Monster Monday Make-Up - Barrelfist

The rogue flew backwards, tumbling across the ground and back onto her feet to face the mechanical ape that pounded the earth, shattering and shaking the earth around it. Its once-blue eyes flickered a bloody crimson, a promise of the violence it sought to wreak. A strange, reverberating roar emerged from it only to be cut off as the fighter slammed into the side of its face with his shield. As the solid but silver-haired soldiered stood staunchly before the steely simian, the rogue retrieved the daggers that had been knocked from her hands. By the time she straightened once more, she saw the fighter catch a blow on his shield, the clang of the strike followed by a muffled boom that launched the warrior off his feet and sent him sailing backwards. He managed to catch himself, skidding to a halt next to the rogue. The wizened adventurers shared a glance and a nod before charging the barrelfist as it reared back and pounded its chest.

Our mecha monkey mauler matches might in magnificent melees, mashing mercenaries with mechanical muscles that makes mincemeat out of madcaps.

Concept by Cameron McLoud, Art by spooky-activity

I had some issues with last week's post, but I've figured it out! If watching a video is more your speed, check out the video over on YT!

This bionic beast is mostly built as a brute, featuring an Armor Class between low and moderate and Components that have a high Armor Class. Its melee Strike has a moderate attack bonus with high damage while its ranged attack uses only a low attack bonus but sticks with the high damage. This is actually a bit low with it the brute design, but it has a host of abilities that keep it a mechanical menace. Its fist Strike has the Improved Grab ability, which it can follow up with Heavy Slam. This requires a follow-up attack roll, so it can be a bit of a gamble, but it both extends the duration of the barrelfist’s grab and makes the target prone – which means they have to Escape to even stand up. The barrelfist can keep the combo meter counting by following this up with an Unleash Shockwave. This deals unlimited use area damage at a high DC Fortitude save but has the added effect of knocking foes back. However, if there’s nowhere for the person to go, such as them being up against the wall or planted in the ground, the impact leaves them stunned 1.

Outside of these moves, the barrelfist has a few area effects. Its Swift Leap is essentially Quick Jump and leads pretty directly into its Crashing Impact. With this, the barrelfist can bound into the midst of enemies and convert the area around it into difficult terrain. It can easily leap out of this, but might help slow down encroaching enemies while those already in the area will be taking unlimited use area damage at a high DC. Rounding out its general design is Thunderous Roar. This deals limited use area at yet another high DC but I did deliberately deviated from the D&D design a bit because the barrelfist had a sparkers component that I wanted to incorporate into its design more.

Pathfinder 2e:

Cam’s D&D 5e:

ENCOUNTER HOOK

Robo Rumble in the Rocky Ruins: The hero’s investigation into an ancient temple goes awry when they come across a barrelfist guarding it. Whether the remnant from a past civilization or a misplaced machine, the barrelfist adds a complication as its raucous combat style threatens to bring the temple down around their head. This could manifest in damage per round with a basic save or even close off areas that the players might want to explore.

No Monster Mash for this one, but the next one will have one! If you're interested in joining the discussion on what creatures/builds I'm working on or just discussing your own homebrew works, check out our Discord! If you want to get some teasers or help us get to our yet unlisted milestones for extra content, check out the Twitter.

Have a monstrous Monday!