Rumbling snores arose from the massive dragon coiled in its nest, the sharp spikes stabbing from it almost indistinguishable from the jutting branches and burrs it bedded in. The aged fighter moved forward cautiously despite the assurance of the wizard that no sound he could make would awake it. His shield was on his back as he wielded his sword in two hands and he glanced back towards the rest of his party who stood at the ready while encouraging onward. Drawing a deep breath and rolling his eyes, the grizzled man raised the blade overhead and brought it crashing down – only for the edge to bounce off the neck of the monster and send him reeling backwards. He almost lost his grip on his blade and glared back towards his companions again as he heard a giggle. They remained straight-faced as possible and he scowled before straightening. He tightened his grip on his blade, set his stance, and brought it down once more. This time, the blade bit into the neck of the beast and blood sprayed from the wound but his cry of success was overwhelmed by the roar of the awakening dragon. Its wings unfurled, knocking the fighter from its nest, as the espinas reared back, flame flickering in its fanged maw.
It's time for another Monster Hunter creature! This was a fun one to design because it let me try something a little different, a little new. The espinas is a burly beast, being immune to fire and poison while also having a resistance to physical damage, based on its ability to sleep through assaults. It does have a weakness to cold, which leads to it using moderate Hit Points. Its attacks range from a low to moderate attack bonus but can deal moderate or high damage – at least, normally. One of the main things about the espinas is its ability to inflict a number of statuses upon hunters, but I’ve combined two of them, the Poisoned and Paralyzed statuses, into its Thorn’s Venom. This starts with mere damage to represent the former but then leads into the target become slowed and eventually paralyzed for the latter as they continue to fail saves. As a toxin that it has a number of ways applying, it only uses a moderate DC. While its horn can inflict this, heroes run the chance of being afflicted with it every time they hit the espinas’s Thorns, based heavily on the pukwudgie. It deals damage based on unlimited use area damage since multiple creatures can trigger it and for that very same reason, sticks with a moderate DC. It requires a critical failure against this save to be exposed to the venom, but that’s still a very potent effect and raising either value higher could completely shift the encounter.
The espinas does of course have its fireballs represented by its Blossoming Blaze, dealing limited use area damage with a high DC. The espinas can launch these pretty regularly but so that they could keep their potency, I gave them a cooldown – albeit, a low one. If you’re keen on Monster Hunter, you might notice that an aspect of this ability is missing from its original version, but we’re going to be getting to that in a bit. Before that, the espinas is also known for charging, which leads to it using two different abilities. Trample is pretty standard and features a high save DC whereas its Wild Charge is a little more unique though it isn’t entirely new, borrowing a bit from the boar. The biggest difference is that the espinas can Fly as part of this, expanding the ways that it can attack from. Rounding out the abilities of the espinas is Blooming Fury, which references the enrage of the espinas. It isn't something I usually try to create for monsters unless it's important to the creature but it is actually important to the espinas. An enraged espinas is a ferocious fighter but per the descriptions of the creature, its blood vessels make its skin softer and easier to pierce. This is represented by removing its physical resistance and making it quickened while also providing some classic rage effects. Furthermore, this is what causes its Blossoming Blaze to start exposing its victims to its Thorn's Venom. This is an aspect of the espinas I didn't want to include as a baseline effect for the espinas as I would have had to decrease the power of its fireball and I liked where it was at.
Its item is inspired by the dual blades, which deal both poison and fire effects, and resemble wind and fire wheels. Its activated effect both resembles the dual blade's Demon Mode as well as the Blooming Fury of the espinas with it providing quickened.
Pathfinder 2e:
Pathfinder 1e:
Blue's D&D 5e:
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