A-to-Z Challenge, Z: Zathoa (New Oe/BX/1E Monster)

Zo here we are, at the tail zend of the A-to-Z zogging challenge. I have some thoughts on the whole thing, but feel like I have enough of them to warrant their own post that isn't constrained to a single letter. Instead, let's just get to today's monster--one that ironically began life as the Á Bao A Qu. I'll be honest. I needed a Z monster and renamed it for that sole reason. I'm not too proud to admit it. And I'm not ashamed that a creature like this is a pain in the ass to deal with in combat (having to check every round to see if its stats change and then dealing with it if they do.) The only thing I'm ashamed of is the fact that "zathoa" just sounds too much like "zathura" (no offense to Jon Favreau.) But it's Z day, and there's no time left to change it's name.

Zathoa

DESCRIPTION Zathoa (sing. and plural) are creatures that resemble a walking octopus with a dozen disc-like eyes that appear a deep obsidian color (and eliminate attack from behind bonuses.) Normally, zathoa utilize four of their tentacle legs for locomotion, while the other four are used for manipulation and feature spiked tips which deliver a deadly poison on any successful “to hit” roll (unless a proper saving throw is made.) Zathoa are peculiar in that their coloration shifts based on internal biochemical processes, moving in a prismatic progression from red to violet to blue to green to yellow to orange and back to red. Every turn, there is a 10% chance that a zathoa’s coloration will change. When it does so, it will either progress to the next analogous color (50% chance), or revert to the previous color. As a zathoa’s body chemistry shifts through the spectrum so does its abilities. During these shifts, the zathoa sees modifications in its “to hit” rolls (based on ability to focus,) poison effectiveness (based on chemical toxicity,) saving throws (due to the production of an adrenaline-like chemical,) and armor class (based on a temporary “hardening” of its skin.) When a zathoa is at is reddest coloration, it is defensively weaker but offensively stronger, and while at its greenest coloration is defensively strongest but offensively weakest. The derivations per its coloration are as follows: color saves as AC "to hit" poison kills in red fighter:12 3 +3 1-4 turns violet fighter:13 4 +2 2-8 turns blue fighter:14 5 +1 3-12 turns green fighter:15 6 +0 4-16 turns yellow fighter:14 5 +1 3-12 turns orange fighter:13 4 +2 2-8 turns

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Very rare NO. APPEARING: 1-4 ARMOR CLASS: See below MOVE: 18” HIT DICE: 12 % IN LAIR: 50% TREASURE TYPE: H NO. OF ATTACKS: 4 DAMAGE/ATTACK: See below SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard INTELLIGENCE: Animal ALIGNMENT: Neutral SIZE: L (40’ tall) PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: See below HIT DICE: 12** MOVE: 180’ ATTACKS: 4 DAMAGE: See below NO. APPEARING: 1-4 SAVE AS: See below MORALE: 10 TREASURE TYPE: H ALIGNMENT: Neutral

A-to-Z Challenge, Y: Yak-man (New Oe/BX/1E Monster)

I'm a firm believer that not all monsters in D&D should be dungeon filler. And I'm not just saying that to justify today's Y entry... the yak-man. Look back at some of the previous entries from this month's A-to-Z post and the campaign concepts start to present themselves. For example, the red dwarves and the rarog start to hint at something akin to a dwarven version of the D-series modules. And if ever there was a group of people ripe for raiders, it's the orlings. I'm sure at some point I'll figure out what to do with these beasts (below), other than filling in the "Y" requirement of an A-to-Z challenge.

Yak-man

DESCRIPTION These bovine creatures appear as a sort of hairy, minotaur-like creature with 3-fingered hands and hoofed feet. Yak-men are creatures of brute strength often found in the employ of other creatures for the purpose of heavy physical labor (moving stones and the like). They are physically well-suited to this type of labor, especially in higher altitudes, due to their sturdy frames and large lungs and hearts. They are generally passive and pastoral and will rarely attack other creatures except in self-defense, and the anatomy of their hands makes weilding a weapon nearly impossible. Unfortunately, these factors make them particularly susceptible to becoming slaves for other creatures rather than hired hands.

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Rare NO. APPEARING: 4-24 ARMOR CLASS: 5 MOVE: 6” HIT DICE: 6 % IN LAIR: 25% TREASURE TYPE: Nil or O NO. OF ATTACKS: 2 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-7/2-7 or 2-12 SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard INTELLIGENCE: Low ALIGNMENT: Neutral SIZE: L (8’+ tall) PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 5 HIT DICE: 6 MOVE: 60’ ATTACKS: 2 fists or 1 gore DAMAGE: 2-7/2-7 or 2-12 NO. APPEARING: 4-24 SAVE AS: Fighter: 5 MORALE: 6 TREASURE TYPE: Nil or Q ALIGNMENT: Neutral

A-to-Z Challenge, X: Xanther (New Oe/BX/1E Monster)

Looks like we're in the home stretch of the A-to-Z blogging challenge. And as I mentioned back on "Q" day, I knew X and Z would be tough. Honestly, I've had today's X post ready for quite some time (my regular readers may recognize today's illustration from an old Illustration of the Week post), and I've got Z locked and loaded. It's Y that I'm starting to worry about. I have some ideas, but nothing that's really grabbing me. (Note to self: consider a "grabbing" monster for Y.) As for the Xanther below, I'm not completely sold on the idea that this creature could use weapons but doesn't. It is mildly intelligent ("low" as opposed to "animal"), so I can see it as more of a barbaric humanoid that allows it ferocity to dominate its actions. I think when time allows, I may develop its ecology a tad more.

Xanther

DESCRIPTION Xanthers are orange fur-covered feline bipedal humanoids with tusks and compound optic lobes (like an insect.) They generally make their lairs in forested areas of temperate climates, but have been found in subarctic and warmer tropical climates as well. Their optic lobes give them almost 360° vision and eliminate any bonuses for attacks from behind (against a xanther.) Additionally, a xanther is surprised only on a roll of 1. While they are capable of using weapons, their deadly claws and ominous tusks are generally their weapon of choice. Should a xanther face an opponent too formidable to handle on their own, they are able to summon 1-3 great cats (lion, mountain lion, panther, tiger, etc.) indigenous to the area where the xanther is located, and then control them. Any great cat summoned by a xanther gets a +1 bonus to his morale while the xanther is present.

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Rare NO. APPEARING: 2-12 ARMOR CLASS: 4 MOVE: 18” HIT DICE: 9 % IN LAIR: 35% TREASURE TYPE: C, Q x 3 NO. OF ATTACKS: 2 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-12/2-12/2-8 or by weapon SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below MAGIC RESISTANCE: 25% INTELLIGENCE: Low ALIGNMENT: Chaotic (neutral) SIZE: L (8-10’ tall) PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 4 HIT DICE: 9* MOVE: 180’ ATTACKS: 2 claws/1 gore or 1 weapon DAMAGE: 2-12/2-12/2-8 or by weapon type NO. APPEARING: 2-12 SAVE AS: Fighter: 8 MORALE: 10 TREASURE TYPE: C, L x 3 ALIGNMENT: Chaotic

A-to-Z Challenge, W: Whipwhirl (New Oe/BX/1E Monster)

Today's A-to-Z monster is inspired by (or is that "is an interpretation of"?) the Japanese creature the "itten momen." Like the "L" day's lithopede, the whipwhirl is a bit of a nuisance. I'm feeling like I need to create a "Conjure Whipwhirls" spell to go along with this creature.

Whipwhirl

DESCRIPTION Whipwhirls are a form of elemental conjured into the prime material plane from the elemental planes. At first glance, whipwhirls appear as harmless lengths of white cotton cloth ranging from 5-25’ in length. They are, however, semi-intelligent and, though quite weak individually, are capable of a number of disabling attacks. All of a whipwhirl’s attacks are based on its ability to wrap itself around the specific area of its target (on a successful “to hit” roll.) The duration for each form of whipwhirl attack lasts until that whipwhirl is killed. Head (blind/suffocate): When a whipwhirl successfully attacks a target’s head, there is a 50% chance that whipwhirl will “blind” the opponent by coverings the creature’s eyes. There is a separate 50% chance that the whipwhirl will cover the opponent’s mouth and nose, which will kill the victim in 3-8 melee rounds unless the whipwhirl is killed. Wrists (bind): On a successful attack by a whipwhirl to bind an opponent’s wrist, there is a possibility the victim will “fumble” and drop anything it might be holding in its hands. The base chance of a fumble from a whipwhirl wrist attack is 100%, minus 5% per point of dexterity of the affected target (e.g., a character with a dexterity of 18 would have a 10% chance of fumbling on this type of attack.) Ankles (trip): On a successful attack by a whipwhirl to a target’s ankles, there is a possibility for the victim to trip and fall. The base chance of a trip from from a whipwhirl is 100%, minus 5% per point of strength of an affected target (e.g., a character with a strength of 9 would have a 55% chance of tripping on this type of attack.) Whipwhirls are immune to the effects of bashing weapons (magical or otherwise), and if struck by an edged weapon (magical or otherwise) will separate into two smaller whipwhirls, each with half the hit points of the original. Each whipwhirl has 1 hit point per five feet in length. When reduced to lengths shorter than 2’, a whipwhirl’s attacks become ineffective as they become innocuous at that length. Whipwhirls are also immune to all forms of magical attacks except for fire or flame. Any successful flame-based attack against a whipwhirl immediately consumes the entire whipwhirl with fire, reducing it to ash in 1 melee round. If wrapped around a victim while successfully attacked with flame, a whipwirl will do 1 hit point of damage for every foot in length (e.g., a 30’ whipwhirl would do 30 points of damage when inflamed.)

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Very rare NO. APPEARING: 20-200 ARMOR CLASS: 7 MOVE: //24” HIT DICE: 1 pt. per 5’ length % IN LAIR: Nil TREASURE TYPE: Nil NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 DAMAGE/ATTACK: See below SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below INTELLIGENCE: Low ALIGNMENT: Neutral SIZE: M-L (5-35’ long) PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 7 HIT DICE: 1 pt./5’ MOVE: //240’ ATTACKS: 1 DAMAGE: See below NO. APPEARING: 20-200 SAVE AS: Normal Man MORALE: 10 TREASURE TYPE: Nil ALIGNMENT: Neutral

A-to-Z Challenge, V: Vulbat (New Oe/BX/1E Monster)

Today's A-to-Z monster was a staple of monster comics of the 50s and 60s. Each issue would usually feature a vampire story and a wolfman story. Then every second issue or so they would have a mummy story (starting to sound "Universally" familiar?), and there would be some witch and voodoo stories thrown in every once in a while. And there would be the occasional mad scientist story, like the one that today's monster comes from. I don't imagine it would take too long before young readers would get sick of the stories, seeing as after about 6 issues they pretty much feel the same. I also imagine this is why, after about a year of publication, many of the pubs would start re-running older stories mixed with new ones. By the end of the run of a couple of the titles, the entire issue were only anthologies of stories recombined from earlier issues.

Vulbat

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Uncommon NO. APPEARING: 2-12 ARMOR CLASS: 6 MOVE: 3”/9” HIT DICE: 2 % IN LAIR: 10% TREASURE TYPE: Nil NO. OF ATTACKS: 5 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-16/3-18 SPECIAL ATTACKS: Blood drain, disease SPECIAL DEFENSES: Immune to disease MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard INTELLIGENCE: Animal ALIGNMENT: Neutral SIZE: M PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil

BX STATS HIT DICE: 2 MOVE: 30’/90’ ATTACKS: 5 claws/1 bite DAMAGE: 1-2/1-2/1-2/1-2/1-4 NO. APPEARING: 2-12 SAVE AS: Fighter: 1 MORALE: 7 TREASURE TYPE: Nil ALIGNMENT: Neutral

DESCRIPTION

Vulbats are a cross between a vulture and a vampire bat. They are clumsy and oafish, moving slowly and attacking as a 1 HD creature. On any successful bite, there is a 50% chance that a vulbat will infect a victim with a mild disease that, if uncured, will cause minor cramping and discomfort, causing afflicted creatures to attack with a -1 "to hit" penalty until cured. Additionally, on any natural “to hit” roll of 20, a vulbat will continue to drain blood from a victim at a rate of 1-2 points per melee round until the victim is dead or the vulbat is killed. Vulbats are immune to disease of all types.

A-to-Z Challenge, U: Üuloch (New Oe/BX/1E Monster)

Today's A-to-Z monster came from the cover of an old pulp magazine and the illustration is a redraw. Unfortunately, I failed to save the source cover (came up with this one a while back) so I'm lost on which magazine it was to give any credit to the original artist (tried to look again; couldn't find it). Also, I think I originally wanted to find the story in which it appeared and give it that name and stats to match, but remember not being able to find a copy of the story, so I went with my gut.

Üuloch

DESCRIPTION Üulochs are winged monstrosities with a head that features a gaping mouth and a stacked pair of eyes. The dark red, slimy skin of the üuloch has the appearance of congealed blood, almost as if the beast was “inside out.” Though they are mainly airborne flying creatures, they are able to “walk” (though quite slowly) via the hook-tipped fingers running through their winglike bodies. On its initial attack, a üuloch attempts to sink as many of it’s piercing hooks as possible into its target (one “to hit” roll, with resulting damage determining the number of hooks that have successful been sunken into its victim.) If a üuloch sinks at least 10 of these hooks into a target, it may then dig into that target with its razor-sharp teeth (doing 2-12 points of damage.) If both these conditions are met (at least 10 points of damage with its hooks and a successful “to hit” roll with its bite), then the üuloch will continue to drain blood from it’s victim at a rate of 1-6 hit points per turn, and will not release a victim until the victim or the üuloch is dead. When a üuloch drinks more than 24 hits points of blood, the extra blood that it drains will seep through it’s skin and congeal on its outer surface, eventually “peeling away” from the üuloch’s body while it is in flight.

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Very rare NO. APPEARING: 3-18 ARMOR CLASS: 5 MOVE: 3”/18” HIT DICE: 6 % IN LAIR: 35% TREASURE TYPE: Nil NO. OF ATTACKS: 2 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-16/3-18 SPECIAL ATTACKS: Blood drain SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard INTELLIGENCE: Animal ALIGNMENT: Neutral SIZE: L (approx. 10’ diameter) PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 5 HIT DICE: 6 MOVE: 30’/180’ ATTACKS: 1 grasp/1 bite DAMAGE: 2-16/3-18 NO. APPEARING: 3-18 SAVE AS: Fighter: 6 MORALE: 10 TREASURE TYPE: Nil ALIGNMENT: Neutral

A-to-Z Challenge, T: Taega (New Oe/BX/1E Monster)

To me, some of the best monsters are the ones that appear tiny and insignificant, but are ironically deadly. Today's monster is really the opposite of that. A monster that appears terrifying but is, in truth, hardly a threat. I thought it would be funny to have a monster that is so ineffectual as a monster that his treasure type (in lair) is one of the weakest individual treasure types there is. To me, it's a reflection of the idea that if he does get lucky enough to get some real treasure, it doesn't hang around long before somebody steals it.

Taega

DESCRIPTION Found most often in rocky, mountainous areas, taegas are giant-sized beasts with a humanoid shape and multi-eyed, quadruple-tentacled, triple-horned, oval-shaped heads. They do, however, appear much more threatening than they actually are. Simply put, they are slow and stupid. Apart from their moderately protective scaly, reptilian skin, they are rather benign as creatures go. Even their multiply-occular vision system which appears to serve some special function or purpose... doesn’t. In fact, it is slightly confusing for them and they attack (and save) as a 3 hit die creature. Taegas have a particular taste for human flesh, but so rarely kill a human that they are laughable in this desire. Instead, they are commonly forced to eat whatever they are able to catch and kill, which is usually stray cattle. Taegas are often captured and used in fighting schools to train novice recruits.

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Rare NO. APPEARING: 1-6 ARMOR CLASS: 6 MOVE: 6” HIT DICE: 5 % IN LAIR: 50% TREASURE TYPE: J NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4/1-4/1-3 SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard INTELLIGENCE: Low ALIGNMENT: Neutral SIZE: L (20’ tall) PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 6 HIT DICE: 5 MOVE: 60’ ATTACKS: 2 fists/1 bite DAMAGE: 1-4/1-4/1-3 NO. APPEARING: 1-6 SAVE AS: Fighter: 3 MORALE: 10 TREASURE TYPE: J ALIGNMENT: Neutral