Sandbox Encounters: Horror From Beyond...

Good Afternoon, All:

For my next post in the A-Z Challenge, I will be posting a Sandbox Encounter focused on the twisted aberrations forged by the warping of time and space when gods battle and spill their blood on the Plane Prime. H is for Horrors From Beyond.

Horrors From Beyond

Brief Description: In the War of Blood and Tears, many creatures died when the blood of battling gods spilled upon the Great Plains. Those few that survived were warped beyond recognition, mutated into twisted aberrations by the unfettered chaotic energies of divine ichor. Over the centuries, these pseudo-natural creatures have hidden away in ancient ruins and dark caverns, until their numbers have grown sufficiently large enough to devour everything in their lairs. Now, groups of these bizarre mutants have begun to creep out into the open, preying on the inattentive and the weak to satisfy their ever-growing hunger. These creatures often resemble hairless, slime-covered animals with tentacles about their mouths and along their neck or shoulders, serving as additional limbs for capturing and holding prey while they feed.

Encounter Groups: These are common encounter groups for this type of encounter.

• Novice (levels 1-3): 2 Lesser Horrors, 1 Horror. 2d6x5 silver shillings, basic mundane equipment on the corpses of previous victims.


• Seasoned (levels 4-6): 5 Lesser Horrors, 2 Horrors, 1 Greater Horror. 3d6x10 silver shillings, basic mundane equipment on the corpses of previous victims.


• Veteran (levels 7-10): 10 Lesser Horrors, 5 Horrors, 2 Greater Horrors. 4d6x20 silver shillings, basic mundane equipment on the corpses of previous victims.

Stat Blocks: The following stats are provided as examples for inspiration. Please adjust as needed to fit your preferred gaming system and style.

• Lesser Horror From Beyond: AC 6 [13]; HD 2; Atk: bite (1d4+paralytic poison), two tentacles (1d3); ST: 16; SP: paralytic poison (target paralyzed until save negates, one save per round); MV: 9, fly 18; CL 4; XP 120.


• Horror From Beyond: AC 4 [15]; HD 4; Atk: bite (1d6), two tentacles (1d4+constrict); ST: 13; SP: constrict (each round after a tentacle hits, target receives 1d4 damage automatically, until released or target escapes); MV: 12; CL 7; XP 600.


• Greater Horror From Beyond: AC 2 [17]; HD 7; Atk: bite (2d6), two tentacles (1d8+constrict); ST: 9; SP: constrict (each round after a tentacle hits, target receives 1d8 damage automatically, until released or target escapes); MV: 15; CL 10; XP 1,400.

Encounter Ideas: Here are six different scenarios related to this encounter type.

1. The party encounter the horrors feeding on a bound sacrifice that had been left by humanoids that worship these horrors as messengers of the gods.


2. Enraged by hunger, the horrors rabidly pursue the party as their next potential meal.


3. The party comes across horrors laying eggs or depositing larvae within the corpses of a recently slain humanoid patrol.


4. The party comes across a circle of horrors apparently conducting an animalistic mating ritual or summoning ceremony.


5. The party observes the horrors emerging from an unnatural tear in space and time opened centuries ago during the War of Blood and Tears, as if recently arriving from some other dimension. (They are really returning to their home plane after exploring the other side of the portal, but players may jump to other conclusions.)


6. The horrors are patrolling the territory surrounding their lair when they encounter the party.

Enjoy,
Flynn