X-Men '97 - Extinction II

Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks. The RPG 2^nd Edition Pathfinder, in particular, seems to have gone marasmatic: they try to come across fast and lose, yet at the same time they try to micromanage everything. Look at the latest adventure path, one that is set in the Mosswood (or whatever it is called, it does not matter here). In the player’s guide to the path, the Pathfinder team is bombasting the readers’/players’ with oodles of suggestions and references yet all the while telling them it does not matter; they can be whomever they like. Fair enough, but… in this case either the readers/players really can be whomever they like, in which case all of the information in the guide is superficial and unnecessary, or this information is mandatory, in which case the players have to choose out of the options presented by the guide, and their personal desires are irrelevant. Pause.

Aside from the fact that both options are equally bad and annoying, there’s also the fact that team Pathfinder and the DMs don’t really have ways to enforce it, if the players will disregard the Pathfinder options, (remember, they’re supposed to be suggestions), and go with the flow. Not to mention that the DMs usually do not want to fight with their players, because often the latter are their friends too, on one hand, and on the other, RPGs are a luxury item, they aren’t needed, they cater to whims, and if they don’t, people will find other options (such as D&D) that do. Onto X-Men ’97, then?

Yes, pretty much. Not unlike the RPGs, this cartoon series is also a luxury item, it is trying to tickle the audience’s fancy with a lot of Easter eggs and references, and when they stop, we are left with something else.

For example, Magneto – in this episode – restarts the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, taking Rogue with him, as well as Roberto. Well, Magneto and Rogue’s relationship aside, firstly, Magneto actually saved the day – or at least helped a lot – in the first part of the season’s finale, so is he really evil anymore, or did the scriptwriters want to write yet another Magneto vs. Professor X fight? (The two of them did fight here, sort of). On the other hand, since Roberto is with Magneto now… err, with the Brotherhood now, Jubilee seems to be actually missing him… why? Throughout the season, Roberto was essentially a prop; his chemistry with Jubilee was nonexistent, and so was his role on the show, and now that he is with Magneto and Rogue, Jubilee actually begins to miss him? Can we say – ‘forced relationship’? And In the past, it looked as if the relationships on AoS were contrived. Anything else?

The bulk of ‘Extinction 2’ episode was about fights, with little being done, to be frank. The non-relationship between Jubilee and Roberto feels forced, and so’s the conflict between most of the X-Men and Magneto, Rogue and Roberto. This entire specific episode feels like filler, albeit an exciting one, so odds are is that it is. In fact, as it was said before, the entire X-Men ’97 now feels like a luxury product that is getting a bit desperate for whatever reasons. Ah well, it is no skin off our back.

…Meanwhile, for now, this is it. See you all soon!

DnD Skeletal monsters - Dec 18

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, and Pathfinder lately does not fare much better…

First, however, a couple of asides. First, the ‘Quiz Lady’ movie. It is vapid. I am not the biggest fan of Awkwafina or of Sandra Oh, but this movie just wastes them and everyone else involved in it: the movie does not go anywhere, there are no real stakes in it, no anything, and it is pointedly aromantic. There is nothing wrong with aromantic films in theory, but in practice, they tend to be forgotten quite quickly, such as another Netflix film, ‘Over the Moon’, which also starred Sandra Oh… as a voice actress because it was an animated film, but again – it was child-friendly in an aromantic way, and so it became quickly forgotten.

On other hand, there is the upcoming ‘Snow White’ Disney remake, which just might be forgotten for the better: Ms. Z’s statements have done more harm than good, and the remake itself seems to be problematic. Of course, there is also a question as to why does Disney needed to remake ‘Snow White’, but the answer is obvious: its’ new movies, such as ‘Wish’ or ‘Strange World’, are just as aromantic, vapid and forgettable as ‘Quiz Lady’ or ‘Over the Moon’ are, so Disney is in the same boat as Netflix is.

This, oddly, brings us over to ‘Pathfinder’. This RPG franchise is handling its’ transference to the second edition… not very well: their paladin class got remade completely, as was their cleric, and now they are going on with their layout – no ‘bestiaries’ (monster manuals) and etc. This is their call, of course, but our crew are keeping away from this franchise now, it just is not comfortable for us any longer.

Meanwhile, their wiki has introduced the ‘article of the week’ concept… several weeks ago. It is not a bad idea, in fact, and this week’s article is the skeleton’s monster entry. Now, again, we are largely done with Pathfinder, but you can find the skeleton monster entry in the original D&D Monster Manual 3.5 edition, and this is exactly what we will be doing in this entry: giving you several skeleton variants of opponents.

First up, is a straightforward ‘monster’ with the skeleton template – the leopard, (selected by a random generator):

Advanced skeleton leopard: CR 2; Medium undead; HD 5d12; hp 72; Init +4; Spd 30 ft., climb 10 ft.; AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 11; Base Atk +4; Grp +7; Atk +7 melee (1d6+4, bite) and +1 melee (1d4+2, 2 claws); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; SA Improved grab, pounce, rake 1d3+1; SQ Damage reduction 5/bludgeoning, immunity (cold), low-light vision, scent; AL NE; SV Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +2; Str 20, Dex 17, Con 0, Int 0, Wis 10, Cha 1.

Skills and Feats: Improved Initiative.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a leopard must hit with its bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can rake.

Pounce (Ex): If a leopard charges a foe, it can make a full attack, including two rake attacks.

Rake (Ex): Attack bonus +6 melee, damage 1d3+1.

Skills: Leopards have a +8 racial bonus on Jump checks and a +4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks. Leopards have a +8 racial bonus on Balance and Climb checks. A leopard can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened. In areas of tall grass or heavy undergrowth, the Hide bonus improves to +8.

Right. Next up, is a medium-level ranger NPC, who has a bone creature (from the ‘Book of Vile Darknes’) template:

 

Maia Josia, female human ranger 10: Medium undead; HD 10d12; hp 69; Init +7; Spd 20 ft.; AC 19, touch 22, flat-footed 11; Base Atk +10; Grp +15; Atk +13 melee (1d6+6/19-20/x2, +1 short sword) and +8 melee (1d6+3/x3, shortspear) or +13 melee (1d4+6, 2 claws); Space/Reach 5 f./5 ft.; SA Combat style/improved combat style (two-weapon fighting), favored enemy +6 (animals), favored enemy +4 (humanoids), favored enemy +2 (magical beasts), spells; SQ Animal companion (none), damage reduction 5/magic, darkvision 60 ft., evasion, immunity (cold), swift tracker, undead traits, wild empathy +3, woodland stride; AL LE; SV Fort +8, Ref +11, Will +4; Str 17, Dex 21 (25), Con 0, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 8.

Skills and Feats: Concentration +12, Craft (pottery) +9, Craft (weaponsmithing) +14, Craft (woodworking) +9, Handle Animal +12, Hide +12, Knowledge (nature) +14, Listen +1, Move Silently +20, Search +12, Spot +1, Survival +16; Combat Reflexes, Deceitful, Dodge, Endurance (B), Improved Initiative, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting (B), Self Sufficient, Track (B), Two-Weapon Fighting (B), Weapon Finesse (short sword) (B).

Spells Known (2/1; save DC 12 + spell level): 1st - alarm, calm animals; 2nd - barkskin.

Possessions: +1 studded leather, +1 short sword, masterwork shortspear, notebook, spare clothing, obsidian chunks in a bag, spell components, flint and tinder, bedroll, food and water supplies, bull's-eye lantern, other equipment, gloves of Dexterity +2, domain icon, 6200 gp.

And finally, here’s a mature adult black dragon with a skeletal dragon template, (from the 3.5 edition of ‘Draconomicon’):

Female mature adult black dragon; CR 7; Huge undead (water); HD 22d12+22, hp 150; Init +0; Spd 60 ft.; AC 25, touch 4, flat-footed 25; Base Atk +28; Grp +38; Atk +28 melee (2d8+8, bite), +23 melee (2d6+4, 2 claws), +23 melee (1d8+4, 2 wings), +23 melee (2d6+12, tail slap); Space/Reach 15 ft./10 ft. (15 ft. with bite); SA Crush, frightful presence; SQ Blindsense 60 ft., damage reduction 10/magic and 5/bludgeoning, darkvision 120 ft., immunities (acid, cold, sleep, and paralysis), low-light vision, spell resistance 23, undead traits; AL CE; SV Fort +18, Ref +13, Will +15; Str 27, Dex 10, Con 0, Int 0, Wis 10, Cha 14.

Skills and Feats: Improved Initiative.

Crush (Ex): Area 15 ft. by 15 ft.; Small or smaller opponents take 2d8+12 points of bludgeoning damage, and must succeed on a DC 26 Reflex save or be pinned.

Frightful Presence (Ex): 210-ft. radius, HD 21 or fewer, Will DC 23 negates.

 

Well, this is all for now, we are all out of appropriate skeletal monsters. We do hope that you will enjoy using them in your campaigns, however. For now, though, this is it. See you all soon, instead!

 

Honor Among Thieves and Co. - March 23

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, so let us try to find some different topic of discussion. Pause.

Sadly, there does not appear to be any; ‘The Mandolorian’ is already being discussed to death, while ‘Dungeons and Dragons: Honor among Thieves’… ok, let me rant.

‘Honor’ may be a D&D film, supposedly, but it is set in a very specific setting: The Forgotten Realms. Initially, The Forgotten Realms were just one setting within the broader D&D spectrum, but now, apparently, they dominate it, with their rivals, such as Eberron and Pathfinder, seem to have fallen by the wayside.

…Actually, that may not be really fair: the RPG sector began to suffer, just as many other luxury goods and services, ever since the COVID-19 outbreak, and it has not really recovered from it. However, the decline of some of its’ aspects, such as Pathfinder, began pre-COVID-19, and so I’m not fully sold on this state of affairs being the pandemic’s fault alone – something else might’ve worked behind the scenes, but what? Who knows…?

Anyways, ‘Honor’ is set in The Forgotten Realms’ setting, something that has not been openly/officially acknowledged so far. That is one. Two, is that it is a relatively conservative movie rather than a progressive/liberal one: a person of color plays the barbarian character, (so’s the paladin, but he’s more a temporary character in this film), and the druid character is a tiefling rather than a human or an elf. Second pause.

…Since this is a rant, may I point out that lately RPGs have this weird issue regarding tieflings. In fact, tieflings are only one out of several ‘planetouched’ races, a group of humanoids that have extradimensional ancestors… think the InHumans of MCU – initially regular humans with alien DNA, they became a brand new separate species by the time of them being featured in the MCU. The planetouched are similar, save that, the tieflings have demon or devil genes, (to use the term incorrectly, but still), while the descendants of the various celestials are called, the aasimar… and they are represented much less often than their tiefling counterparts are. I have no idea as to why, but this is how it rolls at least since the 3.5 D&D edition. Weird!

Getting back to the film, let us note that the tiefling druid here is a tiefling because the party needed one non-human character, to pass as a fantasy racial minority, probably. Again, this is not exactly new – Pathfinder, for example, tended to stick with human NPCs, when regular old monsters would not do; oh, it had its’ dwarves, elves, half-orcs and so on, but humans dominated. Since Pathfinder takes place on imaginary planet named Golarion, I do not know whose issue this was and why and how it was addressed, if it ever did. Still, Pathfinder 2^nd edition is a lot like D&D 5^th edition, so we do not care about Pathfinder as much anymore. Where were we?

Right. So, ‘Honor’ is peddling a specific setting as a general one, and it is quite conservative with its’ PCs, and it took its’ plot straight from the SW – Forge is a discount Palpatine, (“I cannot bare to see you die, so I’ll leave”) while his ally Sofina the Red Wizard is a discount Assajji Ventress. More precisely, Neverwinter and its’ lords are Coruscant and its’ Jedi, while the Red Wizards are Sith, with Thay being their home country. So what?

So nothing, especially since The Forgotten Realms’ setting itself has changed a lot in passing from the 3/3.5 edition onto the 4/5 one. Not sure, if it was for the best either – but while the different editions of D&D differ quite a lot, none of those changes came into the movie because of reasons. Where we are left with them/without them?

Again, with a conservative film that has several heterosexual couples – Forge and Sofina, Edgin and Holga, and Simon and Doric. This is never emphasized, of course, but it is there; Edgin and Holga, especially, are the Not-A-Couple of the film, as Holga tends to rebuff Edgin’s advances, (at least some of the time), but at the end of the film, Edgin, (and his daughter, who’s a minor character in the film – at least this one), choose to resurrect her than his late wife – symbolism is hitting the audience on the collective head here.

Again, there is nothing wrong with the good old classics, but could you acknowledge it, at least? In Pathfinder – at least the 1^st edition, not certain about the following ones – there were plenty of sexual minorities, (since it is a different world altogether and our rules don’t apply to it) – and so it seems to get cancelled, as I, for one, no longer can find much of it aside from the Internet, but the same can be said about many other RPG rulebooks and the like… Where were we?

Ah yes, the conservative values disguised as progressive ones. It isn’t just RPGs, you know? For a while, I was invested in Mr. Riordan’s PJ novels, as well as those spun-off/inspired by him. On some level, they were progressive as they utilized various racial and sexual minorities, but then-

But then I realized that it was ‘The Whale’ scenario – you remember our discussion of ‘The Whale’ as in the 2022 movie? In the discussion of it, it was pointed out that ‘weight’ and ‘race’ were window dressing for the actual movie message, (such as it was), and the same can be said for the latest novels of Mr. Riordan both about Magnus Chase and Apollo, as well as for the spin-offs.

Take, for the example, Mr. Yoon Ha Lee’s ‘Dragon Pearl’ novels, (there are two of them so far). They’re chockful of sexual and racial minorities… whose gender and race don’t play any role in the series, they’re just window dressing, and the main characters are a gumiho (fox spirit) from ‘the wrong side of tracks’, and a tiger spirit from a noble clan that’d disgraced themselves by treason against the emperor, or whoever. I.e., they are variant Skye and Grant from AoS, (I am going down with that ship). Ergo, does it matter if the supporting cast are not heterosexual? Hint: it does not… and the same largely goes for the rest of the spin-offs. There are some divergences from that mould, for example the ‘Tristan Strong’ series, but they are the ones that I cannot find on shelves anymore since the pandemic ended. Gee, I wonder why… What else?

Ah yes, one final part regarding the ‘Honor’ film – its’ main cast are a bunch of misfits that make a regular experienced N/PC face palm. No, wait, there are two – the team’s sorcerer is a descendant of Elminster. If anyone outside of the RPG community, (especially the parts keyed to the Forgotten Realms) know and care who Elminster is – good for them. They can go back watching ‘The Whale’ – the two sets of media are equally good. In addition, as for the misfit part, now this fossilized cliché is almost a requirement that you need to succeed in a film… unless you are in something akin the SW films seven through nine – but that is another story.

For now though, this is it. See you all soon!

Reminiscing about 1E Pathfinder - Oct 6

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, but the reason as to why I kept a silence on my blog post-‘Mulan-2020’ is…because of it, really. Our TV/cable box, (sponsored by Rogers™!), has died, we tried to replace it, and may now replace our TV instead, because it is that old. It is a huge heavy thing, and I do not envy the task of getting it out of our home, because I will be the one doing it, most likely. …Getting rid of the TV, that is. Did I mention that real life sucks, already? Anything else?

We have been trying our luck with Pathfinder™, and by Pathfinder™, I mean that we are making our own 1E campaign, to use their terminology. In it, our PCs were commissioned to go down to the Mwangi jungles to capture an okapi, (it is a real life animal – look it up on the Wiki), for their patron. Not the most intense motivation, but hey, when you are playing for yourselves and for your own enjoyment, you can live with it.

…You do need some villains to spice up the game, and so, enter ‘Nature’s Scourge’ from the 1E ‘Villain Codex’ – a collection of various villains, all of whom have some connection to nature. Pause.

On the topic of the 1E Pathfinder™, the NPC Codex was just a list of stats of the 10 primary classes from 1 to 20, plus the matching 10 prestige classes, plus the NPC classes, all delivered in the same layout. (Plus the appendix, but we are deliberately ignoring it). The Monster Codex contained info on 20 different monsters/monster races, plus some paraphernalia – class archetypes, feats, spells, etc., all of which are appropriate to ‘their’ monster – gnolls, serpentfolk, lizardfolk and so on – in order to make them more derived and challenging. And the Villain Codex?

…And the Villain Codex tried to do something similar, but since most of the characters presented there, are humans, or at least humanoids, who do not have too much in common with each other, this makes the paraphernalia part more tricky… Pause.

NPC Codex was simple – here is a list of rogues, rangers, monks, etc. from the lowest to the highest, Villain Codex was more complex as each organization – whether it’s the aforementioned ‘Nature Scourge’ or, say, the ‘Brutal Slavers’ – is quite heterogeneous, plus they’re… generic.

The speciality of prestige classes is that they give something unique to the characters, something that the base classes by themselves just can’t, plus by choosing to eventually invest in a prestige classes, the players behind to mould their characters appropriately, by choosing the proper feat(s), which may have their own prerequisites, by designating a certain amount of skill ranks to a specific skill, and so on, which results in a more unique character than an average character would be.

…Unfortunately, team Pathfinder™ had its’ own issues with the prestige classes to begin with. Oh sure, they were there; there was, in fact, an entire supplementary rule book titled ‘Paths of Prestige’, dedicated precisely to this topic, but somehow, you could tell that their heart wasn’t in it.

This brings us to archetypes. In the D20 Modern system, there were ‘talent trees’ or something similar – i.e., you could choose what special abilities and qualities your character would have, not to mention that instead of rangers, rogues and bards, the characters of the D20 Modern system were differentiated from each other by their strength, speed, toughness, and so on. As I’ve written way back, the (1E) Pathfinder™ was more influenced by the D20 Modern than by D&D, (despite their own similarities), so not surprisingly that they had something similar – the archetypes, which were, fundamentally, the various special abilities and qualities of rangers, rogues, bards and etc., that replaced some of the others – they were called substitution levels in the 3.5 D&D. So what?

Therefore, the team Pathfinder™ had some issues with the prestige classes – they practically never used them in their adventure paths and co. Even in their later days, when they pushed more and more info about their exalted, evangelist and sentinel prestige classes, they’ve never actually used them in the canon, and any RPG material that isn’t used in a RPG canon is practically stillborn, (pardon the not quite appropriate imagery). Prestige classes were never very widely used in the 1E Pathfinder™, (though there was quite a lot of them, to be fair), and the various archetypes, (i.e., a ‘regular’ rogue is different from a rogue with a ‘poisoner’ archetype, for example), just were not the same.

…Yes, the 3.5 ed. D&D also had archetypes, especially in the ‘Complete Champion’ sourcebook, but we are not talking about this angle right now. What we are talking about is how the source in the Villain Codex was a tangled mess at worst and a heterogeneous one at best, and ‘Nature’s Scourge’ is one of the better one – an evil organization dedicated to reclamation of civilization by nature via occult rituals and what else have you; but what the point?

The point is that Pathfinder-1E never knew where it was going as a franchise. For a while it prospered, but now it seems to have collapsed, as Pathfinder-2E appears to be a lot less grand with a lot less material to offer its’ fans – mostly the various monster conversions, and that just isn’t the same. Still, we are enjoying playing our own campaign, (we still have not come up to our elusive jungle giraffe, eh), and it helps us get away from the concept that real life sucks, and this is also the reason as to why I’ve stayed away from my blog for the time being.

PS: Here is a poacher from the NPC codex with a bestial simple template (Lost Treasures 17) for old times’ sake:

 

POACHER CR 2

XP 600

Bestial human ranger 3

CE Medium humanoid (human)

Init +1; Senses Perception +7

DEFENSE

AC 15, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +1 Dex, +1 natural)

hp 30 (3d10+9)

Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +2

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee 2 mwk handaxes +6 (1d6+3/×3) or

2 claw attacks (1d4+3) and 1 bite attack (1d3+1)

Ranged mwk heavy crossbow +5 (1d10/19–20)

Special Attacks favored enemy (animals +2)

STATISTICS

Str 17, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 6

Base Atk +3; CMB +6; CMD 17

Feats Double Slice, Endurance, Quick Draw, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (handaxe)

Skills Climb +9, Intimidate +2, Knowledge (geography) +3, Knowledge (local) +0, Knowledge (nature) +4, Perception +7, Stealth +7, Survival +5

Languages Common

SQ favored terrain (forest +2), track +1, wild empathy +2

Combat Gear potion of bull's strength, potions of cure light wounds (2), potion of hide from animals; Other Gear masterwork studded leather, masterwork handaxes (2), masterwork heavy crossbow with 20 bolts, 63 gp.

What do you think? Comments, criticisms are welcome.

NaGeo - Sep 4

Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks. In this particular instance, it is because the NatGeo news website is now a paysite. The fuck?

Now, this development is not exactly a surprise: for the last few years the NatGeo magazine online was almost exclusively for money only, aka The Same Deal You Got for the Paper Copy. No biggie. The fact that the general news articles on the website are for money only starting this September (2019) is still annoying. A while back – when the ‘Pathfinder’ franchise was only beginning to prepare to put itself into its’ second edition incarnation – we discussed how ‘Wizards of the Coast’ site for D&D and co. has become a paysite whereas the ‘Pathfinder/Starfinder’ site is an online/Internet store for the different ‘Pathfinder/Starfinder’ merchandise, with a forum where ‘Pathfinder/Starfinder’ fans can discuss the pros and cons of the various ‘Pathfinder/Starfinder’ goods as well as talk about any other topics regarding this franchise. It’s not a bad idea, for a while the franchise also included various novels and comics, but these days the novels are gone, finished, they aren’t made and published any longer, whereas comics seem to be going this way too with barely any presence in the real world. You can, probably, buy them online and all, but how many people do that? – And where does it leave NatGeo?

Now that is an interesting question. This website was never very popular among the Internet users to begin with, and now that it costs separate money from your usual Internet bills and taxes… yeah. Plus, what is its’ point? You can watch NatGeo videos freely on YouTube and similar sites, and the news themselves are often reposts from other sites, sites that are not necessarily paysites and you can read the news there for free again. What is the reasoning behind this tactical move of NatGeos, again?

...Hard to say. For a while, NatGeo tried to be more interactive, literally, we are talking an interactive Internet site here, but sometimes it does not always work. It certainly does not work for the NatGeo magazine, which has grown increasingly clustered over the years, as the magazine’s crew tried to cram more and more info into the same amount of space within the magazine’s physical parameters and the result is largely a glorified photo album with minimum of printed information. Does Disney owe the NatGeo or the Discovery franchise? If it is, the former then they probably are not getting their money’s worth, is what I am saying, and if it is the latter, then this NatGeo strategy is even dumber. Sad face emoji here. End rant.

…This is it for now, I guess. See you all soon!

It Chapter 2 - Sep 3

Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks. Now, back to the evil clowns. Here, we are talking about the Steven King novel that was adapted into movies/TV series in the 1990s, and now into another two movies – the first one was in 2017, and the second one coming to the cinema screens later this year (2019). It is ‘It’, to wit. …Pennywise the clown, being the titular character-villain, (look it up), rocked in his white and red make-up, as opposed to his (its’?) natural form, which is something shapeless, grotesque…and not so evil at all. Somehow, being altogether all too human made It the Pennywise clown more evil than whenever it/he, well, was an invertebrate instead.

…Do I want to discuss the details of the movie/movies, past and present and future? No. While ‘It’ was not a bad film per se, neither it was very debatable, at least not by me. Horror movie genres aren’t my thing, and I wouldn’t be mentioning ‘It’ at all, save for it being about an ultimate evil clown, (as opposed to, say, an ultimate evil werewolf – the titular monster can do a convincing lycanthrope too, BTW), which brings us back to ‘Joker 2019’, of whom we talked recently, and to the fact that ‘It Chapter Two’ comes back from its’ 90s incarnation later this year too. Does it make ‘It’ deserving of a mention? Yes, but nothing more. Anything else?

…’Pathfinder’ continues to churn out more ‘2^nd edition’ rulebooks and game books and stuff, but so far people are not being very overwhelmed. On top of anything else, the second edition had broken down the old structure: in an adventure path book, after the actual adventure description, there was an NPC gallery, then some supplementary material, and finally info on the new monsters that appear in this adventure, (if any). Intersecting the adventure path were the descriptions of various special treasures found during the adventures, as well as some sidebars – comments and advice from the adventure’s author. Now, this structure is gone, or at least – simplified, as NPCs, treasures and monsters are jumbled into one cluttered mess, though there is some supplementary information in the second edition adventure paths, I was told. However…

…However, the point is that the 1^st edition ‘Pathfinder’ was different; it stood out from its’ competition due to their dissimilar layout; as I have written before, ‘Pathfinder’ had more in common with the d20 Modern games than with D&D, which made it special and noticeable, but now that aspect of ‘Pathfinder’ is gone, and I cannot help but to question the logic of that move – is it really a good thing? Judging by circumstantial evidence, I cannot help but to wonder if the ‘Pathfinder’ cast itself is having problems adjusting to the new shift, time to prepare for it be damned… but that is their issues, and they will resolve them somehow. Alternatively, ‘Pathfinder’ will go down for good and people working for this franchise will lose their jobs. Pity, but that is real life for you. It sucks, and here ‘it’ is not Stephen King’s novel. Period.

…This is it for now. See you all soon!

Pathfinder 2nd edition - Aug 25

…Now about that Pathfinder bit that I have promised to talk about earlier this summer, about its’ transfer from the 1^st edition to the 2^nd. What can be said about it?

Firstly, the obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks. Sometimes your neighbor from across the street starts to play the blues and you want to kill them before you kill yourself, just because you’re in that sort of a mood and you don’t know as to how to get out of it. What next?

The Pathfinder transfer in and of itself was clumsily done; it took place with the ‘Pathfinder Campaign Setting’ companion piece on the land of Druma, and unlike the previous installments – about Osirion, Cheliax, Belkzen, Andoran, Nidal, etc. – this piece felt less helpful to gamers who wanted to play in Druma, and more like an extra from the ‘Inner Sea Races’ core book. The latter is one of the less successful 1^st edition Pathfinder core books, BTW. It is four-fifths filler and the rest is nothing that could not be found in the Advanced Race Guide core book, for example. The piece on Druma reads the same – the enthusiasm that you could find in other PCS pieces just is not there; it’s still written well enough, but nothing more.

…And the same can be said about the new releases – the new adventure module, the new installment in the Age of Ashes campaign. They are written well enough, and there is a lot of exposition in them, but-

But while there is no denial that Pathfinder was always big on exposition, especially when compared to the 5^th edition D&D, for example, somehow they always made it work, (in the 1^st edition, that is), and it looked good. Here and now – the 2^nd edition Pathfinder – not so much. There is an excess of information, crammed together with none of the care, consideration, pacing, etc. that marked Pathfinder the initial version, but just various RPG notes that may be considered helpful when planning a new Pathfinder campaign (or whatever), or it may not.

…Yes, this balance – rules vs. fun – is always important when designing an RPG rulebook, regarding an RPG world or otherwise. We are currently playing a Space 1889 campaign, whose rules are quite different from both Pathfinder and 5^th edition D&D, and have a more ‘5^th edition d20 modern’ feel, we think. …Not that there is too much similarity between d20 modern and Space 1889, but still. What next?

Nothing. Right now, we are playing a campaign that is set in Space 1889 setting, on Venus. (In Space 1889, it’s a tropical world, if anyone cares). Currently, we are trying to figure out how to deal with a cranky old T-Rex that decided that it likes to eat people. Our PCs are civilians – settlers and the like – do not have sufficiently powerful firepower to defeat it in a straight down face-off, so we are trying to figure how to deal with it otherwise. Oh and there’s a bunch of Venusian Lizard-People running around, doing their own things… fun. Sometimes to have it you just need a change in perspective, or something similar, no?

Anything else? D23 (let us call it that) has also presented a trailer for the upcoming CGI reboot of ‘the Lady and the Tramp’. No, it is not about Lady Liberty’s interactions with her Donald the POTUS; it is a love story of two dogs. Yes, not unlike the LK franchise we are talking about animals here, but because they are animals living in a human world, (the human characters did not look CGI in the trailer, so I am assuming they are not), it works, because it is a story about two dogs that are living in a human world. The end. So far, the viewers’ attitude towards this is friendly, unlike the remake of ‘Mulan’ (coming in 2020), as the actress of the titular heroine made some politically obtuse statements, pretty much worthy of the abovementioned Donald himself, and now the potential audience is pissed; there’s a talk of boycotting and what-not. Of course, given that this is still only late August 2019, there’s still plenty of time for tide to turn regarding ‘Mulan 2020’, but given that real life sucks, let’s not be overly optimistic.

Well, this is it for now; see you all soon!

Not quite a rant - Aug 19

Let us start this rant with the obvious: real life sucks. True, it sucks in various ways – in the People’s Republic of China, there is Hong Kong, in the RF – Moscow, and in the US – there is the Donald. It makes one wonder if Mr. Epstein didn’t commit suicide just to get away from it all; makes my problem – the fact that I’ve missed the AoS ‘S6 finale’ look positively pitiful.

…Of course, AoS in itself has become rather pitiful: the final two episodes – a double feature! – received some of the lowest numbers there were in AoS history, and that considering that on average AoS S6 did pretty good in its’ run. True, the fact that its’ other half – the so-called AoS S7 – will be airing only in summer 2020 – doesn’t help in the long run, but that is how life works. Anything else?

Officially – on 2019’s Comic-Con and the like – AoS did its’ best to pretend that Jeff Ward (Deke Shaw on the show) is one of them, possibly to counter the damage presented by him, when he stated on CM movie premiere back in spring 2019 that he and Iain hate each other; it was a better job than the one done by team Marvel, when they had Tandy and Detective Mandy appear on the ‘Dark Phoenix 2019’ premiere to pretend that it was a part of the Marvel crew; that was simply sad – but Jeff Ward’s status on the show isn’t much better. Due to me missing the final three episodes, I do not know if he is with Snowflake or not, but if he is, it will certainly be a good and a convenient way for AoS to take him out of the picture without much of an effort.

No, seriously, while it is sad that May has died, and Yo-Yo may have died, and some other people have died, the truth is that people have died on AoS all the time, but as long as they were needed, they came back. And if they weren’t – they were gone, just ask Blood and Palicki; Blood did return for a S5 episode, but his role was perfunctory there, and when the old Marvel website published Blood’s interview for Marvel, it was also perfunctory and short – clearly, things weren’t as rosy there as Marvel wanted people to believe. Ah well, now that version of the Marvel website is gone, and so’s that interview. Life goes on.

And so do the characters of AoS – they constantly die and return. Coulson’s death was so tragic because he was supposed to stay dead, (CM the movie took place in the past of MCU-verse, so Coulson there didn’t really count, his role was more secondary to Fury’s, anyhow), but first we got ‘Sarge’, who was something of a faux-Ghost Rider, and now Coulson/not-Coulson is coming back for real in S7. Yay?

No, not exactly – yes, AoS as a whole retained a healthy fanbase, but the actual TV series has less and less to do with it, as the fans continue to ignore it more and more. Once the TV show is gone in 2020, the fanbase will go on, as it had done with GoT in 2019.

That deserves a mention of its’ own. GoT was also supposed to be present on Comic-Con 2019, but given its’ rocky finale and its’ now-damaged relationship with its fanbase…it did not. Seriously, its’ (former) cast and crew appeared on Comic-Con 2019 in a much abridged group, and then they quickly left altogether, leaving the fans behind. Yes, that was obviously intentional, seeing how the show and its’ fans parted ways badly – the fans almost practically demanded a remake of GoT S8, and the cast dismissed it very brutally, maybe unnecessarily so – behold the power of Internet, where you can talk flak about other people and they cannot do anything about it! …Oh wait, they can always confront you in real life, face-to-face, on such an unconventional place as a Comic-Con, and then what do you do? Apparently, you talk between each other, and eventually reach a conclusion that while you do not care about them, you are make sequels and spin-offs, and what else have you from GoT, so you actually do not want to alienate your fans further, lest they decide to abandon you completely in favor of something else.

This probably brings us to Martin-man himself – recently he claimed to be relieved ‘to be free’ of HBO and GoT or whatever. Jolly good, but we’re living in an age where printed media is on the downswing – I come to a bookstore, and find it full of unsold books – Riordan, and J-Ro’s HP, and even Martin’s ASOIAF sitting on shelves in various, glorious recent editions, unsold. In fact, some of the bookstores themselves are closing and are remaking themselves into Internet stores or something similar. By contrast, comic book stores and the like are going on strong, which rather brings us back to AoS: in the past, they tried to launch a comic series reminiscent of the series, but they couldn’t make two full volumes of their comics – that’s less than 12 issues, i.e. Given how AoS is relatively successful on TV, this is just sad. What next?

The other point of contention as to why my life sucks right now is the Pathfinder RPG. It had rebooted itself into a second edition, which is very much like the fifth edition D&D. D&D itself seems to be going through some redesigning crisis, but we have largely dismissed it since the fifth edition version took off. Are the two events connected? Hard to say.

…And getting back to our earlier discussion to the printed media, it should be noted that in the 3.5 edition D&D, there were two series of magazines, ‘Dragon’ and ‘Dungeon’. Actually, they were around since the first and second editions of D&D, so they were formidable! And then, when D&D switched from 3.5 to the 5^th edition, those magazines became completely online – you still had to buy them, of course, but it was all done through Internet, and PayPal, and what else have you – and its’ old website (from the 90s) became practically a paysite with minimum free features. D&D attempted to do something similar in the past, true, but that transformation was still unexpected, and not entirely welcome.

As for Pathfinder, their official website is largely a place to buy slash order their products online, (if you cannot buy them physically in stores), plus a forum, plus a newsboard – nothing so glamorous and encompassing as what the D&D 3.5 edition used to have, but then again, by now they have diversified into Starfinder as well – the sci-fi twin to Pathfinder’s fantasy. Neat! And there are also websites that offer an access to information from most of the core books as well. Go Pathfinder!

…Well, no, since its last campaign path – the one set to set the PCs against Tar-Baphon – had devolved into a hot mess. Thank someone that we did not get embroiled in it. But then again, this was supposed to be a rant about why life sucks, but we have veered into something different entirely, so let us call it a night and let us end here. Aka—

This is it for now, see you all soon!

PS: Here is an alebrije to finish off this rant, (from the Pathfinder campaign path mentioned above):

CROCODILE CR 4

XP 600

N Large magical beast (extraplanar)

Init +1; Senses darkvision 120 ft., dreamsight, low-light vision, scent; Perception +14

DEFENSE

AC 15, touch 10, flat-footed 13 (+1 Dex, +6 natural, –1 size)

hp 32 (3d10+21)

Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +2

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., swim 30 ft.; sprint

Melee bite +5 (1d10+8 plus grab) and tail slap +0 (1d12+6)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.

Special Attacks death roll (1d8+6 plus trip)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3^rd, concentration +3)

3/day—dream, nightmare (DC 11)

1/day—dream council (DC 12), dream travel (DC 12), mind thrust III (DC 10), plane shift (self plus 50 lbs of objects only)

STATISTICS

Str 23, Dex 18, Con 21, Int 5, Wis 18, Cha 6

Base Atk +2; CMB +7 (+11 grapple); CMD 18 (22 vs. trip)

Feats Skill Focus (Perception, Stealth)

Skills Knowledge (arcana) +4, Knowledge (planes) +4, Perception +14, Stealth +11 (+19 in water), Swim +16; Racial Modifiers +8 on Stealth in water; Racial Modifiers +8 Knowledge (arcana), +8 Knowledge (planes)

SQ hold breath

Languages Common; telepathy 100 ft.

ECOLOGY

Environment warm rivers and marshes

Organization solitary, pair, or colony (3–12)

Treasure none

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Death Roll (Ex) When grappling a foe of its size or smaller, a crocodile can perform a death roll upon making a successful grapple check. As it clings to its foe, it tucks in its legs and rolls rapidly, twisting and wrenching its victim. The crocodile inflicts its bite damage and knocks the creature prone. If successful, the crocodile maintains its grapple.

Dreamsight (Su) Alebrijes are able to notice and locate sleeping creatures within 500 ft., as well as creatures engaged in similar rest, such as meditation or resting trances.

Hold Breath (Ex) A crocodile can hold its breath for a number of rounds equal to 4 times its Constitution score before it risks drowning.

Sprint (Ex) Once per minute a crocodile may sprint, increasing its land speed to 40 feet for 1 round.

What do you think about it? How does it look?

Crawl - July 14

Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks. That said, this goes for everyone, and everyone is connected to everyone else in proportions, and thus, no matter how much my life is bad, the life of those people in the apartment building down the street that caught fire earlier today is probably worse than mine is, right now. Now onto the movies!

This time, since we are talking about life, its’ unpleasantness and disasters, let us talk about ‘Crawl’. It was released in theatres on July 12, 2019, and we have talked about it earlier, when the trailer had been released. It is possible that people forgot about both our discussion and the movie – unlike ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’, for example, it never made much of an effort to catch the attention of potential viewers, who knows why…

As for the plot, it is a disaster movie: the main character goes home to check on her estranged father, and the two of them end up trapped in their house, as the hurricane brings the flood – and the flood brings at least two American alligators. And?

And this is it, actually – ‘Crawl’ is a horror movie, not that different from ‘The Shallows’, for example, and many other films, except that its’ monsters are American alligators, not sharks. Hence why it is worthwhile to be mentioned – you do not get too many movies that feature alligators (or crocodiles for that matter) these days.

As for the American alligator these days… First, we have discussed it not just as the monster of the ‘Crawl’ movie in question, but also as one of the contestants/combatants on AFO, remember? On that show, the American alligator fought the American black bear and lost. Why it lost specifically is a different question, but what interests us right now is that it was depicted very accurately, from a scientific point of view; before it faced-off with the black bear per se, the two animals were compared and contrasted to each other very succinctly, and we saw the differences between these two carnivores shown to us professionally. To be more precise, like its’ crocodile cousins, the American alligator (or the American caiman, in Spanish), is a crusher: unlike carnivorous mammals, (or sharks, actually), crocodiles, alligators and caimans slam their jaws shut on their victims, and then shake their heads or even go into death rolls to rip smaller chunks from their meals – if they can’t swallow their prey whole from the start, that is. Next?

Aside from AFO, the American alligator has also appeared on the ‘River Monsters’ TV series, on the episode 1x03, aka ‘Alligator Gar’. This episode, not surprisingly, was about the titular fish, but the American alligator appeared there too, as part of JW’s effort to clean-up the alligator gar’s reputation as a man-eater and a river monster. It worked, at least as far as JW and his show were concerned, but what is important to us is that the American alligator can, and does, (or did), attack people, contrary to its’ reputation as a meek and mild-mannered creature, as compared to its’ cousins, the Nile and the saltwater crocodiles. No argument here, the American alligator is smaller than those two, but it is still the biggest member of the alligator and caiman side of the crocodilian family and must be treated with respect. When compared to another one of its’ crocodile cousins – the so-called American crocodile, the American alligator is bulkier, more angular, less streamlined, with a proportionally shorter and broader muzzle. As such, scientists have determined that that means that the American alligator eats less fish and ambushes more animals from the shoreline than the American crocodile does. I.e. the stereotypical crocodile lies in wait in the water and waits for animals to come to the river to drink, after which it strikes. This happens in real life, but there are always other options – sometimes the Nile crocodile, (which is the stereotypical crocodile, FYI), hunts fish in the African rivers; other times it lunges at birds that are skimming the water surface instead; and so forth. However, its prey of choice are land animals that come to the water edge to drink and therefore the Nile crocodile has a large, broad, almost angular head that has plenty of anchoring space for muscles and has a very powerful bite. The skull of the American alligator is smaller, (because it is smaller than the Nile crocodile is, period), but it is built along the same lines, much more so than the American crocodile or the alligator gar skulls, so yes, the potential for the American alligator to be a man-eater is there.

…That said, ‘Crawl’ is still a fully fictional movie, as we’ve discussed it earlier: American alligators may be aquatic reptiles, but their eggs – unlike the eggs of frogs and newts – need to stay high and dry, and not be water-logged; this puts the reptiles at something of a disadvantage against fish and amphibians; if it hadn’t been for the smaller mass extinction at the end of the Triassic period, the world might’ve been a very different place from what we know it to be. (Or not, given that the Mesozoic, the Age of Reptiles, ended on a much bigger mass extinction event than the Triassic did). Where were we?

As a movie, ‘Crawl’ is a decent horror movie, and it is certainly worth going to it once – by itself, with your family/friends/significant other/etc. to enjoy it. Otherwise, you might as well watch ‘Stuber’, or re-watch ‘Spider-Man 2019’ movie instead, period. The conflict feels forced and contrived at times; the half-assed basement of the protagonists’ family home may be the least realistic element of the movie; and the character development is pointless and distractive, not unlike what we have seen in ‘The Shallows’, but this is neither there nor here. Go to the movies and enjoy it. Or not. It is your call.

This is it for now; see you all soon.

PS: And in conclusion, here is a couple of customized carnivorous plants from Pathfinder First Edition RPG, (just because). Enjoy!

ERUPHYTE ASSASSIN VINE CR 4

XP 800

N Large plant

Init +0; Senses blindsight 30 ft., low-light vision, thoughtsense 60 ft.; Perception +1

DEFENSE

AC 15, touch 9, flat-footed 15 (+6 natural, –1 size)

hp 30 (4d8+12)

Fort +7, Ref +1, Will +2

Immune electricity, plant traits; Resist cold 10 and fire 10

OFFENSE

Speed 5 ft.

Melee slam +7 (1d8+7 plus grab)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.

Special Attacks constrict (1d8+7), entangle, thoughtspear (2d8; Will DC 18 half).

STATISTICS

Str 20, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 6, Wis 13, Cha 9

Base Atk +3; CMB +9 (+13 grapple); CMD 19 (can't be tripped)

Feats –

Skills -

Language telepathy 60 ft.

SQ bardic knowledge (CL 2^nd), camouflage

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate forests

Organization solitary, pair, or patch (3–6)

Treasure incidental

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Camouflage (Ex): Since an assassin vine looks like a normal plant when at rest, a DC 20 Perception check is required to notice it before it attacks for the first time. Anyone with ranks in Survival or Knowledge (nature) can use either of those skills instead of Perception to notice the plant.

Entangle (Su): An assassin vine can, as a free action, cause plants within 30 feet of it to animate and grasp at foes. This ability is otherwise similar to entangle (CL 4th, DC 13). The save DC is Wisdom-based.

RAMPANT BASIDIROND CR 6

XP 1,600

N Medium plant

Init +1; Senses low-light vision, tremorsense; Perception +0

Aura growth

DEFENSE

AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 17 (+1 Dex, +7 natural)

hp 80 (7d8+49)

Fort +8, Ref +3, Will +2

Immune cold, plant traits; regeneration 5 (negative energy)

Weaknesses cold lethargy, negative energy

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft.

Melee slam +10 (1d8+7 plus spores)

Special Attacks hallucination cloud, spores

STATISTICS

Str 20, Dex 13, Con 20, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 1

Base Atk +5; CMB +10; CMD 21 (25 vs. trip)

SQ verdant genesis

ECOLOGY

Environment any non-cold underground

Organization solitary, pair, or grove (3–8)

Treasure incidental

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Hallucination Cloud (Ex) As a standard action once per minute, a basidirond can release a cloud of invisible spores in a 20-foot radius. All creatures within the area must succeed on a DC 16 Fortitude save or be affected by powerful hallucinations as long as they remain in the cloud plus 1d4 rounds after leaving the area. A new save must be made each round a creature remains within the affected area. A hallucination cloud persists for 5 rounds before dispersing—a strong wind causes it to disperse immediately. The save DC is Constitution-based. To determine what hallucination is suffered each round, roll 1d6 and consult the following table.

d6 Hallucination

1 You're sinking in quicksand! Fall prone and spend 1 round flailing your arms and legs as if trying to swim.

2 Attacked by a swarm of spiders! Spend a full round action to attack the floor near you with your weapon.

3 An item you hold has turned into a viper! Drop it and flee from the item at top speed for 1 round.

4 You're suffocating! Stand in place, hold your breath, and clutch at your throat for 1 round.

5 You've shrunk to 1/10th your normal size! Take no actions for 1 round and monsters won't see you.

6 You're melting! Grasp hold of yourself in an attempt to hold yourself together, and take no actions for 1 round.

Spores (Ex) Any creature struck by a basidirond's slam attack is coated with spores. The creature struck must make a DC 16 Fortitude save or these spores take root in his flesh, and particularly in his lungs. The save DC is Constititon-based.Basidirond Spores: Disease—inhaled; save Fort DC 16; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Con damage; cure 1 save.

Cold Lethargy (Ex) Although a basidirond is immune to cold damage, any cold effect it is exposed to slows it for 1d4 rounds. During this time, the basidirond cannot use its hallucination cloud or spores.

Any comments? Criticisms?

Pathfinder: xulgaths - May 26

For a change, here's several - okay, a lot of xulgath NPCs (derived troglodyte cousins). Feel to update and change them to suit your needs:

Xulgaths (Pathfinder)

Xulgath slayer (guerilla) 4 CR 7

CE Medium humanoid (reptilian)

Init +7; Senses darkvision 90 ft.; Perception +15

Aura stench (DC 16, 10 rounds)

DEFENSE

AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +6 natural)

hp 80 (6d8+18 plus 4d10+12)

Fort +12, Ref +9, Will +7

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee spear +13 (1d8+6/×3), bite +8 (1d6+2) or 2 claws +13 (1d4+4), bite +13 (1d6+4)

Ranged spear +14 (1d8+5/×3)

Special Attacks 1^st studied target, psychogenic secretions, sneak attack +1d6

Psychic Magic (CL 6th; concentration +7)

5 PE—mindlink (1 PE, DC 12), silent image (1 PE, DC 12), suggestion (2 PE, DC 13)

STATISTICS

Str 18, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 12

Base Atk +8; CMB +12; CMD 21

Feats Animal Affinity, Clinging Climber, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Perception)

Skills Acrobatics +9, Bluff +3, Climb +10, Handle Animal +13, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +5, Knowledge (local) +5, Perception +15, Ride +6, Sense Motive +5, Stealth +14 (+18 in rocky areas); Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth (+8 in rocky areas)

Languages Draconic, Undercommon; telepathy 30 ft. (see Psychogenic Secretions below)

SQ Slayer talents (deadly range, rogue talent [camouflage]), strike first, strike last

Combat Gear potion of cure moderate wounds, smokesticks (2); Other Gear mwk spear, 40 gp.

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Psychogenic Secretions (Su)

A xulgath’s stench is far more potent than that of its troglodyte cousins. Although a xulgath’s oily secretions are completely odorless, they cause any creatures (other than xulgaths) that come within 30 feet of a xulgath to immediately recall the most repugnant odor they have ever smelled. This is a mind-affecting effect, but it bypasses a vermin’s immunity to mind-affecting effects. The stench assaults the mind of its victims; even if a creature succeeds at its saving throw to resist being sickened by the xulgath’s stench, it takes a –4 penalty on Will saving throws to resist the xulgath’s psychic magic.

A xulgath’s nonhostile psychic powers, including its mindlink spell and ability to communicate telepathically, are also limited by the range of its stench, as its strange secretions are what allows it to form a bond between its own mind and the minds of others.

Strike First Strike Last (Ex)

A xulgath slayer adds +2 on Stealth checks when remaining motionless and reduces the penalty on Stealth checks when sniping by 2 too. It also gains +2 on its’ initiative checks in surprise rounds whenever it is aware of the surprise round and at least one enemy is unaware.

A xulgath slayer is a professional guerilla, stalking and hunting its’ quarry through the rubble-strewn darkness of its underground home.

ECOLOGY

Environment any underground

Organization solitary, pair, or clutch (3–6)

Treasure standard

Xulgath psychic 6 CR 9

CE Medium humanoid (reptilian)

Init +3; Senses darkvision 90 ft.; Perception +11

Aura stench (DC 16, 10 rounds)

DEFENSE

AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +6 natural)

hp 84 (6d8+18 plus 6d6+18)

Fort +10, Ref +7, Will +11

Resist Morphic Body

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee spear +10 (1d8+6/×3), bite +5 (1d6+2) or 2 claws +10 (1d4+4), bite +10 (1d6+4)

Ranged spear +13 (1d8+4/×3)

Special Attacks detect thoughts, discipline power, discipline spell, knacks, phrenic amplification, phrenic pool, psychic discipline, psychogenic secretions

Psychic Spells Known (CL 6^th; concentration +7)

3^rd (3/day) – excruciating deformation ^b (DC 17), id insinuation II (DC 17)

2^nd (5/day) – amplify stench (DC 16), id insinuation I (DC 16)

1^st (6/day) – adhesive spittle (DC 15), alter self b, lesser confusion (DC 15), disguise self, ear-piercing scream (DC 15), ray of enfeeblement ^b (DC 15)

0 (at will) – arcane mark, bleed (DC 14), detect magic, detect poison, prestidigitation, read magic, resistance

Psychic Magic (CL 6th; concentration +7)

5 PE—mindlink (1 PE, DC 12), silent image (1 PE, DC 12), suggestion (2 PE, DC 13)

STATISTICS

Str 18, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 13

Base Atk +7; CMB +11; CMD 21

Feats Animal Affinity, Combat Casting, Extra Amplification, Intuitive Spell, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Perception)

Skills Bluff +7, Handle Animal +12, Intimidate +7, Perception +11, Ride +5, Spellcraft +7, Stealth +13 (+17 in rocky areas); Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth (+8 in rocky areas)

Languages Draconic, Undercommon; telepathy 30 ft. (see Psychogenic Secretions below)

Combat Gear potion of cure moderate wounds, wand of shield (10 charges); Other Gear mwk spear, cloak of resistance +1, 200 gp

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Detect Thoughts (Sp)

1/day, CL 6^th.

Discipline Powers

Dark Half, Morphic Form

Phrenic Amplifications:

Conjured Armor, Intense Focus, Mindshield

Phrenic Pool (Su)

A xulgath psychic’s phrenic pool is 7.

Psychic Discipline (Su)

Abomination

Psychogenic Secretions (Su)

A xulgath’s stench is far more potent than that of its troglodyte cousins. Although a xulgath’s oily secretions are completely odorless, they cause any creatures (other than xulgaths) that come within 30 feet of a xulgath to immediately recall the most repugnant odor they have ever smelled. This is a mind-affecting effect, but it bypasses a vermin’s immunity to mind-affecting effects. The stench assaults the mind of its victims; even if a creature succeeds at its saving throw to resist being sickened by the xulgath’s stench, it takes a –4 penalty on Will saving throws to resist the xulgath’s psychic magic.

A xulgath’s nonhostile psychic powers, including its mindlink spell and ability to communicate telepathically, are also limited by the range of its stench, as its strange secretions are what allows it to form a bond between its own mind and the minds of others.

ECOLOGY

Environment any underground

Organization solitary, pair, or clutch (3–6)

Treasure standard

A xulgath psychic is an abominable madman, usually driven by its’ dark half and is far more combat-happy than psychics of other races are. Usually, a xulgath psychic follows the Abomination discipline, though pain and psychedelia are also common.

Xulgath druid (cave druid) 5 CR 8

CE Medium humanoid (reptilian)

Init +7; Senses darkvision 90 ft.; Perception +11

Aura stench (DC 16, 10 rounds)

DEFENSE

AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +6 natural)

hp 91 (11d8+33)

Fort +14, Ref +9, Will +12

Resist subterranean corruption

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee spear +12 (1d8+6/×3), bite +7 (1d6+2) or 2 claws +12 (1d4+4), bite +12 (1d6+4)

Ranged spear +13 (1d8+4/×3)

Special Attacks psychogenic secretions

Domain Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6^th; concentration +7)

6/day – touch of darkness

Druid Spells (CL 6^th; concentration +7)

3^rd – deeper darkness ^D, meld into stone

2^nd – blindness/deafness (blindness only) ^d (DC 14), spider climb, summon nature’s ally II

1^st – charm animal (DC 13), detect snares or pits, entangle (DC 13), obscuring mist ^D (DC 13)

0 (4/day) – detect magic, detect poison, guidance, know direction

Psychic Magic (CL 6th; concentration +7)

5 PE—mindlink (1 PE, DC 12), silent image (1 PE, DC 12), suggestion (2 PE, DC 13)

STATISTICS

Str 18, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 12

Base Atk +10/+5; CMB +14; CMD 21

Feats Animal Affinity, Blind-Fight ^b, Combat Casting, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Skill Focus (Perception)

Skills Climb +11, Handle Animal +17, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +10, Perception +11, Ride +10, Spellcraft +6, Stealth +13 (+17 in rocky areas); Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth (+8 in rocky areas)

Languages Draconic, Undercommon; telepathy 30 ft. (see Psychogenic Secretions below)

SQ Cavesense, lightfoot, nature bond (Darkness domain), tunnelrunner, wild empathy +5 (+1 oozes)

Combat Gear potion of cure moderate wounds, scroll of greater magic fang, scroll of summon swarm Other Gear mwk spear, pouch of spell focus components, 25 gp

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Psychogenic Secretions (Su)

A xulgath’s stench is far more potent than that of its troglodyte cousins. Although a xulgath’s oily secretions are completely odorless, they cause any creatures (other than xulgaths) that come within 30 feet of a xulgath to immediately recall the most repugnant odor they have ever smelled. This is a mind-affecting effect, but it bypasses a vermin’s immunity to mind-affecting effects. The stench assaults the mind of its victims; even if a creature succeeds at its saving throw to resist being sickened by the xulgath’s stench, it takes a –4 penalty on Will saving throws to resist the xulgath’s psychic magic.

A xulgath’s nonhostile psychic powers, including its mindlink spell and ability to communicate telepathically, are also limited by the range of its stench, as its strange secretions are what allows it to form a bond between its own mind and the minds of others.

ECOLOGY

Environment any underground

Organization solitary, pair, or clutch (3–6)

Treasure standard

A xulgath druid is usually a cave druid or a rot druid. It usually hates all life, especially sentient, and prefers to spend its’ time with the elements or its plant (fungi) companions. Anything or anyone else, it will attack on sight, most likely.

Xulgath cleric (cardinal) 5 CR 8

CE Medium humanoid (reptilian)

Init +3; Senses darkvision 90 ft.; Perception +11

Aura stench (DC 16, 10 rounds)

DEFENSE

AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +6 natural)

hp 86 (11d8+33)

Fort +12, Ref +6, Will +10

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee spear +13 (1d8+6/×3), bite +8 (1d6+2) or 2 claws +13 (1d4+4), bite +13 (1d6+4)

Ranged spear +9 (1d8+4/×3)

Special Attacks channel negative energy (3/day, 2d6), psychogenic secretions

Domain Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6^th; concentration +7)

6/day – touch of darkness

Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 6^th; concentration +7)

3^rd – animate dead, deeper darkness ^D

2^nd – augury, blindness/deafness (blindness only) ^d (DC 13), death knell (DC 13)

1^st – bane (DC 12), cause fear (DC 12), deathwatch, obscuring mist ^D (DC 12)

0 (at will) – bleed, detect magic, detect poison, stabilize

D domain spell; Domains: Darkness.

Psychic Magic (CL 6th; concentration +7)

5 PE—mindlink (1 PE, DC 12), silent image (1 PE, DC 12), suggestion (2 PE, DC 13)

STATISTICS

Str 18, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 12

Base Atk +7; CMB +11; CMD 21

Feats Animal Affinity, Blind-Fight ^B, Brilliant Planner, Brilliant Spell Preparation, Deceitful, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Perception)

Skills Bluff +7, Handle Animal +12, Heal +8, Intimidate +5, Knowledge (geography) +6, Knowledge (local) +6, Perception +11, Ride +5, Spellcraft +8, Stealth +13 (+17 in rocky areas); Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth (+8 in rocky areas)

Languages Draconic, Undercommon; telepathy 30 ft. (see Psychogenic Secretions below)

Combat Gear potions of cure moderate wounds (3), scroll of summon monster II, oil of magic weapon, thunderstone; Other Gear mwk spear, unholy symbol, 100 gp

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Psychogenic Secretions (Su)

A xulgath’s stench is far more potent than that of its troglodyte cousins. Although a xulgath’s oily secretions are completely odorless, they cause any creatures (other than xulgaths) that come within 30 feet of a xulgath to immediately recall the most repugnant odor they have ever smelled. This is a mind-affecting effect, but it bypasses a vermin’s immunity to mind-affecting effects. The stench assaults the mind of its victims; even if a creature succeeds at its saving throw to resist being sickened by the xulgath’s stench, it takes a –4 penalty on Will saving throws to resist the xulgath’s psychic magic.

A xulgath’s nonhostile psychic powers, including its mindlink spell and ability to communicate telepathically, are also limited by the range of its stench, as its strange secretions are what allows it to form a bond between its own mind and the minds of others.

ECOLOGY

Environment any underground

Organization solitary, pair, or clutch (3–6)

Treasure standard

A low-ranking xulgath cleric is a player of intrigue on behalf of their church. There’s little piety in a xulgath cleric as they pursue political power to ensure that the xulgath society runs smoothly, and they do anything to succeed.

Xulgath ranger (deep walker) 7 CR 10

CE Medium humanoid (reptilian)

Init +3; Senses darkvision 90 ft.; Perception +18

Aura stench (DC 16, 10 rounds)

DEFENSE

AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +6 natural)

hp 108 (6d8+18 plus 7d10+21)

Fort +13, Ref +10, Will +8

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee spear +18/+13 (1d8+6/×3), bite +13/+8 (1d6+2) or 2 claws +18/+13 (1d4+4), bite +18/+13 (1d6+4)

Ranged spear +18/+13 (1d8+5/×3)

Special Attacks combat style (two-weapon fighting), favored enemy (drow +2, dwarves +4), psychogenic secretions

Psychic Magic (CL 6th; concentration +7)

5 PE—mindlink (1 PE, DC 12), silent image (1 PE, DC 12), suggestion (2 PE, DC 13)

Ranger Spells Prepared (CL 6^th; concentration +7)

1^st – alarm (DC 14)

STATISTICS

Str 18, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 12

Base Atk +11/+13; CMB +15/+17; CMD 21

Feats Animal Affinity, Double Slice ^B, Endurance ^B, Iron Will, Mounted Combat, Nimble Moves, Skill Focus (Perception), Track ^B, Two-Weapon Fighting ^B, Vital Strike

Skills Climb +18, Handle Animal +19, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +8, Perception +18, Ride +12, Stealth +20 (+24 in rocky areas); Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth (+8 in rocky areas)

Languages Draconic, Undercommon; telepathy 30 ft. (see Psychogenic Secretions below)

SQ deep knowledge +2, hunter’s bond (companions), rock hopper

Combat Gear potions of cure moderate wounds (2), potion of energy resistance (cold), tanglefoot bags (3); Other Gear mwk spear, bracers of armor +1, 95 gp

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Psychogenic Secretions (Su)

A xulgath’s stench is far more potent than that of its troglodyte cousins. Although a xulgath’s oily secretions are completely odorless, they cause any creatures (other than xulgaths) that come within 30 feet of a xulgath to immediately recall the most repugnant odor they have ever smelled. This is a mind-affecting effect, but it bypasses a vermin’s immunity to mind-affecting effects. The stench assaults the mind of its victims; even if a creature succeeds at its saving throw to resist being sickened by the xulgath’s stench, it takes a –4 penalty on Will saving throws to resist the xulgath’s psychic magic.

A xulgath’s nonhostile psychic powers, including its mindlink spell and ability to communicate telepathically, are also limited by the range of its stench, as its strange secretions are what allows it to form a bond between its own mind and the minds of others.

ECOLOGY

Environment any underground

Organization solitary, pair, or clutch (3–6)

Treasure standard

Xulgath rangers are professional walkers of the depths, specializing in difficult underground terrain, and are remorseless trackers of the xulgath enemies and quarries.

Xulgath cavalier (saurian champion) 8 CR 11

CE Medium humanoid (reptilian)

Init +3; Senses darkvision 90 ft.; Perception +17

Aura stench (DC 16, 10 rounds)

DEFENSE

AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +6 natural)

hp 125 (6d8+18 plus 8d10+24)

Fort +14, Ref +7, Will +8

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee spear +19/+14 (1d8+7/×3), bite +14/+9 (1d6+3) or 2 claws +19/+14 (1d4+5), bite +19/+14 (1d6+5)

Ranged spear +15/+10 (1d8+4/×3)

Special Attacks psychogenic secretions, titanic challenge 3/day

Psychic Magic (CL 6th; concentration +7)

5 PE—mindlink (1 PE, DC 12), silent image (1 PE, DC 12), suggestion (2 PE, DC 13)

STATISTICS

Str 19, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 12

Base Atk +12/+7; CMB +16/+11; CMD 21

Feats Animal Affinity, Critical Focus ^B, Iron Will, Mounted Combat, Power Attack, Ride-By Attack, Skill Focus (Perception)

Skills Acrobatics +10, Climb +7, Diplomacy +6, Handle Animal +18, Intimidate +8, Perception +17, Ride +11, Sense Motive +10, Stealth +13 (+17 in rocky areas); Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth (+8 in rocky areas)

Languages Draconic, Undercommon; telepathy 30 ft. (see Psychogenic Secretions below)

SQ expert trainer, fierce devotion, mount (triceratops), nimble rider, savage combatant, wild warrior

Combat Gear: potion of cure moderate wounds (2); Other Gear mwk spear, belt of giant strength, cloak of resistance, 35 gp

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Fierce Devotion (Ex)

The saurian champion’s mount has the devotion ability and its effects also apply against emotion and fear effects. The mount is immune to the effects of unnatural aura.

Nimble Rider (Ex)

A saurian champion has a +2 dodge bonus to AC when mounted. Anything that causes it to lose its’ Dexterity bonus to AC also causes the saurian champion to lose this dodge bonus.

Psychogenic Secretions (Su)

A xulgath’s stench is far more potent than that of its troglodyte cousins. Although a xulgath’s oily secretions are completely odorless, they cause any creatures (other than xulgaths) that come within 30 feet of a xulgath to immediately recall the most repugnant odor they have ever smelled. This is a mind-affecting effect, but it bypasses a vermin’s immunity to mind-affecting effects. The stench assaults the mind of its victims; even if a creature succeeds at its saving throw to resist being sickened by the xulgath’s stench, it takes a –4 penalty on Will saving throws to resist the xulgath’s psychic magic.

A xulgath’s nonhostile psychic powers, including its mindlink spell and ability to communicate telepathically, are also limited by the range of its stench, as its strange secretions are what allows it to form a bond between its own mind and the minds of others.

Savage Combatant (Ex)

A saurian champion does not deal double damage when charging with a lance (or a similar weapon) while mounted. While mounted, a saurian champion cannot attack with ranged weapons other than thrown weapons.

Titanic Challenge (Ex)

A saurian champion considers only the largest creatures a true challenge. Its titanic challenge adds only +4 on damage rolls against Medium or smaller creatures, but adds a +1 bonus on attack rolls against a target of its challenge that is at least two sizes categories large than itself (aka Huge) and a +2 bonus on attack rolls against a Colossal target of its challenge.

Wild Warrior (Ex)

A saurian champion does not select an order or gain any order-related benefits.

ECOLOGY

Environment any underground

Organization solitary, pair, or clutch (3–6)

Treasure standard

A xulgath cavalier, when it is riding its’ triceratops mount in combat, is a savage and malicious opponent indeed, intent on killing everyone last one of its’ foes and the foes of its’ tribe.

Xulgath barbarian (cave barbarian ) 8 CR 11

CE Medium humanoid (reptilian)

Init +7; Senses darkvision 90 ft.; Perception +16 (+18 to detect ambushes, movement and sound in darkness)

Aura stench (DC 16, 10 rounds)

DEFENSE

AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +6 natural)

hp 142 (6d8+18 plus 8d12+24)

Fort +14, Ref +9, Will +8

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee +1 spear +20/+15 (1d8+8/×3), bite +15/+10 (1d6+3) or 2 claws +20/+15 (1d4+5), bite +20/+15 (1d6+5)

Ranged spear +18/+13 (1d8+4/×3)

Special Attacks psychogenic secretions, rage powers (animal fury, bestial climber, eclipsing rage, raging climber)

Psychic Magic (CL 6th; concentration +7)

5 PE—mindlink (1 PE, DC 12), silent image (1 PE, DC 12), suggestion (2 PE, DC 13)

STATISTICS

Str 19, Dex 17, Con 17, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 12

Base Atk +4; CMB +8; CMD 21

Feats Animal Affinity, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Perception)

Skills Acrobatics +9, Climb +12, Handle Animal +17, Intimidate +4, Knowledge (nature) +6, Perception +16, Stealth +18 (+22 in rocky areas), Survival +8, Swim +12; Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth (+8 in rocky areas)

Languages Draconic, Undercommon; telepathy 30 ft. (see Psychogenic Secretions below)

SQ improved uncanny dodge, sun walker, tight tunnels, trap sense +2, tunnel vision, uncanny dodge

Combat Gear potions of cure moderate wounds (3); Other Gear +1 spear, belt of incredible dexterity +2, bag of gemstones, 60 gp

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Psychogenic Secretions (Su)

A xulgath’s stench is far more potent than that of its troglodyte cousins. Although a xulgath’s oily secretions are completely odorless, they cause any creatures (other than xulgaths) that come within 30 feet of a xulgath to immediately recall the most repugnant odor they have ever smelled. This is a mind-affecting effect, but it bypasses a vermin’s immunity to mind-affecting effects. The stench assaults the mind of its victims; even if a creature succeeds at its saving throw to resist being sickened by the xulgath’s stench, it takes a –4 penalty on Will saving throws to resist the xulgath’s psychic magic.

A xulgath’s nonhostile psychic powers, including its mindlink spell and ability to communicate telepathically, are also limited by the range of its stench, as its strange secretions are what allows it to form a bond between its own mind and the minds of others.

Sun Walker (Ex)

A xulgath cave dweller has a +1 dodge bonus to AC and on saving throws against effects with the light descriptor or that produce bright or sudden light. Any penalties on attack rolls, saving throws or skill checks because of bright light are reduced by 1.

Tight Tunnels (Ex)

A xulgath cave dweller can make a single turn up to 90 degrees while running (though not while charging). Additionally, they take no penalties to movement speed while squeezing

Tunnel Vision (Ex)

A xulgath cave dweller has a +2 bonus on Perception checks to detect ambushes, movement, and sound while in darkness.

A xulgath cave dweller is often the tribe’s champion, not the best or smartest fighter, but the most ferocious and feral. They continue fighting until either they or their enemies are dead. They often are praised by the xulgath leaders, but the latter keep a careful eye on them, just in case.

Xulgath shifter (elemental shifter) 10 CR 13

CE Medium humanoid (reptilian)

Init +3; Senses darkvision 90 ft.; Perception +18

Aura stench (DC 16, 10 rounds)

DEFENSE

AC 20, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +6 natural, +2 defensive bonus)

hp 144 (6d8+18 plus 10d10+30)

Fort +15, Ref +12, Will +9

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee spear +21/+16 (1d8+6/×3), bite +16/+11 (1d8+2) or 2 claws +21/+16 (1d6+4), bite +21/+16 (1d8+4)

Ranged spear +17/+12 (1d8+4/×3)

Special Attacks elemental aspect, elemental form, elemental speech, elemental strike, omnielementalist, psychogenic secretions

Psychic Magic (CL 6th; concentration +7)

5 PE—mindlink (1 PE, DC 12), silent image (1 PE, DC 12), suggestion (2 PE, DC 13)

STATISTICS

Str 18, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 12

Base Atk +14/+9; CMB +18/+13; CMD 21

Feats Animal Affinity, Improved Natural Attack (claws), Improved Natural Attack (bite), Iron Will, Jaguar Pounce, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Perception)

Skills Acrobatics +11, Climb +12, Craft (weaponsmithing) +8, Handle Animal +18, Knowledge (nature) +8, Perception +18, Ride +11, Stealth +19 (+23 in rocky areas), Survival +10, Swim +12; Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth (+8 in rocky areas)

Languages Draconic, Undercommon; telepathy 30 ft. (see Psychogenic Secretions below)

SQ defensive instinct, track, trackless step, woodland stride

Combat Gear potions of cure serious wounds (2); Other Gear mwk spear, bracers of armor +2, cloak of resistance +1

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Defensive Instinct (Ex)

When unarmored, not using a shield, unencumbered, and conscious, the elemental shifter adds his Wis bonus to his AC and CMD. If he is wearing non-metal armor or using a non-metal shield, they instead add half his Wis bonus to AC. In addition, they have a +2 bonus to AC and CMD. These bonuses to AC apply even against touch attacks and when the elemental shifter is flat-footed. They lose these bonuses when immobilized or helpless. These bonuses don’t stack with the monk’s AC bonus class feature.

Elemental Aspect (Su)

This elemental shifter has the earth, fire and water elemental aspects.

Elemental Form (Su)

When an elemental shifter uses wild shape, they instead are affected as if by elemental body I, but they only gain the benefits of their elemental aspect. While in an elemental form, the elemental shifter can speak only the elemental language associated with that form and they can do so only if they know it.

Elemental Speech (Su)

When in their elemental aspect, an elemental shifter gains the benefit of tongues with creatures of the elemental subtype that match their current elemental aspect.

Elemental Strike (Su)

As a swift action, the elemental shifter can charge their melee attack with elemental energy. They can charge their attacks only with the element they have chosen with elemental aspects. Once charged, each melee attack the elemental shifter makes until the start of their next turn deals an additional 3d6 points of energy damage based on the element they choose when taking this action.

Omnielementalist (Su)

An elemental shifter can fuse two elemental forms together, gaining combined powers of the different aspects and manifesting them in ways similar to powerful natural weather phenomena. When an elemental shifter takes on one minor form each from two of their elemental aspects, they gain an additional ability as long as they maintain that form. (Mudslide, steam cloud, volcanic stride).

Psychogenic Secretions (Su)

A xulgath’s stench is far more potent than that of its troglodyte cousins. Although a xulgath’s oily secretions are completely odorless, they cause any creatures (other than xulgaths) that come within 30 feet of a xulgath to immediately recall the most repugnant odor they have ever smelled. This is a mind-affecting effect, but it bypasses a vermin’s immunity to mind-affecting effects. The stench assaults the mind of its victims; even if a creature succeeds at its saving throw to resist being sickened by the xulgath’s stench, it takes a –4 penalty on Will saving throws to resist the xulgath’s psychic magic.

A xulgath’s nonhostile psychic powers, including its mindlink spell and ability to communicate telepathically, are also limited by the range of its stench, as its strange secretions are what allows it to form a bond between its own mind and the minds of others.

Track (Ex)

An elemental shifter adds half their level as a bonus on Survival checks to follow tracks.

Trackless Step (Ex):

An elemental shifter leaves no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked. They can choose to leave a trail if that is so desired.

Woodland Stride (Ex)

As a 10-th level druid.

ECOLOGY

Environment any underground

Organization solitary, pair, or clutch (3–6)

Treasure standard

A xulgath shifter is one of the most powerful members of a xulgath tribe, and usually serves as a bodyguard to a xulgath king. Almost all xulgath shifters are elemental shifters, though some prefer to take on the basic shifter path, or, more rarely, that of an oozemorph. Despite their inherently evil nature, no xulgath would become a fiendflesh shifter – for some reason they consider this path to be anathema to their natures. On their own, xulgath shifters are not very sane, though they are usually lucid, and are firmly devoted to both their tribes and their elements. As a rule, they acquire an earth elemental aspect first, and the air elemental aspect last. They hate intruders and will do their best to kill them, if given a chance.

Xulgath cleric (cardinal) 11 CR 14

CE Medium humanoid (reptilian)

Init +3; Senses darkvision 90 ft.; Perception +12

Aura stench (DC 16, 10 rounds)

DEFENSE

AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +6 natural)

hp 153 (17d8+51)

Fort +15, Ref +8, Will +13

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee +1 spear +18/+13 (1d8+9/×3), bite +13/+8 (1d6+4) or 2 claws +18/+13 (1d4+6), bite +18/+13 (1d6+8)

Ranged spear +14/+9 (1d8+4/×3)

Special Attacks channel negative energy (6/day, 5/day), psychogenic secretions

Domain Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7^th; concentration +8

6/day – touch of darkness (5 rounds)

5/day – eyes of darkness

Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 7^th; concentration +8)

6^th – create undead, shadow walk ^D,

5^th – greater command (DC 20), dispel good, summon monster V (1d3 shadows) ^D,

4^th – chaos hammer (DC 19), discern lies (DC 19), divine power, shadow conjuration ^D (DC 19),

3^rd – animate dead, bestow curse (DC 18), deeper darkness ^D, invisibility purge (DC 18), magic circle against good

2^nd – align weapon, blindness/deafness (blindness only) ^D (DC 17), bull’s strength, enthrall (DC 17), gentle repose

1^st – bane (DC 16), cause fear (DC 16), command (DC 16), detect good, obscuring mist ^D

0 (at) – bleed (DC 15), guidance, read magic, stabilize (DC 15)

(D) Domain spell; Domains: Darkness

Psychic Magic (CL 6th; concentration +7)

5 PE—mindlink (1 PE, DC 12), silent image (1 PE, DC 12), suggestion (2 PE, DC 13)

STATISTICS

Str 20, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 18, Cha 13

Base Atk +12/+7; CMB +16/+11; CMD 21

Feats Animal Affinity, Blustering Bluff, Brilliant Planner, But a Scratch, Combat Casting, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Perception)

Skills Bluff +9, Diplomacy +9, Handle Animal +13, Heal +10, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (geography) +8, Knowledge (local) +8, Knowledge (religion) +8, Knowledge (the planes) +8, Linguistics +8, Perception +12, Ride +5, Spellcraft +8, Stealth +13 (+17 in rocky areas); Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth (+8 in rocky areas)

Languages Draconic, Undercommon; telepathy 30 ft. (see Psychogenic Secretions below)

Combat Gear potions of cure moderate wounds (4), wand of bear’s endurance (8 charges); Other Gear +1 spear, belt of giant strength +2, headband of inspired wisdom +2, other gear, 50 gp

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Psychogenic Secretions (Su)

A xulgath’s stench is far more potent than that of its troglodyte cousins. Although a xulgath’s oily secretions are completely odorless, they cause any creatures (other than xulgaths) that come within 30 feet of a xulgath to immediately recall the most repugnant odor they have ever smelled. This is a mind-affecting effect, but it bypasses a vermin’s immunity to mind-affecting effects. The stench assaults the mind of its victims; even if a creature succeeds at its saving throw to resist being sickened by the xulgath’s stench, it takes a –4 penalty on Will saving throws to resist the xulgath’s psychic magic.

A xulgath’s nonhostile psychic powers, including its mindlink spell and ability to communicate telepathically, are also limited by the range of its stench, as its strange secretions are what allows it to form a bond between its own mind and the minds of others.

ECOLOGY

Environment any underground

Organization solitary, pair, or clutch (3–6)

Treasure standard

A xulgath high priest is a mastermind of intrigue, utilizing not so much the occult, as the sneaky powers of the mind and its’ straightforward cunning. Like its’ subordinates, it usually has access to the Darkness domain, or to the Loss subdomain, though Chaos and Evil domains (and Demon and Fear subdomains) are also frequest. A xulgath high priest rules with an iron claw, and is always ready and willing to sacrifice live sacrifices, whether its’ own people or outsiders to further its’ goals and to increase its’ own powers.

Half-hezrou xulgath CR 6

CE Medium outsider (native, reptilian)

Init +3; Senses darkvision 90 ft.; Perception +13

Aura stench (DC 16, 10 rounds)

DEFENSE

AC 20, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +8 natural)

hp 81 (6d8+54)

Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +6

Defensive Qualities DR 5/magic; Immune poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10; SR 15

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft.

Melee spear +8 (1d8+10/×3), bite +3 (1d6+6) or 2 claws +8 (1d4+8), bite +8 (1d6+8)

Ranged spear +7 (1d8+4/×3)

Special Attacks psychogenic secretions, smite good, spell-like abilities, stench

Psychic Magic (CL 6th; concentration +7)

5 PE—mindlink (1 PE, DC 12), silent image (1 PE, DC 12), suggestion (2 PE, DC 13)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6^th)

3/day – darkness; 1/day – gaseous form, unholy blight (DC 16)

STATISTICS

Str 22, Dex 17, Con 22, Int 15, Wis 17, Cha 16

Base Atk +4; CMB +8; CMD 21

Feats Animal Affinity, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Perception)

Skills Handle Animal +14, Perception +13, Ride +5, Stealth +15 (+19 in rocky areas); Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth (+8 in rocky areas)

Languages Draconic, Undercommon; telepathy 30 ft. (see Psychogenic Secretions below)

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Psychogenic Secretions (Su)

A xulgath’s stench is far more potent than that of its troglodyte cousins. Although a xulgath’s oily secretions are completely odorless, they cause any creatures (other than xulgaths) that come within 30 feet of a xulgath to immediately recall the most repugnant odor they have ever smelled. This is a mind-affecting effect, but it bypasses a vermin’s immunity to mind-affecting effects. The stench assaults the mind of its victims; even if a creature succeeds at its saving throw to resist being sickened by the xulgath’s stench, it takes a –4 penalty on Will saving throws to resist the xulgath’s psychic magic.

A xulgath’s nonhostile psychic powers, including its mindlink spell and ability to communicate telepathically, are also limited by the range of its stench, as its strange secretions are what allows it to form a bond between its own mind and the minds of others.

Smite Good (Su)

As a 6-th level paladin save that it affects good foes only.

ECOLOGY

Environment any underground

Organization solitary, pair, or clutch (3–6)

Treasure standard

Unlike many other evil humanoids, xulgaths do not cavort with demons very regularly, preferring to use less extraplanar and supernatural means of evil to spread their influence across. The only exception are the hezrou demons, who have a relationship of mutual interest and respect with the xulgaths, finding that they have many things in common. Xulgaths find hezrous to be too barbaric, and hezrous find xulgaths to be too weak, but this does not prevent from half-hezrou xulgaths to appear among the xulgath society. A half-hezrou xulgath looks like a big and bulky xulgath with a skin condition and body proportions that are more frog-like than lizard-like A half-hezrou xulgath will be usually a barbarian or an alchemist within the xulgath society.

Enjoy!