wowieweirdwarlock

[wowieweirdwarlock]

Mighty Monsters: Chamrosh

Source: Tome of Beasts 2

Image source: Tome of beasts 2, pg. 59.

“This large sheepdog has luxuriant white-gold fur. A pair of broad wings stretches out from the creature’s back, and it’s eyes are filled with an intelligent, eerie gleam.”

Chamrosh are formed from the souls of the particularly faithful, either attentive guards or those who sacrificed themselves for another. After their death, they are given a new purpose: To defend all that is good and innocent, at any cost.

Celestial Guards. Taking the forms of noble sheepdogs with massive wings, Chamrosh act as guardians of good. They have keen senses, and are able to sniff out even the most deceptive evils. They are steadfast protectors, and will not back down even against the most oppressive foes. Due to this, Chamrosh are often used as guardian beasts by more powerful Celestials, where they will defend a location or individual with their lives.

Defensive Packs. When not attending to their duties, Chamrosh will form packs dedicated to the destruction of evil. They traverse the planes, hunting down fiends and monstrosities while defending innocents. They will often go on missions to rescue those held by evil creatures, raiding fortresses and hostile realms. Despite their bestial forms, Chamrosh are capable of speech and communicate in order to aid their allies.

Roaming Allies. Chamrosh very rarely enter the material plane, and only ever to defend something of importance or to help a divine hero on some quest. They are incapable of changing form, so their missions rarely rely on subtlety. Once they achieve what they set out to do, they are eager to return to their regular duties.

Talk about a good boy!

These winged hounds serve particularly good beings in the multiverse, acting as powerful guard dogs of divine locations and heroes.

I tried to befriend a Chamrosh with a tender cutlet once, but it seems their similarity to dogs is only physical. I still have the scar.

- A Weird Warlock.

#wowieweirdwarlock #pathfinder #ttrpg #d&d #dnd #d&d monster #pathfinder lore #www: mighty monsters #chamrosh #good boy #dog #doggy

[wowieweirdwarlock]

Best Bosses: Animal Lords

Source: Bestiary 3, Creature Codex, Tome of beasts 2-3.

Image source: Bestiary 3

“While humanoids have vast pantheons and divine figures of every stripe, the animals of the world have much simpler forms of faith.”

Among the species of animals across the multiverse, there are paragons of their species that represent animals’ interests in the grand scheme of things. These semi-divine beings are known as Animal Lords, each embodying the spirit of a given species of animal, and are tasked with protecting their species.

Council of Animals. There are many different Animal Lords, each chosen by their species to protect their interests out in the multiverse. As long as a species lives, their Animal Lord will constantly resurrect and reappear in order to defend them, and Animal Lords are empowered by the spirits of the animals they defend. Animal Lords work together to protect their charges, and view eachother as allies with a shared cause.

Obscure Communication. Animal Lords know the whims of their charges innately, and are capable of communicating with any animal of their species. In addition to communicating with those they defend, Animal Lords possess powers that enable them to aid in their mission. Some Lords bear magical abilities, some are menacing warriors with bestial traits, and others have more unique powers drawn from the natural world.

Neutral Parties. Animal Lords are only concerned with the protection and survival of their species; They do not concern themselves with matters of good or evil. They will deal with celestials and fiends alike, trading information and powerful favors in exchange for the defense of their chosen animals. Animal Lords will even bless mortal champions with magical gifts and equipment, in exchange for their service in aiding the Lord.

Great Divide. While the Animal Lords do know one another and will not outright attack eachother, they are individuals and prioritize their own species. One great argument among their kind, one that has raged among them for as long as they have existed, is the role of humanoids in the animal kingdom.

Some of the most well-known Animal Lords are:

The Bat King, a shrewd and reclusive leader who works in the shadows. He fights endlessly against the demon lord Camazotz, and any other beings who would turn his children against nature.

Brother Ox is a meditative and peaceful giant, who resides in a stone monastery high up in the mountains. He doesn’t allow many visitors, but those he chooses to let live with him always leave with wisdom beyond their years.

The Lord of Vultures originated as a god-child gifted with beautiful wings. He was chosen by nature to defend all raptors, especially vultures, and to ensure the proper treatment of their prey.

The Mouse King and his following can be found in nearly any city or large population. He thrives on secrets and gossip, and his host of tiny servants are eager to bring him juicy morsels of food and information.

The Queen of Birds perched high above the world in a nest the size of a city, keeping her keen eyes trained on the skies below. She is ever-eager to aim her powerful spear downwards at any who endanger nature.

The Queen of Cats is a playful animal lord, taking a more humanoid shape when she appears. She can pop up anywhere, and generally does as she pleases, using her cushioned lair as a vast network to connect to many places across the multiverse.

The Queen of Serpents resides in the desert, in a small fortress surrounded by her serpentine children. She is gifted with powerful foresight, and often hides her nature to appear as nothing more than a soothsayer wandering the desert.

The Queen of Mammoths is a powerful warrior from the north, leading her charges into battle against any who will fight them. She is a master of war, and often rewards mortals with strange gifts that aid them in battle.

The Scorpion Queen has been ostracized by the other Lords, due to her selfishness and cunning. She is a connoisseur of poisons and venoms, and will sell her services as an assassin out to the highest bidder.

The Toad King is obsessed with stories and fairy-tales. He is convinced that if he can get the right mortal to go on the right quest for him, he will ascend into a more powerful form. In the meantime, he convinces adventurers that he is really a prince trapped as a toad, looking for aid.

I love animals as much as the next Eldritch being, but the Animal Lords take it to another level entirely.

These demigods devote their entire natures and existences to the preservation of specific animals, and have rather potent powers they use to this end.

They are capable of shapeshifting into the form of different species they watch over, and can communicate with their charges mentally. They are also virtually immortal, for whenever an Animal Lord is killed, they simply inhabit the body of one of their charges.

In the grand scheme of things, Animal Lords do not care for the struggles of good and evil, or chaos and order. They simply regard nature as the most important force in existence.

And, as far as the Animal Lords are concerned, nature does not care whatsoever about you or me.

- A Weird Warlock.

#wowieweirdwarlock #pathfinder #ttrpg #d&d #dnd #d&d monster #pathfinder lore #www: best bosses #animal #animal lords

[wowieweirdwarlock]

Mighty Monsters: Dubius

Source: Tome of Beasts 3

Image Source: Tome of Beasts 3, pg. 162.

“Twisted horns sprout from the temples of this thin, hunched humanoid. Above its razor-sharp teeth, wide, stricken eyes dart about, taking in everything.”

A Dubius is a minor fiend spawned from a creature’s self-doubt, anxiety, misery, hatred, and despair. Any being that gives in too much to negative feelings risks creating a Dubius, literally feeding and giving life to their demons.

Devious Creatures. Due to their small stature and weak abilities, a Dubius will never fight fair. They always lay traps, corner their victims, and manipulate events to go their way. Despite all their wiles and tricks, a Dubius’ best weapons are the emotions of its victim.

Weaponized negativity. Dubius’ have magical abilities that allow them to manipulate the emotions of their victims, weaponizing anger and sorrow into attacks that physically harm their targets. Given that a Dubius can only form when a mortal is wallowing in these emotions, they are rarely unarmed against their victims.

Birthed by tragedy. In rare cases, many Dubius form when a situation causes great misery or embarrassment. A great nation laid low may find itself overrun with dozens of Dubius, while a proud institution will spawn an army of Dubius should rampant corruption be discovered.

Shameful Memories. When within sight of a humanoid, a Dubius can use its magic to force them to face their most embarrassing and despicable memories to shake their resolve. A creature facing a Dubius must be aware of this mental assault, for being confronted with one’s own worst memories can frighten even the most stone hearted.

Everyone struggles with demons. Some of us do this in a very literal way, given how meddlesome and annoying most demons are, but all beings in the multiverse have secret shames, regrets, and anxieties.

Dealing with these concepts in one’s own mind is difficult enough, and many beings struggle with their own self-doubt.

But when an individual becomes so wrapped up in loathing, fear, and regret that they lose sight of all else, they risk their negative feelings coming to life in the form of a Dubius.

So it is probably best to deal with your metaphorical demons quickly, lest they become a little bit less metaphorical.

- A Weird Warlock.

#wowieweirdwarlock #pathfinder #ttrpg #d&d #dnd #d&d monster #pathfinder lore #www: mighty monsters #anxiety #monsters #demon #fiend

[wowieweirdwarlock]

Best Bosses: Abbhadanayla, Fiend Lord of Rakshasas

Source: Tome of Beasts 3

Image source: Tome of beasts 3, pg. 183.

“This imperious Archfiend has five heads- that of a mustachioed, blue-skinned fiend, a tiger, a crocodile, a vulture, and ape. With six arms ending in backward-facing paws, he is dressed in finest silk and seated on an ornate throne.”

In a magnificent and ornate palace perched at the top of a mountain range lives the Rakshasa Maharajah, Abbhadanayla. He has been reincarnated countless times, growing his dark power in every lifetime. He is both worshipped and reviled by other Rakshasas as the mightiest of their kind.

Gathering of Evils. Once a year, Abbhadanayla gathers all his Rakshasa servants to his lair for a massive banquet. Here, he dictates the roles his subjects will play in his plans across the multiverse, where they will steer events in his favor. After this plotting, this meeting culminates in a bloody feast for the Lord and his entourage, where dozens of mortal sacrifices are consumed.

Scheming Magician. Abbhadanayla is a master of all sorts of illusions and enchantments, and has discovered many secrets of dark Rakshasa magic through his lifetimes of poring over ancient times and dark rituals. He rarely ever leaves his sanctuary, opting instead to have his agents act as his claws out in the Great Beyond. He has eyes and ears everywhere, steering the hands of rulers and eliminating any who stand in the Rakshasa Maharajah’s way.

Hatred of Monkeys. Over many centuries, Abbhadanayla has clashed many times with the Monkey King, whom he considers his nemesis for meddling in the Lord’s plans. The first conflict between the two occurred when the Monkey King stopped an attacking army under the control of Abbhadanayla, and later the Monkey King set fire to the Lord’s palace after being captured. The Rakshasa Lord’s hatred for the a Monkey King is so great that it extends to all monkeys, and he often uses magic and trickery to depict simians suffering in any way.

Abbhadanayla’s Lair:

The Rakshasa Maharajah resides within the Sky Peak Palace, a massive citadel built directly into a mountainside, and constructed of marble, gold, and jade. He rarely leaves, and is often attended by numerous Rakshasa servants. The trail leading up to his palace is cloaked in thick snow that hides its danger, with monsters and traps plaguing the area surrounding His lair.

Occasionally, a strangely sweet vapor fills the halls of his realm, clouding the mind and making victims more vulnerable to enchantments and illusions. He can also cause psychedelic, twisting patterns to appear in the air, confusing and hypnotizing those who look upon them.

Abbhadanayla can also summon clouds of thick fog to blind those in his domain, and blizzards are often whipped up in the area around his castle. There are also clever traps hidden around the Palace, cloaked by illusions so they are harder to detect.

Some of the Maharajah’s most dramatic abilities reflect his hatred of monkeys— when he is faced with an attack, he can conjure a withered, tormented monkey that absorbs any damage dealt to him. In addition, he can conjure a massive storm of burning monkey spirits to distract and blind his enemies.

Ideas to use Abbhadanayla in your campaign:

The Party has been invited to Abbhadanayla’s annual banquet, with dozens of Rakshasas flocking to gain the Archfiend’s favor. When they get there, they discover that The Lord has a sinister request to make of them. If they refuse, they are now faces against an army of Rakshasas intent on making them dinner.

A Rakshasa keeps popping up on the Party’s radar, constantly causing to rumble for the characters. Each time it is killed, it just comes back quickly to continue its work. The party discovers that the Rakshasa is actually an agent of Abbhadanayla, who is constantly recreating it to meddle with the party and hamper their success.

A member of the party has become the owner of Abbhadanayla’s Serpent Bow, a powerful artifact that poisons anyone struck by it. Abbhadanayla is hellbent on retrieving it, sending out his agents to kill the character wielding it.

I’m not the biggest fan of Rakshasas, to be honest. They start their existences as mortals, and undergo rituals to bind their souls to the material plane, giving them the name Earthbound Evils.

Rakshasas are selfish, debauched, and hedonistic. They care only for their own desires and whims, and Abbhadanayla is the worst of them.

The Rakshasa Maharajah has lived through so many lifetimes of vile deeds, he has reached a height of power unheard of except for in the Rakshasa Immortals, the absolute height of Rakshasa-kind.

The Immortals are a story for another day, though. The Archfiend Abbhadanayla is bad enough, but if he actually obtained the immortality he desired? He’d be the one of the biggest nuisances in the Great Beyond.

Thankfully, he mostly concerns himself with decadent feasts and tormenting monkeys.

- A Weird Warlock.

#wowieweirdwarlock #pathfinder #ttrpg #d&d #dnd #d&d monster #www: best bosses #rakshasa #rakshasas #Abbhadanayla

[wowieweirdwarlock]

Mighty Monsters: Rakshasas

Source: Pathfinder Bestiary 3, Monster Manual.

Image Source

“Rakshasas are born on the material plane, but they are not of it.”

Rakshasas are often called Earthbound Evils, for they are mainly found in the material plane. Many sources differ on the origin of this fiendish race, whether they were devils that sought to escape Hell or powerful evil mortals who separated their souls from their bodies with dark magic. Regardless of their origin, they are a cunning and selfish race of fiendish humanoids, taking over the bodies of mortal infants in order to live lives in the material plane. With each rebirth, a Rakshasa grows more cunning and vile.

Materialistic Evil. Rakshasas are the reincarnated souls of truly evil and selfish individuals, beings so tied to their own lives and worlds that they refuse to pass on after one life. Rakshasas are created from hedonistic and greedy tyrants, so obsessed with their own pleasure and desires that they come back to life to relive them. In their fiendish lives, Rakshasas take new forms to represent their base, animalistic desires, and are even more driven in their single-minded pursuit of power.

Feral Forms. Bestial features are common amongst Rakshasas, with animalistic heads representing the true personality of the Rakshasa. Some rakshasas take other forms depending on their rank and power, but the most common Rakshasa is humanoid with a bestial head, and backwards-facing palms. Most Rakshasas hide their backwards joints and feral traits with illusions and disguises in order to better increase their influence and prevent suspicion.

Birth, Death and Rebirth. Rakshasas cannot procreate with their own kind, and for new Rakshasas to be born, they must either be transformed from an evil mortal or created from the union of a Rakshasa and a mortal. After a Rakshasa is slain in the material realm, their spirit is expelled from their body. In order to rise again, it must possess a newborn mortal, transforming them into a fiend. Rakshasas live multiple lives like this, going through reincarnation cycles of depravity and evil. The more power a Rakshasa obtains in their lifetime, the stronger they are in the next incarnation. Should a Rakshasa fail in their lifetime, they often come back in a weaker body, or are unable to obtain a body at all and must escape into an object. Mortal infants that survive being the host for a Rakshasa often become Tieflings with rakshasa blood.

Masters and Servants. Rakshasas believe everything has a place in the multiverse, and that they are destined to be tyrannical rulers. Rakshasas have a strict caste-based society, creatures of higher rank are to be respected and obeyed and creatures of lower rank are to be abused and ruled over. There are seven castes in the Rakshasa worldview, increasing in power:

Pagala (Traitors)

Goshta (Food)

Adhura (Novice)

Darshaka (Servant)

Paradeshi (Kin)

Hakima (Lord)

Samrata (Lord of Lords)

All beings in the multiverse have a place in the caste system, but only a true Rakshasa may rise above Darshaka.

Distain of Religion. Rakshasas acknowledge the existence and power of the Gods, but don’t see them as worth worship. Since Rakshasas rarely experience the afterlife, and they view themselves as the highest-ranking beings in existence, there is simply no need for a Rakshasa to bow to a god. Each Rakshasa views itself as a god in their own way, citing their reincarnation as simply the first step in their potential for greatness.

Powerful bodies. The transformation into bestial fiends grants Rakshasas incredible strength and prowess, and they are easily able to bully mortals into serving them. Their animalistic forms often grant them sharp claws or fangs, and their skin is impervious to most damage. Ironically, holy weapons are capable of piercing the flesh of a Rakshasa and doing more substantial damage, adding even more reason behind their hatred of the Gods. As a result of this weakness, Rakshasas often use magic to disguise themselves in order to defy enemies, especially in lands where Rakshasas are well-known.

Cunning minds. All Rakshasas are gifted with sharp intellects, and they are constantly thinking up ways to gain more power. They are consummate liars and manipulators, capable of turning even the most intelligent and stoic enemies to their sides. When their silver tongues and quick wit fail them, Rakshasas often fall onto their potent magical abilities to manipulate others. Their incredible ambition often puts them in positions of power, where they can manipulate from behind the scenes. Wealthy landowners, royal advisors, and nobles alike could all be Rakshasas in disguise, ever-climbing the social ladder to gain more influence.

Shadow magic. Lifetimes as fiends often expose Rakshasas to magic, and they take to arcane pursuits naturally. Their incredible intelligence lends itself usefully to learning magic, and Rakshasas favor enchantment and illusion in order to suit their schemes. Even the lowliest Rakshasa knows a few minor spells that can help them in a pinch. Some of the most powerful Rakshasa Spellcasters have even created their own magical system, known as Shadowflesh. Shadowflesh magic involves creating horribly life-like illusions out of living shadow, which Rakshasas can use to deceive, intimidate, or manipulate others.

Pursuit of Immortality. All Rakshasas endlessly pursue power, but the cycles of death and rebirth can often be a nuisance. Many a Rakshasa have found themselves at the culmination of their plans before being struck down, forced to restart in a different body. Only the most powerful and vile of Rakshasa-kind actually find a way to break their spirits away from mortality entirely. These beings are known as Rakshasa Immortals. They truly cannot die, and can only be defeated momentarily before reclaiming their old lives. These Immortals rule over all other Rakshasas, and are considered above even the caste system itself. Each Immortal bothers themself only with their own desires and satisfaction, so most Rakshasa Immortals are content with their current schemes and debauched activities.

Ideas for using Rakshasas in your campaign:

A long-term Rakshasa enemy of the party is finally about to achieve what every Rakshasa dreams of— true immortality. He has devised a ritual to ascend to Rakshasa Immortal status, and the party must intercede before he completes it.

A wealthy patron of the party sends them out on multiple adventures in order to aid them. Later on, the party discovers they are actually a Greater Rakshasa in disguise, who is using the party as a tool to cement their power.

The party saved an NPC in distress, who promises to repay the favor someday. The NPC is a Rakshasa in disguise, and the act of aiding them has promoted the Party in the caste system. Now, Rakshasas from around the land view the party as competitors, and are seeking their downfall.

An NPC ally of the party has just had a child! Unfortunately, the infant is undergoing incredibly strange transformations. It is revealed that the child is possessed by a Rakshasa, and the party must find an Inquisitor or Cleric powerful enough to expel the fiend before the possession becomes permanent.

Rakshasas are a particularly dangerous threat. Not only are they incredibly intelligent and strong, but they possess incredible magical prowess.

The most inconvenient thing about facing Rakshasas is their patience. Death is merely an inconvenience for many rakshasas, who are living a constant cycle of reincarnation, so they truly have all the time in the world to get even with others.

Any who cross one of these Earthbound Evils must be prepared for an enemy who will devote multiple lifetimes to bringing you down.

- A Weird Warlock,

#wowieweirdwarlock #pathfinder #ttrpg #d&d #dnd #d&d monster #pathfinder lore #www: mighty monsters #rakshasas #rakshasa #fiends #hell

[wowieweirdwarlock]

Plentiful Planes & Places: The Dimension of Dreams

Also known as: The Dreamlands

Image source: Planar Adventures, pg. 213.

“When we sleep, we all visit the Dimension of Dreams.”

The Dimension of Dreams overlays the Ethereal plane, serving as the place where all sleeping minds go. Sleeping creatures, known as Dreamers, enter the Dreamlands through avatars called lucid bodies, in order to exist within their own personal Dreamscapes. Dreamers are capable of entering the Dimension of Dreams from anywhere in the multiverse.

When a Dreamer enters the Dimension without precautions such as magic or meditation, or they fail a contest of wills against the Plane, they are summoned into the Dimension of Dreams at a particular disadvantage, such as in a hostile environment or without important equipment.

Even in the worst of circumstances, a Dreamer is capable of impossible feats while within a dreamscape. Depending on a being’s willpower or knowledge of the plane, they may perform unlikely feats such as powerful spellcasting, destructive prowess, or warping the very area around them.

Hidden deep within the seas of dreamscapes, there lies a stable center to the plane known as the Dreamlands, the stability of which is maintained by the minds of powerful Dreamers and other entities. Traveling to this realm is more difficult than other forms of planar a travel, as one needs to find a doorway through an existing dreamscape in order to access The Dreamlands, a doorway which usually appears as a literal door on the side of a tree within an enchanted forest.

Entire nations and and realms exist within the Dreamlands, some ruled by powerful Dreamers and others existing as nightmare realms controlled by otherworldly powers.

Denizens of the Dimension of Dreams:

While many beings across the multiverse visit the Dimension of Dreams in their sleep, very few outsiders actually make their home in this plane.

Night Hags are fiendish Hags that ply the Great Beyond for souls and other vile goods they can trade off to the highest bidder. They are capable of entering the Ethereal Plane in order to travel, and often invade the Plane of Dreams in order to harass Dreamers.

Animate Dreams are exactly as they sound, Dreams given sentience and free will. They caper about the Dimension of Dreams, often appearing in sentient creatures’ Dreamscapes.

Dreamthief Hags are more powerful cousins of Night Hags. They are not born naturally, but are created when a Night Hag undergoes a potent ritual. Rather than bartering souls like their weaker kin, Dreamthief hags capture the minds of their victims, to sell to unique buyers.

Other creatures associated with dreams and sleep can be found in the Dreamlands, along with even stranger creatures of nightmares and alien sentience.

Divinity in the Dimension of Dreams:

While most gods have influenced dreaming minds, no major divinities actually lay claim over the Dimension of Dreams.

The closest thing to divine presence in the Dreamlands are the strange, alien beings known as the Great Old Ones, or the Outer Gods.

These beings often invade the Dimension of Dreams, influencing the minds of powerful Dreamers and sowing madness in the world.

Some of these Elder beings actually make lairs in the Dreamlands, where they corrupt and twist the already strange landscape.

Locations in the Dimension of Dreams:

The outer part of the Dimension of Dreams is made up of a sea individual dreamscape, and beyond that there is a central core, known as the Dreamlands, which is held together by powerful minds. The collective dreams and desires of individuals such as powerful psychics, Spellcasters, or Great Old Ones hold the Dreamlands together, enabling a mostly cohesive, yet still shifting, geography.

Dreamscapes are individual bubbles in the Dimension of Dreams containing Dreamers. This foam of Dreamscapes forms and evaporates as each being in the multiverse sleeps and awakens, and each Dream is unique to the consciousness of the Dreamer that created it. When one first enters a Dreamscape, it appears as a flashing swarm of desires and visions, but over time it molds and takes the form the Dreamer imagines.

The Enchanted Wood is often the first place visitors to the Dreamlands encounter, as it holds the doorway between the Dimension of Dreams and the true Dreamlands. It is an idyllic forest, where fantastical beasts make their homes and lives, and inhabitants are capable of impossible feats.

The Plateau of Leng, while partially considered it’s own realm, is held in the far reaches of the Dreamlands. It is a strange locale, populated by alien ghouls and other beings from beyond the stars. The Plateau truly is a place of nightmares, where the Outer Gods have a foothold into the Dimension of Dreams.

While I have been plagued by the odd nightmare and ominous vision, I never would have expected my dreams to actually MEAN something, let alone be actual places.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that not only are dreams real, they make up a whole plane of reality dedicated to dreams!

With magic, one can view or even manipulate the dreams of others. However, with powerful occult rituals, it is indeed possible to actually visit the Dimension of Dreams consciously.

Once this journey has been made, it opens up a whole reality of shifting dreamscapes and strange locales, each full of artifacts, knowledge, and treasures an adventurer can only dream of.

Get it? Dream of?

- A Weird Warlock.

#wowieweirdwarlock #pathfinder #ttrpg #d&d #dnd #plane #planes #multiverse #the dreamlands #the dimension of dreams #planar adventures #planar travel #dreams #dream #www: plentiful planes & places

[wowieweirdwarlock]

Mighty Monsters: Runeswarm

Source: Tome of Beasts 2

Image source: Tome of Beasts 2, pg.310

“A cloud of inky runes churns as some of the markings illuminate briefly.”

Magical runes are used in many cultures and nations, with different effects and purposes. Often they are scribed in important places, such as along ley lines or in key geometries. When collections of runes are left alone in places of power, they can coalesce into a being known as a Runeswarm.

Untended Magic. Runeswarms are often formed from runes of protection that have been abandoned, but a Runeswarms can be formed from any magical symbols. Eventually, they gain sentience and activate. After coming to life, a Runeswarm flits about the location it was created, remaining dormant for years until it encounters living beings.

Brilliant Warning. Runeswarms have an innate grasp of rune magic, and as such are capable of activating their own runes for different effects. When they encounter another being, they tend to flash their runes brightly in the air before attacking, giving their adversaries short warning before releasing volleys of magic.

Runecasting. The symbols within the cloud of a Runeswarm often shape into random tunes with strange effects, such as:

Summoning animal allies to fight for the Runeswarm.

Bursts of blinding light and heat.

Enemy creatures are quickly banished from the area.

Granting nearby creatures flashes of the future.

Fire, lightning, cold wind, and other elemental effects swirl around the area.

Manipulating the emotions of nearby creatures.

Defeat and Mastery. Due to being innately tied to rune magic, a slain Runeswarm will often leave behind markings or traces of magic that Spellcasters may examine. When a Runeswarm is killed, it may be used for a Spellcaster to learn a single rune.

Ideas for using Runeswarms in your campaign:

The party encounters a powerful Runeswarm guarding an underground vault, which they must defeat in order to access the treasure within. It has been underground for ages, allowing its rune magic to slowly grow in power until this moment.

After slaying a Runeswarm, a spellcaster in the party discovers an unknown rune of incredible power, which they must investigate in order to unlock its abilities.

While runes are a well-practiced school of magic and has many practitioners, the full mysteries of runes and their connection to the world have yet to be fully discovered.

Runeswarms are enigmatic beings, unliving yet born from abandoned runes. It is unknown why they randomly attack some beings and aid others, but it is possible they are simply bored and curious from ages of lying around as abandoned sigils.

I know any apprentice runecaster would be thrilled to meet a Runeswarm, if only to study the murky symbols swirling within them.

- A Weird Warlock.

#wowieweirdwarlock #pathfinder #ttrpg #d&d #dnd #d&d monster #pathfinder lore #www: mighty monsters #Midgard #runeswarm #runes #rune magic #monster

[wowieweirdwarlock]

Best Bosses: The Mistress of Midnight Teeth.

Source: Tome of Beasts 2

Image Source: Tome of Beasts 2, pg. 147.

“The elegant gnomish noblewoman smiles, flashing dazzling white teeth in contrast to her rich blue hair, and moves with fluid grace past a mirror. As she passes the mirror, her reflection briefly shows old blood caked on her face.”

Phylomara Gladrienne, mistress of the Court of Midnight Teeth, is one of the most influential of the shadow archfey. She appears as a refined gnome, bedecked in fashions such as fine silk and jewels that always compliment her inky blue hair. She loves styling her hair very elaborately, and insists on never appearing with the same style twice.

Mistress of The Blue Barbers. The Mistress’ gnome courtiers in her home also serve her as agents abroad. Known as the Blue Barbers, they are defined by their blue hair and desire to bring style into the lives of all they meet. They are polite and social, offering services as decorators, artists, information brokers, and stylists of all varieties.

Hungry for secrets. The main reason Blue Barbers are so gregarious is due to their Mistress’ endless hunger for secrets. She is desperate for gossip and interesting facts, and ever-eager to learn information regarding unique and interesting individuals. She is particularly stealthy, using her knowledge of darkness and manipulation of shadows to manipulate people from behind the scenes of her decadent parties.

Ravenous for Flesh. Beneath the Mistress’ facade of style and politeness, her darker side reveals itself in too-sharp teeth and strange reflection. She is always hungry, and her court constantly works to bring her fresh meat to devour. Any and all who cross the Mistress of Midnight Teeth discover that her hunger is something formidable, endless, and evil.

Knowledgeable Hostess. The parties and banquets the Mistress throws are well-renowned for their decadence, with Fey and other beings flocking to her dappled gardens to partake in strange games of intrigue and gossip. Those looking to earn the Mistress’ favour would do well to attend such a party and engage with her court, for she is very knowledgeable about a wide variety of topics. Those seeking her wisdom must be prepared to trade their own secrets in return, or at least a bit of flesh.

The Mistress’s Lair:

The Mistress makes her home in the Court of Midnight Teeth, a massive marble and silver mansion in the Plane of Shadow. Gilded mirrors hang on every wall to reflect the stylish Blue Barbers wandering about, each attended to by hosts of goblin house servants.

Within her home, the Mistress is all but immune to damage, as she can shunt injuries off to her reflections in the surrounding mirrors. As she stalks her halls, she often stops to consult her imperfect replicas in every mirror— her reflections are monstrous and often covered in bruises or cuts, revealing the Mistress’ darker personality within.

In addition to using her reflections defensively, the Mistress has other uses for her glittering copies. Her Reflections appear in every reflective surface near her, including puddles or metal, which she can cause to reach out to attack nearby creatures. She can also step into any reflective surface, walking through them similarly to portals to appear somewhere else.

Along with manipulating her reflections, the Mistress also has control over the darkness in her realm, and is capable of casting the area into a sphere of gloom in order to make it more difficult to navigate her halls.

While within her home, beings experience strange effects. Humanoids wake up every day intensely hungry, experiencing unknown cravings that cannot be satiated unless at the Mistress’ dining table. Reflections within three miles of Her lair move of their own accord when unobserved.

The Mistress may scry the location of any being in her home by casting her sight through a mirror, and can extend this ability to any mirror near one of her Blue Barber servants, quite literally giving her eyes and ears across the multiverse.

Ideas for using the Mistress of Midnight Teeth in your campaign:

A charismatic, blue-haired gnome appears to the party, offering them an invitation to one of their Mistress’ exquisite banquets. After they arrive and enjoy Her hospitality, the Mistress informs them they may not leave until sharing a few secrets with her. If they don’t, she is perfectly happy bringing them to her next party… as the main course!

The party needs information, be it a secret regarding an enemy or the location of an ancient treasure. They must meet with the Mistress of Midnight Teeth in order to get the information out of her, and must sneak past her small army of Blue Butlers who are constantly on the lookout for those without an invitation.

Another Archfey is looking to get back at the Mistress for exposing one of their secrets, and has enlisted the party to aid them. They must go to her annual birthday banquet and steal the main course, replacing it with something vile covered by an illusion. When the party gets there, they discover the main course isn’t what they expected— it is a group of humans, who they now are responsible for getting out safely.

I believe the Mistress and I, were it not for her garish appetites, would get along swimmingly. We both have quite the desire for knowledge, and I’d love to wrack her brain for secrets regarding some hard-to-reach lore.

Of course, I don’t believe the price I’d have to pay to access that knowledge would be quite worth it.

As fun as her events are, and as useful as she is, the Mistress only ever looks out for her own needs, and only ever wants two things: Fresh gossip and fresh meat.

- A Weird Warlock.

#wowieweirdwarlock #pathfinder #ttrpg #d&d #dnd #d&d monster #pathfinder lore #www: best bosses #Mistress of Midnight Teeth #Archfey #Fey #Lore #worldbuilding

[wowieweirdwarlock]

Mighty Monsters: Psychopomp, Catrina

Source: Bestiary 4

Image source: Bestiary 4, pg. 218.

“With lengthy curling hair, a dancer’s dress, and a bouquet of flowers, this woman remains beautiful, despite having no flesh.”

Catrinas welcome souls into the afterlife, working to soothe the fear and anger of mortals who haven’t accepted their own death. They eschew the funereal clothing and grave appearances of other Psychopomps, opting instead to decorate themselves in festive shades and bright lights to fight off the gloom of death.

Kind, Not Compassionate. Catrinas, despite all their glamor, will never disguise their skeletal forms. For while they seek to aid the transition of troubled souls, they will never deny the finality of death. Catrinas rarely visit the material plane, usually at the command of a more powerful Psychopomp or deity, to aid the transition of an important soul. While they work to ease the feelings of certain souls, they do not care much for their charges, and only do what they do because howling and wailing disrupts the procession of the dead.

Companions, Ushers, and Executioners. In most cases, Catrinas simply accompany souls into the afterlife, or groups of them host receptions for the newly dead. Their magical auras calm negative emotions, allowing souls some lucidity while they face their own mortality. Once a soul is ready, the Catrina guides them to their proper destination in Purgatory, before leaving them to go aid another. If a soul proves difficult, or a living mortal refuses to die, Catrinas are more than capable of taking them by force with their life-ending kiss.

Kiss of Death. Despite their skeletal forms, Catrinas can be considered rather attractive. They are genderless, but some may choose to be more feminine or masculine depending on the role they’re playing at the time. Using their unearthly charm, Catrinas are capable of compelling the restless dead. Usually, this compulsion is very simple: the Catrina demands the soul to kiss it. The passionate kiss of a Catrina will kill a mortal quickly, making it easier to hasten their journey to the afterlife.

Ideas for using Catrinas in your campaign:

A party member died and was resurrected, yet they have no memory of their time in the afterlife, and all seems to go on as normal. Strangely, a mysterious woman shadows the party wherever they go, focused on the previously-deceased party member. If the party investigates, they discover she is a Catrina that was tasked to the party member, who wasn’t expecting them to come back, and is torn between leaving them be or killing them to bring them back to purgatory.

After a total party kill, the Party awakens in the afterlife, surrounded by a reception of Catrinas, who have organized a large party to celebrate the Party’s adventures in life. The party must navigate their way through the party if they have any hope of escaping back to life under the watchful eyes of the jovial psychopomps.

Catrinas, like all Psychopomps, care for the procession of souls to the afterlife first and foremost.

They can dress in bright colors, decorate their realms with pleasant things and light, but they are, above all, agents of death.

They may act graceful and good, but they are just as dangerous as any outsider, and they value your death far more than your life.

- A Weird Warlock.

#wowieweirdwarlock #pathfinder #ttrpg #pathfinder lore #www: mighty monsters #catrina #Psychopomp

[wowieweirdwarlock]

Mighty Monsters: Medusas

Source: Monster Manual

Image source: Monster Manual, pg. 214

“As deadly as they are ravishing, the serpent-haired medusas suffer an immortal curse brought on by their vanity. They lurk in quiet exile among the tumbled ruins of their former lives, surrounded by the petrified remains of past admirers and would-be heroes.”

Medusas are formed from men and women who want to have it all: Eternal youth, strength, and power. For their greed they are punished, cast out from society and cursed with eerie abilities.

Bargained for Splendor. People who desire impossible beauty and adoration often look for it from dark sources, choosing to seek out evil gods or archfiends, powerful monsters, or dark magic to get what they desire. These bargains, once struck, change the mortal into the pinnacle of beauty and strength, granting them supernatural abilities and immortality. For a short time, these beings are allowed to revel in their gifts, enjoying the gift of agelessness and the love of everyone around them.

Cursed Immortality. Eventually, after living as a demigod amongst mortals, the beings who would become Medusas are struck by the price of their dark bargain. They are cloaked in scales and venom, and their hair forms into a nest of biting serpents, while all who gaze upon their a face are eternally trapped as a statue.

Lives of Seclusion. Medusas’ forms often alienate them from the rest of the world, forcing them to lair far out into nature or decrepit ruins, filled with hazards and hiding places. Oftentimes, foolhardy adventurers will poke around searching for loot from the petrified victims of the Medusa, unaware of the fact that a Medusa may be stalking them.

Ironic Curse. One of the most cruel aspects of a Medusa’s existence, however, is the fact that their curse can affect themselves as well. Should a Medusa ever see their own face, they risk being petrified just like anyone else. As a result, Medusas make a point to recklessly destroy or disrupt any reflective surface they come into contact with.

Ideas for using Medusas in your campaign:

A famous transmuter wizard had gone missing, and the party is hired to locate him. They track his whereabouts to a ruined tower, where a Medusa has kidnapped him and is forcing him to experiment to find a way to turn her back into a mortal.

A warlock has been tasked by their patron with a strange goal: their patron wants them to slay a Medusa that previously formed a pack with it.

A Medusa has suddenly changed her ways- she’d like to go out into the world again, but doesn’t want to risk mortal lives. She asks the party to help her track down a magic item that will allow her to see with her face covered,

While most Medusas are evil beings that deserve their fate, some are simply mortals afraid of death who made a bad bargain. Just like mortals, not all monsters can be cast in the same light.

In their former lives, Medusas often behave like living gods, for they are blessed with beauty, strength, and power drawn from whatever source their curse originated with.

After transforming, a Medusa becomes a supernatural threat capable of petrifying all who gaze upon it.

If you ever go poking around ancient ruins or strange caverns, it may be safe to bring blindfolds rather than lanterns.

- A Weird Warlock.

#wowieweirdwarlock #pathfinder #ttrpg #d&d #dnd #d&d monster #www: mighty monsters

[wowieweirdwarlock]

Radical Races: Irii

Source: Planar Adventures

Image source: Planar Adventures, pg. 239.

“This strangely unnerving entity looks like a thin, graceful human, save for its insectile features and shimmering gossamer wings.”

Irii are native to the Dimension of Time, an inscrutable and mysterious demiplane that is all but impossible to explore, even with the most potent planar magic. Many Irii are mistaken for celestials or fey due to their appearances, and their strange behavior does little to enlighten scholars.

Natural Dichotomy. Irii are split cleanly based on their philosophy regarding time, and are in a constant civil war regarding these philosophies. Irii that regard time as unchanging and straightforward are known as Fates; They tend to appear with animal heads, wings made of gold and glass, and unblinking eyes circling their necks. Fortunes are Iriis who view time as elastic and mutable, with humanoid faces, golden horns, and more insectile wings.

Alien Mindsets. It was long believed that an Irii’s outlook was predetermined due to their constant struggles over ethical views. Fates and Fortunes have vastly different ideologies regarding free will, divination, and the cosmic balance. These differences almost convinced scholars that the two groups were different species, until a Fate was revealed to crack open and reincarnate into a Fortune. Similarly, a Fortune can harden in its worldview and shift into a Fate, all depending on the individual’s experiences and views of the cosmos. Interviews with Irii show that they believe that a single individual contains multiple Fates and Fortunes in a delicate balance, and they only appear as singular beings to non-natives of the Dimension of Time.

Destruction and Preservation. Most Iriis remain in the dimension of time, where they fight to destroy unsafe timelines or protect valuable events. They are known to take mortal form to walk in the material plane, where they are attracted to diviners, astronomers, and others who speculate with time. Fates believe the past and future are set in stone, and any meddling is a dangerous act to be punished. They help prophecies come to pass, and attack those who would alter history. Fortunes have more faith in free will, and delight in destroying possible futures in favor of unexpected outcomes. They love to meddle in the timeline, splicing different pasts into history in order to better fit their whims.

Unsafe but not evil. While Fates and Fortunes disagree on how, they all believe it is their duty to protect the timeline. They all agree that past actions flow into future consequences, and as such, they band together to defend history from things erase the past or devour the future. They are rarely ever malicious, but they are not safe beings. They do not view death as an end, leading them to be callous towards mortal creatures. They make valuable patrons to scholars and diviners they favor, and once one gains the attention of an Irii, it is impossible to escape— In any timeline.

Ideas for Using Irii In Your Campaign:

The part awakens with different equipment, abilities, and companions than they did before they went to sleep. A capricious Fortune has meddled with some aspect of the Party’s past, causing defeated enemies to still be roaming and cherished allies to have no memory of them. As more aspects of their lives change, the party must track down the Fortune before it erases them ever becoming adventurers.

A once-great nation has been frozen in time, every single living being trapped in their unaging bodies. This is due to a Fate that has grown fond of the kingdom and it’s history, and wants to prevent it from ever being destroyed. The party must take on the ordeal of convincing a Fate to change its mind.

While I personally love free will and what I’ve done with it, I find the idea of a predetermined timeline fascinating.

Irii value the timeline more than anything, and view it as their cosmic imperative to defend it at all costs.

With Fortunes causing changes and entropy, and Fates maintaining important events, both kinds of Irii provide crucial services to the cosmos.

- A Weird Warlock.

#wowieweirdwarlock #pathfinder #ttrpg #d&d #dnd #d&d monster #pathfinder lore #www: radical races

[wowieweirdwarlock]

Mighty monsters: Ashmedes

Source: The Book of Fiends.

Image source: The Book of Fiends, pg. 145.

“Hell is always associated with evil, but its lawful aspects are often forgotten.”

While Hell is full of deceit, politics, and backstabbing, ultimately Devilish society is all about adherence to rules. All Devilish laws come down to Asmodeus, King of Hell, with his legion of Ashmedes swooping in to enforce them.

Heinous Infractions. While lesser Devils are constantly trampled on in the Hellish Hierarchy, even the lowliest imps are ever-scheming on how they can rise up to positions of power. A weak Devil would do anything to rank up, including cutting corners and betraying their betters. These plots are either rewarded or punished depending on the whims of the King of Hell, but only the worst crimes require the attendance of an Ashmedes.

Devils of Vengeance. When Asmodeus declares his judgement on an offending fiend, the punishment is always swift and final. Ashmedes come in at this point, wielding their wicked scythes and intimidating auras to enact the will of Asmodeus on any who break His laws.

No Warning, No Mercy. A devil will likely never even know that an Ashmede is on their scent until it is too late, and many think they’ve gotten away with their crimes. Ashmedes will never allow any sign of their pursuit to reach their prey until they are ready to enact punishment, and no pleas or requests for mercy can change the mind of an Ashmede devil,

Ideas for using Ashmedes in your campaign:

An NPC ally of the party is brought back to life, and is unwilling to discuss what they experienced while dead. The party comes to find out that they were bound for Hell before being resurrected, which has prompted an Ashmede to hunt them down.

After the party defeats a powerful Devil, they find that a trio of Ashmedes have been sent to claim the lives of the entire party.

The damned soul of a powerful spellcaster has brought itself back to life, and is using complex magic to deceive the Ashmede hunting Him down. His resolve is beginning to fail, so he uses one final enchantment to send the Ashmede on a chase for one of the party members.

Considered to be something similar to Valkyries, Ashmedes are arbiters of Hellish justice for Asmodeus.

The laws of Hell are absolute, and an Ashmede’s entire existence is dedicated to enforcing these laws, the punishment for which is often annihilation.

This fact makes me wonder if it is possible to trick a Devil into breaking one of these laws, so an Ashmede kills it for you.

- A Weird Warlock.

#wowieweirdwarlock #pathfinder #ttrpg #d&d #dnd #d&d monster #www: mighty monsters

[wowieweirdwarlock]

Mighty Monsters: Grim Jester

Source: Tome of Beasts

Image source: Tome of Beasts, pg. 240

“A skeletal cadaver decked in the motley attire of a fool capers about while making jokes that mock mortality.”

Grim Jesters are capricious beings that thrive on evil jokes and cruel mischief. They are spawned when a jester on their deathbed amuses a God of death or similar being, and is rewarded with a strange undead existence. Their reason for existence is to kill mortals in ever more twisted and creative ways, in order to entertain the dark gods that gave them unlife.

Dark Humor. Grim Jesters have a unique ability known as the Killing Joke; Their humor can physically harm and even kill its victims. These jokes are often strange and referencing events and things outside of this reality, and some believe Grim Jesters have an insight into the universe other beings lack. Their jokes can be absurd, on-the-fly, insulting, or sheer braggadocio.

Randomness. Grim Jesters live for chaos, in many ways. They often aim to get their hands on magical items in order to supplement their abilities. Beware a Jester wielding a rod of wonder, scrolls of chaos magic, or even a deck of many things.

Ideas for using a Grim Jester in your campaign:

A Grim Jester has become fixated on the party, and is constantly setting up traps and scenarios to try to kill them in ever more convoluted ways.

A mistreated court fool has come back as a Grim Jester, and is causing the court he used to serve to devolve into chaos as he enacts his hilarious revenge on the nobles who trampled him in life.

A Grim Jester is not dissimilar to a Pact Lich in many ways— They are both granted undeath at the whim of a powerful being, and both must appease their patrons in dark ways.

Grin Jesters are strange anomalies. They know more than they should about their victims, and even have access to secrets about the multiverse they would’ve never known in life.

The fact that they only use this knowledge to fuel their strange humor would be a blessing were it not so horrific.

- A Weird Warlock.

#wowieweirdwarlock #pathfinder #ttrpg #d&d #dnd #d&d monster #www: mighty monsters #grim jester

[wowieweirdwarlock]

Spells & Sorcery: Illumination Magic

Source: Deep Magic

Image source: Deep Magic, pg. 33.

“The school of illumination includes the study of star and shadow magic. This strange magic is rare outside the knowledge of a few elven wizards, who regard it as more a curiosity than anything else.”

Also known as Star and Shadow magic, Illumination Magic is a poorly-understood school of magic, as many Spellcasters and institutions believe it shouldn’t even be its own school. It is closely related to illusion magic, with some knowledge being drawn from creation, Conjuration, and necromancy. It is believed by many that Illumination was invented by Shadow Fey— certainly, this magic does draw power from shadow.

Drawn from Balance. Star and Shadow magic is drawn from the plane of shadow, but also is supplemented with knowledge of the stars and their alignments. Similarly to how elemental Spellcasters draw from the elemental planes, Illumination casters power their spells through the balance between dark and light, stars and shadow.

Mysterious Force. The school of Illumination is very similar to Abjuration, Conjuration, and Divination in the sense that very little is known about it beyond its practitioners. The users of Illumination magic draw power from the stars and the voids they dance in, forces that are obscure and unknown to the rest of the world.

Power in the Dark. Star and Shadow magic is popular among explorers and their Ilk due to its usefulness in the dark. It matters to users of shadow or light magic, and spells of this school are more potent when cast at night, In visibility of the cosmic bodies.

Cosmic Events:

Stars and other celestial bodies float throughout the cosmos, objects that Illumination casters can use to fuel potent spells and magical effects. Certain cosmic events can alter the effects of Star And Shadow magic, such as:

Alien Incursion: When aberrations from the stars enter this world, the world fights back. Illumination spells damage aliens.

Comet: Comets are symbols of change and instability, Illumination spells are unpredictable during this time.

Lunar Eclipse: The eclipse weakens the powers of lycanthropes and the undead. Illumination magic damages these beings during the eclipse.

Meteor Shower: Meteors interfere with summonings and Conjurations, and Illumination casters have a difficult time summoning monsters from other worlds during a meteor shower.

Meteor strike: When a cosmic body plummets to the ground, magic becomes agitated and harmful. Evocations cast by illumination casters are empowered during this time.

Nova: The birth or death of a star is a very auspicious time in history— divinations cast during a Nova event always yield accurate information.

Planetary Conjunction: The overlap of two cosmic bodies influences the minds and actions of living beings. Spells meant to manipulate or deceive are empowered during these events.

Solar Eclipse: These eclipses plunge the world into darkness, empowering spells of darkness or evil.

Ideas for using Illumination Magic in your campaign:

An elven Wizard who has studied Illumination for centuries is looking to complete his collection of spellbooks. The final tome he desires is held in a dungeon made of complete darkness. He is willing to share some knowledge of Illumination magic for adventurers who will brave the keep to retrieve the book for him.

A guild of Star and Shadow mages are looking to build a massive astrolabe, one that will allow them to better channel the power of cosmic events. They were waiting for the final piece to arrive when the courier delivering it went missing.

The school of Star and Shadow magic is a potent yet mysterious school, full of wizards and other Spellcasters who toe the line between alien darkness and pure light.

While any diviner can measure the astral bodies to view future events, the Illumination school taps into cosmic events to create powerful spells drawn from the night sky and the stars held within.

Illumination magic requires great study and a strong will, for not everyone can handle the knowledge of the stars.

- A Weird Warlock.

#wowieweirdwarlock #pathfinder #d&d #ttrpg #pathfinder lore #dnd #WWW: Spells & Sorcery

[wowieweirdwarlock]

Mighty Monsters: Corrupted Pixies

Source: Tome of Beasts 2

Image source: Tome of Beasts 2, Pg. 72

“A wrinkly, purple-skinned pixie with small black horns and bat wings flits about, singing a song about harvesting organs.”

Corrupted Pixies are small, innocent fey that are corrupted into fiends through dark magic and horrific deeds. They delight in violence, often orchestrating murderous “pranks.”

Twisted by Hags. The most common origin of a Corrupted Pixie is through capture by a Hag, who torture them by making them witness their crimes. These acts, combined with magic, turn the Pixies into mad, dark versions of their previous form. They become fiends in service to the Hag that created them, and view their “Mothers” as deities of murder, sacrifice, and darkness.

Mischievous Fiends. Corrupted Pixies love nothing more than murder and pain, and hand both out with childish glee. They are prone to going on hateful prank sprees, inflicting as much damage to the beings and area as they can. They like to use their magic and deceit to force other beings to attack eachother, and try to make their pranks go on as long as possible before reaching a murderous and satisfactory end.

Hatred of Beauty. Like their creators, Corrupted Pixies abhor beauty. They despise attractive mortals, sylvan glens, and works of art. Their pranks are often more cruel towards these things, as they aim to mar anything beautiful they find.

Possible Salvation. While Corrupted Pixies only vaguely resemble their fey cousins, it is possible to restore one of these beings to their old form. Should a Corrupted Pixie be captured and showered with pixie dust for 10 days, they will be freed from their vile form.

Ideas for using Corrupted Pixies in your Campaign:

A powerful Hag has been cultivating a swarm of Corrupted Pixies over the course of years, and is aiming to unleash them on a nearby kingdom. An Archfey reaches out to the party, urging them to save the Pixies from the Hag’s Influence.

A Druid has captured a Corrupted Pixie in the hopes of returning it to its former glory, but her stores of pixie dust is running out. She offers a magical item to the Party should they go out and collect more for her.

An old Corrupted Pixie has lived to see a rare event; Her Hag creator has died. Now free from control, and with the Hag’s arsenal of magic items, she is unleashing pain and misery across the area.

Corrupted Pixies are a sad sight— beings of joviality and mischief turned into evil fiends.

Only the most evil and twisted beings actively seek to create these beings. Due to the horrific methods by which a Corrupted Pixie is created, they become sadistic, pain-obsessed monstrosities.

Fortunately, Corrupted Pixies can be saved by those willing to help them. And a grateful pixie could be a good way to get on the Fey’s good graces.

- A Weird Warlock,

#wowieweirdwarlock #pathfinder #ttrpg #d&d #dnd #d&d monster #www: mighty monsters #Corrupted Pixie #Hags

[wowieweirdwarlock]

Mighty Monsters: Hags.

Source: Volo’s Guide to Monsters.

Image source: Volo’s guide to monsters.

“Hags are crones who represent the corruption of ideals and goals, who delight in seeing the innocent brought low.”

Hags are mysterious and unpredictable, especially in the perspective of mortals. The same hag that spends her time luring in and eating children could then be found making jokes and offering sinister advice to adventurers.

Ugly and Ancient. Hags perceive beauty as vile and disgusting, and ugliness as the epitome of beauty. They often spend their time “improving” their appearance with shredded clothes, mudstains, and illusion magic. For their warped sense of aesthetics, Hags were banished from the beauty-obsessed courts of the Fey. Only the most powerful hags, who cannot be ignored by the Fey kings and queens, can attend the courts without issue. Hags are immortal but not youthful; They constantly get older and uglier. The older a Hag is, the more knowledgeable they are on their dark magic, and the more weight they pull with other hags.

Corrupting Crones. Hags delight in the perversion of goodness and the manipulation of the weak. The desire to sow chaos and misery is the driving force behind so many hags building their lairs near humanoid settlements. They spread this corruption and pain most effectively through dark bargains with desperate folk.

Damning Bargains. People with nowhere to turn make a hag’s best customers, as they are often willing to give anything to get what they want. Hags will set up meetings, usually appearing when a potential victim is at their lowest. While they could be seen as similar to devils in this regard, they have strictly different modes of operation when corrupting the innocent. While a devil will often go out and find weak-willed mortals to damn, a Hag is content to sit and tend to her own work, waiting for others to come to her. This approach gives her much of the power in the scenario, as desperate souls will come to her, seeking cures or spells to solve their problems. Despite the miraculous magic Hags can enact, there is always a catch— one that will oftentimes being more pain and suffering than if the Hag hadn’t gotten involved at all.

Deals & Desire. Despite their foul reputation, Hags still have no shortage of visitors seeking their dark magic. With their repertoire of arcane knowledge and strange items collected over their long lives, hags often can offer just the right “solution” for whatever ails their victims. They know just the right ways to tempt mortals into their bargains, always giving their victims just the right conditions to satisfy their desires for a time.

Bargainer Beware. A Hag’s offer is never as simple as it seems. A Hag will never let their customers walk away happy, as they exist to spread misery and evil. A farmer seeking a cure for his son’s disease will discover the cure only lasts for a short amount of time, and must regularly be refreshed. A person looking to return an errant lover will find them growing obsessive and murderous. Every hag has unique ways they like to betray their victims, always in miserable ways that will bring their victims back into their clutches.

Weird Magic. With their nearly unending lifespans, Hags have all the time to master their strange brand of witchcraft known as “Weird Magic.” This dark magic is characterized by imbuing objects with curses and dark magic, with each hag having their own unique collection of weird magic items. Each Hag’s magic is unique to them, so many individual hags come together to form dark sisterhoods known as Covens. Within these covens, they share their knowledge of Weird Magic and spells to better spread misery.

Changeling Children. As a race of inhuman crimes, Hags do not procreate naturally unless the partner is suffering from some sort of insanity. When they do, the beings created from their union are known as Changelings. While many do it the old fashioned way, either through shapeshifting or manipulation, there is another way hags create more of their own. When a hag has need of a Changeling, either to form a coven or to enact some scheme, they collect a mortal infant, devour it, and then a few days later birth an identical-looking Changeling child. These children eventually grow and mature like normal, but near adulthood begin to experience a strange psychic urge known as “the Call,” causing them to seek out and find their Hag mother to complete their transformation.

Image source: Blood of the Coven, pg. 2.

Breeds of Hags:

There are many different kinds of Hags, all depending on the environment they live in and their natures:

Annis Hags are the most physically powerful of Hagkind, but have a lesser capacity for magic. They usually craft simple plots, desiring only murder, betrayal, and cannibalism. They are sometimes called “Iron Hags,” due to their invulnerable skin and sharp claws.

Ash Hags believe the world and all the life within it are unclean and disruptive— they seek to cleanse the world and their victims through flame. They hate the human arrogance of taming flame, and punish their victims with mockeries of the forge— branding them with molten iron and feeding them ashes.

Blood Hags, also known as Socouyants, are the most social of hags. They enjoy living among mortals, and use their abilities to steal the skins of beautiful maidens to hide their true form, of a horrific magical flame.

Dreamthief hags are the stronger cousins of Night Hags, as they maintain immense power of the minds and souls of mortals. They possess venom that disables thoughts, enabling her to meddle with the sleeping mind.

Green Hags thrive on drama and manipulation. These Hags excel at using illusions and shapeshifting, and are well-known for impersonating others to complicate situations.

Mute Hags are the only known Hags that didn’t originate as changelings; They simply manifest when a woman with arcane abilities grows resentful and hateful enough. Due to their genesis, Mute Hags are a breed of evil above all hagkind.

Night Hags are created from the souls of truly black-hearted hags upon death. They arise as fiends with Hag magic, and serve as traveling merchants in the Lower Planes. They are capable of moving through the Ethereal plane to enter mortal dreams, corrupting them and stealing their souls to sell for the highest bidder.

Sea Hags are the most horrific and ugly kinds of hag. Their very gaze can physically harm those who face it, and they have a natural talent for cursing others. They dwell within the water, and love to lure beautiful beings beneath to maim them.

Storm Hags are isolated, spiteful beings that would love nothing more than to be left alone to wallow for eternity. Unfortunately, the actions of mortals and nature irritate them endlessly, and they feel that anyone they lay eyes on has crossed them personally. Storm Hags utilize their connection to the weather to punish happy towns and jovial individuals.

Winter Hags are horrible old crones with frozen hearts. They do not understand empathy or love, only viewing them as weaknesses to be exploited. Despite their cynicism, Winter Hags all have an innate desire to be worshipped, and will often bully arctic communities into making offerings to avert their wrath.

Ideas for using Hags in your campaign:

A Coven of green hags is causing drama in a nearby town. They are constantly shapeshifting into different people to spread rumors and commit crimes, and eventually haven the entire town at eachother’s throats.

A Dreamthief Hag has captured the mind of a member of the party, and is willing to give it up should the party offer her a more interesting mind.

The party is sent after a magical ring said to cure even the most horrific wounds. It was last seen on the finger of a well-known adventurer, who went missing after going out to hunt down an Annis Hag. The party tracks her down to find the ring— which is currently in her stomach, along with the adventurer.

Many sources argue on the true nature and origins of Hags.

Some believe they are corrupted Fey, or what remains of a cursed race. Many folk consider them manifestations of the world’s fear of age, women, and the cruelty of nature.

It may never be known where their origins lie, but some truths are known. Hags can be found in any environment, and they are all cruel-hearted witches that thrive on teaching lessons to the weak or innocent.

Despite their murky reputations, Hags are an ancient race with untold knowledge. They are capable of feats of magic unseen anywhere else, and possess arcane secrets lost to the centuries.

I’m this regard, Hags are a double-edged sword of a species. They thrive on pain and dark intrigue, yet are excellent sources of knowledge and wisdom.

- A Weird Warlock.

#wowieweirdwarlock #pathfinder #ttrpg #d&d #pathfinder lore #d&d monster #www: mighty monsters #hags

[wowieweirdwarlock]

Astonishing Artifacts: The Bottle of The Bound.

Source: Artifacts & Legends.

Image source: Artifacts & Legends, pg. 16.

“Swirling runes reminiscent of claws and flames circle this elegant but ancient-looking brass bottle, and a stopper shaped like a ferocious tiger seals it tightly.”

The Bottle of The Bound contains an army of fiends, which a prepared user can summon forth for a variety of purposes. The Bottle has incredibly powerful magic sealing it, requiring three words to properly use it: The Word of Opening, to unseal it, the Word of Binding, to command the fiends held within, and the Word of Banishment, so send them back into the Bottle.

Bound for Eternity. Only a holder who knows the Word of Opening can unseal the bottle, unleashing fiends and evil creatures in a flash of fire and smoke. No force in existence can open the bottle without the Word of Opening, and once opened, the Word of Binding is required to prevent the Fiends from unleashing chaos in the area. If the Word of Binding is not used, the fiends will begin to pour out randomly, until the very last one escapes. If any of these powerful fiends stays out of the bottle long enough without the Word of Banishment being invoked, they will be freed to roam the material plane for eternity.

Arduous Destruction. The Bottle is nearly indestructible— no known weapon, spell, or action can break it, or even leave a scratch upon the fiery glass. In order to finally destroy this artifact, every individual fiend held within must be summoned and slain, one at a time. Afterwards, the empty vessel can simply be shattered with a good-aligned weapon.

History of the Bottle of The Bound:

At the height of his power, an ancient Osirian Pharaoh wanted to devise a magical way to absorb the power of a godlike being into himself.

To reach this goal, he had a massive labyrinth built under his land. It stretched on and on, and was designed in the shape of a powerful trapping sigil.

He tested his labyrinth by directing it at the Daemon Harbinger Zelishkar, known as the Bitter Flame.

His experiment failed catastrophically, releasing the Harbinger and inviting an army of fiends to wreak havoc within the labyrinth. The great Pharaoh could only stem the tide by releasing a powerful Efreeti, and striking a deal with the genie.

It is unknown what the King bargained to convince the Efreeti to aid him, but a great army of genies used their wishcraft to create a prison that would hold the army of fiends.

In the end, the Pharaoh stood within the labyrinth, the only survivor, bearing the cursed Bottle with him.

Since then, the Bottle has been used as a weapon and prison for centuries, passing between rulers and eras. The Daemon Harbinger Zelishkar is desperate to enact his vengeance, to escape and spread death across the world.

Ramifications of the Bottle:

Legion of Fiends. Along with Zelishkar and his hoard, other well-known fiends reside within the bottle. From conjoined Quasits, to a powerful Kyton called the “Splinter Sister,” many unique fiends serve as prisoners trapped by the Pharaoh and the Efreeti.

The Promise. It is unknown what the Pharaoh long ago promised to the Efreeti and the army of genies in order to guarantee their aid, but it had to have been substantial.

The Words. It is known that there are three incantations used to control the Bottle, but few actually know the meaning behind them. It is believed the Three Words are actually phrased in ancient Osirian: Zelishkar’s true name, The name of the Efreeti who imprisoned him, and the birth name of the Pharaoh.

Ideas for using the Bottle of The Bound in your campaign:

The party happens upon the bottle while looting, along with a note containing just the Word of Opening.

An antagonist of the party has gotten their hands on the Bottle, forcing the party to face a near-endless army of fiends.

A powerful fiend has struck a contract with a party member, forcing them to help free their “companion.” The party later comes to find out this companion is trapped within the Bottle.

The Bottle of The Bound has passed between many hands over the years, but has always brought destruction with it.

While having an army of fiends bound to follow orders would seem like a blessing, the improper use or order of the Words could risk freeing every fiend held within, risking the world being overrun with a great number of friends.

It is suggested that if you ever find this artifact, it’d be safe to just throw it somewhere dark and forget about it. Let the fiends live out their sentence for eternity.

And if you, like myself, think that’s a boring idea, make sure you know the Three Words so you can put the Bottle to good use.

- A Weird Warlock.

#wowieweirdwarlock #pathfinder #ttrpg #pathfinder lore #www: astonishing artifacts #Bottle of The Bound