Jack Mann
2006-09-08, 08:01 AM
The purpose of this thread is the creation of monsters, as you no doubt learned from the title. However, I will only be doing half of the work. I will come up with a concept for creatures, with some description fo what they look like and what they can do. It's your job to convert it to game statistics. Feel free to deviate from the flavor text. If you think of an interesting ability that would work with the creature, by all means add it.
There will likely be several themes that I run the creatures through. We'll start with the urban wilderness of a decadent, half-ruined city, inspired by the Urban Druid thread.
Erehtton
Between the Swampsea and the Runetrail Forest, across the Inwall Mountains from the City of Bones, lies Erehtton, once greatest city on the ancient continent of Ecalpon in the world of Sawreven. Long ago, Erehtton was the capital of the Quezani Empire. It was raised through the sweat of slaves and the spells of wizards, and has lasted for millenia. However, since the collapse of the empire, the spells that kept the forest and the swamp at bay have lapsed.
The mad emperor Khusar has stayed in his palace on the hill for the past three thousand years on strange and secret magecrafts, letting his people fend for themselves. The city is continuously rebuilt against the swamp and forest. Ruins are excavated for living space, and canoes and gondalas are used to navigate the avenues. Trade still moves, for Erehtton is at the crux of several major trade routes. Furs, dyes, gold and silver pass through it, going from one city-state to the next. Wizards search old towers for lost spells. Thieves and assassins creep along crumbling ledges to their targets. And creatures, both natural and magic-born have found a place in this strange, half-wild city.
Gourmals
The Gourmal is a creature bred by wizards for its incredible appetite. In the glory days of the city, they were kept in pits underground and fed the garbage of the city. Eventually, they escaped their pits and began to roam the more neglected parts of the city. They prefer the higher, drier areas, roaming there and eating both refuse and more lively prey.
A Gourmal is about the size of a dog. Its thick body is covered in coarse black hair. Their legs are thick and end in cloven hooves. Their tails are thick, short and end in a tuft of hair. Their most prominent feature is their mouth. It's long, like a crocodile's, filled with sharp teeth and containing a long, sticky frog-like tongue. The tongue is the most dangerous part of the animal, for it has a terrible power.
When its tongue hits something, that object or creature will shrink, until it fits into the beasts' stomach. It can swallow creatures even as large as a horse. Those who are swallowed soon die unless they can cut their way out. Once they exit the creature--one way or another--they return to their normal size.
Towerhawks
The Towerhawk is a massive flying reptilian-looking creature with a fifteen foot wing span, capable of killing and carrying off a man. Their leathery wings are braced by long, thick fingers ending in claws. Towerhawks are a pale grey-green on the underside, and a mottled gray above. They have thick, powerful legs and long, curved talons. Their heads are long and thin, almost beaklike, but filled with sharp teeth. They have a colorful crest on their heads, and short, thick hair on their bodies. Despite their size, they can be difficult to see against the vine-draped sky. They were originally from the Inwall mountains, but began using the ruined towers of the city for their eyries.
They feed on dogs, pigs, gourmals, and even humans, elves or dwarves. They pose a particular danger to gnomes and halflings, as they prefer the smaller races. However, they do little hunting in the city proper, where there's little room to turn from side to side. They prefer to hunt in the nearby forest, in the more open spaces between trees, and in the overgrown Mageway Parks. They will typically stoop, striking with their full force on impact, often killing their prey in one blow. If that doesn't immediately kill them, then it will take to the air the next round to try for another strike, or to run if the animal proves too powerful.
Sewerworms
Sewerworms (which have no connection to the Sewerwyrm, a black dragon dwelling in the Undercity of Herth) are smaller cousins of the purple worm. They originally lived in the swampsea, developing an amphibious lifestyle. Approximately two thousand years ago, several of them found their way into the sewers beneath Erehtton They have several adaptations to help them.
For one, they're much smaller than purple worms, or even the ancestral swampworms. Whether this is a related phenenom to island dwarfism, the work of magic, or simply their response to a more limited environment is not known. They are typically twenty to thirty feet long and one or two feet thick. For another, they're typically a much darker color of purple, with green splotches of algae on their carapaces, which makes them difficult to spot in the dark tunnels. Over time, they've lost the ability to burrow, likely due to the hard stone of the sewers. Instead, they prefer to swim through the slimy waters they call their home, using their tremorsense to navigate and find prey.
They eat a variety of creatures from rats to gibberlings, as well as any feral animals or humanoids that find their way into the tunnels. Occasionally, one will swim out of the sewers into the canals, where they pose a threat to gondaleers and other travelers.
There will likely be several themes that I run the creatures through. We'll start with the urban wilderness of a decadent, half-ruined city, inspired by the Urban Druid thread.
Erehtton
Between the Swampsea and the Runetrail Forest, across the Inwall Mountains from the City of Bones, lies Erehtton, once greatest city on the ancient continent of Ecalpon in the world of Sawreven. Long ago, Erehtton was the capital of the Quezani Empire. It was raised through the sweat of slaves and the spells of wizards, and has lasted for millenia. However, since the collapse of the empire, the spells that kept the forest and the swamp at bay have lapsed.
The mad emperor Khusar has stayed in his palace on the hill for the past three thousand years on strange and secret magecrafts, letting his people fend for themselves. The city is continuously rebuilt against the swamp and forest. Ruins are excavated for living space, and canoes and gondalas are used to navigate the avenues. Trade still moves, for Erehtton is at the crux of several major trade routes. Furs, dyes, gold and silver pass through it, going from one city-state to the next. Wizards search old towers for lost spells. Thieves and assassins creep along crumbling ledges to their targets. And creatures, both natural and magic-born have found a place in this strange, half-wild city.
Gourmals
The Gourmal is a creature bred by wizards for its incredible appetite. In the glory days of the city, they were kept in pits underground and fed the garbage of the city. Eventually, they escaped their pits and began to roam the more neglected parts of the city. They prefer the higher, drier areas, roaming there and eating both refuse and more lively prey.
A Gourmal is about the size of a dog. Its thick body is covered in coarse black hair. Their legs are thick and end in cloven hooves. Their tails are thick, short and end in a tuft of hair. Their most prominent feature is their mouth. It's long, like a crocodile's, filled with sharp teeth and containing a long, sticky frog-like tongue. The tongue is the most dangerous part of the animal, for it has a terrible power.
When its tongue hits something, that object or creature will shrink, until it fits into the beasts' stomach. It can swallow creatures even as large as a horse. Those who are swallowed soon die unless they can cut their way out. Once they exit the creature--one way or another--they return to their normal size.
Towerhawks
The Towerhawk is a massive flying reptilian-looking creature with a fifteen foot wing span, capable of killing and carrying off a man. Their leathery wings are braced by long, thick fingers ending in claws. Towerhawks are a pale grey-green on the underside, and a mottled gray above. They have thick, powerful legs and long, curved talons. Their heads are long and thin, almost beaklike, but filled with sharp teeth. They have a colorful crest on their heads, and short, thick hair on their bodies. Despite their size, they can be difficult to see against the vine-draped sky. They were originally from the Inwall mountains, but began using the ruined towers of the city for their eyries.
They feed on dogs, pigs, gourmals, and even humans, elves or dwarves. They pose a particular danger to gnomes and halflings, as they prefer the smaller races. However, they do little hunting in the city proper, where there's little room to turn from side to side. They prefer to hunt in the nearby forest, in the more open spaces between trees, and in the overgrown Mageway Parks. They will typically stoop, striking with their full force on impact, often killing their prey in one blow. If that doesn't immediately kill them, then it will take to the air the next round to try for another strike, or to run if the animal proves too powerful.
Sewerworms
Sewerworms (which have no connection to the Sewerwyrm, a black dragon dwelling in the Undercity of Herth) are smaller cousins of the purple worm. They originally lived in the swampsea, developing an amphibious lifestyle. Approximately two thousand years ago, several of them found their way into the sewers beneath Erehtton They have several adaptations to help them.
For one, they're much smaller than purple worms, or even the ancestral swampworms. Whether this is a related phenenom to island dwarfism, the work of magic, or simply their response to a more limited environment is not known. They are typically twenty to thirty feet long and one or two feet thick. For another, they're typically a much darker color of purple, with green splotches of algae on their carapaces, which makes them difficult to spot in the dark tunnels. Over time, they've lost the ability to burrow, likely due to the hard stone of the sewers. Instead, they prefer to swim through the slimy waters they call their home, using their tremorsense to navigate and find prey.
They eat a variety of creatures from rats to gibberlings, as well as any feral animals or humanoids that find their way into the tunnels. Occasionally, one will swim out of the sewers into the canals, where they pose a threat to gondaleers and other travelers.