Anthropomorphized Cricket

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Okay, another creature from the ruined city. This one is a spider infused with enchantment magic from arcane toxic waste. Currently named the Parlor Spider, though the name Hospitality Spider has also been suggested.

Parlor Spider
CR 4
XP 1200
N Medium Magical Beast
Init +2; Senses Low-Light Vision, Darkvision 60ft; Perception +2
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DEFENSE
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AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+2 Dex, +4 natural)
hp 39 (6d10+6)
Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +4
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OFFENSE
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Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.
Melee bite +8 (1d6+2 plus poison)
Special Attacks Poison (Ex) (bite-injury save DC 16, frequency 1/round for 6 rounds, effect 1d3 Con damage, cure 2 consecutive saves), Web (+8 Ranged, DC 14, 6 hp), Hospitality
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STATISTICS
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Str 14, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 10
Base Atk +6; CMB +8; CMD 20 (24 vs. trip)
Feats Ability Focus (Fast Poison), Skill Focus (Stealth)
Skills: Stealth +14
Languages None
SQ Magical Beast Traits
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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Hospitality (Su): As a swift action, a parlor spider can implant urges into a target within 30 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Will save or be compelled to use its next action to lay down in the nearest section of the parlor spider's web as though to sleep. This works as the Suggestion spell, except that the parlor spider doesn't need to speak the command or share a language with the target. This is a mind-affecting ability, and the save DC is Charisma-based.

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ECOLOGY
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Environment: Urban
Organization: Solitary
Treasure: Incidental

Parlor Spiders live in areas saturated with enchantment magic. They grow as large as men, and are striped brown and black, with thick, squat bodies. The strands of their web are transparent, and cleaned frequently. It takeas a DC 15 Perception check to notice the web from more than 10 feet away.

Parlor spiders prefer to use their compulsion abilities to bring prey to them. They will typically hide in their webs and wait until something comes within 30 feet, then use Hospitality to get them entangled.


Gourmand CR 7
XP 3200
N Small Magical Beast
Init +7; Senses Low-Light Vision, Scent, Darkvision 60ft; Perception +1
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DEFENSE
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AC 21, touch 14, flat-footed 18 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +7 natural)
hp 68 (9d10+18)
Fort +10, Ref +9, Will +6
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OFFENSE
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Speed 20 ft.
Melee bite +14 (1d4+3)
Special Attacks Swallow Whole (3d6 Force damage, AC 13, 13 hp), Grab (bite)
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STATISTICS
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Str 16, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 3, Wis 12, Cha 6
Base Atk +9; CMB +11 (+17 grapple); CMD 24 (26 vs. grapple, 28 vs. trip)
Feats Great Fortitude, Improved Grapple (B), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Stealth), Weapon Focus (bite)
Skills: Stealth +18
Languages Common
SQ Magical Beast Traits, Camouflage, -10 foot move speed, Hide in Plain Sight
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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Extradimensional Stomach (Su)
A gourmand holds food in an extradimensional space. This allows it to grab and swallow creatures up to two size categories larger than it. The extradimensional space tougher than a normal stomach would be, requiring one fifth the gourmand's hit points in damage in order to escape, and deals 3d6 force damage as it constricts around its contents. If the extradimensional stomach takes enough damage for a creature to escape, the contents fly out explosively, dealing 2d6 damage to any creature within 10 feet (dc 16 Reflex for half). The DC is Constitution-based.

Grab (Ex)
If a Gourmand hits with its bite attack, it deals normal damage and attempts to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. Grab can only be used against targets of a size Large or smaller.
The Gourmand has the option to conduct the grapple normally, or simply to use the part of its body it used in the grab to hold the opponent. If it chooses to do the latter, it takes a -20 penalty on its CMB check to make and maintain the grapple, but does not gain the grappled condition itself.
Gourmands receive a +4 bonus on combat maneuver checks made to start and maintain a grapple.

Swallow Whole (Ex)
If a Gourmand begins its turn with an opponent grappled in its mouth (see Grab), it can attempt a new combat maneuver check (as though attempting to pin the opponent). If it succeeds, it swallows its prey, and the opponent takes bite damage. Unless otherwise noted, the opponent can be up to one size category Smaller than the swallowing creature. Being swallowed causes a creature to take 1d4+5 bludgeoning damage each round. A swallowed creature keeps the grappled condition, while the creature that did the swallowing does not. A swallowed creature can try to cut its way free with any light slashing or piercing weapon (the amount of cutting damage required to get free is 5). A Gourmand's Stomach has 14 AC. If a swallowed creature cuts its way out, the Gourmand cannot use swallow whole again until the damage is healed. If the swallowed creature escapes the grapple, success puts it back in the attacker's mouth, where it may be bitten or swallowed again.

Magical Beast Traits
Magical Beasts are similar to animals but can have Intelligence scores higher than 2 (in which case the creature knows at least one language, but can't necessarily speak). Magical Beasts usually have supernatural or extraordinary abilities, but are sometimes merely bizarre in appearance or habits.
-Darkvision 60 feet.
-Low-light vision.
-Magical beasts breathe, eat, and sleep.

Camouflage (Ex)
A Gourmand can use the Stealth skill to hide in any of its native terrains, even if the terrain doesn't grant cover or concealment.

Scent (Ex)
A Gourmand can detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell. They can detect opponents by sense of smell within 30 feet. If the opponent is upwind, the range is 60 feet. If it is downwind, the range is 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, can be detected at three times these ranges.
The creature detects another creature's presence but not its specific location. Noting the direction of the scent is a move action. If the creature moves within 5 feet (1 square) of the scent's source, the creature can pinpoint the area that the source occupies, even if it cannot be seen.
A creature with the Survival skill and the scent ability can follow tracks by smell, making a Survival check to find or follow a track. A creature with the scent ability can attempt to follow tracks using Survival untrained. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10. The DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry's odor is, the number of creatures, and the age of the trail. For each hour that the trail is cold, the DC increases by 2. The ability otherwise follows the rules for the Survival skill in regards to tracking. Creatures tracking by scent ignore the effects of surface conditions and poor visibility. Creatures with the scent ability can identify familiar odors just as humans do familiar sights.
Water, particularly running water, ruins a trail for air-breathing creatures. Water-breathing creatures that have the scent ability, however, can use it in the water easily. False, powerful odors can easily mask other scents. The presence of such an odor completely spoils the ability to properly detect or identify creatures, and the base Survival DC to track becomes 20 rather than 10.

Hide in Plain Sight (Ex)
A Gourmand can use the Stealth skill to hide even while being observed.

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ECOLOGY
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Environment: Swamp
Organization: Solitary, pair, or huddle (3-6)
Treasure: Standard (in stomach)

This broad, slightly flattened creature looks like a cross between a frog and a pig, with a flat nose over a mouth that extends all the way around its head and into its thick neck. Its forelimbs end in trotters while its much longer hind limbs are folded underneath and end in webbed toes. Its colors are mottled and blend into the swamp around it.

Gourmands were created as living garbage disposals when the city of Sawreven was at its height. They can swallow anything they can fit in their enormous mouths. Since the fall of the empire, they've adapted to the swampy city, becoming ambush predators.

A gourmand will usually try to hide in undergrowth until it sees something that it can fit in its mouth, at which point it will try to swallow it.


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I'm working on a ruined city that used to be the capital of an empire of mages that ruled the world, before hard-crashing a few hundred years before the game starts.

The idea is that the buildings are largely sustained by magic, but nature (it's in a giant swamp/jungle) has largely reclaimed it, despite the towers still standing. Flooded streets, vines wrapped around walls, and beasts living throughout.

Its filled with monsters and creatures that were either created by the ancient mages, mutated by centuries of magical toxic waste, or adapted after the fall.

Among other ideas, I thought certain parts of the city would be more strongly affected by certain schools of magic (similar to the runeforge in Rise of the Runelords, only less intentional in-universe). This would mostly be seen in the flora and fauna. I haven't decided to what extent these will be templates added to existing animals and magical beasts, and how many completely new monsters I'll add.

Here are ideas I have so far:

Abjuration: Higher defenses would be the obvious thing, but it's a bit boring. Possibly adaptive defenses, where they gain energy resistance to whatever type of energy they've last taken damage from? I thought about some sort of ablative armor, but that seems like it would be annoying to keep track of on multiple enemies in a fight.

Conjuration: Teleportation could be a fun effect. Possibly done as a move action, allowing them to avoid attacks of opportunity and difficult terrain.

Divination: I've got some ideas, but I'm not sure how "fun" they are. Enhanced senses are the most obvious, but those are largely static, boring abilities. I thought of maybe a creature that can see the future a bit and automatically avoid one attack per round, or possibly let a creature take 10 on attacks. However, I'm not sure how much fun those will be in play.

Enchantment: This has a lot of potential for fun hypnosis/charm effects. A giant spider that convinces you to lay down on its web, or a harmless little squirrel that charms you into becoming its bodyguard.

Evocation: The obvious choice here would be elemental attacks or qualities. However, I'm struggling to think of anything that really pops. Elemental creatures are already very common in Pathfinder.

Illusion: I'm thinking things like illusionary terrain and traps that force the party to take it slow as they explore. Maybe even lots of harmless creatures that are permanently invisible. The wizard casts See Invisibility and finds hundreds of tiny creatures casually walking along, completely unafraid. I like things that aren't necessarily threats, but are cool bits of setting.

Necromancy: Living undead. That is, living creatures that have many of the qualities of the undead. They're affected by negative and positive energy in whichever way is most advantageous to them. That's only really going to matter if someone tries to channel, though, so some other features: Negative energy attacks. Ability to create skeletons from their prey (after they've stripped the bones). Ignored by mindless undead.

Transmutation: I was thinking some sort of shifting of stats. Maybe something that can grow a big heavy shell for greater AC, or lose it to gain improved mobility and a bonus to attacks. Maybe something that can change its movement types. Something that can inflict transformations like that could be fun as well.

Other monsters I have in mind: dwarf versions of existing monsters, like sewer-running purple worms. Hybrid creatures like owlbears, experiments that have bred true. A creature with an extradimensional stomach that can use swallow whole on creatures bigger than it.

Those are the ideas I have so far. It's all still very loose, so I'm very open to ideas.