Getting Rodgers post today made me decide to post something. :-)
Myself and a friend have been working on a project for about six months now
(slowly but surely) that we're calling the DQ Monster manual. It's
basically all the monsters from the 1st edition AD&D Monster manual with a
lot of the descriptions of those monsters taken from the 2nd edition
Monstrous Manual and the DQ books. When the project first started, we
attempted to create the new monsters just as they were formatted in the DQ
books. After a while though we decided that there was a fair amount of
extra information in there that wasn't really needed for running normal run
of the mill encounters. The current setup also didn't really allow for
quick "on the fly" random encounters as you really needed to determine all
needed stats for the monsters, determine the ranks of the monsters with
their weapons/claws whatever, and for a monster that was most likely going
to be dead in short order, it seemed like a lot of work for every
encounter. In the end after much experimentation, we came up with our own
format that allows for quick and easy encounters to be created while at the
same time, if a GM has a particular monster that they want to modify a bit
more it still allows for it. I thought I would post an example of one of
them here for everyone to look at and perhaps comment on as to what they
think. The manual is currently about 80% done, and we hope to finish by
the end of the year. I have decided to post one of my favorites, the
Shambling Mound. Please keep in mind when reading these though that they
were created for my game which has had a tremendous amount of changes done
to it. It is still similar enough though that everyone could benefit from
it. In general, numbers in parentheses indicate an "average" for that
category, so under Endurance, the "average" shambler has 32 endurance. If
you wanted to roll up a unique one though, you would roll 4d8 and add 14 to
the result to get their endurance. Intelligence is a very general category
intended to give the GM an idea of just how a given monster may react or
how it should be played. It's not really used as an in-game Stat. The
treasure category is similar to the D&D one although we have made up our
own chart. We also have a two page or so introduction that fully explains
what all the categories mean. If there was interest, I could post that as
well.
Anyway. I would be interested in hearing any comments or questions anyone
might have.
SHAMBLING MOUND
Natural Habitat: Swamps or wet subterranean
Frequency: Rare
Number: 1-3 (1)
Description: Shambling mounds, or shamblers, appear to be heaps of rotting
vegetation. They are actually an intelligent form of plant life, with a
roughly humanoid shape, and a brain-like control center in its ``chest''
area. A shambler has a 6-foot girth on its lower half, tapering to about 2
feet at its ``head.''
Shambling mounds are found only in regions of dense rainfall and
vegetation. Dismal swamps, marshes, and rain forests are their favorite
living areas, but some wet, subterranean places also serve as shambler
lairs. They are solitary beasts, rarely living in the same area with other
shamblers -- usually only in areas where the food source is constant, near
famous ruins, or abandoned gold mines.
Talents, Skills, and Magic: Shamblers are almost totally silent and
invisible in their natural surroundings; opponents suffer a -15 penalty to
surprise rolls. A shambler often lies in a shallow bog, waiting for some
creature to walk onto it, then it attacks. The creatures are excellent
swimmers as well, and they have been known to sneak into the camps of
unsuspecting travelers at night.
Movement Rates: 300
TMR: 6
Endurance: 4d8+14 (32)
Fatigue: 4d8+17 (35)
Protection: 5
Defense: 55
Damage: 2-16/2-16 + Special (See Combat)
Strike Chance: 100 + Endurance
Size: L (6'-9' tall)
Intelligence: Low (6-10)
Magic Save: 35%
Normal Save: 55%
Morale: Fanatic
Treasure: B, T, X
Combat: A shambling mound attacks with huge, arm-like appendages; a victim
hit by both arms in the same round is entangled in the creature's slimy
vines and rotting vegetable matter. Entangled creatures suffocate in the
slime in 2d4 rounds unless the shambler is killed, or the victim breaks
free with a successful percentile die roll equal to or less than the
victims Relative Strength.
Because of the vegetation which covers its critical inner body,
the shambling mound is immune to blunt weapons, and takes only half damage
from piercing and slashing weapons. The creature is immune to fire, and
takes half or no damage from cold, depending on whether it makes its saving
throw. Lightning based attacks actually causes a shambler to grow, adding
1-foot to its height, as well as 10 to it's END and Strike Chance, for each
lightning-based attack used against it.
Because of the location of its brain, the shambler cannot be
killed by lopping off its head or limbs. The remaining vines along the
torso join together to form a new extremity within one round. Only when
enough of the shambling mound has been hacked away, will it finally die. A
wounded shambler need only rest in a damp clump of foliage to heal; it
rises again in 12 hours, fully healed, and probably angry.
Comments: Since shamblers gain power from electrical attacks, there are
rumors of shambling mounds with 150 or more Endurance (END). Since they
often live in the same areas as will-o'-wisps, there may be truth to such
rumors, and giant shamblers may inhabit deep, dark swamps and jungles.
Jason Winter
Alarian@esuccessonline.com
http://www.darkrealms.com/~alarian/