Monster Monday - Rats

As Halloween season pushes to a close, I feel it important to discuss another ubiquitous "monster." Rats are often found as beginning level creatures to battle. They are rampant in early levels of dungeons, in cellars of taverns, and sometimes found in the thrall of vampires.

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/58331/Clipart-Critters-84--Giant-Rats

purchase rights to publish from that link (I have)

Why aren't rats found later in deep dungeons? Why do they always camp in the basement of taverns? Well, because they really are a "training" monster. Vampires offer  a glimpse on using them at later levels. They can be a creative opponent, if done correctly.

Because rats are so ubiquitous, we should see them everywhere. Why don't goblins ride trained rats? Paizo gave us "goblin dogs" in Pathfinder. But they're not really rats. Why don't orcs have cages of rats (of all sizes) in their torture chambers? Being restrained on a table with 4 or 5 starving rats climbing on me sounds like true torture. Lizard-men and Yuan-Ti should carry cages of rats around, and randomly grab out one to snack on during conversation. Even orcs, goblins, ogres or trolls may do the same. That type of detail gives a whole new inhuman aspect to a negotiation.

Rats in combat are boring. They are ho-hum compared to fighting green skinned slimy humanoids. They are a little too here, and not enough fantasy. We deal with them as enemies because they are a trope. But, they don't have to be.

Imagine a colony of rats that have developed a rudimentary hive mind. Not just a "rat swarm" but something that uses position and numbers to their advantage. Over the centuries, in Mord Mar, a colony of rats has made holes throughout a well traveled room. They have about 75 rat-holes in the ceiling, walls and floor. All of them are interconnected behind the walls. The hive mind has developed a tactic. When the colony is hungry, they attack from all four walls, pushing the prey to the center of the room. Then rats pour from the ceiling attacking those with "soft skin" (no metal armor) relentlessly. Good luck casting a fireball with 200 rats biting at you, Wizard. When a victim falls, the rats open wide enough to let the others retreat, and feast upon the hapless adventurer.

An evil and powerful fighter was polymorphed into a giant rat some time ago by a goodly wizard. Recognizing the battle lost, he fled and began to form a colony of rats of his own. Maybe the evil fighter marks his rats by biting the left ear. Those rats in the cellar have a hook behind them now. This colony has come to the sewers of the city where the goodly wizard lives, and begun to reek havoc. The rats never stay in one place long, using the sewers to search for a way into the wizard's tower. The mayor asks the party for help removing the rat problem. A mystery for the party to sink their teeth into.

Monster Monday - Zombie

Undead have always been my "DM thing." I love them, as you can probably tell from the blog. Today, I present a zombie that I love. They aren't typical, and are barely a threat to anyone.

In the world of Mord Mar exists a book, the Book of Eyes. The demonic text contains rituals to pull power from others into the caster. One such ritual involves removing their eyes and turning them into zombies.
The caster cannot control the zombies. The zombies wander aimlessly, and only attack if struck. They are often found facing corners in out-of-the-way rooms. The eyeless zombies seem to have a replacement for sight. Demonologists speculate that using the "sight" causes the zombies pain, and that's why they are often found in dark corners. Any person bitten by an eyeless zombie can also become an eyeless zombie. When a person transforms, they attempt to travel to where the zombification ritual was most recently completed. If they arrive there, they remove their own eyes and depart.
The caster gains the power to look through any eye disembodied by the ritual (or placed on the altar after). The caster becomes disoriented, and it takes a measure of control to see through whichever eye they want. Most casters give their followers a necklace with one or more eyes from the ritual on it.
Other dark secrets reside within the Book of Eyes, but no adventurer in Mord Mar had the fortitude to delve too deep into the book.

As a bonus, here's the Walking Death disease. Originally written for Mord Mar in Pathfinder by Adam Brown, I have adapted it to S&W.
Walking Death Disease: When a person is struck or bitten by a zombie infected with walking death disease, they must make a save. Failure of this save indicates the character has contracted walking death. Over the next 24 hours, they will spike a high fever and feel chilled. Within 24 hours of the onset, they become unable to walk due to weakness and vomiting. Within 24 hours of vomiting, the victim dies and rises as a zombie about an hour later. From infection to death never takes more than 3 days, and cases of less than 15 hours have been observed.

Monster Monday - Bog Hag

I have been trying to get the Haunted House module done. I really have. But, it's not my style. As much as I enjoy horror, I don't think it will be finished. I don't know how to write it well enough. But, October is still Halloween month, and we still need creepy creatures, right? Well, here's one that has been floating around in the marshes outside of Stonemire that has never been found. (As usual, presented in S&W stats.)

Bog Hag
Hit Dice: 8
Armor Class: 1 [18]
Attacks: 2 claws (2d8), 1 bite (1d8)
Special: Breathe underwater, death gaze, spell use
Move: 12, swim 24
Save: 8
Alignment: Chaotic
Number Encountered: 1
Challenge Level/XP: 13/2300

A bog hag's death gaze is usable 1/day. Commonly it is used as a group rounds a corner to get as many as possible in the gaze. Bog hags may use the following spells 1/day each: Charm Person, Sleep, Darkness 15' Radius, Invisibility, and Speak With Animals.
Speak With Animals allows a bog hag to communicate with any animal, but most animals flee from their presence. Only carrion eaters and alpha predators will respond.

Greta, the hag near Stonemire, is a very intelligent adversary. She uses charm person to separate a member from a group, and takes them far away. She never takes living prey to her lair. Greta often uses speak with animals to communicate with crocodiles and gators, who are glad to send her after prey they cannot handle.

Currently,  Greta is looking for a young girl to mother in the ways of being a hag. She will target a young girl with charm person if she gets the opportunity. When she finds one, the parents will contact the party, hoping to locate their missing child. Unknown to the party, the ritual to turn the child into a hag must happen on the new moon, so an invisible clock is ticking. . .

Spiders Part 2

Since I missed last week's Monster Monday, I decided to do a part 2 to this week's! Here's some more ways to make your players hate the arachnids.

How about a bridge made of spiderwebs crossing a chasm (lava pool, lake, acid pool)? As the first character gets half way across, a spider lowers itself from the ceiling, telepathically demanding payment. Add more fun by having the spider remove a humanoid's head, and fill the resulting cavity with its thorax.

Do your characters just grab loot like armor and helmets, and just throw them on? Put a poisonous spider in one, and have it bite. They may look a bit closer next time.

Ever seen a zombie spider? Seems more nightmarish than a normal one.

Speaking of undead spiders, I once had an evil wizard put nests of spiders inside of his skeleton army's armor. A rib cage makes a great place to put a tangled spider web.

Matt Finch includes a giant invisible spider in Monstrosities. Invisible webs are a hazard you don't want to run into. To make them more fun, put them in a pit trap.

You know the tale of Sleeping Beauty? What if a spider made its home in her mouth while she was "asleep." That's a kiss that would never be forgotten, I promise.

Tired of your 4 minute adventuring days? Have some spiders infest the trail rations of the party. That should keep them moving.


Spider symbolism is a bit more difficult than encounters. But, there are some things that most groups should be able to understand.

Two spiders have been carved into the ceiling above a door. Both are spinning the same web. In Mord Mar, I may use this to denote a fateful moment. What happens beyond that door weaves part of the fate of the entire mountain.

A statue of a spider, sits in the center of a room. Does it mean that everyone will be trapped inside, as if in a spider's web?

Have a particularly confusing or difficult area to map in your dungeon? Mark the entrance with spider webs. This allows for two things. First, it gives decided boundaries to the difficult area. Secondly, it warns the players that something is going to be sticky, or hard to escape.

Well, that's enough for now. Talk to you all on Monday!

Working on Stonemire

A grizzled man in his mid-thirties, sporting the strong, even physique of a former builder has walked through the doors and finds the nearest seat at the bar. A young half-elf boy follows the man, carrying a weighty backpack and glancing around nervously. The boy sets the bag down with an audible *THUNK* and sits next to him.
“Barkeep! A strong ale for the lad. He’ll need it for his nerves. Today is his first day as an adventurer! And one for me, too!” The man stacks payment on the bar.
“Well, then, if it be yer ferst day adventurin’ yer needen somein better’n ale!” The dark haired dwarf pulls 2 earthenware tumblers from behind the bar and produces a dark bottle from under it. He fills the tumblers halfway, and grabs a second bottle and tops them off.
“That’ll be 4 Silver Fangs from ye. None of dem downlunder coins’ll do ‘ere.”
As he finishes, “ . . . and that’s when we ran from the crocogator. Those lizardfolk are nuts to have them around.” is heard coming from one of the other tables.

-An unedited intro to Stonemire

Monster Monday - Spiders

I began to write this last week, but have been sick. I'm trying again this week. Spiders are ubiquitous to dungeon delving. Even outdoor adventures run into the eight-legged monstrosities. They may pop up in cities.
Spiders come in sizes ranging from fingernail-sized, up to (and maybe beyond) the size of a pony. Some are poisonous, and some are merely environmental hazards.
Spiders are essential to megadungeons. They are more important than goblins, trolls, dragons or any other fantastic beast. They lend an air of realism to the dark places. They can tap into dark fears of players.
But, it's what they do inside of the game that makes them shine as monsters.
Want a section of dungeon to look undisturbed for a long period? Cover the hallway in cobwebs.
Want to remove the orcs from an area and replace them with something else?
Leave their web-wrapped, desiccated corpses in corners, and out of the way places.
Need a magical component for Leather Armor? Send the PCs to the lair of Kk'eez, the Spider Demon. His webbing is said to be of great strength, and light weight. He will not give it in an easy bargain, though.
Speaking of Kk'eez, he can be a phenomenal long term villain. His plans spiral out like a spider's web. They touch things that don't seem connected, until the investigators are in the middle. . .

Artwork: © Jack Badashski, 2016 (bought rights on RPGNow)