Results 1 to 30 of 496
-
2010-03-09, 06:03 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2008
- Location
- Louisiana
- Gender
More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
Greetings, all. First off, apologies if this isn't the right section for this kind of an endeavor. I don't think I've ever really seen a Let's Read outside of RPGNet, much less on GITP.
Second off, what exactly is this thread about? Well, for that, we need a little backstory...
How did this start?
Last month, I decided I wished to undertake the endeavor of reading and commenting on the entirety of the over 400 page title known as the Tome of Horrors; specifically, Tome of Horrors Revised, the 3.5 update to the original 3.0 title. It started off as a blog project, but I realized after a little while that that goes against the spirit of a Let's Read, which includes discussion and interaction on the topic at hand.
How does this work?
Each update, I will take a handful (usually three, four, or five, but sometimes a few more if it's a sparse update) of creatures from the Tome of Horrors and emplace the basics on them and my opinion of them. After these creatures have been posted, discussion can be had amongst those in the thread (and myself) until the next set is posted; note that while most of the thread shall be in order, the demons and devils will be covered later as if they were one of the appendices due to their sheer bulk of numbers.
What the heck is a "Tome of Horrors"?
The Tome of Horrors, from Necromancer Games, is what I personally consider one of the greatest gifts to Dungeons and Dragons. It takes a large collection of TSR's 1st and 2nd Edition monsters (as well as a handful of original creations) and updates them to 3E rules, and emplaces them as Open Game Content, no less! I'm amazed they managed to get Wizards of the Coast to agree to such terms, but...hey, it's beneficial to us, so why pry?
Main Contents
Al-Mi'raj; Amphisbaena; Angel, Monadic Deva; Angel, Movanic Deva
Animal Lord; Ant Lion; Apparition
Archer Bush; Ascomoid; Astral Shark; Atomie; Aurumvorax; Axe Beak; Babbler; Banderlog
Baric; Barrow Wight; Basidirond; Basilisk, Greater; Doombat & Mobat; Beetles: Giant Boring, Giant Death Watch, Giant Rhinoceros & Giant Slicer
Belabra; Bhuta; Blindheim; Blood Hawk; Bloody Bones; Boalisk
Bog Beast; Bog Mummy; Boggart; Bone Cobbler; Bonesnapper; Bonesucker
Brownie; Buckawn; Bunyip; Carbuncle; Carrion Moth; Caryatid Column
Caterwaul; Cave Cricket; Cave Fisher; Cave Moray; Cerberus; Chrystone; Clam, Giant
Clockworks: Brain Gear, Drone, Overseer, Parasite, Scout, Swarm, Titan, Warrior
Clubnek; Cobra Flower; Coffer Corpse; Cooshee; Crab, Monstrous; Crabman; Crayfish, Monstrous
Crystalline Horror; Crypt Thing; Daemons: Cacodaemon, Charon, Charonodaemon, Darghodaemon, Hydrodaemon, the Oinodaemon & Piscodaemon
Dakon; Dark Creeper & Dark Stalker; Darnoc; Death Dog; Death Worm; Decapus;
Demiurge; Demodands: Shaggy, Slime, & Tarry
Diger; Dire Corby; Disenchanter; Dracolisk
Dragons: Cloud, Faerie & Mist; Dragon Horse
Dragonfish; Dragonfly, Giant; Dragonnel; Drake (Fire, Ice and Salt)
Draug; Drelb; Dust Digger; Eblis; Eel, Giant Moray; Elementals: Psionic & Time; Elemental Dragon; Executioner's Hood
Eye Killer; Eye of the Deep; False Spider; Fen Witch; Fire Lizard; Fire Nymph
Fire Snake; Firefiend; Flail Snail; Flind; Floating Eye; Flumph
Fly, Giant; Fogwarden; Forester's Bane; Forlarren; Frog, Monstrous; Froghemoth
Frost Man; Gambado; Gargoyle
Ghoul-Stirge; Giants: Sand & Wood; Gloomwing
Golems: Blood, Ice, Stone Guardian, Tallow & Wood; Gorbel
Gorgimera; Gorgon, True; Gorilla-Bear; Grippli; Groaning Spirit (Banshee)
Gryph; Guardian Daemon; Hangman Tree; Haunt; Hellmoth; Hippocampus
Hoar Fox; Huecuva; Inphidian, Common; Iron Cobra; Jack-o'-Lantern
Jaculi; Jellyfish, Monstrous; Jupiter Bloodsucker; Kamadan; Kampfult; Kech
Kelp Devil; Kelpie; Khargra
Killmoulis; Korred
Land Lamprey; Lava Child
Leech, Giant; Leprechaun; Livestone; Lurker Above
Magnesium Spirit; Mandragora; Mantari
Marble Snake; Medusa, Greater
Midnight Peddler; Mihstu; Mite
Mongrelman
Moon Dog; Muckdweller; Mudman; Mummy of the Deep
Mustard Jelly; Necrophidius
Nereid; Nilbog
Obsidian Minotaur; Ogre, Half-; Ogrillion
Oliphant; Oozes: Crystal, Magma, Mercury & Undead
Ooze, Vampiric; Orog
Pech; Phantom Stalker; Phycomid
Poltergeist; Protector; Puddings: Brown, Dun & White
Pyrolisk; Quasi-Elemental, Lightning; Quickling
Quickwood; Rats: Brain, Ethereal, and Shadow
Rock Reptile; Sandling; Sandman
Scarecrow; Screaming Devilkin
Scythe Tree; Shadow, Lesser; Shedu
Slime Crawler; Slithering Tracker; Slug, Giant
Soul Eater
Soul Nibbler; Spriggan; Sprite
Squealer; Stegocentipede
Stench Kow; Stone Roper; Stormwarden
Strangle Weed; Stunjelly; Stymphalian Bird
Tabaxi; Taer; Tenebrous Worm
Tentamort; Thorny; Thunder Beast
Tick, Giant; Transposer; Trapper
Tri-Flower Frond; Trolls: Cave and Ice
Trolls: Rock, Swamp, and Two-Headed
Tsathar; Tunnel Worm; Ubue
Vampire Rose; Vegepygmy; Vilstrak; Volt
Vulchling; Wind Walker; Witherstench; Witherweed; Wizard's Shackle
Wolves: Ghoul and Shadow; Wolf-in-Sheep's-Clothing; Wolf-Spider
Yellow Musk Creeper; Yeti; Zombie, Brine
Templates Appendix Contents
Abomination; Beast of Chaos
Bleeding Horror; Dire Animal
Foo Creature; Skeleton Warrior
Slime Zombie; Spectral Troll
Therianthrope; Thessalmonster
Zombies: Juju and Yellow Musk
Hazards Appendix Contents
Bookworm; Ear Seeker; Gas Spore
Hound of Ill Omen; Memory Moss; Olive Slime
Phantom; Piercer; Purple Moss
Rot Grub; Russet Mold; Spinal Leech
Symbiotic Jelly; Throat Leech; Twilight Mushroom
Animals Appendix
Barracuda; Caribe, Giant; Deer (post also contains a note on the Snakes appendix)
Eel, Electric; Fox; Hamster, Giant
Hippopotamus; Lizard, Giant Rock-Horned, Marmoset, Giant
Moose; Quipper; Sheep
Skunk; Tiger Barb, Giant; Turtle, Giant Snapping
Demons and Devils
Demons: Aeshma, Alu-, and Baphomet
Demons: Beluiri the Temptress, Cambion, and Dagon
Demons: Corruptor Demons, Daraka, and Fraz-Urb'luu
Demons: Gharros, Jubilex the Faceless Lord, and Kostchtchie
Demons: Maphistal, Nabasu, and Nerizo
Demons: Orcus, Pazuzu, and Shadow Demon
Demons: Sonechard, Stirge Demon, and Tsathogga
Demonic Knight, Devils: Amon and Baaphel
Devils: Bael, Geryon, and Ghaddar
Devils: Gorson, Hutijin, and Lucifer
Devils: Moloch, Nupperibo, Titivilus, and Tormentor Devil
That's about it for what you need to know, so prepare yourselves for a collection of creepy, kooky, and sometimes downright nonsensical beasts. Get out your masterwork blades and armors, because here there be monsters. And here's the first batch now!
---------------------------------
Adherer
Our very first monster, and we're already at a weirdy. The adherer is a strange CR 3 Aberration that resembles nothing so much as a wet mummy. Then you realize that it's not a bandaged corpse; it's a very living thing with rolls of loose-skin wrinkles coated in a copious adhesive slime (ewww indeed). These freaky fiends like to hang out in temperate-weather forests, coating their sticky body with detritus to camouflage themselves before waiting for whatever happens to come along. Now, as odd as they are, I actually like the adherer. They're an interesting concept in that they're a monster that actively uses their strange abilities and environment to their advantage, and they also provide a challenge to melee combatants due to their adhesive skin folds. They are also damaged by boiling water, which is an interesting anecdote, if a bit silly as a weakness. Overall, a solid B+ monster in my book, and pretty creative for what is basically a low-level melee brute.
Aerial Servant
This creature, on the other hand, I'm not so sure about. The aerial servant is a CR 11 Elemental whose soul purpose is basically to act as a private slave for spellcasters (specifically Clerics, according to the fluff). These lesser genie-like beings of the air have phenomenal Strength (noted as being why they are often summoned for heavy labor), a constricting grapple with their oversized hands, some basic "I blow you over" wind powers, and a constant mental link with its summoner. Now, on its own, I'd give the aerial sla...er...servant a C for being a spellcaster footstool and nothing more, but then I think about the possibilities for the fluff behind it. What makes the aerial servants so tied to servitude? They aren't unintelligent like golems (sure, they are Intelligence 4, lower than even an ogre, but it's still higher than animal Int), they have a physical appearance a bit too close to genies for comfort, and they are compelled to obey. Perhaps they are genies transformed as some sort of penance (a magical community service, if you will), or they may be an even older progenitor race the djinn displaced and geas'd into servitude. The gears turn in my head oh so pleasantly...
Algoid
Algoids, algoids, algoids. What can I say about you that you don't already know? You're a CR 4 Plant type, freaky, you're smelly, you're a freaking humanoid-shaped clump of algae animated by mental energy. But seriously, the algoids are a fun but weird critter. You have this shambling hulk of swamp mulch who has developed a colonial intellect that allows it to perform a MIND CRUSH!! attack (okay, so it's a stunning mental scrambler rather than an utter devastation attack....I still had to make that reference. It's in my contract, I believe) as well as perform some very minor psionics. I wonder what kind of society a species of semi-intelligent (strangely enough, like both the adherer and aerial servant, the algoid also had Intelligence 4...huh) walking algae have? I'd vouch for shamanistic nature-worshipers that revere the "Gracious Swamp", myself. This one's a B-; odd and kinda hard to use, but fun in my honest opinion. I also give kudos to Necromancer Games for what they did with the algoid and every other psionic monster in this title. Any time you find a psionic monster in the Tome of Horrors, you'll find a sidebar detailing spells that you can replace the psionics with if you aren't in a psi-focused campaign. How thoughtful!
Welp, that's it for our first installment, so get some discussion started on these critters. Coming up next time: strange blink bunnies, a twin-headed serpent, and two members of the angelic armies.Last edited by Rappy; 2010-10-18 at 04:45 PM.
LGBTitP
-
2010-03-09, 08:52 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2005
- Location
- Flawse Fell, Geordieland
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
What? Tome of Horrors got rid of the Aerial Servant's iconic RAGEQUIT! get-out clause? What a crock!
(For the record: "IF thwarted in mission THEN return to summoner and kill his fleshbag self")
-
2010-03-09, 09:17 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2004
- Location
- Enterprise, Alabama
- Gender
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
So does it say how to summon the Aerial Servant? That would help.
-
2010-03-09, 10:37 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2007
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
Hmmm. Maybe they're like some kind of pseudo-illithids. You know, some algae, of course, grows on the surface of the mind flayers' mind pools, and the illithids generally just scrape it off and throw it away. But that algae has been tainted by its birth place. It grows into twisted mockeries of the illithids, struggling to emulate their horrible societies. In the end, though, it's just algae, so maybe it uses its psionic powers to capture people, but is then unable to actually enslave them, although the algoids fail to consider that, and so they are able to just walk out, admittedly into a dangerous locale. Could be a good basis for a low-level "get back to civilization" style adventure.
A System-Independent Creative Community:
Strolen's Citadel
-
2010-03-09, 10:56 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2009
- Location
- St. Louis
- Gender
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
I misread the thread title as Tomb of Horrors, and was therefore extremely confused for a good deal of the post.
-
2010-03-09, 11:00 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2007
- Location
- Virginia
-
2010-03-10, 12:05 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2007
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
Likewise - I kept thinking: 'There's no flumphs in the Tomb of Horrors...only ability damage and suffering...'
Handbooks: (Hosted on the new MixMax forums)
[3.5] The Poison Handbook
[3.5] (New) Master of Shrouds Handbook
[3.5 Base Class] Healer's Handbook
Trophies!Spoiler
Thanks to Strategos and Jumilk for the awesome Iron Chef trophies!
-
2010-03-10, 12:42 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2008
- Location
- Louisiana
- Gender
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
Looking closer, it does have that clause still in it. It's just kinda sandwiched...the formatting of the aerial servant's paragraphs is smushed together for whatever reason (possibly to keep the entire entry on one page).
Greater planar ally and greater planar binding, specifically. Sorry about that; these posts were originally written for a not necessarily 3E-familiar audience, so they sometimes seem a little redundant or silly. I'll try to keep that in mind when we reach the posts that aren't prewritten.
This. This is a great idea. I never thought to tie the algoids to one of the Big Minds in psionic monsters, but it's a good idea; it's also not unprecedented when you consider creatures like the illithidae (illithid-dogs, etc.).
Also, to those who mistook this for the infamous Tomb: yeah, I think that's what the TOH's name is a pun of. It actually does have some Tomb of Horrors-related monsters later, but that's not for a ways now.
---------------------------------
Al-Mi'raj
The curious and quirky al-mi'raj is a little CR 1 Magical Beast that resembles a woolly, unicorn-horned rabbit. They are sort of a one-trick pony, with their prime ability being teleportation and dimension-shifting in addition to an immunity to poison and a Spell Resistance rating of 16; it's actually an interesting idea, and one that makes sense for a magically-charged ecosystem to produce as a defense against predators. They are also capable of dealing the same damage as a knife with their horn, which isn't too shabby when you consider that it's a rabbit we're talking about. Also provided are stats for the heftier CR 2 psionic al-mi'raj, which is essentially a slightly heftier al-mi'raj with some basic telekinetic and weather-controlling powers. Fun fact for this entry: al-mi'raj fur comes in white, yellow, green, and pink! Designer al-mi'raj at wizard pet shows, anyone? They also happen to be from Arabic poetry rather than a TSR whole-cloth oddity, believe it or not.
Amphisbaena
Here we have a CR 4 Magical Beast based on Greek mythology; it's a snake with a second head instead of a tail. It works exactly how you'd expect it to for the most part, so....meh. It does have an interesting feature in that it can survive being cut in half, with each half surviving the ordeal (if they aren't killed with their halved hit point count) and rejoining in a day or two. The creature becomes more interesting if you look at its origin story in Greek mythology, wherein it is stated that the amphisbaena were spawned from the blood that fell to the earth from the decapitated head of Medusa. Perhaps amphisbaena are kept as sacred animals by D&Dverse medusae and used in some sort of arcane ritual by them?
Angel, Monadic Deva
These dark-skinned winged musclemen are the ground troop leaders of the angelic armies, and at a Challenge Rating of 12, these Outsiders are nothing to sneeze at. Monadic devas carry a large arsenal of holy magic, a Spell Resistance rank of 28, and wield a mighty adamantine mace that deals utterly decimating damage to Outsiders and Constructs. Outsiders I can understand, demons and devils alike being of that creature type, but...why Constructs? The fluff doesn't explain this, but I'm guessing it's for things like dread golems from Ravenloft or Inevitables. Other than this odd note, they're rather standard "I smash teh ebuls!" celestials, so...they're okay, but not anything great.
Angel, Movanic Deva
If the monadics are the officers of the angelic choirs, then the silvery-sheened movanics are the footsoldiers. These CR 10 Outsiders deal directly with strong mortals such as Paladins in order to snuff out evil. They have similar spells to the monadic deva, but their Spell Resistance is a slightly weaker 26 and their weapon of choice is a good ol' fashioned fiery greatsword. They also have an aura that prevents animals and plants from willingly attacking them, presumably as a side-effect of the fact that they are the direct interactors between the mortal and celestial planes and it'd be rather embarrassing if movanic devas were being constantly chased by guard dogs.
---------------------------------
Up next time, we have our first two unique creatures in the Animal Lords, as well as a big bug and a scary spirit.LGBTitP
-
2010-03-11, 08:26 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2008
- Location
- Louisiana
- Gender
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
Animal Lord
The Animal Lords are, as their title implies, Outsiders that are the lords of animals. Two are presented here; the CR 15 Cat Lord and the CR 13 Mouse Lord. Both animal lords have telepathy and the ability to speak the tongue of their animal wards, damage reduction surpassed by magic and cold iron, spell resistance (at 28 and 26 rankage respectively), thematic spell-like abilities (sneakery for the Mouse Lord, speed and agility for the Cat Lord). near immortality, immunity to mind-affecting powers, the ability to command and pacify their chosen animal, and shapeshifting from human to beast form. The Cat Lord has vicious claws and a blinding spittle attack to up his specific powers, while the Mouse Lord augments her ability with plague-spreading.
The lords do not interfere with the general nature of things, but will step in if there is the thread of mass or even localized annihilation of their subjects; thus, the Animal Lords are unlikely to be encountered unless you are traveling to their planes or you've started beating up animals left and right. I'm somewhat disappointed that the two chosen Animal Lords were of such generic creatures, but I guess I can't get my wish for things like Rhino Lords and Crocodile Lords just because I'm an odd person.
Ant Lion
This CR 6 vermin is, unsurprisingly, a giant version of the ant lion. For those of you that don't know, ant lions are the larval form of a species of lacewing; they are chubby little grubs with nasty tweezer-jaws that snap up ants like candy. They dig pits designed to cause an ant or similar small insect to slip and trip right into their waiting maws. As a result, the giant ant lion takes the same concept and upscales it for monstrous vermin...and unfortunate humanoids. I imagine these would be fun to use as an alternate to the standard "it's a sandworm!" desert encounters.
Apparition
Haha, our first undead of the book, and quite the nasty one at that. Apparitions are a hearty CR 7 that, on first gaze, is your typical "can't go out in the daylight, creates spawn, meh" undead; on second look, however, you'll see that it distinguishes itself from other incorporeal spirits in several ways. First is that its unnatural aura scares animals witless, which plays into the whole idea that ghosts get dogs, cats, horses, etc. riled up when they are present. Second is that it knows where every living thing in a 100-foot radius is, and just how lively it is. Third, and most shockingly unpleasant, is that it can implant a mental seed of fear that requires a victim to make a Fortitude save or immediately die of a heart attack! Now that's what I call a nasty monster, friends. While it's definitely an interesting spirit, I can't help but think it might be a bit overkill, and I can't honestly say I would rather use these than the more versatile ghosts, since they can be applied to many creatures of different levels rather than a single static critter. They also don't give people heart attacks. >_>;
----------------------------------
Alrighty, here's your next set of targets, folks. Next time, we'll be looking at two peculiar plants, a freaky fish, and a finicky fey.LGBTitP
-
2010-03-11, 09:19 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2009
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
How would you run an encounter with an ant lion? My players don't tend to dive in as their first action when I say "pit".
Related unrelated question, would the players get experience if in a large spanning desert they found an ant lion pit and walked around it? I'm in two minds. They didn't actually face a challenge (they could have done it just as easily at level 1 then as level 6), so they shouldn't get exp, but I don't want to discourage being cautious either.
-
2010-03-11, 09:45 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2004
- Location
- Enterprise, Alabama
- Gender
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
Depends on Party Objective: you get Exp for achieving goals. Bypassing an obstacle to that goal = exp.
If monsters not related to goal than not affecting Exp if bypass (fighting it my make achgiving goal harder so Exp).
DMG example, sneaking pass a troll guarding a passage = full EXP.
-
2010-03-11, 11:09 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2008
- Location
- Louisiana
- Gender
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
Real ant lions flick sand at insects that traverse the rims of their pits to make them fall down faster. How exactly you'd replicate this in D&D, I'm not sure...breath weapon, maybe?
Hey, maybe give it the Monstrous Beast template from Savage Species and have a fire-breathing uber-predator giant ant lion!LGBTitP
-
2010-03-11, 02:45 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2009
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
You could make the antlion's pit more of a sinkhole type of trap that a large animal could unintentionally stumble into, instead of an obvious, conical pit.
Explain it however you like. Like, it creates a cavity in the sand, holding the walls in place with some sort of secreted substance. The solidified goop normally keeps the cavity stable, until a large enough creature walks on it. Or maybe the antlion senses the vibrations of approaching creatures, and deliberately collapses the sinkhole beneath it when something is overhead.
Added bonus if the adventurers falling into the pit have a chance of being immobilized or even buried by the ensuing mini-avalanche of sand.Last edited by HenryHankovitch; 2010-03-11 at 02:48 PM.
-
2010-03-11, 03:12 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2008
- Location
- PST (GMT -8)
- Gender
-
2010-03-11, 03:12 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2007
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
Hmm...
Amphisbaena
Devas
Apparition
And since we got them both together, one wonders what kind of effect apparitions have on animal lords.A System-Independent Creative Community:
Strolen's Citadel
-
2010-03-11, 04:26 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2008
- Location
- Louisiana
- Gender
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
She, if you meant my opening post. But 'tis a minor quibble due to how small the gender icon is.
That it does, it's the last of the three (yes, only three) fluff sentences given to the amphisbaena, the others being one that mentions its length and one that says that it likes to live in dark, damp places or near water.
In the 2e Planescape MC, Monadic Devas are the ones sent to the Elemental Planes, and their weapons do extra damage against "solid creatures (for example, those made of stone) and metal-armored opponents." Perhaps this was translated into extra damage against constructs?
Does it say anything about what causes the creation of apparitions?
And since we got them both together, one wonders what kind of effect apparitions have on animal lords.
Also, since the apparition's heart attack-induction power is listed as a suggestion-based ability, the Animal Lords are immune to them. Of course, even if they were and somehow saved their Fortitude save, their soul just reforms on the Astral Plane over 9 days.LGBTitP
-
2010-03-11, 04:37 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2007
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
-
2010-03-11, 04:45 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2007
- Location
- Switzerland
- Gender
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
Animal lords! Man, why haven't I found this book a year back when I needed a cat lord. Too bad they didn't bring the Lizard Lord back, he always looked cool.
Last edited by Eldan; 2010-03-11 at 04:46 PM.
Resident Vancian Apologist
-
2010-03-11, 05:13 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2008
- Location
- Louisiana
- Gender
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
I hear you there. I only found it last year, after I'd already been converted into a d20 Modern fangirl. That's not to say that it isn't convertible to that system, though...
Also, this time, we have a double-dose. Why? Mostly because I felt like it, and a few of the monsters this time are rather lackluster.
---------------------------------
Archer Bush
The archer bush is a CR 2 Plant whose appearance is that of a slowly shambling pile of leaves and thorny sticks; think a shambling mound, only sucky. The archer bush's sole claim to fame is that it can launch a barrage of projectile needles that deals the same damage as a strike with a longsword (!) and forces the target to remove the spines or be forced to fight impeded. This would be rather interesting...if it weren't for the fact that the attack only has a range of 20 feet. This means that any spellcaster or ranged fighter makes this already rather poor critter even more pathetic. The only way I can see the archer bush being more than a Fighter-fumbler is if you play it as a stealthy ambush predator, hiding itself amongst normal bushes and waiting for its prey to get close.
Ascomoid
Fear the mighty giant puffball! No, seriously, the CR 5 Plant known as the ascomoid is a 10-foot wide sphere of fungal fluff. What makes this amusing creature frightening is that it is both deceptively fast (40-foot base speed for a 'shroom ball? Dang!), resistant to most damage you can throw at it, and can both run over opponents and fire grenade-like explosive spores that deal 2d6 points of Constitution damage. Even more unpleasant is what the ascomoid does with its adventurer quarry; anything slain by the power-puff has its vital liquids suctioned out for sustenance, leaving them as a desiccated husk. I imagine the ascomoid works best as an atmospheric encounter. Imagine a cavern, littered with shriveled corpses coated in a fine powder. What did this? Certainly not any undead, the odd powder and lack of any spawn goes against that idea. Then, all of the sudden, a rumble from higher up in the cavern as an ominous cloud of choking spores fills the air... As a side note, this creature also has 3E stats in Dungeonscape, which was written by someone you are all probably familiar with...you know, considering we're on his website an' all.
Astral Shark
CR 6 Outsiders that are...well...sharks of the astral plane. Not much to say beyond "Wait, what?" and "holy crap they have an insta-death attack". Yes, dear readers, the astral shark can, on a successful critical hit, sever an astral traveler's silver cord (the tether that keeps an astral projector's mind connected to their physical body, according to popular occult lore) and immediately both dissipate their astral projection and kill their material body. Meh...
Atomie
The miniscule atomie are your typical mischievous fey race; they're tiny, they're "whimsical", and they're annoying. These CR 1 tiny terrors have Spell Resistance 16 and damage reduction 5/cold iron, so even if you do hit the flightly little suckers you probably won't hurt them that much anyway. They also have the standard "fey array" of spell-like abilities: invisibility, entangling plant spells, communication with animals, the like. They do, however, at least have some interesting fluff to work on. It is stated that an atomie family stakes the claim to the entirety of a single tree, in spite of their handheld size. This could be worked on with a refluffing of less whimsical prankster and more classic fae; the atomie may be part of the Trooping Faeries, their warbands stalking the forest floor in search of intruders. These atomies fight fiercely with each other as well, defending their sacred family trees with zealotrous rage. But that's just my take on it, your results may vary.
Aurumvorax
The CR 9 aurumvorax, or "golden gorger", is an eight-legged weasel-like creature with a golden pelt and a vicious temper. Their unpleasant temper, combined with a sweet tooth for gold and gold ores, makes the aurumvorax a key enemy of the dwarves they share the forest-side hills and mountains with. I imagine, however, that a tamed aurumvorax might make a key ally to a dwarven fortress. Since they are primarily carnivorous, all you'd need to do was train it to not eat the deposits it sniffs out and give it a little bit of the gold as a treat now and then. It could also make a good guard "dog" with its Damage Reduction 10 and further Fire Resistance 10. Other than that, there's not much to say, since the aurumvorax is the standard melee tank beyond its odd metallivorous habits.
Axe Beak
These unpleasant animals resemble nothing so much as ostriches on steroids. With thick bodies, powerful legs, and a razor-sharp beak, these CR 2 plains-dwellers are more or less the lions of Lost World environments. They are also extremely vicious and their flocks of 3 to 6 individuals will race after fleeing prey with frightening speed and determination; considering they are as fast a horse, one can imagine how this is a very bad thing. As a fun aside, the fluff states that the mother lays 1d4 eggs, and both the eggs and the hatchlings fetch anywhere from 50 to 80 gold pieces. Why exactly you'd want a vicious murder-bird unless you are running a gladiatorial arena or want a very odd mount, I dunno.
Babbler
Take an allosaur. Stretch its body out like a sausage. Give it stumpy little legs. A weird allegory or metaphor? No, that's simply the appearance of CR 3 Magical Beast known as the babbler. This quirky reptile is not only of human intelligence, but also is a Chaotic Evil anthropophage (who savors dwarven, elven, and human meat above all else) and has a +2d6 sneak attack! Its name comes from its crude, burbling language, if you were curious. I....have little more to say, really. It's weird.
Banderlog
Banderlogs are another sapient beastfolk, this time CR 3 baboon-people of the deep jungles. They travel in groups of 2 to 26 individuals, browsing through the forest for both small animals, fruits, and nuts, under the command of the largest banderlog of the tribe. Their language consists of typical monkey sounds and a form of hand signalling when hunting or hiding...hmm, interesting. According to the Tome, banderlogs typically coexist with other tribes of their kind, but will get testy during times of scarce food.
I say pshh to this! They are baboon-people who wield clubs and projectile coconuts and have Barbarian as their favored class, make those suckers territorial warring tribes that often engage in raids for food. Baboons are by far one of the most unpleasant primates I've had the misfortune to be around, and I'd say that the banderlog, like the orcs they share an Intelligence score ranking with, should be equally unpleasant.
Finally, a fun fact: the banderlogs get their name from the Bandar-Log, the monkey tribe of Rudyard Kipling's famous tome, The Jungle Book. I must admit that the Bandar-Log have, as a result, colored my perception of how I treat the banderlog in my use of them.
---------------------------------
Up next time, we have polybrachial pack-hunting platypi, barrow-dwelling bodies, psychotropic plants, big basilisks, bats, and beetles.Last edited by Rappy; 2010-03-11 at 05:13 PM.
LGBTitP
-
2010-03-11, 05:16 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2007
- Location
- Virginia
-
2010-03-11, 05:29 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2008
- Location
- Louisiana
- Gender
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
LGBTitP
-
2010-03-11, 05:32 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2007
- Location
- Virginia
-
2010-03-11, 05:33 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2008
- Location
- Broken Damaged Worthless
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
All that I say applies only to myself. You author your own actions and choices. I cannot and will not be responsible for you, nor are you for me, regardless of situation or circumstance.
-
2010-03-11, 05:43 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2008
- Location
- Louisiana
- Gender
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
Correct, they have. Necromancer Games got specific permission to utilize them for the Tome of Horrors; otherwise, they'd be in so much hot water I doubt even their bones would be left.
I'm not complaining, though, since that means that publications like Pathfinder can legally use such creatures due to their appearance in the Tome.
But I digress...LGBTitP
-
2010-03-11, 05:57 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2004
- Location
- Enterprise, Alabama
- Gender
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
-
2010-03-11, 06:05 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2008
- Location
- Louisiana
- Gender
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
Conveniently, along with korred shears (again, stuff we won't be getting to in a while, but yeah...), flindbars are printed with OGL stats in this title. Those are the only weapons in this title besides the artifact called (IIRC) the "Axe of Blood", though, unless I missed some.
But I'm again getting off of the topic of the current creatures, silly me.LGBTitP
-
2010-03-11, 10:38 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Mar 2010
- Location
- Location, Location
- Gender
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
This might be totally off topic or spot on, since I can't remember the source...remember a critter called an 'Aleaxx' ? It was a critter sent after you by a God, it had your exact gear and stats but I think it also had regen. Anyone remember? I'd like to see a 3.x version of that.
-
2010-03-11, 10:53 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2005
- Gender
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
Didn't they reprint the Aleaxx in BoED?
NOW COMPLETE: Let's Play Starcraft II Trilogy:
Hell, It's About Time: Wings of Liberty
Does This Mutation Make Me Look Fat: Heart of the Swarm
My Life For Aiur? I Barely Know 'Er: Legacy of the Void
-
2010-03-11, 11:27 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Mar 2010
- Location
- Location, Location
- Gender
-
2010-03-12, 02:58 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2007
- Location
- Switzerland
- Gender
Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!
They did, yes.
Hmm. Anyone know where the Astral Shark is originally from? Because I seem to faintly remember Planescape mentioning that only Dreadnoughts and Silver swords can cut cords.Resident Vancian Apologist