When I was younger, I used to imagine monsters running alongside the car. I decided to make stats (and a little sketch!) for them. 

The lore text on this page reads:

RUNALONGS

A runalong is a mysterious, smoky creature that travels beside carts, ships, and other moving vehicles, Most are entirely indifferent to those they travel beside, they just happen to be using the same path. Others actively pursue caravans and ships, either to hunt the passengers or purely ‘out of interest in examining the vehicle.

Bizarre Sightings. Runalongs are all but invisible to most people. They appear as slight shifts in the air, like a gust of sea wind beside a ship. Only a few select creatures can see the true form of a Runalong:

Children can see runalongs, until about a year before they each their race’s maturity.

Small and tiny beasts, like cats and mice, can see Runalongs.

Adult humanoids with a level of exhaustion of more can see runalongs.

Many Forms. A runalong doesn’t have an immutable form. There are three main types of runalongs: Land, Avian, and Aquatic. At the end of a Long Rest, it can transform into another form if it so chooses.

Land form runatongs tend to look like large, wolf-like or catlike creatures. Sometimes, they appear as horse-like or humanoid-like creatures. They are fast, skilled jumpers, and persistent in their chase. These runalongs can be sighted following carriages, wagons, carts, and other land vehicles.

Avian runalongs tend to look like large. eagle-like or wyvern-like creatures. They are more looming, likely to be seen from a distance. These runabongs can be sighted almost anywhere.

Aquatic runalongs tend to look like large. serpent-like or fish-like creatures. They leap from the water to track or investigate their quarry. These runalongs can be sighted beside boats, whether traversing small rivers or in the open ocean.

Uncertain Origins. Adult humanoids can’t see runalongs, so they’re most often regarded as a myth rather than a real monster. They’re written off as figments of children’s imagination. Even the few adults who believe in them have difficulty researching them or obtaining evidence of them. This mysterious nature means that no one knows their exact origins.

as dungeon master i have put a 140 percent tariff on characters with a tortured past who watched their parents die when a certain monster raided their village and now theyre out for revenge

Justin O'Neal

When writing always remember… a character flaw is only a flaw until becomes useful. 

Is your protagonist manipulative? Well that’s awful… until they manipulate the antagonist into making a decision that saves the lives of their friends. 

Is your protagonist a skeptic? Well that’s not good… until someone tries to lie to them. 

Is your protagonist overprotective? That sucks… until someone they love is in danger. 

Is your protagonist remorseless? Well that makes them pretty unlikeable… until a hard decision has to be made. 

The flipside is also true!

Your protagonist is honest? That’s good… until their survival depends on them being able to lie convincingly.

Your protagonist is brave? That’s good… until they foolishly run headlong into danger without a thought for the consequences.

Your protagonist is forgiving and able to see good in everyone? That’s good… until they continually forgive someone who doesn’t deserve it, and get taken advantage of because they can’t fathom that some people just suck.

Your protagonist is funny? That’s good… until they piss off everyone around them because they don’t seem to be taking the situation seriously, and they keep avoiding dealing with their problems by hiding behind humor.

Most personality traits aren’t inherently good or bad. It’s all about context, and how far they go.

tried to make a concept for my nosferatu oc but something went terribly wrong (as always)

Fairy Wing Earrings // Ruby Dalmatian

crystal fairies

Ghost (Pathfinder Second Edition Archetype)

(art by Denny Ibnu on Artstation)

I’ve had mixed feelings about the universal archetype system of Starfinder and Pathfinder Second Edition since it’s inception. On the one hand, having archetypes be available to usually all classes makes for some interesting creativity when it comes to characters. On the other hand, it does mean the death of archetypes that are integrated with the class they are attached to. No more blood elementalist, no more mad scientist alchemist, et cetera. Sure, Starfinder gave us alternate class feature options which preserved some of the old archetype feel, but it’s definitely an end of an era.

Today’s subject, however, I have no mixed feelings about at all. I LOVE this idea, and it makes perfect sense for it to be available to all classes because every character runs the risk of becoming this in the right circumstances. I present to you, the ghost archetype!

The ghost name is not metaphorical here. This archetype is meant specifically for playing a bona fide undead ghost, an unquiet spirit, a tormented soul bound by their desires and unfinished business.

This archetype is one of a series from Second Edition’s Book of the Dead supplement, which in addition to the skeleton ancestry, provide ways to play a balanced undead character by having various abilities associated with that particular type of undead replace class feats as you level up!

Having the powers of a monstrous transformation be part of your class power set is such a good idea, and honestly reminds me a bit of the old savage species book (and also the playable undead monster classes that followed in libris mortis) from 3.5, and it’s kinda shocking that it hasn’t been implemented in more modern games before then. Certainly First Edition had the corruptions, which were fine for portraying a character struggling with their transformation, but this is a whole other beast.

Having the monstrous abilities be tied to level progression also thematically makes sense as the character grows and learns to better understand what they have become and reliably implement those powers.

Additionally, like certain spellcasting archetypes, it is possible to start at level 1 with this archetype, but of course like those you are required to officially take the dedication at 2nd level.

But we’ve gone a long time just describing this particular class of archetype and how neat it is, but we haven’t actually talked about playing as a ghost!

Stuck on the edge of the material and ethereal planes, ghost are disquiet souls that are burdened with desires and emotions, being unable and unwilling to move on, but not tangled up in the darker emotions and traumas that would give rise to other forms of incorporeal undead. Ghosts can tend to have a variety of powers (a selection of which are available in this archetype) related to what it is they want.

Most ghosts are bound to a location, unable to travel too far without losing substance, and many may struggle to be fully cognizant and realize that they are dead. Not so with these ghostly adventurers. Whether by some fluke or the nature of their determination, these spectral beings are not content to wait for the opportunity to be freed to reveal itself, and venture out into the world, albeit barely able to interact with it, and seek to free themselves from that which pains them… or perhaps refuse to move on at all, depending on the person and the nature of what holds them back.

The dedication to the ghost archetype, if you can call it that, reflects the character’s transformation into and undead being. Much like other undead archetypes, they gain the various benefits of being undead, but also are incorporeal, which has it’s advantages and disadvantages, however they also do not immediately gain the ability to pass through objects, fly, or supernatural resistances to damage from being incorporeal. Instead, those abilities are locked behind other feats, similar to how fly speed is limited for certain ancestries that by rights should already be flying. Your GM can choose to allow you to have a fly speed and phasing early, replacing those feats with ones that make them better, though you should probably keep the ghost damage resistance locked behind a feat. Additionally, when you take this archetype, you must choose a location that you are bound to (for the purposes of rejuvenation if you take that feat) and the nature of the business that binds you to the material world. It is possible to fulfill that business and pass on, but you can also choose to resist the pull of the afterlife, finding something new that needs doing or another bit of unresolved business. It’s also worth noting that these ghosts can spend 10 minutes pulling objects into the ethereal plane to make them effectively enchanted with ghost touch, able to interact with both corporeal and incorporeal friends and foes.

Many ghosts can unleash a frightful moan which chills their foes to the bone, weaponizing their anguish against foes.

Many also develop the resistances being bodiless would normally bring as well. However, doing so truly pushes them into an incorporeal state, which brings with it a somewhat more frail spirit.

Plenty further develop their powers to gain greater undead resistances, as well as gain the ability to sometimes move objects by focusing their will into their incorporeal forms, however, doing so always requires focus.

Those ghosts anchored to the ground can also learn to fly for a few moments at a time.

Others learn to properly phase through solid matter, though they must successfully approach them to do so.

Particularly powerful ghosts truly bind themselves to the location they are bound to, becoming able to rejuvenate their if destroyed as a true ghost would. In this way, only passing on or having their soul destroyed can bring a true end to these beings.

The most powerful among them are fully unrestricted by gravity and may fly wherever they wish, and do so faster than before as well.

Perhaps the most dramatic of the undead transformation archetypes, utterly lacking a body, ghost offers lots of defensive and utility abilities, as well as unique challenges. You might be a terrifying all-too-physical warrior, a spectral thief able to get in almost anywhere, or a ghostly mage bringing torment to their foes. You may not get some of the more nasty ghost abilities like possession, but this is still a fun playable option.

The fun part about this particular undead archetype is that it has a built-in personal plot hook. Resolving your final business, or rejecting that pursuit are integral parts of the character. Whether you start the campaign as a ghost or die and the gm gives you the option to use the next level up you would have had to come back, your character has business to attend to which drives them forward. Also, as a final aside, the art for this archetype is that of a ghostly dwarven warrior arising from their old clan dagger, which lays imbedded in the ground, which I think is a quite evocative image.

Despite being dead, Mikos is on borrowed time, the ghostly man must find his murderer and bring him to justice before the duskwalker that is hunting him catches up, for the spirit-hunter has no concern for justice, only that the cycle of life and death be preserved.

Ripped apart far from home by monstrous quoppopaks, beasts that glide over water on jets of pressurized water, Vokus just wants to see his remains returned home. However, he no longer has the body to see even his skull returned home. As such, he secured them as best he could on an island and made the long quest to the shore to ask someone, anyone to help him find rest.

Bound to her favorite music box, which she now carries with her, Lady Alixia of Vennesburg now wanders the world, though she will not say why, only that she is searching for someone. In truth, she seeks her elvish lover who left for unknown lands and never returned, so that she can say one last proclamation of love… to her grave if necessary.

Class Feature Friday: Wave Order (Pathfinder Second Edition Druid Order)

(art by Brett-Neufeld on DeviantArt)

The last of the currently-available elemental druidic orders, the order of the waves is naturally the order of the oceans themselves, and the element of water.

Life as we know it could not exist without water. After all, the oceans are the birthplace of the first life on earth, and water is such an important part of biological processes that it’s no surprise that the water element is associated with healing and cleansing.

However, like all elements, water has it’s violent and destructive aspects as well. Crushing waves, violent storms, mysterious depths hiding unknown dangers, or even the simple danger of drowning are all in the playbook of water as an element. Add in it’s somewhat downplayed association with the cold as well, and you can add in freezing and hypothermia as well.

Indeed, much like every element, water is capable of destruction and constructive aspects, and must be respected even as it is venerated.

Such druids of the waves might belong to ancestries able to swim and/or breathe underwater with ease, or they might be members of species that have a history as mariners, living by the sea and coming to understand it as aquatic peoples do.

Either way, they are likely to act as protectors of the ecology of the oceans, as well as potentially hiring themselves out as navigators and magical problem-solvers on vessels, guiding the winds and dealing with the hazards and creatures of the water as needed.

So with all that in mind, let’s see what they offer to players!

Due to the association between water and healing, these druids gain an affinity for treating wounds.

Futhermore, they find that shallow water does not impede them, giving them an advantage in such environments.

These druids also gain a spell to conjure a wave to ride on, allowing them to travel over rough terrain and lift themselves up at high speed.

Of course, there are also feats associated with the order, including Natural Swimmer to enhance their mobility in water, Advanced Elemental Spell to hammer foes with a wave of water, and Purifying Spell to wash away corruption and disease.

Other feats they may find useful include Order Explorer, Elemental Summons, Current Spell, Misty Transformation, Steady Spellcasting, Heart of the Kaiju, and other feats that could give them mastery in the water and on land.

This order is a natural choice if your game takes place with a lot of sea travel or aquatic dungeons, or in highly waterlogged areas, granting enhanced mobility in such areas while giving them plenty of options for turning the environment against foes. They may focus on summoned aquatic beasts or aquatic battle forms of their own, or partner up with an aquatic animal companion, or simply make full use of the debuffing and controlling side of the primal spell list. All are good options. However, outside of such aquatic environments, it might be difficult to justify playing one, both mechanically an in-universe.

While the name suggests that these druids are all found by or in the ocean, remember that water’s reach is hardly contained to it’s largest bodies. Lakes, rivers, marshes, and the like are all places where water is just as important, and can be brought to bear, and each one has it’s own cultural associations for you to take inspiration from with your character.

Kashira’s Bluff is named for the strange, inhuman hermit that lives there. While he appears mostly human-like, he has persisted for hundreds of years, a fixture of the region almost like the cliff itself. Some suspect dark magic or strange secrets of immortality, but in truth, the old man is a yaksha who has guarded the region since his formation, boasting great primal druidic power over the sea below to calm them for friendly ships and bring terrible storms upon invading armadas in kind.

The Circle of the Wild Sea has long believed that the seas should not be controlled, and those that dare to sail them should do so fearfully, at it’s mercy. As such, they’ve long campaigned against other casters joining said vessels to lend their magical aid, but recently their newest advisor, an imentesh protean, has been urging more drastic measures, ostensibly to make their chaotic vision of the sea com true, but mostly to cause as much conflict as possible.

The Black Thorn is a horrible spire of corruption, the fragment of an elder god turned dungeon that churns out horrible monsters. Making headway is hard enough, but there may be a secret way in, less guarded, in the seaside cliffs, but navigating the choppy waters will require someone who understands the waves like no other.

credit

Reblogging because everyone deserves to know the creator of this masterpiece

(The piece is called Master's Blessing btw)

Just hangin' around

Art by Jane Katsubo

Thieves Guild Shadowmarks and their meanings from Skyrim.

Psithalide Skitterling

CR 1/4 Monstrosity

Small but cunning, these agile infiltrators were shaped for espionage and sabotage. Silent as shadows and unnervingly intelligent for their size, skitterlings slip through cracks, gather secrets, and sow discord where least expected.

What would you do if one was watching you right now?

Art by Midjourney

The Centaur - painting by Annie Stegg.

Annie Stegg-Gerard, b. 1982, artist and illustrator

I contributed to lots of places in this book.