This creature from Chinese legend supposedly inspired L. Frank Baum's flying monkeys in his Oz books.
Hsigo
Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Uncommon NO. APPEARING: 10-100 ARMOR CLASS: 7 MOVE: 12”/24” HIT DICE: 1 % IN LAIR: 20% TREASURE TYPE: Nil NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-2 or by weapon SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard INTELLIGENCE: Low ALIGNMENT: Neutral SIZE: S (4’ tall) PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil | BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 7 HIT DICE: 1 MOVE: 120’/240’ ATTACKS: 1 weapon DAMAGE: 1-2 or by weapon NO. APPEARING: 10-100 SAVE AS: Fighter: 1 MORALE: 10 TREASURE TYPE: Nil ALIGNMENT: Neutral |
Hsigos are winged monkeys with human faces and dog-like tails. While sometimes found in the wild in forested areas, they are usually bred to act as servants for those that own them (most often high-level magic users.)
The weapons normally carried by hsigos are:
small sword - 40%
club - 30%
morning star - 20%
spear - 10%
For every 10 hsigos appearing as part of their owner’s army, there will be an additional leader with 2 hit dice (attacks and saves as 2 HD monster), carrying a +1 sword. For every hsigo army numbering 50 or greater, there will be a hsigo general with 3 hit dice (attacks and saves as a 3 HD monster), carrying a +1 sword and wearing a magic helmet (-1 bonus to AC.)
Dave: I've always loved the flying monkey of Oz, and felt like they'd make great creatures in the game. I never knew about their appearance in Chinese folklore. Thanks for stating these up! Now, if there were only some nice little plastic miniatures...
ReplyDeletethanks for bringing one of my favorite creatures to 1e!
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