User:ThunderGod Cid/Revised Monsters

Shade
"It's not the dark we fear. It's the things that lurk within."

''A humanoid figure steps—with what seems to be great reluctance—into the light, which is absorbed by its pitch black form. It has no face, seemingly no defining features at all, but still braves the light to jump at you with undoubtedly deadly intentions.''

Shadows as the exist in the SRD are a problematic creature. They don’t make a terrible amount of sense as undead, given that they are really just bunches of shadowstuff given form. More applicably, incorporeal undead at low Challenge Ratings before players have access to the appropriate gear/abilities for fighting them can result in nasty TKO’s that are not fun for a game.

So we changed the shadow significantly, and not just by giving it a new name. For one, it’s no longer an undead, but rather an aberration. While an alien and malleable creature, it’s very much alive.

Combat
Using these abilities takes the same action that it required for the original source.

 (Ex): A shade can become one with the shadows cast by other creatures, becoming undetectable and unable to interact with their surroundings, attack, or be attacked.

 (Ex): A shadow can partially change the structure of its body, changing from its default size of Medium to Small or Large size (and gaining all benefits and drawbacks thereof)

LA +0 Psionic Illithid
Although it looks like something straight out of a Lovecraftian horror novel, the illithid has become one of the defining monsters in the D&D game. Sadly, the stupidly high amount of strong abilities granted make it inaccessible to the PC's in its current form, not to mention a possible TKO anytime one (let alone a group) is encountered.

Worst of all, though, the illithid was made before D&D came out with their psionics system (which, to their credit, is not awful). So this is the illithid/mind flayer that actually uses psionics, the way it was meant to be.

Racial Traits
Racial Ability Adjustments::None
 * Type::Aberration (Subtype::Psionic): Although they were once humanoids before becoming infested with creepy tadpoles, their unique method of procreation has made the illithid completely alien creatures.
 * Illithid base land speed is 30 feet.
 * Daylight Sensitivity: While in brightly lit surroundings (such as a daylight spell), an illithid suffers a -2 penalty to attack rolls and precision-based skill checks.
 * Latent Power (Ps): An illithid can manifest a single power, mind thrust, and has a power point pool of 2 points for the purposes of doing so. The standard illithid uses this power as a 1st level manifester even if he has no levels in a manifesting class, although additional levels in a manifesting class can increase this. This also allows the illithid to qualify for psionic feats and use psionic items.
 * Mind Flayer: The illithid’s colloquial moniker comes from its tendency to devour other peoples’ brains with its tentacles. If the illithid succeeds on a coup de grace with an unarmed attack, it may use the four tentacles around its mouth to remove the victim’s brain and devour it.
 * Mind Meld: An illithid can communicate telepathically with any creature with which it currently has physical contact.
 * +4 bonus on Psicraft checks
 * Automatic Languages: Undercommon.
 * Bonus Languages: Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Githyanki, Githzerai, Infernal.
 * Favored Class: Psion
 * Level Adjustment: +Level Adjustment::0
 * Effective Character Level: Effective Character Level::1
 * Level Adjustment: +Level Adjustment::0
 * Effective Character Level: Effective Character Level::1

Ulitharid (Racial Paragon Class)
1 - Telepathy, Tentacles, +1 manifester level

2 - Consume, +1 manifester level

3 -

4

5 -


 * Telepathy: Out to 10 (or more?) feet per character level
 * Tentacles: Tentacle attack(s) that deal 1d4 damage at Medium size (should these be prehensile? It makes for interesting warrior options if they could wield light weapons or at least be used in conjunction with regular weapons)
 * Consume: Take memories from brains of creatures eaten, gain temporary skill bonuses +1 per character level of the ulitharid or CR of eaten creature

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Umber Hulk
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 (Ps): An umber hulk is bred to obey the commands of psionically gifted creatures, most commonly the mind flayers who use it as a proxy for themselves in melee combat. When the umber hulk is psionically focused, a creature with telepathy can attempt to take control of it by concentrating and making a Concentration check (with a DC equal to 15 + the CR of the umber hulk). For each additional umber hulk the telepath is attempting to control in this fashion, the DC increases by 2.

While an umber hulk is controlled, it continues to fight even after it should be deceased. Once the creature is considered dead (whether by death effects or hp loss), any further attacks or effects that affect the umber hulk force it to make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ the attacker’s HD + their relevant ability modifier based on the attack or effect used) or have the psionic link between the umber hulk and its controller severed, effectively killing it.

 (Ex): When it breaks its psionic focus, the umber hulk gains a +2 bonus to attack rolls. If the umber hulk makes a successful slam attack while in this state, the creature struck must make a Fortitude save (DC 12 + Strength modifier) or be confused for 1 round.

 (Ps): When the umber hulk enters a psionic focus, it may spend an additional swift action to gain fast healing equal to its Challenge Rating (4 by default) until the focus is broken.

 (Ps): While it is psionically focused, any targeted psionic power directed at the umber hulk does not affect it. Instead, the psychic energy explodes outwards, dealing 1d6 points of damage per two manifester levels of the source of the power to all enemies within 30 feet.

Ragewalker
"Mortals have a saying: ‘Fight fire with fire.’ So too must steel be countered with steel."

''Wading through the field of battle is a figure encased from head to toe in form-fitting metal plates. Peering inside the helmet of the armor reveals nothing more than a black void punctuated by two sickly green pinpoints of light. Surrounding it is a cloud of weapons, some mundane and used into disrepair (obviously taken from fallen soldiers) and some so grand they could be fit for a king. All of them are floating seemingly independent of the figure itself while constantly flying to its defense and cutting down men of both sides indiscriminately. As the armored menace slowly but surely closes the distance to you, dozens are cut down without landing a single attack on it.''

Mother nature must have a cruel sense of humor, otherwise the ragewalkers would not exist. Representations of the violence committed by artificial civilizations, these fey spawn on battlefields rife with hatred and anger and use manufactured weapons to slay their former owners. Allowing these weapons to float free around it for a dual offensive and defensive threat, the ragewalker “wields” them with such uncanny ability that they seem to have a will of their own.

According to scholars, ragewalkers seek to preserve the sanctity of nature by killing anything capable of making the tools of war. Given their purely violent nature, it is theorized that once that purpose is upheld the ragewalkers would—in effect—die and return to the earth from whence they came. Thus they are driven to perform their grisly work, hating their existence and the vices that caused them to come into being.

Despite an obvious intelligence as demonstrated by their tactical acumen, ragewalkers don't speak, and those who know of them debate whether they can even understand speech. Such a blunt instrument doesn't require words, and cannot be reasoned with, only killing the violent offenders and then vanishing.

Combat
A ragewalker tends not to discriminate between levels of or reasoning behind violence, with the sole exception being predation by animals and the like. While most often frequenting battlefields, it may one day inadvertently defend the helpless from their persecutors and the next slay some unwitting band of do-gooders. Whoever the foe, the ragewalker’s response is sudden and lethal force. Although it can teleport extreme distances to seek out targets, it tends to avoid plunging into the middle of an urban center where it cannot take advantage of a chaotic environment, another reason it favors battlefields instead of solo efforts against overwhelming odds.

Ragewalker fights with the numerous weapons that surround its form; they act as offense and defense, and due to their ability to attack remotely the ragewalker is rarely in any real danger against most opponents. It adds its Dexterity modifier to attack and damage rolls, which is factored into its stat block.

 (Su): A ragewalker seeks out combat with a twisted relish, believing any who partake in it to be a scourge that must be wiped from the world regardless of their intent or ability. A ragewalker can detect any creatures participating in a violent act (usually participating in a combat encounter, although the precise interpretation is left to the DM’s discretion) within ten miles of its present location and, as an immediate action, instantly teleport to that location. Once the ragewalker appears, it must take a moment to recollect itself and is dazed for one round. The ragewalker may only use this teleportation ability if it is not presently in combat, and once used the teleportation effect is not useable again for a period of 8 hours.



 (Ex): Attempting to slay a ragewalker with a manufactured weapon is practically futile. If attacked with a non-natural weapon, the ragewalker may take an immediate action and force the attacker to make a Fortitude save (DC ??). On a failed save, the attack is negated and the would-be aggressor is pushed away as though by a repel metal or stone spell. If it wishes, the ragewalker may take a standard action to target any creature within the normal range of the spell that is either wielding such a weapon or made of metal or stone, forcing them to save or be repelled in the same fashion.

Alternatively, the ragewalker may take an immediate action to force the attacker to save (also a Fortitude save with the same DC) or be disarmed, the enemy’s weapon added to the cloud surrounding the ragewalker. Creatures with magical weapons gain a bonus on this save equal to the numerical value of the enhancement bonuses on the weapon.

When attacking a construct or an opponent carrying manufactured weapons, armor, or magical items, a ragewalker gains a circumstance bonus to attack and damage rolls equal to its Challenge Rating (+14 by default), allowing it to compensate for its poor Base Attack Bonus.

 (Ex): A ragewalker is surrounded by a cloud of floating weapons that can attack in unison or independently of each other, manifesting itself as one of the three following combat abilities:


 * Rampage of Earth: As long as it is using this function, the ragewalker gains four particular simple or martial melee weapons (which ones it possesses are essentially up to the DM) that are constantly considered to have the dancing enhancement, in addition to the two kusari-gama referenced in its stat block. Regardless of the weapons used, the ragewalker has 10 feet of reach with them. As a standard action, the ragewalker may make a single melee attack with each of these weapons, and it is also allowed a single attack with each weapon on any attack of opportunity it makes while using this ability.


 * Storm of Wind: Firstly, it permanently gains all the benefits of a blade barrier spell (dealing 14d6 points of damage) within its melee reach, with the following addition: if the ragewalker wishes, it may expand the barrier to double its melee reach (20 feet), halving the damage dealt (to 7d6). The save for this effect is Dexterity-based and has a DC of 26.


 * If the ragewalker in grappling an opponent, it deals maximum damage to the target each turn with this ability based on the dimensions of the barrier. Secondly, the cloud automatically deflects any targeted spells unless the caster is in touch range and deflects any non-magical projectile weapons automatically.


 * Baptism of Fire: Once per round, as a free action, the ragewalker may direct all the weapons to a single target within Medium Range (240 feet), dealing 2 points of damage per Challenge Rating of the ragewalker (28 by default) multiplied by a value corresponding with the size category of the victim (with Fine as 1, Diminutive = 2, Small = 3, Medium = 4, and so on) as they are assaulted by the weapon cloud. The target of this attack must also make a Fortitude save (DC 17 + the size-based value) or be stunned for 1 round. Using this function suppresses all other uses of Earth, Wind, & Fire until the start of the ragewalker’s next turn.

Changing which version of the ability is in use is a free action useable by the ragewalker at the beginning of its turn. The ragewalker may also suppress this ability at its own whim, causing the weapons to become magnetically attached to it until called upon.

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