The ranger stood alongside the sorcerer, an arrow nocked as she aimed at the masked man menacing their barbarian companion. Empty eyes behind a grungy mask roamed over the party as the towering stranger loosely gripped a workman's hammer. After scanning the quartet, the dark gaze landed upon the ranger. Slowly, the man tilted his head as he observed her with unsettling intensity before stomping forward. A rough calloused hand shoved the barbarian aside with contemptible ease as he dove towards the ranger. Her usual courage wavered as his shadow fell over her, looming with menace as he raised his brutal weapon.
Featuring art from the ever-excellent SethMonster!
When I was young, I was real bad with horror but as I grew older, I’ve found myself enjoying it more – but slasher movies especially hold a special place in my heart. I love a killer with a creepy mask that dishes out some creative deaths to a bunch of dummies that kinda have it coming. So I wanted to combine my love for slashers with my love for Pathfinder Second Edition to make a new type of creature first exhibited by the slasher brute! True to name, these creatures follow the brute road map - high attack, high damage, moderate AC, and high HP. However, they have a suite of powers inspired by and based upon classic slasher tropes while borrowing quite a bit from the ranger, of all classes.
Core to the slasher brute is its Fixate, an ability inspired by and based upon the ranger's Hunt Prey with the single addition of bolstering the slasher brute's Intimidation, which is already high. It provides a number of benefits that are further explored in its other abilities. For example, its Instrument of Murder, which empowers tools that it wields, becomes even deadlier against its fixation. This concept is based on the weapons wielded by many slashers - they tend to use everyday implements like kitchen knives or even tools like chainsaws rather than actual weapons. Being a melee character, the slasher brute can close the distance with its Relentless March to stalk its fixation, which was originally just Sudden Charge. However, following the Monster Mash, I wanted the brute to have more ways of inflicting frightened and added the secondary feature in this ability. The group frighten on downing an opponent also comes from the Monster Mash where exactly that happened. If somebody tries to get in the way of the slasher brute on its Relentless March, it can use Shove Aside to remove them.
When it isn't using this reaction, it has its Fixated Ferocity, which is just Ferocity except it has to see its fixation, inspired by the legendary longevity of slashers. Rounding out the brute's kit is Unnerving Aura to keep enemies frightened and then Eerie Environs, which again borrows straight from the ranger. I didn't even really change up the words for this one.
Pathfinder 2e:
I tried to keep a lot of the same design when it came to creating the PF1e slasher brute, but had to make some concessions based on the differing action economy. I reduced fixate to a swift action, and settled for having it enhance attacks and skill checks, but it doesn't mesh as well with the rest of its kit simply due to the differences in design. Relentless march gets changed around a bit, being a sort of powerful charge ability that allows it to overrun a creature, combining it with Shove Aside from its 2e version. I wanted the brute to have a bit more punch to it, which led to the inclusion of strike fear, which it can reliably trigger with its Hurtful feat as well as the frightful presence that replaces its Unnerving Aura. It gets Catch Off-Guard as a bonus feat to allow them to wield their favored weapons.
Pathfinder 1e:
Blue's D&D 5e:
ENCOUNTER HOOKS
The slasher brute is specifically designed to be used in lower level encounters where they are mostly a threat to civilians and townspeople, playing into the classic preference of slashers. I also designed them at a similar level to ogres, who are similarly leveled and also have horror themes associated with them in Pathfinder. The heroes may find themselves investigating a series of murders or one of their own party may become the fixation of a slasher brute that begins stalking them.
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.
You can also check out the video on the YouTube channel!
Have a monstrous Monday!