A monster, almost entirely of my own creation.

Greetings! I know it's been a while since I've posted much of anything, so today's entry is going to be a doozie!

So...the title says that there's going to be a new monster today. Well, there is.

This monster is called a Tikbalang, or "Horse Demon". A while back, I was cruising pony picture sites and I came upon this beast and thought to myself, "Wow! This would be a great monster for a Pony campaign!" Alas, I hadn't made any pony campaigns at that time, so I would have to wait to use this fine beast.

Eventually, I created the semi-horror campaign called "The Shadow Over Ponyville." (The "A" was a typo on my part that I never bothered to fix. Obvious Lovecraft reference is obvious.) The campaign deat with Twilight Sparkle getting a hold of the Necronomicon (actually, the Book is never referred by name in-game, but the name that I gave it is the "Necroequicon".) She used this book to summon a Tikbalang, whose stats I actually just whipped up on the spot for the campaign. It wasn't until after the players had killed it that I actually set to work hammering out the details.

While I was creating the Tikbalang for use in TwV campaigns, I researched it online. As it turns out, the Tikbalang (of Tigbalang) is a piece of Filipino folklore, and it's not quite as Chaotic Evil as I make it in the game. According to legend, they spend a majority of their time in the woods, tricking travelers into getting themselves lost. The best way to repel the creatures is to wear your shirt inside out. I did not make that up.

That being said, no amount of inside-out shirt wearing will save you from this: (As usual, I will be supplying commentary.)

[size=+1]Tikbalang[/size]
Semi-Magical Infernal Humanoid – CR = 2 and up It says "2 and up" because I wanted to make it scalable, and the players were only a CR 1 at the time.
Size: Large (10’ x 10’)
HP: 60 WP: 30
MP: 10 SP: 5
Init: +6 Hit:+8
Dodge: +6 Block: ---
Def: 14/0 (14) M.Def: -1/0 (-1)
Basic Attack: Tikbalangs carry a maul as a means to disable Aspect Producers. It does 1d6+STR Crushing damage. According to Eight Star, the best way to harvest an Aspect Stone is to crush the pelvis.
Bite: Tikbalangs have sharp fangs for latching on to prey. Bite does 1d4+5*1/2 STR. I should add something that also allows it to Grapple soemthing with its mouth.
Aspect Harvester: The Tikbalang’s sole purpose is to harvest Aspect Stones. As a means to that end, they have the innate ability to cast a 10’ AoE Slow spell and Soul Trap spell at 1MP a piece.
Innate Spells:
Slow (Area of Effect) (lvl 2): The Tikbalang performs a few gestures with its hands and mumbles, causing an Orange 10’ bubble to appear around it. Everything within the bubble (except for the Tikbalang) has its movement speed reduced by half. (Gameplay-wise, this means that every action takes twice the normal number of turns to perform. For example: If attempting to cast a spell when inside the bubble, the spell will be read on the first turn and cast on the next turn.) Since the Tikbalang’s speed in unaffected, if attacked, the Tikbalang gets two dodge rolls and can choose between the higher of the two.
Soul Trap (lvl 3): Once the Aspect Stone in harvested, the harvester has 15 seconds to cast Soul Trap (30 seconds if AoE Slow has been cast). If successful, the target (which must be the Aspect Producer whose stone was harvested) loses all of its soul points which are transferred into the stone. In TwV, you must have 15 seconds in order to properly harvest and Aspect Stone. Otherwise, it turns to ash.
Spell Notes: All Tikbalangs have these spells to start, but Unicorn and Alicornus Tikbalangs can be given their own learned spells at the GM’s discretion (which cost their normal amount of MP to cast).
Fearsomely Strong: The Tikbalang can use two-handed weapons one-handed and double their strength when using a weapon with both hands.
Implacable: Tikbalangs are immune to Fear and Charm effects, and will only flee a battle if they are in danger of being killed, run out of MP, or have completed their task. Since they are technically undead, the do not bleed, making them immune to Bloodletting and similar wounds. As long as they have Hit Points, they can move and attack, regardless of any disabling wounds they receive (broken bones and the like).
Gangly: The Tikbalang has long arms and legs, giving it an additional +5 to Hit, +5 to Grab an opponent, and -5 to Dodge. This also reduces its movement speed indoors (or any other sufficiently small area, like a dense forest) by 1/3. According to Filipino folklore, the Tikbalang's limbs are so long that when it sits, its knees go higher than it's head.
Magical Lust: If a Tikbalang has not harvested an Aspect Stone and is engaged in battle, they will almost always target the enemy with the highest Magic stat.
Base Stats: (Earth)
Str: 14 End: 14
Mag: 5 Will: -1
Spd: 6 Sth: -2
Per: 8 Kno: 2
Monstrous Lore:
Check 65: Equinus Faust nightmares made manifest, the Tikbalang hails from the land of Neighwa, in the lands east of the Forbidden Passage. They appear to be an amalgamation of Equinus Faust and Human, possessing the head and torso of an Equinus Faust and the limbs of a human. They are not known to eat or sleep, and for the enterprising (non-Aspect-producing) necromancer or summoner, they make faithful servants. Tikbalangs have a 20% chance of being an Aspect Producer (having a “Cutie Mark”) in the wild. Tikbalangs are not known to prey on each other, but they can be sent against another by a sufficiently powerful master. They appear in the wild in Neighwa, but they are typically only summoned in lands that are outside the Forbidden Passage.
Check 85: Tikbalangs are summoned by drawing a Summoning Circle on the ground and chanting a spell from a scroll or a book. They can be sent back to where they came by reading or reciting the spell backwards. (Knowledge 75 if reading from the book. 90 if attempting to recite it from memory. Falls under the “Read/Comprehend Language” skill set. The language [for purposes of learning the skill] is “Deep Draconequi”)

Notes: Tikbalangs come in several flavors: Earth, Unicorn, Pegasus, and Alicornus. Pegasus Tikbalangs gain the Flight ability. Unicorn Tikbalangs gain a stat adjustment of +10 to their Magic and the base level Levitation super power. Alicornus Tikbalangs gain both the abilities of the Pegasus and Unicorn backgrounds, and all stats are increased by 5 (note that they do not receive any extra superpowers, like the Equinus Faust Alicornus do). If a Tikbalang possesses a Cutie Mark, they gain the trait: Aspect Producer, and gain constant benefits from their Aspect Stone as if they were armor. As with any Aspect Stone, the aspect stone from a Tikbalang can be harvested (if you dare…).

Whew! That was a lot to write. What do you think? ^_^