Heliana's Guide to Monster Hunting

Credits Lead Designers: Mohamed Designers: Mohamed “Aggi” Bellafquih, Jesse Jackdaw Burns, Max Wartelle Lead Writer: Max Writer: Max Wartelle Rule Development: Max Development: Max Wartelle, Mohamed “Aggi” Bellafquih Additional Writing: Mage Writing: Mage Armoire, João Bernardo, Tony Casper, Kevin McDonnell, Jethro Mellors, Duncan Watson Editing: Phylea, Editing: Phylea, Max Wartelle Formatting: Sally Formatting: Sally Kay Clark, Max Wartelle Proong: João Bernardo, Sally Kay Clark, Jessic Gombart, Victor Matyiku Art Directors: Mohamed Directors: Mohamed “Aggi” Bellafquih, Jesse Jackdaw Burns Layout: Max Layout: Max Wartelle Cover Illustrator: Jesse Illustrator: Jesse Jackdaw Burns Interior Illustrators: Diogo Illustrators: Diogo Assunçao, Hannah Elizabeth Baker, Mohamed “Aggi” Bellafquih, Jesse Jackdaw Burns, Luciano Javier Carreira, Ivy Dolamore, Aleksa Drageljevic, Sam Jumisko, Michelle Mueller, Derek Murphy, Mikhail Palamarchuk, Joris Sanchez, Ognjen Sporin, Bryan Syme, Chaouki ‘’Ciao’” Titouhi, Denis Zhbankov Cartographers: Cze Cartographers: Cze & Peku, Mad Carto Cacophonics the Bard: Jack Bard: Jack Patchett Ambience: Michaël Ambience: Michaël Ghel Studios Marketing Consultant: Ricardo Consultant: Ricardo Evangelho Special Thanks: Sally Kay Clark, Ricardo Evangelho, Kevin McDonnell,Thanks: Sally Piotr Wiśnios ISBN: 978-1-9990962-8-1 First Edition. Printed September 2022.

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nesses are property of Plane Shit Press LLC in the US and other countries. Any reporduction or unauthorised use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the

express permission of Plane Shit Press LLC. Reference to other copyrighted material in no way constitutes a challenge to the respective copyright holders of that material. Loot Tavern and its associated logos are trademarks of Loot Tavern Publishing LLC. Jess Jackdaw and its associated logos are trademarks of JessJackdaw LLC. Hit Point Press and its associated logos are trademarks of Hit Point Press Inc. First Printing. Printed in China by Longpack.

Warning: The hunts and stunts in this book are performed by professional monster hunters. Plane Warning: The Shit Press accepts no liability for injury, maiming, mutilation, beheading, loss of sanity, or ejection in the Astral Plane caused by any attempt at recreating these incredible feats of tracking, investigation, and bloody battle. – Peeper

Hunt Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Part Par t One P art

The Loot Tavern Tavern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

No Fixed Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 The Tavern’s Tenants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 . Rooms & Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 . Drinking & Drunkenness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Mechanics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Random Encounters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Arctic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 . Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Desert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 . Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 . Grassland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 . Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 . Jungle Jungle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 . Mountain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 . Swamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 . The Low . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Urban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 . Harvesting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Optional Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 . Trading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Harvest Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 . Mundane Ingredients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Crafting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 How Stu’s Stuf’s Made . Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 . Magic Item Recipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 . Cooking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Edible dibleEects fects . .

Part Par P art t Two

Cnidaran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Cyclopian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 . Gobboc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Golynn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 . Lotol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 . Mycelian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Ombrask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 Oozekin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Opteran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Rakin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 . Classes . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..175 . Bard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 Cleric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 . Druid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Paladin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 . Ranger. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 Sorcerer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 Tamer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 .

Warlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 . Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216 . Feats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 Familiars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 Aboling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 Dragonling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 . Gelatinooze. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 Hyphan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 . Mechakobold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 Minimic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239 . Peeper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242 Rakitten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245 . Sunsnacker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 . Tarling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251 .

Part Three Thre e

The Shining Shrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276 . Dread and Breakfast Breakfast . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 290 . Reign of Iron . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 308

The Veiled Lady . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324 Shadow of the Broodmother Broodmother . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .346 Dream Weaver Weaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364 A Tale of Two Tails . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .384 Mecha Koboldzi Koboldzilla lla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .400 Tarchaeology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420

Appendix A — Magic Items . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .436 Appendix B — Spells . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .494 Creatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515 Appendix C — Creatures

Animated Magnetite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516 . Biomantic Polyhedr Biomantic Polyhedroozes oozes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518 The Brood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524 . Dreamholder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530 The Dreamers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535 Faerie-o’-Fires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538 . Fiends and Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539 Hyphans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .547 . Kobold Constructs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 558 58 Magnetite Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564 Mimics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .570 . Suneater Owlbears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576 Sunsprites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580 . Swallybogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581 . Tar Elementals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583 . Non-Player Characters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 592

Appendix D Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594 Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595 Index . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .598 Legal . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .599

Introduction ntroduction Congratulations! You have acquired a bludgeoning weapon. But this isn’t just a weapon capable of crushing a wyvern’s skull, skul l, it also contains… information. I know what you’re thinking: “Heliana, you don’t read books; you rods spendandhours futilely trying to move immovable develop as-yet-undiscovered as-yet-undiscov ered muscles.” Well, you’re not wrong. I get Peeper, my faithful companion companion and scribe of this here tome, to read books to me. Those immovable rods aren’t aren’t going to not move themselves. Information can be deadly. And it can be useful. Did you know the Ravenous Slugblatter Beast of Sraal thinks that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you? yo u? That could save your life. As my favourite bard quartet, Fume Against The Th e Construct, says: Know Thy Enemy! — Heliana, Immover of Rods While the lack of any bladed edges prevents this book from being used to carve up a critter, it will teach you how! Within this guide are the secrets of Tracking, Trac king, Harvesting, & Craing, and a horde of monsters on which to practice these skills.

Part Four: The Appendices; magic items (Appendix A), spells (Appendix B), monsters (Ap pendix C), and links to other les that accompany this book (Appendix D). There’s an index at the end of the book, as well as links to access the hundreds of map variants, additional monsters, and more magic items through our partners’ websites.

Hunts The adventures in this book are referred to as monster hunts. They’re a type of adventure adventure in which you nd clues, prepare for the ght ahead, and then have a big battle. These hunts, as well as the random encounters, are all runnable at a variety of dierent average party levels (APLs), listed in the hunt’s introduction. Each hunt uses the following structure: Introduction. The name and level of the hunt as well as a brief synopsis. Background. The information the GM needs to know about why a monster needs to be hunted! This includes: • A summary of the m monster onster • Three quest hooks: curiosity, morality, and compensation • Monetary and XP rewards rewards • Brief biographies of key NPCs

Rule Zero Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting is a collection of ideas. You are encouraged to use whichever pieces of this book you like and change the ones o nes you don’t. If there is a DC that seems o, a name that doesn’t t, or a quest hook that seems incongruous, then make it your own. own. Remember: if you’re all having fun, you’re doing it right.

Structure This book has four parts:

Location. The location the hunt takes place, sometimes containing descriptions of unique ora and fauna or on how to use the Tracking rules

to nd the monster. Know Thy Enemy. Clues about the monster that, if discovered by the player characters, help them prepare for the battle. The Battle Ahead. The creature’s lair actions, any environmental eects, the composition of each wave, and the trigger for moving between waves.

Part Two: Player options; Races, Classes (in cluding feats), and Familiars. Familiars.

This section wraps up each quest hook of the hunt and suggests ways this story can continue and shape your world. The Loot Ta Tavern’s vern’s bard, Cacophonics, has the link to the song he writes for the party par ty here*.

Part Three: Ten monster hunts comprising a clue-gathering phase and a multi-wave multi-wave boss battle.

Treasure. Harvesting and craing specic to the boss monster, as well as any other treasure that might be found.

Part One: The Loot Tavern as well as the three new rulesets you can introduce: Tracking, Harvesting, and Craing (including cooking).

*In Shadow of the Broodmother, this song is at the start and is a clue.

Beyond Deadly. Deadly. Death is inevitable. In this book, it is a little more inevitable inevitable than usual, especially if your party doesn’t pick up on the clues and prepare accordingly. If you have fewer than four player characters or a lower APL than that for which the hunt is balanced, consider removing some creatures, replacing them with lower CR versions, and using the ‘Helping Hand’ paragraphs to reduce the diculty. The

hunts’ boss ghts are designed to use a party’s

entire resources for a day’s adventuring.

Average Daily XP Budget per per Hunt Average Daily Level

Daily XP Budget Use Used per Hunt

Clues. Each hunt contains at least three clues that

can be conveyed to the players before combat starts. Understanding the clues is the key to your players preparing for the ght ahead and feeling empow ered when their prep pays o. Every clue has at

least one example of how you can convey the information to your players. Note, these are examples! It’s still up to you as the GM to make any necessary changes to the story and roleplay interactions to make sure your players understand these clues. Be obvious when delivering clues. The more you can repeat and illustrate a clue, the more the players play ers will understand it. In addition, prompting the adventurers to summarise what they’ve learnt by using an NPC to askbetween questionsplayers. can engender a much-needed dialogue Furthermore, player characters need time to prepare in a way that allows them meaningfully act on the clues. It is oen both enjoyable and less deadly

for players to take a long rest to recover resources, prepare spells, and design a plan that exploits a monster’s weaknesses. Be sure to give them the opportunity to prepare! Variable Statistics. To ensure the challenge is maintained across diering levels of play, you’ll see reference to VDC (variable DC), Vmod (variable modier), and Vdam (variable damage). These var-

iable values change depending on the average levels of your party:

Variable ariable Statistics Statistics Summary V APL