[Pathfinder Monster] "We didn't want to go, we didn't want to kill them, but its persistent silence and outstretched arms horrified and comforted us at the same time."

[Golden-Esque]

Alright, so I was kind of bored on Wednesday night and the new Marble Hornets had come out several days prior, so I thought I would sit down and try to build Slenderman as a monster for people to play with.

Before I link the document to you, I want to make this entirely clear - I did not design Slenderman to be a monster that you just throw into a campaign and he only spooks the players out a little bit before they kill him and take his stuff. In my opinion, that is not in the spirit of Slenderman at all.

So if you're going to use this monster, here's what I suggest. Inform your players that you want to play a campaign gain entirely around Slenderman, with the monster as the main antagonist. Similarly to the tarrasque, there's no actual way TO kill the Slenderman. He just keeps coming back. Again and again. In the words of one of my friends (who I showed the stat block to), "It's really kinda frighting. I don't know what I could possibly do to it." That's the emotional response that you want when playing with the Slenderman. You want the CHARACTERS (not necessarily the players) to be completely freaked out of their minds.

Now, Here's a link to view the file, and here's a link to download a copy of the PDF for yourself. If you find anything odd or weird about the document, please post here and let me know (or you can send me a PMl whatever you want). I'm always looking to perfect my homebrewing style :-).

[Golden-Esque]

Here's some quick developer's notes (will be up in a second).

This monster was modeled after the tarrasque in terms of how I built it in addition to using the rules found in the Pathfinder Bestiary. Hopefully, I did a good job on that part.

Slenderman's hit points look low compared to other 30-Hit Dice creatures because he is only Large sized. His size limits his Constitution score somewhat, and Large creatures understandably get less bonus hit points due to their size than Colossal ones do :-P.

Slenderman's AC is also much lower than a typical 30 HD monster, partially because he is only Large, and partially because he has a constant displacement effect, as well as regeneration 50.

At impossible biology, basically how the regeneration effect works is like this: at the end of a round where Slenderman took damage, it immediately regenerates hit points equal to half of the damage dealt to it during that round. This amount cannot exceed 25 points of damage, and all sources of damage count towards this healing. For example, if you do 10, 25, and 15 damage with three rays from the scorching ray spell or 50 damage with a single lightning bolt s[e;;, the Slenderman still regenerates 25 hit points. It doesn't care what caused the damaged or how many attacks were involved.

Another thing you might notice is that the Slenderman isn't particularly strong in melee combat. Its damage is extremely low, and that is intentional. If the Slenderman is attacking something that it doesn't outright kill with its tentacles/constrict attack (namely commoners and other low-level NPCs), it probably wants them as proxies for its own reasons, so it'll focus on wearing down their Wisdom scores until they succumb. Of course, there's nothing saying that you can't heal that damage with spells and whatnot before he turns you into a proxy, but some characters might simply go mad with paranoid and throw themselves at its mercy (the sanity rules in the GameMastery Guide are excellent with Slenderman).

Even though Slenderman can cast wish, he doesn't usually do it to outright kill people. Good examples are using it to set things that someone treasures ablaze or to stall death on someone that he doesn't quite want to die yet. The Slenderman's wish shouldn't be seen as identical to the wish spell; it's more along the lines of Slenderman altering reality to get what he wants.

Now, as for killing it, I tried to leave that vague on purpose (though I also offered some suggestions in his entry). Even though Slenderman has no real weaknesses yet in his actual mythos, this is a game, and it's not particularly fun if you can't overcome a challenge. Like the tarrasque that he was designed after, defeating slenderman shouldn't just be one encounter; it should be a survival adventure where the PCs delve into eldritch tomes and towards long-forgotten sages in order to get the knowledge they seek. I'm personally fond of the "banishing him to another material plane" theory, personally.

[Shadowborn]

For a little Slenderman flavor in Golarion, might I humbly point you toward my fiction piece "Terror at Churlwood's Edge" in Wayfinder #5.

[The Slender Man]

*is flattered, offers hugs*

[Golden-Esque]

Shadowborn wrote:

For a little Slenderman flavor in Golarion, might I humbly point you toward my fiction piece "Terror at Churlwood's Edge" in Wayfinder #5.

Wow! That's quite a good read. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.

And as for you, Mr. Slendy, I'm glad that you enjoyed my portrayal of you. I was a little worried, to be honest, that you might not be too thrilled with my decision to make you unable to cross into Antimagic Fields, but I figured, "Hey, he can still scare them out of their minds from outside of the field!"

[Mikaze]

Dotting. HARD.

[The Slender Man]

shrugs, but flickers everyone's monitors just for good measure

[Mikaze]

Wonder if a sort of "interface screw" ability might fit in as well. There's precedent for it with the pugwampis, though whatever Slendy gets should proabably be something more subtle and unsettling than having to roll your d20's twice-take lowest.

There were also mentions in some of the earliest iterations of the Slender Man Mythos that he could turn his victims into mist. And that his "home" was a forest shrouded in that same mist, their souls bound to him forever. I don't know if that angle's gotten much play of late.

[Golden-Esque]

Mikaze wrote:

Wonder if a sort of "interface screw" ability might fit in as well. There's precedent for it with the pugwampis, though whatever Slendy gets should proabably be something more subtle and unsettling than having to roll your d20's twice-take lowest.

Yeah, that's why I didn't make a full-fledged mechanic for it; besides, that, aside from magical means of recording, there really isn't a whole lot of tech in a settling like Golarion for him to miss with. If there was, I don't think it really warrants its own mechanic. Slendy has memory modification at will, which'll do nicely for memory loss, and his 1/day wish ability will do nicely for most anything his other powers don't cover.

tldr; Yeah, I omitted it, but mostly because I didn't think it was worth the space, and I got everything to fit to fit nice and neat on three pages (which is technically one page more than most other monsters get; but you deserve the extra love, Slendy!).

[Ganny]

Dotting this like the fist of an angry God.

[The Slender Man]

is concerned about the lack of random playground inhabitant tables, but will endeavor to visit a playground shortly to compensate

door slams

[Golden-Esque]

The Slender Man wrote:

is concerned about the lack of random playground inhabitant tables, but will endeavor to visit a playground shortly to compensate

door slams

You mean you haven't already eviscerated anything else that an unfortunate soul could encounter at a playground? You're a kinder soul then you let on, Slenderman.

Also, I'm really pleased with the responses so far on this one. It's always a challenge to convert something popular to a rules set, as everyone has their own interpretations on what said popular entity can (or should) be able to do.

[The Slender Man]

feels that popular media tends to sensationalize innocent observations

[TriOmegaZero]

Hmm. I believe I know what my next campaign will be about now.

[Turin the Mad]

Where is the Slender Man drawn from / upon?

[TriOmegaZero]

The Something Awful forums.

[Loren Peterson]

I like your slenderman, very creative. Another direction you might consider going with him is a dimensional shambler as a base. I created an adventure featuring slenderman a while back, but i realized that pc's might be too strong to fit the theme, so instead I had them take npc levels and chase this dimensional shambler around who picked them off one by one.

[Kthulhu]

I recommend the Book of Unremitting Horror. The Mystery Man entry would be very good for the type of Slender Man you're suggesting.

[Kevin Andrew Murphy]

There was a guy costumed as the Slenderman this last Comicon. Wasn't aware of the meme then. Assumed it was one of the older MiB forms but without a face.

[Shadowborn]

Golden-Esque wrote:

Now, as for killing it, I tried to leave that vague on purpose (though I also offered some suggestions in his entry). Even though Slenderman has no real weaknesses yet in his actual mythos, this is a game, and it's not particularly fun if you can't overcome a challenge. Like the tarrasque that he was designed after, defeating slenderman shouldn't just be one encounter; it should be a survival adventure where the PCs delve into eldritch tomes and towards long-forgotten sages in order to get the knowledge they seek. I'm personally fond of the "banishing him to another material plane" theory, personally.

I had thought of doing a companion piece for that issue doing a creature stat block for him, but it was this point that more or less stopped me from doing it. In a game like Pathfinder, the tried and true path is for the heroes to face and defeat the monster. The psychological cat and mouse games common to the Slenderman mythos just don't fit well with the form of the game.

I have to say though, that I do like your concept. Just have one question I have to ask, minor though it may be: Why 55ft for the movement rate? That just seems so...random.

[The Slender Man]

*faint noise*

encourages listeners to investigate possible burglaries with digital cameras when applicable

[Golden-Esque]

Quote:

I had thought of doing a companion piece for that issue doing a creature stat block for him, but it was this point that more or less stopped me from doing it. In a game like Pathfinder, the tried and true path is for the heroes to face and defeat the monster. The psychological cat and mouse games common to the Slenderman mythos just don't fit well with the form of the game.

I have to say though, that I do like your concept. Just have one question I have to ask, minor though it may be: Why 55ft for the movement rate? That just seems so...random.

Ah, I'm glad some one picked up on that; it's everything but random. A little known fact is that repeating numbers are an extremely important theme in the slender man mythos. As a matter of fact, slender man took the Fleet feat just for that reason. Why don't you try to find the other "odd" repeating numbers in the stat block ...

[Golden-Esque]

Loren Peterson wrote:

I like your slenderman, very creative. Another direction you might consider going with him is a dimensional shambler as a base. I created an adventure featuring slenderman a while back, but i realized that pc's might be too strong to fit the theme, so instead I had them take npc levels and chase this dimensional shambler around who picked them off one by one.

You could definitely doing that; I could see it working well. Making him up by scratch did give me the advantage of mimicking his abilities from the mythos to the tee, however. Another advantage to this version would be that you didn't have to stunt the player's strengths. I could see some players being very disgruntled with having to take NPC levels; thinking things like "Yeah, this is a challenge, but only because you're making me build my character in a way that makes it a challenge."

[Golden-Esque]

Now, I have a question for all of you people. I am thinking about expanding this monster into sort of an "Adventures in Slenderotica" booklet, featuring a mini-story about the Slenderman in a fantasy game (along the lines of the one in Wayfinder #5), Slenderman's stat block, better background information on the Slenderman (both the meme and the monster), devoted sections for a variety of Slenderproxy templates (I want to do Hollowed Proxy, a Berserker Proxy, a Sleeper Proxy, and possibly a Revnant Proxy), and a new Wildblood Archetype Sorcerer entry to the Aberrant Bloodline; the Slendertouched Bloodline.

Would anyone be interested in such a mini project? It would be free, of course. I just like having outlets for my Homebrew :D.

[Necromancer]

Golden-Esque wrote:

devoted sections for a variety of Slenderproxy templates (I want to do Hollowed Proxy, a Berserker Proxy, a Sleeper Proxy, and possibly a Revnant Proxy)

I wouldn't call them proxies as much as 'lit wicks'; I don't see the slender man depending on anyone, but I could easily see him mentally poking victims and observing how they react. He might even herd them towards a goal, but I think 'proxy' is a little too ordinary for this type of creature.

[Kthulhu]

Golden-Esque wrote:

A little known fact is that repeating numbers are an extremely important theme in the slender man mythos. As a matter of fact, slender man took the Fleet feat just for that reason. Why don't you try to find the other "odd" repeating numbers in the stat block ...

CR 22

AC 22
DR 11/-
Resist acid 11, electrcity 11
SR 11
Speed 55
Base Attack +22

[Golden-Esque]

Kthulhu wrote:

Golden-Esque wrote:

A little known fact is that repeating numbers are an extremely important theme in the slender man mythos. As a matter of fact, slender man took the Fleet feat just for that reason. Why don't you try to find the other "odd" repeating numbers in the stat block ...

CR 22

AC 22
DR 11/-
Resist acid 11, electrcity 11
SR 11
Speed 55
Base Attack +22

Doing good so far, but his DR is 15 if I remember correctly, and his SR 33 (repeating, just higher).

Here's a fun one.

Slenderman has six attacks (2 claws, 4 tentacles) that do 1d6 damage each. If you take the six attack's bonuses (+7) and add them up, you get 42, whose digits also add up together to 6 (4 + 2 is 6).

[Kthulhu]

Golden-Esque wrote:

Kthulhu wrote:

Golden-Esque wrote:

A little known fact is that repeating numbers are an extremely important theme in the slender man mythos. As a matter of fact, slender man took the Fleet feat just for that reason. Why don't you try to find the other "odd" repeating numbers in the stat block ...

CR 22

AC 22
DR 11/-
Resist acid 11, electrcity 11
SR 11
Speed 55
Base Attack +22

Doing good so far, but his DR is 15 if I remember correctly, and his SR 33 (repeating, just higher).

Here's a fun one.

Slenderman has six attacks (2 claws, 4 tentacles) that do 1d6 damage each. If you take the six attack's bonuses (+7) and add them up, you get 42, whose digits also add up together to 6 (4 + 2 is 6).

Well, I copied directly from the PDF, so...

[Golden-Esque]

Kthulhu wrote:

Golden-Esque wrote:

Kthulhu wrote:

Golden-Esque wrote:

A little known fact is that repeating numbers are an extremely important theme in the slender man mythos. As a matter of fact, slender man took the Fleet feat just for that reason. Why don't you try to find the other "odd" repeating numbers in the stat block ...

CR 22

AC 22
DR 11/-
Resist acid 11, electrcity 11
SR 11
Speed 55
Base Attack +22

Doing good so far, but his DR is 15 if I remember correctly, and his SR 33 (repeating, just higher).

Here's a fun one.

Slenderman has six attacks (2 claws, 4 tentacles) that do 1d6 damage each. If you take the six attack's bonuses (+7) and add them up, you get 42, whose digits also add up together to 6 (4 + 2 is 6).

Well, I copied directly from the PDF, so...

It would seem we're both correct. He does, in fact, have DR 11 (must have forgot about that. It's not a big deal, so I'm not going to change it) but he does have SR 33.