The sorcerer followed her party cautiously, her wide eyes plumbing the shadows in the creaking house that her companions walked through without hesitation. Her hesitancy saw her slipping further and further behind only to scurry quickly after them. A small shriek left her mouth as a door beside her suddenly creaked open, prompting her allies to turn towards her in surprise. Cheeks flushing, she waved them off and tried to gather herself as she moved beyond the door. She shook her head, closing her eyes to clear the doubts and fears clinging to her mind. A sudden shout roused her from her reverie and she turned to see a living shadow looming from the dark, eyes glowing yellow and twin blades glinting in its hands.
This creature came at the request of one of my brothers and is actually a monster/NPC version of a FBF that I've done in the past. The talons are personal assassins of the Court of Owls within the Batman comics who are infused with electrum after death to make them into undying killers. This translated into making them undead NPCs, which might seem a little strange, but their abilities tend to borrow heavily from class feats and features. Based on the electrum continually restoring their bodies, the talons include a fairly high regeneration only stopped by cold damage while their defenses are generally middling. They have a high attack but below low damage that is intended to be increased by Sneak Attack, which averages at a high damage for them when in use.
However, the talon is largely meant to operate alone, at least if you want to stay true to the series they originate from. To facilitate this, it has a couple of tricks up its sleeve starting with Acrobatic Flair, which, aside from enhancing its ability to jump, is based on the rogue and swashbuckler's Tumble Behind. The talon can also use their classic 'The Court of Owls has sentenced you to death' with the very aptly named Sentence to Death though I wonder if I packed too much into this. It is a Demoralize that then includes the features of Dread Striker and the hobgoblin's Remorseless Lash, specifically against that enemy. This is a lot to tie into one ability, but the talon can only focus on one creature at a time with this and if a creature manages to shake off this frightened condition, they're immune to Sentence to Death for 24 hours. Catch Blade and Twist From Hands are connected with the former reaction serving as a requirement for the latter. This reaction is based on the undead and regenerative nature of the talon, letting them take a hit to get the weapon stuck in their body as it begins to heal around it. Removing it requires a moderate Acrobatics or Athletics check so that neither Dex or Str-based martials are too penalized. However, an enemy that doesn't remove their weapon may have it taken from them with Twist From Hands and then have it brought to bear against them. This can be dangerous to the party and it may force them to adopt new tactics. Rounding out the talon's toolkit is Hobbling Slice, which is akin to one of the two action more powerful attacks except it is entirely focused on debuffing the enemy and making them easier prey rather than just increasing damage.
Pathfinder 2e:
Blue's D&D 5e:
ENCOUNTER HOOKS
The Owls' Talons: The heroes are to meet with a noble of some import for a job, information, or something of similar value that the noble specifically knows. However, upon arrival, they discover the noble under attack by a talon, sent to slay the man for wronging the Court of Owls in some way. They must battle the undead assassin while protecting the noble and seeking a way to put a stop to its endless regeneration. This may lead to them looting an alchemical lab for frost vials or perhaps the noble has a magically enchanted refrigeration room that is so cold that prolonged time spent in there deals cold damage.
Instead of talking about another encounter hook, I do actually want to talk about their regeneration briefly. The cold damage is specifically based on their lore and I personally would not remove the damage type or change it. While rarer than other damage types, it adds a challenge to the encounter. It should force the heroes to adapt to it and come up with new ideas. If the heroes don't have cold damage, then maybe they will be forced to down the talon and then flee. Maybe they even have to drop a bookshelf or something like that on the talon to give them time to escape and put distance between them. I know parties don't like to run, but this plays into the creature's design and themes.
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Have a monstrous Monday!
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