Thursday, July 9, 2020

MUCALYTIC: Monster Conversion - Fighting Fantasy to D&D adjacent and Call of Cthulhu 5e.

The Crown of Kings – Part 3 | Fighting Fantasy Project
It is a MUCALYTIC and you must fight it!
(John Blanche)

From Out of the Pit (p. 84): SKILL 8, STAMINA 9, 2 Attacks, Average Intelligence; stinks so bad you lose 2 STAMINA, and if it hits you three times in a row you get a lungful of its fatal breath.

In the Sorcery! series, you can encounter them in Khare and in Mampang, where they will try to pull the same trick on you - pretending not to be able to hear well or talk above a mutter, then give you a lungful when you lean in.

They left an impression on me.

Mucalytic for D&D adjacent.


Armour Class +2     Hit Dice 4/5    Move 75% Normal Human     Save Fighter 4/5     Morale 8

  • The stench of a Mucalytic is as foul as and has the same effect as that of a Troglodyte or a stinking cloud (your choice).
  • The breath of a Mucalytic is deadly poison (save or die, or save or 2d6/2d8 hits: your choice), but it has no ranged attack.
  • It attacks with 2 blows for d4 or d6 each; it can fight two opponents at once if it wants.
  • If both blows hit a single victim, they are grabbed and pulled close - the Mucalytic breathes on them at the start of the next round.
  • Anyone slain in a Mucalytic lair will be broken down into a repulsive slime within 3d6 turns if not retrieved. Only their bones remain.
  • Mucalytics have Average Intelligence, and can speak & understand other languages.
  • It seems reasonable for Mucalytics to share spaces with oozes, slimes and jellies, and to be found in BECMI Black Hag entourages.


Mucalytic, Trunk-Snouted Ascetics of Decay.

In some dismal and filthy wallow, the Mucalytic sits in darkness, murmuring and muttering who knows what to itself. Its indistinct croaking whispers tantalise with the enlightenment found in degradation and decay: "Come a little closer, step into the sacred mire, and receive the Blessing and the Secret."

Mucalytics are composed of conventional matter, being creatures of the mundane space/time continuum. They can see in the dark, and don't like the sun or running water - nothing supernatural, they just dry out/ wash away their beloved slime.

Of course a Mucalytic will pretend to be Chaugnar Faugn or one of its avatars/representatives if that conclusion is drawn; wouldn't you?

STR 2d6+6 (13)     CON 4d6 (14)     SIZ 3d6+10 (20.5)     INT 3d6 (10.5)     POW 3d6 (10.5)

DEX 2d6+6 (13)

Hit Points 17-18    Damage Bonus +1d6     Move 6

Weapons: 
  • Sloppy Bash 45%, d4 + db
  • The Mucalytic can strike twice in a round, against either one or two opponents. If both attacks hit a single target, it will Grapple them (STR/SIZ vs. STR/SIZ).
  • The Blessing 100% if Grappled; poison breath equal to curare (POT 25, immediate onset, muscular paralysis & respiratory failure). The Mucalytic takes no other action.
  • Those killed or incapacitated in the Mucalytic's lair will receive the Secret, becoming one with the slime and ooze within 3d6x10 minutes. Only their bones remain, beautifully stripped and clean.
  • The stink of a Mucalytic and its surroundings is so rank, all appropriate roles are penalised by 10% unless proper precautions are taken.
Armour: 2 points of muck-plastered hide. 

Skills: Hide 75%; Fool You Twice 35%; Cthulhu Mythos min. INTx2; unaffected by penalties due to slippery, greasy or waterlogged conditions.

Spells: A Mucalytic can expend magic points one-for-one in an attempt to overcome those of a target; success means the victim will approach and bow their head in readiness for the Blessing.

Otherwise, if INT and POW are both 13 or greater, the Mucalytic knows d6 spells - usually Contact spells, and those dealing with extrasensory communication.

Habitat: sewers, storm drains, toxic waste dumps, slimy caves, silted ruins, blighted water meadows - you get the idea. 

Sanity Loss: 0/1d6 to see a Mucalytic; 1/1d6+1 to survive the Secret; 0/1d4 to smell a Mucalytic having encountered one before and failing to overcome it (esp. if you saw someone receive the Blessing).

Commentary.

In converting to D&D adjacent, I'm fortunate that the OotP entry describes them as being 'about the size of a bear'. A SKILL of 8 converts to a 4-5 HD monster according to a conversion document I've seen, so the BECMI Black and Grizzly Bear fit the bill quite nicely.







2 comments:

  1. I think this would make for an interesting encounter in the steaming hot jungles my Sunday group are navigating (don't tell them).

    John Blanche' illustrations are just the best. Love how he can go from these really "worked" fine linework drawings to the almost faux naive, primary colour stuff he put together for White Dwarf.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A hot rot pit. Yum.

      John Blanche was a favourite of mine, too: scabrous & medieval.

      Delete