The beasts may challenge our gods

This is part of a GLOG community project to make rules for fighting and playing as kaiju (if you can believe it), proposed by Arkos over at Tome of Dreams. Some parts were quite a challenge, but it's the kind of challenge that you really want to rise up to, and I can only hope that I did a good job.

Skullcrawler by Dope Pope

Titans: gargantuan forms of incredible power. Easily as large as two houses, more powerful than any human but slow in their enormity. Titans have titanic vigor and deal 1d6 titanic damage with their attacks, each of which is six times normal vigor or damage. Normal damage is not counted against a titan unless a single attack deals more than six damage, but both the titan and their human-scale opponent hit automatically. Making equipment or items for titans is impossible outside of a large city or somewhere with similar manufacturing potential, and all items cost 100 times as much money. Titans move along titan tiles, each of which is 30 meters square, but can only act on every third round in combat.

Titan suits: what we might think of as 'mecha,' each needs a human crew piloting it in order to fight effectively. At minimum a pilot is required, but works best along with a gunner and engineer, often with room for secondary pilots, gunners, and engineers as needed. Each pilot can spend their turn either moving or turning, and gunners can only target enemies roughly in front of the suit. When titanic weapons are fired, the gunners must spend a turn reloading them, unless they have a secondary gunner to reload immediately as they fire, and each weapon requires gunners manning it. Engineers can field repair damaged systems, one per round. After the battle, vigor and system damage must be repaired properly for 25 gold each.

quasi medieval wooden mech by Lukasz Dudasz

Kaiju: independent titanic monsters. They must seek out huge quantities of food at a relatively slow rate thanks to their large, slow metabolism. They only need food once a week, but are sated by no less than 100 times what a human would eat in a day (generally 20 gold worth of food, or another giant monster). In melee combat against another kaiju they must use combat stances.

Kaiju

Each level requires 10 times the normal amount of exp
Stat bonus: +1 maximum Megaton

Starting skill: builder, climber, or survivalist

Level 1: a titanic monster!, only one thing can stop it!
Level 2: it's heading towards..., there on its back!
Level 3: its mouth is opening...
Level 4: strangest of all..., it's so... powerful!

A titanic monster!: your huge body has titanic vigor, and your claws, teeth, enormous fists, a casually lifted vehicle, or however else you choose to attack, deals 1d6 titanic damage.

Only one thing can stop it!: the sight of your weakness will halt you in your tracks, allowing only an attack or movement per turn while it is near. If it can damage you, take an extra die of damage.

1. Fire
2. Water
3. Beauty
4. Daylight
5. Blood
6. Wood

There on its back!: choose a set of limbs or protrusions, adding new mobility options. 

1. Expansive wings: they unfurl like the sails of a massive ship, blotting out the sun as they carry you beyond the earthly plane.
2. Myriad legs: pulling aside dirt or sand, allowing you to travel underground through any soft earth.
3. Translucent fins: along with gills, allowing you to travel freely underwater.
4. Loping arms: bending down around your body, able to propel you twice as fast as other titans.
5. Gelatinous bones: compress your body down to fit through any space two horses could fit in. While compressed you cannot fight properly.
6. Shimmering eggsac: consume one Megaton to place eggs where you are. They have 1 titanic vigor, but as long as they aren't destroyed and you don't place new eggs elsewhere, you can evaporate into dust, hatching fully formed from the eggs in an instant.

Squid Kaiju Baby by Roger Gerzner

It's heading towards...: determine what source will power your preternatural might. Each time you find a great enough source, gain one Megaton. You can spend your turn to consume one Megaton and heal 1d6 of your titanic vigor.

1. Magical energy: a legendary artifact or order of lesser mages.
2. Lightning: a lightning bolt, or an alchemical engine like unto a modern power plant.
3. Heat: a few blacksmith forges or a flow of lava.
4. The adoration of children: spend a day catering to a group of children.
5. Blood: a village worth of people, or a herd of large animals.
6. Gold: 60 gold coins, or two kilograms of gold.

Its mouth is opening...: consume one Megaton to use a breath attack on your turn.

1. Incendiary tongue: heat like the fires of hell blast from your maw, spilling out into a cone up to 90 meters away, dealing 2d6 titanic damage.
2. Hyperborean breath: your exhalations frost over all before you, up to 60 meters away, dealing 1d6 titanic damage. Anything that would be killed by this damage is instead magically frozen, protected by ice unless shattered or thawed. 
3. Voice of the storm: a bolt of lightning cracks forth from your throat, darting into one target of any size up to 120 meters away for 2d6 titanic damage.
4. Venomous belch: cough noxious clouds over the puny creatures below, filling a 90 meter square area centered around you with poisonous gas for 1d6 rounds, dealing 1 titanic damage to anything in it each round except yourself.
5. Crystal seed teeth: gnash and spit teeth about, sprouting great crystal trees that impede and fill up to three tiles adjacent to you.
6. Frenzy brood: spit out tiny young, 1d6 monsters with 1 titanic vigor each, which deal 1 titanic damage with their attacks. They are as small as horses, and will die after 6 times 1d6 rounds.

Godzilla vs Kong fan art - Nuclear Breath by Jonathan Opgenhaffen

Strangest of all...: select one final mutation, either from the list below or from either previous list.

1. Immortal conception: a week after being killed, consume all Megatons to give birth to an infant kaiju who is helpless for a month. It can move and eat if food is provided for it, and after the month it will grow back to its previous size, one level lower. Each Megaton absorbed in this state hastens maturation by a week.
2. Axe scales: anything touching your skin takes 1 titanic damage.
3. Living mountain: consume one Megaton to wreathe your body in impenetrable stone, gaining +3 titanic defense for ten rounds. Normal sized attacks will be unable to damage you at all during this time.
4. Lifebringer: consume one Megaton to send out a cloud of healing spores, healing every living thing within 100 meters for 1 titanic vigor.
5. Neural link: take a weapon or limb from a defeated titan and attach it to your body. It will last for 1d6 days or unless destroyed in some other way, and you can use it as freely as the original host could.
6. Explosive growth: consume one Megaton to double in size for 1d6 rounds. While in this state, you occupy an extra tile and deal +2 titanic damage with normal attacks.

It's so... powerful!: consume one Megaton before picking a combat stance. If this attack hits, it will deal 3d6 titanic damage.

Enemy Kaiju

Night of Silk
A circus once used tents inhabited by spirits to make their travel easier. They brought on more of these spirits, easing their way and filling the nights with whimsical shows of floating lanterns, dancing dresses, and nervous but exotic beasts. The spirits started to collect more spirits, more tents and decorations that could dance with them, until they had swallowed up their mortal stewards and drifted into the sky, captivating one audience after another.

Shirintu the Blight
A dragon captured by a wartorn kingdom. She was cursed, mutated, and enchanted to create the ultimate war beast, but inevitably shattered her bonds and destroyed her longtime tormentors. Her breath is cursed green flame flecked with shards of red glass, and her body is speckled with venomous pustules and red needles.

Grulputh
A god of goblins, or godlin. It is a gibbering, spaztic, conniving coward, and it is taller than a windmill. Somehow this sickly green menace always manages to hide its huge body, and sees fit to rob peasants and leave huge traps hidden in the woods.

Other participants

Arkos at Tome of Dreams: https://tomeofdreams.blogspot.com/2020/03/kaiju-challenge-gigantes.html?m=1
The Byzantine at Espharel: https://espharel.blogspot.com/2020/02/osr-kaiju-rules-and-class-kaijui-barely.html
deus ex parabola at Numbers Aren't Real: https://as-they-must.blogspot.com/2020/02/giant-monster-i-hardly-know-ster-glog.html
Lexi at A Blasted, Cratered Land: https://crateredland.blogspot.com/2020/03/giant-robots-deserve-giant-monsters.html

Magical Beasts

Most of these are drawn from Greek mythology, though there is inspiration drawn from other locales such as the Qilin, a Chinese creature.

Legendary beasts with mystical traits and abilities, they are often too powerful for regular hunters to capture, but can be butchered by victorious warriors for useful materials. Most have unique spirits so powerful they are almost like unto souls themselves, which makes them confounding for a witch's powers, and causes their corporeal flesh to erupt in blue sparks when struck with bronze.

Gorgon

HD: 4
Found: solitary in an abandoned island temple

Appearance: as a woman with scaled skin and venomous serpents where should be hair. None have seen her face and lived to describe it.
Voice: soft, lamenting
Wants: beauty and isolation
Tactics: careful, defensive

Attack: +2
Defense: +3
Speed: +1

Abilities

1. Cursed visage: any who look upon her face must make a magic save or be frozen in stone, as well as mirrors which reflect her image.
2. Snake bites: light damage plus poison.
3. Claws: light damage, instantly destroys stone.

The gorgon's head can be wielded once slain, to petrify enemies with a magic check.

Medusa by Amir Briki

Cockatrice

HD: 3
Found: 1d6 in swamps near roads

Appearance: as a small beaked dragon with a feathered neck and birdlike legs. The beak glints with a dull shine of magic, and its eyes are deep with malice.
Voice: cawing but with a hint of gargle, trailing into a hiss.
Wants: to protect toads and kill basilisks
Tactics: aggressive and repetitive

Attack: +1
Defense: +2
Speed:+3

Abilities

1. Petrifying peck: normal damage, gradual petrification. Magic save negates, on three failed saves target turns to stone.
2. Claws: light damage.

Cockatrice beaks are highly valuable to alchemists, and could perhaps be fashioned into a spearhead by a very careful weaponsmith.

Basilisk

HD: 5
Found: solitary in a petrified village, coiled around a heap of eggs

Appearance: six-legged lizard crowned with a web of horns and glaring hatefully.
Voice: low hissing, imperious and threatening
Wants: to rule all reptiles
Tactics: careful

Attack: +2
Defense: +3
Speed: +1

Abilities

1. Deathly gaze: once per round the basilisk can look at a target and wound them if they fail a magic save.
2. Bite: medium damage.

Basilisk eyes are highly treasured but caustic items, and the horns make excellent decoration for their resemblance to a crown.

Legends Beast: The Basilisk by Sean Bricknell

Catoblepas

HD: 2
Found: solitary on plains, near poisonous plants

Appearance: an unhealthy but not starving bovine, with a large downward pointed head and long thin neck, its swollen purple tongue briefly visible as it grazes.
Voice: rasping moo
Wants: poisonous plants to eat, soft places to rest
Tactics: slightly passive

Attack: +1
Defense: +1
Speed: -5

Abilities

1. Petrifying breath: once per day, hits everyone in a melee the catoblepas isn't in, or one target it's fighting. Paralyzes all targets for 1d6 rounds, strength save negates.
2. Head slam: heavy damage to prone targets.

Somber creatures, they are not overly violent but will defend themselves as any beast would. They are immune to any poison ingested, and in fact delight in such activities. Catoblepas skulls can be valuable as a novelty for their distinctive size and weight, but their saliva is a potent paralyzing agent, and the stomachs and tongues are of great use to alchemists.

Harpy

HD: 1
Found: 2d6 along forest roads near cities

Appearance: small feminine torso and head with birdlike wings and legs.
Voice: shrill and demanding, unintelligent
Wants: to steal food and sparkling valuables
Tactics: cowardly

Attack: +1
Defense: +3
Speed: +4

Abilities

1. Claw swipe: either to steal food or attack for light damage. Mostly to steal food.
2. Regurgitate: any poison or dangerous objects they have eaten can be spat back as a breath weapon. Generally light damage, agility save for half.

Harpy stomachs can be useful to alchemists, and the feathers are large and beautiful.

Hydra

HD: 6
Found: solitary in an enchanted garden

Appearance: many (1d6) serpentine heads sprouting from a corpulent reptile body.
Voice: hissing
Wants:
Tactics: protective but aggressive

Attack: +2
Defense: +2
Speed: -3

Abilities

1. Bite: medium damage plus poison.
2. Regeneration: each head has 6 vigor. When severed, it will regrow two more heads, taking half as much vigor from the body. If the body is killed by regrowing heads, they crawl away as giant serpents, hoping to regrow as new hydras.

Hydra by Markus Neidel

Nemean lion

HD: 5
Found: solitary in a cave with two entrances

Appearance: an unusually large lion with shimmering golden fur and gleaming claws.
Voice: ringing roar
Wants: to eat humans, destroy steel works
Tactics: highly aggressive

Attack: +2
Defense: +1
Speed: +3

Abilities

1. Claws: medium damage, armor piercing 3.
2. Bite: heavy damage.
3. Invulnerable pelt: completely prevents damage from cuts, reduces damage from stabs to 1, and reduces damage from strikes by 1.

Qilin

HD: 6
Found: 1d6 near ancient castles

Appearance: quadrupedal scaled creature with a broad, benevolent face, hooved feat, and softly glowing antlers, with sparks of flame flickering around it.
Voice: soft and gentle but impossible to ignore.
Wants: justice and peace
Tactics: well considered

Attack: +4
Defense: +2
Speed: +6

Abilities

1. Antlers: light damage plus fire damage if it has judged the target as wicked.
2. Bite: medium damage.
3. Flame of justice: tongues of flame whip around its body, dealing heavy fire damage. Will save negates.

Divine creatures which are light as a feather, and filled with a soft divine light. They can create and control flames near their body, and can surround themselves with this heat to rise in the air. Whenever struck with a melee weapon, they are flung out of combat as if they had successfully retreated. Their antlers and scales are very valuable on the black market if you can collect them, and their lungs can be used to make bellows that create flame, or a sack full of fire.

Qilin by Katie Langford

Simorgh

HD: 8
Found: unique at the top of a mountain

Appearance: a wolf-headed dragon with claws like a lion.
Voice: loud and intimidating, but caring
Wants: to protect the abandoned, eat elephants
Tactics: well considered

Attack: +3
Defense: +4
Speed: +3

Abilities

1. Bite: medium damage. If the target fails a strength save, they are gripped in its jaws and take 2d6 damage each round until they escape.
2. Claws: heavy damage.
3. Plumage signal: the simorgh knows whenever one of its feathers are burned, and flies there immediately to assist anyone it has gifted a feather to.

Zal and the simurgh by Clara TESSIER

Monster generators

Some monster generating buttons, simple but fun random monsters. The elemental one indicates a broad sense of how powerful it is, but you should feel free to modify any and all details to suit your needs.

Chimera, or just a very general animal hybrid monster generator

The Roam - Semargl, Pilgrim's Companion by Timur Kvasov

Elemental

Token - Elemental by Svetlin Velinov

Aberration, alien, outsider, or any other bizarre creatures when you really want something freaky. In my game system these are conjured by the Summoner.

Ancient by Ryan Barry

These generators were made using Spwack's 'Automatic List to HTML Translator - Version 2' on Meandering Banter. Check it out and make your own magic buttons right here: https://meanderingbanter.blogspot.com/2018/10/automatic-list-to-html-translator-v2.html

Slimes

Most slimes can be identified by their jagged-edged, misshapen appearance and oozing movements, as well as their attraction to breads and fruits. They can even be briefly subdued by pure sugar, which can make it seem as though they have been glued to the ground as they suck it from the grass and dirt. On the other hand, they are usually repelled by strong liquor. Most slimes are differentiated by their color and the bits floating throughout their mass, as these tend to be adapted to and from their environment, respectively.

Like this but the size of a person

The most well known variety are rot slimes, sickly greenish brown with bones and flecks of meat floating within, residing deep in abandoned crypts and ancient sewers. They are known for the way they clash with adventurers, though for most humans they will likely never see one. One of their signature abilities is the way they 'spit' poisonous spray at living creatures. A few who have encountered them will tell of their predilection for rotting meat, and how one can resist their poison more easily if drunk.

Somewhat more of a pressing danger for average folk are rivers slimes, which make their homes on the banks of clear rivers, as one might expect. They are light blue and full of smooth stones but tend to blend in with the flowing water, hiding in wait of animals approaching to drink. Of little threat unless of course, one was simply out washing clothes or fetching water, in places they inhabit people know to keep a pouch of sugar or a jar of syrup with them to distract any slime they might face.

Perhaps more common than river slimes, but much less often encountered, are the vaporous cloud slimes. Their forms usually appear fluffy, despite their sticky, corrosive nature. They are unique in that they float high in the sky nearly all of the time, especially around storms as they await a lightning strike. They feed off of birds and lightning, retaining a charge for many days after being struck as they slowly absorb the energy from it.

Cloud Slime by Me, using Deep Dream

More of an actual danger to society, swamp slimes have deep green bodies covered in hairy algae, with flecks of rusty ore suspended within. They are a danger to bog miners, often attracted to campfires or torches and approaching silently until suddenly a poor worker finds themselves being eaten. Nearly all who go into the bog in search of iron go with a pouch of sugar and a pouch of lye (or at the very least a bar of cheap soap), just in case.

Deep underground are molten, red hot blobs thought to be a type of magma slime. Little is known about them as they are hardly ever encountered by humans, but they exist closer to the surface near volcanoes, and some say they tend to carry gems and metals within their scalding mass.

Lava Slime by Richard Bogmar

There is tell of a great honey pool that once existed in the Great Hive. One day the honey itself heaved and sloughed up out of the pool, attacking workers and drones until it was finally stopped by an apian hero using a weapon blessed with lightning. Needless to say the honey pool was no longer considered safe, and the bees no longer keep honey in this way.

Slimes are of course mindless, but on very rare occasions one will accidentally consume a source of magic, be it a brittle artifact, magic scroll, or particularly careless wizard, and become itself infused with magical charge. For some reason yet unknown, this rearranges the thing's body into a cubic, crystalline structure that is nonetheless still gelatinous, with motes of misty light swimming within. Alchemists are eager for the flesh of these, and will pay well for it, though they demand it be completely unsullied by dirt or detritus.

Gelatinous Cube by Jose Oliva

Each round roll 1d6 for the slime's pseudopodia shape:

1. Polypodial: many medium-sized extrusions which the body flows into and between.
2. Monopodial: one large extrusion that the body shifts into.
3. Lobose: small bumpy reaches that overlap and absorb each other.
4. Conical: broad, medium extrusions that expand in an almost fractal pattern.
5. Reticulose: branching, unnervingly similar to tree branches.
6. Actinopods: spikes that jut out and expand horizontally.