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.

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...]

Prydain Project - Fair Folk - 3 class version

This is the slightly "dis-enstrangened" 3 class version of the Fair Folk I developed - I took the weird version I came up with while I was struggling last week, and blended it with the more stolid versions I had been sketching.  In this version, I think I come closer to Lloyd Alexander's vision of Doli and King Eiddileg with the Coblyn class - and these are the type of Fair Folk we encounter most in the books.  I have retained the "charms and talents" concept in the Ellyll class, which reflects the strange "hyper-real" elf encounters of the third kind that often appear in Welsh and Cornish folklore.  Finally, the Pwca are perhaps the least adjusted from my "weird" version, and this is where I have started to inject the basics of Prydain's cosmology in the form of the Three Elements - in fact, in the weird version (which I never posted since it was too sketchy and also too off the wall for what I'm doing here...though I've saved the notes for a future project) the three classes were Elementally tied, and each had their own transformational powers.  These have been melded and mellowed into the Pwca in this version.

The Fair Folk - Yr Pobl o Yr Tylwyth Teg

The Fair Folk are a mystical people intimately linked with Prydain and the forces that run through it.  Legend has it that in the distant past, the Fair Folk lived at peace with the land – which was then filled with all manner of fae wonders.  With the coming of Human settlers, the Fair Folk were driven into hiding.  Today, the Fair Folk – or the Tylwyth Teg as they are known – are wary of Humans, and prefer not to involve themselves in the mere mundane workings of Prydain, so most people have never seen then – or if they have, they have perhaps not known it, as the Fair Folk will sometimes move among Humans in disguise.   The Tylwyth Teg usually dwell in places far from Human habitation, in secret enclaves of various kinds that are linked together in a web of secret ways and paths that allow them to travel without risking being seen by Humans. 

Most of the fae creatures of the Tylwyth Teg are few and extremely shy, but three tribes are more numerous and will occasionally enter the world of Humans seeking adventure, searching for lost treasures, or to help achieve some heroic goal:

Although they normally keep themselves apart from the purely mundane cares of Prydain, from time to time a Coblyn, Ellyll or Pwca will choose to join a Human cause – most often with a specific goal in mind, such as thwarting Chaos, recovering a magic item (especially one that was originally a gift from the Fair Folk in friendlier days), or to work against creatures of the Tylwyth Ddu (The Dark Kindred – the Chaos equivalent of the Tylwyth Teg, which includes any Chaotic aligned fae creature)

Colbyn(au)

Level	XP	Mine	Appraise	Identify	Climb
1	0	1/6	1/6	1/6	81%
2	2200	1-2/6	1-2/6	1/6	82%
3	4400	1-3/6	1-3/6	1/6	83%
4	8800	1-4/6	1-4/6	1-2/6	84%
5	17000	1-5/6	1-5/6	1-2/6	85%
6	35000	1-6/6	1-6/6	1-2/6	86%
7	70000	1-6/6	1-6/6	1-3/6	87%
8	140000	1-6/6	1-6/6	1-3/6	88%
9	270000	1-6/6	1-6/6	1-3/6	89%

Prime requisite: Con

Hit points: 1d6 per level

Save as: Dwarf

Maximum 9^th level

At 3^rd level, Coblynau may turn invisible (per M-U spell Invisibility) once per day.

At 6^th level, Coblynau may summon a troop of 5 level 1 Coblynau

At 9^th level, Coblynau may summon a troop of 18 level 1 Coblynau + 2 level 3 Coblynau leaders

Sometimes referred to colloquially as Knockers, the Coblynau are perhaps the Fair Folk most commonly seen in the Human realms.  They are similar in appearance to Humans but short in stature, standing from 3 to 4 feet in height , but make up for their small size in sheer doughtiness.  They are best known by miners, as they typically make their homes under ground in caves and grottos of unusual beauty and spend their days toiling in their own mines, extracting precious metals and gems which they craft into exquisite jewelry.   Beyond their work with metal and gems, the Coblynau are well known for their love of fine work and skill with their hands, and excel at all crafts.  They are also well known for their skill at mountaineering and may occasionally be found in small, well-hidden villages in the most inaccessible of rocky places or in cliffs.

Coblynau have small clannish enclaves all over Prydain, hidden away from the prying eyes of Humans who they claim drove them underground when they came long ago (according to the Coblynau, Prydain belonged to the Fair Folk before the coming of Human settlers).  Coblynau communities will ordinarily have little interaction with the outside world, and in fact: Humans will only rarely encounter the Coblynau directly, but when an individual on good terms with local clans (for example, by leaving out tidbits of food or drink in places they have been known to frequent – and especially if done out of simple neighbourliness rather than for an explicit attempt to gain favour) the Coblynau will occasionally reciprocate by providing assistance of some kind – e.g. miners might get hints as to the most productive places to dig, small tasks left unfinished in the evening might be completed (typically to a higher standard than the Humans would achieve alone).   Coblynau may also venture forth from their hidden enclaves to render aid to lost travellers, stranded climbers, trapped miners, etc.

Armor:  Coblynau may use any kind of armor and shield, but due to their small size any armor or shield must be made specially to fit. (double price when purchasing in Human lands)

Weapons: Coblynau may use any small weapon, but may not use any 2-handed weapon other than a short-bow or crossbow.  Human-sized large 1-handed weapons such as longswords may be used 2-handed (i.e. no shield)

Hiding: Like all the Fair Folk, the Coblynau are adept at hiding, and seem to vanish into woods, brush, rocky terrain and caves.  So long as they remain still and silent, hiding Coblynau will be found only on a roll of 1 or 2 on 1d6.

Mine: Coblynau are skillful miners and very sensitive to caves and constructions.  Sloping corridors, new constructions, dangerous constructions (due to damage or age) will be noticed on a result as noted in the table.  Further, deliberately concealed construction features such as sliding walls, pit traps, concealed doors, etc may be noticed if a conscious attempt is made to find them.  Coblynau also have twice the usual ability to find secret doors. When conditions are particularly difficult (eg deliberate concealment, poor weather, stressful circumstances, etc) a penalty of 1-3 points may apply to this roll.

Appraise: Coblynau are very skilled craftspeople, and can recognise quality when they see it.  On a result as noted, the character is able to accurately assess the value of normal gems, jewelry, or other mundane crafted items.

Identify: In addition to being able to assess the value of mundane items, Coblynau have a fine enough sense of quality that, in combination with their fundamentally magical nature, can be used to sniff out the nature of certain kinds of enchantments.  Given a day to examine it, a Coblyn character is often able to learn 1 power of any armor, weapon, or miscellaneous magic item.

Climb: Related to their skill with mining and construction, and also their habit of living in lonely mountainous areas, the Coblynau are quite good at climbing.

Invisibility: At 3^rd level, Coblynau may turn invisible once per day per the Magic-User spell of the same name.

Call Clan: At 6^th level, a Coblyn character may send out a call to his or her clan for aid.  A troop of 5 Colbynau of 1^st level will arrive in 1d6 days (travelling by secret Fair Folk ways through Prydain) and render whatever mundane aid is needed for 1 day.  This aid may be: building something, excavation, repair, rescue, or defence.  Coblynau thus summoned will not normally fight, but are armed and armored (chain mail, short sword) and will fight to defend themselves and the Coblyn who summoned them from direct threats from Chaotic creatures, however their goal will always be simply to extract their clan-mate from danger and escape rather than to defeat the attackers.  At 9^th level, a Coblyn characters ability to call clan-mates for aid increases: the call will bring a troop of 20, which includes 18 1^st level Coblynau and 2 leader types of 3^rd level.

Ellyll(on)

Level	XP	Identify	Read Language	Talents
1	0	1/6	20%	Fairy Fire
2	2500	1/6	25%	Ventriloquism
3	5000	1-2/6	30%	Obscure
4	10000	1-2/6	35%	Charm Person
5	20000	1-3/6	40%	Phantasmal Force
6	40000	1-3/6	45%	Hold Person
7	80000	1-4/6	50%	Sleep
8	150000	1-4/6	55%	Hallucinatory Terrain
9	300000	1-5/6	60%	Quest

Hit points: 1d6 per levelPrime requisite: Cha

Save as: Dwarf

Maximum 9^th level

At 3^rd level, Ellyllon may brew potions as Magic-Users do

At 6^th level, Ellyllon may enchant weapons and armor as Magic-Users do

At 9^th level, Ellyllon may craft miscellaneous magic items and rings as Magic-Users do

The Ellyll have such smooth faces and delicate features that with their small stature – about 4’ to 5’ in height – and slim bodies they are often mistaken for Human children, and in fact some of the more mischievous of the Ellyll have been known to pass themselves off as children for their own amusement.

The Ellyll often live in the most beautiful of the grottos prepared by their Coblynau cousins, where they spend their days playing games, singing, and dancing.  Of all the Fair Folk, the Ellyllon are the most light hearted – though they can be terrible when slighted.  Most often, Humans will encounter them at dusk or dawn, or under the Moon at night – for these are the times when they emerge from the grottos to gather herbs and flowers for their magical studies, or just to play under the sky.  The places where they most often gather for their revels are commonly regarded as mystical by their Human neighbours, who will normally avoid them if possible – for the Ellyll are well known not only for their pranks but for their humiliating efforts at revenge.

Armor:  Ellyll may not use any armor, but may use shields.

Weapons: Ellyll may use any weapons.

Hiding: Like all the Fair Folk, the Ellylon are adept at hiding, and seem to vanish into woods, brush, rocky terrain and caves.  So long as they remain still and silent, hiding Ellyllon will be found only on a roll of 1 or 2 on 1d6.

Identify: Ellyllon have a natural sense of magic, and given enough time (1 day) to examine any item they may be able to identify one of its powers.

Read Languages: Although the people of Prydain currently use only one language, there are other tongues in the world and many forgotten alphabets.  A combination of their magical nature, their curiosity, and their simple sense of these things permits Ellyllon to often be able to puzzle out the meaning of even completely unknown texts.  This ability does not allow the Ellyllon to read scrolls or spellbooks.

Talents: Ellyll are naturally magical in nature, and the closeness of their ties to the Elements grants them special talents. At first level an Ellyll character may add “Fairy Fire” (as the Druid spell) to his or her list of talents known. Each time a level is gained, the character may choose ONE additional talent from those listed as available at the new level and those below. Talents may be used only once per day. A talent may be selected more than once, and this permits it to be used an additional time each day. Talents with names matching Cleric, Druid or Magic-User spells have the same effect as those spells – refer to the spell description for details.

Craft magic items: Ellyll characters gain the ability to craft magic items in exactly the same way that Magic-Users can at 3^rd (potions), 6^th (weapons and armor) and 9^th (miscellaneous magic items and rings) levels.  To do so, the character must spend time in study and gathering the necessary ingredients, just as a Magic-User would.  Cost and time requirements are as given for magic-users in the rules.

Pwca

Level	XP	Hide	Move silently	Hear Noise
1	0	90%	20%	1-2
2	2500	91%	25%	1-2
3	5000	92%	30%	1-3
4	10000	93%	35%	1-3
5	20000	94%	40%	1-4
6	40000	95%	45%	1-4
7	80000	96%	50%	1-5
8	150000	97%	55%	1-5
9	300000	98%	60%	1-5

Prime requisite: Wis
Adjustments: -2 Str, +2 Dex

Hit points: 1d4 per level

Save as: Dwarf

Maximum 9^th level

Animal form gained at 1^st, 3^rd, 6^th and 9^th levels

While both the Coblynau and Ellyllon are wary of humans, neither can match the Pwca for shyness.

The Pwca are in many ways both the strangest of the more numerous Fair Folk tribes - from the perspective of Humans - and the easiest to understand. Both these facts are due to their deep connection to the Three Elements: Sky, Sea and Stone.

In their "ordinary" form, the Pwca appear at first glance to be diminutive Humans of 1' to 2' height. However, closer inspection (if it is permitted) will reveal strange animal-like features: tufts of hair or feathers, short tails, glittering scales. This is related to the main manifestation of their magical nature: the ability to transform between their ordinary form and that of an animal connected with their native Element (Sea, Sky or Stone).  Pwca characters must choose a native Element at character creation.

Pwca clans are always welcome in the grotto realms of their Coblyn and Ellyll cousins, but Pwca are more comfortable out in the natural world where they can more easily indulge their three passions: hunger for contact with their native Element, play, and curiosity.

In the mundane world of Prydain, Pwca will often gather in places of natural beauty related to their native Element:

Sea Pwca will gather on coastlines with dramatic surf, in the reeds along languid rivers, around the edges of waterfalls.

Sky Pwca will gather on high ridges, in treetops,  along cliffs, on mountaintops.

Stone Pwca will be found in forest dells, in vine-tangled valleys, in ravines and wildflower fields.

While they tend to avoid human settlements entirely, when such places are near farms or villages the Pwca who dwell there will sometimes be overcome with curiosity and creep close to watch the Humans at work and play. They will only rarely reveal themselves to adults, being made nervous by creatures so large, but will occasionally speak to children - if only because of the potential for play.

Like the Ellyll, the Pwca crave fun and moreso than their larger cousins will go out of their way to find it. Usually, play involves games among the Pwca and their animal friends, but occasionally other Fair Folk are included, and more rarely still Humans may be invited - usually children.

Although they crave play, and are generally timid and retiring, Pwca are very occasionally tempted to adventure - often to satisfy curiosity, sometimes to achieve great ends, though even then the Pwca's main goal is likely to be the advancement of great stories.

Armor: Pwca may not wear armor of any kind, though they can use specially made shields. (double price)

Weapons: Pwca may only use specially made weapons. (double price) Pwca weapons do half the usual damage due to their extremely small size.

Hide: Pwca are extremely adept at hiding, and in natural environments will be at least 91% able to evade detection. In other situations, they can successfully hide in shadows on a roll of 1 or 2 on 1d6.

Dodging: Due to their small size, Pwca are very adept at dodging and evading the attacks of larger creatures.  Pwca gain +2 AC bonus when fighting man-sized creatures, and +4 against creatures of larger than man-size.

Animal Form: At first level, Pwca characters must choose their native element.  Having done so, they may choose one animal form associated with that element. Animal forms must be small to medium in size.  Once per day, the character may transform into that animal, and may remain in that form until the next sunrise, gaining all the ordinary abilities of that animal (except venom or poison) for the duration. 

Ordinary abilities scores, hit points and alignment are retained.  

Any possessions or equipment disappear for the duration of the animal form and return unchanged when the Pwca returns to ordinary form.  

The Pwca may also return to ordinary form at any time. 

Transformation in either direction takes one full round, during which no other action is possible.  

At 3rd, 6th and 9th levels, the Pwca may choose either an additional animal form (also restricted by the selected native Element) or to use an existing animal form +1/day.

Animal forms may be selected freely from among suitable small and medium animals, but each Pwca character must select only from animal types associated with his or her chosen Element.  Examples are given below:

Sea (aquatic animals)	Sky (flying animals)	Stone (land animals)
Otter	Eagle	Mouse
Frog	Heron	Ferret
Salmon	Raven	Rabbit
Beaver	Dragonfly	Badger
Crab	Bat	Cat
Eel	Hummingbird	Hedgehog
Turtle	Thrush	Lizard/snake

In each case, while the transformation is complete and the Pwca will be indistinguishable from a real animal in most respects, close inspection will reveal that the Pwca's animal form is somewhat larger than smaller animals, or somewhat smaller than larger animals.