| RJ Dalton 89 |
This is a monster I created for something I'm working on. This is the first time I've ever tried to use the actual Pathfinder format for something, so I'm not sure if I've got it all right. Also, I'm wondering if others think my CR is correct, or if they have any other suggestions.
This creature is based on something from Inuit mythology. I'm still looking up some of the specifics, so I'll have the ritual used to summon them later, but for now I'm just including the description and stats.
Tupilaq CR 7
NE medium outsider (native)
Initiative: +2; Senses: Darkvision 60 feet; low-light vision; Perception + 11
Aura: Fear (DC 17)
Defense
AC: 20, touch 12, flat-footed 18 (+2 dex, +8 natural)
HP: 68 (8d10+24)
Fort +9, Ref +4, Will +6
Offense
speed: 30 feet, burrow 10 feet
Melee 2 claws +10 (1d6+2), bite +10 (1d4+2)
Special Attacks: Blood Drain, Death Curse
Statistics
Str 15, Dex 15, Con 17, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 12
Base Attack: +8; CMB: +10 (+12 to grapple); CMD: 22 (26 vs. tripping)
Feats: Multiattack, skill focus (survival), Improved Grapple
Skills: Perception +11, stealth +13, survival +14, Swim +13
Languages: Haglaz (does not speak)
SQ: Ice Walking, Blizzard Sight
Ecology
Evironment: Any Cold
Organization: Solitary
Treasure: None
Special Abilities
Fear Aura: Any creature that sees an attacking Tupilaq must succeed a will save (DC 17) or become frightened. A creature that saves against a Tupilaq's fear aura cannot be affected by that tupilaq's aura for 24 hours. The save is constitution based.
Ice Walking: A Tupilaq takes no penalties for moving through deeps now or over ice.
Blizzard Sight: A Tupliaq takes no penalties to its perception or survival checks due to conditions of relating to snow storms and blizzards.
Blood Drain: If a Tupilaq manages to successfully grapple an opponent, it can attack using its bite, forgoing normal damage to instead deal 1 point of constitution damage by draining blood from its target. Each point of constitution it drains heals the Tupilaq for 3 hit points.
Death Curse: If slain, a Tupilaq is not immediately defeated, but remains as an incorporeal form. It makes one last attempt to attack the person who killed it through psychic force. The victim must make a will save (DC 15) or be struck with the tupilaq's curse, taking a -2 penalty to all attack rolls, damage rolls, and fortitude saves. After cursing the victim, the tupilaq immediately loses all power and returns to its harmless, intangible and invisible state. If the victim resists this attack, however, the Tupilaq breaks free of its master's control and immediately flees back to attack the person who summoned it, haunting the summoner's dreams (as per the nightmare spell, but the victim receives no save) until the summoner publicly confesses to summoning it. The save is charisma based.
The tupaliq (plural: tupalait) is a malevolent spirit that haunts the frozen north. Normally, such beings are powerless and harmless; however, when a hagal shaman desires revenge against an unfortunate soul, they can create a physical body from base materials, usually bones and furs of animals and wood from dead trees. Once housed in a physical body, the tupilaq is bound to hunt down and destroy the subject of the shaman's ire.
Summoning a tupaliq is a dangerous prospect. If the target of the creature defeats it, it is possible that the monster will break free of its summoner's control and return to wreak vengeance of its own. If this happens, the tupilaq haunts the dreams of its summoner until they confess to summoning it. Summoning a tupaliq is a serious cultural taboo, and anyone confessing will face punishment for doing so if caught, or if they confess.
A tupilaq's physical body is constructed from materials at hand and, as such, is a frightening, chimeric creature, mixing features of various animals. It often appears as a quadrupedal monster made of bones, fur, and wood, with a sneering face made from a wooden mask. As the tupaliq is created from whatever materials at hand, there is some variability in appearance and attack. Some Tupaliq are bipedal, some have antlers and gain a gore attack, some have multiple heads, some can use simple weapons, but in general, the above description applies. In all variants, the tupaliq has at least one bite attack and can have no more than four total attacks.
Tupilaqs are are vicious in combat. Since destroying the physical body does not destroy them, they have no fear of death and will continue to fight until they are defeated, or have destroyed their target. Tupaliqs are single-minded in their purpose and will usually ignore any person it is not sent to kill, unless the interloper prevents it from reaching its target. Once the target is dead, the spirit is released from the manufactured body and becomes harmless once again. Despite being vicious and fearless, tupaliqs prefer to attack from ambush, sneaking up on their victims and killing them before they have a chance to react. If possible, they will attempt to drag their victims away from those who might interfere with its business.
| RJ Dalton 89 |
There is already a monster of this name in bestiary 3, not sure if they have the same origin as yours.
Huh. Yes, I'm pretty sure that it is based on the same myth, based on its description. I've never read the third bestiary, though, so I hadn't come across it. I found Tupilaq among a series of Inuit myths and wanted to include it, but there were so many other creatures from the myths that I couldn't find pathfinder versions of, I just sort of assumed this one didn't either. Silly me, not checking. It's even the challenge rating I want it to be at.