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Old 11-18-2001, 11:56 AM   #1
Caine
Elminster
 

Join Date: October 10, 2001
Location: Johannesburg,Gauteng,South Africa
Posts: 405
Sand Gorgon
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CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Unknown
INTELLIGENCE: Low (5-7)
TREASURE: None
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
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NO. OF APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 0
MOVE: 36
HIT DICE: 12
THAC0: 9
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 or 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-24 (hug) or 1-12/1-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
SIZE: M
MORALE: Fearless (19-20)
XP VALUE: 5,000

I've tried to describe the Sand Gorgon as best I can from the Thomas Covenant
Series by Steven R. Donaldson. They are the race of creatures trapped in an
unending sandstorm by a group of magicians because of their destructive
abilities. Each has a unique name and when this name is spoken, the creature
is released from the sandstorm and immediately makes its way to to the speaker
of the name. It's sole purpose is to kill the speaker and return to the
sandstorm.

The Sand Gorgon will appear very quickly after the utterance of its name.
Whether they do so by some means of teleportation or anticipation is unknown.
The Sand Gorgon looks like a small version of a Tyranasaurus Rex with front
hands that end in flat ended clubs. The top of their heads is also flat and
very hard. Swords, missiles, and clubs simply bounce off without doing any
noticable damage. Each of the clubed fists do 1-12 points of damage per hit
and if both hands successfully hit in one round, the victim is caught up in a
hug. This hug does 2-24 points of damage every round until the victim is
dead. When the Sand Gorgon has killed once, it will return to the sandstorm
as quickly as it appeared.

If some barrier prevents the Sand Gorgon from reaching its intended victim.
It will batter it down. A charging Sand Gorgon does 4 structural points of
damage. After the initial charge, the creature will stand at the barrier and
batter it with successive blows from its clubbed hands. No stone door, or
wall of less than 10 feet in thickness can withstand this battering because
the creature will set up a destructive resonance with its blows that will
eventually shatter the structure. If there is some impassible barrier between
it and its intended victim. The Sand Gorgon will kill the nearest,
intelligent living creature and return to the sandstorm.

It is unlikely that the Sand Gorgon can be killed. Weapons do not seem to
injure it (even the most highly magicked ones). Magic has little or no effect
on them. Lightning bounces harmlessly off them, heat and cold do not
discomfort the creature in the slightest. One has never been successfully
trapped (other than in the sandstorm). It is said that Gandalf GreyStone,
Lord of the Diamond and Shandorn True-Heart tried to capture one of these
creatures for experimental purposes only to succeed in the total destruction
of Gandalf's tower. Gandalf and Shandorn found that even a ** wall of
force ** is not a serious barrier to one of these creatures and a ** raise
dead ** spell was required to correct that misconception. It's unknown how
many Sand Gorgons actually reside in the sandstorm (its exact location is a
mystery as well) but the names of three of the creatures have been discovered
through the extensive use of several arcane magicks. Those names are 'Nom',
'Tonham', and 'Ravodnas'.

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Shishga Allan J. Mikkola (allanm@vulcan.med.ge.com)
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CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Herbivore
INTELLIGENCE: Average
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Lawful Evil
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NO. OF APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 0
MOVE: 36
HIT DICE: 4
THAC0: 17
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d8/1d8/1d4
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Fall on rider (4d6)
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: L (Horse size)
MORALE: Elite (13-14)
XP VALUE: 175

Shishga look like beautiful black horses -- at the shishga's option, they wear
tangible (temporary creation) saddles and bridles. Shishga permit (indeed
want) good characters to mount them. When a chance appears, they will make a
beeline to their master (they always look for a power evil person, perferably
a mage, to serve). They can run 100 miles without tiring at all. They can
detect good (at will) and cast a specialized charm (1/day) to make a character
mount and stay on.

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Tass Demon
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CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Woods and Plains
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
ORGANIZATION: Packs
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Night
DIET: Carnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Animal (1-2)
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
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NO. OF APPEARING: 1-8
ARMOR CLASS: -2
MOVE: 15
HIT DICE: 6
THAC0: 15
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6/1-6
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Bite with poison
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 60%
SIZE: S (3' tall)
MORAL: Champion (16)
XP VALUE: 4,000

These creatures are three feet tall and are covered in an ink black fur from
head to foot. They have pointed ears that gives them exceptional hearing.
They have long front claws with black talons and their feet are padded which
reduces the amount of noise they make when they scurry across the ground (50%
move silently.) Because of their predominatly black colour Tass Demons are
very hard to detect when hiding in shadows (75% chance of success.)

COMBAT: These little devils will run up attack with both claws and usually
scury off. If both hits are sucessful then the creature has dug into the
players skin and the creature will attempt to bite its opponent. This bite
does 1d4 points of damage and deliever type A poison with it's bite.

HABITAT: These creatures live in small unorganized packs and attack almost any
creature to obtain food. They usually just visiously attack an oppent until
it kills it or gets killed. Not having the brain power to think of retreating
usually. They make their homes in burrows in the ground.

ECOLOGY: These creatures were made by a wizard who wanted to create cute furry
creatures that would attack visiously upon a command word. Of course this
didn't quite work to the wizard's expectations.

Venderauk Allan J. Mikkola (allanm@vulcan.med.ge.com)
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CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Carnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Average
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Neutral Evil
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NO. OF APPEARING: 1-4
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVE: 12
HIT DICE: 3
THAC0: 17
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d3/1d4
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Poison, see below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: L (8' tall)
MORALE: Fearless (19-20)
XP VALUE: 420

A venderauk is a type of creature invented by a mage, most likely one gone
mad. They have a bulbous body with multiple segments -- rather ant-like,
long, grasshopper-like rear legs, and short, useless arms hanging off the
front of the front segment. The body is purple to red in color (often an
iridescent mix of purples and reds). They have a thin chitinous exterior,
but most of their weight is carried by their internal skeleton. A venderauk
has four heads, each of which has a separate attack:

Head Attack form
Snake Bites for 1d3 points of damage plus poison (swiftly lethal)
Dog Bites for 1d4 points of damage
Baboon Babbles loudly to call attention from other venderauks or
nearby monsters (50% chance of summoning)
Human Able to casts a ** confusion ** spell once per day

Venderauk never sleep and thus are prized as guardians. They are cold-blooded
and so need relatively little food (but will be "slowed" in a cold room).
They are alert -- at most a 10% chance of being surprised.

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I Can Send More If Anyone Wants
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