The oracle covered her mouth as she struggled to get her breathing back under control, eyes dancing in her sockets. Ducked behind an overturned table, she heard the cascading slaps of flesh against the stone floor. Slowly, almost unwillingly, she leaned over to peer around the table. Padding across the floor was a hideous mass of limbs – human, monstrous, even uselessly hanging wings and flippers. A cloak was draped across the broad form and in its multitude of arms, it wielded a pair of blades and a heavy shield. In the center of the mess of rotting limbs sat a head with an almost cherubic face, a circlet sitting upon its gentle brow. The head turned from side to side, scouring the ruined remnants of the room and the oracle quickly withdrew – but not quick enough. A terrible wail emerged from behind her cover to pierce her ears, followed by the scrambling approach of the horror as she bolted.
Trying to do something other than MH creatures, and this is a monster that I’ve had my eyes on ever since on first saw some gameplay of Elden Ring. The mass of limbs and the manner in which it wields them was a lot of fun to try to bring over to Pathfinder. Armed with two blades as well as a shield, the grafted scion fights with all the ability of a more traditional solider but overwhelms foe with a devastating flurry of attacks. Many of its attacks are rather basic, but it has moves such as Crawling Stabs where it advances while stabbing at the ground before it, Retreat where it slashes out even as it scuttles away, and a Scream that damages anybody close by. Encountered as a sort of miniboss throughout the game, some of the grafted scions gain a Golden Tempering ability when reduced to half health or lower, which empowers their blades. They will also employ a Fencing Stance when hurt enough. Defensively, the grafted scion resists Magic, Lightning, Fire, and Holy effects in the game but is weaker to slashing damage.
While some of the flesh of the grafted scion does appear to be rotting away, the central subject appears mostly alive and as such, aberration feels a better fit to represent than a type such as undead. Its resistance to electricity and fire are obvious and it uses spell resistance to represent its ability to withstand magic. Balancing that out is its slashing vulnerability, which I’m not sure is something I’ve ever seen on a creature in 1e. Figuring out its attacks was a little rough, and I’m still not 100% sure that I did all that right. But it can make its attacks with a single short sword or unleash a terrifying flurry with both of its short swords and it shield. To keep its penalties from being too insane, it has omnidextrous as a general ability to enhance that playstyle along with its related feats. Its other unique ability is its screaming tantrum to reflect its simple Scream ability. While roars and screams don’t always deal damage in Pathfinder, I decided to stay truer to the original game when it came to representing the ability. Meanwhile, its trample ability serves as its Crawling Stabs attack, which is why it deals piercing damage similar to a short sword attack. With the focus of fencing being outwitting opponents, he has mass dazzling blades to enhance all his weapons at once. Similarly, the grafted scion uses lead blades for its Golden Tempering, which enhances the damage of all the weapons it wields.
Pathfinder 1e:
I was unable to conduct my usual test on the 2e grafted scion because of work and visiting family, but I ensured that I shared it with friends and folks on the MM Discord to get their opinions. At the core of its design is Multi-Armed and Dangerous to identify its ability to wield multiple weapons and Attacks of Opportunity. Like many creatures with spell resistance, the grafted scion has a status bonus on all saves versus magic as well as its resistance to electricity and fire. The weakness to slashing is a little more typical here and is why it has a more moderate HP. With its ability to Raise Shield, and the difficulty in closing on it due to the multiple AoOs, its base AC is a little lower than normal. Covered Escape stands in for its Retreat ability while its ability to break posture by overwhelming foes is achieved through its Piercing Defenses passive ability. Blue wanted this creature to have an ability that allowed it to make seven attacks that then left it open to attack, as it functions in game, but that seemed too much. However, I liked this idea of it being left vulnerable after overexerting itself and decided to make that a thing with the Furious Stab ability. Finally, Overwhelming Flurry is meant to resemble its ability as a fencer, delivering Strikes that leave foes vulnerable.
Pathfinder 2e:
Blue's D&D 5e:
ENCOUNTER HOOKS
Duchy of Dismemberment: While passing through a creepily absent area, the heroes find themselves beset by a grafted scion. After besting it, they can study its remains and find sigils leading them towards a local noble. They discover that the nobility of the realm, after being driven mad by a mysterious happening, have been rounding up commoners and fusing their limbs to them in a mad bid for power. After their slaying of the first scion, the heroes have proven themselves to be excellent components for others and they are soon beset by more of them. Beyond that, the remaining locals are happy to offer whatever they can to get the heroes to slay the insane nobles – and whatever has driven them to their current state.
Sum of His Parts: An eccentric noble hires the heroes for a number of quests involving the hunting of various exotic monsters that he wants delivered to him. The heroes are free to hunt the creatures in any order they want. Initially, it seems that he merely wishes to taxidermy the beasts in his manor, but has actually acquired the aid of a fleshwarper for a far darker purpose. After completing several hunts, the heroes return from the latest but in place of their employer, there is merely a missive summoning them to his basement. Below, they face off against the fleshwarper’s failed experiments before facing the noble himself now a grafted scion – made from the beasts that they chose to hunt. At the GM’s discretion, this may grant him unique and different powers than those normally possessed by a grafted scion.
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Have a monstrous Monday!
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