Monster Monday - Basilisk

Today, I continue to highlight a monster found in Rappan Athuk. There are 3 days left on Frog God's Kickstarter. I am thinking of moving Monster Monday over to the Silver Bulette blog, and focusing entirely on megadungeons here. I will make the decision in the next week or so.

In the meantime, today's Monster Monday features the basilisk. There is a section in Rappan Athuk called (gasp!) Basilisk Caverns. Wandering monsters in this area have a 50% chance of being basilisks. In the S&W version, all movement is halved, due to rough terrain. Saves must be made for moving faster, with failures meaning the character has fallen, taking 1d3 damage.

Similar to the cockatrice, the basilisk comes from mythology of Europe. (Read about it here.) They are a far mark different from what has evolved in the Dungeons and Dragons mythos, though. Here's the S&W (Complete, 3rd print, pg 100) stats:
HD: 6
AC: 4 [15]
Attacks: Bite (1d10)
Saving Throw: 11
Special: Petrifying gaze
Move: 6
Alignment: Neutrality
Challenge Level/XP: 8/800

Basilisks are great lizards whose gaze turns to stone anyone meeting its eye. (One way of resolving this: fighting without looking incurs a -4 penalty to hit.) If the basilisk's own gaze is reflected back at it, it has a 10% chance to force the basilisk into a saving throw against being turned to stone itself.

In AD&D, the basilisk has 8 legs, and its gaze reaches astral (turning the target to stone) and ethereal (simply killing the target).

Basilisks are a strange creature. There has been a lot of talk this week about dungeon ecologies (watch this video for more), and I would like to address it with the basilisk.

Basilisks are subterranean, and turn their potential meals to stone. I postulate, then, that they eat the stone. This makes basilisks a fantastic dungeon dweller. As a DM looking for visimilitude, it is unnecessary to have anything else near the basilisk's lair.

With this in mind, let's take a look at some interesting ways to use a basilisk in a game.

Basilisks pair well with almost any intelligent creature. In a lower level of Mord Mar, there are three trolls, with a trained basilisk. They keep its eyes covered unless in battle. The trolls try to maneuver the basilisk to the hallway, then remove the blindfold. The basilisk then charges whatever is moving that it can see, forcing saves against its gaze.

A pair of basilisks can be a deadly encounter, no matter the level of the characters. A mated pair of basilisks often hunt in the catacombs beneath a church. They know how to use angles to keep their prey within eyesight of at least one of them, and attack at perpendicular angles. Many adventurers have not returned after promising to rid the burial grounds of the threat.

A basilisk died in the Unholy Grounds. All creatures that die here return as undead. This undead basilisk is a ghoul, but has allied itself with several wraiths, as they seem immune to its gaze. This group terrorizes any living being that enters their floor of the dungeon.

The basilisk is not a boss monster. Its gaze attack means it is feared like one, though. When characters face a basilisk unprepared, there is often one or more casualties. Throw one (or more) at your players, and watch them squeal and run!

Artwork owned by Frog God Games, and used with permission.

Monster Monday - Stone Golem

I'm finally back from GaryCon and my anniversary weekend. Both were great, and GaryCon will be a story for a different time. Right now, its Monster Monday!

The people at Frog God Games are doing a Rappan Athuk Kickstarter right now, so I decided to open my S&W copy to a random page and use a monster from there. I opened it to page 145, and had a nasty encounter stare me in the face:

A great statue of an angelic being stands here at the head of a 30–40 ft.
diameter cavern, wings outspread, wearing armor, and with sword raised
on high. Strangely, the statue faces down the cavern away from the PCs as
they enter. The walls of the cavern have been smoothed, and carved with
images of oversized human warriors marching in the same direction. At
the far end of the cavern rests another vault door, opened by turning the
wheel at its center 10 times counterclockwise.
The great statue is a masterfully crafted greater stone golem, though
it only activates if the Ravager itself comes into view—even standing
still for direct attacks from lesser creatures. However, hidden amid the
carved images in the walls are 20 hasted stone golems, and which move
to intercept anyone moving into the cavern.
All golems are made of the same iridescent stone that coats the walls
of this cavern, and even if completely destroyed they regenerate from the
walls at the rate listed below, so long as the stone remains magical.

 I don't know which of the Frogs wrote this particular nasty encounter (but I would bet Bill.) But, this encounter shows how monsters can be used in different ways from a "standard book encounter." Just because a monster has stats in a book, that doesn't mean they can't be tweaked and adjusted to fit into a different hole. (Ian does this well in his Orbs series with the chimera statue in Undying Orb.)

This concept is one of the reasons why I enjoy doing Monster Monday so much. Now, let's take a look at the book stats of the Stone Golem (From Swords & Wizardry Complete, by Matt Finch):

Golem, Stone
Hit Dice: 60 hit points
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Attacks: Fist (3d8)
Saving Throw: 3
Special: Unaffected by +1 or lesser weapons, immune to most spells
Move: 6
Alignment: Neutrality
Challenge Level/XP: 16/3,200
Stone golems are massive stone statues animated by very powerful
magics (much more than just animate object, in other words). They are
slowed by fire spells, damaged by rock-to-mud spells, and healed by
the reverse. Spells that affect rock, and fire spells, are the only ones that
affect stone golems. They can only be hit by +2 or better weapons.
(In AD&D they also have a Slow spell available to them.)

Golems are great for "dead" dungeons and tombs. The can remain inert for eons, don't need to consume anything (including oxygen,) can be programmed by their creators, and can appear as normal statues, blending into otherwise benign landscapes.

Golems are just as useful in "living" dungeons. Gray Varnum, a druid, was defeated by a challenger and thus reduced in rank to Druid (12th level.) The loss devastated his ego, and he has gone insane as a result. He constructed a stone golem in the shape of a giant starfish, which covers the entrance to his underwater cave. He resides inside, living out his days in the shape of a lobster.

Necromancers also find golems useful. Barriz Hajile cannot sneak his undead inside city walls. But, his stone cart, with a tongue oddly shaped by hands, passes by the guards on a weekly basis. He bides his time within the city, and if a person gets too close, they are added to the "burial cart" if nobody else is around.

Magic-users aren't the only people that find golems useful. The great warrior, Osphan found one in a forgotten tomb, and paid a sage a great sum to find its command words. Now, he uses the stone golem to guard his slaves.

As you can see, the biggest drawback to a golem is it can never be independent. At least, not normally. They are programmed or respond to commands from their owners.
Deep within Mord Mar, there is a level that breaks enchantments. But, this level doesn't destroy magic items, it just "frees" them from being commanded. At least golems roam this level, destroying all living creatures that they come across. The entrance is partially blocked by a huge ship (which was once a Folding Boat.)

Golems are the stuff that make DMs dream of ever better encounters. They are incredibly strong, resilient, resistant to magic and can take any form. Here's a list of some golem forms I have used in the past:

dog
doll
dragon (always a hit!)
giant (ho-hum)
human
medusa (what was powerful enough to turn a medusa to stone? Add the medusa's gaze attack for more evil DMly fun.)
sailing ship
spider, giant
sphynx
statue (particularly cruel is a god or demon.)

All of these golems play very differently when they hit the table. Let me know what kinds you have used!

Monster Monday - Gelatinous Cube

As I type this up, I am waiting for my interview with OSGR. The guys over there have been kind to me, highlighting my blog a few weeks ago, and now doing that interview. But, that's not why we are here today. Today, it's monsters. Specifically the Jello Mold Gelatinous Cube.

Artwork by Scott Hershberger, used under license

As I was doing my research for this, I noticed that wikipedia mentions them in the OD&D boxed set. I didn't see them in there. They are mentioned in Greyhawk, however. Here's Gary's description (pg 39-40):

"As the name implies, these monsters are shaped very much like cubes, typically being about 10’ per side so as to be able to sweep clean of all living materials (as well as dead cells) the floor and walls of the labyrinthine dungeon passages. Any flesh which comes in contact with a Gelatinous Cube becomes anesthetized unless a saving throw vs. paralyzation is made. The touch also causes 2–8 points of damage as the creature seeks to dissolve and devour flesh. These creatures are subject to normal weapons and fire, but lightning, cold, paralyzation, fear, and polymorph attacks do not harm them. Many ’Cubes have rich treasures within their semi-transparent bodies, for they pick up metallic and otherwise non-digestible objects in their rounds, and these items often remain within the body for long periods of time before being redeposited."

That last sentence is the most interesting to me. It gives a legitimate reason why a ring or other item may be on the floor randomly.

As we move forward in time, we find the gelatinous cube holds its position as chief dungeon clean-up through editions. It appears in the 1E Monster Manual, 2E's Monstrous Compendium, the Monstrous Manual (under the heading Oozes, Slimes and Jellies, where it remains through 5E,) and in Monster Manuals for 3rd, 4th and 5th edition. It appears in Holmes and BECMI. The gelatinous cube has established itself firmly in all editions.

The appeal of the gelatinous cube is easy to see. A nearly invisible block of jello moves through corridors cleaning up everything in its path. They are difficult to see, dangerous and potentially hold treasure well above their pay grade. Coupled with their dangerous paralyzation attack, gelatinous cubes are fun to fight. 

But, I barely ever remember fighting one. I have fought a few in Undermountain. I am betting the DMs placed them there, though. I'm sure there are some published, and would love it if the readers would tell me where. 

Mord Mar's history of gelatinous cubes is a bit different. They were actually made by the dwarves to keep the city and sewers clean. They were discovered through an alchemical process, and the machine that makes them is still operational. Or maybe, its operational again. Either way, threats continue to spew forth in the old city.

As the party continues down a corridor, they find a trail of coins, haphazardly strewn about. Soon they stumble across a belt buckle, buttons, a dagger, an axe and finally a suit of plate armor. A cliff shears the end of the corridor shortly after the armor. At the bottom is a gelatinous cube that has been unable to leave the pit. The cube encompasses the whole ground level of the pit, and is difficult to detect, with penalties for the PCs being distracted (by climbing.) {I told you I found that sentence interesting.}

An ooze druid created his own lair deep within a dungeon. Entering through a normal cave, it looks like a huge cavern, with a sickly green tint. In actuality, the druid has anchored several gelatinous cubes in place, creating "walls" for his labyrinth.

Gnolls, with some help from an ogre mage, managed to trap a gelatinous cube in the ceiling of their complex. They fashioned a trap (tripwire, pressure plate or lever) that drops the cube onto the occupants of the room or corridor.

Gelatinous cubes are mindless creatures that live and move only to eat. This fact makes them different than most other encounters. When designing with a gelatinous cube in mind, always remember they often act like living traps. This makes them more of a memorable encounter than one just slurping down a hallway.

Monster Monday - Rust Monster

Art from Fat Goblin, used under license

Never doing damage, the rust monster still strikes terror into the heart of the bravest warrior. Instead of biting and clawing, the monster rusts weapons and armor away. The rust monster is a creature that many of us grognards cut our teeth on. My earliest memory of this creature is from Frank Mentzer's Basic (Red) D&D boxed set. It featured in the solo adventure in the Player's Guide.

Rust monsters are almost as old as the game itself. The rust monster first appeared in the Greyhawk Supplement for OD&D. Gygax said: "RUST MONSTERS: These seemingly inoffensive creatures are the bane of metal with a ferrous content, for as their name implies they have the effect of rust upon such substances, and this happens nearly instantaneously. Any hits by or upon a Rust Monster cause even magical weapons to rust and fall to flakes. Armor is affected in a like manner. The creature is very fast, being attracted to the smell of the iron-based metals, and when alone it will devour the rust it has caused." (Greyhawk, pg 39.) They have appeared in every edition of the game since: Mentzer's Basic (mentioned above), Monster Manual (AD&D), Monstrous Compendium (AD&D 2E), Monster Manual (3 and 3.5), Monster Manual 2 (4E), and Monster Manual (5E).

Here are the Swords & Wizardry stats for rust monsters:

HD: 5

AC: 2 (17)

Attacks: 2 antennae

Save: 12

Alignment: neutral

Number Encountered: 1-2

CR/XP: 5/240

Rust monsters are fast, but not deadly by themselves. In different editions they wavered between eating ferrous metals only and eating any metal (gold, silver, etc.) To best challenge a party with rust monsters, they need to be paired with something else. 

The great wizard Peln Fearlash wished solitude. To facilitate this, he created a trap at his front door. Three harpies reside in the antechamber. Their crooning activates a sliding door that releases rust monsters into the room.

An anis hag deep in the forest keeps a rust monster as a pet to get rid of the pesky warriors gear that she cannot cook. 

The ogres in Darkmoon Keep breed rust monsters and release them into the forest around their keep. They have not mastered metallurgy, but have found a way to even the odds.

The man-apes of the southern jungles worship a mammoth rust monster as a god.

Giant rock weasels have made their burrow inside of a rust monster carcass. This close contact has caused their claws to gain the ability to rust metal, just like a rust monster.