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5e: Great Eagle

How many times have we all said that the answer is the giant eagles? I mean, come on. That has been the answer to how many problems in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies? Yet the one in the book is only CR 1 and Large size. There’s no way that thing can go toe to toe with the great flying creatures that the Nine ride. So if you are a druid looking to call upon wondrous help when you cast conjure fey, you will need this choice creature.

Why not have a truly memorable character ride a great eagle instead of just another elf or dwarf. Download the Book of Heroic Races Player Races 2 for your Fifth Edition game at JonBrazer.com. You can also find this at DriveThruRPG/RPGNow, the OpenGamingStore and Paizo.com and make your 5e character something truly special.

Great Eagle

Gargantuan beast, neutral good

Armor Class 15
Hit Points 81 (6d20 + 18)
Speed 10 ft., fly 80 ft.

STR 20 (+5) DEX 21 (+5) CON 16 (+3)
INT 9 (–1) WIS 17 (+3) CHA 12 (+1)

Skills Perception +6
Senses passive Perception 16
Languages Giant Eagle, understands Common and Auran but can’t speak them
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)

Keen Sight. The eagle has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Actions

Multiattack. The great eagle makes two attacks: one with its beak and one with its talons.
Beak. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) piercing damage.
Talons. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 15). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the great eagle can’t use its talons on another target.

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Foreven Worlds: Dispatch Science Shuttle

The Dispatch Science Shuttle is a mobile laboratory. Its small size lets it be taken inside any larger, jump capable ship and transported anywhere in a quick time frame. Add it that its military sensors and onboard science lab and it is the laborary you need in the field. Top that off with the fuel process, fuel scoops and an oversized fuel tank and this ship can act as an emergency generator and refuel tender, increasing its functionality.

The Dispatch Science Shuttle was originally designed for governments to have a rapid response lab ship for disasters. When the Rowan manufacturing company started getting order for them from corporations looking for a planetary test vehicle, they knew they had a hit on their hands.

This ship appears in the upcoming third installment of the Foreven Worlds: Prelude to War Adventure Path, due out this Summer. Order your copies of the first two installments of this series of adventures today at DriveThruRPG with the Rose of Death and State of Chaos.

Dispatch Science Shuttle

TL 10     Tons Cost
Hull Standard Hull Points 22 56 Cr. 2,800,000
Armor Crystaliron Armour 6 4.5 Cr. 1,440,000
M-Drive Thrust 3 2 Cr. 4,000,000
Power Plant Fusion-8 (Efficient) Power 33 3 Cr. 1,650,000
Fuel Tanks 280 Weeks Operation 21
Bridge 6 Cr. 300,000
Computer Computer/10 Cr. 160,000
Sensors Military DM+0 2 Cr. 4,100,000
Fuel Processor 20 tons/day 1 Cr. 50,000
Fuel Scoops Cr. 1,000,000
Aerofins 5 Cr. 500,000
Laboratory 4 Scientists 16 Cr. 2,000,000
Cargo 1.5
Maintenance Costs Cr. 1,500
Purchase Costs Cr. 18,000,000
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13th Age: Happy Friday the 13th Age Sale

Deadly Delves Reign of Ruin (13th Age)

Happy Friday the 13th! May your black cat cross the path of a broken mirror walking under a ladder that threw salt over its shoulder. And to help you with your luck, there’s a Friday the 13th Age Sale going on right now at the JBE Shop, DriveThruRPG/RPGNow, and the Open Gaming Store.

Grab these 13th Age deals today while this Friday the 13th Sale lasts. It is for this weekend only so download today.

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Pathfinder: Phantasm Swarm

Swarms are a pain in the butt. Physical weapons are of not much use against them if at all. Spells that target only a single creature are downright useless. You have to rely on area effect spells to take them out. Otherwise, you’re running away.

Incorporeal creatures are a pain in the butt. Physical weapons are of little use. Spells that don’t deal force damage or positive energy are not very effective. You’re have to rely on a small selection of spells and certain divine casters to take them out. Otherwise, you’re running away.

So when creating the Book of Beasts: Monsters of the Shadow Plane, I thought why not combine the two. That would make a monster that is just downright terrifying and perfect for a higher level game. The only thing that would make it even worse is if one of those classes you would normally rely upon were less effective. That would be evil! The result of that is below.

You can find this creature and more that are equally awesome in the Book of Beasts: Monsters of the Shadow Plane at the JBE Shop. This book is also available at DriveThruRPG/RPGNow, Paizo, and the Open Gaming Store.

Phantasm Swarm

A cloud of dark malevolent energy manifests itself as a roiling mass of angry skulls and grasping hands. The parts move and act as one – a single entity driven to destroy all that is holy.
PHANTASM SWARM CR 12
XP 19,200
CE Tiny undead (incorporeal, swarm)
Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +32

DEFENSE

AC 23, touch 23, flat-footed 16 (+4 deflection, +6 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 size)
hp 102 (12d8+48)
Fort +8, Ref +12, Will +14
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +2, incorporeal, swarm traits; Immune undead traits; SR 20 (divine spells only)

OFFENSE

Speed fly 40 ft (perfect)
Melee swarm (1d8 Wisdom damage)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks distraction (DC 22), hatred of religion (+2 Wis)

STATISTICS

Str —, Dex 23, Con —, Int 13, Wis 22, Cha 18
Base Atk +9; CMB +13; CMD 28
Feats Dodge, Hover, Improved Initiative, Improved Lightning Reflexes, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility, Skill Focus (Perception), Skill Focus (Stealth), Step Up
Skills Fly +33, Knowledge (religion) +16, Perception +27, Spellcraft +16, Stealth +35
Languages Aklo, Common
SQ divine spell resistance

ECOLOGY

Environment any (Plane of Shadows)
Organization solitary, pair, or mass (3-5)
Treasure none

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Divine Spell Resistance (Su) A phantasm swarm has spell resistance against divine spells equal to 8 + its total HD. Arcane spells are not subject to this spell resistance.
Hatred of Religion (Su) The only thing a phantasm swarm hates more than religious holy/unholy symbols are those bearing them. The Wisdom damage dealt by the swarm attack is increased by +2 if the targeted creature possesses some kind of obvious holy/unholy symbol or channels energy.
Wisdom Damage (Su) A phantasm swarm’s attack deals 1d8 points of Wisdom damage to a living creature. This is a negative energy effect. A creature dies if this Wisdom damage equals or exceeds its actual Wisdom score.
It is done. These souls will never reincarnate nor will they be at peace. We have made them an offer and they chose to reject it. They refuse to work for us; they will have all eternity together to regret their decision. It is too late for them to reconsider now. Their souls are now damned for all time. Let them writhe in torment and remember their loss with no end. Pain is all they shall ever know.
– Thykan Rast, cleric of Asmodeus, “Ledger of Souls”
It is said that souls that reach their final reward forget their earlier lives. Less known is that souls forbidden from this reward never forget. Over the course of centuries, clusters of these tortured souls have gathered together on the Plane of Shadows to form a phantasm swarm, an entity more powerful than just the combined ectoplasmic energy of the souls alone. Its collective hatred for priests and all divine casters—the living intermediaries to the afterlife—gives a phantasm swarm power. The ghostly lynch mob now seeks revenge.
A phantasm swarm, armed with all its loathing of divinity, will attack any creature it identifies as an agent of a deity, regardless of the religion or alignment. Wearing a holy/unholy symbol or simply invoking the name of a deity may be enough for a phantasm swarm to exact retribution for its wretched state of disembodied unrest on a worshipful creature.
Magic bludgeoning weapons deal half damage to a phantasm swarm. All other magic weapons deal one quarter damage. Mundane weapons do no harm this furious soul cloud.

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13th Age: Slow Spell

Previously, we’ve shared two low-level spells from the recently released 13 Wizard Cantrips and Spells: web and mirror image. Today we are sharing with you a 7th level spell, perfect for high level characters—the slow spell. This classic spell makes it harder for enemies to attack. With this spell, it is impossible for an enemy to both move an attack, tipping the balance of power into the players’ favor. Check out this new spell now.

Slow

Ranged spell
Daily
Target: One nearby enemy
Attack: Intelligence + Level vs. MD
Hit: On the target’s next turn, it can only take either a standard action or a move action, but not both.
In addition, at the start of each of the target’s turns this battle, if the escalation die is odd, roll a d20 and add the escalation die; on a 16+, this effect persists for that turn.
Miss: You regain this spell during your next quick rest.
9th level spell The roll to repeat the effect is now 11+ instead of 16+.

Download 13 Wizard Cantrips and Spells today for your 13th Age game today at JonBrazer.com. You can also download it at DriveThruRPG/RPGNow and the Open Gaming Store.

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5e: Flame Cat

Like I said a week ago, we went through the MM mentioned which monsters are usable with the various conjure spells and discovered the selection was rather thin. In an effort to correct this we are creating monsters you can conjure with these spells. Last week we shared the thunderscreech today we are sharing with you the flame cat, ideal for the conjure minor elementals spell.

Flame Cat

Small elemental, neutral evil
Armor Class 13
Hit Points 39 (6d6 + 18)
Speed 30 ft.

STR 12 (+1) DEX 17 (+3) CON 16 (+3)
INT 7 (–2) WIS 11 (+0) CHA 8 (–1)

Saving Throws Dex +5
Damage Vulnerabilities cold
Damage Resistance piercing and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities fire, poison
Condition Immunities exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, unconscious
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages Ignan
Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Fire From. The flame cat can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing. A creature that touches the flame cat or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 2 (1d4) fire damage. In addition, the flame cat can enter a hostile creature’s space and stop there. The first time it enters a creature’s space on a turn, that creature takes 2 (1d4) fire damage and catches fire; until someone takes an action to douse the fire, the creature takes 2 (1d4) fire damage at the start of each of its turns.
Pounce. If the flame cat moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 11 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the flame cat can make one bite attack against it as a bonus action.
Variable Illumination. The flame cat sheds bright light in a 5- to 20-foot radius and dim light for an additional number of feet equal to the chosen radius. The flame cat can alter the radius as a bonus action.
Water Susceptibility. For every 5 feet that the flame cat moves in water, or for every gallon of water splashed on it, it takes 1 cold damage.

Actions

Multiattack. The flame cat makes two attacks: one claw and bite attack.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d10+1) fire damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d8+1) fire damage. Miss: 2 (1d4) fire damage

Wizards, with their spell books, tend to get nervous around flame cats. Unsurprisingly, flame cats love to watch things burn, and spell books have a tendency to go up in flames around them. Because of this, wizards do not summon them very often. Druids that live in the forest also tend to be skittish around flame cats, not wanting their homes burned down. Those druids that live in other environments—such as caves or deserts—frequently summon flame cats, especially when in the forest or when encountering a wizard.

Flame cats stand a little under 3 feet tall, their bodies constantly rippling. Unlike fire elementals, flame cats have a distinctive shape that is always present, no matter how strained that shape might be from a tight corridor.

Get more monsters for your Fifth Edition game today in the Book of Beasts: Monsters of the Forbidden Woods. Download this book today at JonBrazer.com. You can also find it at DriveThruRPG/RPGNow, Paizo, and the Open Gaming Store.

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Cast The Spells You Want in the 13th Age

Ancient Spells Are Yours To Wield

Harness the fury of storms and stone! Snare, confound, and spy on your foes! Bend gravity and light to your whim! Wizards develop their starting spells into intricate dweomers that define their adventuring careers and leave enemies cowering beneath the yoke of their arcane might as their power reaches its apex. Now you can go beyond the core book and expand your character’s knowledge of both fundamental and esoteric spellcraft.

13 Wizard Cantrips and Spells is the latest in our 13 Class Options series for the 13th Age Roleplaying Game. Inside this 12-page PDF, you will find:

  • 2 New 1st Level Spells to create illusionary doubles of yourself and shrink or enlarge objects
  • 2 New 3rd Level Spells to conjure up webs to keep enemies in their places or recklessly throw snowballs at your enemies
  • 3 New 5th Level Spells to make it rain down acid, harness the strength of a titan, or shrink or enlarge your friends and enemies for fun and profit
  • 2 New 7th Level Spells to send your enemies hurling skywards or slow down enemy attacks
  • 1 New 9th Level Spell to protect yourself with a rainbow of defenses
  • 2 New Utility Spells that let you see far away or create walls of stone
  • 1 New Cantrip designed to quench campfires or other small flames

Bend Reality to Your Will in the 13th Age.

Download 13 Wizard Cantrips and Spells today for your 13th Age game today at JonBrazer.com. You can also download it at DriveThruRPG/RPGNow and the Open Gaming Store.

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13th Age: Web Your Enemies and Dance Like a Spider

Tomorrow sees the much anticipated release of 13 Wizard Canitrips and Spells—the second in our series of 13 Class Options for the 13th Age Roleplaying Game—and we couldn’t be more excited. Last week we showed off the mirror image spell, a classic spell with a 13th Age twist. This week we are sharing with you another classic spell updated with 13th Age that is also one of my favorites. Like last week, this spell has a nice twist to it.

Web

Close-quarters spell
Daily
Target: One or more nearby enemies (see below)
Special: You can choose more than one target for this spell, but you take a –2 penalty when attacking two targets, a –3 penalty for three targets, and so on.
Attack: Intelligence + Level vs. PD
Hit: The target is dazed for a number of rounds equal to the escalation die; a normal save (11+) ends the condition. On an attack roll of natural 16+, the target is also stuck until the end of your next turn.
Natural Even Miss: The target is dazed until the end of its next turn.
5th level spell On any miss, the target is dazed until the end of its next turn.
7th level spell On an attack roll of natural 12+, the target is also stuck until the end of your next turn.
9th level spell You can target far-away enemies with this spell, and you suffer no penalty for targeting up to 3 enemies (targeting 4 or more enemies incurs all penalties as normal, however).
Adventurer Feat: The dazed effect ends only on a hard save (16+).
Champion Feat: You summon a swarm of spiders into the webbing, which deal 4d10 poison damage to anyone stuck in the web at the start of their turn.

Download 13 Wizard Cantrips and Spells today for your 13th Age game today at JonBrazer.com. You can also download it at DriveThruRPG/RPGNow and the Open Gaming Store.

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What Kind of Monster Artwork Do You Prefer?

Earlier this week, we showed off a monster that a druid or wizard can summon with the conjure minor elemental spell. I really like that monster, but there’s something I have been wondering about with the artwork: the style. It is a beautiful color image. The problem is is that I don’t have a massive library of color images. I have a much larger library of black and white image. So as I continue to work on monster books for Fifth Edition, 13th Age, Pathfinder 2e (possibly), and other systems, I want to stay consistent as much as possible throughout the entire project. So that leads me to ask, what do you prefer?

Adding a parchment background to a black and white image is quite easy and rather fun. Not only that, it gives the image a distinctive feeling of being from an ancient tome that time forgot, in keeping with the fantasy theme. However, I do love looking at the color images in monster books. So I am asking you to help me make up my mind.

Tell me what kind of image would you like to see in a monster book from us. Vote in the poll below and as always, elaborate in the comments below.

What Style of Monster Artwork Do You Prefer?

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See our monster books we have published so far for Pathfinder and Fifth Edition at the JBE Shop.

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5e: Thunderscreech

Thunderscreech Image by Matt Bulahao

Last year, I had a series of blog posts that shared all the conjurable creatures in the 5e MM and I noticed that it was a rather thin selection. I decided to do something about that, seeing as how summoning monsters is something I enjoy doing. I’ve been working for the last few months when I have time (both seconds) on increasing that number. Today I thought I would share with you one of those creatures. This one is ideal for the conjure minor elemental spell, usable by wizards and druids.

Thunderscreech

Small elemental, chaotic neutral
Armor Class 13
Hit Points 33 (6d6 + 12)
Speed 10 ft., fly 30 ft.

STR 13 (+1) DEX 16 (+3) CON 14 (+2)
INT 9 (–1) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 6 (–2)

Saving Throws Dex +5, Con +4
Damage Immunities lightning, poison, thunder
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages Auran
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)

Actions

Lightning Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6+1) piercing damage plus 2 (1d4) lightning damage. Miss: 1 (1d2) lightning damage.
Deafening Screech (Recharge 6). As an action a thunderscreech can let out a deafening cry. All creatures within 10 feet must succeed a DC 12 Constitution save or take 7 (2d6) thunder damage.

Looking like a bird the size of a gnome wreathed in lightning, a thunderscreech is known for its distinctive cry as it swoops in for the kill. A favorite among druids, the thunderscreech will sit upon the shoulder of the one that summoned it until it is given a command, its eyes darting around looking for signs of trouble.

Its exact form varies, covering all types of avians. It frequently appears as an owl for a wizard and a hawk or an eagle for druids. Some scholars believe that the thunderscreech that answers the summoning shares similarities to caster. Others believe that the thunderscreech can change its form to be looked upon more favorably by the summoning caster.

Check out the other monsters we created for Fifth Edition in the Book of Beasts: Monsters of the Forbidden Woods at JonBrazer.com. You can also find this at DriveThruRPG/RPGNow, Paizo and the OpenGamingStore.

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13th Age: Make More of You with Magic

Everyone at loves us some 13th Age. Richard Moore, our resident 13th Age expert, has committed more than once that there are some classic spell options missing from 13th Age and that is one we set out to correct when we started the 13 Class Options series.

This is not the first in the series. We started off the first with 13 Fighter Talents and Maneuvers. We are so glad that 13th Age fans love that supplement so much. If you have not checked that one out yet, download it today at the JBE Shop, DriveThruRPG/RPGNow and the Open Gaming Store.

Today we bring you a preview to what you can expect in the new supplement and I think the perfect place to start is a spell that I saw in my very first game of Dungeon and Dragons, approximately 30 years ago: mirror image. For those of you unfamiliar with this classic spell, it produces illusionary duplicates of yourself so there’s a chance that whomever is attacking you will hit one of the fake you’s instead. Naturally, we gave it a 13th Age twist, allowing it to not only get more powerful as you go up in level but also has some cool new tricks when you spend a feat on it.

Read the spell below and see all it has.

Mirror Image

Close-quarters spell

Daily

Target: You

Effect: This spell creates 1d2 illusory doubles of yourself which remain close to you in a nearby group. On a natural odd hit from an enemy, one of the doubles took the hit instead of you—it winks out and disappears.

3rd level spell Create 1d2 + 1 doubles

5th level spell Create 1d3 + 1 doubles

7th level spell Whenever you suffer a crit, a double automatically takes the hit.

9th level spell Add half of the current escalation die value to the number of doubles you create.

Adventurer Feat: This spell recharges on 16+ after battle if you have one illusory double left, or 11+ if you have two or more left.

Champion Feat: Your doubles may engage with nearby enemies. They can only make basic melee opportunity attacks identical to yours, which deal psychic damage.

Epic Feat: Your doubles explode in a dazzling display when struck, dealing psychic damage equal to your Intelligence modifier + your level + the current escalation die value.

Download 13 Wizard Cantrips and Spells today for your 13th Age game today at JonBrazer.com. You can also download it at DriveThruRPG/RPGNow and the Open Gaming Store.

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Pathfinder: Godling

Continuing our series of monsters released every Wednesday, we bring you one this week from our latest adventure—Deadly Delves: The Dragon’s Dream. This one is an aquatic blog of swamp mater that is worshipped as a god, where it gets its name from. This monster first appeared in our exceptional collection of high level monsters—Book of Beasts: Legendary Foes. Its original inspiration is from the Lovecraft story Call of Cthulhu where there was a creature in the Louisiana swamp that men worshiped as a god.

It was this creature that author Landon Wilkler took and make the initial source of problems that the players are investigating in his Dragon’s Dream adventure. I must admit that I love this adventure and not just because he is using more than one creature from my monster books. Landon did an amazing job crafting an adventure that your players will remember for years to come. At such a high level, I hope it helps you craft the story you want to tell on your way to level 20.

Download Deadly Delves: The Dragon’s Dream, a level 16 Pathfinder adventure, today at the JBE Shop. You can also find it at DriveThruRPG/RPGNow, Paizo, and the Open Gaming Store.

Godling CR 17

XP 102,400
NE Huge ooze (aquatic)
Init +13; Senses Blindsight 240 ft.; Perception +40

Defenses

AC 31, touch 17, flat-footed 22 (+9 Dex, +14 natural, –2 size)
hp 264 (23d8+161)
Fort +14, Ref +16, Will +20
DR 10/bludgeoning; Immune acid, electricity, ooze traits, piercing; Resist cold 10, fire 10; SR 25
Weaknesses vulnerable to sonic

Offense

Speed 40 ft., swim 120 ft.
Melee 6 tentacle +23 (1d8+5/19-20 plus grab plus poison), bite +25 (2d6+10)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. (60 ft. with tentacles)
Special Attacks dominating song (DC 23), swallow whole (3d6 acid damage, AC 17, hp 26)

Statistics

Str 30, Dex 28, Con 25, Int 19, Wis 36, Cha 15
Base Atk +17; CMB +29; CMD 54
Feats Alertness, Combat Expertise (–5/+5), Combat Refexes, Deceitful, Defensive Combat Training, Greater Feint, Improved Critical (tentacle), Improved Feint, Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Skill Focus (Bluff, Linguistics)
Skills Bluff +35, Disguise +29, Linguistics +33, Perception +40, Sense Motive +40, Stealth +24 (+40 in swamps), Swim +18; Racial Modifiers +16 Stealth when in a swamp
Languages Abyssal, Aquan, Celestial, Common, Infernal plus 19 others; songspeech
SQ amphibious

Special Abilities

Dominating Song (Su) A godling can sing an enchanting song that dominates all intelligent creatures within 120 feet that fail a DC 23 Will save, as per the spell dominate person. A dominated creature receives a new Will each round to resist this effect. A creature that successfully saves against the dominating song is charmed, as per the spell charm person, for 1d3 rounds but afterwards is immune to this godling’s dominating song ability for 24 hours. This is a compulsion, language-dependent, mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Poison (Ex) Tentacle—injury; save Fort DC 28, frequency 1/round for 8 rounds, effect 1d4 Con plus stun, cure 3 consecutive saves. The save DC is Consitution-based.
Songspeech (Ex) When a godling speaks, it communicates in all languages it knows at once. A creature hears a language it knows while the other languages sound like a chorus singing musical notes.
Water Healing (Su) When a godling is touching water, it gains fast healing 10.