Showing posts with label Swords & Wizardry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swords & Wizardry. Show all posts

Monday, November 6, 2017

Red Hordelings [White Star / Space Age Sorcery]


Red Hordeling
ARMOR CLASS
5 [14]
HIT DICE
3 [May Advance as Brutes, Fighters, Rangers or Assassins]
TOTAL HIT BONUS
+3
ATTACKS
2 Nano-Obsidian Blades (2d4+2, each)*
SAVING THROW
16
SPECIAL
Boneless, Hyper-Dexterity, Expand/Contract, Bloodheal
Movement
8
HDE/XP
4/175

* Nano-Obsidian Blades ignore most common forms of shielding and inflict double damage on a natural roll of 19 or 20 when striking Machine-based or Cybernetically-enhanced foes. Should a non-Hordeling attempt to wield one of these nasty weapons, there is a10% chance ofthe weapon exploding into a swirling cloud of nanoscale obsidian flakes causing 6d6 damage within a 20' radius...and this chance increases by another 10% every time the weapon is used in combat. All non-Hordelings also suffer a -1 penalty on To Hit rolls using these things as they are arranged for the uniquely boneless grip of a Hordeling.

Boneless: Hordelings are invertebrates with a distributed cartiliginous mesh for a pseudo-skeleton so any melee attacks against them ignore any damage results on a roll of 1.
Hyper-Dexterity: Hordelings can attack in any direction with either hand at no penalty.
Expand/Contract: Anything within 10' is considered within melee reach/range.
Bloodheal: If a Hordeling remains completely stationary for fifteen minutes while bathed/soaking in an opponents blood they can regain 1d6 hit points.


The infamous Red Horde of Trilaxa III are vicious, blood-thirsty invertebrates from a hot, volcanic hellworld who mock all humanoids as clumsy weaklings, especially anyone wielding a ranged weapon. These boneless barbarians can be found in the service to all manner of planetary dictators, interstellar tyrants, crimelords or whomever else desires a private army of ruthless melee-fighters who never question an order and always fight to the very end against any odds as a matter of collective honor.

The Red Horde are ancient rivals to the Jarpha and is is suspected by more than a few academics that the Mistresses of the Horde may in fact have been involved, if not outright responsible for the slow decline of the Jarpha's cognitive processes by way of some very specifically tailored and targeted infectious wetware.



Spellcasters who have attained the Secret of the Scarlet Obelisk gain the means to summon forth a detachment of Red Hordelings in place of the usual creatures they might call forth...unfortunately there is little information provided in the commonly available sources concerning how one might best negotiate a contract with these entities one summoned.

Monday, July 10, 2017

Vertaxian Robots


Vertaxian Robot
ARMOR CLASS
3 [16]
HIT DICE
6
TOTAL HIT BONUS
+4
ATTACKS
Pincers 1d4 each*
SAVING THROW
16
SPECIAL
Neutrinium Alloy Body, Scanners, Self-Repair
Movement
12 (Negrav floater)
HDE/XP
5/240

* Vertaxian Robots can attack three targets (-3 to hit each attack), or two targets (-2 to hit for each attack), or one target with all six pincers (-1 to hit for each attack).

Vertaxian Robots are a remnant of the ancient Vertaxian civilization that died out millennia ago in a conflict with an obscure Star Empire that has been meticulously stricken from all inscriptions or databases, and an alien menace known only as "The Annihilators." These ancient machine relics tend to be found only amidst ruins and dead worlds that were once occupied by their fore-bears where they tend to Great Machines or maintain the atmosphere factories and other mechanisms that sustain exotic alien biomes that have long since run amok.

These robots were never intended to be front-line combat models and so only engage in melee combat under duress. They know hundreds of dead alien languages and some suspect that their crystal-cores might actually preserve the disembodied minds of their progenitors, but this has yet to be verified.

Some individual Vertaxian Robots have shown signs of renewed interest in affairs beyond their age-old ruins. Perhaps they will prove to be benevolent...



Friday, June 23, 2017

Illardin


Illardin
Hit Dice: 1 to 3
Armor Class: 8 [11]
Attacks: 1 (eye-beam for 1d4+1)
Saving Throw: 14
Special: Limited ESP, Telepathy, Telekinesis, Suffer Double Damage from Poison.
Move: Innate Levitation
Alignment: Neutrality
Challenge Level/XP: 5/240+

Equally at home underwater or the surface world, Illardin are intensely curious beings who are fascinated with all aspects of magic and spell casting. If the Illardin recognize someone as a spell-caster of any sort whatsoever, they will attempt to convince this person to become their mentor. Anyone agreeing to teach the Illardin must Save or fall under the effect of a Geas making it impossible for them to advance any further within their primary spell-casting class until such time as they have successfully taught one spell to the Illardin. Successfully teaching a spell to these creatures eliminates the Geas, however there is a base 30% chance that the Illardin will recommend the player character's services to their friends and family, resulting in more 'students' appearing every few weeks.






Monday, June 8, 2015

Ghoul-Kin

Ghoul-Kin
Hit Dice: 1+ (Can gain XP)
Armor Class: 7 [12]
Attacks: 1 weapon (1d6) or 2 claws (1d4+1, 1d4-1) or 1 bite (Paralysis)
Saving Throw: 17
Special:(see below)
Move: 9
Alignment: Chaos
Challenge Level/XP: 1/15

Foul, fetid and fiendishly disposed to the capture and devouring of all trespassers, Ghoul-Kin form small tight-knit communities around the fringes of ghoulish enclaves, catacombs and redoubts.

Degenerate hybrid offspring of the ghouls and their once mostly human ancestors, the Ghoul-Kin see all non-ghoulish kind as either meat or mates.

Ghoul-Kin receive a +2 bonus to all Saves versus Charm or Sleep spells, unless the spell is cast by a ghoul, in which case they suffer a -4 penalty. Their bite will cause temporary paralysis for 1d6 turns if the victim fails their Save.

If considering a playable Ghoul-Kin character...don't...but if you insist, they usually suffer a -4 penalty to their effective CHAR score with all living beings except necromancers. Their CHAR is as rolled for all undead and most magical beings. They can advance as Fighters, Thieves or Magic-Users, but rarely as Clerics, unless they are Cultists. Details will no doubt vary widely from campaign to campaign, setting to setting, world to world.




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Monday, June 1, 2015

Lesser Umbraclopes

Umbraclopes (Lesser)
Hit Dice: 1d4 hit points
Armor Class: 7 [12]
Attacks: 1 weapon (1d4)
Saving Throw: 17
Special:(see below)
Move: 6
Alignment: Neutral
Challenge Level/XP: 1/15

Mimsy little cyclopean humanoids who are notorious for swarming through smaller, damp and dismal passages that most larger-sized denizens and adventurers tend to avoid, Umbraclopes are considered pests and nuisances even by kobolds
.

Unlike undead and other forms of feral or free-ranging shadows, the Umbraclopes appear more like sickly gray-green stains and are vulnerable to normal weapons. When they reach 0-hit points they pop like a soggy balloon filled with noxious vapors, leaving a foul stench that lingers for 1d4 days.




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Monday, May 25, 2015

Angstiverm (Monster Mondays)

Angstiverm
Hit Dice: 2+
Armor Class: 7 [12]
Attacks: 1 Sting (1d4+Poison)
Saving Throw: 17
Special: Poison (see below)
Move: 4/16 (swimming)
Alignment: Neutral
Challenge Level/XP: 3/60

Drab and unremarkable sightless werms coated in a stale-smelling mucous, Angstiverms wriggle and squiggle through brackish bodies of water, delve-bogs, tunnel-marshes, buried lakes and the like. They are not truly aquatic, only taking to the water as it allows them better movement and more opportunity to find prey. Unlucky adventurers can sometimes find these things infesting the carcasses of dead basilisks or other such creatures. Their favorite lurking places tend to be pits, especially those dug as traps in old tombs or the like. There they wait patiently, burrowed into the mucky bottom layer of filth and debris for someone to get stuck and then they strike.


The venom of Angstiverms induces extreme boredom, causing the victim who fails their Save to lose their natural healing ability (no hit points recovered naturally), not be able to sleep, and to lose the ability to concentrate, memorize things, or cast spells for the next 1d4 days.

Angstiverms take double damage from fire or acid, but if so attacked they release a toxic heavier-than-air green miasma that causes 1d4 damage per turn that persists for 1d6 hours.




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Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Alien Meddlers: The Rugalli for White Star


RUGALLI
ARMOR CLASS
6 [13]
HIT DICE
3
TOTAL HIT BONUS
+3
ATTACKS
By weapon
SAVING THROW
16
SPECIAL
Regeneration, Healing Touch, Rejection Protocol
Movement
12
HDE/XP
00/00


Rugalli are ancient beings who wander through space aboard a few heavily colonized rogue planets and moon-ships. They do not employ FTL-drives, preferring to coast along for centuries as they focus on medical research and biological experimentation. Famous and much sought after for their healing abilities, the Rugalli have accomplished incredible feats of medical science well beyond the norm of most space-faring species. 

Rugalli regenerate 1 hit point per turn and can restore 1d4 hit points to anyone they touch once per hour. Any cyborgs or those with technological implants who are touched by a Rugalli automatically take 1d6 points of damage and must make a Saving Throw or find one piece of cybernetic technology rejected and expelled from their bodies as a living replacement takes its place.


Monday, May 11, 2015

Zagmus

Zagmus
Hit Dice: 2+
Armor Class: 7 [12]
Attacks: 4 Tentacle-Stings (1 hp each)
Saving Throw: 13
Special: Immune to Fire, Dissolve Organics.
Move: 9
Alignment: Chaos
Challenge Level/XP: 6/400

Distorted and deranged creations of a Pestimancer, the Zagmus wanders about blindly in search of prey. Their tentacles end in stubby stingers that emit a viscous yellowish fluid that causes all organic matter it touches to dissolve so the nasty thing can then slurp up the sloppy mess it makes.

Anyone taking more than six points of damage in a single encounter with a Zagmus must make a Save or lose either 1 point of CHAR or DEX, player's choice, due to the disfiguring effects of its dissolving attack. Magical healing will restore this loss, but mundane efforts will be to no avail.




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Monday, May 4, 2015

Observant Sludge

Observant Sludge
Hit Dice: 3
Armor Class: 7 [12]
Attacks: 1 Spore-spray (1d4+Poison) or by spell
Saving Throw: 16
Special: Has base 25% chance to learn any first-level spell it observes being cast.
Move: n/a
Alignment: Chaos
Challenge Level/XP: 3/60

Precocious and pernicious ooze-things that slowly seep through ceilings as they patiently, quietly observe everything around them. These things will only attack in self-defense. They prefer to simply watch, that they might learn another new spell. Any given specimen knows 1d4 random First Level Spells (possibly including one or more from Space Age Sorcery). There are rumors of more powerful versions of these creatures in the deeper regions of notorious dungeons...



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Saturday, May 2, 2015

Ophidiophage (Flying Spiders)

Ophidiophage
Hit Dice: 2+
Armor Class: 7 [12]
Attacks: 1 Bite (1d6+Poison)
Saving Throw: 16
Special: Quiet Flight gain +2 on initial attack
Move: 8/15 (flying)
Alignment: Chaos
Challenge Level/XP: 2/30

Aerial arachnid predators that primarily seek out serpents, these winged spiders will settle for any warm-blooded mammal that they can ambush successfully. Their poison paralyzes their victim for 1d6 turns, Save for half duration. They will flutter off into the distance after draining 3d6 hit points worth of blood from any one victim.

Who knew these things would turn out to have a real-world version?



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Friday, May 1, 2015

Yr-Go

Yr-Go
Hit Dice: 3
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Attacks: 2 Pincers (1d4+2 each)
Saving Throw: 12
Special: See Invisible, Immune to Sleep or Charm.
Move: 9/15 (flying)
Alignment: Chaos
Challenge Level/XP: 3/60

Winged fungal-crustacean-homunculus servants of the Ymids. The Yr-Go regenerate at a rate of 1 hit point per hour and can only be completely destroyed by acid, fire or spells. It is rumored that these things sneak into the camps of adventurers in order to steal an eye-ball from unwary and unlucky victims; they use these stolen eyes to replicate themselves. More than a few who've lost an eye to the Yr-Go have gone mad from things they've glimpsed in their sleep.


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Friday, April 17, 2015

Gargaim

Gargaim
Hit Dice: 4
Armor Class: 6 [13]
Attacks: 2 Claws (1d2), 1 Bite (1d6), or Weapon(1d6)
Saving Throw: 12
Special: Immune to silver weapons, half damage from magic weapons.
Move:9
Alignment: Chaos
Challenge Level/XP: 3/60

Fetid and grotesque scavengers who lurk in sewers and dumps and constantly mutter and grumble to themselves in a singularly uncouth language, Gargaim are as ungrateful as they are unwelcome within the communities they feed upon. Narrow-minded and easily distracted, they can be temporarily placated in most instances by tossing them a few copper coins or bits of colored glass. Of course once you pass on your way to better things, the Gargaim go out of their way to stir up any other creatures in the immediate vicinity in order to set them after you...




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Skreecher

Skreecher
Hit Dice: 2+
Armor Class: 6 [13]
Attacks: 2 Claws (1d4), or weapon
Saving Throw: 14
Special: Spell-use.
Move:9
Alignment: Chaos
Challenge Level/XP: 3/60

Greedy, cunning and conniving; Skreechers rove the underworld in search of spell-casters to ambush. They delight in torturing captive magic-users into teaching them new spells and they quickly confiscate every tome, scroll, codex, spell-book or grimoire they can beg, borrow or steal.

Skreechers progress as Magic-Users, but require an additional 30% XP per level to advance.




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Yrrzael (Tishga-Drones)

Yrrzael
Hit Dice: 4
Armor Class: 6 [13], 5[14] with shield
Attacks: 4 weapons (1d6, 1d6, 1d4, 1d4), or acid
Saving Throw: 13
Special: Acid, Split attacks between multiple opponents.
Move:14
Alignment: Neutrality
Challenge Level/XP: 5/240

Despoilers of graves and looters of tombs, the Yrrzael are the buzzing war-drones of a maggot-ruled empire that does not claim territory, but rather seizes upon the bodies of the dead. All dead flesh is theirs by decree of the Maggot-Mages and their Veiled Empress. They lay their eggs where they will and feed upon all that die and this has led them into conflict with the ghouls who are as likely as any to fall victim to these insatiable, implacable things...




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Vhyl Katub

Vhyl Katub
Hit Dice: 8
Armor Class: 4 [15]
Attacks: 2 Pincers (2d6+2), 1 Bite (3d6), or acid spray
Saving Throw: 11
Special: Immunities, Acid.
Move:10
Alignment: Neutrality
Challenge Level/XP: 11/1700

The Vhyl Katub are strange, alien beings summoned to guard ancient tombs and reliquaries. Immune to fire, cold and poison these weird worm-things tirelessly slither about their sealed domains along routes that have remained unchanged for millennia. 




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Jirin

Jirin
Hit Dice: 4
Armor Class: 2 [17]
Attacks: 1 Fist (1d4+2) or 1 Weapon (1d6+1)
Saving Throw: 11
Special: Consume Magic, Dispel Magic.
Move:12
Alignment: Neutrality
Challenge Level/XP: 5/240

Powerfully-built hairless humanoids with extremely thick skin that they sometimes fit with spikes or studs, Jirin consume the pages of spell books and scrolls as though such things were the sweetest candy and they drain magic items like drinking wine from a bottle.

They also have a 90% chance to dispel any first level spell cast within 30' of them, an 80% chance to dispel second level spells, 70% chance to dispel third level, 60% chance to dispel fourth level spells, 50% chance to dispel fifth level spells, 40% chance to dispel sixth level spells, 30% chance to dispel seventh level spells, 20% chance to dispel eighth level spells, and a 10% chance to dispel ninth level spells.

Any magic weapon striking a Jirin runs a cumulative 5% chance of losing one of its enchantments or bonuses determined at random.

The Jirin cannot wield a magical weapon unless it is first completely drained of all power. This can be accomplished by simply holding the item in their hands for one hour per magical plus of the weapon and also applies to armor.

Magical potions make them sick and they cannot be healed by magic, nor can they be raised or resurrected, which may explain their intense hatred for Clerics in particular.





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Reptin

Reptin
Hit Dice: 2+1
Armor Class: 3 [16]
Attacks: 1 Bite (1d4+Poison), 1 Javelin (1d4+1), Sword(1d6+1)
Saving Throw: 14
Special: Immune to Sleep, Fear or Charm.
Move:12 (Cannot swim)
Alignment: Neutrality
Challenge Level/XP: 3/60

Some would characterize the Reptin as slow and plodding, but those fools never faced them in battle. Reptin are disciplined soldiers whose ancestors built a vast world-girdling empire long, long ago. But that was before the Great Cataclysm and the treachery of the serpentine nobles. Now they serve as mercenaries to the younger, weaker races.

Reptin wear heavy bronze armor that is riveted in place once they reach maturity and is never removed. They take a very dim view of anyone looting their fallen comrades and have been known to break off in the middle of an attack to go after bands of scavengers that tried to recover some of their armor. The armor of the fallen must be recovered to hand it down to the next cycle of hatchlings, such is the way of their people for uncounted thousands of years.

They preserve the old lore of their ancestors regarding the fine points of bronze-casting and are very likely the greatest experts and artisans who work exclusively in bronze active in the world today. Reptin smiths not only know the secret to making extremely hard bronze, they also manufacture Hepatizon and other more exotic forms of bronze. It is rumored that more than two-thirds of the bronze golems discovered are Reptin creations. They are also quite infamous for their skill in demolishing or dismantling such constructs.

The hidden egg-pits of the Reptin are rumored to be tended by special bronze golems, in order to free the Reptin to wage war.





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Aztil

Aztil
Hit Dice: 2+1
Armor Class: 7 [12]
Attacks: 1 Weapon (1d6)
Saving Throw: 13
Special: Surprise opponents on a 1-3.
Move:12
Alignment: Chaos
Challenge Level/XP: 3/60

Sneaky humanoids who live deep within woodland regions, the Aztil are notorious for setting all manner of traps to scare, injure or kill intruders. There is a base 30% chance that any encounter with the Aztil will instead be with one or more of their traps. Snares, pits filled with spikes, and springy tree-limbs fitted with stakes seem to be the most common traps they are likely to use, but there is no end to the perverse ingenuity of these creatures.

Aztil have no spoken language, but instead rely upon gesture and hand-signs to communicate. They also make use of an intricately carved system of runes for recording significant events, their history and lore. It is suspected that the Aztil have developed a form of runic spell-casting, but this has yet to be confirmed.




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Skin Taker

Skin Taker
Hit Dice: 2
Armor Class: 8 [11]
Attacks: 1 Touch (1d4+Con drain)
Saving Throw: 12
Special: Drains 1 Con with hit, can only be hurt by spells or magic weapons, takes over corpses.
Move:10
Alignment: Chaos
Challenge Level/XP: 4/120

Completely intact skins of sacrificed cultists that prowl through back-alleys and dismal passages in search of victims. They are not undead; these things did not die in the course of being removed from their original owners and if they continue to prey upon others, they might even be immortal.

The wet, sloppy touch of a Skin Taker drains one point of Constitution on each successful attack, and if the victim is reduced to zero, the Skin Taker will attempt to transform their victim into another of these despicable creatures as their skin is removed through an arcane ritual taking one hour (6 Turns). If the ritual is disrupted, the victim's skin will blacken and shrivel into dust. The remainder of the victim's flesh might be recoverable through some sort of magical intervention, but those resurrected after such an attack often lack their outermost layers of skin. Survivors of a Skin Taker's assault usually regain their Constitution after 120 minutes (12 Turns).




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Flame Snails

Originally published in Silver Griffin, Issue No.10, circa 1989
Flame Snails
Hit Dice: 6
Armor Class: 7 [12]
Attacks: 1 Flaming Acid Spittle (1d6+4), Burning Crush (4d4)
Saving Throw: 10
Special: Surrounded by fire.
Move:6
Alignment: Neutrality
Challenge Level/XP: 5/240

Huge, lumbering molluscs wreathed in otherworldly fire, Flame Snails tend to wander about aimlessly, setting everything they touch on fire and generally being a nuisance. They are believed to have been summoned from a distant alien world to serve in place of an ancient emperor's war elephants that were decimated by a magical plague. The Flame Snails may or may not have worked out; there are no reliable records left from that time, only folklore and spurious tavern tales. Any spells or magical items used to control or direct these blazing behemoths are likewise lost or forgotten, and would fetch a good price from those trying to rid themselves of these things.

The one major redeeming quality of these creatures is their implacable rage when confronted by any sort of undead creature. Flame Snails will tirelessly attack any and every undead enemy they can hit or crush.




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