The rogue knelt before the chest taller than her and paused to glance over her shoulder at the wizard who gave her a reassuring thumbs-up. The wizened woman only deepened her scowl as she withdrew the picks from the inside of her sleeves. According to the younger woman, powerful magic lurked within the chest and her greedy party had urged the rogue to set to work with her usual tricks. She’d found no traps in her approach but something lingered in the back of her, a tingling feeling that had saved her skin many times before. And did so again as the chest rippled before her picks could touch it.
Its form shifted and flowed into a new shape, one somewhere between an angler fish and toad with thick, bristling fangs that snapped inches from her face. As the rogue scrambled back with a violent swear and her party readied themselves for combat, the angler trickster croaked menacingly.
Like the spectral hydra turtle from a few Mondays ago, this monster comes from Ruined King - A League of Legends story. A rare encounter found at several different points and scaled to each encounter, I wasn't sure where to start with its challenge rating. I opted for a mid-level creature to explore the full extent of its abilities. Given the strangeness of the creature, aberration seemed like a good place to start with its creature type, using aquatic for its fish-like qualities. As a creature able to swim through the ground as easily as water, tremorsense was a necessary addition to its senses while darkvision is merely part of being an aberration. The angler trickster has no particular weaknesses as far as I'm aware so there's nothing terrible special there although I didn't want to add too much power there given some of its latter powers.
It has only a single attack, but it makes up for it with its grab and steal magic ability, the basis of the creature's power, which is based off the spell-stealing ability that can be added to weapons in 1e. This ability mimics the in-game creature's ability to steal buffs that its targets possess. While normally it can only do this to a single creature at a time, it does have an AoE version represented through its glutton's gulp. Aside from stealing buffs, the angler trickster is also able to deliver a multitude of debuffs from its lure. I wasn't sure how to flavor it but decided to flavor it as it summoning a light from another world that interacts with the material world in an odd way. The light it unleashes inflicts debuffs as it does in game though I worry it might be too powerful in its 1e format. For its feats, the main thing I built towards was its Improved Steal so that it could nab both the magic and physical accoutrements of its foes. Given its low Intelligence, I had to use Dirty Fighting to pick that up. Finally, the angler of course has an ability to Mimic Object, based off of the ability of the mimic.
Pathfinder 1e:
I had to make some alterations for the 2e version and started by giving it a reaction that it only gets to use when it starts a combat, but I still really like Trapjaw representing people that fall for its trick. Its stats are based off of lower or moderate scores due to its Devour Magic ability potentially empowering it at the sake of others. Something I was able to do with the 2e version of the angler was having varying effects on its Lure Flash based on the degree of success. I separated conditions based off of perceived power level though some aren't entirely equal. For example, deafened is probably the weakest of the severe conditions outside of specific circumstances. I sought to still take advantage of its Trapjaw even if it only gets to use that ability at the start of a combat with its Surprise Attack, borrowed from the rogue, giving it an edge against slower foes. It does also have its Swallow Whole, which isn't something I really covered in my write-up but is based off of the fact that one of its attacks is called Devour in-game.
Pathfinder 2e:
Blue's D&D 5e:
ENCOUNTER HOOKS
Tower of Power: The heroes come across an ancient wizard’s tower ripe for looting but it is not without defenders. Ancient magical defenses remain as do some of the wizard’s creations – animated objects, golems, and even a few magically created organisms. However, the greatest threat is another invader that came to the tower years ago – an angler trickster that devoured many of the artifacts the wizard had developed during his lifetime. Some of that magic has seeped into the angler trickster itself, making it even more dangerous than normal. The angler trickster has sustained itself by feeding on the creatures from the lower levels of the tower that wander up to its lair. Even if the heroes don’t reach the angler trickster, their slaying of creatures on the lower level ruins its food supply and earns them the angler’s ire.
Need to Greed: The heroes' have freshly acquired a powerful artifact but the potency of its magic has attracted the attention of a ravenous angler trickster. It begins hunting them, trying to trick them into a trap while aiming for the artifact that it wants to absorb.
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Have a monstrous Monday!
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