Custom Monsters

[Dracos]

I know a lot of really cool custom monsters get used in various campaigns here.  How about a place for folks to put it, so others can use them as they desire for later adventures.

--------------


Well Demon

Generally found in deep abandoned wells.  They appear to be deeply connected with the well, to the point of elder ones even being able to relocate themselves.  Not too smart or fast, they've got a very thick skin and are very strong.  Their favorite action is to grab folks who get too close and yank them down deep into the well.  Their wells appear to be normal at a first glance, but they are in fact extremely deep, something well demons are good at disguising.  Some smarter and older ones can speak, and even have strange magics on top of their natural illusion powers.  The oldest in fact, can actually heal themselves when they're within their well.  Their favorite food is children.

Size/Type: Large Abomination, Water subtype
CR: 6
Hit Dice: 6d8+24 = 48
Initiative: -2
Speed: 30, swim speed 30
Armor Class: 16 (-1,-1,+8), touch: 8, Flat Footed: 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +5 / +12
Attack: Claws +12 (1d6+7)
Full Attack: 2 claw attacks
Reach: 10/5
Special Attacks: Improved Grab
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60, Disguised Well
Saves: Fort: 6, Ref: 2, Wis: 3
Challenge Rating: 5
Abilities: Str 24, Dex 8, Con: 18, Int: 5, Wis:6, Cha: 4
Skills: Hide: 10, Bluff: 10
Organization: Solitary.

Disguised Well: It requires a DC 18 spot check to notice anything odd about the well prior to approaching.
Outside the Well: Well demons take an additional 2 points of damage per attack when outside their well. In addition, they must make fort saves versus DC 14 every round or become sickened.  Well demons rarely leave their well. The well provides complete cover to all attacks that fail to destroy it (100 hp, hardness 10), and the water provides 20 percent cover to attacks that come from directly above.

Feats:
Improved Grab: Can instantly try a grapple on a successful claw attack.  Tends to drag down to drowned folks when that happens.
Improved natural Armor: +1 to it.
Accelerated Drowning: As the yanking under water is sudden, characters must make a DC 12 reflex check or immediately begin drowning.

Skills:
Racial +4 bonus on hide and bluff

[Anastasia]

Fixed notepad syndrome on your post, Drac. Anyway, I like that monster. It's a fun thematic little thing with a build in, nasty trap. It strikes me as only working once, since I doubt the same group is going to fall for it more than that.

I wish I'd thought of it.  <_<

[Dracos]

Heh, True.  But that is by itself.  For a high level group you could play it with part of a theme.  A gazebo.  Maybe some wedding folks.  It'd go well with any blend in set of illusion users really, or as an underground trap by itself in a dungeon. 

[Ebiris]

Gygax would be proud.

[Anastasia]

Gygax would be proud.

Doubly so if you make it a lava well or an acid well!

[Ebiris]

Soul Eater Nymph
Chaotic Evil Fey Soul Eater 4
Size/Reach: 5/5
Speed: 30, Swim 20
STR 10, DEX 17, CON 10, INT 16, WIS 17, CHA 20
Gear:
Feats: Combat Casting, Weapon Finesse, Alertness, Spell Focus (Necromancy)
HP: 55
AC: 18 (18 touch, 14 flat footed)
Init: +3
Attack: Claw, +10 (1d3)
Full Attack: 2 Claws, +10 (1d3)
Special Attacks: Blinding Beauty (DC 18 fort), Stunning Glance (DC 18 fort) 2d4, Energy Drain, Soul Blast (4d6, DC 19 ref half)
Special: Damage Reduction 10/Cold Iron, Dimension Door 1/day
Saves: Fort: +12, Ref: +16, Will: +16
CL 8 Dread Necromancer Spells DC 16, 17, 18, 19 (+1 for Necromancy)
1: (8) Bane, Chill Touch, Inflict Light Wounds, Ray of Enfeeblement, Summon Undead 1
2: (7) Blindness/Deafness, Darkness, Death Knell, False Life, Ghoul Touch, Inflict Moderate Wounds, Spectral Hand, Summon Swarm, Summon Undead 2
3: (6) Crushing Despair, Inflict Serious Wounds, Ray of Exhaustion, Summon Undead 3, Vampiric Touch
4: (4) Animate Dead, Bestow Curse, Contagion, Death Ward, Dispel Magic, Enervation, Black Tentacles, Fear, Giant Vermin, Inflict Critical Wounds, Phantasmal Killer, Poison, Summon Undead 4


I used this monster in Snowfall & Swordplay during an adventure where a psychotic death-obsessed druid was blighting a vast area of woodland, forcing the resident werewolves to flee and come into violent contact with the town at the edge of the forest. The PCs summarily exterminated all the werewolves without ever discovering their reasons, but then explored the woods on an unrelated matter and found this lovely lass guarding a set of suspicious ruins.

Her backstory was basically that she was one of the guardians put over the ruins by the local circle of druids, but after one of them went insane from researching forbidden lore within, he corrupted her into her current state. Nymphs are typically Chaotic Good, but being forced to consume the souls of innocent creatures to survive pretty swiftly drove her insane, although occasional flashes of her former alignment would shine through as she pleaded with the PCs to flee from the ruins before it was too late.

I had a bit of fun keeping the players guessing exactly what she was - nymphs look like very attractive elves, so it could have been reasoned that she was simply a crazy naked elf (the party knew all about those) in need of a manicure. Her close affinity with the undead guardians of the ruins, as well as her survival in the utterly blighted forest, also pointed at she herself being undead. I think they only figured out what she really was when she unleashed her Blinding Beauty special ability to blind most of the party at the start of combat, and she was only decisively proved to not be undead when someone landed a critical hit on her.

Effectively she's an ordinary nymph, except I gave her claw natural attacks in order to qualify for the Soul Eater prestige class from Book of Vile Darkness, and having Druidic spellcasting no longer fit for her, so I swapped those spells for Dread Necromancer spellcasting.

[Anastasia]

Ice Paraelemental
Huge Elemental
Space/Reach 15/15
Speed 30, Swim 40
STR 22 DEX 24 CON 16 INT 10 WIS 14 CHA 8
Gear: -
Feats: Combat Expertise, Power Attack, Dodge, Weapon Focus(Natural)
HP: 147 (21d8+63)
AC: 24 (-2 size, +7 dex, +9 natural)
Init:+7
Attack: Slam+21 (2d8+6)
Full Attack: Slam+21/+16 (2d8+6)
Special Attacks: Chill Metal Aura, Ice Chunk Throw
Special Qualities: Elemental Traits, Damage Reduction 10/fire, Energy Immunity(cold), Vulnerability(Fire)
Saves Fort+10, Ref+19, Will+11

Damage Reduction 10/fire:

Due to it's makeup, it's damage resistance can be broached by fire. Any weapon that deals fire damage as part of it's damage ignores the elemental's damage resistance. Further, the entire attack deals 1.5 times damage, due to the elemental's fire vulnerability.

Chill Metal Aura

Radius 30 ft circular(Centered on elemental), DC 21. Functions as a chill metal spell for as long as the object is within the radius of effect.

Ice Chunk Throw

Removes a chunk of it's body to make a potent projectile attack. Ice Rock+20, 4d8+1d6+6. 60 ft range increments. Each throw deals 15 damage to the elemental.

---

Notes

This is mostly by the book, though I just slapped a workable DC on the chill metal for balance. As for the ice throw? This could easily be a spell-like or other means of ranged attack, I chose this for variety.

Strategy

With it's superior reach and AoO capacity, the Ice Paraelemental wants to be surrounded by onrushing foes. Using this and it's potent full attack in tandem, it can deal grevious amounts of harm out in a single round. When you factor in the chill metal aura, you have a very anti physical slugger. Should it prefer a more defensive struggle, it can flee or throw ice chunks. The natural habitat for these things is arctic waters and glaciers. I found this in a 3.0 book(Manual of the planes) and adapted it to 3.5.

The keys to beating one of these is range and fire. It has no spell resistance, so any fire spells should make short work of an ice paraelemental.