Tech Revolution has given us Mechs, but what about monsters to fight those Mechs with? Sure, you can just use stuff out of an Alien Archive, but you are going to quickly find there are not a lot of really big monsters to throw at your players, and that even if you are balancing encounters using the party’s APL +3, the monsters are going to feel a bit less than compared to all the fun stuff Mechs get to do.
You can, and definitely should, use NPC Mechs as opponents to even the playing field. But from Voltron, to Ultraman, to Power Rangers, and countless other shows, we’ve all seen the Mech vs Monster battles and how cool they are. So how about some juiced up monsters?
When I wrote up the Kaiju and Titan templates back in May it was with the intent to eventually use them for Mech combat foes. That’s why the expanded size chart is there too. Of course, that was based on the playtest rules and guesswork though, so let’s do a quick update:
CREATURE TYPE GRAFT
Kaiju
A kaiju is a massive (typically gargantuan or larger) and often unique creature of such size and power that it gains its own classification. They are often associated with elemental subtypes, and while some are barely smarter than the typical beast, many feature personality traits that allow for rudimentary alliances or rivalries with other kaiju. Regardless, all kaiju have great capacity for devastation.
Stats: like a NPC mech, a Kaiju draws stats from its CR in a different way. Hit points are at CR, but all other numbers are drawn at CR-2. So a CR 10 creature has 165 HP, but its EAC is only 20. They also receive one fewer special ability, to compensate for all the abilities provided by the creature type graft.
Traits: Darkvision 600 ft., untyped damage reduction of at least 10, fast healing of their CR or regeneration of half their CR, resistance of at least 10 to most energy types, as well as immunity to ability damage, ability drain, death effects, disease, and fear. They also have the following abilities –
Action surge (Ex): base Kaiju are able to make two standard actions and a move action on their turn. They obey the same rules as Mechs though, in that they cannot do more than one standard or full attack with any one natural weapon. A Kaiju of CR 7 or higher should have at least two standard and two move actions. At CR 12 or greater, increase that to at least three standard and two move actions. At CR 17 the base should be at least four standard and three move actions.
Demolish Structures (Ex): Kaiju’s natural weapons ignore the hardness of all structures and vehicles (such as Mechs) not made of adamantine alloy or a harder material. Against structures or vehicles made of such materials, kaiju’s natural weapons ignore half of the hardness.
Hurl Debris (Ex): The mighty strength of a kaiju allows it to turn nearly anything into a ranged weapon. Spending a move and a standard (or two standard) actions, the kaiju grabs a nearby object and throws it as a ranged attack with a range increment of 30 feet. The object can be, at largest, two size categories smaller than the kaiju. For an object of the maximum size or next smallest size, the attack deals medium damage to the thrown object and the target as if it were a mech weapon with a level equal to the kaiju’s CR. For any smaller objects, the weapon deals light mech weapon damage instead.
A kaiju can use this ability to grab and throw a creature or moving vehicle within reach, but to do so, the kaiju must also succeed at a grapple combat maneuver against the creature to be thrown. If the combat maneuver fails, the hurl action fails, but the kaiju gains a move action (effectively wasting a standard action)
Hurl Foe (Ex): When a kaiju damages a Huge or smaller foe with one of its natural attacks, it can try to bull rush the foe as part of that attack. If the original hit exceeded KAC +4, the bull rush succeeds. If an obstacle stops the hurled creature before it travels the whole distance it is knocked back, the hurled foe and the obstacle struck each take 1d4 points of bludgeoning damage per 5 feet of distance remaining and the foe is knocked prone in the space adjacent to the obstacle.
Massive (Ex): Because kaiju are so massive, uneven ground and other terrain features that form difficult terrain generally pose no significant hindrance to a kaiju’s movement, though settlements or areas of forest are considered difficult terrain to a kaiju. A Huge or smaller creature can move through any square occupied by a kaiju, and vice versa. A kaiju can make attacks of opportunity only against foes that are Huge or larger and can be flanked only by Huge or larger foes. A kaiju gains a bonus for being on higher ground only if its entire space is on higher ground than that of its target. It’s possible for a Huge or smaller creature to climb a kaiju—this generally requires a successful DC 30 check, and unlike the normal rules about kaiju and attacks of opportunity, a Small or larger creature that climbs on a kaiju’s body provokes an attack of opportunity from the monster.
Recovery (Ex): Whenever a kaiju fails a saving throw against any mind-affecting, paralysis, petrification, polymorph, or immobilizing effect, it can attempt a new saving throw at the end of its turn to remove the effect. Doing so does not requires an action. A kaiju can attempt a new save to end the effect as often as it wishes, but can attempt to remove only one such effect per round. Once per year, if a kaiju takes an amount of damage that would normally kill it by reducing its hit points to a negative amount equal to its Constitution score, the damage instead heals the kaiju of twice the amount of damage—but this healing leaves the kaiju disoriented and demoralized. At this point, the creature becomes nauseated and seeks only to return to its lair. Any amount of damage dealt to it by an external source before it reaches its lair, though, immediately negates the nauseated effect and allows the kaiju to end its retreat and attack.
Adjustments: +2 to one type of saving throw, +1 to attack rolls
That’s great, but what does that actually look like as a stat block? Back when I adapted some of the monsters from Pacific Rim: The Black I left out a rather prominent beast. The Copperhead Kaiju, arguably the primary antagonist of the first season. So let’s apply that template graft and see what we get!
COPPERHEAD KAIJU
CR 10
XP 9,600
NE Gargantuan kaiju
Init +2; Senses blindsense (scent) 300 ft., darkvision 600 ft., low-light vision; Perception +21
DEFENSE
HP 165
EAC 20; KAC 22
Fort +12; Ref +10; Will +7
Defensive abilities fast healing 10, recovery; DR 10/-; Immunities ability damage, ability drain, death effects, disease, and fear; Resistance acid, cold, fire 10
OFFENSE
Speed 50 ft., swim 50 ft.
Melee bite +20 (2d8+14 P plus swallow whole), claw +20 (2d8+14 S), tail slap +20 (2d8+14 B)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 15 ft. (20 ft. with tail slap)
Offensive Abilities action surge (2 standard, 2 move), demolish structures, hurl debris, hurl foe, swallow whole (2d8+14 P and A, EAC 20, KAC 18, 41 HP)
STATISTICS
Str +6; Dex +2; Con +4; Int -3; Wis +4; Cha +0
Skills Athletics +21, Survival +16
Other Abilities amphibious, massive, water breathing
ECOLOGY
Environment desert and rocky wastes, beaches, shallow shore waters
Organization solitary
Copperhead is a quadrupedal Kaiju with six eyes (three on each side of its face), and a thick, craggy hide that resembles cooled magma. The skin of its underbelly and chest are cracked, and underlined with red bioluminescence that resembles lava.
Come back next week for an update of the Titan creature type graft! As always, if you like this or any of the other content here on Solo Run Studio I would welcome a little of your support through Ko-fi. Until next time Starfinders!
Jeremy Corff
Artist and Writer