Magically Generating New Adventures

When I was 12 I finally got the opportunity to begin learning how to program on a second-hand computer my uncle was throwing out. For reasons I’m not entirely certain of, programming didn’t remain a major pursuit of mine. The time I spent fervently perfecting my simple programs did teach me a lot, though. Among other things, I learned to appreciate the beauty of randomness. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that I enjoy a hobby where life and death often hang on a roll the dice.

In recent years I’ve become more interested in using randomness to aid in my creative process as a GM. I’ve worked on creating systems for randomly generating a variety of gaming elements, from dungeons, to species, to entire campaign arcs. One of my proudest achievements was my random NPC generator. It was one of the most ambitious programming projects I ever undertook, and I made a lot of progress with it. Unfortunately, my ability to construct the system was far more advanced than my ability to code the system, and the project has largely fallen by the wayside.

In this post, however, I’d like to talk about one of the simplest, most elegant and most entertaining systems of random generation I’ve come up with. I use it for adventure generation, but I imagine it could be adapted to be used for any length of narrative, up to entire campaign arcs.

The idea came to me one afternoon after an extended game of Magic: The Gathering with some friends. Most of my friends find the game much more entertaining than I do, so I was sitting out for a round. While they played, I browsed through the four boxes of cards I’ve accumulated, just enjoying the artwork. I came across one particularly devilish monster (I don’t recall which) and thought it would be great to throw against my players in an upcoming session of D&D.

Then my eyes snapped open wide as I realized that Magic and D&D take place in environments so similar that every magic card is a potential element in a D&D game. I quickly grabbed a piece of paper and worked out the system which, even then, seemed so simple as to hardly need codifying.

1) Either: predetermine the game elements the cards will represent, or decide to establish those elements after the cards are drawn.

2) Either: separate the cards into categories (artifact, creature, land, sorcery…), or decide to draw them from one huge pile.

3) Determine the number of cards you will draw. (and, possibly, from which piles you will draw them.)

4) Draw the number of cards you decided on in step 3, according to the conditions established in steps 1 and 2. Use any element found on the card (art, game effects, flavor text, or even just the card’s name) as a seed from which to develop the game.

To just write it out like that doesn’t seem very clear, so below are a few examples of this. For the first draw, I used the “Random Card” function on Gatherer. I won’t predetermine which cards correlate with which game elements, nor will I separate the cards into categories. I will draw four cards.

The first thing that strikes me about these cards is the power and majesty of the Great Sable Stag. It seems a paragon of nature. This is in contrast to the Hellkite hatchling, which looks like a pretty evil dragon. Flashfreeze has some nice art of a sagacious old man on it, but I think I’d like to make this card into a kind of freezing trap which shows up in the game. Mentor of the Meek is kinda throwing me for a loop, but I’ve found that things work out best if I don’t discard cards which are difficult to fit into the idea. Maybe I can maybe work him in as the questgiver.

After some additional mulling, this is what I’ve come up with:

In a town on the outskirts of society, near an immense and unexplored forest, there are no inns for the players to stay in. Here, there is a strong presence of temples which offer free hospitality to travelers. While staying in one such very crowded temple, the PCs find themselves sitting at a table with a group of elderly pilgrims equal in number to the party. After some brief role play has allowed the players to familiarize themselves with their table companions, the server brings food. Unfortunately, the temple is overcrowded, and only has enough food for half the people at the table.
This is a test. If the PCs share the food, or offer it to the elderly pilgrims, they are approached by a young monk wearing light leather clothing, and a sword strapped to his side. He asks if he can speak with them, and takes them to a small side room with chairs, a table, and food for the players. They have impressed him with their generosity, and he would like to ask a favor of them. In the deep forest is a creature called the Playton Stag. It is a beautiful, and terrible, creature. All other stags in the world are a reflection of this one great animal.
Recently, a nearby Ancient Red Dragon named Ashrain gave birth to a whelping, and is teaching him to hunt in the great woods. Normally this would be of little concern, but the temple’s seers have foretold that Ashrain intends to continue hunting until her whelp can devour the Playton Stag.
To prevent this, the monk would like the party to capture the Playton Stag, and bring it back to the city where the monks can hide it until Ashrain grows bored of her grisly sport.
There is one snag, however. Any creature which touches the Playton Stag is instantly affected by a Time Stop spell, lasting one hour. The players must somehow return the creature to the town without ever touching it, lest they be easy prey for the creatures of the forest, or the dragons.

There are two things about this which I would like to point out. First, despite pulling 3 creature cards and a spell card, the game outline I worked up is not combat based. In fact, the primary goal of the adventure is more akin to solving a puzzle than anything else. Second, and most important, this is not an adventure I would have come up with on my own. It’s not my style, which means that the system is doing exactly what I want it to do: making me think differently. Forcing me to break my own patterns by forcing me to try to find patterns in randomness.

I think the concept is pretty clear at this point, but I’ll provide one more example to demonstrate the alternatives available in steps 1 and 2 of the process. This time I’ll be drawing from my own collection. I will predetermine the elements the cards will represent, but I will not sort the cards into categories.

The first card will be what the heroes are after on this adventure.
The second and third cards will be the challenges they must face.
The fourth card will be the unexpected help along the way.
The fifth card will be what sent them on their journey.
The sixth card will be what special treasure they have an opportunity to find.

I will now draw from my collection, and post the cards below in the order I drew them.

Now, you might look at this and see it as an unfortunate draw. What the players are after appears to be nothing more than a mundane owl, their unexpected help comes from a mindless and violent creature, and one of the obstacles they must overcome is an attractive young woman. But this is precisely what we want when we predetermine what cards will be associated with which game element. It forces us to further stretch our minds, to further break from our own patterns. I’ll keep this one short since the post is starting to run long.

After defeating a mad pyromancer, the party discover a journal whilst looting her body. It turns out she was hunting for a missing artifact. She had recently pinpointed its location: the ancient Amrou people who had hidden it had allowed an owl to swallow it, and enchanted the owl so that the artifact would be passed to its children. For generations, this family of owls has hunted among the Tempest Falls–a breathtaking and rare cluster of waterfalls in a far off land.
Along the way, the party is hounded by the forgotten descendants of those who first hid the artifact. However, if they looted a special amulet from the pyromancer, they will discover that it has an unusual ability. Whenever one of Amrou blood is near, it will summon a basilisk. The basilisk will attack the Amrou on sight–and will attack the players if it cannot find any Amrou nearby after being summoned. This makes any attempt at peace very difficult.
If the party successfully finds and slays the owl, the moment it dies, a great rumbling is heard, and an ancient war construct rises from beneath the earth to kill those who have breached the sacred trust of the Amrou.
Once the construct is defeated, and the players are finally able to examine the orb from the owl’s belly. If they are able to use magic to identify it, they will discover that once per day, it may be used to attempt to force a permanent 1 step alignment shift in another creature. Will save DC: 17, may not be used on the same creature twice regardless of success or failure.

So there you have it. Generating new adventures via magic. It’s not the only way of coming up with new ideas, but it’s one very good and fun method to try.

Pathfinder Homebrew: Unusual Spell Materials

Material components for spells are glossed over in the modern Dungeons and Dragons / Pathfinder collective. There are untold hundreds, or thousands, of spells, numerous classes with access to those spells, and all around no room for a complicated system which forces a caster to keep track of how much Bat Guano they’ve got on them. All things considered, I think the current system is adequate. For most spells with material components, those components can be found in the nondescript “component pouch.” Those few spells with more costly components, which need to be purchased and tracked, are generally not those which a caster will find themselves casting very often. It’s not perfect, but it works.

However,

relegating material components to baubles picked up in any town robs us, GMs and Players alike, of a rich element in fantasy storytelling. So many classic tales of adventure revolve around recovering a rare item required for a wizard’s spell. A spell which is, perhaps, the only thing which can wake the sleeping prince, or the best hope of finding the lair of the evil warmistress. Even when spell components are not the in the spotlight, it’s almost a requirement for any story which features a wizard to include a list of strange and arcane items. Usually this list is recited whilst the wizard’s apprentice runs about the laboratory, madly gathering “Eye of Newt” and “Wing of Bat.”

Now, as mentioned above, I think the current system is adequate. There may be a better one, but I’m not concerned with finding it. What I do propose is a system which will allow material components to play a serious role in a game. One which will serve as a compromise between keeping track of each zombie knuckle, or squid tentacle; and throwing everything into a generic “Component Pouch.” What if there were special material components which were not required to cast a spell, but could be added to a spell to enhance its effects. Like tossing a tablespoon of dill seed in the marinara sauce.

I’ll demonstrate with an example from an upcoming game of mine. My players recently helped a town which was ravaged by fire. Turns out the eons-old red dragon king, Kolgoth’Ronnomaktar, has taken to flying around and breathing swathes of flame across the land in his old age. To prevent the same from happening again, the villages request that the party ask a kindly–but eccentric–old wizard to ward their village against fire. After a series of tests, the Wizard will happily comply, however, Kolgoth’Ronnomaktar’s fire is particularly powerful, and normal wards are insufficient. In order to cast the necessary spell, the players will need to gather a branch from a tree which was struck by lightning, but did not catch fire.

This is a very specific example, but I think it shows how powerful and flavorful this element of fantasy has the potential to be. Below, I’ve compiled a list of unusual components and the effects which they might have when added to a spell. This list can be expanded to the limits of your imagination. However, the most important thing to remember is that none of these components should be easy to obtain. If a wizard can just drop into town and buy a bag of celestial’s wing feathers, then all we’re doing is buffing an already overpowered group of classes.

Ideally, casters either:

1) Embark on quests to gather these components for a specific purpose.
2) Receive them as treasure.
3) Harvest them when they happen to cross paths with the source during an adventure.

Items with which to enhance spells

[Color] Dragon’s Tooth: Adds one damage dice to any damaging spell which uses the damage type of the Dragon’s Breath weapon, and adds +1 to the saving throw or attack roll.

Example: Ezren is low on spells and needs to boost his Acid Splash to make it count. Since the spell does acid damage, Ezren uses the Black Dragon’s Tooth he’s been saving. He receives a +1 on the ranged touch attack required to deal damage with the spell, and since the spell deals 1d3 damage normally, it now deals 2d3 damage.

Example: The next day, Ezren is the last of his party standing and needs to clear a room filled with ghasts in a hurry. He decides it’s time to use the Red Dragon’s Tooth he found in a chest yesterday. Normally, his Fireball spell has a saving throw of DC: 18 and deals 7d6 damage. By consuming the red dragon’s tooth, the spell has a save DC of 19, and deals 8d6 damage.

Handful of [Color] Dragon’s Scales: Doubles the effectiveness of protection spells against the damage type of the Dragon’s breath weapon.

Celestial Blood: Adds the [Evil] descriptor to any spell. Doubles the effectiveness of any offensive spell against good aligned creatures.

Demon Blood: Adds the [Chaos] and [Evil] descriptors to a spell. Doubles the effectiveness of a spell against Lawful or Good creatures. These bonuses stack.

Devil Blood: Adds the [Lawful] and [Evil] descriptors to a spell. Doubles the effectiveness of a spell against Chaotic or Good creatures. These bonuses stack.

Lock of hair from a King/Queen: Enchantment spells cast as two caster levels higher.

Shed Angel Feather: Adds the [Good] descriptor to any spell. Doubles the effectiveness of any offensive spell against evil aligned creatures.

Treant Branch: Allows a caster who has prepared “Summon Nature’s Ally” to cast one level of the spell higher. This does not require a higher spell slot.

Vampire’s Fang: Necromancy spells cast as two caster levels higher.

Balance could be improved on these. I have to admit I’m a little conflicted about whether I want to beef up the power on some of the low powered ones to make them more worth the time it would take to acquire them, or if I want to nerf the power down on some of the higher powered ones because casters are already overpowered.

Still, I think the above examples make the point.

Pathfinder House Rule: Ability Penalty Flaws

Just as I knew I would, I forgot an entry into my current list of house rules. Truthfully, I probably missed even more, but this is the only one I came across whilst perusing a recently filled notebook. It comes from the superb Blog of Holding, which I love, and read every day despite their focus on a system I don’t play. The outline of the system is detailed on a post from July 20th. You’ll notice, however, that my version detailed below is significantly different. Brilliant as Paul’s idea is, the flaws listed seem at best goofy, and at worst unbalanced.

In most systems, flaws are used as a kind of reverse-feat. The player agrees to allow his or her character to suffer from some frailty, and in exchange, they earn a benefit of some kind. On the surface it seems like an awesome idea, and I recall being very excited about it when I first read about them. As I’ve gained experience, however, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s impossible (or at least very difficult) to implement such a system without inadvertently creating unbalanced characters.

This begs the question: why should flaws come with buffs to characters at all? You and I have flaws, and those don’t come with benefits. I’m overweight and dropped out of college due to financial problems. That doesn’t mean I got to pick “hilariously funny,” “devilishly charming,” and “god damned brilliant” to make up for being fat, uneducated, and poor. I have those positive traits despite my failings.

Using the rule below, flaws have no upside. And, since only the most hardcore role player would take such a flaw, flaws are also mandatory under certain circumstances. Please note that none of these flaws are overly harmful to a character. These flaws merely enhance a per-existing lack of ability in small, flavorful ways.

Without further ado:

Pathfinder Flaws System

If a character has a score of 9 or lower for any of their 6 base ability scores, they must select a flaw from the list below related to that ability score. For each ability modifier lower than -1, the character must have an additional flaw related to that ability score. For example, a character with a Charisma modifier of -1 must take one Charisma flaw, a character with a Charisma modifier of -2 must take two Charisma flaws, et cetera.

If any of the ability scores with associated flaws are ever permanently increased, then flaws may be removed at the same rate as modifier penalties are removed. If the ability score modifier reaches 0, all flaws associated with that ability score are removed.

Strength

Puny: You are treated as though you are one size category smaller than your racial norm with regards to weapon proficiencies.

Weak Grip: Any time you miss with a melee attack your opponent may make attempt a disarm combat maneuver as a free action.

Bad Swimmer: You cannot succeed on any swim check with a DC higher than 10.

Bad Climber: You cannot succeed on any climb check with a DC higher than 10.

Insufficient Block: If you use a shield, you only gain half of its AC bonus. If your game utilizes the “Shields Will Be Sundered” rule, you may not take advantage of it.

Dexterity

Slow Starter: You cannot win an initiative roll. If your roll is ever highest, you move to second place in the initiative order.

Butterfingers: Upon rolling a natural one in combat, you drop your weapon.

Two Left Feet: When moving over difficult terrain, or trying to move over an obstacle, the character must make a Reflex save (DC: 13) or fall prone.

Pushover: Upon being struck by a critical hit, you fall prone.

Awkward Fall: Add +1 to the falling damage for every 10 feet you fall.

Constitution

Medicine Dependent: You require a daily dose of medication to avoid the fatigued condition. After two days you gain the exhausted condition.

Slow: You can run at a maximum of twice your normal move speed, rather than four times your normal move speed.

Cheap Drunk: Even a slight amount of alcohol, as much as half a cup of weak brew, leaves you impaired. You take a -4 to all Dexterity checks & Wisdom checks until you’ve rested for 8 hours.

Weak Frame: If you wear any armor in excess of 40lb, you are treated as encumbered.

Intelligence

Illiterate: You cannot read or write.

Ignorant: You cannot succeed on any Knowledge check with a DC higher than 10.

Inexpressive: You take a -2 on any check which requires you to express yourself to another. This includes Diplomacy checks, Bluff checks, Perform checks, or any abilities or spells which require a subject to understand the character.

Bad Eye for Value: You always pay 10% more than market value when buying items from merchants. You always sell for 10% less than market value.

Wisdom

Tempted: Select a temptation from the list below. Whenever presented with your temptation, you must make a will save (DC: 10 + Your Character Level) or indulge in that temptation. This flaw can be selected more than once, its effects do not stack. Each time it is taken, select a different temptation. List of temptations: Alcohol, Food, Sex, Drugs

Overly Honorable: You cannot make bluff checks.

City Slicker: You cannot succeed on any survival check with a DC higher than 10.

Day Dreamer: You cannot succeed on any reactive perception check with a DC higher than 10.

Spendthrift: For every day your character spends in a town or city, he or she loses 1d10/level gold on purchases of food, drink, and baubles.

Gullible: You cannot succeed on any sense motive check with a DC higher than 10.

Charisma

Rude: You’re unable to bite your tongue. You cannot succeed on any diplomacy check with a DC higher than 10.

Meek: You’re unable to assert yourself. You cannot succeed on any intimidate check with a DC higher than 10.

Magically Inept: Any successful Use Magic Device check has a 25% chance to misfire, causing the target to be determined randomly. If the target is self, the spell merely fizzles.

Bad With Animals: Animals which encounter you are unusually aggressive towards you. Those which would normally be friendly are unfriendly. Those which would normally be unfriendly may attack you.

One of the best things about this house rule is that it is nearly endlessly extendable. The flaws are both simple, and entertaining to come up with. As much as I like it, however, it really isn’t for everyone. Players will almost always be resistant to something which reduces their effectiveness. As always, the best policy is to work out what works best for your group, as a group.

Pathfinder Homebrew: Corpse Motes

I spent every free moment of today working on a detailed outline for the next chapter of The Girl and the Granite Throne. I’ve got 22 pages of outline in my pocket-notebook, which is more than I have for most things I write. But try as I might, I haven’t been able to force myself to sit down and actually write out the opening lines. I’m sure I’ll regret that when I’m at work tomorrow & wishing I could write, but for now I just have to give up.

So instead, I bring you a home brew which I originally created for D&D 3.5. At the time I had a character who needed to have a lot of vices. I wasn’t satisfied with any of the drugs I found in the Book of Vile Darkness, because they all lacked a visceral element to them. I envisioned this character injecting themselves with heroin in a fantasy world where nobody had ever heard of a syringe.

And thus, the Corpse Mote was born. There is no upside to using Corpse Motes, as there is with many drugs available in the game. This is purely a detriment to whatever character uses it, and is primarily intended for those who take their role playing seriously. As such, it may not work in most games.

Corpse Motes

Corpse Motes are created when maggots feasting on a corpse are caught up in the negative energy used to turn that corpse into an undead.

Corpse Motes are larger than normal maggots, and grow spines along one side of their body not unlike those of a porcupine. Three powerful pincers, which are used to grapple mice and other prey, surround tooth-filled prehensile tube which serves as their mouth.

Once a corpse mote’s prey has is firmly held by the pincers, it latches on to the victim with its mouth. It then injects a powerful paralytic into the victim with its teeth, which allows the creature all the time it needs to suck its prey’s innards out for sustenance. For a Corpse Mote’s intended prey, this paralytic is a cruel death sentence. For a small or medium sized character, however, the paralytic causes a powerful and addictive euphoria.

Many Necromancers, whether by through intentional experimentation or simply by chance, become addicted to the venom of the Corpse Mote. Injection of the drug is handled by allowing a Corpse Mote to bite you, then squeezing it to death. In its death throes, the vermin will empty its venom sacks into the user’s bloodstream.

This can be an extremely painful procedure, since there’s no easy way to avoid being injured by the spines of the Corpse Mote while squeezing it to death. The sharp pincers used to grapple prey usually cause multiple painful lacerations before the injection is complete as well. However, many choose to make the pain part of the experience, rather than attempt to mitigate it. Others keep metal gauntlets, minions, or plucked-and-depincered corpse motes around to handle injections relatively painlessly.

GAME RULE INFORMATION

Every time a character is bitten by a corpse mote, they get a will save (DC:5) to resist addiction. With each subsequent bite within 1 year of the last bite, the DC rises by 5.

An addicted character takes a -1 penalty to Wisdom to account for impairment caused either by euphoria, or by jonesing for another fix. This is a constant affect until the character has recovered from their addiction.

An addicted character must be bitten by a corpse mote once every 24 hours or they take one negative level, and begin to suffer withdrawals.

WITHDRAWALS

Withdrawals begin 24 hours after an addicted character’s last dose, and end either when the character has beaten their addiction, or when they give in to addiction and ‘shoot up’ with another Corpse Mote.

Every 48 hours after the beginning of withdrawals, an addicted character receives a will save (DC: 5 times the character’s effective level.) If the will save succeeds, the character has overcome their addiction. If the save fails, the character receives one negative level. Characters must have the desire to quit in order to receive a will save.

48 hours after a character reaches an effective level of 1, they automatically overcome their addiction, whether or not they have a desire to do so.

A character who overcomes their addiction to Corpse Motes must still go through recovery.

RECOVERY

Once a character has overcome their addiction, they must must rest. For every 24 hours of rest after overcoming their addiction, they regain 1 of their lost levels. The rest does not need to be consecutive. This continues until the character is fully recovered. Note that rest does not necessarily mean sleep, but the character must be relaxed and restful during this period.

If, at any time during the next year, the character is bitten by a Corpse Mote, they are instantly re-addicted to the substance, and must go through withdrawals and recovery again in order to overcome their relapse. After a year, if the character is bitten by a corpse mote, they are allowed a will save to resist addiction, but the will save is 20 to start with, rather than 5. As per usual, the DC raises by 5 each time the character is bitten within 1 year of the previous bite.

Pathfinder House Rules

For a long while, I have wanted to document all the House Rules which I like enough to make use of in my games. I’ve always been somewhat bad at codifying House Rules. Many of them come and go, their effect on the game only occurring when I remember to implement them, or when they seem appropriate. In some cases, I haven’t even figured out a good way to get the rule down on paper, simply allowing certain actions sometimes, and disallowing them at other times, all by GM fiat. All of the players spread throughout the games I GM are very understanding, laid back folk, so it hasn’t become an issue. However, I know only too well that my failure to solidify what is and what is not in the rules has a potential to come back to bite me in the future.

And so this page has been born. Below are all the House Rules which I include in my games. If, in the future, I add or remove any rules, I will make a new post describing the rule (or why I felt it no longer had a place in my game) and I will update this post to reflect the new ‘House List.’

Let me say right off that I do not have sources for most of these rules. Many of them were penned by far more inventive GMs than myself. However, due to acquiring them from my brother fa/tg/uys or from some other un-citable source, most will not have sources. If anybody would like to make a correction, please leave a comment, and I’ll make sure credit is given where it is due.

Natural 20 Crits: Any roll of a natural 20 on an attack roll is an automatic critical hit. Any other rolls within critical range must still be confirmed normally.

Skill Check Critical Success/Failure: When rolling skill checks, a natural 20 is treated as a roll of 25 (20 + 5), while a natural 1 is treated as a roll of -4 (1 – 5). Add skill ranks and other modifiers normally.

Shields Shall Be Splintered: Anytime a character who wields a shield takes physical damage, they can opt to sacrifice their shield to avoid taking that damage. Masterwork or Magical shields can block a number of blows per day equal to the shield’s equivalent numerical bonus (+1 to +10) without sundering. If the shield is used to avoid damage a number of times in excess of it’s equivalent numerical bonus, it is destroyed. Magical shields can also be used to automatically save against damaging spells. Treat this as two blows against the shield. Magical shields regenerate this damage whenever the character rests for 8 hours. Shields otherwise act normally.

Shields Shall Be Splintered was originally put forth by Trollsmyth.

Diluting Bad HP Rolls: At each level, players roll their character’s total HD, and add their Constitution modifier * their character level to it. If the resulting number is higher than the character’s current max HP, then it becomes that character’s new max HP. If it is lower, then the character retains their current max HP. Here are two examples:

Valeros the Fighter is level 5. He has a constitution modifier of +3, and a max HP of 40. After killing some Skeletons, Valeros has gained enough XP to reach level 6. Normally, he would roll 1D10 + 3, and add that number to his HP. Using this House Rule, though, he instead rolls [6d10 + (3 * 6)]. He rolls exceptionally well, getting a result of 70! Valeros Max HP is now 70, up from 40 in one level.

Valeros continues to adventure, and eventually gains enough XP to reach level 7. He rolls [7d10 + (3 * 7)] for his new max HP. Unfortunately, his rolls are not so good this time, and he only gets a total of 64. Since this is lower than his previous roll of 70, his max HP does not change.

This list will change a great deal over time, I imagine. Particularly as I am sure I’m forgetting one or two that I normally employ in my games.

Pathfinder Monster: Corpse Sewn Hekatonkheires

One of the games I’m currently running has some seriously overpowered characters in it, and I’ve found that in the last few sessions I’ve not done a very good job of challenging them. So, recently, I constructed an adventure which was entirely combat oriented, and filled with custom monsters designed to bypass many of their ridiculous defenses. I wanted something really special for the final encounter of the session, so I made up the monster which is detailed below. I’ve done a lot of work since the game to polish it up and make it available for Pathfinder GMs.

For the record, the game went pretty well, except the monster below ended up being too much for them. The sorcerer got reduced to -13 HP (dead) after just a few rounds, and the Dawnblade (homebrew variant of the Duskblade) character got reduced to exactly 0 when the beast still had about 50 HP. Fortunately for my players there’s a super-secret reason why this particular monster was unable to kill that particular character…but it’s still out there.

The name isn’t just a jumble of letters, by the way. I noticed after the fact that the monster bore a kind of resemblance to a little-known creature of myth.

Corpse Sewn Hekatonkheires

Eight “tentacles” made of severed human arms–each holding tightly to the stump of the next–wave about the body of this horrifying undead. Its bulbous body is a throbbing sack of vein covered flesh, almost like a massive heart. And, on the end of the pulsating monstrosity, are fifty human heads. Each has rotted away to a sagging gray mess, which stares with white, hungry orbs.

Corpse Sewn Hekatonkheires; CR 14; [Undead] [Swamp] [Temperate Climate]

XP: 38,400
NE Huge Undead
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60ft; Perception +20

DEFENSE

AC 8, touch 8, flat-footed 8 [10 + Dex(0) + Size(-2)]
HP 300 (16d8 + 238)
Fort +5 Ref +5 Will +5
DR 10/Slashing

OFFENSE

Speed 40-60ft.(See Text); swim 20ft. (Can run 5 at times normal speed)
Melee 2 or 8 tentacle slam attacks + 17 (2d8 + 7)
Space 15ft; Reach 10ft.
Special Attacks Breath Weapon (60ft. cone, DC 20, 12D6 acid)

STATISTICS

Str 25 Dex 10 Con — Int 2 Wis 7 Cha 38
Base Attack +12CMB+21 CMD 31 (Can’t be tripped)
Feats Toughness, Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Improved Natural Attack, Awesome Blow, Ability Focus (Breath Weapon), Ability Focus (Hungry Heads), Alertness, Run
Skills Climb +16, Perception +20, Stealth +16, Swim +16

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate marshes, riverbeds, small lakes
Organization solitary
Treasure Standard

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Awesome Blow(Ex) As a standard action, the Corpse Sewn Hekatonkheires may perform an awesome blow combat maneuver. If the maneuver succeeds against a corporeal opponent smaller than the beast, its opponent takes 2d8 + 7 slam attack damage, and is knocked flying 10 feet in a direction of the Corpse Sewn Hekatonkheires choice and falls prone. The attack can only push the opponent in a straight line, and the opponent can’t move closer to the attacker than the square it started in. If an obstacle prevents completion of the opponent’s move, the opponent and the obstacle each take 1d6 points of damage, and the opponent is knocked pron in the space adjacent to the obstacle.

Hungry, Hungry Heads(Ex) Any character which stands in a square adjacent to the Corpse Sewn Hekatonkheires’ 50 heads is subject to a bite attack. This is an immediate action for the Corpse Sewn Hekatonkheires. Characters are allowed a DC 20 [10 + 1/2 HD(8) + Ability Focus(2)] to avoid this attack. If the save fails, roll 2d6 to determine the number of heads which successfully bite the character. Each bite attack deals 1d4 damage.

Breath Weapon(Su) Using a breath weapon is a standard action. A Corpse Swen Hekatonkheires can use its breath weapon once every 1d4 rounds. A breath weapon always starts at an intersection adjacent to the beast and extends in the direction the creature’s heads are facing. Those caught in the area can attempt Reflex saves to take half damage. The save DC is 10 + 1/2 the monster’s HD (8) + the monster’s Con modifier (0 for undead) + the Ability Focus feat (2).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Tentacles, Attacks, and Movement The Corpse Sewn Hekatonkheires has a relatively light body considering its size, which allows it to walk on its 8 tentacles. Lifting itself from a position resting on the ground or in the water, to a “standing” position requires all 8 tentacles to be engaged in a standard action. Once standing, the creature requires only 6 of its tentacles to remain standing, and may attack with the remaining two. When support itself on 6 tentacles, the creature can move at a land speed of 40ft. When using all 8 tentacles to support itself, the Corpse Sewn Hekatonkheires can move at a speed of 60ft. Shifting between using 6 tentacles and 8 tentacles to support itself is a move-equivalent action.

Background The Corpse Sewn Hekatonkheires is the creation either of an extremely masterful, or extremely foolish necromancer. Animating the creature requires a hundred human bodies, but many power hungry casters view the requirement as worthwhile due to the beast’s expertise in keeping troublesome adventurers from getting through the swamps surrounding a necromancer’s headquarters.

These amphibious monstrosities typically hunt near shallow water. Often they hide under a bridge or other river crossing, camouflaging themselves as piles of muck, and make their first strike as soon as no one is looking.

Pathfinder Homebrew Spell / Template: Corpse Servant

For an upcoming Pathfinder game, I needed a special kind of undead. Something not unlike a Lich, but without all the special doodads that go along with that. I also didn’t want the creature to be a spellcaster. What I did want was something like an intelligent Zombie without too many of the drawbacks of decomposition. The following homebrew spell and template are what worked for me.

Spell: Create Corpse Servant

School Necromancy[evil]; Level Sor/Wiz 7, Cleric 6
Casting Time 1 minute
Components V, S, M (Onyx gems worth 10,000gp)
Range Touch
Target Dead creature touched
Duration See text
Saving Throw none, see text; Spell Resistance yes (harmless)

This spell creates an undead with the Corpse Servant template (detailed below.) The body which is used can not have been dead for longer than 1 day per caster level. In addition, the subject’s soul must be offered something which will cause them to willingly return from death. Common reasons are revenge, or to save a loved one. Most often, a Speak With Dead spell is required to reach this agreement. If the subject’s soul is not willing to return, the spell does not work; therefore, a subject that agrees to return receives no saving throw.

Coming back from the dead is an ordeal. Coming halfway back from the dead is less so. However, the subject of the spell gains one permanent negative level when it gains the Corpse Servant template in this manner, just as if it had been hit by an energy-draining creature. If this negative level would reduce the creature’s level to 0, the Corpse Servant cannot be created.

Upon completion of the spell, the Corpse Servant is created and is immediately with full hit points, vigor, and health. If the creature had any prepared spells, these spells are not lost by gaining the Corpse Servant template in this manner.

Constructs, elementals, outsiders, an creatures with an Intelligence score lower than 3 cannot be used to create Corpse Servants.

Template: Corpse Servant

Corpse Servant is an acquired template which can be added to any creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature) who has died, and willingly entered into a Corpse Servant Contract via the “Create Corpse Servant” spell. A Corpse Servant retains all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Alignment: Cannot be good.
Type: The creature’s type changes to undead. Do not recalculate BAB, saves, or skill ranks. (See page 309 of the Pathfinder Bestiary for more information on the Undead type.)
Senses: A Corpse Servant gains darkvision 60ft
Hit Dice: Change all of the creature’s racial Hit Dice to D8s. All Hit Dice derived from class levels remain unchanged. As undead, Corpse Servants use their Charisma modifiers to determine bonus hit points (Instead of Constitution).
Service and Agreement: Corpse Servants agree to obey their creators, in exchange for some boon agreed upon before the Corpse Servant is created. This boon can be anything which the base creature desires. However, a creature which has passed on will have little care for material goods. Some possible boons include:

-Revenge against the one who caused the base creature’s death, or the death of a loved one.
-Protection for a loved one about to face imminent danger.
-The opportunity to complete a personally important quest.
-An escape from an unpleasant afterlife, such as the Abyss, or the Nine Hells.
-In the case of devoted followers, simply the opportunity to continue serving the caster.

In exchange, a Corpse Servant must follow any orders given by the caster who brought them back from beyond the grave. Any attempt to disobey these orders requires an opposed Charisma check between the caster and the Corpse Servant. The corpse servant suffers a -10 penalty on this check. If the check succeeds, the Corpse Servant takes damage equal to the Caster’s Charisma check result, but may act freely for 24 hours. After that time, another opposed Charisma check is automatically initiated, regardless of distance between the two characters. If the Corpse Servant succeeds, he again takes damage and gains 24 hours of freedom. If he fails, he travels to the Caster’s location, even if he does not know where that is.

If the Caster ever attempts to order the Corpse Servant to take action or inaction which appears (to the Corpse Servant) to prevent the fulfillment of the caster’s side of the agreement, the Corpse Servant may make an opposed check to disobey the Caster at a +4 bonus rather than a penalty. The Corpse Servant still takes damage in this case.

If for any reason the Corpse Servant’s boon becomes impossible to deliver upon (such as the loved one who was to be protected dying) the bond between the Caster and the Corpse Servant is severed. The Corpse Servant may, at this point, choose between returning to death, or continuing to exist as a masterless Corpse Servant.

Pathfinder: Hall of a Dozen Deaths

*Art for the game “Uncharted 3: World of Deceit”*

The Hall of a Dozen Deaths is a room I devised for a recent game. I designed it to be, primarily, a kind of fake-out encounter. One which appears very daunting on the surface, but has a very simple and safe solution. However, there’s no reason it couldn’t be used in a game without including the bypass mechanism, forcing the players instead to make the difficult series of checks required to make it through the hallway in one piece.

I should also note, before anyone corrects me, that there are only 7 traps, not 12. The ‘Dozen’ in the title is figurative.

I have not included any DCs or other information regarding the disabling of these devices. In part because the players I ran this for had no character who could even attempt such a thing, and in part because it is not in keeping with the spirit of the encounter. For me, this was a magically created hallway meant to test those who wished to beg a favor of a powerful Wizard. For you, it may be used differently.

I would suggest, however, that any disable check DCs be very high. My thinking is that “traps” which are not hidden, and thus lack the element of surprise, would be constructed extremely sturdily, to resist any disabling attempts.

Lastly, if you are putting this on a map, the hallway is 10ft wide, and 60ft long (not including any area used before and after the series of obstacles.)

Description:
As you ascend the spiraling staircase, you hear a cacophony of noise from the room above. When you reach the top, you find yourself in a hallway. In front of you, the obvious source of the noise, is a series of deadly traps which separate you from the only door on the opposite end of the hall. It’s a maelstrom of blades, spikes, and fire.

Misc Information
Any character who spends at least 1 minute (10 rounds) studying the hallway can add their INT bonus to any checks made to avoid the traps. (They may not, however, add it to their AC, or to any skill checks made to escape the traps.)

Perception check DC: 12 will reveal a button above the door at the opposite end of the hallway. This button deactivates or seals off all of the hallway’s dangers, making it safe to walk normally to the door. Attempting to hit the button with a projectile weapon is made against AC: 8, with a 50% miss chance due to the traps constantly getting in the way.

If a character attempting to make a ranged attack to depress the button spends 1 minute (10 rounds) studying the hallway, they can reduce the miss chance by (10% * Their INT modifier.)

Trap 1: Pendulum Blades

Three pendulums swing from the ceiling. They have heavy curved blades at the base, along with smaller blades along the shaft to prevent anyone attempting to jump over them. This section is 5ft long.

DC: 17 Acrobatics check to avoid all 3 blades.

Fail by 1-2: attacked by one blade.
Fail by 3-4: attacked by two blades.
Fail by 5 or more: attacked by all three blades.

Pendulum Blade (Attack) 1D20 + 12
Pendulum Blade (Damage) 3D6

Note: Each blade is treated as a Greataxe made for a large creature.

Trap 2: Acid Pit

A 14 foot long, 3ft deep pit filled with bubbling green acid immediately follows the swinging blades. This obstacle covers 3 squares (or 15 feet)

Acrobatics Check DC: 14 to leap across, +2 for each blade the player failed to avoid with an acrobatics check. If a character pauses after the swinging blades, then they are unable to get a running start, which adds an additional 14 to the DC of the acrobatics check.

Fail by 1-4: land on feet within the acid pit.
Fail by 5 or more: fall prone within the acid pit.

Acid causes 1D6 damage per round of contact. However, if a character falls prone within the acid, they are treated as having total immersion. In cases of total immersion, acid deals 10d6 damage per round.

Climbing out of the acid counts as 2 squares of movement. Standing up from a prone position counts as a full move action.

Trap 3: Smashing Walls

Two 10ft sections of wall on each side of the hallway continually smash together, meeting in the center.

Acrobatics Check DC: 12 to jump through. If the character fell into the acid on the previous trap, the DC gains an additional +4.

Failure results in 4d8 crushing damage. No attack roll or saving throw is available to avoid this damage if the initial acrobatics check is failed.

Note: Each wall is treated as a separate Greatclub made for a large creature.

Trap 4: Floor Spikes

24 inch spikes extend from holes in the ground at fantastic speeds, only to disappear just as quickly, and come shooting out again at a completely different angle. The deadly holes extend for 5ft of hallway.

Acrobatics DC: 18 to avoid.

Miss by 1-2: Attacked by 1
Miss by 3-4: Attacked by 2
Miss by 5 or more: Attacked by 4

Floor spikes (attack) 1d20 + 11 (Shield, Armor, & Deflection bonuses do not count towards AC against this attack. Characters wearing shoes or footwear get +2 to AC.)
Floor spikes (damage) 1d4
Floor Spikes (Special) On hit, movement speed is reduced to half by 24 hours, until the creature is successfully treated with a DC: 17 Heal check, or until the character receives at least 1 point of magical healing.

Note: Spike damage is treated as a rapier made for a small creature.

Trap 5: Fire Pit

The floor in this 10ft length of hallway is a conveyor belt which moves to the left at 30ft/round. The left side of the wall opens up into a large pit filled with fire.

Acrobatics DC: 18 to maintain balance while moving through this area. If a character chooses to pause in this area, they must spend a full move action each round, in addition to a DC: 18 Acrobatics check, to avoid falling into the fire pit.

Characters who fall into the fire pit begin taking 1d6 heat damage every round, beginning the round in which they fall into the pit.

Characters who fall into the fire pit are immediately at risk of catching on fire, and must make a DC: 15 Reflex save to avoid catching on fire. If they fail, they take 1d6 points of damage each round until the fire is put out. The character may make a Reflex saving throw each round (DC: 15) to put the fire out.

The pit is not deep, however, fire spurts from nozzles on the wall, and a speeding conveyor belt is the only thing to climb onto. As such, climbing out requires a DC: 25 climb check. Characters who climb out must immediately succeed on a DC: 18 Acrobatics check or fall back into the pit.

Trap 6: Saw Blades

Massive circular saw blades extend from both the ceiling and floor. There is one inch between each blade in the row, and 2 and a half feet for characters to pass through between the two rows. The blades cover a 5ft length of hallway. Leaping through the space is a DC: 20 Acrobatics check.

Failure deals 3d8 + 3 damage.

The motion of the blades causes characters who fail the check to be ejected back onto the conveyor belt. Characters must make a DC: 20 Reflex save or fall into the fire pit.

Note: Damage is based on the “Chamber of Blades” trap detailed in the Core Rulebook.

Trap 7: The Beasts

A cage on either side of the last 10ft of hallway houses a Hook Horror*. Leaving this area prompts an attack of opportunity from both, as Hook Horrors are large creatures and can attack anything within 10ft of themselves.

Hook Horror
Large Aberration
HP: 65 (10HD)
AC: 22, Touch 12, Flat Footed 19
Combat Maneuver Bonus: 13
Combat Maneuver Defense: 26

Claw(Attack) 1D20 + 13
Claw(Damage) 1D6 + 7

Bite(Attack) 1D20 + 8
Bite(Damage) 2D6 + 3

Saves: Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +8

If players spend at least one round in this square, and do not immediately leave it, then the Hook Horrors can make a normal attack against them.

On a full attack action, a Hook Horror uses its claw attack twice, once for each claw. If both claws successfully hit a creature at least one size category smaller than the Hook Horror (which is medium or smaller), then the Hook Horror can initiate a grapple attempt as a swift action. This does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

If the grapple succeeds, the Hook Horror automatically attacks with its bite attack in the same round. The Hook Horror continues to bite the player until the player gets free. While grappled, the character cannot be attacked by the other Hook Horror.

*Note: I have not yet encountered Hook Horrors in any Pathfinder literature, and pulled their information from the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 “Monster Manual 2.” Since they do not serve as actual foes for the players, I have not included some of their information. If the GM so chooses, they could replace the Hook Horrors with any monster he or she likes.

And that’s the Hall of a Dozen Deaths. I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know if you use it. Not for credit or anything, but just so I can bask in the glory of actually devising something other Game Masters liked.