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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Faolyn" data-source="post: 9391893" data-attributes="member: 6915329">New article, new monster--and what a monster it is. Take a T-rex, partially covered in fur. Give it a mostly human face in place of its regular one. Now put another human face and pair of arms at the end of its tail. This is the jawg, a subterranean thing of unclear origin. I like sticking human heads onto creatures and objects (and creature and object heads onto humans).The article makes jawgs into greedy nomads that love magical treasure, pretending they're gods, and gaining followers and slaves, and hates dragons with a passion, for unknown reasons. They also like to keep their belongings--mostly magic items--on their backs. When I first saw the picture, however, I imagined that the stuff they were keeping was actually their collection. My parents are collectors. My mom likes to collect yarn. Well, she says she's going to knit and crochet stuff out of it, but you know how it goes. My dad seems to have a new collection every few years, gods know where he stores it all. My stepmother collects dolls. Creepy dolls, according to my dad. Roomfuls of them. I guess I'm lucky because, other than dice, my collection is gaming books and most of that is digital these days, so at least I'm not taking up a lot of room. So yeah, jawgs collect stuff now. I gave the jawg an ability that may cause the Fixated condition, taken from Gatepass Gazette #21. Replace with charmed (and while charmed, incapacitated and Speed reduced to 0 ft.) if you don't have that issue.The article has the creature as an aberration, which I kept for this version of it. If you prefer your aberrations to be only of the tentacular horror variety, feel free to turn it into a monstrosity.[ATTACH=full]370424[/ATTACH]JawgThe Bestiary, Dragon Magazine #281Creature by Joseph R. Terrazzino; art by Brian SnōddyJawgs are utterly bizarre-looking. They have the body similar to that of a very large, protofeather-covered theropod dinosaur, but their faces are like that of a cat-eyed giant, and their wide mouths contain sharp, venom-dripping teeth. Stranger still, they have a second head, the size of a human’s head, on the end of their tail—and along with this head (which has nothing but slits for ears), they have a pair of human-like shoulders, arms, and hands. Their giant head contains a what is called the “beast-mind,” only barely capable of speech and reason. Their smaller head contains what they call the “greater mind,” which is as intelligent, or even more, than many humanoids, and is an innate spellcaster as well. The two heads converse with each other readily, but unlike many other multi-headed creatures, jawgs rarely argue among themselves—the beast mind naturally defers to the greater mind.Dragon-Haters. For not entirely-known reasons, jawgs’ opinions on dragons and dragon-kind range from “mild dislike” to “seething hatred.” They spend much of their time seeking out dragons to slay—the only times they ever go to the surface is to confront a dragon that lives above ground. Some of them claim that they were created by the dragon-gods to be a race of servitors for the dragons, but broke free of this enslavement. Many scholars of other people disagree with this notion, as it’s unlikely that dragon-gods would make servitors of such strange appearance, nor would they make beings as strong and as intrinsically magical as a jawg simply to have them be servants. A few of these scholars point to legends that speak of ancient wars between titans and giants, and how jawgs could easily be the result of Fomorian magic.Collectors: Jawgs love owning things, the more interesting, the better. They collect anything, with a particular fondness for the ornate, overdecorated, or even downright kitschy. Most jawgs also have a particular type of object they love to collect more than anything. They don’t have lairs in which to store their belongings and so carry them at all times in bags and crates strapped to their massive bodies. They have little interest in coins beyond its ability to buy them new goods.Jawgs have a particular fondness for magical tomes. They are innately magical creatures, but unusually for such beings, they can still learn new spells without having to also learn the philosophy, arcane theory, and tedious re-copying of spells that goes along with being a wizard or without developing the piety needed for a cleric. They simply seem to be able to absorb the knowledge of a spell they read, after which they can cast it. It’s a long and difficult process for them, but it’s not terribly uncommon for jawgs to have many spells at their disposal.Nomads: Jawgs don’t have homes, nor do they care to. They roam the Underland, tracking down prey (they are voraciously hungry), dragons to slay, and new items for their collections. They often have a retinue of servants—sometimes hired, sometimes enslaved—to help them carry and guard their belongings or scout out ahead of them. Sometimes, a jawg will establish a small “ranch” in which they keep livestock for later consumption. They usually keep animals, but some jawg have developed a taste for sentient beings. They may also keep belongings too large or awkward for them to easily carry, but rarely do so for longer than it takes to find something or someone who can carry it.Delusions of Divinity. Jawgs are highly egotistical beings, and a few end up believing their superiority to the point that they even pose as the direct servitors of gods, using illusions and magic items to enhance this deception. They are smart enough to not try this trick with any but the most isolated or ignorant of people, and even then it rarely lasts for long, but the jawgs take this opportunity to bask in the adulation of the worshipers while stripping them of any interesting objet d’art they might have made.Climate/Terrain: any climate; cavern, UnderlandLegends and LoreWith an Arcana check, the characters can learn the following:DC 15. These bizarre-looking beings are able to both fight and cast spells at the same time thanks to their two heads. They are collectors, preferring valuable objects over coinage.DC 20. Jawgs hate dragons and will do anything they can to fight against them. Their bite contains a powerful venom which is deadlier to dragons.Jawg EncountersChallenge Rating 5-10 jawg; jawg and 2 scoutsTreasure: 150 pp, 450 gp, 1d4 rare books, one of which will lead to the discovery of a 2nd-level rare spell (250 each), 3d4 tiny carved figurines (50 gp each), 1d4 jeweled necklaces (250 gp each), collection of porcelain dolls with eyes that can close if laid back (100 gp), 2d4 bottles of fine wine (50 gp each), cloak of elvenkind, restorative ointment, potion of growth, pair of matched +1 daggersChallenge Rating 11-16 2 jawgs; jawg with commoner mobs and warrior band; jawg with strider; jawg with 6 cutthroats or thugsTreasure: 900 pp, 1,700 gp, 2d4 articles of extremely fancy noble clothing (750 gp each), 1d4 tapestries made with gold thread and wool from exotic sheep (750 gp each), full collection of highly collectable “spider babies” toys made by shadow elves (100 gp), 1d4 paintings by a respected artist (250 gp each), chess set made with pieces carved from amber and jade (750 gp), two potions of superior healing, scrolls of daylight, fly, speak with plants, and webChallenge Rating 17-22 jawg with shadow elf mage and shadow elf champion warriorTreasure: 1,250 pp, 7,000 gp, +deed to a fort (2,500 gp), 1d4 pieces from a set of regalia from a destroyed kingdom (2,500 gp each), life-sized stuffed dragon wyrmling with gemstone button in the ear (250 gp), 1d4 paintings made by a famous, long-dead artist (2,500 gp each), full set of adamantine and opal dinnerware (5,000 gp), +2 arrows, +3 chain shirt made of rainbow-colored chain, wig of stylingSigns1. Two voices talking or debating with each other2. With a DC 13 Perception or Survival check, large, saurian footprints3. The corpse of a dragon; its lair still has piles of coins but no other types of treasure4. A former hireling, running away with part of the jawg’s collectionBehavior1. Sorting and examining its belongings; will trade some for more interesting objects.2. Searching for an escaped slave3. Approaches the party; offers to hire them as scouts, dragon-slayers, or caravan guards4. Claiming godlike powers and preaching to a group of gullible kobolds or oozefolk5. Checking and rechecking their belongings, certain that something has been stolen; will attack the party if they seem suspicious.6. Hungry; attacks on sightJawg Collection1. Named weapons, both magical and mundane.2. Paintings, particularly those of a specific artist.3. Snow globes.4. Decorated mugs, glasses, and beer steins. 5. Creepy dolls. Some of them may be constructs (use homunculus statistics)6. Puzzle boxes.7. Novels of a particular genre or writing style.8. Skulls. The more exotic, the better.9. Magic wands.10. Prosthetic body parts. Some of them may be magical.NamesDomhog, Graydyr, Kaldarath, Sannindag, TreedyrJawgHuge aberration; Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)AC 16 (natural armor)HP 161 (14d12+70; bloodied 80)Speed 40 ft.STR 24 (+7) DEX 13 (+1) CON 20 (+5)INT 14 (+2) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 18 (+4)Proficiency +4; Maneuver DC 19Saving Throws Str +11, Dex +5, Con +9Skills History+6, Insight +6, Intimidation +8, Perception +6, Persuasion +8, Stealth +5Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16Languages Draconic, Dwarven, UndercommonAntiquarian. The jawg gains a d8 expertise die on History checks related to ascertaining the provenance of magical and mundane valuables.Flair For The Dramatic (1/rest). When the jawg casts a spell, it can choose to do so with a dramatic flair. Four creatures the jawg chooses must make a Wisdom saving throw against the spell's save DC. A creature that fails is fixated, frightened, or blinded until the end of the jawg's next turn.Magic Resistance. The jawg has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.Reactive Heads. The jawg can take two reactions each round, but not more than one per turn.Innate Spellcasting. The jawg’s spellcasting trait is Charisma (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). It can cast the following spells without the need for material components:At Will: chill touch, dancing lights, mage hand, minor illusion, pestilence, prestidigitation3/day each: detect thoughts, jump, scorching ray, suggestion2/day each: clairvoyance, hypnotic pattern, major image1/day each: ice storm, polymorph, telekinesisTwo Heads. While both heads are awake, the jawg has advantage on Perception checks and on saving throws against being blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, stunned, and knocked unconscious, and it can’t be flanked.Wakeful. When one of the jawg’s heads is asleep, the other is awake.ActionsMultiattack. The jawg makes a bite attack and two claw attacks. It can cast a spell instead of making one of the claw attacks.Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (2d12+7) piercing damage plus 26 (4d12) poison damage and must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or be slowed for 1 minute. A creature may make a new save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success. Dragons have disadvantage on these saving throws.Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d6+7) slashing damage. If the jawg moves at least 20 feet straight towards the target before the attack, the target must make a DC 19 Strength saving throw or fall prone.Chill Touch (Cantrip; V, S). Ranged Spell Attack: +8 to hit, range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 2d8 necrotic damage. The creature can’t regain hit points until the start of the jawg’s next turn. If the target is undead, it makes attack rolls against the jawg at disadvantage until the end of the jawg’s next turn.Hypnotic Pattern (3rd-Level; V; Concentration). A swirling pattern of light appears at a point within 120 feet of the naga. Each creature within 10 feet of the pattern that can see it makes a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature is charmed for 1 minute. While charmed, the creature is incapacitated and its Speed is 0. The effect ends on a creature if it takes damage or if another creature uses an action to shake it out of its daze.Ice Storm (4th-Level, V, S). Shards of jagged ice appear in a cylinder that is 40 feet high and has a 20-foot radius that is within 300 feet. The cylinder’s area is difficult terrain until the end of the jawg’s next turn. Each creature in that area takes 2d8 bludgeoning damage and 4d6 cold damage on a failed Dexterity save, or half as much on a successful one.Pestilence (Cantrip; V, S; Concentration). Insects fill a 10-foot sphere within 60 feet and remain for 1 minute. Each creature that begins their turn in the area or who enter it for the first time must make a Constitution saving throw or take 2d4 piercing damage.Polymorph (4th-level; V, S; Concentration). A target within 60 feet must make a Wisdom saving throw or be polymorphed into a beast with a CR equal to or less than it’s own for 1 hour. All of the creature’s stats are replaced by that of the chosen beast.Scorching Ray (2nd-Level; V, S). Ranged Spell Attack: +8 to hit, range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d6) fire damage. The jawg fires three rays and must make an attack roll for each one.Telekinesis (5th-level; V, S; Concentration). When first casting the spell and on each of its subsequent turns for 10 minutes, the jawg can choose one Huge or smaller creature or object that weighs 1,000 pounds or less and can move it up to 30 feet in any direction. A creature must make a Strength ability check against the jawg’s spell save DC or be restrained until the end of the jawg’s next turn.ReactionsCantrip. If the jawg didn’t cast spell on its turn, it casts chill touch or pestilence.Opportune Bite. The jawg makes a bite attack against a prone creature.CombatJawg prefer to send their minions into battle and attack from a distance with spells. In melee combat, they attack with bites and claws.</blockquote>

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