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Showing posts from July, 2020

Corpse Colonist

The corpse colonist is a creature caught somewhere between a venomous spider and a hermit crab that makes its home in a humanoid cadaver. Yellow, segmented eyes and dripping fangs hide under a cadaver's rotting ribcage. Its long, front limbs of gut-purple chitin keep its zombified shell from toppling over as it shambles along. Its back half is stunted and horseshoe-shaped. Under the corpse colonist's carapace, a collection of tiny, barbed legs dig deep into the putrid meat, wrap around the stiff's spine, and utilizes that connection to pilot the body like a puppeteer pulls on strings. Lastly, the anathema's spinneret extends up through the corpse's throat so its webs shoot from the cadaver's mouth. Ambush Predator. The corpse colonist prefers to avoid a direct confrontation with its prey if it can. After finding an appropriate body to nest in the monstrosity lays in wait on battlefields, in cemeteries, or amid undead hordes. Whenever a victim gets close enou

Bainsti

Built around a banshee's unhallowed skull, baintsi are thankfully rare construct due to the rarity of this prime ingredient. Encased in enchanted crystal, the skull sits where the face would be in the foul bust. The profane brass construction has sculpted hair running down the back of the enclosure and pointed ears jutting from the locks. That statue's shoulders are dotted with honeycomb patterns, each with a polished onyx fixed inside. Below the shoulders, the baintsi is nothing more than a brazen urn containing dirt from its disturbed grave. A halo of crimson lightning floats above its head with regular rivulets of electricity cascading down its casing. Wailing Ward. Dark fey and elven necromancers have methods to divine where the corpse a banshee rose from lays but obtaining the accursed craniums is a different matter entirely. Even then, the crofter has to tightly bind the unholy energies saturating the corpse to both empower the baintsi and focus its undying hatred wh

Rattling Skeleton/Skeletal Conductor

Galvanically powered and piecemeal, the rattling skeleton lurches toward its victim with uneven steps as lances of crimson lighting lick nearby surfaces. The undead's body is constructed by mismatched bones from a handful of corpses with sigil-etched manacles floating around its wrists. Long chains snake away from the skeleton's shackles, writhing on waves of electrical fury. Gothic Instrument. Each rattling skeleton is tuned by its creator to fit a particular eerie chord. Thus when assembled, a clutch of the crackling corpses creates a grisly song that can rout an enemy formation before the battle even really begins. As skeletons fall the song becomes a discordant, uneasy mess that grates on the nerves just as much, if not more so, than the initial tune. Skeletal Conductor. Every orchestra needs a leader, even one as morbid as an ensemble of rattling skeletons. A rattling conductor appears much like its fellows, save its bones are fused to a lattice of accursed chains. Wh

Headstone Puppet

A collection of broken statuary heads rests on the shoulders of this hulking automaton. The rest of the headstone puppet's bipedal body is comprised of moss, shattered grave markers, and withered wood cobbled together by sticky clumps of crimson ichors and direfly honeycombs. Its crude hands grasp a poor imitation of a gravedigger's shovel with a sharp, but rusted edge. Sinister Sentry. Headstone Puppets are constructed by animus artisans at the behest of the Prince of Omens, Beloved by Banshees and members of that archfey's court. Those at follow the waning prince of thunder often claim cemeteries and sepulchers on material planes as their domains and their drunken revelries rapidly wreck the place. It is from these unhallowed debris, headstone puppets arise. Part roaming guard, part cleaning crew the construct wanders the fey-usurped domain keeping it clear of trash and trespassers alike. Headstone Puppet large construct, unaligned A

Mortuary Scamp

While just around two-feet tall, the mortuary scamp can frighten foes many times its height. In fact, the mottled fey works very hard to drive its foes into a panic. Its eyes are reflective, like cats, and its skin is a scaley grey. Pointed ears flank its thin, bald head. Whenever the scamp grins it is out of malice and full of needle-teeth. The grim gremlin wears cloaks made from grave shroud tatters and the occasional burial ensemble stolen from a child's corpse. Bump in the Night. Mortuary scamps stalk all manner of abandoned places of the dead from cemeteries to necropolises. These fey are drawn to such loci of sorrow and enjoy terrorizing and killing those foolish enough to poke around. They vandalize crypts and graves to gather trinkets and clothing for themselves, often forming mock courts following the style of those in the feywild. If too much time passes without mortals to terrorize, the mortuary scamps will strike out at nearby villages and other habitations with

Fighter Archetype: Grim Gallant

It is not uncommon for a fighter to have more than a few brushes with death. Through the course of battle, they succumb to their wounds and lay on the doorstep of oblivion for breaths which feel like an eternity. Other times they hold a dying comrade as the light goes out in their eyes and the world comes to a standstill. In these critical moments, some warriors make contact with one of many psychopomps who ferry souls to the lands of the dead. While the fighter doesn't remember the meeting clearly they find themselves able to call upon the powers of these grim reapers and the pathways of death. With concentration, they animate weapons and armor with ghostly power and use them send more souls to their reward. Fetters When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain the ability to pull on the energies of death to animate some objects, called fetters, to aid you for a short time. The more lives you reap during this period the longer the objects will remain animated. As a bo

Artificer Specialization: Stitcher

Stitchers delve into the biomechanics of undeath to produce a variety of useful, if gory, devices. These eerie weavers then graft their abominable creations directly to their bodies, and eventually others. Due to the stitcher's intense study of death they develop a variety of magical concoctions that produce a fair imitation of the necromantic arts. Many artificers of this ilk hail from medical professions whose study of corpses blossomed into a full-on obsession. Some are failed necromancers who turned to a different method to appease their madness. A minority of stitchers seek to understand their bitter enemies spawned from unhallowed crypts and bat-swathed castles. No matter their origins these artificers know that most folks will consider them an anathema. Tool Proficiency. When you adopt this specialization at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in weaving tools. If you already have this proficiency, you gain proficiency in one other type with one other type of artisan's

Sorcerous Origin: Ghoulish Bloodline

In your lineage lurks a trace of undead corruption born in collapsed graveyards and charnel houses. With the ghoulish blood comes a taste for humanoid flesh, especially if its had a few days to rot in a damp casket. Generally, ghoulish families are insular clans. Some hide at the edge of civilization such as necropolis dwellers or swamp folk. In an urban environment, they walk beside the unwitting as funeral home owners or an aloof noble lines. While cannibalism is an inherently vile act, a ghoulish sorcerer is not always an evil soul. Many use their undead adjacent nature to hunt the true children of the night. They are scavenger, after all, not predators. Ghoulish Mein At first 1st level, you gain resistance to necrotic damage due to your unnatural heritage. In addition, your mind is resilient to shock and you gain Advantage on saving throws against fear-based effects. Lastly, you gain a Bite melee weapon attack that has the finesse trait and deals 1d4 piercing damage. Enervatio

Warlock Patron: The Embalmed

You have made a pact with an ancient mummy that while forever entombed beneath sun-scorched sand or impenetrable jungle, can reach out from its sepulcher to influence the living. Perhaps the undead horror was once a powerful sorcerer-king, high priestess of an extinct civilization, or the last remnant of a lost, terrible race. Its agenda and goals match a forgotten age and the mummy's capricious whims. Often the warlock is tasked with recovering artifacts tied to the sarcophagus-trapped horror or its civilization. Some mummies seek to futilely seek to be released from their prison, while others just want to be remembered as a figure of glory and power. Expanded Spell List The Embalmed lets you choose from an expanded list of Spells when you learn a Warlock spell. The following Spells are added to Warlock spells list for you. 1st - Inflict Wounds, Ray of Sickness 2nd - Animal Messenger, Dust Devil 3rd - Bestow Curse, Vampiric Touch 4th - Giant Insect, Phantasmal Killer

Monastic Tradition: Way of the Fallow Harvest

Monks who study the way of the fallow harvest focus on disrupting their opponent's ki by studying the natural abilities of undead and necromantic scriptures. With these techniques, they not only ruin a foes' health but their connection to the living world as well. This dual destruction makes it easier for the monk to strike down all that oppose them. As they progress, practitioners of this brutal art learn how to harvest the negative energies bleeding from their victims to augment their bodies and souls. Baleful Arts Starting at 3rd level, you use your ki to duplicate the effect of certain spells using your ki saving throw. As an action, you can spend 2 ki points to case hex, ray of enfeeblement or ray of sickness , without providing material components. However, ray of enfeeblement and ray of sickness have a reach of 5ft and require a melee spell attack roll instead of a ranged spell attack. Additionally, you gain the chill touch cantrip if you do not already have it