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LOTRfan
2010-12-21, 07:35 PM
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xAUEPwg2-ig/S6hn7AOZB1I/AAAAAAAAARE/mw7dlZ0dUZ8/s200/Carbuncle.jpg

Carbuncle
Small Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 1d10+1 (6 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 15 ft. (3 squares)
Armor Class: 13 (+1 size, +2 natural), touch 11, flat footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/-4
Attack: Claw -5 melee (1d2-1 damage)
Full Attack: Claw -5 melee (1d2-1 damage)
Space/Reach: 5 ft/5 ft.
Special Attacks: Death throes
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., lowlight vision, regenerating ruby, telepathy 30 ft.
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +3
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills: Sense Motive +1, Spot +5, Listen +3
Feats: Alertness
Environment: Warm Plains
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure: None, except head ruby
Alignment: Often Chaotic Neutral
Advancement: 2-3 HD (Small)
Level Adjustment: -----

A small armadillo burrows out of its den. It seems like a regular armadillo, except it has two small horns and a ruby attached to its forehead.

Carbuncles are small magical beasts, nearly driven to extinction by treasure hunters. Despite their animalistic appearance, Carbuncles are somewhat intelligent and can communicate via telepathy. Carbuncles mainly wish to be left alone, so they can go about their business (what exactly they do alone is unknown, but most speculate that they mainly admire themselves).

Carbuncles are most well known for the ruby growing from their foreheads. Unlike mundane rubies, this gemstone is constantly growing with the carbuncle. It values this gemstone very much, and loath to give it away. In fact, most Carbuncles use their ability to will themselves dead before handing it over. If the ruby is still attached to a carbuncle when it dies, it shatters into a million worthless pieces.

Combat
Carbuncles hate combat, and usually will themselves into a painless death when confronted (which may very well explain their very low numbers). Those who do fight tend to do so because they are protecting friends, family, treasure, or some other cause. Carbuncles do not fear death.

Death Throes (Sp): If a Carbuncle feels threatened, they may will themselves to just drop dead as a full round action. By doing this, they release a form of nonlethal death throes, in which an aura of despair sets in. Any creature within 20 ft. of the Carbuncle when this occurs must succeed on a will save (DC 13), or be affected as if hit with a crushing despair spell cast from a 10th level Sorcerer. DC is wisdom based.

Regenerating Ruby (Ex): All Carbuncles have a ruby attached to their forehead. Most of these rubies (70%) are worth 500 gp. Although rarer, some Carbuncles (25%) have rubies worth 1,000 gp. A select few (5%) have rubies worth 5,000 gp. They almost never willingly give up this ruby, but they may be convinced with a diplomacy check or forced with a charm monster spell. A Carbuncle who loses its ruby in this way finds that another starts to grow. It reaches full size 1d4 months after the loss of the last one. Roll to see the value of the new ruby.

Bhu
2010-12-22, 12:44 AM
omg someone remembers these besides me!

LOTRfan
2010-12-22, 06:49 AM
Yep. :smallbiggrin:

I always liked them. Too bad they were never updated to 3.5e (although after posting this, Rappy mentioned on the Dumb Monsters thread Tome of Horrors ypdated them).

Bhu
2010-12-22, 02:18 PM
They were cute for monsters tho..

LOTRfan
2010-12-22, 05:11 PM
Yeah, they were....

Anyway, I changed the gore attack to a claw attack to better resemble their armadillo cousins. They still have horns, however, just not strong enough to attack with.

Debihuman
2010-12-22, 08:55 PM
Yep. :smallbiggrin:

I always liked them. Too bad they were never updated to 3.5e (although after posting this, Rappy mentioned on the Dumb Monsters thread Tome of Horrors updated them).

Actually, Tome of Horrors had the license from WotC to publish it as the "official" version. WotC didn't want to do it and Scott Greene did an excellent job of converting all the monsters that WotC abandoned.

Still, your version is succinct.

If you want to compare it to the the one in Tome of Horrors, here's their version (it's all open content and can be posted in full).



CARBUNCLE
Small Aberration
Hit Dice: 1d8+4 (8 hp)
Initiative: -1
Speed: 10 ft. (2 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (+1 size, +5 natural, +2 insight), touch 13, flatfooted
18
Base Attack/Grapple: +0/-6
Attack: Bite +1 melee (1d2-2)
Full Attack: Bite +1 melee (1d2-2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Discord
Special Qualities: Foresight, darkvision 60 ft., telepathy 100 ft.
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +6
Abilities: Str 7, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 18, Cha 8
Skills: Hide +6, Listen +6, Sense Motive +6, Spot +6
Feats: Toughness, Weapon FinesseB
Environment: Temperate forests
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 1/2
Treasure: None (forehead gem worth 500 gp)
Alignment: Usually neutral
Advancement: 2-3 HD (Small)
Level Adjustment: —

This creature resembles a cross between an anteater and armadillo. Embedded in its head is a large red jewel. The creature has a long snout and a low-slung body protected by several thick leathery bands. Its hide is dappled gray and brown, shading to lighter colors of gray on its underbelly.

Deep in the tangled underbrush of forests and in the remote regions of dismal swamps and bogs lives a strange creature called the carbuncle. The carbuncle is a withdrawn creature and seeks to avoid encounters. Should it seek interaction, a carbuncle often begins by proudly announcing
the value of the gem in its forehead just to watch the reaction such information arouses.

Despite its overall shy nature, the carbuncle has a mischievous side as well, often seeking to join travelers in order to play pranks and gauge the reactions of the unfortunate victims of its curiosity. After joining with a party, a carbuncle will seek to cause discord by using selective telepathic images and prophesies to breed hostility and suspicion between party members. It will often telepathically contact nearby monsters and lead them to attack the party so that it can watch in fascination and read the thoughts of the party as they are attacked, slipping away at an opportune moment.

A carbuncle can be coerced to surrender the gem in its forehead. This requires a successful DC 20 Bluff check. If successful, the carbuncle releases the gem. If the check fails, the carbuncle sees through the deception and attempts to flee. When a carbuncle is slain, its forehead gem crumbles to dust. If the carbuncle relinquishes its gem, it grows another one within one month.

Combat

Though fascinated by combat, carbuncles are nearly helpless in melee. They much prefer to set up encounters using their powers and then watch the brutal scenes unfold. Carbuncles surrender immediately if attacked.

If placed under duress, a carbuncle wills itself to die. A favorite tactic of the carbuncle is befriending a party and accompanying them on their quest. Once it has achieved this objective, it uses its discord ability to
cause suspicion, hostility, and disruption among the party members.

Discord (Su): As a standard action, a carbuncle can sow discord in a creature within 30 feet using its telepathy ability. It can use this ability once per round to affect one creature. An affected creature must succeed on a DC 14 Will save or fall into loud bickering and arguing with those around him. Meaningful communication is impossible. If the affected creatures have different alignments, there is a 50% chance that they attack each other. Bickering lasts 5d4 rounds. Fighting begins 1d4
rounds into the bickering and lasts 2d4 rounds. This is a mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Wisdom-based.

Foresight (Su): A carbuncle has a +2 insight bonus to AC and Reflex saves (both already included in the statistics block above). This ability is always active and cannot be negated or dispelled.

Telepathy (Su): Carbuncles can communicate telepathically with any creature within 100 feet that has a language.


Debby

The-Mage-King
2010-12-22, 09:12 PM
Pathfinder (http://pathfinder.wikia.com/wiki/Carbuncle) did it too (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/magical-beasts/carbuncle).

(Link 1 is fluff, Link 2 is the crunch)

LOTRfan
2010-12-22, 09:25 PM
Interesting... I like the discord power.

Pathfinder has them as reptiles??? :smallyuk: