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 - Chimera

Today I will be spotlighting the chimera. The chimera, as a D&D monster originally appeared in Monsters & Treasure (Book II of the OD&D rules set.) Gary Gygax described them as: "Combining the worst of many creatures, a Chimera has the forebody of a great cat, the hind quarters of a goat, dragon wings, and three heads. The goat's head can gore with its long and sharp horns, the lion's head can tear with its great fangs, and the dragon's head can either bite or breath fire (but with a range of only 5" and but three dice damage)." - taken from page 10 of the WotC reprint.

Picture taken from

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chimera_Picture.jpg

But, the chimera has much deeper roots than 1974. The chimera was originally a Greek myth, with a snake head (as its tail) instead of a dragon. It was killed by Bellerophon and Pegasus.
The chimera has been in every edition of D&D, always appearing in the earliest versions. But, from what I can tell, they almost never show up in adventures. They only appeared in Bloodstone Pass (1E) and Rise of Tiamat (5E.) I am sure that they show up in other publishers' works, but I don't have a list.
(EDIT: A chimera was also in Hall of the Fire Giant King, and Queen of the Demonweb Pits.)
(2nd EDIT: Mark Hughes was nice enough to do some further research and found the chimera in B4, CM6, X3, and X4.)

Using the S&W version, the chimera has one special attack, its fire breath. It deals 3d8, up to 50' and 3 times per day. The dragon head can alternately bite (3d4.) Coupling that with 2 claws (1d3), 2 goat horns (1d4), and a lion bite (2d4), you have a hit point grinder.

Chimera, being part dragon, lust and horde treasure. Particularly, gold. They are alpha-level predators, and solitary in their actions. Some describe them as nomadic (specifically in Cormanthor, a forest somewhere in the Forgotten Realms.) Most are territorial. Having examples of both nomadic and territorial chimeras makes them very versatile opponents.

I actually haven't placed a chimera in Mord Mar. Yet. Silver Bulette placed one in our last release, The Orb of Undying Discord. We had a statue that would become a chimera when the artifact was placed in its mouth. Designed for 1-3rd level characters, we set it up so the party would have several rounds to damage the creature before it could respond.

Three goats in a small village have died giving birth. This in itself is a bad omen, but the kids were malformed. One was still-borne with a lion's head, one with a dragon's head, and one with a snake's head. The villagers rely on the goats for milk, cheese, and meat. They want the curse lifted, and are willing to trade the Earth Crystal in exchange for the curse being broken.

A single survivor of the king's patrol to the south of his lands swears that a "three-headed monstrosity that dove from the sky, and breathes death in fire." Knowing that his guards are not enough to handle a creature of legend, the king offers something every brigand and ne'er-do-well dreams of, a personal, royal favor.

A known chimera lives in the Copse Forest. The king hires the party to destroy the foul beast. But, upon encountering the three-headed monstrosity, it is found to be good, as evidenced by the silver dragon head. Do the adventurers kill the unique beast for its and the king's treasure, or do they become enemies of the exposed evil king?

As the last hook brings up, the chimera is ripe for mutation. You can connect them thematically to almost any place or group or location. A white dragon for a frozen tundra, a bronze dragon as an ancient guardian of the dead. Even reverting to the mythological chimera for a Lord of Lies adventure would work. The possibilities are endless.

Monster Monday - Aboleth

It's Monster Monday time, again! Today, I am looking closely at the aboleth. They have long been a favorite monster of mine. One first showed up in the module "The Dwellers of the Forbidden City," by David "Zeb" Cook. Aboleths are highly intelligent, and have several special abilities that lend them to being a "mastermind" monster.

Creighton Broadhurst's aboleth, licensed from Rogue Genius

Using the S&W version, they have Charm Monster 3x daily, and Phantasmal Force 3x a day. They have a mucous cloud that makes people in contact with it unable to breathe air. (It is not noted in S&W that they breathe water instead, but that's typically the case.) They have 4 tentacles that strike for d6 damage each, and can cause disease.
Most versions of the aboleth note they have a very high intelligence level. However, what most early descriptions of the aboleth lack is how they communicate. 2E remedied this with the addition of telepathy (specifically Mind Link). Pathfinder moved this bar a bit further, giving them the languages: aboleth, aklo, aquan, and undercommon. 5E gave aboleths the ability to learn a creature's greatest desires if the aboloth can see it and communicate telepathically.

All of this adds up to a creature that is formidable in combat (disease, 4 attacks, force creatures into foreign environment,) able to Charm/Dominate/control other creatures, and with an intelligence to move plans forward. Aboleths are under-used.

In Mord Mar, the best known aboleth is in a fountain somewhere inside the shops district. This particular aboleth, whose name is unpronounceable with a human tongue, is not like its kin. It is content to rule over a small kingdom of orcs, gnolls, goblins, and other humanoids. It often buys and sells information with adventurers. Often it will ask for a share of a treasure horde for this information. Only twice have adventurers double crossed the aboleth.

There is another aboleth, deeper in the dungeons. In the "Grotto and Caverns" area there is an aboleth in a subterranean pond. Above her is a Mind Flayer squidhead, in an open hole in the ceiling. Ludos (the squidhead) has come to an agreement with the aboleth. In return for guarding Ludos' lair, the aboleth receives magical training. The aboleth's current enslaved roster is a cyclops, 2 ogres and a doppleganger.

An aboleth also resides somewhere to the north of Stonemire. This aboleth acts more like an aboleth "should." This aboleth delights in torturing and destroying all creatures that make their home on land. It decorates its lair with bones from its victims, including goblins, catoblepas, dwarves, humans, lizardmen and other creatures. It is rumored that a great paladin fell to this foul creature and a Holy Avenger sword is within its treasures.

 Aboleths are great creatures to throw against a thinking party. With their illusions, and charm abilities, they can make for a great encounter. They make for an even better long-term villain, pulling the strings from the darkness of the caverns below. Here are some more ideas on how I haven't used aboleths. Yet.

A dwarven king ran across an aboleth years ago. Now, his kingdom slides slowly into ruin. The king insists his decisions are for the people, but can the party prove the truth?

An elven druid found a strange egg long ago. The hatching aboleth quickly gained control of the druid, and he has been systematically destroying the land-based life in the area. Now the aboleth is hatching a plan to have the nearest village dam up the river. Even the druid is speaking for it! When the reservoir is full, the aboleth plans to destroy the dam, washing away the village, and all of the people in one easy step.

An aboleth has taken control of an orc chieftan in the hills not far from the Keep. The orcs have become more brazen, and the constabulary hires the party to find out why.

Edible Monsters?

I'm working on my next release for Silver Bulette (Desktop Link), and find myself wondering what types of fantastical monsters are edible?

licensed from Fat Goblin Games

There are pretty much two criteria for "edible" things. One, it needs to be digestible. Two, it needs to not be poisonous. These rules probably hold true in a fantasy world as well. Fetid meat becomes poisonous, so undead flesh is probably out as a delicacy. Intangible things like aerial servants probably don't hold much caloric value. Something like a gelatinous cube probably has too much acid to be a viable food source. A third criteria that I am using for this project is "socially acceptable." What's edible to a starving man is completely different than what is edible to a comfortable person.

But, there are lots of things that might be edible. Take the cockatrice. Is that edible? It's basically a chicken. That can turn things to stone. Can an expert chef prepare a dish from it? How about their eggs? Gorgons are similar, with a breath weapon instead. As long as the person preparing the meal stays away from the lungs and maybe a weird gland, could it be beef stew? What about bulette? Is there soft, yummy meat under their rock-like plating?

Then there is the myriad of plants and plant-like creatures. Tangle-kelp sushi? Shrieker salad?

And the largest question that my third criterion poses is "what about intelligent creatures?" This, by far and large, makes up the bulk of "monsters" in the game: orcs, ogres, trolls, goblins (and their kin), mushroom-men, aboleth, fairies and fey, kobolds, dragons, and so on. The minotaur poses a real question, yummy beef or intelligent cow?

Is it believable to have people refuse to eat intelligent species in a fantasy setting? Would they only be opposed to eating humanoids? Would they believe that eating a superior being gives them a bit of power, and therefore pay extra for dragon meat? Would a ruthless ruler deem a particular species food because of a particular hatred for the race?

Anyone have any thoughts?

As of now, these are the creatures that I have deemed "edible"
Catoblepas
Cockatrice eggs
Dragons
Gorgons
Shriekers
Tangle Kelp

Monster Monday - Guest Post - Bulette

When I included the bulette on my Facebook poll, I had forgotten that I had done an early Monster Monday about it, here. Ian McGarty stepped in and said he wanted a turn. So, here is his Monster Monday, bulette:

The Bulette

This creature has been around since the early days of Dungeons & Dragons. Tim Kask created this monster after being handed a cheap plastic toy representing Japanese monsters. This creature was first featured in The Dragon in 1976 and has subsequently been included in every version of D&D. In its introduction, it couldn’t even leap! I love the possibilities of this creature burrowing through your campaign setting and frightening your players.  In most versions, this creature is formidable (Pathfinder removed its claws) and can wipe out an unwary party. I particularly enjoy the early edition use of a variable armor class and weak underbelly for this burrowing tank. This weak underbelly was originally a weak spot behind its armor plates on its head. This creature always loves to eat halflings and horses but will only kill dwarves and elves rather than eating them (too chewy and stringy respectively I imagine). The longevity of this monster speaks to its potential. In my own campaigns, I have used numerous versions of this creature. I have made them chromatic and given them breath weapons, I have adapted them for multiple environments like snow/ice.
Many players know of my love of this creature and its fearsome attacks. I recently ran a large group of 12 players against a pair of these monstrosities. They knew they were in a large sandy area. They made a plan to lure them out and a vicious battle followed with 4 players and both creatures dead at the end. I emphasized the weak underbellies and allowed players to use their creativity and ingenuity to cause the bulette to rise up and become vulnerable for their prepared archers.
This is one of the reasons I enjoy this monster. When faced with near dire outcomes, players surprise me with their ideas and overcome what seemed to be an impossible fight.

Ian McGarty

Monster Monday - Troll

Troll Image from http://www.lomion.de/cmm/troll.php

My best guess is its a DiTerlizzi from 2E

Over at the "Silver Bulette Group" on Facebook (hopefully the link works), I put up a poll to see what monster I should do this week. Troll was the only one that received any votes. Trolls are a great mid-level creature. The biggest problem with them is everyone knows their weakness - fire. Frog God Games (Kickstarter link, not their website) might be fixing this problem with Tome of Horrors V. They are adding 6(!) trolls to the 5E lineup. Somehow, my Tomes of Horrors are all AWOL. So, I can't check to see if any are all new. Maybe one of the Frogs will stop by and let us know.

Deadly and common, trolls permeate D&D culture. They are in the earliest printings of every D&D game, from 0E, BECMI, all the way up to 5E. And in almost every clone and knockoff out there. Here is the Troll from S&W Complete:

Troll
Hit Dice: 6+3
Armor Class: 4 [15]
Attacks: 2 claws (1d4), 1 bite (1d8)
Save: 11
Special: Regenerate (3 hp/rd)
Move: 12
Alignment: Chaos
Challenge Level/XP: 8/800
Special: Does not regenerate from acid or fire

Standard trolls in Mord Mar are similar. They are all "male." Trolls reproduce only asexually. When a troll needs help, it removes part of itself, and waits for a new troll to spring from the discarded body part. Fortunately, the trolls feel the pangs of hunger, and do not reproduce lightly.

In the fallen city of Mord Mar was a laboratory called Octana's Boilerworks. She was experimenting with using steam and heat to move things in a similar fashion to a windmill or watermill. Nobody knows how far along she was when Mord Mar was overrun. What is known is a troll named Gasbelly moved into her laboratory. The members from the Order of Lost Cups followed standard protocol in attacking the troll. They threw the oil and lit it with fire. This seemed to only make Gasbelly laugh. After this excursion, the Order disbanded, understanding they knew too little to continue in the darkness.

Near the city of Redstone resides a forest troll. Unlike his kin, he studies the arts of magic and nature, and has even been accepted into a druidic enclave. Unfortunately, he sees the city as a blight on his beautiful forest, and is attempting to learn how to summon fire elementals. If he accomplishes this goal, it is feared that he will burn everything inside the walls. What's worse, some of the elvish druids agree with his ideals and will thwart anyone looking for him. 

Deep within the Mausoleum of Lost Hope resides the medusa, Coberra. Several years ago, a troll wandered too close to her lair. A weird thing happened when she use her petrifying gaze on him. He turned to stone, but was still able to move. Sages think it was the troll's regenerative properties that caused this, but no-one has been close enough to test the hypothesis and live. What is known: Coberra and troll are inseparable now. And the troll no longer fears fire. 

The following encounter comes from my adventure, The Oracle of Stone and Flame (desktop link):
Encounter 4: Top Troll
The passageway spills through a wall into a room, with marble walls and a dug out, uneven floor. The room is probably 30 square, with a 15 foot high ceiling. In the corners are piles of rubble. There is a closed door in the far wall, about 5 feet above the current floor.
As the party searches, a 10 foot tall troll will burst out of one of the piles of rubble and attack.
Giant Troll
Hit Dice: 8+5
Armor Class: 4[15]
Attacks: 2 Claws (1d6), 1 Bite (1d8+1)
Save: 11
Special: Regenerates (3hp/round)
Move: 12
Alignment: Chaos
Challenge Level/XP: 10/1,400
Treasure: Some of the marble in the piles is still large and intact enough to sell. The party can find 400 pounds of salvageable marble, worth 8000 gp to a builder or stonemason in town.

List of trolls to appear in D&D is here. There are many ways to spice up trolls to be an exciting challenge for your players. You can try using the Tolkien troll on them (they can only be destroyed by sunlight turning them to stone.) A unique troll might only be killed by submerging it in the running water of a river (Billy Goats Gruff, anyone?) Some trolls might not even be traditional trolls. An artifact allows them to regenerate within 100 yards may be an exciting adventure hook for your group. 

I hope you all enjoyed this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. Trolls, like their regeneration ability, can be reintroduced in countless ways that stay true to the collective idea of a troll.

Eleventh Hour Monster Monday - Shrieker

As usual, the holidays are screwing up my routine. It's going continue to happen until after the new year. That said, let us talk about shriekers.

Image found on Wikicommons.

Shriekers are a fascinating creature. They are not dangerous at all. Instead they attract other monsters when they are disturbed. They are a staple of megadungeons. Almost organic traps. Sometimes creatures use them as warning systems. Other use them as a dinner bell.

The shriekers near the Fallow Well are the only living creatures that the wraiths do not touch. The wraiths love the feeling of panic from adventurers and orcs as the shriekers scream.

Some myconids have bred shriekers in several colors. They do this trying to find a harmonic that will summon their demon queen, Zuggtomy. They have succeeded. Red, Red, Green, Blue, Blue and she will appear.

The orcs who now control the Finnius Brewery in Mord Mar have struck a deal with Acidander, the green dragon. Shriekers have been planted in the north alley of the brewery. When the shriekers sound, Acidander comes to their aid. For the grissly price of three warriors. He doesn't eat them, but is instead building his own army.

There is only one passage across the underground river in the Devil's Decision. A sea monster inhabits the waters.  It is attracted by the patch of shriekers on the far side. Chances are not everyone will be across when Dark Nessie shows up.

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!

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)

Monster Monday - Gibbering Eyes

As I continue to slog through my "haunted house," I am looking deep inside more soul for twisted things. One such creature that has spewed from the depths is the Gibbering Eyes. Take a look for yourself:

© Jack Badashski, 2016 

find him on RPGNow

Gibbering Eyes

HD: 4 + 4

AC: 1 (18)
Attacks: Bite (1 hp)

Save: 13

Special: Eye rays, gibbering, spit

Move: 3

CL/XP: 8/800
In addition to using gibbering or spit, the gibbering eyes can use 1d4 eye rays per round:
1. Darkness 15-Foot Radius, as the spell, it targets one person, who gets a save to negate the ability

2. Obscuring Mist, as the spell

3. Telekinesis as the spell 

4. Sleep as the spell, except one target, who gets a save

5. Feeblemind as the spell

6. Heat Metal as the spell

7. Hold Person as the cleric spell

8. Lightning Bolt as the spell

All eye rays are cast at 4th level proficiency (so a Lightning Bolt would do 4d6 damage)

Gibbering: All creatures within 60' of the sound of a gibbering eyes must make a save or be confused (per the spell).

Spit: A gibbering eyes can spit up to 30' a glob of acid for 2d6 damage.

The stuff of nightmares. 

Monster Monday - Old Crawler!

(From Monstrosities): An "old crawler" is a withered human hand severed at the wrist, black and mummified in appearance.

I am still working on my "haunted house" module. And it is still Halloween season, so a creepy monster is mandatory.

http://assets.atlasobscura.com/article_images/7719/image

Old Crawler (Monstrosities pg 361) fits so well into the "haunted house," that I can't help use it. I intend to have them create an ambiance. "The party hears a scratching skitch-skitch-skitch sound." But they never see the crawlers following them in the walls. They are minions of whatever is "The Evil" of the house. They attack stragglers or loners, and retreat before the group arrives. They will ratchet up paranoia throughout the house.

I really like this creature. The remind me of Crawling Claws from 2e, with a bit more punch. Gangrenous rotting? Disgustingly fun. But, I think it can be more than that. . .

How about a mummy version? A hand jumps out of the darkness and contaminates an adventurer with Mummy Rot? Adventurers won't even suspect mummy rot for hours if they aren't in a pyramid.

Maybe there was a forgetful mage that programmed Old Crawlers to show him the way to his lab. These crawlers now show anyone that isn't aggressive the path. Would your players attack on sight and lose the guide? I know mine would.

There was once a lich who removed his own hands. He needed them separate from his body to complete a profane ritual. Adventurers destroyed his body, but not phylactery or crawlers. Now he has the ability to cast spells through his old hands and his new body.

A wight had his hands removed by a very skilled warrior, and died soon after. Now his old crawlers search for living beings to destroy without an intelligence behind them. So far, they have created three new wights, and the number will grow if adventurers can't find the source of the infestation.

Monster Monday - Flowershroud

In my quest to write a horror module before Halloween, I have been searching high and low for monsters that can instill dread. In S&W Monstrosities, page 173, I found such a thing, the Flowershroud. "A flowershroud is a carpet-like floral growth . . . move slowly from place to place when it is seeking new food . . . carnivorous plants that hunt down their prey." (excerpt by Matt Finch.)

This fits well into my horror theme. Flowershrouds look like any other garden, but can hunt you down. The normal is the strange. I can't wait to utter the words "it's probably just your imagination, but the flowers look closer to you than they were."

I know that I said a Ghost Ship module was my next project. But, I have found the setting too limiting. I haven't exactly decided where the horror/suspense will take place, but I know that it needs to be on land. I will probably do a castle or mansion (how original, right?). The flowershroud will be a great garden or greenhouse surprise. Don't even be shocked if they show up as potted plants in some fair maiden's bedroom.

Looking at their use for a wider campaign, I can see flowershrouds having a symbiotic relationship with a dryad. The dryad wants her tree protected, and has planted a flowershroud to make sure that nothing gets too close.
Imagine an ancient flowershroud that has a giant bee hive embedded in it. The flowershroud roams the land, carrying the bees to new pollens, and in return the bees help slow down prey for the flowershroud.
Another option to pair the flowershroud is with an undead. A particularly deranged necromancer may have planted a flowershroud on the back of a giant crab exoskeleton. He entwines the dark energies of necromancy with the strange nature of the flowershroud, making them a singular force. These hybrids are what guard the entrance to his home.

I'm expecting the follow-up to What's Up With Mord Mar to come today as well. Stay tuned!

Monster Monday: Stoneflower

I may get a Monster Monday out on time (nope, it's after midnight now . . .) Today's subject is the Stoneflower, from Monstrosities (page 462).

I chose the Stoneflower because I have this cool new artwork (search for Custom Art by Smitty on Facebook). It also happens to feature prominently in the module I just released on RPGNow. When I was finishing up Denizens of the Citadel, I needed a monster that could be trapped for hundreds of years, but still be alive. It also needed to be a good encounter for low level (2-4th) parties. Digging through the Swords and Wizardry monster tomes, I came across the Stoneflower, and fell in love.

It doesn't do a lot of damage (d3). It can spread attacks around (1d6 attacks per round).It has a weird magnetic effect. A perfect monster, right when I needed it. Matt Finch does great work. Sometimes weird monsters are perfect monsters. . . 

Lizard-men of Mord Mar (Monster Monday)

The lizard-men of the Swamp are a prehistoric hangover. They were the first humanoid race in the world, but not even they realize this fact. The lizard-men use an oral tradition to tell and re-tell their histories, and have never developed a written language. They are not dumb, however. Occasionally, a member of the tribe has been known to learn Common, in both oral and written form.

Lizardmen (from Swords & Wizardry)

Hit Dice: 2+1

Armor Class: 5 [14]

Attacks: 2 claws (1d3), 1 bite (1d8)

Save: 16

Special: Underwater 

Move: 6/12 (swimming)

Alignment: Usually Chaos

Challenge Level/XP: 2/30

Image found on Pintrest

The lizard-men are a very spiritual people, but they worship what mankind terms "Forbidden Gods." All known lizard-man gods are evil, and most demand blood sacrifices. These differ by the tribe's oral histories. Some sacrifices are simply "shaggy beasts," and other tribal interpretations require blood from "tusked men." Some are not at all specific, only requiring that the sacrifice is breathing. Over time, almost all human and demi-human sacrifice has been removed from lizard-man culture. Men and their ilk are simply too powerful to raid. However, a group of men stumbling into their territory is a great sacrifice.
A small sect of lizard-men worship Nobback as a god made flesh, and will sometimes attempt to lure creatures to the large alligator. The sect is all males, who keep this godling hidden from the matriarchy.
Lizard-men society is matriarchal. The males are known to be hunter-gatherers while the females tend to societal issues. These include: Oral histories, incubation of eggs, rearing young, making ceremonial instruments (headdresses, sacrificial daggers, altars, jewelry of station, etc) and making or upholding laws. Shamans are almost exclusively female.
Lizard-men near Mord Mar are blood enemies with goblins and kobolds. The dwarves of Stonemire trade swamp cow meat for dyes from the lizard-men. Occasionally, lizard-men will trade with caravans traversing through the swamps.

In the Sanctuary of Water is a separate tribe of lizard-men, that dwell exclusively underground. Their secrets will be revealed on another day.

Monster Monday: A Little Late

Monster Monday is late. It happens. Why is not important (my brother's boat broke down, and I spent 3 hours trying to help him). On to the RPG goodness.

I want to expound on last week's topic, the word monster. More specifically, I want to put a "monster" into a campaign. As most of you know, I'm working on a mega-dungeon called Mord Mar. Outside of the dungeon is a swamp, with Stonemire as a possible base of operations. In a fantasy world, there should be some famous creatures in the wilderness that people avoid the territories of. It's time my swamp had some of these:

Nobback: a 15 foot long gator, who is known to seek out anything larger than herself in her territory. About a generation ago, the old timers say that Nobback ate a chimera.

Spiketooth: a huge boar, the size of a horse. Said to have a taste for goblin meat. Spiketooth generally stays to the west end of the swamp (near the goblin homes).

Zielony: a great wyrm green dragon who roosts in an abandoned temple at the south end of the swamp. She generally leaves Stonemire alone, but will occasionally harass merchants for things of interest.

Garbanzo: a weeping willow treant. Garbanzo is usually friendly with humanoids it crosses paths with, but sometimes it takes offense to small things.

Scales: a giant viper that traverses the swamp. Believed to actually be several snakes, all over 10 feet long.

Grumbleskin: a hill giant that lives near the mountain. He has made a lot of money by ambushing adventurers and caravans.

Monster Monday: MONSTER!!!

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to travel to NTRPG Con. I was even more fortunate to have the ability to hang out with the Frog God games crew. Bill Webb was the one who originally inspired this regular feature on this blog, and he reminded me of it this past weekend.

A paraphrase from Bill: "When I use the word monster, that's what I mean. It is something dangerous, and not easy to defeat or destroy. They are a threat that common people cannot handle."

And that's the topic today: "Monster." Here's the first definition from Dictionary.com: "a legendary animal combining features of animal and human form or having the forms of various animals in combination, as a centaur, griffin, or sphinx."

This definition only scratches the surface of what we, as gamers, mean for "monster." For example, a living statue would be a monster, but not meet that definition. We need a better definition than the standard one.

I would also humbly add to the definition of monster. A monster is something that instills a fear within people that face it.

So what is a "monster?" We'll start with Bill's definition and work forward:

1. dangerous, difficult to destroy, threatening to most
2. legendary animal (or person), with combinations of features
3. instills a fear into people that see or face it.

One of my earliest Monster Monday posts had to do with goblins. Does a goblin meet the new definition of monster? Let's look:

1. individually, no, goblins do not meet this criteria. However, as a society of chaos, they absolutely could threaten a village, be difficult to destroy and have enough weapons to be dangerous.
2. subjectively speaking, goblins could meet this criteria, based on description (elfish ears, a smashed, pug-like face) 
3. adventurers nearly never fear goblins, but they could be crushed by the weight of a tribe and see true fear.

Although there are arguments for goblins being a monster, the definition or creature has to be stretched to accommodate it. Now, I will give an example of a monster from Bill's game Friday night. We found a treasure horde at the bottom of a pool of water. Investigating, we found the horde was midships on a broken galleon (or some other largish ship). We removed a seal, and were attacked by a creature that stayed in the water, and turned things it touched to ice. We knew it was undead, but our 8th level (!) cleric was unable to turn it. Working as a team, we found a way to destroy it.

The rest of the story: after it was not turned, panic set in. Those of us with high level characters refused to get in the water with it. And we never destroyed it. We found a way to immobilize it, but I'm not saying how in case you ever play in one of Bill's games.

Does this monster meet the requirements? It was definitely dangerous, difficult to destroy, and threatening. It was undead (combining features of people and the dead.) And it instilled a fear into the highest level party members: a 9th level thief, an 8th level cleric, 5th level fighters and thief, and even a 4th level paladin (or at least his player.)

Although I know the name of this monster (thanks to being friends with the DM), it's not important. We defeated (but not destroyed) a MONSTER in Mythrus Tower's wilderness environs!

Monster Monday: Green Dragons

It's another Monday and a holiday to boot. To all of the service members who lost their lives: words cannot express the gratitude that I have for your sacrifice. May your families endure well in your absence, and you drink in Valhala (or Heaven). You are not forgotten. Dad, enjoy the Great Rest.

*EDIT* After working the long weekend, I wasn't able to finish this on Monday, so Monster Tuesday today!

That said, on to the RPG stuff! There has been a challenge thrown for designing a green dragon's lair, so, green dragons are my topic this week. Dragons are an interesting dichotomy in 1e/OSR. They are the flagship monster, but "relatively" weak for their stature.

HPs are not what makes a dragon the flagship monster though. They are iconic, intelligent, and deadly. Dragons being iconic doesn't really need to be explained. If it really does, google St George, Beowulf, Dragon's Lair, Dragonslayer, or even Never Ending Story. They have been in the social consciousness for 100s of years, if not longer.

Intelligence is an attribute that I think most GMs overlook. Green dragons have an intelligence of "average to very" according to the 1e MM. Average intelligence means that they will stay out of harms way if possible, attack weak party members (aka wizards), retreat when being beaten, have escape routes, etc. Dragons should always use intelligent options when available. This makes a huge difference in difficulty.

The fear aura makes an adult dragon an awesome foe for low level (less than 6th level) party (this isn't in S&W as far as I can tell, but the contest specifies a version of D&D.) The breath weapon is what truly makes dragons dangerous. 3 x day a dragon can breathe damage equal to its HPs (save for half). In my dragon's case that's 72. That's a LOT of HP of damage. 2 salvos like that, and most parties are done, even if they make the save! And, in 1e, dragons can breathe round after round. Dragons can also choose to use three melee attacks per round: 2 claws (1d6 each) and a bite (2d10).

Now that the nuts and bolts are out of the way, let's move on to personality. For my adventure, I have been researching how green dragons should be role-played. There's not a lot on the subject for 1e, so I have room to play around. Here's what we know from the Monster Manual:

• The innate cowardice of dragonkind is shown by the fact most can be subdued.
•  Dragons’ egoistic nature makes them subject to flattery
• Greed and avarice are major motivating factors in all but the loftiest of dragons
• they are subject to manipulation by very clever persons or the prospect of actual treasure and the promise of more forthcoming.
• ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
• They are very nasty tempered and thoroughly evil.

What I see is that green dragons are vain, cowardly, greedy, mean and evil. But, they have a clear goal: get more loot. As green dragons are lawful evil, they will adhere to a bargain struck, but will attempt to exploit loopholes as they see fit.
With that much information, I can finally develop a personality template for the dragon I'm currently calling Bertha:
Bertha will converse with interlopers, as she has an ego that needs to be fed.  This can also gain her information on the intruders, treasure hoards, and other potential information.
If she is insulted, Bertha will attack. She is willing to strike a bargain, even with weaker creatures, if they can further her agenda. The weak creatures had better offer something extraordinary to enter into the bargain, though.
Bertha's lair is set up for her to retreat to a high, safe location if her "guests" begin to overwhelm her. She can even leave through a large vent in the ceiling. I intend her to be able to be a recurring threat.

Does this sound like what a green dragon should be to you?

What Creature Is This: Follow Up

Last week, I asked the audience "what creature is this?"

The Setting:

The adventurers had been contracted by a city to look into the disappearance of some less influential citizens. Most were homeless, but one had been a lesser noble's son who had been on a drinking bender in the slums. The trail led the group to an old mansion at the top of a bluff. After finding some grisly remains in some closets and hidden rooms, the party has made their way to the basement.

Coming down the stairs, the party sees the following creature:

A dirty humanoid is there, with crazy hair. His fingers are elongated, with sharp claws at the fingertips. His clothes are ripped and threadbare. Through the openings in his shirt, you can see his skin, paper thin and pasty white. He stands there, smiling a visage of needle-like teeth. His dull eyes seem to have a malevolent red tinge, but do not reflect the light of your torches as a living being's would.

Here's the breakdown of the answers that I noticed:

• zombie
• ghoul x 2
• ghast
• wight x 4 (correct answer!)
• "skeleton not enough meat for a zombie"

As you can see, there was no real consensus among the respondents. Let's do another one, this time not undead:


The Setting:
Low level characters have been hired by the burgomaster of Stonemire to find out who stole the fireworks for the upcoming celebration. Witnesses report that short cloaked people were seen near the warehouse last night. One witness swears he saw a long hooked nose, and green skin. Another said there were about 10 of them, well organized and being led by a taller fellow.
The group knows there are the following nearby: a goblin village, a kobold cavern, an orcish tribe, a halfling burrow, and a lizard-man encampment.

Where do they head first?

Monster Monday - Bulette

One of my favorite monsters is the bulette. Every game needs a tank that can burrow under the protagonists, attack without warning, and leave without dying.

From the title page of the 1st Edition D&D Monster Manual

I may get the details on this wrong, as it is oral history, heard from Tim Kask about 3 years ago at GaryCon. I asked him about his hand in creating the bulette, and to the best of my knowledge this is paraphrasing what I was told:
Gary was always on the lookout for new monsters. He found some Taiwan toy "dinosaurs" that didn't look anything like dinosaurs at a dime store. He brought them back and told the TSR employees  to make monsters for D&D out of them.
Tim grabbed what we now know as the bulette.
Dwarven ponies were running rampant in Tim's game at the time. He decided a predator was in order. As the party was resting with the ponies tied to a tree, a pair of bulettes burrowed up and grabbed the ponies. They ripped them apart, and once their bellies were full, left again. (I don't know if the adventurers actually killed one.)

Bulette are a stereotypical monster. They are big, tough, and stupid. They are a complete mystery, rising from the depths to cause havoc and destruction, with no known reproduction or social habits. They exist to feed and to strike fear into adventurers hearts.