Swords & Wizardry Monsters: The Crimson Mantid, the Deathgazer Orb and the Dreadstorm Leech...

Good Morning, All:

Here are three new monsters for use in your own Swords & Wizardry campaigns: the crimson mantid, the deathgazer orb, and the dreadstorm leech. These are inspired by a few concepts from some 3E monster manuals, and have been converted for use in a rules-light system. Of course, in the process, I put my own spin on the concepts, and strove for some interesting and challenging beasts here. I would definitely be interested in hearing your thoughts on these, and if you would like to continue to see more monsters like these posted here on In Like Flynn.

Crimson Mantid
Standing over eight feet tall, the crimson mantid has the appearance of a four-armed cross between a humanoid and a praying mantis. The chitinous plate of a crimson mantid is blood red, and each of its four arms end in scythe-like claws. Created by the God of Vermin to serve as shock troops in a war upon the mortal planes, the crimson mantid continue to live long after the divine war has ended, spreading fear and destruction wherever they may be found. The scythe-like claws of the crimson mantid exude a natural poison (saving throw negates); anyone poisoned by a crimson mantid suffers 1d6 points of poison damage each round until they succeed at a saving throw. If the crimson mantid strikes the same target with two or more claws in the same round, it automatically rends the target for an addition 2d8 damage.

Crimson Mantid: AC -2 [21]; HD 12; Atk: four claws (1d8+poison); ST: 3; SP: immune to poison, poison (1d6 per round until save negates), rend (2d8); MV: 15; CL 16; XP 3,200.

Deathgazer Orb
Infused with necromantic energy, the deathgazer orb inhabits large caverns and similar open areas far underground. Deathgazer orbs prefer to lie in wait, floating near the ceiling of the chamber, and attack unsuspecting creatures that pass below them. Due to their dark coloration and silent flight, the deathgazer has a 4 in 6 chance to automatically surprise unsuspecting creatures. If a deathgazer orb hits a target using one of its tentacles with a natural 20, it automatically grabs hold of its victim and begins to strangle them. Each round that the target remains conscious, as his action for the round, the target may attempt a saving throw to break free. In addition, once every 1d4 rounds, the deathgazer orb may implement a gaze attack that automatically reduces any target that fails a saving throw to 1d4 hitpoits, similar to the effects of a reversed heal spell. Finally, deathgazer orbs are immune to attacks that drain energy levels and other necromantic effects.

Deathgazer Orb: AC 3 [16]; HD 6; Atk: four tentacles (1d4); ST: 11; SP: darkvision, harmful gaze, immune (necromantic effects), strangling strike; MV: 3, fly 12; CL 10; XP 1,400.

Dreadstorm Leech
The dreadstorm leech lives in the depths of the oceans of the world, only coming to the surface of the ocean during heavy storms. Almost three foot in length, the dreadstorm leech can smell blood at incredible distances underwater, and often attack the bleeding victims of vessels destroyed by storms. After the dreadstorm leech's first hit, it automatically drains blood from its victim at the rate of 1d4 hitpoints per round.

Dreadstorm Leech: AC 4 [15]; HD 3; Atk: one bite (1d4); ST: 14; SP: blood drain, blood scent; MV: 0, swim 24; CL 4; XP 120.

Enjoy,
Flynn