Monsters beneath the ruined monastery

This page is a work in progress.

I have a partial encounter table for the first level of the dungeons under the ruined monastery, and descriptions of the non-book monsters encountered so far. There's no linaean taxonomists to be encountered in the dungeon, and the non-book monsters are mostly unique to this one location (having been mutated by it), so the new monsters are just numbered for the time being. I will try to go back and name them all at some point, if only for convenience. But I resist the absolute classifications that RPG bestiaries seem to propagate.

Normal monsters are as written in B/X. The festering ones were an idea I had to make the zombies a little less generic. Other new monsters were generated randomly from the tables in Best of Dragon Volume 1, and notes extrapolated there from. Holes in the table will be filled with more of these random beasties as they are encountered; who knows what horrors remain to be seen.

AC (and XP when I fill it in) is given for LotFP / LL (& B/X). The rest should be self-explanatory.

New monsters on the table have had hyperlinks to their stats, but blogger keeps breaking them every time I edit the page...

Monster Encounters - Monastery ruins
Monastery ruins, 1st level
1. Acolyte 1-8
2. Stirge 1-10
3. #3 1-4
4. Dwarf 1-6
5. Skinklings
6. #6 1-2
7. centaur lizard 1-3
8. #8 1-6
9. #9 2-8
10. #10
11. #11 2-16
12. Skeleton 3-12

Monastery ruins, 2nd level
1. #1 2-8
2. acolytes
3. skeletons 3-12
4. charnel carpet
5. 10
6. 11
7. centaur lizard 1-3
8. 15 2-12
9. the bounding horror*
10. festering ones 1-8

*this monster can only be encountered once. If it has been slain, re-roll.


Acolyte
1-8 clerics, all first level except the leader, who is level 1d3.
roll 1d6: 1-2, here to clense the dungeon (d4 status), 4-6 here to worship the source of decay (d6 status)
Roll for their status:
1. Dead. Risen again as Festering Ones
2. Minimal wounds (each is down 1d6-3hp, treating results of 0 or less as 0)
3. Prisoners. Roll 1d6: 1-2 beg for release, 3-4 beg for death, 5-6 permanently insane
4. Escaped prisoners. Reduce HP by half. 50% chance to be infected with festering disease (current  CON is 1d8 after 1d4+2 days of illness; see Festering Ones below)
5-6. full health

#3
No. Enc.: 1-4 (1-4)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 14/7
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: 1 bite
Damage: 1-3
Save: F2
Morale: 7
Treasure Type / Hoard Class: Nil(U&V)/Nil(VI&VII)
XP:

The [#3s] creatures are rat-sized, tripedal, grey-skinned mammals with a single large glowing eye in the centre of their foreheads. Thier mouths are filled with tiny, needle-like teeth. The first round of combat, they will stare at their opponents with their hypnotic gaze, which acts as the Charm Person spell. Characters falling under their sway will attack their fellows to defend the little beasts. #3s like to hollow out the chests of their victims to create their communal nest. They may thus posess incidental treasure in their lair.

Dwarf
1-6 dwarves, all first level except the leader, who is level 1d3.
The dwarves are either part of an ill-fated treasure hunting expedition or attempting the expedition's rescue.
Roll 1d6 for their status:
1. Searching for missing dwarven treasure hunters. Minimal wounds (each is down 1d6-3hp, treating results of 0 or less as 0)
2. Searching for missing dwarven treasure hunters. Heavy wounds (apply 1d10 damage to each. Some may be unconscious or dead).
3. Escaped prisoners. Reduce HP by half. 50% chance to be infected with festering disease (current  CON is 1d8 after 1d4+2 days of illness; see Festering Ones below)
4. Prisoners. Roll 1d6: Will beg for release (1-3) or death (4-6).
5. Prisoners. Permanently insane.
6. Already dead. Risen again as Festering Ones


Skinklings
No. Enc.: 1d10 (1d10)
Alignment: C
Movement: 150' (50')
Armor Class: 14/7
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1-8
Save: F2
Morale: 7
Treasure Type / Hoard Class: Nil/Nil
XP:

Skinklings are long, roughly man-sized lizards who have been mutated by the strange corrupting energies under the ruined monastery.They have atrophied rear legs, and propel themselves forward with their forelimbs, which are dextrous enough to use simple tools. Their slick, scaly hides are a dull green with light blue-tinged striations. They are highly intelligent, making coordinated attacks and setting ambushes for their prey. Skinklings do not use weapons, preferring to attack with their powerful bite. They are afraid of undead, and will not venture onto the second level of the dungeon.



#6
No. Enc.: 1-2
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 15/6
Hit Dice: 4+1
Attacks: 1 tentacle bash
Damage: 1-6
Save: F4
Morale: 10
Treasure Type / Hoard Class:  Nil
XP:

These strange beasts are roughly cow-sized quadrupeds. They have four uneven legs, and two thick blubbery tentacles sprout from their shoulders. They flop with an uneven gait, and attack by flailing the tentacles wildly before them. Their thick, sickly-white skin is impervious to missile attacks, but they suffer normal damage from melee weapons. They have no interest in treasure, nor do they have permanent lairs; their alternate between wandering in search of prey and sleeping, standing still and upright. The eyes in their mis-shapen heads have no lids, so it often difficult to know if the things are sleeping until it is too late.


#8
No. Enc.: 1-6 (1-6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 60' (20')
Armor Class: 18/3
Hit Dice: 2+1
Attacks: 1 bite
Damage: 1-4
Save: F2
Morale: 9
Treasure Type / Hoard Class: Nil() / Nil()
XP:

These reptilian beasts [#8s] are about man-sized, built long and low to the ground, and scurry about on five legs. They posess a slender tail which terminates in a cluster of 1d3x4 bony spikes. By whipping their tails around they can loose a volley of four spikes, though with no great accuracy; each volley allows them to make 1d4 ranged attacks (max. range 60') at random opponents. Each spike which hits inflicts 1d3 damage. The spikes grow back in 1d6 days. They prefer to attack from a distance to soften up their prey before closing to bite with their long, toothy maw. Their dull black skin makes them nearly invisible in the dim light, and is as hard to penetrate as plate armour (which may incur attack penalties for certain weapons).



#9
No. Enc.: 2-8 (2-8)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 16/5
Hit Dice: 1
Attacks: 2 claws
Damage: 1-6, 1-6
Save: F1
Morale: 11
Treasure Type / Hoard Class:  /
XP:

These bizarre blue-skinned things are about 8' long, slender and snake-like (though not reptilian), and posessed of two powerful arms which they use to help pull themselves forward. The arms end in 7-fingered hands, whose long claws scrape against the stone floor. The seem to have no actual head, just a long proboscis ending in a sharp, bony point. If both claw attacks hit, it will hold its opponent and insert the proboscis (no attack roll required), draining the victims blood for 1d4 damage per round. They are unintelligent, and almost completely fearless; a malicious force seems to drive them, but that may just be the impression given off by their unearthly aspect.


Chattering Bones
No. Enc.: 1d3 (1d3)
Alignment: C
Movement: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 13/8
Hit Dice: 4
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1-6+confusion
Save: C4
Morale: 12
Treasure Type / Hoard Class: C/XX
XP:

Chattering bones are undead creatures. They are mostly skeletal, though frequently covered in dessicated and withered flesh. They remain motionless and silent most of the time, suddenly springing to attack with great alacrity; because of this they achieve surprise on a roll of 1-4 on a d6. Once they start moving, they babble, gibber, and chatter incessantly, never ceasing until or their quarry is destroyed. They attack with sharp bony fingers or the flailing of fists. A successful hit inflicts 1-6 points of damage, and may transfer some of the creature's own madness to the target, who must save vs. spells or suffer Confusion (as the spell) for four rounds. Chattering bones are especially susceptible to holy water, contact with which destroys them instantly. It is not known if chattering bones are intelligent or mindless; communication with these undead horrors is impossible.




#11
No. Enc.: 1-8 (2-16)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 16/5
Hit Dice: 1d4 hit points
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1-3 or by weapon
Save: H0
Morale: 7
Treasure Type / Hoard Class: Nil / Nil
XP:

The degenerate relics of the nuns and monks who inhabited the Monastery, twisted and warped by the corrupted magic which caused its downfall. They look like twisted and gnarled homunculi, naked and sexless, none standing over two and a half feet tall. They are cruel and intelligent, chittering to one another about their wicked schemes in an incomprehensible language of their own. They delight in nothing save torture and bloody sacrifices to their dark gods. They cannot reproduce and do not eat; they are effectively immortal whilst they lurk in the dark recesses of the dungeons, permeated as they are with unholy energies. They hate clerics, and will attack them mercilessly before turning their attention to other targets.


Centaur lizards
No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d4)
Alignment: N
Movement: 60' (20')
Armor Class: 16/5
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1-8 or by weapon
Save: F3
Morale: 6
Treasure Type / Hoard Class: L/XI
XP:

Once simple, grey-skinned cave lizards, Centaur lizards have been mutated by the strange energies under the ruined monastery. They have grown to medium size, standing about 4' at the shoulder. They have long, low, lizard bodies with four legs and a tail. A humanoid torso sprouts from the front; hence their name. As their size increased, so did their intelligence. They are tool-users and hunters, and collect treasure or other shiny objects for their own sake. Centaur lizards are not generally malicious, but will hunt almost any living creature for food. They have the uncanny ability to absorb the language(s) known by any creature whose brain they consume; they posess no language of their own. Centaur lizards are not very brave, and will likely surrender if a fight is going against them, since they move too slowly to flee.


Suckerlings
No. Enc.: 1d4 (2d6)
Alignment: C
Movement: 90' (30')
Armor Class: 14/7
Hit Dice: 1+1
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1-3 + blood drain
Save: F1
Morale: 8
Treasure Type / Hoard Class: Nil
XP: 25/

A small group of these things lurks under the ruined monastery. They, too, were once human, but have been mutated and twisted by the corrupting magics of the place. They are still humanoid in appearance, man-sized, though their stooped posture means they are barely 5' tall. In place of arms they have two blubbery tentacles which end in lamprey-like mouths. They are completely hairless; their lumpy grey skin is mottled with irregular black spots. The misshapen head of these creatures appears to lack any features, but in fact their eyes and ears are just very small and hidden by folds and protruberances in the skin. There is no mouth on the head; they eat (or rather drink) through the mouths at the tips of their tentacles, though they require no actual sustenance when inside the ruins as the evil emanations of the place keep them alive. If one scores a hit in combat, one of the tentacles will have attached itself to the opponent (doing 1-3 damage). On subsequent rounds, the creature will automatically drain blood at the rate of 1-3 hitpoints per round. The only way to stop the drain is to kill the creature. Suckerlings are immune to magic (as if protected by the spell Anti-magic Shell), and no magic (except clerical spellcasting) will function within 10' of them. They seem to hate magic-users (and elves) and will attack them in preference to all others.



the Bounding Horror
No. Enc.: 1
Alignment: C
Movement: 60' (20')
Armor Class: 17/4
Hit Dice: 6+1
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1-10
Save: F6
Morale: 11
Treasure Type / Hoard Class: Nil
XP:

This furious beast has an enormous, barrel-shaped body, beneath which is a single powerful, strangely-jointed leg. It has neither head nor eyes. Its great mouth is full of many rows of blunt, yellow teeth, and its swollen tongue hangs limply forward, emitting a constant stream of foul saliva. Two thick, boneless limbs protrude from the centre of the torso, ending in stubby-fingered hands. Its green-black skin is smooth and oily, and emits an almost overpowering odour. The creature moves about by taking enormous leaps, covering 20' or more. It spins in place and flails its arms to attack, using its fists like bludgeons. It has no eyes, "seeing" instead with a form of sonar. The thing is completely unintelligent, and motivated solely by a desire to destroy living beings. How the inhabitants of the dungeons have tamed it for use in their arena is unknown.




Charnel Carpet
No. Enc.: 1
Alignment: C
Movement: 90' (30')
Armor Class: 16/5
Hit Dice: 6 (see below)
Attacks: see below
Damage: varies
Save: F12
Morale: 12
Treasure Type / Hoard Class: see below
XP: 500/

A Charnel Carpet is a pile of broken, half-rotten, skeletal corpses and severed limbs animated by a single malignant force. The parts lie still until they sense life amongst them, at which point they slowly start to twitch and move, then creep forward as a swarm of grasping limbs, scratching claws, biting jaws, and crawling torsos. The swarm-like nature of the charnel carpet has many implications in combat. It is nearly impossible to miss the carpet; the attack roll represents hitting something important. It can take a lot of damage before being destroyed, receiving 6-8 (1d3+5) hit points per die. It is immune to missile weapons, and takes only half damage from area effect weapons and spells. It receives a +1 bonus to initiative, winning ties. Because it is so low to the ground, it ignores any shield bonus its opponents may have. Every living creature within it will be attacked once per round. Damge is dependent on how many creatures it is currently fighting:
1 1d12
2 1d10
3-4 1d8
5-6 1d6
7+ 1d4
Anything killed by the carpet becomes part of it, effectively 'healing' it 2d8hp, even above its normal maximum. Movement 'within' a charnel carpet is reduced to 1/3 normal. A charnel carpet does not posess treasure, as such, but there may be a good deal of incidental treasure amongst the decay, equivalent to treasure type U (HC VI) x 1d6-1 and treasure type V (HC VII) x 1d4-1. In addition, there will be 2d6-2 mundane weapons & shields. A weapon or shield will be easy to pick up, if desired, but characters rooting around for other treasures will need to make a saving throw vs. poison to find anyting before giving up in disgust. The statistics presented here are for a carpet of approximately 30' in diameter (c. 700 square feet). Larger specimens may exist, having proportionately more hit dice.




Festering Ones

No. Enc.: 1-8
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 90' (30')
Armor Class: 13/8
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1-8
Save: F1
Morale: 12
Treasure Type / Hoard Class: Nil / Nil
XP:

Festering Ones are corpses animated by the foul magic given physical form. They are equal to zombies in almost all respects (standard undead immunities, always losing initiative, etc.) but never use weapons, attacking with teeth, claws, or fists. They are kept in a constant state of horrible putrefaction, dripping and oozing corruption over their whole surface. Anyone injured in combat by a festering one must make a save vs. poison or contract a hideous rotting disease (see below). Anyone killed by a festering one or by the disease will rise again as a festering one themself in approximately 24 hours.

Festering Disease: Incubation period 4 hours, Interval 8 hours, Infection time 2 weeks, attacks CON.
After 4 hours an infected person will start to show symptoms, a sort of creeping gangrenous growth which spread outward from the wounded area to cover the entire body. Every 8 hours after that, the victim must make another poison save or lose a point of CON. If CON reaches 0, the victim dies. If they survive 2 weeks, CON will be regained at normal rates. A Cure Disease spell will be effective as normal. Anyone coming into contact with an infected person after the incubation period must themselves make a save vs. poison to avoid contracting the disease, though only once per week.

No comments:

Post a Comment