Monster Monday - Slasher Munchkin (Patreon)

The sorceress wrapped the sobbing child in a hug as she glared past her companions to . . . the innocuous teddy bear that sat upon the stump of a felled tree. Usually ready to rush into the fight, her barbarian companion hesitated, adjusting his grip on his axe as he watched they plaything in some confusion. At his side, the ranger kept an arrow trained on the toy while slightly behind them, the druid had his staff raised. They held positions for a tense moment, their breaths bated - and finally, the toy twitched. Its head cocked slightly and a gleam seemed to pass through its button eyes before it changed. Hook-like claws extended from the ends of its stumpy limbs and its cute mouth split open, tearing into a horrifying maw that bristled with fangs. The crude stitches and zippers across its body similarly split into yawning mouths fraught with jagged teeth. It stood, glowering at the party with glowing, yellow eyes that had replaced its buttons as black smoke wafted from its form.

Illustration by SethMonster

Prone to perfidy, this plotting plaything plans to punish prepubescent punks in a primary plot to prompt piercing pain and prolong pangs in their parents.

I'm going on a little vacation for the last week of October and the first week of November, but before I go, I figured that I should leave an appropriate monster for you all! I was rolling around on names for a bit as while I was always wanted my munchkins to be related to my setting's god of primordial fear and darkness, I wasn't originally planning on making them part of the slasher family. Working names for them included scare bears (which was a little too close to a certain copyrighted name) and pannequins (mannequin + panicking), but when I decided to add them into the slashers, I felt like munchkin was a fine fit for the smallest of these fear-focused fiends.

My whole concept for them is a little dark. They're obviously inspired by the likes of Chucky from Child's Play and the whole toybox of evil toys that have came out to play over the years. My intent is for them to work their way into a child's toy collection, initially as an ordinary toy before revealing their ability to speak and play solely into their child. They bond with the child while orchestrating things to separate them from others. Their ultimate goal is to lure the child to a secluded location before revealing their true nature and brutally devouring them. That momentary flash of fear helps sustain them, but their real aim is the emotional turmoil and fear that the disappearance of a child causes the parents and community.

Since their targets are children, I built the munchkin as a level one creature. It focuses on its Charisma as a manipulator and deceiver but is decently nimble. That Charisma also plays into its innate spells, which are a bit more at the forefront of its offensive options over its attacks. The spells use a high DC and spell attack while its Strike use a moderate attack bonus and have low/moderate damage for its claws/fangs. Its Dexterity does play into its high Armor Class while it only has moderate Hit Points but I did get to switch around my usual assortment of saving throws compared to other monsters I've made.

Since spells are its primary focus, I designed the rest of its abilities to be a single action or functionally fewer. Change Shape is very basic but is actually a standard monster ability that simply allows the munchkin to go between its toy form and its actual, monstrous appearance. Its abilities just kind of roll from there because when a fight starts, the munchkin can reveal its Game Face. This mainly saves it the action of using Change Shape in the fight, but it also requires a moderate DC Will save from everybody that viewed it to avoid becoming frightened. And if a creature does become frightened, the munchkin can use Manifest Menace Mark as part of this reaction. Through this, a munchkin can create a symbol, typically on its belly like some certain caring bears, that represents the base fear of a target. It doesn't have a huge dramatic effect. It mainly just keeps the target creature from reducing their frightened condition. However, it does allow the munchkin to unleash its Wrack With Dread. While it's a single target effect, it deals limited use area damage with a high DC Will save, which might be a little overused in its design. Since this already targets a creature that's frightened, failing it increases their frightened value and potentially sets them fleeing. However, this then erases the munchkin's menace mark for them and prevents them from using Manifest Menace Mark against them for 1 minute.

I also thought it would be really fun to grant them to switch up the damage type if it might better match the fear of the foe. Maybe this should also come with some extra effect, like a penalty on the save, but I thought it was fun enough as is.

ENCOUNTER HOOKS

You Have a Fiend in Me: When a slasher munchkin went to try its usual scheme with a child, instead of finding a potential victim, it found a potential partner in a disturbed child. The child is likely a sorcerer or something similar that has access to innate power and is perhaps an even greater threat than the munchkin. Even so, the munchkin is able to manipulate the child to commit terrible acts that bring it into the sights of the heroes.

Slaythings From the Toybox: Running the munchkin as simply an encounter is sort of underselling its whole concept. But one idea to simplify it are the munchkins gathering for a meeting in the playroom or toybox of an abandoned mansion. The players, as classic adventurers, are ransacking the place for one reason or another when their presence interrupts said meeting, leading to the munchkins leaping to the attack.

Have a monstrous Monday and a happy Halloween!