Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Monsters of the Madlands: Five New Monsters For Swords & Wizardy...

Good Morning, All:

Recently, in trying to create some unusual monsters, I came up with the five following creatures that you might want to consider for your own campaigns or adventure material. These are examples of creatures that were initially inspired by the results of random generators. They then took on a life of their own as I played with the random concepts and sought to create something usable for my games. As a creativity tool, I definitely enjoy playing with this kind of thing. As a Referee, I get the added bonus of creating creatures that my players haven't seen before (unless they cruise by the blog occasionally). As settings go, the Madlands Campaign gives me plenty of leeway to use the results of such efforts with relative abandon.

Bludbuth
Resembling little more than a bloated zombie, a Bludbuth was once a mortal that had poisoned a community's water supply, killing hundreds or thousands of people and in the process, becoming cursed with undead for its horrid ways. Now among the unliving, the Bludbuth possesses multiple rows of blackened teeth the drip with the poison the Bludbuth inflicted on others when it was among the world of the living. Enraged by its undead state, the Bludbuth is incredibly irritable, and will often attack other creatures on sight. As non-living undead, the Bludbuth cannot heal naturally, suffers 1d6 damage every round of direct exposure to natural sunlight, and is immune to death effects, disease and poison.
Bludbuth: AC 5 [14]; HD 6; Atk: bite (2d6, plus poison); ST: 11; SP: sunlight sensitivity (1d6 per round of exposure), immunities (death effects, disease and poison), poison (1d6 per round, save ends); MV: 6; CL/XP: 8/800.

Chessan
Standing around seven and a half feet tall at the shoulder, herds of the insectile Chessan wander the depths of secluded valleys far from the influences of civilization. Many far-ranging woodsmen are familiar with the matte white carapace of these unusual herd animals, hopefully while avoiding the crushing pincers, slashing mandibles and acidic spray used by the beast when cornered. The herbivorous Chessan lives to eat, moving in small herds from food source to food source.
Chessan: AC 3 [16]; HD 10; Atk: bite (2d6), two pincers (1d8); ST: 5; SP: acidic spit (one target within 30 feet, 5d6 damage, save negates); MV: 9; CL/XP: 11/1,700.

Homuncerai
Roughly the size of a dog, the Homuncerai as a species prefers to dwell in the foothills of volcanoes and other warm places. The Homuncerai has a light grey hide and prefer to use their horns to charge and gore its foes. Noted for its resistance to fire (taking half damage only from fire-based effects, but double damage from cold-based effects), the Homuncerai is actually very friendly and curious, and will often seek out other creatures to interact with, avoiding those that appear to be threatening.
Homuncerai: AC 7 [12]; HD 1; Atk: gore (1d6); ST: 17; SP: fire resistance (half damage from fire, double damage from cold); MV: 12; CL 2/30.

Knightal
Roughly the size of a tyrannosaur, the shaggy Knightal roams its native swamp in its quest for food. The Knightal is noted for its midnight black fur, sword-like claws, sharp fangs and a particularly volatile acidic breath weapon which requires the Knightal to wait ten minutes between breaths. The omnivorous Knightal is an opportunistic predator that stalks easy prey, falling back on vegetation when meat is hard to come by.
Knightal: AC -1 [20]; HD 18; Atk: bite (2d8), two claws (1d10); ST: 3; SP: breath weapon (60-ft cone, 12d6 acid damage, save halves, once per ten minutes); MV: 9; CL/XP: 21/4,700.

Rustaneth
Roughly half a foot taller than the average human male, the Rustaneth patrols its native underground realm of caves and caverns in an instinctive quest for seasonal lairs. The Rustaneth is a monstrous humanoid distantly related to the less intelligent tunnel brute, and is easily identifiable by its midnight blue scales, savage teeth and sensory antennae that provide a strong sense of hearing (surprised only on a 1 in 6 chance). The Rustaneth tends to mirror the actions of other creatures, and will only attack other creatures in defense of itself or its own kind.
Rustaneth: AC 6 [13]; HD 3; Atk: bite (1d8) or by weapon (usually 1d6); ST: 14; SP: surprised only on 1 in 6; MV: 15; CL/XP: 4/240.

If you have any comments or concerns, particularly in regards to the playability of the creatures described above, please feel free to share them with me.

With Regards,
Flynn

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