A blow from the barbarian’s axe launched the diminutive creature across the battlefield to crash heavily into the dirt. It struggled to raise only to succumb to the ugly wound in its side and collapse while the barbarian chuckled to himself and hefted his greataxe across his shoulders. He looked to the ranger who merely rolled her eyes at his antics before she twitched, turning her head slightly and tensing. There was the sound of a heavy impact and the party turned to see a looming beast, akin to the smaller monsters they had just felled. A hood framed its long snout and its throat bulged before it unleashed a breath of purple smoke against the band of adventurers. They coughed as it obscured their vision and burned their lungs, the sorcerer doubling over as the toxin seared her throat. Through the coughs and choked gasps, they could hear the heavy footsteps as the great wroggi slowly advanced upon them.
I wanted to build a bit of a lower-level creature this week, and while I’ve made a few of Monster Hunter’s raptor-like creatures in the past, I’ve avoided doing others due to the similarities they have with each other. However, the great wroggi was distinct enough that I took a shot at it – and even made it a tiny bit tougher than the other similar monsters I’ve made. While the great wroggi here is level five, its wroggis are level two and are merely adapted jaggia, so there isn’t too much to get into there. The main feature of the great wroggi is its Wroggi Venom, which uses a moderate DC and lower damage. I’m always a little cautious when it comes to using poisons, lending to the more meager numbers for it.
The two main ways for the great wroggi to disperse this toxin are its Breath Weapon and Toxic Mist. The former is a pretty standard area-damage effect with a high DC and a damage value slightly below limited used since it does have the chance of applying that poison. Its Toxic Mist is a bit more unique, producing a stationary effect not unlike mist but adding unlimited use area damage at a moderate save DC since, again, it has that chance of inflicting poison. It does also have Last Gasp, a more unique reaction born from my love of making such effects. This lets the great wroggi expel all its toxins against its attacker, and the intensity of this poison means that the target takes a slight penalty that brings the save of the poison closer to a high DC. Other than that, the great wroggi has a Lumbering Bash, which is based on its side bash attack – an attack that it uses way too commonly in my opinion. It might seem like a bit much at first glance with its Stride, Strike, pushing effect, and letting it ignore the concealment of its Toxic Mist. However, it has the flourish trait, unlike the similar ability of Pounce, which is a Stride, Strike, and lets a creature remain hidden, so I think it all balances out.
Also, I whipped up some gear for the great wroggi! I leaned into the theming of its armor set, having it provide a bonus to firearms and crossbows. This is based on the armor skills such as Poison Attack, Ammo Up, and Rapid Fire Up while also playing into this terror’s toxicity and the concealing effect of its Toxic Breath.
Pathfinder 2e:
Designing the PF1e great wroggi was a tiny bit of a challenge due to the lack of poison damage, which isn’t the first time I’ve encountered this issue. The poison of the wroggi is very simple, merely inflicting Constitution damage since poison in MH just deals health damage. One big change that I’m not sure I’m actually like is now its breath weapon and toxic cloud don’t deal poison damage or really any damage – they just expose targets to the poison. The only thing really of note beyond that is Power Attack which builds into Improved Bull Rush so that the great wroggi can recreate the effects of its side bash.
Pathfinder 1e:
Blue's D&D 5e:
ENCOUNTER HOOK
Great Wroggi Wrangler: Playing into the armor of the great wroggi, the party encounters a wroggi-riding wrangler who uses lassos and the like to tangle up foes, leaving them trapped while the poison of its partner does its job. The wrangler may also be accompanied by a host of wroggi as well.
IMPORTANT NOTICE!!!
I have to talk about something real quick before I go - I started this whole thing making monsters for Pathfinder First Edition but I haven't played the system in years. I am looking to stop producing PF1e monsters with the start of the new year, in part because I am not as confident in building creatures in the system as I once was but also because it is the most time-consuming aspects of making the stat blocks themselves. Please let me know what you think because if enough people are against this, I might reconsider, but that has not been the case thus far.
Here's a nice quick little video for you to check out!
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Have a monstrous Monday!
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