MONSTER RALLIES V: MONSTER PATHS

Most monster rallies I have run, were one-shots or short campaigns where monsters didn't advance. But more recently I have been running them longer and wanted a way to both allow for but control growth, because monsters already have so many disparities, that certain monsters became much more powerful as they consumed human life-force or aged. So I opted to employ paths, like character paths, but for specific characters, not generalized pathways for a type of monster.  

Below is an example of a monster path that I created for the player character Queen of Snakes. She is a hag, and called Queen of Snakes because one of the other PCs who travels with her is a Giant Snake. What I tried to do was expand on existing Hag powers while also creating abilities that fit her title. 

MONSTER PATHS

These paths are meant to be for specific characters, not general monsters. There is no “Vampire Path”, but rather a “Dracula Path”. The GM tailors the specific path to each character based on their personality, description, title, etc., using the existing path powers and the monster abilities as guidelines. For example, a giant snake may ‘level’ every time they eat enough to increase their max wounds. This can also put a cap on different monsters in a rally campaign to keep things a little more even (monsters will still not be balanced, but the disparities won’t grow as ridiculous out of proportion as they might otherwise) 

QUEEN OF SNAKES 

Level	Abilities
1	Summon and Control Snakes, +1d10 Rank in Command
2	Longer Reach, New Pact Power
3	Max Wounds Increase by 1
4	Enter Nightmares
5	Sharper Claws, Max Wounds Increase by 1
6	Summon and Command Giant Snake
7	Enter Nightmares II
8	New Pact Power
9	Max Wounds Increase by 1
10	Freezing Gaze

 

Summon and Control Snakes: Queen of Snakes can command normal venomous or non-venomous snakes using her Command skill Roll. Snakes that disobey lose 1 Hardiness each round until they heed her command. She can summon 1d10 normal snakes every hour, so long as the snakes are native to the area or in the area (so if there are nearby cobras in a Zoo or being kept as pets, she can summon them provided they have a means of escape). 

New Pact Power: She gains a new pact power. This is a reward for her service, and should reflect her current efforts. Each time she gets this, the GM creates a new pact power for her. 

Longer Reach: Her reach extends from 15 feet to 30 feet. 

Sharper Claws: At 5^th Level her claws do +1 Extra Wound. 

Enter Nightmares: At 4^th level, she can enter peoples nightmares and interact with them in their dreams. 

Enter Nightmares II: She can harm people in their nightmares. Any damage they take is real and lethal. 

Summon and Command Giant Snake: She can summon a Giant Snake of Bridgewater (STRANGE TALES OF NEW ENGLAND, 152) once each day and have full command over it for a week on a Successful Command roll. The creature may take time to reach her if she is far from the Bridgewater Triangle.  

Freezing Gaze: Her gaze can turn a person to ice. Roll Command against Wits of the target On a Success the target cannot move or attack for 1 round. On a Total Success the target is literally frozen, and can only be saved by supernatural means or if Queen of Snakes desires to release them.