Anyway, I put up a couple of things that I've been thinking about. The Blood Goblin has been in my mind for a very long time, I just like the 'Haemogoblin' joke, and the Poison Dwarf was something I thought of the other day, I don't know why ('The Poison Dwarf' was a nickname given to a character in the TV show Dallas back in the 1980s, why it should pop into my head a few days ago, I cannot really explain). The Glue-vine is also based on a joke of course, this time one I was preparing for John M Stater's great (but sadly abortive) Strange New World. I had a bunch of stuff that I was working on but it never came to much. Shame really, I liked the idea of collaborative planet-building very much.
Here goes anyway, 3 new(-ish) monsters, or maybe just my idiosyncratic take on some common enough ideas.
I hope I've got the stats about right (I don't really understand ascending AC or challenge ratings by the way, so I might be slightly out on those).
Blood Goblin
Blood Goblins (or Haemogoblins) are pale vampiric Goblins that
live with other Goblins, especially underground. Whether they are a separate race,
the mutant offspring of regular Goblins, or under a terrible curse, is unknown.
If the Maze Master wishes, up to 1-in-6 regular goblins may be replaced by
Blood Goblins. Blood Goblins have a -1 penalty to fighting in full daylight and
use neither missile weapons nor blunt weapons. They prefer melee and will only
use slashing weapons, or their own claws and teeth. If a Blood Goblin wounds an
enemy, the wounded enemy will continue to slowly bleed and lose 1hp/round until
healing takes place. This is because Blood Goblin saliva (regularly applied to
weapons and claws by licking) prevents blood clotting. Furthermore, if it is
still alive, the Blood Goblin will be able to track that enemy (at normal
movement) until it is healed.
AC 5(14), HD1-1, ATT 2 claws/1 bite/weapon DAM 2d4/1d6/by
weapon MV 90’(30’) NM ML7
Poison Dwarf
Poison Dwarves (or Dwarfs) are a chaotic race of Dwarves
generally found far underground in small groups of 3d6, or in the castles of
Fire Giants, where they sometimes work as weaponsmiths and armourers, at which
they excel. Their metal armour always counts as 1AC point lower (higher) than is
usual for its class (eg, chain counts as chain-and-shield, plate counts as
plate-and-shield etc). Their skin is a mudlike colour, generally a glistening greyish
brown. Like many Dwarves, they favour smashing weapons in combat, especially
maces and warhammers. They are very strong and have +1 damage. If a Poison
Dwarf wounds an opponent in melee, there is a 1-in-6 chance that the opponent will
need to make a save v Poison (failure means immediate collapse followed by death
in 2d6 rounds, success means all actions at -2 for 6d6 turns). If the corpse of
a Poison Dwarf is looted (for example, to retrieve the superior armour) then unless
the player states the PC is taking precautions such as wearing gloves the PC
will have to save v Poison for the same penalties. Poison Dwarves are immune to all poisons, and
only take ½ damage from fire-based attacks.
AC 4(15), HD1+1, ATT 1 weapon DAM by weapon MV 90’(30’) D1
ML9
Glue-vine
A glue-vine is a large carnivorous plant found in hot swampy,
forested and jungle conditions, consisting of a central bulb and a number of sticky
barbed tendrils. It will have d4 tendrils for each HD it has, up to 4HD, which
can spread up to 20’ from the central bulb. These tendrils can be seen (same
chance as for secret doors) if PCs are searching the area. Otherwise, when one
or more PCs enter the area, the glue-vine surprises on 1-4 (on a d6). The
tendrils are barbed, strong and constrictive, pulling the prey back towards the
central bulb. Any PCs hit by a tendril must save v paralysis or be dragged into
the centre of the plant where they will be digested over d6 hours (take d20 acid
damage per hour or part thereof). PCs cannot fight the glue-vine from the
inside due to paralysis, they must be rescued from without. Attacking the glue-vine
with fire will also deal ½ damage to the plant and ½ to anyone trapped inside.
Cutting off all the tendrils will result in the glue-vine closing itself up
completely and squirting a paralysing sap over itself; anyone in contact with
the glue-vine (attempting to rescue a comrade from inside, hitting the central
bulb in melee) must save v paralysis or be stuck. The glue-vine will then
slowly grow new tendrils at the rate of 1’ per day. Though they do not collect
treasure as such, killing a glue-vine will undoubtedly reveal the possessions
of its victims, which may include coins, gems and magic items (more for larger,
older plants with greater HD).
AC 2(17) (bulb) 5(14) tendrils: HD1 to 4 (tendrils have d4
hp each), ATT d4 per HD DAM paralysis + d20 per hour MV0 but can reach up to 20’
ML12
For completeness, here's the 'Glue Vine' write-up (not exactly identical, in the 24th century, hyphens are old hat) that I originally planned to send to John:
Glue Vine (radix
glutinosa Keplerii-Szermankovai): this is a large plant which derives
nourishment from entrapping and dissolving prey. The plant has a central bole
between 1-3 metres across and numerous roots that burrow beneath the surface.
These are of two types; there are tough, short ‘anchor roots’ which hold the
plant stable, and long ‘vines’, the tips of which project about 0.5 metres
above the soil, at a distance of 2-5 metres from the body of the plant. These
roots produce an extremely sticky (70+ on the Buchanan Scale) sap that gives
the plant its name. When prey – typically for this plant a small herd herbivore
known as a Swamp Pig – wanders into the root-zone, it can become stuck to the
roots. The plant then begins to contract its root, dragging the animal slowly
within the main body, where it is dissolved by the virulent digestive chemicals
in the plant’s inner core.
