RMA: Gargoyles

This was going to be an REF, but I was a little surprised to see that I hadn't done an RMA for Gargoyles. Perhaps because they aren't that uncommon as a monster. Since it turns out there is a lot to these rocky ruffians, I decided an RMA was more appropriate.

(from Moldvay)
Gargoyles

AC: 5
HD: 4
Move: 90' (30')
    Fly: 150' (50')
Att: 4 (2 claws/1 bite/ 1 horn)
Damage: 1d3 ea./1d6/1d4
No. App: 1d6 (2d4)
Save: F8
Morale: 11
TT: C
AL: C

So, a few things leap out here. First off, FOUR attacks! None of them are exactly dragon's breath in terms of damage, but still! Secondly, it saves as an EIGHTH level fighter despite only having four hit dice. That's a resilient creature! Gargoyles also have a very high Morale. These guys aren't cutting and running too much.

Moving on, there are a couple items from the description that are worth mentioning. Magic or magic weapons are required to hit them. So right there that ups the ante for an encounter. Remember, these are Basic monsters, not Expert. The description actually states "The DM is advised to use gargoyles only if the player characters have at least one magical weapon."

Secondly, they are immune to sleep and charm magics. This limits lower level spell casters somewhat, as Sleep  is a perennial favorite option vs monsters of 4HD or less. 

Third, 

"Gargoyles are very cunning and at least semi-intelligent. They will attack nearly anything that approaches them." 

Which meshes nicely with their high Morale and Chaotic alignment. These are vicious things! I wouldn't play them as highly intelligent or capable of long-term planning, but simple ambushes or clever combat tactics would be reasonable.

Couple all that with the fact that you are usually running into at least a couple of them in any given encounter makes it that much dicier.

Oh, and they can fly.

Treasure type is C; Which is respectable enough, but no one is retiring on the loot. 

While it isn't specifically stated, I would argue that their stony skin would lead to plenty of potential surprise situations.

DMs looking to make a memorable encounter should be taking all this into account. Low level parties running across a nest of these things should know they've been in a fight! If it were a planned encounter or set piece, I might be nice and drop hints about their presence. Perhaps even rumors in town about "flying demons" spotted in the hills or what have you. 

For players, I heartily hope that there is a magic weapon or two in your arsenal. Since Gargoyles appear on the Level 3 wandering monsters, I'll say your party should probably average out to 3rd level. that means you should hopefully have a 2nd level spell or two at your disposal. Hold Person  should work (they are roughly humanoid) on the clerical side. Magic-users might look to Web  or Phantasmal Force.  As always, Light to blind foes is a good choice, too! Even Levitate to partially counter their aerial advantage could be useful. And, of course, there's always running away!

RMA: Mermen

 RMA: Mermen

I've held forth in the past about aquatic encounters, but the majority of water creatures in BX are monstrous or mythical animals: Things like giant fish or water termites. There are very few sentient sea creatures apart from dragon-kin or fairy types. The one notable exception to this in BX is the Merman.

Mermen are not fae. They are a mortal race of half-man, half-fish that live in undersea communities. Usually coastal waters. 

(YOU know, Unda the... ocean!)

Mermen (which includes mermaids, I presume) are quite rare as a random encounter, only occurring as a single entry on one wilderness encounter sub-sub-table (Swimmers: Ocean). Typically found in small hunting parties averaging a dozen or so. But we'll get to that. First, the stats:

(from Cook)

Mermen

AC: 6

HD: 1-4

Move: 120'(40')

Att: 1

Damage: 1d6 or by weapon

# App: 0 (1-20)

Save: F1

Morale: 8

TT: A

AL: N

Okay! So first off, not terribly imposing. The rank and file merman has ONE whole hit die, so an average of 4-5 hit points. No real armor protection (though swimming in armor is its own problem), and a pretty skittish morale. This paints a picture of a fairly unintimidating foe. But one must remember that the threat from mermen isn't their toughness, it's the environment!

A player character in the water should be at a major disadvantage. There are not a lot of rules in the books about how to deal with swimming/underwater PCs. Some options for a DM may include things like slowed movement, reduced attack and defense (maybe no DEX adjustment for AC) and wearing heavy armor and/or carrying a lot of gear could mean sinking instead of swimming. Not to mention the challenge of breathing if you go under the waves.

Mermen face none of these issues. If a PC has to strip off his armor and shield, then once they dive in find that their mobility and fighting ability is reduced might revisit just how "dangerous" that 1HD fish-man with a trident really is!

Another issue to keep in mind is that Mermen may keep trained sea beasts as guard animals. DMs should feel free to get creative with this. Maybe it's a shark, maybe a whale, or it could be a giant squid!

Mermen parties often have a 2HD leader type with them. Larger groups might have a 4HD chieftain type. These individuals are probably not tipping the balance of a fight where the fact that there are dozens of mermen already in the mix, but it is worth keeping note of. 

I think the real value of mermen in a campaign or setting isn't as a foe, but as an exotic race that the characters can meet and interact with. I'm not saying they need to be friendly, but as they are Neutral and described in hunter-gatherer terms, treating them like a "native tribe" might not be a bad angle to take. Perhaps they could be enticed to guide the PCs to that nasty dragon turtle's lair. Or maybe they can retrieve something from a sunken ship for a price?

RMA: Giant...Fish?

Now this is an interesting one. Well, several really. I've talked before about aquatic encounters of various types, but it seems that whole topic is incomplete without discussing this listing. 

Giant fish covers unusually large versions of more or less real-world fish; including piranha, rockfish, catfish, and sturgeon. When the books says "giant", it means it! These are some big guppies! Unsurprisingly, none of these are found wandering in dungeons, they are either wilderness or placed encounters only.

Let's put the stat table up for a peek, shall we?

Giant Fish (from Cook)

Just looking at things like AC, HD, and damage, these are not trivial encounters. Especially when the added challenge of most such confrontations would be in or under the water.

Giant Piranha: Let's just take a moment to appreciate the fact that the "wimpy" one on this list is a GIANT PIRANHA which, by the by, are five feet long! Growing up in the 70s, I was personally convinced the three most likely ways nature would take me out would be: Shark, Piranha, or Killer Bees. And those piranha were less than a foot long! Moving on, these monsters aren't unstoppable brutes, but even 3+ HD means they aren't something you just one-hit away. Couple that with their morale-less frenzy and up to eight of them on a single target dealing 1d8 each, that's a bad time for their fella that gets ganged up on. 

Giant Spiny Rockfish: While the listing doesn't specify how big this fish is, given that it has more HD than the piranha and is sometimes mistaken for boulders, at least 6' seems not unreasonable. It's size isn't really the issue. The fact that one might not recognize it and get to close is the problem. Not only does it have a poison attack, it had FOUR of these per round! The spines do 1d4 regardless, so up to 16 damage is still a cause for concern. The spines are melee only, but if you don't realize what your dealing with there in the shallows and actually step on or grab hold of that "rock", the fish automatically hits all four times! And yes, that means FOUR save or die rolls. It's also worth noting that the poison gives no "time until effect" meaning an insta-kill. It's AC isn't great, though, so it's not exactly unkillable. It also has a skittish morale, as befits a creature that relies on camouflage. What's odd about the listing in Cook is that it has no asterisk next to the HD denoting bonus XP for extra abilities. 4 attacks with poison would seem to merit that in my opinion.

Giant Catfish: Now things are getting serious. Fifteen feet long! Eight-plus hit dice! 2d8 bite damage! The giant cat's big guns are its feelers, though. Those bring it up to FIVE attacks and up to 32hp damage dealt in one round! Again, not a great morale score, but a markedly better AC than the earlier entries.

Giant Sturgeon: Oof! This thing approaches dragon levels of difficulty. 30' long, 10+ HD, and AC 0! What's more, they swallow whole 10% of the time and the victim stands a fair chance of being immobilized while taking 2d6 damage per round in the fish's gullet. And that's after taking 2d10 damage from the bite! 

 

What's the worst thing about all of these encounters, you ask? It's not the damage per round, or the fact that you're probably fighting them in their element (and out of yours), it's the treasure! Rather, the lack thereof. Imagine having to battle your way clear from a school of piranha, or kill a rockfish after it poisoned a party member, or gut a PC's corpse out of a sturgeon gut, only to get not a single copper piece from the monster toward the raise dead fund! talk about a poor ROI.

Looking at these creatures less as monstrous foes and more like dangerous, fantastic animals that are part of your game-world probably casts them in a more accurate light for the PCs. It's like encountering a bear in the woods. Chances are, he's not why you're there. Be careful, keep your distance, and things will probably be fine. Act recklessly or be inattentive, and there could be consequences.

RMA: Minotaurs

I'm not sure how I missed this one when doing my series on mythological creatures. It's not that uncommon a monster, but it definitely deserves to be in the "myth list."

Game mechanics-wise, the minotaur isn't overly complicated. It's a big, mean, humanoid with some natural weapons. One of the most famous occurrences of the creature in D&D is of course is in B2's Caves of Chaos. I admit, for years I had thought that the (spoilers) directional confusion the party suffers in its cave was an ability of the minotaur itself and not just a feature of those tunnels. (I actually often run it so the effect lifts after killing the beast.) But no, it is not a power of the creature in the book. Speaking of which, let's see the stats.

Minotaur (from Moldvay)

Armor Class:  6
No. Appearing: 1-6 (1-8)
Hit Dice: 6
Save As: F6
Move: 120' (40')
Morale: 12
Attacks:
 1 gore/1 bite or 1 weapon
Treasure Type: C
Damage:
 1d6/1d6 or by weapon type
Alignment: Chaotic

Okay, so six hit dice is pretty respectable. It actually puts it in dragon territory (albeit the weakest of them). The armor class is not great, but as B2 shows us, they can wear armor. The minotaur has several options when it comes to attacks; horns, teeth, or weapon. The language in the rules is slightly confusing. It states:

 "If a minotaur uses a weapon, it may not gore or bite." 

Which can be read that it can never  gore or bite if it has a weapon, but again, the Keep tells us differently.

"The minotaur may only use his spear or his horns and bite."

Which honestly makes more sense. The +2 for strength on its damage rolls make even the 1d6 fairly respectable for a simple melee attack.

Minotaurs are described as semi-intelligent, larger than human sized, and man-eating. They will "always attack" smaller creatures and pursue them "as long as they are in sight." This speaks to its high morale and casts them as a bit of a bully (EDIT: no pun intended), temperament-wise. They are also said to be subterranean (usually in tunnels or mazes). They are only listed as wandering monsters in mid levels of the dungeon. They appear on none of the wilderness encounter tables.

This ecology speaks to the unnaturalness of the minotaur and -of course- its mythological roots. It is truly a monster. Minotaurs as described have no culture or civilization. They are strange and vicious things found in the dark places of the world. The term "semi-intelligent" says to me that yes, they can use tools like weapons, use simple tactics or maybe even speak. But no, they probably won't parley or be merciful. They can appear in some numbers, but I see that as a loose hunting packs, not sustainable tribes or clans. The text about always attacking and pursuing seems to support the idea that they are somewhat insane or berserk, and that's how I would run them.

So what does a party do when encountering one or more of these creatures?

Well, a minotaur is the embodiment of a melee brute, so hit it with ranged attacks and spells if possible. It's too strong for Sleep, but Web (B18) is a nice option. While the minotaur is strong, I wouldn't rule it as on the level of "Giant Strength" in terms of breaking loose from the spell quickly. A webbed minotaur could be fairly easily dispatched with arrows. If the thief has a chance to hide, the beast might charge right past him at a likelier target, giving him a chance for a backstab, especially if the monster is unarmored. The gore and bite attacks a good fit for flavor but aren't doing tons of damage. Be more afraid if it carries a big axe or similar. The real danger from the minotaur is its six hit dice give it good to-hit rolls and enough hit points to keep swinging for several rounds. A party of low-level PCs (<5th or so) going toe to toe with one of these is likely to lose a member before taking the beast down.

If the party is unlucky enough to run into a group of minotaurs, the same tactics apply. It's going to be that much harder to weaken or slow them down before a wall of horned rage crashes into them. Area of effect spells, burning oil, and defensible positions (bottlenecks in the corridors, etc.) might be your best bet.

RMA: Camels

No, I don't have a cigarette!

I think one of the reasons that camels are rare in my games, and I suspect other peoples is two-fold. One, they are heavily associated with desert climates and most campaigns are not set in the desert (at least not for extended periods). The second reason is that most games don't track resources and travel the way that lets these creatures shine.

Camel (from Cook)

AC: 7
HD: 2
Move: 150' (50')
Att: 1 bite /1 hoof
Damage: 1/1d4
No. App: 0 (2d8)
Save: F1
Morale: 7
Treasure: nil
AL: N

So we can see these stats are not impressive. Camels are not very tough, fast, brave, strong, or impressive in a fight. In the description, it even specifies that riders cannot perform a lance charge from camelback. Horses, on the other hand, can faster, do more damage, have better morale, and/or carrying capacity, depending on what type you choose. So why choose a camel?

Terrain: While it is true that a riding horse can easily outpace a camel (240' vs. 150'), remember that desert terrain drops movement by 2/3. Camels treat this as clear terrain, meaning under those conditions the difference is 160'  vs. 150'. Draft and war horses are even slower. This can make a crucial difference when it comes to overland travel in a harsh environment like a desert.

Climate: It's true that a camel cannot carry as much as some horses, but by moving faster through the desert, you need fewer supplies. Also, you don't need to carry water for the camels (provided you plan on being out for two weeks or less. I know that many campaigns aren't tracking every coin of encumbrance, but water is heavy and in the real world horses be thirsty critters! 5-10 gallons per day is normal for horses (as opposed to 2 quarts for people). For the record, that's 40-80 pounds! So even low-balling it for a horse that's more acclimated to the environment, you'd still need to pack 400cn of water for every day you plan on being out in the sandbox. And that's just for one horse!

Imagine a scenario where a desert caravan with horses has to drag along casks of water in a wagon or some such only to have the containers destroyed by some foe or clever monster. They know the party will never make it out of the desert alive, so they just wait a few days and then pick over the caravan after everyone is dead of dehydration. A cleric with the Create Water spell could thwart this plan, but the odds favor it as a successful tactic. How many 6th+ level clerics are wandering the dunes anyway?

So we can see that using camels in such a situation would mean carrying a couple of gallons of water  per day for a party vs. 20+ gallons. This could be managed with several skins or one small cask. Food is still an issue, but that's true of both horses and camels.

Camels are specialized animals, for specialized environments. While it's true they aren't very impressive in a fight, that shouldn't be the only measure of their worth to a party of adventurers. Especially if they need are traversing the Emirates of Ylaruam or such places. 

RMA: Thouls

These have come up recently in a few online forums and groups, so now they are on my mind.

A memorable take on the creature by the late, great Steve Zieser!

Thouls are pretty well known among a certain segment of the old-school D&D crowd. They are definitely one of the weirder creations within the BX books. The theory behind their creation that I subscribe to is that some DM was trying to fake their players out with something that looked like a normal humanoid, but had weird abilities.

Despite the fact that they have an almost iconic status. I have rarely seen them used outside of a written encounter in the module B10: Night's Dark Terror. 

Thoul (from Moldvay):

AC: 6

HD: 3**

Move: 120' (40')

Att: 2 Claws or weapon

Damage: 1d3/1d3 or weapon

No. App: 1d6 (1d10)

Save: F3

Morale: 10

Treasure: C

AL: C

Thouls are described in Moldvay as "a magical combination of a ghoul, a hobgoblin, and a troll." What this means in practice is that they look like a hobgoblin, but can paralyze you and they regenerate. They do appear as a level three wandering monster. With two potentially paralyzing attacks per round, 1d6+ of these creatures could give a low-level party a very bad time indeed. There are a couple of points to clarify, though.

1. They do not look exactly like hobgoblins. At close range, there are visible differences. A party might be able to spot them and prepare accordingly (or flee!).
2. Despite "ghoulish traits", they are not undead. This means that while a cleric's turning power is useless, Sleep or Charm spells can work. 
3. Their regeneration is only 1hp/round. While it is (apparently) not stopped by fire or acid damage, it will not revive a killed thoul.

I imagine thouls as a sort of sub-race to the hobgoblins. The description says they might be found guarding a hobgoblin king. Perhaps they are viewed as useful freaks? Who knows? As a DM, I think I would likely use them mixed in with the normal hobbos, so as the PCs work their way through the foe, there are a few nasty surprises waiting in the mix. Even though a Sleep spell can work on them, if they are among a bunch of 1+1 HD hobgoblins, the lower HD critters will take the brunt of the spell's effect. Their regeneration also means a bit more book-keeping in running them, but adds tot he scariness of the encounter.

RMA: Medusa

Monsters with petrification attacks are not new fodder for this blog, and this Greek classic has been mentioned in those conversations, but I haven't done a full write-up on her before. She is a rather interesting monster for a few reasons, so let's get to it, shall we?

First off, I'm going to mention the pedantic issue of the name and then drop the issue. I know that in mythology Medusa was the individual character's name, not a race. I'm not sure of why D&D handles the name this way - perhaps because of the other D&D Gorgon - but for whatever reason, like the Pegasus, Medusa has become synonymous with the creature type.

Secondly, you know I loves me some Harryhausen, but just to be clear, he completely made up* the whole "half snake, half woman" design for 1981's Clash of the Titans. The original creature was a woman with snake hair and a face that would make a train take a dirt road.

Medusas (Medusae?) have a reputation for being TPK material, which may be why I have not seen them used much. Granted there is one in B2's Caves of Chaos, but other than that I personally haven't run into them much. When you look at the stats, though, they have some weaknesses along with their obviously strengths.

Medusa (from Moldvay)

AC: 8
HD: 4**
Move: 90' (30')
Att: 1 snakebite + special
Damage: 1d6 + poison
No. App. 1d3 (1d4)
Save: F4
Morale: 8
Treasure: F
AL: C

NOTE: For convenience I'm going to refer to the medusa as "she/her" instead of "it", even though the Medusa isn't really human (I'm not going to even get into the idea of an all-female species!)

With her poor AC and so-so hit dice and low morale, its obvious she isn't a combat powerhouse. We'll get to her petrification ability in a moment, but first I want to talk about the snakes. Despite having a head full of them, she only gets the one 1d6 bite per round. Sure it's save or die. But it's death in one turn, which gives the afflicted character a chance to keep fighting, or get a Neutralize Poison cast on him before keeling over. Beyond that, she has no other attack.

"But wait!" You say. "Her gaze is an attack!"

Nope.

The description is quite clear. It is the act of looking at the medusa's face that petrifies its victims, not her looking at you. She can (and often does) try to find ways to trick people into looking at her face (she's Chaotic, after all), but Flesh to Stone beams don't shoot out of her peepers. Some petrifying creatures, like the Gorgon and Cockatrice, attack to "stone" their victims. Not so the medusa.

That being said, it's still a dangerous ability. Typically, she will trick a party into looking her while covered with a hood or veil or some such. Then, WHAMMO! A few bad saves and she has a new statue garden. PCs that avoid getting stoned are left either hamstringing themselves by shutting their eyes or trying to mess with a mirror. On top of all this, the medusa is getting a fat +2 to saves against any incoming spells.

It's interesting to note that by strict interpretation, even though multiple medusae can appear in an encounter, each one is only vulnerable to seeing its own face (not the others').

Given its tactics described on B39 and in The Keep, it's fair to assume a medusa has human level intelligence. This begs the question "What does it want?" I expect a lot of good RP fodder and plot hooks could be found here. Obviously if she had or knew something important to the PCs, she might ask a favor in return, as she certainly can't easily move about in normal society to get what she wants or needs.

* “Every statue I’d seen [Medusa] was just a woman with a pretty face and had snakes in her hair. Well, that wasn’t very dramatic, so I gave her a rather demonic look. We gave her a rattlesnake’s tail, so that she could be a menace from the sound effect point-of-view. It was a shock to see her come out from behind the wall crawling on her hands because that was the only way she could propel herself.” 

- Ray Harryhausen

Oozy Goodness Part V: Ochre Jelly

Rounding out the BX slimes is our final entry, the Ochre Jelly. This is probably the least used one in my games. Not that I dislike it as a monster, but there's only so many instances where an ooze is needed, so something has to give. OJ seems to be in many ways a "lesser" black pudding. It's worth noting that the pudding is the only one in the Expert set, probably due to its high HD. The jelly has half the HD and lower damage, but behaves similarly. Before we dive in the ochre jelly (ew!) let's have the stats:

Ochre Jelly (from Moldvay)

AC: 8
HD: 5*
Move: 30 (10')
Att: 1
Damage: 2d6
No. App: 1 (0)
Save: F3
Morale: 12
Treasure: Nil
AL: N

The OJ shares the usual ooze/slime traits: unintelligent, relentless morale, slow movement, etc. Like other gooeys, it isn't harmed by all types of damage. In the OJ's case, only fire & cold affect it. Otherwise it splits up like the pudding (up to five of them). The 2HD baby jellys do half (1d6) damage. The jelly looks like an amoeba more than just a pile of goo, so it has a bit more form than most slimes.

Its corrosive effect doesn't harm metal or stone. That doesn't make a platemail-wearing fighter immune though. It can still seep through cracks and seams. It can demolish wood, leather or cloth in one round (!) so that spear shaft or bow might be toast. I would also think things like magic cloaks, etc. might need to make some saving throws pretty quick.

Overall the ol' YellowJelly would be a respectable threat to low levels PCs and, like a rust monster, make almost anyone fear for their gear. Its susceptibility to fire give the party an easy way to cope IF they know about its specific weaknesses. In classic D&D, smart players are weighing the risks, though. Unless there is something beyond the jelly that is (potentially) worthwhile, it has no treasure of its own as a rule, and even with a special ability bump to XP, no one is leveling just for taking one out. As a DM, I would want to use the jelly in surprise situations or as an impediment to overcome for a larger goal. Perhaps a mad alchemist figured out how to bottle one up and chucks the jar at the PCs like a grenade?

Those ain't apricot!

Oozy Goodness Part IV: Green Slime

Green slime is almost more of a trap than a monster per se.  It's gross and dangerous and PCs hate encountering it, but is it a "monster"? It's hard to say, I suppose. Anyway, let's get on with it, shall we?

Green Slime (from Moldvay)

AC: Can always be hit
HD: 2*
Move: 3 (1')
Att: 1
Damage: special
No. App: 1 (0)
Save: F1
Morale:12
Treasure: Nil
AL: N

What jumps out from the stat block is its lack of AC. You literally can't miss this thing. The trick is most attacks don't harm it. Only fire or cold can affect it. It is barely  mobile, so outrunning it isn't the problem. The problem is the slime's nasty tendency to drip onto people and turn them into slime themselves.

Green slime turns flesh into slime. It can completely "melt" a PC in as little as 7 rounds. There is no save vs. the slime. If it hits, it starts dissolving you. The really annoying part of the process is that there are only three ways to get the slime off the victim: Cold, Fire, or a Cure Disease spell. If you aren't lucky enough to have a cleric on hand with the appropriate spell prepared, then you're left with either trying to freeze or burn the slime off. By the book, the only cold attacks in BX are things like white dragons or frost salamanders, or a Wand of Cold, so the most likely scenario is to use good old reliable fire!

Now hold still!

The catch, of course, is that burning off slime also burns the victim. (1/2 the damage each). 

All this adds up to two things:

1. I tend to think of green slime as a hazard, not a creature.
2. I need to use it in dungeons WAY more often! (evil laugh)

Oozy Goodness Part II: Gelatinous Cube

Ah the gelatinous cube. A slime-based entity that apparently evolved to accommodate graph paper. It's probably fair to say that the cube is an iconic D&D monster. Even if a player hasn't had to deal with one himself, chances are he knows the basic idea of the thing: It slides along corridors slurping up organic debris. They are quiet, hard to see, and dissolve people.

Gelatinous Cube (from Moldvay)

AC: 8
HD: 4*
Move: 60' (20')
Att: 1
Damage: 2d4 + special
No. App: 1 (0)
Save: F2
Morale: 12
Treasure: V
AL: N

As we can see, old blocky here shares certain traits with other slimers: It's none to fast, it's got a high morale (mindless), and isn't too hard to hit. Their strength as a foe comes largely from the fact that the are "nearly transparent" and surprise quite often (1-4).

The other big deal about the GC is of course its paralyzing attack. Similar to a Ghoul's, the effect only lasts 2d4 turns and can be removed with Cure Light Wounds. Of course, if a character fails their save and is paralyzed while the cube is busily trying to devour him, a few turns is plenty of time to finish off a victim.

Gelatinous cubes aren't horrifically tough, mind you. As long as a party member or two stays clear, they can likely finish one off in a few rounds. Interestingly, the cube is immune to electrical and cold attacks, but fire does the trick nicely. Lobbing flask of burning oil from a distance is a favorite tactic of many adventurers.

A cube has no lair, and its meager treasure type (V) reflects this somewhat. There's always a chance of some coins or gems stuck undissolved in the goo, but probably not much. Far more interesting is for a DM to deliberately place something the PCs want or need within the cube to make dealing with the creature more necessary.

DMs should play up how hard it is to spot a cube in a dark dungeon corridor as well as its chance at surprise. Once the PCs know its there, chances are the bulk of the danger is gone. Conversely, players should rely on ranged attacks (often after some poor soul has gotten paralyzed to reveal the threat) as well as flaming oil or similar.

Cubes can also be incorporated into traps and ambushes. If there is some evil lich or some such "Dungeon Boss" that has stocked his lair with creatures to keep out interlopers, cubes can be used to up the ante. Spiked pit? Yawn. Pit with a cube in the bottom? Now yer talkin'! Or perhaps the cube does the falling. Trap the PCs in a 10 x 10' stretch of hallway with portcullis traps and have the cube fall out of a ceiling panel onto them.

Oozy Goodness Part I: Black Pudding

I'm sure someone somewhere has written or reported upon exactly why Gygax & co. were so keen on including so many different amorphous blob-like monsters in D&D. Don't get me wrong; oozes and their ilk are fun encounters. Heck, I wrote a whole module full of them! But one does have to wonder sometimes if we needed quite so many options in this category. Nevertheless, over the next several posts I'll be taking a look at those escapees from the petri dish  which can be found among the pages of Moldvay and Cook starting alphabetically with the Black Pudding.

Black Pudding (from Cook) 

AC: 6

HD: 10*

Move: 60' (20')

Att: 1

Damage: 3d8

No. App: 1 (0)

Save: F5

Morale: 12

Treasure: Nil

AL: N

So the immediate takeaway from these stats is that this thing can take more than it can dish out. It's HD is very respectable, but it has relatively weak saves and moves quite slowly.The high morale fits its mindless nature. Black puddings are particularly dangerous for two main reasons: They can seep into almost any location within the dungeon, and just smacking them makes a bunch of lil' puddins. but since fire circumvents that, it's not hard for a knowledgeable party to switch to flame-based tactics (torches, oil, fireballs, etc.).

Regarding its ability to split up into 2HD mini-puddings, no upper limit is listed but logically it seems that 5 x 2HD would follow from its 10HD total. A nasty feature of the pudding is the fact it can corrode metal. This means that most loot (coin, weapons, etc.) will be worthless in one turn. Though I would argue magic items might get a saving throw. 

Because the pudding has no treasure of its own, and has a tendency to corrode what it touches, it's not a great monster for the party to seek out as a way to get lots of gold or XP. Admittedly, 1600xp for killing it is nice, but that's not that much for a party that's high enough level to deal with it once it's split 4-6 ways.

Despite being slow, the pudding can dissolve wood, which means it can get through most doors eventually. Plus it can climb walls, cling to ceilings, and squeeze through cracks. I imagine this blob as a menace from the shadows (they're black, after all), relentlessly stalking its prey. It is easily outrun, but continues to seep along behind. 3d8 damage and a THACO of 11 means that unarmored magic-user that's keeping to the back of the party could be the target of a melt-ambush.

RMA: Wild Boar

Sus scrofa, or Wild Boar, is a perfectly normal critter. It's not giant or magic or dire. Unlike it's more fantastical "cousins", the wereboar and devil swine, it lacks special or supernatural abilities. So why bother listing it in the monsters section at all?

Well, first off, boars were all over the place in medieval Europe and Asia, so a fantasy world based on that sort of period would likely have them as well. They appear in the grassland, woods, river, inhabited, and jungle encounter tables.

Let's have the stats, shall we?

Boar (from Moldvay)

AC: 7

HD: 3

Move: 150' (50')

Att: 1 tusk

Damage: 2d4

No. App: 1d6 (1d6)

Save: F2

Morale: 9

Treasure: Nil

AL: N

As a straight-up fight, boar are low on the risk-to-reward scale for PC types. They are fast enough and just tough enough charge in and to bang up the party without giving them much in return. No treasure and only 35 xp each. Their morale isn't awesome, but they'd probably stick about for a round or two at least.

There are a few scenarios where I could see featuring these animals in adventures or even just an encounter. 

1. Remember that wereboars can summon these things to fight with them. 
2. Low level PCs might ingratiate themselves to a landowner by dealing with some pesky boars ruining the crops.
3. They might the only food source around for starving PCs lost in the wilds.
4. Body disposal

Pigs are omnivorous and are not shy about carrion. Popular fiction has periodically used this fact to add a sinister aspect to their feeding habits.

Scary man!

Imagine a crime boss who keeps a boar pit outside of town for such a purpose. Or what if someone was killed in the woods and a sounder of boars found the body? Maybe something important or valuable was on the corpse when they started to feed?

RMA: Manticore

vb Wyrde over on the MeWe OSR group asked about who had used or encountered these critters in their games and I realized I had never done a Random Monster Assessment on them.

These creatures appear in Cook Expert. This makes sense as they would be a handful for Basic level PCs and they are more suited to wilderness encounters (they do appear on the random monsters for dungeon levels 8+). They are on the flyer table for Mountain and Desert terrain, which also makes sense given their origin in persian mythology. 

Manticore (from Cook)

AC: 4

HD: 6+1

Move: 120' (40'), Fly 180' (60')

Att: 2 claws/1bite or spikes

Dmg: 1d4/1d4/2d8 or special

No. App: 1d2 (1d4)

Save: F6

Morale: 9

Treasure: D

AL: C

So stat-wise, the manticore is pretty tough, but not unstoppable. Its AC is so-so for a 6 hit die creature. It has poor morale, too. What makes this fella formidable is a combination of factors. This makes a little work for the DM to keep them all in mind, but the result can be a pretty memorable encounter.

1. It can fly. I know that's hardly unique, but it does add a wrinkle to facing one (or more) of them. 
2. It has ranged and melee attacks. In both cases it is potentially striking multiple times per round. 
3. The melee attacks (claws/bite) are not automatic kills, but if all three hit a single target, you're looking at up to 16 points of damage per round. A perfectly respectable number.
4. The spike attack is nasty. Granted the manticore only has four of them before his tail is empty, but each round that it uses it can mean up to 36 points of damage dealt out. And this is a ranged attack. 
5. "The manticore's favorite food is man." (X35) These things seek out people and eat them. They are not just dangerous, they actively hunt humans. Their chaotic alignment also points to them not feeling too terrible about it either.
6. "They will frequently track parties with humans, ambushing with spike attacks when the party stops to rest." It's interesting to note that it specifically says "with humans." One reading of that could be distinguishing them from demihumans. So a party with a mix of races could see the humans specifically targeted. 
7. As a 6+ HD monster, it is capable of flying off carrying a man. Or, say, flying up 100' or so and dropping him on some rocks. 

Treasure Type D is pretty respectable, so I could see PC parties being foolish and greedy enough to seek out a manticore lair for the loot. Perhaps in a desert, where the creature(s) have made a den in an old pyramid tomb full of the gold of a lost king?

If I was a player facing such an encounter, I would work hard to find a way to ground it (perhaps a Web spell?) then close to melee so it couldn't shoot me with those 6 x 1d6 spikes. 

RMA: Ghost

More Halloween fun!

While not part of the core BX roster of monsters, ghosts are in the Moldvay/Wells Basic series module Palace of the Silver Princess. You can also find a version in the Labyrinth Lord Advanced Edition Companion,  but that always struck me as more of a 1st editon version ported over, so I'm sticking with the B3 version (I'm working from a pdf of the orange cover, if they are markedly different in the green cover version, please let me know).

Ghost (from B3)

AC: 1

HD: 5

Move: 150' (50')

Att: 1 + Aging

Dmg: 1d6

No. App: 1d4

Save: F5

Morale: 12

AL: C

Ghosts are (obviously) a type of undead, and can be turned as wights. Their attacks have a 50% chance of aging the target by 1d8 years due to fright. What's odd is that -while described as translucent- there is no mention of them being incorporeal or requiring any special weapons (i.e. magic or silver) to strike them. I assume the standard undead immunities, such as charm and hold spells, are still in effect. 

Overall I am unimpressed by this listing. Other than some mention of them haunting certain types of locales and the idea that rich and powerful people become "powerful" ghosts in the afterlife (whatever that means!), it's basically a GINO (Ghost In Name Only). The Rules Cyclopedia's "Haunt" offers some more flavor, but it's still basically more monsters.

I am record saying that the undead's scariness should be more psychic than physical. I don't feel that the classic D&D Ghost delivers on this one. I do feel that it has a lot of potential, though. 

For example, the aging effect is a nice twist, but it's a pity that there is so little in the rules to make this really matter to the PCs. Sure the DM can make a ruling, but it's unlikely to make much difference unless a PC gets hit several times. This is certainly possible, but in practice how does the DM decide when the unlucky character has burned through his mortal coil? Or aged enough to affect scores, etc.? An on the fly ruling here can feel a bit arbitrary to the player if it's his PC on the line. I know that other editions do cover this, but it's still a weak link for the BX version IMO. 

Instead of just aging, what if there was some other effect? Maybe the PC literally dies of fright or "System Shock" from aging several years in an instant? Save vs. Death Ray/Poison or your heart fails.

I would keep the notion of ghosts being tied to something in the material world. It may be a place, or an object, or their own remains. It may even be their descendants (or those of their killer's!). 

Of course, the lack of "incorporeality" may just be a typo or oversight in the listing. Let's just put that back in, shall we? Like spectres, they have no solid bodies. I might also suggest that they have a higher chance of surprise (1-4?), due to popping out walls and such. Magic or silver to hit them seems appropriate as well. I would also give it the ability to turn invisible so it can toss things about poltergeist-style.

Finally, it may make sense to abandon the idea of the ghost as a "monster" altogether and think of it like a trap or puzzle. It is an anguished soul seeking release. The PCs could vanquish the spirit by laying it to rest. Maybe they need to bury its remains in consecrated ground or bring its killer to justice. Who knows? But it seems a heck of lot more spooky than some glow in the dark cookie cutter stat block. 

RMA: Mummies

Keeping up with the Halloween theme, here's another classic monster.

Mummies aren't rare in D&D, but they aren't always a "go-to" monster, even for undead. I think it's partially because of the exotic nature of the trope. We usually think of pyramids and deserts when we think of these relics, but many cultures besides the Egyptians practiced forms of mummification of their dead.

Unlike other powerful undead, eg vampires or specters, mummies aren't necessarily intelligent or mindless. I've probably seen them most often played more like a ghost: either haunting some ruin or acting as an agent of vengeance against those who would defile a tomb or temple. 

Mummies are quite frankly among the scarier of the undead in classic D&D. Before we get into it, let's review the stats:

Mummy (from Cook):

AC: 3
HD: 5+1*
Move: 60' (20')
Att: 1 + disease
Dmg: 1d12 + disease
No. App: 1d4 (1d12)
Save: F5
Morale: 12
AL: C

From a purely combat perspective, Sir Wraps-a-lot here is reasonably respectable. He's slow, but that makes sense (shambling undead, anyone?). His AC plus the normal undead immunities and decent hit dice mean he can take a fair bit of punishment, too.

A brief side note: I believe the Mummy is the only attack that uses the d12 damage die (as opposed to 2d6 or some such) in all of BX.

Where the mummy gets really formidable are in its special abilities.

1. In keeping with an earlier post about the undead being scary, it's worth pointing out that mummies actually have a fear effect rule. Just seeing a mummy forces a Save vs. Paralysis or the character freezes up. If the mummy moves out of sight or attacks somebody, the effect is broken, but still. I do like the idea of a character just locking up and not alerting the party because he's too scared to speak!
2. In addition to the 1d12 damage, the mummy's touch infects the victim with a rotting disease. What's curious about the disease is that it doesn't kill, it just prevents magical healing and slows any natural healing to 10x as long. According to Moldvay, normal healing = 1d3 hp/day of full rest. [B25] This would mean 1d3 per ten days of rest! Best find yourself a 6th level cleric and get a Cure Disease if you want those festering wounds to close!
3. Lastly, in addition the usual undead immunities like Sleep, Charm, or Hold spells, the mummy can only be harmed by fire or magic (spells or weapons) and these only do half damage! I always think of mummies going up like a bonfire, but in truth they are quite resistant to flames. 
4. While it's true that a mid-level or higher cleric can automatically turn or even destroy mummies, if you are in their lair (lost temples and the like), there can be up to a dozen of them! That's 60 hit dice to turn, and that's not gonna happen. 

Mummies get a pretty generous treasure type (D). It's not "dragon hoard" levels of loot, but potentially quite profitable. Which is in keeping with why tomb robbers would bother with the risk of digging these linen-swaddled nightmares up at all!

RMA: Lycanthropes (part 5, werebears)

Now we come to the final entry among the were-critters: the Werebear. I've written about normal bears before. The were version is a fair bit tougher, stat-wise. In fact, they're closer to cave bears.

Werebears (from Moldvay):

AC: 2 (8 for humans)
HD: 6*
Move: 120' (40')
Att: 2 claws/1 bite
Dmg: 2d4/2d4/2d8
No. App: 1d4 (1d4)
Save: F6
Morale: 10
AL: N

If provoked, these creatures are pretty dangerous. Their armor and morale are quite respectable. In addition to their normal 3 attacks, they can hug for an additional 2d8 damage if they hit with both claws. That's potentially 4d4 + 4d8 damage to a victim in a single round! That's an average of 28 points of damage. Even if that doesn't kill a foe, it could easily set them up for lycanthropic infection; even a name level fighter (9HD) only has an average of approximately 30-40 hit points.

As formidable as they are on the lycanthrope ladder, werebears in D&D are interesting for being the only ones listed as potentially friendly. They are also described as "very intelligent, even in animal form." This is taking a pretty far step from the raging beast within stereotype of things like "Wolfman" movies, etc. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the inspiration for this particular -ahem- "skin changer" came from someplace else.

hmmmm. What could it be?

To be fair, there is a rich tradition of shape-changing bears in Native American folklore, too. I can't help but think that Beorn is at least part of this monster's origin, though.

RMA: Lycanthropes (part 4, Weretigers)

I've talked about tigers before on this blog. It's pretty obvious that they are intimidating creatures all on their own. Weretigers add a layer of fun with the lycanthropic powers.

Weretiger (from Moldvay):

AC: 3 (9 as human)
HD: 5*
Move: 150' (50')
Att: 3 (2 claws/bite)
Dmg: 1d6/1d6/2d6
No. App: 1d4 (1d4)
Save: F5
Morale: 9
AL: N

So we can see that the weres are getting progressively tougher in terms of raw combat power; better AC more hit points, 3 attacks now, doing up to 24 points of damage per round. All very impressive. The thing that the weretiger brings to the table is stealth. They surprise on a 1-4 (like normal tigers) and are described as "quiet trackers." This fits with normal tigers behavior in the real world. They are ambushers, moving with alarming speed and savagery when they want to.

Warning. There is some blood in this video.

Couple this with the weretiger summoning 1-2 more great cats to its aid (not necessarily tigers), and a party can be in for a rough time. Weretigers are also the first lycanthrope with enough hit dice to be immune to a Sleep spell, so the easy 1st level spell drop is no longer an option.

Weretigers, like wereboars, are Neutral. They are described as "very curious but becoming dangerous when threatened." This implies they aren't necessarily out to cause trouble. Which is an interesting difference from the classic "killer werewolf" trope in fiction. It may just be me, but this gives an impression of lycanthropes sometimes just going about their lives and being a regular part of a BX world as opposed to the tormented, evil, or cursed individuals wreaking havoc.

and sexier!

Weretigers also move things out of the western/european model into the "exotic east." Despite the fact that weretigers do not appear on the jungle encounter tables, one would expect to see them (or their mundane counterparts) in a tropical or eastern style locale as opposed to a "medieval fantasy" type village.

RMA: Lycanthropes (part 3, Wereboars)

Wereboars are an odd one to me. I've espoused my love of their bigger, wackier cousin the Devil Swine, but the "normal" porcine shapeshifter is not one I've seen in use much in D&D games I've played or run.

Wereboars (from Moldvay):

AC: 4 (9 as human)
HD: 4+1*
Move: 150' (50')
Att: 1 (tusk-bite)
Dmg: 2d6
No. App: 1d4 (2d8)
Save: F4
Morale: 9
AL: N

Looking at the stats, a couple of things occur to me. Wereboars are the first of what I would consider the "tough" lycanthropes. They don't appear as a wandering monster until the Expert Set levels (4th) and their Armor Class, Hit Dice, and Damage are getting more respectable. Even without being a were-creature, a sounder of them would be a decent opponent for low to mid level PCs. Another interesting thing is that they are the first in the ascending power scale of these creatures to be neutral, instead of chaotic. This implies they aren't necessarily some evil monster.

Leaving the stat block behind, let's look at the description. They are listed as "semi-intelligent," which means they won't necessarily charge blindly into a situation, but they do have "bad tempers." Poor reaction rolls, maybe? They can do the animal summoning thing too, bringing normal wild boars to the fight. These are not insignificant creatures, especially if each lycanthrope is calling a couple in. 

An interesting tidbit here: "In human form they often seem to be berserkers, and may act the same way in battle (gaining +2 on 'to hit' rolls and fighting to the death)." [B39] Two things about this. First, in were form their morale is a nine, as opposed to the "never surrender" aspect of berserkers (which they do not do as boars, but as men). Second, this makes them pretty scary even out of their magical form. Another thought is that I can imagine a role for such people in some warrior societies. Almost like a "mystic order" of warriors that are infused with the "Spirit of the Boar" and charge berserk into battle and transform into beasts in the heat of the fighting. 

Reading over the material, it strikes me that one of the main ways wereboars can be effectively used in a game is tapping into the tremendous amount of folklore that surrounds the idea of pigs and boars being demonic or supernatural. There's as much about evil pigs (if not more) than werewolves in the really old stories. Granted, they aren't all lycanthropes in those stories, but the imagery is there. For example, the Cutty Black Sow is a welsh tale of a creature that steals mens' souls on what is now Halloween. DMs looking for ways to weave a spooky wereboar-related adventure have no shortage of material to mine. 

RMA: Lycanthropes (part 2, Wererats)

Good ol' Tramp!

Next up in our look at lycanthropes are the wererats. There are several things about these creatures that make for an interesting encounter. Stats first, shall we?

Wererat (from Moldvay):

AC: 7 (9 as human)
HD: 3*
Move: 120' (40')
Att: 1, bite or weapon
Dmg: 1d4 or weapon
No. App: 1d8 (2d8)
Save: F3
Morale: 8
AL: C

Note the attack listing. They are the only standard lycanthrope that can wield a weapon in bestial form. It's important to note that damage from their weapons won't infect a person with lycanthropy, only their bites. But the really unusual stuff is in the description, not the stats.

1. They are not humans that turn into rats, but rats that turn into humans! The description on page B38 clearly states this. It is a little unclear how this works with infecting a human with the disease. Since the character becomes an NPC after they go "full were" it's not too much of an obstacle in play. Personally, I like the idea of regular rats getting infected and then being able to turn into humans!
2. They have three possible forms instead of two. Wererats can A) be rats, B) be humans, or C) assume a "man-sized rat form." While imagery like the Chaney photo from the last post popularizes the idea of the "hybrid" forms for lycanthropes in general, by the book wererats are the only ones. Other weres are people that "change into beasts." None of the other descriptions depict a "man-beast" form, so an argument can be made that they are just wolves or boars or whatever when transformed.
3. They are intelligent and can speak Common in either form. The general description for lycanthropes' animal forms says they cannot speak normal languages but can communicate with animals of their type. Again, wererats are an exception to the rule. They may speak in human or "man-rat" form. 
4. When they summon regular rats to aid them, they get giant rats instead of normal ones. 

Tactically, wererats are clever, setting ambushes with a high chance of surprising foes. Their ability to change into much smaller than human size also makes them quite capable of infiltration and stealth. I can envision using them in scenarios like a chaotic master thief who retains a cadre of wererat spies.

RMA: Lycanthropes (werewolf)

Once again, Halloween fast approaches. It is easily my favorite holiday of the year. This reminded me of my post last year about classic monster movies. 

It then occurred to me that I have never done a Random Monster Assessment (RMA) about the classic lycanthropes. I have discussed the Devil Swine, but he's not a typical example of this grouping of monsters. So without further ado, I am diving into a series of lycanthrope RMAs starting with the classic of all classics, the werewolf.

OGWW!

First off, let's get the stats out of the way, shall we?

Werewolf (from Moldvay)
AC: 5 (9 in human form)
HD: 4
Move: 180' (60')
Att: 1 bite
Dmg: 2d4
No. App: 1d6 (2d6)
Save: F4
Morale: 8
AL: C

At first it doesn't appear that intimidating. Its armor class (in were-form) isn't too bad and it has a low morale. Four hit dice means it isn't dropping in one shot, but it isn't exactly a dragon, either. Of course, what makes the werewolf and other lycanthropes interesting (and scary) as foes are the devils in the details.

It's common knowledge that werewolves are not harmed by normal weapons. It requires magic (weapons or spells) or, of course, silver to damage them. Silvered weapons aren't too hard to come by in your typical BX setting, heck they're on the standard equipment lists along with things like wolfsbane (we'll get to that), but not every weapon has an argent version. By the book, only daggers and arrows are available this way. I have had players do things like melt down silver pieces into sling bullets and coat crossbow bolt tips with the metal, but I usually draw the line at things like silvered swords and the like. It's not that the metal is so expensive, it's that the process won't hold that much of an edge. I did once see a player at a con have his cleric use a silver candelabra as an impromptu blunt weapon, though. Magic weapons and "battle" spells are pretty obvious, as that +2 Axe or Lightning Bolt spell is going to work against most any critter you use it against.

Aconitum napellus, or Wolfsbane, is an interesting bit of folklore that was added to the monster listings. I've discussed it in more detail in the previously linked blog post, but the idea that one can drive the were away without killing it, coupled with a werewolf's low morale lends itself nicely to the idea of the creature being driven away by the superstitious peasantry and remaining at large for an extended period; perhaps over several nights, months, or years?

Moving on. All lycanthropes can summon their mundane counterparts. So werewolves can summon regular wolves, wereboars normal boars, etc. Having 1 or 2 wolves show up to the fight a few rounds later might knock some PCs off balance a bit.

Werewolves are particularly nasty foes because they tend to run in packs. In groups of five or more, there is an "alpha" with an extra HD and a damage bonus plus the normal summoned wolves to pad the ranks. 2-12 werewolves with 1-2 wolves each means a lot of fangs running around underneath a full moon.

And their hair was perfect! 

Lastly, I should mention the disease of lycanthropy itself. There are a few interesting things about it. First of all, there is no save! If a character takes more than half their hit points in a fight with a were-creature, they are infected. Secondly, it only fully manifests in humans. It just flat-out kills demi-humans! Granted, humans or otherwise have a little time before the disease takes full effect (one way or the other) and can seek out an 11th+ level cleric to cure them of the disease. This is doubly interesting because A) Cure Disease is a third level spell, which a cleric would have access to by sixth level. B) There isn't anything specific about an eleventh level cleric's abilities that seem to jibe with this power. No access to new spell levels and they were already name level. So why 11th? The only thing about this particular level cleric that I see is that is where they reach the highest tier on the Turn Undead table (11+) and can automatically Destroy any undead up to Vampires. I would say it's because lycanthropy is a magical disease, infecting one via a magical creature, but mummies' rotting disease is curable by the spell. I expect it was probably a case of where the Expert rules were assumed to be going to have something for it when Basic was released, but things got tweaked after the first book was published.