Bestiary -- Errantwort

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
-- Thomas Jefferson 

My vegetable love should grow 
Vaster than empires, and more slow;
-- Andrew Marvell, “To His Coy Mistress" 

Gaea's Avenger -- Pete Venters

This one came to me in a dream, so apologies if it's excessively weird.

You start with a plant. It can be any species of plant, but the important thing is that someone cares for it, specifically and individually. So you probably won't get one from a single plant within a field of wheat, because while the farmer may work hard to keep the field healthy, he doesn't tend to give individual plants special thought -- however, his wife's favorite rosebush, which grows by the door of their cottage and gives them joy every time they smell its flowers, is a prime candidate for errantwort.

Multani, Maro-Sorcerer -- Daren Bader

The transformation happens when the person who cared for the plant dies. A small part of their elan vital transfers to the plant they loved in life, and gives it an animating spark. The plant reshapes itself into a Small humanoid form¹, and marches purposefully into the distance. This is the errantwort. An errantwort's appearance varies widely based on the plant from which it came, but there are a few commonalities. It always produces a few bark-like plates over its “head" and “torso", which vaguely resemble a breastplate and a mask -- the latter because it doesn't otherwise have a face. It also produces thorn-like growths throughout its body as a defensive measure.

Illusionary Mask -- Amy Weber

A new errantwort has a rudimentary intelligence, and a basic understanding of tool use. If it gets the chance, it will acquire actual armor and a proper weapon. It prefers full plate and a sword, but will settle for any armor and any melee weapon. If it cannot find a weapon, it will fight by producing a stick of tough, thorny wood from itself, which it will use as a club. As time passes, if the errantwort survives and grows sufficiently, it will also develop the necessary skills for horsemanship, and will seek to acquire a steed.

Wormwood Treefolk -- Jesper Myrfors

An errantwort has no ultimate goal, but does possess a sort of overriding purpose. Whatever the moral ideals of the person who used to care for the plant from which the errantwort sprung were, the errantwort will now defend them with all the stubbornness, pomp, and chivalry of a knight stepped straight out of Malory. If questioned on its motivation, the errantwort will declaim something about wanting to “honor the soul of its lady/lord", in terms as flowery as possible. It has no concept of moral gray areas, and addresses any perceived insult, disrespect, or violation of its black-and-white moral code by challenging the “knave" who has committed this injustice to a duel. Usually, these are not duels to the death, unless the offense is particularly egregious, and the errantwort will specify the conditions of the duel² when challenging. However, accidents happen, especially when the party being challenged is particularly irritable.

Heartwood Treefolk -- Daren Bader

An errantwort is perfectly willing to accompany a party of adventurers it considers “just" and “honorable", and it might seem like a viable ally initially, but it soon becomes clear that it is difficult to guide in convenient directions. A young errantwort -- and, given their propensity for duels, few errantworts survive to maturity -- talks like a Markov chain trained on Le Morte Darthur, and thinks like two children in a trenchcoat pretending to be Don Quixote. Inevitably, if it is inducted into a party of adventurers, it will eventually either become the de facto leader on the grounds that nobody can successfully tell it what to do, or end up parting ways with the party after one duel too many. And, of course, there's a slight additional problem that the errantwort never mentions and adventurers often take a long time to figure out.

Ancestral Mask -- Massimilano Frezzato

An errantwort primarily, like any plant, feeds on soil, water, and sunlight. It habitually roots itself for brief periods in order to extract its needed nutrients. Someone who spends a lot of time around an errantwort will note that it often insists on rooting itself -- or at least resting -- after a combat encounter, including its honor-duels. If asked, it says that it needs to replenish itself after the effort expended in the fight. This is not strictly true. An errantwort, in order to properly grow and mature, needs to feed on the flesh and/or blood of foes that have not yet been slain. When it rests after a duel, it chooses a spot where the blood of its foe was spilled, and absorbs that blood through its roots.³ It is ashamed of this habit, and will never admit it to outsiders, but it is a necessary action for the errantwort to reach maturity.

Moss Monster -- Jesper Myrfors

The people whose blood the errantwort consumes in this way -- henceforth referred to as its vanquished foes -- do not come to any direct harm as a result of this, and may well not notice any effects for some time. Whenever one of the errantwort's vanquished foes would gain XP, they get only 90% of that XP -- the other 10% is shunted over to the errantwort. This is the only way an errantwort can gain XP. Whenever the errantwort accumulates enough XP to gain a level, it instead advances by one HD. This is the only way an errantwort can advance in HD. As it advances, the errantwort not only becomes physically larger, but also becomes smarter and more skilled by virtually every measurement. It even gradually acquires new talents as it matures, as presented in the table below:

Hit Dice	Total XP	Size	Bonus
1	0	Small	Exists?
2	1,000	Small	+1 to all mental attributes Proficient with all armor Bonus combat feat
3	3,000	Small	+1 to all mental attributes  Proficient with martial weapons Fast Healing 5
4	6,000	Small	+1 to all mental attributes  Proficient with all shields Bonus combat feat
5	10,000	Medium	+1 to all mental attributes  +5 racial bonus to Ride
6	15,000	Medium	Spell-like abilities Bonus combat feat Regeneration 5

Ebony Treefolk -- Matt Cavotta

Beyond 6 HD, the errantwort will continue getting a bonus combat feat every time it reaches an even number of hit dice and +1 to a single mental ability every time it reaches an odd number of hit dice. At 15 hit dice, it grows from Medium to Large.

Note that these changes are in addition to the default effects of gaining hit dice and size categories, which will vary slightly depending on which system you are using.

An errantwort acquires its spell-like abilities as follows: whenever it would gain a hit die, if one of its vanquished foes has access to spellcasting, then the errantwort can gain access to a spell that foe knows as a 1/day spell-like ability. This same effect can apply to supernatural class abilities, or spell-like abilities its foes may have. Generally, an errantwort will not gain offensive abilities. Instead, it acquires utility spells that can aid it in its “quest", such as detect evil or zone of truth; it may also pick up defensive abilities like protection from chaos or mage armor.

Weatherseed Treefolk -- Heather Hudson

In full maturity -- i.e., at least 6 HD -- an errantwort can pass for a human paladin. It will, if it hasn't already, seek out a set of full plate it can wear (including a helmet that covers its lack-of-face), acquire a sword, and purchase a warhorse. It makes no effort to lie about its true nature, but neither will it volunteer the information if not asked. By this point, it will be medium-sized, with enough intelligence to carry on a real conversation. It will carry on the activities of a questing knight, supporting whatever causes it was born believing in for the glory of its deceased lord or lady. It is still difficult to integrate even a fully-mature errantwort into a larger organization, however -- regardless of how its mental faculties have increased, it still has an inborn sense of right and wrong (inherited from its human caretakers when it was inanimate, not reasoned out in any logical fashion) and a starkly black-and-white worldview that it is completely incapable of questioning. Those who have adventured with one too many paladins would probably describe the default state of an errantwort as “Lawful Stupid".

The stats of a newly-created errantwort are as follows.

Scarwood Treefolk-- Stuart Griffin

Errantwort

CR 1, XP 400
Small Plant
Init +0
Senses Low-Light Vision; Perception -2

-----Defense-----

AC 19, touch 11, flat-footed 19 (+1 size, +8 natural)
HP 6 (1d8+1)
Saves Fort +3, Ref +0, Will -2

 -----Offense-----

Savage Thallid -- Luca Zontini

Speed 20 ft.
Melee club +2 (1d4+1)

-----Statistics-----

Attributes Str 12, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 5, Wis 6, Cha 4
Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 10
Feats Improved Natural Armor
Skills Climb +2
Languages Common, Plantspeech
Special Qualities Plant Traits, Camouflage

-----Special Abilities-----

Plant Traits
This type comprises vegetable creatures. Note that regular plants, such as one finds growing in gardens and fields, lack Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores; even though plants are alive, they are objects, not creatures.
-- Low-light vision.
-- Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms).
-- Immunity to paralysis, poison, polymorph, sleep effects, and stunning.
-- Plants breathe and eat, but do not sleep.
Camouflage (Ex)
An Errantwort can use the Stealth skill to hide in any of its native terrains, even if the terrain doesn't grant cover or concealment.
Plantspeech (Ex)
An Errantwort can communicate with plants as through a 'Speak with Plants' spell (of caster level 1) constantly.

-----Ecology-----

Environment Forests, fields, and any place a noble knight may quest
Organization Solitary
Treasure Weapons, armor, and perchance some small trinket of their lady / lord

Lichenthrope -- Bob Eggleton

---

1 If the plant is not large enough for this, it will rapidly grow until it has sufficient volume. If it is larger than necessary, it will leave the excess matter behind; the remnant may or may not be able to survive the amputation.^↩ 

2 Most commonly, the duel is to be fought until one party either yields or is too wounded to continue. Occasionally, if the errantwort is disinclined to cause real harm to a challenged party for whatever reason, the duel will simply be to “first blood".^↩ 

3 This process happens automatically, with no need for the errantwort to take any additional action, if blood is ever spilled directly on the errantwort.^↩

Less Respected Lycanthropes II

Recently, I took another look at the Magical Mishaps table I posted in the fall, and noticed result #018:

Caster acquires lycanthropy. At the full moon, caster becomes a [roll 1d12 -- 1: hyena, 2: small lizard, 3: toad, 4: mule, 5: rhinoceros, 6: armadillo, 7: koala, 8: panda, 9: porcupine, 10: skunk, 11: giant tortoise, 12: platypus]. Caster has no control over the change; when under the effects of the full moon, GM takes control of character; animal form has opposite alignment of caster, but same knowledge and mental abilities.

There is no overlap between the animals on that list and the ones given in the original Less Respected Lycanthropes entry; I thought I should fix that, so that if anyone uses that table, they have a resource for that result. Throughout this entry, I'll be making the general assumption that the situation is as described above: the lycanthrope is afflicted, rather than natural, and its animal form is of the opposite alignment as its human form. (Presumably, that means the hybrid forms are all Neutral, but it's up to you how much you want to deal with that.) I'm also going to ignore the size requirements for animal form, because it's funnier if your cursed PC turns into a regular-sized armadillo, not a “dire armadillo".

Filling out that list is going to have to be a series, because writing up five for the first entry took more time than I expected, so I'm not tackling twelve at once. I'm going to try and do six short items for this entry, and save time by only including the template, not a set of example stats.

Werelizard.
(From the Worksop Bestiary)

Werehyena¹ (also Bultungin, Crocotta, Kaftar)

Werehyenas are almost legitimately respected. They come so close -- they turn into a pretty badass animal and everything -- but the meme of hyenas as filthy carrion-eaters kind of screws everything up for them. So instead of being respected, werehyenas are hated and feared by most communities. If someone is proven to be -- or even accused of being -- a werehyena, their presence will likely no longer be tolerated in the village. This is especially true since the afflicted person has no control over the decisions made by their hyena form.

Found in the Chauvet cave.

In their afflicted form, a werehyena will gradually -- over the course of years -- develop gleaming red eyes, a nasal voice, and excessive body hair; this may be a tip-off of their true nature if the locals have the right Knowledge skills. In their hybrid form, they look like a weird Gnoll subspecies, with shorter snouts, duller fur, and more prominent manes.

When in their animal form, an evil-aligned werehyena (i.e., one whose human form is good-aligned) will often roam the streets on the hunt, or sneak into homes to kill and eat people in their beds. They may also desecrate graves, eating the corpses.

Hyena, from the Aberdeen Bestiary

However, a good-aligned werehyena (i.e., one whose human form is evil-aligned) will generally just chill out, maybe undermine any evil deeds their human form is arranging, eat some carrion if it's just lying around being unhygienic, and may practice the insectivorous habits of the aardwolf.

Hyena, from Hugh of Fouilloy's Avarium.

Template

• All forms:
• Add 2d8 hit dice
• +2 Wis
• +3 Fort, +3 Ref
• +2 natural armor
• +1 base attack
• Gain (2+Int modifier)x2 skill points
• Gain the feats Iron Will and Skill Focus (Perception)
• Gain low-light vision and scent
• Gain Lycanthropic Empathy and Alternate Form
• Challenge Rating +2
• Hybrid or Animal Form:
• +4 Str, +4 Dex, +4 Con
• +2 natural armor (in addition to previous +2)
• Bite attack (1d6 + trip)
• DR 5/silver
• Gain Curse of Lycanthropy
• Animal form only:
• 50ft speed
• +4 Stealth in tall grass

From  Konrad von Megenberg's Book of Nature.
I think it's supposed to depict grave-robbing, but to me it just looks like a hyena sitting in a hole and looking super proud of itself. Kinda cute, really.

Weregecko (also Werelizard, Wereanole, Wereskink, Wereguana)

At least if you're cursed to be a werehyena, there's something tragic about that. Turning into a ravenous beast at the full moon -- that's a classic. That's got style. Turning into a small, evil lizard at the full moon -- not so much. You're practically comic relief at that point. 

People afflicted with the weregecko curse will start balding soon after; over a few years, they will become as hairless as any lizard. They may also develop a dry, scaly skin texture, even in their human form. Their hybrid form is, let's be honest, kind of sad; even larger species with the weregecko curse shrink down into the Small size category as a hybrid. Really, the only benefit of the hybrid form is that it has a climb speed. (Actually, if you're a thief or a spy, it's pretty useful, come to think.) Oh, and you can totally do that thing where you detach your tail and run away.

You look kinda like this, though.

(From the Worksop Bestiary)

In their animal form, the weregecko mostly just tries to screw up anything that the human form has going on. Since they're of opposite alignment but also, you know, pathetically tiny, they usually cultivate a set of allies their human form can't get rid of easily and just pass on information.

From the Bestiary of Ann Walsh.

Template

• All forms:
• Add 1d8 hit dice
• +2 Wis
• +2 Fort, +2 Ref
• +2 natural armor
• Gain (2+Int modifier) skill points
• Gain the feats Iron Will and Weapon Finesse
• Gain low-light vision
• Gain Lycanthropic Empathy and Alternate Form
• Challenge Rating +2
• Hybrid or Animal Form:
• +4 Dex
• Reduce speed to 20ft, gain 10ft climb speed
• Reduce size to Small
• Bite attack (1d4)
• DR 5/silver
• Gain Curse of Lycanthropy
• Animal form only:
• 20ft speed, 20ft climb speed
• +8 to Acrobatics
• Reduce size to Tiny

I guess she's mid-transformation?
(From the Breviary of Isabella of Castile)

Weretoad

This is actually one step worse than being a weregecko. You still turn into something tiny and ineffectual -- yet evil -- but instead of getting a hybrid form that can climb walls, you get one that can jump. And instead of just going bald over the first few years you have the curse, you also develop warts. You're still comic relief, but not quite as funny, because geckos are cuter.

From Jacob van Maerlant's Der Naturen Bloeme

Like the gecko, Large or Medium-sized weretoads become Small in their hybrid form. Unlike the gecko, Small-sized weretoads (i.e., halflings, gnomes, and the like) become Tiny. As a bonus, they do develop powerful hind legs for jumping, but they also get tiny and wartier. Also like the gecko, the complete ineffectiveness of the toad form means they have to cultivate useful allies to counteract their opposite-alignment human form.

Potential game suggestion: while trying to figure out how to deal with a minor villain, the PCs meet a friendly talking toad one night around the full moon. The toad is strangely knowledgeable about the villain's plans, and eager to share, but is really cagey about his identity, apparently concerned that if they knew who the toad was, they might squish him. The next day, the villain is suddenly very aware of the PCs, and is going out of his way to protect himself from them specifically.

This one looks like it's dealing with some heavy existential issues.
(From a 15th-century copy of the Institutes of Justinian)

Template

• All forms:
• Add 1d8 hit dice
• +2 Wis
• +2 Fort, +2 Ref
• +2 bonus to any saves against poison
• +2 natural armor
• Gain (2+Int modifier) skill points
• Gain the feats Iron Will and Skill Focus (Perception)
• Gain low-light vision and scent
• Gain Lycanthropic Empathy and Alternate Form
• Challenge Rating +2
• Hybrid or Animal Form:
• +4 Dex
• Reduce speed to 20ft
• Reduce size to Small (if already Small, reduce to Tiny)
• +4 to Jump checks
• Bite attack (1 dmg)
• DR 5/silver
• Gain Curse of Lycanthropy
• Animal form only:
• Reduce speed to 5ft
• +4 to Stealth
• Reduce size to Diminutive

Can't find a source for this one.

Weremule (also Weredonkey, Wereass)

It could be worse, right? I mean, at least you're turning into a decent-sized animal instead of shrinking down to a toad. And even if your mule form is the opposite alignment, there's only so much damage one can do as a mule, other than wander around and try to kick people. Also, until you get the curse lifted, you are literally sterile as a mule.

From De medicina ex animalibus.

A weremule in human form will gradually develop large ears and a stubborn disposition. In hybrid form, they're just big and hairy, with a full-on donkey head. As a slight bonus, their punches do lethal damage due to their hoof-like knuckles. In animal form, their primary strategy is just to bray the secrets of their human form at the top of their lungs, to try and screw the cursed individual over as much as possible.

Apparently there's an actual D&D monster called an “asswere".
It's exactly what it sounds like.
(From the Tome of Horrors)

Template

• All forms:
• Add 2d8 hit dice
• +2 Wis
• +3 Fort, +3 Ref
• +2 natural armor
• Gain (2+Int modifier)x2 skill points
• Gain the feats Iron Will, Endurance, and Run
• Gain low-light vision and scent
• Gain Lycanthropic Empathy and Alternate Form
• Challenge Rating +2
• Hybrid or Animal Form:
• +2 Str, +2 Dex, +4 Con
• 2 hoof attacks (1d3)
• DR 5/silver
• Gain Curse of Lycanthropy
• Animal form only:
• 40ft speed

From the Bestiaire d'amour

Wererhino

Now we're getting somewhere, right? Being a rhino is awesome. In your human form, you're significantly tougher than you used to be. In your hybrid form, you're a juggernaut of muscle. In your animal form... well, damn, you basically have a rhinoceros that hates you showing up every month and trashing all your stuff. Okay, so it's a pain in the ass.

From an Iranian manuscript The Benefits of Animals

Those who suffer from the wererhino curse put on bulk very easily, and their skin thickens noticeably. They may also get a small keratinous growth on their nose. In their hybrid form, they are exactly as terrifying as you'd expect a humanoid rhinoceros to be. In their animal form, they devote much of their time to physically destroying everything their human form is trying to build, and may even hunt down their human form's allies, with messy results.

16th-century woodcut by Albrecht Dürer.

Template

• All forms:
• Add 5d8 hit dice
• +2 Wis
• +5 Fort, +4 Ref, +1 Will
• +2 natural armor
• Gain (2+Int modifier)x5 skill points
• Gain the feats Iron Will, Endurance, Great Fortitude, and Skill Focus (Perception)
• Gain scent
• Gain Lycanthropic Empathy and Alternate Form
• Challenge Rating +3
• Hybrid or Animal Form:
• +12 Str, +8 Con
• +7 natural armor (in addition to previous +2)
• Gore attack 2d6
• Special attack: powerful charge (gore, 4d6+12)
• DR 5/silver
• Gain Curse of Lycanthropy
• Animal form only:
• 40ft speed
• Increase size to Large

From Liber de naturis bestiarum

Weremadillo

And we're back to Stuff It's Not Cool to Turn Into. You're a little burrowing thing with weak eyesight, which is great because at least your animal form can't wreck your stuff so much, but lame because you turn into a friggin' armadillo.

From Johann Daniel Meyer's Angenehmer und nützlicher Zeit-Vertreib mit Betrachtung curioser Vorstellungen allerhand kriechender, fliegender und schwimmender, auf dem Land und im Wasser sich befindender und nährender 

In their human form, weremadillos will gradually grow a longer, thinner nose, and their eyesight will weaken significantly. They may develop scaly skin on their back. In hybrid form, they are still more weak-eyed, and may be forced to rely on smell and touch to navigate at times. They have armor plating on their back, but can't really roll up properly. In hybrid form, all weremadillos are Small. In their animal form, they follow a strategy very similar to the weretoad and weregecko, but are slightly less nervous as they have natural protection available.

From Nicolas Monardes's Historia Medicinal

Template

• All forms:
• Add 1d8 hit dice
• +2 Wis
• +2 Fort, +2 Ref
• +2 natural armor
• Gain (2+Int modifier)x2 skill points
• Gain the feats Iron Will, and Skill Focus (Perception)
• Gain scent
• Gain Lycanthropic Empathy and Alternate Form
• Challenge Rating +2
• -2 to all checks involving sight
• Hybrid or Animal Form:
• +4 Dex
• +2 natural armor (in addition to previous +2)
• Reduce size to Small
• Claw attack 1d2
• Special: can hold breath underwater for up to 6 minutes.
• DR 5/silver
• Gain Curse of Lycanthropy
• -2 to all checks involving sight (in addition to previous penalty)
• Animal form only:
• Gain 5ft burrow speed
• Reduce size to Tiny
• -4 to all checks involving sight (in addition to previous penalties)
• Gain the special ability Protective Ball.
• An armadillo can roll up into a ball as a swift action, increasing its natural armor bonus to +3 but decreasing its speed to 0 feet. Unrolling is a move action.

From Pierre Belon's Les Observations De Plusieurs Singularites et Choses Memorables Trouvée En Grèce, Asie, Judée, Egypte, Arabie et Autres Pays Estrangèrs, Redigées Trois Livres

---

1 Apparently this is an actual folkloric thing with its own (small) Wikipedia page.^↩

Bestiary: Truphane

In a previous post, I said I was planning a bestiary entry meant to explain the huge, anachronistic sewer systems of D&D towns. After all, It Is Known that such systems tend to appear...

From Rich Burlew's Order of the Stick

From Paizo.

From Dungeon Magazine #11;
Art by Jim Holloway.

... and It Is Implied even when they don't; how many games have you been in where there was any indication that the streets might be of a distinctly medieval level of sanitation?

But, of course, the default setting of D&D is modeled after medieval Europe and/or Tolkien and/or pulp sword-and-sorcery books. Historically, sanitation technology did not exactly thrive in medieval Europe -- like many of the things the Romans invented, it didn't quite survive the fall of the Empire; I don't recall any mention of sewers in Tolkien; and... actually, maybe Conan or the Grey Mouser or someone did crawl around in the sewers at some point... I need to read up on my pulp fiction.

The point is, however, that this is not only anachronistic but kind of weird when you think about it; in D&D, sewers exist as, basically, urban dungeons. Adventurers are supposed to be able to wander around in them, otyughs are supposed to live in there, and they're a ready-made lair for your wererat criminal organization or what have you. So they don't just have sewers; they have HUGE sewer systems. This might be believable in a Rome-equivalent, but they seem to come standard everywhere; see rhetorical question two paragraphs up.

So who builds them? Obviously, hives of hyperparasitic, telepathic ophiuroids.

I may have skipped some steps in that argument, but regardless, here is the:

Truphane¹

The Truphane -- also called the impostor-beast, the pretender-beast, the urban starfish, the hyperparasite of man, the cobblemonster, the aristocrat eater, the king's hand, and the sessile tyrant, depending on one's preferences / education / desire to appear educated -- is a hive-building creature that can influence human minds and feed on mental energy. The life cycle of the truphane is as follows:

One day, a member of the nobility or other upper-class individual comes home from a visit to another city, feverish and delirious. His staff say that he fell ill during the state visit -- a couple days after meeting some important individual in the other city, usually a monarch or equivalent. He worsens rapidly.

Truphane Sickness
Type disease (parasite), contact
Save Fortitude DC 15
Onset 1d4 days
Frequency 1/week
Effect 1 Con drain, 1d12 Wis damage
Cure 2 consecutive saves

If the individual infected with truphane sickness does not recover, eventually he collapses into unconsciousness, and any attendant healers will be certain that he is at death's door. Then, suddenly, he is well, if still weak. He demands that his staff take him to whatever location he makes most of his public appearances in -- for a monarch, that's probably the throne room, but obviously that varies widely. At this point, the original victim is dead; his staff have just propped up his corpse in his throne room (or whatever), and if any of them are able to make their Will save against the truphane nymph that has grown inside of him, they will see not only that he is dead, but that his dominant hand has been defleshed, and wrapped around the phalanges are five wormlike appendages attached to a pentagonal body resting in his palm.

Image by Jerry Kirkhart from Los Osos, Calif.
 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48245209

As the body slowly decays, the truphane nymph gets stronger, until the original victim is just a skeleton with a strange creature wrapped around one of its hands. Over the course of this process, the truphane gets its telepathic hooks into the minds of anyone who witnesses or comes into contact with its deceased host. The first time someone encounters the truphane, they get to make a Will save to see it for what it is. After they have failed, they don't get another Will save unless someone who passed theirs goes to extraordinary lengths to show them the reality of the corpse.

Truphane Nymph
CR 3, XP 1200
N Tiny Magical Beast
Init -1; Senses crappy sight, decent smell and vibration senses, passive telepathy, adds up to +2 Perception

---

Defense
AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+2 size, +2 natural)
hp 22 (4d10+0)
Saves Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +3

---

Offense
Speed: 10 ft., climb 10 ft., swim 10 ft.
Melee Attack: flails ineffectually +0 (1 dmg)
Ranged Attack: n/a
Special Attacks: PANIC!!!!!

---

Statistics
Abilities Str 2, Dex 8, Con 10, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 14
Base Atk +4; CMB +1; CMD 7
Feats: Iron Will, Skill Focus (stealth)
Skills: Perception +2, Stealth +4
Special Qualities: Everything is Fine

---

Special
Everything is Fine (Su): On first encountering the truphane nymph, everyone gets a Will save DC 22. A success means they see the truphane and its host as they truly are; a failure means that they perceive the host as alive and well, and go about their business as normal. They may also gain a slightly stronger motivation to protect the truphane and its host from danger.
PANIC!!!!! (Su): If the truphane feels like it is in immediate danger, it sends out a panic signal. Anyone who has previously failed their Will save against its Everything is Fine ability will have a sudden, intense feeling that the truphane's host is in mortal danger. They will react according to their perceived relation with said host / who they are as a person.

---

Ecology
Environment: Urban
Organization: Solitary or Hive
Treasure: Whatever the host was wearing when they died. Might be some nice jewelry.

This is the stage of the life cycle where the truphane is most vulnerable, and is most often discovered. As a result, many partially-informed sages and adventurers do not describe the truphane beyond this point, leading to a number of bestiaries making the truphane out to be far less of a threat than it truly is. The appearance of the truphane in this state, and therefore in the majority of available bestiary illustrations PCs might find in their research, is similar to a brittle star or basket star with pebble-like scales over its body, wrapped around a skeletal hand.

In its nymph stage -- note that this is “nymph" like the stage in an insect's life cycle², not like the dangerous fey -- the truphane can do little other than feed and project thoughts into the minds of those around it. A truphane is not intelligent, so it cannot modulate these thoughts very well; it instinctively tries to convince those around it of the following things and cannot do anything beyond that:

• The truphane's host is alive, healthy, and behaving normally. Anyone who might be suspicious about the fact that they never see the host anywhere except that one spot will be given false memories of seeing them wherever they would normally expect to see them.
• In any situation where people would expect to hear something from the host -- speeches, conversations, decrees, what have you -- the truphane just blends together the expectations of everyone present into something plausible. It always says whatever its audience expects it to say. This means that, if its underlings ask it for instructions, they're essentially using the rubber-duck problem-solving method but hallucinating that the duck is talking back.
• Weirdly, this rarely makes any impact on policy when the truphane replaces an important noble or monarch; everyone just keeps doing whatever they think the monarch would tell them to do. The aristocracy tends to discourage anyone from talking or thinking about the implications of this too much.
• The truphane's host has dangerous enemies, and the building in which he is located must be defended at all times. The host is happy to receive visitors as normal, but if said visitors are behaving oddly -- like, for instance, insisting that the host is just a corpse -- it is because they are the aforementioned dangerous enemies, and possibly criminally insane. They should be dealt with swiftly and violently.

The second item is because the truphane itself is relatively defenseless if someone sees it and tries to kill it; as the truphane becomes more established, its lair will become better-defended. Any truphane that has been active for more than a month or so will have around-the-clock guard shifts.

From René Kœhler's Echinodermata Ophiuroidea, published 1922 

Before we go any further, it is necessary to describe the feeding habits of the truphane. They do not eat physical food, but feed directly on the minds of those around them. This is why the truphane will continue to receive visitors as long as it is protected; it wants to get its hooks into as many minds as possible. Every day, one of the people the truphane is feeding on -- i.e. a randomly-selected person who has failed their Will save against it -- takes 1d6 Wis damage; this is the truphane taking a bite out of their minds. People suffering from truphane-related Wisdom damage acquire unusually-strong beliefs that include one or more of the following:

• Foreigners are plotting against their city / town / nation / home. Intense xenophobia, suspicion of anyone from outside town.
• Stone, especially cobblestones and anything else that resembles a truphane's pebbled scales, is beautiful; plants and growing things are ugly.
• Economic gain is all-important; personal relationships are distractions.
• Romance is only valuable when it leads to children.
• Nationalism accompanied with a willingness / weird desire to die in the defense of their town.
• Everything is futile and pointless; nothing means anything; might as well make as much money as possible, spend that money on more money, then spend that money on hedonism.
• The rulers of their society rule by divine right and can do no wrong. 
• Their town should grow and spread; it is their manifest destiny to expand their borders as much as possible -- preferably through economic means rather than military.
• All crimes are treason; disobeying the laws means disrespecting the divine right of the ruling class; this is a betrayal on the highest order, therefore treason, therefore string 'em up in the town square.
• Money buys happiness. There is no other way to become happy.
• Reverence for their monarch or other leadership replaces any previously-held religious beliefs.
• Intense distrust of magic, greater appreciation of technological progress.
• Any time spent not working is stealing from the economy of their town and the pockets of their rulers.
• Everyone should know their place. (Everyone's place is below the ruling class; the place of all foreigners is at the bottom of the ladder; any outsiders that are perceived to be acting uppity risk violent response.)
• Everything is normal and nothing has changed, or should change. Everything is the same. Today is exactly like yesterday and tomorrow will be exactly like today. 
• Anyone who questions any of these beliefs is part of the vast foreign conspiracy against them.

From Die Gartenlaube
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Die_Gartenlaube_(1865)_b_710_1.jpg

After the truphane has fed and grown enough -- which usually takes years, and varies widely depending on how many people are exposed to it -- it will take one of the following two paths, selected instinctually based on the telepathic impressions it has received over the course of its maturation:

• If there is no truphane hive in the town already:
• The truphane's host is seen to die of natural causes, and a funeral is swiftly arranged. Nobody seems to notice the advanced rate of decay. The host is buried, and the truphane Nymph extracts itself from the corpse. It then burrows into the ground and develops into a truphane queen.
• In exceptionally large cities (population 10,000+) this might happen even if there is already a truphane hive, as there is enough food to sustain multiple hives. That is, the town is literally big enough for the both of them.
• If there is already an established truphane hive:
• As above, but after burial, rather than becoming a queen, the truphane nymph splits into five segments, each of which regenerates into a truphane drone. The drones join the existing hive, telepathically inserting themselves into the organization.
• Nymphs that were born from the town's already-established hive take this option by default, regardless of how big the town is. The only exception is if someone has recently killed the hive's queen, in which case the next nymph to mature will take over whatever remains of the hive.

Image by Charles Wyville Thomson in Depths of the Sea, published 1873

Truphane Queen
CR 10, XP 9600
N Large Magical Beast
Init +0; Senses passive telepathy, tremorsense 30ft: +4 Perception
Space 5ft Reach 20ft

---

Defense
AC 23, touch 9, flat-footed 23 (-1 size, +14 natural)
hp 123 (13d10+39)
Saves Fort +10, Ref +7, Will +6

---

Offense
Speed: 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee Attack: 6 arms +15 (1d4+2)
Ranged Attack: n/a
Special Attacks: Summon Aid

---

Statistics
Abilities Str 14, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 18
Base Atk +13; CMB +16; CMD 26
Feats: Improved Iron Will, Iron Will, Skill Focus (stealth), Toughness
Skills: Climb +4, Perception +4, Stealth+8, Swim +4
Special Qualities: This is Normal, Hive Mind, Tremorsense 30ft

---

Special
Hive Mind (Su): The save DC for the telepathic abilities of all members of the truphane hive, within the area covered by said hive, is the same as the queen's. The hive is treated as one truphane for purposes of determining who has failed against their abilities before. In addition, the queen knows everything the other members of her hive know; though truphanes are not smart enough to make complex plans, they are smart enough to get nervous when someone starts taking them out.
Summon Aid (Su): If the queen is directly threatened, all soldier truphanes in the hive will drop what they are doing and head to her chamber to defend her.
This is Normal (Su): Upon first entering the range of the truphane hive, one must make a Will save DC 24. On a failure, the victim is unable to recognize any of the effects caused by the presence of a truphane hive as abnormal, and will even invent explanations if needed.

---

Ecology
Environment: Urban
Organization: Solitary or Hive
Treasure: incidental; mostly stuff that's been dropped into the sewer and wound up in the queen's nest by chance.

As a queen, the truphane begins by digging out a subterranean chamber in which it can grow. It feeds more intensely as it becomes larger, affecting more people. As a nymph, it only fed on one person each day; as a growing queen, it adds one to that number each month -- once it is feeding on ten random people each month, it stabilizes, and the queen is considered full-grown. A full-grown truphane queen resembles a basket star about fifty feet across from armtip to armtip, covered in a thick scaly covering with an eerie resemblance to cobblestones.

The queen sheds one of her arms at this point, and it grows into the hive's first truphane drone. Drones are larger, stronger versions of the nymphs; their jobs are to maintain the nest and aid in reproduction. The drones fertilize the queen³, and then deliver the resultant packages of microscopic eggs; they also add tunnels to the queen's underground chamber that lead up to homes and streets on the surface in an ever-widening network.

It is this network that is the town's “sewer system". It starts as burrows under the town, but the drones' instinct to connect it to as many street-level exits and wealthy homes as possible means it does actually follow roughly the same structural pattern as a sewer system. The drones also make a basic effort to have the “sewer" openings blend in, so they will crudely cover the parts near the surface in paving stones so it looks like part of the town's infrastructure. The queen's This is Normal ability convinces the population that the burrow openings they see are just part of the sewer system, which has always been there. As a hive becomes established, the local government will often start hiring people to help maintain the sewer system, based on false memories of commissioning its creation and administering its maintenance. In this fashion, the truphane burrows will actually become a sewer system, as the new workers will do the necessary retrofitting and put down proper paving-stones under the belief that this is standard maintenance. At this stage, drones will often use their telepathic abilities to camouflage themselves as sewer workers, or even infiltrate the group of humans maintaining the sewer and influence them to build their tunnels in ways the truphanes find convenient.

Brittle stars on coral -- NOAA photo library
https://www.flickr.com/photos/noaaphotolib/5277868344/

In addition to convincing the population that everything is normal and the burrows have always been there, the truphane queen will influence the society above her in ways that benefit the hive. The truphane “wants" the town's population to grow so the hive can feed on it, and for the town to be well-defended against anyone who might disrupt the status quo. (The queen is still animal-level intelligence and doesn't consciously make these plans, but the suggestions she instinctively puts out are all geared towards those goals.) A town that harbors a truphane queen will find the citizenry holding the following beliefs:

• There are many, many threats outside and the town must be well-defended. Walls should be built, and bodyguards assigned to the ruling class.
• Anyone questioning the townsfolk's behavior or saying strange things about starfish in the sewers is a threat. They're probably an outsider trying to undermine the town's way of life, or a traitor, or a spy, or just crazy.
• The town should grow. All citizens should have as many children as possible, and the town should sprawl outwards across the countryside.
• In some cases, truphane drones will infiltrate organizations of masons & other relevant craftspeople, implanting false memories of commissions they have been given, encouraging the continuing expansion of the town. The usual result is a proliferation of walls, guard towers, and low-quality housing on the town's outskirts, with some mild confusion about who decided these buildings were needed. 
• Economic growth is very important. The town must trade and produce so it can grow. This is very important -- like, willing-to-die-for-it important.
• Streets should be paved and new buildings made of stone. There should be no green patches in town, and, if possible, no plain dirt. Everything should be cobblestones.
• Note: a truphane drone (or nymph or queen, but that rarely comes up) gets a +4 bonus on all Stealth checks when on cobblestones (or anything that has a similar appearance) due to the camouflage provided by its stone-like scales.

By Ernst Haeckel, in Kunstformen der Natur, published 1904

Truphane Drone
CR 5, XP 1600
N Small Magical Beast
Init +3; Senses passive telepathy, +4 Perception

---

Defense
AC 19, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+1 size, +3 dex, +5 natural)
hp 21 (6d10-12)
Saves Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +4

---

Offense
Speed: 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee Attack: panicked flailing +3 (1d6-3, disease)
Ranged Attack: n/a
Special Attacks: Disease

---

Statistics
Abilities Str 4, Dex 16, Con 6, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 14
Base Atk +6; CMB +2; CMD 15
Feats: Iron Will, Nimble Moves, Skill Focus (stealth)
Skills: Perception +4, Stealth +10
Special Qualities: Nothing to See Here

---

Special
Disease (Ex): Direct contact with a truphane drone prompts a Fortitude save DC 15 to avoid catching Truphane Sickness as some of the larvae transfer from it to you.
Nothing to See Here (Su): Anyone who makes the necessary Perception check to spot a drone sneaking around must follow that with a Will save DC 22. Failure means that they don't recognize that they're seeing anything unusual, and that they forget about it as soon as the drone is out of sight.

---

Ecology
Environment: Urban
Organization: Solitary or Hive
Treasure: none

The truphane queen will lay huge clutches of eggs in her chamber on a regular basis. These will hatch into microscopic, plankton-like larvae that swim around in the “sewer" eating algae and whatnot. Eventually -- their population heavily culled -- they mature into drones and soldiers; current theory has it that the queen is able to telepathically influence which they become based on an instinctual desire to maintain a certain ratio within the hive. The larvae also instinctively cling to the spines of the drones whenever they're not actively feeding. When there appears to be a surplus of larvae, drones will begin transporting them out of the sewer to try and make some into truphane nymphs.

A drone carrying larvae will exit the sewer under the cover of night, and seek out a wealthy and powerful individual. The drone does not understand these concepts, of course, but they do their reconnaissance in the telepathic landscape, not the physical; they look for people who are well-protected and well-provided-for, by following certain thoughts and emotions in potential targets and the people around them. These are the people who make the best hosts for truphane nymphs -- someone who can conceivably spend all of their time sitting in one place while being heavily guarded. The drone finds someone in town who meets the criteria, and who is preferably asleep and alone, and exits from the burrow opening nearest them. They creep along the street, camouflaged against the cobbles, then slip into their target's sleeping chambers. There, they gently lay one of their arms across the target's sleeping body, allowing the larvae to transfer from the drone to the new host. Their target must save against catching Truphane Sickness, and may be the host for a new truphane nymph. If the target awakens during this process, the drone's Nothing to See Here ability will attempt to convince the target that this is just a dream, then make them forget about it in the morning.

The drones will also make regular visits to any nymphs the hive has produced. They will transfer larvae to the corpse on which the nymph lives, so that anyone who meets with the nymph's host risks catching Truphane Sickness. For this reason, whenever the nymph is visited by someone who it perceives as a good potential host, that person will be influenced to come into contact with the corpse. Usually this takes the form of the victim believing that they are meant to kiss the host's ring, shake the host's hand, or something similar -- at which point the nymph that is living on the host's hand will attempt to transfer as many larvae as possible to the victim.

From Comparative Zoology, Structural and Systematic, published 1883

Over time, the truphane queen and her hive will grow larger and more powerful. If the hive is successful in evading discovery, and gets all the mental energy it needs to feed, the growth follows a geometrical progression:

• In the first decade of the hive's lifespan, the hive contains 2d6 drones and 2d4 soldiers.
• Each decade after that, the population of drones & soldiers doubles, as the birth rate outpaces the death rate; the queen may adjust the ratio of drones to soldiers being born back and forth as the situation demands.
• In the second decade of the hive's lifespan, they have likely produced 1d12 nymphs, either in this town or in visitors who have carried them elsewhere.
• This number will also double every decade.
• A queen in her first decade of life is as depicted in the stats above.
• For every decade she has to grow, the save DC against the queen's This is Normal power increases by one.
• Every 25 years, the queen should be advanced one HD.
• Queens can live for a few centuries.
• If the queen dies a natural death, around the end of her lifespan, the hive will already be passing over to a newly-maturing nymph. 
• If the queen dies an abrupt death, the hive freaks out and falls into total disorganization until a nymph matures in the area and takes over.
• In the first decade of the hive's lifespan, the maximum area covered by the tunnel system is about half a mile.
• This also doubles every decade.
• The tunnel system never reaches outside the city walls, though.
• It might extend further downward if needed.
• The queen feeds on ten people a day -- i.e., she deals 1d6 Wisdom damage over a telepathic link.
• Add one person to that number for every decade the queen ages.
• Nymphs, drones, and soldiers also need to eat.
• Each nymph, drone, and soldier deals 1d6 Wisdom damage to a random target under the hive's influence each day.

A town under the control of a mature truphane hive is incredibly depressing. At first glance, it can seem normal: cobbled streets, fine; lots of merchants, fine; big families, fine; guards everywhere, fine -- but the longer you spend there without getting pulled in by the queen's This is Normal ability, the more it becomes clear that something is off. The citizenry just don't do things that don't lead to increased wealth, increased population, or a safer city. For instance, if you go into a tavern, as adventurers are wont to do, you will see a normal scene, but... not quite. If there's music, it's uninspired and the musician will be weirdly aggressive about tips. The bartender will shamelessly charge outsiders the most outrageous prices he can get away with. The patrons will all be fairly obviously engaged in attempts to get laid, complicated by everyone being hyper-Darwinian in their selection processes and trying to find partners who will produce many strong children, while openly ignoring anyone who is the least bit sickly-looking. Nobody is having fun. Everyone looks at you with suspicion. In short, there isn't anything that you can point to as “that -- that is not normal," but all the expected human behavior is warped and joyless.

Truphane Soldier
CR 8, XP 4800
N Medium Magical Beast
Init +0; Senses passive telepathy, tremorsense 30ft: +7 Perception

---

Defense
AC 20, touch 10, flat-footed 20 (+10 natural)
hp 45 (10d10-10)
Saves Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +5

---

Offense
Speed: 15 ft., climb 15 ft., swim 15 ft.
Melee Attack: 2 spiny tentacles +13 (3d6+3) (reach)
Ranged Attack: n/a
Special Attacks: n/a

---

Statistics
Abilities Str 16, Dex 10, Con 8, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 14
Base Atk +10; CMB +13; CMD 23
Feats: Diehard, Endurance, Iron Will, Lunge, Power Attack
Skills: Climb +5, Perception +7
Special Qualities: Definitely a Human

---

Special
Definitely a Human (Su): Upon encountering a truphane soldier, one must pass a DC 22 Will save in order to recognize that it is not human. Anyone who fails that save will perceive it to be a guard of some sort, and if they see it in battle with someone, they will assume that person to be a criminal being subdued by local law enforcement.

---

Ecology
Environment: Urban
Organization: Solitary or Hive
Treasure: none

Truphane soldiers appear notably different from the drones. In addition to being larger and stronger, their scales are thicker, smoother, and resemble dull metal instead of cobblestones -- and the spines on their arms, rather than being small and flexible, are tough and sharp. They also have a unique gait, wherein they draw their arms up beneath themselves and lift their central body off the ground as high as possible, with the goal of taking up the same amount of space as a humanoid. This is because their Definitely a Human ability tends to cause problems if they're spread out on the ground like other truphanes -- people trip over their arms, there's cognitive dissonance, it's a mess.

It's kind of like the villain from Monsters vs. Aliens,
but without the humanoid torso.

The soldiers take up positions defending the nymphs and the queen. Those around the nymphs appear, to people who have failed their Will saves, to be an organization of special bodyguards -- often the “royal guard" or something similar. The others will station themselves near the largest openings to the “sewer" -- often, the drones will even influence local builders to construct a guardhouse there to house them -- so that they can defend against anyone who might enter and threaten the hive. The populace usually believes them to be some sub-set of the city watch, often something mildly sinister like “the secret police".

If anyone sees the soldiers for what they are, the soldiers respond with violence -- their passive telepathy lets them know when the Definitely a Human ability fails on someone -- and then drag the body into the sewer. Witnesses will generally see this event as something along the lines of the secret police making an arrest and then dragging the criminal back to the guardhouse. There are exceptions to this violent response; the soldiers are able to read intention, and if someone identifies them but doesn't care or doesn't intend to raise the alarm, the soldiers will often leave them alone.

By Ernst Haeckel, in Kunstformen der Natur, published 1904

Mutualism

While the truphane's purpose is entirely selfish -- to ensure a constant supply of food from the minds of the town's population -- other organisms have come to take advantage of the environment created by a truphane hive.

Otyughs, who enjoy living in sewers, will often flourish in truphane-infested towns. Some less scrupulous otyughs⁴ will even intentionally transport maturing nymphs to uninfested towns, so that a sewer system will construct itself in a couple years. Truphanes, in turn, tolerate otyughs and even exclude them from their various telepathic abilities; the otyughs keep the hive clean and even serve as an extra line of defense in some cases.

There is also a noticeable trend that people who have been particularly badly affected by the truphane's feeding habits -- the ones who can no longer pass as a functional member of society -- seem to vanish abruptly, with no explanation. Certain sages on the intellectual fringe theorize that there is a mutualistic relationship with some as-yet-unidentified monster who feeds on the deranged, but no proof is available.

---

1 According to the OED, this is an obscure word meaning a deceiver or imposter, probably from Old French truf(f)ant ‘deceiver'. They list exactly one attestation, dating to 16th century Scotland, so I don't feel too bad about just stealing the word.^↩

2 Yes, it only applies to insects. I couldn't find a good equivalent terminology for echinoderms. So sue me.^↩

3 This is why foreign truphane nymphs will join the hive as drones, giving themselves a chance to spread genetic material. ^↩

4 I bet you forgot that otyughs are marginally intelligent, didn't you?^↩