DMR2 Creature Catalog - S (Part 1): Saberclaw to Slime Worm + Sacrol

Occasional and non-affiliated reminder to check out the Monster Man podcast (and/or support on Patreon), because monsters are great. I started years late so I'm only up to D in Monster Manual II (3rd season), but looking forward to eventually catching up to a look at the CC (whether AC9 or DMR2 edition) and seeing where thoughts con/diverge, and hoping for some segments of surprise.

A typically extensive S section, which I've split it into two for easier digestion.

Saberclaw.

You are faced with a monster. It has 500 hit points, 20 attacks at 1d12 a go, immune to 1st to 3rd level spells (and saving as a 100th level Fighter, if such a thing could be) as well as poison. Luckily (?), it only attacks as a 5 HD foe, but it does get +4 to hit because of limited telepathic ability.

Oh, and sometimes there might be 5 of them. And they can see invisible, ethereal and hidden creatures and objects with truesight.

Mechanically, that's the Saberclaw (Sabreclaw in AC9). Intelligence of 2. If that was all you had to go with, you'd be thinking maybe something from the first printing of Deities & Demigods.

Doug Watson forgetting to make it hairy for its appearance in CM3 Sabre River. 
It makes more sense knowing it appeared in a Companion level adventure.

Narratively, it's a nasty greasy hairy winged monster (conjured from befouled waters) with a large bone extension that resembles a sword on its right arm - y'know, a scimitar talon, a rapier nail, a katana paw, something like that. 

Number Appearing is d100, and they're sub-divided into wings of 1-20. Each wing shares total hp of (25 x the number of Sabreclaws), with the complication that no individual dies until all those hp have been depleted. They save as Fighters of level x5 the members of the wing.

Anyone faced/used them in a game (CM3 or DIY)? How did that play out?

2e tidies them up for 2e, but that's about it. They can carry you off and drop you, and you roll 2d10 rather than d20 for a wing - so they won't be lonely?

Scamille.

This is a Mimic, with a range of Intelligence (1 to 9) and it might be friendly, it might not, because it's a Mimic. It even has the same eavesdrop-and-gossip characteristic.

Arnie Swekel even references the chest in 2e, for goodness sake.

Apart from the name and the flat 10 HD, the main difference between CC and MM is that the Scamille get 6 attacks per round (only one of which is sticky) for 3-18 hp each.

Surprisingly, the Scamille makes it to 2e as a monster in its own right, and is a relative of the Ochre Jelly with no stated connection to the Mimic despite it being a Mimic, though with Average (8) Intelligence, not a range.

An odd choice to carry over into 2e. 

Scorpion, Normal.

A 1 hp monster with save-for-half-damage venom; a hazard when searching or a trap vs. looters.

You could use this statblock for any other small venomous creature.

Sea Horse.

The favorite steeds of mermen and tritons. Of course.

Their body is not described beyond being 15' in length, but they have the head of the horse and some are coloured after land-dwelling horses.

They have approximately the same stats as the AD&D MM Sea Horse, Giant, but the description sounds more like a Hippocampus.

Sea Serpent.

Basic and functional; snakes/serpents are an absolute foundation monster IMO. 

Can constrict vessels for hull damage. I like the illo, too.

Serpentweed, Giant.

Flesh-eating plant with d6 stalks, each has 9 HD and a 2d6 bite attack. The name says snakes, but description could suggest Little Shop of Horrors. 

Main body/root is underwater (habitat is swamps etc) and has to be burned (somehow) to kill it, or severed stalks will have grown back in 6 months.

Is there a non-giant Serpentweed? I can't find one, and the plant with that name in the real world isn't anything like this.

Shargugh.

A hairy little elemental/fairy-folk guardian/spirit of the woods. Wield silver daggers or bite you in combat.

Kill it and the 24 mile hex of woodland it is tied to becomes cursed and infertile for a folkloric seven years (unless a Druid casts remove curse - BECMI/RC Druids being Clerics with a few extra spells and restrictions). Equally, should the Shargugh be forced to leave its home, it will sicken and die in one or two days.

Jez Goodwin, by the looks. #BOSR

Ability to transport via plants in its territory, hide like a Halfling, move silently and pick pockets. Mentions that woodland folk leave it gifts of food and drink to discourage it from robbing them, but I'm not sure if this is elves-and-pixies or charcoal-burners-and-lumberjacks.

No guidance on pronunciation, until 2e (SHAR - guh) plus the italicising of its transport via plants ability to bring it in line with the spell. The usual stuff about family structure and lifecycle.

Shark, Vamora.

Three feet long with 6 HD, they bite and shake you like a terrier does (auto-damage and to Hit penalty).

Is this a fantastic animal or something real statted-up? Quick online search for the name leads me back to gaming material.

It's okay. I'd knock down the HD and use this as a Wolf or olde schoole Call of Cthulhu Ghoul.

Shark-Kin. 

They're not quite the Sahuagin analogue I originally took them to be, but these are scaly, fish-tailed undersea tribal humanoids that have an affinity (and empathic link) with sharks.

Normally fully aquatic and Neutral, they pose their biggest threat to landlubbers when their tribal elder (3 HD leader) dies. At this (over weeks), the Shark-kin sprout legs and their gills adapt to breathing out of water, and they then march ashore to a sacred site where they carry out the ritual that creates a new elder. During this time, they are more aggressive, as they don't want anything upsetting their transformative ritual.

Then they go back to the sea and get rid of those legs. 

2e adds that they're possessive of shipwrecks in their tribal territory, which is a decent adventure complication.

Silver Warrior.

The summoned warriors of the Faedornae. They're invisible and remain so while attacking, with all relevant bonuses/penalties. Wear silver plate armour and wield silver swords +1, but these dissolve along with a slain warrior.

One interpretation of the text is that the usual methods of perceiving the invisible only function for Elves with regard to the Silver Warriors. I would go with this, because I also go with Elves being vulnerable to protection from evil.

They could be styled as elemental conjurations or emanations, as they appear to be formed from the substance of a Shining Isle.

Sirenflower.

For some reason, it's a giant carnivorous fungus masquerading as a giant flower rather than just a giant carnivorous flower. 

Lures using bioluminescence and olfactory mimicry, but this is not a special ability. .

If you enter the plant, it traps you - apparently with no attack roll or saving throw - and you take d4 crushing damage per round and d10 digestive enzyme damage per 10 minute turn. 

Escape by reducing it to 0 hp to represent cutting away all its crushing appendages, which you can even do it trapped (but at penalty, and while losing your own hp). AC as Unarmoured and 5 HD.

Kill it by digging it up and burning the root.

I'm not sure how it's going to threaten player characters unless they make the decision to climb into it, or blunder into it while not taking proper care. The illo seems to hint at some kind of compulsion, but this monster rather feels like a missed opportunity - it's even more of an environmental hazard/trap than many others of its type.

Sis'thik (Desert Scourge).

Lizard folk adapted to extreme desert conditions (eyes and nostrils protected vs. sand storms, heat endurance and low water requirements; they basically get resist fire, too), with a nomadic matriarchal warrior culture. Xytars are their battle mount of choice, and they sometimes join up with Blue Dragons to raid settlements. Shamans (Clerics?) of up to 8th level.

It's specified they want fine wines as part of the tribute they demand of those crossing or hoping to cross their territory. 

2e says they like to eat Copper Dragons.

This is one of the longest entries, if not the longest [edit: no - that's the Hivebrood, at 2 whole pages], in the CC, and the entry for Xytar is supplemental to it. I've read somewhere that they serve as the inspiration/prototype for a later monster or culture; like the Quariks, there's a lot of specific context for a monster that doesn't feature in an adventure or sourcebook.

Skunk. 

Primarily for delivering stinky musk (Charisma is 3 until you get rid of the stench), these come in Normal and Giant varieties.

Reskin as Troglodyte variants.

Slime Worm.

A sparse, mainly mechanical description of this giant slimy/sticky worm that can swallow you whole, and surprises you 1-5 on d6 because it's rolled around in a treasure hoard and now looks like a pile of coins, jewels, weapons and armour.

On the one hand, I like this as adaptive behaviour in the dungeon ecology. On the other, maybe the worm has a different natural habitat with a transferable ability. It feels pretty old school.

2e gives it a limit to how many victims of what size it can swallow and keep doing so, as well as a 15% chance of being recognised for what it is before it has a chance to attack. One reading of the text implies that it doesn't necessarily have to be camouflaged with treasure.

What Was Left Out - Sacrol.

All the angry dead of a particular site collected into the undead form of a big skull cloaked in multi-coloured mist - nothing concrete on size/area. Its attacks using misty tentacles: 2 per round for 1 level energy drain, followed by automatic choking damage (hit points not energy drain). Can animate dead of its original type to do its bidding.

With a bit of tinkering, maybe a lower-level Demilich variant?

2e gives it the upgrade of a slay living shriek. Says it's 4' across - whether it means the skull or the mist, I don't know.

One of the monsters I preferred as a simple stat block in the BECMI Master DM's book because there was more room to imagine it.

DMR2 Creature Catalog - P, R: Pachydermion to Roper + Phygorax, Possession, Reflecter.

Pachydermion.

Elephant people. 

Very strong and can triple wield (two swords and a mace in the trunk). Never forget anything (so don't have/need a written culture). Can have spell-casters up to 12th level.

You're probably expected to give them African or Indian cultural trappings depending on where you place them.

Make them shaggy mammoth/mastodon people with spears and axes, or have them as lone sages of a dying race, each sole repository of vast knowledge that would otherwise be lost. 

Or paint them psychedelic and give them psionics, shift them into the astral/ethereal/limbo planes and make them the new analogue for Gith (yanki/zerai, either or both) - I think this has possibilities.

Pegataur.

Winged Elf Centaurs. And that Elf bit is really only for the Fighter/Magic User synergy - these are beefy fellows, though that could be modified if a more delicate image appeals.

As written, they're mercenaries who can be hired by anyone (my emphasis). They need money and respect, and I think that makes them wonderfully, unexpectedly grey for what should so obviously be paragons of goodness - like Gygaxian Cavalier-Paladins.

As they specifically train in BECMI Weapon Mastery they could serve as Chiron-like sponsors/teachers of heroes rather than just spell-casting flying cavalry. Options are longbow, lance, two-handed sword, and mace.

2e eliminates those purely mercenary tendencies by stating that they won't serve evil employers. Making them less interesting.

Phanaton.

Within the context of X1 Isle of Dread, I really like them - hang-gliding halfling-monkey-racoons that team up with Dryads and Treants to fight the Aranea.

Taken from that context, I start to get a more Zoog-y vibe from them, and their 1-1 HD tribal humanoid stats can look more like a Goblin than a Halfling, if you know what I mean. They can definitely sit amongst the other ambivalent 'little people' on the edges of human habitation.

They're Lawful in CC, Chaotic Good in 2e, but I've never met an Alignment I wouldn't cheerfully disregard.

Phantom, Lesser.

Another not-undead that's basically some kind of a ghost. This one's possibly an elemental, because it's made of mist. Feeds on the fear generated by leading you into danger, having taken on a harmless/pathetic appearance and/or used its ability to fly/walk on water to have you follow it into quicksand etc.

Can also turn invisible at will, and cast confusion, hallucinatory terrain and phantasmal force 1/day each. Tries to escape once you pull things together to resist it, but can bash you for d4 hp in extremis.

Unrelated to the BECMI Phantom (high-level undead), or the AD&D monster from MM2.

Because it's a ghost, I like it, and would add its stats and abilities to the suite available for haunting spirits.

Piranha Bird.

Lesser and Greater, both types are always hungry for fresh meat. They're brightly coloured, have infravision and do not like bright sunlight (prefer the dimmest woods and underground) - a perfect lair-share monster for Cynidiceans, I think.

For whatever reason, they're no longer really birds when they transfer to 2e and wouldn't look out of place in Dark Sun because of it.

Flock/swarm mechanic for the Lesser Piranha Bird; similar to that of the Raven & Crow (see below).

Change the Flying Move for Swimming and these also serve as Piranhas.

Polymar.

A non-magical polymorph monster that can change into any creature of up to 10 HD, or any object up to 100 cubic feet. Doesn't get special abilities with the new shape and can be spotted with the same likelihood of noticing a secret door.

Gets three attacks for d6 hp each, apparently unrelated to size, shape or number of extremities. We don't learn what it looks like when not transformed. 

Chaotic alignment, so baddies, but nothing on their habits or motives, so presumably 'just monsters'. One of two variations on the classic Mimic in the CC (see Scamille).

2e makes them telepathic and cooperative with each other, all taking shapes to fill out a scene. They reproduce by fission, and digest organic matter they engulf (including adventurers). A Lawful Neutral alignment adds another dimension to them, and makes me think that they form societies - even covertly living amongst humanoids as their furniture and domestic animals.

The Monster Man podcast links the Polymar to the Protein Polymorph (1e Fiend Folio) via Tom Moldvay as originator. Interestingly, there's also suggestion of it being The Thing (based on the short story rather than the at-the-time yet-to-be-released John Carpenter classic), though the Polymar doesn't have the same in-description malignancy as the Protein Polymorph.

Porcupine, Giant.

Not very different to the one in AD&D. 

It can shoot quills, so you could use the statblock as the basis for a Manticore variant or some sort of Cactus People.

Rakasta.

The Rakasta, as they were presented in X1 Isle of Dread, are an exception to my general indifference to cat-people (characters and monsters) - sabre-tooth tiger mounts and war claws worn over their natural ones. Might be just because they caught me at the right time.

As presented in X1. Good.

Mystaran Samurai Moon Cats and iterations thereafter might have lots of interesting stuff, but that would mean having to make an effort to overcome my mild aversion.

2e gives some details of their special code of honour.

Randara.

An evil being of legendary power. 

It would appear that the Randara is the BECMI/Mystara stand-in for the AD&D Rakshasa. Name changed because it was (almost) already taken by the Rakasta. 

There's no physical description for the Rakshasa in the MM, but that Trampier image of the pipe-smoking tiger-man was just too iconic. And of the Randara, its true appearance is unknown.

The Randara is approximately twice as powerful as the Rakshasa (HD and damage output), with spells as an 11th level Cleric (Rakshasa gets 3 MU levels and 1 Cleric), plus ESP and non-magical polymorph (Rakshasa uses illusion) at will, and charm person 1/day. It's immune to normal weapons and 1st to 3rd level spells; the Rakshasa gets immunity up to 8th level (meaning it is unaffected by any Cleric spells, I've just realised). Both take only half damage from magic weapons.

The 2e Randara casts its spells as an 11th level caster, which doesn't have much effect on charm person and ESP, and loses its Cleric spells. Is this a mistake corrected from CC or introduced in 2e? 

This later iteration also loses its hefty claw/claw/bite of 2-12 (x2)/3-18, causing damage as appropriate to the form it takes.

2e describes them tracking and researching a suitable member of a society for weeks in order to imitate and replace them, suggesting that their likeness is (near) perfect but mannerisms, habits and knowledge must be practiced diligently.

I'm not entirely sure the slight differences justify getting its own entry in 2e rather than it simply being a more powerful Rakshasa, but slight differences have always been enough to do so in D&D. It's a feature/quirk that suits the collecting/listing mindset that isn't rare in ttrpg folks.

In a similar way to the Herex, the Randara allows high-level parties to revisit lower level types of adventure; in this case, rooting out the Doppelganger.  

The Randara is a good template to build on for epic/legendary supernatural entities. With those Cleric spells and a Juggernaut, Wood, you've got a serviceable Baba Yaga equivalent. Bolt on a diet of blood, you've got Dracula etc, etc.

Raven & Crow.

Normal and Large (Giant?) varieties. Not much more to them.

Normal size have a swarm mechanic attack: 3-6 of them attack you for d6 hp, one attack per round per group as a quarter-HD monster with effective hp of 1-2 per bird. Doesn't specify if they keep that d6 attack to the bitter end or if they need a minimum surviving number.

Red Worm.

Immature Fyrsnaca, and an encounter with them indicates that an adult lies dormant in a body of water nearby. According to their illo, they look at lot more like the Purple Worms they're meant to be related to.

Otherwise, you can use them as standard burrowing monster worms. They have a poisonous bite (save or take double damage), and can burst out of the earth/rock to surprise you (50%).

2e gives them the added characteristic of skin that is almost transparent, revealing the veins and organs within.

Rhinoceros.

Normal and Woolly (Prehistoric) varieties. Here if you need them.

Lower HD but higher damage compared to the AD&D equivalents in the Monster Manual.

Rock Man.

Like the Geonid, there's some plausible ambiguity to the text as to whether the Rock Man is wholly mineral or partly organic: a strange creature whose skin has the appearance of granite. Though they crumble to pieces when killed, leaving behind a heart-shaped ruby (d10 x 10 gp value) - and they'll try to kill you if they find out you've got one.

Cone-shaped little fellas, they look like rocks when stood still and so surprise 1-4 on d6 (1-3 if you keep careful watch, 1-2 if you're a Dwarf). They are presumably stiff and slow, having Initiative penalties.

They're a little troll-like in their behaviour, demanding tolls of c. 500gp to pass through their territory.

In 2e, they get an Ent-y attitude to time and language, which is reasonable. They also get a significant damage boost by gaining 18/00 Exceptional Strength, which is also reasonable. Apparently have grey blood that can be used as building mortar, which I think is unnecessary but interesting. They have eyes that shine like gold nuggets - a nice little detail, because of the gruesome implications.

Roper.

Basically the same as the AD&D version, though with much lower Intelligence (4 compared to Exceptional) and the possibility of pretending to be trees in the wilderness as well as rocks in a cave.

5d6 damage vs. 5d4 in AD&D, too.

Grenadier miniature - the Writhing Crusher.
Off-brand Roper or possibly Zargon from B4 The Lost City.

I quite like the Roper in both iterations, animal intelligence ambush predator or hostile subterranean Cthulhuvian intellectual.

What Was Left Out - Phygorax, Possession, Reflecter.

Phygorax.

I am extremely disappointed to find this didn't make it any further than AC9: a beautiful... undead fish with level-draining spines, and you turn into one of them if it kills you (rising again in 1-6 days). It has 14 Intelligence and is Turned as a Vampire.

See - beautiful.

It uses ESP to select a victim, then creates an appropriate illusion, any touchable part of which is a deadly spine - you feel the energy drain, but the illusion adapts/reacts rather being dispelled. 

It's also pretty buff, with 8 HD, immunity to normal weapons, and being unaffected by spells up to 4th level.

I would love to know more - what's the living fish like, for a start? Energy drain, undead status and physical form aside, it's very much like the Rakshasa/Randara.

Possession.

Also known as sword spirits, these monsters are a pun on the double meaning of 'possession': an object owned, and being inhabited by a spirit.

A Possession is not restricted to swords, and can possess almost any object and animate it. So you get haunted suits of armour, self-activating magic items, and clothes that can attempt to smother and strangle you for d8 hp like something out of M.R. James. They can also attempt to take control of anyone handling the object, using the rules for special magical swords (with a Willpower of up to 27).

For me, this is a logical progression of the magic item/weapon sub-systems (much like the Huptzeen is) into monster form, with the added bonus of being of the realm of the dead and the spirits, and I feel a little cheated I never knew about it until now. I suppose because it is a monsterisation of a sub-system is why it didn't survive longer.

We also learn that the natural AC of a weapon is 2 (+7 for ascending), and wooden objects/normal clothes are AC 7 (+2).

Reflecter.

This is a weird one: mobile human statues of perfectly reflective silvery metal... rumoured to be from the far future. If you're able to open one up (implied to be a difficult task, requiring 5-50 additional hp damage post mortem), you find that they're a hard shell filled with brain-like material. 

After gathering up c. 100,000gp of treasure + min. 5 magic items, a group/lair of Reflecters will (folklorically rather than science-fictionally) gather at the next full moon and vanish (along with their loot) at midnight. They will track (50%) the theft of their magical treasures, but can be bought off (80%) with any book, map, or scroll (magical or otherwise) which seems overly exploitable.

Shiny robbing time-bastards.

Naked and unarmed, they zap you with lightning bolts for x4 their HD in otherwise flat damage. Mechanics for dodged/missed bolts to inadvertently hit something else. They can defensively wrestle with a Strength and Dexterity of 18 each, and immunity to stun and damage.

You need a min. +4 weapon to hit them, and only score 1 hp regardless. If you cast spells at them, the Reflecter is unaffected and the spell (if applicable) is reflected (do you see?) back at you. Making a wish will turn the Reflecter(s) vulnerable for 3 turns - though they will simply vanish within that time. This ability (if it is one) isn't detailed further. 

Because they may be time-travellers collecting magic items, you could see them as anti-Oards, and because of the brain-stuff, you could frame them as connected to Mind Flayers. There's definitely a whiff of Spelljammer about them, though that could be purely retrospective on my part.

Neutral alignment and Unknown Intelligence (with a suggested value of 15). Maybe a candidate for the ranks of the Neutral (evil) with Unratable Intelligence?

Looking at their habits and near invulnerability, I wonder if the main intention of the Reflecter was as a method of removing campaign upsetting magic items.