June 5th, 2009
I was going to move on from this series, but I realized I hadn’t provided any examples yet. Therefore, my final preview for now will be the following two statblocks: First, the Kitsune Celestial Shrine Maiden, a young priestess ready to defend her shrine and those who worship there. (Yes, I’m aware that miko aren’t exactly priestesses, but anime made me do it.) Second, the Kitsune Wilder Shadow Weaver, a beguiling illusionist all too willing to toy with the minds of others for his own amusement. Following the jump.
| Kitsune Celestial Shrine Maiden |
Level 5 Elite Artillery (Leader) |
| Medium Fey Humanoid |
XP 400 |
|
| Initiative +4 |
Senses Perception +11; low-light vision |
|
| HP 126; Bloodied 63 |
| AC 19; Fortitude 17, Reflex 17, Will 18 |
| Saving Throws +2; +4 against charm and fear effects |
| Speed 6; see also Fox Shape |
| Action Points 1 |
| M Naginata Strike (Standard; at-will) ? Weapon |
| +7 vs. AC; 2d4 damage; Reach 2 |
| r Lance of Faith (Standard; at-will) ? Divine, Implement, Radiant |
| ranged 5; +9 vs. Reflex; 1d8+4 radiant damage, and one ally the shrine maiden can see gains a +2 power bonus to its next attack roll against the target. |
| a Blades of Astral Fire (Standard; encounter) ? Divine, Implement, Radiant |
| burst 1 within 10 squares; +9 vs. Reflex; 1d6+4 Wisdom modifier damage. Each ally in the burst gains a +5 power bonus to AC until the end of the shrine maiden’s next turn. |
| Favored of Inari (Immediate Reaction; encounter) |
| (when bloodied) The shrine maiden recovers her Blades of Astral Fire power. |
| Fox Shape (Minor; at-will) ? Polymorph |
| Once per round, the shrine maiden can take the form of a fox or shift back to humanoid form. When she changes form, she can shift 1 square. In fox shape, she cannot attack, but she gains a +2 power bonus to AC and Stealth checks, and a +2 square power bonus to speed. |
| Alignment Good |
Languages Common, Elven |
|
| Skills Heal +11, Insight +13, Religion +12 |
| Str 13 (+3) |
Dex 12 (+3) |
Wis 18 (+6) |
| Con 16 (+5) |
Int 16 (+5) |
Cha 17 (+5) |
|
| Equipment robes, holy symbol, naginata (treat as glaive) |
The Kitsune Celestial Shrine Maiden is a celestial who has chosen to serve her patron deity as a priestess. She lives near or within a center of population, where she cares for a shrine as any priest might. Though noted for her skill in healing, she possesses enough power to strike against those who would endanger the sacred place, channeling the energies of her patron in order to protect those who worship him.
Tactics: The shrine maiden will avoid engaging alone if at all possible; she knows that her main talent lies in bolstering her allies. She will allow these allies to take the forefront of the fight, remaining in the second rank, near but behind her defenders. She will use Blades of Astral Fire as soon as she can catch multiple allies and enemies with it, and again if she is bloodied; a favored tactic is to have her allies surround a strong-looking target , so that she can aid them while weakening it. Her Lance of Faith is her primary attack otherwise. Any given shrine maiden might have mastered additional Divine prayers as well. Many also have powers that allow them to access their, or their allies’, healing surges.
If a fight is going badly, the shrine maiden will attempt to withdraw, along with her allies. Generally, she will attempt to strike back in some way, at a later date. Kitsune have long memories and are often patient in their planning…
| Kitsune Wilder Shadow Weaver |
Level 7 Elite Controller (Leader) |
| Medium Fey Humanoid |
XP 600 |
|
| Initiative +6 |
Senses Perception +10; low-light vision |
|
| HP 160; Bloodied 80 |
| AC 21; Fortitude 19, Reflex 20, Will 21 |
| Saving Throws +2 |
| Speed 6; see also Fox Shape |
| Action Points 1 |
| M Short Sword (Standard; at-will) ? Weapon |
| +10 vs. AC; 1d6+3 damage |
| Foxfire (Free; encounter) ? Fire |
| Add 1d6 bonus fire damage to an attack; that attack gains the Fire keyword. If the attack targeted a single enemy, the bonus fire damage is instead 2d6. |
| a Twisting Shadows (Standard; encounter) ? Illusion, Psychic |
| burst 1 within 10 squares; +11 vs. Will; 3d8+5 psychic damage, and the target treats all allies in the burst as enemies for purposes of determining flanking (save ends). All allies of the shadow weaver in the burst gain concealment until the end of the shadow weaver’s next turn. |
| r Maddening Visons (Standard; at-will) ? Illusion, Psychic |
| +11 vs. Will; 1d8+5 psychic damage, and the target must make a melee basic attack against an adjacent ally (if possible). If the target has multiple adjacent allies, the shadow weaver decides which one is targeted by this melee basic attack. |
| Fox Shape (Minor; at-will) ? Polymorph |
| Once per round, the shadow weaver can take the form of a fox or shift back to humanoid form. When he changes form, he can shift 1 square. In fox shape, he cannot attack, but he gains a +2 power bonus to AC and Stealth checks, and a +2 square power bonus to speed. |
Alignment Evil
|
Languages Common, Elven |
|
| Skills Bluff +15, Stealth +11, Thievery +13 |
| Str 14 (+5) |
Dex 16 (+6) |
Wis 14 (+5) |
| Con 15 (+5) |
Int 18 (+7) |
Cha 20 (+8) |
|
| Equipment leather armor, short sword |
The Kitsune Wilder Shadow Weaver is a beguiling trickster who delights in placing false images within others’ minds. If forced into a fight (or instigating one), the shadow weaver will do what he can to avoid direct personal involvement. Instead, he will trick his enemies into attacking each other, or leave them stumbling around blindly while he directs his allies to attack the newly-vulnerable targets.
Tactics: The shadow weaver prefers to stay back out of combat, using Maddening Visions to cause his foes to wear each other down. He will use Twisting Shadows when he can catch multiple enemies and allies — at least three, ideally more — within its area. A shadow weaver with a cohort of lurker monsters might prefer affecting allies to affecting enemies. Given the opportunity, a shadow weaver will always stealthily observe his target ahead of the attack — aside from the usual benefits of staking out the opposition, he hopes to learn enough to craft some truly terrifying personal nightmares.
Related posts:
- Fox Magic: Arcane Feats
- Fox Magic: Martial Feats
- Fox Magic: Feats
- Fox Magic: Kitsune
- Fox Magic: Inari
Tags: 4e d&d, Galadria, gamemastering, monsters, races
Categories: Mythic Japan, Original Game Content | Comments (0)
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