#protean

this is just the final part in a 8 image sequence but the rest are just going to be cleaned up sketches that i still have yet to finish but ill post those separately when they are done. there is context to this... it started as vent art that became a short comic but this image just had to be more then a sketch, Sabrina's wolf form transformation is magical and doesn't mix to well with her physical vicissitude transformations

Day 29: Fog

"Typhon, Father of Beasts" © deviantArt user MisterFeelgood, accessed at his gallery here

[More like Mother of Beasts in this particular iteration. When I was talking to @strawberry-crocodile several years ago and sharing with her my ideas for the Age of Monsters, she told me about one of her cosmological Pathfinder ideas. And the idea of Typhon reborn as a trans woman fighting against the forces of Hell was so compelling I immediately adopted it into my personal canon. So this is Strawb's baby, and these statistics have been a long time coming. Hints have been seeded in a number of the Age of Monsters posts in the past. Strawb also wrote the divine obedience rules I'm including here. Check out @soylent-crocodile for more of her Pathfinder writing. Also, huge thanks to @monstersdownthepath for telling me about the canonical fate of Typhon in PF2e, one that I incorporated into this entry because they're not actually contradictory, and for the inspiration on the hollow SQ]

Protean Lord, Etna CR 23 CN Outsider (extraplanar) This serpentine creature has a billowing cloud of smoke rising from its head, luminous eyes and great draconic wings. Its body is comprised of dozens of smaller snakes entwined together, leaving it something like a hollow shell of writhing flesh and embers encasing a powerful inner fire.

CN Protean Lord of revolution, divine and mortal succession, volcanoes Domains Chaos, Fire, Weather, War Subdomains Protean, Smoke, Storms, Revolution* (Revolution applies to the War domain) Favored Weapon Sling Glove Holy Symbol A serpent emerging from a volcano Worshippers Enemies of Asmodeus, iconoclasts, revolutionaries Minions gegenees, magma dragons, magmin, renegwe proteans Obedience: Spend an hour screaming curses and revilement towards any mortal authority that has held for more than a single human lifetime, or against a god or archdevil. Alternately, ritually defeat and kill a representative of any such authority. Gain a +4 sacred bonus on saving throws against fire effects. First Boon: Foe of the Sky God- Magic Stone 3/day, Pyrotechnics 2/day, Lightning Bolt 1/day Second Boon: Shatter the Heavens- As a full-round action once per day you may reach your fist into the sky and break open the heavens above. All creatures flying above a 100ft circle centered on you must make a fortitude save with DC equal to 10+½ your character level+your charisma modifier or fall from the sky. Such creatures take 1d8 damage for every 10ft fallen rather than the typical 1d6 damage. Third Boon: Bow To None- You gain an immunity to charm and compulsion effects and cannot be knocked prone.

In mythological time, Typhon was the greatest of the asuras and one of the first Lords of Hell. He was slain by Asmodeus for the crime of fathering children with Lamashtu, a lie spread by Geryon, conflating Lamashtu with her great enemy, and Typhon’s true lover, Mormo (then called Echidna). For this supposed cosmic crime of uniting devil and demon, Typhon was shredded, and his pieces cast into the Great Beyond to wither and die. But not all of them did. A few managed to regenerate, and perhaps the strangest of those self-begotten fragments is Etna. For Etna is a protean lord, a being of pure chaos who was once of pure law.

Etna was born of a large piece of Typhon’s skin, which was cast into the Maelstrom and slowly regrew as if in imitation of that plane’s residents, the proteans. Ashamed and disgusted by the patriarchy of Hell, she reformed herself into a woman, and was embraced by the izfiitar choristers as a testament to the transformative power of chaos. Etna feels that any authority that lasts long enough becomes moribund and must be replaced, no authority more than the divine and no divinities more so than Asmodeus and the lords of Hell. There is no outcome she would love to see more than Asmodeus humbled and dethroned, but she knows that she is no physical match for the hosts of Hell alone. So she is patient, mixing occasional outbursts of volcanic destruction with coalition building and more subtle undermining of diabolical schemes. Etna and Mormo are currently unaware of their mutual rebirths, but would likely become allied again once that knowledge is obtained.

Etna delights in combat, and she spends much of her time in combat in order to vent her rage. Her natural weapons are deeply destructive, and her serpentine nature manifests in her ability and fondness for swallowing her smaller victims. Her interior burns with volcanic heat, and she can let loose in an explosion of lava and smoke, essentially turning herself into a short-lived volcano. For those that (wisely) keep their distance, Etna hurls rocks like lava bombs, charging them with thunder and lightning as she does so, or uses her spell-like abilities to rain destruction on her foes. Etna does not know if she can be reborn again, and so flees when badly injured, although her memory is long and her wrath can be vented in other ways.

As a former devil, Etna fits somewhat awkwardly into the society of proteans. Many proteans see her acceptance of the existence of any hierarchy as shamefully lawful and distrust her ultimate intentions. But Ssila’Meshnik the Colorless Lord views her as confirmation of the glorious paradoxes of the planes, and accepts her as an ally. Etna’s favor shines on the renegwe proteans, who act as her sparring partners and elite agents. The mortal cult of Etna is still very small, but it is slowly filling its power in areas controlled by the Church of Asmodeus, waiting for a time to erupt into glorious revolutionary violence.

The smaller snakes that make up Etna's body bear stunted forelimbs, crested heads, and other protean-like features. They shed scales into her interior which char and aggregate into boluses like igneous rocks, which Etna can collect and throw at will. Etna's length varies with her shifting form, but she usually is between 20 and 25 feet long.

(art by Brett-Neufeld on DeviantArt)

The last of the currently-available elemental druidic orders, the order of the waves is naturally the order of the oceans themselves, and the element of water.

Life as we know it could not exist without water. After all, the oceans are the birthplace of the first life on earth, and water is such an important part of biological processes that it’s no surprise that the water element is associated with healing and cleansing.

However, like all elements, water has it’s violent and destructive aspects as well. Crushing waves, violent storms, mysterious depths hiding unknown dangers, or even the simple danger of drowning are all in the playbook of water as an element. Add in it’s somewhat downplayed association with the cold as well, and you can add in freezing and hypothermia as well.

Indeed, much like every element, water is capable of destruction and constructive aspects, and must be respected even as it is venerated.

Such druids of the waves might belong to ancestries able to swim and/or breathe underwater with ease, or they might be members of species that have a history as mariners, living by the sea and coming to understand it as aquatic peoples do.

Either way, they are likely to act as protectors of the ecology of the oceans, as well as potentially hiring themselves out as navigators and magical problem-solvers on vessels, guiding the winds and dealing with the hazards and creatures of the water as needed.

So with all that in mind, let’s see what they offer to players!

Due to the association between water and healing, these druids gain an affinity for treating wounds.

Futhermore, they find that shallow water does not impede them, giving them an advantage in such environments.

These druids also gain a spell to conjure a wave to ride on, allowing them to travel over rough terrain and lift themselves up at high speed.

Of course, there are also feats associated with the order, including Natural Swimmer to enhance their mobility in water, Advanced Elemental Spell to hammer foes with a wave of water, and Purifying Spell to wash away corruption and disease.

Other feats they may find useful include Order Explorer, Elemental Summons, Current Spell, Misty Transformation, Steady Spellcasting, Heart of the Kaiju, and other feats that could give them mastery in the water and on land.

This order is a natural choice if your game takes place with a lot of sea travel or aquatic dungeons, or in highly waterlogged areas, granting enhanced mobility in such areas while giving them plenty of options for turning the environment against foes. They may focus on summoned aquatic beasts or aquatic battle forms of their own, or partner up with an aquatic animal companion, or simply make full use of the debuffing and controlling side of the primal spell list. All are good options. However, outside of such aquatic environments, it might be difficult to justify playing one, both mechanically an in-universe.

While the name suggests that these druids are all found by or in the ocean, remember that water’s reach is hardly contained to it’s largest bodies. Lakes, rivers, marshes, and the like are all places where water is just as important, and can be brought to bear, and each one has it’s own cultural associations for you to take inspiration from with your character.

Kashira’s Bluff is named for the strange, inhuman hermit that lives there. While he appears mostly human-like, he has persisted for hundreds of years, a fixture of the region almost like the cliff itself. Some suspect dark magic or strange secrets of immortality, but in truth, the old man is a yaksha who has guarded the region since his formation, boasting great primal druidic power over the sea below to calm them for friendly ships and bring terrible storms upon invading armadas in kind.

The Circle of the Wild Sea has long believed that the seas should not be controlled, and those that dare to sail them should do so fearfully, at it’s mercy. As such, they’ve long campaigned against other casters joining said vessels to lend their magical aid, but recently their newest advisor, an imentesh protean, has been urging more drastic measures, ostensibly to make their chaotic vision of the sea com true, but mostly to cause as much conflict as possible.

Seeing an amazing anthro lemur on my feed reminded me that last year I drew Aurik if he had Protean - and could turn into the only creature possible for a sad wet beast like himself. Behold the truly terrifying aye-aye lemur nos. Grrrr. Arrrrg.