Coming Soon: Advanced Tech

My last few PDFs have been a series of tech books, Advanced Armory, Advanced Arsenal and Advanced Edge. They're less imaginative writing- nice, crunchy tech books focusing on different gear.

I've been writing a series of technology guides for Pathfinder- it does fantasy well, but most of my stuff is sci-fantasy or cross genre, and I don't have a good baseline for the high tech aspects. I like aspects of their PFSRD tech stuff but it mostly focuses on tech as rare artifacts from a long vanished culture, not as current day, common place and still evolving consumer and milary tech. 

Like I said, It's less imaginative writing, but I needed to do it- I pulled a bunch of stuff from the D20 Modern system, modernized it, some stuff from other sources, and a lot of stuff I just made up myself. Getting this ground work laid out sets me up for more imaginitve stuff with my campaign worlds, since I've got the basic gear questions settled. I'm still working on my Black Tokyo, Heavy Future and Otherverse America settings.... the next year I want to revise Otherverse America to be a fully Pathfinder compatible modern magic plus tech setting, and I want to finally get started on my He-Man inspired setting, and since that's sci-fantasy and Otherverse America is mostly military sci-fi, these last few PDFs have been time well spent. 

The last book in this series is Advanced Tech, the cover of which you can see at right. It's a pretty fun one, the biggest of the Advanced sourcebooks- focusing on every gadget and bit of science fiction tech that wasn't a form of body armor or man-portable weapon. It's got everything from computers to personal flight systems and commercial mass-transit teleporters. It was a fun one to write. Anyway, it'll be up on RPGnow within the next few days, as part of a bundle with the other three Advanced sourcebooks and the Polymer Path. Combined, that's 150 pages or so of sci-fi goodness for your Pathfinder Roleplaying Game campaigns.

Also, expect The Black Bestiary soon, and the Heavy Future bestiary I previewed last post a while before that. I'm going to start laying out the Heavy Future bestiary tonight. I would have done it last night, but I've been down with a stomach flu, and spent the last couple days doing nothing but reading webcomics and trying to keep down toast.

Talk to you later,
CHRIS

Creature Preview: The Overlord Dragon (CR 20)

Okay, I am deliberately not mentioning anything about Tuesday's elections, because I want to kill the fuck out of a whole lot of motherfuckers right the fuck now. Just....FUUUUUCCCCKKKK!

Okay, now that that is out of the way, while I'm waiting on the final Black Bestiary artwork, and some artwork for Advanced Tech, I'm putting together a mid-length bestiary
for Heavy Future. It was originally just a collection of random monster stat blocks, and then a few critters into the manuscript, a pattern started emerging. Most of these creatures are space-born threats- either predators lurking in hyperspace itself, or capable of surviving (and hunting) in space almost indefinitely. There's a few interesting planet bound alien animals, too, but most of the focus is on space.

Right about this time, I realized that I'd already begun the process of updating the Lifechain stuff from my 2008 release, Guide to the Known Galaxy, by including a Lifespawn subtype in Closed: Monsters of the Army of God. I could build on that, update some of the creatures from Guide for use with Pathfinder, which is something I've wanted to do for years now, and introduce them to Heavy Future, and the wider Otherverse Games multiverse. Plus, adding Lifespawn apex predators to Heavy Future just makes that campaign more dangerous and that much more interesting.

Last night, I revised the Overlord Dragon. I did a pretty radical revamp on the creature. Not the least I changed his appearance slightly. My original design was eyeless and more typically draconic, but I had this wonderful Rick Hershey (Standard Stock Art) from Empty Room Studios. I've loved this image since I bought- it has an almost claymation-esque solidity and three dimensionality to it- and I've been wanting to use it for something for a while now. I redesigned the Overlord Dragon, retaining its core, as an imperious, cold and physically powerful threat, but changing almost every mechanical aspect of the monster. I retained its utterly unbalanced, crazy deadly breath weapon though, since that was the most fun part of the old, D20 Modern based Overlord Dragon.

Take a look at the new stat-block, and the Lifespawn subtype as it will appear in this upcoming bestiary, which I'm tentatively calling The Dark Star Bestiary.

Overlord Dragon (CR 20)

Colossal LE Dragon (lifespawn)

XP 307,200

Init +4 Senses Darkvision 1,500 ft, lowlight vision, scent, Lifesense 5,000 miles, perceive unencrypted wifi/radio/television signals, Perception +   

Languages Celestial, Draconic, Galactic Common, Infernal, Truespeech  

Aura Radioactivity (Highly Irradiated area, 60 ft), Frightful Presence (1,500 ft, WILL DC 29 negates, plus Fearsome Violence)

Defense

AC 38 Touch 14 Flatfooted 38 (-8 size, +4 deflection, +32 natural)

HP 23d12 + 276 hp (425 HP)

Damage Reduction 15/adamantine

Regeneration 5 (natural attacks and spell-like or psi-like abilities wielded by Lifespawn)

FORT +25 REF +13 WILL +18

Immune Cold, Electricity Fire, Radiation, Draconic Immunities

Resist Acid 10, Sonic 10 SR 23

Weaknesses Lifecount 5

Offense

Spd 60 ft Flight 120 ft (average) Zero G Flight 4,500 ft

Melee eight +30 claws (4d6+15 slashing, 20/x2 plus rend) plus +30 tail whip (6d6+7 bludgeoning, 20/x2, 60 ft maximum range)

Ranged two +15 Starbreaker Missiles (12d6 energy, 20/x4, 5,000 ft range increment)

Special Attacks Rend (2 claws, 4d6+15 slashing), Star Fury Breath Weapon (30 ft x 10,000 ft line, 20d12 energy plus radioactivity and communication distruption, usable every 1d4 hours)

Special Qualities Draconic Panoply of Weapons, No Breath, Greater Starflight

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 13^th Concentration +18) 

Constant – Mage Armor

Statistics

Str 41 Dex 11 Con 35 Int 21 Wis 20 Cha 22

Base Atk +23 CMB +46 (+48 bull-rush and trip) CMD 56 (60 vs trip/bull-rush)  

Feats Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Great Cleave, Fearsome Violence, Fly-By Attack, Greater Bull-Rush, Greater Trip, Hover, Improved Initiative, Improved Bull-Rush, Improved Trip, Power Attack

Skills Acrobatics +26, Climb +41, Computer Use +31, Craft (visual arts) +31, Fly +33, Intimidate +32, Knowledge (history, the planes, technology) all at +31, Perception +31, Sense Motive +31

Ecology

Environment deep space or extraplanar (hyperspace)

Organization usually solitary, sometimes accompanied by a single offspring (Young Simple template applied twice) or various half-dragon servitors, valets and bodyguards

Treasure triple standard (in lair)

Special Abilities

            Draconic Panoply of Weapons (EX)

            The Overlord Dragon has the cruel intellect common to all dragons, but has evolved potent, purely physical defenses rather innate mystical power. The Overlord Dragon’s natural weapon attacks ignore an object’s Hardness and are considered both magical, adamantine and cold iron weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

            Fearsome Violence (EX)

            The Overlord Dragon’s Frightful Presence ability has a range of 1,500 ft, but it otherwise functions as the standard monster ability. The Overlord Dragon has the Fearsome Violence feat. This means that opponents must attempt a new WILL Save against the dragon’s Frightful Presence, even if they have previously saved, at +1 to the base WILL Save DC, each time in a combat encounter that the Overlord Dragon slays a creature.

            Hyperspatial Charge (EX)

            The Overlord Dragon may make a full attack after a charge when flying using its Zero G Flight ability or traveling through hyperspace under its own power.

Starbreaker Missile Array (EX)

The Overlord Dragons have evolved biological processes similar to missile launch rails, as a consequence of their Lifechained (possibly Genesis bloodline) heritage. An array of bio-mechanical missile racks are visible on the underside of the dragon’s body, just fore its strange genitals.

            The dragon’s Starbreaker missiles disrupt reality on a sub-quantum level, completely severing the bonds between quarks. There is usually nothing left of a starship caught in one of these blasts, not even drifting atoms! Damage inflicted by Starbreaker Missiles is an unspecified energy type, not subject to energy resistance or immunity. A target destroyed by these missiles is completely disintegrated, along with all their gear.

            Star Fury (SU)

            The Overlord Dragon’s breath weapon can boil the atmosphere away from an earth-like planet. The Overlord Dragon’s Star Fury breath weapon is a 30 ft wide by 10,000 ft long line, allowing it to easily be used as stellar distances. The Overlord Dragon can choose to breathe a shorter line if it wishes, if it wishes to fight conservatively.

            The damage inflicted by the Star Fury breath weapon is an unspecified energy type, not subject to energy resistance or immunity. Objects and creatures destroyed by this breath weapon are completely disintegrated, along with all their gear.

            The area affected by this breath weapon is considered a Highly Irradiated area and remains so for 1d4 minutes after the blast.  The breath weapon also generates a fearsome electromagnetic pulse, which can terminally disrupt planetary communications. Electronic communication is impossible for 1d4 minutes for a 100 mile radius around the blast site.

Nature

            Overlord Dragons control an empire that stretches across a hundred-score worlds separated by almost incalculable distances, even when traveled via hyperspace. Individual clans might separate themselves from their nearest kin by 10,000 parsecs or more, and the great, fusion-hearted dragons are known to travel the endless gulf between galaxies, and cross the planes to exercise their authority. From the moment they hatch, these monstrous and regal beings are taught that they are the highest form of life the galaxy has to offer, and that all lesser beings are their subjects. They are trained to be benevolent rulers, forging peace and expanding the range of civilization and culture, but they are first and foremost: rulers. A culture designed by the dragons glorifies the great beasts. An Overlord Dragon’s subjects are well cared for, well loved pets, but over the generations are cunningly bred and culled into their inhuman master’s ideal of beauty.

           

            The dragons have a rigid social hierarchy and clearly defined government. Overlord Dragons are born in deep space, and soar unaided through the stars. Young dragons only make planet-fall after several millennia of tempering, and are only allowed to carve out a planetary lair for themselves after proving themselves to their elders. Young dragons protect hyperspace travelers not out of generosity, but to blood themselves against other Lifespawn and win glory. Teen dragons are only considered adults when they successfully bring down a suitably powerful opponent, and hatchlings compete fiercely for the opportunity to battle one of these legendary opponents.

           

            Overlord Dragon culture is imperial and expansionistic. Strict controls are placed upon the number of dragons which can reside on a single continent or on a single world. When breeding or immigration forces the dragon population past this quota, a wing of the great creatures takes flight, in search of a new world to conquer and transform. Overlord Dragons, for all their power, are few in number. Most spacers consider them nothing more than terrifying legends; their holdings are distant enough from the main hyperspace lanes that few outsiders ever see an Overlord Dragon’s fiefdom.

           

            Overlord Dragons have rejected much of the sorcerous might of what they consider ‘lesser breeds’ of Dragon. They have instead concentrated on the purely physical, the practical and the quantifiable rather than the unseen. The race is atheistic and coldly logical. The dragons themselves are keenly intelligent, and many consider themselves great artists or artisans, practicing ancient techniques that predate humanity’s evolution by uncounted millennia. Many of the most influential and feared Overlord Dragons are master technologists, who have augmented their natural might with cybernetics, powered armor and advanced, artifact level weapontry of their own design. The Overlord Dragon presented here is a young specimen, still arrogant enough to reject mortal technology in favor of their own, raw physicality. 

Overlord Dragons are lean, sinewy dragons without wings to mar their clean, serpentine lines. They have eight powerful limbs ending in talons with a monomolecular edge more than able to shred a starship’s hull in a single pass. Their scales are the crystal blue of oxygenated sky, and golden iridescence plays over their powerful bodies, produced by the star-like nuclear forces contained in their hearts.

            Like many Lifespawn, the Overlord Dragons are intensely colorful, decorative species. Their bodies are studded with luminous eye spots and strange orifices, which vent the glowing plasma that is a by-product of the dragon’s fusion powered metabolism. When addressing their planetary supplicants, the Overlord Dragons allow themselves to be intricately painted in a rainbow of colors and complex patterns; some paint schemes are so intricate they must be applied by specially built robot expert systems. 

The Lifespawn Subtype

Creatures with the Lifespawn subtype are genetically connected to a galaxy spanning eco-system. They are extremely powerful and have a connection to the enigmatic beings that forged the current universe. Creatures with this subtype are often referred to as Lifechained creatures or by the name of their particular genetic lineage, such as Nemesis Lifespawn or Gazelle Lifespawn.

This is an abbreviated treatment of Lifespawn, who are fully described in Guide to the Known Galaxy (Otherverse Games, 2008), and reflects the author’s intended revisions to how Lifespawn powers work.

·        Lifespawn receive Darkvision 60 ft and gain the Scent special quality. Lifespawn can sense the distance to and general direction of all other creatures with this subtype within one mile. Some Lifespawn have even greater Lifesense radius.

Location: Senses Format: Darkvision 60 ft, scent, Lifesense 1 mile

·        Lifespawn are immune to non-magical disease and poison.

Location: Immunities Format: Lifechained Immunities

·        Lifespawn have a statistic called a Lifecount, which measures the relative strength of their bloodline. Lifespawn suffer a penalty equal to their Lifecount on saving throws against effects caused by other creatures with this subtype. Immunities to a particular effect, such as poison or disease, does not apply against effects caused by other Lifespawn.

      Location: Weaknesses Format: Lifecount X

·        Some, but not all Lifespawn, are capable of spaceflight. These Lifespawn gain the No Breath and Greater Starflight special qualities. Lifespawn typically fly as fast as a top of the line military starship; in space, they gain a Zero G Fight speed of at least 500 ft (one space scale square). Lifespawn can enter hyperspace by traveling in real space using their Zero G Flight for at least 1 minute (10 rounds) to build up speed.

Location: Special Qualities Format: No Breath, Greater Starflight

 

           

Update: November Projects

This will be a brief post. I'm just about to head out to work, and thought I'd update everybody about my upcoming projects.

First and most important. If you're in Texas, go to the polls before 7 pm tonight. I just got done voting and I'm hoping the election is going to be close enough that Wendy Davis actually has a chance. If you read this at work, go help her out on her way home. Texas really, really needs more pro-choicers in power.

Second, Black Tokyo! Anthony Cournoyer (a longtime Skortched Urf Studios artist) is starting work on his illustrations for the Black Bestiary this week. I don't have a firm ETA on his art, but expect it fairly quickly. He's fast and dedicated, so an amazingly illustrated, absolutely beautiful bestiary will be coming at you before the end of the year.

I'm getting the last art together for a final book in the "Advanced" sourcebook line, Advanced Tech. This updates and expands on a lot of the gear from D20 Future and my various sourcebooks, and updates it all to Pathfinder. Expect that out in a week or so.

Finally, I'm working on a mid-length bestiary for Heavy Future, focusing mostly on spacers and alien predators. It's already pretty fun, and while I'm not quite sure the direction I'll go with it yet, it's been enjoyable to right and I'm proud of what I have to date.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Art Update: The Black Bestiary

Well, I've got some very good news.

Mark Catho, my publisher and owner of Skortched Urf Studios, who I've been using as my store front the last few years for all my Otherverse Games releases, just sent me an email. He's going to be comissioning some new art work from Anthony Cournoyer for Black Tokyo's upcoming Black Bestiary. 

From this first email, I'm not quite sure exactly how many new pieces Mark will be funding, so I sent a 'top ten' list of concepts and creatures I would like Mark to illustrate. I focused mostly on the big name villains of the setting, high CR threats and quirky creatures that I can't find stock art. So over the next couple of days, I'll find out which of them will get illoed and start doing art direction of those specific creatures.

One really good thing is that Anthony works almost as fast as Amanda, so the book should be out fairly soon. Some more details: right now Black Bestiary tops 100 monsters (!). I have specifically commissioned art for around 50 of those, stock art for another 20 or 30 and a remaining 20-30 creatures which lack illos at this point. I've been debating whether to go ahead and publish now with what I have or wait a bit.... even if I publish now, Black Bestiary would be exceedingly art heavy and well illustrated. I'm glad I waited, because this is good news all around.

Meantime, I'm working on a futuristic melee weapon sourcebook as a companion to The Advanced Arsenal and Advanced Armory sourcebooks in preparation for doing an Enchantments of Heavy Future soucebook in the same vein as the exceedingly crunchy and well received Enchantments of Black Tokyo. The more 'workman-like' Advanced tech books are basically laying the groundwork for the more imaginative Enchantments sourcebooks, and I plan to do something similar, an Enchantments of Otherverse America next year some time, fully converting that setting to a Pathfinder powered, magic-friendly setting! Expect big things with Otherverse America sometime next year.

I'm also taking some time away from these to work, in little spurts here and here, on a revision of Battlechangers, my Transformers homage RPG from 2011. I'll do something with that one sooner or later too.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

 

The Technology Trilogy

While I'm waiting on art for the Black Bestiary, I decided to work on a smaller project. This last year I've been consolidating all the advanced tech from my various campaign worlds, integrating the core content from the D20 Modern/Future SRD and updating everything fully to Pathfinder.

Earlier this year I released the Advanced Arsenal, which consolidated all the Otherverse America, Psi-Watch and Heavy Future guns in one place. I also put out The Polymer Path,which updated the cybernetics rules for Pathfinder.

I just sent the third book in the triology to Mark for posting: The Advanced Armory. This book consolidates all the special armor (as well as other high tech armor from various other OGL sources) in one place.

I started working on this because I wanted to begin work on an Enchantments of Heavy Future book, similar to the Enchantments of Black Tokyo. Writing Enchantments of Black Tokyo really spurred my creativity- I was able to really dial in my focus on Black Tokyo, really add a lot of flavor to the world with that book's spells and magic items, and I want to do something similar for Heavy Future.

However, unlike Black Tokyo, many of Heavy Future's armors and gear are non-standard. For Black Tokyo, I could model a lot of the enchanted armors as things already found in the Pathfinder PRD, for example, I could stat up enchanted o-yoroi, easily, because o-yoroi are already defined mechanically. I couldn't do that for Heavy Future as easily, because as a sci-fi setting, alot of the characters would be wearing spacesuits, rather than plate mail or other extant armors.

So, publishing the Advanced Armory became a necessary (and hopefully profitable) intermediary step. Plus, defining many of the campaign specific armors in more general terms got me thinking about how to modify them for my signature settings.

Anyway, Advanced Armory will be up in a few days, and I hope you pick it up. It's pretty fun, in that since many of the sources I drew on are super heroic or sci-fi, the resulting armors are heavy on exotic space suits, powered armor and superhero type skinsuits, as well as more realistic tactical military body armor.

Over at the right are the covers for the "Tech Trilogy" books. As you can see, they're all based around John Picot images, and have been designed with a consistent design scheme. I'm proud of how they came out.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Black Bestiary Preview: The Ho-Masubi (CR 11)

Black Bestiary (or possibly Everything Black) is the tentative title for Black Tokyo's massive bestiary.

 I figured I'd preview some more critters from this book and talk briefly about how they came about. First on the left, you have an image John sent me several months back. With some time on his hands, he rendered dozens of weird critters, some of which you've already seen in Closed and Heavy Future as various threats. This one obviously was destined for Black Tokyo, but as what I didn't know.

I wanted to find a creature from myth that could be represented by this Goro-inspired brawler. After some  research, the fire god that was killed by Izanagi after his divine birth killed Izanami (previewed a few posts ago) fit the bill perfectly. I chose the name Ho-Masubi, as it's one of the more obscure and evocative of the fire god's name, and made him a fire based undead, a straight up physical threat- basically a supernatural brawler, whose back story synchronizes nicely with Izanami's and gives the campaign a bit of foreshadowing.

Here's Ho-Masubi as he'll appear in the Black Bestiary.
CHRIS

Ho-Masubi (CR 11)

Large CE Undead (fire)

XP 12,800      

Init +3 Senses Darkvision 60 ft, lowlight vision, Perception +22          

Languages Giant, Ignan, Infernal, Japanese

Defense

AC 22 Touch 8 Flatfooted 22 (-1 size, -1 DEX, +9 armor, +5 natural)

HP 16d8 + 80 hp (152 HP)    

FORT +9 REF +4 WILL +13

Immune Fire, Undead Immunities 

Channel Resistance +4

Vulnerable Cold

Offense

Spd 40 ft

Melee +24/+19/+14 flaming burst katana (1d10+10 slashing plus 1d6 fire, 18-20/x2) Special Attacks Parody of Seppaku (30 ft cone, 16d6 fire, REF DC 22 half)

Special Qualities Fire Eater, Heat

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16^th  Concentration +20) 

3x/day – Fireball (R-DC 17)

1x/day – Quickened Fireball (R-DC 17)

            - Fire Storm (R-DC 21)

Statistics

Str 31 Dex 8 Con - Int 12 Wis 17 Cha 18

Base Atk +12 CMB +23/+25 bullrush & sunder CMD 32

Feats Cleave, Great Cleave, Greater Bull Rush, Greater Sunder, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Power Attack, Toughness

Skills Craft (blacksmith) +20, Intimidate +23, Knowledge (religion, the planes) +20, Perception +22

Gear +3 flaming burst katana, mwk. o-yoroi

Ecology

Environment any (found only throughout the Tatakama and Black Japan, only rarely found elsewhere in Asia, virtually unknown in the Western Hemisphere)

Organization always solitary

Treasure double standard (including gear)

Special Abilities

            Fire Eater (SU)

The Ho-Masubi recovers 1 HP per point of damage that a Fire effect would normally inflict. This cannot take the Ho-Masubi past his full normal Hit Point total.

            If any spell, supernatural or spell -like ability with the Fire descriptor is cast within 30 ft of the Ho-Masubi, there is a 75% chance that the creature becomes the spell’s target, regardless of the caster’s intention. If the Fire effect is an area effect, the Ho-Masubi is considered the epicenter of the effect. Flames seem to twist and flow, absorbed by the burning shrine carried on the monster’s back. The Ho-Masubi’s Fire Eater quality does not apply to its own spell-like abilities (though he can choose to be caught in the blast radius of his own fireballs, however.)

Heat (SU)

            An angered Ho-Masubi generates heat so intense that anything touching its body takes 10d6 points of fire damage. Creatures striking a Ho-Masubi with natural weapons or unarmed strikes are subject to this damaged, but those attacking with melee weapons are not. The heat can melt or burn weapons; any weapon that strikes a Ho-Masubi is allowed a DC 22 FORT Save to avoid taking damage. The Save DC is CHA-based.

            Increase the heat damage to 10d10 points of fire damage and the FORT Save to DC 25 for one round after the Ho-Masubi takes damaged from channeled positive energy.

            Parody of Seppaku (SU)

            As a full round action, the Ho-Masubi can draw his katana across his pendulous, burning abdomen. Doing so automatically inflicts 1d10+10 points of slashing damage on the Ho-Masubi, but he immediately recovers 1d10 HP due to his blade’s fire damage. In addition, all creatures within a 30 ft cone suffer 16d6 points of fire damage (REF DC 22 half). This ability functions much the same as a breath weapon.

Roleplaying

            Izanami died giving birth to fire.

The Fire-Son was to be Ho-Masubi, but his enraged and grieving father murdered the newborn god within moments of his first breath. He sliced the Fire-Son into many pieces- the legend says eight equal parts, but there were far more bloody pieces than just eight.

            Ho-Masubi are the hulking, mad and loathsome remnants of the murdered Fire-Son. These giant undead exist only to burn; to burn homes and forests, to burn hope, to burn worlds, and eventually, to burn the Great Tree Yggrysadyl to ash. Driven by endless rage, their form reflects their hate. Ho-Masubi are massive, corpse grey oni dressed in a parody of a samurai’s great armor. Their hypertrophied arms split into two deadly forearms at the elbow, and their belly, groin and extremities burn endlessly with the magma-like flames that course through their corpses. Ho-Masubi carry a small Shinto shrine upon their back, lashed to them, that burns with plasma hotter than the heart of the sun.

            Despite their insanity and brute appearance, Ho-Masubi are shockingly intelligent, though they will often play the role of dumb brute to gain an advantage. When they do choose to converse, they are as well versed in religion as any scholar, and know the nature of the multiverse better than any occultist. Few ever see this side of them, as Ho-Masubi spend most of their miserable existences wreaking havoc.

            The fire-shrouded undead are rare in the Earth Realm. There’s rumors that the Amakaze have a handful of Ho-Masubi minions kept in deep cryo-stasis, ready to be unleashed at a moment’s notice, teleported anywhere in the world by high level tactical mages. If this is true, the Amakaze own something far more destructive than any modern nuclear warhead…..

BTU Monster Preview: The Devil Vigilante (CR 13)

One of the things I've been having fun doing is working in homages to different anime and manga concepts, not all of them hentai. So far, I've mangaged to work in riffs on everything from Kiki's Delivery Service to Legend of the Overfiend as monster book entries. I want to do for anime something similar to what Green Ronin's Freedom City campaign book did for mainstream superhero comics, put out a very deep setting full of homages and in-jokes that remains a viable, workable setting on its own merits. I think I'm doing pretty good in that regard.

Today, here's a preview of the Devil Vigilante. Up top is an image of a great Devil Man toy, representing the character who inspired this monster. Slightly below, Amanda Webb's inks of the monster entry inspired by Devil Man. Finally, take a look at this critter's stat block.
CHRIS

Devil Vigilante (CR 13)

Medium CN Half Orc Barbarian 1, Rogue 1, Hentai Hero 12

XP 25,600

Init +2 Senses Darkvision 60 ft, Perception +11         

Languages Abyssal, Japanese

Defense

AC 17 Touch 17 Flatfooted 14 (+2 DEX, +1 dodge, +4 class)

HP 1d12 + 13d8 + 42 hp (113 HP)

FORT +12 REF +12WILL +5

Defensive Abilities Ferocity, Trapfinding 

Weaknesses Repelled by Faith (see text)

Offense

Spd 40 ft Flight 80 ft (average)

Melee +16/+11 wounding, outsider bane devil claws (1d6+2 slashing, 10 ft reach, 20/x2)

Sneak Attack +1d6

Statistics

Str 19 Dex 15 Con 15 Int 11 Wis 12 Cha 11

Base Atk +10 CMB +14 CMD 26

Feats Dodge, Extra Rage, Fly-By Attack, Greater Sunder, Hentai Hero Plus, Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Mobility, Power Attack, Toughness

Skills  Acrobatics +6, Fly +16, Intimidate +17, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +7, Knowledge (local) +7, Perception +11, Stealth +12

Hentai Hero Talents Devil Claws II, Devil Claws I, Devil Claws Plus (x2), Wounding Claws, Devil Guts II, Devil Guts I, Cannibalistic Regeneration 

Gear necklace of protection from evil

Ecology

Environment any urban (Japan)

Organization always solitary- always  

Treasure standard (including gear)

Special Abilities

Cannibalistic Regeneration (SU)

The Devil Vigilante is filled with a surge of pleasure and adrenaline when he slays an Outsider or Undead creature with a challenge rating at least equal to his own. By reducing such a target to 0 HP or fewer, the Devil Vigilante regains 20 HP; this healing cannot raise the Devil Vigilante’s HP past its full normal total.

Devil Claws (SU)

            As a free action, the Devil Vigilante can transform his hands into natural weapons. While transformed into Devil Claws, the character cannot use his hands to manipulate objects or carry weapons. Returning his hands to their normal shape is a move-equivalent action. Devil Claws are considered outsider bane, wounding weapons, as well as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Devil Guts (SU)

            The Devil Vigilante gains a cannibalistic hunger for the flesh of oni, which drives him to stalk and kill Outsiders and corporeal Undead. By consuming at least a pound of flesh and blood from an Outsider or corporeal Undead slain within the previous hour, the Devil Vigilante heals his injuries and salves his wounds.

            Consuming the flesh of an Outsider or Undead in this manner is a full round action which provokes attacks of opportunity. Once an victim’s flesh is consumed, the Devil Vigilante receives one of the following benefits, chosen by the character at the time of consumption.

• Instantly recover a number of Hit Points equal to 2x the Outsider or Undead’s Hit Dice.
• Receive the benefit of a Nullify Poison spell, as cast by a 10^th level cleric
• Receive the benefit of a Remove Disease spell, as cast by a 10^th level cleric

• Receive the benefit of a Remove Curse spell, as cast by a 10^th level cleric
• Receive the benefit of a Lesser Restoration Spell, as cast by a 10^th level cleric
• Receive the benefits of an Atonement spell, but only if consuming a good Outsider or Undead creature.

Rage (EX)

            The Devil Vigilante can rage for up to twelve (12) rounds per day.

While raging the Devil Vigilante gains a +4 morale bonus to STR and CON as well as a +2 morale bonus to WILL Saves. He takes a -2 penalty to Armor Class. He receives 2 HP per Hit Dice (28 HP), but these disappear when the rage ends and are not lost first like temporary HP. The Devil Vigilante cannot use any CHA DEX or INT based skill checks, except for Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate and Ride, nor any ability that requires patience or concentration.

            The Devil Vigilante can end his rage as a free action and is fatigued after raging for two rounds per round spend in the rage. He cannot enter a new rage while fatigued or exhausted. If he falls unconscious, his rage immediately ends, placing him in peril of death.

            Repelled by Faith (SU)

            The Devil Vigilante cannot bring himself to harm those of great fait- even vile faiths. The Devil Vigilante suffers a penalty on ranged and melee attack rolls (though not area effect attacks) against a target equal to that target’s ranks in Knowledge (religion), if any.

Roleplaying

            He never knew his parents, but knew his father was a monster, both literally and figuratively. A father who crawled from some blood-soaked abattoir of the Tatakama and left him with nothing except a face full of ugly, a soul black with rage and a cock that hardened too easily at the thought of raping something beautiful to death. Somehow, he beat down those urges, suppressed them, controlled them behind a mask of steely self discipline and purpose.

            The Devil Vigilante takes the sky after the sun sets over Akihabara, a batwinged shadow on the smog-hidden moon. He protects ordinary humans, even though he doesn’t really like them, and can’t really understand their mundane, pathetic little lives. He’ll tear a rampaging oni or prowling ghoul limb from limb because giving voice to the fury in his blood feels good and makes him feel at least a little bit heroic, a little less like a monster. If doing so saves some drunken salariman, so be it. If there’s collateral damage, so be that, too.

            The Devil Vigilante is a possibly mixed-race, fiercely ugly Japanese man with a burly laborer’s physique. Cheap tattoos and scars cover his burly arms and chest and he dresses in thrift store left-overs and steel toe workboots, unconcerned with fashion. When he invokes his demonic power, his clothing shreds, and his musculature grows even more pronounced, shredding his clothing. His orc-like cock stands proudly erect, his legs twist into something gargoyle like and enormous batlike wings grow from his clavicles, their ebony wingspan stretching nearly 30 ft. His face becomes even more hateful, more predatory when he hunts.