Thursday, July 9, 2026

New Monster: Quarreler

DESCRIPTION:

A Quarreler resembles a squat, fleshy somewhat fleshy mound nearly eight feet across. Four enormous mouths are spaced somewhat evenly around its body, each occupying its own quarter of the creature's circumference and lined with jagged yellow teeth. Around the mouths extend numerous writhing tentacles of varying lengths, each ending in a crackling, finger-like tip that dances with faint blue arcs of electricity.

Set among the tentacles are four large, node-like violet eyes. Together they provide an uninterrupted view in every direction, allowing the creature to watch all sides at once without turning its body. The mouths never cease their constant stream of guttural, alien speech, each proclaiming its own superiority over the others in a language so discordant that prolonged exposure threatens the sanity of those who listen. The creature's hide is thick, leathery, and mottled in shades of dull olive, ochre, and sickly tan, glistening with patches of translucent mucus that shimmer with static discharge.

ABILITIES:

Interspersed Eyes. Four eyes are spaced evenly around the creature's body, granting complete 360° vision. While all 4 eyes are functional, it cannot be surprised. If only two or three eyes are functioning, normal surprise applies. If only a single eye remains functional, it is surprised on a roll of 1–4 (on 1d6). Each light spell (or similar blinding effect) can blind only a single eye. If targeting an eye specifically, the strike suffers a “to hit” roll penalty of –3 and 3 points of cumulative damage are required to fully disable an eye. Damaged eyes recover at a rate of 1 hp per week unless magically healed.

Tentacle Attacks. The creature's writhing tentacles lash out independently of its mouths. Each round it may make up to four tentacle attacks, each against a different opponent occupying one of its four attack zones (a 90° arc centered on each mouth). A successful hit results in 1d6 tentacles landing against the opponent.. Each tentacle inflicts 1 point of electrical damage. Additionally, the victim must save vs. paralysis with a –1 penalty for each tentacle that struck.; failure leaves the victim wracked with agonizing pain and stunned for 1 round.

Bite Attacks. Each of the creature's four mouths may bite once per round, but each bite may only target an opponent within that mouth's 90° attack zone. A successful bite inflicts 2d6 damage. If the target is stunned (such as from the creature's tentacle attack), the bite automatically hits (no attack roll required).

Boastful Discord. Once engaged in combat, each round after any of the mouths make a successful bite attack, there is a 25% chance per successful bite attack during the previous round that the creature will engage in a Boastful Discord where each mouth boasts of its own superiority in an incomprehensible, alien tongue. The mouths do not argue with one another so much as speak over each other, each proclaiming itself the strongest, cleverest, or most worthy. If one mouth boasts for the round, they all boast the for the round, and the creature can make no mouth or tentacle attacks for the round. The overlapping voices create a maddening chorus that mortal minds cannot properly comprehend. Any intelligent creature within 30’ capable of hearing the creature must save vs. spells or suffer confusion (as the magic-user spell) for 4 rounds. A creature can only be affected by this ability once per day and is immune for 24 hours after. A creature that successfully saves is immune to this ability for the next 24 hours. The creature, others of its kind, and aberrations that speak Deep Speech are immune to this effect. The Boastful Discord will continue until the creature takes damage or fails throw, returning to normal combat tactics the following round.   

Resistances. Immune to all poison. Takes only half damage (round fractions down) from acid, cold, and electrical attacks, including magical forms of these attacks.

Infravision. Each its four eyes possesses infravision to a 120’ range.

ECOLOGY:

Quarrelers are solitary apex predators that lair in deep caverns, ancient ruins, or other isolated places where prey eventually wanders within reach. They consume nearly any living creature but appear to derive particularly enjoyment from the fear, pain, and confusion of intelligent victims. Though they have no known natural predators, quarrelers are fiercely territorial and will attack even others of their own kind if their domains overlap.


STATS
ARMOR CLASS: 2
HIT DICE: 10*
MOVE: —/90'(30')
ATTACKS: 4 tentacles/4 bites or 1 special
DAMAGE: 1d6+specieach/2d6 each or special (stun)
NO. APPEARING: 1 (1)
SAVE AS: Fighter:10
MORALE: 10
TREASURE TYPE: E
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic

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