The Black Bestiary II Now On Sale!

As promised, Black Bestiary II is now on sale at RPGnow!

The book topped out at about 175 pages of very dense content with an initial 20 dollar cover price. Those of you who got a preview copy from me will see a slightly different book than originally intended. I removed a handful of monsters from the book simply because I hadn't purchased art for them, and the creatures were so visually unusual they couldn't be illustrated with stock. I'd already spent a ton commissioning art for BB II, so I decided to hold off a handful of creatures (Hell's Bozukuzo, Ramat Sect Hammer Loli, the Rice Taker and Snapping Maw Woman)  for inclusion in the eventual BB III. Yes, I'm already beginning work on a third bestiary for this absolutely freaky, super controversial setting! I'll preview some of these cut monsters in a later post.

I did however, add several new monsters not included in preview drafts, including the Adventuring Akaname, Smilodon Risk Cat-Girl and Landmate POETICA... the Landmate POETICA is one I really enjoyed doing, and fits well with my Assault Witch characters. Her genesis was simple- she was one of many illustrations John Picot sent a few months back. I must have just skimmed her, went on to the next thing, because I rediscovered the illustration last week and was blown away. Holy shit, here's the perfect militaristic mecha-musumune character to add to the book.


Here's the sales text from BB II, so you can see what you're going to be getting.

The Black Bestiary II is the second major bestiary for the adults-only, hentai-horror Black Tokyo Campaign Setting. Together the two volumes of this series detail and describe more than 200 new creatures for the world, some drawn from folklore and history, others inspired by some of anime’s most iconic heroes, villains and monsters.

Black Bestiary II conjures a host of terrifying new creatures that fill out the post-apocalyptic ecosystem of the Tottori Sand Dunes… takes an expanded look at the loathsome Rape Pure Tournament and it’s lethal, sexually predatory brawlers… and introduces the enigmatic, bio-mechanical Abyss to the Japan’s deadly skies.

High technology meets ancient horror, as several new models of gigantic Mecha stride the land and adaptable, alien Battlechangers wage a hidden war in Black Tokyo’s crowded, teeming mega-cities. Cannibalistic horrors like the Azukibabaa Chef and the Gakido Walker feed on the flesh of innocent women and children. Selfish sexual predators such as the darkly comedic Moe Collector, sadistic yet seemingly mundane Mortal Sex Criminals, or the shadow-dancing lust-murderer codenamed Boy Alpha stalk the shadows and kill at their leisure. Legendary monstrosities like the Shikome carry out The Ubume Empress’ dark designs for the Earth Realm.

Low level creatures like the hatefully jealous Black Issunboshi, or the extremely variable Oni Dreg, one of the vast hordes of Hell, challenge low level adventurers. Veteran demon-hunters can chase feral Gaki through the neon-lit Tokyo night, or cross swords with the insufferably arrogant Kappa of Blades. Meanwhile, highly experienced champions can risk themselves against the unholy might of bizarre new Kaiju unique to Black Japan: an endlessly hungry train that serves pitiless masters… a dragon that can crack the planet in half upon its death… or the legendary, earthquake-birthing Namazu itself.

Get ready. 

Nice, huh? Leave me some comments here, let me know what you think.
CHRIS

Laying Out Black Bestiary II

Well, I'm currently deep into the layout process for Black Bestiary II. I just finished the Gs with the Gurofiend entry. I'll start back up later tonight with the Hell's Conscript monster, a WWII vintage, CR 1 undead who opens up the Hs.

Expect the book up for sale by mid-week.And by the way, it's going to look fucking great.
CHRIS

More Black Tokyo Goodness

Hey, everybody, today I thought I'd preview some just released and upcoming Black Tokyo content.

First off, I've just released a new, 25-page collection of magic items for the setting entitled Back to School in Black Tokyo. This short collection is all about enchanted school uniforms, related weapons and magical items. It's a fun, quick sourcebook, which serves as a nice preview for the upcoming Enchantments of Black Tokyo Vol 2. The cover to this one is by Amanda Webb: I reused the image I comissioned of the Free Neko character (who you'll meet in Black Bestiary II) for the cover art.


Next, take a look at the cover art for Black Bestiary II, by John Picot. I'm waiting on four outstanding pieces of artwork, and then I'll put out this huge bestiary. I expect this one to top 175 pages, a little smaller than the first volume, but still pretty weighty and content-rich. 

Finally, John always sends me tons of random artwork that I pick through at my leisure and use for various projects whenever inspiration strikes. He honestly sends me more art than I can use some times. One of the images he sent was a Godzilla-esque monster, which I we both agreed belonged in Black Bestiary II. The only question was what to do with this creature, especially since Paizo already published a very passable Godzilla homage in their Pathfinder Bestiary IV. 

After playing around with the image for a while, I ended up building a very powerful Kaiju which incorporates a little of Godzilla plus a whole lot of Final Fantasy's Bahumet. He's a fun, epic-level threat.

Take a look at Ultimus the Unmaker, who will be one of the most powerful new monsters in Black Bestiary II, and certainly a worthy addition to named villains like the Ubume Empress or Taru Tsuyoi. 

CHRIS

Kaiju, Ultimus the Unmaker – CR 28

Colossal NE Dragon (extraplanar, kaiju)

XP 4,915,200

Init +5 Senses Lowlight vision, Darkvision 120 ft, see in darkness, true seeing, Perception +           

Languages Draconic, Infernal, Japanese

Defense

AC 42 Touch 16 Flatfooted 40 (-8 size, +1 DEX, +1 dodge, +26 natural, +12 deflection*)

HP 61d12+427 hp (824 HP)

Damage Reduction 20/epic

FORT +44 REF +29 WILL +34

Immune critical hits*, ability damage, ability drain, death effects, disease, energy drain, fear, radiation

Resist Electricity 20, Fire 20, Force 15

Spell Resistance 32

Weaknesses Reincarnation Vulnerability

Offense

Spd 120 ft, Swim 240 ft 

Melee two +74 claws (2d12+20 slashing, 20/x4) plus +74 bite (4d12+30 piercing, 20/x5 plus swallow whole)

Ranged +55 entropic fire (6d12 entropy*, 20/x4, 1000 ft maximum range)

Special Attacks Hurl Foe, Swallow Whole (6d12 entropy*, AC 36, HP 82)

Special Qualities Amphibious, Ferocity, Massive, Recovery

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 61^st Concentration +66) 

Special (when summoned) – Reproductive Apocalypse (F-DC 26)

Special (when reduced to 0 HP) – Planet Killer

Statistics

Str 51 Dex 13 Con 43 Int 9 Wis 22 Cha 18

Base Atk +61 CMB +89 CMD 100

Feats Assume Ultimus the Unmaker can perform any Combat feat desired, due to his immortality, rage and sheer innate power.  

Skills Climb +84, Intimidate +89, Perception +49, Sense Motive +29, Survival +70, Swim +92

Ecology

Environment any land or aquatic (native to the Black Else)

Organization solitary and unique

Treasure standard (in lair)

Special Abilities

Entropic Fire (SU)
The flames shrouding Ultimus the Unmaker and boiling in his blood are pure, primal entropy- the energy of unmaking. Energy resistance and immunity do not apply to Ultimus the Unmaker’s entropic fire ranged attack, nor against the damage inflicted by his swallow whole. A target reduced to 0 HP by these attacks is completely disintegrated, along with all their gear. Creatures slain in this manner can only be returned to life by the direct intervention of a deity.

These colorless fires surround Ultimus the Unmaker providing the creature with a deflection bonus to Armor Class.

Extraplanar (SU)

Though not an Outsider, Ultimus the Unmaker is considered an extraplanar creature on all planes aside from the Black Else. The creature is vulnerable to banishment and similar effects.

Price of the Summoning (SU)

Any being desperate enough, or furious enough to summon Ultimus the Unmaker from its icy coffin will pay the ultimate price. All members of the summoner’s ethnicity/nation or faith are affected by Reproductive Apocalypse (F-DC 26 negates), including the summoner himself. This ability affects the creature that turns the last of the five keys that would free the creature- he is considered the beast’s summoner.

Reincarnation Vulnerability (SU)

Ultimus the Unmaker is especially vulnerable to the actions of heroes with souls strong enough to remember their prior mortal incarnations. Characters who possess the Reincarnate feat can inflict critical hits against Ultimus the Unmaker.

Ultimus Flare (SU)
If the great dragon, Ultimus the Unmaker is ever defeated, the heavens themselves cry out in shock. When Ultimus the Unmaker is reduced to 0 HP and its Recovery special quality activates, this power also activates.

The nearest star to the planet upon which Ultimus the Unmaker was defeated upon erupts in a storm of lethal radiation. This functions as Planet Killer, targeted at the planet of the dragon’s defeat, striking the planet after Ultimus the Unmaker’s defeat. If Ultimus the Unmaker can be truly slain within before this period elapses, the Planet Killer is aborted.

Nature

Ultimus the Unmaker is a primal dragon- personification of entropy itself, of the end of all things. The great dragon is eternally dead, trapped in a coffin of ebony ice somewhere on a distant shore of the Black Else. The ice is a prison, a trap of absolute, cosmic zero- it can be melted and shattered if special obsidian keys are placed in obsidian locks and turned in proper sequence. The location of both the dragon’s prison, as are the locations of many of these keys, yet the Unmaker has only arisen to rampage a handful of times in the Multiverse’s long history. The Ubume Empress holds one such key, the Amakaze Executive board another, the Emperor of Japan yet another. Another obsidian key rests forgotten in a long abandoned temple in the Indian jungles, while others are scattered throughout the Three Realms and amongst the dreams of men and demons.

There are five locks on Ultimus the Unmaker’s coffin; five of the many obsidian keys, each wielded by a different hand must be placed within the ice-rimmed locks. The being that turns the fifth and final key, that completes the dark ritual of liberating the behemoth is considered its summoner, and he can command the Unmaker, or at least guide the creature’s endless rage. However, the curse bound to the Unmaker’s prison dooms the summoner, and the entirety of his race to extinction. This price, too, is well known.

When freed, Ultimus the Unmaker destroys everything, on a brutal path of annihilation carved out of the Multiverse, appearing on a plane of its summoner’s choice. It attacks the enemies of its summoner, their assets and people slightly ahead of other targets, but eventually, it destroys all things. When the great dragon eventually annihilates the world upon which it stands, it drifts through the void for a time, before it fades from the Multiverse to reappear within its primordial, freezing tomb.

Ultimus the Unmaker is a truly enormous dragon, with a mass greater than the entirety of many smaller Japanese towns. The creature is saurian, with a body similar to a tyrannosaur or other great sauropod. The Unmaker’s eyes are intelligent and malicious, taking a grim pleasure in genocide and wanton destruction.

Quick Art Preview: Black Bestiary II and Psi-Threats Vol III

I'm at work on my break so it won't be a long post, but I thought I'd preview some of the art for a couple of upcoming Bestiaries.From the top, we have an Akaname adventurer, who will show up in the revised race book and probably a future edition of Black Bestiary, by Amanda Webb.

Then, take a look at a psionic superhero in an X-Men esque costume by John Picot. I will either use her to illustrate either the Augmentus character or the Mutant Rescue Expert character in an upcoming Psi-Watch Bestiary.

After that, John Picot's illustration of the Codeword character, the mechanics of which you saw a preview of in my last post.

Next, you've got an inked sketch of a new monster called a Kappa of Blades from Black Bestiary II, by Vic Shane. The Kappa of Blades is a lot closer to the mythological version of the Kappa than Paizo's version, and as you can see from the illustration, he's going to be a fun, tough fight.

After the Kappa, take a first look at a major new setting villain for Psi-Watch, our Apocalypse analogue, Nyarlahotep the Obsidian Pharaoh. Adding a little Cthullu Mythos to Psi-Watch worked out really well, and opened up some interesting design space.

Next, you've got a rough sketch of the Road Dancer Mecha by Vic Shane. This light powered armor is inspired by the Knight Sabers & the Motoslave from Bubblegum Crisis, and will be appearing in Black Bestiary II.

Finally, Sekhmet Ammt makes the jump from the
Action Galaxy setting into Psi-Watch as the time-warping, ultra-manipulative power behind Nyarlahotep and his entire, pseudo-Egyptian faction. This illustration is John Picot's, and all these new baddies take advantage of the assortment of Egyptian flavored props & costume components he's got.

Talk to you in a couple days,
CHRIS