The Explicatae Incompositae - Being A Bestairy of the Sometime Lords of Chaos

Chroust, Lord of Randomness
Unique Huge Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 39d8 + 429 (741 hp)
Initiative: +10
Speed: 90’
AC: 48 (-2 size, +7 Dex, +6 deflection, +27 natural armor) touch 22, flatfooted 41
Base Attack/Grapple: +29/+50
Attack: claw +41 melee (3d8+13)
Full Attack: 2 claw +41 melee (3d8+13), bite +39 melee (2d12+6)
Space/Reach: 10’/10’ ft.
Special Attacks: Chaotic radiation, corporeal instability, spell-like abilities, summon aid
Special Qualities: Change shape, fast healing 20, damage reduction 35/epic and lawful, dark vision (infinite), immune to ability drain, energy drain, mind effecting spells, polymorph, and petrification, immune to sonic, resistance acid 20, cold 20, electricity 20, and fire resistance 20, spell resistance 35
Saves: Fort +37, Ref +28, Will +32
Abilities: Str 36, Dex 25, Con 32, Int 24, Wis 25, Chr 23
Skills: Bluff +43, Climb +50, Concentration +48, Disguise +44, Escape Artist +43, Jump +50, Knowledge (Arcana) +44, Knowledge (Planes) +44, Hide +44, Intimidate +43, Listen +44, Move Silently +43, Search +44, Spellcraft +44, Spot +44, Survival +44, Tumble +43
Feats: Combat reflexes, dodge, epic fortitude, epic prowess, epic will, expeditious dodge, improved initiative, improved bull rush, improved overrun, large and in charge, knockback, mobility, multiattack, power attack
Environment: Limbo
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 27
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic neutral

Chourst is a living embodiment of the power of chaos, and one of the most ancient of the slaad lords. He always takes care to appear in the form of a 20’ tall slaad with a chalky white hide. It is not known if he takes any other form, though he is likely capable of doing so.

Chourst is certainly as powerful as any Slaad Lord, but has no apparent motives or goals, and takes seemingly no interest in the affairs of the slaad. By all appearances, the other slaad ignore Chourst and he in turn ignores them. Chourst's actions appear completely random, even by the standards of the slaad. He is capable of great deeds of goodness in one moment, and then great acts of evil in the next. While he spends most of his time in Limbo, for no dicernable reason he will occasionally embark on great journeys which seem to be nothing more that sight seeing tours. Chourst’s attention never fixes on anything for long, but wherever it goes it leaves a trail of destruction in its wake.

Chourst is most famous for his single handed invasion of the plane of Mechanus, the exact details of which the Modrons still regard as a matter of the highest planar security and do not speak of; but, the evidence available suggests that at a minimum it was extremely destructive. Whatever actually occurred, it is certain that Chourst has made a bitter and eternal enemy of Primus. Amongst the Slaad, Chourst’s greatest rival is Paisdi the Lord of Uncertainty. But if Chourst takes notice of either enemy’s attentions it is impossible to say.

Combat
Combat quickly bores Chourst. Chourst prefers to run away from a fight, and over an opponent if necessary. If pressed or cornered, he fights defensively, creates obstacles, and relies heavily on his great size and his power to create corporeal instability, knowing that sooner or latter this power will render his enemy helpless.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will – Alter self, animate objects, blink, chaos hammer (DC 22), charm monster (DC 21), cloak of chaos (DC 26), cloudkill (DC 21), confusion (widened, DC 20), control weather, daylight, deeper darkness, detect law, detect magic, dimensional anchor, dispel law (DC 23), detect thoughts, entropic shield, flamestrike (DC 21), fly, greater dispelling, greater magic fang, insanity (DC 21), invisibility, magic circle against law, major creation, misdirection, persistent image, reverse gravity, rusting grasp, see invisibility, solid fog, spell turning, transmute rock to mud, warp wood, wind walk, word of chaos (DC 27) 3/day limited wish, planeshift, polymorph any object (DC 23), power word (any), symbol (any). Caster level 25th. The save DC’s are Charisma based.
Change Shape (Su): Chourst can assume any humanoid form as a standard action. In humanoid form, Chourst cannot use his natural weapons. Chourst may remain in this form until he chooses to assume a new one. The change in form may not be dispelled, but the Slaad Lord will revert to his natural form if killed. Even true seeing does not reveal Chourst’s natural form, only that Chourst is a disguised shapechanger.
Chaos Incarnate (Su): Any spell-like ability Chourst employs gains the chaos descriptor. If the spell-like ability already has the chaos descriptor, the DC of saves vs. this spell is increased by +2, and it is automatically widened (when appropriate) as the metamagic feat widen spell. Three times per day as a free action, Chourst may maximize any spell-like ability she casts as if the metamagic feat maximize spell had been applied.
Furthermore, the presence of Chourst in an area is almost like an intrusion of the plane of Limbo into that plane. If a plane is mildly aligned with chaos, within 60’ of Chourst it is treated as strongly aligned. If the plane is neutrally aligned with respect to law and chaos, within 60’ of Chourst it is treated as mildly aligned, and it the plane is lawfully aligned within 60’ of Chourst it is treated a neutrally aligned with respect to law and chaos. If spells with the chaos descriptor are impeded on a plane, they are not provided that the target or area of effect is entirely within 60’ of Chourst
Chaotic Radiation (Su): Chourst is an embodiment of the chaos of the plane of Limbo, and as such constantly radiates a field of chaotic energy. His very presence dissolves anything in Limbo that is a result of controlling areas of Limbo. This ability affects all land within a 60 foot radius of Chourst, dissolving it into its primal form. Additionally, any spells or magic items used within 300 feet of Chourst are always affected by wild magic, even when used outside of Limbo. Such magic is still subject to Chourst's spell resistance.
Corporeal Instability (Su): A blow from Chourst against a living creature can cause a terrible transformation. The creature must succeed on a DC 40 Fortitude save or become a spongy, amorphous mass. Unless the victim manages to control the effect (see below), its shape melts, flows, writhes, and boils. The save DC is Constitution-based. An affected creature is unable to hold or use any item. Clothing, armor, rings, and helmets become useless. Large items worn or carried—armor, backpacks, even shirts—hamper more than help, reducing the victim’s Dexterity score by 4. Soft or misshapen feet and legs reduce speed to 10 feet or one-quarter normal, whichever is less. Searing pain courses along the nerves, so strong that the victim cannot act coherently. The victim cannot cast spells or use magic items, and it attacks blindly, unable to distinguish friend from foe (-4 penalty on attack rolls and a 50% miss chance, regardless of the attack roll).
Each round the victim spends in an amorphous state causes 1 point of Wisdom drain from mental shock. If the victim’s Wisdom score falls to 0, it becomes a chaos beast.
A victim can regain its own shape by taking a standard action to attempt a DC 15 Charisma check. A success reestablishes the creature’s normal form for 1 minute. On a failure, the victim can still repeat this check each round until successful.
Corporeal instability is not a disease or a curse and so is hard to remove. A shapechange or stoneskin spell does not cure an afflicted creature but fixes its form for the duration of the spell. A restoration, heal, or greater restoration spell removes the affliction (a separate restoration is necessary to restore any drained points of Wisdom).
Summon Aid (Sp): Three times per day, Chourt may summon 1-6 green slaad with a 100% chance of success or 1-4 grey slaad with an 80% chance of success. Treat this ability as a 9th level spell. Over the course of a day, Chourst may summon 2-12 chaos beasts of the largest size (24 HD). Choust may choose to summon all the beasts together, or divide the total number of beasts available that day into a number of smaller summonings each requiring a standard action. Treat this ability as a 10th level spell.

Celebrim said:

Few if any slaad are more famous than Ygorl the Lord of Enthropy.

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Should be Entropy.

Ssendam, Lord of Madness

Ssendam, Lord of Madness
Unique Huge Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 42d8 + 630 (966 hp)
Initiative: + 11
Speed: 90’
AC: 50 (-2 size, +7 Dex, +9 deflection, +26 natural armor) touch 23, flatfooted 42
Base Attack/Grapple: +31/+54
Attack: psuedopod +44 melee (2d8+15)
Full Attack: 3 psuedopod +44 melee (2d8+15, 19-20/x2)
Space/Reach: 10’/20’ ft.
Special Attacks: Body weaponry, energy drain, engulf, extended reach, improved grab, spell-like abilities, summon slaad
Special Qualities: Change shape, completely insane, fast healing 20, damage reduction 35/epic and lawful, dark vision (infinite), immune to ability drain, energy drain, mind effecting spells, polymorph, and petrification, lord of chaos, immune to sonic, resistance acid 20, cold 20, electricity 20, and fire resistance 20, spell resistance 40
Saves: Fort +41, Ref +30, Will +35
Abilities: Str 40, Dex 25, Con 41, Int 24, Wis 26, Chr 29
Skills: Bluff +51, Climb +57, Concentration +60, Disguise +51, Escape Artist +49, Knowledge (Arcana) +49, Knowledge (Planes) +49, Hide +49, Intimidate +51, Listen +50, Move Silently +49, Search +50, Spellcraft +49, Spot +50, Survival +50, Tumble +49
Feats: Blind-fight, combat reflexes, daunting presence, dodge, epic fortitude, epic will, frightful presence, improved combat reflexes, improved critical (pseudopod), improved initiative, improved sunder, large and in charge, mobility, opportunistic tactician, power attack
Environment: Limbo
Organization: Solitary or court (Ssendam + 3-18 of each sort of lesser slaad)
Challenge Rating: 29
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic neutral

Ssendam is in many accounts the eldest of the slaad, the progenitor of the race, and the mightiest of the slaad. The truth is that I do not know for a fact whether any of these things are true. The vast majority of the things which have been written about this being are plain bunkum. I place as much trust in them as I place in stories about little blond children encountering three talking bears, indeed less, for such a story is far less fanciful than many of the things written about Ssendam.

Ssendam is called ‘the Mad King’, ‘the Mad Queen’, ‘the Lord of Madmen’, and said to be the Lord of Madness. What does this mean? Ssendam is also called the Lord of Meaninglessness, and also the Lord of Joy and Despair. The impulse of Ssendam drives it to deprive everything of meaning, and to take away the power to determine the value of anything or indeed for anything to have value. In this way, one can say that Ssendam partakes at least in part in all the other impulses we see embodied in the Slaad.

So what can we say that is meaningful about this veritable incarnation of meaninglessness? To begin with, what does at least seem to be true is that Ssendam does occupy some special role amongst the slaad, and that at least at present Ssendam is the most feared of its race. Amongst the lesser slaad, I have noticed that while they refer to all other things as ‘it, they refer to Ssendam as ‘IT’ - where the capitalization refers to a particularly reverential and indeed terrified reference. I conclude from the unique distress and awe with which the lesser slaad hold Ssendam, that alone of all the other beings in the universe there is something about Ssendam which impresses upon the lesser slaad that this thing is a thing of true being apart from anything else.

The situation is not much better among the other Slaad Lords. All of them seem to despise Ssendam to one extent or another. If Ssendam is a ruler of the slaad, then there must hardly be a more despised ruler in the multiverse. But of course, like any slaad ruling over any other slaad, Ssendam is a ruler only in so far as it can bully, inspire, and manipulate other slaad. No slaad outside of reach is truly governed by anything else.

What is it like to come face to face with Ssendam? Well, first, you are stuck by the fact that you are dealing with a being without a face. You are facing an amorphous boiling chaos. This chaos does not speak. Ssendam never uses any words to communicate. Indeed, it is impossible to know for certain if Ssendam does communicate. Instead of communication, watching Ssendam you are struck by certain feelings; you have seemingly revelatory moments of insight. You cannot be quite certain however whether the origin of these feelings is some internal delusion, or whether they are projections from Ssendam. I’m inclined to believe that perhaps both are true, and that at a certain level it doesn’t matter. Only those of the strongest wills and the most powerful magical protections can avoid going insane in Ssendam’s presence. The strongest of the many delusions one experiences is the sense that until this moment, you have never seen anything that was real and that all your former existence and everything else you know are merely the tormenting phantasms of your own mind.

Ssendam is said to reside on its throne in the heart of Limbo, coming forth occasionally to visit the prime on mad and seemingly pointless quests or when called. While he almost always has the form of a huge golden ameba with the brain in the place it nucleus, he has been known to take the form of a naked long haired berserker bearing a golden two-handed sword or of a grotesquely obese hag. It is said that Ssendam takes upon occasion the form of a huge golden slaad, but if this is true there is no reliable report of it. In no form does he ever use verbal communication.

Ssendam has a small cult of mortal followers, which is almost unique among the Slaad lords. Whether the followers of this cult recieve thier powers from Ssendam or from some other being is not known. There is no evidence that Ssendam pays his cult much attention at all. Ssendam is said to be worshiped by the Gibberlings, but this may be simply a myth.

Combat
Ssendam is likely to lash out at anything that annoys, and does not hesitate to destroy and utterly consume a foe with its lethal psuedopods. It prefers to let the foe come to it so that it can use its great reach to its best effect, but it will simply charge up and engulf a foe that tries to avoid its grasp. Ssendam strikes with repeated empowered flamestrikes or employs its powers of mass suggestion and mass charm to subdue foes. Weakened foes are subject to Ssendam’s power words and symbols. If a foe is subdued or rendered insane, Ssendam has been known to avenge insults against him by inflicting a geas on his hapless victims that forces them to do the thing which they would least desire to do if they were in their right minds.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will – Analyze dweomer, alter self, animate objects, astral projection, black tentacles, chaos hammer (widened, DC 25), charm monster (DC 24), cloak of chaos (DC 29), confusion (DC 23), control weather, deeper darkness, detect law, detect magic, detect thoughts, destruction (DC 26), dimensional anchor, dispel law (DC 26), divination, entropic shield, emotion (widened, DC 23), fear (widened, DC 23), flamestrike (empowered, DC 24), fly, greater dispelling, geas, greater magic fang, hideous laughter (DC 21), insanity (heightened, DC 28), invisibility, magic circle against law, mass charm (DC 27), mass suggestion (DC 25), mirage arcane, misdirection, modify memory (DC 23), permanent image, phantasmal killer (DC 23), programmed image, reverse gravity, see invisibility, shatter (DC 21), symbol (insanity), word of chaos (widened, DC 30); 3/day limited wish, planeshift, polymorph any object (DC 26), power word (any), symbol (any); 1/day epic counterspell, full another’s wish, peripety, ruin (DC 29), spell worm (DC 28). Caster level 25th. The save DC’s are Charisma based.
Body Weaponry (Ex): Ssendam’s psuedopods may inflict bashing, slashing, or piercing damage as Ssendam desires. All of Ssendam’s natural weapons are considered anarchic weapons, as the weapon property, and do an additional 2d6 damage to lawful opponents.
Completely Insane (Ex): Ssendam mind is so alien, that for many purposes it can be considered mindless. Ssendam is unaffected by any ability which only effects intelligent creatures.
Energy Drain (Su): Living creatures hit by a Ssendam’s attack gain 1d4 negative levels (Fortitude save DC 46 half, round fractions down). For each negative level bestowed, Ssendam gains 5 temporary hit points.
Engulf (Ex): By winning a grapple check against an opponent that Ssendam has already grappled, or by taking a standard action to move into an opponent’s space, Ssendam may engulf opponents of large size or smaller within his gelatinous form. Engulfed opponents are stilled considered grappled, however Ssendam is not. Engulfed opponents take 4-32 damage per round and lose 2-8 energy levels (Fortitude save DC 46 half, round fractions down). Each negative level bestowed gains Ssendam 5 temporary hit points. Furthermore, Ssendam will begin digesting engulfed opponents dealing 10d4 acid damage and 10d4 anarchic damage each round. A creature which is reduced to -10 hit points or less when engulfed is permanently destroyed – not even true resurrection may recover them.
Extended Reach (Ex): Ssendam’s psuedopods have twice the normal reach for a creature of its size.
Change Shape (Su): Ssendam can assume any humanoid form as a free action. In humanoid form, Ssendam cannot use his natural weapons. Ssendam may remain in this form until he chooses to assume a new one. The change in form may not be dispelled, but the Slaad Lord will revert to its natural form if killed. Even true seeing does not reveal Ssendam’s natural form, only that Ssendam is a disguised shapechanger.
Improved Grab (Ex): If Ssendam hits with a melee attack, it deals normal damage and may attempts to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.
A psuedopod may be severed by a single hit that does 30 or more damage. While this does no additional harm to Ssendam other than the normal damage (Ssendam may grow new psuedopods as a free action), it does break any grapple initiated by that psuedopod.
Lord of Chaos (Su): Any spell-like ability Ssendam employs gains the chaos descriptor. If the spell-like ability already has the chaos descriptor, the DC of saves vs. this spell is increased by +2, and it is automatically widened (when appropriate) as the metamagic feat widen spell. Three times per day as a free action, Ssendam may maximize any spell-like ability it casts as if the metamagic feat maximize spell had been applied.
Protean Form (Ex): Regardless of apparent form taken by Ssendam, Ssendam’s fundamental nature is ooze-like. Ssendam is immune to critical hits, death by beheading, and death by massive damage. In the Amoeba form, Ssendam also cannot be flanked.
Summon Slaad (Sp): Ygorl may summon 1d6 of lesser slaad (mud, red, blue, green, or grey) or 1 death slaad once per round at will. Treat this ability as a 9th level spell. Three times per day, Ygorl may attempt to summon a white slaad with a 30% chance of success. Treat this ability as a 10th level spell.

Whew! Finally. Ok, updates may slow down for a while, but while working on this project all sorts of things occurred to me that I'd like to write down. Things to look for in the future:

1) General traits and mechanics common to all Slaad Lords, including how to call a Slaad Lord, what happens when a Slaad Lord is killed, how to permenently destroy a Slaad Lord, how to become a Slaad Lord, and the effects of not having a True Name.
2) Give an overview of the Lesser Masters.
3) Explain Slaad Lord cults, and explain who the Executioners are and who leads them.
4) Answer the question of whether slaad really do have tokens in thier foreheads, and if so how do you get one and how can you control a slaad at least for a time.
5) The deep dark of slaad lore, including the origin of the slaad, what the Slaad Lords are really afraid of, why Slaad Lords try to kill black Slaad on sight, why Ygorl founded the Death Slaad cult, why Chourst invaded Mechanus, why even the gods don't mess with the Slaad, and why if the Slaad ever worked together the multiverse would come to an end.
6) A table showing what a character would have to roll on a Knowledge (Planes) or Knowledge (Arcane) check to know the secrets of the slaad.
7) Five new slaad subraces that are part of different cults other than the 'Stop Cult'.
8) Information about Ssendam's mortal cult.
9) The humanoid guises most frequently employed by each of the 18 slaad lords and what equipment that they can be expected to possess in those forms.
10) Dozens of adventure ideas involving the Slaad Lords for characters of 1st to 30th level.
11) Information about the slaad controlled regions of Limbo and why the slaad have more petitioners than worshipers.

All this and much more twaddle when I get the chance.

Celebrim said:

Tretfivor, Lord of Disharmony
<snip>

In appearance Tretfivor appears to be a most unhappy wedding of a red slaad with a blue slaad. He is a grotesque creature in which no body part seems quite suited to him. One side of his body is that of a red slaad, and the other a blue. However, his feet are on backwards, there is a great hump on one side of his back, his spine is crooked, and one eye is at least ten times larger than the other. From one side of his mouth protrudes upward a 12” tusk, while one of his arms is so long and out-sized that its knuckles drag the ground when he walks. His skin is folded and loose like a paciderms as if it did not quite fit his frame. Alone of the Slaad Lords Tretfivor favors clothing, and often wears tattered robes that were once of a rich material before being ill-used.

<snip>

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Oh, and this should be pachyderm

Elephant said:

Oh, and this should be pachyderm

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Thanks. And I mean it. And in case you are wondering, the reason why I prefer criticism to praise, is it tells me that someone actually read and paid attention. This is higher flattery than all the "I wanna be like Celebrim!" and "Hip hip hoozah!"s I could recieve because I never know whether (and sometimes suspect that) the ones that do that weren't reading. In this case, its not even an error in the first or second submission, but right near the bottom.

Thanks indeed.

Celebrim said:

Thanks. And I mean it. And in case you are wondering, the reason why I prefer criticism to praise,
<snip>

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Don't mention it; I'm glad I can help. This project that you've started is both ambitious -- there's a lot to cover! -- and really, really cool. Props and hip hip hoozahs!

That said, I noticed another couple of things today:

Celebrim said:

Baseraxs, Lord of Deviance
<snip>
Aura of Unease: When not disguised, Baseraxs is truly disgusting and unsettling to behold. Anyone within 60’ must make a will save (DC 22) or be nauseated. Lawful creatures have a -4 penalty on this save, and even if the save is successful they suffer a -1 morale penalty on all actions do to the distraction.
Change Shape (Su): Baseraxs can assume any humanoid form as a standard action. In humanoid form, Baseraxs cannot use his natural weapons. Baseraxs may remain in this form until he chooses to assume a new one. The change in form may not be dispelled, but the Slaad Lord will revert to the normal form if killed. Even a true seeing spell does not reveal Baserax’s true form, only that Baseraxs is a disguised shapechanger.
Chaos Spittle (Ex): As a ranged touch attack, Baseraxs may spit or defecate primal chaos sludge on any target within 60’ which acts very much like acid. Those struck take 10d4 damage immediately, plus 10d4 damage for three additional rounds. Half of the damage from this attack is acidic, and the other half is anarchic so energy resistance and immunity may not fully protect.
Summon Slaad (Sp): Three times per day Baseraxs can attempt to summon 1-2 grey slaad with an 80% chance of success, or 1-6 green slaad with a 100% chance of success. This ability is equivalent to an 8th level spell.

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Aura of Unease should probably read "...due to the distraction."

The explanatory text at the end of Chaos Spittle is worded in a slightly confusing manner. Perhaps you could switch it to "...anarchic, so energy resistance or immunity will not completely protect a target."
...or something similar.

Finally, is the plural of 'slaad' supposed to be 'slaad' or 'slaadi'? I seem to recall seeing 'slaadi' somewhere, but I don't know if that's actually correct. Anyway, if it is, you might want to adjust the Summon Slaad section

Slaad Cults

Slaad Cults

The slaad have little in the way of organization. They have no government. They have no family ties. They have no laws. They have no social strictures, no ethics and no mores. Generally speaking, the closest the slaad come to organization is that the strong rule over the weak within the distance of their claws. But the slaad are not all about muscle only. An equally powerful force in swaying a slaad is the force of personality. A slaad can be attracted to a charismatic leader or to an intriguing idea like a moth to a glowing light. This is not to say that they actually obey or take direction. It is difficult to compel a slaad to do anything. But they can be induced to imitate and be led by example.

The most obvious manifestation of this is the existence of the slaad cults. A slaad cult is the closest a slaad ever comes to having a society or belonging to a community. The most famous of these is the ‘Death’ or ‘Stop Cult’ to which all death slaad belong. Only slightly less famous is the Cult of the Executioners. But there are any number of lesser cults of varying membership and duration. Most of these only last a few days at the longest, and have no more than a half dozen members and disappear without leaving any trace in history. But a few gather enough adherers to become a sort of self-sustaining force, like a fire grown large enough to generate its own wind.

Each slaad cult has at its heart a particularly large or charismatic slaad which has managed to convince some of his peers that existence is just more fun if you act in the way he does. Each cult is somewhere between a youth gang, a bizarre religious sect, and a revolutionary cell. Slaad cults are marked mostly by two things. First, they spontaneously engage in what superficially appears to be bizarre religious rituals in which every member present does almost exactly the same inexplicable thing. But these are not true rituals in any ordinary sense of the word, since there is a fair chance that a particular ritual will never be repeated. In truth, these apparent rituals are more like the children’s game ‘Follow the Leader’ or ‘Simon Says’, and the actual degree of compulsion in these rituals is about comparable to the level of compulsion one child may have over another. Despite the whim like nature of these events, and often – to an outside observer – their silliness, to the participants, the completion of each ritual is the most important and meaningful thing in existence. And in fact, in most cases, the completion of the ritual is elevated in the minds of the participants to being the only meaningful thing in existence – the only thing that gives life meaning. Never mind that they may never do it again, at least for the duration of the fad, doing whatever bit of nonsense that they are doing overrides every other consideration. Slaad participating in the ritual will consider anyone that doesn’t understand this to be absolutely foolish and ignorant for not understanding why, or for not understanding if it is offered the equally nonsensical explanation that goes with the behavior.

The second thing that marks a true slaad cult is that if it lasts for any length of time, its members undergo some sort physical metamorphosis which transforms them into something else. This is a real change in form and not merely an adopted form such as from a polymorph or shapechange spell, and to the extent that a slaad can be said to have a true form, the natural form of a slaad is the form it adopted in the last cult it was a member of. Slaad that are capable of changing shape adopt this form spontaneously after favoring it for a certain random period of time (usually 1d4 days). Slaad that are not normally capable of changing shape usually undergo the metamorphosis by entering into a pupa stage which involves incasing themselves in cocoon of dried vomit and chaos stuff and becoming torpid for a period that varies according to the cult (generally 2d6 days). Such transformations may only be attempted when on the plane of Limbo. However, some long established cults possess artifacts, incantations, or other means which bring about the transformation rapidly through arcane means. In fact, the ordinary common varieties of slaad can themselves be thought of as belonging to a single large and enduring cult – the Cult of the Spawning Stone.

Although there is nothing like consistency between groups, membership into a slaad cult is generally by consent of the existing members. Generally, this is not hard to obtain, and essentially any slaad that can complete the transformation may gain acceptance. However, a slaad may truly complete a transformation only if it possesses at least as many hit dice as the final form which will adopt. This effectively limits membership in some cults to only slaad drawn from the more powerful ranks of slaad.

The 'Stop Cult' from which come the death slaad, and the 'Executioners' are more or less officially sanctioned organizations in the sense that the Slaad Lords do not actively hunt down and kill members of these cults and even appear to rely on or at least tolerate them. The same cannot be said for most cults. At least one percent of all slaad belong to dissident cults which the Slaad Lords do not tolerate. At seemingly random intervals one or more Slaad Lords will engage in a pogrom to erradicate the members of a particular cult. These are one of the few instances that Slaad Lords are known to work together. Rogue cults are therefore quite secretive, and often attempt to hide from the Lords and usually all other slaad as well. On occasion some rogues find shelter with one of the Lesser Masters willing to risk the rage of the Lords of Chaos, and some have been even known to associate with one of the more apathetic (or ambitious) Slaad Lords but these always prove temporary arrangements as no slaad of any rank long risks the wrath of such entities as Ygorl or Ssendam if they can avoid it.

Ironically, while such persecutions are generally effective at wiping out a particular cult, they seem to have exactly the opposite effect in quelling general rebellion amongst the slaad. If one cult is destroyed, it only seems to drive more of the irascible slaad into one or more new and bizarre cults.

Canis Slaad
Medium Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 7d8+21 (48 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 40 ft
Armor Class: 19 (+3 Dex, +6 Natural) Touch 13, Flatfooted 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +7/+11
Attack: Bite +11 Melee (1d8+6, 19-20/x2) or Dart +10 missile (1d4+4)
Full Attack: Bite +11 Melee (1d8+6, 19-20/x2) or Dart +10/+5 missile (1d4+4)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Cackle, diseased, spell-like abilities, summon slaad
Special Qualities: Darkvision (120’), fast healing 5, keen senses, immunity to sonic, resistance to acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5, and fire resistance 5, scent, spell resistance 17
Saves: Fort, Reflex, Will
Abilities: Str 19, Dex 17, Con 17, Int 9, Wis 6, Cha 12
Skills: Climb +14, Hide +13, Jump +14, Listen +16, Move Silently +13, Spot +8, Survival +8
Feats: Dodge, Improved Critical (Bite), Mobility, Spring Attack, Track
Environment: Ever-Changing Chaos of Limbo
Organization: Solitary, Pair, Gang (3-5), Pack (6-10)
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always Chaotic Neutral
Advancement: 7-9 (Medium), 10-14 (Large)
Level Adjustment: +7

The most common of the rogue cults, the Canis Slaad believe that the other slaad just take existence far too seriously. They believe that a pure chaotic existence is one devoted entirely to living in the now and enjoying the moment. The canis slaad have a low degree of organization even for a slaad cult. There is no overall leader of the cult, nor is their any sort of ritual which binds the group together. Individuals join the cult generally by the expedient of unwillingly transforming into canis slaad.

Canis slaad are quite varied in appearance. As the name suggests, they prefer semi-humanoid dog-like forms, most often jackals, coyotes, and hyenas, but some have been known to take a form reminiscent of domestic dogs – such as wolfhounds, poodles, schnauzers, and even Chihuahuas. There fur is generally yellow or yellow-orange and is often spotted, speckled, or stripped with lighter or darker fur. Some individuals sport manes or long tassels of hair. They are among the smallest of the slaad, barely 5’ tall on average, and are quite quick and agile. They lope on either two legs or four with equal comfort. The jaws of a canis slaad are generally large and slavering, and feature wickedly sharp metallic teeth.

Canis slaadi are with few exceptions crude obscene pranksters and eager bullies of anything weaker than themselves.

While canis slaad can sometimes be found with groups of other slaad, it is more common to find them banded together in small groups for mutual protection. Each group of five or more will have a larger leader which holds the band together through bullying and force of personality. Canis slaadi’s favored class is rogue, and it’s not unusual to find a canis slaad – particularly leader types - with several levels in this class.

Combat
Canis slaad use their exceptional mobility to control the pace and range of combat. Their favored weapon is their fearsome slavering jaws, which they use to nip and slash at foes, while deftly dodging back to avoid return attacks. At range, they throw short needle like darts with deadly accuracy and force. On Limbo these darts are often forged of chaos stuff. In some cases, these darts may be infected with cackling fever which is transmitted to the victim. It is even said that some canis slaad know the means to forge a dart which may transmit corporeal instability to whatever it strikes. Each canis slaad will carry a quiver of 3-10 darts.
Canis slaad do not engage in pitched combat if they can avoid it. One of their preferred tactics is to make ‘nip and run’ attacks in which they fight only so long as to infect their victims with cackling fever, then retreat – only to return after the disease has run its course.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will – detect magic, detect thoughts (DC 13), ghost sound (DC 11), locate object. Caster level 3rd. The save DC’s are charisma based.
Cackle (Sp): Once per day a canis slaad can cackle in a particularly ridiculous manner. Every creature except another canis slaad within 20’ must succeed in a DC 14 Will save or be overcome with hideous laughter as the spell. The save DC is charisma based.
Diseased (Ex): Any creature bitten by a canis slaad must make a DC 16 Fortitude save or be infected with a particularly virulent from of cackle fever. Incubation time is only 6 hours, and saving throws must be attempted every 6 hour interval afterwards. Those drained to 0 wisdom by this disease are transformed in a fit of particularly hideous laughter lasting 2-5 rounds into canis slaad. After this transformation is complete, it can only be undone by a wish or similarly potent magic. Slaad so transformed retain their hit dice, but lose all other abilities in the transformation.
Keen senses (Ex): Canis slaad have particularly keen senses. In addition to darkvision with a range of 120’ and the scent ability, canis slaad gain track as a bonus feat and have a +8 racial bonus to listen checks and a +8 bonus to survival checks when tracking something using their scent ability. Further more, canis slaad can track opponents by scent without penalty even in environments where scent would not otherwise function – such as in water, on the astral plane, or even the ever changing chaos of Limbo.
Scent (Ex): Canis slaad can detect opponents by sense of smell, generally within 30 feet. If the opponent is upwind, the range is 60 feet. If it is downwind, the range is 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, can be detected at three times these ranges. The creature detects another creature’s presence but not its specific location. Noting the direction of the scent is a move action. If it moves within 5 feet of the scent’s source, the creature can pinpoint that source. A canis slaad can follow tracks by smell, making a Survival check to find or follow a track.
Summon Slaad (Sp): Once per day a canis slaad can attempt to summon another canis slaad with a 30% chance of success. This ability is the equivalent of a 3rd-level spell.

I've been away from this thread for a while, but I see it did well without me so I don't feel too bad. Wow! Not only do we get the 14 new Lords, we get the originals from Planescape too! Great work Celebrim. And the concept of Slaad Cults is a very interesting one with great potential for development in any DM's campaign.

Are those notes in the post after Ssendam meant to be detailed in "Part the Sixteenth," after Zazashaf? Presumably that would be the post detailing #1 on your post-Ssendam list, but what about the details of, say, #5- why do Slaad Lords kill Black Slaad on sight?

paradox42 said:

Are those notes in the post after Ssendam meant to be detailed in "Part the Sixteenth," after Zazashaf?

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I'm working on that part separately. There are alot of mechanics issues that I'm working through. I just decided to take a break from it and put something else out since I'd not updated the thread in a while.

Presumably that would be the post detailing #1 on your post-Ssendam list, but what about the details of, say, #5- why do Slaad Lords kill Black Slaad on sight?

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In brief, because the Slaad Lords know where the light in a black Slaad's eyes goes to.