Mysterious fane on the banks of the Sea of Ohkotsk

Mysterious fane on the banks of the Sea of Ohkotsk

Friday 2 September 2016

Monster - Owlbears (more exotic variants)

I was a bit surprised by the popularity of my last owlbear post, so I thought I'd share a few more variants.

One of these is inspired by comment on G+, the others are yet again excerpts from my files - these are a few of the more exotic variants that got use in my now-infamous "owlbear campaign" (not quite sure why it got that name - the owlbears weren't actally the point just a recurring generic menace.  Clearly they made an impact...)


Spotted Owlbear Spectacled Owlbear Snowy Owlbear Gummy Owlbear
AC 5 5 5 7
HD 4* 5* 5* 8*
Move 120'(40') 120'(40') 120'(40') 90'(20')
Attacks 2 claws/ 1 bite 2 claws/ 1 bite 2 claws/ 1 bite 2 claws/ 1 bite
Damage 1-6/1-6/1-6 1-8/1-8/1-8 1-8/1-8/1-8 1-8/1-8/1-8
No. Appearing 1-4(1-4) 1-4(1-4) 1-4(1-4) 1-4(1-4)
Save As Fighter 3 Fighter 3 Fighter 3 Fighter 5
Morale 9 9 9 9
Treasure Type: C C C C
Alignment Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral
XP Value 300 300 300 300

Spotted Owlbear: This rare variety of owlbear appears at first to be merely an ordinary owlbear that happens to be on the smallish side, though the sharp-eyed adventurer may note the flecks of contrasting coloured feathers in its pelt that give it its name. In fact, the Spotted Owlbear is not at all what it seems. Some occult force causes its image to be constantly deflected about 3' from its actual location, Attackers must subtract 2 points from to-hit rolls, and due to targeting difficulties the Spotted Owlbear gains a bonus of 2 points on saving throws.

Spectacled Owlbear: This owlbear is darkly coloured except for the white chevron on its chest, the white "spectacle" marks around its eyes, and the cluster of white spots with red centers that are scattered across its face. The eye-like appearance of these spots and the fluttering of the reddish feathers in their centers makes it appear the owlbear has a multitude of eyes that are constantly flicking their gazes in several directions at once. This, combined with the forceful impact of the spectacle-rimed true eyes causes Confusion (as the spell) in all those attempting to engage in melee from the front and sides.

Snowy Owlbear: A dreaded denizen of the frozen wastes, the snowy owlbear has speckled white plumage to help it blend into the landscape, and enormous sapphire-coloured eyes to help it see prey in the long, arctic nights. In addition to giving the owlbear 60' infravision, the sight of these enormous eyes can freeze unwary opponents - in any round in which an opponent attacks from the front, he or she must save vs paralysis or be frozen and immobile for 2d4 turns.

Gummy Owlbear: While the body of this creature appears to be covered with feathers, the truth is far more strange: the "plumage" is in fact a covering of heavy folds of wrinkly skin that appear "feathery" mainly due to the material clinging to them. This flesh is coated with a thick, highly adhesive ichor which gives off a sour, musty smell. This ichor is so sticky that each time a weapon strikes the creature the wielder must save vs wands to avoid the weapon sticking so firmly that it is ripped from his or her grasp. Even if the save is made, melee weapons will do only half damage due to the soft folds of flesh. Stuck objects can only be removed by dissolving the ichor with spirits or similar solvents, or by heating it with fire. Further, the truth is that this creature only superficially resembles an owlbear, and is in fact almost entirely made up of these folds of flesh and ichor. Any opponent struck by both claws will be drawn in for a hug - such victims are stuck against the creature's chest of course (potentially serving as an involuntary shield) but will also be slowly engulfed by the creature's body over 2d4 rounds. Each round, digestive fluids are exuded that begin to consume the victim (1d4/round after being stuck) and once fully engulfed, the victim will suffocate in 1d6 rounds. 

Saturday 27 August 2016

Keeping it on the Borderlands





Lately I came across a review of B2 Keep on the Borderlands that was...well, let's say net negative.[1]

It came at an opportune time in that after many years of gaming drought I have at last found a few people who are interested and recently started a B/X sandbox style game using B2 as its core. While I'm not entirely surprised to find that a modern gamer (23 years later!) found B2 a little wanting, there were aspects of this review that surprised me a little. Frankly, I thought that the author really didn't get some dimensions of the module, though I'll grant that the treasure is...blase.

The most puzzling aspect of the review for me was the author's objection to the amount of detail provided in Gygax's treatment of the Keep itself - and the things Gygax opted not  to detail
.

The mistake I made back then, and the mistake the reviewer is making, was to assume that B2 is intended to be an "open the cover and start playing" sort of module like many of the later BECMI products were. But the truth is that's not what Gygax was doing.

What he was going for, it seems to me now that I look at B2 again and begin to prepare for an actual campaign, is demonstrate the process he had in mind when he wrote instructions in the 1e DMG for how a beginning DM should go about starting what these days we would call a sandbox campaign:

  1. Develop the outlines of a community the PCs can use as a base of operations.
  2. Place the entrance to the dungeon not too far away.
  3. Sketch out pertinent details of the surrounding area.
  4. Add some "dressing" to the community as well as the dungeon for the PCs to interact with. Include some hints as to where adventure might be found.
  5. Set up necessary random tables (wandering monsters, events, etc) or odds of variable things happening (% chance key NPCs are in the tavern)
  6. Be prepared with sketched out ideas of what happens when PCs go to certain places or interact with certain people/things.
  7. Introduce the players to the game.

From here, Gygax assumes that much of what happens will be in reaction to the players' actions - he doesn't assume the DM will have considered every eventuality, but that some things will be made up on the spot, others determined by a die roll, and most things will emerge from play. This is why Gygax was so adamant that strict timekeeping be the rule - with a strict timeline and tools to "automate"[2] things like random encounters and events such as weather the DM can concentrate on simply responding to the players. In some senses, the setting is the DM's character.

In this model the keep isn't just a save point. It's part of the game, a place where adventure can take place. Of course it needs just the kinds of details Gygax provides. It needs more as well - and in the text Gygax urges the DM to sketch floor plans of the more important buildings, and to add details such as the names of NPCs as appropriate. Gygax's instructions make it clear that he didn't expect the DM to just open the module and start - he expected the DM to take what he had already prepared (the meat of the 7 points above) and build details into it that fit the sort of game intended (the gravy).

I'll be the first to gripe about Gygax's poor sense of things in the details - in fact reading his personal gaming material I often stumble on things that are just madenningly poorly thought out. But I honestly think his grasp of the big picture really was excellent, and a lot of his advice on the strategic and processes level is spot on.

It's been about 27 years since I ran a B/X campaign, so I thought I'd put my money where my mouth is - I'll take Gygax's advice, both specifically from B2 and his more general advice on campaigning as presented in the 1e DMG, and build my campaign as suggested. As I do, I will sketch some of my progress here, perhaps a play report pr two, and we'll see if I'm right about Gygax's advice.
--
1. It's the review here: http://dungeonofsigns.blogspot.ca/2014/01/b2-keep-on-borderlands-review.html

2. By which I mean randomize, as opposed to the DM deciding by fiat or logical progression.

Rain in the trenches

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The last week, Tokyo has seen three typhoons - needless to say, having this many rain days in the last week of summer vacation has caused some stress.

Enter H.G. Wells!

Surely every table-top gamer has at least heard of H.G. Wells' little book Little Wars? Said to be the beginning of hobby wargaming, it's a quick read and contains the rather simple rules Wells devised to play an engaging table (or floor) game using the toy soldiers and spring-loaded cannons common at the time. With this work in mind I set out several weeks ago to figure a way to entertain a disaster zone populated entirely by rabid kobolds 5 to 7 year old children.

The result is the rules below. As mentioned, I started thinking about this a few weeks ago during another rainy day, and the rules have undergone a few evolutions - moving from truly basic to a balance that a 5 year old can handle (with suitable guidance). No doubt they require some refinement, but this week they have provided trouble-free entertainment for adults and children alike, using basically only the toys available.

Enough introduction - the rules:

Equipment:
A standard deck of playing cards
A standard 30cm/12 inch ruler (optional)
Some 6-sided dice (optional)

Scrap paper is useful but not necessary so long as an adult with a good memory is playing and there aren't too many troops.

Preparation:
The first thing to do is to go through the available toys to choose some who will be the core playing pieces - you will need one item that can hurl a missile some distance (without risk to the players of course - it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye after all), and a number of smallish figures that can serve as standard soldiers.

In my case, we happen to have a few Playmobil knights and the cannon that came with one of the sets, but of course the soldiers could be anything at all - green army men, animals, Disney princesses. The main thing is that the game seems to be more fun if your missile launcher is capable of knocking them over, so unusually stable figures are probably not a good idea.

It's nice to have more than one missile launcher, but no worries if not - we used the missile launcher as a way of remembering whose turn it was.

Divide the soldiers among the combatants - two sides is fun, but three sides or perhaps even more can be very entertaining as children have even less concept of honoring treaties than your average Diplomacy player. Still, make sure each player has several playing pieces - enough that they won't end up eliminated too long before the end of the war.

Each side then sets up his or her soldiers in a cluster some reasonable distance away - I find a couple of meters works well: much more means the game drags out before there's any engagement, too close means a rapid bloodbath that isn't much more interesting than if they'd just knocked over each others soldiers the usual way.

Finally, shuffle the cards (jokers removed is probably a good idea) and deal - we used 4 cards to a side, but we only have 8 knights in total - if you are mounting wars with large numbers you probably want more cards to avoid too much stagnation. On the other hand, too many cards means a long time waiting for your turn while the other player fiddles about. I don't think I'd go higher than 6 in any case.

Play:
It's the simplest thing in the world -

When it's your turn, look at your cards and decide what to do with them.

Each card laid down lengthwise represents a move in the direction the card is leading. Simply place the card so that it is touching the base of the figure. Older children (and adults) might also be limited to the soldier ending its move facing in that direction. (facing may become important if some of the variations described below are used)

A soldier can move any number of cards, but each successive card must touch the previous on one corner - this allows figures to be moved either in straight lines or in curves. I limited turns to 90 degrees per card. A player will need to choose between moving several figures in a turn or moving one or two quickly.

Finally, the type of card used makes a difference:

Number cards represent simple movement, but a face card or ace indicates that at the end of its move the figure can shoot the missile launcher!

Important: The one thing I found absolutely indispensable was a rule requiring the player to place cards first and only then begin moving and shooting, picking up cards as they are used up and adding them to a common discard pile. This avoids confusion over which figures will move  and when they were supposed to do, and also commits the player regardless of the outcome of shots/fights.

Shooting and fighting:
If a soldier ends its movement touching or nearly touching an enemy figure, it can fight - fights can be resolved by playing rock-paper-scissors (loser dies and is removed, ties can either be replayed until there's a winner or just mean both figures survived) or if you like you can introduce dice - each player rolls one die, the highest number wins (again, loser dies, ties can be rerolled or just mean both survived). I used dice because I have some with numerals that make for a good arithmetic drill using some of the optional variations below.

If the move was made using a face card/ace then the player can take a shot at the enemy - placing your launcher as close to your figure as possible, take aim, and fire. If you hit an enemy figure and knock it over, it is dead and is removed from the field.

Variations:

The first variation I introduced was in the name of fun - let's face it, everyone just wants to shoot the missile launcher and it's frustrating if several turns pass and your luck with cards isn't good. We happen to have a few collectable cards that are the same size as our playing card deck, so we just let every player choose one - we dealt out three ordinary cards to each player for a total of four, and the collectable card was a freebie every turn.

The second variation was to allow shields - Playmobil knights sometimes come with shields, so we divided the shields equally among the players so they could be given to soldiers. The rule was simple - on the first hit, the soldier's shield was taken away but it was stood back up to continue fighting. I found this spurred some interesting tactical decisions once the kids were more familiar with the game.

The third variation was terrain features - in our case basically ordinary toy blocks divided equally and place within a reasonable distance of the starting army. These provided the interesting dimension of cover - furniture in the room became an interesting feature as well, with figures deliberately heading under tables to hide behind the legs. Our dining room table became a veritable Sherwood Forest in one game (which eventually drew the ire of a Wrathful Deity I can tell you)

The fourth variation is the most exciting - I allowed monsters!

Unique play figures such as dinosaurs or dragons and the like were chosen (one per army, or maybe two or more depending on what you have) and their special powers were discussed.

Examples:

Dragon
It was decided that a dragon figure was more powerful than a mere soldier, could fly, and of course could breathe fire. Mechanically, this translated into the dragon using 3d6 for attack (losing one every time it lost a fight or was hit by a missile), and when using a "power card" (as we came to call the face cards, ace, and the special collectable cards) could either move the distance of one giant step (being placed on the floor as close to the foot as possible) or could breathe fire - lay the ruler down in the direction the dragon is breathing (reasonable angle from the head) and the dragon fire hits every figure the ruler touches. Roll the dragon's dice to find out how bad it is, then every defending figure rolls their own dice and takes damage if they roll less. (for most figures, since they have only one die, this probably means certain death). The dragon of course takes no damage if they roll more.

Scorpion
Based on its size, the rubber scorpion was obviously tougher than the solders but not as tough as the dragon. It has two pincers, so could split its attack between two enemies if desired. And finally, it obviously has a poison sting.  Mechanically: 2d6 attack, or split it for 1d6 each against 2 foes, and if a power card is used it can STING a single opponent for 3d6.

Halfling
Lego men are small, but tough and find it easy to hide in the brush. Mechanics - 1d6 as usual, but if a power card is played you have the option of shooting or hiding - a hidden halfling is invisible, and can't be fought or targetted with a missile until it moves normally or attacks. I ended up marking the figures location with little cardboard counters.

Ogre
A much larger figure was deemed to be an ogre. Ogres are huge and tough, but not all that smart and likely not able to shoot - but they are strong! Mechanics: 3d6, and if it starts its turn beside a block or other reasonably sized terrain feature you can play a power card to have the ogre carry that block when it moves.

Balance
To balance out the tougher monster figures, we ruled that if multiple figures are touching an enemy, you can combine their dice for a coordinated attack - so two or three soldiers could move up and attack a dragon all at once, making for a more even chance of hurting it.

Goals
Instead of simple "kill them all and let god sort it out" battles, I started setting goals. In one case, I placed a "treasure" (a handful of plastic "crystals") and said the winner was the one who could capture it and hold it against the enemy. In another, I placed the Playmobil castle (complete with a monster guardian) and said that whoever could capture the castle by entering and defeating the monster could - so long as they kept a soldier there to work it - fire the castle ballista every turn. Finally of course I offered the standard "capture the flag" variation which given fairly limited forces and the consequences of sacrificing soldiers made for a rather interesting game.

So, this is my still-evolving version of Little Wars. What's next you ask?  Well, I want to try a couple of things:

First, I'd like to introduce a wizard figure, and perhaps a handful of spells (liberally borrowing from Chainmail, probably). I'd also like to try "campaigning" - let the treasure be something practical that can carry over to the next war, for example. We have a small number of special weapons: perhaps they could be magic weapons, and the soldier carrying one could get 2 dice and the same kind of protective effect that a shield gives? I also need to figure out a good way to use our horses - perhaps by allowing a knight to mount a horse if they're touching, and then move the length of the ruler.

There's a huge range of things that can still be tried, so many that I find I'm actually looking forward to the next rain day!

Monday 21 September 2015

Monster - Ogre Variants

Ogres get a bad rap.  Largest of the "normal" humanoids (not counting giants as "normal") they seem to get pushed off to the side, used either as a thuggish minion of the "big boss" monster in dungeons swarming with their smaller cousins or as more manageable minions in adventures featuring giants.  It's as though we don't know what to do with these in-between creatures.

When I was young and foolish, I had ideas.  Boss monster indeed, I thought.  What if - what if! - ogres were more than just the half-witted and overgrown orcs they're usually taken as?  They spend a great deal of time alone or in small groups - what do they do?  Where do they come from?  Who created them and why?

I didn't answer any of these questions, but I did concoct my own twisted B/X version of the Temple of Elemental Evil, from memory of a much-enjoyed game with friends and with liberal mixing from the mass-media dreck I had been consuming obsessively at the time.  That's a long and not very relevant story save to say: rather than rather gates into the elemental planes (which didn't make much sense to us in that era of D&D) I took inspiration from module B4 - The Lost City, and (without offering any spoilers for those who have never played this excellent adventure) decided that the nodes of evil were Chaos temples - and at the heart of each were creatures that had achieved unprecedented convergence with their dark, unspeakable gods.

Et voila, some new ogres were born, ever so slightly more horrible than the original:








Grinder
Gulper
Whistler
AC
5
5
5
HD
4+1
4+1
4+1*
Move
90’(30’)
90’(30’)
90’(30’)
Attacks
2 claws(+bite)
1 weapon
1 weapon
Damage
1-6/1-6 (1-8)
By weapon+2
By weapon+2
No. Appearing
1-4 (1-4)
1-4(1-4)
1-4(1-4)
Save As
Fighter: 4
Fighter: 4
Fighter:4
Morale
10
10
10
Treasure Type
(Sx10)
(Sx10)
(Sx10)
Alignment
Chaotic
Chaotic
Chaotic
XP Value
175
175
225


Stitcher
Blister
Rotter
AC
5
5*
5**
HD
4+1
4+1
4+1
Move
90’(30’)
90’(30’)
90’(30’)
Attacks
See below
1 weapon
2 claws
Damage
See below
By weapon+2
1-6+2/1-6+2
No. Appearing
1-4(1-4)
1-4(1-4)
1-4(1-4)
Save As
Fighter: 4
Fighter: 4
Fighter: 4
Morale
10
10
10
Treasure Type
(Sx10)
(Sx10)
(Sx10)
Alignment
Chaotic
Chaotic
Chaotic
XP Value
175+25/arm
175
225

When ogre variants are encountered, the number appearing represents the number of these mutants who might be found among otherwise normal-seeming ogres, where they serve as a (hopefully interesting, if unpleasant) surprise for cynical and world-weary adventurers.

Grinder: At first glance, these creatures appear to be fairly ordinary ogres, however those who look more closely may note that they bear no weapons – and in fact their long, wiry arms end in similarly long, hooked fingers that probably couldn’t grasp a weapon with any skill. No surprise, then, when they discover the creature’s real mode of attack.  Each round a Grinder will attack a target with its hooked claws, doing 1-6hp damage with each hit.  Should both claws hit, the beast will gather its victim into a deadly embrace, at which time its true weapon will be revealed: a wide maw filled with chisel-like teeth that have been filed down to points.  The Grinder will automatically deal 1-8hp damage to an embraced victim, and will continue to hug (dealing no damage) and “grind” (dealing 1-8) until the victim is dead or has escaped.  Note that, due to the “hook, hug, bite” mode of attack, the ogre’s traditional +2 to damage is not applied.  “Hugged” victims may attempt to escape each round: 1d6-2 is rolled for the character, with STR bonus applied, and the character escapes on a result of 6.

Gulper: There is something obviously “wrong” with this ogre on first sight – while the limbs are as muscular and corded with tendons as an ordinary ogre, the head of this beast is huge, with a wide mouth that stretches almost to divide the head in half, and blends smoothly into the shoulders and bulbous torso.  The body itself seems to ripple with excess flesh and odd, warty growths.  It seems like an obese monstrosity of an ogre, and rightly so.  While the Gulper is quite capable of fighting just as an ordinary ogre would, its favourite tactic is less savory – within that enormous maw is a long, muscular, sticky tongue.  When possible, the Gulper will fight from behind a screen of his ordinary cousins or smaller allies such as orcs or goblins  – occasionally snapping out its tongue up to 15’ to strike especially the smaller and weaker of its foes.  If hit by the tongue, the target is immediately dragged back through the battle lines to find themselves face to face with the Gulper - targets larger than a dwarf may make a save vs wands at -2 (STR bonus applies to this save instead of WIS) to resist.     On a hit roll of 20, even larger targets get no save, and dwarf-size or smaller targets find themselves drawn into the maw and swallowed whole – where they will take 1-6hp damage every round until cut from the creature’s belly.  Gulpers seem to find halflings and magic-users particularly tasty.

Whistler: Most adventurers have probably been at risk of a Whistler attack without knowing it – for they are often the source of a mysterious whistling sound in the deepest and darkest of caverns. In addition to infravision, Whistlers have the uncanny ability to function even completely blind – whether vision is obscured by magical darkness, invisibility, smoke/fog, or any other effect – with their bat-like power of echolocation.  As a result, their favourite tactic is to surprise victims in the dark, where they have a significant advantage.  This would perhaps not be nearly as effective a tactic were it not for a supernatural ability they have developed from long years in deep communion with the powers of Chaos: each Whistler is able to create magical darkness as the spell once per day.  As Whistlers are intelligent creatures, they will often coordinate their attacks with both other Whistlers and more ordinary cousins, using darkness to surprise opponents and cloak their attacks or to help their friends escape when overpowered.  Whistlers will also work together to cover larger areas with darkness, or to re-establish their advantage should their darkness be dispelled.

Stitcher: Stitcher lairs are terrible places, filled with the remains of dismembered bodies and twisted biological experiments – for this is the Stitcher’s special power: the ability to take parts of the bodies of others and graft them to their own – or others’ – bodies.  The main body of a Stitcher appears to be that of an ordinary ogre, and as such the Stitcher will usually bear some kind of weapon which it will wield in combat dealing normal weapon damage with a +2 bonus due to strength.  However, the hideous grafting power the Stitcher gains from his devotion to unnatural Chaos gods means that each Stitcher will have an additional 1-6 limbs (or other appendages) taken from victims.  These appendages provide additional attacks in addition to their grotesque appearance.  Naturally, any appendage is possible – but for convenience sake, for a sample of limbs, roll on the table below:

Roll
Appendage
Damage
1
Weapon-wielding humanoid arm
As weapon+2
2
Tentacle
Constrict 1-8/round
3
Giant scorpion tail
1-4+poison (save or die)
4
Giant crab pincer
2-12
5
Whole pit viper
1-4+poison (save or die)
6
Manticore tail (can shoot 4 spikes per round, 24 total)
1-6 each
7
Ghoul arm
1-3+paralysis
8
Weapon-wielding humanoid arm
As weapon+2

The dimmer Stitchers are likely to take the limbs of any especially powerful foe and add it to their bodies immediately , but Stitchers can swop/replace limbs given 1-4 days for the necessary “surgery” and often maintain stocks of alternative limbs in their lairs. 

Rumour has it that certain especially powerful Stitchers carefully curate their own collections and the collections of their fellows for best effect, including “utility” limbs as well as “fighting” limbs.  At least one such has managed to graft a pair of wings in addition to the usual 1-6 “fighting” limbs.  If a magic-user or cleric such as a tribal shaman is available, it may be possible for a Stitcher to work with him to develop arcane artificial limbs with entirely new abilities.

Blister: It is obvious at first glance that the Fetid has something wrong with him – head, face, arms and shoulders, chest, all are covered with a mass of growths that appear to be bubbles or blisters, mottled in various colours.  In fact, this is an infection of subterranean fungus that spreads under the heavy skin of the ogre, creating the hideous bubbling surface.  In combat, whenever the Blister is hit some of these growths burst, releasing a cloud of spores or drugged vapor.  All those in melee with the beast must save vs poison or suffer one of the following effects:

Roll
Emission
Effect
1
Spores
Grow blisters and boils in 1-6 days. -1 DEX&CHA/week
2
Choke
Overcome by coughing and sneezing for 1-6 rounds – no action possible
3
Stupor
Drugged stupor for 1-6 rounds – character’s action is always last in round despite initiative, no spellcasting, attacks at -2
4
Fear
Overcome by terror, run in random direction 1-6 rounds
5
Hallucinate
Companions appear hostile 1-6 rounds – attack closest
6
Blinding
Blinded for 1-6 rounds or until eyes are washed with wine or similar. Attacks at -4

Note that in the case of a character being infected with spores, the blisters will begin to appear in a patch of exposed skin 1-6 days later, and from that point will continue to spread until cured – eventually covering the victim’s upper body completely.  Sadly, a non-ogre body is simply incapable of properly supporting the growths and the victim will begin to suffer excruciating pain from the swollen flesh, in addition to gaining a hideous appearance as the infection spreads week to week.  These boils and blisters will emit spores when disturbed by violent impacts (eg when being driven into the wilderness by a mob of terrified villagers) but unless the infected character has a habit of eating humanoid flesh (as ogres do) the only effect of the spores will be to spread the infection to others.  When DEX reaches zero, the character will die, and if untended the body will quickly dissolve into a mound of fungal fruiting bodies that bubbles and stinks at it continues the fermentation of any organic matter that accumulates, but is otherwise inoffensive.


Rotter: As with Blisters, it will immediately be clear that there is something terribly wrong with a Rotter when it appears – if nothing else, the sickly-sweet stench of rotting flesh that fills any space containing a Rotter will be a sign of something amiss.  Once again, the powerful metabolism of the ogre comes into play – a Rotter cultivates an advanced state of decay in its hands and forearms, especially prizing a variety of cave-grub that feasts on the flesh of corpses.  The Rotter uses this rot to good effect in combat.  First, the hideous stench of rot is such that all characters entering melee with the Rotter must save vs poison or be nauseated – nauseated characters suffer -2 to attack rolls.  In addition, the Rotter will not use weapons, preferring to pummel opponents with its grub-infested, rotting fists.  Those struck must save vs poison or be infected by rot and grubs – infected wounds fester, and the blight will spread to any other wounds the character takes – this prevents all natural healing and magical healing has only half the normal effect.  Even if all damage is healed (i.e. the character is returned to full hp) the grubs and rot will merely be encysted within the characters flesh, unnoticed until the next time he or she is wounded, at which time they will burst forth with a putrid reek with similar effects.  This lasts until magically cured.



Tuesday 8 September 2015

Monster - Owl Bears

Ah, the Owlbear.

Its chilling screech has sent shivers down the spine of many an adventurer – voracious, implacable, a maul of Owlbears can ravage remote farmland, depopulate entire dungeons, and yet somehow fail to accumulate anything better than treasure type C.  But then, I guess sheep and miscellaneous goblinoids aren’t known for their wealth.

When I was young and callow (as opposed to old and bitter) I decided that it was silly to presume that all the monsters in the book existed in any given setting.  This seems obvious now, but when I was 15 this was a bit of an epiphany.  In the years following my revelation, I experimented with different “ecologies” – some of which were more successful than others. 

One unsuccessful offering involved an archipelago of island states roughly like the Bronze Age Aegean…except for the alarming frequency with which numbers of huge spiders and giant toads appeared on the wandering monster tables. (I don’t really remember what I was thinking, other than that the basic idea was that the huge spiders replaced wolves and the toads were like tigers or some other big cat – ambush hunters).  That could have been a pretty awesome setting if I’d thought it through in more detail, but as it was it was just off-putting and nightmarish.  (wait...maybe it WAS awesome!)

In one of my more successful ventures, though, I ignored ogres and trolls and in every adventure there was an Owlbear instead.  After a time, it became the campaign schtick, and I developed variants on the Owlbear to the amusement and dismay of my players.  I present a small selection of the more successful strains of this glorious beast (as originally developed for a B/X campaign) for your delectation.


Delicious?  Perhaps not.  But that’s not what they think of adventurers!

(Edit: More exotic variants are available in my later follow-up post here)



Screech Owlbear
Great Horned Owlbear
Burrowing Owlbear
AC:
5
5
5
HD:
5*
6
3
Move:
120’ (40’)
120’ (40’)
120’ (40’)
Attacks:
2 claws/1 bite
2 claws/1 bite or 1 gore
2 claws/1 bite
Damage:
1-8/1-8/1-8
1-8/1-8/1-8 or 1-10
1-6/1-6/1-6
No. Appearing:
1-4 (1-4)
1-4 (1-4)
2-8 (2-8)
Save As:
Fighter: 3
Fighter: 3
Fighter: 2
Morale:
9
9
9
Treasure Type:
C
C
C
Alignment:
Neutral
Neutral
Neutral
XP Value:
300
275
175



Electric Owlbear
Drop Owlbear
AC:
5
5
HD:
5*
2
Move:
120’ (40’)
120’ (40’)
Attacks:
2 claws/1 bite
2 claws/1 bite
Damage:
1-8/1-8/1-8
1-6/1-6/1-6
No. Appearing:
1-4 (1-4)
2-8 (2-8)
Save As:
Fighter: 3
Fighter: 2
Morale:
9
9
Treasure Type:
C
C
Alignment:
Neutral
Neutral
XP Value:
300
175


Screech Owlbear: Like its more ordinary cousin, the Common Owlbear, the Screech Owlbear stands 8’ tall and weighs in at 15,000 cns.  Like its cousin, when both claws hit the Screech Owlbear will crush an opponent for 2-16 hp damage.  In appearance, the bear-like body is covered with downy brown feathers as usual, but the owl-like head has a larger than usual beak (with the usual wicked edge), and the owl-like eyes are large, surrounded by black and white rings that initially give it a slightly comical surprised appearance.  Below the beak, half hidden in the feathery ruff, is what appears to be a mass of fleshy wattle, and this is where the Screech Owlbear gets its name: 3 times per day, the Screech Owlbear can inflate this wattle and emit a long, shattering screech.  The special effects of the screech are felt within a cone-shaped region just as for dragon breath – those in the area of effect must save vs dragon breath or be stunned for 1d6 rounds and deafened for 1d6 turns.  Stunned characters cannot act, and are treated as though surprised for purposes of defence.  Deafened characters cannot hear clearly – move silently works automatically against them, and they are surprised twice as often.

Great Horned Owlbear: This variant is much larger than its cousins, standing 10’ tall and having much bulkier shoulders.  In addition, the head is adorned with a pair of wide, wicked horns like those of a bull.  In combat, the Great Horned Owlbear may choose between a “traditional” attack of using claws and bite (if both claws hit, crush for 2-16) or goring.  In addition, if sufficient space is available (at least 10’) it may opt to lower its head and charge, doing double goring damage on a hit.

Burrowing Owlbear: This variety of Owlbear is smaller than others, standing 4-6’ in height, but is nonetheless a potent adversary.  The typical attack is with a pair of slashes from large, mole-like shovel claws followed by a bite.  These creatures are too small to hug in most cases, but if the victim is small (eg Dwarf, Halfling or smaller) two hits with claws will be followed by a hug doing 2-12 hp damage. Unlike the Common Owlbear and its other, larger cousins, who live mainly in small groups (usually a bull alone, a mated bull and cow, or a cow with juveniles) Burrowing Owlbears form larger family groups, with several generations living together.  Further, rather than ranging afield from a central lair, these creatures create intricate burrow networks in which they live, digging with their spade-like claws.  They are very good diggers, and when dungeons or badlands have been infested with a colony the tunnel network may emerge in many places, allowing the Burrowing Owlbears to surround and take down even quite powerful opponents.  Although a group usually doesn’t exceed 8 individuals (plus any eggs being incubated and helpless young) there are rumours (usually dismissed as tall tales) that in truly wild places colonies of a score of the things have occasionally been sighted.  

Electric Owlbear: At first seeming just like the Common Owlbear, observant adventurers will notice key differences: rather than brown, the feathers are mainly black – the blueish iridescent black of ravens – with flecks of white and a lighter blue on the belly, while the claws have a definite coppery tone to them.  The Electric Owlbear attacks just as the Common Owlbear, but in addition to the ordinary claw/claw/bite (and crushing hug) there is a surprising side effect – the Owlbear’s body accumulates charge, and on the first claw hit an additional 2d4 electrical damage will be delivered (save for half) – this is doubled if a hug is delivered in the same round.  The Owlbear recharges in 2d4 rounds.

Drop Owlbear:  Drop Owlbears are small cousins of the Common Owlbear, similar to Burrowing Owlbears.  In fact, they are nearly identical to the Burrowing Owlbear, except that they live exclusively underground and have developed a specialized hunting technique: ambush.  Drop Owlbears are expert climbers, and use this ability to access their burrow entrances, which are always in the ceilings of caves and tunnels.  These burrow entrances are concealed by mats they form out of a combination of their sticky saliva and excavated gravel, and are extremely difficult to detect (treat as secret or concealed doors).  When prey passes underneath, Drop Owlbears will drop from their hidden burrows to surprise their victims (1-4 on 1d6).

[For a follow-up project, I'm tempted to write an adventure featuring the Bearenstein Owlbears...]