rucksack, long and hooded wool cloak with scrub grass woven through it, waterskin, 4 rations of dried ryegrass hay.
Bead Armor
You know the exact methods necessary to weave small beads of wood and metal through your wool coat to grant you protection without the bulk or encumbrance of armor. You have +4 AC, which does not stack with worn armor.
Poison Eater
Throughout your training as a beaded knight, you subjected yourself to increasing doses of poison. You probably won't live past five years (where alpaca men normally live twenty) but suffer only half the penalties or damage of any poison introduced into your system, and your spit blinds living things for 1 hour even after cleared from their eyes unless immune to poison.
Pathfinder
At second level, your skill at overland travel and navigation allows you to effectively lead a party through even the roughest terrain. When travelling, your entire party moves at full speed over rough, sloped, or broken ground and half speed through normally impassable terrain.
Skirmish
At second level, you can use continual movement in combat to throw off your enemies and strike from unexpected directions. When you move at least 30 feet in a combat round, your attacks deal an extra +1d6 damage and you get +2 AC until the beginning of your next turn.
At fourth level, this damage increases by an additional +1d6.
Alpinism
At third level, long exposure to high altitudes and Mountain air has strengthened your system even despite the poison coursing through your veins.Your heart rate is slower, your lung capacity is greater, and your blood is better able to transfer oxygen. You get +2 Strength.
Vanish
At third level, you have an almost supernatural ability to disappear into natural terrain. Whenever out of doors and not directly observed, you can disappear completely without spending an action. You can reappear at any time in any place you could conceivably have reached during the time you were vanished.
Perfect Shot
At fourth level, you attain a level of marksmanship that defies explanation. Once per combat, you can make a ranged attack that automatically critically hits within double your weapon's range. Declare this before making the attack. Outside of combat, you can use this ability to do anything one could conceivably do with a trick shot.
DEX Attack 12 range 30' shortspear 1d8
Speaks Their own language, but some have learned a smattering of Common
Equipment 3 shortspears (medium brace 1d8, throw 30'), leather armor (AC 2 E 1), 2d10 intricately painted wooden beads worth 1 sp each
Alpaca men are goblin-sized, but have long necks that bring their heads nearly to eye level for a hobgoblin or orc. They live in small, single-family dwelling clusters woven from their own wool—of which they produce a prodigious amount. Their homesteads are distributed throughout their alpine territory, semi-nomadic and often camouflaged as a defensive strategy against the much more numerous, larger, and more violent llamafolk polity present in the same area with which they are constantly at war. They are prone to paranoia and machismo.
Surefooted: Alpaca men can move at full speed without rolling Dexterity on sloped or broken ground.
Wool Coat: Unless recently sheared, alpaca men take half damage from cold effects, always count as having protective equipment against cold weather, and treat temperate or warmer weather as dangerously hot.
Spit: Alpaca men can spit up a sticky mass of spittle and chewed grass as a ranged attack within 30'. If the attack hits, their target is blind until they spend a full round clearing the mess from their eyes. Alpaca men can't use this ability while hungry, and must eat between each use.
Beaded Knights (Playing an Alpaca Man)
The beaded knights of the alpaca men (a reclusive order of militant rangers, cultural heroes, so named because they weave wooden and metal beads into their coats to form a sort of permanent armor) are known to intentionally consume poison as a part of their training. This both grants them improved resistance to it, and causes their spittle to carry blinding toxins for a much greater effect in combat--it also shortens their lifespans dramatically, but few beaded knights survive long enough in their service for this to concern them.You can play a beaded knight if your party befriends the alpaca men, perhaps by defending them from a llamafolk raid or helping them recover some familial artifact that was stolen in a previous attack. Reroll Dexterity.
Starting Equipment: Hundreds of wooden and metal beads woven into coat (4 AC 0 E), shortbow (heavy bow, 1d6) with 20 arrows, 2 copper hand axes (light headsplitter melee, 1d6, throw 10'), snow goggles, rucksack, long and hooded wool cloak with scrub grass woven through it, waterskin, 4 rations of dried ryegrass hay.
Bead Armor
You know the exact methods necessary to weave small beads of wood and metal through your wool coat to grant you protection without the bulk or encumbrance of armor. You have +4 AC, which does not stack with worn armor.
Poison Eater
Throughout your training as a beaded knight, you subjected yourself to increasing doses of poison. You probably won't live past five years (where alpaca men normally live twenty) but suffer only half the penalties or damage of any poison introduced into your system, and your spit blinds living things for 1 hour even after cleared from their eyes unless immune to poison.
Pathfinder
At second level, your skill at overland travel and navigation allows you to effectively lead a party through even the roughest terrain. When travelling, your entire party moves at full speed over rough, sloped, or broken ground and half speed through normally impassable terrain.
Skirmish
At second level, you can use continual movement in combat to throw off your enemies and strike from unexpected directions. When you move at least 30 feet in a combat round, your attacks deal an extra +1d6 damage and you get +2 AC until the beginning of your next turn.
At fourth level, this damage increases by an additional +1d6.
Alpinism
At third level, long exposure to high altitudes and Mountain air has strengthened your system even despite the poison coursing through your veins.Your heart rate is slower, your lung capacity is greater, and your blood is better able to transfer oxygen. You get +2 Strength.
Vanish
At third level, you have an almost supernatural ability to disappear into natural terrain. Whenever out of doors and not directly observed, you can disappear completely without spending an action. You can reappear at any time in any place you could conceivably have reached during the time you were vanished.
Perfect Shot
At fourth level, you attain a level of marksmanship that defies explanation. Once per combat, you can make a ranged attack that automatically critically hits within double your weapon's range. Declare this before making the attack. Outside of combat, you can use this ability to do anything one could conceivably do with a trick shot.
Llamafolk
HD 1 HP 6 Size Medium AC 3 (layered hide armor)
Init +0 Speed 30'
Strength 14 +2 Dexterity 10 +0
Intelligence 8 -1 Charisma 12 +1
STR Attack 13 melee stone axe 1d10+4 headsplitter
Speaks Their own language, but some have learned a smattering of Common
Equipment Stone axe (medium headsplitter melee 1d10), layered hide armor (AC 3 E 3), looted trinket worth 3d10 sp
As alpaca men, but nearly double the height—five feet tall at the shoulder, just over eight in total—and much stronger. Llamafolk live in fortified villages organized around a warlord-matriarch, but often range far from their homes in raiding parties. Contact with organized llamafolk has been almost universally hostile, but individual ones can often be negotiated with.Speaks Their own language, but some have learned a smattering of Common
Equipment Stone axe (medium headsplitter melee 1d10), layered hide armor (AC 3 E 3), looted trinket worth 3d10 sp
Goatmen
As llamafolk, but no Wool Coat or Spit abilities. Instead, goatmen have horns and hooves (light crushing melee 1d6) and can see into the souls of those that meet their horizontally-pupilled gaze. This is mostly useful for creeping people out but also means it's practically impossible to lie to them.
Goatmen live in permanent clan-gatherings, easily recognizable from afar by their pointed thatch towerhuts and sturdy palisades. Their villages are generally closed to outsiders, but interaction outside of that varies based on the attitudes of the clan in question.
Since my orcs are people, these are my "orcs". Llamafolk live high on the Mountain, goatmen live in the foothills and plains around it.
Bat Men
HD 1 HP 3 Size Small AC 2 (unarmored)
Init +1 Speed 30' Fly 30'
Strength 8 -1 Dexterity 12 +1
Intelligence 12 +1 Charisma 10 +0
STR Attack 10 melee shortspear 1d8-1 brace
DEX Attack 12 range 30' blowgun 1 damage + roll Strength or 1d6 poison per round until pass Strength roll
Speaks Arqot, in click, pulse, and chatter
Equipment shortspear (medium brace melee 1d8, throw 30'), blowgun, 20 poisoned darts
Bat men are nocturnal denizens of the upper layers of Mountain caverns, occasionally venturing onto the surface to hunt. They organize themselves into loose semi-nomadic tribal structures of up to a hundred individuals, moving from cavern to cavern as they exhaust the local wildlife. They have been known to hunt humans when they intrude on their territory, and are widely regarded as monsters although not all contact has been violent.
Echolocation: Bat men navigate by emitting clicking, chirping noises and listening for the echoes. They do not count as blind when interacting with solid objects within 60 feet of them, but are blind in areas of magical silence and have trouble navigating wide-open spaces.
Since my goblins are also people, these are (some of) my "goblins". These ones can fly but do less wonky/dangerous "goblin" shit.
DEX Attack 12 range 30' blowgun 1 damage + roll Strength or 1d6 poison per round until pass Strength roll
Speaks Arqot, in click, pulse, and chatter
Equipment shortspear (medium brace melee 1d8, throw 30'), blowgun, 20 poisoned darts
Bat men are nocturnal denizens of the upper layers of Mountain caverns, occasionally venturing onto the surface to hunt. They organize themselves into loose semi-nomadic tribal structures of up to a hundred individuals, moving from cavern to cavern as they exhaust the local wildlife. They have been known to hunt humans when they intrude on their territory, and are widely regarded as monsters although not all contact has been violent.
Echolocation: Bat men navigate by emitting clicking, chirping noises and listening for the echoes. They do not count as blind when interacting with solid objects within 60 feet of them, but are blind in areas of magical silence and have trouble navigating wide-open spaces.
Since my goblins are also people, these are (some of) my "goblins". These ones can fly but do less wonky/dangerous "goblin" shit.
Crab Men
HD 1 HP 7 Size Medium AC 6 (crab shell, as plate)
Init -1 Speed 20'
Strength 16 +3 Dexterity 8 -1
Intelligence 6 -2 Charisma 10 +0
STR Attack 14 (15 if warrior) melee crab pincer 1d8+3 crushing
Speaks Skittering
Equipment String necklace with 1d20 shells on it, on a 20 it instead has one ornate shell from a rare and magical small crustacean
Crab men inhabit the coastal and littoral zones of the Mountain, in cave-villages bored into stone cliffs and sea floors. They are organized into three castes; hunters, builders, and shamans—each caste has a suite of trademark invocations, taught to them by shamanic caste-keepers. Check the caste system bit below, all crab men should probably have at least an A template in their caste.
Crab Body: Crab men have thick shells that grant them armor as plate (+7 AC) and giant crab pincers (medium crushing melee 1d8). Also, they're slow.
Speaks Skittering
Equipment String necklace with 1d20 shells on it, on a 20 it instead has one ornate shell from a rare and magical small crustacean
Crab men inhabit the coastal and littoral zones of the Mountain, in cave-villages bored into stone cliffs and sea floors. They are organized into three castes; hunters, builders, and shamans—each caste has a suite of trademark invocations, taught to them by shamanic caste-keepers. Check the caste system bit below, all crab men should probably have at least an A template in their caste.
Crab Body: Crab men have thick shells that grant them armor as plate (+7 AC) and giant crab pincers (medium crushing melee 1d8). Also, they're slow.
Caste System (Playing a Crab Man)
Hunters learn charms to hide them and allow them to set ambushes for their prey or turn their shells and pincers as hard and sharp as steel, and double as warriors when the cave-village needs protection. Builders learn castings to bore new burrows out of solid stone, and create permanent portals between villages known as waystones. Shamans learn whatever they can, imbuing the appropriate powers into other crab men according to their caste, and have access to some powers exclusive to them in the event of matters facing a cave-village that defy solving through the typical actions of hunters and builders.
You can play a crab man if your party befriends the crab men, perhaps by destroying all caches of butter and lemons in the nearby outposts of "civilization", or by gifting to them a great volume of jewelry. Crab men love jewelry. Big heavy necklaces to hang precariously from their eye stalks and delicate tiaras to balance atop their shells. Reroll Strength and then add 2 to the higher roll, then reroll Dexterity and Intelligence and take the lower of each.
Starting Equipment: Nothing. Maybe a couple shells.
Starting Equipment: Nothing. Maybe a couple shells.
I guess crab men are a wizard school. Your perk is that you have a crab shell and crab claws, and your drawback is that you're slow as hell and have shitty Dexterity and Intelligence.
You can pick hunter, builder, or shaman. If you're a hunter or builder, you only gain your caste's cantrips and spells—they were imbued into your crab-ichor by a shaman when you were but a hatchling. If you're a shaman, roll your cantrips and spells randomly and also gain the following ability:
Caste-Keeper
As a crab man shaman, you can imbue your spells and cantrips into un-caste-ed crab men at will, turning them into either a hunter or a builder. In addition, you can transfer any spell you know (whether it's a crab man spell or not) along with 1 MD to any target (caste-ed, crab man, or otherwise) with a touch. In this case, the MD and spell return to you at dawn the next day regardless of whether they have been expended or not.
Cantrips
Roll a d8 three times if you're a shaman, rerolling duplicates, otherwise just take your caste's.
Roll a d8 three times if you're a shaman, rerolling duplicates, otherwise just take your caste's.
1-hunter. Find Fish. You know the rough direction and distance of the largest fish within 1 kilometer.
2-hunter. Purge Poison. Target previously living thing becomes safe to eat, at least for crab men. You can only use this on something that is very recently (within the last minute or so) deceased.
3-hunter. Crab of Violence. Count your STR Attack as 1 higher when attacking with your pincers.
4-builder. Snibb Snibb. Something you're touching is snipped as if with one of your pincers.
5-builder. Soften Stone. You can soften solid stone enough to snip through it, removing any damage reduction from up to a 5 foot cube of stone for 1 hour. It takes one crab-hour of labor to clear a 5 foot cube.
6-builder. Crab of Purpose. You can harden crude tools to function as well as their forged iron counterparts as long as you yourself are using them.
7-shaman. Control Currents. Water in a 5 foot radius around you lies still and unable to move on its own. Cancels the effects of currents, rapids, fast-flowing rivers and streams, undertow, et cetera.
8-shaman. Crab of Knowledge. You can fully identify all properties of any magical effect or artefact by drinking saltwater that it has been immersed in.
Crab Spells
If you're a hunter or builder, you get spells from your caste in order—#1 & #2 at first level, #3 at second level, #4 at third level, and your emblem spell at fourth level.
If you're a shaman, flip a coin for hunter or builder at each level (once for each spell at first level). You learn the shaman emblem spell at fourth level instead of either caste's.
Yes this is less spells than a normal wizard but whatever, they're good spells I promise. Also you can still learn new spells like a normal wizard, it'll just make other crab men think you're weird, especially if you're not a shaman.
Hunter 1. Trapdoor Crab
R: self T: self D: instantaneous
Crab Spells
If you're a hunter or builder, you get spells from your caste in order—#1 & #2 at first level, #3 at second level, #4 at third level, and your emblem spell at fourth level.
If you're a shaman, flip a coin for hunter or builder at each level (once for each spell at first level). You learn the shaman emblem spell at fourth level instead of either caste's.
Yes this is less spells than a normal wizard but whatever, they're good spells I promise. Also you can still learn new spells like a normal wizard, it'll just make other crab men think you're weird, especially if you're not a shaman.
Hunter 1. Trapdoor Crab
R: self T: self D: instantaneous
You camouflage yourself into nearby terrain. You cannot be noticed without magic as long as you do not move. If you make an attack or similar action from this state, enemies are considered surprised.
Hunter 2. Leap
R: self T: self D: instantaneousHunter 2. Leap
You almost-instantly leap a distance equal to your speed. If you collide with something, both you and it take [sum] damage with a Dexterity roll for half, and the object you collided with is forced back 5 feet. Casting this spell doesn't take an action, but can only be done once per round.
Hunter 3. Pistol Crab
R: touch T: creature D: [dice] hoursThe target touched grows a giant crab-pincer over their main hand. If they already have pincers, it's a medium spike weapon that does one additional die of damage, and can be used in melee or snapped to deal damage up to 10 feet away with concussive force. If they don't already have pincers, it's a normal crab man pincer (medium crushing melee 1d8, scale die up or down depending on size difference from medium or small). You can target yourself with this spell.
Hunter 4. Envenom
R: touch T: object or creature D: [dice] minutes
You imbue a touched object with powerful venom. Your pincer is a natural choice, but you could also use it to poison food, a touched target, et cetera. This acts as a poison that deals [sum] damage.
Hunter Emblem. Giant Enemy Crab
R: touch T: arthropod D: [dice] hours
The arthropod touched doubles in size, and its carapace hardens into steel. As enlarge plus its HP is doubled, any claws or pincers it has are affected as though by pistol crab, and all effects normally associated with steel armor and weapons. It also gains a weak point that can be attacked for massive damage—receiving a critical hit automatically ends the spell.
Builder 1. Crabricate
R: n/a T: your inventory D: permanent
You produce [sum] slots of low-quality shell, coral, or stone tools out of thin air. Each will break after one use.
Builder 2. Molt
R: touch T: creature D: instantaneous
Builder 1. Crabricate
R: n/a T: your inventory D: permanent
You produce [sum] slots of low-quality shell, coral, or stone tools out of thin air. Each will break after one use.
Builder 2. Molt
R: touch T: creature D: instantaneous
The target touched quickly sheds its skin or carapace and grows a new one, healing [sum] HP. The old skin or carapace remains, sloughed off.
Builder 3. Crab Spike
R: [dice] * 5 feet T: line D: instantaneous
You produce a bipointed staple of shell, coral, or stone that punches forth with enough force to rivet steel. If used as an attack, roll an attack roll against the first target in line, dealing [sum]+[dice] damage. If it misses the first target or deals enough damage to reduce them to 0 HP, roll an attack against the next target in line for any damage not yet assigned, &c, &c. If targeted to restrain rather than wound, the staple deals no damage but pins them on a successful attack roll and has 10 AC and 10 HP, or can be burst with a Strength check at 10 difficulty. You can also use it to staple things together.
Builder 4. Encrustacean
R: touch T: creature or object D: permanent
The touched target turns into a crab, of approximately the same mass as it originally was. This gives life and the ability to speak Skittering, but not undue intelligence, to inanimate objects, and can affect targets of up to your size. Unwilling targets roll Charisma to resist.
Builder Emblem. Crabworks
R: sight T: [sum] 10 foot cubes D: concentration, then instantaneous
Builder Emblem. Crabworks
R: sight T: [sum] 10 foot cubes D: concentration, then instantaneous
You reshape the target area of terrain to your liking. This is slow, taking an hour of concentration to reach full effect as land slowly slides into place, etc. You can't use this ability to create or destroy mass, but you can change densities within reason—for example to create sturdy tunnels or expand an boulder into a foamy mass that fills the area.
Shaman Emblem. Crab World
R: sight T: [dice] mile radius centered around point D: [dice] * [sum] days
Weather and nonmagical beasts within the area bend themselves to your will, within their natural limits. In addition, any creatures within the area become gradually more crablike, as if affected by an encrustacean spell that takes effect slowly over the first week of the spell's effect or the first week they spend within the spell's area while it is active. If they spend the entire week within the spell's area while it remains active, the effects are permanent and persist beyond the duration of the spell.
Fishmaids
HD 3 HP 19 Size Medium AC 3 (tough hide, as hide armor)
Init +0 Speed 20' Swim 60'
Strength 14 +2 Dexterity 14 +2
Intelligence 2 -4 Charisma 6 -2
STR Attack 15 bite 1d8+2
Speaks No language, but sing in something that sounds like Common although unintelligible
Fishmaid is a misnomer, for they are neither fish nor maid. More like manatees with a maw of fierce jagged teeth. So named because, while sunning themselves on a rock, they look almost like a comely woman as long as you're a sailor who's been on a ship for the past four months and are looking at them through dense fog. Fishmaids are omnivores, but will happily sink a rowboat or fishing launch and feast on the tender humans inside if the opportunity presents itself. They are not sapient.
Tough Hide: Fishmaids have thick, leathery hides that grant them +3 AC.
Siren Song: Fishmaids "sing" while sunning themselves. The song sounds like sultry crooning, though no words can be made out. Any who hear it roll Intelligence or are convinced that it is actually sung by an intelligent being, unless they've rolled successfully against it before.
Speaks No language, but sing in something that sounds like Common although unintelligible
Fishmaid is a misnomer, for they are neither fish nor maid. More like manatees with a maw of fierce jagged teeth. So named because, while sunning themselves on a rock, they look almost like a comely woman as long as you're a sailor who's been on a ship for the past four months and are looking at them through dense fog. Fishmaids are omnivores, but will happily sink a rowboat or fishing launch and feast on the tender humans inside if the opportunity presents itself. They are not sapient.
Tough Hide: Fishmaids have thick, leathery hides that grant them +3 AC.
Siren Song: Fishmaids "sing" while sunning themselves. The song sounds like sultry crooning, though no words can be made out. Any who hear it roll Intelligence or are convinced that it is actually sung by an intelligent being, unless they've rolled successfully against it before.
Myconids
HD 1 HP 6 Size Medium AC 0 (unarmored)
Init +0 Speed 20'
Strength 10 +0 Dexterity 8 -1
Intelligence 8 -1 Charisma 12 +1
STR Attack 11 melee fungal slam 1d4 + spores, see ability text
DEX Attack 10 range 10' spores, see ability text
Speaks Decay
Mushroom people. I don't know how else to say it, they're mushroom people. Live in the deepest caverns under the Mountain that have been breached so far. Generally nonhostile, but capable of defending themselves. Don't understand flesh-creatures or the surface world very well. Myconids don't need to sleep, and can subsist on dirt and rotting wood or flesh.
Fungal Vision: Myconids can see as well in dim light as humans do in sunlight. Bright light hurts them, causing 1 damage per minute of exposure.
Fungal Body: Myconids get an additional 2 HP per level/HD. They take double damage from fire.
Spores: Myconids have spores. They can apply these spores to their unarmed melee attacks, project them as a ranged attack with a range of 10 feet, or release them in a 5-foot radius cloud as an action or in response to taking damage. Spores affect only creatures with flesh or flesh-like bodies (like plans and fungi), are resisted by rolling Strength with the myconid's HD as difficulty, and last one hour unless otherwise specified. All myconids have the following types of spores, some may have more.
MycotoxinDEX Attack 10 range 10' spores, see ability text
Speaks Decay
Mushroom people. I don't know how else to say it, they're mushroom people. Live in the deepest caverns under the Mountain that have been breached so far. Generally nonhostile, but capable of defending themselves. Don't understand flesh-creatures or the surface world very well. Myconids don't need to sleep, and can subsist on dirt and rotting wood or flesh.
Fungal Vision: Myconids can see as well in dim light as humans do in sunlight. Bright light hurts them, causing 1 damage per minute of exposure.
Fungal Body: Myconids get an additional 2 HP per level/HD. They take double damage from fire.
Spores: Myconids have spores. They can apply these spores to their unarmed melee attacks, project them as a ranged attack with a range of 10 feet, or release them in a 5-foot radius cloud as an action or in response to taking damage. Spores affect only creatures with flesh or flesh-like bodies (like plans and fungi), are resisted by rolling Strength with the myconid's HD as difficulty, and last one hour unless otherwise specified. All myconids have the following types of spores, some may have more.
- Rapport. Allows telepathic communication with the myconid while touching it or any surface coated with rapport spores that it is also touching.
- Psychedelic. Produces vivid, colorful hallucinations—easy to distinguish from reality, but distracting nonetheless. Applies difficulty equal to the myconid's HD to all d20 rolls.
- Endothermic. Freezes when exposed to light, causing 1 damage per round exposed to dim light, 1d4 per round exposed to torch or lantern light, 1d8 per round exposed to brighter light, and 2d6 per round exposed to sunlight. Each application can deal maximum total damage equal to the myconid's HD times ten before being completely burnt out.
- Luminescent. Provides dim light in a 5 foot radius.
Fruiting Bodies (Playing a Myconid)
Some myconids have the capability to produce even more fantastic spore effects. While most of these will be found in key roles or at the head of a myconid family-culture, if they needed to send a body out of their caverns, this is who they would choose to send.
You can play a myconid if your party befriends the myconids. It's actually quite easy to befriend the myconids; just don't burn them with your torches and lanterns. The hard part is getting to them in the first place, and then getting back out again. Reroll Charisma, then reroll Dexterity and Intelligence and take the lower result for each. Also note that you're slow and don't need to (and can't) sleep or really eat.
Fruiting Body
You produce budding fungal children each day as long as you are well-fed, to a maximum of your HD. If removed from your body, they wither and die within 24 hours, but if eaten before then they heal 1d8 HP and count as a ration. If planted and allowed to mature in mostly moist, nutrient-rich substrate, they will grow into a new myconid within one year. You have no compunctions about eating your children, or allowing others to do so.
Histoplasma
At third level, you can produce spores that link with subjects' neural systems and cause fatigue and apathy in addition to your standard types. If the subject fails their Strength roll to resist the spores, they are stunned for 1 round, then fatigued for 1 hour and suffer 2 difficulty on all d20 rolls. If they pass their roll, they are still fatigued for the duration.
Cordyceps
At fourth level, you can produce spores that invade and colonize the neural functions of dead creatures. If the subject fails their Strength roll to resist the spores (yes they get one even though they're dead), they are animated as a fungal zombie under your control. Arthropod corpses don't get to roll. Fungal zombies have their original Strength, half their original Dexterity, 2 (-4) Intelligence and Charisma, move a maximum of 20' per round, and attack as 1 HD creatures. Fungal zombies last until destroyed or released (see below), not one hour.
You can control a number of fungal zombies equal to your level—if you pass this limit, any additional ones (you can choose which) succumb back to death—which follow commands spoken by you in Decay or through your Rapport spores. Once a creature has been animated as a fungal zombie once, it can't be reanimated again. Fungal zombies are fungus, not undead, though they certainly appear undead.
Rock Leeches
HD 1 HP 4 Size Medium AC 5 (leech-hide, as scale) Half damage from sharp things and fire
Init +5 Speed 40' Swim 40'
Strength 10 +0 Dexterity 12 +1
Intelligence 6 -2 Charisma 10 +0
DEX Attack 12 melee slashers 1d6+1 spike, heals for damage dealt
Speaks Hadeal, Serumic
Rock leeches are terrible semihumanoid beasts, with flat eyeless faces pierced only by nostril- and ear-slits and yawning, horrible maws of needle-teeth. Their skin is tough like rhinoceros hide and wet like an oilslick, and their hands end in bundles of razor-sharp claws like broken glass. They seem to have some level of intelligence but little in the way of culture, lying in wait in wet caves along underground rivers to snare passers-by and drain them of their blood.
Leech-hides and leech-glass (their slashers, cut right from their hands) are very valuable. Leech-hide dustcoats count as hide armor and convey their benefit in halving sharp and fire damage. Leech-glass weapons have the spike property in addition to their normal ones, though it's difficult to fashion a leech-glass blade into anything larger than a knife.
Slashers: Rock leech slashers are made of preternaturally sharp glasslike material, shot through with thousands of narrow channels that drain blood from their victims and feed it directly back into their systems. Slashers are light spike melee weapons that deal 1d6 base damage and heal the leech for damage dealt. A rock leech doesn't need to eat if it has healed at least 1 HP through slasher damage that day. This can be hazardous if used to drain the blood of a creature suffering from poison or a malady, etc. Slashers aren't much good for grasping or fiddling, add 2 difficulty to rolls involving fine manual dexterity.
Leechsense: Rock leeches are blind, but their sensitivity to sound and smell allow them to hunt very well in the darkness. They take no penalties for being blind in melee combat, but must locate prey through other senses outside of melee range.
Riverine: You're amphibious and have a swim speed. Saltwater (or touching a large volume of salt in general) leeches (ha, ha) the water right out of your blood, dealing you 1 damage per round of exposure.
Speaks Hadeal, Serumic
Rock leeches are terrible semihumanoid beasts, with flat eyeless faces pierced only by nostril- and ear-slits and yawning, horrible maws of needle-teeth. Their skin is tough like rhinoceros hide and wet like an oilslick, and their hands end in bundles of razor-sharp claws like broken glass. They seem to have some level of intelligence but little in the way of culture, lying in wait in wet caves along underground rivers to snare passers-by and drain them of their blood.
Leech-hides and leech-glass (their slashers, cut right from their hands) are very valuable. Leech-hide dustcoats count as hide armor and convey their benefit in halving sharp and fire damage. Leech-glass weapons have the spike property in addition to their normal ones, though it's difficult to fashion a leech-glass blade into anything larger than a knife.
Slashers: Rock leech slashers are made of preternaturally sharp glasslike material, shot through with thousands of narrow channels that drain blood from their victims and feed it directly back into their systems. Slashers are light spike melee weapons that deal 1d6 base damage and heal the leech for damage dealt. A rock leech doesn't need to eat if it has healed at least 1 HP through slasher damage that day. This can be hazardous if used to drain the blood of a creature suffering from poison or a malady, etc. Slashers aren't much good for grasping or fiddling, add 2 difficulty to rolls involving fine manual dexterity.
Leechsense: Rock leeches are blind, but their sensitivity to sound and smell allow them to hunt very well in the darkness. They take no penalties for being blind in melee combat, but must locate prey through other senses outside of melee range.
Riverine: You're amphibious and have a swim speed. Saltwater (or touching a large volume of salt in general) leeches (ha, ha) the water right out of your blood, dealing you 1 damage per round of exposure.
Leech Hide: A rock leech's slick, tough hide provides natural armor as scale (+4 AC) and halves damage taken from sharp things and fire. It also blends in with dark stone, adding 4 difficulty to rolls made to notice them while hiding.
Fast Movement: Rock leeches are fast-moving predators, with a +4 bonus to initiative and 40' land speed.
Rock Lampreys
HD 2 HP 13 Size Medium AC 7 (lithodermis, as plate) Half damage from physical sources and fire
Init +0 Speed 30' Swim 30'
Strength 14 +2 Dexterity 10 +0
Intelligence 6 -2 Charisma 12 +1
STR Attack 14 melee slashers 1d6+2 spike, heals for damage dealt
Speaks Hadeal, Serumic
Rock lampreys are a more muscular, hardier breed of rock leech, often acting as the 'alpha' of rock leech hunting groups. Some who have delved deep under the Mountain tell nightmarish tales of entire rock lamprey villages far below the earth. We hope those stories are not reliable.
Crafting armor out of rock lamprey lithodermis is, unfortunately, nearly impossible—it brittles and cracks soon after one is skinned. If one managed to do so somehow, it would be formidable protection indeed.
Slashers: As rock leech.
Leechsense: As rock leech.
Riverine: As rock leech.
Lithodermis: A rock lamprey's hide is hard and knobbed over with stony growths, granting it armor as plate (+7 AC) and halving damage taken from all physical trauma (including falling) as well as fire. It also blends in with dark stone, adding 4 difficulty to rolls made to notice them while hiding.
Rock lampreys are a more muscular, hardier breed of rock leech, often acting as the 'alpha' of rock leech hunting groups. Some who have delved deep under the Mountain tell nightmarish tales of entire rock lamprey villages far below the earth. We hope those stories are not reliable.
Crafting armor out of rock lamprey lithodermis is, unfortunately, nearly impossible—it brittles and cracks soon after one is skinned. If one managed to do so somehow, it would be formidable protection indeed.
Slashers: As rock leech.
Leechsense: As rock leech.
Riverine: As rock leech.
Lithodermis: A rock lamprey's hide is hard and knobbed over with stony growths, granting it armor as plate (+7 AC) and halving damage taken from all physical trauma (including falling) as well as fire. It also blends in with dark stone, adding 4 difficulty to rolls made to notice them while hiding.
Leech-Stalkers (Playing a Rock Leech)
You can play a rock leech if your party befriends the rock leeches. I'm not sure how one would befriend the rock leeches, and I'm even less sure that it's a good idea to do so even if you do figure out how, but hey. The option is there. Pick a race. Rock leeches get Leech Hide, Fast Movement, and reroll Dexterity. Rock lampreys get Lithodermis and reroll Strength. Both races get Slashers, Leechsense, Riverine, and reroll Intelligence, taking the lower result, then subtract 2.
You don't get anything at first level. Being a leech is enough.
Leech Dance
At second level, you can perform a swaying dance as an action to hypnotize your prey. If they're looking at you, they roll Intelligence or are stunned for 1 round.
Hunting Sense
At second level, your leech-sense expands to give you a clear mental picture of the surrounding 10 feet. You don't count as blind when interacting with things within that range. You still can't see color or read printed text.
At third level, it expands again to 30 feet.
At fourth level, it expands finally to 60 feet.
Bloodletting
At third level, wounds caused by your slashers bleed for 1 damage per round until bandaged or cauterized due to anticoagulant gel coating the blades. This stacks if you hit something multiple times.
Leech Ambush
At third level, your skin blends in even more perfectly with the rock. As long as you're in dim or no light, rocky terrain, and not being actively observed, you can disappear completely. You can't be seen again until you move.
Cliff Leech
At fourth level, you can scale stone walls as easily as you walk or swim. Gain a climb speed equal to your land speed.
Crashers
At fourth level, your slashers develop into crashers, gigantic tangles of broken leech-glass surrounding your fists like morningstar heads. These are light spike melee weapons that deal 2d6 base damage, with all the other properties of your slashers. Add 4 difficulty to rolls involving fine manual dexterity.
Ratmen
These have a dungeon now!
HD 1 HP 2 Size Tiny AC 0 (unarmored)
Init -1 Speed 30'
Strength 6 -2 Dexterity 12 +1
Intelligence 6 -2 Charisma 6 -2
STR Attack 9 melee ratman poke-stick 1d4-2 improvised reach + roll Strength or contract Ratspite
DEX Attack 12 melee ratman shiv 1d2+1 improvised close quarter throatcutter
Speaks Chew and Decay, poorly, but they understand every language
Equipment 50% chance of ratman poke-stick (medium improvised reach 1d4) or shiv (light improvised close quarter throatcutter 1d2), something else both stupid and poorly-conceived, maybe a shiny pebble
Ratmen are little things that live anywhere there is dark. They can be found under the Mountain, but some live in the sewers and cellars of civilized towns on it as well. They breed like, well, rats. They are at war with the bat men. They have always been at war with the bat men. They are much weaker than the bat men, but there are so many more of them. They are winning the war. They have never lost a war. It is impossible to win a war against the ratmen.
Rat Ingenuity: Ratmen can build anything out of anything. It won't necessarily work, but they can do it.
Ratsight: Ratmen can see as well in dim light as humans can see in sunlight.
Photophobia: Ratmen roll Charisma to enter areas of bright light, or again if anyone holding a light source spends an action to brandish it threateningly. If they fail, they run screeching and hollering to its edge and lurk there. They can try again once every minute. Ratmen who are forced into bright light despite a failed roll are helpless; they throw down their weapon, piss themselves, curl up into a ball, and sob uncontrollably (at least until an opportunity for escape presents itself). Under no circumstances will they approach within 60' of a large light source (such as a bonfire, or a pile of burning furniture). They dislike attacking lightbearers in melee, and will only attack them if no other attractive options present themselves.
You can't play a ratman, but you can probably play many ratmen. Use this for ratman names.
My goblins are people, so these are my goblins. These are the ones that do all the stupid goblin shit.
DEX Attack 12 melee ratman shiv 1d2+1 improvised close quarter throatcutter
Speaks Chew and Decay, poorly, but they understand every language
Equipment 50% chance of ratman poke-stick (medium improvised reach 1d4) or shiv (light improvised close quarter throatcutter 1d2), something else both stupid and poorly-conceived, maybe a shiny pebble
Ratmen are little things that live anywhere there is dark. They can be found under the Mountain, but some live in the sewers and cellars of civilized towns on it as well. They breed like, well, rats. They are at war with the bat men. They have always been at war with the bat men. They are much weaker than the bat men, but there are so many more of them. They are winning the war. They have never lost a war. It is impossible to win a war against the ratmen.
Rat Ingenuity: Ratmen can build anything out of anything. It won't necessarily work, but they can do it.
Ratsight: Ratmen can see as well in dim light as humans can see in sunlight.
Photophobia: Ratmen roll Charisma to enter areas of bright light, or again if anyone holding a light source spends an action to brandish it threateningly. If they fail, they run screeching and hollering to its edge and lurk there. They can try again once every minute. Ratmen who are forced into bright light despite a failed roll are helpless; they throw down their weapon, piss themselves, curl up into a ball, and sob uncontrollably (at least until an opportunity for escape presents itself). Under no circumstances will they approach within 60' of a large light source (such as a bonfire, or a pile of burning furniture). They dislike attacking lightbearers in melee, and will only attack them if no other attractive options present themselves.
You can't play a ratman, but you can probably play many ratmen. Use this for ratman names.
My goblins are people, so these are my goblins. These are the ones that do all the stupid goblin shit.
These are all great - I could probably run a whole campaign using just this post with all the classes, monsters, and factions.
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