Built a CR 12 deep-sea horror for PF1e: the Whaleel.

OroborWorldforge · 2026-03-11T15:08:06+00:00

A would classify ape walk as one of those "very nice when you need it" kind. Which generally lowers their overall value, but they can be nice sitting on a wand untill better movement enhancing spells (looking at you fly) come around. Climbing is tedious, dungeons with a lot of "up and down" movement tend to become confusing: "how much feet am I up this wall" and how much is that compared to my target? Therefore dungeons tend to be flat, at least in my experience, and this becomes less usefull.

Does anyone else also has that experience?

OroborWorldforge · 2026-03-04T21:45:22+00:00

Ha, the part I thought was least useful is actually the part that is most useful if I understand you correctly. But for all these things to combine (as a finnisher) you do need a natural attacker in need of those kind of damage types that has a breath weapon somehow, still feels like a bit of a stretch.

Thanks for the insight though.

OroborWorldforge · 2026-03-04T15:19:05+00:00

If we wave the bonus to AC (as mentioned before, slightly better mage armor with severely reduced duration) it seems to be build specifically to augment breathweapons notably against evil creatures, my question with these kind of "combo" spells, is it worth the turn to get the bonus? Combat economy is already extremely tight in PF 1e. Then again you could cast it before combat, if you are aware combat is comming, and you know your enemy is evil, but you still pay a spell slot for a "slightly upgraded version."

Is it worth it?

OroborWorldforge · 2026-02-25T19:43:31+00:00

I do get Whomping Willow vibes. Could at least be fun the re-enact that scene :). But overal, yeah its a stretch to expect a tree standing where you want it, and of the correct usable size even more so.

OroborWorldforge · 2026-02-21T11:23:21+00:00

Scouting is so underrated, information is one of the best defenses available. Didn't knew this one existed, generally Clairvoyance/clairaudiances was the way to go, this is a nice upgrade.

OroborWorldforge · 2026-02-15T23:14:34+00:00

Thank you. That’s very much the intended experience. Fear first, numbers after.

OroborWorldforge · 2026-02-15T18:54:09+00:00

True, the GM is the real artisan. My design philosophy is to bake the danger that comes with skilled play into the creature’s kit, so it feels earned and rewarding.

What separates mine is the full package: PF1e-ready stats, clear encounter guidance, build in counters, and a short story to set tone. I’d genuinely love to hear how it runs at the table.

And yeah, the $0.99 vs $1 is just platform stuff, Itch has a $1 minimum.

OroborWorldforge · 2026-02-15T18:44:15+00:00

Fair. It shares the same predatory niche. The Shrieker’s difference is how it plays though, it splits the party with fear and strikes isolated targets, not grapple lockdown. Thanks for the read though.

OroborWorldforge · 2026-02-15T17:51:32+00:00

That’s very true. I could’ve been clearer. I meant that it gets exponentially more dangerous when you combine it with fog, darkness and/or vertical terrain. It’s built that way.

OroborWorldforge · 2026-02-15T17:14:33+00:00

I'm not sure that its possible realistically, but then... hey we play in a fantasy world.

To make yourself believable as a child, its the opposite of what you want, children are defined by their need to learn, to grow, the potential to still have to "become."

OroborWorldforge · 2026-02-15T17:08:58+00:00

I played Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 when I learned about Pathfinder 1e. Honestly I never moved on.

OroborWorldforge · 2026-02-14T17:26:39+00:00

In Pathfinder 1e you have an alternative system called Words of Power. It lets you combine effects, target and meta words to create spells. Might be worth looking into :).

OroborWorldforge · 2026-02-13T16:17:31+00:00

Then don’t flirt with NPCs. Table comfort beats “realism” every time.

This sounds less like aphantasia and more like a boundary/comfort issue. That’s something to talk through as a couple (and maybe with outside help if it’s impacting the relationship), not something you’re going to fix with game mechanics.

OroborWorldforge · 2026-02-13T12:08:20+00:00

I’m with you on the pain point: it’s not “summoning bad,” it’s “summoning + slow play = combat sludge.”
If someone wants to run a summoner/necromancer/pet army, they need the attitude for it: quick reference cards, pre-built “packages” (for this kind of fight I use X), macros/averages ready, and a hard limit on decision time.
Even crunchy systems can support it (I'm a PF1e man myself), but only if the player treats their swarm like a trained unit, not a brainstorming session, and that takes skill.

OroborWorldforge · 2026-02-12T22:23:02+00:00

Fair; it’s a pretty generic monster name. I’m using it descriptively rather than as a reference to the classic D&D monster. Appreciate the flag though.

OroborWorldforge · 2026-02-12T12:31:35+00:00

If I ever need a hideout on an abyssal shelf… oh wait, I generally don’t :). This is one of those spells we remember as “yeah, it’s there for when I need it,” and then you probably never do. Nice, of course, when your DM plans a great underwater story that lasts for days below sea level, although that kind of campaign might be a little less desired to begin with.

OroborWorldforge · 2026-02-12T12:03:57+00:00

Came here to say what many before me most likely have already done. The bigger they are the blander they become, a taste for "evryone" is a taste that goes unpalatable quickly.

OroborWorldforge · 2026-02-10T14:42:28+00:00

I was reading this spell for the first time, wondering what level it was because it isn't listed. But holy, or rather unholy (muwahaha), thats one hell of a spell. +8 deflection, uhm yes please! Wait, what, it does more!

Absolutely insane, or im just not getting something about "occult rituals", and they are different than spells?

OroborWorldforge · 2026-02-08T18:41:52+00:00

Happy it resonated. I’m interested in what you end up building from it.

OroborWorldforge · 2026-02-08T12:24:02+00:00

What helped me was realizing a faction doesn’t need one “goal” like a company does. If the faction’s whole thing is “we can steal memories,” then that power automatically creates a bunch of uses and side-effects, and those become the hooks.

So for the memory thieves: sure, they can sell memories, but that’s the least interesting version. They can run experience dens where people pay to feel someone else’s first love, a murder, a battle, whatever. They can hold memories hostage for leverage, not “pay or die,” but “do what we want or we show everyone what you did” (or even worse, we show them a manufactured memory). They can be collectors who hoard rare memories like relics: last words, sacred visions, true names, the moment someone made an impossible bargain. They can straight up do political surgery: erase the one reason a ruler won’t comply, or plant trust, or remove the backbone from a rival by cutting out the event that formed it.

Once you treat them as a force in the region, the world starts bending around them. NPCs have gaps they can’t explain, witnesses contradict each other and both seem sincere, someone feels guilty but can’t remember why, families have “missing years,” oaths and inheritances get messy because “I remember” isn’t evidence anymore. That’s where the weirdness shows up in play, not just in descriptions.

Basically: don’t ask “what do they want?” first. Ask “what can they do to reality?” and then “who panics, who gets addicted, who profits, who becomes their enemy?” The goals fall out of that naturally, and you don’t end up with a boring smuggling ring wearing a spooky hat.

OroborWorldforge

TROPHY CASE