The capracion sat quietly upon his rock, even his breath silent as the party each struggled with their individual tasks. The barbarian struggled to stack the stones he’d been given, managing to stack a few before they toppled over and he was forced to restart. Under a nearby waterfall, the wizard tried to remain in place beneath the tumbling water before retreating and being forced to restart. Other members of the party each struggled with the seemingly inane tasks pressed upon them by the supposedly wise, caprine celestial who merely watched with masked amusement. As the band grew towards the end of their patience, a vein pulsing in the barbarian’s forehead, the capracion cracked his neck and readied himself for more practical instruction.
Illustration by Sethmonster
Round two, here we go! The origin for this creature actually resides in a random monster generator that I made for myself and I rolled a mountain-dwelling celestial themed around the mind and personal growth. The natural progress of this idea was a mountain goat who is akin to the classic trope of the wise old teacher on the mount. The goat concept and the celestial aspect fit well with agathions as creatures who have found enlightenment. Given the wide range of defenses that agathions naturally possess, I wasn't concerned with giving it a particularly high hp or saves. Monk abilities seemed a natural fit for this concept of a character, which led to the inclusion of the ascetic master ability and the bonuses that grants it. While that, and its mix of instructional, holy, and mountain-themed spells, are its main means of defending itself, its ability to be a teacher is covered with its nurturing teacher. I settled on having this be a temporary effect as I was unsure how I wanted to approach it for a permanent effect. Meanwhile, Mountain Stride and Surefooted are mostly to help it navigate its territory rather than anything else.
Pathfinder 1e:
I wanted to expand the effects of Nurturing Teacher somewhat and given the limit of guidance in this edition, I decided to expand on it to fulfill his role as a teacher. I was left to pick out or create abilities that gave the impression of a monk rather than just having ascetic master as an ability. Snatch Arrow felt like a fun reaction to give it while playing into that theme while I gave it Battering Ram instead of Flurry of Blows while mixing in its natural physiology. For 2e spells, I looked more towards spells to support, guide and protect others while still keeping its mobility with a high Speed and both Goat's Leap and Mountain Stride.
Pathfinder 2e:
Blue's D&D 5e:
ENCOUNTER HOOKS
Journey Up the Mountain: In preparation for a coming challenge, the heroes are urged to seek out a capracion that dwells at the top of a mountain. While scaling the peak is arduous, it is not the only challenge, for the capracion has apparently sworn off taking on further students. The heroes must find some way to convince the capracion to take them on as students, which may involve solving some problem or be a social encounter. The exact nature as to why the capracion is refusing students is up to the GM, but could be because previous students met a grisly end or its lessons have been repeatedly ignored.
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Have a monstrous Monday!
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