More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!

[hamishspence]

Steelwings from MM5 (they are native to Acheron) are a bit like this-

only adamantine, in that if you harvest their feathers and make them into arrows, those arrows will always be masterwork, adamantine, and have the keen property, even if not magical.

They have a Hail of Razorfeathers ranged attack a bit like these Stymphalian birds.

[Rappy]

Maybe human and elven flesh is extra-magical, and magic tastes nice?

That's...disturbingly plausible, actually.

Steelwings from MM5 (they are native to Acheron) are a bit like this-

only adamantine, in that if you harvest their feathers and make them into arrows, those arrows will always be masterwork, adamantine, and have the keen property, even if not magical.

They have a Hail of Razorfeathers ranged attack a bit like these Stymphalian birds.

It's quite possible that the steelwings get their inspiration from the legendary Stymphalian birds are well...

...or from Skarmory. Either way.

[BobVosh]

Stench Kow
Cows. Big, ugly, smelly, extraplanar cows. Cows from Hell, one could say.

...No, seriously. Why exactly the devils decided that farming cattle would be a profitable venture, considering they are Outsiders and don't actually need to eat, is beyond me. Maybe stench kow steaks are Just That Good™?

Hmm. An all devil cattle driver campaign. Throw in rustlers with greater teleport at will, and a bearded devil as Cookie, the chef. Hilarity is had by all.

Maybe human and elven flesh is extra-magical, and magic tastes nice?

Shouldn't gnomes top the list every time then? They are the ones with the default SLA and other "close to magic" effects.

[Binks]

Shouldn't gnomes top the list every time then? They are the ones with the default SLA and other "close to magic" effects.

Gnomes are too small, not enough magical meat on the bones. More of an appetizer than a full meal, or a quick snack.

...what?

[Rappy]

Hmm. An all devil cattle driver campaign. Throw in rustlers with greater teleport at will, and a bearded devil as Cookie, the chef. Hilarity is had by all.

Heh, that reminds me of the idea of the Sea Caballeros campaign spawned by the "Let's Read the 2E Monstrous Manual" thread.

[Rappy]

Tabaxi
The tabaxi are isolationist cat-people from the deep jungle, found in small prides that live the life of a hunter-gatherer society. Strangely enough, the tabaxi fluff in the ToH is rather...watered-down, to be honest. It's brief, and has lost a lot of the Aztec flavor that spiced up the 2E Monstrous Manual's entry on the creatures. Also a sad loss is the lack of the fiendish Tabaxi Lords, their equivalent of the Lizard Kings. The tabaxi of the Tome have pounce, rake, improved grab, some ability score bonuses...nothing that interesting. Really, without the fluff, the tabaxi just sort of devolve into generic catfolk.



Taer
CR 2 stench-ridden apemen. Noted to be perhaps related to the Yeti. *Shrugs* Eh.



Tenebrous Worm
Remember the gloomwing from waaaay back earlier in the book? Well, this is its offspring: a hairy, big-jawed, human-sized caterpillar. Native to the Plane of Shadows, tenebrous worms are one of the main carnivores of that plane and enjoy feasting on whatever comes their way. Their bristles act as a defense and an offense, paralyzing prey and predators alike. Adventurers should take note that tenebrous worm mandibles are worth over 1,000 GP a piece.

[Thurbane]

Taer
CR 2 stench-ridden apemen. Noted to be perhaps related to the Yeti. *Shrugs* Eh.

...and they smell. Bad. Like, Troglodyte bad, right?

[Rappy]

...and they smell. Bad. Like, Troglodyte bad, right?

Right, stench attack all the way.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Tenebrous Worm
...Adventurers should take note that tenebrous worm mandibles are worth over 1,000 GP a piece.

Puts a new spin on that whole "cutting worms in half and selling them once they regrow" thing from childhood.

[Rappy]

Tentamort
Judging by its name and the fact that it's an Aberration, it should come as no surprise that the tentamort is a cephalopod. In this case, a CR 4 slithering, climbing squid with a barb that injects organ-liquefying enzymes. Yes, you heard that right: CR 4, but can liquefy organs with 1d4 Constitution damage a round. Nasty.



Thorny
The CR 3 vine-dog hunting mates of the vegepygmies. I won't delve into too much detail on them, since they'll have their time, so I'll focus on the thorny in and of itself. Which...isn't really that interesting. They trip, they have sharp thorns on their body, but otherwise they're just odd hunting dogs that happen to be plants. I prefer the Thorny template from Tome of Horrors III, as it lets you make the thornies into a diverse and sometimes terrifying force to be reckoned with (such as the example Thorny tyrannosaurus...but that's a book for another time).



Thunder Beast
A CR 5 elephant-hippo-saurusy....thing...from the Abyss. They can trample opponents underfoot, as well as breathe toxic gas. The toxin motif makes me wonder whether or not they are meant to be a demonic equivalent of the stench kow, although they certainly aren't exactly tame beasts.

[Rockphed]

Thunder Beast
A CR 5 elephant-hippo-saurusy....thing...from the Abyss. They can trample opponents underfoot, as well as breathe toxic gas. The toxin motif makes me wonder whether or not they are meant to be a demonic equivalent of the stench kow, although they certainly aren't exactly tame beasts.

Ah, but everybody knows that REAL demons prefer to hunt their own food. Also, demons are the chaotic ones, right? They probably just got bored of trying to tame the Thunder Beast.

[Rappy]

Ah, but everybody knows that REAL demons prefer to hunt their own food. Also, demons are the chaotic ones, right? They probably just got bored of trying to tame the Thunder Beast.

Thunder beasts are said to prey on weak demons, so I can see such warmongering fiends itching for some payback. Maybe thunder beast hunting is a popular sport in the Abyss.

[Rappy]

Tick, Giant
What could be worse than a giant leech? Why, a giant tick, of course! These 3-foot terrors do exactly what you expect; they attach themselves to people, blood drain, and transmit red ache. Eeyugh.



Transposer
A CR 5 Aberration that resembles a faceless sucker-fingered slime-person, the transposer...well...transposes. A transposer has the ability to disguise itself. It can also link itself to another being through magiwhatsits fields; as a result, when said being attacks the transposer, it takes damage instead, and the transposer gains the hit points the linked creature loses. What makes this even weirder is that the transposers are given player character status at LA +3!



Trapper
Oh yes, we already have another member of the Room of Doom crew. In this case, the trapper is the floor, a CR 8 Aberration whose amorphous frame allows it to avoid being flanked and engulf a creature walking above it to smother it. According to our good old sagely friends, trappers are "believed to be relatives of the lurkers above". Makes sense to me...one good dungeon hunter related to another.

[Rappy]

Tri-Flower Frond
A strange CR 2 tentacle-palm-flower thing that induces sleep, has acid, and sucks your blood. Eh.



Troll, Cave
The first of several new trolls, the lanky-limbed, horse-faced, gray-skinned CR 4 cave trolls are size Medium, rather than size large. Of course, this is offset by the fact that they are under a permanent haste and spider climb effect. They are certainly "gotcha!" monsters (as are most of the trolls in this section, really) in that they play on stereotypes and act slow and plodding until they whip into a quick frenzy during combat.



Troll, Ice
A cold-subtype troll that is physically weaker than most trolls and has a vulnerability to slashing damage, but makes up for it by having an Intelligence score of 9 that makes them more cunning than most trolls, and slightly above that of a standard orc. Oh, and since it's mandatory by now to point it out...hey, anthropophagy!

Ice trolls savor the taste of human flesh and construct their lairs near civilized areas where humans are plentiful.

-------------------------

Next time: All troll entries, all three times!

[Thurbane]

Trapper
Oh yes, we already have another member of the Room of Doom crew. In this case, the trapper is the floor, a CR 8 Aberration whose amorphous frame allows it to avoid being flanked and engulf a creature walking above it to smother it. According to our good old sagely friends, trappers are "believed to be relatives of the lurkers above". Makes sense to me...one good dungeon hunter related to another.

Ah yes...how many hapless adventurers have ended up as the filling in a Lurker Above/Trapper sandwich!

[pffh]

Long time reader of this thread, first time poster in this thread. Just wanted to say great work. I always look forward to a new update from you.

[Esser-Z]

Clearly, the Trapper and Lurker above are opposite genders of the same species, and only mate when a wayward adventurer is trapped. The process is frequently seen, but never recorded, for obvious reasons.

[Rappy]

Clearly, the Trapper and Lurker above are opposite genders of the same species, and only mate when a wayward adventurer is trapped. The process is frequently seen, but never recorded, for obvious reasons.

Heh, that would explain why the sages didn't know much about their breeding habits.

-------------------------

Troll, Rock
Instead of going for the obvious joke here, I'm going to actually be informative. Rock trolls have the Earth subtype and high natural armor, but lack true regeneration (instead having fast healing 5) and are vulnerable to sunlight. In old-fashioned cliche troll fashion, a rock troll becomes petrified in sunlight. They are CR 6 and inhabit the depths of the earth, so it's possible you could use them as a "boss" of a clan of cave trolls or something.



Troll, Swamp
One of the weakest trolls out there, the CR 3 swamp troll is rather unimpressive. They have no fast healing, much less regeneration, and have to stay in muddy water or suffocate and die after a while. They could make an interesting swamp bogey, at least.



Troll, Two-Headed
Our final troll is this CR 6 monstrosity, a crossbreed between troll and ettin. While its healing powers are unimpressive (only fast healing 1), the two-headed troll inherits the secondary head and superior two-weapon fighting of its ettin parent, as well as intelligence on par with the ice troll. These trolls are definitely your bruiser role monster, and can make for a surprising encounter for characters familiar with ettins but didn't realize they had a thing for trolls.

[Rappy]

Tsathar
The best way I can describe the tsathar is...well...as non-Product Identity slaadi. They are Chaotic...like slaadi. They have an implant ability...like slaadi. They are froggish...like slaadi. So...yeah. There are the CR 2 regular tsathar and the violent CR 4 tsathar "scourges" presented. Oddly enough, unlike the yuan-ti expies ophidians, I don't think the tsathar were ever revisited.



Tunnel Worm
A CR 27 Magical Beast version of a giant centipede that has the ability to tear apart armor. Wee?



Ubue
Like ettins, ubue have multiple heads...in this case, though, they have three. They also have three legs. Oddly enough, ubues aren't granted the superior two-weapons ability of ettins; instead, they have a 15% chance of getting into arguments between the three heads and having a -2 penalty to AC, Reflex, and attack rolls as a result. Ah well, they at least get Multiweapon Fighting as a compensational bonus feat, but they're still weak for giants at only CR 2. Amusingly, ubues see twin births as an ill omen in spite of having multiple heads in the first place, and their "primitive equals sexist" prerequisite card means that a female twin is the one to be sacrificed to the gods.

[Eldan]

What do Ubues do with same-sex twins?

[Rappy]

What do Ubues do with same-sex twins?

Presumably kill the weaker one, given how the species (one again working on the Primitive Prerequisite Sheet) adores strength.

Either that or flip a coin.

[Esser-Z]

They toss a Girdle of Opposite Gender into a room with both. Whichever grabs it is changed and sacrificed.

[Rappy]

Vampire Rose
Yet another blood-sucking plant, this time in the CR 3 package of a rose bush. Moving on...



Vegepygmy
Ahh, now here's a Plant-type monster I can get behind. These tribal plant people area born from the carcasses of creatures slain by the russet mold (a hazard we'll meet later), creating a somewhat macabre fungal-based ecology. Even better, the vegepygmies cover a range of levels, from the CR 1/2 worker to the CR 5 chief, so you can use them as extended recurring enemies in a campaign. Worthy of note is that, in addition to the low damage reduction and immunity to electricity all vegepygmies have, the chief has the ability to produce spores that, if they kill a creature, cause its body to sprout a CR 4 vegepygmy bodyguard, meaning that the highest of the vegepygmies have little use for the russet mold in their life cycle anymore. If you want a different horde than your bog standard goblins or orcs, I'd say give the vegepygmies a look.



Vilstrak
Also known as the tunnel thugs, these CR 1/2 Aberrations prowl the deepest reaches of the earth, using their at-will meld into stone supernatural ability to pop in and out of walls and surprise prey and unsuspecting adventurers. They're a novel creature, but they are also rather bland at face value, so they're probably something you want to mold and fluff to your own liking.



Volt
Volts are big-headed, long-tailed lightning creatures, small Aberrations of the underground whose origins are unknown to our sage friends. They have a blood-sucking bite and an electricity-producing tail, so both ends of the creature are equally hazardous.

[Thurbane]

Clearly, the Trapper and Lurker above are opposite genders of the same species, and only mate when a wayward adventurer is trapped. The process is frequently seen, but never recorded, for obvious reasons.

Next game I run, I'm now very tempted to set up an enounter for a party to encounter both of these in the same room, and once the dual attack begins, start playing Ready for Love...

[2xMachina]

Volt
Volts are big-headed, long-tailed lightning creatures, small Aberrations of the underground whose origins are unknown to our sage friends. They have a blood-sucking bite and an electricity-producing tail, so both ends of the creature are equally hazardous.

Why do I think of Pikachu...

[Rappy]

Why do I think of Pikachu...

I'm not sure. They look more like eels with fly heads, really.

[2xMachina]

Oh, ok.

It was the:
long-tailed lightning creatures
electricity-producing tail

that made me think of Pikachu

[Esser-Z]

Next game I run, I'm now very tempted to set up an enounter for a party to encounter both of these in the same room, and once the dual attack begins, start playing Ready for Love...

Heh, the game I'm running just entered some tunnels...


VAMPIRE Pikachu. Blood-sucking bite!

[Rappy]

Vulchling
CR 1/2 Magical Beasts, vulchlings are Always Chaotic Evil intelligent vultures. That live underground. ...Hm.



Wind Walker
A CR variation on the wind elemental, designed for summoning. Eh.



Witherstench
A big, hairless, yellow-colored skunk. CR 1. Strange, but still eh.



Witherweed
Another "harmless...NOT!!" plant, the witherweed is a CR 4 patch of weeds with a Dexterity-damage frond whip and a cloud of Constitution-damage gas. At least it doesn't suck blood...



Wizard's Shackle
Since we've had a rather mediocre crop, I'm putting in a little extra monster time. The wizard's shackle is actually a rather interesting concept. You have a leech-like Magical Beast which slithers up and slaps itself on a spellcaster's neck and starts draining magic. While its origin in the text only includes a brief mention that they are sometimes bred by evil wizards for revenge against colleagues and all that shlock, I think it would be interesting to have them be bred by law enforcement in arcana-heavy societies. They don't drain divine magic, only arcane, so I can see a culture's Clerics or Paladins breeding them as a way to harmlessly subdue high-profile criminals that can use arcane magic, keeping them from simply teleporting away or melting away the iron bars they're behind.

[Rappy]

Wolf, Ghoul
Wolves with ghoul traits..wee. This is why certain types of undead really lend themselves to templates rather than being based on a specific creature. While not every undead has to be a template, of course, the more generic archetypes such as "ghoul" certainly lend themselves to it.



Wolf, Shadow
Remember the shadow rat? Yeah, this is basically the same premise, right down to the strength drain. See my above comment on undead as templates; that applies to my thoughts here as well.



Wolf-in-Sheep's-Clothing
Oh yes, here it is, the creature everyone loves to mock. Yes, it looks like a tree with a rabbit on top. Yes, that may be funny to some. No, I don't find the monster useless in the slightest. To me, it just reminds me of creatures in the real world such as the alligator snapping turtle. Lures are a classic predator maneuver, and I see no reason why a forest predator shouldn't look like a log and have a lure resembling a common prey animal. It's just good ambush predator tactics! Stats wise, wolves-in-sheep's-clothing are imposing CR 8 aberrations, with strong jaws, constricting tendrils, and 360 degree vision. So, I say that before you laugh away the WiSC as a junk monster, give it a chance. You just might find you like it.



Wolf-Spider
This creature, on the other hand...

Yeah, it's a monstrous spider with a wolf's head. A different head doesn't really make that much of a difference, because it still has venom, and the best I can imagine you doing with its habits is making it a pack hunter like a wolf. It's not as drastic as an owlbear, and is more along the lines of the gorilla-bear as far as utility goes.

----------------

Next time, the last entry of the main text of the book.