Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Lost Galmagia: Monster Stat Blocks

Since I’m making some new ones, I should stat them up; plus how do I plan to run this.

Monster Base Principles

I’m tying monsters to level more because that was always the discussion in D&D but the HD = Level doesn’t feel mechanically rigorous enough for me. There’s some real 13th Age thinking in this,.

Monsters per level: 4.5 HP, +0.75 to hit (round down), 3 damage per level (+1 per attack if the damage is split across multiple attacks), AC is 8 at levels 0 and 1, 11 at levels 2-4, 14 at levels 5-8, and 18 and level 9 (reduce HP by 5% for every 1 pt. increase in AC). Save as Fighter at level. Special abilities usually activate on a to hit roll of 18+ or 15+, 6- or 3- and do not effect the Level of the monster; it just makes it meaner.

Soul Echoes (Level 0)
Number appearing: 1 Anywhere (2d4 at abandoned holy sites)
AC 8; HP 3; Move 20’ per round (floating)
Attacks are +0 to hit with touch, 0 damage per hit,
Morale: 12 (songs, palindromes, or collections of multi-colored sorting stones keep them away for 2d4 hours)
Specials: On an attack roll of 15+, drain 1 Constitution (usable once an hour, recovers after day in Place of Safety), Only hit by Magic Weapons, Turns as Skeleton (any turning destroys), bound to religious sites near their area of death

Notes: These translucent forms are just barely undead; not ghosts with personalities and grievances but echoes of spirits that were never laid to rest. Rarely they are found individually floating towards religious sites, where the local clergy can easily dispel them, or floating in numbers around abandoned holy sites. They prefer to attack at night when their insidious stealing of the targets breath can have maximum effect, but will attack if surprised at any time..

Prairie Rats (level 0)
Number appearing: 2-20 near where they’ve set up a burrow (5-50 in burrow)
AC 8; HP 1 per 2 rats; Move 20’ per round (swim 10)
Attacks are +0 to hit with bite, 1 damage on odd hit, 2 damage on even hit, and are made per group of 5-10 rats.
Morale: 5 (unless controlled)
Specials: On an attack roll of 18+, Target must save vs. poison or get sick in 24 hours. Constitution check of 3+ to avoid death in 1d6 days, otherwise sick for one month (Cure Disease immediately fixes, Clerical assistance gives +1 on check)
Specials: On an attack roll of 3-, the rats swarming over the target can overbalance it; save vs. Death or be knocked down and unable to attack until Death save made to regain feet or rats driven off

Notes: These are omnivorous menaces of the Tarmalanian plains; they are like normal rats in size, but burrow constantly, and will happily form packs to attack humans. Generally, they have to be smoked or burned out of places but once an infestation starts they’re very difficult to eradicate. They will quickly devour corpses left in areas they infest (Goblins hate them due to this tendency and usually attack them whenever they see them).

Fire Beetles (Level 1)
Number appearing: 1-8 in large radius of their pit (2-12 in pit)
AC 15; HP 4; Move 40’ per round
Attacks are +0 to hit with mandibles, damage 3 per hit.
Morale: 2 (if outside of pit area) or 9 (if inside pit and target restrained)
Specials: tremorsense, can walk over stagnant water or mud without restraint

Fire Beetles are yard long creatures found near swamps or mud pits. They have two glowing glands above their eyes and one at their tail (which they can close off to kill the light, and which glow for 1d6 days after their death) that light a 10’ radius. They never attack targets who are not in some way restrained – preferably in their swamps or mudpits – and those they attack viciously, killing the lights. They will drag off any corpses they come across, back to the pits.
If the target isn’t restrained, they quickly skuttle away from any attempt at violence against them.

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