Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Wherein were Fiery Serpents: Snake Swarms

One of the best innovations to come out of 3.5e was the swarm subtype, which provides nifty rules for abstracting hundreds and even thousands of small opponents into one single statblock. My unholy love for this mechanic has not been lost on my beleaguered players, who have had to face all sorts of crawling, squirming, biting swarms, including a particularly nasty construct composed of flying brass dragonflies that drained Wisdom.

But among the many useful examples provided in the System Reference Document, one obvious swarm didn’t make the cut: snakes. Anyone who has ever seen Raiders of the Lost Ark will recognize this grievous omission as the clear tragedy that it is.

Fortunately, the designers at Paizo did not miss their opportunity to fill in this gap, providing two different snake swarms in the Pathfinder Bestiary 3. And because Paizo is committed to supporting the Open Game License, they generously released these swarms as Open Game Content, allowing them to be back-ported into 3.5e.

It’s also worth noting that Wizards released a swarm of poisonous snakes in the 5e SRD, and this version is reasonably compatible with the Paizo version.

One notable oddity about the swarm subtype: in both 3.5e and Pathfinder size modifies Hide and Stealth checks, respectively. Although swarms occupy a square or cube 10 feet on size, their effective size for most effects is the size of the constituent creature. This means a buzzing, roiling swarm of locusts (Diminutive vermin) gets a +12 bonus on Hide checks! I don’t think I would do that in my own games, but for these 3.5e snake swarms I have run with the rules as written.

The following text is Open Game Content.

Snake Swarm

While all snake swarms are dangerous, swarms made up of venomous snakes are typically the most lethal. Snake swarms of both types can generally be encountered in the same regions, dwelling in ruins or wilderness alike.

Snake Swarm

Hissing menacingly, this mass of snakes resembles a pile of slithering tentacles.

Snake Swarm CR 2

Always N Tiny animal (swarm)

Init +6; Senses low-light vision, scent; Listen +6, Spot +6

Defense

AC 15, touch 14, flat-footed 13
(+2 Dex, +1 natural, +2 size)

hp 16 (3d8+3 HD)

Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +2

Defensive Abilities half damage from slashing and piercing, swarm traits

Offense

Spd 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.

Melee swarm (1d6 plus distraction)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Special Attacks distraction (DC 12)

Statistics

Str 9, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2

Base Atk +2; Grp –

Feats Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes

Skills Balance +11, Climb +11, Hide +15, Listen +6, Spot +6, Swim +8

Ecology

Environment any

Organization solitary or nest (2–4 swarms)

Treasure none

Advancement none

Special Abilities

Distraction (Ex) Any living creature that begins its turn with a swarm in its square must succeed on a DC 12 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Skills A snake swarm has a +4 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, and Spot checks, and a +8 racial bonus on Balance and Climb checks. A snake swarm can always choose to take 10 on all Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened. A snake swarm uses either its Strength modifier or Dexterity modifier for Climb checks, whichever is higher. A snake swarm has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.

Snake Swarm, Venomous

Venomous snakes slither and crawl over each other in a furious mass, their poison-dripping fangs glinting in the light.

Venomous Snake Swarm CR 4

Always N Tiny animal (swarm)

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

Defense

AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 14
(+3 Dex, +2 natural, +2 size)

hp 37 (5d8+15 HD)

Fort +7, Ref +9, Will +2

Defensive Abilities half damage from slashing and piercing, swarm traits

Offense

Spd 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 10 ft.

Melee swarm (1d6 plus distraction and poison)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Special Attacks distraction (DC 15)

Statistics

Str 9, Dex 16, Con 17, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2

Base Atk +3; Grp –

Feats Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes

Skills Balance +12, Climb +12, Hide +16, Listen +7, Spot +7, Swim +8

Ecology

Environment any

Organization solitary, nest (2–4 swarms), or knot (5–7 swarms)

Treasure none

Advancement none

Special Abilities

Distraction (Ex) Any living creature that begins its turn with a swarm in its square must succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Poison (Ex) Injury, Fortitude DC 15, initial and secondary damage 1d2 Con. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Skills A venomous snake swarm has a +4 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, and Spot checks, and a +8 racial bonus on Balance and Climb checks. A venomous snake swarm can always choose to take 10 on all Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened. A venomous snake swarm uses either its Strength modifier or Dexterity modifier for Climb checks, whichever is higher. A venomous snake swarm has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.

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 4, 2017

It Had to be Giant Snakes

Giant snakes, a staple of pulp fiction and D&D, go all the way back to the original 1975 three booklet set. While they aren't given specific stats there, they are listed in several encounter tables.

Although giant snakes don’t actually have an entry in the Holmes basic set (1977), they are mentioned at several points in the text and a giant snake is included in the sample dungeon.

The 1e Monster Manual (1977) provides stats for constrictor, poisonous, sea, and spitting snakes, as well as the mythical amphisbaena. The Moldvay basic set also provides giant snake entries, but takes a very different tact: while AD&D details general types of monstrous snakes, Moldvay stats out specific species of snakes: cobra, pit viper, sea snake, giant rattler and rock python. From a mechanical standpoint I much prefer the AD&D approach, but from a flavor perspective I much prefer the D&D approach. Go figure.

Second edition, 3e, and 5e generally follow AD&D, stating out general types of snakes broken out by size and primary attack. Following an idea used effectively by Paizo designers, for the Great Dungeon I took 3e stats for generic snakes and reskinned them with campaign-specific species.

Giant Snake card from David R. Megarry’s Dungeon! boardgame (1975).

Surprisingly, given the ubiquity of giant snakes, Wizards produced relatively few plastic miniatures of these monsters as part of the DDM line. There was a fiendish snake in the Blood War set and a displacer serpent in the Giants of Legend set, both Medium figures. As far as I know there were no Large or Huge snake figures. Paizo attempted to rectify this in their Wizkids Pathfinder Battles line with a Large emperor cobra, an uncommon in the Dungeons Deep set.

Given the lack of Large and Huge snake figures, I was glad to see that the second figure in the Reaper Bones 3 core set was a Julie Guthrie giant cobra. This is a great figure, with nice details like a couple of small sarcophagi and a skull nestled in the snake’s coils. The model was plagued by some mold lines that were difficult to eradicate without wrecking the scales, and in the end I decided to live with the lines. I was pretty happy with my paint job on the model, though I am not sure about adding pupils to the eyes: I liked how it looked with just blank yellow orbs in the sockets.

Snakes in the Great Dungeon

Snakes in general are uncommon in the North and are normally only encountered in late spring, summer, and early fall. The long, harsh winters force the snakes into hibernation for much of the year, often into communal dens deep underground.

The cave rattler is a venomous snake found in rocky wilderness areas, ranging from the Hollow Hills to the Boundary Mountains. Colored grey-brown with dark bands, they are infamous in the North for their great size, nasty disposition, and deadly poison. Known examples include the cave rattler (Large viper snake) and giant cave rattler (Huge viper snake).

The mountain adder (Medium viper snake) is a rusty red color with dark bands, a venomous snake found in the upper reaches of the Great Gobbo River Valley and the lower Boundary Mountains.Large, writhing swarms of hatchling mountain adders have been reported in early spring.

Swamp adders (Medium viper snake) are yellow, venomous water snakes found in lakes and marshes across the North. They are fairly common in the bogs around Black Lake during summer months.

Rock pythons are very rare, cold-hardy constrictor snakes found near water only in the most remote areas of the North. They range in size from rock pythons (constrictor snake) to giant rock pythons (advanced constrictor snakes) to the enormous king rock pythons (giant constrictor snakes).

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Friday, September 1, 2017

Bears, Werebears, and the North

Both bears and werebears are classic monsters that go all the way back to original D&D (1975). Werebears, directly inspired by Beorn from the Hobbit, appear along with wereboars, weretigers, and werewolves in “Monsters & Treasures.” A very early D&D variant, “Lycanthropy—The Progress of the Disease,” by Gregory Rihn in the Dragon 14 (1978) described using werebears as player characters.

Cave bears appear on the “Optional Mountains” table on page 19 of the “Underworld & Wilderness Adventures” booklet. They are not given specific statistics, but are instead covered under the general “Large Insects or Animals” guidelines along with other Pleistocene animals on page 20 of the “Monsters & Treasures” booklet.

From OD&D both monsters were carried forward into AD&D. The 1e Monster Manual (1977) had statistics for black, brown, grizzly, and cave bears. The Holmes basic set (1977) has werebears but doesn’t seem to include any sort of mundane bear; cave bears do show up as entries in the Monster & Treasure Assortment Sets One-Three: Level One-Nine product (1980) and are included in the Moldvay basic set (1981), along with black, polar, and grizzly bears. Second and third edition included plenty of bears as well as werebears, though in 3e the cave bear becomes a “dire bear.”

The Reaper Miniatures Bones 3 kickstarter set had both a werebear and a bear miniature. Both models could work on either Medium or Large bases, but I went Large in accordance with 3e convention. I enjoyed painting both of these model, but got a little carried away with dry brushing on the bear: I always find it hard to know just when to stop with that technique. The werebear in particular is a nice sculpt that I hope to use in an upcoming game.

Bears and Werebears in the North

Black, brown, and cave bears all roam the North and the Far Reaches and are given wide berth by the other inhabitants. The stone giants of the Boundary Mountains are said to keep cave bears as pets, while dwarves are known to train brown bears. The Sternfell dwarves of the Great Dungeon use these animals as guards to protect their halls.

Intelligent sylvan bears are said to live in the deep woods of the North, but such creatures are rarely encountered. The mysterious werebears are also native to the North, and lived alongside the Elves and Druids long before the Southrons arrived. These werebears tend to dwell in small, isolated communities just beyond the edge of civilization. They are gruff and retiring, but generally peaceful folk. A much more fearsome line of werebears originate from the Far Reaches, often living among the Berserkers.

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Monday, August 21, 2017

A Torrent of Black Quicksilver

The formless spawn of Tsathoggua are yet another mythos horror, intelligent black oozes able to change form at will. They appear to be very similar to the much more powerful shoggoths.

The formless spawn are the creation of Clark Ashton Smith, first described in his short story “The Tale of Satampra Zeiros” (1931).

When we approached and peered over the brim, we saw that the bowl was filled with a sort of viscous and semi-liquescent substance, quite opaque and of a sooty color. It was from this that the odor came—an odor which, though unsurpassably foul, was nevertheless not an odor of putrefaction, but resembled rather the smell of some vile and unclean creature of the marshes. The odor was almost beyond endurance, and we were about to turn away when we perceived a slight ebullition of the surface, as if the sooty liquid were being agitated from within by some submerged animal or other entity. This ebullition increased rapidly, the center swelled as if with the action of some powerful yeast, and we watched in utter horror, while an uncouth amorphous head with dull and bulging eyes arose gradually on an ever-lengthening neck, and stared us in the face with primordial malignity. Then two arms—if one could call them arms—likewise arose inch by inch, and we saw that the thing was not, as we had thought, a creature immersed in the liquid, but that the liquid itself had put forth this hideous neck and head, and was now forming these damnable arms, that groped toward us with tentacle-like appendages in lieu of claws or hands!

—Clark Ashton Smith, “The Tale of Satampra Zeiros”

As the name implies, the formless spawn are a servitor race of Tsathoggua, a Great Old One that was incorporated by H.P. Lovecraft into the Cthulhu mythos. Smith, in the “The Seven Geases” (1933), describes Tsathoggua as dwelling in a secret cave in the bowels of Voormithadreth: “You shall know Tsathoggua by his great girth and his batlike furriness and the look of a sleepy black toad which he has eternally. He will rise not from his place, even in the ravening of hunger, but will wait in divine slothfulness for the sacrifice.” The formless spawn, as shown in the Tale of Satampra Zeiros, are often often found in basins or pools in Tsathoggua’s temples, where they act as guardians.


The “Primal Horrors” pack for Sandy Petersen’s Cthulhu Mythos for Pathfinder kickstarter contained not one, but four formless spawn miniatures. These are really great sculpts that were a lot of fun to paint up. I tried out a new technique for painting glowing red eyes that worked reasonably well: I did a base coat of red, followed by a highlight spot of yellow, followed by another highlight of white. Then I did some very thin glazes of transparent red over the eye and surrounding areas. The glaze blurs the highlights and as it spills outside the eye creates a glowing effect. I wasn’t fully satisfied with the results, but it seems like a very promising technique that I’ll be playing around with in the future.

The third adventure in Paizo’s Strange Aeons adventure path, Dreams of the Yellow King contains a CR 12 version of the formless spawn. The Petersen bestiary has a CR 10 version that is a bit more to my liking—I’ll do a conversion to 0e and 3.5e once the book is released.

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Monday, August 14, 2017

What's Hiding under the Earth in these Hills

The dark young of Shub-Niggurath are Lovecraftian monsters, servitors of the dread Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young. They are described as huge, black tree-like horrors made of tentacles and snapping maws. They walk upon great hooves.

It came crawling up the hillside to the alter and the sacrefice, and it was the black thing of my dreams—that black, ropy, slimy, jelly tree-thing out of the woods. It crawled up and it flowed up on its hoofs and mouths and snaky arms. And the men bowed and stood back and then it got to the alter where they was something squirming on top, squirming and screaming.

—Robert Bloch, “Notebook Found In a Deserted House.”

Both the Reaper Miniatures Bones 3 set and Sandy Petersen’s Cthulhu Mythos for Pathfinder contained very cool miniatures of the dark young. The two sculpts are of similar size, though the Petersen version fits on a Large sized base, while the Reaper 3 version fits on a Huge one. I based both of them on Huge bases for consistency sake.

The Reaper dark young (right) has long, serpentine tentacles and a weird central maw in the top center of its trunk.

The Petersen dark young (left) is somewhat more alien, and its circular maws are filled with rows and rows of nasty teeth, a grotesque little detail that really adds to the creepy factor.

There were some annoying flash lines on both figures that I either missed or couldn’t quite eradicate. But all-in-all, I was pretty happy with how both of these models painted up.

Paizo included stats for the dark young in Pathfinder Adventure Path 46: Wake of the Watcher (2011), but I honestly found this take a bit pedestrian. Once the Petersen version is out I will probably do conversions to 0e, 3.5e, and 5e.



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Monday, August 7, 2017

A Huge, Slimy Leprous Gray Mass: The Giant Slug

The giant slug is a classic monster that goes all the way back to the original Greyhawk supplement (1974), and was included in the AD&D Monster Manual (1977).

The origin of the slug can be traced directly to L. Sprague de Camp, who expanded a Robert E. Howard fragment into the Conan short story “The Hall of the Dead,” which appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1967 issue. The slug in de Camp’s story is a dead ringer for the D&D version, complete with the acid spit.

The slug made it into the 2nd Edition Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989), but does not appear to have made the leap to 3e or beyond. Fortuantely Necromancer Games salvaged the slug in their indispensable Tome of Horrors (2002), giving us a nice OGL base to work with.

And Otherworld Miniatures makes not one, but two giant slug miniatures in resin. As with all Otherworld stuff, these cleave pretty closely to the old AD&D illustrations. I painted the one shown to the right, which is a really nice sculpt. I based my color scheme on Duke of the Blood Keep, who did an amazing speckling design on the slug’s hood that far exceeds my skill or patience.

The following text is Open Game Content.

Slug, Giant

Though many times larger, this creature appears to be an enormous grayish slug. A large slime trail marks the ground as it moves.

Scavengers and Predators. Giant slugs are found in moist or wet environments such as swamps, marshes, rain forests, and dungeons. They feed on both plants and animals.

Nocturnal Creatures. Giant slugs spend the daylight hours away from the heat of the sun. On extremely hot days, giant slugs bury themselves in debris where they secrete a thick coating of mucus that covers their entire body and protects them from the heat.

Larger Versions of Normal Slugs. Giant slugs are pale gray in color with a dull white underbelly. They have a single pair of long, thin tentacles or antennae. The giant slug uses them to sense brightness, heat, and to smell.

A typical giant slug is 20 feet long but can grow to twice that length.

0e

Giant Slug CL 13 (2,300 XP)

These tremendously large masses of slimy, rubbery flesh are completely immune to blunt weapons. In addition to their powerful bite, giant slugs can spit their acidic saliva at one target at a time. The base range for spitting is 60 feet, and within this range the slug’s spittle will be 50% likely to hit (no other to-hit roll required). For every additional 10 feet of range, the chance to hit decreases by 10%. On its first spitting attack, the slug only has a 10% chance to hit within 60 feet, and no chance of hitting beyond that range.

HD 12; AC 8 [11]; Atk bite (1d12) or acid; Move 6; Save 3; AL N; Special: spit acid (6d6)

3.5e

Giant Slug CR 8

Always N Huge vermin

Init +0; Senses blindsight 60 ft.; Listen +0, Spot +0

Defense

AC 16, touch 8, flat-footed 16
(+8 natural, -2 size)

hp 102 (12d8+48 HD); DR 10/slashing or piercing

Fort +12, Ref +4, Will +4

Defensive Abilities vermin traits; Immune critical hits

Weakness vulnerability to salt

Offense

Spd 20 ft., burrow 10 ft.

Melee bite +15 (2d6+8 plus 1d8 acid)

Ranged acid spit +7 (4d8 acid)

Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft.

Special Attacks acid, spit acid

Tactics

During Combat A giant slug begins combat by spitting a line of corrosive saliva at an opponent. It then moves into combat and uses its bite attack.

Statistics

Str 27, Dex 10, Con 18, Int –, Wis 10, Cha 2

Base Atk +9; Grp +25

SQ rubbery hide, malleable

Ecology

Environment temperate and warm marshes and underground

Organization solitary

Treasure none

Advancement 13–21 HD (Huge); 22–36 HD (Gargantuan)

Special Abilities

Acid (Ex) A giant slug’s saliva is highly caustic. Any melee hit deals acid damage.

Blindsight (Ex) Giant slugs have no visual organs but can ascertain all foes within 60 feet using sound, scent, and vibration.

Malleable (Ex) A giant slug can squeeze its body through openings it normally could not pass through (up to Medium sized openings).

Rubbery Hide (Ex) A giant slug’s rubbery hide grants it immunity to critical hits.

Spit Acid (Ex) Every 1d4 rounds, a giant slug can spit a line of acid at an opponent within 60 feet (no range increment). A successful ranged touch attack is required to hit. If struck, a target takes 4d8 points of acid damage.

Vulnerability to Salt (Ex) A giant slug is highly susceptible to salt and takes 1d6 points of damage per pound of salt it contacts.

5e

Giant Slug
Huge beast, unaligned
Armor Class 15 (natural)
Hit Points 161 (14d12 + 70)
Speed 20 ft., burrow 10 ft.
StrDexConIntWisCha
19 (+4)10 (+0)21 (+5)1 (-5)10 (+0)2 (-4)
Damage Immunities bludgeoning
Senses blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages –
Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (4d8 + 4) piercing damage plus 28 (8d6) acid damage.
Acid Breath (Recharge 5–6). The slug exhales acid in a 30-foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking 49 (11d8) acid 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, August 1, 2017

Reaper Bones IV

I just backed Reaper Miniatures Bones 4: Mr. Bones EPIC Adventure! on Kickstarter


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