Terror Rising

Fear Based Monsters

Part of the love of Halloween for many is the delight in being terrified. There is something about the adrenaline rush of fear that for some is almost intoxicating. I’ve spent this macabre season talking about some classic monsters that we love to fear, but really these creatures are feared because of their inherent danger. For some creatures, the fear itself is what they are after, or have been specifically designed to cause. Today we look at some of these creatures who thrive on the fear of man.

There are plenty of creatures that have the ability to cause fear. They have some kind of horrific appearance like most Qlippoth, or they just have an aura of menace, like most dragons, devils, and demons. Some undead just exude fear, such as liches and mummies. But none of these creatures really thrive on the fear they create, it is just a byproduct of their being.

Some creatures use fear as a method to hunt their prey. Not only does the terror they induce make their quarry easier to catch, they feed off of this fear as surely as they do flesh. The shadow mastiff and the wendigo are prime examples of these types of monsters.  Although I wouldn’t use the mastiffs as a main enemy, as minions used to hunt down the adventurers, a pack of these baying hounds can set the tone of dread for a good horror game.

Among the outsiders, there are many to whom mortal will flee in terror. Nobody likes death and thus the psychopomps are seen as particularly dread. When a psychopomp goes rogue it becomes a creature that thrives on bringing fear to the mortal realm. The creatures known as sahkil have a singular drive, to give all beings a reason to fear.

The true terror of the sahkil is not in direct combat, although they can be quite formidable. The best use of these creatures is to bring horror to those around the adventurers; twisting NPC minds from the ethereal plane making, these mortal agents become monsters in and of themselves. There are some low ranking sahkil you can use as foot soldiers but one of these a the big bad of a game can make a truly satisfying Halloween treat.

Sure undead and things from the outer planes are sure to give you the creeps, but no one expects to be terrified by foliage. Some plant life is more hostile than others and they need to feed on flesh to survive. If you’re looking to add some scare to your wilderness encounters, the tree with the human-faced bole called the quickwood, and the dark tendriled jack-o’-lantern both use fear to soften up their prey to devour.

There are those creatures that quite literally feed on fear. Anyone who has played Paizo’s adventure paths knows the company has a thing for one of these monsters; the will-o’-wisp. These creatures are not awfully hard to beat on their own, but when paired with a creature that can induce fear in its victims they become far more terrifying.

One of the other great masters of terror is the boogeymen. With an array of fear-based magics and attacks, once these dark fey get the party quaking in their boots, the fun really begins for them. Direct attacks from the boogeymen are probably best left till absolutely necessary. Hunting the party using its invisibility and gaseous forms while it keeps them from becoming well-rested with it nightmare spell is a great tactic before finally having the fear-eater swoop in for the kill.

One can escape fear by removing oneself from its presence. When that fear is in your mind, there is no place to run. There are reasons why movies like the Nightmare on Elm Street series are so distressing: We use sleep as a time of rejuvenation, and when are terrors invade our dreams it is a battle against our own minds. Much like the evil character, Freddy Kreuger, there are creatures in Pathfinder that can invade our dreams to destroy us.

A chaotic or evil mind can host a night hag who rides her prey’s dreams, slowly killing them over the course of days. Creatures with the nightmare template do the same, but if defeated in their prey’s dreams they may return again as ghosts to continue to haunt their victims. Some dreams themselves can be made real by a particularly vivid dreamer. Once these animated dreams leave their creator’s mind, they need to feed off the emotions of the living to stay “alive”.

There are plenty of other creatures that cause, exude, or feed off of fear in the Pathfinder universe. This is just a few examples from bestiaries one through five. When running your horror-themed campaigns you will want to use fear to its utmost effectiveness and these monsters can help you do just that.

What are some of your favorite fear-inducing creatures? How do you use these monsters to give your players the creeps? Have you used dreams and nightmares in your horror games?

They say the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. The CRB hopes it’s helped you bring a little fear itself to your game. If you’ve found this article useful for your next horror game, please consider becoming a contributor to the CRB. Monthly donations of as little as one dollar can be made to my Patreon. A one-time donation can easily be made to my Patreon. A one-time donation can easily be made to my Paypal. Every bit helps me keep the lights on so I can concentrate on bringing you the content you deserve.

The CRB has been growing as a community on social media. Please join us on Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, and Twitter. My inbox is open on all forums for questions, comments, and discussion. If you don’t want to miss a beat make sure you sign up to have the CRB pushed directly to your e-reading device with Kindle Subscriptions through Amazon.

Building a Better Monster

Thoughts on Flesh Golems

Hello, boys and ghouls (there really needs to be an undead or monster to turn the word boys into but I can’t think of one offhand) it’s time to continue our month-long Halloween extravaganza here on the CRB. We’ve touched on some of the iconic horror monsters so far, including undead ofall stripes and the bestial creatures known as lycanthropes. This week we’re going to tackle another classic monster (and its relatives): the flesh golem.

The flesh golem in D&D has always been analogous to the Frankenstein’s Monster. Although not quite identical to the seminal construct from Mary Shelley’s book it does have enough similarities to fit our bill. Like “The Monster,” the flesh golem is a hulking hideous amalgam of body parts from various corpses, stitched together to make a grotesque whole. Brought to life by some forces humans find hard to control, science and magic both, it takes on a bizarre mockery of life. Although the monster in the book seems to retain some shred of intelligence and flesh golems do not, they both might fly into a rage when attacked.

One of the things I find interesting about flesh golems – and that a lot of people overlook – is the fact it requires casting animate dead to construct one of these behemoths. There is a saying that goes something like, "knowledge is knowing Frankenstein is not the monster. Wisdom is knowing Frankenstein is a monster." Since casting any type of raise undead spells is an evil act, any person who creates a flesh golem is most likely leaning toward being evil.

Just throwing a flesh golem at your players doesn’t really evoke the kind of horror I’m looking for when I’m running a horror game. Sure, they are powerful creatures, but power isn’t the only terrible thing. One of the ways I’ve used these monsters to terrify my players is by making some of their parts recognizable. There is nothing more likely to break a character’s morale than noticing the tattoo on the arm of the flesh golem belongs to one of their dead siblings. Or imagine staring into the face of your mother as the roiling mound of skin attacking you.

Admittedly a house rule of mine, seeing as Flesh Golems are created using the animate dead spell, I’ve occasionally attached a soul to them. I reason that the spell allows the soul to get sucked in along with the elemental that is the usual driving force behind such a monster.  When confronted with a golem that shows some occasional spark of humanity – albeit tortured – that can throw the players for a loop.

As a low-level adventure you could have the party hunting down a mad arcanist who is trying construct one of the creatures. The caster trying to build the thing is looking for very specific corpses to create his monstrosity and the players face off against his minions who are gathering the pieces. Whether he gets the exact dead bits he needs or has to stitch together his second choices, the players will face the doctor, his creation, and maybe even a right-hand man named Igor.

There are plenty of other constructs to use. Their usual immunities to a lot of magic, damage reduction, and spell resistance mean that they often require more than the tactics as usual. Scarecrows can be interesting at mid-lower levels, as can caryatid columns. The shatter weapon ability of the latter has led to some interesting times with my players.

Have you used flesh golems in your games? What interesting twists have you used to make the more horrific? Have you added any special house rules to your flesh golems? What other constructs have you used in your game, beyond the normal stone and iron types?

Much like creating a flesh golem the CRB hopes to stitch together some new and fun ways to do things. If we’ve helped you build on your existing campaign, please consider becoming a contributor to the CRB. Monthly donations of as little as one dollar can be made to my Patreon. A one-time donation can easily be made to my Patreon. A one-time donation can easily be made to my Paypal. Every bit helps me keep the lights on so I can concentrate on bringing you the content you deserve.

The CRB has been growing as a community on social media. Please join us on Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, and Twitter. My inbox is open on all forums for questions, comments, and discussion. If you don’t want to miss a beat make sure you sign up to have the CRB pushed directly to your e-reading device with Kindle Subscriptions through Amazon.

A Night to Howl

Lycanthropes and You

As we continue to delve into the best holiday of the year – Halloween – we’re going to take a look at one a classic monster. This is one of my favorite monsters, the werewolf. We’re actually going to take a look at all lycanthropes but the wolf is obviously the most iconic. Although in this instance we’ll be talking about the creature in Pathfinder, one of my favorite incarnations of the beast is from White Wolf’s Werewolf the Apocalypse.

For those of you who don’t use lycanthropes in your games often, Pathfinder takes from the old D&D rules and has two differing forms of these emblematic shapechangers. There are those who much like in the movies – One of my favorites being The Howling –  get bitten and are overcome by the curse of lycanthropy, and we call these the afflicted. There are also those with the inborn ability to shift form inherited from a parent, and these are known as natural lycanthropes. These two types will become important as we look at how to use these creatures in our games.

Part of using werewolves, and other were-creatures, in our games is the primal terror created by the beasts. Things like zombies are unthinking, vampires tend to be romanticized, but werewolves are pure rage and brutality. This is contrasted by the fact that for most of their lives they have human form and can blend in among the normal populace if they so choose. The fact that there could be a beast among the villagers or even the party and the group just doesn’t know, even the lycanthrope may not know, can instill just the right amount of terror and paranoia.

We learn in the very well written “Ecology of the Lycanthrope” in the third book of the Carrion Crown adventure path called Broken Moon, that for the most part afflicted lycnathropes may not even know they carry the curse. They often have no memory of the nights the change. When an afflicted werecreature learns of his curse, much like thewererats in book one of the Shattered Star Adventure Path, they can try and change form outside of the full moon. Where the afflicted will never try and change back to their human form during the forced changes, natural lycanthropes can attempt to revert back with some difficulty.

Once we understand that the afflicted may not know about their change we get a great means of throwing off our players. When the cursed being is not under the throes of the beast within she retains the alignment she had before the change. So a lawful good town sheriff will detect as being good to magic even though a few nights a month he turns into a chaotic evil mass of fur and claws. When confronted by the fact that the villain is actually a nice honest man most of the time, how do our players work toward solving this issue? This can lead to some great role play opportunities, especially if one of the characters is Ulfen, because their people see lycanthropy as a gift not a curse.

Although a common method of curing the afflicted lycanthrope – such as our fictitious sheriff – is with the remove curse spell, this may not always be available. If the party meets a werewolf before level six they won’t have access to the spell at all. At level six they have about a fifty-fifty chance of dispelling the afflicted’s curse. But the biggest issue is going to be that to remove a curse you have to touch the creature, and in the case of lycanthropes you can only cure them when they are in hybrid form. In the case of an afflicted werecreature this means they are most likely trying to kill you.

If they don’t have access to remove curse, a party can always try and find another way to cure the poor soul. There are a lot of folk remedies for curing a werewolf of this curse; which ones work in your game are up to you. Crazy mystical cures might include blood of a unicorn or a cup of moonlight. A common one from the movies is to kill the creature that turned them afflicted in the first place. An interesting possible cure from Classic Horrors Revisited is to skin the werewolf in its hybrid or wolf form.

One of the other questions we have to ask ourselves is: are all werewolves evil? Obviously there are other evil werecreatures as well, like the werebat and wererat. But there are also good lycanthropes like the bear. It is my understanding that being a werecreature does not actually change your alignment at all. You just become that monster’s alignment when you lose control on the full moon. Since natural lycanthropes can attempt to control their change during the full moon, there is a chance they will never be tempted by their own beast. Gods like Ashava use half-celestial werewolves as minions so there is precedence even of goodness in these creatures.

In our games finding a werewolf – or other generally evil werecreature – that is trying to stay the beast is another interesting story to tell. How does a party of good characters try and reconcile these normally ravening beasts being good? Does the party help the creature try and maintain is goodly nature? Or do they kill it for the threat it might become? If the killing starts will he get blamed? As a GM you could use that as the perfect time for another killer to set up the werecreature holding on to its morality as a patsy.

Werewolves can play a part in your game as barbaric monster, unfortunate victim, or tragic outcast. How do you use werecreatures in your games? What are some of your favorite folk cures for lycanthropy? How do you handle good aligned werecreatures in your game? What happens to werewolves on a planet with more than one moon?

The only thing the CRB looks to afflict you with in interesting ideas for your next game. If you found today’s article sparks some fun ideas, please consider becoming a contributor to the CRB. Monthly donations of as little as one dollar can be made to my Patreon. A one-time donation can easily be made to my paypal. Every bit helps me keep the lights on so I can concentrate on bringing you the content you deserve.

The CRB has been growing as a community on social media. Please join us on Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, and Twitter. My inbox is open on all forums for questions, comments, and discussion. If you don’t want to miss a beat make sure you sign up to have the CRB pushed directly to your e-reading device with Kindle Subscriptions through Amazon.

Not Another Zombie Apocalypse

Spicing Up Your Undead Choices

October is here and that means we are hitting my favorite holiday, Halloween. For this month, we will be taking a look at a number of Halloween related topics. Zombies, Ghouls, and Skeletons are hallmarks of the holiday, and of any Pathfinder game you play too. But are they too common?

Skeletons and zombies are probably the most common forms of undead one meets at lower levels. As much as we all love shambling corpses, sometimes as both a player and a GM, I like to see things shaken up. There are about a dozen or so other low-level – between CR ¼ and CR 1 – undead to choose from, so why not consider throwing some of those at your players?

Whereas an ambulatory carcass is ghastly, seeing just individual parts of a body come after you can be downright terrifying. The floating skulls that are the Beheaded come in a number of shapes and sizes, with new and interesting powers like the fire wreathed Flaming Skull, or the decaying snake-haired Medusa’s Head and its petrifying bite. If you imagine a flying eyeball that uses its bloody nerves as wings you would have the CR ½ Isitoq. Or you can sic the bloodhound-like Crawling Hands, which grab and claw at their prey until either it or their quarry are killed.

Midgame undead, between CR 7 and 10, tends to be things like Specters, Ghosts, and Vampires. While classic, there are a lot of other undead creatures for you to have fun with, many of them based on other myths and legends. The Manananggal is a monster from the Philippines that can disguise itself as a living woman, but at night it separates its torso and flies around on bat-like wing. If you really want to play up the terror of this creature, in the real world myth its favored prey is sleeping pregnant women.

The Baykok is a dread skeletal being from Ojibwe or Chippewa legend. Much like the real myth, the Pathfinder version carries a bow and can paralyze its foes. However, they changed its devouring of a victim’s innards to a devouring of its soul. Confound your players with this creature, who they may believe is just a regular skeleton until they hear its fearsome howl.

If you want to use a legend from the good old US of A, the headless horsemen would serve you well. Paizo has converted the sleepy hollow phantom into a creature called the Dullahan. The dark rider heads out across the countryside on his equally fiendish horse to take the souls of the living. These creatures are formed from cruel military commanders, watch-captains, and other martial notables. Having a slain enemy general come back as a Dullahan to hunt down those who defeated him could make for an interesting encounter.

There are tons of out of the box undead from all levels that aren’t Liches, Mummies, Ghasts, or any of the other standard fare. If you’re looking to spice up your game, throw some creatures at them that they haven’t seen before. Paizo extensively uses creatures in its own modules and adventure paths from Frog God Games, Tome of Horrors -- a resource many of your players may not have memorized. A dip into any of the for Tomes could bring new life – or unlife – to an old game

Lastly, if you really want to spice up your game and make even weaker undead a little more of a challenge for your party try adding a Hungry Fog or two to the encounter. When creatures pass through the vaporous ooze they emit a wave of negative energy. This will heal your undead making them quite a bit harder to kill. A powerful intelligent undead or necromancer might consider keeping a few of these mindless green miasmas around to bolster their other minions.

What are some of your favorite oft unused undead? What real-world legends have you converted yourself, or wish were converted into undead creatures? Has your party ever truly been surprised by one of these evil creatures in your game?

The CRB looks to find new and interesting ways to help you spook and challenge your party. If you’ve found this week’s article enlightening, please consider becoming a contributor to the CRB. Monthly donations of as little as one dollar can be made to my Patreon. A one-time donation can easily be made to my Patreon. A one-time donation can easily be made to my paypal. Every bit helps me keep the lights on so I can concentrate on bringing you the content you deserve.

The CRB has been growing as a community on social media. Please join us on Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, and Twitter. My inbox is open on all forums for questions, comments, and discussion. If you don’t want to miss a beat make sure you sign up to have the CRB pushed directly to your e-reading device with Kindle Subscriptions through Amazon.

Make Friends and Meet Interesting People

Cults and You

The Sacrifice by Luis Perez

This year for our Halloween month we’ve spoken a lot about monsters. A lot of times, though, the true monsters are people. You can have your psychotic serial killers and sadistic politicians but these folks are usually just one-off villains that are dealt with when they are killed and captured. More insidious than these are groups of like-minded psychopaths, especially when they form into single minded cults. This week we’re going to take a look at incorporating cults into your game.

I think that one of the best things about cults is that they can be incredibly hard to root out. Arresting or killing just one member will not stop their nefarious plans. With cult members it can become much like cutting off the head of a hydra. This gives the GM a lot of ways to react to the inevitable, outrageous idea that the PCs came up with, that actually worked. Even if the PCs kill the cult leader, that doesn’t mean someone else won’t step up and continue the group’s mission.

There are many ways for cults to form, as many as there are ways to make characters in a game. Not all of them have to be based around something occult either. Cults of personality are a great way to add a human face to your villains. These kinds of cults aren’t looking for some secret power or fostering a deity’s will, they are just sucked into the incredible charisma of another human being. It could be a politician, a would-be crime lord, a younger noble not set to inherit his family’s estates, or really any kind of megalomaniacal person with an incredible force of will.

Some interesting cult leaders for Pathfinder could be a fallen paladin who doesn’t believe his former deity is doing enough and has taken matters into his own hands. Bards make excellent cult leaders, the Celebrity and Demagogue archetypes make excellent leaders of men. Although any class could be the leader of a cult, a high charisma and ranks in social skills like diplomacy, bluff, intimidate, and sense motive will be important to your force of personality.

Divine influence is probably one of the major way cults are formed. Technically followers of the Empyreal Lords are members of mystery cults as these beings have no true churches. We don’t think of these cults of good beings in the same manner in which we look at cults of evil deities, Demon Lords, Daemon Harbingers, and Archdevils. Devotees to these sources of divine power can either follow the being’s general philosophy or dedicate themselves to one aspect of being’s portfolio.

Leaders of these dark congregations are usually imbued with some kind of divine power. Clerics, anti-paladins, oracles, and warpriests are all excellent choices for leaders of these factions. Warpriest in particular has a great archetype specifically called Cult Leader. Since each of these classes rely on charisma in some manner it’s simple to see how they might gather a following for their chosen deities.

Some cults won’t be based around just humanoids seeking temporal power or the will of a godlike being. These oddball societies can have just about any focus. Perhaps a group looking to plump the meaning of life by delving into the occult might fill you cultist needs. The mesmerist Cult Master  archetype works well for this kind of grouping. More powerful but not quite deific beings might have sects of worshipers, perhaps a powerful dragon could be the leader of his own cult of personality. Other cults might just worship something as a god even though it has no real power. An unintelligent monster, the husk of a fallen starship, a giant stone that glows in the right light can all be interesting things to have (probably insane) people follow almost religiously.

There are a million and one other ways to form cults in your game, but hopefully the creative juices have started flowing. Have you used cults in your games before? Who have been the leaders of the sects and splinter groups? Why would you choose a cult over a single BBEG (big bad evil guy)?

If you have been inspired to add a cult to your game or expand upon one you already had, please consider becoming a contributor to my Patreon. If you’d like to join the ever growing CRB community you can find me and other like-minded individuals (no we aren’t a cult I swear) on Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, and Twitter. As always my inbox is open on all platforms for questions, comments, and further discussions.

The opening illustration was created by artist Luis Perez. You can find him on Twitter and on Instagram at luisperezart.

The Dragons of War

Disciples of Draghignazzo

We’ve been talking about monsters all month and how to position them against players; using them to spice up your stories. We’ve looked at who witches worship, Alazhra and Mestama, and in the past we’ve taken a look at the god of vampires, Zura, but who do monsters in general revere?

There are three deities that monsters call their creator. Lamashtu is the only major deity of the trio and she is outlined in detail in Inner Sea Gods.  The second is Shub-Niggurath of the elder gods, a creation of H.P. Lovercraft whose first mention was in The Dunwich Horror. And the last is Draghignazzo, the devil-dragon who is the one we will be concentrating on today.

As always, let us imagine we are sitting at our theoretical gaming table. Our imaginary GM sets out the rules for the game we will play. In this game, we are to make a follower of Draghignazzo. The character does not need to be a divine caster, just a devotee of the devil-dragon. What character do you make?

For more information on Draghignazzo

Draghignazzo’s Pathfinder Wiki Page

Draghignazzo’s Archives of Nethys Page 

The Tainted Scale

Although Draghignazzo is not truly a dragon but a cornugon devil, many dragons still follow his teaching. Fed up with the war between their creator gods Apsu and Dahak, these dragons have sought other means of divine inspiration. Promises of being officers in the ranks of the armies of Hell appeared better to some than the endless fighting that they seem to have been saddled with.

The Tainted Scale is one of the few groups of dragons that actually work together instead of always being at each other’s throats. The sect itself is small, numbering only six members: two blues, one green, one black, one umbral, and one gold. These dragons work to amass their own armies of followers and use them to make war on the material plane to Hell’s advantage. Currently many of the Tainted Scale’s forces are working to push back the demons in the Worldwound.

The Becoming

The becoming is a sect of humanoids that looks to become something more than what they are now. They seek the power that comes with a monstrous form. Made up of transmuters, alchemists, and shape-shifters, this sect worships Draghignazzo in hope he will remake their bodies—even if it means they must give up their souls.

The sect chooses members as they are very secretive. They keep an eye on wizards academies, alchemical universities, Bardic colleges, and even local druid circles. Members of these organizations who appear to be outsiders and who show aptitude for metamorphosis are put through a number of tests before being offered acceptance into the sect.

The Last Army

Some followers of Draghignazzo are monsters and some want to become monsters, but others use monsters to their own ends. The Last Army is a small sect of Hellknight worshipers of the devil-dragon that wrangle up unintelligent monsters and train and breed them for war. The job is insanely dangerous—some of the creatures can kill with a look or a scream—but these creature handlers do what must be done to aid the armies of Hell and its mortal representation of Cheliax.

Any competent warrior can join the Last Army. The one thing all members have in common is a vast knowledge of many of the creatures that inhabit their world. If you want to know lore about even the rarest of monsters, the Last Army would be the ones to ask, if you could get them to tell you. Because of the danger inherent in their mission, there is huge turnover among the sect. However, everyone knows to fear those who can grow old in a group of monster hunters.

The followers of this member of the Malebranche are poised to join the armies of hell, are you? Who is your follower of Draghignazzo? Why have they chosen to dedicate themselves to the devil-dragon? Where does their devotion come from? Let me know in the comments.

If the CRB has inspired your next character please consider showing support and become one of my patrons by donating to my Patreon. Looking for more out of the CRB? Then you’re in luck! Google +, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook all have a CRB presence. And if you’re as impatient as I am, have the CRB pushed directly to your Kindle with every new post by signing up for Kindle Subscriptions.

Next Time on the CRB

Running Monster of the Week Games

Crab Man Illustration by Luis Perez

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, monster of the week TV series are incredibly popular. Buffy the Vampire Slayer ran for seven seasons and Supernatural is in its twelfth season right now. Star Trek the original series and  Next Generation were both effectively space versions of monster of the week. We’ve seen numerous series come and go that follow this same basic premise, some with an overarching background story and some not.

Over the course of the evolution of RPGs, one shots have become more and more popular. Some of this love of one off games boils down to not being able to find a full time group. For me, I have an ever changing schedule and a desire to role play as often as possible, so one shots fit my needs perfectly. The thing about one shots is that they do quite nicely for the monster of the week formula; a small story that only runs for a few hours where the players deal with one specific threat until it is removed. Although I’m going to be talking in terms of pathfinder because that’s my game of choice, I would be remiss if I do not actually mention the wonderful game Monster of the Week by Evil Hat Productions.

So how do we set up a good monster of the week story for our players? Our first job is to pick an interesting monster that will challenge our players, and in Pathfinder we have a lot of choices. Since you don’t want the monster to be the only combat in your game, monsters that can create, summon, or mentally dominate minions are usually your best bet. Creatures that move in groups, like a pack of werewolves, can also provide a few combat encounters on top of the face-off with their pack leader. If you’d like to throw your players a curveball try a creature that isn’t evil but just living off instinct, or trying to survive a hostile populace.

I think one of the great things about monster of the week campaigns is they have a lot of room for non-combat encounters. Looking back on any of these shows, investigation tends to be a very strong component to the protagonists finally getting their man—erm, creature. Laying out clues that will bring your players closer to the creature in question is actually harder than just throwing the monster directly in their path.

Let’s take a look at the Dybbuk. An interesting if underused undead, we need to figure out how to present it to our players as both a monster and a mystery. Between its Malevolence ability and its ability to modify memories we can start by having the players come across a town where people have committed horrible acts of violence but have no memories of doing so. This sets up a mystery, something definitely out of the ordinary for our players to get sucked into.

As the players begin to investigate, the angry spirit can use its telekinesis to hurl objects or even players about.  This allows you to have the monster interact with them with a good chance it can escape without being seen. The Dominate Monster ability will allow your Dybbuk to force innocents to attack your players, giving them both combat encounters and moral choices.Hunting monsters will also bring a lot skill checks into the mix. Tracking, knowledge skills, diplomacy for gathering information, and sense motive will almost definitely come into use in these types of games. 

As the GM it is your job to leave clues for these types of skill checks. A dybbuk is a restless spirit, so having it attack people it feels have wronged it in life is a good start. Gather Information and Sense Motive can help come up with these things. Putting together what abilities it has is another thing the players can do and use their knowledge skills to figure it out. They may take some wrong turns, like guessing it’s just a ghost at first, but that’s part of the process.

Monster of the week games aren’t for everyone but I enjoy them myself. I find they’re especially useful when one or two of your main group are going to miss a sessions but you still want to run. I’ve used these mini games to great effect and I think you can too.

Have you run a monster of the week game before? What are some of your favorite monsters to use for these? How do you lay out the clues for your players?

Like the monster of the week, the CRB will be here every Wednesday with something new for you to investigate. If you find that your search for answers in the pages of my blog has helped your gaming then please consider contributing to my Patreon. The CRB is also out there on social media ready to interact with you my loyal viewers. You can follow me on Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, and Twitter. My inbox on each platform is always open.

The opening illustration was created by a fine artist Luis Perez. You can find him on Twitter and on Instagram at luisperezart.

Witch's Brew

Cults of Mestama

We continue this week’s discussion on witches by taking a closer look at one of the goddesses most revered by witches and hags. Since I’ve already covered Alazhra that leaves us with the Demon Lord, Mestama. The Mother of Witches has much more written about her than many of the other Demon Lords and she even has a worshiper in the fourth book of the Shattered Star Adventure Path. But even with the slightly deeper delving into this deific being there is a surprising amount of room left to expand upon. So today we look at three possible sects of Mestama.

As always, let us imagine we are sitting at our theoretical gaming table. Our imaginary GM sets out the rules for the game we will play. In this game, we are to make a follower of Mestama. The character does not need to be a divine caster, just a devotee of the Demon Lord. What character do you make?

For more information on Mestama

Mestama’s Pathfinder Wiki Page 

Mestama’s Archives of Nethys Page 

The Bubbling Cauldron

The Bubbling Cauldron is not just the name of the sect but it is also the name of the establishment where these witches are based. The Bubbling Cauldron is located in the plagued town of Edme, a city that seems to be a magnet for criminal activity. No small part of this is thanks to the coven of witches who runs the Bubbling Cauldron.

There are seven members in the coven of Mestama worshipers and each is an Alley Witch connected to the rotting city. Whereas other criminals and instigators wreak havoc physically upon the city, the coven adds their contribution to the city’s blight by corrupting the very spirit of the city itself. The coven’s great deception is that, in a city of scarce food due to a pestilence in the surrounding countryside, the Bubbling Cauldron goes out of its way to feed the poor and hungry. What is in the food, nobody really knows.

Kilner’s Hope

When love fails, many in Taldor look to the small shop of Kilner’s Hope. Kilner is one of the few male worshipers of Mestama. He is a eunuch alchemist who specializes in love potions, or at least that’s what the people who visit his shop believe. Kilner’s Hope actually houses a small cult of Mestama and their potions last for a while, at least until they drive a wedge between lovers that usually ends in violence.

The cult in Kilner’s Hope is actually led by mute hag who was once a spurned woman of Taldor. Her would-be paramour is now the eunuch, Kilner. She seeks nothing but to make the lives of others miserable and devoid of love. Those women who fall victim to her machinations and live – many commit suicide – find their way into the cult for a time as they also seek to make other’s lives hell.

Widow’s Promise

Mestama finds her followers among those who have suffered. Often women who have tied themselves up in their spouses and cannot live without them. When women like this lose their husbands to the hands of another, whether actually or just perceived, their need for vengeance drives them to the cold arms of the Lord of Deception.

Although many of Mestama’s followers are witches, all of the members of the Widow’s Promise are Antipaladins of the Demon Lord. After they exact vengeance upon the person they believe stole their true love, they then seek out others who stand in the way of love. They see their own loving relationships as the pinnacle of love and have a special hatred for cheating spouses.

From cities to forests, only the most vile revere the Demon Lord of Hags and Deception. Who is your follower of Mestama? Why have they chosen to dedicate themselves to the Mother of Witches? Where does their devotion come from? Let me know in the comments.

If the CRB has inspired your next character please consider showing support and become one of my patrons by donating to my Patreon. Looking for more out of the CRB? Then you’re in luck! Google +, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook all have a CRB presence. And if you’re as impatient as I am, have the CRB pushed directly to your Kindle with every new post by signing up for Kindle Subscriptions.

Double, Double Toil and Trouble

Witches and You

Illustration by Luis Perez

One of the hallmarks of Halloween is the witch. Usually seen with a pointed hat, cat, and broom, these images were crafted to demonize pagan religions by the Catholic Church. Witches have been used as villains through much of literature and film. Although we also do see occasions of good witches such as Glinda in the Wizard of Oz and Granny Weatherwax from the Terry Pratchet’s Discworld Series. So how do we use witches in our own campaigns?

For D&D and Pathfinder at least, we have to separate witches into three categories: witches as monsters, witches as a class, and witches as a job description. Sometimes these concepts of witch can get mixed up, and sometimes they are even intertwined. Other systems like Mage and Ars Magica deal with witches and witchcraft quite differently.

The witch as monster in D&D has been around for a while and found its way into Pathfinder as a matter of form. The hag was designed to be the archetypal witch. The green skin, the long nose, mystical abilities, and even the covens are all hallmarks of the quintessential witch, and thus written into the hag monster. D&D started with one hag and later added a handful more; Pathfinder has added even more subtypes of Hag.

Paizo’s Golarion setting even has a number of deities who hags, and in some cases witches, worship. Alazhra who I’ve written about before is considered the mother of Night Hags who steal souls for trade on the black market. Mestama is the demon lord of all hags, and evil witches.  Cults of either of these divine beings can make great villains for your horror themed game.

Witch as a class is something Pathfinder added when they went their own way. Other games can also have witches as characters but that falls more into the witch as job description, than witch as class. Pathfinder’s witch classes allows for a more thematic way to make a practitioner of the arts. Whether you use a witch as a villain or aide to the players, using a witch instead of a cleric or a sorcerer can add to the experience.

The hex feature which includes the evil eye, a terrifying cackle, and the traditional witch’s cauldron lend heavily to the thematics of the archetypal witch. The witch class also gets a familiar, much like the wizard. For the witch however these familiars area link to their spells much like a wizard’s spellbook. Like the classic witch archetype, cat is a common choice. The last major option for the witch is a patron, left intentionally vague giving your character a lot of options on where their powers come from.

This brings us to the idea of witch as a job description or cultural role. In many cultures any person who can cast magic is a witch. As I note in other articles, your characteris not your class. Any of the casting classes could be considered a witch by certain people. Some witches have been known to change shape, making druids or transmuting wizards and sorcerers a possibility. Although in many stories witches are linked to cats; bats, snakes, and wolves also have a connection to witches. Nature worship and potion making are two other things often connect to witchcraft that you can use to make a witch character of any class.

How have you used hags in your game? Does the witch class represent all that you want out of a witch character? Have you played any other classes and called yourself a witch? Or maybe been called a witch by others?

As we throw an eye of newt and a tongue of frog into our cauldron and brew up some fun with witches. If the CRB has sparked a little magic for your next game please consider becoming a contributor to my Patreon. You can also find the CRB on social media including Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, and Twitter.

The opening illustration was created by a fine artist Luis Perez. You can find him on Twitter and on Instagram at luisperezart.

Impurities of Passion

Devotees of Belial

Of all the lower planar creatures, devils are probably the most openly worshipped evil creatures. Although Cheliax and Isger most openly promote diabolism, other nations have official churches of Asmodeus at the very least. There is more to Hell than just the Prince of Law and the Archdevils  have many worshipers of their own. We look this week at Belial. Known as the Pale Kiss, Thorned Caress, Father of Whores, Duke of Many Forms, and the Lord of the Fourth; Belial is the Archdevil of Adultery, Deception, and Desire. He is also the one who forges the souls that flood into Hell into devils to fill the ranks of the diabolic army.

As always, let us imagine we are sitting at our theoretical gaming table. Our imaginary GM sets out the rules for the game we will play. In this game, we are to make a follower of Belial. The character does not need to be a divine caster, just a devotee of the Archdevil. What character do you make?

For more information on Belial

Belial’s Pathfinder Wiki Page 

Belial’s Archives of Nethys Page 

The Forged

Belial oversees the fourth level of Hell, Phlegeton. It is in this realm where the Archdevil oversees the soul forges, which temper the souls of the damned into true devils. Like their patron, The Forged seek to temper their souls before they reach the realm of Belial. They believe that in doing so they will be forged into more powerful devils to fight in the armies of Hell.

The Forged are a monastic order who mix martial arts with divine power from the Lord of the Fourth. They live by strict rules to better prepare themselves for the absolute order of Hell. Although the sect only contains between half a dozen and a dozen members at a time, they are each highly trained warpriests. They will occasionally work with both the royal Chelaxian army and the Hellknights if they find the goal fits into their lord’s agenda.

The House of the Gruff

The sign above the door is a placard with a fiendish looking goat on it. The House of the Gruff is one of the premiere houses of ill repute in all of Egorian. Whereas in other countries Calistria’s follower will master the flesh trade, in the land of devils it is Belial’s chosen who oversee such things. To the Calsitrians selling sex is just a means to spread pleasure, to the Father of Whores it is a means to corrupt more souls.

The House of the Gruff specializes in some of the most bizarre carnal acts. Once someone has tasted of their basic amenities the master of the house tempts them with more peculiar pleasures. When the returning patron can no longer find pleasure without performing the most depraved acts then the House buys his soul for their patron. Each member of the House of the Gruff is a skilled tempter. Once the forbidden fruit is tasted it can never be uneaten.

The Forbidden Kiss

Although Belial’s worship is most prominent among the diabolists of Cheliax, it is not the only place that his followers call home. The decadent aristocracy of Taldor is the perfect breeding ground for the lusts that the devil known as The Pale Kiss peddles. It is here that his minions, The Forbidden Kiss, work their wiles on the rich and powerful—those who have more money and time on their hands than sense.

The Forbidden Kiss uses blackmail to their advantage to gain control of politics by proxy. They tempt politicians, aristocrats, merchant lords, and nobility alike with the pleasures of flesh. Once they’ve cheated on their loved ones, the sect moves in to hold that knowledge against them. Belial looks to recreate Taldor in the image of Cheliax but under his own guidance rather than that of Asmodeus.

The Duke of Many Forms and Father of Whores has followers who are just as passionate as he is. Who is your follower of Belial? Why have they chosen to dedicate themselves to the Lord of the Fourth? Where does their devotion come from? Let me know in the comments.

If the CRB has inspired your next character please consider showing support and become one of my patrons by donating to my Patreon. Looking for more out of the CRB? Then you’re in luck! Google +, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook all have a CRB presence. And if you’re as impatient as I am, have the CRB pushed directly to your Kindle with every new post by signing up for Kindle Subscriptions.

The Devil You Know

Using Creatures From the Lower Planes

We have once again come upon my favorite season of the year, Halloween. Although I’m not a huge horror movie fan, the topic always comes up with my friends this time of year. I’m often reminded of dealings with the underworld during these conversations. Whether it is making a pact with a devil or unleashing the destructive power of a demon – accidently or not – the power of the hordes of the lower planes are nothing to be trifled with. So today I’d like to talk a little bit about these creatures of pure evil and their followers or, maybe better, patsies.

When looking at creatures of the lower planes we have quite a few to choose from. There are those who are specific to one of the bastions of evil and a few who can exist on more than one of the planes. The creatures that are specific to one of these planes are quite literally made up of the matter of these planes. They are evil souls in physical form. One of the reasons they cannot be raised when killed outside, except by wish or true resurrection, is because their body is their soul, so once destroyed there is no soul to recover for resurrection.

On each plane one type of creature rules supreme. Hell has its devils, Abbadon belongs to the daemons, and The Abyss writhes with hordes of demons. How do these creatures differ? When using these infernal and demonic creatures we need to determine motivation.

Devils, although hateful, need humanity. The Archdevil’s only wish is to corrupt the souls of mortals into a reflection of their own. Souls will eventually make their way to Hell, but if you create a hell on earth – orderly and corrupt – then the volume of souls that eventually make it to the plane of the devils will increase.

Demons and Daemons have the same goal although two different reasons for seeking it. Both sets of creatures look for nothing but the total annihilation of not just the world but the multiverse. The Daemons are more nihilists. These creatures have no passion, they just want things to end because they see no point in existence at all. Demons, however, are passion out of control, they glee in the destruction they cause on their way to their goal.

Outside of set up encounters as enemies, how can we use these purely evil beings in our games? Temptation. Temptation is probably the greatest tool for any of these beings. Devils as a whole are probably preeminent tempters, but that doesn’t mean that Deamons and Demons can’t be as well. Although the most common of these are made up of too much rage or spite to do well, the more powerful creatures of Abbadon – Deamon Harbingers – and The Abyss – Demon Lords  – understand how to use mortals to further their own causes.

When is the right time to put temptation on the path of your players? The right time is in those moments when the right way, the moral way, to solve a problem is the most difficult. The path to hell is paved with good intentions. Even if the goal of the actions is something good, accepting the help of an evil outsider, going the easy way because the right way is hard is the quickest path to corruption.

Beware of beings that don’t ask for immediate recompense for their assistance. Like a drug dealer, these creatures of personified evil will let you have a little taste before reeling you in. Even demons can use guile and the Demon Lord Shax is known to come in under the radar before devouring the souls of those who follow him.

Sometimes the slip up in making moral decisions isn’t on the heads of the party. You can force the players to think of their own morality though by giving them NPCs who have turned to dark powers for what may have originally been good reason. A mother who lost a child and in her grief was promised his resurrection by a dark power is one of many possible villains a player might meet. Encounters like this can show the players what may happen to them if they take the easy path, while pushing their own morality in the questions of whether to kill or console the grieving mother.

Whether you physically put these vile evil outsiders against your players, or have them face cultists or other corrupted souls, these creatures can be of great use to your game. Although pushing your players to fall or follow the path of evil at every turn can be overkill, judicious applications of temptation can work wonders. And sometimes the players just need to be the white knights vanquishing true evil.

Have you used evil outsiders in your games recently? How have you presented them to your players? What have your players reactions been? Have you used them in more than just toe-to-toe combat?

Has the CRB spawned some ideas for a devilishly good time? If so consider becoming a patron, and help support me in my endeavor to make this a full time gig. You can contribute to my Patreon or directly to paypal. The CRB has spread across the far reaches of social media, and you can become apart of the community of Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, and Twitter. My inbox is open on all platforms for questions and comments.