Monster Monday - Banyrek

The great toad-like beast gave a rumbling grumble as an arrow crashed against the strange exoskeleton that formed around its flickering core. Not bothering with a swear, the ranger immediately nocked another arrow as the druid summoned vines to entangle the strange creature - a blight to the natural world that they sought to protect. As if response to the trouble they specifically caused, the creature pulled itself up before launching a bolt of dark, purplish matter. The ranger readied herself to pitch to the side only for the bolt to hit the ground and splash into a seeping puddle. Immediately, plant-life within the area began to wilt and wither and the ranger felt her breath becoming heavier as her body faltered - even as the beast began to rip free from its bindings.

Banyrek from Zenless Zone Zero

A bellowing beast born to bounce, the banyrek bursts onto the battlefield in a blaze of belligerence, bodying baddies with its bulk and bringing blight in bunches.

I had fun killing the banyreks for this video because they're a bunch of bouncy bastards that deserve it.

The banyrek doesn't really follow any specific road map, but is built as a bit more of a burly creature. Neither their Strength or Constitution are quite high, but both are right below it while its defenses lean towards a moderate AC with a high pool of Hit Points. Its attacks have only a moderate attack bonus, but use moderate damage even as their baseline - at least, normally.

Perhaps the most integral part of the banyrek's kit is its Miasmic Spit, which has some basis in the Corruption Crash of the flame cantor though the banyrek's area is a bit different and has a longer range. It still forces a moderate DC Fort save to avoid being drained based on the corruption of miasma in ZZZ, but it has a rather low cooldown, which is meant to facilitate the other aspects of the banyrek's kit. For example, it it hits an area of miasma with another usage of Miasmic Spit, it provokes an explosion that deals limited use area damage with a high DC Fort save. With this being miasma and ether, I wasn't quite sure what damage type it should be in Pathfinder. It would make sense for spirit damage for ether creatures in Pathfinder, but ZZZ ethereals aren't those kinds of ethereals, so I ultimately settled on force damage - having it be a pure, unidentifiable form of energy. This explosion clears the miasmic pool, but the banyrek can also clear one of these pools with Drink Miasma.

Perhaps unusually, the banyrek itself isn't immune to the miasma pools that it creates. However, this allows it to uniquely absorb this effect to briefly grow in power, based off of the buff state that they enter. I couldn't find the exact nature of these buffs and so I went for something a little standard with some similarities to Rage - temp HP, damage that bumps up its Strikes by about one step, and a bonus on attack rolls that give it a high attack bonus. However because these are all rather potent effects, I kept the overall duration rather short. In addition to these more out there, the banyrek does have a few more standard-seeming effects. Terrifying Croak actually comes from the boggards, a race of toad-like creatures, with the change being that the banyrek doesn't terrify its fellow ethereals and that it uses a high DC Will save. I included this ability because the banyrek does have a nice bellow that it occasionally unleashes, which can be seen in Yixuan's Character Teaser. Outside of that, the banyrek has its Bouncing Slam based on the great leaps that it will often perform before it comes crashing down. I was debating how I wanted to accomplish this effect, even with its extreme Athletics skill when it comes to jumping, but I settled on having it be based on distance or the result of its check and creating an area around it that deals unlimited use area damage against a high DC Reflex save. Inspired by the barbarian's Impressive Landing, it also turns the ground into difficult terrain - but it's a brief effect again until the ground settles.

PF2e Banyrek

Blue's D&D Banyrek

ENCOUNTER HOOKS

Plagued by Toads: While the heroes are passing through a swamp, they run afoul of some boggards, which might include a boggard cultist that has managed to tame a banyrek to serve as a minion - or maybe even a mount. The banyrek should be immune to the Gogunta's Croak of the cultist while the cultist should maybe swap in some spells for area control - to potentially trap foes in its pet's miasmic pools. For some extra danger, the encounter could also include a boggard scouting party.

Flames, Faith, and Frogs: A banyrek or two could function well alongside a flame cantor, combining their miasma pools to greater effect to keep the banyrek juiced up or filling the battlefield with explosions. The flame cantor likely sees the creatures as a symbol of its faith being justly rewards while they may simply see it as a meal ticket.

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Have a monstrous Monday!