Giant strange creatures that often seem to assault cities, island explorers, and sometimes each other are called Daikaiju, or often just Kaiju. They come from the dark tapestry of the heavens, the deep places of the earth, or from uncharted exotic islands unknown to the outer word. They are nearly unstoppable engines of destruction; some only exist to battle other daikaiju while still others are walking disasters, akin to a living hurricane or walking super-volcanos and no more evil than the tornado that destroys your home and rips your loved ones from your arms. They are nigh-on unbelievable creatures of myth and legend that are sometimes the subject of worship as avatars or heralds of one deity or another. Their physical forms very as widely as they do, but often in some way or another they resemble some mortal creature with bizarre mutations. They are daikaiju.
Creating a Daikaiju Creature
“Daikaiju” is an acquired template that can be added to any non-humanoid, non-monstrous humanoid living creature, though it is most often applied to animals, magical beasts, and vermin. A daikaiju creature uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
CR: +20
Alignment: Becomes true neutral
Size: The base creature’s size becomes Colossal. A bipedal daikaiju typically stands between 100 and 200 feet in height; quadrupedal daikaiju are half as tall. It gains a -8 size penalty to attacks and Fly skill checks, a +8 size penalty to CMB/CMD, and a -18 size penalty to Stealth skill checks. Do not adjust ability scores or natural armor for size.
Creature Types: Animals and vermin become magical beasts (adjust their HD, BAB, Saves, traits, and skill points). All daikaiju gain the kaiju subtype.
- A kaiju’s natural attacks count as epic and magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
- Damage Reduction 20/epic.
- Darkvision 600 feet.
- Fast healing 30.
- Ferocity (Ex) All kaiju possess the ferocity universal monster ability.
- Hurl Foe (Ex) When a kaiju damages a Huge or smaller foe with one of its natural attacks, it can try to hurl the foe as part of that attack by attempting a combat maneuver check. On a successful check, the foe is knocked back 10 feet in a direction of the kaiju’s choice and falls prone. The distance the foe is hurled increases by 10 feet for every 5 points by which the kaiju’s check exceeds the foe’s CMD. If an obstacle stops the hurled creature before it travels the whole distance, the hurled foe and the obstacle struck each take 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet of distance remaining and the foe is knocked prone in the space adjacent to the obstacle.
- Immunity to ability damage, ability drain, death effects, disease, energy drain, and fear.
- 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 areas of forest or settlements are considered difficult terrain to a kaiju. A Huge or smaller creature can move through any square occupied by a kaiju, or 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 (including binding and temporal stasis but not including imprisonment), it can attempt a new saving throw at the end of its turn to remove the effect. Doing so takes no 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.
- Resistance 30 against acid, cold, electricity, fire, negative energy, and sonic.
Armor Class: A daikaiju’s natural armor becomes +36, and it gains a -8 size modifier to AC.
Hit Dice: A daikaiju’s racial HD equals 32. Adjust its Hit points, Base Attack Bonus, Base Save Bonuses, CMB, CMD, supernatural and extraordinary ability saving throw DCs, number of feats, and skill points accordingly.
Speed: Multiply each of the base creature’s speeds by the number of size categories the base creature increased +1.
Damage: Scale up the base creature’s base damage once for each size category of difference between the base creature and the daikaiju’s new Colossal size +1. Damage dice increase as follows: 1d2, 1d3, 1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 2d6, 3d6, 4d6, 6d6, 8d6, 12d6, 16d6, 20d6, +5d6 per increase. Ability score damage, drain and energy damage also scale up in the same manner, but negative levels bestowed via attacks do not increase.
Space and Reach: A daikaiju gains a space and reach of no less than 50 feet. If the base creature has an attack that exceeds its normal reach, that attack exceeds this 50 ft. reach by an equal amount.
Special Abilities: A daikaiju creature retains all the special abilities of the base creature, and gains the augmented special abilities plus 3 special abilities as described below.
- Augmented Special Abilities (Ex): Increase the area, range, duration, and damage of the base creature’s special abilities. Increase the area, duration, and range by multiplying the base value by the number of size categories gained +1. If the special attack deals hit point damage, its base damage increases as described above under damage.
- Blood Fury (Ex): Once per day if the daikaiju ever suffers 90 or more points from a single attack or is reduced to less than one quarter (25%) of its hit points, it enters a destructive rage. This blood fury grants it a +20 bonus to Str and Con but it loses its Dex bonus to AC. This fury lasts for a number of rounds equal to the daikaiju’s Cha bonus (minimum +1).
- Burn Out (Su): As a full-round action, a daikaiju can create a permanent zone of dead magic, an area where no magic can be cast, just as if the area had been affected by an antimagic field. Divination spells cannot detect subjects within dead-magic areas, nor can a spellcaster use teleport or another spell to move into or out of the zone. The only exception to the “no magic” rule is permanent planar portals, which still function normally. Zones created by this spell can be repaired, but only by a heightened limited wish (8th level or higher), miracle, or wish spell.
- Capsize (Ex): A daikaiju can attempt to capsize a boat or a ship by ramming it as a charge attack and making a combat maneuver check. The DC of this check is 25, or the result of the captain’s Profession (sailor) check, whichever is higher.
- Crush (Ex): A daikaiju can land on foes as a standard action, using its whole body to crush them. Crush attacks are effective only against opponents smaller than Gargantuan. A crush attack affects as many creatures as fit in the daikaiju’s space. Creatures in the affected area must succeed on a Reflex save (DC 10 +1/2 the daikaiju’s HD + its Con modifier) or be pinned, automatically taking bludgeoning damage during the next round unless the kaiju moves off them. If the daikaiju chooses to maintain the pin, it must succeed at a combat maneuver check as normal. Pinned foes take damage from the crush each round if they don’t escape. A crush attack deals 6d6 plus 1-1/2 times the daikaiju’s Strength bonus.
- Corrosive Blood (Ex): Daikaiju blood is a powerful dissolving agent. This does not cause the daikaiju any harm, but if a slashing or piercing weapon deals damage to it, a small amount of this potent acidic blood sprays forth, dealing 1d6 +10 points of acid damage to the weapon in question. If a slashing or piercing natural weapon injures the kaiju, the acid affects the creature directly. Either way, the weapon or the creature may reduce the damage by half with a successful Reflex save (DC 10 +1/2 the daikaiju’s HD + its Con modifier).
- Deflect Attack (Su): When the daikaiju would normally be subject to an attack, and that attack misses or the daikaiju makes its save against that attack, it can redirect that attack to a new target as an immediate action. The attack’s maximum range or reach must be long enough to go from the original attacker, to the daikaiju, to the target it redirects it toward or the attack fails to reach the new target. All effects are determined by the abilities of the original attacker; the daikaiju suffers no secondary effects from a successful save.
- Destroy Physical Barrier (Ex): Once per day as a full-round action the daikaiju uses its primary melee attack to deal 3,000 hp of damage to a non-living physical barrier such as a wall, building, or mountain, instead of its normal damage. Animate objects, such as constructs, are not affected. This attack negates a wall of force as if it had been subject to a disintegrate spell. If a particular object has enough hit points to not be destroyed by this attack then the effect radiates away from the point where the daikaiju struck the object, destroying the matter of the physical barrier until all the damage has been inflicted (exact results subject to GM adjudication).
- Earthquake (Ex): As a standard action a daikaiju can generate an earthquake, as a 30th level caster.
- Energetic Furor (Ex): Select one damage type from those listed below, the daikaiju’s natural attacks deal additional damage based on the type chosen. Nonlethal (merciful) deals 4d6. Acid, cold, electricity, fire and sonic deal 3d6 damage, while divine, force, negative energy, and precision deal 2d6.
- Energy Attack (Ex): Once every 4 rounds, a daikaiju can choose to use this attack as a standard action, it can choose to focus it as a breath weapon or energy beam from a particular point on its body (like a tail beam or eye rays) into a single 1,200-foot-long line, or it can shorten the range and turn while attacking, effectively affecting a 600-foot-long cone. All creatures caught in this area of effect take 30d6 damage and suffers the effects of a debilitating condition from the devastating energy based on the chart below (Reflex DC 10 +1/2 its HD + its Con modifier halves the damage and prevents the debilitating condition). A creature slain by this effect leaves no remains (effectively disintegrated), whether the saving throw was successful or not. This attack is particularly effective at blasting through cover—cover does not grant any bonuses on Reflex saves against a daikaiju’s breath weapon. The save DC is Constitution-based. Choose one of the damage types below for the creature’s breath weapon, once chosen this cannot be changed.
Damage Type | Effect |
---|---|
Acid | Blinded, treat the subject’s items as if the bearer had rolled a natural 1 |
Bludgeoning (reduce each d6 by DR value) | Knocked prone, pinned (CMD equal to Save DC) |
Cold | Fatigued, encase in ice (CL equal to HD, see new spell below) |
Divine | Panicked (for 1d6 rounds) |
Electricity | Knocked prone, stunned for 1d6 rounds |
Fire | Fatigued, nauseated (for 1d6 rounds) |
Force | Pushed to end of range, knocked prone |
Negative Energy | Shaken (for 1d6 rounds) |
Nonlethal (merciful) | Paralyzed |
Piercing (reduce each d6 by DR value) | Entangled (anchored, CMD equal to Save DC) |
Sonic | Deafened, staggered (for 1d6 rounds) |
Slashing (Reduce each d6 by DR value) | Bleed 1d6 Con |
- Fortification (Ex): The daikaiju has a 50% chance to treat any critical hit or sneak attack as a normal hit, as if wearing moderate fortification armor.
- Freeze (Ex): With the help of its natural camouflage the daikaiju can hold itself so still it appears to be an inanimate object of the appropriate shape (an island, a mountain, and so on). The daikaiju can take 20 on its Stealth check to hide in plain sight as this kind of inanimate object.
- Hurricane Gusts (Ex): A flying winged daikaiju can, once every 4 rounds, create a hurricane blast of air (approximately 125 mph) that originates from the daikaiju, and lasts for 1d4+1 rounds, affecting all creatures in a 50-ft. wide path for 240 ft. Within the area all flames are extinguished. Ranged attacks are impossible (except with siege weapons, which have a –8 penalty on attack rolls). Perception checks based on sound are impossible: all characters can hear is the roaring of the wind. Hurricane- force winds often fell trees.
- All flying creatures in this area take a -12 penalty on Fly skill checks. Medium or smaller flying creatures must make a DC 25 Fly skill check or be blown back 2d6 x 10 feet and take 2d6 points of damage. Large or smaller flying creatures must make a DC 20 Fly skill check to move against the force of the wind.
- A Small or smaller creature on the ground is knocked down and rolled 1d4 x 10 feet, taking 1d4 points of nonlethal damage per 10 feet.
- Medium creatures are knocked prone by the force of the wind.
- Large or smaller creatures are unable to move forward against the force of the wind unless they succeed at a DC 15 Strength check.
- Huge or larger creatures may move normally within this effect.
- This effect can’t move a creature beyond the limit of its range.
- Improved Critical (Ex): A daikaiju can gain this ability as a bonus feat.
- Multi-Armed (Ex): The daikaiju gains an additional set of limbs, and gains an additional set of slam or claw attacks each time you select this ability.
- Multi-Headed (Ex): The daikaiju gains an additional head each time you select this ability, each head can act independently of each other. When it makes a full attack, each head can make melee attacks or use a standard action special attack such as its energy attack, in any combination (one bite and one energy attack, three bites and no energy attack, and so on).
- Multi-Tailed (Ex): The daikaiju gains an additional tail, if its tail has an attack form or a special attack form it gains that additional attack each time you select this ability.
- Poisoned Flesh (Ex): The daikaiju creature’s flesh exudes a contact poison. Each time a daikaiju creature makes physical contact with another creature, it delivers its poison (Fortitude DC 10 + 1/2 the daikaiju creature’s HD + its Con modifier, damage 1d2 points of Dexterity damage for six rounds; cure is two consecutive saves). Such contact includes unarmed strikes, grappling, or successful touch or natural attacks by either the poisonous creature or its foe, unless a glove or gauntlet prevents flesh-to-flesh contact. This contact poison loses its effectiveness when removed from the poisonous creature, so it is not effective when placed upon objects. In addition, any creature that eats a poisonous creature’s flesh or swallows it whole is affected by the poison as if it had touched the poisonous creature.
- Prismatic Strike (Su): This daikaiju cannot possess the energy attack ability, instead, once every 4 rounds, it can issue forth a beam of scintillating light, which then refracts into an area prismatic spray that can strike secondary targets. The daikaiju must first hit the primary target with a ray attack as a ranged touch attack. If it hits, the target is subjected to all seven colored effects of a prismatic spray spell, with a separate saving throw required for each effect (DC 10 +1/2 its HD + its Cha modifier). The entire attack fails if the initial ray attack misses. After striking the primary target, the beam splits into a rainbow of beams spreading in a 120 ft. radius from the initial target. Creatures within this area are struck by one or more beams of light with the power of a prismatic spray (consult the prismatic spray spell). Creatures with 8 HD or less struck by either primary or secondary beams are automatically blinded for 2d4 rounds.
- Ranged Attack (Ex): This daikaiju has a unique inherent ranged attack, it could shoot massive spines, hurl boulders, or kick castles at its opponents. It gains a +4 racial bonus on attack rolls with this attack. This attack has a 240 ft. range (with the standard five range increments). Damage from this attack is twice the creature’s primary natural attack plus 1-1/2 times its Strength bonus. If you choose this ability a second time, the daikaiju can perform this attack as a swift action 3/day.
- Spore Bloom (Ex): Once per day with a successful attack, a plant type Kaiju can, as part of a successful melee or ranged attack, and deal an additional 25d6 points of magical piercing damage and 1d4 points of Constitution drain as spores burrow into the body of the target. A creature that has DR 5 or greater that is not overcome by magical piercing damage is immune to the effects of this attack.
- Sweep the Field (Ex): The daikaiju can use its primary attack to attack every creature within its reach, and use its hurl foe ability at the same time. It makes one attack roll and combat maneuver check and applies it to all targets within reach.
- Swallow Whole (Ex): If a daikaiju begins its turn with an opponent grappled, it can attempt a new combat maneuver check (as though attempting to pin the opponent). If it succeeds, it swallows its prey, and the opponent takes bite damage. Unless otherwise noted, the opponent can be up to Gargantuan. Being swallowed causes a creature to take 3d6 bludgeoning damage and 3d6 acid damage each round. A swallowed creature keeps the grappled condition, while the creature that did the swallowing does not. A swallowed creature can try to cut its way free with any light slashing or piercing weapon (the amount of cutting damage required to get free is equal to 1/10 the creature’s total hit points), or it can just try to escape the grapple. The Armor Class of the interior of a creature that swallows whole is normally 10 + 1/2 its natural armor bonus, with no modifiers for size or Dexterity. If a swallowed creature cuts its way out, the daikaiju cannot use swallow whole again until the damage is healed. If the swallowed creature escapes the grapple, success puts it back in the attacker’s mouth, where it may be bitten or swallowed again. If you choose this ability a second time, the daikaiju can use its swallow whole ability as a free action at any time during its turn.
- Trample (Ex): As a full-round action, a daikaiju can attempt to overrun any creature that is Gargantuan or smaller. This works just like the overrun combat maneuver, but the daikaiju does not need to make a check, it merely has to move over opponents in its path. Targets of a trample take an amount of damage equal to the trampling creature’s primary attack damage + 1-1/2 times its Str modifier. Targets of a trample can make an attack of opportunity, but at a –4 penalty. If targets forgo an attack of opportunity, they can attempt to avoid the daikaiju and receive a Reflex save to take half damage. The save DC against a daikaiju’s trample attack is 10 + 1/2 the creature’s HD + the creature’s Str modifier. A trampling creature can only deal trampling damage to each target once per round, no matter how many times its movement takes it over a target creature.
- Tsunami (Ex): As a standard action a daikaiju can generate a tsunami (see the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Advanced Player’s Guide), as a 30th level caster.
Ability Scores: Str becomes 44, Dex becomes 20, Con becomes 40, Int becomes 3, Wis +10, Cha +10
Organization solitary (unique)
Treasure incidental
New Spell
Encase in Ice
School: Evocation [Cold]; Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 8
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Components: V, S, M (a handful of ice shavings)
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target: One creature of Large size or smaller
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None; Spell Resistance: Yes
You form a large block of ice around the target creature, trapping the creature inside. The ice is one inch thick per caster level (maximum 25 inches) extending outward from the target. While trapped inside the ice, the victim is helpless (though luckily for her it is difficult to perform a coup de grace); she cannot move or speak but is aware of her surroundings and can engage in purely mental activities.
Each round that the creature stays within the block of ice, she takes 1d6 points of cold damage; however, the real danger comes from suffocation. The target can hold her breath for a number of rounds equal to twice her Constitution score. After this period of time, the target must make a Constitution check (DC 10) every round in order to continue holding her breath. Each round, the DC increases by 1. If the target fails her Constitution check, she begins to suffocate. In the first round, she falls unconscious (0 hp).
Due to the frigid nature of the spell, the target’s body functions slow down and prevent a quick death. Once the victim is unconscious, she takes 1 point of cold damage every round until she is freed or she is dead.
The only easy way to get a creature out of the ice block is to destroy the ice. Ice has a hardness of zero and has three hit points per inch of thickness. Ice takes double damage from fire based attacks. Attacks against the ice risk harming the creature caught inside. Any damage beyond what is needed to break the ice is transferred to the trapped creature.
Rather than hacking at the ice, a character can try to break it in one blow. The ice block has a break DC of 10 + 1 per inch of thickness. This method is also dangerous to the trapped creature and deals 1d6 points of damage plus the attacker’s Strength modifier to the trapped character. The target encased in the ice can attempt a Strength check to break the ice from the inside, but suffers a -10 circumstance penalty due to being immobilized. If she breaks through the ice herself, she does not suffer any additional damage.
At room temperature the block of ice will melt at a rate of one inch per hour. A shatter or similar spell deals double damage.