With this, we are two-thirds of the way through Magic the Gathering's elder dinosaurs! After I finish them out, there's some Monster Hunter creatures I'd love to build or maybe I'll pick some different MtG creatures. Lemme know if you have a preference, but until then, brave the storm and behold - Etali, Primal Storm!
The hardest part in designing Etali came in making its steal spell ability. It was a part I considered integral in mimicking the effects of his card, but one that I struggled with the wording upon. My first couple iterations I typed up made sense to me because I knew what I was trying to say, but were otherwise nonsense. Hopefully, that's not the case anymore! Everstorm was a fun idea based around the minuscule amount of lore surrounding Etali, but it also led me to reducing his other damage to keep it balanced. It's a somewhat delicate tightrope to tread between the two, but I think I made it! The storm also provides him with some defensive capabilities with the concealment it provides, and I had to include a way for him to get around it, which led to stormsight. My feat choice for him was pretty basic though I do like the idea behind the Censoring Critical feat, almost making Etali an anti-magic behemoth.
Pathfinder 1e Version
I was about to start discussing the Second Edition version when I noticed an error on it! Other than that, PF2e Etali is pretty straight forward. I will note that I originally gave Etali a swim speed based off the fact that the Pathfinder spinosaurus had one. Ultimately I ended up removing it because Etali is specifically a magical beast crafted in the form of a spinosaurus that dwells in mountains. However, I did borrow Rip and Tear (heavy metal music starts) from the spinosaurus as I thought it was a fun ability to give it some extra stuff to do. Largely as an aside, the PF2e spinosaurus does have some really neat abilities, including one where it can lunge sideways while in water to launch a wave at people that part of me really wanted to include. But they weren't entirely fitting for the creature. It is funny to me imagining Etali swim and all the fish around him dying from the Everstorm floating to the surface.
Pathfinder 2e Version:
Blue's D&D 5e Version (https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/XSVlrnPq)
ENCOUNTER HOOKS
The Calm Before: For years, a noble has kept citizens away from a patch of land trapped in an eternal downpour and lightning storm, just as his ancestors have for generations. A small commune arose near the storm, followers of a storm god who view it as a sign of his divine might and try to discern his will through it. However, in the past decade, a more zealous leader has stepped up amongst the commune and resulted in them moving into the storm’s area. When they refuse to leave, he hires the heroes to accompany his guards in evicting the commune who are liable to turn violent when they show up. However the increased activity and the primal magic being weaved aboveground stirs Etali into wakefulness. The great behemoth emerges, shaking the earth and scattering the surrounding forces before narrowing its eyes upon the heroes.
Prey to the Gods: When a regent seeks to turn into a god, the attempt and arrogance incurs the wrath of the gods themselves who unleash Etali from its subterranean prison to ravage the kingdom. Whether the heroes are aligned with the kingdom or not, they are there when Etali arrives, heralded by its storm that begins blasting the city. They can face Etali head-on in an attempt to drive him back or seek out another means to appease the gods. These could be different acts or challenges that they must face in the case of a pantheon or it could be a specific deity. Whatever must be done, it should take more than simply making a check or a simple offering and the heroes could even start the tasks as Etali makes its trek to the kingdom.
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Have a Monstrous Monday!
Thank you!
That does have some potential! I'll add it to my list of monsters to work on in the future though I do want to work on some lower CR stuff after I finish up the elder dinosaurs.
A link to the above:-) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamata_no_Orochi
That thing looks vicious!, I play 1E and I love the work that you do. I would absolutely love to see a Yamata no Orochi, I have never seen anyone even attempt to make one of those and it is an awesome fearsome Beast!. I don't know what tge CR on that would be though, maybe somewhere between 35 to 40, maybe only 20 to 25 with Mythic 8-10. Just a suggestion :-) I honestly doubt anybody's going to ever make one of those up but it's worth a try :-)