Hi. This may be a REALLY stupid idea, but I've always wanted to make a Homebrew campaign based off of the Hans Christian Anderson story The Little Mermaid-or loosely to be more specific.
The major focus of the campaign is that, in the new country I'll develop, the major villain won't be the witch that turns the mermaid human-which I figured could be a venerable changeling transmuter 14/oracle of waves 6-but rather the power hungry King (who may have levels in both inquisitor and ranger). The start would be the PCs-who can choose either the Core races, as well as catfolk (from a union of tribes from the island country's forest mountains), ratfolk or tengus-save the Prince from would be assassins and are knighted and assigned to be the Prince's royal body guards.
Problem is I'm not really good at making Homebrew campaigns-at least by myself. That's where I need help-if anyone wants to assist me with making a pseudo Adventure Path I'd not only be more than happy but, once it's complete, I can give any who help full permission to run a campaign.
And and all help will be appreciated.
Link to Realm Works.
You might want to watch some of the Little Mermaid cartoons. The sharks acted like the mafia. The Lobster Mobster Mob was mostly comedy relief.
Also, Sara the fairy tale detective had Ursala conspiring with pirates, that then turned on her. Maybe in your game Ursala is chaotic greedy and is selling water and air breathing potions to everyone.
For a whole campaign? You'd probably want to introduce a small problem, then expand on it. The PCs are apparently land-based, so start with a coastal problem and the PCs' role in it. How about an earthquake/tsunami with suspicious magical elements? Ties in well with the geography and references the idea of Poseidon as an earthquake god. Have the quake unearth something long forgotten and dangerous that the PCs are assigned to check out. (Eg. monsters emerge from a sealed crypt to fulfill an ancient contract to attack the royal family; the PCs stop the attack and are sent to visit the crypt and follow up.) At the end of part 1, the prince learns of the mermaid and the PCs are tasked in part 2 with making contact with her. Something like that?
Well, the storm thing would go to the "witch"-a la control weather spell. As for the prince learning about the mermaid...since it's gonna be in the spirit of the more traditional story, wouldn't it make a bit more sense for the PCs to know the mermaid, but not while she's a human (I imagine the merfolk in Pathfinder to have some scales on their bodies like fish, but otherwise have human attributes).
Making a FULL campaign is a big challenge. It might be easier to start small - make it module-length, with a series of things for the PCs to do spread over three or four chapters. Once that's DONE, expand each part by making it more complex. ^^
Personally, I use Realm Works for original campaign development. I find its ability to create visual storyboards very useful for plotting out adventures and tossing in different things the players can do. (Player Agency is important - PCs should regularly be given the chance to have a meaningful input on the direction of the story.)
I just saw Realm Works...and I don't think I can afford that at this time...but it does looks like a neat program.
Link to Realm Works.
You might want to watch some of the Little Mermaid cartoons. The sharks acted like the mafia. The Lobster Mobster Mob was mostly comedy relief.
Also, Sara the fairy tale detective had Ursala conspiring with pirates, that then turned on her. Maybe in your game Ursala is chaotic greedy and is selling water and air breathing potions to everyone.
...If there's any of the cartoons that I'll base this campaign on, it'll be the anime version of The Little Mermaid from the 1970's. I can send a link to it on YouTube if you guys want/need to see what I'm talking about.
BUMP
I've already got some of the stats down for the Wave Witch (the name of the venerable changeling transmuter 14/oracle 6). Or at least, her gear.
As she is at level 20, according to Ultimate Equipment her total treasure worth is 159,000 gp. Here's what I've given her so far.
cloak of the manta ray (7,200 gp)
head band of mental prowess +4 (40,000 gp)
bracers of armor +5 (25,000 gp)
Spirit Blade (48,502 gp)
This leaves her with 28, 298 gp. Not sure what else I can give her in terms of gear. At first, she could have some potions of permanent fins to feet but I have no idea how much those would even cost, or even if fins to feet can become permanent. Or if permanent spells can be turned into potions.
Spell wise...she has a load of spells to choose from, I think. I haven't gotten everything down yet, but I have chosen control weather and limited wish as her 7th level transmuter spells. (BTW, her opposition schools are enchantment and necromancy).
Her oracle mystery would be waves (obviously), and she would have the sea hag changeling trait (if that's just a waste with her gear, I'll give her the choice for the green hag racial trait).
EDIT: With her headband of mental prowess +4 and her venerable age, her stats are (with the stat builder presented in the NPC section of Core Rulebook)
Strength 6, Dexterity 7, Constitution 9, Intelligence 27, Wisdom 13, Charisma 27
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Also, one of the encounters I wanted to have was somewhat based off of the 1970's anime of The Little Mermaid-there's a scene there with the mermaid (as a human) chased by a pack of wolves. But instead of wolves, I would like to use the country's Goliath hogs (basically boars with the advanced and giant templates, and a few additional HD). The Goliath hogs, despite their size, love to hunt in packs, and are more carnivorous and dangerous than their smaller relatives.
I have travelled to Copenhagen three times and have seen the Little Mermaid. She sits upon a rock a little ways offshore at the waterfront. My mother brought me there when I was young because I had been reading myths and fairy tales of all kinds - including those of Hans Christian Anderson.
Anyhow, my comment really has nothing to do with the fairy tale, but this statue has been defaced, decapitated, dressed up, and even blown up by locals over the years. I don't know how you could fit this into the adventure, but there you go.
I had a lot of fun running a half-aquatic campaign years ago, most of the inspiration came from the Stormwrack book.
I used a coven of 3 hags, one each sea, green, and annis. They were also a blonde, a brunette, and a red-head (I forget which). There was also a night hag/old woman secretly leading them.
Most of their minions were seawolves, think werewolf with a sealion-like animal form instead of the wolf form. So they had 3 forms human/werewolf/seawolf.
I was also using for the seawolf leaders the Blackfoot Lycanthropy from Dungeon magazine. Those infected by the true lycanthropes turned in a matter of minutes after being infected. Those infected by infected lycanthropes turned normally.
For their base, I used a map I found of a ruined/good triple towered small castle. The ruined parts were good only under the light of the full moon, with the Van Helsing movie-like partial clouds turning things solid/ethereal frequently. Anyone in a ruined area when the moonlight stopped turned ethereal as well. They would return to normal if they were in a ruined area when the moonlight came back on and simply exited to a still standing area in the moonlight. But they could never figure that out.
The ruins were next to a lake that drained into the sea a few miles away. Several underwater entrances plus the hidden under the bottom of the lake, the lair of the night hag/old woman with a secret dry entrance too.
The plot was to capture a PC, infect him, and the hags would breed with him, producing litters of (true) seawolves each night of the moon, these would grow in a month.
This army would be used to conquer the local kingdom and the luckless PC would be discarded by being tossed from the top tower into the lake and washed downstream to the PC's camp.
All they had to do was then head back to the lair and wipe them all out, with the PC eventually confronting the strongest child of his from each hag.
PCs never follow the path you lay out for them. The results were the party rescued the PC just before the end of the last night of the full moon. He ending up being ethereal and infected, so they proceeded to scour the world to find a cure. The hags continued to visit him on the full moons under the guise of Veil & Weird(?) spells, the party continued to move away from the seawolf conquered kingdom, eventually encountering Grendel and his mother in a brief un-eventual skirmish (thanks to the tripping rules).
Using a hag should give her plenty of abilities/powers you are looking for without using magic items/spells to create them. Give her some minions to make a coven. Give the mermaid something with the hag's eye in it, I used hawk's eye, cat's eye, and falcon's eye(?) stones to serve as the disguised hag's eyes, even procured some examples from the local rock store.
For nasty critters you could also use troll-hounds. You could also reverse the chase and have seawolves (as a normal creature like sea-cats or sea-lions) chase the mermaid in the water.
Uh, do you mean the story where the mermaid dies and turns into sea foam at the end or the Disney version? Because if you mean the Disney version I could possibly help you out with other stories that could be connected. Technically, I could help with the former too, but I want to be sure we're both on the same page.
Uh, do you mean the story where the mermaid dies and turns into sea foam at the end or the Disney version? Because if you mean the Disney version I could possibly help you out with other stories that could be connected. Technically, I could help with the former too, but I want to be sure we're both on the same page.
Technically, I want to stick more with the former. The ending could be different (I'm not wanting to turn the entire campaign based off of everything in the story), but I'd like to say that maybe 50% have some similarities to the original Anderson story.
Maybe Triton's sister experienced the Hans Christian Anderson story, which is why he is so overprotective of his daughters.
It might be worth looking more closely into the myth of the Melusines, Undines and other water spirits that have influenced Andersen's story. According to Paracelsus, Undines are immortal female water spirits without souls. They have to marry a mortal man to gain a soul, thereby foregoing their immortality. Often, these tales focus on encounters between creatures from different worlds (nature and culture, human and fey, man and woman). In most cases, they don't end well, especially for the human partner.
Well I've been making a few things for the campaign...but there's a few things that I've been wondering.
1) The mermaid herself-I want to make to where she's human. So, when determining her racial modifiers, do I just give her the human racial bonus to her stats or the merfolk's +2 to Dexterity, Constitution and Charisma?
2) What are the penalties for an NPC who's mute? That's one thing I really want to keep with the mermaid NPC, is to make her mute. And, also, by penalties, I mean do they reduce her CR? And if so by how much? (BTW I'm planning on making her a bard, since I'd imagine that she was talented at singing as a mermaid-obviously)
3) I want to make the king one of the bad guys, but I think it'd be a little too obvious to make him evil. Should Lawful Neutral work? I mean, I want this NPC to be against the prince marrying the mermaid (aka "some worthless wretch"), but not overly evil.
Plus the mermaid has the whole 'Feels like you are walking on knives' thing.
Now that I think about it, the whole story is about not getting obsessed about something so much you hurt yourself find find out you never had a chance. The prince did like the mermaid but never treated her as anything other than just a 'pet' effectivly. I think she was able to sleep outside his door and he obviously went for the political marriage.
The original story was about sacrifice and the transience of mortal life. Was Hans CHRISTIAN Anderson his pen name?
Somewhere there is a list of more oracle curses.
This sounds like a lot of fun, at least to brainstorm about. At this point, what seems to stand out to me is that you should probably think about what level you want the campaign to reach. If the Wave Witch is not meant to be the primary villain, is she someone you expect the PCs to come to blows with, or just a character they run into and realize they’re out of their league and have been double-crossed or the like?
I’m thinking it might be fun to include a good bit of urban stuff, and play with just how weird the central relationship of the story really is. Riffing off Kris Schnee and Amanuensis’ ideas, maybe start small and complicate things rapidly from there. How about something like this?
Part 1 - Several pieces: the PCs rescue the prince, investigate mysterious phenomena in coastal villages, rescue a mermaid who returns to the sea for now (why she’s pining on the shore is something to discover later on) - downtime, then something urban for the PCs to do as newly-minted knights - thwart spies at court, or unrest in town provoked by a new thieves’ guild or the like?
Part 2 - The prince and his father start looking for a suitable match for the young man - develop court politics for the PCs to meddle in if they so choose, though at this point they’re still outclassed by folks higher in the pecking order - also, they investigate rumours that a local wizard is keeping a sirine, undine, etc. for unspeakable purposes, and thwart the villain (thank you Baldur’s Gate et al.) - a mysterious beauty arrives in town, mute, but an unbelievable dancer: time for an artsy-themed plot (trouble at the theatre, or some festival that calls for a public feast at the castle, in any case, the mermaid should have an opportunity to catch the prince’s eye)
Part 3 - Royal matrimonial machinations continue, but by this installment, maybe the prince and the mermaid are already an item - there should be scenes that make it clear that it’s kind of a one-sided thing, and kind of the inverse of the wizard / magical creature plot from the previous part - (I can’t think of anything detailed off the top of my head, but you’d need another actual adventure here to suit your players’ tastes)
Part 4 - The mermaid’s rival arrives, and clearly has the king’s favour - the king is now making noises about the prince dispensing with his current companion - a mystery adventure! the mermaid is scared, desperate, and possibly not in full control of her powers, and weird stuff is happening (re-fluffed haunts and the like?) to make things worse, maybe a treacherous courtier is plotting something, and a completely unrelated group of nobles have done something silly like murder someone inconveniently and have to cover it up somehow (shades of Hamlet, Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern are Dead) - basically all sorts of weird magic should be going on, and nothing as it seems
Part 5 - The mermaid continues to act strangely - inquisitive PCs might discover she spends a lot of time by the seashore (possibly with visiting sisters?) - she really doesn’t want to talk about it - at some point, the king decides she has to go - fortuitously, he discovers she has an unusual dagger in her chambers - sets her up, possibly with the assistance of her rival - dramatic confrontation, the mermaid refuses to harm her prince, turns into foam
Part 6 - The PCs have to figure out just what happened - maritime adventure, tracking down the Wave Witch - the PCs discover that she transformed the mermaid, but everything else is someone else’s fault, and problem - if you want an optimistic spin on the story, the prince realizes that he really loved his dancer, and they need to find a way to resurrect her (maybe some sort of weird ritual that only someone like the Snow Queen would know?) - the PCs retrieve the Ritual McGuffin, revive the mermaid, find out what really happened, and the campaign ends with a truly epic confrontation between the PCs and allies and the king, who’s been far too powerful for them before now!
Just off the top of my head. (I may like fairy tales a bit much. :) )
Well I've been making a few things for the campaign...but there's a few things that I've been wondering.
1) The mermaid herself-I want to make to where she's human. So, when determining her racial modifiers, do I just give her the human racial bonus to her stats or the merfolk's +2 to Dexterity, Constitution and Charisma?
2) What are the penalties for an NPC who's mute? That's one thing I really want to keep with the mermaid NPC, is to make her mute. And, also, by penalties, I mean do they reduce her CR? And if so by how much? (BTW I'm planning on making her a bard, since I'd imagine that she was talented at singing as a mermaid-obviously)
3) I want to make the king one of the bad guys, but I think it'd be a little too obvious to make him evil. Should Lawful Neutral work? I mean, I want this NPC to be against the prince marrying the mermaid (aka "some worthless wretch"), but not overly evil.
As for these details:
1) Depends on how fussy your players are about how things work. Does it really matter? Maybe it’s like a reincarnate spell, and she loses the physical stat bonuses, but keeps the mental?
2) That’s tricky. If I recall correctly, all bard spells have verbal components, and can’t be modified by the Silent Spell metamagic feat. Fortunately, Pathfinder has a bunch of options for visual modes of bardic performances, including dance of course, so my bet would just be to give her ranks in both Perform (sing) and (dance), focusing on the latter as the campaign progresses. If you’re comfortable with very ad hoc, hand-wavy ideas, I think there’s a 3.5 prestige class (the Seeker of the Song, from Complete Arcane I think?) that trades spells for weird bardic performances that could be converted, with the performances as dances in particular. And maybe all her spells just have emotion components (from Pathfinder’s Occult Adventures) rather than verbal. Because magic (see ideas for Part 4 in the spoilered outline above). If there are spells or monster abilities that you could house-rule, it could be neat if your PCs could suddenly feel, at some point, what the mermaid’s every step is like.
3) Maybe the king could start out LN, but gradually turns evil as he just doesn’t get why his son doesn’t just go along with what’s best for him? Works best if you can spin the campaign into something that covers a long period of in-game time, and if there are hints early on that the king’s a bit off, and might go quite off the deep end if something’s just too difficult for him to deal with.
Incidentally, do you know Emma Donoghue’s Kissing the Witch? It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but it’s a fun collection of alternative takes on famous fairy tales for the “young adult” audience. I don’t quite remember her take on the Little Mermaid, but I think I thought it was creepy in a well-written way.
Ursala turns Ariel into a mime! :X
This sounds like a lot of fun, at least to brainstorm about. At this point, what seems to stand out to me is that you should probably think about what level you want the campaign to reach. If the Wave Witch is not meant to be the primary villain, is she someone you expect the PCs to come to blows with, or just a character they run into and realize they’re out of their league and have been double-crossed or the like?
I’m thinking it might be fun to include a good bit of urban stuff, and play with just how weird the central relationship of the story really is. Riffing off Kris Schnee and Amanuensis’ ideas, maybe start small and complicate things rapidly from there. How about something like this?
** spoiler omitted **
1) Depends on how fussy your players are about how things work. Does it really matter? Maybe it’s like a reincarnate spell, and she loses the physical stat bonuses, but keeps the mental?
2) That’s tricky. If I recall correctly, all bard spells have verbal components, and can’t be modified by the Silent Spell metamagic feat. Fortunately, Pathfinder has a bunch of options for visual modes of bardic performances, including dance of course, so my bet would just be to give her ranks in both Perform (sing) and (dance), focusing on the latter as the campaign progresses. If you’re comfortable with very ad hoc, hand-wavy ideas, I think there’s a 3.5 prestige class (the Seeker of the Song, from Complete Arcane I think?) that trades spells for weird bardic performances that could be converted, with the performances as dances in particular. And maybe all her spells just have emotion components (from Pathfinder’s Occult Adventures) rather than verbal. Because magic (see ideas for Part 4 in the spoilered outline above). If there are spells or monster abilities that you could house-rule, it could be neat if your PCs could suddenly feel, at some point, what the mermaid’s every step is like.
3) Maybe the king could start out LN, but gradually turns evil as he just doesn’t get why his son doesn’t just go along with what’s best for him? Works best if you can spin the campaign into something that covers a long period of in-game time, and if there are hints early on that the king’s a bit off, and might go quite off the deep end if something’s just too difficult for him to deal with.Incidentally, do you know Emma Donoghue’s Kissing the Witch? It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but it’s a fun collection of alternative takes on famous fairy tales for the “young adult” audience. I don’t quite remember her take on the Little Mermaid, but I think I thought it was creepy in a well-written way.
...
Everything here has been very helpful. Thank you so much.
I think that I could make it to where the mermaid does keep her Charisma and Dexterity bonus, but loses Constitution? I was thinking that, keeping to the idea that the mermaid will endure pain while walking, she lacks the Constitution racial bonus. Barring that, I can treat her as if she has the lame curse from the oracle class (just the penalty and not the bonuses at later levels).
Also, having her bard spells powered by emotions, rather than verbal components, sounds very in-tune with how I was planning. I'll read up on Occult Adventures on the emotion spells.
The Wave Witch is actually part of one of the various ways the PCs can figure out how to reincarnate the mermaid. The witch actually keeps a few scrolls of wish, but she's not willing to just simply give it to the PCs-she'll have to fight them. Not essentially kill her, but the PCs will have to hit her once and survive at least 5 rounds. Doesn't sound too bad-except that I'm expecting the PCs to be at APL 15 at the lowest against a NPC that's CR 19. That, and she has access to a HUGE variety of spells that alter her AC (like mage armor), gives her damage reduction (like stoneskin) or even gives her concealment/makes attacks likely to miss (like blur and mirror image).
Well they could go to a Marid. Getting one to grant a wish is tricky.
Well they could go to a Marid. Getting one to grant a wish is tricky.
Y'know...looking at that, I can actually imagine that there's a part of the northern coast that has a thinness between the Material Plane and the Plane of Water, which is the reason why there's so many merfolk in the coral reefs around the island country (yes, the region I'm making is an island-a large one too). So that could be the lair of a particularly mischievous but supportive marid. Maybe even a noble marid?
I remember a Japanese animated version that expanded things(much like Thumbelina) Where I think there was a court wizard who was actively plotting against the mermaid.
I remember a Japanese animated version that expanded things(much like Thumbelina) Where I think there was a court wizard who was actively plotting against the mermaid.
I'm actually wanting to base a little of this campaign off of that. Instead of a wolf chase, I was thinking a trio or trollhounds. Though not sure how the court wizard can play...
Well, depending on how extensive you envision the campaign might become, it could just be something that happens. Apart from dynastic politics and finding the right princess for the prince, maybe there are just factions at court that want to protect their own turf. The wizard might not care who or even if the prince really loves, but the mermaid is just cutting in on their share of influence. Maybe they really are too ambitious, and are treading very fine lines between trusted advisor, éminence grise, and traitor plotting a coup.
Addenda:
Still further to some points mentioned previously, I wouldn't really fret about adjusting the mermaid's statistics too much unless they're likely to have some particular effect in-game. If her transformation is based on a particular spell effect, that might be important, or what if the pain of the transformation is suppressed or treated somehow?
Also, depending on how likely the PCs are to turn the Wave Witch into the BBEG, it might be fun to find a way to introduce them to her earlier on, and generally think about how reviving the mermaid might become a major plot point. Otherwise, why not just find someone who happens to have a scroll of wish or a luck blade in stock? Maybe people aren't so blasé about trading in magic in this campaign world, but it's a world-building thing that should be addressed.
Well, depending on how extensive you envision the campaign might become, it could just be something that happens. Apart from dynastic politics and finding the right princess for the prince, maybe there are just factions at court that want to protect their own turf. The wizard might not care who or even if the prince really loves, but the mermaid is just cutting in on their share of influence. Maybe they really are too ambitious, and are treading very fine lines between trusted advisor, éminence grise, and traitor plotting a coup.
Addenda:
Still further to some points mentioned previously, I wouldn't really fret about adjusting the mermaid's statistics too much unless they're likely to have some particular effect in-game. If her transformation is based on a particular spell effect, that might be important, or what if the pain of the transformation is suppressed or treated somehow?
Also, depending on how likely the PCs are to turn the Wave Witch into the BBEG, it might be fun to find a way to introduce them to her earlier on, and generally think about how reviving the mermaid might become a major plot point. Otherwise, why not just find someone who happens to have a scroll of wish or a luck blade in stock? Maybe people aren't so blasé about trading in magic in this campaign world, but it's a world-building thing that should be addressed.
Y'know, I was planning on having the king be backed up by a council-with each position focused on different issues of the kingdom. One would focus on the defenses, another with the economics, another with the social issues, etc.
Hmm...I've already made her statistics, as if she was a human rather than a merfolk. Shall I send the statistics to you?
BUMP
Someone suggested making some allies for the Wave Witch; well, I got them. Critics/suggestions are welcomed:
male scrag barbarian (savage barbarian) 4 CR 9
CE Large humanoid (aquatic, giant)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft, low-light vision, scent; Perception +15
AC 19, touch 14, ff 15 (+3 Dex, +1 deflect, +1 dodge, +5 natural, -1 size)
*While raging: AC 17, touch 12, ff 13 (+3 Dex, +1 deflect, +1 dodge, +5 natural, -2 rage, -1 size)
hp 121 (10 HD; 6d8 (27) + 4d12 (24) + 70 (Con); regeneration 5 (acid, while in water only)
*While raging: hp 171 (10 HD; 6d8 (27) + 4d12 (24) + 90 (Con); regeneration 5 (acid, while in water only)
Fort +16 (+18 while raging), Ref + 6, Will +4 (+6 while raging); +1 vs fear
Defensive Abilities uncanny dodge; *While raging: Resist acid 2
Speed 30 ft, swim 40 ft
Melee +1 greataxe +18 (3d6 + 11/x3), bite + 12 (1d8 + 3); *While raging: +1 greataxe + 20 (3d6 + 14/x3), bite + 14 (1d8 + 6)
Space 10 ft; Reach 10 ft
Special Attacks rage (23 rounds/day), rage powers (energy resistance (acid 2), rolling dodge +1, 9 rounds/day)
Str 25, Dex 16, Con 25, Int 6, Wis 8, Cha 6; *While raging: Str 29, Con 29
Base ATK +8; CMB +16 (+18 while raging); CMD 29 (31 while raging)
Feats Extra Rage, Intimidating Prowess, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Perception), Weapon Focus (greataxe)
Skills Intimidate + 18, Perception + 15
Languages Aquan, Giant
Gear +1 Large greataxe, +1 Large ring of protection, potion of cure moderate wounds, potion of haste, potion of barkskin
advanced giant trollhounds (Bestiary 3) CR 5
N Large magical beast
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft, low-light vision, scent; Perception +7
AC 20, touch 11, ff 18 (+2 Dex, +9 natural, -1 size)
hp 46 (4d10 (22) + 24 (Con); regeneration 3 (acid or fire)
Fort +10, Ref +6, Will +3
Speed 40 ft
Melee bite +12 (2d8 + 12 plus disease and trip)
Special Attacks disease (like normal, except DC is 18)
Str 26, Dex 15, Con 23, Int 2, Wis 15, Cha 10
Base ATK +4; CMB +13; CMD 25 (29 vs trip)
Feats Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (bite)
Skills Perception +7, Stealth +2, Survival +3 (+7 scent tracking); Racial Modifiers +4 Survival while scent tracking
male young adult black dragon CR 10
CE Large dragon (water)
Init +5; Senses dragon senses; Perception +17
AC 25, touch 10, ff 24 (+1 Dex, +15 natural, -1 size)
hp 126 (12d12 (78) + 48 (Con)
Fort +12, Ref +9, Will +10
DR 5/magic; Immune acid, paralysis, sleep; SR 21
Speed 60 ft, fly 200 ft (poor), swim 60 ft
Melee bite +18 (2d6 + 9), 2 claws +17 (1d8 + 6), 2 wings +12 (1d6 + 3), tail slap + 12 (1d8 + 9)
Space 10 ft; Reach 5 ft (10 ft with bite)
Special Attacks breath weapon (80 ft line, DC 20, 10d6 acid)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th)
At will-darkness (60 ft radius)
Spells Known (CL 1st)
1st (4/day)-ear-piercing scream (DC 12), mage armor
0 (at will)-dancing lights, detect magic, message, read magic
Str 23, Dex 12, Con 19, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 12
Base ATK +12; CMB +19; CMD 30 (34 vs trip)
Feats Improved Initiative, Improved Vital Strike, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Stealth), Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (bite)
Skills Bluff +16, Swim +29, Fly +10, Intimidate +16, Linguistics +10, Perception +17, Stealth +18
Languages Aklo, Aquan, Common, Draconic, Elven, Giant, Goblin, Undercommon
SQ speak with reptiles, swamp stride, water breathing
female goblin snake sorcerer 3 CR 4
NE Small aberration
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft, scent; Perception +6
AC 16, touch 14, ff 13 (+3 Dex, +2 natural, +1 size)
hp 28 (5 HD; 2d8 (9) + 3d6 (9) + 10 (Con)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +8; Resist cold 10
Speed 30 ft, burrow 5 ft, swim 20 ft
Melee bite +3 (1d4 + 4)
Special Attacks bloodline arcana (elemental ray: 30 ft, 1d6 + 2 cold, 6/day; elemental resistance), goblin breath (DC 13)
Spells Known (CL 3rd; caster check +6)
1st (6/day)-freezing hands (DC 14, like burning hands except deals cold damage) [bonus], mage armor, magic missile (2), [/i]protection from good[/i]
0 (at will)-frostbite splash (like acid splash but deals cold damage), detect magic, ray of frost (DC 13), ghost sound (DC 13), open/close
Bloodline elemental (cold)
Str 16, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 11, Wis 14, Cha 17
Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 17 (can't be tripped)
Feats Combat Casting, Eschew Materials [bonus], Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Armor, Lunge [bonus]
Skills Bluff +12, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (arcana) +4, Knowledge (local) +4, Perception +6, Spellcraft +5, Stealth +14
Languages Common, Goblin
SQ snake empathy +9
This is all I have for now; I'm also planning on adding an advanced awakened great white shark and a mute (aka tongueless) harpy fighter 4 later.
EDIT: I think that Craok's attacks need to be fixed-y'know, something like +18/+13/+8?
Here's some more. Also decided to make a man-eating dire boar, with the man-eating animal template found here.
female unique harpy fighter 4 CR 8
NE Medium monstrous humanoid
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft; Perception +9
AC 20, touch 15, ff 15 (+4 armor, +4 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 natural)
hp 80 (11 HD; 7d10 (38) + 4d10 (20) + 11 (Con) + 11 (Toughness)
Fort +8, Ref +10, Will +7; +1 vs fear, +2 vs enchantment spells
Defensive Abilities bravery +1, hold your tongue
Speed 15 ft, fly 70 ft (average) (base 20 ft, fly 80 ft)
Melee +1 greatsword + 16/+11/+6 (2d6 + 5/19-20)
Str 16, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 9, Wis 12, Cha 15
Base ATK +11; CMB +14; CMD 28
Feats Dodge, Flyby Attack, Great Fortitude, Skill Focus (Perception), Weapon Focus (greatsword), Power Attack [bonus], Combat Reflexes [bonus], Cleave [bonus], Toughness
Skills Bluff +2, Fly +14, Intimidate +6, Perception +9, Survival +4
Languages Common (can't speak)
SQ armor training 1
Gear +1 greatsword, mwk hide armor, potion of cure light wounds
HOLD YOUR TONGUE-The Harpy seems to have her tongue missing, as if it was sliced off years ago. Due to this, she cannot speak or use her captivating song ability, but she has built up a more stern mindset towards charm spells. As a result, she gains a +2 bonus on saving throws against enchantment spells.
man-eating dire boar CR 6
CE Large magical beast
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft, low-light vision, scent; Perception +14
AC 17, touch 9, ff 17 (+8 natural, -1 size)
hp 52 (5d10 (27) + 20 (Con) + 5 (Toughness)
Fort +9, Ref +4, Will +4
Defensive Abilities ferocity; DR 5/slashing
Speed 40 ft
Melee bite +9 (1d8 + 10), gore +9 (2d6 + 10)
Str 23, Dex 10, Con 21, Int 4, Wis 17, Cha 12
Base ATK +5; CMB +13; CMD 23 (27 vs trip)
Feats Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Perception), Toughness
Skills Perception +14, Survival +3 (+7 to follow tracks)
Languages Abyssal, Common (can't speak)
Well, I got Bestiary 5 and it's giving me a whole new swath of inspiration for encounters-and, in the case of the orang-pendaks, new friendly/semi-friendly NPC allies. I even have an idea for the leader of a thieve's guild called the Blood Blade-a reptoid monk who's goal is to simply assassinate the king and, taking his guise, rule over Threkstar.
But, before I do such a thing, I have a question-should I use the Unchained versions of the barbarian, monk and rogue or just the regular versions? I'm not including the summoner in this campaign (neither the original or the unchained version), simply cause I don't see any use for the summoner in the campaign. Just a personal preference.
Alright, I'll just update that I'm planning on making some statistics for some "homebrew monsters"-new monsters like you'd always find at the end of the Adventure Paths.
I'll start with what I have so far for "Book One"
-Corrosive Hound (CE Large aberration) Planned CR 4 (based off of this, from the 1982 movie The Thing)
-Devil Monkey (N Medium magical beast) Planned CR 3 (based off of the cryptid, looks a bit like this image)
-Hydra, Dwarf (N Medium magical beast) Planned CR either 3 or 4 (a smaller, three headed version of the normal hydra)
-Clockwork, Wheel (N Medium construct) Planned CR 2 (a humanoid body with a shortsword for each hand, and a large, magically powered wheel for a leg)
-Honey Badger (N Small animal) Planned CR 1
Familiars
-Repenomamus (N Tiny animal) Planned CR 1/2 [+3 bonus to Intimidate checks] (like this)
-Dinosaur, Shuuvia (N Tiny animal) Planned CR 1/3 [+2 bonus to Reflex saves] (like this)
-Moon Shrew (N Tiny animal) Planned CR 1/3 [+2 bonus to Fortitude saves] (like this)
-Hummingbird (N Diminutive animal) Planned CR 1/4 or 1/6 [+1 dodge bonus to AC)
*Points to Alluria Publishing and the Cerulean Seas*
You're welcome :P
@JiCi-saw it, but my money's a bit tight on me, so I probably won't get that for a good while. Thanks though.
BUMP
Just notifying that any who follow this might want to take a look at the thread I made for homebrew campaign monsters found here
I just wanted to point this out cause the monsters are going to be part of the campaign (in one way or another).
BUMP, AGAIN
Alright, I got some stats up for some encounters. I'll go for which "book" (or part) they'll be in.
Soldiers (as from entry in Bestiary)
male goblin fighter 1
NE Small humanoid (goblinoid)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft; Perception +2
AC 18, touch 14, ff 15 (+4 armor, +3 Dex, +1 size)
hp 12 (1d10 (10) + 2 (Con)
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +1
Speed 30 ft
Melee shortsword +2 (1d4/19-20)
Ranged longbow +5 (1d6/x3)
Str 11, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base ATK +1; CMB +0; CMD 13
Feats Point-Blank Shot (bonus), Weapon Focus (longbow)
Skills Perception +2
Languages Goblin
Gear Small shortsword, Small longbow, Small chain shirt
male goblin barbarian 2
NE Small humanoid (goblinoid)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft; Perception +6
AC 16, touch 14, ff 13 (+2 armor, +3 Dex, +1 size)
*AC 14, touch 12, ff 11 (+2 armor, +3 Dex, -2 rage, +1 size)
hp 22 (2d12 (18) + 4 (Con); *hp 26 (2d12 (18) + 8 (Con)
Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +1; *Fort +7, Will +3
Defensive Abilities uncanny dodge
Speed 40 ft
Melee greatsword +4 (1d10 + 1/19-20); *greatsword +6 (1d10 + 4/19-20)
Special Attacks rage (14 rounds/day), rage power (superstition +2)
Str 13, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 8; *Str 17, Con 18
Base ATK +2; CMB +2 (*+4); CMD 15 (*17)
Feats Extra Rage
Skills Acrobatics +8, Perception +6, Survival +6
Languages Goblin
SQ fast movement
Gear Small greatsword, Small leather armor
Foam Fang Prophet, Azied
female goblin oracle 2
NE Small humanoid (goblinoid)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft; Perception +1
AC 17, touch 13, ff 15 (+4 armor, +2 Dex, +1 size)
hp 14 (2d8 (12) + 2 (Con)
Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +4; +2 vs diseases, mind-affecting effects and poisons
Speed 20 ft (base 30 ft)
Melee morningstar +2 (1d6)
Spells per Day (CL 2nd; concentration +4)
1st (5/day)-bane (DC 13), cause fear (DC 14; bonus), summon monster I
0 (at will)-mage hand, ghost sound (DC 12), bleed (DC 12), detect magic, guidance
Mystery bones
Str 10, Dex 14, Con 13, In 8, Wis 13, Cha 14
Base ATK +1; CMB +0; CMD 12
Feats Spell Focus (necromancy)
Skills Stealth +15, Heal +6, Spellcraft +4
Languages Goblin
SQ oracle revelation (near death), oracle's curse (haunted)
Foam Fang Boss, Aescu
female goblin fighter (roughriderAPG) 3/druid 2
NE Small humanoid (goblinoid)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft; Perception +1
AC 18, touch 14, ff 15 (+4 armor, +3 Dex, +1 size)
hp 28 (3d10 (20) + 2d8 (8)
Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +4
Speed 20 ft (base 30 ft)
Melee mwk scimitar +8 (1d4 +3/18-20)
Ranged tanglefoot bag +8 (DC 15 or be stuck)
Druid Spells per Day (CL 2nd; concentration +3)
1st (3/day)-cure light wounds, entangle (DC 12), magic stone
0 (at will)-create water, detect magic, flare (DC 11), purify food and drink
Str 14, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 10
Base ATK +4; CMB +5; CMD 18
Feats Ride-By Attack (bonus), Mounted Combat (bonus), Weapon Focus (scimitar), Combat Casting, Skill Focus (Handle Animal)
Skills Handle Animal +9, Knowledge (nature) +7, Ride +13, Stealth +7; Racial Modifiers +4 Ride and Stealth
Languages Common, Goblin
SQ steadfast mount, nature sense, nature bond (axe beak companion), woodland stride, armored charger, armor training 1, wild empathy +2
Gear Small mwk scimitar, Small mwk hide armor, potion of magic weapon, potion of mage armor, poiton of cure light wounds (4), holy and mistletoe, 4 tanglefoot bags, Medium exotic saddle (free)
Clam Cruncher
axe beak animal companion
N Medium animal
Init +3; Senses low-light vision; Perception +4
AC 15, touch 13, ff 12 (+2 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 15 (3d8 (12) + 3 (Con)
Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +1
Speed 50 ft
Melee bite +6 (1d6)
Str 10, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 10
Base ATK +2; CMB +2; CMD 15
Feats Light Armor Proficiency (bonus), Weapon Focus (bite)
Skills Acrobatics +7, Perception +4, Survival +1
SQ general purpose (combat trained), tricks (attack, come, defend, down, guard, heel), battle gift
Gear Medium exotic saddle, Medium leather armor
BATTLE GIFT-Already domesticated and given to the Boss Goblin as a gift by an unknown person, Clam Cruncher possesses a free exotic saddle and free leather armor. In addition, he gains the combat training general purpose, and all associated tricks; it cannot learn anymore tricks. Finally, it gains Light Armor Proficiency as a bonus feat.
This won't include other encounters (mainly boars and a giant frog, but also a goblin snake mesmerist). If there is any input you want to put on this, or if I have made any mistakes, please say so.