Given seregios's skill in the air, I opted to give it perfect maneuverability in the air and then
Sorry about the late post - work started little early this morning. Some of you might recognize this monster as it hails from an older Monster Hunter game - yet again, one that I haven't played. Personally, I would have loved to see this creature make its way to World and maybe duke it out in the air with bazelgeuse. I think it would've worked real well since these creatures are specifically noted to come from somewhere other than the Old World. Regardless, this was too cool a creature for me to pass up on, so check out Steve - I mean, seregios!
The very first thing I debated when building this stat block was whether or not to make seregios a dragon or a magical beast. After past discussion with others on the subject and a number of incongruent details, which I ended up outlining in seregios' description, I settled with magical beast. There's not a lot of MH monsters I would actually count as dragons despite many of them being labeled as 'wyverns.' I got a chance to test this monster out and it originally had lower hp, but the test showed me that I wanted to make it a little bit burlier. Shield of blades helps it discourage attacks against it while it has the typical DR of high tier Monster Hunter critters I build. However, I did have to include its natural weaknesses to cold and electricity.
Given seregios's skill in the air, I opted to give it perfect maneuverability in the air and then gave it an array of attacks. While its talons deal the least amount of damage of its armaments, I feel like they still ended up being its deadliest weapons due to the bleed and grab they can do. Naturally, it can throw its blade scales individually or unleash them in a cone using its rain of blades. The effects of its bleed are worsened by the jagged scars it leaves, which is copied largely wholesale from the Archdevil Barbatos's barbed beard ability. With feats, I looked towards improving the seregios's aerial mastery - I mixed Flyby Attack with the Vital Strike line (I had to doublecheck to make sure they worked together and they do as far as I can tell) as well as Mobility so it can swoop in and out of ground bound targets. Going down the Fling line works well for the creature, allowing it to savage and then hurl prey that it grabs.
Pathfinder 1e:
The 2e seregios ended up being an animal for its creature type but I wanted to keep its darkvision. I wanted it to have a decent pool of HP since it has multiple weaknesses, but I didn't want to give it too much since it has the resistance to all physical damage. I decided to limit Shield of Blades to a once per turn effect since I upped the damage and made it a basic save instead of a save-or-suck effect. Given the changes to how persistent damage works in 2e, I had to alter Jagged Scales slightly, but it remains a deadly if the heroes can't treat it. Since I don't like reinventing the wheel, I borrowed quite a few abilities from other creatures - Powerful Dive (wyvern), Predator's Advantage (deinonychus), and Snatch (giant dragonfly, giant eagle, etc.) all felt appropriate for the seregios. Finally, I wanted an ability to represent the seregios flying into a frenzy, which led to the inclusion of Whirling Blades, a not terribly unique ability.
Pathfinder 2e:
Blue's D&D 5e Version:
ENCOUNTER HOOKS
Aerial Superiority: Avayostrixx is a recently matured adult dragon, the type of which is up to the GM but probably not one that wields cold or electricity, that has already managed to lay claim to a sizable territory and amassed a moderate horde. However, a strange beast has recently invaded its land and after a fierce battle, forced the dragon to flee. Avayostrixx is loath to face the beast again and instead takes up a human disguise to recruit adventurers to face the creature in its stead, all while claiming to merely be a vassal of Avayostrixx who simply doesn’t want to deal with the intruder. He offers payment in the form of a single item from Avayostrixx’s hoard per party member or a boon they may ask for at any time. Should the party agree, Avayostrixx guides them to the terrain in its human guise but quickly disappears once the invader, a seregios, rears its head. Once the monster is slain, Avayostrixx appears in its true form, acting imperious with a tinge of gratitude for removing the ‘noisome lout.’
Invasive: When the heroes are in city, a stream of refugees begin to appear from a small frontier settlement, fearful and panicked. After everything is sorted, the heroes learn that a rampaging beast tore through the refugees’ hometown. The heroes, already accomplished adventurers, are asked to make the venture out there and investigate the scene. What they find is devastation but picking through the wreckage unveils strange bladed scales . . . and scorch marks. Searching the surrounding area results in the heroes finding both of the perpetrators – a seregios and a deviljho that cease their feud at the sight of new prey.
We have some fun monsters coming up that are appropriate for the season, which I can't wait to show you guys, but in between them, I'll have some more MH monsters and maybe some other franchise creatures coming up. If there's anything in particular you'd like to see, lemme know - I still have some requests to work through, but don't mind adding to the list. Also, come join our Discord!
Have a Monstrous Monday!
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