Deep below the ridge that the band of heroes stood upon, lava popped and bubbled, its heat rising to them despite the distance. Their gaze was lifted even farther up the mountain that they stood upon where a massive figure perched upon the peak. Its body glowed, as did its focused glare, with fire and it sundered the tense silence with a savage roar that resonated like thunder. It fired itself into the air, leaping from the mountain’s top to crash before them with earth-churning force. The towering simian bellowed once more before it furiously pounded its chest, igniting the veins of magma that ran through its stony body.
I've been making increasingly powerful monkey monsters and I think this is gonna be the last one for the time being. While the last two primates have hailed from Monster Hunter, this one comes from Dauntless - the torgadoro. This fiery monster is composed of rock and fire, an element that it wields in battle alongside its powerful fists. It can inflict burning fire with its enflamed strikes and is strong enough to hurl boulders from the earth, ignite them with its fire, and hurl them. It will do multiple area attacks, smashing and slamming foes. Some of these slams are hard enough to crack the earth and call forth magma. Further exemplifying its strength is its ability to release a shockwave by clapping its hands together. Sometimes, torgadoro will begin spinning, surrounding itself in a tornado of fire as it moves across the battlefield. Finally, one of the torgadoro's most devastating attacks, is the ability to seize a foe and then smash and grind them against the ground, which is typically fatal in its home game.
Given the general form of the creature, I thought that it was better suited as an elemental, rather than a magical beast of some sort. Obviously, it is a fire elemental, which gives it a weakness to cold. I opted to have its slam attacks deal burn to represent the fire it inflicts and it can also grab targets for its deadliest move. I didn't want this to just be an automatic kill as it is in the source game, but I did pump several feats into its grapple ability, such as Awesome Throw and Savage Slam, to make it more fearsome. It has a rock throw ability that deals a little extra fire damage using the heated rock ability from the fire giants. To represent its area slams, I gave it the furious slam ability, balanced between dealing damage while making it more vulnerable. Its ability to draw lava from the earth is covered under its spilling fire. To represent the flaming circle it creates, the best option I could figure out for 1e is a trample ability that deals fire damage along with its regular damage. Finally, to accomplish the shockwave clap the torgadoro uses, I gave it a thunderous clap to create a shockwave in a line. Those who fail against the line also become staggered, giving the torgadoro a chance to close the distance or hurl its flaming rocks.
Pathfinder 1e:
One of the primary differences between the 1e and 2e versions of the torgadoro is how I managed to create its whirling tornado of fire. For the 1e version, I had to use a trample, but for the 2e version, I gave it an aura that it can activate or deactivate with its Whirling Flames. This aura limits the actions it can take, limiting it to movement while its active to simulate that the torgadoro doesn't take any other attacks while using its ability. The damage for its Fire From the Earth is based off of the spike stones spell. It didn't work out super great in the test since so many of the players had resistance to fire, but I was hesitant to increase the damage further (after already increasing its area) because it would be too punishing for those that lacked such resistance. I was able to better grasp the concept of its smashing of a foe against the ground with the Smear ability, shamelessly stolen from the cave giant. It was too fun of an ability to pass up on, and it performed spectacularly in the test. Finally, the 2e torgadoro can fly into an enraged state, a classic ability of behemoths in Dauntless, when hurt enough. I increased the effects of its Flaming Fury following the test, deciding that I wanted it to add some fire to its grasp.
I had asked on the Monster Monday Discord if they preferred equipment based on the equipment the monster actually creates, or if they liked equipment inspired by the abilities of the monster itself. I didn't have a lot of responses, but those that did, suggested the latter. As such, instead of granting a rage ability, the item of the torgadoro allows the wielder to hurl flaming boulders.
Pathfinder 2e:
Blue's D&D 5e:
ENCOUNTER HOOKS
Molten Monkey Madness: A mad cult have been trying to merge the planes together into a single chaotic mess with little care for how this will affect the different worlds. The heroes have been on a mission to stop these madmen, leading them on a journey across dimensions. While the cult has faced setbacks from the efforts of the hero, they have at least managed to fashion a portal leading directly to the Plane of Fire. However, when the heroes arrive to put a stop to it, they find that the cult has been devastated by a monster that emerged from the portal – a curious torgadoro. It jealously guards its new domain and attacks the intruding heroes. They can slay the torgadoro, but savvy heroes may figure a way to lure it back through the portal before destroying it.
Hot Topics: The heroes are attempting to appeal to a noble of the Plane of Fire, possibly an ifrit sultan or similarly powerful figure. A busy individual, he decides who he holds court with based off of the best gift presented to him by prospects. By leveraging contacts, bribing officials, or using other political maneuvering, the heroes may discover that this noble has desired and sought after a pet torgadoro. Armed with the knowledge that acquiring this for him assures them an audience with the noble, the heroes must devise a method to capture and secure a torgadoro, keeping it peaceable long enough to present and have their talk with the noble.
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