Researching Creatures
This article is a resource for the Research Weakness ability granted by the Research Weakness Feature Tree in the Smart Hero general class. Researching a creature and learning its weaknesses will increase the likelihood of victory in the ultimate confrontation.
A Smart hero can uncover secrets about a particular creature or type of creature through research. The ability to research creature types is granted as separate features; Beasts and Plants, Monsters, Disease and the Undead, Humans and Constructions, and Aliens. The success of any such endeavor is measured with Nature, Animal Handling, Survival, Medicine, History, Insight, or Investigation skill checks.
Researching a creature takes 1d4 hours plus an additional 1d4 hours if the creature is unique or has traits unlike other members of its species. The type of information gleaned in this amount of time depends on the hero’s Research check result, as shown below.
Research Check DC
| Type of Information | Research Check DC |
|---|---|
| General Traits - Reveals a creature's type or broad category and any traits common to that type. | 12 |
| Specific Traits - Reveals a creature's species or sub-category and any traits common to that grouping. | 17 |
| Unique Traits - Reveals the unique attributes and weaknesses (if any) of a specific creature. | 22 |
Creature Weakness
Although a creature’s type and species determine many of its traits and abilities, DMs are encouraged to alter a creature’s physiology, behavior, abilities, tactics, and defenses when it serves the story or to confound players who think they know everything about their opponents.
The rules provided allow DMs to build custom monsters and ascribe special qualities to them. When designing a creature, the DM should also think of ways the creature can be defeated. From the heroes’ point of view, a creature’s weaknesses are more important than its abilities. Assigning weaknesses to creatures gives under-powered or poorly equipped heroes a fighting chance.
The Sources of Weakness table lists many sources to which a creature may be vulnerable. A source can be a specific object, location, substance, sound, sensation, or activity. How the creature interacts with a source of weakness is left up to the DM, although most sources must be in close proximity to the creature (if not touching the creature) to affect it. DMs may roll randomly on the table, choose a source that suits the creature, or devise their own.
Source Effects
After determining a creature’s source of weakness, the DM needs to decide how the creature reacts when confronted by the source. Pick an effect that seems appropriate for the creature and the source.
A creature gets either a Consitution or Wisdom saving throw to overcome or resist the source of weakness; the DC of the save varies depending on the source’s strength:
Source of Weakness Strength
| Strength of Source | Save DC |
|---|---|
| Easily resistible | 10 |
| Moderate | 15 |
| Strong | 20 |
| Overpowering | 25 |
Creatures usually react to a source of weakness in one of six ways:
Addiction: The creature is compelled to ingest, imbibe, or inhale the source. The source must be within 5 feet of the creature to affect it. On a successful Wisdom save, the creature negates the compulsion. On a failed save, the creature spends a full-round action indulging its addiction, then may resume normal actions while suffering one or more of the following effects (DM’s choice):
- Creature takes a –2 penalty to Dexterity and Wisdom.
- Creature takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls and skill checks.
- Creature loses 10% of its current hit points.
- Blindness: The creature has a 50% miss chance in combat, loses any Dexterity bonus to Defense, moves at half speed, takes a –4 penalty on Strength and Dexterity-based skills, and cannot make perception checks. Foes gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls to hit the creature.
- Deafness: The creature takes a –4 penalty to initiative checks and has a 20% chance of spell failure when using effects with verbal components. The creature cannot make perception checks relying on hearing.
- Creature loses one of its extraordinary, supernatural, or spell-like special qualities.
Each effect lasts 1d4 hours. Even creatures immune to mind-affecting effects are susceptible to a source-induced addiction.
Attraction: The creature is compelled to move as fast as it can toward the source. On a successful Wisdom save, the creature resists the compulsion. On a failed save, the creature moves toward the source at its maximum speed, taking the safest and most direct route. Once it reaches the source, the compelled creature seeks to possess it. If the source isn’t something the creature can easily possess, it gets a new save every round to break the compulsion.
Even creatures immune to mind-affecting effects are susceptible to a source-induced attraction.
Aversion: The creature finds the source repellant. On a failed Wisdom save, the creature cannot approach or remain within 1d4 x10 feet of it. In the case of traveling sounds, the creature moves away from the source as fast as it can, stopping only when it can no longer hear it. On a successful Wisdom save, the creature overcomes its aversion and may approach the source freely.
A repelled creature that cannot move the requisite distance from the source suffers one or more of the following effects (DM’s choice):
- Creature takes a –2 penalty to Strength and Dexterity.
- Creature takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls, damage rolls, and skill checks.
- Creature takes a –2 penalty to AC.
- Blindness: See Addiction, above.
- Deafness: See Addiction, above.
- Creature loses one of its extraordinary, supernatural or spell-like special qualities.
Each effect lasts until the creature leaves the affected area and for 1d4 rounds afterward. Even creatures immune to mind-affecting effects are susceptible to a source-induced aversion.
Fascination: The creature finds the source fascinating and ceases all attacks and movement upon seeing, hearing, smelling, or otherwise perceiving it. On a successful Wisdom save, the creature negates the fascination and can act normally. On a failed Wisdom save, the creature can take no actions, and foes gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls against the creature. Any time the creature is attacked or takes damage, it gets a new save to negate the fascination. Otherwise, the fascination lasts as long as the creature can see, hear, smell, or otherwise perceive the source.
Even creatures immune to mind-affecting effects are susceptible to a source-induced fascination.
Fear: The creature is frightened by the source. If it fails its Wisdom save, the creature flees from the source as fast as it can. If unable to flee, the creature takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, and saving throws. On a successful save, the creature overcomes the fear and can approach the source or otherwise act without penalty.
Even creatures immune to mind-affecting effects are susceptible to a source-induced fear.
Harm: Contact with the source or proximity to the source harms the creature in some fashion. On a successful Constitution save, the creature negates the effect or, in the case of instant death or disintegration, takes damage instead. DMs may choose one of the following effects or invent their own:
- Blindness and deafness: See Addiction, above. The blindness and deafness last 1d4 hours.
- Creature loses all of its supernatural and spell-like special qualities.
- Creature is petrified instantly.
- Creature loses 50% of its current hit points.
- Creature drops dead. On a successful save, the creature takes 3d6+15 points of damage instead.
- Creature is disintegrated. On a successful save, the creature takes 5d6 points of damage instead.
Even creatures immune to effects that require Constitution saves are susceptible to source-induced harm.
Sources of Weakness
| 1 | Alcohol or moonshine |
| 2 | Amber |
| 3 | Animated cartoons |
| 4 | Archways |
| 5-6 | Bells or chimes |
| 7 | Books written by William Blake |
| 8 | Bunnies |
| 9-10 | Cancerous organs |
| 11 | Carbonated soft drinks |
| 12-13 | Cats |
| 14 | Chrome |
| 15-16 | Classical music |
| 17 | Clocks |
| 18 | Clowns |
| 19 | Cocaine |
| 20-21 | Country music |
| 22-23 | Crosses or crucifixes |
| 24 | Crows |
| 25 | Dogs |
| 26 | Elvis Presley memorabilia |
| 27 | Fast cars |
| 28 | Fast foods |
| 29-30 | Fluorescent lights |
| 31 | Games of chance |
| 32 | Gold or iron pyrite (fool’s gold) |
| 33 | Grave dirt |
| 34-35 | Heavy metal music |
| 36-37 | Holy symbols |
| 38-39 | Holy water |
| 40 | Hospitals |
| 41 | Ice cream |
| 42 | Insecticide (DDT) |
| 43 | Jack o’-lanterns |
| 44 | Keys |
| 45-46 | Laughter of children |
| 47 | Laundry detergent |
| 48 | Lavender |
| 49 | Lilac-scented candles |
| 50 | Mathematical equations |
| 51 | Morphine |
| 52-53 | Nerve gas |
| 54 | Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) |
| 55 | Novocaine |
| 56-57 | Element 133 |
| 58 | Pearls |
| 59 | Penicillin |
| 60 | Photo flashes |
| 61-62 | Plastic or vinyl |
| 63-64 | Played violin or electric guitar |
| 65 | Playgrounds |
| 66-67 | Plutonium |
| 68 | Poppies |
| 69 | Pulsing strobe lights |
| 70-71 | Radiation |
| 72 | Radio waves |
| 73 | Rubber |
| 74 | Running water |
| 75-76 | Silver |
| 77 | Sodium benzoate (food preservative) |
| 78-79 | Sodium chloride (salt) |
| 80-81 | Specific phrase or word |
| 82 | Specific song |
| 83 | Spoken Latin |
| 84 | Stuffed animals |
| 85 | Sumerian or Egyptian hieroglyphs |
| 86-87 | Sunlight |
| 88-89 | The Bible |
| 90 | Tinfoil |
| 91-92 | Toxic waste |
| 93-94 | Triangles |
| 95 | Television infomercials |
| 96 | Television static |
| 97-98 | White rice |
| 99-100 | X-rays |
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