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  1. - Top - End - #31
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    Default Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!

    Quote Originally Posted by Eldan View Post
    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.
    Astral sharks are one of those previous mentioned handfuls of original creatures. Out of the over 400 beasts presented, they are like motes of dust, but they tend to be...erm...how to say it...

    Brightly-colored, awakened, screaming dust speck Bards?

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

    Baric
    Looking like nothing so much as a six-legged land-adapted platypus, the CR 1 Magical Beast known as the baric is a vicious pack-hunter of the deep underground. While only about 3 feet in length, they are quite violent and attack with their toothed-beaks and long claws, attacking in groups of up to eight individuals. The fluff is very vague, stating things like that "some races" try (and rarely succeed) to domesticate barics and that the largest baric can reach up to an imposing 7 feet in length. The baric were originally a monster from a specific adventure entitled Palace of the Silver Princess, which I would imagine is why it didn't get much thought beyond a few snippets of fluff. That means, of course, we are left to ponder the fluff ourselves.



    Barrow Wight
    Now there's a name anyone familiar with Lord of the Rings should at least passingly remember. Barrow wights are CR 4 Undead that prowl burial mounds, guarding the treasures of the dead from the invasions of the living. In addition to the standard wight abilities such as energy draining and spawn creation, the barrow wight's burning gaze can bring insanity in the minds of the weak-willed. This is a creature that has interesting fluff and tough (but not too tough) powers, making it a good encounter for heroes that decide that grave robbing might be a lucrative enterprise.



    Basidirond
    The basidirond is a relative of the ascomoid..not that you'd know by looking at it, since this CR 5 Plant resembles a hellish tentacled ceiling-cactus more than a fungus. They do, however, share fungal spore-launching; instead of a grenadier blast, however, these fungal fighters release spores laced with hallucinogens. Some of the examples of the effects include the target attacking imaginary spiders on the floor, stripping off armor to get at nonexistent leeches on their body, or dropping a weapon believing it's been polymorphed into a viper. Basidironds are also weak against cold; they don't take any damage from cold attacks, no, but they do become sluggish and relatively inactive as a result of any cold-based damage or environment it is forced to deal with. I really like this creature, to be honest. It's like the Scarecrow (the Batman villain, not the construct) of D&D monsters!



    Basilisk, Greater
    As its name implies, the greater basilisk is a bigger, tougher basilisk, a CR 7 Magical Beast to be precise. These basilisks resemble multilegged, horned Komodo dragons instead of the pudgy multilegged lizards their smaller kin resemble, showing that they are indeed leaner and meaner active predators rather than ambush hunters. They are for the most part immune to the old "mirror back the gaze" trick so often used on basilisks (the trick only works at a range of 10 feet or less, which is a tall order considering what we're about to learn). They also have an odious breath that exhudes a weakening aura, lowering the Constitution of anyone within its fetid cloud.

    Other than that, though, there isn't much interesting to say about the greater basilisk beyond the insinuation that it's a product of the Elemental Plane of Earth that entered the Prime Material in the past rather than being a native entity. If I really want to use a bigger, badder basilisk, I usually always pick a nastier one we'll meet later in the Ds section of this very Let's Read.



    Bat
    We have two bats, both size Large and both Magical Beasts; these are the CR 4 doombat and the CR 3 mobat. Because we all know we need mo' bat, right? Right? ...Nothing? Ah well... The doombat is of animal intellect, but is actually the more malicious of the two, actively hunting intelligent beings to savor the fear of before it eats them. The mobat, on the other hand, is a giant bat with the same Intelligence score as a troll....yet it's the one that acts more like a normal bat. I'm wondering if the stats weren't mixed up or something.

    Both creatues have a screech attack and blindsense, and trade off one's strength for the other respectively; the doombat has a smaller blindsense range but can induce cringing fear in those that hear its screech, while a mobat can see an astounding 120 feet with its blinsense but can only stun targets of its shriek for a short period of time. Whether a doombat or a mobat, though, both critters are rather uninteresting to me. Moving onward!



    Beetle, Giant Boring
    In spite of what its name may imply to the uninitiated, the giant boring beetle is actually quite interesting from both the fluff and crunch perspectives. On the stats side, we have a CR 3 vermin that has a natural hivemind special quality, allowing giant boring beetles to swarm across the caverns to aid one of their colony that is in danger. On the fluff side, we note that these 9-foot beetles actually farm shriekers for both food and early warning system purposes. They also drag any intruders they kill into their burrows as fertilizer for their fungus gardens! Now that's an interesting plot hook if I ever saw one.



    Beetle, Giant Death Watch
    This beetle, on the other hand....meeeeh. It takes a real creature and fantasizes it up in the worst way as this human-sized CR 6 monstrosity. According to European folklore, death watch beetles know when someone is going to die and will make noise to proclaim that. Sure, that would have been an interesting idea, constant deathwatch effect. But no, they had to slap a "Fortitude save or you DIE!!" attack onto the giant death watch beetle. It's also immune to death-based effects, so while it can instakill you, you can't instakill it! Preposterously annoying.



    Beetle, Giant Rhinoceros
    12 feet of pure CR 7 brute. It tramples, it gores, it bites, it...does nothing beyond melee bashing. Meh.



    Beetle, Giant Slicer
    This unpleasant vermin has no real-life analogue, although it's meant to be a predatory mimic of the giant stag beetle. It's a 10-foot long CR 4 predator whose one claim to fame is that it has an improved criticial hit ratio and vorpal effect on its bite. A CR 4 Vermin-type creature...with a vorpal bite. Nasty. e.e

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

    Coming up, we have acid aberrations, the brutal bhuta, beaming bufonids, bloody birds, sanguinous skeletons, and petrifying pythons. Will they be good? Will they be bad? Will I run out of alliterative material any time soon? Stick around and find out!
    LGBTitP

  2. - Top - End - #32
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    Default Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!

    Quote Originally Posted by Rappy View Post
    Baric
    The baric were originally a monster from a specific adventure entitled Palace of the Silver Princess, which I would imagine is why it didn't get much thought beyond a few snippets of fluff. That means, of course, we are left to ponder the fluff ourselves.
    That particular module is freely available on Wizards' website, so you can read all about the Baric (and archer bush) if you want.

    Interestingly, in that adventure, they've got 5 HD (!), and could probably slaughter your average low-level party.

    Basilisk, Greater

    Other than that, though, there isn't much interesting to say about the greater basilisk beyond the insinuation that it's a product of the Elemental Plane of Earth that entered the Prime Material in the past rather than being a native entity. If I really want to use a bigger, badder basilisk, I usually always pick a nastier one we'll meet later in the Ds section of this very Let's Read.
    I assume that you're referring to the Dracolisk?

    As for the Elemental Plane connections, that's interesting. Perhaps Earth Elementals have some special way of dealing with them, or something. Also, I know there used to be (and maybe still is) a cockatrice variant called the Pyrolisk, which caused creatures to burst into flame with a gaze. Perhaps that could be the Fire Plane equivalent. What, then, comes from the Air and Water (and Ooze, and smoke, and mist, and etc) planes?

    Bat
    I'm wondering if the stats weren't mixed up or something.
    I don't know, but Mobats had that high intelligence even in 2e, giving them a desire for "shiny objects" (remember, that's a clear sign of intelligence )

    Boring Beetles
    How much of a hivemind does the book give them? Again, the 2e MM says that, together, they can approximate the intelligence of the human brain! Imagine a burrow of boring beetles somehow learning to function as a wizard. You could have adventures where they're raising undead, or summoning demons, or something. Could be an interesting idea for a horror game.
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  3. - Top - End - #33
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    Default Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!

    I remember summoning those fungi in Temple of Elemental Evil video game with that magic item that has Summon Fungi spell/day.
    Good times (until the end when you had to fight a huge amount of them and a Balor at same time)

  4. - Top - End - #34
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    Default Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!

    Quote Originally Posted by Thane of Fife View Post
    That particular module is freely available on Wizards' website, so you can read all about the Baric (and archer bush) if you want.

    Interestingly, in that adventure, they've got 5 HD (!), and could probably slaughter your average low-level party.
    Wow, I didn't know that. Thank you, that'll be useful to have on hand.


    I assume that you're referring to the Dracolisk?
    Well, that secret didn't last long.

    As for the Elemental Plane connections, that's interesting. Perhaps Earth Elementals have some special way of dealing with them, or something. Also, I know there used to be (and maybe still is) a cockatrice variant called the Pyrolisk, which caused creatures to burst into flame with a gaze. Perhaps that could be the Fire Plane equivalent. What, then, comes from the Air and Water (and Ooze, and smoke, and mist, and etc) planes?
    I'm guessing the drown-happy nereid might be a good analogue for water version of a creature (the nymph, obviously).

    And yes, there was/is a cockatrice variant known as the pyrolisk. It happens to be in the Tome of Horrors as well.

    I don't know, but Mobats had that high intelligence even in 2e, giving them a desire for "shiny objects" (remember, that's a clear sign of intelligence )
    To be fair, crows like shinies, and they are pretty smart.


    How much of a hivemind does the book give them? Again, the 2e MM says that, together, they can approximate the intelligence of the human brain! Imagine a burrow of boring beetles somehow learning to function as a wizard. You could have adventures where they're raising undead, or summoning demons, or something. Could be an interesting idea for a horror game.
    The exact quote (thank you, Open Game Content allowing quotes!) is:

    Quote Originally Posted by The Tome of Horrors
    Hive Mind (Ex): All boring beetles within 1 mile of each other are in constant communication. If one is aware of a particular danger, they all are. If one in the group is not flat-footed, then none of them are. No boring beetle in a group is considered flanked unless all of them are.
    So...yeah. Don't lose hope, however! There is a d20 Modern creature (the Sentient Killer Bee Swarm) with an ability that could be used as a reference for a full-on human intellect colony of giant boring beetles.
    LGBTitP

  5. - Top - End - #35
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    Default Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!

    Speaking of hive minds, did the CIFAL make it into Tome of Horrors? It was a creature from the old 1st Edition Fiend Folio. CIFAL stands for Colonial Insect-Formed Artificial Life... I always found it amusing that they gave a creature in a low-tech magical fantasy setting a thoroughly modern-sounding acronym for a name.

  6. - Top - End - #36
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    Default Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!

    Quote Originally Posted by Argentum74 View Post
    Speaking of hive minds, did the CIFAL make it into Tome of Horrors? It was a creature from the old 1st Edition Fiend Folio. CIFAL stands for Colonial Insect-Formed Artificial Life... I always found it amusing that they gave a creature in a low-tech magical fantasy setting a thoroughly modern-sounding acronym for a name.
    The CIFAL isn't in the Tome of Horrors, but it does have a 3E update in issue 145 of Polyhedron; don't ask me where you'd track down a copy of that, though.
    LGBTitP

  7. - Top - End - #37
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    Default Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!

    Quote Originally Posted by Eldan View Post
    They did, yes.
    Thank you.

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

    The tome of horrors, one letter away from bringing back suppressed memories due to constant character death induced post traumatic stress.
    "No extra charge!"

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

    Belabra
    This CR 3 Aberration is, to put it simply, weird. It is a floating jellyfish with an Intelligence rank in between a troll and orc, barbed tentacles, and acidic blood. Piercing one threatens a blast of caustic acid in the face, while struggling in one's grasp means you have twelve tentacles scraping you with their barbed length; in other words, it's not a creature you want to wrestle with by any measure. Strangely enough, there's no effort put into having an interesting society for these sapient but alien beings; they're simple intelligent forest-dwelling predators. I imagine them spending most of their time either finding food or resting...until the deepest parts of the night. Then, the normally solitary belabra gather to worship whatever arcane aberration god they follow. At the very least, I'd give them some eldritch abomination-style maddening alien thought processes.



    Bhuta
    I'm sure this description will get some people happy. The bhuta, a CR 6 Undead of the corporeal persuasion, is a walking corpse who seeks both vengeance on its murderer and living flesh to feed its voracious appetite, particularly the flesh of elves (See? I told you some of y'all'd like this). Another interesting thing is that the bhuta's body, save for its nails-turned-claws and deathly pale skin, mostly remains the same as when it was alive; this means that it's possible to use these creatures as a more subtle corporeal undea threat than, say, a ghoul. The bhuta can also track its killer as long as they are on the same plane and deal 1d6 points of damage each successful round of grappling an opponent as it strangles them with its powerful hands! In the Indonesian folklore they come from, bhuta are drawn to what they enjoyed in life, which makes for more interesting flavor to add on to the whose "avenging spirit" concept. Imagine, if you will, a strangely pale man in the back of the bar, wrapped in heavy clothing and heavily drinking without any apparent concern for his health; of course, as a bhuta, he won't get ill or hung over, but the drunkenness he experienced in life carries over as an addiction in undeath.



    Blindheim
    A strangely brilliant idea in a 4-foot tall amphibian package. Such is my praise of the Blindheim, a CR 2 Aberration of deep, moist caverns. It is a creature of animal intellect that is saved from mehness by its strange adaptation. While odd at first, the blindheim makes a lot of sense when I think about it. Many creatures of the underground regions (and even some that aren't, such as orcs) take penalties when exposed to bright lights, and this aberrant little critter's high beams are actually quite the appropriate mechanism for a predator of the deeps as a result. Just think of what a pack of hunting blindheims might be like; four hefty, bloated frogs circling in the shadows, their fetid mouths coated in the fungi they supplement their diet with, eyes aglow as the lurk in the shadows...waiting...watching. In a flash, nictitating membranes flick away, revealing blindingly bright beams of light from their eyes.



    Blood Hawk
    A CR 1/2 Magical Beast, the blood hawk is essentially just a stronger-than-average hawk with "a taste for human flesh". Bleh, don't really care. Moving forward!



    Bloody Bones
    This blood- and mucus-drenched skeleton is certainly a creature built for horror campaigns. Bloody Bones, CR 4 Undead, are brutal combatants whose fluid exterior protects them from both fire and restraint, have claws that rend and tear at flesh, and can fire 30-foot long tendrils from their bodies to reel in ranged opponents. While there's a tacked-on "theory" about how Bloody Bones are desecrators of evil temples cursed by evil gods, I prefer the local lore we have here in Louisiana about the folkloric Bloody Bones. He's treated as a bogeyman of the deep waters, snatching those foolish enough to swim in dangerous areas You could expand that idea into various motives and modes of operation for such a being.



    Boalisk
    At first glance, the CR 4 Magical Beast named the boalisk seems to be a typical large constrictor snake. It constricts, it bites, it climbs and swims relatively well. You then notice a little four-letter word that propels it to whole new levels: "Gaze". Yes, dear readers, the boalisk's name does refer to our dear friend the basilisk.Unlike the basilisk, though, this marsh-dwelling serpent's gaze attack doesn't petrify; instead, it passes on a festering disease known as black rot (!). While an odd choice, I do commend the fact that its implications were thought about in the fluff, as it's stated that a boalisk that is attacked while consuming prey will use its gaze attack instead of forcefully regurgitating its meal to free its mouth to strike like a mundane python.

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

    Next time, I'll be back to cover a beast of the bogs, a body of the bogs, a boggart that is also from the bogs, a skeletal sculptor, a crushingly strong-jawed carnosaur, and a marrow-munching monster.
    LGBTitP

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

    Bog Beast
    As its name implies, the bog beast is a beast that lives in bogs. It's a CR 5 creature that is essentially a swamp-dwelling Bigfoot, its ape-like body covered in shaggy brownish-green fur and its hands sporting claws swarming with disease and capable of raking apart flesh that then runs the risk of infection. Like the banderlogs, bog beasts follow the grand tradition of primatoid monsters having Barbarian as their favored class, even though its fluff as an "avid hunter" of the swamp's wildlife seems to pin it as more of a feral Ranger.



    Bog Mummy
    Based on Europe's bog bodies, the bog mummy is a CR 6 Undead who augments the standard Dungeons and Dragons mummy abilities such as rotting disease and an aura of despair with the ability to move through the thick marshland bogs without impediment. They are also resistant to fire, the polar opposite of the fire-vulnerable standard mummies. The bog mummy suffers from poor fluff, though, as we are told they "hate all life" and attack anything that enters the bog. Ho-hum. Typical undead fluff. Why not do something interesting based on the bog bodies instead? Perhaps have the bog mummies as part of the "sacred dead", guardians of the bog who were ritually sacrificed and stored beneath the mire. Maybe they have interesting stories to tell to those they deem worthy of learning from their aged occult knowledge?



    Boggart
    A CR 7 Aberration that has the appearance of a furry dwarf, the boggart is an odd duck indeed. It has a grab bag of abilities, with its powers including electrical discharge around its body, shapeshifting, immunity to magic, mind-reading, a confusion-inducing screech, invisibility, and the ability to suck the essence from a recently deceased individual to heal itself. To make things even stranger, it is stated that boggarts are larval will-o'-wisps! I'm trying to figure out how you can go from the boggart of folklore to this...thing...and I honestly can't give you a legitimate answer.



    Bone Cobbler
    The children of another plane of existence, the emaciated bone cobblers are macabre artists that create their "art" by cobbling together and animating mish-mashed skeletons. I like these fellows; they live up to their nature as the Aberration type, and are pretty formidable for a CR 4 encounter, since they can use their cobbling hammers, their claws, their skeletal servants, or a breath weapon of movement-degrading vapors in their assaults. I also like the "bone art" aspect, since it really drives home the idea that aberrations have a truly alien mentality. Players can only wonder what drives the strange creatures' use of necromancy as an artistic tool, or even why they are compelled to produce art anyway. You could also use bone cobblers as harbingers of a bigger eldritch abomination; perhaps the mangled skeletons they craft are effigies in the likeness of their horrid master?



    Bonesnapper
    A CR 3 Magical Beast (for some reason...it has no supernatural abilities or above-average intellect, so it's an odd choice) human-sized tyrannosaurid that likes collecting jawbones for whatever reason. Don't really care much. Mark of mehness for this fellow.



    Bonesucker
    Hey, we have another Aberration already! This CR 7 weirdo resembles a tentacled, ooze-coated, many-eyed tree trunk...yeah, just picture that one in your head. Unlike the bone cobbler, however, the bonesucker hits that point of aggravation with me by having human-level intelligence but no motivation beyond "eat stuff, eat stuff, hunt eat kill!" And speaking of kill, its name says it all; bonesuckers use their tentacles to inject digestive gunk into a grappled foe, dealing 1d2 Dexterity and Strength damage each successful grapple as their target's bone marrow is slowly turned into a soupy mess. Again, ewww indeed.
    LGBTitP

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

    Wow, tough crowd.

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

    Brownie
    Brownies, a Lawful Good CR 1 Fey, are essentially toned down atomies. They have similar stat choices, similar spells (save for some new additions such as fire magic and warding circles), and even the exact same amounts of spell resistance and damage reduction. To be honest, I'm wondering why they didn't just put the brownie down as a semi-urban law-abiding variant of the chaotic nature-sprite atomie. They are at least quite interesting to think about. As Kyr mentioned early, lawful fey are few and far between, so the strict and quiet brownies present an interesting alternative to the many helter-skelter "whimsy pixie"-type feykind; they have also stocked up on three Craft skills (Leatherworking, Metalworking, and Woodworking, if you were curious), which makes them good for industrious worker-types.

    It might be neat to have the brownies as allies of the gnomes or the servant caste of the faerie courts, downtrodden but essential to do all the dirty work while the higher-ups such as the nymphs and atomies engage in their hedonistic lfiestyles. They toil in sweaty workshops, crafting the clothes, the weapons, the armor, the buildings...everything that makes fey architecture so great rests on the pained backs of the brownie caste. Perhaps the heroes must search for the brownies to craft a special item they require, or stop a brownie worker's strike that threatens the economic structure of the faerie realms?



    Buckawn
    The buckawn is another fey whose lifestyle is quite unique; in this case, the corpulent handlebar mustache-sporting gnome-like buckawns are always True Neutral and extremely isolationist. Buckawns hate intruders, refuse to engage in any sort of commerce or trade (thus hoarding all their riches and crafted items to themselves), and focus their spell-like abilities on stealth and illusion (plus the ability to summon an insect swarm to help deal with particularly nosy intruders). They buckawn are also masters of poison-craft, enlacing their daggers and darts with an extremely virulent poison extracted from the berries of a plant known as the moonseed.

    I like the idea of having buckawns be the paranoid guy in the basement of feykind; they don't like to be talked about, and nobody likes to talk about them either, content to let the eccentric and sometimes violent buckawn clans keep to their forest burrows. They also provide a notable challenge to players in several ways. If the adventuring party wishes to go through the woods of the buckawns, they risk getting a poison dart to the head if they look dangerous. If the adventuring party needs a cure for moonseed berry poisoning and have no healers around, they must look to the buckawns for help, and they aren't exactly willing to oblidge. On the other hand, for a twist, what if the adventuring party members are buckawn? How will the clan deal with such a group of rebels spreading their presence into the outside world?



    Bunyip
    The Bunyip is one of my favorite beasts in the Dreamtime lore of the Australian aboriginal clans. You have this unspeakable creature whose appearance is supposedly such a horrid amalgamation of features no two descriptions can agree on what it looks like. It's a murderer who dwells in the deeps and commands the waters of the billabongs, a creator and a destroyer alike, the ultimate example of nature's primal chaos. So what does the Tome of Horrors present for us in their Bunyip? Why, a CR 4 Magical Beast that is a shark-bear hybrid with a blood-in-the-water-frenzy rage attack and a vorpal bite, of course!

    ...Damn you, Tome of Horrors, damn you. e.e



    Carbuncle
    Moving past that traumatic incident of which we shall never speak of again, we have a quirky little CR 1/2 Aberration called the carbuncle! A beast of Latin American folklore, the carbuncle attains its name from the red garnet stone that is nestled upon its forehead. These odd xenarthans (for those of you who aren't biology-savvy, xenarthans are the group of mammals that contain armadillos and glyptodonts, sloths, and anteaters. The carbuncle is a miniature amalgamation of several of the key features of these creatures) act as a sort of "familiar from hell"; they will follow an adventuring party, acting placid and innocent, all the while transmitting select prophecies and snippets of subconscious communication via its telepathic abilities to sow dissent and discord that threatens to wedge the party apart. The carbuncle is not completely vicious, however, as it will relinquish its pricey gemstone to those that can successfully coerce it. After all, it's no skin off the carbuncle's back, since it just grows a new one in a month. Note that a dead carbuncle's gemstone crumbles to dust, however. Take that, kill-happy adventurers! You've just been DM cruelty-owned again!



    Carrion Moth
    Carrion moths are huge tentacle-faced moths that are the adult form of a grub-like Dungeons and Dragons staple known as the carrion crawler. With a mind-numbing droning from its wings that induces confusion in those that are subjected to it, paralytic tentacles, and a horrid stench it released when killed, this CR 5 Aberration earns its keep as a solid encounter. It also feeds on decaying flesh, which makes me wonder if they might be a feaster upon the undead as well as the truly dead. It'd be a neat idea to consider, at least.



    Caryatid Column
    This is a CR 3 Construct that is more or less a stone warrior created from a caryatid column (as its name obviously alludes to). What is a caryatid column, you might ask? Well, to put it simply, they are crafted sculptures of women that were hewn into support pillars in Greece. What exactly differentiates these constructs from stone golems, though? Well, for one thing, they are much weaker than the imposing CR 11 stone golems,by having less hit dice and replacing its Damage Reduction 10/Adamantine for a simple DR 5/-. For another, caryatid columns are melded with the pillars they were created from until they enter battle; thus, they are the perfect sneak attack guardians for temples and other artistically-decorated places. For yet another, striking a caryatid column with a weapon means you risk it being broken to bits by the column's shattering special quality. If that happens, well...you'd better hope you can move out of the way of the caryatid column's imposing stone longsword.
    LGBTitP

  12. - Top - End - #42
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    Default Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!

    Wasn't the Column in one of the WotC books already? Fiend Folio, maybe?

    Anyway, good stuff. Except for the beast-I-shall-not-name-here. Curse you all.
    Resident Vancian Apologist

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

    It was- and this issue was brought up earlier in the thread:

    Quote Originally Posted by arguskos View Post
    You are aware that a good number of these creatures have been printed by WotC, including the Flind (who are awesome, btw), right?
    Quote Originally Posted by Rappy View Post
    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...
    The Aurumvorax, for example, was in the Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk 3.5 ed WoTC adventure.
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    Brownies, a Lawful Good CR 1 Fey, are essentially toned down atomies.
    Wow. 2e brownies cast spells like 9th level clerics. I wonder who hated brownies?

    Traditionally, I believe that brownies worked in the homes of good people, so long as they were left a bit of milk, or something. I'm not sure how you could work that into a game (except perhaps as part of an investigation), but there you go.

    So what does the Tome of Horrors present for us in their Bunyip? Why, a CR 4 Magical Beast that is a shark-bear hybrid with a blood-in-the-water-frenzy rage attack and a vorpal bite, of course!
    I don't suppose that there's a picture of this somewhere, hmm?

    Caryatid Column
    While I do like Caryatid Columns (I think I might have even used them once), it suddenly strikes me to wonder if they may be a bit structurally unsound. I mean, presumably that column was holding something up, right?
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    Default Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!

    Quote Originally Posted by Thane of Fife View Post
    While I do like Caryatid Columns (I think I might have even used them once), it suddenly strikes me to wonder if they may be a bit structurally unsound. I mean, presumably that column was holding something up, right?
    I'm sure I remember seeing a column-based construct somewhere that was holding the ceiling up, and destroying it would bring the roof down on your head... Perhaps someone else a 3.5 update of the Caryatid Column before Necromancer games did?
    If a tree falls in the forest and the PCs aren't around to hear it... what do I roll to see how loud it is?

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

    Quote Originally Posted by Thane of Fife View Post
    Wow. 2e brownies cast spells like 9th level clerics. I wonder who hated brownies?
    Judging by what I've read while scrounging around, more than a few players disliked them. Maybe the crew at Necromancer had a bad experience with one in 2E?

    I don't suppose that there's a picture of this somewhere, hmm?
    Sorry, not that I know of.

    While I do like Caryatid Columns (I think I might have even used them once), it suddenly strikes me to wonder if they may be a bit structurally unsound. I mean, presumably that column was holding something up, right
    Presumably, they meld out of the column they are made into, but leave the column base intact...or that's how I read it, at least.
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    Caterwaul
    The caterwaul is a feline-like elf, with a long tail, fangs, claws, yellow eyes, and blue fur. And no, that is not a joke. And just to prove it isn't a ripoff of a certain popular movie involving blue-furred cat-elves, I shall also note that the caterwauls were originally created by Albie Fiore in 1981, and reprinted in the Tome of Horrors in 2005. But I digress...

    Caterwauls are a CR 4 Magical Beast that excels at melee combat. In addition to its rending claws and teeth, the caterwaul has superior evasion to most creatures, the ability to pounce upon unwary prey as its feet join in the clawing fray, sprinting at cheetah speed for short bursts, and a screech that deals 1d8 sonic damage. They are also noted as being found in montane forests, so I have this image of caterwaul clans hiding in both the trees and cliffs, ambushing intruders with death from above.



    Cave Cricket
    CR 1/2. Vermin. Dog-sized cricket. Meh. Moving on.



    Cave Fisher
    Take a crab, enlarge it to human-size, and give it adhesive snot. Okay, so it's technically an "adhesive filament", but this CR 2 Vermin draws that comparison since it is produced from its snout. But I kid the poor cave fisher, since I actually do like it. This is one of those monsters that has a unique shtick that involves finesse rather than force; it waits in cavern crags, dangling its sticky filaments into the darkness. Any creature that isn't prepared or doesn't see the thread is subsequently grappled and reeled in like a fish on a rod. They can also be farmed for their adhesive, which can be processed to produce super-strong ropes from the filaments themselves and traction-aiding "nega-grease" from the diluted adhesive.

    There is an allusion to cave fishers working in packs to take down overly large or dangerous prey, which makes me imagine the chasm crawlers scene from the Peter Jackson King Kong. Adventurers trapped in the cavern, bones and armor littered across the floor, dozens of creeping crustaceans pouring from holes in the wall, their wet carapaces glistening in what little sunlight comes into the abyss from above. Their mandibles clack and crunch as they drool saliva, their snouts dripping with adhesive chemicals as they swarm forward in a terrifying wave...



    Cave Moray
    A cave-dwelling CR 2 amphibious moray eel. Myeh. Next!



    Cerberus
    Yes, this is that Cerberus. The "watchdog of Hades" Cerberus. He's also our first epic-level creature, at an imposing CR 23 (although we will meet epic-level uniques in the D section that make Cerberus look like a whimpering puppy with their power). In addition to having three imposing heads with jaws drenched in venom, Cerberus can expel toxin at a range of 30 feet, a fear-inducing howl, a petrifying gaze (thankfully, all three heads must be used, so no "three gazes at once" cheap shots), regeneration of wounds, and resistance to nearly all forms of damage. To make it even tougher, Cerberus cannot even be moved from his spot, except by deities of divine rank 6 or higher (in non-D&D terms, that means that even demigods can't help you; you have to go to the actual pantheons and ask them to physically move the big mutt). Of course, this doesn't even bring into account the very daemons and undead you'll have to face along the River Styx to even get to Cerberus; I mean, Charon and the charonodaemons (coming up soon in this Let's Read) aren't cheap to bribe, and they aren't easy to fight either.Cerberus has major potential as a big final boss of a campaign; I'd suggest reading the tales of Orpheus and Heracles for more ideas on that front.



    Chrystone
    As their name implies, chrystones are beasts or rock and crystal. They aren't elementals, though, no; they are CR 4 Constructs that are sort of an amalgamation of rock and gemstone that has been promoted to sapience (albeit at stereotypical orc-levels). They are your standard melee brutes as well, with the same magic immunity and shatter ability as the caryatid column added to a breath weapon that blasts out the spell Color Spray. I'm...not really sure what to make of them. After a few great critters, this one doesn't seem too interesting. Nor is...



    Clam, Giant
    ...This one, a CR 2 Vermin one can find in real life. Why didn't they put the real life-based vermin in an appendix like the mundane animals were?
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    Default Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!

    "Charonodaemons"?

    What ever happened to the Marraenoloth, the traditional Styx Oarsmen of Planescape? Their leader was even called Charon.

    Or are they a conversion of the Marraenoloths? The loths are also called daemon, after all.
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    Default Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!

    Quote Originally Posted by Eldan View Post
    "Charonodaemons"?

    What ever happened to the Marraenoloth, the traditional Styx Oarsmen of Planescape? Their leader was even called Charon.

    Or are they a conversion of the Marraenoloths? The loths are also called daemon, after all.
    Yeah, Necromancer Games flipped "-loth" the bird and kept the -daemon suffix to match the demons and devils.
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    Caterwaul
    While looking about on Google, I found some individual's tableof costs for assorted pelts and furs. Somewhat disturbingly, Caterwauls were on the table, though I suppose that shouldn't really surprise me.

    Cave Cricket
    Don't cave crickets have some kind of noxious stench attack, or something? Maybe I'm thinking of something else.

    Clam, Giant
    I assume that there are some kind of giant pearl rules here as well, right?
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    Default Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!

    Quote Originally Posted by Thane of Fife View Post
    While I do like Caryatid Columns (I think I might have even used them once), it suddenly strikes me to wonder if they may be a bit structurally unsound. I mean, presumably that column was holding something up, right?
    Sorry to go backward like this, but I just wanted to point out that in the Fiend Folio (I think that was where I saw them), it mentions that one of the ways you can notice a Caryatid Column for what it is, involved a spot check.. or maybe a knowledge (architecture/engineering) check? To tell that it served no structural purpose. Similar to Gargoyles, really.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rappy View Post
    Yeah, Necromancer Games flipped "-loth" the bird and kept the -daemon suffix to match the demons and devils.
    Hmm. True. But why not just call it "Oarsman Daemon" or something? Charonodaemon just sounds silly to me.
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    Default Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!

    Quote Originally Posted by Eldan View Post
    Hmm. True. But why not just call it "Oarsman Daemon" or something? Charonodaemon just sounds silly to me.
    Oarsmen sounds silly as well.

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    Hmm. Better than Ferry Daemon, at least.
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    Default Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!

    Most of these make me want to design an encounter just to fit them in.

    Most of them would never fit in my current campaign without some serious handwaving though, so... :P.

    For example, the cave fisher would go nicely with an encounter I'm planning, except that it would absolutely devour the party in numbers greater then 3, and be kind of underwhelming in fewer numbers.

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

    Quote Originally Posted by Thane of Fife View Post
    While looking about on Google, I found some individual's tableof costs for assorted pelts and furs. Somewhat disturbingly, Caterwauls were on the table, though I suppose that shouldn't really surprise me.
    That's...rather creepy. Then again, as we'll see later in the D's section of this title, D&D economy is often supported by the bodies of sapient species.

    Don't cave crickets have some kind of noxious stench attack, or something? Maybe I'm thinking of something else.
    This version doesn't, at least.

    I assume that there are some kind of giant pearl rules here as well, right
    No, oddly enough; it simply states that giant clams have 50% standard treasure. There's nothing specific for pearl size, weight, and value.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rappy View Post
    To make it even tougher, Cerberus cannot even be moved from his spot, except by deities of divine rank 6 or higher (in non-D&D terms, that means that even demigods can't help you; you have to go to the actual pantheons and ask them to physically move the big mutt).
    Does *it* have divine rank 6 or higher? Can if move from its post of its own volition? Because if not, that's not necessarily a feature that makes it stronger.

    Quote Originally Posted by Eldan
    Hmm. Better than Ferry Daemon, at least
    Too true. If my DM were to introduce as a "Ferry Demon" you can be certain it would swiftly be relabelled "Fairy Demon" or possibly "Furry Demon".

    Quote Originally Posted by Rappy
    That's...rather creepy. Then again, as we'll see later in the D's section of this title, D&D economy is often supported by the bodies of sapient species.
    Reminds me of the this Stupid monsters of D&D article. Scroll down until you reach the Giant Beavers.
    If a tree falls in the forest and the PCs aren't around to hear it... what do I roll to see how loud it is?

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

    Quote Originally Posted by hewhosaysfish View Post
    Does *it* have divine rank 6 or higher? Can if move from its post of its own volition? Because if not, that's not necessarily a feature that makes it stronger.
    It's presumably exempt from that rule.

    Reminds me of the this Stupid monsters of D&D article. Scroll down until you reach the Giant Beavers.
    I've seen it many times. I still disagree with 99% of it. But yes, giant beavers are odd, and they have 3E stats that can be found here.
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    Clockwork, Brain Gear
    The most important of the clockworks is....surprisingly, little more than a box of gears and gadgets that cannot move at all. The CR 3 brain gear sacrifices movement for superior intellect (twice that of the average human!) and the ability to telepathically communicate with and command the lesser clockworks. In this way, the brain gear is an enigma; it has the potential to be the big bad of a clockwork-themed adventure, but it's too weak on its own and unable to move its small body anywhere if threatened, and is thus relegated to the mere "pay no attention to the box behind the curtain" role. Thus, I propose having the brain gear be akin to a mech pilot, fused in place inside an uber-clockwork throne that carries itself across the battlefield and protects it from harm.



    Clockwork, Drone
    The weakest of the clockworks, the humble CR 1/8 drones are more or less eyeballs in miniature UFOs...no, I am not kidding you, that's what the fluff states they look like. These little mechanical monsters have no real combat prowess, and are thus relegated to the role of a diminiutive spy that flits around the shadows of the battlefield, relaying information to the brain gear(s) in command.



    Clockwork, Overseer
    The halfling-sized mannequins known as the overseers act as the relay point for a brain gear, extending its 2-mile controller radius outward to a grand 10-mile radius. This CR 1 field commander-type has no really interesting traits beyond its quirky appearance and their ability to extend the mental grip of the commanding brain gears.



    Clockwork, Parasite
    Using the tried and true Frankensteinian method of galvanic animation, the CR 2 beetle-like parasites drill into the brain cavity of a corpse and raise it as a zombie puppet they pilot around the battlefield. The parasite isn't the most interesting clockwork either, but it at least has the gimmick of being able to confuse any divine spellcasters in the party into thinking they have an undead to turn before they are swarmed en masse by the parasites. They can also repair the corpse they ride in, replicating fast healing, which allows them to also pull the surprise of having what seems to be a regenerating zombie.



    Clockwork, Scout
    Scouts of the clockwork army are metal and wood armatures dressed up with hides and furs to look like animals such as dogs. While these CR 1/2 clockworks have a camouflage ability due to their outwardly animalian appearance, I still don't get why they are here when there was already a stealth hunter in the drones.



    Clockwork, Swarm
    This CR 3 creature is, as its name suggests, a swarm of clockwork debris animated by the brain gear. It is also very, very bland. Other than a self-repairing ability, it has nothing special that would prevent me from simply changing its creature type and labelling it "Generic Swarm #1". Meh.



    Clockwork, Titan
    The mighty titan clockwork (not to be confused with clockwork titans, which are from a different title) is the strongest of the clockwork army at a relatively imposing CR 4, and is built in the shape of a giant metallic crab with mighty punching fists instead of pincers. They have an exceptionally long reach with their fists for their shape, and their given strategy is to sit behind warrior clockworks and wail on the enemy without fear of retaliation. Thus, the titan earns the Cheap Shot King award for the clockworks.



    Clockwork, Warrior
    Your standard "suit of armor that moves" enemy. Clockwork warriors are crafted from various bits and bobbles of abandoned armor and linked together by chains and their nanite...erm...."cockroach-like miniature clockwork"...filled innards. These miniclocks constantly swarm out to repair minor damage each round, allowing the CR 3 warriors to take a lickin' and keep on tickin'.
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    Default Re: More flumphs than you can shake a flindbar at: Let's Read the Tome of Horrors!

    Sorry this dropped off the map for a little while, but I've been having a mix of illness and depression that has prevented me from sticking to an entire entry.

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

    Clubnek
    CR 2 Magical Beast, smaller version of other "big mean birds" that focuses on speed in short bursts. It's also one of the more boring big birds out there. In other words, it's axe beak light on all accounts.



    Cobra Flower
    The cobra flower looks for all the world like some kind of mad botany mage's science fair project; it is indeed a flower that resembles a cobra. It also acts like a cobra, too, believe it or not. This CR 4 Plant is very slow but makes up for it in stealth, hiding until a foolish small animal, humanoid child, or little humanoid such as a halfling or gnome veers to close. It then blasts to life, strangling with its constricting vines and oozing a corrosive acid from its porous flower "head". While I don't have much to say on it, the cobra flower is at least a decent addition to the "plants that want you to die horribly" trope of D&D monsters.



    Coffer Corpse
    The CR 3 Undead known as the coffer corpse takes the most unpleasant traits of several corporeal undead and mashes them together into one nasty package. Like the zombie, its appearance is that of a rotting corpse. Like the bhuta, it has a strangling attack. Like many undead, it augments vicious claws and thick skin with damage reduction and a resistance to a Cleric's turning powers. Don't imagine for a second that the coffer corpse is just a ripoff of the other undead, oh no; this coffin-haunting creep is a whole other animal. The origin of a coffer corpse is when a dead body is improperly buried by its culture's standards and the soul refuses to leave its body due to this perceived injustice. As a result, the most likely place to find coffer corpses are hastily-crafted shallow graves, crashed funerary barges, and similar locations. This means that these particular undead don't have to share elbow room like they would be if they were sharing the cemeteries with ghouls and ghosts or holed up in a crypt with all sorts of things from beyond the grave. They also have an intriguing special quality. Coffer corpses can play possum, as it were, dropping down and looking even more dead than they technically are. Anyone fooled by this ruse is subjected to the corpse's fear aura as it seemingly rises from its redeath the next round. It's a fun and unique undead encounter, that's for sure.



    Cooshee
    Take a wolf and add your basic features of the elf; long pointy ears, lithe body, earthen color scheme, resistance to enchanting magic, and a set of "anything you can do, I can do better" abilities such as being able to run at the speed of a cheetah for short bursts; what you've just created is the CR 2 Magical Beast known as the cooshee, or elven hound. These green and brown-mottled elf-dogs were specially bred by the elves to show similar features as they themselves had. This of course brings the question of when elves were able to move at blindingly fast speeds, but I digress...

    What purpose the cooshee has beyond flavoring for the elves wanting to have everything made in their own image is beyond me; I had this same problem when I saw dwarven hounds in the Creature Collection (but that's a story for another Let's Read). I mean, they aren't a uniquely-bred race of creatures simply called "hounds" for convenience, like Pathfinder's goblin-bred giant rats that are referred to as "goblin dogs", they're simply sapient hounds that are better at being dogs than actual dogs are.



    Crab, Monstrous
    It's CR 2 and as big as a bear. And no, it doesn't have a weak spot to hit for massive damage.



    Crabman
    In spite of their name, the CR 2 Monstrous Humanoids named crabmen are not monogender monsters; their name is simply a holdover from the fact that TSR used male-centric names for creatures such as lizardfolk. These creatures are heavily muscled, coated in thick natural armor, and have four arms (with the upper, more muscular pair ending in claws, thus making me imagine that it will most likely only be utilizing tools in the hands that its lower arms sport). They are a hunter-gatherer society of the shorelines, gathering algae and seaweed as well as filtering detritus from the sand in a manner similar to that actual crabs utilize. Lead by an elder crabman of at least 3rd level, these clans of 9-foot tall crustacean-people make their homes in warrens carved from cliff faces on the shoreline, where they gather driftwood, seaweed, and other "gifts of the sea" for both extra food and for use in their own form of communal art. But not all is well with the crabmen; they are also a conundrum...

    What did I mean by that? Well, it is stated that crabmen have up to 100 young within two weeks of every loosely-patterned breeding schedule. This makes me wonder why the crabmen are content with trading their goods with shoreline humanoids. Even counting the potential for predators of unwary young that stray away from the community, numbers of a species like that should mean that the crabmen could easily dominate every other coastal species by sheer biomass alone. So why haven't they? Perhaps they don't live long, perhaps they don't really care about conquest, perhaps they are the unpleasant victims of the dinner tables of less scrupulous coastal species such as the sahuagin...who knows?



    Crayfish, Monstrous
    I have a bit more to say about this one than the monstrous crab. This mega-crawdad is 10 feet of pure epic CR 3 tastiness...no joking there. Humans, giant turtles, dragon turtles, and even storm giants are listed as dining on monstrous crayfish flesh! Now, as someone that grew up around these crustaceans, I can say that they really do deserve their more vicious constricting pincer attack and overall tougher offense and defense compared to the monstrous crab. Crayfish are nasty little mudbugs that won't hesitate to snap out at things that invade their space, be that bait or a finger. They are also "farmed" in flooded rice patties; I can't imagine how you'd do that on a monstrous scale. Flooded forests?
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