Hey, there! Luis, here! I wanted to take a bit of time and do something different with Monstrous Physique. One thing I’ve learned over the years with designing monsters is that there are a variety of ways to stat up a given monsters, even when working with the same core idea. For example, my take on Mario, let’s say, might be different then another designer’s take on the same character. Even though we both start with the same idea, we might end up with something radically different.
With that idea at the core, I wanted to start a new series within Monstrous Physique that explored the creativity of various authors and shared their creations with the world. I gathered three authors together and gave them a prompt in the form of a cool image of a monster and let them go to town. Other than the image, I only asked that they stat up the monster in Pathfinder Second Edition. The rest was up to them. They were to work on their own and create their take on the monster, which I get to share with you today. Each of these monsters has unique abilities and flavors and are open for anyone to grab for their games! So, how did things turn out? Let’s take a look!
First, here is the image that was used as the prompt.
And now our three monsters!
Ash Titan by Cody Garret Wells
Ash Titan Creature 10
Rare, NE, Gargantuan, Fire, Skeleton, Titan, Undead
Perception +18; low-light vision
Languages Common, Daemonic, Ignan
Skills Acrobatics +25, Athletics +16, Intimidation +23
Str +7, Dex +0, Con +5, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +0
AC 31; Fort +23, Ref +16, Will +18
HP 175, negative healing; Immunities death effects, disease, fire, paralyzed, poison, unconscious; Resistances electricity 5, piercing 5, slashing 5; Weaknesses cold 10
Impossible Stature (aura, divine, illusion, mental) 100 feet. Titans warp perception and distance around them to seem even larger and more imposing. A creature that enters or begins its turn within the emanation must succeed at a DC 28 Will save or its movement toward the titan is movement over difficult terrain (greater difficult terrain on a critical failure) for 1 round.
Attack of Opportunity [reaction] The titan can use their Attack of Opportunity when a creature within their reach uses a concentrate action, in additional to its normal trigger. They disrupt actions on any hit, not just a critical hit— including triggering concentrate actions.
Speed 25 feet, fly 25 feet
Melee [one-action] fist +23 (agile, reach 10 feet), Damage 2d8+13 bludgeoning plus 1d6 fire and Grab
Ranged [one-action] rock +23 (brutal, range increment 120 feet) Damage 2d8+13 bludgeoning, plus 1d6 fire
Burn Alive [one-action] (fire) The titan squeezes a creature it has grabbed crushing, and burning the victim. The target takes 2d8+13 bludgeoning damage and 1d8 persistent fire damage.
This wretched creature was once a mighty Titan that was cast down for its rebellion against the gods. Raised in service to Urgathoa, these rare Ash Titans mainly reside in Abaddon. There is a dark ritual known only to the vilest necromancers to raise these monstrosities to the material plane, involving burning down a large settlement with many residents trapped within their homes. Though still terrible in might and form, Ash Titans are but a shadow of their former living selves.
I’m a father of four, married to my best friend and actively working on becoming a full-time writer and stay at home dad. I am a freelance writer in the TTRPG scene, I’m writing a fantasy fiction novel and working with other creatives on several TTRPG projects. Follow Cody on Twitter @CodyGarretWells and visit his website at codygarretwells.com.
Fallen Peri by Dave Nelson
Fallen Peri Creature 13
CE, Huge, Fire, Undead
Perception +23; darkvision
Languages Celestial, Common, Necril
Skills Athletics +25, Religion +24
Str +8, Dex +4, Con +6, Int +1, Wis +0, Cha –1
AC 33; Fort +26, Ref +23, Will +20
HP 290, fast healing 5, negative healing; Immunities death effects, disease, fire, mental, paralyzed, poison, unconscious; Weaknesses good 10, positive 10
Shadowed Blaze (aura, evocation, fire, necromancy) 10 feet, 5d6 fire damage (DC 29 basic Reflex)
Speed 25 feet, fly 30 feet
Melee [one-action] burning claw +27 (agile, fire), Damage 3d10+11 bludgeoning plus 2 persistent fire and Grab
Ranged [one-action] ashen wing +25 (fire, range increment 120 feet) Damage 3d12+7 fire
Drag Below [one-action] Requirements The fallen peri’s last action was a successful Grab; Effect The fallen peri pulls the grabbed creature into the fiery surface from which it emerged, dealing 7d6 fire damage (DC 29 basic Fortitude save).
Swirling Ash [two-action] The fallen peri swipes its wings in a wide circle, dealing 12d6 fire damage in a 15-foot emanation (DC 29 basic Reflex save). On a failure, targets are also blinded for 1 round. The fallen peri can’t use Swirling Ash again for 1d4 rounds.
The flaming celestials known as peri have often grappled with their darker impulses compared to their other heavenly cousins. When a peri who has cast off the values of heaven dies, an undead monstrosity known as a fallen peri rises from the same place, bound to the depths of the Abyss through a burning chasm on the ground.
Dave Nelson is a Paizo freelancer with multiple credits and a fascination with all things gaming. You can find him talking about games, writing, and cats @davicthegrey on Twitter.
Obsidian Gravewalker by Jessica Redekop
Obsidian Gravewalker Creature 13
Uncommon, NE, Gargantuan, Elemental, Fire, Undead
Perception +23; darkvision, smoke vision
Languages Common, Ignan, Necril
Skills Acrobatics +22, Athletics +27, Fire Plane Lore +23, Intimidation +21, Volcano Lore +23
Str +8, Dex +3, Con +5, Int +4, Wis +2, Cha +2
AC 35; Fort +26, Ref +22, Will +21
HP 275, negative healing; Immunities death effects, disease, fire, paralyzed, poison, unconscious; Resistances piercing 15, slashing 15; Weaknesses cold 15
Ash Cloud [reaction] Trigger The obsidian gravewalker is dealt damage; Effect Ash and charcoal are knocked away from the obsidian gravewalker’s bones, creating a cloud of smoke in a 15-foot burst centered on the obsidian gravewalker. All creatures within that area are concealed, and all others are concealed to them. This concealment lasts for 1 minute or until it is dispersed by a strong wind.
Volcanic Aura (aura, conjuration, fire, primal) 25 feet. An obsidian gravewalker radiates heat. A creature that starts their turn in the area must succeed at a DC 33 Fortitude save or become fatigued while they remain in the area. Creatures immune to environmental heat effects or with any fire resistance are immune.
Speed 40 feet, fly 60 feet
Melee [one-action] claw +27 (reach 20 feet), Damage 3d10+12 slashing plus 3d6 fire
Melee [one-action] wing +27 (agile, reach 15 feet) Damage 3d10+12 bludgeoning
Primal Innate Spells DC 31, attack +21; cantrips (6th) produce flame
Eruption [three-actions] (evocation, fire, primal) The obsidian gravewalker cracks the earth, summoning a volcano that immediately erupts and spills magma out across the battlefield. Choose one unoccupied 5-foot space the obsidian grawewalker can see. The ground of the chosen space crumbles, creating a volcanic crater with a central vent open to the earth’s outer core. The eruption expands by 10 feet in every direction each subsequent round at the beginning of the obsidian gravewalker’s turn. Any creature that crosses the magma or is occupying the eruption’s area at the start of its turn takes 8d6 fire damage. Cold effects that target an area cool the lava in the affected area, creating difficult terrain, and halt the eruption’s spread if the affected area includes the edge of the eruption’s area. The eruption area expands for 10 rounds.
Molten Core [two-actions] (evocation, fire, primal) Magma erupts from within the obsidian gravewalker, spilling out from its mouth and chest, dealing 8d6 fire damage and 8d6 bludgeoning damage in a 30-foot cone (DC 33 basic Reflex save). The obsidian gravewalker can’t use Molten Core again for 1d4 rounds.
Obsidian gravewalkers are massive skeletons with volcanic glass for bones and liquid molten cores suspended within their chests. They are created when necrotic energy leaks into the Plane of Fire from the Negative Energy Plane, crawling out of corrupted volcanoes.
Jessica Redekop is a freelance illustrator and game designer, working for Paizo, Lost Spheres Publishing, and Storm Bunny Studios. She loves cats, gaming, and Planescape, and can be found on Instagram @tectonomancer or Twitter @tectonomancer.
And that’s our monsters! I hope you enjoyed both checking out these monsters and appreciating the different takes on the monster design here. If you’re interested in contributing to Summoned Monsters or have a prompt for a future article, please drop me a line at KnowDirection@hotmail.com or reach out to me via Know Direction’s Discord!
