Tuesday, October 13, 2020

6 Monsters who are Thing + Thing

[1] Abbot Gnome
HD- 1-1
AC- 12
Morale- 8 / “With Party”
Numbers- Just one
Attacks- (-2 to hit) Useless flailing at 1d2
Abilities- Religious, Obliviousness, Cleric Spells (x2)

The Abbot Gnome is an unusual monster. It looks like a pale skinned gnome-ish creature usually found deep within the Earth. It is always wearing religious attire, welcomes the party warmly, and asks to accompany them for its blessing. The Abbot Gnome always detects as Lawful Good. It chides party members about their lack of faith or morality. The Abbot Gnome can also cast up to 2 Cleric spells per day, but when using these to heal the party they always roll the lowest possible result, where as when it heals itself it always gets the maximum result instead.

The Abbot Gnome seems to be in truth a spirit of mischief, as its constant oblivious nature and uselessness get people into trouble. It screams loudly upon failing a morale check whenever it sees an enemy monster (morale at 8, but doesn't run from combat unless party runs), it leans up against trap switches accidentally, or suggests the party go down paths or take courses of action that will end up leading in disaster even if they seemed reasonable on the surface.

After traveling with the party for 2d6 turns or upon return to the next town or safe spot, the Abbot Gnome will bid the party farewell. If the party killed the gnome before them, or put up with it until that point, the Gnome's burden upon them will finally be gone.

[2] Button Gryphon
HD- 7
AC- 14
Morale- 12
Numbers- 1 or 2
Attacks- (+2 to hit) Two Claw attacks at 1d6+1
Abilities- Flight, Button Open & Close, Inner Weakspot

Appearing as a large bodied gyphon; except without a head. The combination of eagle and lion looks mostly normal until reaching its front, where the head is gone. Instead, its skin and fur is split into two halves much like the top of a piece of clothing, bound together by a single large blue button. The Button Gryphon can “pop” this button on or off in order to activate its magical power of opening or locking. Inside the space between the gryphons two halves is its normal flesh and fluff of downy feathers; but it is weak to damage in the event that you stab between its two skins while its button is open. In that case, your attacks deal +2 damage.

Whenever the button on the gryphon pops open and undone, this activates the power of opening. Nearby, all objects that can open or be fastened open do so. Bottles uncork, arrows fall from loosed quivers, swords shoot out of sheathes, and so on. There is no save against this power, unless if the opening is part of the person's body. For example, a Frakenstien monster as a player character, whose brain can be detached at will through a hole in their head. The Gryphon can use this power to open up plated armor if it is fastened tight.

Whenever the button on the gryphon pops closed, this creates a loud snapping noise. All within striking distance take 1d4+1 damage from the shockwave and are pushed backwards. This attack can only be avoided by fighting at range or by using a spear or other long-reaching weapon.

Finally, the Gryphon will use this ability once every other round, shifting between open and closed. It may also use this ability intelligently, usually to find prey that hides itself inside of something like a closed barrel with a lid or what have you.

[3] Pawn Eel
HD- 2
AC- 13
Morale- 10 (12 if defending nest)
Numbers- 1d4+1
Attacks- (+1 to hit) d4 Bite
Abilities- Slinky, Pawn

Appearing as a small, winding gray-green eel, it can appear in both aquatic and out-of-water environments, slinking through the air as though untouched by gravity. It has the rough intelligence of a human, and can speak. The eel kills and eats small dungeon prey, like gremlins or rats of a non-giant variety. It is disinterested in fighting humans, but will defend its nest.

This creature is notable because of its strange tenancy to hoard the objects of others; but only as a pawnbroker. The Pawn Eel will offer advice or directions in the dungeon, but will demand a token or valuable object of your own before answering. It will take the object back to its nest and protect it among its eggs and mates, only returning the object when you fulfill your end of the bargain. Often the Eel will ask you to perform a quest for it, or a cut of a treasure haul. As they have poor eyesight, it is often possible to trick them; such as by giving them a back up sword instead of your magic sword that they ask for as a 'deposit' on their guidance. It is not difficult to kill an eel and simply reclaim whatever it took from you, or to raid its nest, but the eels tend to make their nests in very tight tunnels and snakey passages, making it nearly impossible for you to retrieve your objects without the eel's help.

[4] Snakeskin Jerkin Bodkin
HD- 4
AC- 13
Morale- 9 (13 if worn)
Numbers- Just one
Attacks- Bodkin Pierce at 1d4+1 (automatic hit if worn)
Abilities- Cursed Clothing, Unassuming Appearance

This monster appears as inanimate when first seen. It tends to drap itself over cloth racks, or sometimes wait patiently, even folding itself up, in dusty old cabinets and wardrobes. This monster appears as a snakeskin jerkin or leather vest. Anyone can tell from a glance that it is a high quality bit of leather; if worn, it counts as a leather armor of one higher armor class or value. In most games, leather armor is 12 AC, so this snakeskin jerkin counts as 13 if worn.

However, the monster is still murderous. The moment it is put on, it will stab whoever is wearing it with a tiny bodkin arrow point that materializes from between its scales. This bodkin can stab inward (automatically hitting the wearer of the vest without a to-hit roll) or can stab outwards towards those touching the jerkin or the person wearing it. Even if not being worn; there is a 1 in 6 chance that whenever it is touched, moved into a pack, examined closely, or draped over something it will attack the person touching it by shoving the bodkin into them.

This object is also slightly cursed. As long as it is “alive” the person wearing it must make a save to take it off. Additionally, anyone who tries to attack the Jerkin while it is worn will just attack the person wearing it in addition to the monster. If the Jerkin is “killed” or dispelled without too much damage being done to it, it will serve as a useful bit of armor.

[5] Suicide Box
HD- 2
AC- 10
Morale- N/A
Numbers- 2d4
Attacks- N/A
Abilities- Suicidal Instinct, Damage Reversal, Damage Sending

These boxes are animated objects. They are small wooden cubes that rattle when they move- within the boxes are collections of beads and finger bones, possibly ritual accouterments to create these beings. The boxes shuffle and flip over their corners to scoot around the floor and move towards intruders and can also leap about 6 feet up in the air.

The suicide boxes have only one goal; to kill themselves. Since they are made of wood, they prefer to go for fire sources (like your torch), but can be split apart by axes and the like. Whenever they find a group of adventurers, the boxes will try very hard to break themselves on them, or get the people to attack them. Whenever a box takes damage, it deals the same amount of damage back to whoever did it against them. If you split a box open for 8 damage points, you take 8 points of damage. The wounds just appear on your body spontaneously.

If the damage dealt to a box was directly dealt by a character, they take the full damage.
If the damage deal to a box was indirectly dealt, such as the box jumping onto a held weapon, they take half the damage the box takes.
If the damage dealt to a box was not related to a character's action, nearest character takes 1d2. This damage 'sending' does not go through walls or past a range of ~30 ft

While fighting the boxes, player-characters get a new combat option- batting away the box without hitting it with full force. This just deals 1 damage to the box, and as such the player-character only takes 1 damage, but can knock a box back or shove it down a hole. Whenever these things are encountered, it is best to stuff them somewhere they can't hurt themselves or somehow defeat them without destroying them.

[6] Plow Badger
HD- 1+5
AC- 11
Morale- 12
Numbers- 1d3
Attacks- (+1 to hit) Soilclaws at 2d3
Abilities- Burrowing, Stubbornness

These broad-headed badgers are extremely proficient diggers, and can dig furrows of soil about as fast as a man can walk. They can be absolute hell on any farmer's field, and all the ones left in the wild are considerably tougher and more stubborn as a result. The ones who died to terriers digging them out of their burrows didn't pass on their genes. In some civilized parts of the world, these badgers are instead trained to plow fields; a team of them perform about a well as an ox-plow team. They can use this burrowing ability to escape through the underbrush or to move without being able to be hit by arrows, of which only a few are smart enough to know tactically; though many advance towards intruders while burrowing by instinct, leading to the same result.

The Plow Badgers are known to be territorial and aggressive. They don't care about things moving around them on the surface, but will become aggressive and attack if their digging is stopped or they run into an object that shouldn't be there (they are well aware of the half-buried boulders in their territory, and will get irritated if something new is added.) This aggression also applies to those who dig in the soil while they are present; trying to dig a grave or latrine in Plow Badger territory can be quite an ordeal just for them.

Finally, the Plow Badgers are very stubborn. This stubbornness means that, if encountered in combat, they will be be immune to mind affecting spells, charm, mind control, and paralysis. For effects too powerful to be stopped by a simple dumb little badger, just make it take 3 rounds for the spell effect to sink into that thick skull.

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