Tuesday, July 24, 2012

New Oe/BX/1E Monster: Giant Woodpecker

I've been wanting to do this one for a LONG time. I finally got off my butt and did the illustration (which is the time-consuming part of coming up with a new monster for me). Best of all, this one feels particularly BX to me, and fits right alongside with things like the giant shrew. My favorite part of the illustration is the (what to me was meant to be a) female elven druid controlling the giant woodpecker (though she technically has to be half-elf, since elves aren't allowed to be druids, though I suppose she could just as easily be a magic-user).



DESCRIPTION
Giant woodpeckers are carnivorous, and normally found in forests and woodland habitats, particularly those inhabited by giant insects and worms.

Like the smaller variety of woodpeckers, giant woodpeckers have a "sticky" tongue that aids in capturing prey. On any natural "to hit" roll of 20 against an opponent of 4' or smaller, the victim will be pulled into the giant woodpecker's beak (in addition to the damage caused by the beak attack). The victim does get the chance to attack the giant woodpecker and if a successful "to hit" roll is made against the bird, the woodpecker will release its victim. However, should the victim fail to make a successful attack, the giant woodpecker will have succeeded in pulling the victim into its beak and will begin to chew, doing 1-4 points of damage per round, beginning on the following turn (from the successful attack), and will continue to chew until the victim is dead, or until the woodpecker has been killed or fails a morale check. The brain of the giant woodpecker is particularly small, giving it a relatively poor AC (despite its size) and a inordinately high morale.

Oe/1E STATS
FREQUENCY: Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1-12
ARMOR CLASS: 9
MOVE: 6"/36"
HIT DICE: 4
% IN LAIR: 10%
TREASURE TYPE: Q
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6/1-6/2-8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Animal
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: L (18' wingspan)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil


BX STATS
ARMOR CLASS: 9
HIT DICE: 4
MOVE: 60'/360'
ATTACKS: 2 claws + 1 beak
DAMAGE: 1-6/1-6/2-8 + special
NO. APPEARING: 1-12
SAVE AS: Fighter: 2
MORALE: 11
TREASURE TYPE: L
ALIGNMENT: Neutral

1 comment:

  1. All I can think about now is the woody woodpecker laugh.

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