Boss Submissions

[Max Dirks]

So you’ve decided to create a boss battle, great! The guidelines for creating a boss battle submission are presented below, along with examples. Please follow the basic format provided and be advised that all bosses are subject to review and alteration by the boss battle staff.

While it is fun to make up incredibly powerful super-bosses that will easily defeat all challengers, low level bosses have a far better chance of being selected for a battle.

Boss Battle Submission Form

Level: Boss battles are rated on a scale of 1 – 10, each level roughly corresponding to 1.5x to 2x the level of an Althanas character. Thus a level 1 boss should be a match for a level 1 or 2 character, while a level 10 would be the equivalent of an Althanas character with the full level break limit of 20 maxed out.

Name: Put the boss’s name here, along with any other nicknames or titles.

Appearance: What does your boss look like? How does he dress? This is where you give challengers a boss’s description so that they can write him as you see him. You can put as much or as little description in as you’d like.

Background: This is the section where you setup the history of the boss battle and how it will happen. Note that not all battles are literally battles against the boss however, though that’s certainly the easiest option. Even so, why are people supposed to be fighting this boss? The better the setup and reason, the more interesting the thread will be.

Abilities/Skills/Equipment: Anything (powers, weapons, armor, etc.) that the boss can call upon or use in the battle should be written here. Remember that a boss is roughly 1.5x – 2x stronger than an Althanas character of the same level, so a level 1 boss should have somewhere around 2 – 4 abilities (depending on their relative strength) plus skills and equipment.

Tactics: Essentially how the boss conducts itself during the battle. How does it move, how does it fight, how does it talk? This category will weigh in on the judgment for how true you portray the boss in relation to its actual nature.

Score to Defeat*: The judged score that is required for the thread to “defeat” the boss. Generally lower level bosses have a lower score while higher bosses have a higher. There can be exceptions, but there should probably be a good justification for why it is so.

Spoils*: Whatever spoils that those participating in the thread should receive if the score to defeat is met and the boss is “defeated.”

* While the moderator has the right to alter any item of the boss submission in particular before the boss is posed, these areas will generally receive the most scrutiny.

Here is a sample of how to create a Boss Battle submission for those of you who are interested.

Level: While higher level bosses are fun to write, lower level bosses are more likely to be challenged and I want my boss to be challenged, so I’ll make it level 2, which should be equivalent to Althanas characters level 3 – 4.

Level - 2

Name: All bosses start with an idea, and the idea that I have for this boss is to be an enigmatic, heavily armored knight who guards a river crossing. To keep in synch with the mystique of the boss, I’m simply going to call him The River Knight.

Name: The River Knight

Appearance: In keeping with the idea that I have for the River Knight, he has to be wearing heavy armor (as a knight would be expected to do) and it must be fully enclosed (to keep up the mystique). To add a bit of flair, I’ll give the armor a bit of fluff while keeping it down to earth. Finally, the River Knight needs weapons. Swords are flashy, but don’t really fit with the solid, stoic feel that I’m going for. Instead, I’ll give the River Knight a hammer. As he is a defensive type boss, I’ll make the hammer one-handed and give him a shield, to further enhance his dug-in nature.

Appearance:
The River Knight is tall and broad shouldered, though all of his impressive bulk is completely hidden beneath the suit of interlocking plated mail. So well hidden is The River Knight that the only thing that identifies The River Knight as a male is the deep, rumbling voice that emanates from inside the fully enclosed helmet that he wears. The armor itself is well-maintained but plain, adorned only by the matte blue color that covers it. Though he is by no means lithe in all that armor, The River Knight still manages to move fluidly enough to defy expectations. With his heavy hammer in one hand, and half body kite shield in the other, The River Knight is the very picture of a formidable opponent.

Background: Here is where all the ideas that I’ve had as to who the River Knight really is come together as well as getting to set the scene. The River Knight is a mysterious figure that showed up at the only bridge that spans a swift running river one day to challenge everyone who would pass to combat. While killing the knight is certainly one way for challengers to handle this fight, leaving other options open gives a wider variety to challengers who want to face my Boss.

Background:
The Blackbriar River is a notoriously swift and treacherous body of water; wide enough that only a master bowman could put an arrow from one side to the other and deep enough to cover an entire merchant caravan. It is fortunate then that Thole Bridge exists. Thole Bridge is a simple stone pathway, wide enough to fit two standard wagons side-by-side and is sturdy enough to bear the weight of a herd of cattle. It is also the only crossing for Blackbriar River in a day and a half’s travel no matter which way one travels. Thus it was a sad day for travelers when the River Knight first appeared.

No one knows who the River Knight is, where he comes from, or why he chooses to guard Thole Bridge, if it is even his choice to do so. All that the shattered remnants of those attempting to cross Thole Bridge know is that the River Knight refuses to allow anyone to pass the bridge without defeating him. That’s not to say that there are those who haven’t made it across Thole Bridge, but doing so these days is a less than guaranteed proposition.

Abilities/Skills/Equipment: And now I get to take all the information that I’ve written out for the River Knight and put a description on it so that it can be used in a thread. Obviously I’ll need to put the River Knight’s weapons and armor here, as well as the skills to use them. Once those are finished, the River Knight will need another couple of powers to bring him up to the proper level.

Abilities/Skills/Equipment:
Armor of the River’s Guard – This blue matte suit of interlocking steel plates completely encloses the wearer, allowing no clue as to the wearer’s identity and no hint of weakness. Though this is a full suit of heavy armor, it is so masterfully crafted that it doesn’t hinder the wearer’s movement. The armor includes a half body kite shield.

Heavy Warhammer – The River Knight wields a large steel warhammer.

Hammer Proficiency – The River Knight is an expert at fighting with his heavy warhammer.

Enhanced Strength – The River Knight is three times as strong as a normal warrior, able to put massive force behind each strike of his weapon and more than capable of tossing lesser enemies around.

Stoic Defense – The River Knight guards Thole Bridge with a determination that borders on the supernatural. The River Knight can keep fighting long after the wounds he has received would have floored another opponent. Additionally, it is extremely difficult to disarm or trip the River Knight.

Bring Them Down – While flying over Thole Bridge may seem like the easiest option for those who are capable of it, those who make the attempt quickly find out that their assumptions are wrong. Anyone attempting to fly over Thole Bridge or the Blackbriar River near the River Knight becomes incredibly disoriented and finds that they are unable to make the journey.

Second Wind – No matter how much punishment that the River Knight has taken, he always seems to be able to redouble his efforts whenever anyone becomes close to crossing Thole Bridge. Those who have witnessed this claim that the River Knight fights like a man possessed, forced almost beyond the limit of human capabilities to ensure that no one gets past him. This includes moving faster, hitting harder, and being tougher than normal.

Tactics: Finally, the tactics section is where I will give challengers directions on how to write my Boss’s conduct in battle. This is important for both types of Boss Battle challenges, as it gives the challengers an idea of how to correctly write the Boss’s actions and the judges a baseline for scoring.

Tactics:
The River Knight waits quietly for anyone to come to Thole Bridge. Rain or shine, day or night, the steel clad warrior waits patiently. It is only when travelers come to the bridge that he shows any sign of life, moving to block the bridge and issuing a combat challenge to any who wish to cross. In combat, he is a stoic defensive fighter; calmly taking strikes that he knows cannot get through his armor and deflecting heavier ones with his shield.

Score to Defeat: This score is based on the Boss’s level and expected spoils. It is a subjective category but lower level boss’s generally have a lower score.

Score to Defeat: 60

Spoils: Choose one or two items, generally gold or something linked to the boss and give successful challengers a choice. Items that are earned have one of two options, they cannot be sold or traded, or they cannot be sold until the person who earns it gains a level.

Spoils (choose one of the following, plus lesser spoil):
Heavy Warhammer – A quality steel heavy warhammer. It is so large that it deals more damage than normal and is yet feels lighter than it should be. The Heavy Warhammer cannot be sold until the owner gains a level.
-or-
Caravan Reward – 100 gp reward from local caravan companies for clearing the River Knight from the bridge.

Lesser Spoil: This is a smaller reward earned by getting a score that is close to, but not sufficient to defeat the Boss.

Lesser Spoil (if the thread score is 5 or less under the Score to Defeat): +25 gp

[Silence Sei]

Name: Jamie Matthews


Basic Statistics (name, age, etc.): Jamie Matthews is a legendary gunman of Althanas. It was said that his family had been brutally murdered by a famous knight. The reason the name of the knight is forgotten by the analogs of history is because of Jamie's swift response in killing him. He's in his upper fifties/lower sixties, and is typically seen around Matthews Ranch, tilling the lands and raising adoptive children. Though he now lives the life of a farmer, he hasn't forgotten how to use his twin revolvers in a pinch, and typically has them stuffed into his garments.

Jamies battle ground of choice is the Matthews Ranch, the gun man's home. The battle will start by having the party catch the retired warrior off guard. The ranch itself has all of your standard stuff, a barn for horses and cows, a pig sty for the hogs, even a corn field. Inside the Matthews house is all sorts of fancy toys and legendary items from the gun master's crusades. This is a job only to be taken by neutural to evil characters, as otherwise Jamie would be minding his own business and not bothering anyone.


Attacks/Spells/Attributes (etc.):

Body Sheilds: Jamie will (unintentionally, due to the nature of the fight) involve his children into the fight. The kids who get in the way of the in-fighting will stop all neutural alignment characters from attacking for a post, but also keeps Jamie from attacking, until the group can move to a safer place on the ranch.

Hounds: If you get far enough into the barn of Matthews Ranch, you will be attacked by his two dogs, rotweilers who could tear the average man's hand off with a bite, as well as run faster than your average dog (due to getting more exercise in the open fields)

Dead Aim: If any of Jamie's livestock/pets/children are hurt during the fight, Jamie can accurately shoot with 100% chance one limb of the attacker. It doesn't matter if it was an accident or not, but it can never be a fatal shot.

Fast Reload: Jamie has the ability to reload his ammo at about three times the speed of a normal man. His twin revolvers carry six shots, and he only carries six extra shots for each gun in his pockets (Be aware that there is ammo scattered in your average bullet hiding spots in the Matthews house. In closests, top shelf of pantries, etc etc). Meaning, if he shoots 24 times, he has to resort to...

Brawling: Jamie's skill level goes down exceedingly once his fists become involved, though the gunslinger does have some proficiency with his blows. A single hit from Jamie can dent steel, and shatter most mens jaws, though such force would cause great pain to the aging man's arthritis.

Level of Difficulty:6-7

Experience/Gold/Items Earned: This is up to the player, if you beat Jamie, you can opt for a split of the 20000 Exp that comes with him, or find a legendary item (A weapon/armor of mythril if 1 point win, and prevalida if 5 or more point win) in his estate. Note that if some players choose the items, the total exp decreases. So if Players A-C want Exp, but D wants the item, then the amount goes down to 15000 Exp.

Players revived after battle? Yes
History:

*Use this chart to determine level of difficulty:

1 - “Pushover”
2
3 - “Somewhat of a challenge, not too bad”
4
5 - “Moderately challenging”
6
7 - “A hell of a fight, that was hard”
8
9
10 - "This is impossible!"

** Prizes earned can be changed by moderators prior to the Boss becoming challengeable.

[grim137]

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr....D3ENqI9DAKs%3D

Name: The Brood Mother.

Description: A mother dragon has taken to raising her children up in the comb mountains. This wouldn't be such a problem were it not for the fact that, in addition to being highly territorial, she's also been attacking the live stock of the farmers in nearby country side. Corone has decided to put an end to this problem and has put a bounty on the dragon.

Appearance: The mother is not quite as large as the dragons of legend but she is still quite large. Measuring 50 feet long (from the tip of her nose to the tip of her tail) and 25 feet wide an her widest point (excluding the wings), and about 15 feet tall she has at hick core body with powerful front and hind legs. A long serpent like neck leads to a pointed head with a horned crest. One each foot she has five claws, three in the front and two in the back and, like a shark she has several rows of sharp teeth. Most of her scales are dark green in color and exceptionally resistant to physical damage. The scales on her underbelly are softer and are more of a dark red pattern. They are naturally hot as they are meant to keep her eggs warm. She has a wing span of roughly 45 feet.

Attributes:

Strength: Like most dragons the mother is exceptionally strong, easily capable of carrying a horse and buggy in each claw.

Speed: She has slow running speed relative to her size however in the air she is quite fast capable of traveling upwards of 30 mph.

Agility: She is not very agile though her agility does improve somewhat in the air. Between her natural dragon scale armor and massive size, she's had very little reason to adept to dodging things.

Endurance: Extremely high. Can maintain a high intensity level of physical exertion for days without tiring. Can feel pain but tends to ignore it when her territory or kids are in danger.

Abilities:

Flight: The mother can fly. She has surprising agility in the air and when flying at low altitudes. She has been seen weaving through chasims and mountain peaks with ease.

Fire breath: The Brood Mother has the ability to breath fire with good control. She can either send directed fireballs at a target, fire a steady stream or fire a spreading stream. Easily hot enough to burn through materials as strong as arctic leather.

Weapons and Armor:

Claws and teeth: The Brood Mother has claws and teeth made from ancient dragon bone. Easily sharp enough to puncture through dehlar with ease and titanium with difficulty.

Dragon Scale: The dark green scales are made of ancient dragon scale and exceptionally resistant to physical damage though they have no real elemental resistance resistance. The red scales of her lower belly are has tough as drake scale, are naturally hot, and highly resistant to flame, slashing and piercing damage.

Other notes: The Broodmother is often accompanied by about 5 dragon whelps (see below).

Dragon Whelp

Description: Young adolescent dragons these things are vicious and eager to show off who's the most dominant among their siblings.

Description: Similar in shape to their mother, though all their scales lack color. They are roughly the the size of a small horse.

Attributes:

Strength: Dragon whelps are roughly as strong as a well bread male horse.

Speed: They can run as fast as most dogs and fly slightly slower than that.

Agility: They contain decent agility, certainly better than their mother given that they aren't as big, though still nothing any gymnast would brag about.

Endurance: These little bastards have good endurance easily capable of maintaining high levels of energy for long periods of time. Their competitiveness with their siblings means they will easily ignore what pain they do feel.

Abilities:

Flight: They can fly but they are clumsy in the air and have poor control over their speed, direction and even altitude.

Firebreath: They can breath fire but only in short bursts and not with the intensity or accuracy of their mother. It is still hot enough to burn through materials as hard as leather.

Weapons and Armor:

Teeth and Claws: As hard as petrified bone and capable of piercing through iron with ease and plynt with difficulty.

Scales: As tough as drake scale with no special resistances.

Overall level of difficulty of the encounter (Brood Mother + Whelps): 6

Awards: 1000 gp for each party member (awarded as part of the bounty) as well as any loot found such as hide, scales, bone, eggs (the mother is guarding a nest).

[Breaker]

Viking Ninja

I can add more if necessary, and wasn't really sure what power level to assign. Please feel free to make necessary changes. Also I'm not gonna make a run at this guy any time soon so he will be on the market so to speak for a good while.

Boss Power Level: 7-8
Name: Artur Zeefingers

Basic Information (history, appearance, arena.):
Artur Zeefingers is more legend than man. Tales told by old crones and grandmother goblins say he roves the high - and low - seas of Althanas in his single masted schooner, the Gloaming Swimmer, landing only on occasion to rape and pillage entire seaside towns with his horrible crew. Tales told by normal people agree.

The Gloaming Swimmer is a fearsome vessel made of black eklan with faded black sails. The crew and Zeefingers himself resemble the vikings of old, but wield many frightening demonic powers. It is uttered that the villanious viking ninja was in fact a hardy half elf, born in Concordia decades before the reign of Rafanas, who was sent to Akashima to study as a samurai. The night before he would have graduated with highest honours in Ninjutsu 420, vikings attacked and kidnapped him. It is hardly surprising to those who knew him (most of whom are dead) that Zeefingers survived and went on to become a Legendary Captain.

Skills/Equipment/Attributes (etc.):

Zeefingers himself is known to be an enormous man, too large to be truly human. One of the most powerful, violent, and utterly ruthless fighters in all of Althanas, at least amongst those who believe in him. He is said to have gained the power of eternal youth as well as mastery over many fighting styles and basic magics. His documented successes include pillaging the prison island Lornius just to prove he could, and attempting to rape the daughter of Akashima in order to extend his lineage. The foulest tales claim Zeefingers actually broke into the palace during one night raid on Akashima, but accidentally raped the prince instead of the princess.

Zeefingers base stats:

Str x10
Spd x5
End x10
Agi x5
Perception x10
Damage Threshold x5

Average Crew base stats:

Str x4
End x5
Spd x4
Agi x2
Damage Threshold x2

The crew of the Gloaming Swimmer numbers from 20-30 at any given time, all large powerful men with the inherent strength and endurance of orcs. They are a crude lot and are generally not literate, but are very skilled when it comes to launching raids on port cities all over Althanas, day or night. Although they do not always use their magics offensively in raids (preferring a more hands on approach) they do an excellent job of protecting one another from physical or magical harm even when combating much larger forces.

Zeefingers and many of his crew command powerful elemental magics. Their ship can move, turn, and accelerate much faster than normal ships due to the constant use of air magics, and many projectiles launched directly at the Gloaming Swimmer veer away as if deflected by invisible shields. The ship is also outfitted with a dozen canons of varying sizes, which fire all manner of projectiles from grapeshot to enchanted balls.

The Captain and crew all wield high tiered blades, as well as titanium flintlock muskets, pistols, and blunderbuss. Because of their speed and aptitude, they are capable of reloading these firearms much faster than ordinary troops, and devastating salvos from small arms are often the conerstone of their skirmishing technique.

Score Needed to Defeat: 69 or higher.
Minimum players required: 2
Minimum characters required: 3

Experience/Gold/Items Earned: A high tiered item from the Gloaming Swimmer (can be a titanium firearm or a large prevaldia/mythril melee weapon, as described above) *OR a x2 modifier to all EXP / GP gains in thread (each character may choose an option.)

Again feel free to make whatever necessary changes, I wasn't sure where we left off the discussion but thought this represented the outcome well enough. Also if you think it should be *AND instead of *OR in the rewards department, I'd be down with that.

[orphans]

Boss Level: 8 – 12? if wanting to kill one. 5 – 6 if wanting to reason with it.

Name: Einherjars in General


Appearance:
Einherjars resemble extremely overgrown millipedes. However, unlike millipedes, Einherjars have only one pair of legs per segment, if any, except for its front two segments (which have two pairs of modified appendages). Majority of coloration ranges between browns and blacks with mixed dirty tones of dark greens, blues and reds.

Einherjars, when newly hatched, are the size of a full grown bull. At this stage Einherjars will have the coloration of whatever material its egg case was mainly comprised of. These will usually be earthy tones, but in some rare cases other colors can be seen as well. When an Einherjar hatches, it only possesses 4 segments to its body and is extremely vulnerable as their carapace has not fully hardened. However, they will burrow almost immediately and continue to do so until they have reached what they perceive to be a “safe” distance from the surface. This varies from each Einherjar.

An average full sized adult Einherjars can grow up to, but not limited to, eleven meters in height, seven and a half meters in girth, and twenty five meters in length. In addition, full grown adults can have anywhere from thirty – fifty segments. Segments that do not have legs are usually specialized compartments and/or the legs have been modified for a different purpose. Normal legs are about four to five meters in length with a diameter of half a meter to a full meter. It takes about a century before one is fully grown.

The front most segment is the smallest segment on an Einherjar. Its appendages are highly developed sensory organs used for navigation while on the surface. Moisture level, air pressure, temperature, scent, sight, and vibrations in the air are what it is able to detect. When burrowing, these appendages are retracted back into its carapace. There is also a rounded mound that changes color according to the Einherjars’ mood.

The second segment has two pairs of “digging” claws, specialized and shaped for rapid burrowing. The tip of the modified appendages sprays corrosive substances as well to help break up rock and hard soil. The underside of the second segment has a large maw that in designed for grinding rocks and minerals, but can grind biomass as well.

Most segments after the first two have a pair of legs to help support its growth. Specialized segments always form between two existing “leg” segments and then final end segment of an Einherjar will never be a specialized segment.


Background:
Einherjars spend the majority of their life underground, tunneling and selectively eating minerals, metals and gems. They will only surface for two very specific reasons; to repair damaged lands and reproduce.

Every 50 years or so, an Einherjar will surface and take stock of its surroundings and match it with its memories. If it deems that there is substantial damage to the area, it will try to restore it to the best of its abilities. If it does not have the required ability, it will leave a biochemical marker for another Einherjar to find or convert one of its segments to fit the purpose if possible. Einherjars have been known to change the flow of small streams, transplant trees, till ground, and attempt to eradicate invasive/new species it is not familiar with. Einherjars generally avoid humanoid creatures and areas of densely populated sentient beings. An Einherjar may move from its home range if it finds it overly crowded with sentient life.

Reproduction occurs every 100 years, give or take. Einherjars have no need to actually seek out potential mates. The species reproduce through a type of parthenogenesis. This also allows the parent to pass of its life experiences to the next generation. So while each Einherjar will have its own experiences later in their life, all still remember the memories of the very first one.

Even with this advantage, however, Einherjars must lay their eggs on the surface in full sun and will lay three eggs at a time, only two of which will actually hatch. The third egg is actually a composite of rough gemstone and precious metals that the two newly hatched Einherjars will share before burrowing. Prior to that, the two eggs must spend two weeks in the sun before they hatch. In addition, parent Einherjars must consume a large amount of biomass before laying its eggs.

Parent Einherjars will construct a nest out of mud and surrounding vegetation (though small animals have been found plastered to the nest) and are extremely protective and violent towards anything it perceives to be a threat. The eggs themselves are resilient though, being comprised of whatever minerals and metals the parent had ingested during the last part of the century.

When an Einherjar is nearing the end of its natural lifespan of a millennia, it will make its way towards the ocean and float itself out. Those who attempted to follow one have been killed.

On the other hand, should an Einherjar be killed, its body will rapidly deteriorate into a single giant biochemical marker that saturates both the air and ground. Depending on how old the Einherjar is when it is killed, anywhere from two to eighteen enraged Einherjars will arrive within the week.


Personalities:
Einherjars are usually solitary creatures their entire life, but like humans, each Einherjar’s personality will vary. While the common tendency will lean towards a passive and calm demeanor, there are a few exceptionally violent Einherjars who detest the destruction that humanoid creatures have caused to their environments.

Stubbornness is a common trait shared between all Einherjars, and one will not be likely to change its ways, unless there is sufficient logic and thought. Some Einherjars have a crude concept of humanoid languages and have developed a specialized segment chamber that allows them to “speak.”

Each Einherjar will also have its own preferential “taste” to what it likes to eat in terms of minerals, metals, rocks, and the kind of biomass it consumes before laying eggs.



The Einherjar, Cianna Seda:

Mission Posting:
“Long ago, a Salvarian village was plagued by wolves that came from the wild north of Berevar. Not quite giant, but massive wolves that preyed upon the village children who wandered too far while playing. Slowly and surely growing bolder, the pack made for the women, men, and then finally, the protected caravans.

The people were desperate and prayed for a miracle. No hero that passed through, survived against the pack, and there would be no army coming to protect a village of little importance. Those who tried to leave were hunted down on the road by the wolves, and slowly, the village dwindled.

The legend says that when the days grew to its darkest, the ground trembled and split in the town square, right in the middle of a town meeting and a creature armored in the blackest shell emerged through the broken ground and snow. The villagers thought the end was nigh, trapped between a giant monster from the earth and wolves from everywhere else.

But then the strangest thing occurred. The shelled creature spoke crudely and asked for a trade. It knew of the wolves and how it was slowly bleeding the village away, one by one. The creature claimed that it would deal with the wolves. In return, the villagers were to leave all of their food stores in the first forest clearing they found during the height of summer.

It was a ludicrous offer. Be eaten now, or starve later. With little choice, the head of the village agreed, and the creature moved towards the forest. The attack from the wolves stopped nearly overnight and the creature disappeared for a time.

When first hint of summer arrived, the villagers sought to cheat the creature that had saved them, not fully convinced that the wolves weren’t the creature’s own doing. Nevertheless, the head of the village reminded them of their pride, and to forsake a deal would be to forsake their own ideals.

With grumbling, the villagers relented and began planning to move away before the next winter. The day came and the food was brought to the first clearing the villagers found. The creature appeared then, giving the villages their first look of it in full light. All were terrified once they beheld it, and all ran.

For two weeks, the villagers prepared to leave, gathering what they could from the surrounding land and making the most of what they had. None dared to venture near the clearing of the creature. On the final day before the trip, the creature appeared again and approached slowly. Some ran, but the town head stood petrified.

Then, with surprising grace, the creature offered a diamond the size of a small child and said, “Exchange for you to do the same every one hundred years.”

Stupefied with the wealth they could obtain, the villagers agreed for they could simply buy anything they needed now. The creature then disappeared and every one hundred years, the villagers would honor their deal. Every time, there would something of value left behind after two weeks. Whether it was numerous small gemstones and precious metals or a single enormous gemstone that would make any dwarf envious, the villagers always received something wondrous.”

~Story of a wandering bard.


An extraordinarily wealthy Salvarian town is seeking warriors of any sort by the hundreds in wanting to kill a legendary beast. The claim is that the beast has been terrorizing the town for centuries now and the hunt is officially sanctioned by the current mayor of the town, Giles Pander.

Pander’s family had moved to the town a couple of years ago, and through a series of fortunate “accidents”, secured the position of town mayor. He is arrogant, cocky, and extremely loud with no time to waste on superstition and tradition. To solidify his power, he hired a small private army to help keep those who were influential in the city, “placated.”

Pander has learned of this town’s nearly nine hundred year tradition of leaving a year’s harvest in the middle of a forest clearing and saw the tradition as economic waste. He banned it, and saw the forest as an opportunity to tap a new lumbering industry.

Currently, the original clearing of where the legendary creature’s offering is placed, has been turned into a lumbering mill, displeasing many of the noble and prominent families of the town. A large amount of the surrounding forest had been destroyed as well. Pander has also begun to expand the town by tenfold, drawing a large increase of migrant workers. He blindly envisions himself, a lord of a sprawling cityscape that will rival Knife’s Edge.

Most of the town’s original families who believed in the old traditions have moved away, fearing retribution from a beast they have never seen. One remains though. The oldest, house Thayren, said to be a direct descendent of the village head who made the deal nearly nine hundred years ago.

In an effort to stop impending doom the current head of house Thayren, Dodana Thayren, has sent out her own request for help to stop the mayor.

Abilities/Skills/Equipment:

Ancient creature – This Einherjar is 903 years in age and knows much of the world through the combined memories of its predecessors and through its own life experiences. Highly intelligent, it could even teach an arch mage a thing or two about magic, despite the fact that it can’t cast any spells itself.

Althanian Language – This Einherjar has a grasp and understanding of all terrestrial Althanian language so that it may communicate with those who approach it.

Massive Size – The particular Einherjar in question is 10 and 1/2 meters in height, 6 meters in girth, and 25 meters in length. Total weight is (give or take) 34 tons. Total number of segments is 47.

Natural Armor – The segmented carapace of the Einherjar is 1 meter thick, comprised of metals that it has ingested over its life time. Dehlar and mythril make up the majority of the carapace, with a mixture blend of titanium and prevalida splashed throughout. The underside of the Einherjar is protected by a half meter of iron.

Anti Corrosive Wax – The substance that the Einherjar uses to tunnel, is corrosive to inorganic material, and thus, also to its own carapace. A thick, waxy substance is excreted during tunneling and will coat the Einherjar’s outside.

Defensive Stance – Like the common millipede, the Einherjar can curl its body into a tight ball to protect its softer and more vulnerable underside. The Einherjar can also pull itself into this position while charging, forcing itself to roll and possibly gain momentum if charging down a hill.

Rapid Burrowing – The front digging segment of the Einherjar allows it to tunnel and burrow quickly, able to move at a pace of 62 meters a minute underground, depending on terrain.

Rapid Movement – Above ground, the Einherjar is able to move at 62 kilometers per hour and charge 100 kilometers per hour on flat terrain.

Front Main Sensory Organs – Above ground, the front most segment houses all of the sensory organs that it uses above ground.

Brain and Tunneling Sensors – Housed in the second front segment, are the sensory organs that the Einherjar uses while below ground and above ground to sense terrestrial vibrations that are accurate up to 4.8 kilometers out of a total range of 6 kilometers. The brain is also housed in this segment.

Scything Arms – There are 5 pairs of scything arms along the body of the Einherjar. Each arm is 4 meters in length with a 4 meter blunted edge attached on a joint, comprised of dehlar. The primary purpose of the arms is to assist in gathering trees as the Einherjar is not very accurate in slashing things at its side.

Lofting Arms – There are 5 pairs of lofting arms, one directly in the segment behind each scything arm segment. These arms are thicker than the normal appendage, a full meter in diameter and 10 meters in length. These pick up the trees that are scythed down and replant them elsewhere.

Tunneling Arms – The tunneling arms on the second segment are hollow and can expel corrosive substances to assist in burrowing through rocks, metals, and toughened soil. The corrosive substance, which is actually the Einherjar’s blood, will eat through most inorganic material. It is harmless to organic matter.

Growth Mineral Paste Applicators – A segment near the rear of the Einherjar has two arms for the purpose of applying a restorative paste to both the stump and the cut tree to promote regrowth.

Bee Hatchery – This particular Einherjar has a segment in the middle of its body that is limbless and houses a massive hive of bees. The bees are able to sting without losing the barb and have evolved to draw their sustenance from the Einherjar. Thus, the bees do NOT produce honey and have evolved to be sightless, due to extended periods underground. The bees instead, detect chemicals in the air and heat.

Hive Mind Connection – Einherjars are able to commune with all insects via chemical signals or by directly tapping into the group’s hive mind. Through this ability, the Einherjars are able to influence local insect life to perform tasks, but cannot force them to do so. The bees that inhabit the Einherjar are an exception, as over the years, the Einherjar acts as their hive mind.

Natural Enemy – Spiders are an Einherjar’s natural enemy and an Einherjar will deliberately avoid the larger, sentient spiders unless they have to make contact. The encounter almost always leads to violence.

Catching Spikes – Each spike varies from a quarter meter to half a meter in length and covered in razor sharp barbs. These barbs cover the carapace of the Einherjar and can be jettisoned to blanket the ground, in an effort to help snare attackers.

Biochemical Markers – Einherjars are able to lay down chemical markers that will stay in an area for years. Depending on the marker, it can either help attract certain kinds of insect life to balance the existing ecosystem, or discourage certain insects from reproducing to reduce their population. Upon unnatural death, a chemical marker is released and will saturate the ground, air, and water in the area. This particular marker will attract the dead Einherjar’s children and will enrage them upon realization of what it means.

Regeneration – While the internal organs and biomass of the Einherjars will regenerate quickly, the carapace, if damaged, will take years to reshape itself to the original form.

Emotion Display – The rounded mound on the front first segment is usually a dull brown or black, signifying neutrality or general uncaring. Green means either friendly or general agreement. Bright red means annoyance or general disagreement. Dark red means enraged and will no longer listen to reason.

Tactics:
Einherjars detest fighting and will actively avoid physical conflict unless there is something to be gained. When forced into it though, or enraged, Einherjars will charge their opponent down, relying on their weight and speed to crush them.

This Einherjar in particular, developed and continuously returned to wooded lands, thus it has specialized in transplanting trees from location to location. It doesn’t possess any fighting tactics, other than using simple brute strength. Crushing is always the first choice. If the target in question is able to avoid it, it can make half-hearted attempts to scythe down the target, or spray the corrosive substance upon it.

Swarming humanoid targets with bees is also another option, as well as hurling nearby objects/animals/small trees with its lofting arms. If the target persists, catching spikes are jettisoned and if the target is caught, the Einherjar will charge it.

However, this Einherjar is a keeper of words, and values the pact it has made with the villages of days long passed. It expects the acting head of the town to keep his word, as it doesn’t quite understand individual thought.

However, with the destruction of the forests and the ancient deal broken, the Einherjar may become unpredictable.


Score to Defeat:
Kill – 72
Reason – 58

Parameters:
Minimum 2 PCs, as there will be several NPCs that they will need to interact with.

The PCs will arrive at maximum, a week (in character time) before the day that the offering should be made where the lumber mill is now standing.

PCs must state if they are attempting a kill or reason victory.

If possible, please treat this as a quest.


Experience/Gold/Items Earned:
Kill (if target is reached or exceeded) – Pander will pay the bounty of 3500 gold apiece and enough material of exceptional quality from the carapace of the dead Einherjar to craft an item for each participating PC (most of the carapace will have deteriorated from the corrosive substance). Also, the town is destroyed a week later, giving a x2 exp bonus in the PCs' next adventure in Salvar region!

Kill (if target is not reached) – PCs will receive the above reward, minus 1000 gold in trade for the trait, “Enemy of the Einherjar, Cianna Seda” that is only active in Salvar. Seda’s offspring may detect the biochemical marker upon the PCs when nearing the PCs and will become enraged. There are a total of 14 Einherjars that are offspring to Seda in Salvar and they are spread throughout the area, making traveling in the region a much more unique experience.


Reason (if target is reached or exceeded) – Depends on what happens in the story. Regardless, the PCs will get a x2 modifier bonus for the next adventure in Salvar region!

Reason (if target is not reached) – Depends on what happens in the story. However only a x1.5 exp bonus will be available for the next PCs’ adventure in Salvar.

I forgot to include that size, weight, and speed were calculated by comparing real world animals and insects. Artie helped me and we have a nifty excel spreadsheet and a nifty picture of proportions to show! If you wanna see, you can poke me or artie~