Showing posts with label 0e. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 0e. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Huge and Hungry: Purple Worms

“These huge and hungry monsters lurk nearly everywhere just beneath the surface of the land… Purple Worms never check morale and will always attack” —Dungeons and Dragons Book II: Monsters and Treasures (1974).

Purple worms have seemingly been in every single edition of D&D, plus David R. Megarry’s Dungeon! board game (1975). They feature prominently in the underworld tableau on the back cover of the 1e Monster Manual (1977). In the early versions of the game purple worms were one of the apex challenges, found only on the lowest dungeon level matrices: 50 feet long and eight to ten feet in diameter, with 15d8 Hit Dice, a poison sting, and the ability to swallow an ogre whole, they were not to be trifled with. For perspective, Orcus and Demogorgon “only” had 12d12 and 10d20 HD respectively in Eldritch Wizardry (1975).

Although I had a pretty decent pre-painted purple worm from the 2006 War of the Dragon Queen set, I grabbed the Goremaw miniature from the Reaper Bones 3: The Search for Mr. Bones Kickstarter back in 2015. I think my plan was to paint this one, like Mashaaf, for my Age of Worms campaign, possibly as a stand-in for an Ulgurstasta. In any case, this miniature became yet another Bones 3 model stuck in my painting logjam.

I finally got around to tackling this figure in April and once again, a Michael Mordor tutorial proved extremely helpful. I primed the model with Army Painter spray-on Uniform Gray, then used Army Painter Alien Purple for the base coat. Due to the sheet size of Goremaw, the airbrush helped make quick work of this step. I then used Army Painter purple tone before painting a yellowed bone color on the horns/teeth/whatever that cover its body. Mordor used more of a pure white on those. I tried his technique of washing the teeth with Army Painter Strong Tone, then wicking away the highlighted areas with a Q-Tip. I didn’t get the same great results he got, in part because my bone color was already stained and the Strong Tone didn’t create a good enough contrast. I would have been better off using a pure white to pull off this technique.

I then did a lot of dry brushing. I initially thought I had done too much but overall I’m satisfied with the results. This was an incredibly fun model to paint: the Bobby Jackson sculpt has a very dynamic, writhing pose and looks like the monster just burst out of the dungeon floor to surprise some poor adventurers. It’s also a suitably large model, heavy in the hand and about 100mm in diameter at the base, suitable for its Gargantuan size.

Purple Worms in the Great Dungeon

Purple worms are only found in the North within the basin of the Great Gobbo River. It is said that the hills of granite and ledge that encircle the basin act as natural barriers to the worms, preventing their expansion into other areas. Along the flood plains and foothills of the Gobbo the worms are a frequent terror, and a mottled variety are found living in the muck at the bottom of Black Lake. The dragon Old Brokehorn has been spooted fighting more than one of these horrors, a terrifying struggle between two titans. Purple worms are said to occasionally tunnel into the deepest levels of the Great Dungeon, and particularly bold adventurers have sought out worm tunnels as a possible new route into the lower halls. Clutches of purple worm eggs are sometimes found with 1d10+10 immature worms.

The following text is Open Game Content.

Purple Worm, Immature

This flailing, wriggling creature appears to be a gigantic earthworm, five feet long and nearly a foot round, its slimy skin colored a purple so dark as to be nearly black.

0e

Immature Purple Worm CL 3 (60 XP)

An immature purple worm has a poisonous sting but cannot swallow whole.

HD 1; AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 bite (1d6), sting (1d4 + poison); Move 4; Save 17; AL N; Special lethal poison (+4 saving throw).

3.5e

Immature Purple Worm CR 1/2

Always N Medium magical beast

Init +0; Senses tremorsense 30 ft.; Listen +2

Defense

AC 16 (+6 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 16

hp 9 (1d10+4)

Fort +2, Ref +2, Will -2

Offense

Spd 10 ft., burrow 10 ft., swim 5 ft.

Melee 1 bite +1 (1d6), 1 sting -4 (1d4 plus poison)

Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.

Special Attacks poison (DC 11, 1d2 Str/1d4 Str)

Statistics

Str 11, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 1, Wis 6, Cha 6

Base Atk +1; Grp +1

Feats Toughness

Skills Listen +2, Swim +0

Ecology

Environment Underground

Organization hatching (11–20)

Treasure standard

Advancement 2–5 HD (Medium); 6–10 HD (Large); 11–15 HD (Huge)

5e

Immature Purple Worm
Medium monstrosity, unaligned
Armor Class 14 (natural)
Hit Points 22 (4d8 + 4)
Speed 20 ft., burrow 10 ft.
StrDexConIntWisCha
11 (+0)10 (+0)13 (+1)1 (-5)6 (-2)4 (-3)
Saving Throws Con +3, Wis +0
Senses blindsight 15 ft., tremorsense 30 ft., passive Perception 8
Languages —
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)
Actions
Multiattack. The worm makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its stinger.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d6) piercing damage.
Stinger. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (1d4) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw, taking 3 (1d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a

The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved.

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Tuesday, June 6, 2023

RIP, Russ Nicholson

A cyclops.

A few weeks ago we learned the sad news that Russ Nicholson had passed. Russ was a talented illustrator whose black and white work graced early issues of White Dwarf, the 1st edition Fiend Folio, and the Warlock of Firetop Mountain Fighting Fantasy gamebook, all of which were incredibly influential on me and many fellow gamers. In recent years Russ had maintained a blog, The Gallery: Art of Russ Nicholson where he posted some of his newer and older work.

Both Grognardia and Zenopus Archives posted excellent tributes to Russ and his work. He played a significant role in the evolution of Dungeons and Dragons: his illustrations of many iconic monsters in the Fiend Folio, such as the Grell, Githyanki, or Sons of Kyuss helped popularize those creatures and continue to influence their depictions in the game today. 

Personally, the Fiend Folio was my very first AD&D hardcover, even before the Monster Manual, and I spent untold hours poring over that book and drinking in his work. Russ had an uncanny ability to create evocative, detailed images that could make even the dumbest of monsters—and let’s face it, my beloved Fiend Folio has plenty of dumb monsters—seem cool.

The early issues of White Dwarf contain many great Russ illustrations that are probably unfamiliar to most American gamers, including several Fiend Factory installments that feature monsters cut from the Fiend Folio. (For my money, a few of these “director’s cut” monsters are actually stronger designs than several that actually got into the book.)

The striking cyclops illustration above appeared in White Dwarf 21 (Oct/Nov 1980) as part of the article "Fiend Factory: One Eye Canyon - Mini-Wilderness Scenario, 5th-7th Level," written by Albie Fiore—who contributed several monsters to the Fiend Folio, such as the berbalang and firenewt.

The look of this cyclops actually has a surprisingly long and interesting pedigree: some sleuths over on Dragonsoot traced this back to a couple of illustrations of “one-eyed orcs” in the UK version of Holmes Basic (1977) done by “Fangorn,” aka Chris Baker, who was also a veteran of the Fiend Folio. The illustrations then inspired a 1979 Citadel cyclops miniature from their Fiend Factory line.

It seems odd that D&D has never really had a cyclops design that has stuck, even though it is such a classic from Greek myth. It’s not for lack of trying: they are mentioned in the OD&D Monsters and Treasures book (1974) as "Super-strength Giants with poor depth perception” (21) and statted out in the OD&D Gods, Demi-gods, and Heros (1976) as having “all the powers of a Storm Giant, but they are much more intelligent” (17). (In fact, a cyclops even graces the frontispiece of GDH.)

In 1980 the Cook/Marsh Expert set and the AD&D Deities and Demigods both take very different swings: while the Expert set goes with a 13 HD giant, the DDG breaks them into lesser and greater cyclopes. Both 2e and 3e follow the DDG model in Legends and Lore (1986) and Deities and Demigods (1990). I think the problem with all of these is that they hew too closely to Greek mythology, making these monsters much too powerful and tying them too tightly to a specific milieu.

AD&D tried to address these problems by offering the “cyclopskin” in the Monster Manual II (1983), which also also appears in the 2e Monstrous Compendium Volume II. Neither version seems to have caught on, perhaps because of the lack of a strong hook: this 5 HD, 7-½ foot tall monster is basically just a tough, one-eyed brigand.

More recent iterations haven’t been done much more to distinguish themselves beyond being big and having one eye. The Pathfinder cyclops is a CR 5, 10 HD giant with an odd “Flash of Insight” special ability. The 5e cyclops is just a Huge, CR 6, 12 HD giant.

I keep coming back to the Fangorn/Russ/Fiore version as maybe offering the most distinctive take yet on the cyclops for D&D. I tried a few different conversions of their version, but none really worked: I kept ending up with just a really big, one-eyed giant. Then I realized I was making the same old mistake of trying to stick too closely to Greek myth.

Take another look at that Russ illustration: that doesn’t look like a half-divine son of Poseiden so much as a mutant from a sci-fi B movie. And with that in mind, it seemed to make more sense to recast the cyclops as an aberration than any sort of giant. This gives the cyclops more of its own niche within D&D, and is actually consistent with the D&D tradition of mining classical mythology for names and basic concepts but then veering into more generic science fantasy for specific implementation. For example, consider the D&D treatment of the hydra, gorgon, medusa, pegasus, or minotaur.

With that in mind, here’s my own take on a cyclops for 0e, 3.5e, and 5e, which leans heavily into the B movie inspiration. I would love to be able to get my mitts on some miniatures of these things. In fact, wouldn’t it be great for Otherworld Miniatures to do a whole set of Russ Nicholson-inspired figures?

The following text is Open Game Content.

Cyclops

This hulking biped looms nearly eight feet tall, its powerful arms ending in clawed hands. Its face is dominated by a single, clear sea-green eye in the center of its forehead, a wide, gaping maw, and two upswept, pointed ears. Its lumpy, weathered hide is patched with straggly clumps of greenish-black hair.

Insatiable and Unpredictable. Cyclopes are impulsive and emotional, prone to almost childlike outbursts of fury. They have a dark hunger for both humanoid flesh and strong drink.

Raiders and Plunderers. Cyclopes form small bands and haunt wild lands and caverns, occasionally raiding humanoid settlements for food, treasure, and captives. Their ferocity and strength allow them to dominate bands of weaker evil humanoids.

Unnatural Horrors. A cyclops cannot reproduce naturally with another cyclops, and must instead rely upon humanoids, giants, or others to produce new cyclopes. Cyclopes can interbreed with an appalling number of creatures; any resulting offspring not born as cyclopes are eaten.

0e

Cyclops CL 7 (600 XP)

The cyclops can immobilize an opponent within 60 feet with a glance. The target must make a saving throw or become completely immobilized for 1d6 rounds. The effect ends if the target takes damage or is shaken roughly by an ally.

HD 6; AC 4 [15]; Atk 2 claws (1d4), bite (1d8); Move 12; Save 11; AL C; Special hypnotic glance.

3.5e

Cyclops CR 3

Usually CE Medium aberration

Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +3, Spot +3

Languages Common

Defense

AC 15, touch 10, flat-footed 15
(+5 natural)

hp 33 (6d8+6 HD)

Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +6

Offense

Spd 30 ft.

Melee 2 claws +6 (1d4+2), 1 bite +4 (1d8+1)

Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.

Special Attacks hypnotic glance

Statistics

Str 15, Dex 11, Con 13, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 13

Base Atk +4; Grp +6

Feats Alertness, Iron Will, Multiattack

Skills Climb +5, Intimidate +3, Listen +3, Spot +3

Ecology

Environment any

Organization solitary, gang (2-9), or tribe (10-19 plus one 11 HD leader plus 20% noncombatants)

Treasure standard

Advancement 6–10 HD (Medium); 11–14 HD (Large); 15–18 HD (Huge)

Special Abilities

Hypnotic Glance (Su) As a standard action, a cyclops can fascinate a creature within 30 feet with a look. The target creature must succeed on a DC 14 Will save or be fascinated for 1d6 rounds. This is a mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

5e

Cyclops
Medium aberration, chaotic evil
Armor Class 14 (natural)
Hit Points 58 (9d8 + 18)
Speed 30 ft.
StrDexConIntWisCha
17 (+3)11 (+0)15 (+2)8 (-1)9 (-1)13 (+1)
Saving Throws Wisdom +1
Skills Perception +1
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages Common
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Actions
Multiattack. The cyclops makes 3 attacks: two with its claws, one with its bite.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.
Hypnotic Glance. The cyclops targets one creature it can see within 30 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or become charmed for 1d6 rounds. While charmed, the creature is incapacitated and has a speed of 0. Any potential threat, such as a hostile creature approaching, allows an affected creature a new saving throw. The effect ends for an affected creature if it takes any damage or if someone else uses an action to shake the creature out of its stupor.

OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a

The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved.

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Monday, September 21, 2020

The Abyssal Gorer

I have written previously about action economy and monster design. Essentially, a group of PCs can easily overwhelm a single, more powerful monster simply because they get so many more actions per round than the monster. Although the fundamental issue was more-or-less understood much earlier, the term “economy of actions” may have been coined by Wizards of the Coast designer Rodney Thompson in an influential, but long lost Gleemax post from 2007 or 2008. 4e tried a few different mechanisms with varying levels of success to address this problem, most notably creating minion, normal, elite, and solo categories for monsters.

The 5e solution is the legendary action mechanic, which gives powerful monsters bonus actions each round that can be taken on the players’ turns. This solution actually harkens all the way back to the 2003 Miniatures Handbook, which introduced the mechanic of swift and immediate actions to 3.5e. These actions also allow monsters to take extra actions each round—even outside their own turn.

Pathfinder Battles horned demon miniature.

Although later 3.5e monsters occasionally incorporated swift and immediate actions, the implementation was inconsistent. Other designers tried other mechanics to address the action economy problem, and the “horned demon” from Paizo’s Dark Elf Sanctum (2005) is a good example. Sanctum was part of Paizo’s short-lived Compleat Encounter line: each installment contained a short, stand-alone encounter along with cardboard map tiles and unpainted miniatures. Sanctum was written by Mike Mearls with art by Wayne Reynolds. The miniatures were sculpted by Neil McKenzie.

The horned demon is a tough, physical brute with one very interesting trick: it wears a magical belt containing the souls of trapped evil spellcasters. (Is that metal or what?) While the demon engages in melee the belt casts spells, essentially given the monster bonus actions each round. This is a classic Mearls design, featuring an elegant, flavorful solution to a knotty mechanical problem.

But the horned demon has a few classic Mearls quirks, as well—such as a profound disinterest in setting logic or mechanical consistency. The demon, for example, has none of the special features of the demon subtype. And in a game system that quantifies everything, there’s no indication what happens to the belt once the demon is killed, how much such a belt is worth, or how one is created.

Paizo brought the horned demon into the Pathfinder game as the Kalavakus demon in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 2 (2010). But this is a rather different monster, now a conventional demon without its signature belt and sporting a new enslave ability: a much more mechanically complete—but also much less interesting—monster. (Fortunately, the WizKids miniature of the demon included the three-faced belt.)

For this conversion, I’ve gone back to the original design and embraced the problematic belt. The following text is Open Game Content.

Abyssal Gorer

This hulking, muscled beast has four long, fierce horns sweeping back from its skull and similar bone structures along its forearms. It wears a leather belt and loincloth set with three metal disks, each with a humanoid face carved upon it.

Fell Advisors. Each abyssal gorer wears a belt of the coven, a demonskin belt imbued with the souls of three evil spellcasters. These villains speak to the gorer and provide counsel in battle.

A Bloodthirsty Abandon. In combat an abyssal gorer lunges toward the nearest target. The coven trapped within the belt lend their arcane power to its efforts, blasting its foes with spells or enhancing its efforts with support spells.

0e

Abyssal Gorer CL 11 (1,700 XP)

The belt of the coven worn by an abyssal gorer acts as an intelligent sword and can cast spells as a 6th level magic-user (4/2/2). A common spell list is: level 1: hold portal, magic missile x2, shield; level 2: strength, web; level 3: lightning bolt x2.

HD 9; AC 4 [15]; Atk 2 claws (1d6), gore (2d6); Move 12; Save 6; AL C; Special: Spells.

3.5e

Abyssal Gorer CR 11

Always CE Medium outsider (chaotic, evil, extraplanar)

Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +18, Spot +18

Languages Abyssal, Common

Defense

AC 25, touch 11, flat-footed 24 (+1 Dex, +14 natural)

hp 126 (12d8+72 HD); DR 10/good

Fort +14, Ref +9, Will +11

SR 22

Offense

Spd 30 ft.

Melee 2 claws +16 (1d8+4), bite +14 (1d6+2), gore +14 (1d6+2)

Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.

Special Attacks aligned strike (chaos, evil), horns, powerful charge 2d6+6

Typical Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 6th)

3rd (3/day)—lightning bolt (DC 15)

2nd (6/day)—bull’s strength, spider climb

1st (7/day)—jump, mage armor, magic missile, shield

0 (6/day)—acid splash (+13 ranged touch), arcane mark, daze (DC 12), detect magic, ghost sound, resistance, touch of fatigue (+16 melee touch)

Statistics

Str 19, Dex 13, Con 22, Int 15, Wis 17, Cha 15

Base Atk +12; Grp +16

Feats Combat Expertise, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Disarm, Multiattack, Power Attack

Skills Climb +19, Intimidate +17, Jump +19, Knowledge (arcana) +17, Knowledge (the planes) +17, Listen +18, Search +17, Spellcraft +17, Spot +18, Tumble +16

SQ belt of the coven

Ecology

Environment any

Organization solitary or patrol (2–9)

Treasure standard

Advancement 13–18 HD (Large); 19–24 HD (Huge)

Level Adjustment +6

Special Abilities

Belt of the Coven (Su) The three souls bound within the belt are spellcasters charged with directing the gorer and providing it magical support. In addition to the abyssal gorer’s normal actions, each of these faces is an intelligent creature. An abyssal gorer somehow separated from its belt has Intelligence 6, Wisdom 8, and Charisma 5. 

Each round, one of the three faces can cast a single spell as a swift action. The spell must be cast with a standard, move, or free action for the belt to use it in this manner. The belt has the casting ability of a sorcerer with half the abyssal gorer’s HD as its caster level (typically resulting in caster level 6th). The belt uses the gorer’s attributes, attack bonus, and all other relevant data when using its spells, such as touch attack bonus. The gorer acts as the spell’s caster for purposes of determining line of effect, targets, and so forth. Using spells in this manner does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Horns (Ex) The long, sharp horns that run along the gorer’s arm allow it to disarm its opponents with greater ease. It catches a weapon in the gap between its arm and the horn and yanks the weapon away from its opponent. It gains a +2 bonus on all attack rolls made to disarm an opponent.

Powerful Charge (Ex) When an abyssal gorer charges, its gore attack deals 2d6+6 points of damage.

Typically, a coven uses shield and mage armor to leave the gorer invulnerable to most attacks. It then either follows up with bull's strength if the gorer faces a tough foe, or picks off the gorer's opponents with magic missile and lightning bolt.

5e

Abyssal Gorer
Medium fiend, chaotic evil
Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
Hit Points 142 (15d8 + 75 HD)
Speed 30 ft.
StrDexConIntWisCha
19 (+4)13 (+1)20 (+5)15 (+2)15 (+2)16 (+3)
Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Abyssal, Common
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
Spellcasting. The abyssal gorer is a 6th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). It requires no material components to cast its spells. The abyssal gorer has the following sorcerer spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): acid splash, chill touch, mage hand, minor illusion, prestidigitation, shocking grasp, true strike
1st level (4 slots): jump, mage armor, magic missile, shield
2nd level (3 slots): enhance ability, spider climb
3rd level (3 slots): lightning bolt
Magic Resistance. The abyssal gorer has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Actions
Multiattack. The abyssal gorer makes three attacks: one with its gore and two with its claws.
Gore. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) piercing damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage.
Charge. If the abyssal gorer moves at least 10 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with a gore attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 9 (2d8) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 10 feet away and knocked prone.
Legendary Actions
The abyssal gorer can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The abyssal gorer regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Claw attack. The abyssal gorer makes one claw attack.
Gore attack (Costs 2 Actions). The abyssal gorer makes one gore attack.
Cast a Spell (Costs 3 Actions). The abyssal gorer casts a spell from its list of prepared spells, using a spell slot as normal.

OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a

The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved.

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Monday, May 6, 2019

A Grotesque Travesty of Creation: Man-Apes

The ape maintained his grasp in Conan’s hair, dragging him toward the tusks that glistened in the moonlight. The Cimmerian resisted this effort, with his left arm rigid as iron, while the sword in his right hand, wielded like a butcher-knife, sank again and again into the groin, breast and belly of his captor. The beast took its punishment in awful silence, apparently unweakened by the blood that gushed from its ghastly wounds. Swiftly the terrible strength of the anthropoid overcame the leverage of braced arm and knee. Inexorably Conan’s arm bent under the strain; nearer and nearer he was drawn to the slavering jaws that gaped for his life. Now the blazing eyes of the barbarian glared into the bloodshot eyes of the ape.
—Robert E. Howard, “Shadows in the Moonlight”
Carnivorous ape illustration by Darlene. From the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Monster Cards Set 3, copyright © 1982 by TSR.

The carnivorous ape was a classic monster from the 1st edition AD&D Monster Manual. They were originally conceived as a race of fairly intelligent, man-eating apes with their own language. The pulp fantasy authors who were so inspirational to Dungeons and Dragons were fascinated by similar apes and ape-like creatures: Edgar Rice Burroughs alone created the Mangani, a sort of missing link between chimpanzees and gorillas, the Sagoths, a race of ape-like men native to Pellucidar, the four-armed white apes of Barsoom, and a race of man-apes inhabiting the lost city of Opar. H.P. Lovecraft would riff on this last one with his white apes in the short story “Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family.” Robert E. Howard also had his own snow apes and gray man-apes, as seen in “Shadows in the Moonlight.” This trope is so common in Frank Frazetta’s fantasy paintings that such a creature is sometimes called a “Frazetta Man.”

Over time, much of this pulp heritage was lost and the carnivorous ape became less and less intelligent, eventually becoming just a larger, tougher gorilla. The second edition’s Monstrous Compendium (1989) entry, for example, drops the Ape language and plays up many mundane gorilla behaviors, though the carnivorous ape still has an Intelligence score of 7. The Monstrous Manual (1995) doesn’t even give the carnivorous ape a full monster entry, just a line item under “Mammal” that doesn’t mention intelligence and omits the rending attack. By the time we get to 3e’s dire ape (2000) and Chainmail’s war ape (2002), the creature has reverted to animal intelligence.

The following man-ape for 0e, 3e, and 5e hearkens back to the original, pulp fantasy-inspired carnivorous ape. In the Great Dungeon, tribes of savage man-apes can be found in the Terrarium demiplane. A few have escaped those confines and dwell among the Long Death hobgoblins, their natural allies, on the Third and Fourth Levels of the Dungeon.

The following text is Open Game Content.

Man-Ape

This massive, ape-like creature, far larger than a man, has a bestial face with close-set ears and a great mouth with tusk-like fangs. It is covered with shaggy grayish hair.

Thews and Ferocity. A man-ape is an aggressive monstrous humanoid resembling a larger and stronger gorilla. They possess extremely keen senses.

Dwellers in Wild Places. Man-apes are normally encountered in warm forests, hills, and plains, often making their lairs in large trees. They are omnivorous, but are said to prefer human flesh.

Intelligence and Great Cunning. Man-apes speak their own, simple language. They occasionally ally with hobgoblins, and are sometimes found as guards to hobgoblin tribes.

An adult male man-ape stands over 7 feet tall and weighs over 600 pounds.

0e

Man-Ape CL 5 (240 XP)

If a man-ape hits with both claws, it will crush and rend the victim for an additional 2d4 points of damage. A man-ape can also throw rocks up to 60 feet, doing 1d6 points of damage.

HD 5; AC 5 [14]; Atk 2 claws (1d4), 1 bite (1d6) or rock (1d6); Move 12/9 (Climbing); Save 12; Al C; Special rend.

3.5e

Man-Ape CR 3

Often N Large monstrous humanoid

Init +1; Senses low-light vision, scent; Listen +7, Spot +7

Languages Ape

Defense

AC 14, touch 10, flat-footed 13
(+1 Dex, +4 natural, -1 size)

hp 36 (5d8+16 HD)

Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +5

Offense

Spd 30 ft., climb 30 ft.

Melee 2 claws +10 (1d4+6), bite +5 (1d8+3)

Ranged rock +5 (1d8+6)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.

Special Attacks rend 2d4+12, rock throwing

Tactics

Before Combat When attacking, man-apes stand upright to lash out with their claws and bite with their tusk-like fangs.

During Combat After dropping a foe a man-ape will issue a terrifying, victorious roar.

Morale Man-apes fight until reduced to 18 hp or half their numbers are killed.

Statistics

Str 23, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 7

Base Atk +5; Grp +15

Feats Alertness B, Toughness (2)

Skills Climb +14, Listen +7, Spot +7

Ecology

Environment warm hills, forests, and plains

Organization solitary, pair, or company (3–8)

Treasure standard

Advancement by character class; Favored Class barbarian

Level Adjustment +3

Special Abilities

Rend (Ex) A man-ape that hits with two claw attacks latches onto the opponent’s body and tears the flesh. This attack automatically deals an extra 2d4+12 points of damage.

Rock Throwing (Ex) A man-ape can hurl rocks weighing 20 to 30 pounds (Tiny objects) up to five range increments. The range increment is 60 feet for a man-ape’s thrown rocks.

Skills Man-apes have a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened.

Man-Apes as Characters

Man-ape characters possess the following racial traits.

  • +12 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +4 Constitution, -4 Intelligence (minimum 3), +2 Wisdom, -4 Charisma.
  • Large size: -1 penalty to Armor Class, -1 penalty on attack rolls, -4 penalty on Hide checks, +4 bonus on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits double those of Medium characters.
  • Space/Reach: 10 feet/10 feet.
  • A man-ape’s base land speed is 30 feet. Man-apes also have a climb speed of 30 ft.
  • Low-light vision.
  • Racial Hit Dice: A man-ape begins with five levels of monstrous humanoid, which provide 5d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +5, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +1, Ref +4, and Will +4.
  • Racial Skills: A man-ape’s monstrous humanoid levels give it skill points equal to 8 x (2 + Int modifier, minimum 1). Its class skills are Climb, Listen, and Spot. Man-apes have a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened.
  • Racial Feats: A man-ape’s monstrous humanoid levels give it two feats. It also gains Alertness as a bonus feat.
  • Weapon Proficiency: A man-ape is proficient with all simple weapons.
  • +4 natural armor bonus.
  • Natural Weapons: 2 claws (1d4) and 1 bite (1d8).
  • Special Attacks (see above): Rend, Rocking Throwing.
  • Special Qualities (see above): Scent.
  • Automatic Languages: Ape. Bonus Languages: Goblin.
  • Favored Class: Barbarian.
  • Level adjustment: +3.

Advanced Man-Ape

The following is an example of a man-ape advanced by barbarian levels. The man-ape had the following ability scores before racial adjustments, equipment bonuses, and Hit Dice ability score increases: Str 14, Dex 8, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 13.

Man-Ape King CR 13

Man-ape barbarian 10

N Large monstrous humanoid

Init +4; Senses low-light vision, scent; Listen +10, Spot +8

Language Ape

Defense

AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 18
(+3 armor, +2 deflection, +4 natural, -1 size)

hp 181 (5d8+30 plus 10d12+60 HD); DR 2/–

Fort +17, Ref +10, Will +12

Special Defences improved uncanny dodge

Offense

Spd 40 ft., climb 30 ft.

Melee 2 claws +19 (1d6+13/19–20), bite +14 (2d6+8)

Ranged rock +14 (1d8+9)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.

Special Attacks rage 3/day, rend 2d6+18, rock throwing

Statistics

Str 28, Dex 10, Con 22, Int 6, Wis 14, Cha 10

Base Atk +15; Grp +28

Feats Alertness B, Cleave, Improved Critical (claws), Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Attack (bite), Improved Natural Attack (claws), Power Attack

Skills Climb +19, Intimidate +12, Listen +10, Spot +8, Survival +10

SQ fast movement, trap sense +3

Combat Gear potion of cure serious wounds; Other Gear bracers of armor +3, ring of protection +2, cloak of resistance +3, gauntlets of ogre power +2, amulet of health +2

Special Abilities

Rage (Ex) A man-ape king can fly into a rage 3 times per day for 11 rounds. The following changes are in effect as long as the man-ape king rages: AC 16, touch 9, flat-footed 16; hp 211; Fort +18, Will +14; Melee 2 claws +21 (1d6+15/19–20), bite +16 (2d6+9); rend 2d6+22; Str 32, Con 26; Climb +21. After raging, it is fatigued (Str 26, Dex 8, can't charge or run) for the duration of that encounter. The man-ape king can fly into a rage only once per encounter. Entering a rage takes no time by itself, but the king can do it only during its action, not in response to someone else's action.

5e

Man-Ape
Large monstrosity, unaligned
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 76 (8d10+32 HD)
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
StrDexConIntWisCha
18 (+4)15 (+2)18 (+4)6 (-2)12 (+1)7 (-2)
Skills Perception +3
Senses darkvision 60 ft.; passive Perception 14
Languages Ape
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)
Actions
Multiattack. The man-ape makes 3 attacks: 2 claw attacks and 1 bite attack.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) slashing damage.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4 + 4) piercing damage.
Rock. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, r50/100 ft., one target. Hit: 25 (6d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage.

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Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Dagonites for 0e and 5e

The horrid Dagonites can be readily ported back to 0e as well as forward to 5e. One interesting element of 5e monster design is the extreme reluctance to give monsters spellcasting ability. Most standard 5e demons, for example, do not come with the many spells that they have wielded since Eldritch Wizardry. (There is an option in the Monster Manual for adding this ability back in.)

In some ways, this ellision is a sensible design decision: many of the original spells were fairly weak, and a grab-bag of minor abilities dilutes some of the thematic focus of the monster. And from a practical standpoint, in most encounters a monster will only have limited opportunity to use spells. Starting with 3.5e the designers began to prune back the number of spell-like abilities given to demons and to boost their power. This editing continued into 4e until reaching its conclusion in 5e, where the spells were mostly dropped altogether. Why not save these for a monster like the lich, where spellcasting is central to the concept?

That said, I do think there is something limiting about exclusively viewing monster design through the prism of a combat encounter. There should be room to occasionally give monsters interesting or useful non-combat abilities. For the dagonites, I felt like using cleric spells was an important part of their concept, so I retained the spellcasting for 5e.

The following text is Open Game Content.

Dagonite

This grotesque creature has the tail and body of a scaled fish but the head of a bearded man, its gaping mouth lined with tiny, jagged teeth. Two frog-like forelegs end in webbed hands and are matched with two sweeping pectoral fins.

Vile Creatures of the Deep. The dagonites are rarely seen abominations that dwell in warm, shallow seas. They readily prey upon all other intelligent aquatic creatures.

Bearers of an Ancient Curse. Dagonites are rumored to be the descendants of wicked humans who were transformed into monsters when their mighty kingdom was sunk beneath the waves as divine punishment.

Unholy Disciples of Chaos and Evil. The dagonites owe allegiance to an ancient and powerful demon prince of immense size and horrific appearance, said to dwell in the inky depths of an Abyssal sea. This prince endows his servitors with dark spells.

0e

Dagonite CL 2 (30 XP)

A Dagonite casts spells as a 2nd level cleric (1).

Typical Cleric Spells: Cause Light Wounds (1).

HD 1; AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 bite (2d6); Move 9/12 (Swimming); Save 17; Al C; Special spells.

Dagonite Leader CL 4 (120 XP)

A Dagonite leader casts spells as a 5th level cleric (2/2).

Typical Cleric Spells: Cause Light Wounds (1), Detect Good (1), Hold Person (2), Silence, 15 ft. Radius (2).

HD 3; AC 3 [16]; Atk 1 bite (2d6); Move 9/12 (Swimming); Save 14; Al C; Special spells.

Dagonite High Priest CL 8 (800 XP)

A Dagonite high priest casts spells as an 8th level cleric (2/2/2/2/2).

Typical Cleric Spells: Cause Light Wounds (1), Detect Good (1), Hold Person (2), Silence, 15 ft. Radius (2), Cause Disease (3), Prayer (3), Cause Serious Wounds (4), Protection from Good, 15 ft. Radius (4), Finger of Death (5), Insect Plague (5).

HD 5; AC 1 [18]; Atk 1 bite (2d6); Move 9/12 (Swimming); Save 12; Al C; Special spells.

5e

Dagonite
Medium aberration, chaotic evil
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 22 (4d8+4 HD)
Speed 20 ft., swim 30 ft.
StrDexConIntWisCha
11 (+0)15 (+2)13 (+1)10 (+0)12 (+1)10 (+0)
Saving Throws Wis +3, Cha +2
Senses darkvision 60 ft.; passive Perception 12
Languages Abyssal
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)
Limited Amphibiousness. The dagonite can breathe air and water, but it needs to be submerged at least once every 2 hours to avoid suffocating.
Spellcasting. The dagonite is a 1st-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 11, +3 to hit with spell attacks). The dagonite has the following cleric spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): guidance, resistance, sacred flame, thaumaturgy 1st (2 slots): bane, inflict wounds
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) necrotic damage.
Dagonite Leader
Medium aberration, chaotic evil
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 45 (6d8+18 HD)
Speed 20 ft., swim 30 ft.
StrDexConIntWisCha
11 (+9)16 (+3)16 (+3)10 (+0)15 (+2)10 (+0)
Saving Throws Wis +4, Cha +2
Senses darkvision 60 ft.; passive Perception 14
Languages Abyssal
Challenge 2 (450 XP)
Limited Amphibiousness. The dagonite leader can breathe air and water, but it needs to be submerged at least once every 2 hours to avoid suffocating.
Spellcasting. The dagonite leader is an 4th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 12, +4 to hit with spell attacks). The dagonite leader has the following cleric spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): guidance, resistance, sacred flame, thaumaturgy
1st (4 slots): bane, detect good, inflict wounds
2nd (3 slots): find traps, hold person, silence
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. damage.
Dagonite High Priest
Medium aberration, chaotic evil
Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 90 (12d8+36 HD)
Speed 20 ft., swim 30 ft.
StrDexConIntWisCha
11 (+0)18 (+4)16 (+3)11 (+0)17 (+3)12 (+1)
Saving Throws Wis +6, Cha +4
Senses darkvision 60 ft.; passive Perception 15
Languages Abyssal
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)
Limited Amphibiousness. The dagonite high priest can breathe air and water, but it needs to be submerged at least once every 2 hours to avoid suffocating.
Spellcasting. The dagonite high priest is an 8th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). The dagonite high priest has the following cleric spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): guidance, resistance, sacred flame, thaumaturgy
1st (4 slots): bane, detect good, inflict wounds
2nd (3 slots): find traps, hold person, silence
3rd (3 slots): animate dead, bestow curse, dispel magic
4th (2 slots): control water, guardian of faith
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage plus 27 (6d8) necrotic damage.

OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a

The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved.

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