Whether you're spending it with somebody else or getting through it on your own, happy Valentine's Day to all of you! There were a lot of really good suggestions tossed about on the blog when I started discussing a Valentine's Day monster but we managed to narrow it down a bit over on the blog. Upon deciding on a good-aligned critter, I had initially thought of doing this creature as an outsider, but Blue thought it might be interesting to try to create this thing as a fey. The guardian of pragma is named for a mature love in which lust takes a backseat to other qualities.
Art by Vildevitus#2346
True to its name, the guardian of pragma is a creature linked to a bonded pair. They start small, formed from the essence of their home plane, and grow as the love of the pair they are linked to does so. If the love ends up falling apart, the guardian of pragma fades back into the ether, but if it can last, they can mature into a powerful protector. I wanted this thing to be able to contend with succubi, which are almost like natural predators to guardians of pragma, but another reason for their CR is that players would start having access to spells like invisibility purge and see invisibility at the level where they would likely face it. True love helps them keep their their wards from falling prey to effects such as charm person, offering a high bonus since it's such a limited effect. The defensive numbers for the guardian of pragma are a little low to account for the fact that they are naturally and constantly invisible - a facet I decided on because they are selfless creatures that simply wish for the love of their bonded pair to flourish without thanks. They do have some extra defenses in the form of DR and SR, which I tried to keep low to not give them too much given their invisibility.
The guardian of pragma are swift creatures and agile fliers (though they aren't as swift in that regard) who use Weapon Finesse in conjunction with their natural attacks to fend off threats to their bonded pair. Their antlers can entrap targets within them, tangling horns leaving their hands free for other things, such as delivering rakes. With its sneak attack, the guardian of pragma takes advantage of its greater invisibility. The rest of its spells are largely meant to bolster or protect its pair, granting them a chance to act as heroes for each other though they also have deep slumber to pacify greater threats. I liked the In Harm's Way line of feats for them as a means to help guard their pair and then also picked up some basic combat stuff like Weapon Finesse and Flyby Attack.
Pathfinder 1e:
Given their invisibility and the fact that only certain number of them even make it to the Material Plane, I opted to make them rare. Catching Horns helps capture the feel of In Harm's Way, with the added benefit of grappling creatures if they are close enough. I kept its HP low, but went for a slightly higher AC both to reflect its natural dexterity and to help mitigate the fact that it has a large weakness for a fairly common material at its level. I thought about adding good damage to its attacks, which I kept low on damage since the guardian of pragma has the advantage of being unseen. However, I ultimately decided against it though I might have kept it in if I had made it a celestial. Again, its spells are largely intended to bolster or protect its allies and forcibly pacify foes. Silent Protector helps it casts these spells without ever being noticed, allowing it to operate from the sidelines. With Pinning Rake, it brings back the effects of rake while also giving the guardian of pragma actions left to cast spells.
Pathfinder 2e:
Blue's D&D 5e:
ENCOUNTER HOOKS
Splatters of the Heart: An oracle renowned for her accuracy has received a vision that the continued relationship between a specific couple will result in a great disaster. She initially tries to explain this to the couple, but they refuse to acknowledge the possibility of their love threatening others. Turning towards extreme measures, she employs the heroes to break up the couple however they see fit, though she is reluctant to simply have them killed until all other options are exhausted. This can mostly be a social encounter exploring the creativity of the heroes, but their attempts ultimately draw the attention of a guardian of pragma that is linked to the couple they’re targeting. It confronts them and while they can try to convince it that the relationship must end, doing so is nigh impossible, and the guardian of pragma fights to defends their love until the end.
Love and War: A party member who has a significant other that they are frequently away from on their adventures has been experiencing accidents outside of combat. None of them are life-threatening but they grow in severity until they reach the point where they run the risk of permanent injury. Sometimes their gear even goes missing in the night, found only through a thorough search of the surrounding area. If the heroes attempt to investigate the strange happenings, they begin to find signs of an invisible creature. When they uncover a means to reveal invisible creatures, they find a guardian of pragma responsible for the incidents, attempting to put an end to the character’s adventuring career so they can spend more time with their significant other. How the heroes solve this situation is up to them and can lead to either a fight or a roleplay scenario.
Thank you once more to Vildevitus#2346 for the awesome art! Tomorrow's Monster Monday will feature more of their art for an undead named after a hermit crab. The next Holiday Horror will be for St. Patrick's Day, and I've got some ideas but nothing concrete for that yet.
If you're interested, join our Discord or follow us on Twitter! It was on the former that we decided on a good creature for our Holiday Horror and the latter has lots of teases for upcoming stuff.
Have a happy Valentine's Day!
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