Here Be Monsters 4: Out of the Primal World WINNER

Congratulations again to all our Top Five. However, as a classic movie once taught me, there can be only one, so special congratulations to the winner of Here Be Monsters 4: Out of the Primal World...

Kim Frandsen's gravestone dryad!

I'll be in touch with all the winners about your prizes.

Here Be Monsters 4: Out of the Primal World voting booth

The Top 5 have been revealed and now it's time to vote for your favorite monster!

For those who need one last look to make their decision, the finalists are:

• Gravestone Dryad by Kim Frandsen
• Grynthak by Mark Nordheim
• Gorviel by Jeremy Corff
• Despoiler by by Jeff Schultz
• Calliope Pachyderm by Aaron Tysen

We are using the Poll Maker website for voting. Clicking the link below takes you to the voting booth where you can cast your vote. You can vote for one monster. You can change your selection by voting again, but only your final vote will be recorded.

VOTE!

The voting is open for seven days, i.e. until Oct. 16. The winner will be revealed shortly after the voting closes.

Also, thanks again to everyone who's helped us with this contest: Adam Daigle, Legendary Games, Rusted Iron Games, Rogue Genius Games, Wayfinder, and artist Tommi Salama, and to all of you who've entered, commented, and voted.

HBM4 Top 5: Calliope Pachyderm by Aaron Tysen

This pale purple elephant is about the size of a pony. Four trunks of varied length writhe betwixt its silvery tusks.

Pachyderm, Calliope CR 5

XP 1600

CN Medium magical beast

Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +9

DEFENSE

AC 16, touch 10, flat-footed 16 (+6 natural)

hp 51 (6d10+18)

Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +2

OFFENSE

Speed 40 ft.

Melee gore +8 (1d8+2), slam +8 (1d6 +2)

Special Attacks bardic performance, infrasonic rumble (DC 16)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +9)

At will—invisibility (self only)

3/day—charm person (DC 14)

STATISTICS

Str 14, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 16

Base Atk +6; CMB +8; CMD 18 (22 vs. trip)

Feats Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Perform (trunks))

Skills Perception +9, Perform(trunks) +12, Stealth +9;

Languages Common, Sylvan

SQ veridical hallucination

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate plains

Organization solitary, duet, or ensemble (3-10)

Treasure standard

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Bardic Performance (Su) A calliope pachyderm may use bardic performance as a 6th-level bard (10 rounds/day) and can use countersong, fascinate, inspire competence, inspire competence and suggestion. Levels in the bard class stack with this ability.

Infrasonic Rumble (Ex) As a standard action, a calliope pachyderm can produce a stomach-churning tone at a frequency so deep as to be inaudible to most humanoids. All creatures within 30 feet must succeed at a DC 16 fortitude save or be sickened for 1d6 rounds. This is a sonic effect that does not require line of sight. The save DC is Charisma-based. Calliope pachyderms are immune to this ability.

Veridical Hallucination (Su) A calliope pachyderm's at-will invisibility does not render it invisible to creatures under the influence of alcohol. A single, strong drink consumed within the past hour is generally sufficient to see the elephant.

Cheerful, undersized elephants with oversized appetites, calliope pachyderms roam the land in search of food, drink and entertainment. They love music, and their many trunks comprise their own, personal pipe organs. A pachyderm can produce a wide variety of pitches and timbres, ranging from shrill whistles, through mellow, reedy tones, all the way down to ground- and gut-shaking infrasound. Calliope pachyderms find it hard to resist joining in with other creatures' performances; they revel in improvising wild, contrapuntal harmonies, often while remaining invisible.

Calliope pachyderms are strict herbivores and avoid violence. Nevertheless, they can be a dangerous nuisance, due to their voracious appetites and the means by which they seek to satiate them. Despite their small size, these creatures can easily consume as much provender as full-sized elephants. They crave alcoholic beverages, particularly distilled spirits, which they drink by the bucketful. While they are certainly capable of using their clever trunks to open granary doors and turn taps, they prefer to compel other creatures to supply their desires.

In order to feed and amuse itself, a calliope pachyderm will lurk invisibly around the edges of a settlement, looking for just the right victim. The ideal candidate is a lone drunkard, staggering home after a long night in the tavern. Once the poor soul is away from the crowd, the elephant appears in front of him, using charm person and its bardic abilities to compel him to fetch enormous quantities of food and drink. A few nights of this is, sadly, often sufficient to deplete a farmer's store of fodder, leaving his animals at risk of starvation over the winter. For the pachyderm, the benefits of this foraging method go beyond free meals. The real joy comes in watching the victim try to explain the situation to his neighbors, who are unlikely to believe in invisible elephants.

The tusks of the calliope pachyderm are formed from an exotic, silvery alloy. With careful drilling, they can be crafted into flutes of exceptional warmth and clarity of tone. A pair of unworked tusks might be worth several hundred gold pieces to a skilled artisan. Of course, the pachyderms themselves take exception to this practice and do not hesitate to avenge their kin, usually in elaborate, embarassing ways.

Calliope pachyderms grow to be 4 feet tall and weigh about 700 pounds. They appear in a wide variety of pastel shades, sometimes with exotic patterns. Rare individuals sport bright butterfly wings, far too small to allow them to fly.

HBM4 Top 5: Despoiler by Jeff Schultz

This hulking bipedal creature walks around on its knuckles like a gorilla as a thin cloud of smog pours out into the air around it from thick tubes on its back and shoulders. It roars, exposing a toothy maw beneath beady black eyes.

Despoiler CR 8

XP 4,800

CE Large aberration

Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +15

Aura smog cloud (10 ft., DC 18)

DEFENSE

AC 21, touch 12, flat-footed 18 (+3 Dex, +9 natural, -1 size)

hp 102 (12d8+24)

Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +10

DR 10/magic or cold iron; Immune disease, poison

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.

Melee bite +15 (1d8+8 plus disease), 2 slams +15 (1d6+8 plus disease)

Ranged rock +11 (1d8+12)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.

Special Attacks disease, rock throwing (120 ft.)

STATISTICS

Str 26, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 9

Base Atk +8; CMB +17; CMD 30

Feats Awesome Blow, Great Fortitude, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Power Attack

Skills Climb +25, Intimidate +8, Perception +15

Languages Aklo

SQ cleansing weakness

ECOLOGY

Environment any land

Organization solitary, blight (2-4)

Treasure incidental

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Cleansing Weakness (Su) The polluted nature of the despoiler leaves it vulnerable to certain spells. A remove disease or neutralize poison spell deals 1d6 damage per caster level and negates the despoilers disease effect on attacks for 1d4 rounds. A delay poison spell does no damage, but does negate the disease effect for 1d2 rounds.

Disease (Su) Despoiling Disease: Bite and slam—injury; save Fort DC 18, onset 1d2 days, frequency 1/day, effect 1d4 Con damage, cure 2 consecutive saves.

Any Medium or larger fey creature killed while infected with despoiling disease quickly rots and bloats over a 24 hour period as it morphs into a new despoiler unless the body is destroyed. Tiny or Small size fey morph into 1d4 boilborn after a 24 hour period.

Smog Cloud (Ex) The despoiler is surrounded by a 10 foot radius cloud of putrid gases that assault the lungs. Creatures within the cloud must make a DC 18 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. Creatures remaining in the cloud are sickened until they leave and for 1d4 rounds after. Once per day, the despoiler can create an effect duplicating a stinking cloud (DC 18) centered on itself for five rounds. The save DC for both of these effects is Constitution based and a creature immune to poison is immune to these effects.

Despoilers arise in areas of natural beauty that have been tainted by some form of pollution, either natural or magical. The realm of the fey is particularly prone to passageways to other planes and places that taint the surrounding area and can lead to blights of despoilers savaging the area. Despoilers stand 14 feet tall and weigh 2,500 pounds, but they usually seem shorter as they walk crouched over. They appear heavily muscled with thick, scaly smokestacks erupting from their shoulders as well as smaller smokestacks in pairs down to the lower back.

Most despoilers arise from pollutants in the environment around them However, they also possess toxic organs in their body that creates a disease used to poison and corrupt fey. The disease generated by despoilers spreads from the point of impact and moves through the body, liquefying and rotting flesh. While it is lethal to any creature vulnerable to disease, in fey the disease corrupts and twists their flesh and pulls from the ambient magic in their nature to create new organs, cysts, muscle, and flesh that twist the fey creature after death into a new despoiler or boilborn oozes in a relatively short period of time.

Despoilers seem to only care about spreading destruction and pollution from wherever they were spawned. They hate fey above all else and if they feel any emotion asides from rage, it would be glee at corrupting fey creatures. The feeling of hatred is mutual for the fey, who frequently find themselves calling in favors or coercing mortals in order to find someone who can destroy any local blight of despoilers that may arise without leading to even more of the creatures. Despoilers do not ally with other creatures, but have in the past been manipulated or controlled by enemies of the fey to be used as a weapon.

HBM4 Top 5: Gorviel by Jeremy Corff

This shaggy beast has a mix of simian and insectile features.  Hunched forward, knuckling about on long forearms that end in hooked claws, a massive hump of bone and chitin rests between its shoulder blades. A furious buzzing accompanies the creature, as well as a sickly-sweet musk. 

Gorviel CR 4

XP 1,200

N Large magical beast

Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +7

Aura heart of the swarm (5 ft.)

DEFENSE

AC 20, touch 11, flat-footed 18; (+2 Dex, +9 natural, –1 size)

hp 60 (6d10+12)

Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +2

Immune mind-affecting effects;

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.

Melee 2 claws +9 (1d6+5 plus trip), gore +9 (1d8+5)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.

Special Attacks chittering roar

STATISTICS

Str 20, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 6

Base Atk +4; CMB +10; CMD 21

Feats Cleave, Skill Focus (Perception)

Skills Acrobatics +6, Climb +17, Perception +7

ECOLOGY

Environment Warm forests

Organization solitary

Treasure none

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Heart of the Swarm (Su) As an immediate action the gorviel can fill the air around it with a swarm of its beetlish brood, which expands into all adjacent squares. This cloud moves with the gorviel, and the ever-shifting swarm provides the gorviel with partial concealment from ranged attacks. Creatures other than the gorviel and its swarm within the cloud at the beginning of their turns take 1d6 points of damage. Any creature damaged by the swarm must succeed at a DC 15 Fortitude save or be staggered for one round. The save DC is Constitution-based. Area-effect attacks that deal 10 or more points of damage to the gorviel destroy its swarm cloud for 3 rounds, after which a new brood matures in the hump and the gorviel can unleash its cloud again. When a gorviel dies, its swarm disperses and the individuals soon perish on their own.

Chittering Roar (Ex) As a standard action, a gorviel can unleash a terrible chittering roar, affecting all creatures in a 15-foot cone. Any creatures in the area of the cone must succeed at a DC 15 Fortitude save or be dazed for 1 round and deafened for 1 minute by the cacophony. A gorviel can use this ability once every 1d4 rounds. This is a sonic effect, and the save DC is Constitution-based.

The boundless life energy of the primal world provides fertile soil for many of nature’s stranger creatures, allowing unusual traits and beasts to thrive, and one such is the gorviel.  What possibly started as a mutualistic relationship between hive insects and primeval apes may have developed further over many centuries, or perhaps the creature was simply created as is in an experiment by some deity only to be later abandoned as a concept. Whatever their origin, the gorviel are common enough in parts of the primal world now.

The hulking form of the gorviel mixes traits of mammal and insect throughout, with chitinous armor and shaggy fur, as well as a face that combines the long horn and eyes of a beetle with the nose and mouth of a great ape. This body is both a mobile hive and queen mother to the colony of beetle-like males that live in its massive hump.  A self-contained family, the gorviel roams the forests of the primal world, feeding on nuts, fruit, and any prey the queen and her brood can incapacitate. When conditions are right and food is plentiful the gorviel will build a nest in bushes or bramble and birth a new queen, ceding a portion of her insectile host to the offspring, then abandoning them and moving on to new territory.  The young gorviel matures quickly, reaching full size in a few months and replacing her swarm as she grows.

Opportunistic hunters, gorviel engage their swarm at the first sign of conflict.  They open combat with their chittering roar ability, then rush to close with foes. Once in melee range they use their long arms and claws to trip enemies until all threats have been worn down by their hungry brood.  When all prey has been thoroughly pacified, the gorviel and her swarm settle in to feed on the remains, stripping the carcasses down to the bone as they feast.

HBM 4 Top 5: Grynthak by Mark Nordheim

The head and forelimbs of a bloated wart-covered toad front the writhing body of an enormous bone-white maggot. The creature’s wizened, narrow eyes are partially obscured by the layer of glistening slime that covers its skin.

Grynthak CR 14

XP 38,400

CN Huge magical beast (extraplanar)

Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +25

DEFENSE

AC 28, touch 12, flat-footed 24 (+4 Dex, +16 natural, -2 size)

hp 212 (17d10+119)

Fort +17, Ref +16, Will +12

Defensive Abilities defensive lore

OFFENSE

Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.

Melee bite +23 (2d8+8/19–20 plus grab), 2 claws +23 (2d6+8), tongue +23 (1d8+8 plus grab and pull)

Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. (30 ft. with tongue)

Special Attacks absorb stories, pull (tongue, 10 ft.), regurgitate story, swallow whole (4d6+12 bludgeoning damage, AC 18, 21 hp)

STATISTICS

Str 27, Dex 19, Con 24, Int 15, Wis 20, Cha 18

Base Atk +17; CMB +27 (+31 grapple); CMD 41 (can’t be tripped)

Feats Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Sickening Critical

Skills Bluff +13, Diplomacy +13, Knowledge (history) +19, Perception +25, Perform (oratory) +12, Sense Motive +13

Languages Aklo, Common, Sylvan

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate forest (Primal World)

Organization solitary or symposium (2–4)

Treasure standard

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Absorb Stories (Su) Once per round as a free action, the grynthak can transfer knowledge of one exciting story or tale of derring-do from an enemy it has grappled or swallowed into its own memory. The enemy loses all knowledge of the story so absorbed as if affected by modify memory unless it succeeds at a DC 22 Will save. This is a mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Defensive Lore (Su) Three times per day as an immediate action, the grynthak can call upon its vast memories of heroic tales to quickly determine the optimal defense against an incoming attack. The grynthak can choose either to gain DR 20/— against the attack or to gain a +5 bonus to the saving throw against the attack.

Regurgitate Story (Su) Once every 1d4 rounds as a standard action, the grynthak can belch forth a 60-ft. cone of brown, viscous fluid infused with the essence of a story known to it. Each creature that contacts the fluid must succeed at a DC 22 Will save or be forced to reenact the infused story for 1d4 rounds. An affected creature can take no actions of its own choice but can defend itself normally. Each round, the grynthak may choose to have the creature move up to its speed, speak lines chosen by the grynthak to fulfill its role in the story, or awkwardly pantomime any other actions required by the story, thereby provoking attacks of opportunity. This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Tongue (Ex) A grynthak’s tongue is a primary attack with reach equal to twice the grynthak’s normal reach. The grynthak does not gain the grappled condition when using its tongue to grapple a foe.

Grynthaks, sometimes called fabulavores or eaters of stories, are grotesque creatures that combine aspects of larval insects and amphibians. They derive sustenance from learning new tales of heroism and valor, possessing insatiable appetites for myth and legend. Typical grynthaks seek to parley with travelers and ascertain whether their quarry is likely to know any stories of interest. Once they discover a person of interest, grynthaks offer a friendly exchange of stories; however, they become irritable if a conversation partner withholds information or ends the discussion prematurely. Such encounters frequently end with physical attacks by the grynthaks, who seek to absorb the stories directly from their victims.

Grynthaks are native to the labyrinthine hollows and root systems of the colossal trees of the Primal World. They are prodigious travelers, constantly moving in search of new lore, who often set up temporary lairs far from their forest homes, even venturing to other planes or worlds if they can reach them. Adventurers and scholars sometimes seek out grynthaks, hoping to barter for bits of rare knowledge or lore; this is a dangerous endeavor as many grynthaks resent being used as knowledge brokers and may become physically aggressive. Occasionally, grynthaks form partnerships with carnivorous creatures to share prey – the grynthaks absorb stories from their victims before the carnivores devour them.

A typical grynthak is 20 feet long and weighs 4,000 pounds.

HBM4 Top 5: Gravestone Dryad by Kim Frandsen

With flesh consisting of dead wood and hair entwined with twigs and leaves, this clawed once-beautiful female reeks of rot and earth.

Gravestone Dryad CR 7

XP 3,200

NE Medium undead

Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., lifesense, low-light vision,; Perception +11

----- Defense -----

AC 19, touch 14, flat-footed 15 (+4 Dex, +5 natural)

hp 85 (10d8+40);

Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +10

DR 5/silver; Immune undead traits;

----- Offense -----

Speed 30 ft.

Melee claw +11 (1d4 plus 1d2 Con drain)

Special Attacks entomb

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th, concentration +14)

Constant – speak with dead

At will—entangle, stone shape

3/day—charm person, deep slumber, inflict light wounds

1/day—animate dead, suggestion

----- Statistics -----

Str 10, Dex 19, Con --, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 18

Base Atk +7; CMB +7; CMD 19

Feats Alertness, Deceitful, Improved Initiative, Stealthy, Weapon Finesse, +2

Skills Bluff +10, Climb +9, Craft (sculpture) +11, Disguise +14, Escape Artist +15, Knowledge (nature) +8, Perception +13, Sense Motive +12, Stealth +19, Survival +8;

Languages Common, Elven, Sylvan; speak with dead

SQ entomb, grave meld, grave swap

----- Ecology -----

Environment any graveyard

Organization solitary

Treasure standard

----- Special Abilities -----

Entomb (Su) Three times per day as a standard action, a gravestone dryad can entomb a living being within 100 ft. in a dirt coffin, causing them to rapidly suffocate as per the suffocation spell, Reflex DC 18 negates. However, unlike the spell, the target can escape the dirt coffin with a DC 30 Escape Artist check or by destroying the dirt coffin (treat as stone, Hardness 8, 30 hp, break DC 25).

Anyone killed in this manner automatically rises as a zombie, under the gravestone dryad's control at the end of the next round, automatically breaking free of the dirt coffin. (This does not use up the grave stone dryad’s daily use of animate dead).

Grave Meld (Su) A gravestone dryad can meld with a grave, similar to how the spell meld into stone functions, though the grave need only be half the size of the gravestone dryad. She can remain melded with a grave as long as she wishes.

Grave Swap(Su) Three times per day as a standard action, a gravestone dryad can swap physical location with any corpse within 100 ft. The corpse and gravestone dryad will then swap physical locations and the corpse will for the next hour assume the physical appearance of the gravestone dryad, similar to disguise self.

Gravestone dryads are twisted versions of their former selves, created when a dryad's tree is felled near a cemetery. The combined loss of the dryad's death, tree and the collective sorrow of the mourners at the cemetery calls to the dryad's soul and reunites it with its former body, immediately setting out for the graveyard. Once there, it merges with the graves and awaits its first prey, craving the life that it once had. First seen near large battlefields, reports of gravestone dryads have now been received from all corners of the world.

The gravestone dryad craves life (though doesn't need it for sustenance) and despises the living, knowing that they experience what it desires. And what it can't have, it destroys. To this end, the gravestone dryad lurks, listens and watches during the day, sending out zombie minions by night to lure or force back victims, though it is not above an opportunistic kill during the day. The gravestone dryad is patient however and can go weeks before taking its next victim to avoid discovery. She will try to kill at least once per month.

Much as the gravestone dryad wants to destroy life, however, there is nothing they hate more than the “normal” fey, and they go out of their way, even if it means exposing themselves, to destroy any fey they can find and have been known to move to areas that contain portals to the fey worlds, simply to destroy them as they’re passing from one world to the other. In return, the fey seek out the gravestone dryads, trying to destroy them permanently, though often the fey fall prey to their own self-assurance and wind up being animated under the gravestone dryads control. They fear that one day gravestone dryads and corrupted treants might work together to destroy the fey realms, but so far these fears have been unfounded.