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Maloculus

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Armor Category:
2 [17]
Monster Type:
Abomination
Health Dice:
8d8**
Outlook:
Malevolent Chaos
Movement
120′ (30′)
No. Appearing:
Solitary
Morale:
5
Experience:
1200xp
Attacks & Damage:
† Bite 3d6 -- † Tentacles 2d6 plus special (see below).
Special Attacks & Abilities:
Gaze of Doom:  (Save: Spells) The gaze of the maloculus instills fear in even the bravest adventurer. Anyone failing a save vs. spells rolls 1d6. On 1-3, the victim cannot attack and will cower for two rounds. On 4-6, the victim will stare blankly and walk towards the maloculus for 1 round.
†  Tentacle Flail:  The tentacles of the maloculus will whip about during combat. Once per encounter, the maloculus can flail its tentacles to reach an opponent that is up to 10' away. At all other times, such attacks are restricted to adjacent foes.
Treasure & Possessions: 3d10 gold pieces. 20% chance of alien artifact or magic item.

AC [Desc] 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
To Hit 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
AC [Asc] 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Blast or Breath Toxin or Disease Ray or Gaze Magical Device Spells
10 11 12 13 14

Description
Floating eerily through subterranean caverns and staring out at the world through a single malevolent eye, the voracious maloculus is a truly a terror to behold. Both fiendishly intelligent and borderline insane, it is just as likely to regale adventurers with jovial, self-important tales of its own magnificent deeds as it is to devour them piece by piece. Sometimes it will attempt to do both simultaneously.

The origin of the maloculus is lost to history. Some say it is the result of an ancient wizard's attempt to create a myopic dungeon guardian that would keep its single eye focused on the task assigned to it. Others claim that the first maloculus arrived in the world through a rip in the fabric of reality itself from a plane of pure madness. Regardless of its origin, the Death's Head of the Dark is driven by inscrutable motives and a seemingly boundless appetites.

Being little more than a floating head, the maloculus has an immense brain that possesses tremendous raw psionic power. Fortunately for all other lifeforms on the planet, this raw mental power is held in check by the creature's bestial appetites, which prevent it from reaching its full potential. The fraction of its mental power that it is capable of harnessing is still enough to make it a tremendous threat.

Ecology & Tactics
The maloculus spends much of its time in solitude, conversing with only itself for centuries at a time. In the warped mind of the maloculus, this feeds into its megalomania, as it believes its solitude to be a reflection of its singular importance in the world. Each maloculus literally views itself as the center of the world.

When adventurers encounter a maloculus, there is a 25% chance that the creature has spent at least a century in solitude. If has not been solitary, then the creature is likely (75%) to have a retinue of thralls

Even if the adventurers never encounter the creature, the decor of the lair will make it clear that a maloculus lords over it. Everything from tapestries on the walls to the robes or armor of the thralls will be emblazoned with the sigil of the all-seeing eye. (Maloculi are not known for either humility or subtlety). Every maloculus has a distinctive ocular sigil.

Notes
The creature's tendency to acquire thralls and ostentatious lairs can be used to gradually lead the adventurers towards an encounter with a maloculus. Low-level adventurers could stumble upon clues which lead them to an encounter with maloculus thralls. As the adventurers become more skillful, they can find their way to the main lair and confront the creature itself.

Reaper of the Rows

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Armor Category:
2 [17]
Monster Type:
Abomination
Health Dice:
6d8***
Outlook:
Malevolent Order
Movement
120′ (30′)
No. Appearing:
Solitary
Morale:
8
Experience:
950xp
Attacks & Damage:
† Claws(2)1d6 -- † Bite 1d6
Special Attacks & Abilities:
†  Larval Sphere:  (Save: Toxins) Once a victim is in the Reaper's grasp, it will attempt to implant a larval sphere in their abdominal cavity. If successful, a larva will hatch, bond with the host's tissue and begin to mutate the host into an insectoid thrall.
†  Flesh Rending Whirlwind:  Once per combat, the Reaper flails its razor-sharp limbs in every direction, doing maximum melee damage (2d6) to each creature within a 10′ radius.
Sinister Suggestion:  (Save: Spells) Dominate 1d6 individuals. Victim who fails save will be able to attempt a number of times per day equal to its intelligence bonus (minimum 1). Dispelled once victim is 5 miles from source.
Treasure & Possessions: 3d10 gold pieces. 20% chance of alien artifact or magic item.

AC [Desc] 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
To Hit 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
AC [Asc] 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Blast or Breath Toxin or Disease Ray or Gaze Magical Device Spells
10 11 12 13 14

Description
Buried beneath the earth for countless millenia and dormant until inadvertently disturbed by a farmer tilling his field, the Reaper of the Rows is an insectoid alien entity worshipped as a god by the residents of a small village. Whether it is a lone exile or the precursor of an invasion force is unknown, but through a combination of fear, mind control and gradual genetic mutation it maintains absolute control over the village beneath which it sleeps.

The Reaper sleeps beneath the field, ever aware of its surroundings. Through much of the year, the village is the very picture of an idyllic farming community.

During the autumn harvest, however, things take a turn for the sinister as the Reaper awakens. Powerful energy beneath the field causes crops to flatten in orderly, symbolic patterns. The residents of the village begin to behave strangely and become hostile to outsiders. Evil tidings culminate on the autumnal equinox, when several villagers are selected by the Reaper during a midnight ceremony and taken below the earth, never to be seen again.

Ecology & Tactics
The Reaper is not fully adapted to the planet's atmosphere. As a result, it spends much of the year hibernating in its lair out of necessity. This lair might be a spacecraft, hive or catacomb depending upon which is most appropriate for the setting. Despite this, it still maintains awareness of its surroundings and will arise if its lair is discovered. If encountered during harvest time (especially during a blood moon), it will be at full strength and will attack with a deadly combination of melee and psychic attacks.

If the characters enter the lair (whether voluntarily or not), they will discover that the missing villagers have been mutated into pathetic half-insect, half-human hybrid thralls that will fight to the death for the Reaper. This is the fate that awaits them as well in short order should they fail to escape.

Vermincarnate

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Armor Category:
7 [12]
Monster Type:
Abomination
Health Dice:
3d8
Outlook:
Malevolent Chaos
Movement
120' (30')
No. Appearing:
1d4
Morale:
6
Experience:
1500xp
Attacks & Damage:
† Claws or Tendrils (2)1d6 -- † Bite 1d6
Special Attacks & Abilities:
†  Toxic Touch:  (Save: Toxins) A wound caused by a vermincarnate attack has a 75% chance of leading to paralysis in 1d6 turns and agonizing death in 2d6 unless the victim successfully saves.
Turn Immunity:  A vermincarnate is not undead and cannot be turned.
Necrophagic Infestation:  It will drag a corpse back to an isolated area to begin the infestation process. Full animation takes 1d4 days.
Treasure & Possessions: 5d6 gold pieces, random shards of weapon and armor. 20% chance of alien artifact or magic item.

AC [Desc] 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
To Hit 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
AC [Asc] 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Blast or Breath Toxin or Disease Ray or Gaze Magical Device Spells
6 7 8 10 9

Description
The vermincarnate, or putrescent scourge, results when the corpse of a murderous soul is devoured from within by a necrophagic alien parasite. Hailing from a dead world beyond the stars, this putrescent scourge has found a new home in the dark corners of the world; infesting, reanimating and consuming its hosts.

Unable to move far by itself, the vermincarnate relies upon a host cadaver for ambulation. It is easily mistaken for undead at a distance, but is just an animated husk and as such is immune to turning.

Ecology & Tactics
While in the pupal stage, the vermincarnate covers its host corpse in an air-tight film of noxious slime. As it develops, it remains in hiding, gradually overtaking the entire muscular and nervous systems of its deceased host. Only when it fully matures and emerges from its mucus sac is it capable of animating its host cadaver. A vermincarnate has a limited lifespan, as it derives its food primarily from the host. The parasite can remain hidden within the host, revealing itself only when threatened. In its final stage, the vermincarnate appears as a mass of writhing alien worms in the approximate shape of the now devoured host.

While it cannot infest the living yet, a vermincarnate has only one goal once it has successfully animated a host; the procurement of the next one. It attacks with single-minded savagery; lacerating opponents with claws and tendrils, using biotoxins to free up an adversary's body for its own purposes. It is driven by one primal urge: survival. If it does not find a host soon after consuming its current one, it will die.

Notes
This monster was inspired by any of a number of horrific parasites in fiction and film, but is also a homage to death metal cover art. The monster's name sounds so much like a band name that I made a logo for it.

Dolmen Wight

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Armor Category:
5 [14]
Monster Type:
Undead
Health Dice:
3*
Outlook:
Order
Movement
90' (30')
No. Appearing:
1d4
Morale:
12
Experience:
100xp
Attacks & Damage:
† Claws (2)1d4 -- † or →Weapon (1d6 or variable)
Special Attacks & Abilities:
→ Withering Gaze: (Save: Spells) The deathless stare of the dolmen wight causes its opponents to lose their nerve. -2 to attack, -2 to damage unless save succeeds.
Treasure & Possessions: Rotted garments, corroded blade (only sharp for wight), 1d10gp, 3d10cp, golden torc

AC [Desc] 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
To Hit 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
AC [Asc] 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Blast or Breath Toxin or Disease Ray or Gaze Magical Device Spells
15 - 12 13 16

Description
Dolmen wights are the dessicated, animated corpses of bronze age warriors who have been tasked with guarding the tomb of an ancient warlord. In some tribal cultures, eternal guard duty is seen as a high honor and warriors would actually compete to be chosen for the task. In others, warriors were brought to the tomb site under false pretenses, slain and pressed into ceaseless service.

Though their eyes appear sclerotic and their flesh leathery and brittle, dolmen wights are surprisingly observant and agile in combat. Their blades, however pitted and corroded they might appear, are always surprisingly sharp.

Behavior & Tactics
Relentless and fearless, dolmen wights will defend their assigned tomb with fierce tenacity. They use intelligent tactics (albeit ones that were current when they were living), and will coordinate attacks if multiple wights are guarding a site. If benevolently inclined, a wight may issue warnings to would-be tomb robbers, giving them a chance to walk away provided they never return. If evil, they will not hesitate to ambush intruders and slaughter them outright.

The animating force of a dolmen wight is centered in the metal torc about its neck. If this torc is removed (with or without the wight's head), the creature will collapse into a rotted heap.

Notes
Dolmen wights are not always evil. Adventurers might very well encounter wights of the "noble warrior" variety who may provide them with guidance or assistance. The image itself is an old one, but a personal favorite. Most images on this site have been reworked considerably before I post them, but this one has been left exactly as it was drawn in 2004.

Ophidian Eviscerator

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Armor Category:
2 [17]
Monster Type:
Abomination
Health Dice:
4+2*
Outlook:
Malevolent Order
Movement
120' (30')
No. Appearing:
Solitary
Morale:
10
Experience:
250xp
Attacks & Damage:
† Claws (2)1d6 -- † Bite 1d6 -- † Ophidian Blade 1d8 + special (see below)
Special Attacks & Abilities:
† Eviscerating Strike: (Save: Spells) The fell magic of a true ancient ophidian blade causes the opponent to bleed out uncontrollably (1d4/turn). Only a successful save will stop the bleeding.
† Vicious Rend: When an ophidian eviscerator hits the same opponent with both claw attacks, it deals an extra 1d4 points of damage. Both hands must be free at the start of the turn to use this ability.
Treasure & Possessions: Ancient Ophidian Blade, 2d4 gold

AC [Desc] 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
To Hit 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
AC [Asc] 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Blast or Breath Toxin or Disease Ray or Gaze Magical Device Spells
10 11 12 13 14

Description
Cruel and degenerate survivors of a technologically advanced empire that once covered vast swaths of the surface world, ophidian eviscerators are now relegated to plotting from the shadows.

Some tribes of these alien serpent men retain tenuous connections to their ancient ways; performing brutal rituals whose significance they no longer remember to loathsome primordial gods who no longer care. Others have reverted to bestial barbarism; building lairs in dank caverns, preying on unwary trespassers with cunning and bloodthirsty cruelty.

Behavior & Tactics
It is not known whether these beings are indigenous to this planet or not. They could easily be extraterrestrial or extraplanar in origin. They exhibit qualities of human, insect and reptile in equal and unsettling measure.

The civilized variant typically dwell in remote jungle locales. They maintain vestiges of ancient customs, worshipping loathsome primordial gods with cruelty that matches the ceaseless appetites of their masters. Woe to adventurers who are captured, for their fate will truly be worse than death. Lower ranking civilized eviscerators and their bestial counterparts will charge into battle heedless of their own safety. They are more afraid of the wrath of the temple priests and the foul gods they serve than any mortal enemy.

Notes
Adventurers may spot crumbling stone idols with serpents crawling from the eye sockets or other sights that might lead any locals to issue dire warnings. When encountering such ruins, local guides will invariably be filled with dread, make cryptic mention of some ancient legend (probably involving "armored serpent demons" in their description) and run away, leaving the adventurers to fend for themselves. For the civilized variant, think pulp fantasy serpent men. For the bestial variety, think aliens.

Baleful Destroyer

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Armor Category:
4 [15]
Monster Type:
Fell Beast
Health Dice:
6d8*
Outlook:
Malevolent Order
Movement
150' (50')
No. Appearing:
Pack (1d4)
Morale:
8
Experience:
500xp
Attacks & Damage:
† Tentacles (2)1d6 — † Claws (2)1d4 — † Bite 1d6
Special Attacks & Abilities:
Illusory Displacement: (-2 Opponent To Hit) The baleful destroyer can project thoughts into its victim's mind, making it appear to be several feet from its actual position.
Deceptive Suggestion: (Save vs. Spells) The baleful destroyer can subtly influence the thoughts of any intelligent creature it makes eye contact with, making the victim fervently believe it is harmless.
Chemical Drain: (Successful melee attack; Save vs. Toxin or take extra 1d6 dmg & reduce movement speed by 10' for remainder of encounter) Upon successfully striking its victim, the creature ingests chemical compounds from the victim's bloodstream, eventually reducing the victim to a husk.
Treasure & Possessions: 30% 1d8 Gems, 10% 2 Magic Items + 1 Potion

AC [Desc] 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
To Hit 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
AC [Asc] 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Blast or Breath Toxin or Disease Ray or Gaze Magical Device Spells
10 11 12 13 14

Description
Vaguely feline in appearance, baleful destroyers are deadly six-legged predators with fiendish intellects that belie their bestial appearance. Their shimmering hide ranges from indigo to purplish black and two vicious, claw-tipped tentacles sprout from the shoulders. These claws make fearsome weapons, but are also suprisingly dextrous, allowing for manipulation of weapons, tools and traps as needed.

A network of tendrils on the ears and back send and receive electromagnetic vibrations, allowing them to communicate telepathically and subtly manipulate thoughts. They have a voracious appetite and subsist on the raw chemical compounds (primarily phosphorous) derived from the bodies of their prey.

Combat & Tactics
Baleful destroyers are stealthy, vicious apex predators. They will use intellect to outwit and intimidate potential victims, but tend to revert to a bestial state when severe hunger sets in (20% chance when encountered in the wild). When in a bestial state, the Deceptive Suggestion ability is replaced with a simple telepathic broadcast of the creature's murderous intent.

Notes
Feel free to use baleful destroyers as straightforward combat-centric beasts, but they also have potential to be surprisingly intelligent and clever foes. Their mild innate telepathy allows them to coordinate attacks when not encountered individually. The telepathic ability also allows them to appear to be where they are not, making them harder to hit.

Undying Overlord

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Armor Category:
2 [17]
Monster Type:
Undead
Health Dice:
7d8*
Outlook:
Malevolent Order
Movement
120' (30')
No. Appearing:
Solitary
Morale:
10
Experience:
1500xp
Attacks & Damage:
† Claws (2)1d6 -- † Bite 1d6 + Thrall Rot
Special Attacks & Abilities:
Force of Will: (Save: Spells) Undying overlord can impose its will and issue one simple command per turn.
Thrall Rot: (Save: Toxin) Any injury inflicted by an undying overlord that breaks skin has a 35% chance of causing thrall rot, which attacks the nervous system leaving the victim susceptible to suggestion.
Ice Ray: (Save ½ - Ray) An icy ray of cold projects from the undying overlord's fingertips. 1d8 + 2 rounds paralysis.
Treasure & Possessions: None

AC [Desc] 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
To Hit 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
AC [Asc] 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Blast or Breath Toxin or Disease Ray or Gaze Magical Device Spells
6 - 8 10 9

Description
Dessicated flesh and brittle bones tempered in the fires of eternal hate, an undying overlord haunts the ruins of a place it ruled in life. Once the high priest of a temple or iron-fisted ruler of a city now fallen to ruin and desolation, it is now completely bound to its morbid dominion and can never leave. Whether this is due to the intensity of the overlord's connection to its desolate home or a curse placed upon it by long-forgotten enemies is unknown.

The foul magic that animates an overlord slowly gnaws away at its physical form, leaving it at risk of disintegration. To stave off this process, it must bathe regularly in essential oils and embalming fluid. In an otherwise stale ruin, the appearance of an overlord is often presaged by the sickly sweet scent of these emollients.

Behavior & Tactics
There is no typical undying overlord – each one is an individual. Some delight in direct combat with adventurers to alleviate boredom or inflict pain, while others are desirous of secrecy will not reveal themselves unless left with no choice.

Strict geographic constraints do little to prevent it from exerting influence outside its realm. To do this, an undying overlord relies upon indirect tactics and psychic control. An undying overlord will draw visitors to its ruined realm with rumors of vast wealth or forbidden secrets and then attempt to dominate their will through temptation, corruption, or possession.

Notes
It is not unknown for the leading officials in nearby cities to be unwittingly controlled by an overlord or for the very existence of the ruin in which it dwells to be expunged from official records, even if it is mere miles away.

Should an overlord turn to ash, those ashes will blow away in a gust of wind, even in a completely airless chamber.

Slavering Assimilator

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Armor Category:
6 [13]
Monster Type:
Abomination
Health Dice:
4d8*
Outlook:
Malevolent Chaos
Movement
90' (30')
No. Appearing:
Individual
Morale:
4
Experience:
225xp
Attacks & Damage:
† 2 Tentacles (1d6) -- † 2 Claws (1d4) -- † Bite (1d6)
Special Attacks & Abilities:
Imitate Lifeform: Given sufficient time (usually 5-10 minutes), the Slavering Assimilator will ingest and faithfully replicate any lifeform it chooses. If interrupted, it will automatically attack with a random Defensive Mutation.
Treasure & Possessions: None

AC [Desc] 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
To Hit 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
AC [Asc] 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Toxin or Disease Magical Devices Ray or Gaze Blast or Breath Spells
11 12 11 14 12

Defensive Mutations
1. † Deadly Maw: (1d6) A ferocious mouth lined with rows of sharp fangs suddenly appears in the creature's chest or emerges from its splitting cranium.
2. → Digestive Acid: (1d4/round unless neutralized) The creature vomits forth acid that sticks to whatever it touches and dissolves metal plating in 1d4 turns.
3. Sentient Extremity: Limb or head separates with a sickening elastic pop, sprouts legs and crawls away or attacks.
4. Partially Assimilated: The assimilator's skin tears, revealing partially consumed creatures in various stages of consumption. May be recognizable.
5. † Assimilating Tendrils: Whiplike tendrils sprout from a random location on the creature's body, attaching to and enveloping whatever they touch.
6. † Insectoid Limbs: With a grotesque crunch, hideously oversized insect limbs sprout from the assimilator's body.

Description
The slavering assimilator is not so much an individual creature as it is an insidious colony of single-celled organisms which imitate in both form and behavior any living thing they encounter. In its original form, this horrific thing ranges from six to eight feet in height with three hateful glowing red eyes. Writhing tendrils sprout forth from the pulpy, misshapen orb that passes for the thing's head.

In this form the creature is dangerous enough, but the fact that any given piece of this creature can potentially infect, ingest and mimic countless creatures of any species makes it a threat of the highest order. It is effectively a very dangerous and aggressive plague. If allowed to assimilate all life on a planet, it would revert to an amorphous protoplasmic ooze which would eventually devour all life.

Once encountered, the creature must be defeated and destroyed to the last particle (fire or acid make for particularly effective disposal methods) or it will either continue to attack or become dormant only to wait for another group of hapless victims. If the adventuring party fails to deal with it, they may find the next city or town infested with assimilators, or worse!

Ecology & Tactics
Slavering assimilators avoid direct combat if possible and prefer to hide in the shadows and pick off adventurers one by one, replacing them with assimilated copies. If attacked, it will respond quickly with whatever natural weapon it deems most appropriate to the situation.

When under attack or interrupted during an assimilation, the creature drops all pretense of imitation and attacks with a ferocity that matches its desire to survive. It will rapidly and grotesquely deploy any and all natural weapons in its biological arsenal acquired through millenia of ingesting a wide variety of creatures to defend itself from aggressors.

These defensive mutations can appear with alarming, unnatural suddenness and strike with deadly effect. A small but incomplete sampling is found in the Defensive Mutations chart. Feel free to add others. This is definitely a creature that benefits from improvisation during gameplay.

Notes
If played to the hilt, this thing is a potentially world-ending monster and is sure to undermine trust between members of any adventuring party. Of course, it can also be used largely for it's substantial gross-out potential as well.

Wormhound

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Armor Category:
8 [11]
Monster Type:
Abomination
Health Dice:
4d8*
Outlook:
Bestial
Movement:
100' (25')
No. Appearing:
Pack (1d4)
Morale:
9
Experience:
350xp
Attacks & Damage:
2 Claws (2d4) -or- Bite (1d6)
Special Attacks & Abilities:
Projectile Spikes: (1d4 & Save vs. Toxin or 1d6/turn) The wormhound can fire a tentacle spike from a range of 90'.
Barbed Spikes: (1d4 & Save vs. Toxin or 1d6/turn) Embedded tentacle spikes take 1d3 turns to remove each. Wormhound takes 1d4 dmg per spike.
Night Vision: Sees in the dark up to 60'.
Treasure & Possessions: Cloth scraps, animal & human remains, corroded weapon and armor fragments (20% chance they can be restored), 2d10gp

AC [Desc] 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
To Hit 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
AC [Asc] 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Toxin or Disease Magical Devices Ray or Gaze Blast or Breath Spells
8 9 10 13 12

Description
The vile wormhound is a truly horrible hybrid that defies accurate description. This predatory monstrosity has a distinctly canine cast to its physique while its sickly, mottled skin is decidedly amphibian in nature. The creature's "head" (if it can be called that) is where earthly comparisons fail.

Its shoulder girdle is ringed with sickening gelatinous eyes the color and texture of rotting blackberries, while the writhing anemone-like frontal mass of tentacles end in vicious poison spikes. Depending on which subspecies of wormhound is encountered, these tentacle spikes may either be projectiles or toxic barbs reminiscent of wasp stingers. In either case, the spikes are poisonous.

Ecology & Tactics
Wormhounds roam damp subterranean caverns and hunt in packs, never straying far from a water source. As a result, they tend to favor caves that are regularly fed by ground and rain water. They prefer to set up ambushes and attack from concealment. If they feel they are outmatched, then they will flee if at all possible, but if cornered, they will fight ferociously.

Wormhound young are kept in well-protected nurseries and are stationary through the first several weeks of life, as the legs take time to develop. They are no less deadly in larval form, however, as wormhounds implant their eggs in walls and ceilings of caverns, and the hatchlings will use their tentacles to grasp, paralyze and devour the unwary.

Notes
Wormhounds are vicious combat machines, plain and simple. Given the two variants, they make good ranged artillery or melee combatants. If you want to make things particularly difficult for adventurers, combine the two!

About the Stat Block

Armor Category:
8 [11]
Monster Type:
Abomination
Health Dice:
4d8*
Outlook:
Malevolent Chaos
Movement:
100' (25')
No. Appearing:
Pack (1d4)
Morale:
9
Experience:
350xp
Attacks & Damage:
Claws (2) 1d4 — Bite 1d6
Special Attacks & Abilities:
Ranged Attack: The creature can hit you from a distance.
†  Melee Attack: The creature needs to be adjacent to hit you.
Defensive Ability: The creature has a special resistance or bonus to its defenses.
Treasure & Possessions: None

AC [Desc] 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
To Hit 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
AC [Asc] 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Toxin or Disease Magical Devices Ray or Gaze Blast or Breath Spells
13 10 12 11 14

Overview
The MMP stat block included with each monster entry provides the basic information needed to run the monster in-game. The stats themselves are simple enough that converting them for use with your favorite vintage fantasy adventure game rules (such as Basic rules published in, say, 1981) should be fairly straightforward. I've also designed the block with retro-clone cross compatibility in mind.

One word of warning - I don't generally number crunch the stats too much (if at all, sometimes), so there are no guarantees of balance expressed or implied. If you have recommendations for stat changes, do let me know and I may alter them.

I came up with this basic stat block design a while back in an attempt to make an attractive, easy-to-read block that contains all the information needed to run a creature while minimizing rifling through books. It was an entertaining challenge in information design and I'm fairly happy with the result.

Main Stat Block
Armor Category (AC) – A measure of how difficult a creature is to hit. Two values are provided descending AC (lower is better) and ascending AC (in brackets; higher is better).

Health Dice (HD) – The number of eight sided dice (d8) rolled to generate the creature's health points (hp).

Movement – Distance in feet that a creature can move. The first number represents the amount of distance the creature can cover in a ten minute turn, while the second represents the distance covered per combat round.

Morale – The creature's morale. When checking morale, roll two six-siders (2d6). If a value higher than the morale score is rolled, the creature will flee. Creatures with morale of 12 will fight to the death, no exceptions.

Monster Type – The monster's general classification or family. Abomination and Undead are common examples of monster type.

Outlook – The monster's worldview, if it has one. Options are:

  • Malevolent Order
  • Malevolent Chaos
  • Malevolent Opportunist
  • Opportunist (if intelligent) -or- Bestial (if animalistic)
  • Benevolent Opportunist
  • Benevolent Chaos
  • Benevolent Order

Experience – The number of experience points (XP) awarded for the defeat of the monster.

Attacks & Damage – The basic attacks available to the monster. Melee attacks are marked with a dagger (), ranged attacks with an arrow (→).

Special Attacks & Abilities – Special combat or non-combat abilities the monster posesses. Melee abilities are marked with a dagger (), ranged attacks with an arrow (→), and defensive or non-combat abilities with a diamond (♦).

To Hit Chart
Rather than having to look up combat values in a book, the combat chart is provided in the monster entry. The top row shows the target ascending AC value, the bottom row shows the target descending AC value and the center row shows the d20 roll needed to hit that value.

Saving Throw Chart
Saving throws are also provided in the monster entry. This eliminates looking up the value in a separate table and also allows the saving throws to be customized on a creature-by-creature basis.

Toxin or Disease – Use this when resisting poison, disease and instant death. In general, use this for anything that puts a creature's fortitude or endurance to the test.

Magical Devices – Use to resist the effects of magic wands and any other device that slings magic.

Ray or Gaze – Use this save when resisting the effects of paralyzing stares, ray-like breath weapons and other such effects. (Example: A medusa's gaze attack).

Blast or Breath – Explosions, fiery dragons' breath and other area effects. If you'd run away from it in slow motion in an action movie, this is the saving throw to use. In general, use for situations in which reflexes make a difference.

Spells – Use to resist the effects of spells, whether cast or read from a scroll. In general, use for attacks that require strong willpower to resist.

Other Monster Entry Notes
I've added some features to make the monster entries on this blog easy to print out and use at the table. I want to make sure that the monsters leave the confines of the website and make their way to gaming tables everywhere.

When you print a monster entry, the site header and most other extraneous stuff won't print, so you will get a page that consists solely of the monster entry, making it convenient for tossing into a folder or three ring binder.

Also, most images have both a color and black and white version which can be toggled by clicking on the image. If you want to save printer ink, or just want your monster entries in black and white, '70s style, then switch to the black & white version and print away! For true vintage RPG flavor, print them in black and white on pastel green or gold paper.

Also, note that there is no OGL content on this website. If you want to use any of the monsters from this site in a gaming product (whether for sale or not), please let me know.

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