New Monster Swordwing!

[Fallen Seraph]

I imagine since they like to collect and live in huge hives. They don't like to travel and expand, thus they sit and multiply.

Probably then after a while hope to a new section of the Underdark, and start to build a new hive. Which probably take thousands of years given they are made out of the resources around it, ie: rocks. Which would take a while to shape.

That and other Epic-level Underdark baddies keeping them down.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Why is this thing level 25? It's just a dude with wings and swords for arms that likes collecting stuff. How is that an Epic threat?

Well, why are Pit Fiends epic threats? They are just larger humans with bat wings, red skin and a bad attitude!

I suspect the Swordwing might be an epic threat because it looks like an "invader" from the Far Realm. It comes from the beyond, it's behavior is nearly incomprehensible ("Okay, so it collects stuff? But why? What does it want with all the skulls? And why is it killing people to get the skulls? And why does it look so interested at my head?").

Okay, this thing is 25th level. That's like near the top end of the power pyramid. And that's just one. According to the flavor, these things sound like hive type creatures. That means there are HUNDREDS!!! maybe THOUSANDS!!! of these things around. How haven't they taken over the entire underdark?

They look far-realmish, so there might be a hive around, just 10 ft vertical to normal space.. Let's hope these few Swordwings doesn't find a way to call the rest of them...

(But are Swordwings really interested in conquering the world? They want to collect...)

 

[med stud]

Why is this thing level 25? It's just a dude with wings and swords for arms that likes collecting stuff. How is that an Epic threat?

Swordwings could easily be force majeurs in a setting. They sweep in, kill/collect, and return to from where they came. Noone can really stop them. Kind of like predator, without Arnold to stop it .

The first thing that went through my mind when I read this was:

At the start of the campaign, the PCs hear about a town that has been more or less wrecked by a wing of these creatures. They came at dawn, struck seemingly at random at people, cutting of heads and tearing out hearts which they collected. The swordwings by themselves didn't kill more than 25-50 people but their arrival caused panic, people fled planlessly from the town, were getting trampled and at the same time, an opportunistic tribe of wolf riders struck at the refugees. Trade was disrupted, several key figures in the community were killed and fire broke out since people ran away from their open fires in kitchens and the like. The result was that a thriving town of 5000 now is a burned out town of 3000.

The PCs can of course do nothing about this. This happens again at levels, for example, 4, 9, 13 and so on until the PCs are strong enough to deal with the swordwings.

I see them as epic creatures since the ramifications of their collection-runs are so huge. Themselves, they don't care. They want pretty stuff and they take it.

 

[med stud]

Look like a solid straightforward monster. But here's the thing I have to wonder about epic monsters.

Okay, this thing is 25th level. That's like near the top end of the power pyramid. And that's just one. According to the flavor, these things sound like hive type creatures. That means there are HUNDREDS!!! maybe THOUSANDS!!! of these things around. How haven't they taken over the entire underdark?

As Mustrum Ridcully said, I doubt conquest of humanoids is on their agenda. They want to take things they consider pretty and compare their collections. Sometimes it's harmless, like nicely shaped rocks. Othertimes it's human heads they want to collect and compare.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Hmm... Actually, just imagine them with Darkvision. Can you say D&D Pitch Black.

 

[Jason Bulmahn]

In appearance, it is almost identical to the Vivisector from the MMV... a monster that I had a lot offun using...

Hmm, they really do kinda look like my precious organ stealing monster.. minus the organ stealing.. and the name... but at least they look similar. Weird.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
(yes, I pay attention to 4E news too )

 

[doctorhook]

I was apprehensive about seeing a new monster; lots, in the past, just ain't had no traction with me.

...But Swordwing looks rockin'! For whatever reason, the dragonfly wings and insectoid visage seem straight-up badass to me. (Incidentally, and probably for similar reasons, Scyther -- and Beedrill -- were among my favorite Pokemon.) I imagine a colony of Swordwings and Crownwings, fresh out of a rift from the Far Realms, building a new hive in the deepest reaches of the Underdark, and potentially threatening to infest the entire world.... Sounds like an awesome epic-level adventure, actually.

To the poster who wondered why Swordwings, at level 25, haven't totally overrun the Underdark: Swordwings haven't taken over because they probably don't exist in significant numbers outside of the Far Realms yet, because otherwise, they almost certainly would overrun. Swordwings only begin to appear or emerge from hibernation as the campaign reaches a point where the PCs will conceivably end up fighting them. (Kinda circular, I know, but it's a fantasy game; the appearance of Swordwings is just a MacGuffin.)

 

[hong]

So its confirmed that "marked" is a standard condition? I'm assuming it works like the fighter's version of the mark. Would I be correct?

This is not the fighter's mark. If a fighter (or paladin) marks Fred, then Fred gets -2 to attack anyone except the fighter. By contrast, if this guy marks Fred, then all of his friends get a +2 to attack Fred.

... you know, it would have been SIMPLER if it was the fighter's mark. Then you wouldn't have to remember different types of marking as well as who marked who.

 

[Plane Sailing]

The creature is incensed by the blood of its enemies and attacks bloodied foes with greater accuracy.

Blood makes them angry?

"You are bleeding. That makes me Sooooo angry!"

Incensed seems to be a funny word to use here.

btw, chalk me up as 'not very inspired by' these as epic tier monsters.

I know it has been said before, but I want epic tier creatures to have MORE CAPABILITIES, damn it! I'm a big boy, I can handle epic creatures having 3-4 options each round to keep things interesting.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Well, those will probably be for Solo/Elites mainly. These aren't, so have less powers.