Jellies...! Part Five

 

Time to get back in the blogging saddle - again...

FEVER JELLY
  

FREQUENCY: Very rare
 
NO. APPEARING: 1-3
 
ARMOR CLASS: 4

MOVE: 8"

HIT DICE: 5

% IN LAIR: Nil

TREASURE TYPE: Nil

NO. OF ATTACKS: See below

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6

SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below

SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard

INTELLIGENCE: Non-

ALIGNMENT: Neutral

SIZE: S (3 feet wide)

PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

       Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
 

Fever jellies are usually found in sewers and other noisome places, and are thought to be the source of various illnesses and diseases in towns and cities. Such is their preference for living in ordure and filth that there is a chance (1-2 on 1d6) that they will be found in company with 1-2 otyughs, or 2-20 giant rats.

These creatures are large spherical blobs of rotting and decaying matter, coalesced into a form made up of numerous sickening shades of brown, green and yellow. Various mushroom-shaped nodules grow randomly from the main body and are used for both locomotion and attack. Although usually content enough with consuming whatever matter falls into the sewers from above, they are keen to feast upon living prey. They will actively seek out adventuring parties once they become aware of their presence, especially if heat sources such as torches are being used.

Fever jellies attack by rapidly rolling at their opponent and striking out with a single nodule. A successful attack not only inflicts 1-6 points of damage but also acts as Cause Disease, as cast by a 3rd level magic-user. Any victim failing a Saving Throw will then succumb to a terrible malady (as described in the Players' Handbook).

 

The rubbery and resilient nature of these jellies means that only edged weapons can affect them, and their covering of slime renders them immune to fire-based attacks. However, other heat-based attacks have their normal effect against these creatures, as do lightning bolts.

Jellies...! Part 4

And still more jelly! This one includes stats for Old School Essentials

ICE JELLY
  

FREQUENCY: Very rare
 
NO. APPEARING: 1
 
ARMOR CLASS: 8

MOVE: 6"

HIT DICE: 5

% IN LAIR: Nil

TREASURE TYPE: Nil

NO. OF ATTACKS: See below

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-12

SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below

SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard

INTELLIGENCE: Non-

ALIGNMENT: Neutral

SIZE: M (4 feet wide)

PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

       Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
 

At first glance, ice jellies appear to be nothing more than an uneven patch of frozen water on a floor, wall or other surface. They prefer cold, damp places and thus might be found in dungeons and similar locations. Like some other jellies, they can squeeze through narrow spaces, under doors, etc.

When attacking, the jelly will rapidly grow a mass of solid icy spikes. Each turn, it can fire up to 3 of these to a distance of  80 feet, each inflicting 2-12 points of damage. It may also choose to make a magical attack, casting Cone of Cold as a 5th level magic-user every 3 turns.

Cold-based attacks will prove fruitless, and provide the jelly with an extra spike attack in the following turn. However, fire and heat-based attacks have twice their normal effect against these creatures, whilst lightning bolts have their normal effect. 

STATS FOR OSE

AC 8 [11], HD 5** (25hp), Att 3 × ice spike
(2d6) or magical attack THAC0 15 [+4], MV 40’ (10’), 
SV D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (3), ML 12, 
AL Neutral, XP 400, NA 1 (0), TT None

▶ Ice spikes: 80' range, 3 per round
▶ Magical attack: acts as if using a Wand of Cold, attacking every 3 rounds.
▶ Seep: Can squeeze through small holes and cracks.
▶ Immunity: Unharmed by cold-based attacks - provides an extra spike attack in the following round.

Jellies...! Part 3

Time for some more jelly! This one includes stats for Old School Essentials, to which I've become a recent convert:

FIRE JELLY

  

FREQUENCY: Very rare
 
NO. APPEARING: 1
 
ARMOR CLASS: 8

MOVE: 4"

HIT DICE: 4-6

% IN LAIR: Nil

TREASURE TYPE: Nil

NO. OF ATTACKS: See below

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-16

SPECIAL ATTACKS: Blinding, Engulf (see below)

SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard

INTELLIGENCE: Non-

ALIGNMENT: Neutral

SIZE: M (4-6 feet wide)

PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

       Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
 

Although Fire Jellies can squeeze through narrow spaces and along ceilings, walls, and floors, on first glance they appear to be a mass of blackish grey stone dotted with numerous pits. They might even be mistaken for a large area of metal slag until they move. Fire Jellies are usually found in deep caves far underground, favouring areas where magma and other volcanic activity is present. Occasionally found in dungeons, they sometimes also seek out areas where metalworking and similar activity is present and thus are quite well known to dwarves and gnomes as a dangerous pest. They are attracted to sources of heat, and so parties using torches and similar open flames run the risk of being ambushed.

When attacking, the jelly rapidly becomes a large burning mass covered with black patches. In this form they are particularly dangerous to any beings that possess Infravision, as they risk being temporarily blinded (for 1-6 turns) unless a Saving Throw is made. The jelly will attempt to strike with two burning pseudopods, each inflicting 2-16 points of damage. It will also try to engulf any fallen opponent, inflicing 3-30 points of damage per turn from intense heat and burning.

 

Fire-based attacks will prove fruitless, and provide the jelly with an extra attack in the following turn. However, cold attacks have twice their normal effect against these creatures, whilst lightning bolts have their normal effect.

 

STATS FOR OSE

AC 8 [11], HD 5** (25hp), Att 2 × pseudopod
(2d8) or Engulf (3d10) THAC0 15 [+4], MV 30’ (10’), 
SV D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (3), ML 12, 
AL Neutral, XP 400, NA 1 (0), TT None

▶ Immunity: Unharmed by fire-based attacks - provides an extra pseudopod attack in the following round.
▶ Blinding: blinds any persons possessing infravision (save vs paralysis)
▶ Engulf: fallen prey engulfed and receive 3d10 damage per round
▶ Seep: Can squeeze through small holes and cracks.

Jellies...! Part 2

Working onwards from last week's post, I was wondering whether, if jellies are partially the result of magical experiments, what would happen if they had some magical abilities? With that in mind, here's another jelly design. It's statted for 1E AD&D and, as always, includes an illustrative doodle:

LIGHTNING JELLY

  
FREQUENCY: Rare
 
NO. APPEARING: 1
 
ARMOR CLASS: 8

MOVE: 3"

HIT DICE: 4-6

% IN LAIR: Nil

TREASURE TYPE: Nil

NO. OF ATTACKS: See below

DAMAGE/ATTACK: See below

SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below

SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard

INTELLIGENCE: Non-

ALIGNMENT: Neutral

SIZE: M (6 feet wide, 2-3 feet high in spherical form)

PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

       Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
 

Lightning jellies are found in dungeons and other subterranean places, usually taking on the appearance of a pool of water or of moisture running along a surface. Like the ochre jelly, it can squeeze through narrow spaces and can move along ceilings, walls, and floors.

It is only when attacking that the jelly takes on another form, gathering itself to become a spherical mass that has a slight blueish glow. It will then loose a charge of electricity, attacking as a 3rd level Magic User casting Lightning Bolt and inflicting 3-18 points of damage. It can usually only make one attack per turn, although striking the creature with lightning bolts only serves to give the jelly an extra attack in the following round. The jelly will absorb the organic part of any fallen prey.

Lightning jellies are immune to cold attacks but fire-based attacks have a normal effect.

Jellies...!

Time to get back in the ol' blog saddle and get back to designing some monsters.

I have a general propensity to think that many of the monsters in 1E AD&D are... well.. weird. I thought that when first introduced to the RPG and I still think it now. One of the stranger species in the Monster Manual is the Ochre Jelly. If I remember correctly, Gary Gygax said that jellies were the result of life springing up from drains, down which various exotic ingredients had been discarded after magical experiments.
 

Anyway, a few years ago I ran a homebrew 1E AD&D dungeon crawl and designed a new type of jelly (and subsequent posts will feature some others):

STAR JELLY

  
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
 
NO. APPEARING: 1-2
 
ARMOR CLASS: 8

MOVE: 6"

HIT DICE: 4-6

% IN LAIR: Nil

TREASURE TYPE: Nil

NO. OF ATTACKS: 2

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 4-8

SPECIAL ATTACKS: None

SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard

INTELLIGENCE: Non-

ALIGNMENT: Neutral

SIZE: L (10 – 15 feet wide, 3-4 feet high)

PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

       Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
 

Star jellies resemble a huge starfish and exist in a wide variety of colours. This gelatinous mass is usually found in cold, dark, damp places such as caves but will venture into dungeons in search of food. Unlike the ochre jelly, star jellies lack the ability to flow through small spaces and cannot move along ceilings. However, they are a much faster opponent, propelling themselves along with a multitude of feelers beneath each limb.

These creatures are particularly attracted to metals of all kinds, seeking out mineral veins in caves but preferring the refined steels, irons, and precious metals common to adventuring parties. They will attempt to engulf any target and use powerful acids to consume metal and flesh alike (4-8 hit points per round of exposure).

Should any jelly lose 50% of it’s hit points, one or more of it’s afflicted limbs will dissolve into an acidic gas and the jelly will attempt to escape. Anyone within 10 feet of the creature must make a Saving Throw or receive 1-6 points of damage. Wounded jellies can regrow a single limb in 1-4 days. Similarly, upon death the jelly will dissolve into a larger cloud and anyone within 10 feet must make a Saving Throw or receive 1-8 points of damage. Any form of metal exposed to this gas will tarnish and become discolored.

Star jellies are immune to cold attacks but fire-based attacks have a normal effect. Striking the creature with lightning bolts causes it to split into seperate limbs, each with 2 hit dice but with all movement, attacks and defenses remaining the same as a complete jelly.

'Hic sunt dracones...', part 3

After a bit of a hiatus, and further to my previous posts about sea dragons (here and here), it's time for... another sea dragon. For this post, I've gone for a bit of a 'weird' design, and will include details of it's crew. As always, there are sketches to give you some idea of what things look like...

SEA HORROR (Greater Sea Dragon)

FREQUENCY: Rare

NO. APPEARING: 1 

ARMOR CLASS: 0

MOVE: 24" 

HIT DICE: 9-11

% IN LAIR: 0%

TREASURE TYPE:  See below

NO. OF ATTACKS: 2

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 6-36 beak, 4-40 bite

SPECIAL ATTACKS: Some magic use

SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard

INTELLIGENCE: Very

ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Evil

SIZE: L (100' long) 

PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil 

      Attack/Defense Modes: Nil

It's not known if the Sea Horror owes its existence to magic or some quirk of adaption to the sea. The spines and scales common to other dragons have become odd masses resembling the various details of a sea-going vessel. The dragon also has a symbiotic relationship with creatures that live on it, the Kereb (see below). Both creatures roam the sea, attacking any ships they find by ramming and boarding.

Propelled by its powerful tail, the Sea Horror attacks by moving at high speed and ramming its target. Its long prow-like nose can easily pierce the side of most ships and it will also use its massive teeth to chew away below the waterline. During this time, the Kereb will seek to board the stricken vessel. The Sea Horror will also employ the spell Chaos as part of its attack, casting as a 5th Level Illusionist.

The dragon is very keen on acquiring treasure in any form. This will be stashed 'on-board', being made up of a great variety of booty acquired by the Kereb.

Description: the greater part of the dragon will always be below the water. That seen above will resemble brownish tarred wood and will appear to be a ship from all but close range. Bony plates extend up from it's back to form the sides, and a long spine will have all the appearance of a mast. Behind the creature's head and upper sides is a flattish area where the Kereb live and keep their treasure. The Kereb will often festoon the body of the dragon with various objects in order to make it more resemble a ship - including sails, anchors, rigging, ropes, etc.

KEREB

FREQUENCY: Rare

NO. APPEARING: 8-64

ARMOR CLASS: 4

MOVE: 9"/6" (in water)

HIT DICE: 3

% IN LAIR: 100%

TREASURE TYPE:  F

NO. OF ATTACKS: 5

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-12, 3-18

SPECIAL ATTACKS: Paralysis

SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard

INTELLIGENCE: Low to average

ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Evil

SIZE: M (6' tall) 

PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil 

      Attack/Defense Modes: Nil

The Kereb are a race of aquatic creatures that are usually found in the company and as the 'crew' of a Sea Horror. They may also be encountered in subterranean places, as long as they are connected to the sea.

They will attack using their long sharp claw, inflicting 1-12 hit points of damage, or with their club-like arm, inflicting 3-18 hit points of damage. They can also sting with three of their feelers during any attack, which will paralyze opponents (save versus paralyzation or it takes effect).

Individual creatures do not carry treasure, but will they collectively have a hoard of Type F objects and coins.

Description: the Kereb have hard shell-like bodies, usually with pale undersides covered with darker mottles in various shades of blue, green, purple and red. These colours vary in predominance from one individual creature to another.

'Hic sunt dracones', part 2...

Following on from my previous blog post, here's another sea-based dragon for 1E D&D and similar systems:

SEA SPEAR (Greater Sea Dragon)

FREQUENCY: Rare

NO. APPEARING: 1 

ARMOR CLASS: 1

MOVE: 24" 

HIT DICE: 9-11

% IN LAIR: 10%

TREASURE TYPE:  See below

NO. OF ATTACKS: 3

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-12 wings, 3-18 tail, 6-36 beak

SPECIAL ATTACKS: Magic use

SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard

INTELLIGENCE: Very

ALIGNMENT: Lawful Evil

SIZE: L (60' long) 

PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil 

      Attack/Defense Modes: Nil

The Sea Spear is a rare but terrible threat to any vessel traversing the oceans. These dragons despise sentient creatures and always seek to clear them from the sea, a domain which they claim is theirs only.

The Sea Spear attacks by gliding at high speed just above the surface of the water, hoping to avoid the notice of any lookouts. It's long beak will act like a spear point and will be driven into the side of the vessel under attack. It will then pull itself free using its wings and by lashing its great tail. If the dragon instead suspects that treasure is aboard, it will fly at the sails and cut them to ribbons using the sharp edges of its wings. It will then wrap itself around the mainmast and attack using the spell Lightning Bolt, which it can cast as a 6th level magic-user, as well as striking out with its wings and beak. Once the crew has been disposed of, the dragon will devour any treasure it finds and regurgitate it later when it returns to its lair. Sea Spear lairs are caves cut into cliff faces, usually on some remote shoreline. Any treasure found here will vary greatly - some Sea Spears covet jewels, others gold and precious metals.

Although primarily an air-breathing creature, the Sea Spear can spend prolonged periods underwater, propelled by its sinous body and powerful tail.

Description: the upper part of its body is a mottling of dark and pale blues, which allow it to blend very effectively with the surface of the sea. Its beak and wings have streaks of ivory-like hues. When fully spread, the tail has patches of bright crimson and magenta.

Blood Beast...

So, after a bit of a break, I'm back. This time around it's with an idea for a 1E D&D monster inspired by a not very good movie. That movie is Night of the Blood Beast, which is only particularly watchable via Mystery Science Theater 3000 and you can see it here. Or you can see the un-riffed version here.

Actually, I say that it's not a very good movie but that sells it short a bit. The overall premise is quite well done and there is a suggestion of an atmosphere to the scene it sets, but it's all just handled a bit poorly. As it's a film produced by Roger Corman, this is not really surprising but probably not entirely his fault.

I've watched it a fair few times in it's MST3K incarnation, and I've found myself liking the Blood Beast as a creature. It's not too different from creatures in later movies, such as the xenomorph from the various Alien films. And, at the end of the day, all are just blokes in suits waving their claws around but Corman and co. just had a lot less money. The way the creature goes about its nefarious purpose in Night of the Blood Beast has a bit more of an interesting angle, and I thought it might translate well to being a 1E D&D monster. I've also run up a quick drawing to go with the description:

BLOOD BEAST

FREQUENCY: Rare

NO. APPEARING: 1 

ARMOR CLASS: 4 

MOVE: 8" 

HIT DICE: 4 

% IN LAIR: 20%

TREASURE TYPE:  None 

NO. OF ATTACKS: 3

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-12 claws,1-8 bite

SPECIAL ATTACKS: Charm

SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil

MAGIC RESISTANCE: 25%

INTELLIGENCE: High 

ALIGNMENT: Lawful Evil

SIZE: L (8') 

PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil 

      Attack/Defense Modes: Nil

The Blood Beast inhabits dark caves and similar underground places, and is particularly attracted to the presence of sentient beings. If it detects a party of adventurers, it will attempt to follow them and can Hide In Shadows and Move Silently as a fourth level thief. It will then carefully chose a time to make an attack on a single victim and attempt to drag them back to its lair.

In melee combat, the Blood Beast will attack with large claws and a bite. In order for its kind to propagate, it must use its bite to infect its victim with parasitic young. Anyone infected in this way will become host to 2-8 amorphous, amoeba-like creatures which will gestate for 2-12 days before eating their way out of their victim. This 'birth' will cause 1-8 damage per creature, and any that escape will grow into a fully formed Blood Beast in 2-8 days. Until that time, the infected person will seem normal and healthy.

The Blood Beast will also try to sow dischord and confusion amongst a party by the use of a powerful Charm spell, hoping to lure more victims. If a player has been dragged away and killed by the Blood Beast, it will use that player's voice as a Charm in order to call to his or her compatriots and so place them in a situation in which it can make another attack. Alternatively, it will use Charm on a victim it has bitten and release them back to their party. That player will then try to convince their compatriots that the Blood Beast is only acting in self-defence etc, and try to place them in a situation in which the monster can make another attack. In both cases, victims must save versus magic at -2.

Description: the Blood Beast is a large humanoid with a prominent eyes, a large beak-like mouth and long claws. It is covered with many folds of rough abrasive skin, some of which hangs from its body in ragged tatters. This skin is made up of many dark hues that allows it to blend well with its envionment. Its eyes are a deep blackish red.

Christmas critters!

During 2014 I've managed to make a semi-sporadic series of updates to this blog that have shown various creature designs. At the same time, I've been tinkering with other ideas and sketches as they've popped into my head or have been part of on-line threads for various RPGs. I've also been messing around with new techniques, or dusting off some old ones.

The first and most recent piece of artwork is this Mindflayer:

 

This started off as a pencil drawing, then became a line drawing which was subsequently scanned and mixed with digital colours. I've not done this sort of thing for quite a while, although I used to create artwork in a broadly similar way when I was a concept artist. It's good to have a try at this again, although I am quite rusty and need more time to get more polished. Still, I think the Mindflayer is a good illustration as to how lurid D&D monsters are, based on the description given in the 1E Monster Manual. If I get the chance I'd like to create some more D&D themed artwork. Earlier in the year I created this image of a troll:

  

This came out fairly well, although there seems to always be a fine line where a troll either looks scary or is just some weird version of Marge Simpson. I'll let you be the judge of which side of that line the above image lies. Another basic sketch shows a group of adventurers battling with orcs:

And finally, here's a more developed drawing of a goblin-like chieftan:

This came out quite well, although I think various details about the helmet decorations need reworking.

Getting back to the subject of digitally-coloured drawings, before I started on the Mindflayer I had a practice run with a creature I designed many years ago for a Star Frontiers adventure I'd created:

This is an example of the penguin-sized creatures that were living on a remote planet just outside the Frontier. This seemed to be the source of odd energy readings that could not have been created by their Stone Age culture. And speaking of Star Frontiers (incidentally, one of my favourite RPGs), here are some more sketches of aliens:

The above shows some conceptual sketches of a race called the Jakar, the best description of which would be tall bipedal bovine or bull-like creatures.

These sketches depict the Thyrann - pretty much upright lizards/komodo dragons. Both the Jakar and the Thyran were developed during discussions over at the Starfrontiers.us site. Back in January I was doodling various images of Sathar (the main baddies of Star Frontiers), which is always fun:

I've also been working on machines as well as creatures. There's this design for a prison ship for Star Frontiers:

 

And, last but not least, a pencil and 3D sketch of a light attack tilt-prop for the 2300AD RPG:

I'll hopefully add more details about this last design to my blog in 2015!

The Life-cycle of the Gelatinous Cube... Part 4

I've previously described the way in which Gelatinous Cubes are created, but that details the manner in which they reproduce whilst wandering dungeons and other underground places. What follows is a description of the creature from which these cubic seeds are originally sown.

 

MOTHER OF ALL CUBES

FREQUENCY: Very Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: none
HIT DICE: 450 hit points
% IN LAIR: 100%
TREASURE TYPE:  See below
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 4-40
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Paralyzation
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
INTELLIGENCE: Semi-
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: L (120' tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
       Attack/Defense Modes: Nil

Somewhere deep in the earth and at the middle of a vast cavern lies an ancient creature known as the Mother Of All Cubes. Although only one such monster is thought to exist, dwarf and gnomish folklore hints at there being more. It is rumoured that Cubes and other gelatinous forms occasionally return to the Mother in order to have their treasure absorbed by it, creating a vast horde at its centre.

The Mother will always be surrounded by at least 100 Cubes, which will protect it from any attacks, and it can also calve 4-40 new Cubes per melee round should the need arise. The creature can be hit by all forms of weapons, and attacks by fire have normal effects. It is unaffected by cold unless it fails its saving throw. Electricity, fear, holds, paralyzation, polymorph and sleep-based attacks have no effect upon it. Any creatures that can get close enough to come into contact with the Mother will receive 4-40 points of damage and require a saving throw versus paralyzation, or will be anaethetized for 1-10 months (during which time they will be at the mercy of its cubic offspring).

Description: this creature resembles a huge, polychromic gelatinous sphere that radiates a slight greenish glow. Although semi-transparent, there is a dark mass at its centre, and light is reflected and refracted though the creature in a very odd manner. Outwardly spherical in shape, it's surface is made up of a multitude of facets.The main part of its body rests on an amorphous mass from which Cubes sprout or are absorbed.

The Life-cycle of the Gelatinous Cube... Part 3

So, after some time away from my blog, here's another gelatinous monster. This one is somewhat odd, insomuch that it has power over the Gelatinous Cube and the various other types I've described previously. It's also accompanied by a somewhat scrappy colour scribble, which will hopefully give some idea of its appearance.

ORANGE OCTAHEDRON

FREQUENCY: Very Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 16"
HIT DICE: 12
% IN LAIR: Nil
TREASURE TYPE:  T (75%), Z (75%)
NO. OF ATTACKS: 4
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3-18
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Paralysation
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Lawful Evil
SIZE: L (10' octahedron)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
          Attack/Defense Modes: Nil

The Orange Octahedron is the stuff of legend. It is not known whether there is more than one of these dreadful creatures and it may be some unknown form of demon or the result of some dark, ancient magic. In the folklore of gnomes and dwarves, the Octahedron is the evil sibling of the fabled 'Mother of All Cubes'. It travels throughout the various Material planes, searching for its preferred treasure.

It has power over cubes and their other gelatinous incarnations, and can summon 1-6 (of any form) at will. It exudes Fear in a 5" radius (saving throw vs. wand applies) and can strike out with up to four 20-foot long pseudopods, each causing 3-18 points of damage. Any creatures touched by these requires a saving throw versus paralyzation or will be anaethetized for 5-50 melee rounds.

It usually floats several feet above any surface, although is capable of flying at greater heights. The Octahedron can be hit by all forms of weapons, and attacks by fire have normal effects. It is unaffected by cold unless it fails its saving throw, in which case their movement rate is halved. Electricity, fear, holds, paralyzation, polymorph and sleep-based attacks have no effect upon it.

Description: this creature resembles a large floating octahedron that radiates a slight orange glow. It is gelatinous, semi-transparent and covered by numerous scratches, gouges and pock marks. There is a dark mass at its centre which is made up of the magical books and scrolls it has collected over many years. It can speak the language of any intelligent creatures and will use trickery if it thinks that it may be able to add more treasure to its collection - although it is also very willing to take such items by force.

The Life-cycle of the Gelatinous Cube... Part 2

Carrying on from my initial post about the cube, here are a few later stages in its life-cycle: the gelatinous dodecahedron and icosahedron...

GELATINOUS DODECAHEDRON

FREQUENCY: Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVE: 6" (9" if rolling)
HIT DICE: 5
% IN LAIR: Nil
TREASURE TYPE:  See below
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-10, 1-3 (see below)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Paralysation, crushing, surprise on 1-3
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
INTELLIGENCE: Semi-
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: L (10' dodecahedron)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
     Attack/Defense Modes: Nil

Should a gelatinous cube survive into its thirtieth year, it will seek some dark and remote place in order to tranform into a 12-sided dodecahedron. As part of this transformation it will gain some form of very basic sentience, which in turn will make it into a somewhat active hunter. Although it usually moves from place to place on one of it's twelve flat faces, if the circumstances allow (i.e. if it is at the top of a slope or flight of stairs) it can roll and gain some speed when making an attack. The dodecahedron can inflict 1-3 points of crushing damage for every 5 hit points it possesses when attacking in this way. Normal or rolling attacks will also require a saving throw versus paralyzation or the creature touched is anaethetized for 3-30 melee rounds. It will also inflict 1-10 points of damage per melee round when surrounding and digesting its victim.

As is the case with their cubic incarnation, dodecahdrons sweep up metallic and other items as they move around and so can contain treasure types J, K, L, M, Q, as well as potions, daggers and similar items.

Dodecahedrons can be hit by all forms of weapons, and attacks by fire have normal effects. They are unaffected by cold unless they fail their saving throw, in which case their movement rate is halved. Electricity, fear, holds, paralyzation, polymorph and sleep-based attacks have no effect upon them.

Description: these creatures are large 12-sided masses with somewhat rounded edges. Although usually hard to see, their movement may be discerned when the creature is rolling as light is reflected by one or more faces.

GELATINOUS ICOSAHEDRON

FREQUENCY: Very Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 4
MOVE: 8" (12" if rolling)
HIT DICE: 7
% IN LAIR: Nil
TREASURE TYPE:  See below
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-12, 1-6 (see below)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Paralysation, crushing, surprise on 1-2
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
INTELLIGENCE: Low
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: L (12' icosahedron)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
 

Once the gelatinous dodecahedron survives into its tenth year, its shape will transform into an 20-sided icosahedron. This process will also bestow some modicum of intelligence upon the creature, and it will now actively seek out victims - particularly if they posesses treasure. Although it usually moves from place to place on one of its score of flat faces, it can chose to roll when making attacks or other movements and does not require a slope, etc for such purposes. The icosahedron can inflict 1-6 points of crushing damage for every 8 hit points it possesses when attacking in this way. Normal or rolling attacks will also require a saving throw versus paralyzation or the creature touched is anaethetized for 4-40 melee rounds. It will also inflict 2-12 points of damage per melee round when surrounding and digesting its victim.

As is the case with their other gelatinous forms, icosahedrons sweep up metallic and other items as they move around and so can contain treasure types J, K, L, M, Q, as well as potions, daggers and similar items. As they are wont to retain certain forms of treasure, there is a 40% chance that an individual will contain types R and U. This makes them somewhat more visible, although the treasure tends to pool towards the lower half of their bodies.

Icosahedrons can be hit by all forms of weapons, and attacks by fire have normal effects. They are unaffected by cold unless they fail their saving throw, in which case their movement rate is halved. Electricity, fear, holds, paralyzation, polymorph and sleep-based attacks have no effect upon them.

Description: these creatures are large 20-sided masses with rounded edges. Although somewhat hard to see, their movement may be discerned when the creature is rolling as light is reflected by one or more faces. Icosahedrons are attracted to gold, jewels and other precious items and will seek to attack any creatures which possess them.

The Life-cycle of the Gelatinous Cube

Some creatures from the Monster Manual interest me more than others, and sometimes it's fun to wonder if they have some other form either earlier or later in their life-cycle. This got me thinking about whether this gelatinous monster only has a cube form for part of its life and, if so, would it perhaps have other shapes at some other points in time. As the cube is the same shape as a d6, I thought it'd be interesting to add other dice shapes to the mix and use them as the basis for these other forms.

This life-cycle is divided up into distinct phases: hatchling, cube, dodecahedron and icosahedron. Cubes are the most common type found in dungeons and other underground places and the creature spends most of its life in that form (I won't, of course, provide a description and stats for the cube). I'll also add in two extra creatures related to these gelatinous forms, perhaps to add a little more colour: a mysterious and very rare 'Orange Octahedron', and massive creatures called 'The Mother of All Cubes' - although they may be the stuff of legend...

The cube gains more sides as it goes through its life, and of some stages last longer than others. So:

- if a cube survives 30 years, it becomes a 12-sided dodecahedron. 

- if it subsequently survives 10 years in dodecahedron form, it transforms into a 20-sided icosahedron. 

As it gets older, the life-cycles get shorter – the trade-off being that it also gets more intelligent and becomes a more active predator. Stats and descriptions for the 12- and 20-sided versions will feature in an upcoming post.*

What I've written below could be seen as slightly tongue-in-cheek, or could be played completely straight. Either way, hopefully it might give your players something to figure out and/or fight against. As with my other creature designs, the stats and descriptions are written up in 1E AD&D format, but should be easy to convert to your preferred system. I'll add to this series in further blog posts.

GELATINOUS HATCHLING

  

FREQUENCY: Uncommon
NO. APPEARING: 3-18
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVE: 8"
HIT DICE: 2 hit points
% IN LAIR: Nil
TREASURE TYPE:  See below
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-3
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Paralysation, surprise on 1-2 (if encountered outside of hatchling cocoon)
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
INTELLIGENCE: Non-
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: S (1-2' tetrahedron)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
         Attack/Defense Modes: Nil

Once every other year, a gelatinous cube will produce young in the form of hatchlings. A small blister will appear on the exterior of the cube and this will become detached as the creature moves from place to place. The resulting coccon will appear to be a large semi-transparent mass attached to a wall or other surface by various stringy tendrils. Closer study of this mass will show the hatchlings moving around inside, and anyone striking or puncturing its somewhat fragile shell will suffer 1-3 points of damage as it bursts and showers them with the liquid it contains. If undisturbed, the blister will rupture naturally after 3 days, and 3-18 fully-fledged hatchlings will break out and begin scouring for food. They remain in this form for 3 months, after which they hide in some dark, out of the way place and transform into their larger cubic form.

Hatchlings are only particularly dangerous if encountered in large groups, or if a number of them encounter sleeping adventurers. Coming into contact with a hatchling will require a saving throw versus paralyzation or the creature touched is anaethetized for 1-8 melee rounds. The hatchling will then attempt to digest some part of their victim, inflicting damage as it does so. Their bodies are not particularly adept at picking up solid objects, so their treasure will usually consist of nothing heavier than a few copper pieces.

Hatchlings can be hit by all forms of weapons, and attacks by fire have normal effects. They are unaffected by cold unless they fail their saving throw, in which case their movement rate is halved. Electricity, fear, holds, paralyzation, polymorph and sleep-based attacks have no effect upon them.

Description: hatchlings resemble transparent tetrahedrons, altough with somewhat rounded edges. After leaving the cocoon they are semi-transparent for several hours, and after that time their apparent opacity is patchy and noticable in certain lighting conditions.

* - updated for clarity on 6th October 2014.

Dragons...! (Part Three)

Following on from my previous posts (here and here), this week's dragon is the...

CHITINOUS DRAGONLING

FREQUENCY: Very Rare 
NO. APPEARING: 1 
ARMOR CLASS: 1 
MOVE: 6"/12" 
HIT DICE: 4-6 
% IN LAIR: 50% 
TREASURE TYPE:  D, S, T 
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4, 1-12, 1-12 
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Spit acidic glue, poison sting 
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil 
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard 
INTELLIGENCE: High 
ALIGNMENT: Lawful/Chaotic Neutral 
SIZE: L (8' long) 
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil 
        Attack/Defense Modes: Nil 
CHANCE OF:

Speaking: 50% 
Magic Use: 20% 
Sleeping: 20%

These Dragonlings are the juvenile form of the Greater or Lesser Chitinous Dragon. At birth they are a pearl-like egg 2' in diameter, which is concreted on some part of their parents' lair. Within a few hours, this egg grows into a pupa-like form from which the Dragonling emerges after one day. From that point onwards, it has the capabilities given above. Over the next 200 years, the Dragonling travels from place to place, during which time its alignment and temperment will slowly evolve down one particular path until it changes into its Greater or Lesser form. The route of this path will be steered by what the creature experiences and observes, and by how it is treated by other creatures. Those Dragonlings that can talk will be keen to converse with other creatures, and will seem particularly interested in treasure and magic. Their manner will seem somewhat abrupt and jump from subject to subject, and they speak with a curious wheezing tone.

Although they may appear ungainly, Dragonlings can move quickly and will engage in combat defensively or if provoked. It can opt to fight with either a pair of small, sharp claws and a bite, a poisonous sting in its two-pronged tail, or by spitting an acidic glue. Its tail attacks with +1 to hit, and any creature struck by it must save versus poison or be paralysed for 1-4 rounds. When spitting, its range is 3" and is aimed at a single creature. The victim will be trapped for 2-12 rounds unless the glue is burnt or frozen away, during which time a highly corrosive acid will eat into clothing, armour and flesh. If the dragon can speak and employ magic, they will know 1-3 spells up to 2nd level. Roll randomly to determine which spells they know.

Description: The Chitinous Dragonling resembles a large blubbery mass with a forked tail and three pairs of opaque wings. Its skin is tough and partially covered by layers of jagged chitinous scales. Dragonlings favour a wide variety of colours and markings which they can change at will, depending on their mood and environment.

Dragons...! (Part Two)

Following on from last week's post and details, this week's dragon is the...

CHITINOUS DRAGON (Lesser)

FREQUENCY: Very Rare 
NO. APPEARING: 1-2 
ARMOR CLASS: 0 
MOVE: 9"/18" 
HIT DICE: 7-9 
% IN LAIR: 50% 
TREASURE TYPE:  H, R, S, T 
NO. OF ATTACKS: 4 
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4, 1-4, 2-12, 1-12 
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Breath weapon, poison sting 
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil 
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard 
INTELLIGENCE: High 
ALIGNMENT: Lawful Good 
SIZE: L (14' long) 
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
       Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
CHANCE OF:                Speaking: 70%
                Magic Use: 40%
                Sleeping: 20%

These dragons prefer to live in high places or high points in the landscape. Their lair is usually some remote place which is particularly hard to access. They are very interested in the world around them, with some travelling from high point to high point closely observing what they see en-route. Others prefer to hunker down at one particular high point and watch whatever passes by - in fact, some can easily be mistaken for mossy rocks or similar features if they have been observing for a prolonged period of time. They have a faultless memory, and can effortlessly recall minute details about anything that they have seen. Because of this, they are very useful sources of information about their locale but will ask many and varied questions in exchange. Any creature that tries to lie to the dragon will never be able to speak with it again, and the conversation will come to an abrupt halt.

Lesser Chitinous Dragons are usually loathe to engage in combat, but if need be the dragon can opt to fight with either a pair of small, sharp claws and a stabbing beak, a breath weapon, or with a poisonous sting. Its breath weapon is an acidic gas 5" long, 3" wide and 3" high that will blind any creature for 2-12 rounds. A barb in it's short flexible tail attacks with +2 to hit, and any creature struck by it must save versus poison at -2 or be paralysed for 1-8 rounds. If the dragon can speak and employ magic, they will know 1-6 spells up to 5th level. Roll randomly to determine which spells they know.

Description: The Lesser Chitinous Dragon resembles a large beetle or tortoise with a short hooked tail and long pointed head. It flies using a pair of opaque wings which fold backwards and lie flat against its carapace when not in use. Their chitin can be made up of a wide variety of colours, although those that prefer a more sedentary lifestyle chose colours that best blend with their environment. Those that can speak do so with a soft, melodious tone and will be very keen to converse and exchange information with any creature that engages them in conversation. If two are encountered, they will be a mating pair.

Dragons...! (Part One)

Much as I like dragons, I do sometimes wonder whether there might be other choices aside from the 'big scaly lizard with wings' default. With that in mind, I've rustled up a few interrelated designs that I'll add to this blog over the next few weeks, along with an accompanying scribble. As with my 'Edible Monsters' series, these have been written out in a 1E AD&D format, and for fun I've started off with the 'baddie' version.

Chitinous Dragons

These dragons differ slightly from their better-known bretheren by having a tough chitinous hide rather than scales and leathery skin. They exist in three forms, all of which are very rarely encountered: Dragonling, Lesser and Greater. The Lesser and Greater Chitinous Dragons are both forms of the Chitinous Dragonling. The Dragonling lives for around 200 years, during which time it explores and learns about the world and about magic. After this period, depending on what it has experienced and how it has been treated by other creatures, it chooses either the Lawful Good Lesser form, or the Chaotic Evil Greater form. Note that the terms 'Greater' and 'Lesser' only refer to the dragon's size and not its capabilities, and either lives on for 201-400 years.

After death, the carapace of any form of Chitinous Dragon is greatly prized as a source of +1 to +3 armour, when worked by a suitably skilled individual. Similarly, their wings can be included in the construction of +1 to +3 composite bows.

Unusually for dragon-kind, Chitinous Dragons do not make lairs in caves or similar underground dwellings; rather, they prefer somewhat inaccessible places above ground.

Note to Dungeon Masters: Chitinous Dragons do not pass through ages in the same way as other dragons. Aside from that, their other powers and capabilities are as stated in the section dealing with dragons in the Monster Manual.

CHITINOUS DRAGON (Greater)

FREQUENCY: Very Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1-2
ARMOR CLASS: 0
MOVE: 12"/36"
HIT DICE: 8-10
% IN LAIR: 50%
TREASURE TYPE:  H, R, S, T
NO. OF ATTACKS: 4
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8, 1-8, 2-20, 2-16
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Breath weapon, poison sting
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: High
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Evil
SIZE: L (24' long)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
                Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
CHANCE OF:
                Speaking: 50%
                Magic Use: 30%
                Sleeping: 30%

Greater Chitinous Dragons prefer remote forests and woodland, preferably within reach of a lake or similar body of water. Their lairs are usually atop some large ancient tree, with their treasure kept in numerous (2-20), hard to reach nests in the canopy.

Its breath weapon is an acidic gas 6" long, 4" wide and 5" high that attacks organic matter (such as wood, leather, wool, linen, etc) and thus quickly destroys shields, belts, fittings, rope and other such items. A barb in it's very flexible tail attacks with +3 to hit, and any creature struck by it must save versus poison or be paralysed for 2-12 rounds. If the dragon can speak and employ magic, they will know 1-3 Druid spells of 3rd to 5th level.

When attacking, the dragon can opt to fight with a pair of hook-like claws and a bite, a breath weapon, or with a poisonous sting.

Description: The Greater Chitinous Dragon resembles a giant cranefly (albeit one with a long, whip-like tail), covered in a multitude of thorny barbs, and carried aloft via two pairs of opaque wings. Their chitin can be made up of a wide variety of colours, as some of their kind prefer subtle camouflage whilst others employ garish, pie-bald patterns of several hues. Those that can speak do so with a harsh, buzzing tone. If two are encountered, it will be a mating pair.

Orcs...!

I have to admit that I've always been more impressed with the depictions of Orcs in the Bakshi version of Lord of the Rings than with those in the more recent LotR films. I think this may be to do with the fact that they tallied more with my mental image of them from reading the books. That said, this was also partly tempered by the way they were depicted in miniature form by Citadel, Ral Partha and Grenadier Models. All of this blended together around the same time I started playing D&D in 1982, as it was also the first time I saw the Bakshi film (via rental video) and became aware of the various minis.

Since then in my mind's eye I've tended to see Orcs as more akin to a Gigantopithecus skull, barely covered with flesh. Something along these sorts of lines:

If anything, these probably need to be more gaunt and thinly-fleshed. And have tusks...

That said, recently I've found myself becoming more interested in the 'pig faced' versions as depicted in the 1E Monster Manual. I'm not sure why, particularly as when first seeing them way back when, I thought that they didn't seem... well... 'Orcish' enough. But after recently having a go at drawing Orcs in that particular vein, I can sort of see where David C. Sutherland III and Gary Gygax were heading with their ideas. Their Orcs are skewed more to being like boars, as least as far as looks are concerned from the neck up. The overall shape of their heads do suggest something like a fleshed boar skull.

With that in mind, I have been working on some scribbles that go with the boar theme. For example, here are a few 'pig-like' examples:

And here's one that is a tad more 'streamlined':

I've also had a go at a full-body depiction, taking my cues from the 1E Monster Manual:

This version goes with the studded leather and polearm theme more common to 1E Orcs. And by taking my cue from Sutherland's drawing it also seems to be a mixture of historical nods at, say, Vikings and possibly Babylonians.

I think I'll come back to doing a few more scribbles along these lines, and maybe also the Gigantopithecus versions. In the meantime, Fractured Miniatures do some rather nice pig-faced Orc minis that are worth having a look at. Their Orcs are a tad tubbier than mine and they have interesting boar-like faces.

Edible Monsters - Part Six

This week's monster prefers to seek out very particular victims...

WITCHES' NEST

FREQUENCY: Very Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVE: 6"
HIT DICE: 6
% IN LAIR: 50%
TREASURE TYPE:  E
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Paralysis
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Blinding. Cold and fire do not harm
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Immune to fire and cold spells
INTELLIGENCE: Animal
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Evil
SIZE: M (7' dia.)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
     Attack/Defense Modes: Nil

Witches' Nests are malevolent creatures that appear to be a dense, weed-like bush in form festooned with oddly-shaped pods. They live only in dungeons and similar places, particularly wherever evil magic has been practised. They are especially dangerous to Magic Users or anyone in possession of a magic item, as they are drawn to magical forces. When attacking, they lash out with 6' whip-like thorny limbs, and a successful hit will paralyze their victim if they fail a save vs. paralyzation. Although immune to fire and cold, it can be harmed by electrical attacks. Should the nest lose 75% of its hit points, it will cause its pods to create a great deal of blinding light (as per a Continual Light spell) and endeavour to retreat. If killed, the greater mass of the Nest will quickly become dessicated and wither away to dust, but 8-64 pods will remain along with whatever treasure has been left by previous victims. If the pods are dried, crushed to a powder and added to water, drinking the resulting mixture grants infravision for 1-4 hours to anyone who does not possess this ability. Those that do already possess that ability will find its range doubled for 1-4 hours. However, 12 pods are required per mixture and it may only be taken once every 24 hours.

Description: Witches' Nests are an unruly mass of fibrous matt black limbs, with blood red thorns. Its pods are yellow and resemble indistinct, misshapen faces