Here’s what I love about the giant shark bowl ooze from Tome of Beasts 2: Creature Codex by Kobold Press: it’s a perfect over-the-top addition to a master villain’s lair in 13th Age. Spy movie masterminds often have tanks full of sharks, alligators, piranhas, and other menaces in their headquarters. These remind everyone who they’re dealing with, and are also handy ways to dispose of intruding heroes and unlucky henchmen.

The giant shark bowl ooze does them one better—not only is the shark deadly, the aquarium itself is a monster.

The original is designed for 5th Edition under the OGL, and as soon as I saw it, I sat down and statted it for 13th Age. (Many thanks to Rob Heinsoo for giving it a development pass before posting.) Whereas the original is treated as one monster, my version treats it as two. The ooze is a variant of the gelatinous dodecahedron, and the shark is a non-mook version of the Iron Sea shark, both from the 13th Age Bestiary.

Giant Shark Bowl Ooze

A giant shark swims within a huge fishbowl, circling above a sandy floor strewn with seashells, a small castle, and a treasure chest. While you’re figuring out how to kill the shark and get the treasure, the bowl lashes out with a gelatinous pseudopod and engulfs you.

Huge 7th level blocker [ooze]

Initiative: +7

Shlup’n’schlorp +13 vs. PD—30 damage, and the giant shark bowl ooze engulfs the target if it’s smaller than the ooze.

Miss: The ooze can make a spasms attack as a free action.

[Special trigger] C: Spasms +13 vs. AC (up to 2 attacks, each against a different nearby enemy)—20 damage

Engulf and suffocate: Engulfed targets automatically take 20 damage at the start of the ooze’s turn, and are consider nearby to (and soon to be engaged with!) the giant shark swimming inside the ooze. The shark acts after the ooze’s turn, and can engage any engulfed targets. The shark cannot attack targets outside the ooze (unless it moves out of the ooze, see its stats below). Engulfed targets can escape the ooze with a successful disengage check at a -5 penalty.

Instinctive actions: Gelatinous creatures have no brains, sometimes they just do things. When the escalation die is odd, instead of making an attack or moving, roll a d8 to see what the giant shark bowl ooze does. If an option is not available (you roll a 1 but there are no nearby enemies), reroll until you get a valid option.

1. The giant shark bowl ooze makes a squash attack against 1d4 nearby enemies as it rolls and shlorps around the area. Any enemies already engulfed by the giant shark bowl ooze take 10 thunder damage.

C: Squash +10 vs. PD (1d4 nearby enemies)—20 damage, and the target is stunned (easy save ends, 6+)

2. The giant shark bowl ooze throws out whip-like tendrils and makes a sudden orifice attack against each enemy engaged with it. Then it pulls each nearby enemy next to it and engages that creature.

Sudden orifice +15 vs. PD (each enemy engaged with it)—The giant shark bowl ooze engulfs the target if it’s smaller than the giant shark bowl ooze

3. Hundreds of finger-size slimes slither out from the interior of the giant shark bowl ooze and begin worming their way across the bodies of each of its enemies in the battle. Until the end of the battle, when a non-ooze creature takes any damage besides ongoing acid damage, it also takes 10 acid damage.
4. The giant shark bowl ooze produces spikes. It gains a +4 bonus to all defenses until the end of the battle.
5. The giant shark bowl ooze makes a spasms attack. If it misses with either attack roll, after the attacks, it can make a stretch and engulf attack as a free action.C: Stretch and engulf +13 vs. PD (one nearby or far away enemy)—30 thunder damage, and the giant shark bowl ooze engulfs the target if it’s smaller than the ooze
6. C: Pseudopod slaps +13 vs. AC (one nearby enemy)—40 thunder damage

   Natural odd hit: The target pops free from the giant shark bowl ooze and is knocked far away, and the ooze makes the attack again against a different nearby enemy as a free action.

   Natural even hit: The giant shark bowl ooze engulfs the target if it’s smaller than the giant shark bowl ooze.

AC 21

PD 19     HP 400

MD 16

Giant Shark

Double-strength 5th level wrecker [beast]

Initiative: +7 (but don’t roll for the giant shark, it acts immediately after the giant shark bowl ooze)

Massive jaws +10 vs. AC—36 damage

Miss: 18 damage.

Frenzy: While staggered, if the giant shark is unengaged at the start of its turn, it must roll an easy save (6+). On a failure, the giant shark must move and attack a random nearby enemy that’s staggered, or a random nearby non-ooze creature if there are no staggered enemies. Yes, this means the giant shark might propel itself torpedo-like out of the ooze at a target.

Shredder: When an enemy misses with a melee attack against the giant shark and rolls a natural 1–5, the attacker takes 18 damage.

In a bowl, yo: As mentioned above in the its ooze bowl’s stats, the giant shark can’t attack enemies unless they’re in the ooze with it; the ooze was reduced to 0 hp and has dissolved; a PC thought that getting the shark out of its bowl would somehow be a good idea; or the shark has erupted from the ooze during frenzy. Likewise, thanks to the ooze’s protection, very few attacks from outside the bowl can affect the giant shark. If you decide that a particularly powerful or clever attack from outside the bowl can choose the shark as a target, the shark gets a +5 to all its defenses against that attack.

Last, dying thrash: If the giant shark is outside of its bowl, the shark takes 25 damage at the end of its turns. When it reaches 0 hit points and dies, roll this attack against all nearby non-ooze creatures: +12 vs. PD—18 damage

AC 22

PD 19     HP 140

MD 14

About 13th Age

13th Age combines the best parts of traditional d20-rolling fantasy gaming with new story-focused rules, designed so you can run the kind of game you most want to play with your group. Created by Rob Heinsoo and Jonathan Tweet, 13th Age gives you all the tools you need to make unique characters who are immediately embedded in the setting in important ways; quickly prepare adventures based on the PCs’ backgrounds and goals; create your own monsters; fight exciting battles; and focus on what’s always been cool and fun about fantasy adventure gaming. Purchase 13th Age in print and PDF at the Pelgrane Shop.

Download the free 13th Age Bestiary 2 preview pack, with the Great Ghoul, chaos hydra, and rakshasa!

It’s Adopt-a-Monster month, when we urge you to take home some of the adorable beasties in our 13th Age product line. (Whose heart wouldn’t melt at the sight of a little intellect devourer scampering up when they come home in the evening?) This year’s Adopt-a-Monster mascot is this cuddly rakshasa kitten by artist Rich Longmore.

The rakshasa is featured in the first 13th Age Bestiary, and really comes into its own in Lions, Tigers & Owlbears: The 13th Age Bestiary 2. There it receives an expansive 7-page treatment, with entries that include the rakshasa sybarite, devourer of wizards, delver, mastermind, saint, and magician. There’s also a section on rakshasas and the icons, building battles, lairs and treasures, adventure hooks, and more!

You can pick up a print copy of the 13th Age Bestiary 2 in the Pelgrane Store.

Here’s just one of the many monsters you can adopt today—and it’s a great example of 13th Age monster design for a more complex creature…

Rakshasa Sybarite

A keen interest in alchemy and an understanding of the physiology and psychology of humanoids makes this hedonistic monster mad, bad, and dangerous to know.

Double strength 6th level caster [humanoid]

Initiative: +11

Silver-shod claws +11 vs. AC (2 attacks)—12 damage

Attack also beats the target’s PD: 12 ongoing poison damage.

C: Powders, potions, and lotions +11 vs. PD (1d3 nearby enemies in a group)—20 poison damage

Natural 2 or 12 hit: Target is weakened until they next take damage.

Natural 3 or 13 hit: Target is vulnerable to poison attacks until the end of the battle.

Natural 4 or 14 hit: Target is hampered until they next heal or gain temporary hp.

Natural 5 or 15 hit: Target is hampered until they next hit with an attack.

Natural 6 or 16 hit: Target is stuck, save ends.

Natural 7 or 17 hit: Target is dazed, easy save ends.

Natural 8 or 18 hit: Target is stunned until the end of its next turn.

Natural 9 or 19 hit: Target is confused, easy save ends.

Miss: 7 poison damage.

[once per battle] C: Psychic seduction +11 vs. MD (1d3+1 nearby or far away enemies in a group, group must contain at least two targets)—20 psychic damage, and the target is confused (hard save ends).

Miss, but another target in the group was hit: Target is confused until the end of its next turn.

All targets missed: The psychic seduction attack is not expended can be used again this battle.

Shapechange: As a standard action, the rakshasa can change its form to that of any humanoid, or back to its own shape. Seeing through the shapechange requires a DC 20 skill check.

Nastier Specials

Contrabando: The rakshasa has a stash of illicit substances—once per battle as a quick action, it can either deal 20 ongoing poison damage to one enemy that it has just left engagement with OR become dazed but heal 30 hit points at the end of each of its turns (save ends).

Shapechanger’s surprise: Once per battle as a quick action the rakshasa changes forms to something that causes consternation and misunderstanding among its enemies— causing each enemy to become dazed until the enemy with the lowest MD saves.

AC 20

PD 20     HP 230

MD 19

A 13th Age Bestiary-style entry for magical guardians created by the Elf Queen, who gradually leave the Queen’s magic behind and become part of nature’s rhythms—as controlled by the High Druid. What happens to ancient elven secrets when they’re finally allowed to blossom? By Cal Moore & Rob Heinsoo.

Nymphs is the tenth installment of the second 13th Age Monthly subscription. You can buy it as a stand-alone PDF, or purchase the collected Volume 2 to get all 12 issues plus the 2016 Free RPG Day adventure Swords Against the Dead!

Buy now

Endzeitgeist reviewed the 13th Age Bestiary, and even gave it the Seal of Approval! Thanks Endzeitgeist! You can read the full review here. Endzeitgeist says,

“From modifications of escalation or relationship dice to truly unique options, some of the abilities herein are, no hyperbole, GENIUS. Take the redcap. Tried and true delightfully evil fey – we all know and love the iron-shodded menaces. Well, herein, they have taboo-words – even if you *think* them, they get power from it and may teleport et al., gaining potentially a nasty array of additional actions. Now how is this represented? When a PLAYER says the taboo word, the ability kicks in. Yes. This is pretty much brilliant and can provide quite a mind-blowing experience when handled with care. This is just ONE example out of a bunch of them. This book’s abilities OOZE creativity and will enrich ANY d20-based game I run for years to come.”

“Rob Heinsoo, Ryven Cedrylle, Kenneth Hite, Kevin Kulp, Ash Law, Cal Moore, Steve Townshend, Rob Watkins, Rob Wieland – congratulations. You have actually managed to craft the first “Bestiary I” since the days of second edition I liked to *read*, the first that inspired me. This book manages what neither monster manuals of 3rd or 4th edition or PFRPG’s bestiary-line has succeeded in doing – actually inspire me to use creatures, to craft adventures around them, to use them to make the world feel more alive. While a rare few 3pp bestiaries over the years manage this sense of wonder, it usually stems from clever mechanics or uncommon concepts, only rarely from actual narrative potential. Ultimately, this book, in spite of its “1st bestiary”-handicap, did all of that and more and makes me giddy with anticipation and hopeful we’ll see more far-out creatures in the level of detail as provided herein.”

Over on the very active Google+ 13th Age community, Sean Dunstan has pulled together a complete list of monsters from the core 13th Age rulebook, the 13th Age Bestiary,  13 True Ways, and Eyes of the Stone Thief. John Clayton has kindly reproduced that here in table format; you can also download it as a zipped Excel spreadsheet on the 13th Age Resources page.

Now that the 13th Age Bestiary is about to ship, and design on 13 True Ways is finished, we can turn our attention back to other important things. Like announcing a contest winner!

We invited readers to submit captions for Rich Longmore’s great illustration of a bronze golem looming over an owlbear cub. We selected three finalists, which went to Rob Heinsoo for judging.

The winner of the Limited Edition 13th Age Bestiary:

Daniel Gallaher: “Mr. Snuggles Murderton! I’ve been looking all over for you!”

Runners up ($20 Pelgrane vouchers):

Jace Parker: “Perhaps a Clockwork Golem could learn to love. An Owlbear, however, will never learn to show mercy.”

Dennis Newcomb: “And what happened, then? Well, in Axis they say – that the Forgeborn’s small heart grew three sizes that day. And then – the true meaning of love came through, and the Forgeborn found the strength of ten Forgeborns, plus two!”

Daniel, Jace and Dennis, please email support@dyingearth.com to claim your prizes.

Congrats to the winners, and thanks to everyone who sent in an entry!

13th Age Bestiary Limited Edition

We’ve printed 100 limited editions in all, and we are releasing them now for Hatchling Edition pre-orderers only. The books are faux black leather with gold foil. Each one includes a numbered book plate signed by Rob Heinsoo for you to add to the book. They will also include a limited edition A5 print of everyone’s favourite baby owlbear facing off a bronze golem.

We are not offering an upgrade version to existing Bestiary customers.

The book retails at $80 / £50 plus shipping.

In his April View from the Pelgrane’s Nest column, Simon provided updates on all of Pelgrane’s current projects. Here’s the latest news on 13th Age:

The 13th Age Bestiary is with the printers, on target for a mid-June delivery date. Pre-order your copy now from the Pelgrane store. It’s available on Bits and Mortar, too, so you can pre-order it from your local retailer and get the PDF now.

The Bestiary limited edition is in the changing rooms at the boutique, trying out new outfits of faux leather colours and gold foil. The limited B is currently available for pre-order, with Hatchling edition customers geting first dibs.

13 True Ways is finally in layout. We apologize for the extreme delay in getting this Kickstarted product out to you – we think it’s worth the wait. We’ll put in on pre-order this month. It’s touch and go if we’ll have it out in time for GenCon and Kickstarter backers come first. A non-laid out PDF version should be out with backers in the next couple of weeks.

For FreeRPGDay , Saturday 21st June, we’ll be releasing a new retail-exclusive adventure Make Your Own Luck. 3500 of these adventures will be distributed free in up to 700 hobby stores. Stores can sign up here  and you can find your nearest participating retailer here.

Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan is nursing the great whale that is The Eyes of the Stone Thief into the the deep waters of art direction; Rich Longmore, Anna Kryczkowska, Juha Makkonen and Pat Loboyko are doing the interior work, and Ben Wootten the cover.

Cartographer Pär Lindstrom is producing maps for Shadows of Eldolan, and we have a first colour draft of the cover by Joshua Calloway here.

ASH LAW has delivered a draft of Shards of the Broken Sky, which Rob will look at when 13 True Ways is laid out.

The Book of Loot, a delicious collection of potent and quirky Icon-featured items is in first draft, also awaiting Rob’s seal of approval.

ASH LAW designed some of our favorite monsters in the 13th Age Bestiary (which you can buy here.) Her latest project is the Midgard Bestiary for Kobold Press, converting 100 monsters designed for D&D 4th edition to 13th Age.

We asked ASH to share her process for converting 4e monsters to 13th Age, and we’ve included some sample monsters at the end.  

Also: from now through April 1, you can take $5 off the Midgard Bestiary, 13th Age Compatible Edition at the Kobold Store with the promo code P3LGR4N3. (You can actually use it for any Kobold Press product with a minimum $5 purchase.)

How to convert a 4e monster to 13th Age in 13 steps

I did most of the mechanical conversion for Kobold Press’ Midgard Bestiary: 13th Age Compatible Edition by hand, in red pen and highlighter, in a car, during a daily commute and lunch breaks. (Though not while driving!) The 13th Age core book was on one knee, non-13th Age material on my left knee.

1. Highlight anything that 13th Age does not have: Prone, push, that sort of thing. If it was integral to something that is thematically central for the monster I found a way to deal with it. If it was just an extra effect then I’d cross it out and ignore it. I generally didn’t cross it out straight away, because sometimes it wasn’t immediately obvious and I wanted to section it off with highlighter.
2. Group similar attacks together. If something has a ‘basic axe attack’, a ‘mighty axe charge’, and a ‘great axe sweep’ – yeah, cross all those out and make a note “Axe”.
   1. If great axe sweep and so forth are actually different things that the axe does (instead of just a slightly better axe attack) I’ll make them conditional riders for the axe attack.
   2. Give the axe attack a decent name:
      Mighty Axe +X vs AC –  Y damage
      Natural even hit: Z damage or effect
3. Determine the creature’s level. Generally that is (4e level/2)-1and round up or down to taste. So a 15th level 4e monster might be a (15/2)-1 = 6.5 level monster… so 6th or 7th. I then might bump up or down a level depending on if it feels right depending on its 4e ‘fiction’ (its place in the world).
4. Fill in numbers for attack bonuses based on level. If something is thematically supposed to be good at something (an archer monster making ranged attacks) I’ll give attacks that fit the theme +1 and those that don’t fit a -1.
5. Write in the total damage an attack is supposed to do beside the attack. If the attack has a conditional rider I’ll divide the damage between the two, and either frontload it slightly or bump up the damage on the rider part. So if a creature is supposed to do 12 damage (say a 6th level mook) and it has a conditional rider that happens half the time it might look like this:Mighty Axe +11 vs AC – 10 damage
   Natural even hit: 4 damageor like this:Mighty Axe +11 vs AC – 4 damage
   Natural even hit: 10 damageThe idea is that over the course of 2 hits it should average out as the ‘correct’ 12 damage.The first example is fine. On average it does 12 damage. The second example on average does 9 damage, but feels more impressive when it hits… so to balance that out I’d give it a little (+1) boost to its to-hit.Mighty Axe +12 vs AC – 4 damage
   Natural even hit: 10 damageThere! Now that mook does damage as though it was one level lower, but is hitting like it is one level higher (and its hits feel really impressive half the time). Generally I’d go with the first example unless the monster’s fiction had it be weak but with a powerful secondary attack.

   Goblin Scorpionataur’s Axe +12 vs AC – 4 damage
   Natural even hit: 10 poison damage from the striking tail of the half-scorpion goblin.

6. Pop the defenses and HP in.
7. Loop back for any powers or attacks with multiple targets, and adjust so that the monster’s damage output over several rounds roughly matches what the strike damage should be. In general if something is attacking 1d3 targets it should only do 1/3rd damage to each target. I actually aim for something closer to 2/5ths to each target.
8. Loop back for anything still in highlighter (prones, pushes, etc). If they are relevant to the monster I’ll add them in as a special power triggered by an attack or something. Pushes and prones can generally become pops-free-then-must-save-or-X, but mostly they can be dumped when converting to 13th Age without losing the theme and feel of a creature.
9. Shake my head. Tut loudly. Stare at traffic.
10. I’ve made a mistake, this monster should be one level higher because…
    a) It feels like it should be tougher.
    b) It feels like it should hit more often.
    c) I’ve just converted an X and there is no way a Y mook is weaker than an X but I can’t bump the X down because it needs to be stronger than the Z.
    d) I’ve changed my mind.
11.  Use Jonathan’s advice on how to bump monsters up in power (+X to hit, or +X% HP, or +X to defences). Adjust the monster until it feels right, and the numbers are not incomparable to other similar creatures in the core book.
12. Use the level of the original 4e monster as its initiative modifier, but adjust for feel based on what kind of monster it is.
13. Have a cup of tea.

Beyond the mechanics

Exploring the monsters in both Bestiaries by giving them things to have, adventure hooks, and treasure was a bunch of fun. It was challenging in a different way – after the 20th stat-block conversion you kind of get into the swing of it, but every monster presents fresh narrative challenges when giving hooks and things in its pockets.

Designing from scratch

If I had been approaching the Midgard Bestiary monsters fresh rather than doing a conversion of existing material, some of them would have been very different mechanically, because the underlying fiction would have been different. Mechanics flow from the fiction, and sometimes feed back into it too. For an example of how to start from a blank slate look at the chapter I wrote at the end of the 13th Age Bestiary on how to create monsters which goes step-by-step through the design choices in creating a ‘Lyznakian Fire Wizard’.

13th Age Bestiary Preview: Orcs

Download ASH LAW’s take on orcs for the 13th Age Bestiary in a glorious laid-out PDF.

Midgard Bestiary Preview: Goblins of the Wasted West

(Shared here with the kind permission of Kobold Press and its Kobold-in-Chief Wolfgang Baur.)

The Old Ones did it. They changed the buggers. It wasn’t the heat, or lack of food, or just not being civilized. These goblins live in the shadow of another world and can’t be compared to anything natural in all of Midgard. No one creature better represents the corruption and variety of the dangers in the Wasted West than the goblin. Nowhere else in Midgard will you find a race so different from tribe to tribe.

The goblins below are but a small selection of the unique goblin cultures found throughout this unforgiving land…

Ghost Goblin Tribe

The Ghost Goblins have strong ties to their dead in more than just a spiritual sense. When their warriors die, tribal necromancers create unliving soldiers to fill the ranks. So devoted are they to this practice that the undead obey all members of the tribe instinctively, even from those with no talent for spells.

Some warriors among the Ghost Goblins hold the undead in higher esteem than the living. They strive to honor the zombies through their actions, and through prayers to strange gods. Soon a ghost goblin horror is born, too intelligent to be considered a zombie but too unnatural to be called a living creature.

As its flesh slowly begins to rot away, a horror begins to develop a talent for tugging at the souls of others. The horror exists halfway between life and death, suffering vulnerabilities of both the living and unliving. This place between worlds grants it power, however. The ghost goblin horror can implant the suggestion of death in an enemy’s mind, paralyzing its body with the rigor of the dead before attacking relentlessly. The ghost goblin horror does not fear death and will retreat from battle only if ordered by a necromancer or priest.

Dust Digger Tribe

The Dust Diggers scour the waste in search of long abandoned artifacts. These strange goblins seem supernaturally talented in getting vril technology working again. Most members have an odd vril trinket in their arsenal. Some of them have even modified their bodies, seeming more construct than flesh.

The dust digger watchmen are charged with protecting the excavations of the tribe. They take up a positions that grants cover and makes them difficult to see, whenever possible, but do not sacrifice proximity to the excavation site. When enemies come too near, the watchman opens fire and shouts for reinforcements.  Watchmen typically fight alongside other warriors, they support mobile skirmishers well. Dust Diggers are also found with strange constructs and war machines excavated from vril ruins.

Bonewraith Tribe

The cannibalistic bonewraith tribe are speakers with spirits, and some say with the Old Ones themselves. Ceremonial leaders among the bonewraith tribe, the spirit callers are masters of ritual and can commune with large numbers of spirits. Their bone weapons and tools are carved with beautiful—if disturbing—images, and their hide armor bears the grisly, weathered faces of former enemies.

Spirit callers generally partake of goblin flesh more than other tribesmen. They can be recognized by their twitching hands and over-dilated pupils. In combat they can connect to an enemy’s soul and then use this connection to force their target’s limbs to move against the victim’s will.

The Bonewraith tribe generally doesn’t work with non-goblins, but they may make temporary alliances and do on occasion tame beasts as mounts or combatants.

Things You Might Find On A Ghost Goblin Horror…

Tiny bone disks carved with goblin prayers. Metal helm, exhortations to strange gods scratched into it. Maggots fat from the flesh of the decaying goblin. Mismatched pieces of armor, scavenged or taken from the bodies of slain enemies.

Things You Might Find On A Dust Digger Tribe Goblin…

Large bone knife. Chest containing broken artifacts. Goggles. Pliers. Tarnished coins with holes drilled into them, and star-charts scratched into their faces. Map of the wastes. Warm rock which glows slightly in the dark. Tea pot. Necklace of steel teeth. Dowsing rod. String of sand-glass beads. Jar containing a twisting bit of frozen time—if unfrozen over a fire it reveals the last words of a dying wizard. A chest containing 49 smaller chests, one inside the other, until the final chest which contains a tiny cloth doll.

Things You Might Find On A Bonewraith Goblin…

Armor made from the faces of victims. Bone sword, made out of the bones of victims. Pouch, made out of the skin of victims. Trousers, made out of the flesh of victims. Vile totem made out of soulstuff and bones.

Magic Items

Vril Power Bow (bow). A priceless artifact from a lost time, but sadly not as reliable as it was when it was new. At the start of each of your turns, roll a d8. If you roll over the escalation die value, on a successful hit with this weapon add the die result to your damage and the target briefly glows. If you roll under the escalation die, you take the die result in damage and you briefly glow. Rolling equal to the escalation die applies no damage from the roll, but you can make another attack with the bow on this turn as a quick action.

Quirk: Dream of lost ages, seek to restore that which was lost.

Goblin Totem (holy or unholy symbol). The artifact is unmistakably goblin in design, but started life as a holy symbol for a different god. Gain +1 to hit for every goblin ally in the battle, including yourself if you are a goblin, to a maximum of +6.

Recharge 16+ (Ghost Goblin tribal totem): On a successful hit with a single-target melee attack, the target is seized with rigor mortis (stuck, save ends).

Recharge 16+ (Bonewraith tribal totem): On a successful hit with a single-target melee attack against a foe with half your total hit points or fewer, the target is terrified by a vision of goblin ancestral spirits (fear, save ends).

Recharge 16+ (Dust Digger tribal totem): On a successful hit with a single-target ranged attack, the target is dazed by powerful vril energy (save ends).

Quirk: Sing traditional goblin songs such as “Three Dirty Goblins”, “The Goblin’s Eyes” and “Goblin’s Lament”. If you sing the songs for long enough they may drift into unholy hymns to the Old Ones without you noticing.

Adventure Hooks

The Goblin Market: A shiver of goblin sharks have come to town, far from their home, to meet and trade with representatives of the bonewraith tribe. The situation is potentially explosive—especially as the items the bonewraiths are trading belong to the ghost goblins, and the shark goblin’s items were stolen from dust diggers.

Ghost Goblin Horror

The ghost goblin horror fights alongside other living and undead tribe members. Sometimes the tribe will take in undead discovered in travels and raids. These creatures were often not goblins in life, so there is no end to the variety of undead they might command.

Level 2 troop [Undead]

Initiative: +5

Vulnerable: holy

Short sword +6 vs. AC—5 damage

Natural even hit or miss: The goblin may use curse of rigor as a quick action.

R: Curse of rigor +6 vs. MD—5 damage and the target is stuck (save ends).

Ghost life: When the ghost goblin horror is reduced to 0 hit points it makes a save. If it succeeds it gains 5 hit points and regenerates 5 hit points per turn until the end of the battle or it is next reduced to 0 hit points.

Fear aura: Enemies engaged with the goblin and who have 12 hit points or less are dazed and can’t use the escalation die.

AC 17

PD 11          HP 27

MD 15

Dust Digger Watchman

Dust digger watchmen guard major excavation sites against looters. Surprisingly disciplined, these goblins know the power of the artifacts they seek. They have mastered the strange vril bows whose bolts are charged with the power of the sun. When they open fire, reinforcements are never far behind.

Level 2 archer [Humanoid]

Initiative: +8

War pick +7 vs. AC—7 damage

R: Vril powerbow +7 vs. AC—7 holy damage

            Natural 16+ hit: Target glows and is vulnerable to all attacks until the end of its next turn.

AC 18

PD 16        HP 36

MD 12

Bonewraith Spirit Caller

The Bonewraith goblins are known for eating both their enemies and the weak and fallen of their own tribe. They fashion the resulting bones into weapons, totems, and armor, to imbue themselves with the power of the fallen. Most who encounter these fearsome creatures flee rather than find out the truth of these claims.

Level 2 caster [Humanoid]

Initiative: +6

Bone sword +7 vs. AC—7 damage

R: Soul grasp +7 vs. MD—7 damage and the target pops free

R: Summon ancestors +7 vs. PD—7 damage

            Natural 18+ hit or miss: Causes fear in 1d3 nearby enemies (save ends).

[Triggered action] Spirit guardian: When the spirit caller becomes staggered it gains +2 to all its defenses until it is next hit.

AC 18

PD 16       HP 36

MD 12

From now through April 1, you can take $5 off the Midgard Bestiary, 13th Age Compatible Edition at the Kobold Store with the promo code P3LGR4N3. (You can actually use it for any Kobold Press product with a minimum $5 purchase.)

It’s a fine complement to our own 13th Age Bestiary, with monsters from the Midgard Campaign Setting including dire weasels, exiled elves, mad wizards and more – plus 9 monstrous PC races and 13 icons of Midgard.

If you want to learn more, check out ASH LAW’s article in See Page XX.

“The Midgard Bestiary combines Kobold Press’s dedication to quality and originality with ASH LAWS’ enthusiastic and accomplished take on the 13th Age to serve you a gallimaufry of ghouls and golems.” – Simon Rogers