Survivors of the Cutting Room Floor

Reviving this thing has been a long time coming. And what better way to do it than talking about my own awesome writing and throwing in a cool NPC even if you decide you hate my writing? Now that's what I call a bargain, friends.

So one of the final Fat Goblin Games releases of 2017 is one of the projects I'm most proud of: the first Faces of Vathak.

 

The line is glimpse of the many faces of Vathak, Fat Goblin's grim horror setting. It aims to provide statblocks for NPCs in a variety of roles (survivors in this case, if that was not obvious). It was great fun to dig into Vathak lore and pull out various ideas for who and what might be surviving—and exactly what they've survived. Being trusted with the first in the series is a pretty great honor, and I hope others will get as much use out of the book as I already am!

My favorite? The Fortune's Foe. These swordsmasters are gifted with the romni's knack for reading and manipulating destiny, and believe that they've got a chance of standing against the darkness of Vathak. I took a bit of liberty with Vathak lore (thanks Landon!) and decided that they were so cursed with an inability to ever truly change the fortunes and fates they read that they've entered a permanent place in romni folklore... forever running from The Ghost!

Sometimes all it takes is a glimmer of hopefulness to make the bleakness of the world all the better... or watching that hopefulness fall to despair and becoming dangerous, or even villainous. Not playing in Vathak? No problem! What better way to throw your players off than with slightly off-template human luckbenders? Rick's ever-awesome art perfectly captures that constant struggle I imagine these NPCs are facing, lost somewhere between their desire to change fortune and the grim realities of Vathak.

Best of all, they're just one of many awesome characters within!

Unfortunately, not every such character made the cut. So here's a survivor (of sorts) that I decided was a little too specific for inclusion, but is still pretty cool (if you ask me--and if you're here, you sorta are). If you like what you see here, then you should definitely pick up a copy of Faces of Vathak: Survivors!

Escaped Wretch CR 3

XP 800

Cambion fighter 1/oracle 3

NE Medium monstrous humanoid

Init –1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4

DEFENSE

AC 18; touch 9, flat-footed 19 (+8 armor, –1 Dex, +1 natural armor)

hp 29 (4 HD; 3d8+1d10+7)

Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +5; +4 vs. disease

Resist fire 5

Defensive Abilities defensive training (+4 dodge bonus to AC vs. animals)

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft.

Melee mwk serrated falchion +5 (2d4+8/18-20)

Ranged pox burster +2 touch (disease)

Special Attacks pass the torch (3 rounds/day)

Oracle Spells Known (CL 3rd; concentartion +5)

1st (6/day)—command (DC 14), deathwatch, doom (DC 13), murderous command^UM (DC 14),

0 (at will)—bleed, detect magic, detect poison, read magic, resistance

Mystery apocalypse^MC

TACTICS

Before Combat The wretch drinks a potion of bull's strength if he expects a prolonged melee.

During Combat The wretch throws pox bursters at large groups of enemies and directs them to inflict self-harm or otherwise hamper their abilities with his enchantments. When melee begins, he always uses power attack to tear down the softest-looking foes and sow fear (this is included in its statblock).

STATISTICS

Str 16, Dex 8, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 14

Base Atk +3; CMB +6; CMD 15

Feats Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Spell Focus (enchantment)

Skills Climb +1, Intimidate +9 (+10 with falchion), Knowledge (planes) +7, Survival +9, Swim +1; Racial Modifiers +2 Perception

Languages Common

SQ cambion mutations (disturbing presence, twisted flesh, twisted view), oracle curse (wasting), revelations (defy elements^MC [fire], pass the torch^MC)

Combat Gear potion of bull's strength, potions of cure moderate wounds (2), pox bursters^ARG (6); Other Gear masterwork serrated^SOVPG falchion, masterwork half-plate, 37 gp

^ARG This item can be found in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Advanced Race Guide.

^MC This mystery and its revelations can be found in Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Monster Codex.

^UM This spell can be found in Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ultimate Magic.

^SOVPG This weapon quality can be found in Shadows over Vathak: Player's Guide to Vathak.

Cambions are often misunderstood across Vathak. No small number of their kind has been wrongfully persecuted for their miserable forms, thought to be corruptions of the Old Ones. For most, these were mistakes. For some pitiful souls, however, their forms are cursed gateways to forces beyond their own understanding. Often driven mad before reaching maturity, these wretches invariably find themselves locked away across Vathak, out of sight and mind. Those that manage to escape cut bloody swaths through civilized society, claiming the arms and armor of good men and women as they fall deeper into the corruptions that whisper unceasingly deep within themselves.