Swords & Wizardry: Four More Monsters...

Good Morning, All:

I thought I would start this week off with four new monsters for Swords & Wizardry. While a few of these will definitely see action within the Madlands Campaign, I hope to be able to use them all, should the circumstances allow for such. The howling ape and the tharkanth are intended to use as random wilderness encounters, while the dread reveller would make an interesting element to a burning village or funeral pyre scene and the snare worm makes for a great living trap in a dungeon. However you wish to use them, I hope that they add a little something extra to your campaign.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to post them in the comments below.

Dread Reveller
Created by a gluttonous god in the final days of a war between the gods, dread revellers are a race of humanoid scavengers that feast upon dead flesh, preferably burnt flesh. Drawn irrestibly to burning homes, funeral pyres and sacrificial rites, dread revellers can smell their preferred delicacy over a mile away. Immune to the effects of fire, dread revellers have been known to leap into burning buildings following the scent of burning corpses, giving them the unwelcome status of harbingers of death. Dread revellers bear the stench of death upon their fur; upon first encountering a dread reveller, all those within 10 feet must succeed at a saving throw or become nauseated, suffering a -2 penalty to all attacks and saving throws for 1d8 rounds. Finally, dread revellers were crafted by their god with a very foul essence that taints sanctified items (including holy water) and consecrated ground, desecrating such items or locations if the dread reveller succeeds at a saving throw upon first interacting with their holy auras.

Dread Reveller: AC 7 [12]; HD 2; Atk: bite (1d8), two claws (1d6); ST: 16; SP: immunity (fire), stench, taint; MV: 15; CL 5; XP 240.

Howling Ape
A powerful primate the size of an ogre, the howling ape is notable for two characteristics. First, it is a very territorial carnivore with a penchant for horse flesh. This makes the howling ape a bane to adventurers and others traveling through the wilderness on horseback. Second, when the howling ape springs its attack, it unleashes a hideous, ear-splitting howl; everyone within earshot must succeed at a saving throw or suffer a -2 penalty to all attack rolls for the duration of the encounter.

Howling Ape: AC 4 [15]; HD 4; Atk: bite (1d8), two claws (1d6); ST: 13; SP: hideous howl; MV: 15, climb 6; CL 5; XP 240.

Snare Worm
More than fifteen feet long, the snare worm dwells in crevices and fissures, waiting to strike at unsuspecting victims as they pass. Once it has latched on to a victim with its powerful mandibles, the snare worm continues to constrict and crush its victim each round for 2d8 points of damage. Not a very intelligent creature, once the snare worm has latched on to a victim, it tries to drag the creature back into its fissure, making it difficult for the victim to escape for its comrades to aid him. The snare worm is highly photophobic, releasing its victim and retreating into darkness if exposed to bright light, such as from natural sunlight or the magical equivalent. (Much to the chagrine of many an adventuring party, torch light is not simply not bright enough to trigger this photophobic reflex.)

Snare Worm: AC 8 [11]; HD 5; Atk: bite (2d8); ST: 12; SP: constrict (2d8), photophobia; MV: 15; CL 5; XP 240.

Tharkanth
Closely resembling a giant wolverine the size of a small horse with a rusty red pelt, the tharkanth is a voracious predator that frequently assaults campsites and outlying homesteads for food to satisfy its insatiable appetite. If left alone, the creature eats what it can easily reach and then moves on, much like a bear would. However, if confronted or provoked, the tharkanth becomes extremely aggressive. If a tharkanth bites its target with a natural 20 (i.e. scores a critical hit), the beast shakes the target savagely for an addition 2d8 damage (above and beyond any additional damage due to a critical hit). Tharkanths are extremely stubborn and dim-witted creatures; as such, are immune to fear and mind-influencing attacks.

Tharkanth: AC 0 [19]; HD 10; Atk: bite (1d8), two claws (1d6); ST: 5; SP: immunity (fear, mind-influencing effects), savaging bite (2d8); MV: 18; CL 12; XP 2,000.

Enjoy,
Flynn