tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67008073023267188742024-03-27T16:23:52.199+00:00Shuttered RoomQuasi-heroic adventures against a pseudo-allegorical backdrop.shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.comBlogger135125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-61859106601249518762024-03-07T16:18:00.000+00:002024-03-07T16:18:06.822+00:00ICE AGE MEGAFAUNA! - Back to Basic<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It looks like all (and there weren't so many, really) the prehistoric mammals got wiped off the books along with the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2023/11/dinosaurs-back-to-basic.html" target="_blank">Dinosaurs</a>.</div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Apply one or more of the following tags to the statblock of familiar modern specimens, from aardvark to zebra. </p><p><b>Cave: </b>+2 HD, all damage dice raised to the next increment</p><p><b>Dire: </b>+2 HD, +2 damage per attack, +2 Morale</p><p><b>Giant: </b>x2 HD, x2 damage, Armour Class as Chain.</p><p><b>Horned*:</b> +2 HD, gives a charge attack, knockdown on a special.</p><p><b>Sabre-toothed*: </b>+2 HD, bite damage raised to 2 dice or next increment if already multiple</p><p><b>Woolly:</b> +2-7 HD (d6+1), +4 damage to main attack, +2 damage to other attacks</p><p>* and/or <b>Tusked.</b></p><p>HD increases stack. Dice increments stack. Plusses to damage, take the highest. </p><p>Damage multiplier applies to dice only, not adds.</p><p>Apply HD multiplier to the base statblock or after applying any other tags, or wherever it falls in your animal's descriptive title. </p><p>If HD rise to 8 or above, you can instead handle the prehistoric mammal as if it was an <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2023/11/dinosaurs-back-to-basic.html#:~:text=One%20big%20attack%20for%206d6%2C%20or%20can%20split%20the%20dice%20between%20up%20to%20six%20opponents." target="_blank">8 HD dinosaur with 3d6 attacks</a>. Such animals are between the size of a modern rhino and an elephant, and save at +4 vs. spells that don't inflict damage and vs. poison/venom.</p><p>If HD is approaching, reaches or exceeds 16, then you could treat the mammal as a <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2023/11/dinosaurs-back-to-basic.html#:~:text=One%20big%20attack%20for%206d6%2C%20or%20can%20split%20the%20dice%20between%20up%20to%20six%20opponents." target="_blank">16 HD dinosaur with 6d6 attacks</a>. They're as big as Dinosaurs (of course), and immune to spells that don't cause points of damage and poison/venom.</p><p>Armour Class as the original, or equal to Unarmoured or Leather. Mega-armadillos and mega-porcupines etc can have Scale to Plate protection.</p><p>Prehistoric mammals live in arctic and subarctic conditions, are immune to normal cold, and save at +1 and take -1 damage per die vs. magical cold. Because it's the Ice Age. Always. Unless it's a steamy jungle-type Lost World Beyond the Ice.</p><p>They must make a Morale Check if you use fire or firearms against them. </p><p>Specials (<a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2023/11/dinosaurs-back-to-basic.html#:~:text=On%20a%20successful%20hit%20of%2019%2D20%20vs.%20a%20human%2Dsized%20target%2C%20the%20dinosaur%20inflicts%20a%C2%A0special." target="_blank">19-20 vs. human sized etc</a>) will be bear hugs, tramples or rending/auto-bite. Swallowing you whole can be a possibility, but doesn't seem as thematically strong for mammals as it does for dinos.</p><p>Walruses, weird whales, ice-breaking horned manatees and long-necked seals can sink boats and/or snatch folk from the deck. Porcupines can fling a volley of spikes like a Manticore. Spiked and clubbed tails are in the mix.</p><p>The idea of <b>Horned Sabre-toothed </b><b>Giant Woolly </b><b>Vampire Cave Bats</b> is of course ridiculous.</p><p>All herbivores are delicious and nutritious and go a long way.</p><p>Carnivores have at least one organ of such concentrated nutrition that it will kill a modern human(oid), but is a delicacy to Cave Men.</p><p><b>Cave Men </b>are equal to Bugbears, and have at least 16 Strength, immunity to normal cold and bonus/resistance as other prehistoric mammals. </p><p>The language barrier between them and modern humans cannot be overcome by either <i>comprehend languages</i> or <i>speak with animals</i>. </p><p>If they don't think you're gods, they might think you're food, and they possess a plentiful resource unrecognised by them as useful or valuable to modern people.</p><p>Flavour according to your setting and the last thing you read/saw about prehistoric human society.</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_floresiensis" target="_blank">Since 2003, you're allowed to include <b>Cave Hobbits</b></a>. Either 1+1 HD and Basic Halfling abilities or use Athasian Halflings.</p><p><b>Neanderthals</b> are Neanderthals, RAW or seasoned as you like.</p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-32851207586869880382024-02-28T15:39:00.002+00:002024-02-28T15:39:18.881+00:00JUDGE DEATH (2000AD) for Old School Fantasy and Horror<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1IODJIKhFcHcJ8Bymn_chP98KgspEn9N-vOxeh0OxSKRS3tlOVglQ9NOpMJuwDPtdL96AeA8pyBSiIhbnYtC2kR2mlCB--84juZ-Px-bB-DqqhCLpl3DqDKXh4zjo7iGLewKJJLyYGlwQSSh7cimkNVxzPbS23JTYxAQHwgjG6c2EE9ayfp3aFG0XpKSZ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="418" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1IODJIKhFcHcJ8Bymn_chP98KgspEn9N-vOxeh0OxSKRS3tlOVglQ9NOpMJuwDPtdL96AeA8pyBSiIhbnYtC2kR2mlCB--84juZ-Px-bB-DqqhCLpl3DqDKXh4zjo7iGLewKJJLyYGlwQSSh7cimkNVxzPbS23JTYxAQHwgjG6c2EE9ayfp3aFG0XpKSZ=w419-h640" width="419" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Psionic humanoid undead immortal outsider.<br />(Art: Brian Bolland)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Inter-dimensional alien super-fiend. </p><p>Declared life to be illegal (as it is the living who exclusively commit crime). Carried out summary execution of his entire home world - billions of lives. This was centuries before he started dimension hopping. </p><p>Doesn't care whether yours is a fantasy, historical or sci-fi setting - you're all lawbreakers (especially the elves).</p><p>Looks like a zombie or mummy dressed in a mockery of a Mega City Judge uniform. He doesn't need to wear anything, he chooses to - his office has standards to uphold.</p><p>An immortal spirit, Judge Death can partially or totally possess a living being, or reanimate a handy corpse, but only a vessel properly treated with the Dead Fluids allows him to bring his full abilities to bear.</p><p>All details preceded by an asterisk (*) are even more optional than the rest.</p><p><b>Hit Dice:</b> as an undead type that you think best represents the temporary host body and/or the power and threat of Death in relation to your setting, system and table (I'm imagining Judge Dredd and Judge Anderson as min. 4th level characters).</p><p>As a zombie-type, Juju (3+12) or Lord (6) works; Lich (11) or Mummy (5+1) fit his appearance in the comics.</p><p>As a villain, he's at least Vampire/Mind Flayer tier (8+4).</p><p>*He can use d12 for hp instead of a d6/d8.</p><p>Treat an improvised/untreated corpse host as a Zombie (2 HD).</p><p><b>Armour Class:</b> Unarmoured as Plate (<a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/search?q=low+armour#:~:text=Leather/Light%20Armour,opposed%20to%20not." target="_blank">his uniform is equal to Leather, but does not stack</a>).</p><p>*Or as undead type for Hit Dice.</p><p><b><a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/05/survival-horror-fighting-invulnerable.html" target="_blank">Invulnerable Monster</a>:</b> immune to normal weapons, bullets, crits, impales, massive damage effects.</p><p>Undead, clearly. *Immune as undead type for HD.</p><p>*Immune to <i>charm, sleep,</i> <i>feeblemind, polymorph, cold, lightning, death</i> spells (including reversed healing).</p><p>*+2 or better weapon to bypass Invulnerability, and these sever limbs on a crit/nat 20.</p><p>Half damage from all attacks.</p><p><b>Attacks with Filthy Claws</b> for d4 hp each vs. metal armour (including the thick animal/monster hide equivalents of Chain and Plate); d6 otherwise.</p><p>*Save vs. disease if you've been wounded to see if you contracted Mummy's rotting disease (your preferred iteration).</p><p>He can wield weapons, use devices, grapple, throw objects etc. *and Cleaves like a Fighter of equal level vs. low-level opponents.</p><p><b>Grasp Heart:</b> his signature move - phasing his hand into your chest and squeezing. </p><p>Automatic vs. helpless victims or if he rolls 4 more than the number needed to hit (*or three consecutive hits, or a crit) - auto-kill on Death's next action if he wants to (and he <i>really</i> wants to).</p><p>*Save each round he holds your heart or take d4 non-lethal hp and 1 Strength damage. He knows if you're lying to him, and can read your surface thoughts if you're below 4th level.</p><p>If Death suffers damage in the interim or he chooses to, you are released.</p><p><b>Stench of Death:</b> as a <a href="https://oldschoolessentials.necroticgnome.com/srd/index.php/Troglodyte#:~:text=Nauseating%20stench%3A%20Oils%20on%20the%20skin%20have%20a%20smell%20that%20sickens%20humans%20and%20demihumans%3A%20save%20versus%20poison%20or%20suffer%20%2D2%20to%20hit%2C%20while%20in%20melee%20with%20troglodytes" target="_blank">Troglodyte</a>, and if you crit fail, you're sick as if poisoned by a <a href="https://oldschoolessentials.necroticgnome.com/srd/index.php/Centipede,_Giant#:~:text=Poison%3A%20Causes%20victims%20to%20become%20horribly%20sick%20for%20ten%20days%20(save%20versus%20poison)%3A%20no%20physical%20activity%20possible%20except%20half%20speed%20movement" target="_blank">Giant Centipede</a>.</p><p>*Make three saves in a row or roll a crit, and you're immune to the effect for the rest of the encounter.</p><p><b>Mournful Charm:</b> as a <a href="https://oldschoolessentials.necroticgnome.com/srd/index.php/Vampire#:~:text=Charming%20gaze%3A%20Save%20versus%20spells%20at%20%2D2%20or%20be%20charmed%3A%20move%20towards%20the%20vampire%20(resisting%20those%20who%20try%20to%20prevent%20it)%3B%20defend%20the%20vampire%3B%20obey%20the%20vampire%E2%80%99s%20commands%20(if%20understood)%3B%20unable%20to%20cast%20spells%20or%20use%20magic%20items%3B%20unable%20to%20harm%20the%20vampire.%20Killing%20the%20vampire%20breaks%20the%20charm." target="_blank">Vampire</a>, one target per round, by gaze, gesture or communication.</p><p>*50% per appropriate time period he cannot resist the urge to pass sentence of death on a helpless target.</p><p><b>*Superhuman Strength:</b> equivalent to an AD&D Vampire (18/76 Exceptional Strength), or your setting/system maximum for humans, or the bonus increment above this.</p><p>Making him fully and messily capable of grasping your heart without using his special ability.</p><p><b>You Cannot Kill What Does Not Live:</b> as long as his host body has hit points remaining, it regenerates 1 hp per ten-minute turn.</p><p>*Severed extremities do not regrow but can be reattached or replaced, Frankenstein-style.</p><p>At 0 hp (or at will), taking a full round, Death abandons the host in <i>gaseous form</i> (as a Vampire). </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5wHTco_7X1xMlLsw9UZInoGphRHGW3McXG69kC1i_OWhaZNGdwG0k-DDvCuDKLXy1hssPrPJAlVTPr_rtpWggta2YnPaNFWch0U4viUH4agmGWSaqFWy7283YhO19nCg4J68XmkIGaNlC3fI-77eYEmnKD4D-MxMlmRv6sSAsGiusP-hWmSL2T-QkFmFd" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="386" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5wHTco_7X1xMlLsw9UZInoGphRHGW3McXG69kC1i_OWhaZNGdwG0k-DDvCuDKLXy1hssPrPJAlVTPr_rtpWggta2YnPaNFWch0U4viUH4agmGWSaqFWy7283YhO19nCg4J68XmkIGaNlC3fI-77eYEmnKD4D-MxMlmRv6sSAsGiusP-hWmSL2T-QkFmFd=w357-h400" width="357" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of his catchphrases.<br />Art: Frazer Irving</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Effectively indestructible, this form can use Stench of Death as a touch attack, exercise Mournful Charm, or attempt to possess a new host (automatic vs. helpless target; otherwise use your preferred possession sub-system).</p><div><p></p><p><b>Clerical Turning</b> works like a Holy Symbol vs. Vampires against his <i>gaseous form</i> only.</p><p>A dissolve result vs. undead type by HD will drive Death from a host not yet treated with the Dead Fluids, and is no more effective than a Holy Symbol vs. Vampires against his <i>gaseous form</i>.</p><p><b>Vulnerabilities: </b>Takes full normal damage from fire.</p><p>As an Invulnerable Monster, he's immune to normal damage, but not non-lethal/secondary effects, so can be pushed, pulled, grappled, entangled, tripped, thrown, disarmed, knocked back, knocked down, skewered and pinned to objects, dismembered, buried in cement, locked in a lead box and dropped into the Marianas Trench etc. </p><p>Effectively helpless for 1 round when changing to <i>gaseous form - </i>this is your best opportunity to stop him getting away and taking a new host.</p><p>An interpretation of the comics would suggest trapping him in a Gelatinous Cube is an option.</p><p>I don’t know enough about D&D-adjacent psionics to comment specifically, but Judge Death appears to be (normally) vulnerable to psionics (for an entity of his status) - including telepathy, as a sapient being. </p><p>Can be fooled (at least once) by <i>feign death </i>or similar.</p><p><b>Living Hosts</b> are fragile and will deteriorate - mentally, physically and spiritually - the longer Death maintains a hold on them. They share none of Death's immunities/resistances or special abilities, unless/until treated with the Dead Fluids.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Commentary.</h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyTSfmehs4SptwimN7JL9vv-PPW1QklR1QLGXXDIa5ATK3AU0NGGUSntSQMfObaX9hRvGd7whTsKp_E3l8Xzg9xbTBvX-o13o2c2xDl2xB0F3g3TLsMURVVQ8Ox8UaVwyzscQP_wmI9Nrmlnw3Qz4z3mDds6rl0bNIF3lPOnYSMDaE2_mRUwoXCGC48wVa" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="776" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyTSfmehs4SptwimN7JL9vv-PPW1QklR1QLGXXDIa5ATK3AU0NGGUSntSQMfObaX9hRvGd7whTsKp_E3l8Xzg9xbTBvX-o13o2c2xDl2xB0F3g3TLsMURVVQ8Ox8UaVwyzscQP_wmI9Nrmlnw3Qz4z3mDds6rl0bNIF3lPOnYSMDaE2_mRUwoXCGC48wVa=w570-h456" width="570" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More classic catchphrases.<br />Art: Alex Ronald; Colours: Gary Caldwell.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />It's been established that he was once Sidney D'Eath, son of a serial-killing dentist, whose wholesale genocidal tendencies showed long before he turned undead, but there are various other iterations.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">In the primary 2000AD timeline, Death is both an apocalyptic supernatural threat and not entirely to be taken seriously. <i>Sometimes</i> works for me - this juxtaposition is a common tonal feature of the Judge Dredd setting. Dead Fluids flow frequently.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Judge Dredd: Lawman of the Future</i> (1995 movie tie-in comic): Death is the undead alternative-universe Judge Dredd (apparently the original idea for the 2000AD archetype). Has a <i>soulgem</i> that powers his suite of special abilities. No Dead Fluids.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Judge Dredd: Final Judgement </i>(2012 movie tie-in comic): He appears to be Sidney D'Eath from the primary (movie) universe, while also being an entity from a parallel universe of perfect entropy. No Dead Fluids, but plenty of stuff I liked.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham </i>and<i> Die Laughing</i>: I have finite tolerance for the zany comedy antics of Judge Death in the mainstream 2000AD strip, so these two crossovers are a low point from my perspective. Visually interesting, though. Can't remember if any Dead Fluids.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Fall of Deadworld</i>: Kek-W and Dave Kendall's non-stop parade of death metal album covers, telling the tale of how Death's homeworld was turned into Deadworld - and what the Dark Judges were doing before they turned their attention to the primary 2000AD universe. Absolutely saturated with Dead Fluids.</p><p style="text-align: left;">For Brits of a certain era, compare with Joey Boswell (Peter Howitt, not Graham Bickley) - another black leather-clad sex-symbol who announced himself with 'Greetings'.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-77825351749803513782023-12-13T10:59:00.003+00:002023-12-14T09:02:54.113+00:00Lone Wolf (Kai Lord) for Basic Games<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1AlzO1O3jeLKJYyLygEoqXbxgqFawso6jY6zEQuWsvlOlFJRAVRndSOqQZcc-iBOQB1wi8oK8MKGmtsagNZBmXmsXdGE9BQfp7Hs0NJiszHEUaL6ZZIhmUZzyawzyu_KfMDDoeJkG_gC5vVHA_-SCy9snblH6_3JQc9gum2bEYXkbayH77HrBq0e657RM" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="358" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1AlzO1O3jeLKJYyLygEoqXbxgqFawso6jY6zEQuWsvlOlFJRAVRndSOqQZcc-iBOQB1wi8oK8MKGmtsagNZBmXmsXdGE9BQfp7Hs0NJiszHEUaL6ZZIhmUZzyawzyu_KfMDDoeJkG_gC5vVHA_-SCy9snblH6_3JQc9gum2bEYXkbayH77HrBq0e657RM=w389-h640" width="389" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe Dever and Gary Chalk did this; Gary Chalk also did the illustrations/covers (initially).</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Charisma 13, Constitution 14, </b><b>Dexterity 16,</b><b> Intelligence 13, </b><b>Strength 16, Wisdom 16 </b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Ranger 4/ Monk 4 (5d8)</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">Last of the Kai Lords on a mission of vengeance against the Darklords of Helgedad.</p><p style="text-align: left;">He looks, sounds and acts a bit like YOU, now that I think about it (pronouns as appropriate, then).</p><p style="text-align: left;">This treatment is an approximation of the starter character for the first five books (the Kai Series).</p><p><b>Armour:</b> Lone Wolf's monastic training gives a +3 AC bonus in lieu of Dexterity when Unarmoured.</p><p>Otherwise, Lone Wolf generally uses <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/12/low-armour-settings.html" target="_blank">Low Armour Settings</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Weapons:</b> Favours the hand axe and the sword, but proficient in all the usual martial tools.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Lone Wolf <b>dual-wields </b>without penalty, as per your system.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Monastic training gives Lone Wolf a <b>+2 damage bonus</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>with all weapons if this is better than the bonus for Strength.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Bows don't become a feature until Book 6, but that doesn't mean Lone Wolf can't use one.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Extra Attacks:</b> as well as dual-wielding, Lone Wolf gets an additional (single) attack at the end of every fourth combat round. </p><p style="text-align: left;">This is resolved after all other business.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Favoured Enemy:</b> +4 attack bonus and -4 reaction penalty when faced with the forces of the Darklords.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Surprise:</b> Lone Wolf surprises opponents 50% of the time (1-3 on d6) and is only surprised on a 1 on d6.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Thief Skills:</b> standard probabilities and backstab adjustments for a 4th level character with the given ability scores (your edition may vary). </p><p style="text-align: left;">Hide in Shadows and Move Silently are effective in dungeon, rural and urban environments. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Does not normally carry tools for Open Locks and Remove Traps.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Alignment: </b>Like a Paladin, if they were chosen rather than made, Lone Wolf is likely Lawful Good in the nine-alignments system; Lawful in the three-way. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Or Neutral.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Kai Disciplines.</span></b></h3><p style="text-align: left;">As an Initiate, Lone Wolf has learned five Kai Disciplines.</p><p style="text-align: left;">All these abilities use the local version of psionics/<i>ki</i> to complement mundane knowledge and experience.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Animal Kinship: </b><i>This skill enables a Kai Lord to communicate with some animals and to be able to guess the intentions of others.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;">Use <i><a href="https://oldschoolessentials.necroticgnome.com/srd/index.php/Speak_with_Animals" target="_blank">speak with animals</a></i> and 2e AD&D Ranger animal empathy ability as a guideline.</p><p><b>Healing:</b> <i>This Discipline can be used to restore ENDURANCE points lost in combat.</i></p><p>A pool of 8 hp (per day) that can be used to heal self or others.</p><p>Lone Wolf can administer to others during combat but not to self.</p><p><b>Mindshield: </b><i>The Darklords and many of the evil creatures in their command have the ability to attack you using their Mindforce. The Kai Discipline of Mindshield prevents you from losing any ENDURANCE points when subjected to this form of attack.</i></p><p>Either play this straight as the Monk's ability (ESP is only 30% effective), or have Lone Wolf be immune to psionics of 4th level/HD or less.</p><p>Or break out a psionics system.</p><p><b>Sixth Sense: </b><i>This skill may warn a Kai Lord of imminent danger. It may also reveal the true purpose of a stranger or strange object encountered in your adventure.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;">This is why Lone Wolf is only surprised on a 1 on d6. Could also be used as a 1 on d6 chance of <i>reveal(ing) the true purpose.</i></p><p><b>Tracking: </b><i>This skill enables a Kai Lord to make the correct choice of a path in the wild, to discover the location of a person or object in a town or city and to read the secrets of footprints or tracks.</i></p><p>Use Bushcraft/Tracking mechanic/subsystem. Works in dungeons, but not as well - you might be able to retrace your steps in a maze (and realise the walls have been shifting when your back was turned), but it wouldn't automatically help you find your way out.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Sommerswerd.</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Lone Wolf's signature weapon. It can only be wielded by a Kai and Lone Wolf is the only one left.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1NSXo0pJ5IqHRm2ZwxZzrqCkE0rWfSTbe_VZ14YwfGK5ulpvi_onOgq-hmeGadOGjsuvmwuacbLqjHlx7msZaRVpWs746RiYnl4780gbHQK_izNPz91QLS_7jLkEjhXxV5CezmoKfGygxujM-J76ZeCGoDFavQH_RQCO3Y7KCozIUfdJuuk3g_vGHR7Uc" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="386" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1NSXo0pJ5IqHRm2ZwxZzrqCkE0rWfSTbe_VZ14YwfGK5ulpvi_onOgq-hmeGadOGjsuvmwuacbLqjHlx7msZaRVpWs746RiYnl4780gbHQK_izNPz91QLS_7jLkEjhXxV5CezmoKfGygxujM-J76ZeCGoDFavQH_RQCO3Y7KCozIUfdJuuk3g_vGHR7Uc=w365-h640" width="365" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Like a Paladin, it's not subtle in its righteousness.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Has the powers of both a <i>sun blade</i> and a <i>sword +5, holy avenger </i>(treat Lone Wolf as a Paladin of the same level).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Sometimes, for climactic purposes, it can launch a <i>lightning bolt</i> that explodes as <i>fireball</i> that <i>dispels evil.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;">It definitely has <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2023/12/non-plussed-d36-magical-weapon.html#:~:text=Boost%20the%20Morale,with%20disadvantage/penalty." target="_blank">some of these effects</a> during dramatic battle-scenes.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The +10 dmg vs. chaotic evil applies to the Darklords and their servants in particular, and is inflicted by mere touch. You decide whether this stacks with double-damage vs. undead.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's hard to pretend that you're not a champion of Good/Light, if not The Actual Lone Wolf, when you're carrying the Sommerswerd, and some beings will be alerted by its very presence, even if concealed. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Other Kai Disciplines.</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Lone Wolf gets a new Discipline each time you complete a book in the series, so individual Lone Wolfs (Wolves?) could have different ones to those given above. My choices were suggested by the existing features of the source classes.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Also a starting point for running your own Kai characters.</p><p><b>Camouflage: </b><i>This Discipline enables a Kai Lord to blend in with his surroundings. In the countryside, he can hide undetected among trees and rocks and pass close to an enemy without being seen. In a town or city, it enables him to look and sound like a native of that area, and can help him to find shelter or a safe hiding place.</i></p><p>+ 10% to Hide in Shadows and Move Silently; effective in dungeon, rural and urban environment. Porous border with performance and survival skills.</p><p><b>Hunting: </b><i>This skill ensures that a Kai Lord will never starve in the wild. He will always be able to hunt for food for himself except in areas of wasteland and desert. The skill also enables a Kai Lord to be able to move stealthily when stalking his prey.</i></p><p>Covers the surprise bonus. Self-sufficiency in the wilderness; debatable whether it could help support others.</p><p><b>Mind Over Matter:</b> <i>Mastery of this Discipline enables a Kai Lord to move small objects with his powers of concentration.</i></p><p>Approximately <i>mage hand</i>, and can substitute for tools to Open Locks and Find/Remove Traps. </p><p>A limit on uses per day seems fair (suggest as low as 1, soft cap 3, hard cap 4), as Lone Wolf rarely seems to use it more than once or twice an adventure (in my experience - and I stopped at book 12).</p><p>Or break out a psionics system.</p><p><b>Mindblast: </b><i>This enables a Kai Lord to attack an enemy using the force of his mind. It can be used at the same time as normal combat weapons and adds two extra points to your <small>COMBAT SKILL.</small></i></p><p><small><span style="font-size: small;">If the target is not immune (Mindshield), they attack at -2. Or this could be represented by the +2 dmg bonus with all weapons. </span></small></p><p><small><span style="font-size: small;">Or break out a psionics system.</span></small></p><p><small><span style="font-size: small;">Undead are not universally immune to Mindblast, though this would seem logical.</span></small></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Weaponskill:</b> U<i>pon entering the Kai Monastery, each initiate is taught to master one type of weapon. </i></p><p style="text-align: left;">If taken at the start, it's with the Axe or Quarterstaff (50/50); taken later on, it'll be with the Sword.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Treat as weapon specialisation (+1 to hit, +2 dmg).</p><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Commentary.</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Sprang almost fully formed from <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2023/12/slaine-and-ukko-for-basic-games.html#:~:text=Lone%20Wolf%20is%20tricky%2C%20as%20he%27s%20effectively%20a%20Jedi%2C" target="_blank">this comment</a> by <a href="https://kelvingreen.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Kelvin Green</a> on a previous post.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Serendipity.</b> Lone Wolf looks like a Ranger. The Kai are (Warrior) Monks. If you combine the abilities of the 1e/2e Ranger and the 1e Monk, you end up with something not very far off the Lone Wolf starter character from the first five books (the Kai Series). </p><p style="text-align: left;">Ability scores follow the minimum requirements (boosted to XP bonus values) for the AD&D Monk and Ranger.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Some Monk abilities were dropped, but could be reintroduced once Lone Wolf becomes a Magnakai.</p><p style="text-align: left;">There is no <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2023/12/slaine-and-ukko-for-basic-games.html#:~:text=Further%20Complexity.-,Ba5ec%20Slaine,-%3A%C2%A0You%20will" target="_blank">Ba5ec</a> Lone Wolf: it wasn't as neat as the older edition Ranger/Monk.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Lone Wolf feels more fragile than other fictional heroes, because you're in control of their fate, rather than the author - hence sticking with the 1e Ranger d8 HD, rather than boosting it to 5e's d10. This should be more than counterbalanced by the Sommerswerd and the panoply of abilities.</p><p style="text-align: left;">(There is a d20 and a 5e Kai Lord class out there if you want to compare and contrast, and I think the Kai Lord would work really well for Epic 6)</p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-57369811005986461692023-12-05T09:21:00.003+00:002023-12-05T09:21:52.461+00:00Non-Plussed - d36 Magical Weapon Properties<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyra8SdwTc39LfVSdUumrJAub0X0jQ130JzLh5kUCsyH3w4kcsjpUvIZ1kvZxpzZ1dEDkCNjBabax1XrTr2IXkSLhi0uvNcdaBciIdG24e2zKzrjg9LYW6vYmEz-mahWmyEg1HbPLc-cDVHiIGgavZEdGoli028vxwX2fWJIF8bPC7MEPwJ9iFZAF29eLA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="417" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyra8SdwTc39LfVSdUumrJAub0X0jQ130JzLh5kUCsyH3w4kcsjpUvIZ1kvZxpzZ1dEDkCNjBabax1XrTr2IXkSLhi0uvNcdaBciIdG24e2zKzrjg9LYW6vYmEz-mahWmyEg1HbPLc-cDVHiIGgavZEdGoli028vxwX2fWJIF8bPC7MEPwJ9iFZAF29eLA=w557-h417" width="557" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.picturesofengland.com/England/Leicestershire/Market_Bosworth/The_Battle_of_Bosworth_Field/pictures/1156570" target="_blank">Hand Weapons of Mass Destruction/ Victor Naumenko</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Most suitable, I think, for the lower level/magic end of the game scale, or for when you don't expect to go beyond a few sessions.<p></p><p>Some things aren't going to work the same (or possibly at all) due to the niceties of various similar systems. Eg. even across AD&D, Chainmail OD&D and LotFP a 4th level Fighter is different.</p><p>System agnostic but <b>reeks </b>of D&D.</p><p>I've generally got swords in mind here, but why not axes, spear, hammers and bows, too?</p><p>1. Roll d6:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Won't break through normal use. Creative misuse, specialised technique or a feat of great strength to destroy. Still needs sharpening.</li><li>A blade that won't bend or blunt. You can shave with it, hack apart doors and vines, run through countless armoured foes, and you'll also have to institute damage & degradation subsystems for other weapons, or it's not really worth a damn. Can still be broken.</li><li><a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/05/survival-horror-fighting-invulnerable.html" target="_blank">Invulnerable Monsters</a> are vulnerable to it. But this pre-supposes a setting where immunity to normal weapons is much more special than in vanilla fantasy, or maybe a monster whose Invulnerability is a function of its great size.</li><li>Raise your Strength to the next adjustment/bonus tier (eg. penalty to no penalty, no penalty to bonus etc) while wielding the weapon. Maximum benefit is superhuman/one tier above human maximum.</li><li>Raise your Dexterity to the next adjustment/bonus tier (eg. penalty to no penalty, no penalty to bonus etc) while wielding the weapon. Maximum benefit is superhuman/one tier above human maximum.</li><li>When you wield the weapon, you go berserk until there are no suitable enemies in range to engage (as 1e AD&D Cavalier?). At which point you immediately take any negative effects. Use variations of 3e+ Barbarian Rage, <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2022/02/out-of-shadows-monster-commentary.html#:~:text=Blood%20Rage%3A,to%20determine%20INT)" target="_blank">DW Blood Rage</a>, or any other suitable berserking mechanics.</li></ol><div>2. Roll d6:</div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Ignore non-magical protective value of leather armour.</li><li>Ignore non-magical protective value of metal and leather armour.</li><li>Ignore protective value of all armour.</li><li>A shield or helmet will only protect against the weapon by being <a href="https://trollsmyth.blogspot.com/2023/01/shields-still-being-splintered.html" target="_blank">Splintered</a>.</li><li>When wielding the weapon you roll to hit as a higher level Fighter (suggest 4th or 8th).</li><li>When wielding the weapon you <a href="https://deltasdnd.blogspot.com/2021/05/cleaving-through-ages.html" target="_blank">Cleave</a> as a higher level Fighter (suggest 4th or 8th).</li></ol><div>* Unarmoured monsters' high protective value are only bypassed if the weapon is specifically enchanted to harm them, whether randomly or as plot device.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>3. Roll d6:</div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Boost the Morale and Loyalty of your allies when wielding the weapon in their presence. </li><li>Reduce the Morale and Loyalty of your enemies when wielding the weapon in their presence.</li><li>A successful hit forces a Morale Check on the victim.</li><li>A successful kill forces enemies nearby to check Morale.</li><li>Enemies nearby must take Morale Checks when you draw (to attack) or brandish/flourish (foregoing your attack that round) the weapon.</li><li>Anyone fighting you makes all rolls with disadvantage/penalty.</li></ol><div>* I suggest HD/level limits for who or what is affected; further suggest 1-3 levels, but HD limit might vary to exclude/include various beasts of war (mainly normal fantasy-setting animals).</div></div><div>* Effects could be specific to a particular type associated with the weapon/wielder.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. Roll d6:</div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>All hits cause min. average damage per die.</li><li>All hits cause max. damage per die.</li><li>All hits are crits/double damage. You cannot use this weapon to inflict non-lethal/subdual damage. 'Double crits' are spectacular killing blows, enough so that they will shock onlookers - even the weapon's wielder.</li><li>Any mortal wound is incurable except by extraordinary means. Successful death saves/recovery rolls only means you linger for another day/week, remaining at 0 hp/casualty state. Might feel like cold, might feel like poison; might be accompanied by creeping shadows drawing ever closer, or a little white bird refusing to look you in the eye.</li><li>Any crit also inflicts a cumulative level of fatigue. This is now the most rested/restored the victim can be unless treated with extraordinary means. Some more powerful opponents get a save and will be alerted to the risk.</li><li>Any crit immediately reduces enemy to 0 hp/casualty state, regardless of their current hp. Some more powerful opponents get a save and will be alerted to the risk.</li></ol><div><br /></div><div>5. Roll d6:</div></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Weapons wielded against yours much save vs. normal or crushing blow (1e/2e AD&D DMGs) each round or break. If you already have weapon breakage rules in place, this weapon is more likely to do it. Not necessarily resistant to breakage itself.</li><li>As above, but also affects armour and shields. </li><li>The weapon vibrates/hums/screams/chimes/bursts into ethereal flames/twists in your hand when enemies (or treasure or secret doors) are within range. This is sometimes helpful.</li><li>A dazzling (blinding?) flash when drawn in dungeon darkness, gloomy wilderness or the fog of war. As well as illumination and dazzling, this could also extend the range of Morale/Loyalty effects.</li><li>The weapon is always <b>at hand </b>when needed. This is more subtle (and also maybe more unnerving) than it just teleporting to your hand. You can still be disarmed and have to pick it up. It can be taken from you and held hostage</li><li>As long as it's within range, the weapon comes when called (command word, concentration, whistling etc). It travels at least as fast as a thrown missile. You could conceivably fumble the catch, but have it jump into your hand on the next round.</li></ol><div>6. Roll d6:</div></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Make your attack/combat rolls with advantage. Negated vs. an equally or more powerful magic weapon.</li><li>Your opponent makes their defence/combat rolls at disadvantage. Negated vs. an equally or more powerful magic weapon.</li><li>When using the weapon against a more powerful (higher HD/level) opponent, you attack and defend at their ability, rather than your own. </li><li>The Fighter is the traditional enemy of the Magic-User (and the Evil High Priest) and this weapon is the exemplar. You make all your saves vs. their magic with advantage/bonus - on a critical success, you are immune to their spells for the rest of this encounter. You must be holding the weapon.</li><li>When using the weapon against a more powerful (higher HD/level) opponent, they attack and defend at your ability, rather than their own.</li><li>Every hit connects, regardless of target's armour, agility, damage resistance etc. Roll to hit, but only for crits and fumbles. Crits as normal, but a fail takes you straight to 0 hp/ Casualty state as the weapon turns against you. If you survive, you can never wield it again. You can make max. 1 attack per round with this weapon, but can dual-wield if appropriate.</li></ol><h3 style="text-align: left;">Further Thoughts.</h3></div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Multiple properties for individual weapons.</b> Of course. Why not? You can see that some abilities above are geared towards the mass combat and even social/downtime portions of the game, and don't have much application in dungeon-bashing.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Magical weapons are intelligent and controlling.</b> No independent personality or speech (unless they're a spirit or demon bound to the object) - they're just addictive objects that get you into all sorts of scrapes.</p><p style="text-align: left;">And you can also use their stats to decide which magic weapon is strongest when their effects clash with/contradict each other.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Magical weapons are unique.</b> I think I might have said this somewhere before, but each magic weapon is the only one of its kind - if you find a <i>+1 shortsword</i>, then that's the only one that exists in the game. </p><p style="text-align: left;">This is not entirely compatible with the d66 presented above, but I'm calling them <i>alternatives</i> and <i>options</i>, not another canon.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Except when they're not.</b> The shared characteristics of (say) Dark Elf knives and Wood Elf bows is down to the materials and traditional skills of the users. But <b>you </b>can't just pick them up and expect the same bonuses.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>You can/can't craft your own.</b> Following on from the third point above, you can't make a second <i>+1 shortsword</i> if one already exists in the game - you certainly can't churn them out in your downtime. You could make a <i>shortsword of venom</i> instead, or a <i>frost brand</i>, and so on. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Magic arrows (and other ammunition) are something of an exception, but - unless it's just a single special <i>arrow of slaying </i>- any set of arrows will include a cursed one that you won't know about until you nock it. As is <b>tradition</b>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The scarcity of magic weapons and the desire/need for them in the fiction means that <b>making them should be</b> <b>part of the adventure anyway</b>; every weapon is, at some stage, <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Sword_of_Welleran_and_Other_Stories/The_Fortress_Unvanquishable,_Save_for_Sacnoth" target="_blank">Sacnoth</a>.</p><p></p><div><div><b>That weapon? It's not yours to keep.</b> You need to be a particular type of epic hero to get a magic weapon for keeps. Even then, it will <strike>inevitably betray you and</strike> lie in your tomb for countless centuries until a new epic hero stumbles upon it, to continue the cycle and keep everyone's fate suitably tragic.</div><div><br /></div><div>Magic weapons have an unfortunate tendency to switch owners when a more suitable (or less wilful) one happens along, as well as being objects of desire.</div><div><br /></div><div>More powerful entities than you will take custody of weapons so that you don't try and raise yourself into the place of the Dark Lord you just vanquished.</div><div><br /></div><div>Plus, sometimes you just want to put the weapon down so the killing will stop.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-89566826254560846112023-12-04T09:05:00.001+00:002023-12-04T09:05:45.523+00:00Slaine and Ukko for Basic games.<p style="text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgwbFGxMQSj6e2mQdjz1ORW47BFnPzG92H9SEjEWYi_mKKiyiuPSAwv7G2ehU0PwgrCFDwAWO0Pm-EfDg4rsdSAZamvcF0qx3xD6vdALDwjHs6FxLra6F-Y0o6mIJ6MURXz1-ThRIl1FqHoqQr7nmNPsYkPVGIHQbf6Ppc4R9codQ1sg6uEpZ7vGYKsf3G" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1993" data-original-width="1654" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgwbFGxMQSj6e2mQdjz1ORW47BFnPzG92H9SEjEWYi_mKKiyiuPSAwv7G2ehU0PwgrCFDwAWO0Pm-EfDg4rsdSAZamvcF0qx3xD6vdALDwjHs6FxLra6F-Y0o6mIJ6MURXz1-ThRIl1FqHoqQr7nmNPsYkPVGIHQbf6Ppc4R9codQ1sg6uEpZ7vGYKsf3G=w531-h640" width="531" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Massimo Bellardinelli</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Stats for the duo up to about Dragonheist (before the time-travel and mysticism kicks in). The system is approximately BX/OSE.</span></p><h1 style="text-align: center;"><b style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Slaine Mac Roth.</span></b></h1><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Black-haired warped warrior, exile, adventurer, time-traveller, hero, thief, king; analogue of Conan, Cu Cuhlainn, and the Eternal Champion. Celtic barbarian in the time before the Deluge.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-50dae710-7fff-0fed-5019-e5d1586caf7c"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Charisma 15, Constitution 18, Dexterity 18, Intelligence 9, Wisdom 11, Strength 18</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fighter 4/ Thief 4 (4d12)</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Brainbiter:</b> a stone- or metal-bladed battle- or great-axe. It is Slaine's favoured/ signature/ specialist weapon. It is not a specific axe, except that it's the one he's using.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Wielded one- or two-handed, or thrown - all without penalty. Damage die can be d8, d10 or d12.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Other Weapons:</b> sword, spear, gae bolga, bow and arrow, tathlum. Anything he likes, really - he's strong, skilled and adaptable.</p><p style="text-align: left;">He can dual-wield without penalty. He can also use the Fighter options in the BECMI Companion set, if you like.</p><p style="text-align: left;">He wears a sword in his early career, but always prefers Brainbiter. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Unarmoured Fighter:</b> does not wear armour or carry a shield; sometimes fights naked. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Slaine gets +8 AC bonus for his Dexterity. He can still benefit from a shield and/or cover.</p><p style="text-align: left;">At this stage of his life, he will punch you if you even suggest he wears a helmet.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Salmon Leap:</b> Slaine can do a standing jump as high as his own forehead.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Whether he uses it to strike over an opponent's shield (+2 attack bonus), or to dodge an attack (+2 AC/relevant save), he needs to make a successful Dexterity check. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Usable once per encounter.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Spear Catch:</b> Slaine can pluck a spear from the air and throw it back at his attacker if he has not already made an attack that round. Needs a successful Dexterity check.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Usable once per encounter.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Thief Skills:</b> rarely uses them, except for climbing. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Slaine probably has no Open Locks or Find/Remove Traps ability, these mechanisms not being part of his cultural background.</p><p style="text-align: left;">His code of honour does not stop him using Backstab/Sneak Attack, Move Silently or Hide in Shadows, but his warrior outlook means he rarely does.</p><p style="text-align: left;">He is illiterate and cannot Read Languages.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Warp Spasm: </b>once per day, at will, for 8 rounds; +4d12 temporary hit points and double-damage.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Treat as ogre-sized.</p><p style="text-align: left;">If 3 HD/3rd level or less, make a Morale Check when being attacked by Slaine during a warp-spasm. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlKmzS0LTkPlUTUbNlmZKEu4dRtImBvvwp6cjy-Mvbc0Q0RFrY_k_Wg-aGFlMHyxL4Gfv9SMYkMpuy_4NRXNm43QtpljCXdpkwz6f18yTFNbBr1wsV9n23rhRZcQXFFwWxStEksfDIOhzUXC3mJ6HFoYJbcRfNn8RGY3BVH-Td7IXrW_r1eiTYmU5VtWH/s1001/Slaine%20Warp%20Spasm%201985.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="1001" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlKmzS0LTkPlUTUbNlmZKEu4dRtImBvvwp6cjy-Mvbc0Q0RFrY_k_Wg-aGFlMHyxL4Gfv9SMYkMpuy_4NRXNm43QtpljCXdpkwz6f18yTFNbBr1wsV9n23rhRZcQXFFwWxStEksfDIOhzUXC3mJ6HFoYJbcRfNn8RGY3BVH-Td7IXrW_r1eiTYmU5VtWH/w532-h241/Slaine%20Warp%20Spasm%201985.png" width="532" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bellardinelli again. The first warp-spasm I was to see.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Saving Throws: </b>Slaine saves as a 4th level Fighter normally and as an 8th level Fighter during a warp-spasm.</p><p style="text-align: left;">As a <i>brutal and unimaginative barbarian, </i>he receives a bonus of +4 to saves vs. illusion, <i>fear</i>, madness etc.</p><h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Ukko.</span></h3><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUVdzczkYp7GPPeEHGvnSjDOD2FIQLLSOjSrMOTRzUcJjU3CFMEDUEZgu3XRGUmxrQ6oLYDPo24M4NlwCzy6paIVIdpRIuOJQcyqgjlhPVQOtiCHVowMiOth06uhfKa1vSbQxTrmpfw2Zht61HwQqNt6ox_D8IoYp8oZ6P3bYzUKqCjLAvVc_on6N21MxP/s436/Ukko%20Dermot%20Power.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="405" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUVdzczkYp7GPPeEHGvnSjDOD2FIQLLSOjSrMOTRzUcJjU3CFMEDUEZgu3XRGUmxrQ6oLYDPo24M4NlwCzy6paIVIdpRIuOJQcyqgjlhPVQOtiCHVowMiOth06uhfKa1vSbQxTrmpfw2Zht61HwQqNt6ox_D8IoYp8oZ6P3bYzUKqCjLAvVc_on6N21MxP/s320/Ukko%20Dermot%20Power.png" width="297" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dermot Power.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Slaine's larcenous sidekick, future royal parasite and immortal, companion in adventure and adversity.</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">His astute mind and artistic talent are keenly focussed on lechery and greed.</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Surprisingly courageous for a coward.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-f6ed7275-7fff-a479-2735-ba13bbfd36a1"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Charisma 8 (16), Constitution 13, Dexterity 18, Intelligence 13, Wisdom 8, Strength 8</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dwarf/Thief 5 (5d8)</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Non-combatant:</b> except for the odd Backstab/Sneak Attack, Ukko will not engage with enemies and will retreat to a safe distance or cower behind Slaine.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>Unarmoured: </b>he gets a +4 AC bonus for his Dexterity.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">He also gets a +2 AC bonus vs. adult human-sized (or larger) opponents, as long as he does not make an attack in the same round.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Can still benefit from a shield and/or cover; frequently does.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>Thief Skills:</b> Ukko is an especially accomplished Thief, and has higher skill % because of this.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Climb Walls 91% </span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Find/Remove Treasure Traps 50%</span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hear Noise 1-3 on d6 </span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hide in Shadows 45% </span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Move Silently 60%</span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Open Locks 60%</span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Pick Pockets 60%</span></li></ul><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>Dwarf Abilities: </b>Ukko has the Basic Dwarf abilities of detecting construction tricks, detecting room traps, and listening at doors (1-2 on d6).</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Dwarves in Slaine's world don't have infravision.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9za2WpjYKKj_-bs7al4XYPTwJ9X4Tl3ZRFtJYlLwSq8peM9i2jax0Rof55aFAiTSHKQ4ImJZifOv9u0hN9qHrHBI3M2ADhwRvfWhPJJ__XVnGq4x10BhctETPgMDR7mLZusFkindYG3hocd0crDjzTG7QTOiLLKFFpqRYTMIV0rk_3H_ShYNPjPw4nxg/s450/Ukko%20using%20his%20Charisma.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="369" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9za2WpjYKKj_-bs7al4XYPTwJ9X4Tl3ZRFtJYlLwSq8peM9i2jax0Rof55aFAiTSHKQ4ImJZifOv9u0hN9qHrHBI3M2ADhwRvfWhPJJ__XVnGq4x10BhctETPgMDR7mLZusFkindYG3hocd0crDjzTG7QTOiLLKFFpqRYTMIV0rk_3H_ShYNPjPw4nxg/w328-h400/Ukko%20using%20his%20Charisma.png" width="328" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ukko after using his Charisma/ Mike McMahon.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><b style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Charisma: </b><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">as a Dwarf, Thief, sidekick and known con-artist, Ukko is viewed with contempt and suspicion wherever he goes. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">He uses the higher Charisma value when dealing with Dwarves, Thieves, drunkards and rubes.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>Saving Throws:</b> Ukko always use the most advantageous saving throws of Dwarf or Thief.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">He gets a +2 save vs. curses, taunts and humiliation.</span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Further Complexity.</h3><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Ba5ec Slaine:</b> You will need to look up some 5e D&D, where you start out as heroes not zeroes.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Give Slaine the following Fighter abilities: Great Weapon Fighting, Second Wind, Action Surge (which he can use to have a warp-spasm), Martial Archetype - Champion with Improved Critical and Remarkable Athlete.</p><p style="text-align: left;">He also gets the following Barbarian abilities: Unarmoured Defence (CON bonus added to AC), Danger Sense, Reckless Attack, Path of the Berserker (bonus attack when warp-spasming).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Only comparable heroic characters get these extras - everyone else has to stick to the rules. Ignore anything that's incompatible with the target system.</p><p style="text-align: left;">(Slaine already has some benefits of the 1e AD&D Barbarian)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Slaine the King:</b> He's now a 9th level Fighter and he can use his warp-spasm twice a day, for a total of 18 rounds.</p><p style="text-align: left;">If he's also Ba5ec Slaine, he gets additional abilities as a 9th level Fighter and Barbarian in 5e.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I toyed with modelling him after a 1e AD&D Bard - he becomes more mystical in his kingship and beyond. Also not a terrible plan for Gandalf.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Ba5ec Ukko:</b> he can have the non-fighting abilities of a 5e Rogue of the same level.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Commentary.</h2><p style="text-align: left;">Older edition D&D is surprisingly resistant to producing the heroic characters it is claimed to be based on, and has to break its own rules for most iterations.*</p><p style="text-align: left;">Obviously, I'm exhibiting my own bias and interpretation here:</p><p>Gray Mouser and Cugel have to be 10th level Thieves so that they can use magic. While this might work for Cugel, Gray Mouser's spell-casting comes much earlier in his career - he starts out as a wizard's apprentice.</p><p>Conan and Fafhrd both have to have Thief and/or Ranger levels because the Barbarian class doesn't yet exist, and still won't be a great fit when it does.</p><p>Is Elric that accomplished a swordsman or sorcerer without his ring and sword and ancestral demonic pacts? He is a pawn in a cosmic game (also, to a lesser degree, the Mouser and Fafhrd), not master of his own fate - he doesn't need hit points if the higher powers don't want him to die until they see fit.</p><p>* And later edition D&D feel/look like they tried to address this - it's a criticism of 5e vs. OS, for instance. It's legitimate to draw on those later editions, particularly as they're broadly mechanically compatible and mostly freely available, and I treat The Game like Lego plus off-brand compatible blocks, rather than a 3D printer.</p><p style="text-align: left;">As well as spotlighting 5e as a source, there's also:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>1e and 2e AD&D to boost Ukko's Thief skills (racial and high Dexterity bonuses).</li><li>AD&D for Ukko's Dexterity bonus to AC.</li><li>1e AD&D Unearthed Arcana for the Slaine's (Barbarian) hit dice and Dexterity bonus to AC.</li><li>2e's Celts Historical Reference, for Slaine's Salmon Leap and Spear Catch feats (without the WP and NWP requirements).</li></ul><p style="text-align: left;">The idea is that these kinds of celebrities should be more powerful than the PCs, but not so much that they utterly outclass them. As long as the players are participants rather than spectators, it should be fine.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Slaine's warp spasm could be a whole sub-system, but here it's just the druidic <i>animal growth</i> spell. Another possibility: use the AD&D <i>enlarge</i> spell, with warped Slaine as an Ogre (stats a bit too close to the regular Slaine in this iteration) or a Giant depending on how powerful his rage was.</p><p></p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-70595344237885460822023-11-28T16:18:00.000+00:002023-11-28T16:18:23.902+00:00Three Foods of The Land Beyond The Great Forest<p>There's three dishes that really stand out.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Blood Soup.</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Rich, red and warming. Packed with paprika. Normally made without blood, but a concentrated base of pork (or less commonly, beef) stock. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Recommended to build you back up when you're a bit pale and drained from sleeping badly the last few nights. Traditionally a remedy for anaemia - hence the name.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Variations include floating chunks of pickled beetroot, much much more garlic, or absolutely no garlic at all. Sometimes served in a hollowed-out stale loaf.</p><p style="text-align: left;">When served chilled and congealed, it is sliced like sausage as an accompaniment to strong drink in the open air. The gelatinous texture is an acquired taste.</p><h3>Hunter's Broth.</h3><p>A simple soup of bone broth, salt and a mix of alliums. Traditional peasant dish, to be enriched with leftovers. </p><p>It is thought that it gets its name from being fed to those injured in hunting accidents to determine the severity of stomach wounds. The distinctive smell would indicate internal perforation, and the poor soul would prepare for death. </p><p>This may also be reflected in the tradition of adding a symbolic drop of crushed belladonna to the soup as it is served.</p><p>Another theory is that it's an example of ironic peasant humour. Surely no hunter would attempt to stalk animals after eating something so heavily seasoned with garlic that it scents your sweat.</p><p>The tourist recipe is significantly milder with edible berries in place of the belladonna, and served with toasted (or stale) bread floating on top. Sprinkled with cheese, and/or shredded dried meat.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Red Velvet Chicken.</h3><p style="text-align: left;">According to folklore, a meal personally prepared and served by the head of a noble household to a guest of more humble station. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Red and glossy. A powerful symbol of hospitality, it is purported to encourage restful sleep and agreeable conviviality.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Originally a simple, rustic chicken dish, the recipe now includes expensive imported spices - the different combinations and proportions said to reflect the characters of both past and current armigerous clans.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The brightly-coloured example in the nicer coaching inns is more affordable. Contains lots of paprika (and sometimes garlic), instead of the rare and precious spices.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The most authentic-looking (and expensive) tourist version contains cumulatively poisonous (but surprisingly palatable) metallic dyes. The locals aren't fooled, by appearance or by taste, but the adulteration is overlooked by less-conscientious authorities as long as adverse reactions are few, rare and restricted to tourists. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">System Agnostic Mechanics.</h3><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Blood Soup:</b> double-rate recovery from health and attribute damage from blood-loss, blood-disease and assorted haemovores and energy drainers, living and (un)dead.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Hunter's Broth:</b> belladonna for bonus vs. surprise by vampires/minions, and resistance to lycanthropy; stench vs. vampires as (eg) <a href="https://oldschoolessentials.necroticgnome.com/srd/index.php/Troglodyte#:~:text=Nauseating%20stench%3A%20Oils%20on%20the%20skin%20have%20a%20smell%20that%20sickens%20humans%20and%20demihumans%3A%20save%20versus%20poison%20or%20suffer%20%2D2%20to%20hit%2C%20while%20in%20melee%20with%20troglodytes." target="_blank">Troglodyte</a>, and penalty to surprise/stealth.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The tourist version has no mechanical effects.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Red Velvet Chicken: </b>disadvantage/penalty on saves vs. <i>sleep, charm</i> and <i>hold</i>. Can be specific to the villain, or more generally. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The tourist version lacks the psychoactive compounds - it's tasty but usually overpriced. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Tainted meals give a cumulative 1% chance of getting <a href="https://oldschoolessentials.necroticgnome.com/srd/index.php/Centipede,_Giant#:~:text=Causes%20victims%20to%20become%20horribly%20sick%20for%20ten%20days%20(save%20versus%20poison)%3A%20no%20physical%20activity%20possible%20except%20half%20speed%20movement" target="_blank">really sick</a> per portion consumed. The poison is purged at a rate of up to 5% per week after last dose.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Commentary.</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Thanks to what is now <a href="https://www.strangestudies.com/" target="_blank">Strange Studies of Strange Stories</a> for the idea/image of the Count making Jonathan Harker his supper.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The soups seemed thematically appropriate without being too light-hearted.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h3>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-74480735389547576002023-11-24T21:28:00.002+00:002023-11-24T21:28:37.170+00:00DINOSAURS! - Back to Basic<p>The Mandela Effect has eliminated the 40+ dinosaur stat-blocks from Advanced and Basic D&D, leaving only scattered references - including that they're big stupid hungry reptiles.</p><p>Oh no! Have to make my own in a <i>lonely-fun vacuum</i>. </p><p>Compatible with most old school D&D-alikes/derivatives.</p><p>(And apologies to dinosaur aficionados and experts).</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgsuihHmhnPmBiD_dm_1jqMh2uRPeAcsqUGhlTQRH3o2cuRSeuilhiJacp_d8AgZij3TuZ_0fXJtu2ABqKvddnDkORFT-Sb8PxKcU8U-pcb7q_D3vdvUBs3SvRU4nzOoHfqpshvnE1rs6lZbGmHlUmS_quQ9q7ZXhZJKZuGqAJ0nlKVVCMc34OxWnBzVz3Z" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgsuihHmhnPmBiD_dm_1jqMh2uRPeAcsqUGhlTQRH3o2cuRSeuilhiJacp_d8AgZij3TuZ_0fXJtu2ABqKvddnDkORFT-Sb8PxKcU8U-pcb7q_D3vdvUBs3SvRU4nzOoHfqpshvnE1rs6lZbGmHlUmS_quQ9q7ZXhZJKZuGqAJ0nlKVVCMc34OxWnBzVz3Z=w476-h476" width="476" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Proof!</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">They don't need species names: Big Hungry, Old One Eye, the God-Beast,</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Hit Dice.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">As they are equally <i>huge and weird</i> (see above for proof), dinosaurs can be built on the 1e AD&D <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/search?q=froghemoth#:~:text=The%20kind%20of%20level%2Dinappropriate%20monster%20you%20encourage%20another%20monster%20to%20fight%2C%20rather%20than%20take%20on%20yourself" target="_blank">Froghemoth</a>, meaning they get <b>16 HD.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Armour Class.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">Things like Pterodactyls are <b>leathery</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>so they have <b>AC as leather (+2)</b>; most other dinosaurs are <b>scaly</b> so they have <b>AC as scale armour (+3)</b>. The dinosaurs with <b>armour plates</b> (you decide if Stegosaurus is one of these) have <b>AC as plate</b> <b>(+6)</b>. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Triceratops gets <b>+1/+2 vs. missiles</b> for having a shield round its neck - Stegosaurus might also qualify for back plates, if you've not already decided they're armour plated.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Pterodactyls can also get +1 to +3 for flying, or nothing if you think they're clumsy, ponderous fliers.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Attacks.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">One big attack for 6d6, or can split the dice between up to six opponents. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Pterodactyls always split three ways: beak and two wing buffets for 2d6 each (and see below). </p><p style="text-align: left;">1d6 attacks are incidental bashes, blunders and buffets in the melee.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2d6 and 3d6 attacks are claws, kicks, flipper and tail swipes and so on. Includes the bites of small-headed herbivores.</p><p style="text-align: left;">4d6 and above are carnivore bites, single-target stamps, goring and tossing with horns. </p><p style="text-align: left;">6d6 is the slavering jaws of the Tyrant Lizard King, being trod on by a Brachiosaurus, sat on by a Triceratops.</p><p style="text-align: left;">If you prefer, 4d6+ attacks don't need a hit roll, you save to evade.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Various 3d6+ attacks can cause hull damage; 4d6+ can cause structural damage.</p><p><b>Special Attacks.</b></p><p>On a successful hit of 19-20 vs. a human-sized target, the dinosaur inflicts a <b>special</b>.</p><p>(If smaller than human-sized, special on 14+)</p><p>The big carnivores swallow you whole; the big herbivores trample you underfoot. </p><p>Auto-damage (save to resist for half) each round until you can escape/are rescued - you're pretty helpless while being digested/stomped. Various bits of equipment are at risk.</p><p>Marine dinosaurs knock you into the water or swallow you if you're already there; includes capsizing and holing boats.</p><p>The armoured dinosaurs with spiky tails knock you prone and you drop whatever you're holding - lose Initiative and no attacks for two rounds (one to pick up your weapon, one to get back up - in any order, or you can crawl away). </p><p>You can also use this for rams, butts and tossing by the bone-headed and the horned dinosaurs.</p><p>Flying dinosaurs carry you off into the sky, or knock you down (like a spiky tail) with a wing buffet, or knock you off the branch/bridge/deck/ledge with same.</p><p>...unless they do an apocalyptic swoop - an AoE attack of up to 16 dice, but also suffers same number of dice damage itself. If you like, use massive damage instant death rules on it. Maybe it's also on fire because the volcano has erupted.</p><p><b>Special Defences.</b></p><p>Immune to spells that don't cause points of damage, normal fire and poison/venom.</p><p>Use your judgement - it'd be shame to spoil a cool improvisation or cunning plan for the sake of a statement. </p><p>There's special cases to be made for all sorts of illusory tricks, setting things on fire, freezing the lake/river/swamp, casting <i>disintegrate</i> as the stinking jaws close round you like a cage, <i>enlarging</i> toads thrown into the yawning throat etcetera.</p><p><b>Stupid Dinosaur Behaviour.</b></p><p>At this stage, dinosaurs are pea-brained monsters of appetite and are easily fooled. </p><p>Carnivores always attack and always attack the nearest largest suitable target. Includes siege engines, other dinosaurs, submarines, airships, lighthouses, mining equipment, atmosphere processors, time-machines, and trains (etc).</p><p>Herbivores generally only attack if attacked. If surprised (whether or not with hostile intent), they must pass a Morale Check or stampede - trampling you into the dirt (as special, above - and see below).</p><p>Horned herbivores can set vs. charge, but mainly do so against other dinosaurs (and similar, above).</p><p>All dinosaurs can fight on for d3 rounds at 0 to -16 hp (or if their head has been <i>disintegrated </i>in spectacular improvisational manner). </p><p>Split their attacks between as many opponents as possible, and on a natural 20 (or a 1, if you prefer) they topple over (dead) on whatever they're fighting for a 6d6 AoE.</p><p>Morale for most dinosaurs is 8. On a double six, they go berserk and fight to the death, even turning on each other.</p><p>Morale Checks can also be triggered by 10+ points of magical cold/fire damage, or a similar amount of electrical damage, in a round.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Commentary.</h3><p style="text-align: left;">These are the dinosaurs of Ray Harryhausen and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_R._Knight" target="_blank">Charles R. Knight</a> and not as many Doug McClure films as I thought. They don't even aspire to <i>Jurassic Park</i> levels of accuracy, let alone have feathers.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I've <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/01/ad-monster-manual-2-d-part-3-devil.html#:~:text=up%20later%20on).-,Dinosaur,-." target="_blank">noted</a> <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2022/10/dmr2-creature-catalog-d-to-e.html#:~:text=rather%20than%20Earth.-,Dinosaur,-." target="_blank">elsewhere</a> that my opinion is the older edition dinosaurs are high in number, low in inspiration.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I think the E/X of Basic D&D probably got it about right by having a limited range, even if they're otherwise unexceptional in their treatment. The Master set consolidation (particularly after the Latinate glut of the 1e AD&D Monster Manuals) was a sensible move, and was the spark point for this article.</p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-63118236953163980622023-11-22T15:15:00.001+00:002023-11-22T15:15:36.923+00:00CYTHRONS (from 2000AD's Slaine) - Monster for Old School Fantasy & Horror<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxPnxnUtIZiQU4TrrdCZSy7zCqb0h5xnQT3Ciy8-zsKDZySr0LeV1-gt43QXDwl9WbbPeoYXnpzvlPrcT4Lrp0fCO_WixXBgErafRAZWAIeJI2YaEEpIWO2JWFNAIex1HRH7EKev4F_LneifcENXlaVyK7nVqj-UiexpibhmqNmwoEYfZhalELzeoDRznv/s1515/cythrons.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1515" data-original-width="1256" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxPnxnUtIZiQU4TrrdCZSy7zCqb0h5xnQT3Ciy8-zsKDZySr0LeV1-gt43QXDwl9WbbPeoYXnpzvlPrcT4Lrp0fCO_WixXBgErafRAZWAIeJI2YaEEpIWO2JWFNAIex1HRH7EKev4F_LneifcENXlaVyK7nVqj-UiexpibhmqNmwoEYfZhalELzeoDRznv/w530-h640/cythrons.jpeg" width="530" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glenn Fabry.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The Earth is a farm. We are someone else's property.</i> (Charles Fort)</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>AC </b>Unarmoured <b>HD </b>6+3 or 8+4 <b>Movement</b> 100% Normal Human <b>Morale</b> 11</p><p style="text-align: left;">Time-travelling humanoid alien demons that inhabit Cythraul, a hell-dimension that is in fact the Earth millions of years before the appearance of earthly life. Imprisoned (in space, but crucially not in time) after losing a cosmic war, they are analogues in Slaine's world for the Great Old Ones and Old Ones/Elder Things.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They feed on the energy produced by human emotion, especially the negatives ones. As well as food, this energy can be harnessed towards the goal of awakening the dead/sleeping High Cythrons and freeing themselves from the Earth.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Alignment: </b>We're nothing but stupid animals to them. Some of them like hurting us more than others. Some keep us (or merely a scrap) as pets. Mostly we're raw materials.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Three-way alignment, they're Chaotic, I suppose; nine-ways, they're a mix of Lawful and Neutral Evil - possibly representing the organic farmers (millions of year alien conspiracy) vs. the battery farmers (full-scale alien invasion).</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Dexterity, Intelligence and Strength:</b> min.12 in each; 13/15/13 min. array for 8+4 HD Cythrons.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Roll d6+12 for exceptional individuals. Modifiers as for stat/system.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Innate resistances:</b> Half or no damage from cold, electricity and normal fire.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They are immune to acid, poison (inc. gas)/venom and the related abilities of jellies, oozes and slimes. These are variously cleansing, refreshing and therapeutic to Cythrons - they enjoy them.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Unless specially made, their armour, equipment and garments do not share any or all of these resistances.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1pLW6-Jrp-ImPbbpdKOtYsXCKzTHR10sGAQOHmZrpCDpv_FPu_hWDR-x0GADaUczBMngGr35hCJ3GG-63Rlqbml0Vbsgto6F44bj6DExwe_qPXodowZjnynOBqS3pP7HKVXEOet74OsHWQf5ekfFi0m-Mbyy_WoA8nj7TLuSZ7HBGO7_F6THF5Rv5zFZo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDcw9yJ7rnz4o4dMT64wXd5llRo9VmDLZh3imLXYSi-K6SG7rZsm6ojUJvG2iC7jsX2d3AFUnt6WEqItQj_SO7dYnwkhtiz-Zd7oEpdDRXG5kcYReZijujNT_lUYnzngAo18mjAoIkUKGPAksGqFkn6FYgwUR-teXGmZUJcSt8ZAUPz5nNK9DFUFNvZBmU" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="669" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDcw9yJ7rnz4o4dMT64wXd5llRo9VmDLZh3imLXYSi-K6SG7rZsm6ojUJvG2iC7jsX2d3AFUnt6WEqItQj_SO7dYnwkhtiz-Zd7oEpdDRXG5kcYReZijujNT_lUYnzngAo18mjAoIkUKGPAksGqFkn6FYgwUR-teXGmZUJcSt8ZAUPz5nNK9DFUFNvZBmU=w492-h258" width="492" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And they hate it, spoils a good abduction.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1pLW6-Jrp-ImPbbpdKOtYsXCKzTHR10sGAQOHmZrpCDpv_FPu_hWDR-x0GADaUczBMngGr35hCJ3GG-63Rlqbml0Vbsgto6F44bj6DExwe_qPXodowZjnynOBqS3pP7HKVXEOet74OsHWQf5ekfFi0m-Mbyy_WoA8nj7TLuSZ7HBGO7_F6THF5Rv5zFZo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Weapons and Armour:</b> swords, axes, spears and pole arms of various levels of sci-fantasy sophistication but really anything they/you want, including their bare hands (prolonging their victory so they can feed on your desperate fear, puny mortal).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Can use leyser weapons (sci-fantasy magical energy weapons - swords, pistols, cannons) but - from the comics- favour minions, hand-weapons and optical leyser beams (see below).</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Cythron Power Suit:</b> the wearer look like a sci-fantasy ancient astronaut insect-skeleton stormtrooper (see above). Often look like ancient images/descriptions of deities.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>As protective as chainmail, as encumbering as leather.</li><li>Activated by thought control:</li><ul><li> +5 bonus to AC* and saves vs. all attack forms, <i>protection from normal missiles, resist cold, resist fire.</i></li><li>Non-Cythrons will need to be instructed or experiment in order to use the suits as more than passive protection, but even a <i>brutal and unimaginative barbarian</i><b style="font-style: italic;"> </b>will find it easy enough.</li><li>8+4 HD Cythrons get the added benefit of<i> protection from mortals </i>- immunity to non-magical attacks from 0 to 3rd level characters. </li></ul><li>O<b>ptical leysers</b>: 2 beams per round for 2-12 hits, plus save vs. stun (1-4 rounds). Electricity or energy immunity works against the stun effect. Ranged touch attack, adjusted for cover (including shields).</li><li><i>Fly</i> as a glowing energy ball. I'm going to rule that you can travel through any non-solid medium without ill-effect in this state.</li><ul><li>Additional weight/living beings can be carried. In the comics, a Cythron abducts Nest (female human druid), and Slaine rescues both Tlachtga (female human fighter) and Ukko (male dwarf thief).</li><li>Non-Cythrons need to concentrate while doing this. Double-ones on 2d6 you botch landing/re-entry and materialise in an occupied space. </li><li>I suggest contested saves to see who survives if it's a living being. If it's an object, roll, argue or judge to see if you have the reflexes and wit to turn back into energy and rescue yourself (still take a <i>critical wound</i> worth of damage). </li></ul></ul><p style="text-align: left;">If one was to come onto the mortal market, it would as likely trigger an actual war as it would a bidding war.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's sufficiently advanced technology that it's indistinguishable from magic. How it interacts with magic (and <i>dispel magic</i>) is up to you and your setting/system.</p><p style="text-align: left;">* Can stack with the passive protection, because I've based the Cythron power suit mechanics on <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2020/12/oard-monster-conversion-becmi-d-to-call.html" target="_blank">Oard </a>technology. However, I'd make <i>protection from mortals</i> the main effect and only use the higher AC bonus - but that's because I'm a <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/12/low-armour-settings.html" target="_blank">low-armour</a> kind of fellow.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Communication (8+4 HD only) </b>with anything that has equal or lower species-average Intelligence than they do.</p><p>This is a universal translator ability, but they can also use telepathy - especially with minions.</p><p>Cythrons invented Common, and then took it away as a joke/punishment (symbolised in the Tower of Babel). </p><p>The 6+3 HD Cythrons have a lesser and non-telepathic ability to speak with anything that has a language (within the range given above).</p><p><b>See Aura (8+4 HD only):</b> As well as your emotional state they can easily determine your alignment, experience level and whether you are under a curse/spell. They will not be fooled (or not long fooled) by (human) disguise, <i>polymorph</i> or <i>invisibility.</i> </p><p>The ability is a biological function and blocked by things that would foil normal vision. I'm going to say this includes magical darkness. In fog and smoke, they can probably tell you have an aura, but not the specifics.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">What Was Left Out.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">The Guledig (Praise Be His Name!) and the High Cythrons (Cthulhuvian in their nine-dimensional glory).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Myrddin, sired on a human mother by the Guledig, and by implication, other half-Cythrons.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The niceties of the <b>bio-welder</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>and the <b>organic blender.</b> </p><p style="text-align: left;">Cythrons can re-make living things, for amusement and for utility. Reskin any monster as various forms of Orgot (organic-robot). AD&D Mongrelmen and Broken Ones/Shattered Brethren serve as abandoned experiments and grotesque pets. All these things are, at some level, human.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Cythron regeneration. Only one featured Cythron does this (three times, shedding its skin as it does so and extruding sucking tentacles). Slaine claims it was feeding on his energy, but he doesn't seem to suffer for it.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Cythrons vs. <i>charm</i> etc<i>. </i>As Nest is able to use the Talisman of Venus to <i>charm</i> the Cythron, <a href="https://britishcomics.fandom.com/wiki/Oeahoo" target="_blank">Oeahoo</a>, so at least the 6+3 HD Cythrons are <b>not</b> immune to mind-affecting magic.</p><p style="text-align: left;">How this translates to a D&D-ish system is up to you, but a quick rule could be that 8+4 HD Cythrons are immune (so Knuckles the Medium can't <i>charm </i>Pseudo-Osiris) and the 6+3 need two castings and to fail both saves.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Relationship to the Laws of Macrocosm - acts of so-called Good and Evil tip the balance in favour of the other side. A game of rock-paper-scissors in which you have to tell your opponent what you're going to play, and the least worst way to win is for nobody to take a turn.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Earth Power. There's at least two <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/51074/slaine-roleplaying-game-celtic-heroes-d20" target="_blank">(1)</a> <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/58914/slaine-runequest" target="_blank">(2)</a> Slaine rpgs, so there's rules out there you could crib.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Commentary.</h3><p style="text-align: left;">I stopped regularly reading 2000AD after the first part of <a href="https://2000ad.com/news/slaine-at-40-four-slaine-collections-to-read-now/#:~:text=Sl%C3%A1ine%3A%20The%20Horned%20God" target="_blank">The Horned God</a> (early 1990s - switched to <i>Fortean Times</i>), and tended to re-read the earlier stuff in the time since (stuff I actually owned) - with the first part of Time Killer being one of the gaps in my collection.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Because it's a lot <i>easier to access</i> nowadays, I've speed-read c. 40 years of Slaine recently and that's the spark that lit the where's-the-Slaine-old-school-homebrew tinder. </p><p style="text-align: left;">I can see why the Time Killer/Tomb of Terror arc wasn't remembered fondly, comparing it to what came before and (some) of what came after. Maybe the story/worldbuilding suffers because it's an episodic comic strip, put together week-to-week? I don't think the dungeon-crawl role-playing game tie-in did it any favours, either.</p><p style="text-align: left;">BUT: I was always able to squeeze a lot of juice out of it, and Glenn Fabry's art is great.</p><p style="text-align: left;">If this exercise wasn't about the Cythrons, then you could use/reskin Oards.</p><p style="text-align: left;">If you think they're a little bit low-powered for god-like beings, then graft on some later-edition types & sub-types (Aberration and Outsider?) onto them, maybe give them a d12 Hit Dice into the bargain.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Ian Sturrock did a <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgissue/58680/signs-portents-issue-7-feb-2004#:~:text=Power%20Beyond%20Cognition" target="_blank">piece</a> on leyser weapons and Cythron characters (+2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, -4 Charisma, +4 bonus when making magical attacks) for the d20 Slaine rpg. </p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-67044195829916655382023-11-08T15:17:00.001+00:002023-11-09T09:26:13.191+00:00DILUVIALS (from 2000AD's Slaine - Time Killer) - Monsters for Old School Fantasy & Horror<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLOXbuSkWs7ryF5XUTEL3v3cee34ZD6m3EuiMG94G85-Xlm0F1tZVeVaJPkU2VlN6IP08Lxd5pbkR-HAGQYEjL3O455rxtpQp50NQfd8S9_SPOOk6HvRctNCx9MNKTa74eDwumcFItIvXzHiE1LEW5H7EMCz1P9j5P1LmP79vF6_b6XqMSauTWVVz9O7l6" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="488" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLOXbuSkWs7ryF5XUTEL3v3cee34ZD6m3EuiMG94G85-Xlm0F1tZVeVaJPkU2VlN6IP08Lxd5pbkR-HAGQYEjL3O455rxtpQp50NQfd8S9_SPOOk6HvRctNCx9MNKTa74eDwumcFItIvXzHiE1LEW5H7EMCz1P9j5P1LmP79vF6_b6XqMSauTWVVz9O7l6=w373-h400" width="373" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glenn Fabry.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;"><b>AC</b> +5<span> </span><b>HD </b>1+4<span> </span><b>Move </b>100% Normal Human<span> </span><b>Morale</b> 8</p><p style="text-align: left;">Beetle-skeleton tribal humanoid monsters. Plucked from the remote past to serve as minions.</p><p style="text-align: left;">One weapon attack per round for d8 (or by weapon).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Champions have +6 AC, 2 HD and 9 Morale. One champion can act as leader for 2-12 lesser Diluvials.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Leaders have +6 AC, 3+1 HD (min. 16 hp), 9 Morale and +1 to damage. They are accompanied by 2-12 champions as bodyguards.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The special weapon of the Diluvials is a bone-conch triple-horn that acts as a <a href="https://oldschoolessentials.necroticgnome.com/srd/index.php/Horn_of_Blasting" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">horn of blasting</a> that can also <i><a href="https://oldschoolessentials.necroticgnome.com/srd/index.php/Transmute_Rock_to_Mud_(Mud_to_Rock)" target="_blank">transmute rock to mud</a></i> once per day. These are non-magical durational effects (10 minutes) and 50% of lost hit points/structural damage is recovered if the target is not destroyed/slain in this time.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Maximum of one horn per 10 Diluvials. Must be wielded by a champion or leader.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Diluvials not commanded by a champion or leader will:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>stop fighting and feast on fresh kills on a 1-2 on d6 each round</li><li>switch allegiance to the most obviously physically powerful character/monster if they fail a Morale Check</li></ul><p style="text-align: left;">Diluvials of all types will not seek cover from magic or missile attack, nor do they make Morale Checks when subjected to same. This is because they are stupid.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>Further Elaboration.</b></h4><p style="text-align: left;">The triple-horn does damage tagged as sonic/sound/vibration, and its powers can be adapted to <i>transmute rock to lava</i> and <i>stone to </i>(lifeless) <i>flesh. </i></p><p style="text-align: left;">Transmuted flesh is permanent and used to feed the mass of Diluvials. </p><p style="text-align: left;">They also like to use the triple-horns to liquify living victims so that they can drink them (traditionally irrevocable short of a <i>wish</i>) - this delicacy is usually reserved for leaders.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Higher-level Threat.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">While they remain minions/sword fodder, use the leader statblock for all Diluvials to make them a higher tier threat. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Number appearing is 2-12.</p><p style="text-align: left;">If there are at least 10, they have a triple-horn. Or, each has a 10% chance of carrying one.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Horror Monsters.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">Number appearing is 1-3. Use the leader statblock. Claw/claw or claw/claw/bite if they are unarmed.</p><p style="text-align: left;">There is only one triple-horn. It has all of the possible abilities. The Diluvials do not necessarily possess it at start of play.</p><p style="text-align: left;">If there are two Diluvials, together they can produce an infrasonic moan (as a <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/01/ad-monster-manual-2-c.html#:~:text=25%20Hit%20Dice.-,Cloaker,-." target="_blank">Cloaker</a>). If there are three, they can generate lethal vibrations (as a <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/01/ad-monster-manual-2-to-b.html#:~:text=The-,Death%20Watch%20Beetle,-can%20camouflage%20itself" target="_blank">Death Watch Beetle, Giant</a>).</p><p style="text-align: left;">These are the ones I'll convert for Call of Cthulhu.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Commentary.</h3><p style="text-align: left;">First appear in Time Killer (1985), and that's where most of the basic information is drawn from.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Mechanically, they're the <a href="https://oldschoolessentials.necroticgnome.com/srd/index.php/Beetle,_Giant" target="_blank">Giant Beetles</a> with a bit of <a href="https://oldschoolessentials.necroticgnome.com/srd/index.php/Goblin#:~:text=Goblin%20king%20and%20bodyguards%3A%20A%203HD%20(15hp)%20king%20and%202d6%202HD%20(2d6hp)%20bodyguards%20live%20in%20the%20goblin%20lair.%20They%20do%20not%20suffer%20attack%20penalties%20in%20daylight.%20The%20king%20gains%20a%20%2B1%20bonus%20to%20damage" target="_blank">Goblin </a>mixed in. </p><p style="text-align: left;">There've been at least <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/51074/slaine-roleplaying-game-celtic-heroes-d20" target="_blank">two </a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sl%C3%A1ine_(character)" target="_blank">Slaine </a><a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/58914/slaine-runequest" target="_blank">rpgs</a> and the Diluvials never made the cut.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></p><div><br /></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-13906144337745996752023-06-12T16:33:00.001+00:002023-06-12T16:33:41.012+00:00The Human Werewolf.<p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipmcivzsqM-HGdq0PHs9PoRU_kAoRM0a47m1Iz-ecthiDACnoIZsonhLeBvKl5vhKTOgzHT2HICm48cCTo5n4Od0pVe3meR1KU8qyy_XBDJPsb--JjaMp8OEeUjN56941LOBQ30yOcFP-bBpIG_AzsoNKF_Po9HsdC4339HZvPb7FJXVqi8ZvfgWZ1Jg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="474" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipmcivzsqM-HGdq0PHs9PoRU_kAoRM0a47m1Iz-ecthiDACnoIZsonhLeBvKl5vhKTOgzHT2HICm48cCTo5n4Od0pVe3meR1KU8qyy_XBDJPsb--JjaMp8OEeUjN56941LOBQ30yOcFP-bBpIG_AzsoNKF_Po9HsdC4339HZvPb7FJXVqi8ZvfgWZ1Jg=w363-h464" width="363" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">art by Lucas Cranach the Elder</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br />In a fantastic world where people can turn into animals for real, is there room for this version? Maybe.</span><p></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Fear them, pity them, hate them, utterly misjudge them - this is the werewolf of human suffering. Their transformation is a property of their own minds and/or the accusations against them (not mutually exclusive).</p><p></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></p><p style="clear: both;"><span>This werewolf could be a beggar, a shepherd, a grand prince, a king, </span>an unconventional therapist, a dressmaker, a wealthy farmer, a pedlar, a tailor, a mad duke, you, a lonely old woman, a grandiose peasant, a babe in the woods, a mooncalf, an eminent psychiatrist, a dishonourably discharged soldier, a noble baron, a creepy little kid.</p><p style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As well as people who believe themselves to be monsters, it also includes monsters who claim to be human, and unfortunates being mistaken for monsters.</span></p><p style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Human werewolves behave like humans, and wolves, and how they think wolves and werewolves behave, and how other people think wolves and werewolves behave. And sometimes they do this to a timetable, or for an audience, or when triggered. Can be gradual (even over weeks) or abrupt.</span></p><p style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For example, the mad duke might go out howling at night, digging up graves and telling people he's a wolf, but spend the day doing his ducal duties and political scheming. He might act as if he is (or genuinely be) unaware of his nocturnal personality.</span></p><p style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Remember also, some people only realise they're a werewolf when told they are by the bloke with the red-hot pincers and thumbscrews. You can <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2023/05/back-to-basic-werewolf.html#:~:text=Here%20are-,d12,-methods%20for%20play" target="_blank">roll d12 on this table</a> to determine how someone thinks the transformation is accomplished.</span></p><p style="clear: both;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-24fe0a93-7fff-c320-b99e-ea6f0967ff04"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>Genres:</b> crapsack, historical, (folk) horror, </span></span><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">low-level, </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">modern, </span><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">mystery</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. </span></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Basic profile:</b> a Normal Human, a Berserker, any NPC, a PC. </span></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm writing in ye olde D&D-adjacent, but it's all system agnostic really.</span></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxqZWNHQglOo91kR1Qc_pSq2IoTX3hP5aGsAPFRihI95kYcQryYJ-mJQ743jgQZNtuj9ZxSlnVoJSLxz8lFB1h7XpkByYJP3vZT1yzt9s250ulGPAcvH5kTzZG8anAAXS9eJ9BujiAKTIySHUztLp9GtbZcfHBFFYMLOxcMuP5cBKefvmFVfk5iMB_iw/s500/46e85a8c5afc4af2eaac3e20372e7ade--regensburg-getty-museum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="500" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxqZWNHQglOo91kR1Qc_pSq2IoTX3hP5aGsAPFRihI95kYcQryYJ-mJQ743jgQZNtuj9ZxSlnVoJSLxz8lFB1h7XpkByYJP3vZT1yzt9s250ulGPAcvH5kTzZG8anAAXS9eJ9BujiAKTIySHUztLp9GtbZcfHBFFYMLOxcMuP5cBKefvmFVfk5iMB_iw/s320/46e85a8c5afc4af2eaac3e20372e7ade--regensburg-getty-museum.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nebuchadnezzar, eating grass not babies, being <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porphyria#:~:text=King%20Nebuchadnezzar%20of%20Babylon.%20The%20description%20of%20this%20king%20in%20Daniel%204%20suggests%20to%20some%20that%20he%20had%20porphyria." target="_blank">retrospectively diagnosed with porphyria</a>. </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Combat:</b><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> improvised weapons, in the mechanical and the narrative sense. They'll beat, bite, grapple, scratch and strangle as needed, even reach for a handy rock, broken bottle or piece of cutlery (if they're not too deep in the wolf delusion).</span></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">There's nothing </span><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">but their own beliefs, delusions and preferences </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">to stop them using any armour or weapon, even firearms.</span></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In less casually violent settings, it might just be their willingness to do damage without worrying about the consequences that makes them dangerous.</span></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>Optional: </i></span><b style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Infected Wounds</b><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">, w</span><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">hether their teeth and nails are tainted with grave-earth and rotten viscera, or just because the human mouth is apparently a filthy place. </span><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Treat as in your setting/system, but with an increased chance (+1% per point of damage, for instance).</span></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Double 1s on 2d6 and victim thinks they're turning into a werewolf too.</span></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>Optional:<b> </b></i><b>Ferocity.</b></span><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Attack as a </span><a href="https://oldschoolessentials.necroticgnome.com/srd/index.php/Shrew,_Giant#:~:text=their%20second%20attack.-,Ferocity%3A,-Attack%20targets%E2%80%99%20heads" style="white-space-collapse: preserve;" target="_blank">Giant Shrew</a><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"> - </span><b style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </b><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">you can have the Initiative bonus, double attacks, the whole stat block if you like.</span></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>Optional: </i><b>Battle Rage.</b></span><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"> If you aren't already using the </span><a href="https://oldschoolessentials.necroticgnome.com/srd/index.php/Berserker#:~:text=P%20(B)-,Battle%20rage%3A,-%2B2%20to%20hit" style="white-space-collapse: preserve;" target="_blank">Berserker</a><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"> stat block, you get the +2 attack bonus, +1 hp and 12 Morale - plus the deranged behaviour.</span></p><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>Special Qualities:</b> Pick, or roll d12; not compulsory.</span></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">+d2 AC for thick hair, toughened skin, pain tolerance etc.</span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">-1 to all rolls in normal daylight; -2 in bright sunlight.</span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">take 2 hp damage per time unit (pick or randomise) in direct sunlight; this does not heal naturally, unless recovery time spent in darkness. Bits will eventually drop off.</span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Animals (mammals) - initial Reaction is Unfriendly.</span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Cats and Dogs - initial Reaction is Hostile.</span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ghouls - initial Reaction is Neutral.</span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Wolves and Werewolves - initial Reaction is Neutral.</span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Wolves and Werewolves - initial Reaction is Hostile.</span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Wolves - initial Reaction is Friendly.</span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Appearance, behaviour, reputation and/or unsettling presence reduce Charisma by 3 (or a Reaction Roll penalty).</span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Appearance, behaviour, reputation and/or unsettling presence reduce Charisma to 3.</span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Can eat raw meat, spoiled food, cadavers and assorted carrion without (debilitating/significant) ill effects; +4 save vs. ingested poisons & diseases, and a save of 16+ if one is not normally allowed.</span></li></ol><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">As well as having a higher than normal chance of spontaneously rising from the grave as a vampire, human werewolves are likely more susceptible to a vampire's <i>charm</i>/mesmeric ability (even becoming Pawns to their Liege).</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Their circumstances and/or habits make them ideal candidates for ghouldom or ghasthood, as well as making them attractive to bad spirits and demons.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">And their fellow humans might shove them in a cage and tour them, charging a silver piece to see the captive werewolf, and giving them only meagre, stinking provender to eat and a worn, filthy blanket against the chill.</span></p></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Commentary.</h3><p></p><p style="clear: both;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Historical werewolves have been medically ascribed:</span></p><div><p style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>Hypertrichosis</b>. Petrus Gonsalvus (1537-1618) was educated and toured the courts of Europe within the same time frame as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werewolf_witch_trials#:~:text=that%20of%20the-,Gandillon%20Family,-%2C%20the%20infamous%20%22" target="_blank">Gandillon family</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Garnier" target="_blank">Gilles Garnier</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Stumpp" target="_blank">Peter Stubbe</a> were being executed for werewolfism. Even though Petrus wasn't seen as completely human (he was also a slave), he wasn't subjected to torture and put to death for it.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgqJjl0Xw0m6ng_sa0-W6PC5qZq2srIZz0ruJ_Jaq1y2B3tuTdbMN85IqMjv73evSOk2_0DAjRSH0kQTYF-Rt5vibErPbN7sJyudvjtozc81v27vryAlwqPvqoslq0xOU_aWxPBirBB1uHuWCqHeTvOhVn87DnSUdn_4u11lXlW_4y_aWq0uM-rYk5anw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3002" data-original-width="1500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgqJjl0Xw0m6ng_sa0-W6PC5qZq2srIZz0ruJ_Jaq1y2B3tuTdbMN85IqMjv73evSOk2_0DAjRSH0kQTYF-Rt5vibErPbN7sJyudvjtozc81v27vryAlwqPvqoslq0xOU_aWxPBirBB1uHuWCqHeTvOhVn87DnSUdn_4u11lXlW_4y_aWq0uM-rYk5anw=w320-h640" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They didn't think he was a werewolf, or his hairy children, either.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>Porphyria</b>. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1897308/" target="_blank">This article</a> from 1964 seems to be the source for this gaining popularity. But porphyria was recognised as far back as Hippocrates, and the disfigurement it causes is not unlike that of other diseases, such as leprosy. Sensitivity to garlic and sunlight as symptoms apply more to vampires; more to our modern ideas, in any case. And p</span>orphyria gives you superpowers in much the same way as an origin-story dose of radiation doesn't.</li><li><b style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Rabies</b><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">. Well known to the ancients (4000 year old laws about dealing with rabid animals) and contagion by bite is characteristic of the 20th Century werewolf. </span></li><li><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">And, crucially, </span><b>Lycanthropy</b> as a disease of the mind (a form of melancholy) was recognised as early as the 7th Century. See also the case of wee Jean Grenier, who was tried as a werewolf but judged to be suffering from lycanthropy - at a time (c.1604) when similar cases resulted in sensational confessions and brutal executions.</li></ul></div><p></p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-49843202506318538602023-05-25T15:52:00.002+00:002023-06-05T16:30:05.676+00:00Back to Basic - Werewolf.<p style="text-align: left;">Our traditional (D&D-adjacent) rpg werewolf is the child of science-fiction, so I'll use a variant of the Mandela Effect to remove it from (my) Basic D&D and start again.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Ultimately system agnostic, because I have faith in your abilities.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Reminder, because I've not written anything like this in a while, that I don't really recognise any hard lines between the pre-3e systems and their simulacra. And it probably shows.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCBcrm39bKXYC1g2Re53RbVkoksyxUzXjmqgBnOJVGR85OfpCoLEpM3FvWSL8UmjUzWtiCV7BgN6tQYOQQS8l6oSXS_Gre5qAMRWA5PSzmvuHQ5T0WtjDtnwhlBjVn_RrJ_2kQlQHZGjif8DrLzE-dBlQ5rvKiosYBnME9iuUY-PP_LYLIFa5FxLCWXg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1024" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCBcrm39bKXYC1g2Re53RbVkoksyxUzXjmqgBnOJVGR85OfpCoLEpM3FvWSL8UmjUzWtiCV7BgN6tQYOQQS8l6oSXS_Gre5qAMRWA5PSzmvuHQ5T0WtjDtnwhlBjVn_RrJ_2kQlQHZGjif8DrLzE-dBlQ5rvKiosYBnME9iuUY-PP_LYLIFa5FxLCWXg=w538-h329" width="538" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my absolute favourite pics, of werewolves on a were-break.<br />Note the crescent moon.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">What is a Werewolf?</h4><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">A werewolf is a human able/compelled to transform into a wolf, and/or an at-least-wolf-headed humanoid, usually at night.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Neither form need be unusual, but tradition suggests there are behavioural and physical markers to identify werewolves in human form. The were-form may have some unusual feature that marks it as more than 'just a wolf' - unusual colouring, human eyes, (literally) flaming eyes and maw, no tail, clothing (intact and neatly piled up nearby), that kind of thing.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Use stats for a Normal Human, levelled character, Berserker etc. in human form, and a Wolf (vanilla) or a Dire Wolf (the wolf as archetype/symbol) when they drop on all fours and start howling.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Use any suitable animal/monster for the were-form, but for purposes here we'll call it the wolf.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Not intrinsically good or evil; choose either path or none. Motivation behind becoming a werewolf can be a desire for power, vengeance and unaccountability, but also a sacred rite of your people or faith, or something that is done to you against your will. These things are tangled in context.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Usually a loner, but not always. Can run with a pack of real wolves, often as their leader. Might have a family, who can also be werewolves.</p><h4>Invulnerability and Injuries - Armour Class and Hit Points.</h4><p>Wolf and human have separate hit point totals. Wounds to one shape are healed on changing to the other. This might not apply to a forced change.</p><p>Armour Class is at least as good as the animal form, and possibly better: treat as Chain/Medium amour, or an equivalent bonus.</p><p>A werewolf in wolf form can be an <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/05/survival-horror-fighting-invulnerable.html" target="_blank">Invulnerable Monster</a>. They have no uniform special vulnerabilities (but see below), but are often difficult or seemingly impossible to harm/kill.</p><p>Traditionally, if you chop off the wolf's paw, the human form will be missing the corresponding extremity. You can extend this to other narratively appropriate, disfiguring, wounds. So werewolves might be vulnerable to crits and severing hits, however tough they might be.</p><p>Also, if brought to casualty state (0 hp), the werewolf reverts to human form, helpless but stable. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Powers of the Werewolf.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Even without invulnerability, bite damage and HD sets you above a Normal Human in terms of a D&D combat. Possibly the wolf's ability scores, if they factor in. Track by smell, see in the dark, stealth etc. The <i>Dragon Warriors</i> <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2022/01/dragonwarriors-way-of-wizardry-monster.html#:~:text=impossible%20to%20surprise" target="_blank">Wolf</a> can't be surprised.</p><p style="text-align: left;">With your human intelligence, or under diabolical influence, you can behave in ways that an animal would not, even if that's just making a choice whether to flee from fire or gunshot.</p><p style="text-align: left;">You're a wolf, and can do the kind of things that wolves can that humans can't. It might be enough that you can survive the cold night and fill up on raw meat, rather than freeze and starve in your hovel.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Being in a different form part of the time means that they don't know it's you doing the things you do. Try and get away with murder, or do anonymous philanthropy.</p><p style="text-align: left;">When you die, you are apparently more likely to rise again as a vampire.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Some werewolves have hands, and I've seen dogs turn door handles with their jaws.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Turning Into a Werewolf.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">You can normally only turn into a wolf when night falls, and some won't be able to change while observed; neither is absolute.</p><p style="text-align: left;">How long does it take? Let's say up to 2 combat rounds, during which you're effectively helpless. Some transformation methods lend themselves better to a less (even instantaneous) or more leisurely rate of change.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzMO80RlrYTaCEdWN_in86l-GrJ8sw6ss5uwwIShlOgo2AIV2CiQ27gfB-6xXl2J0jcFq6GkJ1CzxixVV1_ZpmLSaJm6ML7KLsRIGYIl_342EMrUeowVpArEoUEPjq6ImHatDWyVaA_lpd3yLje4-FQOe5GTLaY6gSmyVulfJgy03ktkHtOf2O2oPhtw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="500" height="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzMO80RlrYTaCEdWN_in86l-GrJ8sw6ss5uwwIShlOgo2AIV2CiQ27gfB-6xXl2J0jcFq6GkJ1CzxixVV1_ZpmLSaJm6ML7KLsRIGYIl_342EMrUeowVpArEoUEPjq6ImHatDWyVaA_lpd3yLje4-FQOe5GTLaY6gSmyVulfJgy03ktkHtOf2O2oPhtw=w515-h564" width="515" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pact with the Devil; sunset to sunrise, last day of the month.<br />Spends the time running around and knocking things over, that's <i><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27202/27202-h/27202-h.htm" target="_blank">Wagner the Wehr-Wolf</a> </i>(use AD&D MM2 Cooshee for the wolf form).</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Here are d12 methods for play, and they need not be exclusive of each other:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Magic belt. </b>Only you can take if off; roll 2d6 when you do. Double 1, you can't find it next time. Often made of human or wolf skin.</li><li><b>Wolf mask.</b> Anyone can put it on, but only you retain your reason. Can be blown, snatched or splashed off, so take care. <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/search?q=croglin#:~:text=If%20you%20are%20alone%20and%20you%20see%20a%20Croglin%20Vampire%2C%20you%20must%20save%20vs.%20paralysis%C2%A0%2D%20this%20paralysis%20is%20broken%20by%20the%20arrival%20of%20an%20intelligent%20living%20being%2C%20the%20monster%20moving%20out%20of%20sight%2C" target="_blank">If you're masked and alone with a victim, they must save or be helpless/deluded - even up to you starting to eat them</a>.</li><li><b>Hairy on the Inside.</b> Turn your skin inside out (or simply take it off) to transform. Morale Checks, if not fear/sanity saves for witnesses. A significant wound (crits/impales, judicial torture, max. damage etc) reveals your secret.</li><li><b>Wolf Skin.</b> Even sleeping on/under it means you dream of wolves and the hunt, possibly even generating a wolf <i>tulpa</i>. Put it on to transform.</li><li><b>Divine Punishment.</b> Cannibal pranks vs. customs of hospitality, or just not going to enough Mass? It's possible that you will be permanently in wolf form, but a feat of strength or willpower lets you to pull off your wolf head to reveal your human form and allow you to speak. There is sometimes a time limit, but immortality and/or heredity can be part of the package.</li><li><b><a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/search?q=werewolf#:~:text=A%20Human%20who%20can%20turn%20into%20a%20Wolf%20after%20dark%2C%20or%20during%20the%20day%20by%20swallowing%20a%20potion%20of%20lycanthropy." target="_blank">Potion of Lycanthropy.</a></b> Ingredients are blasphemous, criminal, poisonous, unsavoury. Could be <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/43/43-h/43-h.htm#:~:text=My%20provision%20of,to%20the%20draught." target="_blank">an unknown impurity in the salt that lends efficacy to the draught</a>. Drink it to turn into wolf; effect expires at daybreak.</li><li><b>Werewolf Salve.</b> Ingredients are blasphemous, criminal, poisonous, unsavoury. The smell clings to you like the stench of a skunk, a Troglodyte, a <i>stinking cloud</i>, and witches (and/or witch hunters) will recognise it because it shares a profile with their flying ointment.</li><li><b>Ritual/Spell.</b> Equivalent 1st level, or a ritual anyone can learn/teach. Might have material components, but the power is in the performance. Can be interrupted.</li><li><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Werewolf_of_Ponkert" target="_blank">Bandit Wolf Cult.</a></b> You get recruited to be a Werewolf, and your patron/leader gets the XP from the treasure you steal as well as +1 spell slot per current recruit. NPCs don't notice they're not getting XP for gold.</li><li><a href="https://britishcomics.fandom.com/wiki/Summer_Magic" target="_blank">A (not-inevitable) consequence of </a><b><a href="https://britishcomics.fandom.com/wiki/Summer_Magic" target="_blank">Practicing Magic</a> </b>- might even be your goal. Spell level % chance every time you cast a spell, then also your cumulative level each advance (1% at 1st level, 3% 2nd, 6% 3rd, 10% 4th and so on). Or Powers Checks as for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masque_of_the_Red_Death_(Ravenloft)" target="_blank"><i>Masque of the Red Death</i>.</a></li><li><b>Ancestry/Puberty.</b> Hereditary lycanthropy. Might be something people know/say about you and your family. Puberty, tasting (certain types of) meat, or initiation triggers The Change. Might also be reflected in your human life.</li><li><b>Enchantment.</b> As a blessing/mission or as a curse, you take the form of a wolf. As a curse, you might behave as an animal but retain your awareness of what you do. As a blessing/mission, you probably have a special enemy you are expected to hunt (eg. witches, vampires, ghouls, other werewolves, actual wolves).</li></ol><p style="text-align: left;">The first (or every) time you transform, roll 2d6 (or make a Morale Check). </p><p style="text-align: left;">On a 12 (or a double 1 if you prefer low=bad) or a failed check, you're dominated by your animal/demonic nature for the period of transformation and act accordingly. Otherwise, you retain mastery of self.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Curing the Werewolf - Vulnerabilities.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">You don't cure the werewolf, because (this) lycanthropy isn't a disease. </p><p style="text-align: left;">You might be able to use <i>remove curse/</i> <i>dispel evil</i> to render it wholly human, if that seems appropriate, and <i>dispel magic</i> (or similar) might disrupt a magic item or spell-based transformation. It really depends on how 'magical' a werewolf's transformation is compared to (say) the spells your characters cast - this will also tell you something about the setting, if you haven't already decided on it. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Atonement</i> might work, or the un-italicised, non-spell version. Likewise, werewolves may be vulnerable to holy relics, consecrated ground, prayers, priests, virgins, and so on, depending on the milieu. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Certain substances - eg. iron, but including silver - are traditionally effective vs. supernatural entities so could beat a werewolf's invulnerability, or the touch could force the werewolf back to human form, or work to ward them off as a cross does a vampire. Blessed and holy weapons could also fall into this category.</p><p style="text-align: left;">While not strictly speaking a vulnerability, day/sun-light turns the wolf back to a human, so if you can find a way to weaponise this, good for you. Maybe you can fool a werewolf into thinking the sun is coming up? </p><p style="text-align: left;">Consider these <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/01/d18-x-d6-nested-table-of-unholy.html" target="_blank">Unholy Attributes</a> as material for this sub-section.</p><p>If potions and salves of lycanthropy exist, then antidotes to counter them are likely. Good luck greasing up your wolf or forcing it to drink.</p><p>Possessing the werewolf's clothes (or skin) gives you power over it. At least, according to tradition and the magical laws of sympathy. The same applies, more or less, to getting hold of its belt, mask, salve or potion, though this is mundane coercion, not magical.</p><p>Killing the master werewolf (or the Devil or the Lord of the Forest or what/whoever), if such a thing exists, should also dis-empower subservient werewolves.</p><p>The werewolf ability could be a possessing spirit that can be driven out, exorcised, or defeated on the astral plane. And psionics, if that's the way you want to play (suitably advanced bio-technology being indistinguishable from magic, and all that).</p><p>Werewolves in human shape can also expect the following: burning, beheading, garrotting, impalement, nailing to a tree, removing the heart (and burning it, for good measure), staking down in a grave, driving a pitchfork into the forehead three times, crushing under stones, walling up alive, breaking on a wheel, feeding to the wolves, ripped apart by horses. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Reverse Werewolves and Others.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Wolves that turn into humans are also werewolves for our purposes, and much of the above applies. </p><p style="text-align: left;">However, the reverse werewolf is not strictly human but something other - <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2020/01/elves-are-wolves-chthonians-are-martians.html" target="_blank">faerie folk</a>, beast folk/Cynocephali, wendigo, spirits of the dead, elementals, ancestors and ancestral spirits, demon-possessed animals and actual demons. The human form is the more dangerous one in these cases. Extra abilities to taste.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The werewolf as given here can be adapted to the broader category of animal shapeshifters. </p><p style="text-align: left;">To the standard rpg weres- and -weres, you can also add the selkies, hawk men and swan maidens, arachnes, harlequin worm people and vespiform space vampires - as long as you've got the stat block for the animal (or giant animal or archetype) form, you're golden. Like I said, I have faith in your abilities.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Commentary.</h3><p style="text-align: left;">I've tried to keep pre-20th century for my werewolf, but not absolutely - just leaving out what I think are the three main signifiers of the 20th century/pre-Universal werewolf:</p><p style="text-align: left;">Do a quick search for silver, wolfsbane and contagious lycanthropy in the three main (accessible, popular) sources for the modern (Western) werewolf tradition: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5324/pg5324-images.html" target="_blank">Sabine Baring-Gould</a>, <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Werewolf.html?id=elXBtAEACAAJ&redir_esc=y" target="_blank">('Reverend') Augustus Montague Summers</a>, and <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/26629/26629-h/26629-h.htm" target="_blank">Elliot O'Donnell</a>. (Now compare these three to your favourite were-books growing up).</p><p style="text-align: left;">O'Donnell (who could be accused of just making stuff up) published in 1912. The werewolf as we know it was prototyped in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werewolf_of_London" target="_blank">1935</a>, then fully realised in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wolf_Man_(1941_film)" target="_blank">1941</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">For all the trappings of ancient tradition, <i>The Werewolf of London</i> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curt_Siodmak" target="_blank">Curt Siodmak</a>'s <i>Wolf Man </i>were meant to be an all-new, <b>modern </b>monster archetype. </p><p style="text-align: left;">I've also left out/for later, the astral/psychic and delusional/illusory werewolves, plus the moon stuff, because I felt that's more strongly associated with the 20th century monster - it feels incidental to the older one.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Tangentially, compare the statblocks for the Werewolf, Ogre, and Dire Wolf. I used OSE because of the SRD.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-36938346742887879682023-03-01T15:40:00.002+00:002023-03-01T15:40:16.055+00:00DMR2 Creature Catalog - W, X, Y: Water Weird to Yowler, and that's the lot.<h4 style="text-align: left;">Water Weird. </h4><p style="text-align: left;">Basically the same as the AD&D MM Water Weird. Some slight statistical difference.</p><p style="text-align: left;">As seems fairly common between AD&D and D&D (as the dividing line existed previously), the CC's Water Weird has 2 Intelligence vs. the MM's Very (11-12). </p><p style="text-align: left;">CC's also lacks the ability to take control of Water Elementals, so maybe that's tied to Intelligence, but the idea of Water Weirds as elemental tape worms is quite appealing. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Whipweed.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">I think this is the only monster to have crossed to CC from the 1e <i>Fiend Folio</i>, having first appeared in a pre-Fiend Factory (?) issue of White Dwarf. </p><p style="text-align: left;">It's a plant that lashes and grabs you with its two fronds, then secretes acid on you until you're dead or escape.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's not a monster I've given much thought about until looking at them now, and I prefer the FF's overall portrayal: it's a creature that was previously mistaken for a plant (but is affected by Druidic plant-magic, implying not that of Clerics and MUs), and if you sever the fronds/tentacles, the lumpy little body attempts to escape on root-like legs.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Retrospectively, it's a bit like a bit of John Carpenter's <i>The Thing</i>, so two thumbs up for that.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">White-Fang.</h4><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Distantly related to white dragons</i>, this is otherwise your standard fantasy cold-dwelling furred serpent - which is a monster type I generally like, on top of it being something that could be mistaken for a dragon in a setting without Dragons.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3idpS-IXD6r34_KJFqJP6RCHM1lCawQ2bQsoEDPzw6s1s1dcTSFk6pawScJDIcC96yPtUiNrJ50ES44DhgvF-etsJnfJyH8xKb65JLyzvTu0gLIs8IIuD_43nV7Rr6Hp5n44cYz3ltujqyQle5xV4hqF2MlSlKMeqh_0K4FjVuVAZ0XA2oZ5dCgmrQ/s385/White%20Fang.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="385" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3idpS-IXD6r34_KJFqJP6RCHM1lCawQ2bQsoEDPzw6s1s1dcTSFk6pawScJDIcC96yPtUiNrJ50ES44DhgvF-etsJnfJyH8xKb65JLyzvTu0gLIs8IIuD_43nV7Rr6Hp5n44cYz3ltujqyQle5xV4hqF2MlSlKMeqh_0K4FjVuVAZ0XA2oZ5dCgmrQ/s320/White%20Fang.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tim Sell, he illustrated <i>House of Hell.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">It's got magical venom that freezes your blood: paralysed and lose d8 hp per round until you die or you're rescued, all the while turning blue. Even if you save, it leaves you numb and cold, with Strength and Dexterity penalties.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Also has improved infravision that can see heat hidden by cold (snow, ice, water, arctic atmosphere). They themselves are 80% undetectable to your infravision.</p><p style="text-align: left;">That the venom is magical suggests that <i>dispel magic </i>should work as well as <i>neutralise poison</i>, but that's not stated in the text, nor acknowledged in 2e.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Winged Warrior.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">A Living Crystal Statue with metallic bladed wing-extensions on its arms. Though it is under a permanent <i>fly</i> spell, it apparently needs its wings to fly as it must land to fight.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Apart from the ability to fly it's not mechanically different to the Living Crystal Statue, not even getting better attacks with those razor-wings.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I'm going to guess that they cropped up in a module and were hoovered up into the CC without discrimination. The relative simplicity of upgrading a regular Living Statue to a flying one implies that there could be equivalents for all varieties (except maybe Jade, due to magic resistance).</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Wood Imp.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">No relation to the AD&D Imp, they're basically faerie/forest goblins, and I have a place for such as these.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Traps, camouflage, ambush/surprise, ride on the backs of (Huge Wood) Spiders, poison arrows (damage and <i>slow</i>). Their two-handed swords score d6, so maybe they could handle a short sword. Shamans up to 4th level (Cleric).</p><p style="text-align: left;">They capture <i>evil humanoids and humans [and] small forest creatures</i>, but it's not made clear if these constitute a larder, sacrifices, slaves or prisoners for ransom.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Tall Tales of the Wee Folk</i> gives more context and makes them playable characters. I imagine they look more like Pathfinder Goblins than D&D.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e gives us the Bog and Garden varieties. Bog (slightly froggy, make <i>a cry akin to that of a puppy</i>) and Wood Imps are not that different, and not that different from something like the Tasloi in any case. Garden Imps (with flowers growing in their hair) seem closer to something like the Brownie, as they <i>watch over any dwelling attached to its garden.</i></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Wychglow.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">At first glance, this seems to be the BECMI/Mystaran analogue of the AD&D Will-o-(the)-Wisp, by form and by electrical attack (although it has significantly weaker AC and HD). </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6mUC6kQYhmfxV5NLAKyljZC6xYQ6iHazNMmQvwPpO5qCo7B45a0Uaedp4l6LsOE6yoM_GzHdZ1xd7GNCDdP232HVKW-63auti0ecHvfDzh-AQrR5D8a38_DpQKSTWnooHoSECcdb4csasVhK6MpwR1MKMMQGimhOVdLjvQNsVbNWeyvhpccSPZHNuhQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="78" data-original-width="200" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6mUC6kQYhmfxV5NLAKyljZC6xYQ6iHazNMmQvwPpO5qCo7B45a0Uaedp4l6LsOE6yoM_GzHdZ1xd7GNCDdP232HVKW-63auti0ecHvfDzh-AQrR5D8a38_DpQKSTWnooHoSECcdb4csasVhK6MpwR1MKMMQGimhOVdLjvQNsVbNWeyvhpccSPZHNuhQ" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was meant to be in the Companion set (1984), but the Prime Plane monster list ends with Whales.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />However, rather than feeding on life force, it feeds on the <i>electrochemical energy</i> of metal objects<i>. </i>As the <i>process can take hours or even days</i>, it kills you first to get at them, eventually reducing the metal to <i>a fine, chalky dust.</i> Your Fighters and your Clerics will be their primary targets; Thieves and Magic Users can save for no damage, with a +5 bonus due to leather or no armour.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">You could read that it doesn't feed on or will be distracted by precious metals, as the text specifies it goes for plate armour, shields and weapons for preference. It seems that size is more important than quantity, so maybe leading it to that golden statue (or Silver Golem) will save your bacon.</p><p style="text-align: left;">One thing that does cross-over from the MM is the (Exceptional) Intelligence: the Wychglow has a score of 15. Which seems quite high for something that does not otherwise suggest or specify an intellectual bent. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Is this more a Star Trek energy being alien than a haunter of the lonely marches? Probably. There's obvious room for negotiation if you can find a way to communicate with it, especially if you don't cleave too close to Chaotic=bad.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Wychlamp.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Weird little extra-planar energy beings with a folkloric name. My memory had them as being related to Wychglows (above), but it's just that Wych is a strong word.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They're attracted to, disrupt and immune to magic, but are basically non-aggressive. They might accidentally discharge energy into you (2-5 hp and <i>slow</i>). The text suggests capturing one or more in a net to use when trying to slay spell-casters.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Wyrd.</h4><p style="text-align: left;"><i>An undead spirit inhabiting the body of an elf</i> - so a bit like the Undead Dragon, these might not actually be the undead version of a particular live thing, and maybe there should be details on that disincarnate entity/</p><p style="text-align: left;">Greater and Normal Wyrds look like creepy, robed, undead Elves, wielding green or red spheres that they can use as both melee and missile weapons. These cause more damage vs. live Elves, and are instantly replenished if expended.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKOZxqDxPGkQ9YpAXtoL1CrJn_mp7kHBgsQ9p4IAZIJEibav4Ur5JiqPpbfW1a4wAMIpsJH0L1dQDP5j2qaRw3pkyzjGYTxuaVBW_B_VkE-nN5VaepsJw6bxvvOMwtwdErD44n7qfEJRv5lMZijNGHMcQCsjy_omv3lqeW8Co_JC_3Ze7UvrtEFRgTiA/s507/Wyrd.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="392" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKOZxqDxPGkQ9YpAXtoL1CrJn_mp7kHBgsQ9p4IAZIJEibav4Ur5JiqPpbfW1a4wAMIpsJH0L1dQDP5j2qaRw3pkyzjGYTxuaVBW_B_VkE-nN5VaepsJw6bxvvOMwtwdErD44n7qfEJRv5lMZijNGHMcQCsjy_omv3lqeW8Co_JC_3Ze7UvrtEFRgTiA/w309-h400/Wyrd.JPG" width="309" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terry Dykstra for <i>The Bane of Elfwood</i> in <i>Dungeon</i> 21.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Greater Wyrds trigger a fear save vs. attack and damage penalties, as well as causing paralysis via their spheres.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Because of proximity and Wy-, I can't help feeling these should be somehow connected with the previous two monsters - maybe even wielding them as alternatives to their usual spheres? </p><p style="text-align: left;">2e connects them to the Positive Energy Plane.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They're in a pretty interesting (to read; never got to play) adventure in <i>Dungeon</i> magazine (see illo), which includes a possessed treehouse.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Xytar.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Six-legged, fire-breathing, brightly-coloured dragon-lizards. Preferred companion animals of the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2023/01/dmr2-creature-catalog-s-part-1.html#:~:text=Sis%27thik%20(Desert%20Scourge)" target="_blank">Sis'thik</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Extrapolating from their six-leggedness, they could be related to Basilisks via the Elemental Plane of Fire (give them the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/search?q=pyrolisk#:~:text=easily%20been%20footnotes.-,Pyrolisk,-." target="_blank">Pyrolisk </a>gaze attack for consistency). In which case, maybe Black Dragons (or some other type) can produce viable offspring with them, or maybe Xytars are Red Dragon <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/01/ad-monster-manual-2-d-part-4-dracolisk.html#:~:text=D%20Part%203...-,Dracolisk,-." target="_blank">Dracolisks</a>?</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Yowler. </h4><p style="text-align: left;">Yowlers are <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/02/ad-monster-manual-2-to-end-wxy-z.html#:~:text=Earth%20Elemental%20Plane.-,Yeth%20Hound,-." target="_blank">Yeth Hounds</a>, with the same stats and abilities, though the Yowler's howl incurs a penalty to the save the more Yowlers are yowling, which is both a good detail and logical.</p><p style="text-align: left;">A decent Black Dog monster, also suitable for inclusion in your Wild Hunt.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Pointlessly brought into 2e instead of just updating the Yeth Hound entry, either with the howl details or just saying 'another name for them is Yowlers'. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Conclusion.</h3><p style="text-align: left;">...which makes them something of an anti-climax; there's not even a new type of Zombie to take away the somewhat disappointing taste (Zombie, Lightning in the 2e Mystara supplement).</p><p style="text-align: left;">By an almost-uncontrived coincidence, I'm just about to reach the Yeth Hound episode of <a href="https://monsterman.libsyn.com/" target="_blank">Monster Man</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">So the end of Monster Manual II, and then the next season delves into the <i>Creature Catalogue </i>(AC9).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Now I'm aware of Monster Man and that it's covered/covering the same ground I have, there's diminishing returns in me looking to the better known old school D&D-ish bestiaries. So I doubt there'll be a <i>Fiend Folio </i>read-through, but there might be ones for <i>White Dwarf</i> Fiend Factory mini-modules and so on. We'll see.</p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-51794025645307017662023-02-09T12:13:00.000+00:002023-02-09T12:13:46.850+00:00DMR2 Creature Catalog - T & V: Tabi to Velya.<p style="text-align: left;">* The Vampire, Nosferatu isn't in the earlier <i>Creature Catalogue </i>(AC9).</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Tabi.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Flying monkeys that can be bound (6th level Wizard spell in 2e) as familiars and spies. They are long-lived (though hardly ancient: 150 years in 2e) and <i>give off a stench of rot that can be smelled at up to 100 feet.</i> </p><p style="text-align: left;">Claws <i>drip a crystal blue venom</i> that causes you to attack whoever's nearest to the best of your ability, but only with weapons or unarmed attacks. Thief abilities. Like to ambush, then hide while their victims fight it out with each other.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I liked this a lot more as just a statblock in the Master DM's book with limited clues to what it was, but I think lots of people have time for winged monkeys (with or without dear little uniforms).</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Thunderhead.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Because I'm not keen on the standard dragon, I like borderline cases such as the Thunderhead - a dragon-like fantastic animal that lives in the clouds and loves an electrical storm (encounter one during and it doubles its HD).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQhDqLTDIa9kYi6bVtas3O36mw9V_jGpZ3PZIseRfGWF56Cw6HZMYJnhTV2FZr--NBiHsCjLr8zFIEY4BAcEdcqYmkbA7O4zyLR4lG0BXwfnLBLA13Zetazi0tVwQvnqyUNssilRqxsbZxPF4Zqi77aroA3ky7wyp0-Y33jLC2mDCgB9ajSJsEZ_c_uw/s515/Thunderhead.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="515" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQhDqLTDIa9kYi6bVtas3O36mw9V_jGpZ3PZIseRfGWF56Cw6HZMYJnhTV2FZr--NBiHsCjLr8zFIEY4BAcEdcqYmkbA7O4zyLR4lG0BXwfnLBLA13Zetazi0tVwQvnqyUNssilRqxsbZxPF4Zqi77aroA3ky7wyp0-Y33jLC2mDCgB9ajSJsEZ_c_uw/s320/Thunderhead.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty cool.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">They're black in colour with a lightning bolt breath weapon, and can carry off a war horse in its claws, so this is a dragon as far as most normal folk are concerned. And I'm not going to quibble.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Topi.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Culturally dubious shrunken undead - smaller (2' tall), tougher and more agile (they can jump) Zombies with <i>slow</i> venom. The process of making them <i>is known only to certain primitive tribes</i>, because head-hunters or voodoo or something.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Caricatures aside, I think they're a sound little monster and a sound little statblock for reskinning. I especially like the inclusion that hitting them with a bludgeoning weapon knocks them over and they lose their next attack.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e uses <i>tribal</i>, <i>witch doctor</i> and <i>shaman</i> to indicate the <i>certain primitive tribes</i> aspect, and includes the usual greater detail for creating one and how its abilities interact with the expanded AD&D rules. They also get a slight boost in intelligence, making them capable of carrying out orders without close supervision and taking pleasure in killing.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Tortle.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Terrapin/tortoise/turtle people. See also, <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2023/02/dmr2-creature-catalog-s-part-2-snake.html#:~:text=fail%20your%20save.-,Snapper,-." target="_blank">Snapper</a>. Apparently quite popular nowadays.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Can retreat inside their shells for (in CC) undefined protection. You can use the shells of 25 of their freshly harvested eggs to make <i>lightweight plate mail armor</i>. And they prefer to travel on horse-drawn wagons when not bobbing along in the water.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They travel to <i>traditional, stone-walled compounds</i> near the end of their lives to lay eggs, barricade them in, and then die. Doesn't say if this happens en masse or individually, but I find the whole thing conjures a somewhat bleak image.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e changes this to <i>females lay eggs only once during their lives</i> and <i>aging males</i> then watch over the eggs, dying once they are safely hatched. Which is also kind of bleak. Though the text would imply that the other Tortles stick around (maybe having a carnival or solemn rites) rather than leave the eggs and the elderly, I think I'd lean into the bleakness on this one.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I like them more than I would expect now I've considered their lifecycle. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Triton.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Higher (5 to 7) HD merfolk with level-equivalent spell-casting ability (50/50 Cleric or MU - no fire spells). Sparse cultural/habitat detail - they braid their hair and build cities that are <i>works of art</i>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Different enough to the MM that you could use both. They could share tridents.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Vampire, Nosferatu.* </h4><p style="text-align: left;">This is <i>a special vampire</i>, in that it's the more traditional blood-drinking rather than level-draining one.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Surprisingly short compared to almost every other Vampire entry in almost every other game.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Guess what? Turned as a Vampire by Clerics.</p><p style="text-align: left;">There's a version in 2e, but it's part of the Ravenloft setting. There are a number of differences, not least that it has mechanics for blood-drinking, rather than merely a d4 bite and dietary preferences.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Vampire Rose.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">They flush red from white after they've fed on d8 hp of your blood per round. Save vs. spells or you are hypnotically anaesthetised (so I'm not clear if this is a chemical or a magical effect) and let them do it.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They can uproot themselves and move about, albeit slowly, which is creepy.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e states that the hypnotic effect is from the plant's fragrance, and adds the wonderful feature that it screams and spurts blood if you can sever a part of it while it feeds. Save vs. fear if this is the first time you've experienced this.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Now one of my favourite plant monsters.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Velya.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Take a Vampire entry (almost any will do). Swap around what they can turn into (shark, ray, water) and what they're particularly vulnerable to (destroyed by exposure to open air), but they're otherwise much the same (the Velya has a weaker statline).</p><p style="text-align: left;">However, that doesn't mean I don't like the Velya. In fact, I've always thought it was pretty cool. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Its <i>charm person</i> power is a thematically appropriate song, and they're <i>normally accompanied by 1d6 wights</i> (victims return as Wights, not more Velyas).</p><p style="text-align: left;">There's also a swamp variant of this variant (turns into albino croc, white eel, water; not vulnerable to open air, as long as it's in contact with the swamp).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8L-ehUisYFzHRp5OpXiDu2-wHkvKxGoZ6PIqVZla3VKP0poDJFF6X07W2lYSFLZm1qPcW9LljIRfnl3AWYez1_JI5oo5XbtF_Q3SAsF7IT6Nzvs7v3C1pTxO8bLrvincmQpiTEMKzz2EE8mxldNQgv2y-X2hGDdcVLJEHw7N1my5NP-7gMWBlogMtWg/s669/Velya.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="470" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8L-ehUisYFzHRp5OpXiDu2-wHkvKxGoZ6PIqVZla3VKP0poDJFF6X07W2lYSFLZm1qPcW9LljIRfnl3AWYez1_JI5oo5XbtF_Q3SAsF7IT6Nzvs7v3C1pTxO8bLrvincmQpiTEMKzz2EE8mxldNQgv2y-X2hGDdcVLJEHw7N1my5NP-7gMWBlogMtWg/w281-h400/Velya.png" width="281" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As featured (with Wight; by Jeff Butler) in X7 <i>War Rafts of Kron.<br /><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table>CC has them as the undead of surface cities that have sunk beneath the waves; 2e suggests <i>an ancient curse</i>. Maybe this could be what happens to you when you badly disrupt a Shark-kin ceremony and prevent the new elder's ascension.<p style="text-align: left;">For some reason, both CC and 2e seem to have settled on that Wight rather than the actual Velya for inspiration:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlQV10fksqbADIyqGICcmg9Ss435IEOWrOoyiYmmSok_d-BSq2GXnZeRfEyebQxI5cdk1zu1X77lSKu4WvLs-4_fVuJyv-MujlggLCBcDb-M56bGJQaH-7JWwmDnY_SkEbU4dfWCTuAjhkXatAJRxtzAMWSRW6Zh9nSwxVq0snMod1hmROtiRqowL3BQ" width="280" /><img alt="" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="359" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiG3zGnBlsPAifRTr3DMwV_FKlcoj_i1I5W8pE1Ga8Xq6VxUEH_mWnDukf33Cz9Tcac-uv6280vOPNEiH6nx9bSetr9oMinB-jw_K8WFu9c8xYfhSt07OCY89ojCjJnGcowk0mE7MIGEvC7tuviCUJbCJW-Qct15yDPIFvU89jNR7zVbLYLz8MU4cSveg" width="218" /></div><br /><br /><p></p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-79516108276197628162023-02-08T16:45:00.000+00:002023-02-08T16:45:22.974+00:00DMR2 Creature Catalog - S (Part 2): Snake, Rock Rattler to Surtaki + Stalwart<p>Part 2 of the S section. For easier consumption.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Snake, Rock Rattler. </h4><p style="text-align: left;">Normal and Giant. Nothing that particularly distinguishes them, nor thematically links them to their mountainous habitat.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Giant (30' long) Rattler has a rattle that <i>is so unnerving</i> that you <i>flee in terror</i> if you fail your save.</p><h4>Snapper.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">I'm instinctively not keen because of the TMNT baggage they inevitably carry.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Snappers are not-quite palette-swapped Tortles as baddies (Chaotic alignment). They exist in reflection of each other. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Twice the weight of Tortles at 1000 lbs, but worse AC and HD. Able to swim; Tortles can't. Favour long bows, but also have claw/claw/bite. They're <i>bad tempered</i> and attack <i>at the least provocation.</i> </p><p style="text-align: left;">But: they have an interesting characteristic. To reproduce, they travel <i>hundreds of miles</i> to the <i>rock-walled, roofless labyrinths</i> that serve as their breeding/egg-laying grounds. Meaning that there are possibilities in the structures when the Snappers are absent and/or when they return to find it squatted by other creatures, and in the periods when irritable archers with baby-making on their mind are swarming en masse along the coast.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It doesn't say whether the Snappers actually build these labyrinths, if they are appropriated, or if they are a natural feature.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e makes them a Lawful Evil variant of Tortles, with a more conventional weapon selection (net, trident, spear) and no interesting egg-laying habits. A disservice.</p><p style="text-align: left;">You could build an interesting adventure around the unfortunate conjunction of Snapper egg-laying time with <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/search?q=shark-kin#:~:text=they%20then%20march%20ashore%20to%20a%20sacred%20site%20where%20they%20carry%20out%20the%20ritual%20that%20creates%20a%20new%20elder.%20During%20this%20time%2C%20they%20are%20more%20aggressive%2C%20as%20they%20don%27t%20want%20anything%20upsetting%20their%20transformative%20ritual." target="_blank">Shark-kin</a> leaving the sea to raise up a new elder.</p><h4>Sollux (Sun Brother).</h4><p style="text-align: left;">They're humanoids related to elementals of fire (Helions and Efreet specified), and the stats/text only deal with the warriors - membership of the Brotherhood of the Sun is earned by killing an Efreeti, and killing Efreet is what they're about. </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtkpeb4Gz_SMNSKjUK_ZM7pLh79uHxNUtdyikNCRrx9-LC49AHVcJV_8Bp3zTwEpzqnIuN9I_N_ulVD-VwgBtUxLY5o6Q0Qfyr8vlEB1bjHKS936kjRKi2qsCdx5ZxW466RvL6k251l0Rhxpoh8eMQjXYZn9bcSOiKDMP-YUx1UrYXpYFedyux-Ji0Cw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="422" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtkpeb4Gz_SMNSKjUK_ZM7pLh79uHxNUtdyikNCRrx9-LC49AHVcJV_8Bp3zTwEpzqnIuN9I_N_ulVD-VwgBtUxLY5o6Q0Qfyr8vlEB1bjHKS936kjRKi2qsCdx5ZxW466RvL6k251l0Rhxpoh8eMQjXYZn9bcSOiKDMP-YUx1UrYXpYFedyux-Ji0Cw=w360-h324" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C'mon - surely that could be more than +1 AC and a <i>light</i> effect.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />They get a <i>blazing sun shield </i>(<i>treat as a light spell</i>, anticlimactically) and <i>red-gold armour</i> on joining up. Maybe you could too, if you play your cards right.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Basically, goodie Fire Giants/Efreeti. Which sounds more interesting to me than I find them.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e doesn't really add much, though I like that they have lassoes in their armoury.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Soul Eater.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Extra-dimensional monster appearing as a cloud of darkness with two ghostly claws (though apparently it <i>can assume any shape desired</i>) that gets summoned by Clerics to slay somebody. And, I guess, EAT. THEIR. SOUL.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Per attack, save vs. death ray or lose a point of Wisdom. 0=irrevocably dead, and I think there was a <i>Dragon</i> article that says the summoning Cleric can turn you into a Mummy now.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Foil the Soul Eater and it goes after its summoner, with doubled HD - the quantification of fury.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It gets a name change in 2e (to Spectral Death) and becomes a native of the Quasi-elemental Plane of Vacuum. Summon it using a variant of the <i>aerial servant</i> spell.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's okay. It makes sense that Wisdom (the most Cleric-y of Ability Scores) is tied to the soul, either being part of it or serving as the buffer against its loss.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Spider, Giant.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Three types.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Hunting:</b> 2 HD, sometimes trained as watch/hunting dogs by <i>several primitive societies </i>(and Drow, probably)<i>. </i>No web, no venom, no special abilities.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They're the <i>size of dogs</i> so maybe they're huge not giant (see below)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Sand:</b> Burrow under the sand near <i>pyramids, large statues, rocky crags and paved roads</i> to surprise you 1-4 on d6 when you pass over them. Paralysing venom (d4+4 hours). No web.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Shroud:</b> Intelligent, evil, magical with faintly glowing eyes (visible to 50' in the dark). Immune to normal weapons. Paralysing venom (2d4 10-min turns).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Has a web that paralyses by touch, and can shoot strands of webbing as a special attack. Being wrapped in the webbing (this is the shroud it gets its name from) keeps you in <i>a state of suspended animation</i>, so it could be repurposed for therapeutic work.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I like this one in particular.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Spider, Huge Wood.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Big green and brown 3' long spider. Surprise 1-4 on d6 in woodlands, with a venom that makes you sluggish.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Wood Imps use them as mounts and are the only ones able to coax them into donating their venom.</p><p style="text-align: left;">A nice little variant. In 2e, they are just a sentence in the Wood Imp entry, where they become Large Spiders.</p><h4>Squid, Giant.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">This is approximately half the strength of the AD&D MM Squid, Giant and about 10% of the CC <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2022/11/dmr2-creature-catalog-i-j-k.html#:~:text=of%20their%20civilisation.-,Kraken.,-What%20it%20lacks" target="_blank">Kraken</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Nothing unexpected.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Steam Weevil.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Geothermally-adapted subterranean flying insects that glow in the dark due to intense internal heat.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The text assumes that you're mainly going to encounter them after volcanic activity forces them out into the world (they die in d4 hours), rather than in their natural habitat.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I think they have d4 hp each, which seems a lot for something described as <i>tiny</i> and their attack is an area effect. Splash them with water to reduce the damage each swarm does per round (damping down their heat), but otherwise it looks like you have to target them individually.</p><p style="text-align: left;">4-24 in a swarm, and you might encounter up to 6 swarms at once. Because the individuals are so robust, I wonder if they were designed with challenge for higher level PCs in mind, rather than to fit into a fantasy ecology.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Strangle Vine.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">This is the Mystaran/BECMI/RC version of the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/search?q=choke+creeper#:~:text=Northern%20(Polar%20Bear).-,Choke%20Creeper.,-This%20kind%20of" target="_blank">Choke Creeper</a> (MM2) - indeed, Strangle Vine is an alt-name in the AD&D entry.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Strangle Vine is more passive than the Choke Creeper, and you have a better chance of freeing yourself from it if you have <b>low</b> Strength (base chance 5%, but +5% for every Strength point <b>below</b> 6).</p><h4>Strangleweed.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Same-as-but-different to the AD&D version: CC gives it much better AC and HD, and strips it of what intelligence it has in the MM.</p><p style="text-align: left;">A contested dice roll to escape its clutches: 4d6+4 vs. 4d6+4+/-Strength mod. If you score twice as much as the 'weed, you're free; beat it by less, no damage but still stuck; roll lower, and you take the difference in damage. This is also a cumulative penalty to your future rolls, so eventually you'll have no chance of escaping its clutches. You can't be pulled free, but the weed can be attacked (25% you divide damage between captor and captive).</p><p style="text-align: left;">This little subsystem would work for other hazards, like quicksand, and I feel something very similar turned up in one of the Dragon Warriors volumes. You could even do away with the damage completely (which I think I'd prefer) - Strangleweed is aquatic, so you'll drown in the end or get eaten by predators.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's handy that it's right next to the Strangle Vine, for comparison.</p><h4>Surtaki. </h4><p style="text-align: left;">I think I read somewhere that this was meant to be a version of the Giant Minotaur Lizard (really?), but that seems unlikely because it's clearly meant to be stats/mechanics for a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peluda" target="_blank">Shaggy Beast</a>-type monster.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's a chimerical beast, made up of bits of other animals, including tortoise feet (though it shows claws in the CC illo, and says hooves in the statblock). Sheds poisonous quills hidden under its <i>thick green fur </i>in melee; they give you a rotting disease if you fail your save.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUhGlThqgdsCkUzn21zKZYUyyUAVEoGHx_RFJ0oBIO3JE2BuuW6jX83g9PnoZtArXiFG8J_cedmHty1H3zs5KsL92jOPJGgxZuqEQvnlQ5VL2WSw5fiLA_-z7QNmSH_2odcmOhQledtmp-hLfl9vs4lCggPtQ-GmiTtiZSzV09hMcdSQgovvaxo2SXQg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="300" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUhGlThqgdsCkUzn21zKZYUyyUAVEoGHx_RFJ0oBIO3JE2BuuW6jX83g9PnoZtArXiFG8J_cedmHty1H3zs5KsL92jOPJGgxZuqEQvnlQ5VL2WSw5fiLA_-z7QNmSH_2odcmOhQledtmp-hLfl9vs4lCggPtQ-GmiTtiZSzV09hMcdSQgovvaxo2SXQg=w333-h400" width="333" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More tortoise-y, but still not hooves, though.<br />Arnie Swekel, 2e Mystara monster supplement.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />They get the expected biology/ecology update in 2e, and we learn that their freshly laid eggs are a delicacy worth 2-8 gp. This seems a bit low for their rarity (Very Rare) and the risk of obtaining them, and then getting them to market before they turn. Maybe there's a dining-safari business based around them in some settings.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">I find the Surtaki rather charming, and I like the 2e illo. It's in that dragon-but-not-a-dragon category that I prefer over actual dragons.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">What Was Left Out - Stalwart.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">A 9 HD, 7' tall humanoid with Strength and Dexterity of d8+15 each. It thinks that it's better than you and will challenge you to prove it. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Roll d10 and add your Strength (arm-wrestling, rock-pitching etc) or Dexterity (log-balancing, archery etc) vs. them doing the same. </p><p style="text-align: left;">If they roll highest, you owe them half your non-magic treasure. Vice versa, it <i>will serve for one month in any way that does not involve danger. </i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i></i></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXy7robA-34TQiAvd7VBDaLx1IdqAzkoxaRpJyw8NEi5sUSw0bjnnAaaplItczhMtdCnyhvLDMUMOX_BCaTTCoucGqLwTAkth4hXQ_XDT2BQvbTszcNHZkWxx4eFmjo7BprPZpQ7INaS98tcS35usWZH0XxVxKrZB8AXk_ZJf4W_H9nYdZmIi0XE3AEg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="382" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXy7robA-34TQiAvd7VBDaLx1IdqAzkoxaRpJyw8NEi5sUSw0bjnnAaaplItczhMtdCnyhvLDMUMOX_BCaTTCoucGqLwTAkth4hXQ_XDT2BQvbTszcNHZkWxx4eFmjo7BprPZpQ7INaS98tcS35usWZH0XxVxKrZB8AXk_ZJf4W_H9nYdZmIi0XE3AEg=w400-h365" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's right - better than you!</td></tr></tbody></table><i><br /></i>Because the contest is based on ability scores rather than levels/HD, a low-level party could end up with a powerful follower. Do equally low-level monsters constitute danger to something with 9 HD and a min. Strength bonus of +2? Or would it just insist on challenging them?<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Stalwarts have a No. Appearing of 1, and will challenge creatures (I'm presuming humanoid, if not also intelligent) between 5 and 7 feet tall. So it will face off against Ogres and Trolls, though good luck getting them to agree to one-on-one honourable contests.</p><p style="text-align: left;">This has the scent of early White Dwarf/Fiend Factory about it - a monster for a game, rather than a world.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-49036091373611067942023-01-24T10:28:00.001+00:002023-04-27T10:44:57.992+00:00DMR2 Creature Catalog - S (Part 1): Saberclaw to Slime Worm + Sacrol<p style="text-align: left;">Occasional and non-affiliated reminder to check out the Monster Man <a href="https://monsterman.libsyn.com/" target="_blank">podcast</a> (and/or support on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/monsterman" target="_blank">Patreon</a>), because monsters <b>are</b> 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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">A typically extensive S section, which I've split it into two for easier digestion.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Saberclaw.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">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 <i>limited telepathic ability.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;">Oh, and sometimes there might be 5 of them. And they can <i>see invisible, ethereal and hidden creatures and objects </i>with <i>truesight</i>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">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 <i>Deities & Demigods.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i></i></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxSzB6A5joOf3E33lM7gOk6A1pf8CPmzC-dmdOMm8nnL7t_TnZ9L5IxT99Mw6dwRjn5vJ0kH_9QdeIiqtn5sETfaDDwEHFhifpB0pW-42H-WaruKyfVhTvMIepwM2qQRBrMFMh090fM6D6vd2lr7_LnxWUxty5YlfhtOqEz-OGUXATHXVxzC2dYR1rww" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="460" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxSzB6A5joOf3E33lM7gOk6A1pf8CPmzC-dmdOMm8nnL7t_TnZ9L5IxT99Mw6dwRjn5vJ0kH_9QdeIiqtn5sETfaDDwEHFhifpB0pW-42H-WaruKyfVhTvMIepwM2qQRBrMFMh090fM6D6vd2lr7_LnxWUxty5YlfhtOqEz-OGUXATHXVxzC2dYR1rww=w360-h400" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doug Watson forgetting to make it hairy for its appearance in CM3 <i>Sabre River.</i> <br />It makes more sense knowing it appeared in a Companion level adventure.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Narratively, it's a nasty greasy hairy winged monster (conjured from <i>befouled waters</i>) with a <i>large bone extension that resembles a sword</i> on its right arm - y'know, a scimitar talon, a rapier nail, a katana paw, something like that. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Number Appearing is d100, and they're sub-divided into <i>wings</i> of 1-20. Each wing shares total hp of (25 x the number of Sabreclaws), with the complication that no individual dies until <b>all</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>those hp have been depleted. They save as Fighters of level x5 the members of the wing.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Anyone faced/used them in a game (CM3 or DIY)? How did that play out?</p><p style="text-align: left;">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?</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Scamille.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrB522lfinBgyt5dUdx6lCwO0JbOlIsZXmbwtHXYVKoN1ySm3c_MhNEEWYk5o14d_wVl3Cfk4xkEIHKQGYoBif0HyM90K-ILgNB57nIhWnORFLE7XUVtjInWpLNND7cH7kbrjtjtZh2wjhmpqN60Bsv_ftf4Ogr_ATn4B1F50PNITTYgQq5nPPmIgU3w" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="363" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrB522lfinBgyt5dUdx6lCwO0JbOlIsZXmbwtHXYVKoN1ySm3c_MhNEEWYk5o14d_wVl3Cfk4xkEIHKQGYoBif0HyM90K-ILgNB57nIhWnORFLE7XUVtjInWpLNND7cH7kbrjtjtZh2wjhmpqN60Bsv_ftf4Ogr_ATn4B1F50PNITTYgQq5nPPmIgU3w=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arnie Swekel even references the chest in 2e, for goodness sake.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />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 <b>3-18 hp each.</b><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">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 <b>being a Mimic</b>, though with Average (8) Intelligence, not a range.</p><p style="text-align: left;">An odd choice to carry over into 2e. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Scorpion, Normal.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">A 1 hp monster with save-for-half-damage venom; a hazard when searching or a trap vs. looters.</p><p style="text-align: left;">You could use this statblock for any other small venomous creature.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Sea Horse.</h4><p style="text-align: left;"><i>The favorite steeds of mermen and tritons</i>. Of course.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Their body is not described beyond being 15' in length, but they have <i>the head of the horse</i> and some are coloured after land-dwelling horses.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They have approximately the same stats as the AD&D MM Sea Horse, Giant, but the description sounds more like a Hippocampus.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Sea Serpent.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Basic and functional; snakes/serpents are an absolute foundation monster IMO. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Can constrict vessels for hull damage. I like the illo, too.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Serpentweed, Giant.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">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. </p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Shargugh.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">A hairy little elemental/fairy-folk guardian/spirit of the woods. Wield silver daggers or bite you in combat.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Kill it and the 24 mile hex of woodland it is tied to becomes <i>cursed and infertile</i> for a folkloric seven years (unless a Druid casts <i>remove curse - </i>BECMI/RC Druids being Clerics with a few extra spells and restrictions). Equally, should the Shargugh be forced to leave its home, it will <i>sicken and die in one or two days</i>.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1XW8ZD70uMXaQrxUmJQPzGsLrKhDL-Jjeyey7RBBF1fEGZB9UXZZxHf_zb6zPt5mxUo24czZcm8hYeYF0N5i6l1AZbOpr0KTdf3sXR1op0v3hy7pt-MxpgjufjrX-2ot-82EV67qQL8CUwXR6hLzvG1TdeSw0C8A9AKg5ASngwUfZGdUb9tgpZecb8w" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="435" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1XW8ZD70uMXaQrxUmJQPzGsLrKhDL-Jjeyey7RBBF1fEGZB9UXZZxHf_zb6zPt5mxUo24czZcm8hYeYF0N5i6l1AZbOpr0KTdf3sXR1op0v3hy7pt-MxpgjufjrX-2ot-82EV67qQL8CUwXR6hLzvG1TdeSw0C8A9AKg5ASngwUfZGdUb9tgpZecb8w=w262-h400" width="262" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jez Goodwin, by the looks. #BOSR</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Ability to transport via plants in its territory, hide like a Halfling, move silently and pick pockets. Mentions that <i>woodland folk</i> 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.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">No guidance on pronunciation, until 2e (<i>SHAR - guh</i>) 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.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Shark, Vamora.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Three feet long with 6 HD, they bite and shake you <i>like a terrier does </i>(auto-damage and to Hit penalty).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Is this a fantastic animal or something real statted-up? Quick online search for the name leads me back to gaming material.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's okay. I'd knock down the HD and use this as a Wolf or olde schoole <i>Call of Cthulhu</i> Ghoul.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Shark-Kin. </h4><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Then they go back to the sea and get rid of those legs. </p><p style="text-align: left;">2e adds that they're possessive of shipwrecks in their tribal territory, which is a decent adventure complication.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Silver Warrior.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">The summoned warriors of the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/search?q=faedorne#:~:text=Creature%20Catalog%20%2D%20F-,Faedorne.,-Female%20creatures%20of" target="_blank">Faedornae</a>. They're <i>invisible</i> and remain so while attacking, with all relevant bonuses/penalties. Wear silver plate armour and wield silver<i> swords +1</i>, but these dissolve along with a slain warrior.</p><p style="text-align: left;">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 <i>protection from evil</i>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They could be styled as elemental conjurations or emanations, as they appear to be formed from <i>the substance of a Shining Isle.</i></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Sirenflower.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">For some reason, it's a giant carnivorous fungus masquerading as a giant flower rather than just a giant carnivorous flower. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Lures using bioluminescence and olfactory mimicry, but this is not a special ability. .</p><p style="text-align: left;">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. </p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Kill it by digging it up and burning the root.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMj2TtnfjYGPrtB1xwM_DE0SfMQ-9Tlk_1uuqAXRNnrUaYC0xQvyH041KeGRbmfSs2-BDN6CWmqp3ZOavNG1bS5FomqDcA011JCx-b5SpPgaIeGyb3J4fU_cQNsKE_WUc1qfo9pARZnTWIcNB_zvh0zIvoSURyUvdvznodb1eW-PNt83B_jR1vpkL5aA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="395" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMj2TtnfjYGPrtB1xwM_DE0SfMQ-9Tlk_1uuqAXRNnrUaYC0xQvyH041KeGRbmfSs2-BDN6CWmqp3ZOavNG1bS5FomqDcA011JCx-b5SpPgaIeGyb3J4fU_cQNsKE_WUc1qfo9pARZnTWIcNB_zvh0zIvoSURyUvdvznodb1eW-PNt83B_jR1vpkL5aA=w400-h357" width="400" /></a></div><br />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.<p></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Sis'thik (Desert Scourge).</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Lizard folk adapted to extreme desert conditions (eyes and nostrils protected vs. sand storms, heat endurance and low water requirements; they basically get <i>resist fire</i>, 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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's specified they want <i>fine wines</i> as part of the tribute they demand of those crossing or hoping to cross their territory. </p><p style="text-align: left;">2e says they like to eat Copper Dragons.</p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Skunk. </h4><p style="text-align: left;">Primarily for delivering stinky musk (Charisma is 3 until you get rid of the stench), these come in Normal and Giant varieties.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Reskin as Troglodyte variants.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Slime Worm.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">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 <i>coins, jewels, weapons and armour</i>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">What Was Left Out - Sacrol.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">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 <i>animate dead</i> of its original type to do its bidding.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8ziJwDe6fwlrBVP4t2P6-N_xt8K9FyySRnKjwVKhJASCt1u1dk_suOn3o2Ma9l1aFrlhMltvvOTUylD_u0ijmOg8UyCgWdUyUp4K4csl-HWOf8kFS3Jdxwmje1bQ8t8zNuq1nnZgNiKe48_Cm0Ff4skRsp65qqahI6uxfFEjq8fjL9Lvd0LhFvpRelQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="394" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8ziJwDe6fwlrBVP4t2P6-N_xt8K9FyySRnKjwVKhJASCt1u1dk_suOn3o2Ma9l1aFrlhMltvvOTUylD_u0ijmOg8UyCgWdUyUp4K4csl-HWOf8kFS3Jdxwmje1bQ8t8zNuq1nnZgNiKe48_Cm0Ff4skRsp65qqahI6uxfFEjq8fjL9Lvd0LhFvpRelQ=w400-h357" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With a bit of tinkering, maybe a lower-level Demilich variant?</td></tr></tbody></table><br />2e gives it the upgrade of a <i>slay living</i> shriek. Says it's 4' across - whether it means the skull or the mist, I don't know.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h4>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-26140994812641759272023-01-03T15:38:00.000+00:002023-01-03T15:38:50.454+00:00DMR2 Creature Catalog - P, R: Pachydermion to Roper + Phygorax, Possession, Reflecter.<h4 style="text-align: left;">Pachydermion.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Elephant people. </p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">You're probably expected to give them African or Indian cultural trappings depending on where you place them.</p><p style="text-align: left;">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. </p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Pegataur.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">As written, they're mercenaries who<i> can be hired by </i><b style="font-style: italic;">anyone</b> (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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e eliminates those purely mercenary tendencies by stating that they won't serve evil employers. Making them less interesting.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Phanaton.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Within the context of X1 <i>Isle of Dread</i>, I really like them - hang-gliding halfling-monkey-racoons that team up with Dryads and Treants to fight the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/search?q=aranea#:~:text=of%20prey%2Delementals.-,Aranea,-." target="_blank">Aranea</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They're Lawful in CC, Chaotic Good in 2e, but I've never met an Alignment I wouldn't cheerfully disregard.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Phantom, Lesser.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Can also turn <i>invisible</i> at will, and cast <i>confusion, hallucinatory terrain</i> and <i>phantasmal force </i>1/day each. Tries to escape once you pull things together to resist it, but can bash you for d4 hp in extremis.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Unrelated to the BECMI Phantom (high-level undead), or the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/02/ad-monster-manual-2-n-o-p-q.html#:~:text=more%20special%20abilities.-,Phantom,-." target="_blank">AD&D monster from MM2</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Because it's a ghost, I like it, and would add its stats and abilities to the suite available for haunting spirits.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Piranha Bird.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Lesser and Greater, both types are <i>always hungry for fresh meat</i>. They're brightly coloured, have infravision and <i>do not like bright sunlight</i> (prefer the dimmest woods and underground) - a perfect lair-share monster for Cynidiceans, I think.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-gTaWznfTiIpFgHqgKozuA0pPdjADYYX4ek4S4VNW3KkEQvj_MyOvBGlAnRYweMRPTL8wRSstrl4UJ7P8eTndhn3og17_fukij3yPjJACmQJXg8QV-SXINLu58itFXuVrCogXFrNjfgz9re3luK2pl4x93iptJdsVGItV153PbDkX0BzVIfVX7ttog/s360/R.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="360" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-gTaWznfTiIpFgHqgKozuA0pPdjADYYX4ek4S4VNW3KkEQvj_MyOvBGlAnRYweMRPTL8wRSstrl4UJ7P8eTndhn3og17_fukij3yPjJACmQJXg8QV-SXINLu58itFXuVrCogXFrNjfgz9re3luK2pl4x93iptJdsVGItV153PbDkX0BzVIfVX7ttog/s320/R.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For whatever reason, they're no longer really birds when they transfer to 2e and wouldn't look out of place in <i>Dark Sun</i> because of it.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Flock/swarm mechanic for the Lesser Piranha Bird; similar to that of the Raven & Crow (see below).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Change the Flying Move for Swimming and these also serve as Piranhas.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Polymar.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">A non-magical <i>polymorph</i> 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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">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. </p><p style="text-align: left;">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).</p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The <a href="https://monsterman.libsyn.com/" target="_blank">Monster Man podcast</a> links the Polymar to the Protein Polymorph (1e<i> Fiend Folio</i>) 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.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Porcupine, Giant.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Not very different to the one in AD&D. </p><p style="text-align: left;">It can shoot quills, so you could use the statblock as the basis for a Manticore variant or some sort of Cactus People.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Rakasta.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">The Rakasta, as they were presented in X1 <i>Isle of Dread, </i>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.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvfAhgQOv_5KFClPTouzlmb8qEItdHYVwjokLRs49GAN5xocQOJDcHYU8SHPAd0yKXLdW9w-uRfXuLBoI8TP1rtEfqey9TO2o9d4Wdi2PI_6JYLSby8Wgr7SgcQqJApFQpLraXkNvFF1MoFO1VVTTjv_kEgj_cibjMIdy4JOJIu_0UgBhmnJdRHmOKg/s500/abc1a021c2768663a0e50e7ceac64e74.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="443" data-original-width="500" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvfAhgQOv_5KFClPTouzlmb8qEItdHYVwjokLRs49GAN5xocQOJDcHYU8SHPAd0yKXLdW9w-uRfXuLBoI8TP1rtEfqey9TO2o9d4Wdi2PI_6JYLSby8Wgr7SgcQqJApFQpLraXkNvFF1MoFO1VVTTjv_kEgj_cibjMIdy4JOJIu_0UgBhmnJdRHmOKg/s320/abc1a021c2768663a0e50e7ceac64e74.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As presented in X1. Good.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">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.</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2e gives some details of their special code of honour.</p><h4 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Randara.</h4><p style="text-align: left;"><i>An evil being of legendary power</i>. </p><p style="text-align: left;">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. </p><p style="text-align: left;">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, <i>its true appearance is unknown.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;">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 <i>ESP </i>and non-magical <i>polymorph </i>(Rakshasa uses <i>illusion</i>) at will, and <i>charm person </i>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.</p><p>The 2e Randara casts its spells as an 11th level caster, which doesn't have much effect on <i>charm person</i> and <i>ESP</i>, and loses its Cleric spells. Is this a mistake corrected from CC or introduced in 2e? </p><p>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.</p><p>2e describes them tracking and researching a suitable member of a society <i>for weeks</i> in order to imitate and replace them, suggesting that their likeness is (near) perfect but mannerisms, habits and knowledge must be practiced diligently.</p><p>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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">In a similar way to the <a href="Herex" target="_blank">Herex</a>, the Randara allows high-level parties to revisit lower level types of adventure; in this case, rooting out the Doppelganger. </p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Raven & Crow.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Normal and Large (Giant?) varieties. Not much more to them.</p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Red Worm.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Immature <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2022/11/dmr2-creature-catalog-f.html#:~:text=anthropomorphic%20shoggoth%20from.-,Fyrsnaca,-." target="_blank">Fyrsnaca</a>, 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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">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%).</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e gives them the added characteristic of skin that <i>is almost transparent, revealing the veins and organs within.</i></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Rhinoceros.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Normal and Woolly (Prehistoric) varieties. Here if you need them.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Lower HD but higher damage compared to the AD&D equivalents in the Monster Manual.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Rock Man.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Like the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2022/11/dmr2-creature-catalog-g.html#:~:text=over%20BECMI/RC.-,Geonid,-." target="_blank">Geonid</a>, there's some plausible ambiguity to the text as to whether the Rock Man is wholly mineral or partly organic:<i> a strange creature whose skin has the appearance of granite. </i>Though they crumble to pieces when killed, leaving behind <i>a heart-shaped ruby</i> (d10 x 10 gp value) - and they'll try to kill you if they find out you've got one.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Cone-shaped little fellas, they look like rocks when stood still and so surprise 1-4 on d6 (1-3 if you keep <i>careful watch</i>, 1-2 if you're a Dwarf). They are presumably stiff and slow, having Initiative penalties.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They're a little troll-like in their behaviour, demanding tolls of c. 500gp to pass through their territory.</p><p style="text-align: left;">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 <i>shine like gold nuggets </i>- a nice little detail, because of the gruesome implications.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Roper.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">5d6 damage vs. 5d4 in AD&D, too.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSr9TuKZDaCgEGsmm0WSeC0A86fgSFQBSH_Nf-UnCkP_rq3ERFEG8TouURduE4QHD4mDF14ECqgpd2s91cXsqizWCeel1lAwHyM_11f_nUsCk2JHVz_UYiEXi_L7rNg1FLPNJ8rKpHGeQ0BF0jZfEnjDE01-WIOR5MeyzJpXETLRv6fRde2MQvsQzGsw/s654/tumblr_mqefmdtSrC1ro2bqto1_1280.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="654" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSr9TuKZDaCgEGsmm0WSeC0A86fgSFQBSH_Nf-UnCkP_rq3ERFEG8TouURduE4QHD4mDF14ECqgpd2s91cXsqizWCeel1lAwHyM_11f_nUsCk2JHVz_UYiEXi_L7rNg1FLPNJ8rKpHGeQ0BF0jZfEnjDE01-WIOR5MeyzJpXETLRv6fRde2MQvsQzGsw/s320/tumblr_mqefmdtSrC1ro2bqto1_1280.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grenadier miniature - the Writhing Crusher.<br />Off-brand Roper or possibly Zargon from B4 <i>The Lost City.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">I quite like the Roper in both iterations, animal intelligence ambush predator or hostile subterranean Cthulhuvian intellectual.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">What Was Left Out - Phygorax, Possession, Reflecter.</h4><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Phygorax.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">I am extremely disappointed to find this didn't make it any further than AC9: a <i>beautiful... undead fish</i> 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.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBnRkZq78jaspuzuKuwConcuJ3iMmHRZleiBlUrkeKUN3kZiNUschMwo8-OB8DObWnA12JoVpT4jMfoN32CYnFzSWxFTNT4TUCKMcqqD1cK3l6wQynDpng8P0pGY_oqyjIzTzjEmXYld0lZgT1LS_mBqq5O0Lnf-mzRf-6KQ6i_cKH7Q8ey9CGIeMzVA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="380" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBnRkZq78jaspuzuKuwConcuJ3iMmHRZleiBlUrkeKUN3kZiNUschMwo8-OB8DObWnA12JoVpT4jMfoN32CYnFzSWxFTNT4TUCKMcqqD1cK3l6wQynDpng8P0pGY_oqyjIzTzjEmXYld0lZgT1LS_mBqq5O0Lnf-mzRf-6KQ6i_cKH7Q8ey9CGIeMzVA=w400-h351" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See - beautiful.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />It uses <i>ESP</i> to select a victim, then creates an appropriate <i>illusion</i>, any touchable part of which is a deadly spine - you feel the energy drain, but the illusion adapts/reacts rather being dispelled. </p><p style="text-align: left;">It's also pretty buff, with 8 HD, immunity to normal weapons, and being unaffected by spells up to 4th level.</p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Possession.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Also known as <i>sword spirits</i>, these monsters are a pun on the double meaning of 'possession': an object owned, and being inhabited by a spirit.</p><p style="text-align: left;">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).</p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">We also learn that the natural AC of a weapon is 2 (+7 for ascending), and wooden objects/normal clothes are AC 7 (+2).</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Reflecter.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">This is a weird one: <i>mobile human statues of perfectly reflective silvery metal... rumoured to be from the far future. </i>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 <i>a hard shell filled with brain-like material. </i></p><p style="text-align: left;">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 <i>any book, map, or scroll (magical or otherwise)</i> which seems overly exploitable.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUFjHBzxICyjdQT9w1n_yCuchO2nuil43TGF2FuBLCHOYujJiGAbPsB5k8_P3-lMy2497_QZGuwaauE6MkLm51i9riLv7yzX6kQxoydngaoae28sndBtYly-iwtGFikCXwGSVdYbrCsAS2re8GSpgSx0OTbGMAexLc2zkUdWvLxyLLg9F729esE3zCYg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="395" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUFjHBzxICyjdQT9w1n_yCuchO2nuil43TGF2FuBLCHOYujJiGAbPsB5k8_P3-lMy2497_QZGuwaauE6MkLm51i9riLv7yzX6kQxoydngaoae28sndBtYly-iwtGFikCXwGSVdYbrCsAS2re8GSpgSx0OTbGMAexLc2zkUdWvLxyLLg9F729esE3zCYg=w400-h356" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shiny robbing time-bastards.</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><p style="text-align: left;">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 <i>wish</i> will turn the Reflecter(s) vulnerable for 3 turns - though they <i>will simply vanish within that time</i>. This ability (if it is one) isn't detailed further. </p><p style="text-align: left;">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 <i>Spelljammer</i> about them, though that could be purely retrospective on my part.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Neutral alignment and Unknown Intelligence (with a suggested value of 15). Maybe a candidate for the ranks of the Neutral (evil) with Unratable Intelligence?</p><p style="text-align: left;">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.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-62170268541902636862022-12-19T12:36:00.001+00:002022-12-19T12:36:40.189+00:00DMR2 Creature Catalog - M, N, O: Magen to Oyster, Giant.<h4 style="text-align: left;">Magen.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Four types: <b>Caldron</b><i style="font-weight: bold;">, </i>stretchy acidic limbs; <b>Demos, </b>just your basic artificial people; <b>Galvan,</b> discharge bolts of electricity; <b>Hypnos,</b> telepathic <i>charm</i>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Magen are constructs that <i>resemble perfectly formed humans</i> - so you can decide whether this means idealised or indistinguishable. I think of them as being colourless, hairless clones with the genital blankness of an action figure, but might all look like each other or their creator or their creator's one true love or the true love of the creator's nemesis. Furthermore, they might need to be made-up and bewigged and/or crudely dyed during the creation process to pass as human(ish):</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5rcHVXxdALqSyTaJje24Vl-j-qRttd2UH6pOK_hidyCTZrnDa-uvQm_mzWiEsrtcNhpLEVWdxfUMeg96SwgLUkJGcLl1I5akj9gequ-bLurD-qC0svRIToioZtuNOWVU1r-8AwbPESIGORliGmtep-lLKocI03X2dNzKtmY4rog9XXB_v0IlZDYIw4g/s620/OompaLoompa2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="620" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5rcHVXxdALqSyTaJje24Vl-j-qRttd2UH6pOK_hidyCTZrnDa-uvQm_mzWiEsrtcNhpLEVWdxfUMeg96SwgLUkJGcLl1I5akj9gequ-bLurD-qC0svRIToioZtuNOWVU1r-8AwbPESIGORliGmtep-lLKocI03X2dNzKtmY4rog9XXB_v0IlZDYIw4g/s320/OompaLoompa2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Like this.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvX5Ps2FRDiA3Qss6b2T1r6A9MO4b66GL3M-36SY8OzRc1rQaijNOifpbJigkfoo3X4WMDGPuHfNj35t_3l8-VjTyJux5112KpUrIbXxz_i3VFj8yPS_f6sBPoCoLq7TIOOmVTiWjwy6dQyQXURG8J2KHGvF7eY4OXxO7S5XJ6L_YshfObVjoIqyiXQA/s600/FakerHeMan.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="454" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvX5Ps2FRDiA3Qss6b2T1r6A9MO4b66GL3M-36SY8OzRc1rQaijNOifpbJigkfoo3X4WMDGPuHfNj35t_3l8-VjTyJux5112KpUrIbXxz_i3VFj8yPS_f6sBPoCoLq7TIOOmVTiWjwy6dQyQXURG8J2KHGvF7eY4OXxO7S5XJ6L_YshfObVjoIqyiXQA/s320/FakerHeMan.jpg" width="242" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Or like this.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: left;">The Magen are in the same approximate category as the Living Statue: intelligent constructs, with the implication of personality. They're as expendably loyal as any other construct, as they <i>will follow the commands of their creator to the death. </i>There's no hint that they will subvert orders, but who knows: they've got an Intelligence of 9, approx. human average, so who's to say they don't want to die while being compelled to? </p><p style="text-align: left;">2e goes into some detail on Magen mentality, but it's still up to you and your interpretation of the stats.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Magen strike me as being down the sci-fi end of the fantasy spectrum, though with obvious magical trappings - think The Dying Earth and Hellboy (Roger and Abe, really). Possibly also <i>Species. </i>As I've already decided, they look like humans with make-up fails or shonky sci-fi make-up or following a trend that <i>you</i> can't quite get your head around.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Lots more detail, including how to make them and the mishaps that can occur, in 2e. The Hypnos gets <i>suggestion</i> in addition to <i>charm person</i>, and can set up a minion network for its creator. </p><p style="text-align: left;">We also learn the Magen go on a <i>rampage of senseless destruction</i> if their creator dies. I think I'd prefer it if they suddenly found themselves with free will, but no real motivation. They don't need to eat, sleep, or breath, so might end up hanging around a dungeon being miserable observers for years, or struggling to integrate with other humanoid society.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Possibly some crossover with the Oards (see below), if you like - the seed here being planted by proximity during re-examination.</p><div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Magpie.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Normal and Giant, and the Normal ones won't ever fight back.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Some percentages for success when stealing shiny things (can be better than a 7th level Thief) and weight limits to what they can pilfer. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Not so much a monster, as a thing-that-happens, or as something to <i>charm</i>/train instead of inviting the Thief along.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Man, Isolated.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Some guidance on what makes a Man, Isolated different from a Man, Any Other Kind. Three examples are statted.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Cynidiceans</b><b style="font-style: italic;"> </b>from module B4 <i>The Lost City</i>: masked and drugged-up weirdos in an underground city. Based on a Conan story, I think. </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhvapk9-zKKI8f516KSFeBkvjDtZIFtlB2yRzlWzvFSE7N5aFSKuUnFokFKCq2cxoFt0dimAzqwwUxLh94d6CABS6WT8egpQAqqh1x6eD3fU1912mrq-BiBjZ9bhs6k0GVSKLlr0JjddkgMtHz-R1EIgCt-iGeYrr25tSyG3-b2jYWgRwb6gu3xMfXwwg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="1600" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhvapk9-zKKI8f516KSFeBkvjDtZIFtlB2yRzlWzvFSE7N5aFSKuUnFokFKCq2cxoFt0dimAzqwwUxLh94d6CABS6WT8egpQAqqh1x6eD3fU1912mrq-BiBjZ9bhs6k0GVSKLlr0JjddkgMtHz-R1EIgCt-iGeYrr25tSyG3-b2jYWgRwb6gu3xMfXwwg=w524-h170" width="524" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at those Men, Isolated go!</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Statwise these are basically Orcs, right down to the penalty for fighting in sunlight. Lots more detail and context in the module, of course. </p><p style="text-align: left;">I've always liked a decadent mask-wearing culture, being a Granbretanian myself. Multiple thumbs up.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Quariks</b> ride <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2022/11/dmr2-creature-catalog-i-j-k.html#:~:text=I%2C%20J%20%26%20K.-,Ice%20Wolf.,-They%20come%20in" target="_blank">Ice Wolves</a>, are bigger/stronger than Normal Humans, have visible fangs and clawed feet (for gripping the ice of their Isolated <i>domed crystal city within the polar regions</i>).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Ruled over by the Firelords, a group of eight (possibly) cannibalistic/carnivorous Magic Users that masquerade as gods (<i>mighty supernatural beings)</i>, the Quariks are utterly loyal to them and ignorant of/resistant to the truth.</p><p style="text-align: left;">There's quite a lot of specific detail for a monster that, as far as I can tell, doesn't appear anywhere except AC9 and DMR2. Did they crop up in a magazine? Were they the focus of an abandoned module? Why are they Men and not just Quariks - they're basically another tribal humanoid?</p><p style="text-align: left;">The <b>Traldar </b>were once the slaves of the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2022/11/dmr2-creature-catalog-h.html#:~:text=to%20change%20that.-,Hutaakan,-." target="_blank">Hutaakans</a>, so they're pretty setting specific. Bald humanoids with hairy hands.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Special characters called Vocals can shout really loud, for communication and sonic attacks.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Man, Primitive (Barbarian, Native, Wild Man).</h4><p style="text-align: left;">More sub-divisions of the 'Man' type, with not that much to distinguish them from each other: Fighter types, armour/weapon choice, some spell-casters. They are/aren't as useful as any other variation on the tribal humanoid theme. There's quite a lot you can do with these not-so-useful categories, but you're essentially making up a new culture for your game rather than building much on the descriptions/stats.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Barbarians can also be Clerics, Druids or even Thieves, putting me in mind of Fritz Lieber's Ice Barbarians. No mention of Berserkers.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Natives are native to jungles and tropical islands. AC9 says <i>including cannibals</i>; DMR2 doesn't.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKQAQ46kV9If4Krjtp9FtxZadD5T3lIhGXbrjGFMM1xG1gfcJSG5-UrPalS8JK_AizAVNgKDlq-E-IS_BTNIDzdAsymZf-c6fOl3q5LsGZlUBnDGuu-KXQqYKKKfNoBzjSYTzQS6jNO7GFEAveos99fyvxUUPfZdwb-NmMvUV4Lk0WdeNNp8GWPfbrAA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="385" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKQAQ46kV9If4Krjtp9FtxZadD5T3lIhGXbrjGFMM1xG1gfcJSG5-UrPalS8JK_AizAVNgKDlq-E-IS_BTNIDzdAsymZf-c6fOl3q5LsGZlUBnDGuu-KXQqYKKKfNoBzjSYTzQS6jNO7GFEAveos99fyvxUUPfZdwb-NmMvUV4Lk0WdeNNp8GWPfbrAA=w400-h356" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seems familiar...</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Wild Men seems to be somewhere between Neanderthals and Barbarians, and are called <i>pagans</i> if they have Cleric characters. I think they might be based on Stone Age/Cro-Magnon humans (I'm pretty sure the illo is of Wild Men rather than Barbarians and is based on an illo of Cro-Magnons -vague memory, rather than concrete sourcing). They also get their name in inverted commas in AC9, for some reason.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Masher.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">From a sparse, unillustrated entry in the 1e MM, the Masher gets a power-up from a coral-eating weird wildlife <i>worm-like fish </i>to a 100' long, 20 HD segmented sea worm with a save or die stinger and a 3d8 bite. Shades of the Purple/Mottled Worm.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Normally just as inoffensive as their AD&D original, during the breeding season they become aggressive and <i>congregate together... to temporarily form huge, fearsome, writhing masses. </i>No clues to numbers, beyond No. Appearing 0 (1), but it's 2-8 in the MM so at least that.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2022/11/dmr2-creature-catalog-i-j-k.html#:~:text=at%20that%20maw.-,Kna,-." target="_blank">Kna</a> remove their stings and use them as pack animals, mounts and to sink ships.</p><p style="text-align: left;">This is a pretty good upgrade on a pre-existing monster, though I would keep the multiple spines of the AD&D version - the image of getting spiked either in passing or through incautious approach is more powerful when the thing is gigantic.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Mesmer.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">The Mesmer is the aquatic undead version of the enigmatic and alien AD&D Morkoth/Morlock - a logical progression starting from one of its alternate names, <i>wraith of the deep</i>. It's even described in CC as an<i> undead wraith-like creature.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggNuz8ShCrbPHdkcelYcv20ZZT0cTCG0tjDnm1n_IRKLgRp8JW_RCGcpSrN8WCa4taAKzoLRCVZY2alp4_hpQx6CV7DA64wTyoNyGQYQczDtDnllTapHYxzPQEHofB3ldTc7Gl5XMMVXNIGfzFJWtqtU6aeGLg-YFUum7BXpDkG_dnLKyipTzfvfcgag/s600/file.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="478" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggNuz8ShCrbPHdkcelYcv20ZZT0cTCG0tjDnm1n_IRKLgRp8JW_RCGcpSrN8WCa4taAKzoLRCVZY2alp4_hpQx6CV7DA64wTyoNyGQYQczDtDnllTapHYxzPQEHofB3ldTc7Gl5XMMVXNIGfzFJWtqtU6aeGLg-YFUum7BXpDkG_dnLKyipTzfvfcgag/s320/file.png" width="255" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AD&D-style preferred. I'm happy with <i>this</i> being undead, after the Akraa'Neonor from Lone Wolf 3 <i>Caverns of Kalte.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Statblocks identical and abilities approximately the same - the Mesmer's being slightly more powerful (automatically reflects spells and they gain an AoE even if they didn't have one before). Obviously, the Mesmer also gets the basic undead immunities; Turned as a special.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Leaves out that <i>charmed</i> characters aren't aware the monster is eating them (as in AD&D), which I think is a shame.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Nagpa.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">I've liked the Nagpa since before I even knew what it was/they were, being drawn into the possibilities sparked by the statblock in the BECMI Master DM's monster jam.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Then I found out they were weird crusty vulture people (trapped?) in a cycle of reincarnation (from a Dragon magazine series, <i>Voyage of the Princess Ark, </i>I think).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Then I found out they were the gamification of the Skeksis from <i>Dark Crystal</i>, which in turn made sense of the Hamakei in <i>Out of the Pit</i>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">See also <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2020/06/nagpaskeksis-for-call-of-cthulhu-5e.html" target="_blank">this conversion to <i>Call of Cthulhu</i> (olde schoole) I did.</a></p><p style="text-align: left;">2e gives them 9 to 12 wizard levels and staves that function as <i>rings of spell storing</i>. Their origin is a curse on <i>especially selfish mages</i>, twisting their form; denying them the ability to <i>eat, sleep, laugh, reproduce, or take part in any other activity enjoyed by living humans</i>, and making them aware of anyone gossiping/talking about them within 100 miles (their ears - such as they are - burn hotter the closer they get). Interesting development, but I didn't need it.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Nightmare.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">The BECMI/Mystara version of the MM Nightmare, and fairly close in stats and abilities.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The CC Nightmare can <i>fly</i> and <i>turn invisible</i> at will, as the spells, three times per day - although it has a Flying Move rate already so it's possible the limit refers to invisibility, with the spell reference to <i>fly</i> being for purposes of dispelling and anti-magic effect, maybe?</p><p style="text-align: left;">Being able to turn invisible thrice in a day is a bit of a comedown from being able to <i>become ethereal, and roam the astral plane</i> like in AD&D.</p><p style="text-align: left;">However, the CC Nightmare gets an ability I really like, and is not unlike (though less potent) that of other Mystaran Night-prefixed horrors (-crawler, -walker, and -wing). Its presence kills <i>small animals (1 hp or less)</i> up to 30', and paralyses anything with 3 HD or less that fails a save (roll each round to break free and no longer be affected). <i>Even the places where a nightmare has touched the ground become blighted and barren.</i></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Octopus, Giant.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Almost identical to the MM Octopus, Giant - though lacking the evil intelligence of its AD&D cousin.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Nothing extraordinary here, but I think the Octopus (or Squid) is/was a mechanically important monster for any basic fantasy bestiary </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Owl, Giant.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Almost identical to the one in the 1e MM.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Although owls have a reputation for wisdom and intelligence, they are neither more nor less friendly towards people than most animals</i> - thanks for that.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Oyster, Giant.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">They have a Move of 0 and bite for 4d6. I can't quite visualise how combat would look.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Would not use as written - make it more of a hazard/trap than a monster.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">What Was Left Out - Oard.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Time-travelling anti-magic cyber-bastards from the same module as the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2022/11/dmr2-creature-catalog-g.html#:~:text=zero%20in%202e.-,Garl,-." target="_blank">Garl</a> and <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2022/11/dmr2-creature-catalog-h.html#:~:text=its%20first%20attack.-,Hephaeston,-." target="_blank">Hephaeston</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I get why they were left out. I suppose at the time D&D was clearer in its intention as a fantasy game - despite the sci-fi trappings that persisted and even with <i>Spelljammer</i> in the mix.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2020/12/oard-monster-conversion-becmi-d-to-call.html" target="_blank">Converted to old school <i>Call of Cthulhu</i> here.</a></p><p style="text-align: left;"><u><br /></u></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-50956875223286244982022-11-28T15:32:00.002+00:002022-11-28T15:32:53.739+00:00DMR2 Creature Catalog - L.<h4 style="text-align: left;">Lamara.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">This is the analogue of the Lamia Noble (FF), serpent below the human(oid) waist, male or female. I don't think there's a BECMI/Mystaran equivalent of the non-noble sort (note: it says as much in the Mystara MC supplement).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnj7FzFVx2hr8QzN14lC7G4BrdnwGDBLnY17s-oO5JbsHQEoFksDNiKPJebCzFyGL2rWxahcFSwhBAgPWBZFtE5-fmsWjWSxybZGFRwq__eAXyGG46iesnwBtHHENKyMOw7snNRvqKRJ1NH-_ZSRy0hk7q8_jXD-gtaxNR8cog3_62OnnX4JDXRPtHKQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="336" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnj7FzFVx2hr8QzN14lC7G4BrdnwGDBLnY17s-oO5JbsHQEoFksDNiKPJebCzFyGL2rWxahcFSwhBAgPWBZFtE5-fmsWjWSxybZGFRwq__eAXyGG46iesnwBtHHENKyMOw7snNRvqKRJ1NH-_ZSRy0hk7q8_jXD-gtaxNR8cog3_62OnnX4JDXRPtHKQ=w320-h286" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can only guess that someone else does her hair, because she's made a right mess of that shirt.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: right;"></div><p style="text-align: left;">One of the most interesting things about the Lamara is that it cannot speak, although it understands all languages and is intelligent (score of 14). There's no information on how it communicates, even with each other (though No. Appearing is 1).</p><p style="text-align: left;">It can assume an illusory appearance that casts a powerful <i>charm </i>(-2 to save) against anyone of the opposite sex (of the Lamara? of the illusory appearance? what about the wider world of gender and sexuality?). We only get combat context - subjects will defend the Lamara to the death, even against their friends and allies.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It can also create an illusory enemy (apparently it only does this vs. solo adventurers), though the injuries are inflicted by the Lamara itself rather than the illusion. So this illusion is not <i>phantasmal force</i>, and there is no mention of disbelieving or dispelling it. Does the victim believe they are confronted by an invulnerable summoned ally of the Lamara, and can they elect to attack the Lamara in preference? </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Lava Lizard.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">This is a piece of D&D fantasy fauna that feels like it should be an elemental or a construct, rather than weird wildlife. Basically, a rock-scaled/shelled giant lizard that inflicts additional heat damage and can melt nonmagical metal weapons that strike it.</p><p style="text-align: left;">That they need to stay close to lava (or other intense heat) to survive, and will freeze into <i>statue-like immobility</i> if they stray too far and get too cool, is interesting. Otherwise, this for me is ripe for mechanic transplant and/or reskinning.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Leviathan.</h4><p style="text-align: left;"><i>They are among the mightiest of creatures currently living on the Prime Plane</i> at 60 HD and 3d12 bite for the Desert kind, 70 and 4d10 bite for the Marine. On top of their HD and hp, they only take half damage from <u>all</u> weapons and spells (so effectively x2 hp), and are additionally immune to spells that <u>don't</u> cause hp damage. Poison doesn't work either.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgSjYwbFEEH1sZca-LlUCbnlejhQMokauVfOJB1MhJj212e8OhuUS9wde4NguMJcX1xd_NccDZV-8AQZP9d4aRxsqU7gEHtu3mqZmRolEmm8_2XPvXDb3RbA9cxnG8Mdo3J2L6Cz4GeRI83ASR4HS5LtathNc9kvHFp0lPAjzxc28JvYhjwpkbWBePPyA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="344" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgSjYwbFEEH1sZca-LlUCbnlejhQMokauVfOJB1MhJj212e8OhuUS9wde4NguMJcX1xd_NccDZV-8AQZP9d4aRxsqU7gEHtu3mqZmRolEmm8_2XPvXDb3RbA9cxnG8Mdo3J2L6Cz4GeRI83ASR4HS5LtathNc9kvHFp0lPAjzxc28JvYhjwpkbWBePPyA=w320-h285" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Desert Leviathan in not-that-big shock.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The Desert Leviathan is 'only' 500' long, so significantly shorter than a full-grown Great Annelid (at 1000'), and the Marine a mere 650'. With their stats, I don't think there's any problem making them bigger, especially as the Desert Leviathan is obviously a Sandworm/Shai-Hulud analogue (it's even <i>attracted by vibrations</i>).<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Their bite attack is an AoE weapon, allowing a -4 dragon breath save to avoid being swallowed; otherwise, 4d12 hp digestion damage per round. If you survive/aren't dissolved in 1 turn, then it will spit you out. Magical items can't be digested and the Leviathan's innards have a worse AC than the exterior.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Marine Leviathans can <i>swim around and around to create a whirlpool</i> capable of sinking a ship of up to 80+d100 hull points. This appears to be a narrative ability with a mechanical limit.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Because of CoC, I'm always rather taken with fairly simple but destructively awesome monsters. However, the same caveats apply here as with Juggernauts and Earthquake Beetles - I think they absolutely should be more than just a straight fight (is there a one-page dungeon set inside a giant worm?). Of course, these big-hitter monsters are not just part of the fantasy world ecology - they're a necessary (meta)game challenge for Companion and Master level adventurers.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Could a Marine Leviathan swallow the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2022/11/dmr2-creature-catalog-i-j-k.html#:~:text=of%20their%20civilisation.-,Kraken,-." target="_blank">CC Kraken</a>? Which would win in a simple fight of hit-and-damage rolls? Which would deserve to? How many retainers with crossbows would you need to take either down in one round?</p><p style="text-align: left;">They are classed as Worms in 2e, but aren't changed much - the main takeaway is that you only need to score 50 hp to cut your way out after being swallowed. The Marine Leviathan's whirlpool takes it 3 rounds to swirl up - that's 3 minutes in AD&D.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Living Statue.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">The Living Statues, as they are presented in older D&D, are a fun little category I've always enjoyed - partly because they're golems that you can get to grips with at lower levels. And who doesn't like shooting/ being shot at by magma from their fingertips?</p><p style="text-align: left;">The other thing I like is that they're somewhat intelligent - score of 7, so the upper end of the Bugbear/Ogre intelligence range. Implying some kind of free-will? Personality? Feelings? I don't think they're mere constructs, and I'm happy for them to be playable characters under the right circumstances.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e elaborates a little on their intelligence, describing it as <i>modest</i> but allowing them <i>to fight sensibly and effectively</i> - targeting spell-casters, using simple devices/mechanisms, sounding alarms, even lighting burning oil to dump on adventurers.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Not specifically immune to poison in CC.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Anyway.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Jade: </b>Very magic resistant, so much so that magical weapons don't get to apply their plusses. Leave only <i>worthless powder</i> instead of valuable fragments when destroyed. Implied (by the illo) that these would be 'oriental' in design.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Rock/Ooze:</b> magic-resistant rock statues full of Grey Ooze instead of magma to squirt out of their fingertips, with the ability to<i> </i>merge <i>into the surface of a rock wall, floor, or ceiling.</i> I take this to mean 'becoming one with' but could also just mean dungeon camouflage. See <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/search?q=vilstrak#:~:text=It%20has%20%27the%20uncanny%20ability%20to%20physically%20merge%20with%20earth%20or%20stone%27%2C%20which%20is%20clearly%20intended%20to%20mean%20they%20can%20pass%20in%20and%20out%20of%20the%20solid%20substance%20(they%20live%20in%20hollows%20in%20the%20earth%20and%20rock)%2C%20but%20they%20are%20only%2075%25%20undetectable%20while%20doing%20so%20%2D%20what%20is%20it%20that%20gives%20them%20away%3F" target="_blank">MM2's Vilstrak</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">In 2e, it splits open when you kill it and you get to fight the Grey Ooze that spills out.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Silver:</b> <i>Much smaller than normal living statues (about one foot high)</i> with 1+1 HD and a 2d4 bite attack. Immune to non-metallic weapons, non-magical weapons and non-magical fire. Half damage only from edged weapons. Leave 50gp of silver behind when destroyed.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Either these are toothy imp statues or shaped like animals. I would definitely consider crossing with the Silver Golem, or at least the growth/shrink ability. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Probably my favourite of the lot; it gets my imagination going.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e says they are humanoid, and that they bite because their tiny fists are ineffective. Makes me think of an acting award or sporting trophy come to life.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Steel:</b> Non-magical iron and steel weapons stick to it, and are absorbed on the next round to heal the statue 2-5 hp. An advance on the classic Iron Living Statue.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e has magical weapons getting stuck but not absorbed. Retrieve them with an open doors roll.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Lizard, Giant Foot-Pad.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Apart from it being specified that they can be trained as mounts and pack animals (you get speed vs. load stats), this is basically a lower damage, lower HD reskin of the Giant Gecko.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I have almost no opinion on them.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>Lizard, Rockhome*.</b></h4><p style="text-align: left;">The possible <i>ancestor of the lizard man</i> (which is both grim in its way, and interesting) and taking d6 hits per hour when exposed to sunlight... but these are pretty much '3 HD flightless birds'. </p><p style="text-align: left;">In-setting, they're the subterranean pack animals of Dwarves and Gnomes, from GAZ6 <i>Dwarves of Rockhome. </i>They're a nice feature of the culture of another 'monster' but not that much in themselves.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Lupin.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Lawful tribal humanoids (they're basically Gnolls as goodies, but with dog heads) that can spot Werewolves even in human form and attack them on sight. Armed with silver swords, and lances and arrows tipped with silver. Ride and fight on Dire Wolves.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Due to a Monty Python sketch I hear the flower rather than the wolf in their name. </p><p style="text-align: left;">They were one of the factions in my long-lost Neolithic/Proto-Celtic settings, though I think I made them full on wolf-headed rather than dog.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e puts forward that they could be related to Werewolves, mentioning a <i>Great Division</i>, and gives them only 90% chance of spotting Werewolves in human form (15% for other Lycanthropes). That they are repelled by wolfsbane. That they have human-like hair on their heads. That a white-furred Lupin has special abilities - spell-casting, psionics. That not all Lupins hunt Werewolves.</p><p style="text-align: left;">No mention of any relation to or with the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/search?q=wolfwere#:~:text=a%20Stupid%20Monster.-,Wolfwere.,-Reverse%20werewolf%20that" target="_blank">Wolfwere (MM2)</a>.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Lycanthrope, Werejaguar*.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Apart from that there are Cleric Werejaguars that are <i>minions of evil Immortals</i>, this is an unremarkable fil-in-the-gaps were-monster. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">What Was Left Out - Leveller (Bodendruker).</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Gargantuan green elephant with eight trunks and specially adapted feet for 'levelling' the ground it tramples. Eats Purple Worms, which it pounds the ground to expose. Stomp attack is AoE; save vs. death ray or die and all your gear flattened/destroyed, otherwise d100 hp.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhI3hOIuVHNkaUVDkfYWuHQXkJEqQ0-rtd1yKiMVjdG_DJrH_IGAN6dIyNeReKatXwm-Z6iqZjpdLDXvn0-ZBSocYQ-wWoVpwXGZiUFfyWKgTS54oExuYQKsIDQuQYhyzd_h40hKdZP_xhJlHKsPJSxEW09ssqt5su6ZSGYFZNlZEvGhFzmHNTzF6_kXA"><img alt="" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="399" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhI3hOIuVHNkaUVDkfYWuHQXkJEqQ0-rtd1yKiMVjdG_DJrH_IGAN6dIyNeReKatXwm-Z6iqZjpdLDXvn0-ZBSocYQ-wWoVpwXGZiUFfyWKgTS54oExuYQKsIDQuQYhyzd_h40hKdZP_xhJlHKsPJSxEW09ssqt5su6ZSGYFZNlZEvGhFzmHNTzF6_kXA=w320-h286" width="320" /></a></div><br />A curiosity. Feels more like a denizen of All The Worlds Monsters, if not for <i>The Book of Imaginary Beings</i> (Borges) being such an influence on D&D monsters.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Doesn't make it to DMR2, let alone 2e. Native to our planet Neptune, according to sources.</p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-33123501479758871162022-11-21T15:56:00.000+00:002022-11-21T15:56:03.385+00:00DMR2 Creature Catalog - I, J & K.<h4 style="text-align: left;">Ice Wolf.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">They come in three sizes (3+1, 4+1 and 5+1 HD varieties, though described generally <i>as big as a pony</i>), and can be trained as mounts by the kind of humanoids you'd expect. They have a frosty breath weapon (d4 damage per HD).</p><p style="text-align: left;">The AD&D Winter Wolf (MM) has 6 HD and its breath weapon scores 6-24 hp, so Ice Wolves are just the Mystaran variant. </p><p style="text-align: left;">It might just be clumsy editing/writing, but the text describes them as <i>huge hounds</i> so maybe they had a different name at some point close to publication. <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-hounds-of-horn-hounds-of-kerenos.html#:~:text=White%20Dwarf%C2%A0no.%2018%20carries%20stats%20for%20Hounds%20of%20Kerenos%2C%20pitching%20them%20as%20frosty%20Hell%20Hounds%20%2D%20though%20a%20Winter%20Wolf%20would%20work%20just%20as%20well." target="_blank">I wonder if there's any relation to the Hounds of Kerenos as statted by Graham Staplehurst</a>.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Jellyfish, Giant.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Giant jellyfish if you need them. I have trouble visualising a standard combat involving them vs. adventurers - even though the text makes clear they use their tentacles as an active attack.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Two types, the Marauder and the Man-o-War. The Marauder is mechanically identical to the largest (4 HD) Portuguese Man-o-War, Giant from the 1e MM, though its sting is weaker (+4 to save).</p><p style="text-align: left;">They do make it into the 2e Mystara supplement, or rather the Marauder does, joined by the Death's Head (it's got a skull pattern) and the Galley (<i>a fast swimmer and a deadly surface combatant</i>, which can also shoot a stream of venom).</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Juggernaut.</h4><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Huge magical machines</i> - Golems on rollers/wheels, built like <i>house, pyramids... even statues.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;">Stone Juggernauts (30 HD) crush you for 10d10 hp, Wooden (25 HD) for 8d10 - this attack is 30' wide, can harm multiple targets (they are allowed save vs. dragon breath to evade). Against a single victim, no save if it hits. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Stone juggernauts can easily crush small buildings.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;">They have a basic save of 4+ (Stone) or 5+ (Wood, but auto-fail vs. magical fire), and carry their treasure inside.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I like the idea of these Juggernauts being adventure sites or monster lairs rather than simply brutal opponents, running them like I might something like the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/search?q=earthquake+beetle#:~:text=the%20monsters%20therein.-,Beetle%2C%20Earthquake.,-AC%20%2D6%20(%2B15" target="_blank">Earthquake Beetle</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I know I once had plans for undead-infested Juggernauts, along Triumph of Death lines, with names expressing their themes (Puzzlebox, Skinning Parlour, Flesh Foundry, Bonemachine and Ziggurat are the only ones I can remember).</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Kal-Muru (Shipbane).</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Some sort of Air Elemental that haunts the seas, making mist and mischief (of the ship's crew slaying variety). A real danger to mundane sailors who lack the HD and magic weapons to have any sort of chance against them.</p><p style="text-align: left;">A minimum of 10 Kal-Muru are needed to generate a thick, obscuring sea-fog, and the more of them there are, the further it spreads. As well as being unaffected by the winds, the fog also induces <i>confusion</i> (save at +4 if 5 HD or more, no effect at 8 and above).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Keep them as elementals, make them undead or demonic or djinni - whatever you like.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Featured in module X8, with the Kara-kara, below.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Kara-kara.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">If you think Orcs are racist, then get ready for the Kara-kara. Not only Orcs, but also a caricature of the bone-through-the-nose-cannibal-savages-of-the-tropical-isles.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilWNNI-AjT8dtcEsgKVVND5zLzayArgM1ZEhlWLHIIiZl4t2fXUe7TWbz2th9w4e8UVkWg0rVxvUmZfhK8YCu4gV0UO1x93pUqNKX_UWS2m2R_szwizuaMp5lgOv6YohhcWn9dMIaJF7bDMKHqO4eypt_NRNZYIAmjJOEdzi-2uRQ2xyiGKK9ybxRLgw/s675/Capture.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="675" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilWNNI-AjT8dtcEsgKVVND5zLzayArgM1ZEhlWLHIIiZl4t2fXUe7TWbz2th9w4e8UVkWg0rVxvUmZfhK8YCu4gV0UO1x93pUqNKX_UWS2m2R_szwizuaMp5lgOv6YohhcWn9dMIaJF7bDMKHqO4eypt_NRNZYIAmjJOEdzi-2uRQ2xyiGKK9ybxRLgw/w494-h378/Capture.PNG" width="494" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">X8 <i>Drums on Fire Mountain.</i><br />Art by Brian Williams.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Even so, for a tribal humanoid with some trappings that have not well stood the passage of time, broadening of audiences, and evolution of attitudes, the Kara-kara are... okay monsters?</p><p style="text-align: left;">CC gives us a description pretty close to what you can see in the pic above, and there's the standard tribal monster notes on females, young, weapon choice/distribution and spell-casters. In this case, they're known as <i>manwu-papas</i> or witch doctors - preferring the reverse of Cleric spells, because they're Chaotic.</p><p style="text-align: left;">As well as being <i>followers of a pig cult</i>, they are also <i>a singing people</i>. I imagine them having pleasant voices (to human ears), far from the presumed gutturals of Orcish. The males have a battle chant which gives a non-magical boost to their Morale and hit points, and makes them equivalent to 2 HD monsters when dealing with certain effects (<i>sleep</i> spell is the given example). Presumably, there can be other songs.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They consider precious metals to be worthless (no good for making practical implements), but pearl and jade can be found in their treasure hoards.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They're the feature-creature of module X8, so that's their context and expanded background if you have it for reference. As far as I know, they don't turn up anywhere else.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Killer Tree.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">2e says that this is the Mystaran <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/02/ad-monster-manual-2-h-j-k-and-l.html#:~:text=back%20to%20G...-,Hangman%20Tree,-." target="_blank">Hangman Tree (MM2)</a>.</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwCXclj5tjllIWxjBbjCBTlkBQfSrc1rhnlbbkQkcBN4tjaauu0s-5Md-Y1XbxYAkEJ_ZNF6UKuNQspoQ-NF6Zo9bwbzYbiaTl_LjOYtCnYEY1ZpSowzcAZsALmBIMfbUlzP4u1u7oecD336H9AECXfeT0EyRdgaKeE_t9YnhlBOpCRllPko4g1f3ogA/s416/Capture.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="305" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwCXclj5tjllIWxjBbjCBTlkBQfSrc1rhnlbbkQkcBN4tjaauu0s-5Md-Y1XbxYAkEJ_ZNF6UKuNQspoQ-NF6Zo9bwbzYbiaTl_LjOYtCnYEY1ZpSowzcAZsALmBIMfbUlzP4u1u7oecD336H9AECXfeT0EyRdgaKeE_t9YnhlBOpCRllPko4g1f3ogA/w294-h400/Capture.PNG" width="294" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;">Which could work.</p><p style="text-align: left;">RAW, the Killer Tree is a 6 HD monster with 4 grabbing attacks, followed by a 3d6 bite - a lot less subtle and Tolkien-adjacent than the Hangman Tree. And look at that maw.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Kna.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">I'm fairly sure these are the BECMI/Mystaran analogue of the Locathah, though the Kna are orange rather than yellow, ride Mashers (the higher HD version in the M section) rather than giant eels, are enormously strong if their +5 to damage is not a typo (it's in AC9 earlier, but there's no comment on Strength or a damage bonus when they appear in 2e) and are 10 to 12 feet tall. </p><p style="text-align: left;">I'm not specifically saying that the Locathah (or the wider aquatic tribal humanoid monster family) are boring, but this really feels like someone decided they could do with a zhuzhing-up.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Apart from that +5 damage in the statblock, there are no mechanics - the text is pure flavour; culture, technology, habitat, that there are both peaceful traders and ship-wrecking pirates amongst them. It is this that makes it (for me) a monster worth thinking about.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They can't breathe air, which I think is an interesting touch. Intermediaries or magic if you want to trade with them (maybe the Aquatic Elves are really keen for the Kna to join the community of intelligent humanoids and that's why they make and trade <i>potions of water breathing</i>).</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e tells us that Kna is pronounced NAH, that the wrecker-pirates call themselves <i>uyagh</i> and the Kna have a special body/sign language (in addition to a spoken one) that can get across basic concepts. Some details on family and tribal composition (including tame sea animals/monsters), claw and bite damage, infravision, half damage from blunt weapons (rubbery skin), +1 save vs. normal fire, how long they survive out of water (2d4 rounds). And that they're the sworn and ancient enemy of the Kopru (next monster). </p><p style="text-align: left;">We also learn that Kna blood is an ingredient in <i>potions of water breathing</i>, which could put those Aquatic Elves mentioned earlier in a whole different light - the haughty, magic-using Elves taking a blood tithe from the beings they see as primitive brutes, perhaps, and the <i>uyagh</i> are those who would not submit (or survivors seeking revenge).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Yeah. I like the Kna.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Kopru.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Described as <i>amphibians</i>, but maybe just amphibious (and restricted to <i>hot springs and tropical swamps</i>): facial tentacles around a sphincter mouth, humanoid torso, clawed arms, three fluke-like tails instead of legs. They will bite you for 1d4 hp, but can also crush you in the coils of all three tails for 3d6 (doesn't specify if this is auto-damage/constriction).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Their signature weapon is a powerful <i>charm </i>- save vs. death ray (which means it's an easier save than vs. spells, unless I'm mistaken) or you are now completely loyal to the Kopru; it can read your thoughts and knows your memories, as well as direct you at any distance. Not only that but you will work in their interests even without direct orders, and will also carry on as normally as you can to disguise your allegiance. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Fortunately, if you make your save (or throw off control - check each month; or apply <i>dispel magic</i> etc; or kill the controller) you are no longer subject to <i>charm</i> from that Kopru or the rest of <i>the same group</i> (this is not further defined).</p><p style="text-align: left;">They're one of the feature-creatures of X1 <i>Isle of Dread</i>, and one of way of reading things is that the (two? three?) Kopru you encounter are the only ones left.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I've always felt the Kopru were conceptually and/or thematically in the same kind of monster category as Mind Flayers, and not just because of the facial tentacles (as a matter of fact both the CC Kopru and the MM Mind Flayer have 8+4 HD, checking now). 2e goes as far as to venture that <i>kopru are related to mind flayers as mermen are related to humans.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;">Also, compare with the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/search?q=kappa#:~:text=able%20to%20mesmerise,and%20receive%20feedback%3F" target="_blank">Kappa</a> (Dragon Warriors rpg & Golden Dragon gamebooks).</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e gives them a claw/claw/bite and more detailed tail(s) attack. The <i>charm</i> is further defined to include the victim being completely unaware that they are being controlled, and the effect is permanent until dispelled. Some notes on families/eggs, that they are female led, that their <i>charm-</i>related mind-reading is possibly a vestige of their past psionic ability at the height of their civilisation.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Kraken.</h4><p>What it lacks in intelligence and special abilities in comparison to the 1e MM2 Kraken, it makes up for with 64 HD and almost 1000' of tentacular monstrosity. </p><p>You need to score 60 hp to sever one of its tentacles.</p><p>Quite awesome. Definitely eats sperm whales; probably also Dragon Turtles.</p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-17094511019060993312022-11-14T16:52:00.000+00:002022-11-14T16:52:24.712+00:00DMR2 Creature Catalog - H<p style="text-align: left;">I'm going to say the Huptzeen is my favourite from this section, but it's also the one I've had the least time to think about - only learned anything about it by doing the research for this readthrough.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Haunt, Lesser.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Fairly traditional ghostly entity. Similar in motive, but not execution, to the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/search?q=haunt#:~:text=178%20hp%20RAW.-,Haunt,-." target="_blank">MM2 Haunt</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">You can't Turn it, you can't fight it - only <i>certain haunts</i> have the ability to cause fear (save or flee and unwilling to return), and you can only defeat/help it by <i>special means decided by the DM.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;">It's a puzzle to solve or a (side)quest giver. For which you receive 100 XP.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Hawk.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">If a Hawk (Normal or Giant) surprises you, it scores double-damage on its first attack.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Hephaeston.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Another one from <i>Where Chaos Reigns -</i> an iron-skinned giant with 25 HD. Can <i>levitate</i> and heat iron/steel objects, as well as grab you and throw you to the ground.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Basically Hephaestus/Vulcan as a monster species, and they're primarily interested in metalwork. Awesome as threat, ally or quest goal.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e tells us that the weapons they make are +2 (non-magical), though I'm not sure how small, fiddly and human-sized they can manage. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Herex.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">I had some idea that the Herex were based on the Cynthians from Susan Schwartz's <i>Heritage of Flight, </i>but the novel is 1989 compared to AC9's 1986. But maybe that's because there are a lot of giant bug monsters across the monster manuals as well as sci-fi, and they start to blur into one another.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Their eggs can lie <i>dormant for many years</i> before hatching when you disturb them. The larva start out at 6 HD with an acidic, armour-damaging bite and they're hungry. The larvae then spend 5-10 months devouring everything they can, remaining underground, and growing an extra 6 HD.</p><p style="text-align: left;">At 12 HD, they burrow up to the surface, shed their skin and emerge as a 13 HD winged adult with acid bite and paralysing tail-stinger. Then they look for a mate, lay some eggs and die.</p><p style="text-align: left;">A fairly conventional lifecycle.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Without knowing their original context, the Herex feel like an almost-nostalgic monster pest scenario for high-level characters. For lower level play, the Herex could be something not meant to be fought - a source of devastation to shake up a campaign or to shape a setting.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e says there's a use for their acid saliva, but not for their shed carapaces.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Hivebrood.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">They're called <b>The </b>Hivebrood in AC9, suggesting equally a one-off and an omnipresent threat. They're not evil, but they use paralysed victims as hosts for their young and converting them into insectoids as their method of propagation. </p><p style="text-align: left;">There's a heavy sci-fi scent to them, with a flavour profile incorporating <i>Alien/Aliens, The Thing, Starship Troopers</i> and 40k's Tyranids. How much of this retrospection, I can't really say, especially as the aforementioned are only the easiest examples - a hierarchical-hive-bug-monster that assimilates other creatures is not the rarest concept.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Presented as ant-like in their implacability, the Hivebrood could also work as a more flexible-minded and subtle foe - closer to Tyranid Genestealers or Innsmouth Deep Ones. In fact, they don't need to be enemies by motive, just biological and social incompatibility.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Lots of stats and mechanics, because there are multiple types that derive from each other - Broodlings, Hivebrood (workers and soldiers), Hiveleaders, Broodmothers and Hiveminds.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Hiveminds can gain the abilities of creatures they devour, including spell-casting, and share this ability with other Hivebrood through chemical transmission. So, Cy-Bugs from <i>Wreck-It Ralph</i>, too.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Simply because of their proximity on the page, you could combine Herex with Hivebrood (as one creature or separate threats) to really wreck a campaign.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They get a little bit of a name-change in 2e: Broodling, Soldier, Lieutenant, Mother and Controller. Nice detail that the Broodlings use their host's teeth to imitate the wet clacking sounds the more insectoid Hivebrood make with their mandibles.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Homunculus.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">The Fylgar (a bit like a cherub/putti with a <i>whip-like tail</i>), Gretch and Ulzaq (Imp/Quasit analogues; with the Gretch/Quasit similarities being closest) - they're familiars, but are also the special form taken by an Immortal (demi-god and upwards) <i>on a special mission or as a penance</i>. You can attempt to bind them to you if they haven't chosen to serve willingly.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They're all closer to the Imp and Quasit in terms of abilities than they are to the MM's Homonculous (sic). </p><p style="text-align: left;">Unanswered questions regarding the interface between Immortal and Homunculus identity, and the process of becoming/unbecoming. Could the Homunculus be a shortcut to binding a deity to your will, or an opportunity to overthrow them?</p><p>Called Familiars in 2e, because Homunculus/Homonculous is already taken, and because of the more complex alignment system of AD&D, the category is swelled by the (good) Aryth and the (evil) Bogan.</p><p>Bogan is an example of why you should (nowadays) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogan" target="_blank">always Google your made-up monster names</a>.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Hook Beast.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">The Hook Horror and the Hulker (Umber Hulk without <i>confusion</i> ability) are apparently related, with the latter being the brains of the operation (INT 6 vs. 4).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7W2nPdjI0BmicwguKn2htnh81wXtz7ZL8Pdyz1IXlEMYRzuAJrSrEeluQ6VwevGy2inkSME_QNOzdghSRdCfMayWhAo__MH2Y5nDI0RZWJubwUFZ6M4mjSrvNQllrCyOoKBQ-h_6Pihm97JCFtMoarj-3oC3ByEwyADMawDC_-4q4zGF_b-gRCXzAnA/s347/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="347" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7W2nPdjI0BmicwguKn2htnh81wXtz7ZL8Pdyz1IXlEMYRzuAJrSrEeluQ6VwevGy2inkSME_QNOzdghSRdCfMayWhAo__MH2Y5nDI0RZWJubwUFZ6M4mjSrvNQllrCyOoKBQ-h_6Pihm97JCFtMoarj-3oC3ByEwyADMawDC_-4q4zGF_b-gRCXzAnA/s320/Capture.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hulker - more eyes, less <i>confusion</i>, and those teeny claws do 2d6 damage each.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">The Hook Horror stats are pretty much identical to the <i>Fiend Folio</i> version: it gets a hefty 3d6 bite in CC.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I never really cared for Hook Horrors in the first place, and pairing them with not-quite-Umber Hulks doesn't do much to change that.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Hutaakan.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Anubis-people. Jackal-headed 'tribal' humanoids that once ruled a great empire but are now reduced to isolated communities in the kind of places adventurers end up in. They've got infravision and Move Silently % as a Thief of equivalent level to their HD (so 1st or 2nd for most of them).</p><p style="text-align: left;">They're <i>a haughty, callous race, dominated by their priests</i> (min. 2 HD so they all have a spell, up to 11th level), but see themselves as <i>a sensitive, civilized, intellectual people</i>. No mention that they were slavers until the entry for Man, Isolated further down the line.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I can see potential in these stealthy Anubises, possibly seasoned with a little Cynidicean (see also Man, Isolated), to make something out of them away from their original Mystaran context. Possibly hidden people of the necropolis, pretending (as tricksters or delusional) to be spirits, ghouls and gods amongst the tombs and temples of the human inheritors/conquerors.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Hypnosnake.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Monster snake (8 HD) with psychedelic hypnotic gaze that puts you to sleep - and itself if you can make it gaze into a mirror for <i>a full round</i> (so not just a flash of the glass).</p><p style="text-align: left;">It doesn't need to be a snake; transplant the special ability onto any name and statblock you like.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">What Was Left Out - Huptzeen.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">A construct that resembles a fancy/ornamental/precious object, can cast spells (MU level=HD but only spells known to its creator) and moves by <i>slow, magical flight. </i>Explodes if you take it to 0 hp or less.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They have an INT of 11 and understand language (at least, Common).</p><p style="text-align: left;">You can leave one as a guardian (possibly a spy, but it doesn't say how they talk back); it's not clear how obvious it is as the source of the spells it casts.</p><p style="text-align: left;">More intriguingly, you can carry or wear one, and amulet and staff are given as examples. A cooperative Huptzeen gives a Magic User significantly augmented casting power: not only do you get extra castings of some of your spells, it can also cast them simultaneously with (better than <i>haste</i>) and independently of you (approaching <i>contingency</i>).</p><p>It makes a comeback in 2e, and some of my points above are addressed. For instance, it gets the ability to talk back to you, but only if it has access to a relevant spell. Costs but not process for construction, as well as recoupable fragments on destruction and price for selling on (you have to trust the seller hasn't told the Huptzeen to betray you).</p><p>It's a cool magic item as much as it is a monster; the intelligent sword for Magic Users.</p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-23263028795039092042022-11-09T17:00:00.000+00:002022-11-09T17:00:50.611+00:00DMR2 Creature Catalog - G<p style="text-align: left;">There're a lot of high HD monsters in the CC (in this section, the Gakarak and the Iron Gargoyle both have 16 HD) and this is partly a feature of BECMI/RC, with things scaled to 36 character levels. As far as I can tell, every monster that survives into AD&D 2e carries over their original HD (except where they are subsumed into a pre-existing monster).</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Gakarak (Forest Brooder).</h4><p style="text-align: left;">A double-strength Treant with special abilities that is one of <i>the oldest creatures on the Prime Plane.</i> They hang out in the deepest and most ancient woods, thinking about how much they hate humans and humanoids (except maybe for Druids). This feeling is so intense it pervades the woodlands, giving a palpable atmosphere of doom and hostility (no mechanical effect).</p><p style="text-align: left;">There's nothing in the text about their relationship with Treants.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They have un-italicised abilities to speak with and charm/control/grow plants in their vicinity - hiding trails and traps, hindering progress, blocking off routes. At closer range, they can animate trees and bushes like a Treant - up to 6 at a time, bushes somewhat weaker than trees. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The Gakarak can <i>teleport (no chance of error) through vegetation</i> within its wood. It can shoot four wooden darts each round or smite you with its 4d6 magic club (save or entangled and helpless for 6 turns).</p><p style="text-align: left;">As well as regenerating 3 hp/round when in contact with vegetation (does not say if this is overcome by acid/fire, or brings it back from the dead), it can't be harmed by electricity, wooden weapons or <i>attacks from plants and animals</i> (though I think this latter is restricted to its home territory). Blunt weapons only score 1 hp, plus magic and Strength bonus.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Treat as an elemental terror of the wilderness, rather than a homicidally grumpy Ent and I think there's a great monster here. The darts feel a little bit incongruous, but I suspect this is to do with the power scaling of BECMI/RC and it 'needs' multiple attacks per round to stand against Companion level champions.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Compare with the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2022/02/out-of-shadows-monster-commentary.html#:~:text=Paralysis%20Demon.-,Okeman.,-BAB%C2%A0%2B16%C2%A0" target="_blank">DW Okeman</a>, with which this is worth combining to make a mighty elder forest spirit. I'd also consider the Gakarak an excellent choice as a precursor form for <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/11/fomorians-fhoi-myore-from-chronicles-of.html" target="_blank">a special Fomorian</a>.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Gargoyle, Iron.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Due to the intense heat within its body, the Iron Gargoyle is very bright to infravision, but it doesn't cause heat damage or heat exhaustion - though it can breathe a cone of fire. Counterintuitively (to my mind), it takes x2 damage from cold attacks. </p><p style="text-align: left;">If it strikes you with its tail, you must save or be stunned d3 rounds, and it can try to crush you with its body from flight (damage and stun - save to avoid); 16 HD; a bunch of immunities (including spells up to 3rd level); can <i>detect invisible</i>. Otherwise, a big metal construct, made to guard stuff.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I like this kind of almost-robot monster, but it doesn't really fit with my personal take on standard Gargoyles as being a weird species rather than constructed beings. However, maybe the Iron Gargoyle is the thing Gargoyles make (or release) when they go to war.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e gives you the recipe for making one: 125,000gp; 5 months to do; 18th level+ Magic User; spells - <i>wish, polymorph any object, geas, fireball, fly.</i> </p><p style="text-align: left;">In CC, it has 5 Intelligence to zero in 2e.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>Garl.</b></h4><p style="text-align: left;">Originally, they're the world-specific evolutionary rivals of Humans and Elves in <i>Where Chaos Reigns,</i> guided by the time-travelling <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2020/12/oard-monster-conversion-becmi-d-to-call.html#:~:text=to%20hear%20it.-,Commentary.,-The%20Oards%20are" target="_blank">Oards</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Here, they're <i>very primitive humans, more primitive even than the neanderthals</i> with 6 HD and +4 Strength bonus, making them Ogre-beating. Basically a narratively and mechanically underdeveloped tribal humanoid.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjF3SAzK36WAkszJFFsKYunAR1YBuVYJbud9hohnEKAQlKgqsWhADt2W-aEoKpeV6wijbJwlvYWMqVTunzXj_YB-dP_JVovIKb2ThrxX9O3kk3xtZFktpeGXhjWK5aDwNW9QgR6hsghf7wF0Rrtxp5b3w0sCVtl4IX9g1ghLWkIJx8DcVPHYXflDB6dcg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="313" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjF3SAzK36WAkszJFFsKYunAR1YBuVYJbud9hohnEKAQlKgqsWhADt2W-aEoKpeV6wijbJwlvYWMqVTunzXj_YB-dP_JVovIKb2ThrxX9O3kk3xtZFktpeGXhjWK5aDwNW9QgR6hsghf7wF0Rrtxp5b3w0sCVtl4IX9g1ghLWkIJx8DcVPHYXflDB6dcg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jez Goodwin and #BOSR</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Use their stats for big Ogres and/or small Hill Giants, or Sasquatches in a cryptids-based game.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Gator Man.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">More tribal humanoids, with 7 HD and up to 7th level Clerics. Supposedly <i>the result of an evil wizard's experiments</i> centuries ago, they're <i>the mortal enemies of lizard men</i>. </p><p style="text-align: left;">As well as a weapon attack at +3 hit and damage due to 18 Strength, they also get a bite attack for 3d6. All told, they're about on a par with RAW Hill and Stone Giants while 'only' being 7-8' tall.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I've not even said that they're scaly humanoids with alligator heads. Did you need me to?</p><p style="text-align: left;">Stripped down to stats and basic description, I could use them as the basis for Dinosaur or Dragon People because the alligator head image is pretty strong, but otherwise I think they're fairly unremarkable outside of whatever gaming context they originally had.</p><p style="text-align: left;">In 2e they only get 2d4 damage for their bite, and their Strength gives less bonus in AD&D - though this gives their stronger chiefs a hefty +7 damage bonus over BECMI/RC.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Geonid.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Weird little subterranean rock people. Tribal humanoids with non-spell casting priests as leaders. They are described as having a shell, so I think they're living beings rather than elemental. Geonids can pull in their limbs like a turtle and look almost indistinguishable from a lump of rock in a cave.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeK_yd9ZhYIXnvVzJCx6EOZCvnilK9x6l3rJdnEpbujpZZpAjNi7Au5z5-1gC-g7m6IJJKkmwwBGHz2GjRS1qW2J64pmQYiINJNbNjA9eA9O3p6ecQSkTz9NjkEK_bFvqY7W3JGld4oAyl66VSjmVEbxseE3979ZoF6vQuXn3aBnmEOKX0f7rYA0o4-Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="361" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeK_yd9ZhYIXnvVzJCx6EOZCvnilK9x6l3rJdnEpbujpZZpAjNi7Au5z5-1gC-g7m6IJJKkmwwBGHz2GjRS1qW2J64pmQYiINJNbNjA9eA9O3p6ecQSkTz9NjkEK_bFvqY7W3JGld4oAyl66VSjmVEbxseE3979ZoF6vQuXn3aBnmEOKX0f7rYA0o4-Q=w400-h358" width="400" /></a></div><br />They get a whole page entry in the 2e Mystara MC, which makes it a lot clearer that they're fleshy under that boulder-like shell, as well as having a language<i> of clicks and shell gestures incomprehensible to outsiders. </i>They also cultivate mosses to eat, and supplement their diet with hunted/scavenged/meat.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Possibly interesting when integrated into a larger dungeon ecology, especially if they are able to hide their presence until a suitably dramatic moment.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Ghoul, Elder.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">It's a more powerful Ghoul, but it can also generate a <i>sphere of eerie green light</i> that causes weakness if you fail your save.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Hmm.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Basically a fool-you-once monster (<i>it looks exactly like a normal ghoul</i>) for when you've got complacent about Ghouls.</p><p style="text-align: left;">That it's Elder (whether because it is actually a revered elder of the pack or because it's got eldritch history) is not expanded on. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Ghostly Horde.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Not so much a monster but a special location (<i>where an army met a sudden and catastrophic defeat</i>). Rather than a variety of undead or Enchanted (the type given in CC) monster, it's a projection of the character's experience. And you don't get XP for interacting with it.</p><p style="text-align: left;">You make three saves in a row. Fail the 1st and you see the horde appear, fail the 2nd and you see them ready to charge, fail the 3rd and you have to fight a single 3 HD opponent during what appears to be an overwhelming assault. Make any of these saves and the horde doesn't appear/fades away.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Should you be hit by the ghostly soldier, you save vs. KO. If you defeat your foe, you <i>will not see the horde again</i>. Presumably it vanishes.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The mechanics of the Ghostly Horde feel like they have more of a place in a parapsychological setting than a fantastical one - why have phenomena when you can have actual undead? However, I like it precisely because it ties into that parapsychological worldview.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e addresses the fact that not everyone in a party is going to see or experience the same thing when they 'encounter' a Ghostly Horde.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Golem.</h4><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Rock:</b> A sort-of analogue for the Stone Golem, it can be shaped to look like a statue or caryatid, but usually just looks like a rock formation until it attacks.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Normal weapons automatically break when used against it; magic weapons get a save.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It gets two fist attacks for 2d10 damage each. Which is the same as the Fungoid, but the Golem doesn't have a chance of knocking you down.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e recipe: 1 month; 50k gp; 14th+ level MU; <i>limited wish, move earth, stoneskin, geas.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Silver Golem:</b> Always wins Initiative, gets double attacks per round (in this case, a total of 4 fist attacks) and is immune to <i>slow</i>, presumably because it is filled with quicksilver.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Fire (heat?) makes it grow and cold makes it shrink, 1 HD per spell level RAW and no equivalences for unlevelled/non-magical attacks or hazards. While a number of specific immunities are listed (including <i>any form of electrical attack</i>), fire and cold are not among these. Nor whether the growth/shrinkage is durational or not. Interpret this as you wish.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I quite like this - especially the growth/shrink ability, but it's definitely more a Quicksilver than Silver Golem. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Leaves 1000gp of salvageable silver when defeated.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e recipe: <i>all the normal conjurings</i>; 50lbs of quicksilver; 100k gp; 14th+ level MU; 6 months; <i>limited wish; haste; lightning bolt; domination; major creation.</i></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Grey Philosopher.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Undead (ghostly) Chaotic Cleric that just sits there in some dungeon, grappling with some unresolved deep thoughts. Ironically, having survived bodily death, it will not reach a conclusion/enlightenment until it is destroyed by adventurers. It seems to think this is worth laughing about.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Philosopher doesn't do anything except think really deeply (and cannot be Turned), but is defended by wispy little horrors formed from its <i>evil notions, </i>and called Malices. These cause more damage the further your Alignment lies from Chaotic, and are Turned as Spectres. Get rid of them and you can set to the Philosopher with magic weapons.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e adds a lingering fear effect from its laughter-on-destruction (save or -1 Dex from shivering), and gives a Malices-to-centuries calculation.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's an interesting monster concept that could be applied to other undead. Malices as written are little faces, gaping maws and little claws, but there's no reason they couldn't look like wasps, bluebottles, owls, crows, moths, shuriken, holy/unholy symbols, skulls, ostentatious quill pens etc. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Guardian Warrior & Horse.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">The Terracotta Army for D&D.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Some immunities/resistances that could be common to lots of other constructs; a little bit of how-to-make.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Gyerian.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Basically, this is a 3 HD flightless bird monster that has been given intelligence and some fleshing out with regards diet, society, habits etc. to make a tribal humanoid.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I get strong <i>Alice in Wonderland</i> vibes from them. Their personality: <i>very excitable, extremely nervous, and impatient. </i>Their special ability: knocking you over with a powerful sneeze.</p><p style="text-align: left;">How seriously are you meant to take them? Possibly there's some context I'm missing. I don't have a burning desire to search it out.</p><p style="text-align: left;">From D&D to 2e AD&D they keep their Morale value of 8, effectively lowering it as the latter is on a d20 scale, the former 2d6.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">What Was Left Out - Ghoul, Vapour.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">I could have waited until V, as it's given as Vapour Ghoul in AC9, but I'll stick it here with the Ghoul, Elder for consistency.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlq5vDrk3gC5eksWeeAF5Y_HiXAJbKR4V9C73WgLL4u9lfSGAKv4WfaSwc0VkxB0PoDdE6qf8X6NnzIe0nK1SQdNOJLC0JYTxbwyeGURyAQD5mnftdFMLN2OS37rq3akHN8ZIInjlsi6HVNOXGeJ7Wftn9S-2qaN5HStq9E1HhioNPLsGL9hmLJLKfQ/s397/Capture.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="397" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlq5vDrk3gC5eksWeeAF5Y_HiXAJbKR4V9C73WgLL4u9lfSGAKv4WfaSwc0VkxB0PoDdE6qf8X6NnzIe0nK1SQdNOJLC0JYTxbwyeGURyAQD5mnftdFMLN2OS37rq3akHN8ZIInjlsi6HVNOXGeJ7Wftn9S-2qaN5HStq9E1HhioNPLsGL9hmLJLKfQ/w400-h359/Capture.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tim Sell illustrated <i>House of Hell</i>, too.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">They look like and are Turned as Wraiths, with stats closer to Wights. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Their special attack is mind-paralysis, meaning you carry on your present activity for 2-8 rounds (how to manage this isn't expanded on). </p><p style="text-align: left;">You also take temporary Intelligence damage, going insane at 0 (recover in 2-20 days) - this kind of insanity is acting as opposite to your Alignment/Class/stats/background/character as possible.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>These creatures form in areas of strife where the vapours are heavy</i>. Suggestive of pre-scientific, proto- parapsychological reasoning. I could work with this.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I wonder if they reappeared in any Ravenloft supplements? </p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-30034670171581131332022-11-02T13:02:00.001+00:002022-11-02T13:02:12.310+00:00DMR2 Creature Catalog - F<h4 style="text-align: left;">Faedorne.</h4><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Female creatures of great beauty</i> that <i>live on strange timeless islands which float high above the world.</i> </p><p style="text-align: left;">I'd characterise them as Neutral Elven demi-gods, with powers of illusion, scrying, summoning (Silver Warriors, detailed later on) and 12th-level Magic User equivalence. Text says they <i>embody many elvish ideals</i> but prefer to be subtle in their interventions.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwt90CvSp1Byo4ICgqa_Avl6BThGh2W3FeaMh0rFeF-iOTezcHPfbdCLDRxM39wH-ceSIWeTI8K3BtGFNyIDAdWiS8vFc-OrODqaUJAS5yEcW1nYdz0eT-JX44Xp7bfyg2OZ2OxtZ_kItd5P0vQ1DXRprvPX9vg_sNLu6_bwwbB8UxR0dUJeczNYQlVg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="721" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwt90CvSp1Byo4ICgqa_Avl6BThGh2W3FeaMh0rFeF-iOTezcHPfbdCLDRxM39wH-ceSIWeTI8K3BtGFNyIDAdWiS8vFc-OrODqaUJAS5yEcW1nYdz0eT-JX44Xp7bfyg2OZ2OxtZ_kItd5P0vQ1DXRprvPX9vg_sNLu6_bwwbB8UxR0dUJeczNYQlVg=w512-h475" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Faedorne (and Silver Warriors) as appearing in the 1984 module <i>O2 Blade of Vengeance </i>by Jim Bambra; Moorcockian stylings by Jeremy (Jez) Goodwin; #BOSR.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Their islands are known as the Shining Isles and <i>are only visible at night</i>, when they appear to be stars or satellites or other heavenly points of light. You could take this to mean they are invisible during the day, or out of phase, or not physically present, or are the product of a sleeper's dreams.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">I like to think of the Shining Isles as being fragments of a nearby faerie dimension, or else the Isles and the Faedornae (they slip the plural in) as being of sufficiently advanced technology that they are indistinguishable from magic.</p><p style="text-align: left;">While on the Shining Isles (their own or any?), a Faedorne's <i>phantasmal force </i>is at -5 to disbelieve, and there's a reading that suggests they it can be used to project visions at a great distance (appearing to the communicant in a mirror or pool).</p><p style="text-align: left;">An old setting of mine had 'Star People' that were an approximation of the Faedorne (with a brush of the big-eared ancient astronauts to them). More recently, I think of them as being the ancient eldritch folk who would one day become <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/11/fomorians-fhoi-myore-from-chronicles-of.html" target="_blank">these Fomorians</a>.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Feywing.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">There are hints of a weirder-looking creature when comparing the description (<i>bulbous, elastic body</i>) to the Dave Simons illo, which shows what is basically a three-headed Dragon - which is what the Feywing basically is.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis-YBC9UoK9pti_t2i10-AIod5HMdJD4Jr_1YnkEDmi04tJOftUboy8jOrQkOu1pY-0YBJcdu01A58VQEZu703p1RZEOluPqY44iG-XCDvTvQ6WHKcrE4cFDWgN6TXmk1ng4OpPMz60SmKmJVbiPOJKhTL1ogpwvD6aJmflup-1zJscrEDOmpvavwg7g/s413/Capture.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="301" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis-YBC9UoK9pti_t2i10-AIod5HMdJD4Jr_1YnkEDmi04tJOftUboy8jOrQkOu1pY-0YBJcdu01A58VQEZu703p1RZEOluPqY44iG-XCDvTvQ6WHKcrE4cFDWgN6TXmk1ng4OpPMz60SmKmJVbiPOJKhTL1ogpwvD6aJmflup-1zJscrEDOmpvavwg7g/s320/Capture.PNG" width="233" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">No breath weapon, but it can carry off cattle impaled on its horned snouts - which makes a change to claws (specified as both soft and weak). There's no elaboration on this, so maybe it's for narrative purposes; I suppose a 'kill' can be abstracted as fulfilling the conditions to impale-and-carry-off.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Its tail is <i>feeble</i> but <i>prehensile</i>, which I find suggestive, alongside it being <i>intelligent enough to gather treasure as a lure and for bargaining</i>. It has a given Intelligence of 4 and there's no mention of speech, so maybe it uses its tail to make significant gestures, or scratching messages in the dust if you want to go further.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Feywing can <i>deflect arrows and daggers</i> with its horny, hooded eyes 40% of the time, which I sometimes conflate/confuse with the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/search?q=dracolisk#:~:text=D%20Part%203...-,Dracolisk.,-Turns%20out%2C%20Basilisks" target="_blank">Dracolisk's nictitating eye membranes</a>. Why not add both characteristics the next time you need to spice up a Black Dragon for an adventure?</p><p style="text-align: left;">Incidentally, they can attack with a three bites (2d4 each) or three horn gores (d10 each) or a combination. So maybe an impale for carrying something off is simply a successful horn gore? One for a halfling, three for a cow.</p><p style="text-align: left;">One monster that I would be interested to see further detailed in AD&D 2e, but - alas.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Fish, Giant.</h4><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Catfish: </b>Giant fish that can use its mouth-feelers to attack, even though that's not their primary purpose. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Use as the base stats for a BECMI/RC Aboleth, maybe?</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Carp (Gargantua):</b> it can swallow whole <i>any opponent of less than giant size</i>, smashes things with its tail and can produce a blast of water that can knock you off your feet and propel you 100'.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I think of this as being one of those sea monsters routinely drawn on old maps and I like it.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Fish, Piranha (Cold-Water).</h4><p style="text-align: left;">It says Cold-Water, but we've really only got their word for it.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Piranha:</b> In tropical waters, they can be bigger (2hp rather than 1). Attack in shoals, so some transferable swarm mechanics. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Plus they get attack and damage bonuses when in a feeding frenzy.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Giant Piranha:</b> Their feeding frenzy means they don't have to make Morale Checks.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Specifically says they <i>inhabit warm fresh waters</i>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">AD&D 1e <i>Fiend Folio</i> has Quippers, which are a little bit more robust than the regular Piranhas here.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Flitterling.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">As themselves, I don't really like them (another type of miniature faerie folk), but I think there's promise in the details.</p><p style="text-align: left;">As presented, they're <i>one-quarter of an inch tall</i>, so barely qualified for the 1 hp they are given. Their physical attack is to stab with their equally tiny silver swords. A group of five can cause 1 hp on a successful attack, if you're armoured or have a natural descending AC of 5 (+4) or better and 2 hp if you're unarmoured/ natural descending AC of 6 (+3) or worse. A point of damage kills a Flitterling, but you can only kill a maximum of 5 per blow. No elaboration regarding magic and AoE. A reasonable swarm mechanic.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Their preferred attacks are to sing at you. A group of 50 can <i>charm monster</i> or <i>cause fear</i> by song. Multiple groups cannot affect the same target. Keep those number requirements, but attach to the next settlement the adventurers visit - Normal Humans (or ghosts!) able to survive in the monster-haunted wilderness, as long as the bonds of community are not disrupted.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They're bound to their homes (tree trunks and mushrooms), and to the <i>rings of magical mushrooms</i> they cultivate. Damage their homes beyond repair and/or deplete their mushrooms by more than 50%, and they'll die in d6 horrible days.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Magic mushrooms of varying colours give varying useful effects: <i>neutralize poison, haste, clairvoyance, cure light wounds</i>, especially nourishing food. They will allow you to pick mushrooms if you are friendly with them, but will fight to the death if you try to take more than your fair (and their vital) share.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Bolt the special abilities onto a statblock and you've got some serviceable Myconid analogues/variants. Maybe they could also be linked to the Fungoid (below)? Possibly as their avenger, or maybe just as their muscle. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Frog, Giant Poisonous.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">I always have time for Giant Frogs.</p><p style="text-align: left;">This one is bright yellow and lurid green, has a grabbing tongue and is poisonous even just to the touch.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Fundamental.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Apart from their ACs, Move rates and the Fire Fundamental being immune to fire, all four types of Fundamental are mechanically/statistically identical. </p><p style="text-align: left;">They're nothing more than pairs of air/earth/fire/water composed batwings that fly around without a body. Sometimes follow summoned Elementals.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I'd probably replace their swoop attack with something other than a damage die: maybe Air deafens, Earth bashes your head in, Fire sets you alight, Water stuns you with 1 round of drowning. Possibly also an equivalent benign ability.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They're weird and alien, so I quite like them. Maybe they can join the Neutral (evil) with Unratable Intelligence crew?</p><p style="text-align: left;">In 2e, they all get a little more detail - basically fluff but including some habits and quirks as well as more physical description, and all perfectly serviceable.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Fungoid.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">It's an <i>ogre-sized humanoid fungus</i> that can't be affected by spells vs. plants, because fungus aren't strictly speaking plants. The text doesn't go any deeper, but I suppose this is based on the scientific fact(oid?) that fungi are more like animals than they are like plants (or something). </p><p style="text-align: left;">They're also (<i>nearly</i>) mindless, so no illusions or <i>charms</i> or similar work against them. Text specifies that the Fungoid <i>never fails a morale check</i>, but it wouldn't anyway because its Morale is 12 - or have I been labouring under a misapprehension for years?</p><p style="text-align: left;">Takes double damage from fire, and cold does no damage but stuns it. Interesting. For further elaboration, you could make the Fungoid immune to crits/impales and maybe have weapons getting stuck in it.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Fungoid is simultaneously incredibly strong but kind of soft and squidgy, so it is described as <i>only</i> causing 2d10 hp with each of its fist attacks (you're also knocked down if you fail to save). However, this is the same damage as a Rock Golem (next post), so - while it's more likely this is just a case of separate creators and an oversight/non-existence of balance/standardisation - it implies that the Fungoid is stronger than the Golem. Which means the Fungoid could be put to some interesting and extraordinary tasks if it could be controlled (or was intelligent).</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>According to folklore, these creatures grow near the sites of unavenged murders or great battles</i>: no further details.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They lurk underground, below a growth of mushrooms (including a ring formation), though the text only says they <i>may</i> be connected to the fruiting bodies on the surface.</p><p style="text-align: left;">These last two characteristics are food for thought, with the possibility of a variation of the Fungoid leaning in the spirit/undead direction, or something more in tune with either intelligent fungus beings or faerie folk.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The squishiness combined with great strength could also serve as something to build a brain/flesh golem or anthropomorphic shoggoth from.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Fyrsnaca.</h4><p>The Fyrsnaca can breath a line of fire and <i>is intelligent and can be bargained with to perform tasks</i>. 2e specifies that you need <i>speak with monsters</i>, as Fyrsnaca have no language.</p><p>It also internally burns so hot after reproducing (vomiting up 2d6 babies - Red Worms; see later) that it has to remain dormant in a large body of water for 50 years to cool off. If prevented from doing so or awakened prematurely, it will attack furiously - as it will be consumed by its own heat if it leaves the water.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5U-xHcyeDUSBHwgnPAFZsMBiMuygUI-SEv0NHjecIdr3msa9_eUV_iKF7f-_TU92nLUg97-lkY7spqstOWtQEQ7JkO6XiOsnHHwEZaHnc8MKUib4Vks7qo-BR9kMGHQcii9tyNnlmtKYHcdt5sZjAVA0-idgR8njtkUr06tZMk5L9pTgUtIu75ikSzw/s405/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="405" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5U-xHcyeDUSBHwgnPAFZsMBiMuygUI-SEv0NHjecIdr3msa9_eUV_iKF7f-_TU92nLUg97-lkY7spqstOWtQEQ7JkO6XiOsnHHwEZaHnc8MKUib4Vks7qo-BR9kMGHQcii9tyNnlmtKYHcdt5sZjAVA0-idgR8njtkUr06tZMk5L9pTgUtIu75ikSzw/s320/Capture.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bony, unsegmented relative of the Purple Worm.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>This sounds very wyrm-ish, as opposed to worm-ish, but the Fyrsnaca (clearly a vertebrate) is supposedly cousin to the Purple Worm (clearly an invertebrate). Lacking an illo, 2e gives a sparse description that 'corrects' this.</p><p>Also, it's <i>not carnivorous</i> and eats <i>ores and minerals</i> as it burrows through the earth. 2e says to offer it gems and precious metals when bargaining or distracting - the costly equivalent of tossing rations.</p><p>I'd use one of these instead of a Dragon. And because of the 50 year dormancy period, I think I'd make this one of the type of monsters that are a level-inappropriate adventure/dungeon threat that doesn't have to be directly engaged with and/or can be turned on other monsters.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-88180012253989140742022-10-24T10:46:00.002+00:002022-11-02T13:03:18.297+00:00DMR2 Creature Catalog - D to E.<p>* indicates new to DMR2, and not in the original AC9 Creature Catalogue.</p><p>For survivals into 2e, especially when it's a common cross-system animal/monster, I'm generally only considering the Mystara and Savage Coast Monstrous Compendium supplements - and the former is more useful as its setting is broader.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Dark Wing.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Nocturnal winged humanoids. Penalised by exposure to <i>light</i> and <i>continual light</i>, but a failed Morale check results in them fighting to the death rather than fleeing.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Can carry off human-sized targets, but it takes two of them and they both need an 18+ Hit Roll. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Their lair is <i>a foul and unsettling place</i>. Just the sort of environment for bringing up 2d6 (combatant) young.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Under the slight variation in name (Darkwing), they are also found in 2e. There's more information about how they fit into a local sandbox ecology, but nothing you wouldn't expect.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I can see them sharing space with a <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2022/02/out-of-shadows-monster-commentary.html#:~:text=or%20each%20other).-,Mere%2DGaunt.,-BAB%C2%A0%2B9%C2%A0" target="_blank">Mere-Gaunt</a>, either as minions, scavenging rivals or complementary parts of a grimdark ecosystem. I hadn't really given them any thought until this read through and find myself appreciating them.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Their mechanics allow for reskinning as all manner of nocturnal/subterranean winged things that might carry you off.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Darkhood (Rorphyr)<span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></h4><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">With a good, monster-y sounding name, the Rorphyr is basically another undead that's a better ghost than the Ghost (whether AD&D or BECMI): a translucent hooded figure that haunts a place, can pass through solid objects and scares you.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">While it's a 13 HD monster with negative AC and needing a +2 or better weapon to hit, its main attack is <i>fear </i>- causing you to run until exhausted, rather than blasting you with aging and energy drain. It's touch does cause damage, but - as it feeds on fear - it would rather have you alive, and it is narratively sated once everyone is unconscious (it ignores the KO'd) or has escaped the area.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;">The <i>fear</i> attack is resolved by rolling vs. INT, but you need to roll over to save as <i>those who are the most intelligent have the most fertile minds</i> for the terrifying visions it projects when it raises its hood or touches a victim. Compare with the DragonWarriors <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2022/02/out-of-shadows-monster-commentary.html#:~:text=material%20components%20altogether.-,Nightmare.,-It%20only%20comes" target="_blank">Nightmare</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Also compare with the DW Ghost - the Rorphyr doesn't need really need those 13 HD, except maybe to determine how it saves vs. exorcism.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Once you've experienced and recovered from the fear-effect of a particular Rorphyr, you are immune to it for 24 hours - so it's not an absolute barrier to lower level adventurers, despite it's relative strength, but it could be a significant delay and is very able to split the party.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Death Fiend (Ostego).</h4><p style="text-align: left;">That 2e period of calling demons and devils fiends so as not to upset somebody or other.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Very sparse in description and mechanics and it doesn't look like it actually made into 2e for updates/elaboration: paralysing claws, save at -2 or die poison bite, infravision 60', <i>teleport without error</i>, <i>darkness 10' radius.</i> </p><p style="text-align: left;">Fangs are described as ivory, claws as adamantine but I don't know whether this is mere metaphor.</p><p style="text-align: left;">No mention of horns, nor are they featured in the illo, though they are implied in the description of the Deep Glaurant later.</p><p style="text-align: left;">NB: Finding out that the Ostego appears in <i>Castle Amber</i> and the Deep Glaurant in <i>The Five Shires</i> helps clear up some of my confusion here.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Decapus (Land and Marine).</h4><p style="text-align: left;">It's a ten-armed hairy octopus that swings through the trees. Which is pretty gonzo, I suppose. The illo makes it look like a cartoon character. </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOyyqhIXMzqSZjelAmFTvASNTqWdCguzwCGLYIT5xbks4HfEXk5ksK5hy9zwA1aQwk1mmuIcAIeJKxJXPxOiixPqEHGppF6JqwoY-LQpNmPfA0hdERJ4q8ef-BKlmzpuycz4hmv8CZbabWQ1rwxj3fKWstFTOJjSAhBRILg0_huw3EBrw9GOT-40OrvQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="350" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOyyqhIXMzqSZjelAmFTvASNTqWdCguzwCGLYIT5xbks4HfEXk5ksK5hy9zwA1aQwk1mmuIcAIeJKxJXPxOiixPqEHGppF6JqwoY-LQpNmPfA0hdERJ4q8ef-BKlmzpuycz4hmv8CZbabWQ1rwxj3fKWstFTOJjSAhBRILg0_huw3EBrw9GOT-40OrvQ=w400-h360" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Later reimaginings improve on this, though it has its own charm, I suppose.</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Both Land and Marine Decapus have 11 Intelligence so might be able to use magic items in their possession, though the description doesn't even tell us if they speak or otherwise understand language.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Pic above reminds me of some prior monster juvenilia: a lake-dwelling octopus that, when slain, evaporates as a green cloud that would later rain down into a nearby treetop and reform to attack you again. Can't remember whether I knew about Cthulhu and its reconstitution trick at the time.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I'd been reading the name as being related to 'decapitate', because of conflating it with the Brain Collector via the Master DM monster jam, and then it turns about to be an octopus +2. The marine variant, though hairy, is pretty much an octopus.</p><p style="text-align: left;">NB: Apparently has its origin and the power to create (controversial?) illusions in B3 <i>Palace of the Silver Princess</i>. I should look into that then, sometime.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Deep Glaurant*.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Subterranean predators that get their name from the sound they make, like Gollum. They're 8' tall with scales, claws, horns and small wings. They glide, they swim, they are <i>capable diggers.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;">They're non-mechanically stealthy - <i>eerily silent </i>- and can produce one round of <i>darkness</i> every three rounds. The <i>darkness</i> power, their horns and their wings mean they are sometimes mistaken for Death Fiends (see above), to which they are statistically close, but this is not pursued further and is lost in 2e, because there are no more Death Fiends.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Despite being compulsive predators, they are also specified as being intelligent (7, approx. Bugbear) enough to set rockfall traps, plan ambushes (though No. App. is 1 or 2) and use magic items and weapons (for the designated purpose or to trade with).</p><p style="text-align: left;">They are <i>rumoured to have cities and a civilization far underground</i> and that's as far as it goes. The disconnect between this and what is otherwise provided by description and stats is spotlit in 2e, but not otherwise developed.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Feels a bit like a stub of a monster, something that was meant to be something more. However, a perfectly serviceable dungeon threat suited for multiple terrain types.</p><p style="text-align: left;">NB: Now that I've had a chance to check GAZ 8 <i>The Five Shires</i>, I can see that the resemblance to Death Fiends is because Glaurants have <i>flexible horns which fold over their ears to protect them from dust</i>. Thus, being mistaken for something without horns - and this is the reason specified in GAZ 8, but isn't clearly described in DMR2.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Also, these flexible horns are used for feeling their surroundings, so there's a hint of antennae to make the Deep Glaurants into giant insect people if you prefer - moths or cockroaches, for instance.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Desert Ghost.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Electrical elementals (though categorised as Earth) rather than undead, the immature form is non-aggressive but will shock you via contact with metal objects - killing itself in the process.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Mature Desert Ghosts go out of their way to attack metal-bearing targets, presumably as revenge for all their little kiddies. You get a hefty shock (from 5 to 8d8, save for half) and they take a little damage also; you might also get a face-full of blinding dust/sand at the same time. You also take (significantly less) damage when you hit them with metal weapons. Electrical attacks increase their hp like-for-like, but they're vulnerable to water-based attacks.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I like this kind of elemental, especially the immature form - they're a kind of 'wonder of the world' that is incidentally dangerous, and I'd skew them in the direction of air-electricity elements rather than Earth. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Dinosaur.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Allosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Archelon, Brontosaurus, Dimetrodon, Trachodon, Tylosaurus.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Tylosaurus is the only one that's anything more than just stats, having an auto-bite if it hits which also penalises your attack rolls if whoever it has a hold of. It scores 7d12 damage with that bite, too, which is one of the best in the book. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Otherwise, they're D&D dinosaurs and I don't really care - how to take something so intrinsically awesome and reduce them to <i>this</i>?</p><p style="text-align: left;">I know dinosaur habits and abilities would be theoretical and/or fictional, but there must be more to them than hit points, damage dice and low intelligence. They don't even get a 'fight on at 0 hp' ability, which would seem obvious considering how they are framed.</p><p style="text-align: left;">MM2 offers up that the Dimetrodon's <i>ability to swim is questionable but likely</i>, but otherwise there's not much significant difference between the dinosaurs across BX/BECMI and AD&D: they're just hit points with no intelligence.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Dog.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Normal, Elven and War, and there's not much between them. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The War Dog is pretty much the same as a Wolf, but it might be armoured. It's also pretty much the same as the 1e MM War Dog.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Elven Dog is a little more interesting; <i>invisibility to mortals</i>, some purple prose - <i>disturbing, flickering verdance... similarly fluctuating green radiance</i> - and a possible relation of Hellhounds. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Dragon, Pocket.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Has a poisonous bite that penalises your dice rolls and can be treated by <i>cure disease</i> magic.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I guess it could be a pet or a familiar, if you go in for that kind of thing. Seems more of a fantasy animal than actual Dragon-kin. It does gather its own little hoard of trinkets.</p><p style="text-align: left;">More HD but fewer abilities than the 1e MM Pseudo-Dragon, which is probably its AD&D analogue.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Dragon, Sea.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Breath weapon is a 10' globe of poison, spat up to 100'. Save or die, and apparently no other damage.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's a Sea Dragon, not much more to be said. I'd be more likely to put it in an adventure than I would almost any other Dragon.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Dragon, Undead.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">I principally like this because it isn't absolute that the Undead Dragon is the one it was in life: <i>the </i><b style="font-style: italic;">body</b><i> of a dead dragon animated by </i><i><b>an </b>undead spirit</i><b>.</b> </p><p style="text-align: left;">This is what you get for not double-checking with <i>detect evil</i> after you've killed Big Red (or Green or whatever). However, this could just be vague wording - the text also suggests that Undead Dragons are reaccumulating the hoard they had in life.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It keeps it's draconic HD and immunities, gains paralysing claw/bite attacks and undead immunities, but loses things like speech, intelligence, spells and flight. Again, wording is that this could be a deficiency of the animating spirit - implying that a more powerful one could reboot the whole thing.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Characteristic breath weapon is also lost, being replaced with a cloud of disease gas that causes hp=damage and infects you with rot if you fail your save. <i>The victim's skin... rot[s] slowly, while the body gradually deteriorates</i> - lose CON, DEX and STR until you die or get a high-level cure.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It also stinks worse that a Ghast or Troglodyte.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Dragonfly.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Magical hybrid of Dragon and dragonfly. Each one has a colour appropriate breath weapon.</p><p style="text-align: left;">If you don't want to use them as what they are, reskin - Mi-Go with various guns is easy enough.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They look more draconic in 2e and get some individual elaboration (some details of Habitat/Society and Ecology seem to be compulsory by this period). </p><p style="text-align: left;">Also introduced is the Nymph stage of the lifecycle, which has acidic spit that destroys your equipment, whatever colour it grows up to be. I like a Voracious Larva.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Dragonne.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">I didn't get a look at the 1e Monster Manual until fairly late in my pre-hiatus years, certainly after 2e Monstrous Compendia and the CC, so didn't know that the Dragonne was in one of the core/original bestiaries.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's a Sphinx-y, Manticore-y kind of thing with a deafening/stunning roar, and related to Dragons.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I'd use the roar mechanics for something, but this could as easily be a Chimera or a Griffon or even a Legendary Lion as anything else.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Much the same creature in 1e as it is here.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Dusanu.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">This is more my kettle of deadly spores: the Rot Fiend, a horrible skeletal monster (neither undead nor demonic) all covered in mould. </p><p style="text-align: left;">It's <i>intelligent and very cunning</i> but otherwise just attacks with its claws and its noxious spore cloud. If you fail your poison save, you'll be infested, unable to benefit from <i>cure wounds</i> and have to save vs. death ray each day until you get a <i>cure disease</i> or are consumed utterly by the mould. You rise as a new Dusanu in d3 days.</p><p>A lot tougher than a Skeleton covered in Yellow Mould but you get the idea. Compare with the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2020/03/2nd-flavour-of-skeleton-dragonwarriors.html#:~:text=Chum%20Number%202%3A%20Fungus%20Man." target="_blank">Dragon Warriors Fungus Man</a>. </p><p>An undefined instinct makes me feel the Dusanu would be a good accompaniment/foil to or replacement for Mind Flayers. With this sci-fi flavour and being (according to 2e) a fungal colony monster, the Dusanu is ripe for some psionics (certain moulds etc already get them). </p><p>Note that RAW No. App. means an encounter is always with a minimum of 2.</p><p>Like.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Eagle.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">Normal and Great, with the Great firmly rooted in Tolkien as they are especially likely to help Dwarfs and Halflings.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Great Eagles get +2 hp on the 1e MM version, at the cost of -2 beak damage and to hit bonus on their swoop.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>Eel.</b></h4><p style="text-align: left;">Electric, Giant and Weed, and not much difference to the 1e MM entry.</p><p style="text-align: left;">However: the CC Giant Eel is specifically a Giant Electric Eel (double damage shocks compared the smaller sort).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Furthermore, the CC Weed Eel isn't poisonous, but an entangler/constrictor - so a more dramatic, though less sudden, death. And to add spice, you need to make your Strength save on 3d8 rather than d20 or 3d6. Which I like.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Elf.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Some unsurprising variations on the Elf.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Aquatic: </b>They live underwater and are 95% undetectable in reefs/weeds if they stay still, Halfling-like.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Apparently, they make <i>potions of water breathing </i>despite not needing them. It says to trade with friendly Elves, but isn't this just storing up trouble? </p><p style="text-align: left;">Gills and webbing, rather than fish-tails and fins. </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhiINzEMaBYVJ6kgknhaF9gG0UXlYCbHZDX2lIQPCdL60xkUCV0MPSIRQf3jrIBiyZU85m85OIEE34Rk0bhiBmtP289QaxEjuTr0K5j22wDS0t2qc5xtFE5jbAwrB1CciS40TFm3ZjpxYLKlY6MicPbA9qTwBEp0ISsByJanGMfT7uSKYXWUFzKmLupw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="342" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhiINzEMaBYVJ6kgknhaF9gG0UXlYCbHZDX2lIQPCdL60xkUCV0MPSIRQf3jrIBiyZU85m85OIEE34Rk0bhiBmtP289QaxEjuTr0K5j22wDS0t2qc5xtFE5jbAwrB1CciS40TFm3ZjpxYLKlY6MicPbA9qTwBEp0ISsByJanGMfT7uSKYXWUFzKmLupw=w296-h400" width="296" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I generally don't much like the Dave Simons illos in DMR2, because they look a bit too Marvel comics for my taste in place. However, I just looked him up (RIP) and that's exactly what he's best known for.<br />This Shadow Elf is one of the few I like - the weird moth-like face/helm, against the the backdrop of a full moon and an avenue of conifers. As if she just stepped out of the secret passage underneath the broken sundial.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Shadow*:</b> While they're not quite the less monstrous Drow-analogue they're initially painted as, they <b>are </b>carrying out a nuclear-powered eugenics-based programme of genocide against the Orcs of Thar and other humanoids. So they're as bad as Paladins, really.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They get a whole Gazetteer supplement to themselves. Includes spells such as <i>transmute rock to lava</i>, which is awesome.</p><p style="text-align: left;">In the CC, we learn that take penalties in sunlight but not much else.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>What Was Left Out - Death Leech</b></h4><p style="text-align: left;">Not the one from <i>SnarfQuest</i> - this is basically an Undead Mimic from the Sphere of Death.</p><p style="text-align: left;">While it can appear as any form of undead monster (up to Vampire tier), it attacks in its natural (?) form, which is blob-and-tentacles. If you manage to kill it in undead form (i.e.. before it has been able to attack), it retains that form until touched, then reverts to blob and rots away.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It merits a Wrestling Rating in its statblock because it wraps you up in tentacles, immobilises you, then drains your hit points - though this seems to be straight damage, rather than a vampiric transfer.</p><p style="text-align: left;">An interesting monster, I think, that could do with some tweaking to make it more usable. </p><p style="text-align: left;">How about upping its intelligence and giving it more control of its form, either as an undead slayer (though the enemy of your enemy is not necessarily your friend), or something conjured by necromancers as agents against rival deathmagi? </p><p style="text-align: left;">Or maybe this is what becomes of restless dead Mimics, with the additional ability to appear as decrepit and broken objects?</p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-22257206374284104042022-10-18T10:14:00.002+00:002022-11-02T13:03:02.235+00:00DMR2 Creature Catalog - B to C.<p>Note: I don't have personal familiarity with the in-game origin of all the monsters, so I'll largely pass over that. A surprisingly significant number appeared in the early X modules <i>Isle of Dread</i> and <i>Castle Amber</i>, and there are numerous contributions from the Mystara Gazetteer and Creature Crucible ranges (though whether these were first appearances, I don't know).</p><p>Reminder that * indicates the monster is new to DMR2, wherever it started out from.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Baldandar*.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Protean entity from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldanders" target="_blank">German literature via Borges</a>' <i>Book of Imaginary Beings</i> (wherein also the Peryton).</p><p style="text-align: left;">For the game, it's an evil humanoid with <i>sleep</i> poison claws/fangs and considerable powers of illusion. Often masquerades as a Dragon or Magic-User. Can also shapechange (you and it) and possess (<i>magic jar</i>), as well as <i>fly</i> and turn <i>invisible</i>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">A good stand-in for all manner of villainous enchanters, including the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2022/02/out-of-shadows-monster-commentary.html#:~:text=DW%20STR%2019).-,Oni.,-BAB%C2%A0%2B11%C2%A0" target="_blank">Oni</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">With females that get hormonal when child-bearing/rearing and shift alignment from Evil to Neutral in 2e.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Banshee, Lesser.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">These are your basic banshee. Their signature wail causes damage rather than kills outright. Described as haunting families and warning/mourning deaths.</p><p style="text-align: left;">That they are not necessarily the spirit of the deceased they look like, nor that the deceased is restless in their grave, appeals to me.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It says that they're not undead (in AC9 it's under Monsters and Other Fantastical Creatures), but who are they really fooling? They're even immune to <i>sleep, charm,</i> and <i>hold,</i> and they don't have anything much of the faerie tradition about them, either.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Apart from the differing ideas of various creators, I wonder if there was a desire/need for undead-a-likes in game that RAW wouldn't TPK lower level parties, or that wouldn't just be wiped away by clerical Turning before they got to show off their cool abilities.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Bargda.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Diseased, misshapen, goat-headed ogre/troll/giants with iron-shod clubs. Hate everyone except for monstrous humanoids that they lead on raids. Antagonists. Villains. Bosses. Chaos monsters out of Warhammer (Nurglesque, even) and RQ.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Mechanics for the Dexterity-sapping disease their bite carries.</p><p>2e makes it clear that they are actually suffering from the disease they carry, as well as having no digestive enzymes of their own - and needing to infect food with the disease in order to feed themselves! </p><p>This is cool and creepy, and would be worth giving to someone/thing else if you didn't want to use the Bargda RAW.</p><p style="text-align: left;">DMR2 specifies that they are <b>not</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>found in Lost World areas, so make the Bargda grumpy, misanthropic and overall Neutral, and frame them as the unfortunate (doomed and dying) protectors/shepherds of those very Lost Worlds and all the monsters therein.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Beetle, Earthquake.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">AC -6 (+15 AAC) and 40 HD, this is approximately the Jinshin-Mushi of Japanese folklore scaled up to Tarrasque-tier threat.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Head of a Black Dragon, beetle body, spider legs. Causes an <i>earthquake</i> (@ 25th level - but this <i>is</i> BECMI/RC) wherever it goes burrowing. Only uses its breath weapon once a week and when it's at half hp, but that's still a possible 160 points of acid damage.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It regenerates 3 hp per day.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Looking at daily regeneration and weekly breath weapon, I'd use the Earthquake Beetle as a Colossal foe (using <i><a href="https://johnbattle.itch.io/on-the-shoulders-of-colossus" target="_blank">On the Shoulders of Colossus</a></i>, for example, or do a quick search of the blogs for something) and make a whole adventure about tracking, diverting, harrying and only maybe about actually killing it. </p><p style="text-align: left;">If it comes up as a random encounter, use it to reshape the campaign rather than as a TPK. This kind of monster I don't think is very interesting to go at just with spells and swords.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Beholder, Aquatic.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Local/system variant of the Eye of the Deep and has 13 HD vs. 10-12 and a 2d10 vs. 1d6 bite, as well as giving actual numbers to disable its eyes. Its dazzling eye attack paralyses rather than stuns, and its eyestalks cast <i>charm person</i> and <i>hold monster</i>, rather than both <i>hold</i> spells.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Regrows lost eyes in d4 days vs. 1 week for the Eye of the Deep.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Just use the Eye of the Deep if you want to keep 2e canon, though I think its <i>charm</i> ability opens up more interesting possibilities.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Bhut.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">In Hinduism, a restless and usually malevolent ghost; in either CC, it's another of those 'not undead even though it clearly is'. Even in 2e, they are still hazily classified as being 'a bit like' lycanthropes and undead.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPb0qaqF2QM7I9xjMizdrA5vUcCgGegcgVjq8yHwQzt0o9IJIoMEELpdslOTCW0puozTEVsnFwdP5c_Wbj9rhqQSGjzHKjpGzmeRamEGq1y6zhMamax5D-wcyZEdgCpCGPa90rlTnxEVTJQr_2hVWytXpc9IbT_jFO3FH9emAwFfAdXEro2JvqI09NQ/s300/cc_bhut.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="300" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPb0qaqF2QM7I9xjMizdrA5vUcCgGegcgVjq8yHwQzt0o9IJIoMEELpdslOTCW0puozTEVsnFwdP5c_Wbj9rhqQSGjzHKjpGzmeRamEGq1y6zhMamax5D-wcyZEdgCpCGPa90rlTnxEVTJQr_2hVWytXpc9IbT_jFO3FH9emAwFfAdXEro2JvqI09NQ/s1600/cc_bhut.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the better illos in the CC, imo.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">My comment above (Banshee, Lesser) re. summary execution of unused interesting undead by Clerics probably applies here - cannot be Turned, but have all undead immunities as well as being <i>very stealthy and difficult to hear</i>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">A bit like the Rakshasa (MM), they are vulnerable to <i>blessed</i> weapons, and their habits are similar to the Huecuva's (masquerade as normal folks, then get all monstrous and bitey after dark). They even have an aura that spoils <i>detect</i> and <i>know</i> spells.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Extra points for a freezing bite that causes numbness.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Brain Collector.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">From my initial exposure to the Brain Collector via the bare stats in the BECMI Master DM's monster jam, I imagined it as a local/system variant of the Mind Flayer with logical adjustments for a system without psionics. </p><p style="text-align: left;">While it works well enough as an eldritch horror (extra-planar crab with tentacles and brain removal habits), it could also work as a gruesome speciality Magic-User (NPC only, or not).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitrE56WLkQcXmCdQ66fCeVo_CxF_kTlCl8RasyC8IqGzU78W0jUF5WWfElGEkmxaOlSCuDn5cqpA77Oz7COouPISQDblb5MN0lbTXcxW8km97b9rxZjQ5fuwihESVVQ0xtf6zCA36qsVR8YGhsNd-gVTe_QycM9Sbo8c7ozZDfJPlzNdf089bpMLebJg/s360/nehthalg.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitrE56WLkQcXmCdQ66fCeVo_CxF_kTlCl8RasyC8IqGzU78W0jUF5WWfElGEkmxaOlSCuDn5cqpA77Oz7COouPISQDblb5MN0lbTXcxW8km97b9rxZjQ5fuwihESVVQ0xtf6zCA36qsVR8YGhsNd-gVTe_QycM9Sbo8c7ozZDfJPlzNdf089bpMLebJg/s320/nehthalg.gif" width="267" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ugly-looking spud from 2e Mystara</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">It stores stolen brains in internal cranial pockets, causing its head to bulge up in lumps. This would be quite an evocative image for a more humanoid Mind Flayer variation, and possibly you'd want to mechanically account for attacking the brain-pods (first hit on a nat 20, followed by Called Shot or something).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Obviously, could be reskinned as Mi-Go. Or as a brain-swallowing Beholder-kin.</p><p style="text-align: left;">2e further defines their alienness: they <i>do not have hostile intentions as such</i> but they don't see humans etc. as anything more than receptacles from which brains can be extracted.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>Brownie*.</b></h4><p style="text-align: left;">There's no mechanics in what is one of the longer descriptions in the book - though it's mainly a recapitulation of what you'd possibly already know from folklore and fairy-tales.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The CC Brownie only gets <i>invisibility </i>compared to the 1e MM Brownie's spell-list of seven, only one of which is not shared between AD&D and BECMI/RC.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>Brownie, Redcap*.</b></h4><p style="text-align: left;">A similar amount of text as the other Brownie, but more in the way of practical info for getting into scraps with it.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Suitably faerie and folkloric enough for me - wouldn't be so out of place in <i><a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2022/02/out-of-shadows-monster-commentary.html#:~:text=Reflexes/DEX%2017.-,Redcap.,-BAB%20%2B9%20AC" target="_blank">DragonWarriors</a>. </i></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Cat, Great.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Bekkah, Cheetah, Jaguar, Lynx, Spotted Lion and Wildcat. </p><p style="text-align: left;">While there are some special abilities to tell them apart (Bekkah's roar, Cheetah's movement rate, general rake attacks and surprise), I'm tempted to say <a href="https://talesofthegrotesqueanddungeonesque.blogspot.com/2016/08/just-use-bears.html" target="_blank">Just Use Bears</a>, or the Great Cats or the Wolf from the Basic set/RC as templates.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Bekkah is a giant black panther with 12 HD and a terrifying roar (a bit like the Androsphinx and the Dragonne, of course). Beyond this, it's clearly your pulpy Man Eater/Jungle God monster - a cryptid, maybe, to challenge Great Hunters of All Hues and None (Nehwon Ghouls and Bone Men of Carcosa). Are they from something (I mean, other than possibly a module or magazine article)?</p><p style="text-align: left;">The CC Lynx is almost identical to the 1e MM Lynx, Giant, but lacks the Very Intelligent tag. Was it just a near-direct port, system to system, and lost the 'Giant' in transition?</p><p style="text-align: left;">There's a difference of 1 hit point between CC and 1e MM Jaguar, and 2 potential points of bite damage between the respective Spotted Lions.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Wild Cat from 1e MM2 is a slightly more formidable beast than the CC version, but both are capable of slaying a 1st level character as per their reputation.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Cay Man.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Intelligent, 1' tall, 2 HD - otherwise unremarkable tribal humanoids.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Though I think their small size and comparable HD in relation to their much bigger Lizard Man cousins probably does merit a remark of some kind.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Chameleon Man.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">They're more like Blink Men, being able to teleport up to 120' instantaneously and without embarrassing/fatal consequences. Can't attack in the same round as teleporting, but you could decide otherwise for your version; can't carry much weight either, so they don't wear armour.</p><p style="text-align: left;">7' tall, spindly, gangling and awkward with <i>tiger-like</i> <i>stripes of red, blue, green, brown, orange, black and white.</i> Which also aren't characteristics of chameleons, as far as I'm aware.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpOzEXn91J6jPLREP8AggUKtlzdo3qathgg4uQvbG2a9eN9FARxwjQ7T_1JlZ8bPcIri47_AfGcnBSJHW6eYprh6DLVWJqSf73qL6Zw0FF8bNgvrkdftyQQro_HB4gQzn9oEvtz_d-7MW4PlHQ-pzPBxAcYa7LpW6aH3I4z9yHyaNBHwKAvwaqQQ7v8A/s433/qullan-fiend-folio.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="417" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpOzEXn91J6jPLREP8AggUKtlzdo3qathgg4uQvbG2a9eN9FARxwjQ7T_1JlZ8bPcIri47_AfGcnBSJHW6eYprh6DLVWJqSf73qL6Zw0FF8bNgvrkdftyQQro_HB4gQzn9oEvtz_d-7MW4PlHQ-pzPBxAcYa7LpW6aH3I4z9yHyaNBHwKAvwaqQQ7v8A/s320/qullan-fiend-folio.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the 1e <i>Fiend Folio</i>, looking to mix it up</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Otherwise they're your standard D&D tribal humanoids, but they put me in mind of the Qullan from the Fiend Folio - probably because of their patterned skin - and I'd look at mashing the two together to come up with something.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I also think they'd make a good addition/alternative to the vari-hued inhabitants of Carcosa.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Chevall.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">A Centaur that's a Werehorse that hates Wolves, opposes Werewolves and champions Horses. <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/05/survival-horror-fighting-invulnerable.html#:~:text=Monsters%20themselves%20immune%20to%20normal%20weapons%20or%20of%20sufficient%20size/power%20can%20harm%20nominally%20invulnerable%20monsters" target="_blank">They're capable of injuring Werewolves</a> in AD&D by dint of their 7 HD, and also by being 'silver/magic to hit' more generally.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Slight stat variations between forms, including Morale - which seems unintuitive to me.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They were an important faction in a Neolithic/Proto-Celtic campaign setting I started sketching in the distant past, though I can't remember many details.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I'd consider bringing them down to Centaur/Horse stats for inclusion in a lower powered game, or keep those stats and make them much rarer/more legendary.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Choker*.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">A fairly bare stat block and no additional mechanics in the description, but this is one of my favourite monsters from the book - a spindly stretchy cartilaginous humanoid with a baby-sized body that strangles you and cuts you up to eat. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Specifies it preys on Dwarfs (and, by logical extension, the other subterranean peoples) - it's originally from <i>Dwarves of Rockhome, </i>I think, with a charming/creepy illo by Stephen Fabian.<i> </i></p><p style="text-align: left;">In CC it has a movement rate <i>Through Rock</i>; while this is updated to Burrowing (combined with squeezing through small spaces) in 2e, you could choose to make the Choker more of an elemental, a ghost/undead, or have a rudimentary phasing ability (like the <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/02/ad-monster-manual-2-t-to-v.html#:~:text=mine%3B%20isn%27t%20yours%3F).-,Vilstrak.,-No%20physical%20description" target="_blank">Vilstrak</a>?).</p><p style="text-align: left;">RAW, it has 3 Intelligence, but I think of them as being closer to Human-level. Also, check out the inhabitants/antagonists of <i>The Broadsword</i> by <a href="https://twitter.com/LairdBarron" target="_blank">Laird Barron</a> for something horrible that could be developed from the base creature. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Coltpixy*.</h4><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Size-changing faerie horse, able to turn <i>invisible</i>. </span></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I don't need a separate monster entry to tell me this, could have just been a paragraph in <i>Tall Tales of the Wee Folk</i> or any of the entries of the faerie folk that might ride them.</span></h4><div><span style="font-weight: normal;">In 2e, it gets an Elf-like resistance to <i>sleep</i> and <i>charm. </i>Fair enough.</span></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Crone of Chaos.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">It's got a bit of an uninspiring name - you could call it Junior Hag, in the right setting. It puts me in mind of the monsters submitted to <i>Out of the Pit</i> in <i>Warlock</i> magazine, having the scent of juvenilia about it - though I mean that as an observation rather than a criticism (and notwithstanding the imagination of various grown-ass men down the years and editions).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Usually encountered disguised by an illusion. Tends towards the sylvan humanoid beauty model, and the text could imply this is the extent of its illusory ability, but why not a pile of treasure or a particularly tempting roast beef sandwich?</p><p style="text-align: left;">It can sustain the illusion while it's attacking (once per round), either by using <i>animal control</i> (no-save control of d6 normal or giant animals; it isn't specified if this is only for that round or until dispelled) or <i>daggers of sorcery</i> (d6 ghostly flying daggers that attack as 1 HD monsters for normal damage + weakness, and can be attacked by characters in turn - again, it isn't specified if this is only for that round, or if this is cumulative - resulting in vast swarms of daggers).</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's spell-like abilities are <i>natural powers</i> (including the one with Sorcery in the title), but can be <i>detected</i> and <i>dispelled</i> like magic. This feels a bit pointless and makes me wonder if there is a prototype for this monster, possibly in another system, from (science) fiction or using psionics - does anyone out there know?</p><p style="text-align: left;">Apart from a brief physical description (it's a crone), there's not much non-mechanical detail in the text - which makes it easier to think on how the abilities could transfer. </p><p style="text-align: left;">In 2e, we learn that they procreate with, then devour male humanoids. They can have male and female offspring; the former are devoured, the latter are abandoned and it's hoped that they'll be brought up as changelings. Not terribly original, but planting them firmly in the faerie/folklore realm.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Reskin as non-crones - sylvan and aquatic protector/predator; specialist Magic User NPC; rogue AI/security bot. Those <i>daggers</i> could be anything you like, even living things. Options for 'male crones' that survive mum's appetite.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Cryion.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">These are the Tran from Alan Dean Foster's <i>Icerigger</i> (1976), though their fantasy-dress is chiropteran/ noctillionine/ pteropine rather than feline. Claws adapted to work as ice-skates, aided by wings-as-sails.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiflY2eZGDheeW9wuzqorBO9mxiHZcyyVJkD_AvwS1UvF3R5p6jI0XrDb_ippWbD_ttrFYvNEC2fxyJ6-9jztAV0O4Z9WfWbR6sslmHW_MuyS0IUKNmVyyZz0HTPH2JJ4YAGZB99J6rClsNzfwjPDXSlKylQglLqGMDkbNU7S0ghlKm3MsVwKzAxVnDQA/s550/cryion.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="550" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiflY2eZGDheeW9wuzqorBO9mxiHZcyyVJkD_AvwS1UvF3R5p6jI0XrDb_ippWbD_ttrFYvNEC2fxyJ6-9jztAV0O4Z9WfWbR6sslmHW_MuyS0IUKNmVyyZz0HTPH2JJ4YAGZB99J6rClsNzfwjPDXSlKylQglLqGMDkbNU7S0ghlKm3MsVwKzAxVnDQA/s320/cryion.png" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">The Tran inhabit an entirely frozen planet, while the Cryion dwell in your fantasy world, so use seasonally frozen waterways as much as any plains of ice.</p><p style="text-align: left;">There's some detail on their nomadic society, based around groups of 10-40 (called <i>mnelds</i> and there are no other made-up words in the entry, which seems like a missed opportunity for naming various arche- and sub-types), and great gatherings every 3 years. Otherwise, they're another fantasy tribal humanoid - so shamans, 1st to 5th level.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Despite my enjoyment of the novel, and frosty wastes being one of my favourite settings, I'm Neutral Indifferent towards Cryions.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I like the illo.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700807302326718874.post-38560503709222233992022-10-17T13:04:00.000+00:002022-11-02T13:02:44.287+00:00DMR2 Creature Catalog - A<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNpczh9SkGigrATZcFl_uK14N4dyEbZU-gGfSObJxIRaO41a3DC46EhqQZW_l_qYnXs-Zcxm78XaEaUaH815_KcdA_XbwhcZty1rnRZItPngsw6JWC_JFjLTjrLJyPrnXEqOyh9BIEeJL6RJOhyeRj3IBLGIKyECGwHuuqYbZwyjwQ6Zml2SJuZ5NkpA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="2003" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNpczh9SkGigrATZcFl_uK14N4dyEbZU-gGfSObJxIRaO41a3DC46EhqQZW_l_qYnXs-Zcxm78XaEaUaH815_KcdA_XbwhcZty1rnRZItPngsw6JWC_JFjLTjrLJyPrnXEqOyh9BIEeJL6RJOhyeRj3IBLGIKyECGwHuuqYbZwyjwQ6Zml2SJuZ5NkpA=w313-h400" width="313" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br />Recently, I've started listening to the <a href="https://monsterman.libsyn.com/" target="_blank">Monster Man podcast</a>, which is about monsters, because monsters are great. </p><p style="text-align: left;">He's right and that reminds me to try and break out of my blog-based doldrums with a long-postponed look at the <i>Creature Catalog</i> from 1993.</p><div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/56600/creature-catalog" target="_blank">DMR2 <i>Creature Catalog</i></a> updates the 1986 <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/50342/creature-catalogue" target="_blank">AC9 <i>Creature Catalogue</i></a>, to complement the <i>Rules Cyclopedia</i> with all the bits of BECMI they wanted to keep. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Both CCs cover a lot of monsters from existing modules and accessories. I had a passing familiarity with a fair slice already from their inclusion in the stats-only monster jam in the BECMI Master DM's book, and I realise retrospectively that CC has a lot in common with the 1e AD&D MM2 (<a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/01/ad-monster-manual-2-to-b.html" target="_blank">which I went over back at the start of 2021</a>): it brings together monsters from various scattered sources (inc. modules) and fills in a few gaps; both also expand on the encounter tables. </p><p style="text-align: left;">AC9 was arranged by monster type, DMR2 alphabetically - making it an easier read. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The CCs, especially DMR2, are effectively Mystara bestiaries, although they also provide some of the classic/generic AD&D monsters missing from BECMI. Some of the monsters survive into 2e AD&D, updated in the Mystara and Savage Coast supplements, but rarely expanded significantly.</p><p style="text-align: left;">These are personal takes, reflecting personal taste, and I tend downplay/outright ignore features such as Alignment, Intelligence, Number Appearing and Treasure Type - if they catch my eye this time round, I'll comment.</p><p style="text-align: left;">If you've read the MM2 posts, you'll have some idea about how I'll approach certain monsters, and that I'm an advocate of reskinning and transplanting mechanics.</p><p style="text-align: left;">* indicates the monster wasn't in the original AC9.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Amber Lotus Flower.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Lovely flowers that spray you with <i>sleep</i> pollen. Often in symbiosis with other plant monsters so they can all share in the decomposing adventurers.</p><p style="text-align: left;">An environmental hazard that can be cultivated by intelligent creatures for their own purposes. That you can attack and kill with weapons.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I'd make them as something that grows on some Undead - principally, Mummies and Zombies, or just replace with save vs. poison <i>sleep </i>spells that can beat the HD/hp limit through concentration/numbers,</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Amoeba, Giant.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">A 10 to 15 HD fried egg-looking ooze monster with an acidic touch. Implied auto-surprise without going into mechanical details. Attacks by <i>enveloping victims,</i> also no mechanics.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Just use the abilities of other oozes, slimes and jellies, or any other suitable mechanics.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Animal, Prehistoric.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Baluchitherium, Giant Elk, Grangeri, Hyenodon, Megatherium, Phororachos and Titanothere.</p><p style="text-align: left;">None of them even have any special abilities, and the Phororachos is yet another 3 HD flightless bird. The vernacular name of <i>sword beak</i> so maybe that there's something to play with as a pun-monster along with the Axe Beak and Club Nek.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Giant Elks could be <a href="https://shutteredroom.blogspot.com/2021/11/fomorians-fhoi-myore-from-chronicles-of.html" target="_blank">Fomorian</a> mounts/ beasts of burden, because I like the image.</p><p style="text-align: left;">1e MM versions:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Baluchitherium has more HD, scores more damage, and has better AC, but only just and that because of the 9 vs. 10 base AC difference between systems.</li><li>Hyena, Giant (Hyaenodon) is statistically the same.</li><li>Titanothere has worse AC and slightly more detailed and harder-hitting attacks.</li></ul><p></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Annelid, Great.*</h4><p style="text-align: left;">25-50 HD and up to 2000' of segmented worm monster (compare with Leviathan, Desert & Marine). Eats the rock it burrows through. Being <i>immune to heat and pressure damage</i> also gives them a little bit of a sci-fi/alien fauna gloss. Of course it can swallow you whole.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's apparently native to the Prime Plane, but it attracts Earth Elementals (and presumably similar extra-planars) by deception, paralyses them and then lays eggs in them.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Weird. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Updated for 2e, there's more detail on what happens when it swallows you and acknowledgement of the wider range of prey-elementals.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Aranea.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Intelligent spell-casting spiders able to use tools with their handible-mandibles</p><p style="text-align: left;">Sparse description. Only details of their habits/society is that <i>they spend most of their time in magical research.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;">Instantly likeable. They're updated to something like a Neutral Werespider Spidertaur in 2e, which is also pretty cool.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Archer Bush.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Basically a special ability that I'd use to make a Needleman if there wasn't already a Needleman. Or as an alternative for Porcupine and Manticore spines.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They're very slow moving and have a toothy maw. Presumably they shuffle over to your still-twitching corpse and gobble it up, or maybe you can try and satisfy them by throwing dead monster bits into their eating-holes - if you don't decide to reskin them as a variation on Shriekers and Violet Fungi.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Ash Crawler.</h4><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">A kind of hog/rat that lives near fire (which it is protective of) and burrows cheerfully in the build-up of ash, mostly eating small animals. Basically, an almost-fire elemental badger or capybara. Has flaky grey shedding skin and natural <i>fire resistance</i>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">If provoked or otherwise on the attack, it locks its jaws after biting and make auto-hits with its claws until you inflict at least 5 hp damage against it. </p><p style="text-align: left;">In its ashy lair, it gets a decent cover bonus to its AC and saves (something you should consider giving to aquatics vs. land-lubbers, if they don't already get it). The ash layer is described as being particularly deep, so adventurers would need to make a special effort to expose it (and I suppose you could also penalise them for kicking up hot dusty clouds along the way).</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's also got a prehensile tail for dragging you into/under the ash. Penalties to attack and AC, but no hit point loss or threat of suffocation.</p><p style="text-align: left;">One that I overlooked first time round, but really like now. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Taking the elemental route, this is a supernatural/spirit being that dwells in the generational ashpits of Stone Age cultures - an ancestor of the cosy hearth spirits to come. Reskinned, you've got the thing out of the Death Star trash compactor if you prefer. Would also transplant well to Athas, with or without psionics. Or in a quasi-realistic fantasy ecology, it would probably be found in dragon lairs.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's got Bugbear equivalent stats, but is basically a Giant Rat so you could stat it downwards, particularly for inclusion in lower level games. Use the inimitable Giant Shrew for a more horrific challenge, leaping screeching at your throat from beneath the shifting ash and clinker.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Survives into 2e, but its bite goes from 2d4 to 1d2 and we get some details about making its hide into fire-resistant leather armour. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Or we could meet myth and science in the middle and declare the Ash Crawler's hide to be a form of asbestos, with the hazards that go along with that.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">What Was Left Out - Agarat.</h4><p style="text-align: left;">Non-paralysing Ghoul with a scream attack that temporarily drains your levels.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Can't think of any particular reason why this was dropped, unless it was that howling/screaming Ghouls was thought to be distinctively a Glorantha/RQ thing. </p><p style="text-align: left;">However, it is given another chance in 2e, gaining a double-strength Greater variant as leader types.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The temporary energy drain is an interesting idea, as you don't know that it is at first.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p></div>shutteredroomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15073596151712727089noreply@blogger.com0