Monsters

Monster Manual (made by SaintShrike)

Be warned, these are alpha monster statistics, they are not necessarily perfectly balanced, we will need much time and refinement to make them good general overall yardsticks. Additionally, numbers vary based on party size. The stats for Sawbones are quite appropriate for a group of 4-5, but for 2 players will be overwhelming.

Adding more monsters is a reasonable way of adjusting encounter difficulty, as is altering hp values.

Zombies
Whenever a person dies on this island, they rise as the living dead. Zombies are slow and sluggish, but pack a heavy punch if they do manage to attack. Sometimes they lie buried in mud or water, suddenly springing to the surface and trying to tear apart the living.

Zombie Hillock
Hillock was a giant that was marooned on the island many years ago. He lived largely alone and died of starvation after living a long miserable existence searching for the rest of his kind. He has now risen as a giant zombie, and will attack Lioneye’s Watch at some point in the near future. Occasionally, Zombie Hillock will roar his name, the last vestiges of his tortured soul crying out.

Zombie Hillock has absorbed a Cleave soul, which he uses whenever he can. Cleave increases his by 2 and allows him to hit all enemies in his Zone. Zombie Hillock lacks the intelligence he had in life, and always attacks the nearest, biggest thing.

Tribal Humans
Tribes of humans that descend from exiles wrecked here hundreds of years ago, they have long since fallen into savagery and cannibalism. It is very difficult to reason or negotiate with them, but they do respect those they see as great warriors. Tribal warriors carry a wide array of simple, poorly made weapons ranging from rusty hatchets to their bare hands. Priests and shamans often accompany them, using powerful soul magic to destroy foes.

The nearest tribe to Lioneye’s Watch call themselves the People of Fire. They worship a powerful priestess, who has styled herself as the Fire God. They tend to capture people from other tribes and settlements, cook them and eat them. People who they deem to be worthy warriors get their highest form of ‘honour’, where they are burned alive while tied to a stake. The Fire God herself is in fact a smart exile who has used her fire magic to gain the worship and respect of these people. She plans to destroy Lioneye’s Watch and expand her territory inland, where there is more food and shelter.

The GM is encouraged to make multiple tribes, with interlocking politics and agendas.

Example of a Fire Priestess for a level 3 group:

Example of a level 3 tribal warrior:

Necromancers
Some men delve too deeply into the dark curse that lies in the heart of Wraeclast. These men lost their sanity and souls in the process. They now exist with a hunger to create armies of undead, and destroy all living things. Their skin has become pale and cold to the touch, and they have donned shamanistic feathered robes and helms. They speak in the ancient forgotten language of the Eternal Empire with deep, resonant and guttural intonations. Necromancers have the ability to raise up to 5 slain zombies at once. Otherwise, they like to debilitate their enemies with a powerful curse. Fiendishly intelligent, they also use the most effective tactics possible.

Example Necromancer for a level 5 group:

Sawbones
Nobody knows who Sawbones used to be. It almost doesn't matter anymore. He seems to have kept more sanity than the other Necromancers. He likes to ‘modify’ his undead, hence his namesake, with jagged bones and serrated edges. Sawbones is fiendishly clever, but he often loses himself in the torment of corruption. The other Necromancers look up to him...whatever his plans are, they are as dark as the heart of the island.

Sawbones starts off a fight casting Enfeeble. He knows Phase Run, and uses it to try run away and regenerate his energy shield. Otherwise, while he is not raising the dead back alive, he throws Fire Trap along corridors and constantly runs away luring players into traps. If ignored, he’s phase runs back into the fight, continuing to raise the dead. Sawbones is well aware he is the primary target, and will use tactics accordingly. If he hears the players before he sees them, he will deploy three Fire Traps at his feet, to incinerate the first melee player that runs at him, then run away. A player may make a Check, if they beat Sawbone’s Larceny, they see the traps.

Can raise 5 slain undead back to life per cast as a Major action.

Sawbones always has at least 15 skeletons or zombies of his level with him. Due to his modifications, they all gain a increased critical strike chance of 1.

Rhoas
Imagine an armadillo. Now imagine it the size of a cow, with two pairs of legs as powerful as an ostrich and a large, wickedly sharp bird beak. These armoured battering rams like to ambush unaware prey with a deadly charge. If they are spotted sneaking before they spring their ambush, they try run away to gain surprise later. A true master of nature might be able to tame and even ride such a beast. Rhoas are delicious when cooked, and taste just like chicken.

Rumours state that some masters of the wild have learned to tame and even ride Rhoa.

Example Rhoa for a level 5 group:

If a Rhoa manages to successfully charge from a distance, increase by 4.

Skeletons
A staple in any fantasy, skeletons come in all shapes and sizes but share one common purpose: kill the living. They are notoriously simple-minded, and wise warriors can use that to their advantage. They wield weapons such as swords, shields, bows and maces or even wield powerful magic. Sometimes they are even imbued by fire, cold or lightning. Skeletons have low thresholds due to their brittle bones.

Skeleton Warriors walk slowly towards the nearest enemy and try to attack them. They tend to attack in large herds, dressed in a mixture of rusty weapons and armour.

Skeleton archers tend to congregate together in small groups of 4-6. They fire arrows in unison...a creepy side effect of being linked together in undeath. They always fire at the closest target to them unless ordered otherwise by a necromancer.

Skeleton Executioner knows Heavy Strike. They usually carry a large bulky 2-handed axe. Skeleton Executioners crit on a 10, and will mindlessly chase and attack the first enemy they see until it is dropped. If there are no enemies left, they will proceed to coup-de-grace any fallen.

Skeleton Magi are imbued by a specific element, either cold, fire or lightning. They gain a resistance of 20 to their element, and deal that element in damage. Skeleton Magi shoot a projectile, and always fire at the closest target to them.

You can further increase the challenge by allowing them cast a particular elemental Skill Gem. Lightning Magi cast Spark, releasing 4 projectiles and increasing by 1. Cold Magi cast Ice LanceSpear, allowing them to crit on a 10, and increasing by 1 and critical strike damage by 50% against enemies outside of their Zone. Fire Magi cast Fireball, increasing by 1 and hitting all targets in the same Zone. Adding these skills to Magi greatly increases their danger, and will test your players Resistance.