GITP Monster Competition XXXII - Game Masters

Game Masters
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You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else... - Albert Einstein

There are those who see life as nothing more or less than a great game, with winners and losers, rewards and penalties. They treat the world as their board and its inhabitants mere pawns. They may play fairly, with a code of honor, keeping to the rules set out, or they may be gamblers and cheats who are only amused so long as they win. Deal the hand or toss the ball, roll the dice and move your mice! Riddle me this! Tag, you're it! Do not pass go! Red light, green light! Do you have a sporting chance? Let the games begin!

_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/

The contest begins with the posting of this thread and will continue until Midnight of April 20th (EST).

Soon after a poll will be opened for everyone to vote for their favorite that will last until the last day of the month.

Rules

1. You will be creating an original D&D creature. A playful being with a love of games or sport in whatever way you wish to interpret. Beings of strategy and tactics or fun and tomfoolery. Riddlers and competitors.


Example
Trick-In-The-Hand


2. The entry must include name, complete stat-block, physical description, basic background information, and detailed combat behavior if any. A plot hook or similar in addition is optional but encouraged. Incomplete entries will be disqualified upon the deadline.

3. Entries must be 3.5 edition, using the standard format listed below (not that new one seen in the Monster Manual IV, except for a lore section which is encouraged).

4. Post all entries on this thread. Do not post conversation here. Any and All Comments and discussions will take place on a separate thread here (this is a link).

5. One entry per participant. No double-teaming.

6. Entries copied from some other source (splatbook, alternate website, etc) will be disqualified. All entries must be a new creation, not one already posted. Merely adding class levels or templates to an already published or posted creature does not count as a new monster.

7. No reserving posts. Feel free to post a creature and tweak it, but you have to have the basic beast already done.

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Vorpal Tribble's Guide To Making Monsters

As well, here is the standard 3.5 monster format. Only complete entries will be accepted. If there are any questions feel free to ask me or post queries in the GITP Contest Chat Thread.

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Name

<Size> <Type>
Hit Dice:
Initiative:
Speed: (# squares)
Armor Class: (), touch, flat-footed
Base Attack/Grapple:
Attack:
Full Attack:
Space/Reach:
Special Attacks:
Special Qualities:
Saves: Fort +, Ref +, Will +
Abilities: Str , Dex , Con , Int , Wis , Cha
Skills:
Feats:
Environment:
Organization:
Challenge Rating:
Treasure:
Alignment:
Advancement:
Level Adjustment:

Description/background/characteristics

Combat

Ability descriptions

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

- Optional -

Lore

Plot Hook/Story if any

"Let's be goin' then. We'll find jus' what we need inside." - Marion, a dwarven plumber on realising there were Wonups present in the cave ahead.

Wonup
Size/Type: Diminutive Construct (Incorporeal)
Hit Dice: 3d10 (16 hp)
Initiative: 0
Speed: 15 ft. (3 squares)
Armor Class: 15, touch 15, flat-footed 15 (+4 size, +1 deflection)
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/-10
Attack: slam +6 melee (1d6)
Full Attack: 2 slams +6 melee (1d6)
Space/Reach: 1 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: None
Special Qualities: Construct and Incorporeal Traits, Glamour, Follow, Checkpoint
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +3
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 11, Con —, Int 15, Wis 15, Cha 10
Skills: Spot (Wis) 6, Listen (Wis) 6, Sense Motive (Wis) 6,
Feats: 2 feats
Environment: Any
Organization: Lone
Challenge Rating: ??
Treasure: None
Alignment: Neutral Good

Wonups are small constructs created to make dungeons safer for adventurers to travel through, particularly those which are full of deep chasms and perilous jumps. These small incorporal constructs mark their position on the material plane with an illusion which shows they're beneficial (typically a small effigy of whoever happens to be looking at them). When someone indicates they wish to use them by coming in contact with them they will remove the illusion (sometimes creating another to indicate they are now following the one who touched them) and remain invisible behind the. Should this person die within the dungeon the Wonup was placed in, they will be resurrected. The wonup, having performed it's duty, breaks apart and sends a message indicating it needs to be replaced. Wonups are typically placed in dungeons by having them enter and spread around on their own, hence they may be found anywhere sufficiently hazardous. They are intelligent but have no way of communicating. In its normal form (as viewable by someone on the ethereal plane or using true seeing) it resembles a featureless metal cube, which floats a few feet in the air.

Construct and Incorporeal Traits

Spoiler

Show

Construct
A construct is an animated object or artificially constructed creature.
Traits
A construct possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature’s entry).

• No Constitution score.
• Low-light vision.
• Darkvision out to 60 feet.
• Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
• Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, and necromancy effects.
• Cannot heal damage on their own, but often can be repaired by exposing them to a certain kind of effect (see the creature’s description for details) or through the use of the Craft Construct feat. A construct with the fast healing special quality still benefits from that quality.
• Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or energy drain.
• Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless).
• Not at risk of death from massive damage. Immediately destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points or less.
• Since it was never alive, a construct cannot be raised or resurrected.
• Because its body is a mass of unliving matter, a construct is hard to destroy. It gains bonus hit points based on size, as shown on the table.
• Proficient with its natural weapons only, unless generally humanoid in form, in which case proficient with any weapon mentioned in its entry.
• Proficient with no armor.
• Constructs do not eat, sleep, or breathe.

Incorporeal
An incorporeal creature has no physical body. It can be harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, magic weapons or creatures that strike as magic weapons, and spells, spell-like abilities, or supernatural abilities. It is immune to all non-magical attack forms. Even when hit by spells or magic weapons, it has a 50% chance to ignore any damage from a corporeal source (except for positive energy, negative energy, force effects such as magic missile, or attacks made with ghost touch weapons). Although it is not a magical attack, holy water can affect incorporeal undead, but a hit with holy water has a 50% chance of not affecting an incorporeal creature.

An incorporeal creature has no natural armor bonus but has a deflection bonus equal to its Charisma bonus (always at least +1, even if the creature’s Charisma score does not normally provide a bonus).

An incorporeal creature can enter or pass through solid objects, but must remain adjacent to the object’s exterior, and so cannot pass entirely through an object whose space is larger than its own. It can sense the presence of creatures or objects within a square adjacent to its current location, but enemies have total concealment (50% miss chance) from an incorporeal creature that is inside an object. In order to see farther from the object it is in and attack normally, the incorporeal creature must emerge. An incorporeal creature inside an object has total cover, but when it attacks a creature outside the object it only has cover, so a creature outside with a readied action could strike at it as it attacks. An incorporeal creature cannot pass through a force effect.

An incorporeal creature’s attacks pass through (ignore) natural armor, armor, and shields, although deflection bonuses and force effects (such as mage armor) work normally against it. Incorporeal creatures pass through and operate in water as easily as they do in air. Incorporeal creatures cannot fall or take falling damage. Incorporeal creatures cannot make trip or grapple attacks, nor can they be tripped or grappled. In fact, they cannot take any physical action that would move or manipulate an opponent or its equipment, nor are they subject to such actions. Incorporeal creatures have no weight and do not set off traps that are triggered by weight.

An incorporeal creature moves silently and cannot be heard with Listen checks if it doesn’t wish to be. It has no Strength score, so its Dexterity modifier applies to both its melee attacks and its ranged attacks. Non-visual senses, such as scent and blindsight, are either ineffective or only partly effective with regard to incorporeal creatures. Incorporeal creatures have an innate sense of direction and can move at full speed even when they cannot see.

Glamour The Wonup may project two illusions. The first is a passive marker of its position on the material plane. This often takes the form of a small glowing figure of whoever is looking at it. They may also take the forms of other things such as items or equipment important to the viewer, food items or even (in one bazaar case) green mushrooms. The second will activate when they're touched, and indicates that they are now following the person who touched them. This may take the form of simply sparkling and disappearing, but some have been known to form a shield around the owner, make them appear bigger or even outright make them or their clothing look different.

Follow Once a creature moves into the Wonup's square, it follows the creature, floating invisibly behind them on the ethereal plane until it's needed. It will follow for a day or until it's own leaves the dungeon it's in, where-upon it will return to where it was found. Up to 255 Wonups can follow a person, but it's very unlikely anyone will come across this many.

Checkpoint If the user dies while a wonup follows them, the wonup will cast True Resurrection for them. They will be revived in front of the last door they went through (unless it was trapped, in which case they'll be revived behind it). If they died from a fall they will be revived at the point they fell from.

Combat

Wonups never fight, as they were not designed to. If they are attacked on the ethereal plane they will simply remain passive.

Lore

{TABLE=head]DC|Lore

10|This is a Wonup, a construct designed to protect adventurers in hazardous areas.
15|If you touch one it will follow you, and resurrect you if you are killed.
20|It will leave after resurrecting you once, you leave the area or 24 hours have passed.[/TABLE]

Plot Hooks

• The PCs are attacked by an assassin who has somehow obtained 255 Wonups, which for some reason do not leave him after a day has passed.
• The PCs are asked to release a group of fresh Wonups in a near by dungeon.

"In the olden days, the gods fought with armies of followers. Millions died, and often a god's entire following would be killed a single fight. Territories were lost and gained, but the world was dying. Population was slowly shrinking, and the gods realized that soon there would be no worshipers to populate the lands they had conquered. So they made a pact. From that day on, battles were fought not with brute strength, but with skill and wit."- Excerpt from "The Complete History of Divine Conflict"

Divine Brigadier

Size/Type: Large Construct (Evil, Good, Chaos, and/or Law (See Below))
Hit Dice: 8d10 (70 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 ft (6 Squares)
Armor Class: 13 (+2 Natural Armor, +2 Dex, -1 Size)
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+14
Attack: Large Greatsword +9 (3d6+4) OR Longbow +7 (2d6+2)
Full Attack: Large Greatsword +9 (3d6+4) OR Longbow +7 (2d6+2)
Space/Reach: 10 ft/5 ft
Special Attacks: None
Special Qualities: Combat Style, Construct Traits, Divine Attunement, Mindless, Ownership, Synergy
Saves: +2 Fort, +4 Ref, +3 Will
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 14, Con —, Int —, Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills: None
Feats: None
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary, Squad (2-5), Battalion (6-10), or Brigade (10-15)
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always LN

The Divine Brigadier is a standard playing piece in the new games of the gods. In lieu of millions of followers, gods now deploy these Divine Brigadiers in order to settle disputes between themselves. The majority of Divine Brigadiers are Mindless, acting at the behest of the god commanding them or a well trusted general (Usually a very powerful demigod or outsider).

All Divine Brigadiers, however, share may of the same physical characteristics. They are 10 ft. tall and composed of solid stone, roughly humanoid shape, with the specific appearance decided by the one commanding them. Despite being made of solid rock, Divine Brigadiers move with a grace and speed that puts many creatures of similar size to shame.

Combat

As beings of tatics and strategy, Divine Brigadiers almost never fight alone, lest they lose the advantages they gain by teaming up and flanking the enemy. Complex combinations of ranged attacks, flanking, and synergy make a properly deployed Battalion of Divine Brigadiers a very difficult opponent.

Combat Style: At the beginning of the Owner's turn (See below), the Owner a Divine Brigadier or a group of Divine Brigadiers chooses a Combat Style for the Divine Brigadiers to assume. The Divine Brigadiers stay in that style and gain those bonuses until the owner orders otherwise.

{table] Style | Bonus
Close Combat | +2 to Melee Attack Rolls and Damage Rolls
Distanced Combat | +2 to Ranged Attack Rolls and Damage Rolls
Defensive | +2 Deflection Bonus to AC [/table]

Construct Traits:

Spoiler

Show

* No Constitution score.
* Low-light vision.
* Darkvision out to 60 feet.
* Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
* Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, and necromancy effects.
* Cannot heal damage on their own, but often can be repaired by exposing them to a certain kind of effect (see the creature’s description for details) or through the use of the Craft Construct feat. A construct with the fast healing special quality still benefits from that quality.
* Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or energy drain.
* Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless).
* Not at risk of death from massive damage. Immediately destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points or less.
* Since it was never alive, a construct cannot be raised or resurrected.
* Because its body is a mass of unliving matter, a construct is hard to destroy. It gains bonus hit points based on size, as shown on the table.
* Proficient with its natural weapons only, unless generally humanoid in form, in which case proficient with any weapon mentioned in its entry.
* Proficient with no armor.
* Constructs do not eat, sleep, or breathe.

Divine Attunement: A Divine Brigadier's Subtype is determined by the subtype of its owner. If the owner is Lawful Good, the Divine Brigadier has the Lawful and Good Subtypes, if the owner is Chaotic Evil, the Divine Brigadier has the Chaotic and Evil Subtypes, ect. In addition, any weapons a Divine Brigadier carries are treated as weapons of the same type as their subtypes, and count as that type for the purposes of Damage Reduction.

Mindless: Divine Brigadiers are mindless, and cannot think. They will blindly follow any commands delegated by their recognized owner.

Ownership: When the great pact between the gods was signed, each god was given a number of Divine Brigadiers depending on their influence in the world. Divine Brigadiers recognize the orders of a particular owner or commander that has been assigned to them or their group. Most gods develop a hierarchy of command for their Divine Brigadiers. Orders of a higher ranking officer supersede those of a lower-ranking officer, and the orders of the god to whom the Divine Brigadiers belong to supersede all other orders.

When the Hit Points of a Divine Brigadier are reduced to zero by a fellow Divine Brigadier, it collapses into dust, but is reformed in 1d3 days under the command of the owner of the Divine Brigadier that destroyed it.

Synergy: Divine Brigadiers work exceptionally well within a group. Divine Brigadiers gain the following effects when fighting with allied Divine Brigadiers.

* +4 bonus for flanking instead of +2
* +1 AC bonus for every adjacent Divine Brigadier
* Divine Brigadiers that are firing into melee do not incur a penalty and do not risk hitting their allies

Lore

{table] Information | Knowledge (Divine) or Bardic Knowledge DC
It seems to be some sort of construct. From the markings and details, it is commanded by (god). | 15
This is a Divine Brigadier, a playing piece of a grand game the gods play. They work well together, and are dangerous in groups | 20
Divine Brigadiers are mindless, and if their owner is killed, control will be lost or moved to someone else. If too many Divine Brigadiers of any given god are destroyed, the god in question may enact revenge. | 25 [/table]


Plot Hooks

- An army of Divine Brigadiers are marching on a small town. Convince the owner of them not to invade, or evacuate the town.

- One of the PC's Rivals has come into some Divine Brigadiers, and is using them to usurp the kingdom. Put a stop to it.

- A contested territory between two gods (perhaps Good and Evil? Law and Chaos?) has destroyed a sizable part of two kingdoms. Assist in the final defeat of one of the armies, destroy them both, or attempt to sue for peace.

Gamer

Medium abberation (Psionic, Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 1d8 (4 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30 ft(6 squares)
Armor Class:11 (+1 Dexterity modifier), 11 touch, 10 flat-footed
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+1
Attack: Metal dice +1 (1d6/20) or metal die +2 ranged (1d6/20)
Full Attack: Metal dice +1 (1d6/20) or metal die +2 ranged (1d6/20)
Space/Reach: 5 ft/5 ft
Special Attacks: None
Special Qualities: Genre savvy, life's a game, dedicate avatar, light vulnerability
Saves: Fort -1, Ref +1, Will +6
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 12, Con 8, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 8
Skills: Knowledge (arcana) +5, Knowledge (religion) +5, Knowledge (psionics) +5, Spellcraft +5, Psicraft +5, Use Magic Device +3, Use Psionic Device +3
Feats: None
Environment: Urban
Organization: Solitary or group (2-8 plus one leader of 3rd-5th level)
Challenge Rating: 1/2
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually lawful neutral
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +15

This creature appears to be a normal human, if somewhat out of shape.

Gamers speak Common, and a variant thereof that makes heavy use of abbreviations and technical terms.

Gamers are almost always from planes with the dead magic attribute. Beyond that, they share few common traits.

Combat

Gamers are not normally combatants and typically flee if confronted.

Genre Savvy (Ex): Gamers posess an understanding of what they term "fantasy worlds" rivaling that of even deities. While on any plane that does not posess the dead magic attribute, a gamer constantly has the benefits of aura sight, psionic identify, and ubiquitous vision. Furthermore, a gamer gets a +2 competence bonus to Sense Motive and Diplomacy checks involving creatures from such a plane.

Life's a Game (Ps): When they form a group, gamers gain the ability to warp reality itself. When at least three gamers are able to be in constant communication, each gains one of the following sets of at-will psi-like abilities (only one may take the dungeon master abilities):
*Cheater: fate of one, remote viewing, psychofeedback
*Roleplayer: attraction, call to mind, mind switch
*Dungeon Master: reality revision, genesis, true creation
*Humorist: deja vu, id insinuation, affinity field
*Combatant: telekinetic maneuver, psychic crush, ultrablast

Dedicate Avatar (Ps): A gamer may designate any sentient creature available as a player race with equal or lower HD as an avatar. This avatar may, at any time that the gamer has the benefits of the life's a game ability, be subjected to psionic dominate (no save) or dimension swap by the gamer. The gamer may only have one avatar at a time, and this avatar must be slain before the gamer may choose another.

Light Vulnerability (Ex): Gamers are used to darkness, or at least low-light conditions. If exposed to bright light, they must make a Concentration check (DC 10 for morning sun, 15 for high noon, 20 for sun directly in face, normal save DC for spells such as flare or daylight) each round or be dazed.

Abberation Traits:
* Darkvision out to 60 feet.
* Proficient with all simple weapons.
* Aberrations eat, sleep, and breathe.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Lore
{table=head]Knowledge (arcana), knowledge (psionics) or bardic knowledge DC|Lore
20|This is a gamer. These creatures entertain themselves in a way that can reshape reality.
25|Each individual seems to possess a different set of powers.
30|These creatures have an understanding of reality rivaling that of deities.[/table]

Plot Hooks
*The PCs overhear someone describing their actions. It turns out to be a set of these creatures, each of which has taken one of them as an avatar.
*At regular intervals, there are substantial changes in the world. The PCs discover that a group of these creatures has been meeting during each change.

This month's contest has come to a close. A voting thread has been posted here.

Good luck!