Demiurge 1138's page

I just figured that hair was a recessive trait for hobgoblins. Most don't have it, a few do. Most who do shave it off for fear of looking too distinctive/individual. The ones who keep it (like the hobgoblin Holtzmann up there) are iconoclasts.

Just finished watching the Horn of Aroden stream. Super-cool to see a module I wrote being played on Twitch.

Incidentally, the Villain Codex that Paizo just released has feats that let a vishkanya turn her injury poison into other types. Contact is covered.

Hugin: male tengu rogue (scout archetype). A street rat and conspiracy theorist, came to the Aria Park protest in order to pick pockets but got caught up in the whirlwind of the Silver Ravens due to his brother Munin (see below). Obsessed with unraveling the mystery of the Devil's Bells and proud possessor of a painting of a mothman.

Munin: male tengu fighter (lore warden archetype). Munin made good before Hugin did, having broken into the Alabaster Academy, been caught and offered a job rather than be reported. Munin befriended Rexus Victocora during his tutelage at the Alabaster Academy and was among the first the young noble contacted after the Night of Ashes. Munin is a noted scholar in his own right, especially on matters tied to the Temple Street Slasher.

Reynard, the Scarlet Fox: male kitsune mesmerist. Reynard was a rebel before the formation of the Silver Ravens, using his charms and disguises to assume a number of shifting identities to catch criminals and thwart corruption. The Scarlet Fox, a masked and dashing vigilante, is his most notable alias. He is something of a populist figure, and his influence has been key in growing support for the Silver Ravens in Old Kintargo.

Yvaine: female half-elf witch (winter patron). Yvaine is something of a diva, both literally and figuratively, but her big break was sabotaged by the coming of Barzillai Thrune and the seizure of Kintargo's opera house. She is one of Madame Docur's proteges, and has been tasked by the Lacunafex to build and monitor the Silver Ravens while Mme. Docur keeps a low profile and protects her students. Her familiar is a tiny fluffy dog named Pringles McCringles, who rarely leaves her side.

Mikhail Fastmender: male tiefling cleric of Sarenrae. Mikhail outwardly lives up to many of the bad stereotypes of tieflings in the Devil's Nursery, being both greedy and drunken. His acquisitiveness, however, is for funds to support the Cloven Hoof Society, where he helps operate a free clinic, and he drinks to forget the ritual sacrifice of his brother in the Temple of Asmodeus, a fate which he narrowly avoided.

The kasha falls into the category of "also ran" for the "official" Year of Yokai. I thought at the time they were too similar to nekomata/bakeneko, but I figured out a niche for them.

Oni, Kasha

This cat-like humanoid stands more than a head taller than a man. It is wreathed in orange flames and bears a hideous grin.

Kashas take special pleasure in disrupting the natural cycle of souls, stealing dead bodies, drinking away parts of the soul and then raising the corpse as a skeleton or zombie to serve it. Although kashas are capable of stealth and guile, they delight in raising terror, often choosing to strike publicly on stormy nights in order to spread panic throughout a town. They delight in combat, softening up those that would dare stand against them with fiery breath and magic before tearing into their prey with teeth and claws. Kashas are confident to the point of arrogance and will only flee a fight if their opponent suppresses the magical flames that enshroud them.

A kasha stands seven feet tall and weighs 250 pounds. They are as indolent and lazy as any cat—when not wreaking havoc, they spend long hours dozing or being waited on by their undead slaves.

Re: inugami--I just realized that Barzillai Thrune in Hell's Rebels needs an inugami. He loves dogs. And obedience.

I have a kasha in the works, but first let's have another tsukumogami. More low level monsters need to have the weird eeriness of yokai, I feel.

Minowaraji
A straw coat picks itself up, shaping into a shroud for an invisible humanoid figure. Its arms and legs are composed of leather and cloth straps, and luminous eyes glow from beneath its hood.

Despite their spooky appearances, minowaraji are generally harmless, and may even be useful to laborers as able assistants. They will fight to defend themselves, especially if someone tries to interrupt their work. Their own limbs are incapable of inflicting any injury worse than a weak slap, but they are adept at using farm implements as makeshift polearms. A minowaraji stands about three feet tall and weighs only fifteen pounds.

My prediction? War of the Runelords. Alaznist vs. Sorshen. Agents of both awaken and start wreaking havoc on Varisia. The final confrontation involves the Oliphaunt of Janderlay, who is clearly involved with trombones somehow (look at that snoot!)

The parasites are the qlippoth allies of Alaznist. The plastic are the faceless stalkers who serve Sorshen (thinking plastic as adjective, not noun). The phantom powered dreadnaught launchers should be obvious.

I intend to throw some of them into my Hell's Rebels game as a party of mercenaries set on tracking the Silver Ravens down.

This yokai borrows some mechanics from Bestiary 4's kaiju, but is low enough CR to show up in a more ordinary game (although it's still nothing to sneeze at). Think of it as a training wheels kaiju, perhaps.

Ayakashi
This serpentine creature stretches seemingly to infinity, its powerful coils looping and writhing as far as the eye can see. Luminous slime oozes from its every pore and forms a thick coat around the creature. Its tiny head is little more than a ragged mass of tissue fitted with a puckered orifice lined with gnashing teeth.

Ayakachi resemble nothing so much as a colossal hagfish, and sages believe they are relatives of these vile creatures. Like a hagfish, the slime of an ayakachi serves as both defensive and offensive weapon, clogging the gills and encrusting around both prey and anything foolish enough to attack it. Ayakashi are solitary beasts, and are believed to reproduce by ejecting their seed into the water to meet with those of other ayakashi. Due to the rarity of these creatures, such matings must happen very infrequently. Ayakachi are too stupid to gather treasure, but waters in which they swim may be littered with wrecks laden with forgotten riches.

Keukegen
Slithering forward is a snake-like creature seemingly composed of matted, greasy hair. Its face is vaguely canine and bears wide, staring eyes.

Due to their urban habitats and love of filth, keukegen and binbōgami occasionally come into contact. The capricious kami, surprisingly, view keukegen as a menace to be eliminated, leading to pitched battles between the two shabby creatures. A binbōgami is more than a match for a single keukegen, so keukegen in an area patrolled by a binbōgami aggregate into clots for mutual defense.

A keukegen grows up to four feet long and weighs about eighty pounds. Despite their seemingly formless bodies and snake-like movements, they possess over two dozen centipede-like legs, which they use to scuttle up walls and ceilings.

I wouldn't mind seeing Coral and Shipwreck golems, seeing as how Reaper gave me miniatures for them.

Coral golem is in Bestiary 4. A cannon golem (Bestiary 3) might be a good fit for a shipwreck golem

My first occult monster! And of course, to make it harder on myself, I modeled it using one of the more complicated occult classes. No "psychic magic" special ability for me. I especially enjoyed the research for this yokai as it delved into actual Japanese occult practices. Enjoy!

Inugami
If not for its elaborate robes and peaked cap, this creature would resemble an ordinary dog. Talismans, divination tools and other occult accouterments hang from cords along its body.

Inugami are loyal to their creator, and frequently are passed between generations of a family for decades or even centuries. Families that host an inugami have notably superior luck to their rivals, seeming to have preternatural knowledge of local affairs and business opportunity, and madness or ill fate besieging their enemies. Although an inugami typically serves its hosts, they do not obey a master who did not create them unquestioningly, and a cruel or ungrateful master may be abandoned or murdered by the undead.

An inugami is the size of a mid-sized dog, but it is naturally headless. The head of the animal it was created from remains in a specially desecrated shrine devoted to keeping the inugami intact—the inugami’s head is an ectoplasmic construct projected from within the creature. This ectoplasmic head can extend from its shoulders on a tether, giving it frightening reach with its bite attack. An inugami cannot change its shape, but frequently uses illusions to appear as a normal dog, a child or halfling, or even a werewolf-like creature depending on the needs of its mission.

Creating an Inugami
In order to create an inugami, a dog must first be buried up to its neck in full sight of food and water. Just before the dog starves, it must be decapitated and its head buried at the crossroads for no less than a full month. The head is then dug up, lacquered and baked and enshrined in a secret place within the home. These elaborate steps can be averted with a create undead spell at caster level 17th, but the caster must be capable of casting psychic spells or have the Psychic Sensitivity feat.

The idea of new robots not seen in any other Paizo product excites me, as I'm in the middle of running Iron Gods. Go metal scorpion, go!

Another week, another oni. This one serves as something of a companion piece to the ushi-oni.

Oni, Hitokuchi
This misshapen giant is almost entirely head, supported by stocky legs and flanked by stout clawed arms. A single baleful eye glares from over a freakishly oversized mouth, which slavers in anticipation.

No two hitokuchi look exactly alike, although all share the warped proportions and oversized maw characteristic of their species. Eye number is especially variable, ranging from one to three even between blood relatives. Unlike other oni, they are incapable of changing their shape, instead relying on a talent for mimicking voices and the ability to fit into impossibly small spaces in order to find prey. Dimwitted, hitokuchi are better at repeating snippets of overheard conversation than they are at forming original sentences, which may alert prey to their deception.

Hitokuchi are found in caverns and caves around the world, although their burrowing ability and propensity for small spaces lures them into basements and crypts in search of food. The morlocks they loosely resemble venerate them as ancestral spirits, and the most dangerous and wide-ranging morlock tribes are frequently those that raid in behest of a patron hitokuchi.

A hitokuchi stands about ten feet tall, almost seven of those feet being devoted to their immense heads. The average specimen weighs 1200 pounds.

Miss me?

Exactly one year after I posted the last of the Year of Yokai yokai, I'm back. I don't know how many yokai I intend to stat up (probably not another 52), but I have the creature design bug and there's tons and tons of monsters to be gleaned from Japanese folklore, literature and picture scrolls.

This first monster was excluded from the first Year of Yokai for being a regional variant of an existing monster, the kappa. But when has D&D/Pathfinder ever neglected a monster, no matter how obscure or redundant?

Garappa
A skulking humanoid with a turtle-like shell creeps forth. Its webbed hands and feet sit at the ends of gangly limbs, and it bears a toothy beak. Its head opens into a shallow bowl full of water.

Like a kappa, garappas will engage in pranks and games at the expense of a traveler if they think they can get away with it, but do not come into contact with humanoids frequently due to their isolationist habits. Garappas prefer still water to flowing and can be frequently found living in cold mountain lakes and ponds. Garappas are preferentially solitary, coming together only if resources are common or if forced to by human encroachment. Despite their bestial appearances and simple way of life, garappas are experts in herbal medicine, and frequently know of exotic medicinal plants in their territory. It takes a silver tongue and a patient mind, however, to enlist a garappa to this purpose for anyone other than themselves.

This one I didn't change too much from the original--I'm a big fan of tomb motes, and have used them in a couple of adventures. One thing stuck out at me, though: why aren't they suitable for familiars? So I made them that way--think of them as the undead equivalent of the CR 2 outsider spectrum.

Tomb Mote

A tiny mannequin skitters about, its body seemingly composed of equal parts bone shards, soil and matted hair. Despite its patchwork body, it moves with eerie grace.

A tomb mote stands about eighteen inches tall and weighs ten pounds or less. The disease spread with their bites is nonlethal, but results in bloated, greenish skin, a slowed heart and breathing rate and a powerful odor of decay. Some unfortunate victims of corpse bloat are buried while still alive, mistaken for dead by well-meaning family and friends. Tomb motes find this hilarious, and seek out their victims to tease and torment as the unfortunates die of thirst or suffocation.

A tomb mote can be persuaded to serve as a familiar to necromancers and others obsessed with death. Any evil spellcaster with a caster level of 7th or higher may take a tomb mote as a familiar with the Improved Familiar feat.

Is the "caller in darkness" a lovecraftian creature?

The caller in darkness is from the 3.0 Psionics Handbook, which makes it OGL. It's a gestalt undead made of dozens of wailing souls.

The draw that a D&D movie could have over "generic fantasy" would be the monsters. I don't mean the IP stuff like beholders or illithids, necessarily. In most fantasy movies, monsters and creatures are rare. In D&D, they're the point.

A D&D movie that played at being Avatar, with elaborate environments and creature designs, could certainly prove to be a draw.

Lessee... based on paths I've run:

Rise of the Runelords: Can't really put my finger on a definite dud, but I recall the party getting antsy in the middle of Spires of Xin-Shalast. The crawl through the city proper, not the wendigo haunts before or Karzoug's palace after.

Curse of the Crimson Throne: I got some decided negative feedback on the first act of Seven Days to the Grave. The party felt like they were mere observers, rather than active participants, in the whole "early days of the plague" thing. Once they started getting missions, they perked up considerably and had a great time with the Gray Maidens and the plague doctors. Unlike many of the anecdotes I've seen on the board, they liked the trip abroad to the Storval Plateau and Scarwall quite a bit.

Legacy of Fire: The Impossible Eye bored most people at my table. They thought that the "trapped in a weird planar location" had already been done better in the previous adventure and that the fights were tedious slogs. And this was after I cleaned them up. Greg Vaughn was definitely thinking more like 4e than PF at that point--lots of fights with mooks incapable of doing much to the PCs, over and over again.

Council of Thieves: I ran this path in spite of Bastards of Erebus, not because of it. Janiven acts like a complete idiot in the beginning, the sewer crawl is tedious and the Hellknights end up looking like buffoons instead of worthy and frightening adversaries. I ended up scrapping the entire first half of this adventure.

Serpent's Skull: I dunno if there's a weak link to point out, or if the whole AP is a weak link. We quit it towards the end of Book 2, simply because the party was bored and had no motivation. The cognitive disconnect between trying to motivate a good-with-a-capital-G party and the factions and hooks presented ended up tearing that group apart. I'll say Racing to Ruin was the weak link, because it made motivation so difficult, but reading City of Seven Spears did not make me want to run it.

Jade Regent: The Hungry Storm relies heavily on the caravan rules, which are broken and stupid. The individual encounters waver between the ludicrously easy and the ludicrously difficult. The dungeon crawl/caravan hybrid at the end, with the yetis, struck me as so repetitive and obnoxious that I cut it entirely.

Shattered Star: No one adventure sticks out as a bad experience, but I will note that the fights in Beyond the Doomsday Door were considerably more difficult than in other chapters. My PCs rose to the challenge (there were only three of them, but they were all very experienced players), but each player suffered at least one death in that module.

And my axe!

Being a long-term cryptozoology fan, I've used a number of cryptids in my campaigns. Some highlights:

In Legacy of Fire, the PCs had to deal with mysterious livestock deaths while retaking Kelmerane. A chupacabra was stalking their herds and even took out a guard in the night before the PCs tracked it down in its lair beneath an ancient tree.

The mothmen were very keen on the party surviving their shipwreck on Smuggler's Shiv, as they were destined to find Saventh-Yhi in Serpent's Skull, for good or ill. A mothman provided them with much needed supplies on several occasions, was sighted from a distance and wiped a PC's mind when he spotted it on watch.

In my Shattered Star game, the PCs attended a lecture at the Pathfinder Lodge on the nature and characteristics of bunyips, and picked up on a bit of folklore about the beasts--supposedly they are driven off by the scent of raw onions. As such, they took a sack of onions on their repeated journeys out to sea. Sadly for them, the actual bunyip they fought was encountered in the swamps south of Maginmar by the time they forgot their onions. The bellowing of the beast threw two-thirds of the party into panic, but the summoner was able to drive off, but not kill, the bunyip with water elementals.

Those of you keeping track might have noticed that last week's monster, the namazu, was the 52nd creature in the Year of Yokai series. But, I always say, it never hurts to go out with a bang. The following is the official conclusion to the Year of Yokai, as well as my first mythic monster. Enjoy!

Nūrihyon
This wrinkled old man stands a head shorter than a human being. His head is grotesquely elongated, giving him a top-heavy appearance. Despite his deformities, he carries himself with a regal air. His robes are fine and he clutches a gnarled cane in one withered hand.

A nūrihyon loves to dwell among people and benefit from their charity, crashing parties held by the elite, stealing rooms at the finest inns and brothels and otherwise taking advantage of the finest creature comforts. In order to do so, they use their vast magic to convince others that they are the rightful master of the house, and to do favors for them. A nūrihyon’s demands may be as simple as dressing all in a particular color, or as insane as fetching a fresh phoenix egg to make into an omelet. Their stranger desires may lead to trouble for their pawns, and to adventure opportunities for those bold, daring and powerful enough to carry them out. Unfortunately for those victimized by a nūrihyon, they rarely reward mortals with little more than a fraction of the rightful cost of their prizes.

Despite their odd appearances and slothful demeanors, nūrihyons are ferocious in combat if they have to be, slipping in and out of sight and striking with their enchanted canes for tremendous damage. They much prefer, however, to have others fight for them—either enchanted thralls or allies recruited from the ranks of local urban monsters. A nūrihyon can lend some of its mythic majesty to its monstrous allies, turning even weak creatures into powerful menaces.

Namazu
Bursting forth from the earth is a catfish the size of a house. Its long barbels whip about frantically as it moves through the ground as if it were water.

Namazu rarely encounter one another, so these occurrences are often a source of celebration. Such celebrations take the form of contests of strength and power, which can have dire consequences for other creatures in the radius of their magic and might. If confronted as an equal, rather than being fought as a monster, most namazu are apologetic and seek to engage in restitution for damage they may have caused. Unfortunately, they are often thought of as destructive monsters and treated as such, which can lead to further destruction in the wake of the namazu’s battles.

A namazu reaches up to sixty feet long and weighs a hundred tons. They are carnivorous, consuming purple worms and other burrowing monsters, but can go for a century between meals.

I apologize for being a bit behind the "one a week" curve. Fear not!

Kerakera-onna
A towering female giant appears, her face caked in makeup and her teeth stained black. Her face is contorted into a rictus of mirth, adding to her strangely intimidating presence.

Most kerakera-onna are rarely-glimpsed figures, only appearing to mete out justice. Some, however, take a more active role in managing their wards by assuming mortal form and serving as a madam. Such madams are beloved both by their stable of employees and by the downtrodden folk of their community at large, as such a kerakera-onna takes an active stance against poverty, oppression and corruption. These communities may never know they host a kerakera-onna until a wicked guard captain or politician ends up afflicted with the curse of cackling wrath.

A big one for y'all this week; it's a template! So we've got a sample monster, a template, a variant template and how to inflict this template on your monsters and PCs alike!

Oseichu Creature
This brutish giant bears bags under his eyes and has an overall gaunt aspect. Bisecting his belly like a gaping wound is an oversized mouth filled with gnashing teeth.

Although oseichu creatures retain their old personalities, they are driven by the demands of their new bodies to feed whenever possible. Common sense and wisdom are tamped down by the urge for food, while the disease transforms the host’s body to be tougher and stronger in order to seize and protect food sources. They gorge themselves through both their original and newly formed mouths. Although some victims of this transformation are able to disguise their condition for a time, most are soon revealed by their second voice, forced to go into hiding or sanitariums. Some savage humanoids relish the transformation as a gift from dark gods and serve as elite warriors in their tribes—such bands are often forced into conflict with civilization as their own food stocks dwindle.

During the transformation process, oseichu syndrome is as treatable as any other disease, but once the transformation takes hold, it is difficult to reverse. Only a limited wish, regenerate or more powerful magic is capable of returning a victim to normal, although there are rumors of herbal and alchemical remedies to force the oseichu from the body.

Oseichu Syndrome
Disease—ingested; onset—1 week; save—Fortitude DC 20; damage—1d4 Con; special—when Con reaches 3 or lower, victim transforms into an oseichu creature over the course of 1 hour; cure—two consecutive saves.

In apology for having missed a week, have some more yokai! I'm on a bit of a theme, it seems.

Biwa-bokuboku
Hobbling forth with a cane is a robed man with the head of a biwa. The neck of the instrument is held aloft like a crest, and the instrument’s body bears a pained expression.

Biwa-bokuboku value material wealth much more than most other tsukumogami, and if they cannot earn it, they will gladly steal it. A few biwa-bokuboku even operate as crime lords, using their powers of both mundane and magical persuasion to recruit gangs of thieves and thugs. Other types of tsukumogami can often be found in the company of a biwa-bokuboku, dancing merrily to even its saddest melodies.

I missed another week! Moving out of one's home is a very time-consuming endeavor, let me tell you.

Shōgerō
This trundling beast resembles a tortoise made out of metal, with a domed shell protecting its short limbs and neck. Its tail is long and ends in a ball, like the beater of a gong.

A shōgerō not on a mission of justice is sometimes found in the company of other tsukumogami, although their demeanors are more methodical and calm than the rest of their impish ilk. They care little for material wealth, but may carry with them a token of the life taken near their birth or a similar memento.

Hyōsube
This dwarfish humanoid moves with unnatural speed. Its body is covered in a layer of matted, grimy hair and a sharp-toothed grin nearly splits its head in two.

Although a hyōsube’s body is covered in a thick pelt of greasy fur, its head bears only a fringe reminiscent of a balding man’s hair. Males and females alike have patchy beards and ratty mustaches around their hideous, oversized mouths. Hyōsube move with incredible speed despite their short legs, scuttling like humanoid crabs at odd angles and with bent knees.

Like their kappa kin, hyōsube have a variety of weaknesses that can be exploited by a canny warrior. They are especially fond of the taste of eggplant, the pursuit of which lures them from their mountain lairs into the gardens and farms of unsuspecting people. Hyōsube also enjoy a warm bath, and a tub of soapy water makes for an excellent ambush site for those hunting these monsters.

These guys were originally going to be a tsukumogami, but I fell in love with some illustrations that definitely made them seem like they were living beings.

Nurikabe
A flabby beast appears in the blink of an eye, its body squared off and shifting color. It gazes at you with three eyes bearing a friendly glint, and thick black tusks protrude from its jowls.

A nurikabe requires a mix of organic and inorganic foodstuff—rocks, soil, plants and urban animals all disappear down their ravenous gullets. They have a sweet tooth, and may steal candies or mochi from those they prank. Despite their puckish nature, they are kind-hearted, using their abilities to protect the weak and thwart the wicked. When nurikabes gather in large groups, they are usually protecting something, such as a vulnerable child hunted by dark forces or an evil artifact outside of their ability to destroy.

Although nurikabe rarely engage in direct combat, they are ferocious when fighting in defense of their charges. Their heavy paws and thick tusks can leave grievous wounds, and their mastery of force effects allows them to penetrate many forms of magical defenses. Their rocky hides turn away both blades and energy effects as if it were stone.

That's an error that crept into the text, alas, before the final rules for batteries were in place. Wish I'd had caught it and corrected it. You can't recharge batteries.

Since this bit of text only exists as an NPC special ability, it's not going to impact much at all, in any event.

Really? The Technology Guide says batteries can be recharged.

Placing a battery in a generator’s charging slot can recharge it. However, each time a battery is recharged, there’s a 20% chance that the battery is destroyed in the process. A destroyed battery is worth only 10 gp.

Shivok wrote:

uhhh. I thought the value was 1gp not 10gp.

10 gp is correct. Not sure where you're getting 1 gp from.

The techslinger stat-block in Numeria: Land of Fallen Stars lists the value of silverdisks as 1 gp.

A related question is...

I've heard of the Touhou games, but haven't played any of them.

Hashihime
This woman appears to be mostly human from the waist up, but her legs are skinless and dripping with gore and her feet little more than bones and sinew. Three iron horns burst from her brow limned in fire. Flames also burn along the tusks jutting from her lower jaw.

Hashihime, as is fitting to their status between the living and outsiders, are creatures of thresholds and boundary places. Capable of opening portals between the Plane of Shadow and the Material Plane, hashihime are often at the vanguard of kyton incursions. When on the Material Plane, they dwell under bridges, near crossroads and the pinnacles of mountains. There, they strike out at those who they hold responsible for their pain, which can extend towards broad categories such as “all men”, “all elves”, “anyone with green eyes” or the like, or use their spell-like abilities and cunning tongues to convince others to turn against these favored targets. They are especially fond of masquerading as kami, using this role to draw sacrifices and offerings.

In combat, hashihime are ferocious and unyielding, delighting in the sensations of ripping apart flesh with their talons and horns. The very sight of a hashihime is enough to cause mortals to cry tears of blood, clouding their vision and making them vulnerable to the hashihime’s other attacks.

Hibagon
Standing a head shorter than a man, this smelly creature resembles a giant baboon covered in thick brown fur. It bares its teeth in warning.

Hibagons are most notable for their stench, which is said to resemble a sun-ripened corpse, and their ability to resist the effects of mundane weapons. Among hunters and trappers living in hibagon territory, it is said that the only way to injure a hibagon is to aim for the eyes—although a magical weapon works just as well. Hibagons, like the monkeys and apes they resemble, are omnivores with a strong bias towards plant foods and insects, although they will sometimes band together to hunt prey. Such hunting parties are among the few times hibagons make a lot of noise, as they drum on trees and hoot wildly in order to panic small game and flush it from hiding.

As promised, a yokai based on modern Japanese folklore, aka urban legends. There are a number of distinctive modern spooks in Japan's cities these days, it seems.

Teke Teke
Half of a human woman drags herself along on her hands. Clutched in both hands is an enormous scythe, which scrapes the ground as she moves.

Teke tekes are rare and typically solitary creatures, but if multiple individuals are killed in the same fashion simultaneously, they may all arise together and act as a pack of killers. The victims of a teke teke are typically left out in the open, all the better to attract attention and revulsion. Although they delight in bloodshed, teke teke can be subtle and patient, stalking a chosen target for hours and drawing out their fear before striking.

Tsuchinoko
This snake is the length of a man’s arm and twice as thick. Unlike most snakes, it has a short, discrete tail much thinner than its body. Its head is broad and triangular, and bears an incongruously wry facial expression.

Tsuchinoko are exceedingly rare; a single forest may only be home to one of these creatures. They are good parents, raising their young together until they mature, then splitting up as their children find territories of their own. Tsuchinoko keep little treasure, although they may treasure a prized bauble or two as a keepsake of a particularly impressive con.

Unlike other snakes, tsuchinoko do not slither—rather, they crawl in inchworm fashion with startling speed. This strength allows them to launch themselves fully a yard into the air when threatened, sending them hurtling towards enemies with a mouth full of tiny, venomous teeth. When a tsuchinoko cannot win a battle, it flees, gripping its tail in its teeth and rolling to safety.

A companion piece to the latest yokai I posted.

Yama-jijii
Clad in rags, this dwarfish one-legged humanoid is coated in a fine layer of gray downy fur. It stares with a single baleful eye above a jaw filled with oversized teeth.

Yama-jijii are omnivorous and their interactions with mortals can vary from treating them as prey to bestowing them with gifts of good fortune and treasure. Yama-jijii use their ability to read minds to find prospective victims; they typically do not attack people whose minds they cannot read. Some mountaineers go out of their way to befriend yama-jijii; these relationships are somewhere between alliances and domestication due to the yama-jijii’s general lack of culture and social conventions. The mountaineers gain the yokai’s powerful jaws as a defense mechanism and their abilities to manipulate luck, whereas the yama-jijii get the benefits of civilization such as cooked food (mochi is their favorite), clothing and shiny jewelry and gemstones.

Hiderigami
A hairy, one-armed humanoid half as tall as a man hops on a single leg ending in a wide foot. Her snout is broad and porcine, and a single eye sits in the middle of her forehead.

Hiderigami come into conflict with mortals when their wanderings bring them close to civilization, or when human beings attempt to dig irrigation systems into the desert. They rarely kill their opponents, preferring to leave them alive but dehydrated and exhausted in the desert—this is not out of cruelty towards their enemies so much as a kindness to the desert predators whose lives depend on scavenging and making easy kills. A hiderigami may have allies among mortal druids and nature oracles as easily as she may have enemies, depending on the priorities of the priests.

All hiderigami are female, but show little interest in bewitching and reproducing with humanoid males as dryads and nymphs do. How they reproduce is still unknown—some sages hypothesize that their males are among the various other “half-humanoid” races such as fachen and yama-jijii. Their pelts come in a variety of colors but tend towards blonde and auburn tones.

A short entry today, which is fitting, since this is the smallest and lowest CR monster in the thread. Likely to remain that way, too.

Bake-Zōri
Scuttling in the darkness is an upright sandal, a single eye and a lolling tongue protruding from a mouth in its sole. Tiny legs propel it, and it waves its tiny arms in the air.

Ask and ye shall receive! I had to dig around quite a bit to find out anything about binbōgami that didn't have to do with the Binbō-gami Ga! manga or anime.

Binbōgami
This shabby old man appears almost human, but his exaggerated underbite bears a pair of short tusks. He is skinny and dirty and clutches a long-handled fan in one hand.

Binbōgami are closer in appearance to humans than most other kami, but their underslung jaws and permanent emaciation mark them as something other than mortal. They love vermin and household pests of all kinds, treating them as favored pets and encouraging the growth of molds, insect colonies and other living nuisances. Although they do not need to eat, they enjoy human foods, especially miso—during certain days of the year, a binbōgami can be lured from a home for good with baked miso.

Gnolls are over-CRed. They're a CR 1 that is notably less scary than just about any humanoid with warrior or fighter levels.

Nure-onna
From the waist up, this creature resembles a human woman, albeit one of immense size and with a sinister, reptilian cast to her features. From the waist down, her body is merely an enormous serpent, thrashing with anticipation. Her skin is slick and smooth like that of an amphibian, and her soaking wet hair is plastered against her neck and shoulders.

Nure-onna are most often found within a day’s travel of water, and they maintain their lairs in sea caves and underwater grottos. Due to their shared dietary habits and habitats, nure-onna often ally with ushi-oni, draining the blood of victims and giving the monstrous beast the bones and flesh. Such monsters often fall into the nure-onna’s schemes, acting as a pawn in anything as simple as a quick “damsel in distress” ploy to be the patsy for their reigns of terror.

A nure-onna stretches up to 100 feet long, but more than 80 feet of that length is tail.

Oni, Kijo
This filthy creature is shaped like a woman, but her countenance is that of a devil. Long horns jut from her brow and her hands are twisted into talons. A mane of matted hair falls over her shoulders.

Most kijos are hermits, living alone in remote cabins and caves in order to nurse their sinister plots. Some surround themselves with sycophantic mortals who serve as their agents or pose as mortal soothsayers, healers or herbalists in order to manipulate the desperate. Despite their nature as incarnate souls, they count as hags for the purpose of forming covens, and may ally with either other kijos or with true hags in order to orchestrate truly grand schemes.

A kijo’s spiritual nature makes them natural witches, drawing on the power of their own spite and hatred to gain their spells. Although the sample kijo shown here focuses her spells on stealth and weakening her enemies, other kijo may have very different spell selections indeed. All kijo have a spirit oni familiar, which serves as loyally as is possible for these sullen, wicked things.

Kijo Covens
Only rarely will a kijo join a coven without being its undisputed leader, and they maintain their positions with a mastery of physical and emotional abuse even hags find cowing. All the members of a coven that contains at least one kijo can use the spell-theft ability once per day so long as they are within 30 feet of the kijo.

Not a whole lot of high CR monsters in this thread, and not a lot of good aligned ones either. Let's kill two birds with one stone, shall we?

Hakutaku
Although this creature has a body like an ox, the wisdom on its face reflects that it is no mere beast. A flowing mane runs along its back and down its long thin tail. A third eye sits on its forehead, and three more eyes sit on each flank under a pair of curving horns.

Mortal sages have dozens of conjectures about their origins, listing them as composite spirits of entire colleges or as the ascended souls of goodly beasts like shedu and lammasu or the fabric of Heaven itself pulled into a physical form. Hakutaku are silent on such matters, and questions about their origins are among the few that hakutaku will not answer.

Each AP I've run has gotten a massive overhaul, some more than others. The least modified was probably Curse of the Crimson Throne, which was pretty close to being run out-of-the-box. The most was Council of Thieves, in which I replaced more than half of the first module, added multiple recurring NPC allies and enemies and dramatically changed how the McGuffin worked.

For all adventures I run, AP or not, I spend some time tweaking statistics. My games are run with rolled stats and pretty experienced players, so I like to spice things up by optimizing monster feats, spell selections and so forth.

Satori
A monkey-like creature the size of a man stares with wide, owlish eyes. It has an expression of wisdom and peace, even as it clutches a bloody stone in its paws.

Satori are proud to the point of conceit over their ability to read minds, which they view as a sign of their superiority (despite their lack of technological prowess and overall barbarity). If they cannot read the mind of an opponent, due to trained will or good luck, they are likely to leave that individual alone unless starving or threatened. Although satori use their mental abilities to gain the upper hand in battles, they are visceral creatures that delight in tearing prey apart with their bare hands or crushing their bones with hurled rocks. Satori have little need or desire for physical goods or wealth, but they recognize its use in setting traps for greedy people.

I am super happy with the serpopard. I was trying to figure out how to make them innovative mechanically for a while... and someone else has done it for me!

Yes, it is a bit goofy. But real historical monsters are goofy all of the time. Heard of the bonnacon?

Ittan-Momen
Writhing through the air like an immense serpent, this length of cloth bears a leering impression of a human face at its end.

In combat, ittan-momen use their mobility and flight to harass and debilitate their opponents. Ittan-momen are so long and flexible that they can strangle and constrict one foe while simultaneously lashing out at potential rescuers. An ittan-momen measures thirty feet long and weighs about half a ton.

Variant Ittan-momen
Most ittan-momen are made from bolts of linen cloth, but some fabrics grant their ittan-momen additional abilities. Silken ittan-momen have the advanced simple template, lose their fire vulnerability and fly with good maneuverability. Wool ittan-momen fly with poor maneuverability, but creatures constricted by a woolen ittan-momen must succeed on a DC 17 Fortitude save or be sickened for 1 minute by itching.

This particular critter was also a request, based on its appearance in 100 Yokai and The Great Yokai War. I struggled for a while on how to make it unique and memorable, when stories involving it are basically "I heard something and it was spooky", but I'm satisfied with how I captured the flavor of the monster (and a regional variant!) with the mechanics. Enjoy.
Azuki Arai
A bent, dwarfish man stands by the side of the river, his clothing homespun and crude. He is mostly bald, with a few tufts of hair sticking up from his pate, and a patchy beard and mustache. He clutches a shallow wicker basket in his clawed, webbed hands and stares with yellow, bulging eyes.

Despite their traditional song involving the consumption of human flesh, azuki arai rarely eat the flesh of sentient creatures. Most of their diet consists of azuki beans, and azuki arai villages are often enshrouded in these vines. Almost all azuki arai are male, living either alone or in small communes on hidden islands or remote glens where they farm and weave. Azuki arai cloth and baskets are coarse and rough, but durable enough to last several human lifetimes.

Azuki arai are shy and retiring creatures that are more likely to flee from adventurers or even a lone wanderer than attack or converse. The one exception is when an azuki arai desires to mate. Female azuki arai, known as azuki baba, are vicious and cruel creatures that demand nuptial gifts of treasure and humanoid meat for the privilege. Normally peaceful azuki arai in a mating frenzy descend on remote villages and lone wanderers in order to obtain these trophies. Azuki baba are poor parents, leaving their babies to be cared for by the father until they reach adulthood.

Azuki Baba
Only about one in one hundred azuki arai are female, and these azuki baba are vicious and spiteful creatures. An azuki baba resembles a withered crone rather than a clownish old man, and they are much more likely to follow through on their sing-song threats. An azuki baba is an azuki arai with the advanced simple template and the ability to cast charm person 3 times per day. Azuki baba count as hags for the purposes of joining a coven—a coven containing at least one azuki arai loses the ability to cast bestow curse and can instead cast shout.

By request, I present the enenra. I really wish I could find more info on this particular yokai--all I have to go on is a single print by Seikan and a poorly sourced Wikipedia article. So I had to get creative.

Enenra
A placidly smiling humanoid face forms in a wisp of smoke.

Basan
This brilliantly colored bird is the size of a turkey, with a flamboyant comb and wattle. A faint violet glow flickers about its face.

Basan come into conflict with humanoids in a number of ways. They may be attracted to the smell of bonfires, cooking fires or house fires. Basan are easily startled, and their habit of blowing flames at their assailants can cause serious injury to a well-meaning onlooker. They are also hunted, both for their lovely plumage and in a case of mistaken identity—they are often confused for cockatrices or other, more dangerous, magical birds. Those burned by a basan’s fire are limned in the stuff briefly, a property that makes them coveted by nobles, wealthy merchants and others who fear death at the hands of invisible assassins.