Whispering Remains

Whispering Remains

Medium Undead (Incorporeal), CR 2

Hit Dice: 2d12 (13 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: Fly 40 ft. (perfect) (8 squares)
Armor Class: 16 (+4 Dex, +2 deflection), touch 16, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/—
Attack: — (see Whispering Secrets)
Full Attack: —
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Whispering Secrets
Special Qualities: Incorporeal traits, undead traits, darkvision 60 ft., shadow blending, one with darkness, living shadow
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +3
Abilities: Str —, Dex 18, Con —, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 14
Skills: Hide +16, Listen +6, Move Silently +12, Spot +6
Feats: Alertness

Special Attacks

Whispering Secrets (Su)

A creature within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 13 Will save or begin hearing whispers.

• On failure: unsettling murmurs impose growing unease
• After 3 rounds or on failure by 5+: the Remains reveal damaging, true secrets
• Victim becomes shaken for 1d4 rounds
• Suffers –4 penalty on Diplomacy checks and potential social consequences (GM discretion)

A creature that succeeds is immune to that Whispering Remains for 24 hours.

Special Qualities

Incorporeal Traits (Ex)

A Whispering Remains has no physical body.

• Can be harmed only by magic weapons, spells, or supernatural effects
• Has a 50% chance to ignore damage from corporeal sources (except force effects or ghost touch)
• Can pass through solid objects and creatures
• Cannot make physical attacks

Undead Traits (Ex)

A Whispering Remains is immune to:

• Mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, morale effects)
• Poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects
• Critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage to physical scores
• Effects requiring Fortitude saves (unless they affect objects)

It uses its Charisma modifier for Concentration checks.

Shadow Blending (Su)

In shadowy illumination or darker, the creature gains:

• Total concealment (50% miss chance)
• Requires DC 20 Spot check to notice

One With Darkness (Su)

In complete darkness, the Whispering Remains becomes effectively invisible:

• Functions as greater invisibility
• Suppressed by magical light (e.g., daylight)

Living Shadow (Ex)

• May occupy and move through existing shadows
• Gains +4 bonus on Hide checks when doing so
• Often clings to walls, alleys, or even a creature’s shadow

Avatars of Mère Grosse (Ex)

They gather secrets in darkness and deliver them at the most damaging moments, serving the will of Mère Grosse.

Lore

In the winding alleys and crowded wards of Ville des Marai, there are places where conversation seems to thin and the air grows still. These are the places where secrets gather. Not spoken secrets - but buried ones. The kind people carry in silence, hoping the world never notices the weight of what they have done.

The Whispering Remains are drawn to such places.

At first, they are barely noticeable - just the faintest suggestion of a voice at the edge of hearing, like a half-remembered conversation drifting on the wind. Many dismiss them as tricks of the mind, or the sounds of a busy city slipping through narrow streets. But those who linger too long begin to notice something unsettling: the whispers begin to speak truth.

They know what was hidden.
They know what was promised - and what was broken.
They know who betrayed whom.

And they do not keep these truths to themselves.

The Whispering Remains serve Mère Grosse, the Fat Mother Loa of Broken Promises, by collecting and distributing the weight of secrets. In her domain, a promise is not merely broken - it is exposed. A hidden affair becomes public ruin. A stolen coin becomes a family’s disgrace. A whispered betrayal becomes a confrontation that shatters trust beyond repair.

These undead are not merely observers. They are instruments of revelation.

Few in Ville des Marai claim to have truly seen a Whispering Remains. Most only ever notice a shadow that lingers too long, stretches too far, or moves when nothing else does. They are not hunters in the traditional sense - they are listeners, patient and unseen. And by the time their whispers are understood, the damage is already done.

They linger in alleys, doorways, and quiet corners, listening. Waiting. Watching for the moment when their presence will matter most - when a secret spoken aloud will not just wound, but fracture. They do not raise their voices; they do not shout. They whisper - softly, patiently - until the truth they carry slips free at the precise moment it will cause the greatest harm.

Some believe they were once people who carried too many secrets, who broke too many promises, and were claimed by Mère Grosse in death. Others believe they are born directly from her will - manifestations of the weight of unkept oaths, given form through the lingering echoes of guilt and betrayal.

Whatever their origin, one thing is certain:

They do not seek to destroy bodies.

They unravel trust.

And in Ville des Marai, that is often far more dangerous.

Puss Caterpillar

Puss Caterpillar (Megalopyge opercularis)

Fine Tiny vermin, CR 1/2

Environment: Warm forests, shrubs, trees, tall grass
Organization: Solitary
Initiative: +0
Speed: 5 ft., climb 5 ft. (good)
AC: 8 (touch 8, flat-footed 8)
HP: 1
Immune: Mind-affecting effects, critical hits
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +0
Abilities: Str 1, Dex 6, Con 10, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 1

Special Attacks

Venomous Setae (Ex)

The caterpillar’s hair-like spines deliver a severe toxin on contact.

A creature that touches, handles, or strikes the caterpillar must succeed on a DC 13 Fortitude save or suffer:

• 2d4 nonlethal damage
• 1d4 nonlethal damage per round for 1d4 rounds
• –2 penalty on attack rolls, skill checks, and ability checks due to intense pain

If the save is failed by 5 or more, the creature also suffers:

• 1 point of Strength damage
• Shaken condition for 1 minute

Special Qualities

Fragile Body (Ex)

• HP 1; any successful attack destroys the caterpillar
• Easily dispatched with a weapon, object, or spell
• However, destruction may still trigger venom if contact occurs

Clinging Spines (Ex)

• Venomous spines remain embedded after contact
• Removing them requires a DC 12 Heal check (full-round action) or adhesive
• Until removed, the victim continues to suffer ongoing nonlethal damage

Radiating Pain (Ex)

• –2 penalty on Concentration checks
• 20% spell failure chance while affected by the venom

Encounter Note

These creatures are not aggressive. They are accidental hazards rather than enemies.

• A creature brushing against foliage may trigger a DC 12 Reflex save to avoid contact
• Attacking the caterpillar is trivial - but careless attacks may still cause exposure

Lore

In the humid green wilds where growth is unchecked and life thrives in tangled abundance, the puss caterpillar is often mistaken for something benign - perhaps even comforting. It resembles a soft tuft of fur or a clump of moss caught on a branch, an illusion that has caused countless travelers, hunters, and children to reach out without hesitation. Those who do rarely make the mistake twice.

Among rural communities and frontier settlements, these creatures are whispered about in hushed tones. Not as predators, but as accidents waiting to happen. Elders warn that beauty in the wild is not always a sign of safety, and the puss caterpillar serves as a grim reminder of that truth. Its pain is remembered long after the swelling fades - a lingering lesson that even the smallest things can carry consequences far out of proportion to their size.

In some regions, particularly those touched by older and stranger magics, there are stories that the puss caterpillar is not merely an insect, but a symbol. A quiet embodiment of hidden suffering - something that looks soft, harmless, even inviting, but delivers pain the moment it is embraced. Certain folk claim these creatures are more common near places where sorrow has lingered or where the veil between life and death feels thin.

A few more superstitious traditions go so far as to associate them with minor spirits of discomfort - harmless in intent, yet insistent in their presence. They are said to “teach respect” through pain alone, never hunting, never chasing, only waiting to be touched. Whether this is merely coincidence or something more deliberate is a question best left unanswered. Those who have felt the caterpillar’s sting tend to agree on one point: it is not an encounter they forget.

Bête pourrissante du marais - the Black Bête

Bête pourrissante du marais, aka Black Bête

Large Plant

Hit Dice: 5d8+10 (32 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: -- ft. (cannot move)
Armor Class: 14 (+4 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+6
Attack: Slam +6 melee (1d6+3 plus grab)
Full Attack: 2 slams +6 melee (1d6+3 plus grab)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Grab, constrict, sap lure
Special Qualities: Plant traits, tremorsense 60 ft., damage reduction 5/slashing, vulnerability to fire, swamp-bound vitality, semi-sentient
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +1, Will +2
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 3, Wis 10, Cha 8
Skills: Listen +5, Spot +5, Hide +2 (in swamp)
Feats: Alertness, Endurance, Improved Initiative
Environment: Warm swamps and marshes
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral evil

Description

The Bête pourrissante du marais, also known as the Black Bête, is not an aberration from beyond the world, but rather a corruption that grows within it. It appears as a bald cypress in its final, rotting state - its bark split and peeling, its trunk swollen with decay, and its roots knotted above the water like grasping limbs that refuse to release their hold on life. Its canopy is sparse and sickly, draped in dead moss and brittle growth, yet faint movement can sometimes be seen in its branches, as though the tree itself is struggling to continue breathing.

Unlike a truly dead tree, the Bête has not fully surrendered to decay. Instead, it lingers in a state between life and death, sustained by the swamp’s slow, pervasive necrotic influence. The swamp does not simply consume - it transforms. The Bête embodies this process, feeding on rot, stagnation, and the faint traces of death that linger in the air and water around it. Wildlife instinctively avoids it, and even insects seem reluctant to settle near its roots.

Combat

The Bête pourrissante du marais is an ambush predator, though it does not hunt in the traditional sense. Instead, it lures creatures through subtle stimuli - a slow drip of sap, the faint scent of decay, or the illusion of a safe resting place. When prey draws near, its limbs lash out with surprising speed, attempting to seize and crush the life from its victims.

It prefers to attack solitary or weakened targets, relying on patience rather than aggression. If faced with sustained resistance, it does not flee, but instead withdraws slightly into stillness, relying on concealment and the swamp itself to obscure its presence until another opportunity arises.

Special Attacks

Grab (Ex):
If the Bête hits with a slam attack, it can attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.

Constrict (Ex):
On a successful grapple check, the Bête deals 1d6+3 points of damage with a successful grapple check.

Sap Lure (Su):
Once per encounter, the Bête exudes a slow, thick sap that drips from its bark, releasing a faintly sweet but unsettling scent. Creatures within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 12 Will save or be compelled to approach the tree for 1d4 rounds, drawn by an instinctive sense of shelter or curiosity. This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Special Qualities

Plant Traits:
The Bête is immune to poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, and polymorph effects. It is not subject to critical hits or mind-affecting effects.

Tremorsense (Ex):
The Bête can detect the location of anything within 60 feet that is in contact with the ground or swamp water.

Damage Reduction (Ex):
Damage reduction 5/slashing. Its dense, rotting wood resists blunt trauma and absorbs impacts unnaturally well.

Vulnerability to Fire (Ex):
Fire deals +50% damage to the Bête.

Swamp-Bound Vitality (Ex):
Though immobile, the Bête draws strength from the swamp itself. In areas of deep marsh or standing water, it gains a +2 circumstance bonus to saving throws against being affected by any effect that would damage or destroy plants. In addition, it is difficult to distinguish from a normal, dying cypress at a distance (DC 15 Spot check to notice its unnatural state when not in combat).

Lore

The Bête pourrissante du marais is believed to be a consequence of the swamp’s natural cycle taken to a disturbing extreme. Where most trees decay and return to the earth, the Bête lingers - sustained by the dense, stagnant magic that permeates the land. It is not raised by necromancy in the traditional sense, nor is it animated by outside will. Rather, it is what happens when life refuses to end, feeding instead on the slow accumulation of death around it.

Many locals avoid areas where these trees grow, referring to them in hushed tones and marking their locations with crude warnings. To approach one is to risk becoming part of its continued existence - another body consumed, another source of sustenance in its endless, quiet hunger. For most, the safest choice is simple: avoid the still places, where the swamp grows too quiet… and the trees begin to listen.

These trees are said to be... extensions... of the loa also known as Black Bête. Servants of that malevolent loa will chant and sing to these awful plants in an attempt - although an often vain one - to contact the monstrous loa itself.

Black Bête Chant (Swamp Version)

Oh, Black Bête (bam-ba-lam)
Deep in the mire (bam-ba-lam)
Black Bête waits (bam-ba-lam)
Rotting desire (bam-ba-lam)
It calls you nearer (bam-ba-lam)
Cold breath, you hear it (bam-ba-lam)
Oh, Black Bête (bam-ba-lam)
Don’t go near it (bam-ba-lam)

Whoa, Black Bête (bam-ba-lam)
Yeah, Black Bête (bam-ba-lam)
Bark like sickness (bam-ba-lam)
Roots hold fast (bam-ba-lam)
It pulls you under (bam-ba-lam)
Time goes faster (bam-ba-lam)
Whoa, Black Bête (bam-ba-lam)
Won’t let you pass (bam-ba-lam)

Whoa, Black Bête (bam-ba-lam)
Yeah, Black Bête (bam-ba-lam)
Eyes in the bark (bam-ba-lam)
Hungry and dark (bam-ba-lam)
If you get closer (bam-ba-lam)
There’s no turning back (bam-ba-lam)
Whoa, Black Bête (bam-ba-lam)
Never come back (bam-ba-lam)

(This is obviously a parody of the song Black Betty)

Wandering Jack (Jack Errant)

 

Wandering Jack (Jack Errant)

Hit Dice: 25d12+125 (287 hp)
Initiative: +9
Speed: Fly 40 ft. (perfect)
Armor Class: 26 (+5 Dex, +11 deflection), touch 26, flat-footed 21
Base Attack/Grapple: +12/—
Attack: Incorporeal touch +17 melee (2d6 plus steal visage)
Full Attack: Incorporeal touch +17 melee (2d6 plus steal visage)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Aura of dread, steal visage, maddening reflection
Special Qualities: Incorporeal traits, undead traits, darkvision 60 ft., lifesense 120 ft., bound by the harvest, unmoored identity, turn resistance +4
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +13, Will +18
Abilities: Str —, Dex 20, Con —, Int 16, Wis 18, Cha 24
Skills: Bluff +32, Disguise +32 (+40 when mimicking a stolen visage), Hide +29, Intimidate +34, Listen +22, Spot +22, Sense Motive +22
Feats: Improved Initiative, Ability Focus (steal visage), Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Flyby Attack, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes
Environment: Any (especially urban areas during harvest season and festivals)
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 15
Treasure: None (but see below)
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: —
Level Adjustment: —

Special Abilities

Aura of Dread (Su):

Creatures within 30 ft. must succeed on a DC 24 Will save or become frightened for 1d6 rounds. A successful save grants immunity to this aura for 24 hours.

Steal Visage (Su):

A creature struck by Wandering Jack’s incorporeal touch must succeed on a DC 26 Will save or take 2d6 Charisma damage and be shaken for 1d4 rounds.

If a creature is reduced to 0 Charisma by this ability, it becomes a faceless husk (as feeblemind combined with blindness), while Jack may perfectly assume its appearance for 24 hours.

Maddening Reflection (Su):

If Wandering Jack is within 30 ft. of five or more visible depictions of his own likeness (such as carved faces, masks, or reflections), he must succeed on a DC 25 Will save or be confused for 1d6 rounds.

He is staggered for 1 round on a failed save if he sees even a single clear reflection of his own visage.

Bound by the Harvest (Su):

Wandering Jack can fully manifest only during the Night of Deuxième Récolte. Outside this time, he exists only as a partially manifested spirit and cannot use his steal visage ability.

Unmoored Identity (Su):

Jack cannot be targeted by effects that rely on knowing his true name or identity. Divination spells targeting him have a 50% chance to fail unless the caster has previously seen his true form without a mask.

LORE

• DC 10 (Common Knowledge):

On the Night of Deuxième Récolte, people wear masks and carve faces into gourds and pumpkins to keep Wandering Jack at bay. It is believed that Jack is confused, weakened, or repelled by seeing his own face repeated everywhere.

• DC 15:

Entire neighborhoods prepare for the night with lanterns, masks, and music. Silence, empty streets, or places without carved faces are considered unsafe - these are where Jack is most likely to appear.

• DC 20:

Jack does not simply fear his own image - he is compelled by it. The more his face is represented, the more unstable and weakened he becomes. Some older families claim that Jack can be driven away if his likeness surrounds him completely.

• DC 25:

Wandering Jack is bound by strange rules tied to identity. He cannot fully claim a victim if he cannot “understand” or perceive a stable face to copy. Masks and disguises don’t just hide people - they disrupt his ability to target and remember them.

It is also said that victims of Jack are not merely killed - something essential is taken.

• DC 30:

Those who lose their faces to Jack are not truly gone. Their bodies remain, but their identities are fractured and trapped within Jack himself.

If Wandering Jack is destroyed, there is a chance that:

• Lost identities may return
• Some victims may be restored to life (though often altered or incomplete)
• Others may awaken as hollow, changed beings with gaps in their memory
• However, doing so risks something far worse: Jack’s final destruction may release every identity he has ever stolen at once - unleashing a wave of confused, unstable spirits into the world. Some whisper that Jack is not just a monster… but a container.

• DC 35 (Forbidden Lore):

There are conflicting, dangerous truths about Wandering Jack’s origin, but most accounts agree on one thing: Jack was not always a spirit.

Long ago, he was a living man who learned too much about the nature of identity—how a “face” is not just flesh, but a name, a memory, and a soul bound together. He discovered (or was taught by something older and darker) how to sever those bonds and take what he called “faces” from others.

At some point, Jack attempted to transcend mortality entirely by shedding his own identity. But in doing so, he fractured it beyond repair. The result was not ascension, but punishment.

Now, Wandering Jack is both:

The thief of faces

And the last remnant of the man who tried to become something beyond himself

Further revelations at DC 35+:

Jack may have once made a pact with a powerful entity - possibly a loa, a forgotten spirit of identity, or something far older - that granted him his first power to steal faces. The pact turned against him when he tried to break free.

The masks and jack-o’-lanterns used in the festival are not just protections - they are part of a long-standing containment ritual. The tradition predates most modern settlements and may have been established by the same force that bound Jack.

There is a hidden truth whispered only in certain secretive circles:

If Jack ever becomes whole again - f he successfully collects enough identities to reconstruct himself - he will no longer be bound by the harvest, the masks, or the rules that weaken him.

Some scholars believe Jack is not just collecting identities… but trying to replace his own - again and again - searching for the one that will finally make him complete.

Final Warning (rarely spoken aloud):

Those who study Jack too deeply begin to notice unsettling side effects:

• Faces appearing in reflections that aren’t theirs
• Hearing their own name spoken in unfamiliar voices
• Dreams where they wear a mask they cannot remove.

And in the darkest interpretation of the legend:

Jack is not wandering the world to hunt the living. He is wandering because he has lost himself, and is trying to remember who he is.

Grunch

 

Grunch

Medium Magical Beast (Augmented Humanoid)

Hit Dice: 6d10+18 (51 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 40 ft., swim 20 ft.
Armor Class: 17 (+3 Dex, +4 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+9
Attack: Bite +9 melee (1d8+3)
Full Attack: Bite +9 melee (1d8+3) and 2 claws +7 melee (1d6+1)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Rend flesh, bayou ambush
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent, swamp stride, damage reduction 5/magic
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +3
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills: Hide +12, Move Silently +10, Listen +8, Spot +8, Survival +6, Swim +11
Feats: Multiattack, Alertness, Weapon Focus (bite)
Environment: Warm marshes and swamps (especially near settled areas)
Organization: Solitary, pair, or pack (3–5)
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: None
Alignment: Usually chaotic evil
Advancement: 7–9 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: —

Combat

Grunches are ambush predators that prefer to stalk prey from waterlogged undergrowth or roadside ditches before launching a sudden, savage attack. They favor isolated targets and will retreat into the swamp if seriously injured, often circling back later.

Their intelligence is low but cunning - they understand roads, wagons, and the habits of humanoids, suggesting a dim echo of their origins.

Rend Flesh (Ex)

If a grunch hits with both claw attacks, it tears into its victim’s body for an additional 2d6+4 points of damage.

Bayou Ambush (Ex)

When attacking a creature that is unaware of its presence, a grunch gains a +4 bonus on attack rolls and deals an extra 2d6 points of damage on its first successful strike.

This ability functions similarly to a rogue’s sneak attack but only applies during the first round of combat when the grunch is hidden.

Special Qualities

Swamp Stride (Ex)

A grunch can move through natural difficult terrain in marshes, shallow water, and mud at normal speed without taking damage or suffering impairment. This functions like a druid’s woodland stride, but only in swamp environments.

Scent (Ex)

Grunches can detect prey by smell, often tracking travelers long before revealing themselves.

Damage Reduction (Su)

A grunch’s twisted, unnatural physiology grants it damage reduction 5/magic.

Skills

Grunches have a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks in swampy or wooded terrain and a +8 racial bonus on Swim checks. They can always take 10 on Swim checks, even when threatened.

Ecology

Grunches are said to be the degenerate descendants - or perhaps cursed remnants - of isolated humanoid communities driven into the swamps. Over generations, exposure to dark magic, desperation, and cannibalism warped them into something no longer truly human.

They lair in half-sunken shacks, abandoned roadside structures, or crude dens of bone and refuse at the edge of civilization. Evidence of their presence includes gnawed remains, strange hoof-like tracks mixed with claw marks, and distant, unnatural howls that echo across the water at night.

Lore

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (local) or Knowledge (nature) can learn more about grunches:

• DC 10: A grunch is a swamp predator that hunts near roads and isolated settlements.
• DC 15: It prefers ambush tactics and drags prey into the marsh.
• DC 20: Legends claim grunches were once human - or something close to it.
• DC 25: Packs sometimes coordinate attacks, suggesting a crude, unsettling intelligence.

Adventure Hooks

• Travelers vanish along a lonely road skirting the marsh - locals whisper of something watching from the reeds.
• A ruined homestead is discovered deep in the swamp, its walls marked with clawed symbols and old, human belongings.
• A survivor insists the creatures spoke - not words, but broken, almost-remembered sounds.

Grunch Alpha

Large Magical Beast (Augmented Humanoid)

Hit Dice: 7d10+28 (66 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 40 ft., swim 30 ft.
Armor Class: 19 (–1 size, +4 Dex, +6 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +7/+14
Attack: Bite +11 melee (1d10+6)
Full Attack: Bite +11 melee (1d10+6) and 2 claws +9 melee (1d8+3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Rend flesh, bayou ambush, terrifying bay
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent, swamp stride, damage reduction 5/magic, pack leader
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +9, Will +4
Abilities: Str 22, Dex 18, Con 18, Int 7, Wis 13, Cha 10
Skills: Hide +11, Move Silently +12, Listen +10, Spot +10, Survival +8, Swim +14
Feats: Multiattack, Alertness, Improved Initiative
Environment: Warm marshes and swamps
Organization: Solitary or with pack (1 alpha plus 3–6 grunches)
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: Standard (often scattered remains of victims)
Alignment: Usually chaotic evil
Advancement: 8–10 HD (Large)

Combat

A grunch alpha rarely attacks alone. It uses hit-and-run tactics, coordinating its pack to isolate prey. It prefers to strike from concealment, then unleash chaos with its bay before closing in.

Terrifying Bay (Su)

As a standard action, a grunch alpha emits a horrifying, broken howl that echoes with almost-human tones.

All creatures within 60 ft. must succeed on a DC 15 Will save or become shaken for 1d6 rounds. Creatures that fail by 5 or more are instead frightened for 1 round, then shaken.

This is a mind-affecting fear effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Pack Leader (Ex)

All allied grunches within 30 ft. of the alpha gain a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls and Will saves.

Additionally, any grunch flanking a target with the alpha deals +1d6 extra damage.

Rend Flesh (Ex)

If the alpha hits with both claw attacks, it deals an additional 2d8+6 damage.

Bayou Ambush (Ex)

As the standard grunch ability, but the alpha deals +3d6 extra damage on its initial ambush strike.

Swamp Stride (Ex)

As standard grunch.

Ecology

The alpha is the oldest, strongest, and most cunning of its kind. Its body is more twisted - horns thicker, limbs longer, and its eyes burn with a dim, hateful awareness. Some tales insist the alpha remembers what it once was.

It marks territory with shredded remains and crude symbols carved into wood or bone.

Grunch Curse

Supernatural Affliction

The transformation into a grunch is not always immediate. Some victims are marked - body and spirit slowly dragged toward something feral and inhuman. The curse isn’t inflicted like lycanthropy is; the victim is usually guilty of some true crime against the swamps and bayous, or it is inflicted by a powerful user of dark magics.

Type: Curse (transformation)
Save: Fortitude DC 14 (initial and each stage)
Onset: 1 day
Frequency: 1/day
Cure: Remove curse and remove disease before final stage

Progression

• Stage 1: The Mark
• Symptoms: Fever, nightmares of drowning marshes, distant howling
• Effect: –2 penalty on Will saves, +2 bonus on Survival checks in swamp terrain
• Physical: Eyes slightly yellowed, teeth subtly sharpen
• Stage 2: The Hunger
• Symptoms: Craving raw meat, aversion to civilization
• Effect: –2 Intelligence, +2 Strength, character must succeed on a DC 12 Will save to avoid attacking helpless creatures or feeding on corpses
• Physical: Nails harden into claws, posture becomes hunched
• Stage 3: The Change
• Symptoms: Loss of speech, animalistic behavior
• Effect: Intelligence drops to 6 if higher, gains scent ability, alignment shifts one step toward chaotic evil
• Physical: Horn buds emerge, body hair thickens, gait becomes bestial
• Stage 4: The Grunch

The victim fully transforms into a standard grunch under the DM’s control. The original personality is lost, though fragments may linger in rare moments.

Breaking the Curse

• Before Stage 3: Remove curse or remove disease ends the affliction
• Stage 3: Requires both spells cast within 24 hours
• Stage 4: Only wish or miracle can restore the victim
• Lore (Knowledge: Local or Arcana)
• DC 15: Some grunches are made, not born
• DC 20: Survivors of attacks sometimes change over time
• DC 25: The curse worsens in swamp environments or near other grunches

Using the Curse in Play (Quick DM Notes)

This works beautifully as a slow horror element:

• A bitten NPC starts acting… off
• The party notices subtle physical changes
• Moral dilemma: cure them, restrain them… or put them down

Thrasher

Thrasher

CR 1/2
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Size/Type: Medium Undead
Initiative: +2
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +0, Spot +0
Armor Class: 14 (+2 Dex, +2 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 12
Hit Dice: 2d8+2 (12 hp)
Saving Throws: Fort +0, Ref +2, Will +3
Damage Reduction: —
Immunities: Undead traits (see below)
Speed: 40 ft.
Melee: 2 slams +4 melee (1d6+4)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Leap Attack, Quick Strikes
Abilities: Str 17, Dex 14, Con —, Int 3, Wis 10, Cha 10
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+4
Attack Options: Power Attack
Feats: Toughness, Power Attack
Skills: Climb +6, Hide +6, Jump +6, Move Silently +6
Languages: None (understands only the urge to hunt)

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Undead Traits (Ex)

Thrashers are immune to mind-affecting effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, and ability damage to physical ability scores. They are immune to fatigue, exhaustion, energy drain, and any effect requiring a Fortitude save unless it also affects objects. They cannot heal damage naturally and are not subject to death from massive damage. They are immune to raise dead and reincarnate.

Leap Attack (Ex)

A Thrasher prefers to ambush prey from above. If it begins its turn at least 5 feet above its target, it can attempt a Jump check to launch itself downward as part of a charge.

If the Jump check succeeds, the Thrasher may immediately make a full attack at the end of the charge and takes no falling damage. The jump height must not exceed 30 feet.

If the Jump check fails, the Thrasher takes normal falling damage and resolves its attacks as normal for a failed charge.

Quick Strikes (Ex)

When making a full attack, a Thrasher may make one additional slam attack at its highest base attack bonus.

DESCRIPTION & LORE

Thrashers are grotesque undead abominations that resemble emaciated humanoids stretched taut over brittle, gray musculature. Their limbs are long and sinewy, ending in hooked claws capable of rending flesh with alarming speed. Their most unsettling feature is their eyes - large, luminous, and capable of appearing to “shut off” behind a thick, opaque inner lid, allowing them to remain perfectly still and unseen even when observing prey.

Thrashers are not known to be created by any single necromantic rite. Instead, they are believed to arise from sites of prolonged suffering, mass death, or ritualistic cruelty where negative energy lingers and coalesces into something predatory. Necromancers who have attempted to replicate them report that the process is… unreliable - and often fatal.

These creatures are apex ambush predators. They prefer to perch high in trees, ruined towers, or cliff faces, motionless for hours or even days. When prey passes below, they drop without warning, striking with terrifying speed. Their Leap Attack is not merely instinct - is the defining tactic of their existence.

Though not mindless, Thrashers possess only a dim and alien intelligence. They do not communicate, bargain, or negotiate. Attempts at diplomacy invariably fail. They recognize only hunger, movement, and opportunity.

After a kill, Thrashers consume their victims slowly and methodically. Remains that cannot be eaten are often arranged or scattered in unsettling patterns. Some necrologists speculate that this behavior is not random, but a form of primitive, undead “art” - a theory that has yet to be proven, though disturbing evidence persists in abandoned lairs.

Habitat & Behavior: Thrashers are most commonly encountered in remote wilderness, ruined battlefields, or places marked by repeated slaughter. They avoid sunlight not out of weakness, but because their ambush tactics are less effective in open, well-lit terrain.

Combat Tactics: A Thrasher will almost always attempt to ambush from above. If forced into a direct confrontation, it relies on rapid full attacks and brute strength, attempting to overwhelm foes quickly before they can react or coordinate.

Doll Devil (Arusities)

Doll Devil (Arusities)

Doll Devil (Arusities)

CR 1
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Size/Type: Small Outsider (devil, evil, extraplanar, lawful)
Initiative: +2
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., see in darkness; Perception +2
Armor Class: 15 (+2 Dex, +2 natural, +1 size), touch 13, flat-footed 13
Hit Dice: 2d10+2 (13 hp)
Saving Throws: Fort +1, Ref +5, Will +5
Damage Reduction: —
Resistances: acid 10, cold 10
Immunities: fire, poison
Spell Resistance: —
Speed: 30 ft.
Melee: 2 slams +2 melee (1d3)
Special Attacks: Draw Essence
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 2nd)

• At will—giggle (DC 13)
• 1/day—friendly face (DC 14), hot foot
• Telepathy: 100 ft.

Abilities: Str 10, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 17
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+1
Feats: Stealthy
Skills: Acrobatics +7, Appraise +6, Bluff +8, Disguise +8, Escape Artist +9, Perform (dance) +5, Stealth +13
Languages: Celestial, Common, Draconic, Infernal; telepathy 100 ft.

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Draw Essence (Su)

Once per day, a Doll Devil can draw out the emotional and spiritual vitality of a living creature with an evil alignment. The target must succeed on a DC 14 Fortitude save or take 1d3 points of Charisma damage.

The save DC is Charisma-based.

Inert (Ex)

A Doll Devil can enter a dormant, doll-like state as a standard action. While inert, it is indistinguishable from a normal doll at first glance and does not radiate an evil aura.

A creature examining the doll must succeed on a DC 20 Perception check to recognize it as alive. While inert, the Doll Devil gains a +10 bonus on Disguise checks and cannot take actions.

SPELL-LIKE ABILITIES DETAILS

Giggle (Sp)

A minor enchantment that unnerves creatures and subtly manipulates emotions. Often used to distract or unsettle victims.

Friendly Face (Sp)

Creates an illusion that causes the Doll Devil to appear as a trusted companion, beloved toy, or comforting presence.

Hot Foot (Sp)

A cruel prank-like effect that causes a target to experience sudden burning discomfort, mimicking the sensation of being scorched or chased.

Environment: Any (Hell, Urban)
Organization: Solitary
Treasure: Standard

DESCRIPTION & LORE

Doll Devils, known among infernal scholars as Arusities, are small devils from the infernal planes that specialize in psychological corruption rather than brute force. They appear as exquisitely crafted porcelain dolls—often with delicate, almost childlike features—though unsettlingly lifelike eyes betray their true nature.

While most Arusities present as feminine, male variants are occasionally reported, though they are far rarer and often more aggressive in their methods.

Rather than speaking aloud, Doll Devils communicate exclusively through telepathy. Their voices are described as sweet, soothing, and deeply persuasive—carefully tailored to their target’s desires and insecurities.

Behavior & Purpose

Doll Devils are corruptors of children and, more broadly, of innocence. They are drawn to environments where a child has access to comfort and wealth but is still emotionally unsatisfied. In such cases, the Arusities subtly manifests - often appearing first as a harmless toy.

Over time, the Doll Devil fosters selfishness, envy, and emotional isolation. It rewards selfish behavior and gently discourages empathy, shaping its victim into a creature more aligned with infernal values.

Once a sufficient level of corruption has taken hold, the Arusities begins to draw essence, feeding on the child’s emotional and spiritual vitality. This process continues until the victim collapses into a coma or dies.

At the moment of death, the Doll Devil claims the soul and returns to the infernal planes - its purpose fulfilled.

Summoning & Manifestation

Doll Devils are not summoned through traditional magical rituals. Instead, they are drawn to the Material Plane by desire itself.

When a child is surrounded by abundance yet remains unsatisfied - craving more without need - this imbalance creates a subtle spiritual “echo.” The Arusities senses this and is pulled into reality, materializing in proximity to the child.

In this way, Doll Devils are less “invoked” and more invited by the emotional state of their victims.

Knowledge (Planes)

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (planes) can learn more about Doll Devils.

• DC 11: Doll Devils can take deceptive forms, often appearing as toys or objects of desire to lure victims.
• DC 16: They feed on personality and emotion, slowly eroding empathy and social bonds.
• DC 21: A Doll Devil in inert form cannot be detected by divination or magical detection of evil.
• DC 26: They are often found among wealthy households, where emotional neglect creates ideal conditions for corruption.

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From here and modified.