Sunteți pe pagina 1din 22

1

The Tome of Slenderotica: Tales of Paranoia and Woe


Credits
Designer and Writer: Golden-Esque (Paizo.com forums) Cover Artist: Bleepla (Deviant Art) Interior Artists: agentparsec (Deviant Art), ARCANEXIII3 (Deviant Art), azraelengel (Deviant Art), tehcheychibi (Deviant Art) Special Thanks: Victor Surge for starting it all, to Kirill Baru, Joseph DeLage, and Troy Wagner for bringing an excellent horror story to the big screen and for defining a genre, and to Erich Norden, for knowing a lot more about stat blocks then I do. Note: This document is free to use, and anyone attempting to try and profit from it in any way, shape, or form can expect a visit from someone tall, dark, and faceless in the middle of the night. This document and the gaming rules within were designed to be compatible with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. You are free to convert them into any game system that you like, but please make sure to list the documents writer in the credits somewhere. Also, send me a PM at Paizos forums; Id love to hear about it.

Table of Contents

Prologue Haunting of Princeton


Pages 03 .................................................................................................. 05

Chapter One What is the Slenderman?


Pages 08 .................................................................................................. 10

Chapter Two The Slenderman


Pages 11 .................................................................................................. 15

Chapter Three Proxies


Pages 16 .................................................................................................. 18

Chapter Four Incorporating Slenderman


Pages 19 .................................................................. 20

Chapter Five Player Options


Pages 21

Prologue: Haunting of Shadybrook


By Golden-Esque
If there was one thing that Groher Gravelstomp took pride in himself about, it was his courage. In his clan, the dwarf barbarian was famous for having a heart as cold as stone when it came to fear. He had stared down the swamp-things of the Marsh of Horrors, he had braved the Caverns of Woe and returned alive with the head of a troublesome deurgar shaman, and he had stared into the eyes of a hungry dragon without flinching. To a dwarf such as Groher, a little trip into a local haunted forest was a laughable matter; regardless of how terrified the locals were. Groher, along with several other individuals, had been hired off of a trading caravan while waiting the kingdoms blockade on the forest road to be lifted; the king had felt it necessary to close the road down because of the stories of people vanishing along the path, never to be seen again. Such occurrences had been all too frequent in Shadybrook; the town that had pleaded for Grohers aid. People had gone missing over the past week; men, women, and children. Each of whom came down with a bothersome illness before simply vanishing from their beds. But it wasnt the illness that had spooked these hardy woodsmen so thoroughly. No; what had scared them was that before vanishing, each and every man, woman, and child, and there had been many missing children, slowly lost their minds to bouts of paranoia and fear; claiming that he was going to kill them. These patrons would point and scream in utter terror at some phantom that only they could see. And yet, the missing people, gone for so long, had slowly

started to wear down the psyche of the residents of Shadybrook, until every mother clutched their child in fear, every father slept with his hatchet in hand, and every child was plagued by night terrors so vivid that none were able to sleep. Groher though that they were cowards, each and every one of them. Letting themselves be scared by a childs boogie man. Being humans, Groher was convinced that the missing were either playing a cruel joke on their kin, for humans could be senselessly cruel to one another, or had simply been slain by a more sensible monster of the wilds; dire wolves were renown stalkers of Shadybrooks nights. He made his complaints know to the other caravan riders who had been duped into the task alongside him; an impish halfling who called himself Shadefoot, no doubt going for an easy job lined with promises of gold, a lad of a human who felt compelled to help the people of the Shadybrook because, It was the right thing to do, or some nonsense, and an elf mage who simply wanted to poke his pointy nose into business that wasnt his concern. And Groher? He simply wanted to sink his axe into somethings temple. ~~~ (x) ~~~ The band travelled from noon until dusk when they happened upon a small cabin, secluded in the woods. As they approached the cabins doors, the elf mage, he called himself Shax, noted that various animals had been carved up, ranging from simple animals who may have simply been caught and eaten to massive predators whose demise was nearly unimaginable. It was Brodrick, the paladin, who suggested investigating the house, calling upon what he called the righteous light to light the interior of the deserted home. As Groher pushed the rotting door nearly off of its hinges, he gasped, for there the inside of the home was vandalized from ceiling to floor. A 4

strange mark that looked like a circle crossed with lines was carved in random spots around the oneroom cabin and along the floors, drawn in charcoal, was black scribbles. While Shadefoot immediately began rummaging the house for baubles to pocket, Shax pulled a hefty tome from his magical satchel and began wandering around the cabin muttering to himself, leaving Brodrick and Groher to search the place on their own. After several minutes of scanning the room, Brodrick found a small book buried under several upturned chairs, its cover drenched in dried blood. Groher had no care for books and suggested that the tome be dropped to the maggots. Brodrick scolded the dwarf for his bluntness and began skimming the book and reading passages aloud to the party when he found one interesting. Most of them appeared to be the ramblings of the insane; sentences and ideas without any purpose. However, near the end, Brodrick found one of note. Excitedly, he began reading it aloud, his voice slowing down to a crawl as the horror within the pages became more and more apparent. Oh, god, theyre dead. Theyre all dead. It killed them one by one and I dont even remember how it did it. Its in my mind, its eating my thoughts and making me drown in my fears; my fears of it. I saw them yesterday. The people it killed. It hung them up in the old oak tree. It cut their organs out, then stuffed them back inside, only wrapped in a thin cloth. I think it took the cabins currents, but it doesnt really matter now because theyre all dead. He killed them. He watches me now, that lithe lunatic. Is lunatic even correct? Would he not have to be one of us in order for me to adeptly brand him so? Im so scared, but I dare not look up, because I can feel it. He is watching me even now. He is waiting for me to break. And he knows I will. I know I will.

Brodrick and Shadefoot were concerned by this entry, and decided to search outside for the tree that the diary spoke of. Though Shax was too engrossed by his research, Groher went outside; believing some fresh air outside of the mangy cabin would do them all good. Shadefoot had barely made a crack about the journal just being a hoax when all three of them stopped in their tracks, for just behind the house was a small oak tree, and hanging off of the tree by fraying rope were a dozen human-sized bags, ranging from adult-sized to child-sized. As the trio stared in horrified silence, a rotted tree branch gave way, sending the bag that hung from it crashing into the ground with a squished thud; the kind that only a recently slain corpse could make. Brodrick rushed towards the bag, Groher and Shadefoot not far behind him. Cutting the bag open with his sword rewarded Brodrick with the sweet, sickly smell of rotting flesh, as well as a glimpse of a horrified-looking human face; the face of a young man in his prime. His body was covered with bruises and slashes across his chest and legs; more horrifying was that his mid-section was cut open, his organs removed, and small burlap bags placed in the cavity in their place. Shadefoot gingerly picked up one of the sacs and untied it, pouring the contents in his hand. He had to turn around quickly and vomit, for a bloodied human heart, twice as large as his tiny fists now coated his hand with gore. Shadefoot dropped the heart as his face greened; he turned away from the corpse. Groher barely had time to ask Brodrick who, or what, he thought could have done such a violent act when Shadefoot shot up and screamed in horror, pointed towards the tree line. Brodrick and Groher followed the halflings finger to see what, from far away, looked like a human man at first .He was wearing a black tunic with black pants, though there was something exotic about 5

his garb. However, the longer Groher started at the mysterious individual, the more wrong it seemed; its limbs were too thin, its arms were too long, as from this distance, its face was distorted so it had no visible features. Shadows descended upon the creature until tendrils of shadow were writhing from its back, and then, it was gone. Groher and his companions breathed a small sigh of relief before covering their ears in pain; directly behind them, a shrill sound that reminded them of a woman laughing pierced the area; only the laughter was wrong, where a real laughs pitch moved up and down in octaves as the laugher inhaled and exhaled, this laugh was of a continuing chord; as if the entity had no need for breath. Groher swung around and immediately knew two things; first, his prior assessment was correct. The creature had no face; a blank slate of skin covered where its eyes, nose, ears, mouth, hair, and beard ought to be. Second, Groher now knew fear. Groher was paralyzed with fear at the sight of the creature, its tentacles writhing about menacingly, dark claws growing from its once normal-looking hands. Brodrick charged the monster, sword in hand, and began swinging at it with all of his might, calling upon his god for might. The creature wrapped its tentacles around the lad and Shadefoot as well, but Groher found his courage and hackled the appendage from the beast, watching with satisfaction as the tentacles disintegrated into dust. Get out of here! Brodrick yelled as the monster used its three remaining limbs to grab him by his sword arm, his left leg, and his neck. Brodrick swung in vain, and Groher watched in horror as the blade passed right through the monster, as if the creature didnt even exist. Gathering up the halfling, Groher ran towards the

cabin as quickly as his legs would carry him to gather the elf; they needed reinforcements. Shax! Somethings attacking us! Hurry up and , Groher stopped; the elf was dead, lying in a pool of his own blood with a look of horror on his face. Several neatly wrapped bags lay by his side, also oozing blood, and what was normally a spellbook was opened to its last page, featuring a crude drawling of what could only be the creature with a single word beneath it, Slenderman. Groher had no time to mourn the loss of his companion, as the sound of metal at the doorway caused him to spin around quickly. Brodrick stood at the doorway, bleeding a bit and looking weary, but alive. Brodrick! Yer alright! Groher cried, but was quickly taken aback when the paladin drew his blade and thrust it towards him, missing only by the old dwarfs surprising agility. It was then that Groher got a look at the paladins eyes; they were glassed over and soulless. We lostem, Shadefoot! Arm yerself! Groher yelled as he swung his axe will all of his might. The pair traded blows, parry for parry, wound for wound. Groher was panting; he was losing blood fast and he knew it. With a mighty roar, he plunged the axe into his former allys brain and watched him collapse without a sound, his blood intermingling with that of the elf. It was then that Groher saw him; the creature, the slender man, he was standing by the doorway, bobbing his head back and forth with an eerie afterimage. Shadefoot cried in fear. Again Groher roared as he flung his hammer at the monster; it vanished long before the weapon flew through the area where it once had been. It appeared again almost instantly, this time, several yards back from the cabin; still watching. Shadefoot was on the floor, bawling like a child. Groher grunted as he picked 6

up Brodricks sword. He refused to go down to this monster. He refused to let it kill him. He refused to let the elf and the human boy die in vain. He charged out of the cabin, towards the monster, singing the songs of his clan as he brought the blade down. ~~~(x)~~~ Shadefoot jumped to consciousness, his eyes darting around. He appeared to be back in his caravan wagon. He chucked to himself; it was just a bad dream, brought on by a full stomach before bedtime. He settled down when and reached for his pipe when his hand bumped into something small, cold, and wet. Curious, he picked it up and brought it into his vision, opening the caravans flap ever so slightly in order to let the morning light flow inside. It was a small, burlap sack; roughly as large as his head, its bottom wet and sticky with blood. Shadefoots breath stayed trapped in his chest as he opened the satchel and allowed its contents to drop onto the wagons floor; coarse, mottled hairs from a bear, a set of long, pointed ears, and a holy symbol, covered in blood. And behind them, as if to erase any further doubts from Shadefoots mind, three humanoid hearts landed on the floor, each coated with blood. Shadefoot screamed as he tumbled out of his wagon and onto the ground. He looked up, gasping for breath, and there, in the distance of the woods, no, in the windows of a local home, worse, peering out from the wagon in front of him, was a tall man with a dark tunic, dark pants, and no face. ~~~(x)~~~

~~~(x)~~~

~~~(x)~~~

Chapter One: What is the Slenderman?


Colloquially called the Slender Man, Slenderman, Slendy, the Duke in White, and the Lithe Gentleman, as far as monsters go, the Slenderman is an extremely recent creation, though some individuals view the creature as being of German origin, coming from tales of horrible, otherworldly men appearing from the Black Forest. Created on a message forum as part of a paranormal imagery contest1, the Slenderman was originally depicted as a creature that tried to lure children away from their parents and devour adults that were foolish enough to delve into its mythos. As time pressed onward, the Slenderman became a famous on the internet as a topic for Alternate Reality games and Indie Horror Movies2 and eventually so many stories sprung up around the Slenderman that an entire mythos was centered on him, not too different from H.P. Lovecrafts famous Call of Cthulhu mythos. Now, first things first and this really has to be said. No matter how creepy some of those videos look, no matter how spooked some of the blogs or short stories make you, please remember this one, vital thing. Slenderman is not real. He was created by an author3; we have actual, empirical evidence of this. Heck, his creator even did an interview about his inspiration for the creature if youre willing to look for it! However, just because Slenderman isnt real, doesnt mean he isnt creepy. Slenderman as an entity embodies some of the most primal human fears; fear of people
1

we dont know (represented by his blank face) and fear of the unknown. Part of his mystique is his appearance; hes human enough that he can relate to him, but enough is wrong enough about his appearance that viewers find horror, even disgust in him. Now that we have a bit about where the Slenderman comes from out of the way, lets talk about the Slenderman himself. His motives, his dreams, his desires, etc.. Well, to be frank, no one knows. That is both the glory and the bane of anything that is within the public domain; there are so many stories within Slendermans mythos, so many accounts, so many occurrences and attacks that few authors are about to agree upon his powers, let alone weaknesses. So, one of the best places to start deconstructing the Slenderman is within his established powers and traits. The Slendermans most heavily agreedupon power is his ability to move in a way that is called slenderwalking. This is a movement akin to teleportation, as Slenderman appears to have the ability to move beyond the normal bonds of reality. He can appear outside of the window, hundreds of yards away one second that appear down your hall on the second floor as you turn your head. This makes it incredibly difficult to run from the Slenderman. Slenderman is a killer, in some sense of the word. If he doesnt eviscerate you or impale you upon a tree, he will probably instead attempt to break your mind so that he can use your body for an even darker purpose. Such beings are called proxies, and there are different levels of proxy-hood, depending on the storyteller. 8

No, I wont link it here in this PDF; you can go Google it yourself! 2 Again, these are easy to find on Google; I wont give you any names here. 3 The internet; invalidating our fears, one modern urban legend at a time!

Slenderman has a particularly powerful bond with water, fire, and forests. His followers often reference arks, as in Noahs Ark, further tying him to water. Forests are a logical tie-in, as Slendermans long, thin limbs often allow him to resemble trees; especially when he enters combat tentacle mode (see below). People drowning, possibly in their fears of the Slenderman, is another common theme in slender stories. Slendermans presence has odd effects on people and their surroundings. Animals are terrified of him; perhaps they can sense his otherworldly nature. Regardless, Slenderman often kills animals that could serve as warnings to his real victims; sentient, humanoid beings. In more modern settings, he interferes with electronic devices such as computers, televisions, and most commonly, cameras. Such an effect is called a distortion. Finally, exposure to Slenderman causes illness, called the slendersickness, and memory loss. Slenderman is a subtle being and does not often talk to or associate with his victims. He appears to be unable or uninterested in things that cannot see him, and you can only see the Slenderman if he is targeting you. He almost never makes a sound or noise either.

particular author, so for now, the Slenderman is essentially invulnerable. So, now that you know a little bit more about the Slenderman, you may be asking yourself, Why on earth would I want to challenge my Pathfinder players with a nigh unkillable monster? Heres my suggestion. Dont do it unless youre going to play the Slenderman up. Lets face it, you have, in some stories, an entity with cosmic-level powers in some incarnation. Why should you present a monster like the Slenderman to your players, only for them to be mildly scared for several seconds before they hack him into pieces and loot his corpse for loot? Anyone who has ever experienced a Slenderman tale knows that this is not the spirit of the monster. So, here are some tips for using the content in the Tome of Slenderotica: 1. Big Bad Evil Guy: If youre going to use the slenderman, he should be your adventures primary antagonist (if not campaigns). Your players should feel threatened whenever the Slenderman appears, and they should run for the hills as he silently chases after them. Now, this doesnt mean you cant have dungeons or other random encounters as the game progresses; there should be a single, unifying monster that the players (and their characters) feel a sense of paranoia and dread whenever he appears. 2. Inform Your Players: If youre going to craft a situation like the one above, you NEED to tell your players about it. Plenty of players are power games, and a Slender Story has no room for people who are going to be upset when their game-winning combination of feats has little to no effect against the Slenderman. However, this is one advantage to using the stat block 9

Other than that, very little has been decided on the Slenderman Mythos, and not every story follows all of the rules listed above. For example, in some stories, he willingly talks with and to the protagonists, sometimes to atomspheredestroying effects. While theories have risen on how to actually defeat the Slenderman, nothing has been decided upon or endorsed by any one

provided here instead of using GM Fait as the Slendermans powers; having a real stat block means that the more rules-savvy of your players may find a way to effectively combat Slendy and buy themselves some time. Either way, you should warn your players what they are about to go through, and always remind them that in a Slenderman Story, running is usually the best option. 3. The rule of creepy always wins. At its core, a Slenderman Story is all about the creepy factor. As a GM, you want to set the mood with whatever tools you have available; scary music, candle-lite tables, and powerful, suspenseful roleplaying. Remember what the Slenderman represents; fear of the unknown, so play that up to the best of your abilities. Magical darkness, obscuring mists, and other similar vision-inhibiters work wonders. Another powerful tool is NPCs, more notably, helpful ones. Playing a good Slenderman Game is like trying to solve a mystery, except the clues are scattered and many clues lead to dead ends. The players should have allies in their quest, if only for the most useful and favored of them to mysteriously vanish or become transformed into proxies before their eyes. 4. No one likes an unwinnable game. Remember to throw your bones every now and then, for every act of despair, give your players a moment of triumph. Victories against proxies, acquisitions of knowledge, and successful escapes from Slenderman are all excellent ways to play out the events involved in a Slenderman horror story.

5. Keep the characters scared but the players entertained. Your goal, when playing a horror game, isnt to reduce your players to sniveling children who are afraid to drive their car to work each day. You want to challenge them, you want the game to be creepy, but the only people who should be truly scared out of their minds are the PCs themselves. To this end, the separation of player and character is vital; players who are amused, but cannot roleplay a truly terrified character will not work in a Slenderman game, and a player who is truly terrified will probably end up frustrating the other players as they slow the game down with the players personal paranoia. It is difficult to strike a balance in this regard, but doing so lends itself to a highly amusing game that everyone will enjoy. 6. Slenderman has a personal life. This last one is the biggest trap for GMs running a Slenderman game. Dont overuse proxies and the Slenderman. Youre still playing Pathfinder and have a plethora of monsters spread across several bestiaries and over fifty adventure paths to use. Monsters based off of Lovecraft (such as the soggoth or the mi-go) are particularly effective, as Slendermans background draws from Lovecraftian roots. Now, you have some tips in order to successfully use the Slenderman, youre missing one important thing; Slenderman himself! In the next chapter, I will presenting you with the stat block for my Slenderman, as well as some designer notes and choices on what picks Ive made.

10

Chapter Two: Slenderman Stat Block


Far off in the distance, through the cover of the forest canopy and several layers of underbrush you can see a humanoid figure through the fog. Though its proportions are similar to those of a human, its body is hauntingly off; its body is too tall, its limbs are too long, and most startlingly of all it does not appear to have a face. Wearing alien clothing that you have never seen before, you blink your eyes to get a better look, and it is gone from view; leaving you with the eerie feeling that you are being watched.

Slenderman
Chaotic Evil Large Outsider Initi +2; Senses blindsight 120 ft.; slendersight; Perception +23 (+47 vs. slendermarked creatures) Aura Aura of trauma (100ft., DC 32)

CR 22

DEFENSE
AC 22 Touch AC 10 Flat-Footed AC 21 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +12 natural armor) HP 315 (30d10+150); regeneration 40 Fort +14 Ref +12 Will +25 Defensive Abilities all-around vision, freedom of movement, no breath; DR 22/; Immune ability damage, bleed, critical hits, disease, energy drain, mind-affecting effects, paralysis, permanent wounds, precision damage, petrification, poison, polymorph; Resist acid 11, fire 11, electricity 11; SR 33

OFFENSE
Speed 55 ft. Melee 2 claws +29 (1d6+7; 19-20/x2), 4 tentacles +29 (1d6+7 plus grab (Large) and pull) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. (tentacles have 15 ft.) Special Attacks Constrict (1d6+7), eviscerate, pull (tentacles, 10 feet) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 17th; concentration +20) Constant displacement At willconfusion (DC 21), dimension door (self plus up to 4 grappled creatures at 0 hp or less), fear (DC 21), interplanetary teleport, invisibility, major image (DC 20), mirror image, modify memory (DC 23), mirage arcana (DC 22), plane shift 3/Daydominate person (DC 22), greater invisibility, insanity (DC 24 ), sequester (DC 24) 1/Dayreverse gravity (DC24), time stop, wish

STATISTICS
STR 24 DEX 12 CON 18 INT 7 WIS 26 CHA 26 Base Atk +30 CMB +37 (+41 when grappling) CMD 40 Feats Bleeding Critical, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Dimensional Agility, Dimensional Assault, Dimensional Dervish, Dimensional Maneuvers, Eldritch Claws, Fleet, Greater Vital Strike, Improved Critical (claw), Improved Vital Strike, Skill Focus (Stealth), Toughness, Vital Strike Skills Acrobatics +32, Escape Artist +32, Intimidate +34, Perception +23, Stealth +40; Racial Modifiers Perception +8 (+24 vs. a slendermarked creature) Languages Aklo, Common (cant speak)

SPECIAL ABILITIES
11

Aura of Trauma (Ex): Creatures that can see the Slenderman have all abilities that make them immune to fear effects (such as a paladins aura of courage) suppressed for as long as the Slenderman is within 100 ft. of them. In addition, the creature must make a Will save (DC 32) or become frightened for 1d4 minutes and then shakened for 2d12 hours. A creature traumatized by this aura takes 1d4 points of Wisdom damage per 5 points that he or she failed their Will save by. Regardless of success or fail, a creature can only be affected by this aura once every 24 hours. Eviscerate (Ex): Whenever the Slenderman deals damage with its constrict ability, the Slenderman immediately makes a free attack against the creature; success deals an additional 3d6 points of precision damage and 1 point of Wisdom damage. Impossible Biology (Ex): The Slenderman can grapple a number of creatures equal to the number of tentacles it possesses. When using its grab ability, the Slenderman does not incur the normal penalty to combat maneuver checks made to maintain a grapple without gaining the grappled condition itself. Marked by the Slenderman (Ex): Any creature that the Slenderman perceives immediately becomes slendermarked. Unlike normal creatures, a slendermarked creature can perceive the Slenderman and immediately contracts slendersickness (see below). Once slendermarked, a creature cannot become unmarked except by banishing the Slenderman; even dying and being resurrected will result in one being Slendermarked. Regeneration (Ex): No form of attack can suppress the Slendermans regeneration; it regenerates even if disintegrated or slain by a death effect. If the Slenderman fails a save against an effect that would kill it instantly, it immediately vanishes from our reality, only to return to our reality 1d8 rounds later. The Slenderman returns with 40 hit points per round it spends in its own realm, up to its full hit points. Slendersight (Su): The Slenderman does not possess eyes and is thereby immune to all attacks that require sight. Instead, it relies on its blindsight, which functions by perceiving mortals with damaged psyches. The Slenderman can only see creatures with its blightsight ability that have currently taken at least 1 point of Wisdom damage or drain or that are suffering from a fear-related condition (shakened, frightened, panicked, or cowering) or creatures that have learned of its existence through some unfortunate chance. The greater the trauma, the more likely the Slenderman is to notice a victim, and multiple occurrences of these conditions make it even more likely that one will attract his attention. Weird Reality (Su): For weird and alien reasons, the Slenderman is unable to enter an antimagic field or similar effect; when attempting to, he simply phases out of reality for 1 round before reappearing somewhere else. In addition, the Slenderman is immune to scrying attempts and any creature attempting to scry him must make a DC 32 Will save; failure wrecks the target with horrifying image of the Slenderman and deals 1d6+2 points of Wisdom damage to the creature; almost immediately attracting its attention. Factual information on the Slenderman is extremely unreliable, as many accounts have been given and few of them come from sane men and woman. Based on the legends, the Slenderman stands between 7 and 10 feet in height, and possesses thin, emaciated features. It wears extremely exotic clothing that isnt native to any known region or country; some of the scribes that research the Slenderman theorize that his attire is proof that he heralds from another world. His most shocking feature is that he does not possess a face and some say that when Slenderman prepares to attack, it unsheathes long, spidery tentacles from its back and its hands warp into horrid claws. The Slenderman has never been known to speak to any of its victims, though several accounts have shown that it does have some degree of understanding of mortal tongue and customs, including one infamous account where a man claimed to have temporarily stunned it by offering him 20 gold pieces before running away in a hurry. 12

Perhaps the most unsettling thing about the Slenderman is that normal people are completely incapable of perceiving him. Likewise, normal humanoids seem to be completely beneath the Slendermans perceptive ability; however, creatures that have experienced extreme mental trauma or have unluckily discovered his existence are quickly noticed, and the Slendermans hunt begins. Based on all recorded incidences, the Slenderman is a creature of subtly if nothing else. It prefers to sulk in the shadows, tantalizingly remaining on the fringes of peripheral vision. Using weird and strange occurrences, bouts of paranoid depression, and a unique disease colloquially called the slendersickness, the Slenderman quickly begins laying siege to his victims minds, wearing down their mental fortitude. It is when his prey is at their absolutely weakest that the Slenderman swoops in, taking them away; sometimes never to be seen again, sometimes to be seen in pieces, and sometimes transformed into a hollow shell, called a slender proxy. Most of the Slendermans victims are returned as mutilated corpses; impaling them in trees and removing their organs with surgeon-like precision are all favorites of the Slenderman, as such violent acts wreck the minds of the individuals loved ones, occasionally revealing themselves as future prey for the Slenderman. A rare few become slender proxies; individuals with no will of their own. Slender proxies are created when the Slenderman reduces a creatures Wisdom score to 0; instead of staying comatose, the creature can awaken as a proxy under slendermans complete control. See the various proxy templates, found in Chapter Three of this book, for more information on the various types of slender proxies, their powers, and how they are created.

The Slenderman (though some theorize that more than just one exist) is all but completely invulnerable to damage, and those lucky few who do manage to slay it only stop it for a short while before it returns once more, stalking its prey. The Slenderman also appears to have reality-warping abilities, including making doors go places they should not, wiping memories, and changing the very world around his victims. Many theories exist on how to slay the Slenderman once and for all, ranging from mass believe of its demise from all slendermarked victims to banishing it away to another, alternate material plane. Regardless, once stalked by the Slenderman, virtually no scholar in the world can help save you from your fate; assimilate into Slendermans outstretched arms or be forever torn apart.

13

Authors Notes:

Type disease, see text; Save Fortitude DC 16 (cannot save against diseases contraction; all slendermarked are permanently infected by this disease; even if normally immune to disease) Onset 1d3 days after being slendermarked; Frequency 1/day; Effect 1d3 Wisdom damage. Creature requires twice the number of hours of sleep/rest in order to regain spells per day, lost hit points, and ability damage; Cure none, successful save prevents the sicknesss penalties for the day, but the only way to truly be cured is to remove your slendermark, becoming unperceivable to the Slenderman. 33; in these examples, the digits repeat themselves. This is more of a stylistic choice rather than for balance. When the Slenderman is reduced to 0 HP, what happens? Upon being reduced to 0 hit points, the Slenderman immediately vanishes, as if it had cast interplanetary teleport or plane shift. Unlike the normal uses of his spell-like abilities, this doesnt provoke an attack of opportunity. Every six rounds the Slenderman spends out of combat regenerates 50 hit points as usual for the creature; otherwise, the Slenderman can return to pursue its prey as soon as it feels that it has healed enough hit points to continue the hunt. Can you explain the aura of trauma ability a little bit better? Of course. Basically, whenever you see the Slenderman and it is within 100 feet of you, you have to make a Will save. Failure causes you to become frightened for 1d4 minutes. After that condition ends, you become shaken for 2d12 hours. If you fail your Will save by 5 or more, you take 1d4 points of Wisdom per 5 you fail by. Fail by 6? 1d4 damage. Fail by 14

The Slenderman in and out of combat.


In this section, I will be providing some notes and combat tips in order for a GM to play Slenderman as the deadly abomination that we all know and love! What books do I need to own in order to use the Slenderman? Realistically, just the Pathfinder Core Rulebook. However, this version of Slenderman was based after the tarrasque, found in Bestiary 1, so that wouldnt hurt to own. Several of the Slendermans ability keywords are found in Bestiary 2 (for example, all-around vision), so that book would be useful as well. Finally, the Slenderman has several feats that are found in Ultimate Combat; since those feats are integral to its fighting style and tactics, that book is also indispensable. Why is the Slendermans DR have no way to overcome it? Slenderman is an alien entity from beyond our comprehension. As a result, material from our dimension cannot overcome its natural ability to restore itself of bodily harm. Perhaps if someone were brave (or foolish) enough to try and enter the Slendermans realm, they could recover some sort of material that harms it the way that steel harms mortal flesh, but such a task could inevitably prove suicidal. Why does the Slenderman have a lot of randomly numbered scores? In the Slenderman Mythos, repeating numbers are a common theme to represent the Slenderman. This is why youll see values like a 55ft. movement speed, DR 11, or SR

11? 2d4. Roll a natural 1? Ouch, depending on your modifier, you could be looking at 6d4 Wisdom damage. Hello, slender proxy! Now, as long as you are within the area of the Slendermans aura, any fear immunities you may possess from any source are suppressed (this includes aura of courage, and even effects like the mind blank spell). This doesnt nullify and bonuses you have towards making saves against fear, however, so said paladin still gets a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against the aura of trauma (a character is their own ally, after all!). Okay, now with that out of the way, lets look at the Slendermans tactics. As you may have noticed, the Slendermans AC is extremely low for a CR 22 monster, and its hit points are over 80 points less than suggested for a 30 hit dice monster; why, it has half the hit points of the tarrasque! Well, first, the Slenderman is 3 CR lower than the tarrasque, if that means anything to you. Second, the Slenderman has a constant displacement effect (50% chance to be missed) and DR that cannot be overcome in addition to a static regeneration 50, plus additional regeneration when it is attacked. This adds up to a monster who stays in the game primarily through a combination of luck (miss chance) and through massive healing of its own wounds. Others may notice the Slendermans pitiful damage. The logic behind this is simple; if a creature can survive four tentacles, two claws, and four eviscerates, chances are that the Slenderman would have a better use for you than simply impaling you on a tree or playing Operation with your internal organs. Player characters are almost always going to be

transformed into proxies if possible before they are killed outright. Against powerful creatures, the Slenderman seeks merely to whittle its foes down with its eviscerate; each attack deals Wisdom damage in addition to its precision damage. The Slenderman also enjoys spreading insanity into its victims, destroying their resolve against its attacks. The most likely creatures to be outright slain by the Slenderman are those who are capable of saving their fellows from its grasp; creatures that can heal Wisdom damage or remove fear effects. In the meantime, the Slenderman is content to allow its slendersickness and aura of trauma to slowly destroy its victims minds before going for the kill, and victims have been known to suffer for months; sometimes years at the hands of the Slenderman. In combat, the Slenderman uses its Dimensional feats to devastating effect, using its ability to cast dimensional door at will as both its primary mode of movement and primary ambushing technique. It then attempts to establish a grapple on its foes so it can either eviscerate its enemies or inflict major Wisdom damage to its foes; both outcomes are favorable to the Slenderman. In rare cases, the Slenderman will use its powers to dominate its enemies or, when it really wishes to induce paranoia, alter a creatures memories to the point where it cannot recall pivotal events. No one knows why the Slenderman does what it does. While it is able to understand mortal speech to a degree, it does not (or possibly cannot) talk on its own, which works greatly in its favor when spreading fear and paranoia.

15

Chapter Three: Slender Proxies


"We didnt want to go; we didnt want to kill them, but its persistent silence and outstretched arms horrified and comforted us at the same time. Mortals have a habit of getting themselves involved with malevolent creatures or, in the worst scenarios, creatures that do not care for their existence. The Slenderman is such a creature, though with whatever amount of intelligence that the creature possesses, it does see the value in mortal servants. Mortals who serve the Slenderman, either willfully or unwillingly, are known as proxies, and their appearance, cognitive abilities, function to the Slenderman, and names vary from source to source. While the Slendermans powers are vast and there is a good chance that there are many more types of proxies then those described here, there are four major types of proxies; Proxy Agents, Sleeper Proxies, Hollowed Proxies, and Revenant. Each type of proxy is described below, as well as a guide as to how to create the proxy.

humanoids, as well as some of the more otherworldly aberrations.

Hollowed Proxy
In contrast, a hollowed proxy is a creature that is unable to think on its own. Hollowed proxies are theorized to be completely unable to think for themselves or take any course of action; they are treated as having no intelligence or wisdom score for the purpose of effects. Creating a Hollowed Proxy: A hollowed proxy is created when a creature who has taken at least 1 point of Wisdom damage form one of the Slendermans abilities (either aura of trauma or eviscerate) has their Wisdom score reduced to 0. Then, in a special ritual that requires 1 full hour, the Slenderman can spend one use of its dominate person spell-like ability to transform the individual into a hollowed. In most cases, the Slenderman will bring a worthy candidate into whatever hellish place it hails from in order to perform the ritual in peace. Once transformed into a hollowed, it is difficult to return a creatures mind to it. In order to do so, the creatures Wisdom score must be restored to its full value; regardless of its actual Wisdom score, the proxy treats its Wisdom score as 0 until it is restored to normal. The Slenderman can sense its hollowed proxies, and it is immediately alerted when one is on the road to recovery. In some cases, it will attempt to retrieve the proxy, and in others it will ignore the proxys plight; seeing it as a chance to begin the hunt for the freed proxy once more. Quick Rules: +1 to all Strength-based, Dexteritybased, and Constitution-based rolls (including damage rolls and hit points); no Wisdom or Intelligence scores; immune to mind-affecting abilities, use Charisma instead of Wisdom for Will 16

Proxy Agent
A proxy agent is a creature that willingly chooses to serve the Slenderman. Because of this willing choice, the Slenderman sees no need to actually bestow any power to a proxy agent, and as such, a proxys abilities are as any other humanoid of its type, based on its class levels. Any creature capable of intelligent thought (intelligence score of 3 or higher) is able to become a proxy, though the Slenderman is more likely to aid and respond to proxies that are humanoids or monstrous

saves; can cast dimension door as a spell-like ability at will. Rebuild Rules: A hollowed proxy must be a humanoid or monstrous humanoid with a base intelligence score of 3 or greater. The hollowed proxys Intelligence and Wisdom scores become 0. The proxy gains a +2 bonus to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution and gains the ability to cast dimension door as a spell-like ability at will with a caster level equal to their hit dice. In addition, a hollowed proxy is mindless, making them immune to mind-affecting abilities. Because of their lack of a Wisdom score, a hollowed proxy uses their Charisma modifier in place of their Wisdom score when determining their Will save. This increases the creatures CR by +1.

ritual by using its wish ability. The creature goes about its business, abet confused as to why it is in a new location. Otherwise, the creature functions as if it were not proxy; it doesnt have the CR increase either, nor does it have access to its normal abilities. The Slenderman can, from any location (including alternate planets and planes), trigger any number of sleeper proxies as a free action, transforming them into hollowed proxies. It must then go about the methods described above to retransform those hollowed proxies into sleeper proxies. If the sleeper proxy is targeted by break enchantment or similar spell, the caster must make a caster level check against the Slendermans SR; success removes the effect entirely (including the sleeper proxy template); failure reverts the creature into a sleeper proxy. Without any directions, however, it will appear like the spell has backfired and the creature has been rendered comatose; a DC 35 Spellcraft check (or Knowledge: arcana) will reveal the truth, however; that the creatures mind has been tampered with by something. Quick Rules and Rebuild Rules: As a hollowed proxy. These benefits do not apply while the creature is a sleeper proxy (under its own willful volition instead of the Slendermans).

Sleeper Proxy
Perhaps more dangerous than an agent proxy or a hollowed proxy combined, a sleeper proxy is an individual who does not realize that they are under the Slendermans control. They have their free will, their normal minds, and often dont remember their encounters with the Slenderman. Then, when it best suits its dark purposes, the Slenderman can trigger its proxy, transforming the once sentient and willful proxy into a sleeper proxy. As a sleeper, the proxy will perform whatever tasks the Slenderman desires, including selling out or murdering their dearest friends. Creating a Sleeper Proxy: Creating a sleeper proxy is identical to creating a hollowed proxy, except as follows. After transforming the individual into a hollowed proxy, the Slenderman must spend 24 hours using its modify memory ability to scour the creatures mind of whatever information that could help the creature recall its struggle with the Slenderman. Following this period, the Slenderman returns the creature to a place it is familiar with, and then finishes the

Revenant
The most dangerous of any of the Slendermans mortal minions, the revenant is a literal avatar of the Slendermans powers. They gain many of the Slendermans near magical abilities and act as his champions in the mortal realm. Like agents, they are completely devoted to their master of their own free will, and only agent proxies can become revenants. Although some revenants pretend to 17

understand the Slendermans motivations, most are given only extremely broad and simple commands and are allowed to execute these commands to the best of their considerable abilities. Creating a Revenant: In order to create a revenant the former agent must prove that they are of considerable worth to the Slenderman, for the process that transforms a mortal into a revenant is a lengthy, dangerous and taxing to the Slenderman. Once the Slenderman has decided to transform the individual into a revenant, no force can prevent the transformation. The Slenderman takes the revenant to its world; the hellish domain between places. Then, it permanently extracts a bit of the revenants soul; its ties to humanity, and casts them to roam the Dark Tapestry. This process is a lengthy one, and requires two weeks worth of using its wish spell like ability on the creature. During this time, the soon-to-be revenant is aware, but its body is in temporal stasis, frozen in excruciating pain for the duration of the procedure. Once this time has passed, the creature emerges as a revenant, gaining considerable power from the Slenderman. The creature will then serve its master to the best of its abilities. In extremely rare cases, some revenants will attempt to leave the Slendermans fold. This is an outrage to the Slenderman, and leaving causes the creatures soul to become forever disassembled and lost between the stars, transforming them into a hollowed proxy (see above), except that only a wish or a miracle can restore them. If such a revenant is restored, the Slenderman will no doubt pursue them with unearthly determination to make them pay for their insolence. Quick Rules: +2 on Strength-based, Dexteritybased, and Constitution-based checks (including damage and hit points); can use the Slendermans

spell-like abilities at a caster level equal to its hit dice. Rebuild Rules: A revenant must be a humanoid or a monsterous humanoid with a base Intelligence score of 3 or greater. Increase the creatures physical ability scores by +2. In addition, the creature can cast the following spell-like abilities at will, using its hit dice as its caster level: dimension door (self only plus up to one grappled creature at 0 HP or less), displacement, invisibility, major image, mirror image, modify memory, and plane shift. In addition, the revenant also gains DR 11/lawful and good, SR equal to 11 + their hit dice, and energy resistance 11 against fire and cold. This template increases the creatures CR by +2 if they have less than 5 hit dice, by +3 if they have 6 through 11 hit dice, or by +4 if they have 12 or more hit dice.

18

Chapter Four: Incorporating Slenderman


Well, now that you have the statistics block for the Slenderman and a short guide as to how to create mortal minions to serve him, the gears are no doubt spiraling around in your head as you devilishly try to plan the best ways to use Slenderman in your adventures. Spook your friends! Scare your parents! Make priests believe that youre possessed and warrant an exorcism! All that jazz. Well, in this chapter I am going to provide a few tips onto how those of us whose heads dont move so quickly can use the Slenderman in a game effective. And who knows? These inspirational tips could make for one of the best horror games that you and your friends have ever played! So lets get down to business. #1 - Dont forget whos in charge. This is more for the GM then the players. A good GM isnt going to simply splash the Slenderman into a game without thought. First of all, hes nearly indestructible as it is, and he creates a neverending urge to hunt down those whom he marks. It doesnt make very well for a one-shot monster encounter, as I mentioned above. If youre going to introduce the Slenderman, be prepared for the long-haul. Players themselves cant effectively ward him off without being able to cast the highlevel spell antimagic field, and even that doesnt suppress his aura of trauma ability. #2 Introduce him at a fairly low-level. The Slenderman is even more terrifying when the players are utterly helpless against him. Hes still scary when enemies can start to beat the Slenderman down into the ground by reducing his hit points to 0, as when he comes back, it makes the players realize that theyre essentially wasting their precious resources on fighting him; no matter how many spell slots they use, or rounds

of rage that go by, the Slenderman can only be stalled; never truly stopped. This needs to be played up as much as possible; dont give your players any true reprieve from the Slendermans presence. Just as soon as hes down, make him reappear somewhere off in the distance, quietly watching his prey for the chance to strike, when their guard is even further down. #3 Reward Experience: Escaping the Slenderman should reward some experience. If you note in the stat block, there is no actual experience total for the Slenderman. This is intentional. Its up to the GM to decide how much experience the partys last tussle with the Slenderman is worth, but heres how I would rate it: If the party simply flees from the Slenderman, they earn XP as if from a creature with a CR equal to their APL 2. If the party fights the Slenderman before fleeing, they earn XP as if from a creature with a CR equal to their APL 1. If the party reduces the Slenderman to half of its hit points before fleeing, they earn XP as if from a creature with a CR equal to their APL. If the party manages to reduce the Slenderman to 0 hp, they earn XP as if from a creature with a CR equal to their APL +1. Ultimately, however, it is up to the GM to decide how much experience a group earns from its encounters with the Slenderman. #3 Make banishing the Slenderman a real challenge. Ive given a few suggestions on how the players could unmark themselves from the Slenderman, but there are many creative ways a GM could go about this adventure. Regardless of what you go for, the ultimate result should be 19

that the players are fighting for their survival, with their ultimate goal being either to find a way to stop, kill, or thwart the Slenderman. As a villain, the Slenderman has motivation; it just isnt keen on sharing the information with lesser mortals. As the players dive all the deeper into the Slenderman Mythos, they should become all the more familiar with the monster; what it wants, its powers, and most importantly, how to stop him. The players should face hardship, and every success should bring many setbacks alongside of it. That way, when the players finally succeed, their victory is all the sweeter. Now, to end this chapter, I am going to offer a potential timeline of events that a GM may decide to go for when running a Slenderman horror story in their campaign. The PCs decide to investigate the seemingly random disappearances of local men, woman, and children in a small village on the outskirts of a reportedly haunted wood. It is not a bad idea for the GM to give their party an NPC for the next event. The players run into something that alerts them of the Slendermans existence. This could be an old cabin, like the one in the prologue that is filled with strange markings and signs, or it could simply be one of the Slendermans mass victims sites. Either way, the players should attract the Slendermans attention in some way. Usually, at this lower-leveled and experience point in the story, the players will try to attack and defeat the Slenderman. The Slenderman should either heavily wound the party or outright kill an NPC, if the GM opts to allow the

party to bring one along. Another terrifying then that the GM could do is transform said NPC into either a sleeper proxy or an agent revenant. After their encounter, the party becomes plagued by the Slenderman. They all become Slendermarked and they see him wherever they go. They ultimately fail their mission, whatever it was that sent them into the forest in the first place, and the local residents think them to be mad when they start rambling about people watching them. When the players finally leave the village, the horrors theyve encountered follow them out with outstretched arms. From here, the story is mostly playerdriven. You want your players to do their best to try and learn more about the creature that stalks them. Seeking out libraries and ancient sages are all excellent options. But for every one step of progress, there should be a dead end in the way. For example, maybe the party manages to recover a single book from the library before Slenderman (or his followers) burn the place to the ground, only to find that the book is missing pivotal pages of information. Perhaps when the players finally reach the sage theyve been seeking, hes already dead; clearly murdered by the Slenderman. But in light of his death, some notes he left behind prove useful. While a Slenderman story is dark, it should not be entirely hopeless, for without hope, your players will get bored rather quickly and may simply give up on your entire adventure.

20

Chapter Five: Player Options


And what fun would a Slenderman campaign be without some additional player options to go along with it?

removes the grappled and pinned condition, as well as the entangled condition. If you use this ability while prone, you remain prone in whatever space you arrive in. This movement is not affected by difficult terrain or any other effects that alter your movement speed. You must end your movement in a legal space. You can move a number of 5-ft. squares with this ability each day equal to 3 + your Sorcerer level.

Wildblood (Archetype)
The wildblood sorcerer first appeared in Pathfinders Ultimate Magic. The option presented below is an addition to that archetype. As described in Ultimate Magic, when selecting the Wildblooded Archetype, you must select the appropriate associated bloodline in order to gain the mutated bloodline described below. You use the normal bloodlines class skill, bonus spells, and bonus feats, and the mutated bloodlines bloodline arcana. You also use the normal bloodlines bloodline powers, except where the mutated bloodline replaces one of those powers.

Character Traits
First introduced in Pathfinders Advanced Players guide, Character Traits add for additional ways to customize your players characters for the challenges and themes at hand. Follow the normal rules for Character Traits found in the Advanced Players Guide when determining if a character can select one of the traits listed below. Fighter Mentality (Social): When it comes to fight or flight situations, you are a fighter; willing to stare down your enemies and strike at them with your all; regardless of how terrified you are. When you are shaken, frightened, panicked, or cowering, you take no penalties to attack rolls. In addition, while panicked, you can attack normally instead of taking the total defense action. Fleeing Instinct (Social): You are easily spooked, and in hopeless situations, your first instinct is to run for the hills. When you are shaken, frightened, panicked, or cowering, you gain a +10ft. trait bonus to you speed and a +2 trait bonus to your AC against attacks of opportunity made while fleeing. Paranoid (Social): You are easily spooked and always on the lookout for things that terrify you. You take a -2 penalty on saving throws against fear effects, but gain a +1 trait bonus on Reflex saves and a +2 trait bonus to your initiative.

Slendertouched
Your alien taint stems from the fact that someone in your family was a slender proxy at some point; perhaps it was you. Associated Bloodline: Aberrant. Bloodline Arcana: Whenever you cast a spell of the polymorph subschool with yourself as the target, you immediately gain the frightful presence ability (Pathfinder Bestiary, pg. 300) for the spells duration. Bloodline Powers: Your strange powers allow you to move beyond the boundaries of this world. Slender Step (Sp): Starting at 1st level, you gain the limited ability to move through space and time, reappearing in a new location. As a move action, you immediately teleport from your starting space and move up to your speed into any space that you can see. This movement is a teleportation effect and moving in this manner

21

22

S-ar putea să vă placă și