http://www.headinjurytheater.com/article73.htm
I was surprised no Mystara-specific creatures made it to the list. Anyone have any good candidates?
BTW, do the Snartans have Autognomes?
Havard
I was surprised no Mystara-specific creatures made it to the list. Anyone have any good candidates?
Though there are several OD&D monsters -- Owlbear, Gelatinous Cube.
BTW, do the Snartans have Autognomes?
Why not?
G.
Anyone have any good candidates?
Megolel Paz, the “Poogold” :D
I was surprised no Mystara-specific creatures made it to the list.
Anyone have any good candidates?
The Vulcanian Sloth is pretty lame, in my opinion :D
Even the Shrieker is not the very most logical monster in the bestiary... ;)
I remember I once invented a "monster disguised as coins" monster. I can't remember what i called them
The 3.5e Dracnonomicon has something similar - the hoard scarab
Regards
Gary
Megolel Paz, the “Poogold” :D
Oh definately
Havard
Barrick, Decapus, Plopped, Thoul, original explanation for the Gnoll (mix of Gnome and Troll)...
Which one's the Barrick again? Or where is it from?
The others are good candidates I agree
The Thoul is only silly if you take the old explanation into account (but I guess you have to). I've tried to make it less silly by making Thouls into Hobgoblins who have undergone a kind of dark ritual involving Ghoul blood. This doesn't really explain why they have the regeneration of Trolls, but what can you do?
Havard
Which one's the Barrick again? Or where is it from?
Oops, I misspelled it, Baric: (original recalled B3)
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20020121x7
Baric
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 5
Move: 120’ (40’)
Attacks: 3
Damage: 1-4/1-4/1-10
No. Appearing: 1-8
Save As: F5
Morale: 8
Treasure Type: Nil
Alignment: N
This rat-like creature has 6 legs, black fur, and eyes that glow white
just before it attacks. Instead of a normal rat-like face, the baric has
a duck-like bill. The bill is filled with many rows of small, needle
sharp teeth. This tough scavenger has been known to defeat a small
pack of wild dogs by itself, and is considered an excellent hunter.
Barics do not form family units, but they can be seen in packs running
wild in woods not frequented by humans or human-kind. The
strongest baric is the leader of the pack, and their social system
resembles that of wild wolves.
Barics are sometimes used for hunting or for pursuing escaped prisoners or slaves. However, due to their unpredictable nature, training
and handling a baric is very dangerous. Many have turned on
their trainers and killed them before they could be saved.
Barics are approximately 3 feet long and weigh about 40 to 50
pounds. Some males have been known to reach a length of 7 feet
and weigh nearly 150 pounds.
Females usually give birth to between 2 and 5 pups two or three
times a year. Twenty percent of these do not live to adulthood as the
males tend to eat them when the females are not around to protect
the young.
Some other creatures that I forgot about from this module:
Bubbles
Armor Class: 9
Hit Dice: ½
Move: 90’ (30’)
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1-4 + paralyzation
No. Appearing: 3-18
Save As: F1
Morale: 9
Treasure Type: J
Alignment: N
Bubbles are giant air pockets that have been given life and intelligence
by countless unsuccessful magical potion experiments that
were discarded into the water where they were formed. After years
of this thoughtless dumping, the potions mixed together to create
these bubble monsters, and for the most part bubbles will only be
found in this module. (Though it is possible that a few might escape
into a stream or river and be carried elsewhere.)
If a bubble successfully hits and paralyzes its opponent that opponent
will be engulfed by the bubble if the victim falls into the water
(30% chance of this happening). An engulfed victim will suffocate
in 2-5 (1d4 + 1) rounds unless someone kills the bubble, thus releasing
the victim. This must be done before the bubble sinks back into
the depths of the water from which it came. Once the victim is dead
the bubble will expel the body, rise to the surface and attack again.
The body, unless armored, will float to the surface. A bubble, once
destroyed, will reform into 2 more bubbles in 36 turns, unless the
water it inhabits is drained onto an open flat area and then dried or
absorbed into something such as cloth, earth, etc.
Diger
Armor Class: 9, Eye dc
Hit Dice: 2
Move: 9’ (3’) Flying 90’ (30’) Swimming 120’ (40’)
Attacks: 1
Damage: Paralysis
No. Appearing: 1
Save As: M2
Morale: 8
Treasure Type: 0
Alignment: N
This unique creature can only be found in remote abandoned ruins
where it seeks stone areas in order to disguise itself as a marble
pool. It is capable of flying short distances by expanding its rubbery
body with natural helium. It expels the helium in short puffs from
one of four openings on its body. These openings aid the diger in
movement. The diger is only able to fly for 8 turns before it must
land and rest for 24 turns. When swimming the diger simply expels
the helium as with flying, but glides farther and need only rest after
swimming for 20 turns. Its favorite mode of travel is to enter a large
river or stream, glide out to a strong current and float along the
surface. When moving in this fashion, the diger need not rest except
to sleep.
The diger has no method of attack except to paralyze whatever may
happen to come in contact with the paralyzing liquid it secretes as
part of its camouflage. A save vs. Paralyzation at + 2 is allowed.
Once a paralyzed person has fallen into the diger’s liquid, that person
and all of his or her belongings (including metal objects) will
dissolve and be ingested by the diger within 48 turns.
Monkey, Giant Marmoset
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 3
Move: 180’ (60’)
Attacks: 4
Damage: 1-6/1-6/1-8/1-4
No. Appearing: 2-8
Save As: F3
Morale: 8
Treasure Type: J
Alignment: N
These ferocious monkeys roam the jungles freely and unopposed,
for they are fierce and cunning fighters. Though their natural
weapons cause a great deal of damage, they often prefer to throw
large stones from the side of a cliff down onto their prey. If fighting
on the ground, they will also use their furry tail spike (D: 1-4) in
battle, but if in the trees, they will hang from their tails and use
their bite and claws instead.
They travel in large family groups; the males outnumber the
females and every female will have at least 1 young with her. If a
young marmoset monkey can be caught and trained, it will make an
excellent guard. Some monkeys grow large enough for a halfling to
comfortably ride, and some halflings living in jungles have been
seen riding them into battle.
Ubue
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 3
Move: 60’ (20’)
Attacks: 1-6/1-4/1-6
No. Appearing: 3-30
Save As: F3
Morale: 3
Treasure Type: Q, U, V
Alignment: C
These beings vaguely resemble humans, but have three heads,
three arms and three legs. One of the three heads will always be of
a different sex from the other two and it will always be in the middle.
The sex of the ubue is determined by how many heads it has of one
sex. Two male heads indicates it will be male and vice versa. Due to
this division of heads, there is a great deal of argument between the
heads from time to time. Sometimes these arguments are untimely,
as in the middle of a battle (15% chance).
The social system of the ubues is simple. The strongest male ubue is
the tribal chief. A male ubue can at any time challenge the chief for
the right to be the new ruler. If the challenger loses, he is forced to
leave the tribe for a period of 4 seasons. His family, if he has one, is
often exiled with him. If the chief loses, he simply becomes one of
the village elders and will always have voice in the council.
Female ubues generally give birth to only one child at a time. If
more than one babe is born, the tribe’s shaman will kill one of the
babies. If one of the babes is female and the other male, it will be
the female that dies, otherwise the shaman cast sticks onto the
floor searching for signs from the gods as to which child to slay.
Ubues have pale flesh, and in all features appear as a human. They
wear animal skins, and use bones as hair decorations and jewelry.
Sit Ubue, Sit. Silly Monster.
- Batracine: the bulldog/frog.
- Caniquine: Front half dog/rear half horse.
- Fachan: One-eyed, one-armed, one-legged ogre.
- Feliquine: Front half lion/rear half horse.
- Grudgeling: Body of a domestic cat, head of a human.
- Lupasus: Winged wolves
- Omm'wa: Intelligent manatees
- Tyminid: Winged wolverines
- Vulturehound: Vulture head and wings, dog body.
Sit Ubue, Sit. Silly Monster.
Now that's just hilarious! :D
Pretty much run through the Savage Coast Monster Compendium. Full of silly.
- Batracine: the bulldog/frog.
- Caniquine: Front half dog/rear half horse.
- Fachan: One-eyed, one-armed, one-legged ogre.
- Feliquine: Front half lion/rear half horse.
- Grudgeling: Body of a domestic cat, head of a human.
- Lupasus: Winged wolves
- Omm'wa: Intelligent manatees
- Tyminid: Winged wolverines
- Vulturehound: Vulture head and wings, dog body.
Certainly agree with this, but with two holdouts; I believe the Fachan has more history to it than just being a D&D monster (still doesn't mean it's not a silly monster), and the Omm'wa. For some reason that one sounds 'right' in a fantasy setting even though I'll be jiggered if I knew why.
and the Omm'wa. For some reason that one sounds 'right' in a fantasy setting even though I'll be jiggered if I knew why.
Well, maybe it's just the art showing a manatee wearing a backpack.
;)
Now that's just hilarious! :D
Certainly agree with this, but with two holdouts; I believe the Fachan has more history to it than just being a D&D monster (still doesn't mean it's not a silly monster), and the Omm'wa. For some reason that one sounds 'right' in a fantasy setting even though I'll be jiggered if I knew why.
It is a monster from Scottish Folklore:
The Fachan is a very ugly creature from the western highlands of Scotland. He is portrayed with one leg, one arm and one eye (some tales say one of everything- one finger, one toe, etc...) Basically a big, vicious and grumpy fairy. Also called a Peg-Leg Jack, it is fond of high mountains, attacking travellers and has been known to guard whiskey distilleries.
Unique creatures. Quite simply, make the chosen "silly" monster one-of-a-kind, despite what the description might say otherwise. Your world, your rules. So how or why make them unique? Well, what about a curse? Lets say a Hag or ticked off wizard polymorphed someone into one of the "silly" monsters as a punishment (deserved or not). What would be more humiliating for, lets say, a prince to be turned into Grudgeling? The big question is then, how are you going to reverse the curse?
Even some of the "cool" monsters i have made unique. The Actaeon is one indivdual (who's name is Acteaon) who was a druid transformed by his Immortal to be a defender of the woods in of Dymrak Forest. The Bargda (also i made the name of the monster his real name) is a proud warrior struck down by a curse. The Crone of Chaos is one of a kind. The Ghostly Horde can be found in the Dwarfgates Mountains in Darokin. And ohters, like the Gray Philosopher, Nagpa, and Wyrd i have made special and unique, just to make the story more interesting, IMHO.
The curse reason is always fun and simple, but what about twisted experiments? What if you have a wizard that is running a parallel to a Dr. Moreau? Some "crazy" wizard that just keeps experimenting and making just bizarre things. Of course, what do you do with the rejects of an experiment? Maybe this wizard has an arena full of these rejects for his amusment or to see if there is any redemable aspects of the creations? So instead of silly they can be precieved as unholy creations.
Another possiblity is a "museum of mysteries." Nothing says that you have to encounter these things in a combat role. what if they were just stuffed and mounted? Again, it could be experiment rejects of the above mentioned wizard. Maybe an Immortal had a bad case of gas and the result was the Caniquine. whatever works.
The point being is that there are ways to utilize anything, no matter how silly they look on the onset. Now, i'm not going to spend hours how to figure out how to incorporate a Baric in my world. To me, it is just not worth it. But maybe you get a good idea to use a Ubue. Mabye that Ubue(s) was the result of a town cused by an Enthropy Immortal? Maybe, part of the curse, fused the townsfolks into the Ubue and this twisted mockery of a town is desperate to find a saviour to free them. Now the Ubue, in that situation, is not so silly. If you just walked along a road and ran into an Ubue, it's not just silly, it's pretty sad.
Now, i want to take a second to defend the Thoul. I like them and I'll tell you why. I use Thouls as the Mystara Uruk-Hai. In my "world", the priests of Hule are "breeding" a creature to be the ultimate warrior. So far, their best result is the Thoul, a regenerating hobgoblin. For me, the purposefully breeding and creating of the Thoul makes them more foul. Again, making a parallel with the Uruk-Hai for Mystara.
Ok, that is my two cents
The Thoul is only silly if you take the old explanation into account (but I guess you have to). I've tried to make it less silly by making Thouls into Hobgoblins who have undergone a kind of dark ritual involving Ghoul blood. This doesn't really explain why they have the regeneration of Trolls, but what can you do?
Not really germane to the topic, but here's a thought for you Havard: Perhaps the Thoul's regeneration isn't strictly "trollish" in origin- maybe their regeneration (which is actually more like fast healing by the original rules- no regen after death) is a matter of their undead replenishment; negative energy performing repairs on their body.
Or, even more ghoulishly, their bodies cannibalize the flesh of the living tissue they consume to replace any missing parts/heal injuries.
Or, even more ghoulishly, their bodies cannibalize the flesh of the living tissue they consume to replace any missing parts/heal injuries.
Idea stolen!
Havard
Well, maybe it's just the art showing a manatee wearing a backpack.
;)
Oh man
. It took me years to forget about that picture and now its back in my head again. :surrender I don't know why they'd think being intelligent was synonymous with 'thinking and behaving like humans'. Remove that 'extra baggage' (sorry for the bad pun) and this creature would be fun to utilize.
Idea stolen!
You're not the only one!
davidrpaige makes some really good comments as well. As the saying goes "its all in the presentation".