The rogue ducked under a wild axe swing from the barbarian, his voice muffled beneath the orc-like mask that had been forced onto his face. As she stumbled away from her confused companion, she glanced to her side where the cleric desperately tried to free the writhing wizard from a plain-looking mask that adhered to his face. She tightened her grip on her shortsword, glancing about the forest’s clearing for the culprit behind the cost but finding nothing. Only her highly honed instincts saved her from the long, dirty claws that swiped at the back of her neck, and she whirled at her adversary as its invisibility flickered away. Dressed in dirty rags festooned with wooden masks, some shaped like creatures and others blank, the few glimpses of its flesh that she could make out were twisted, grey-blue skin. Its face was hidden behind a long-nosed mask while it held a blank one in a hand that it seemed to off her, calling in a lilting voice of indeterminate gender.
“Now, now. Settle down. I have the perfect mask for you right here.”
Illustrations by Vildevitus#2346
Last year, we got into the spirit of Halloween with a ghastly gourd, this time around, we focused on the concepts of masks of different types to bring you the aper, a type of fey that imprisons souls within its masks to draw upon their form and powers. When I build a creature, I determine the CR through a couple of things - the first is the concept and at what level it fits best. The second is its abilities - the heroes have to be able to deal with the effects that the creature can create. Third and final is where I have gaps in the CR of creatures I've built. Designing the aper was a cross between two and three - players need restoration to deal with the permanent negative levels that the aper can inflict and I only had a few original monsters at CR 10.
When it came to the actual design, I debated between aberration and fey for its creature type as I wanted a creature beyond the natural understanding of the Material Plane. With the twist of a natural concept, fey felt like a better fit so I leaned into that. Its defensives aren't terribly impressive and even its DR isn't terribly powerful at its level as most characters will have cold iron or a means to bypass it. Similarly, it doesn't deal a huge amount of damage. Its main focus is with its masks - both gaining various powers from them with don mask or debilitating foes with place mask. There was a bit of a debate over on the Discord as to whether the masks should give defined powers - something along the lines of 'mask of the mage' or 'mask of the warrior' - but I liked giving the DM options for the different abilities the aper could gain.
Pathfinder 1e:
Per usual, the 2e version doesn't have too many differences going on with it. Tactically, it will want to start its fights hidden by one of its masks and closing the distance to foes. Only when it's gotten into melee with its victims will it want to use its Reveal Face reaction to hopefully frighten its foes before grabbing them and attempt a Forced Donning as the condition will it make harder for them to escape. The Unshaped Mask has a specifically lower DC due to how deadly it is but since anybody can attempt the DC to remove the mask as long as they're within range, I kept that at a higher DC.
Pathfinder 2e:
Blue's D&D 5e Aper:
ENCOUNTER HOOKS
Mask Parade: Word about an aper in the area has begun to spread, and in a desolate town, it is up to the heroes to organize the townsfolk to disguise themselves from the monster. Whether this involves the heroes making masks or using another method, they must then find the aper in the midst of the following festivities. On the prowl for victims, the aper plays a dangerous game of hiding in plain sight and the heroes must be keenly aware of their surroundings to find the wicked fey.
If you're interested in joining the discussion on what creatures I'm working on or just discussing your own homebrew works, check out our Discord! If you want to get some teasers or help us get to our yet unlisted milestones for extra content, check out the Twitter.
Have a happy Halloween!
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