Online Additions

Today, we have three online additions to our collection: A spell, a Fight Club competitor, and a monster template. Let's dive right in, shall we?

Our spell is called Bladesong. Fans of 2nd edition elves will recognize that name as an elven fighting style connected to one of the most broken kits in the game's history, the Bladesinger. However, despite that connection to this month's elven theme, the spell isn't going to make you a kick-ass warrior with an elven fighting style. It just makes your sword play music in combat. Oh, and it gives you an additional touch attack per round that does no damage but dazes the target if they fail a Will saving throw. It's a 2nd level spell for bards and sorcerers/wizards. This one is definitely on the 'meh' level.

Our Fight Club competitor is Muukk', a Green Hag/Rogue/Assassin/Sorcerer. Good Lord, that's just nuts. And this one ties into the monthly theme, as Muukk' grew up as a young hag having to move around a lot because elves bullied her in the forests. Maybe...don't live in the elven forest? Just a thought. Anyway, Muukk' likes to do the ambush/sneak attack thing, because rogue and assassin. As per usual, there are three different versions of this character listed in order to let the DM fit her into the campaign at an appropriate Challenge Rating. First is a basic greenhag with a single level of rogue (CR 6). Second is a 5th-level rogue (CR 10). Last is a Rog 5/Asn 4/Sor 1 (CR 15). The last one has +5d6 of sneak attack, plenty of magic items, and a toad familiar. This would definitely be a tough fight; greenhags are nasty on their own even before giving them character levels.

Our monster template is a classic undead: The skeleton! This is actually a really good idea. The skeleton in the Monster Manual is just a generic skeleton, and even advancement isn't going to make them different. But now, as a template, the skeleton becomes customized so you can fight bugbear skeletons, displacer beast skeletons, fire giant skeletons, or pretty much any creature that actually has a skeletal structure (sorry, no gray ooze skeletons).

This template keeps the base creature's weapon proficiencies and natural attacks (except any that require flesh, such as a mind flayer's tentacles). It get a natural armor bonus based on its size, can keep some of its creature types (aquatic, fire, etc.). It does the same damage it did in life; if it's not using its natural weapons or manufactured weapons, it's using a basic claw attack that does damage based on the creature's size again. Saves go up as a wizard, all skills and feats are lost (although Improved Initiative is gained).

And at the bottom of the page is a link that gives us a group of sample skeletons of various sizes. And it just happens to have a convenient link to miniatures of the sample skeletons that you could buy. You know, if you wanted to use them in your game or something... Anyway, we have the following skeletons: Orc, gnoll, umber hulk, gray render, fire giant, and...adult green dragon. Oh, I so totally want to drop a skeletal dragon on the players, especially old-timers who remember the joys of the dracolich. The only question would be how many of the players take a free action to wet themselves.

And that's our online additions, three of them in a single day. I just have one more online bit to add at the end of the month, and of course I still have to review The Speaker in Dreams. I meant to do it last week, but that wasn't a good week at all. Tomorrow looks to be better.

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