Pop Creature - Blast Phantom

Twin Peaks: the Return (2017)

I was thrilled and captivated by the triumphant return of the cult classic Twin Peaks after more than two decades off the air. The most stunning and evocative episode is undoubtedly Part 8, which is an unfiltered trip into the nightmarish mindscapes of director David Lynch, beginning with the haunting appearance of the mysterious woodsmen, the fire-blackened creatures that are the topic of today's Pop Creature article. The episode alone is worth a watch for Lynch's masterful craft of surreal imagery and sound editing. The link above showcases one of the episode's most surreal moments, where we witness the birth of evil inside the atomic fire of a nuclear explosion.

While Twin Peaks builds its lore and universe with dense episodes and leaves much open to interpretation, the enigmatic woodsmen and their origin shown in Part 8 in the fallout of an atomic bomb was prime territory for reverse-engineering into an RPG. Imagining the woodsmen as parasitic repercussions of magical or scientific catastrophes keeps their otherworldly menace. Even if you're not a die-hard fan of Twin Peaks these enigmatic creatures from a distant plane should prove to be a harrowing encounter for any Pathfinder group, and maybe a gateway into the decades-long soap opera mystery fever dream that is Twin Peaks.

Take a look below to find out how these terrors translated to Pathfinder!