Some info on evil denizens of the underdark

[Memnoch]

quote:

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Originally posted by Lucifer Lord of demons:
Since Memnoch has apparently abandoned us i'll post a monster.

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Abandoned?

Please!

Here's one for you.


Umber Hulk

Umber Hulk Vodyanoi
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Subterranean Freshwater aquatic
FREQUENCY: Rare Rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any Any
DIET: Carnivore Carnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Average (8-10) Average (8-10)
TREASURE: G G
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil Chaotic evil
NO. APPEARING: 1-4 1-3
ARMOR CLASS: 2 2
MOVEMENT: 6, Br 1-6 3, Sw 6
HIT DICE: 8+8 8
THAC0: 11 13
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 3
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3-12/3-12/1-10 3-12/3-12/1-10
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below Nil
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil Nil
SIZE: L (8' tall, 5' wide) L (8' tall, 5' wide)
MORALE: Elite (13) Elite (13)
XP VALUE: 4,000 2,000


Umber hulks are powerful subterranean predators whose ironlike claws allow them to burrow through solid stone in search of prey.
Umber hulks are tremendously strong, standing nearly 8 feet tall and over 5 feet wide. Muscles bulge beneath their thick, scaly hides and their powerful arms and legs all carry great claws. They have no necks to speak of, but the head features a powerful maw with rows of triangular teeth and 8-inch mandibles capable of biting through any hide or bone. Most peculiar of all are the four round eyes, spaced evenly across each umber hulk's forehead. Umber hulks are black, shading to a lighter shade of yellowish gray on the front. Their eyes are mere blackened dots each the size of a small coin. Umber hulks have their own language.

Combat: For all of their monstrous features, umber hulks are intelligent opponents. They usually dig to a point adjacent to a main corridor, then wait, peeking through a crack they've made, until likely prey walks by. The umber hulk then springs out upon its startled victim. When using this technique, opponents have a -5 modifier on their surprise rolls. Other tactics involve planned cave-ins and dead-end tunnels where an umber hulk can wait for victims to come to him. Their burrowing rate varies from 10 feet per turn in solid stone to 60 feet per turn in soft earth.
In melee, umber hulks can deliver a vicious bite but, understandably, their main weapon is their great claws. Worse, looking into an umber hulk's eyes causes confusion, as per the spell, unless a saving throw versus spell is made. In addition to this special confusion attack the outer eyes of an umber hulk provide the creature with infravision to a distance of 90 feet.
The one saving grace when fighting an umber hulk is their speed. Their gait is slow and ponderous and their balance is poor in wide spaces.
Umber hulks never fight to the death unless cornered (which is rare, since the creature can dig through stone). If hard pressed, an umber hulk won't hesitate to cause a cave-in (25% chance of success per round) and then dig his way to freedom.

Habitat/Society: Umber hulks dwell in the depths of the earth. They raid dungeons for food, much the way anteaters raid ant colonies, eating their fill and then moving on to let the "colony" recover.
Umber hulks are usually solitary hunters. Males and females mate, then go their separate ways. One to three young are born about a year later in a special nursery which has been hollowed out by the female. Two years later, once the hulklings are big enough, the female begins taking them with her when hunting. It is during this period that unfortunate victims may stumble across more than one umber hulk at a time.
No umber hulk culture is known, but it is rumored that there may be entire cities of these beings underground with tunnels that radiate out, like threads in a spider's web, toward the nearer dungeons and mountain ranges. If true, this would explain much, for umber hulks seem to disappear or spring up in a region at will and always take great care in hiding their tunnels behind them.

Ecology: Umber hulks eat young purple worms, ankhegs, and similar creatures. Their favorite prey, however, is humankind.

Vodyanoi
These aquatic predators are closely related to the umber hulk. Vodyanoi live in deep bodies of fresh water. They are similar in appearance to umber hulks but have only two eyes and thus lack the ability to confuse opponents. Their skin is green and slimy to the touch, but beneath it is a thick, knobby hide. Their claws are webbed. Vodyanoi prey upon all manner of creatures but prefer human flesh. They can rend the hulls of small vessels and frequently sink or overturn small boats. Once per day a vodyanoi can attempt to summon 1-20 electric eels with a 50% chance of success. The existence of a saltwater variety of vodyanoi of twice the size and greater ferocity is rumored but unconfirmed.

[LennonCook]

MOre MOre More More MOre!!!
(please??)

[Memnoch]

Only because you said please!


Mist, Crimson Death

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Bogs, swamps
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Night
DIET: Carnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Genius (17-18)
TREASURE: Z
ALIGNMENT: Neutral evil
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 0 (4)
MOVEMENT: Fl 12, Fl 6 after feeding (B)
HIT DICE: 13
THAC0: 7
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3-30
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 95%
SIZE: M (6')
MORALE: Champion (15-16)
XP VALUE: 9,000


The crimson death is a malevolent, vaporous creature that feeds on the bodily fluids of its victims.
The body of the crimson death is a humanoid-shaped cloud of pale color. It is difficult to distinguish if seen against fog and nearly invisible to infravision. During this time, the creature has an initiative bonus of +4. When the creature is fed, it develops a crimson flush that is easily visible by normal or infravision. The cloud possesses humanoid features. The fingers elongate into tentacles when it is feeding. Because of its behavior, sages believe that a Crimson Death Mist is the result of the actual death of a vampire.
The crimson death's language is a barely audible series of whispers. It can communicate with other vaporous beings such as air elementals. It communicates with humanoids only if it is their captive.

Combat: The monster attacks only to feed or defend itself. It surrounds its victim with vaporous tentacles. Whenever it hits, the tentacles drain bodily fluids and cause 3d10 points of damage.
The creature is normally immaterial (AC 0) and can be struck only by magical weapons of +2 or better. After feeding, the creature attains solidity (AC 4) for six turns. At this time the creature turns red, moves more slowly (Fl 6), and can be struck by magical weapons of +1 or better.
When a crimson death dies, it immediately dissipates into the air while its undigested fluids fall to the ground in a grotesque shower.
The crimson death is able to carry loads by levitating anything surrounded by its vaporous mass. Despite its vaporous nature, the crimson death possesses strength equal to a normal human. It is able to carry a passive weight equal to an adult human. If it attempts to pick up a struggling victim, it must make a successful attack roll for each round it carries the person. Failure means the person drops to the ground (suffering damage appropriate to the height of the fall).

Habitat/Society: The crimson death dwells in the bogs and marshes where chill and damp prevail. The creature is nearly invisible in its native habitat.
The crimson death is a secretive creature. It prefers to feed on solitary beings, since these are easy to sneak up on and have no allies to lend them support. If several people are present, the crimson death tries to pick off the guard while the others sleep; it then feeds on the others at its leisure. In order to conceal its presence, the crimson death disposes of corpses in its lair or a deep bog.
It maintains a lair in a thicket, undercut bank, or a hollow space under a windfall. There the monster stores the valuables it collects from its victims. These can be used as bribes for humanoid allies or bait for intended victims. The lair may also contain the remains of past victims.
The crimson death prefers to feed on humanoids. It normally requires one victim per week. If more people are available, the monster may feed continuously until destroyed or driven off.
Legends tell of a connection between crimson deaths and vampires. One tale suggests that, when an undead vampire is destroyed, its spirit is transformed into a crimson death. Another tale suggests that, when a vampire is created, the monster's lost soul is reborn elsewhere as a crimson death. This legend also suggests that a vampire may be restored to normal life if it is rejoined by its crimson death counterpart. A third legend says that extremely evil air elementals are condemned and cast out into the Prime Material plane in the forms of crimson deaths.

Ecology: The crimson death is a dangerous predator that roams the swamps like a living ghost. A crimson death can be collected and imprisoned in an airtight container. This does not harm it. A crimson death in such a container may be mistaken for, or mislabeled as, a bottled djinn or magical vapor. If someone releases the crimson death, the starving creature immediately attacks its unwitting rescuer.
Crimson deaths are aware of the advantages of alliances. They may agree to cooperate with evil humanoids who can provide them with a steady supply of victims. They make excellent allies for those dwelling in or near their lairs.


Mist, Vampiric

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Non-arctic/Swamps and subterranean
FREQUENCY: Rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Night
DIET: Blood
INTELLIGENCE: Average (8-10)
TREASURE: (D)
ALIGNMENT: Neutral evil
NO. APPEARING: 1-3
ARMOR CLASS: 4 (8 when substantial)
MOVEMENT: 12 (6 when substantial)
HIT DICE: 3
THAC0: See below
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
SIZE: M (5'-8' tall)
MORALE: Elite (13-14)
XP VALUE: 270


These gaseous monsters prey on all living creatures, enveloping them with their gaseous tendrils, then draining their blood for food.
Vampiric mists appear as thick, billowing clouds, 5 to 8 feet in diameter. Color ranges from pale pink when hungry to crimson red when sated. Vampiric mists speak no language, but they communicate through a limited form of telepathy. These creatures reek of old blood and are often smelled before seen.
Combat: Vampiric mists automatically sense the presence of any warm-blooded creature within 50 feet. Hungry mists take the shortest route possible to the victim, navigating by touch, flowing easily over water or through narrow cracks. Their path can be blocked by nonporous obstacles, but vampiric mists are intelligent and if any reasonable path exists they will find it.
All vampiric mists have maximum hit points (8 per die) when full, but they are almost never encountered in this state. For each 12 hours a mist goes unfed, it loses 1 hit point. Vampiric mists whose hit point totals reach 0 due to starvation die. To regain hit points, vampiric mists must drain fresh blood from living victims (hence the mist's name). For each 2 hit points of blood drained, the mist regains 1 hit point.
A vampiric mist may attack one victim per round by reaching out with a gaseous tendril. Targets of a vampiric mist are treated as AC 10. Modify this number by the victim's Dexterity, and by the magical protection worn (+1, +2, etc.) but ignore magical shields. The touch of a vampiric mist drains 1d8 points of blood. A hit 4 above the needed to hit number means the mist has enveloped its victim. Enveloped victims are automatically hit each round until either the mist dies, finishes feeding, or retreats. Attacks by other characters against an enveloping vampiric mist divide their damage evenly -- half against the mist, half against the victim. Only the enveloped victim may attack the mist without harm to himself, However, because of the disorienting effect of rapid blood loss, enveloped victims may not use any spells or magical devices that require concentration.
While blood draining is mainly used to feed, the ability can also be used in defense by sated vampiric mists. Extra blood is simply dumped upon the ground.
Normally, a vampiric mist is damaged only by magical weapons or by spells that effect air. Lightning bolt and magic missile are also effective. However, immediately after reaching maximum hit points a vampiric mist takes on substance. This substantial stage last 1d6 turns. During this time the mist's movement rate slows to 6, its AC drops to 8, and it may be hit by normal weapons.
Blood draining is not a form of regeneration; a mist that loses hit points in combat must heal those points normally. Keep track of a mist's current hit points and its maximum possible for that combat (this total starts at 24 and goes down with damage caused to the mist). Each time the mist is wounded, reduce both the current hit points and the maximum. If the current hit point total ever reaches 0, the mist dies. Hit points gained by draining blood are added to the current hit points, which cannot exceed the maximum total (24 minus damage to the mist). Hit points lost due to starvation are subtracted from the current hit points only. The current hit points may never exceed the mist's maximum hit point total. (After the current battle is over, the maximum hit point totals for any surviving mists return to 24.)

Habitat/Society: These dread monsters inhabit both swamps, where they creep along mixing in with morning and night fog, and subterranean caverns, where they stalk prey in absolute darkness. Vampiric mists attack at night or early morning, flowing over the ground in search of warm-blooded victims. They prefer lone victims, but hungry mists sometimes raid towns at night, slaying livestock and draining victims in their sleep, before slipping out at dawn.

Ecology: First thought to be immature forms of crimson death, it is now known that these fiends were deliberately created by a powerful vampire wizard.
Vampiric mists reproduce by division. A mist is 10% likely to divide during its substantial stage immediately after feeding. The two mists created have 3 Hit Dice each, but only 4 hit points per die (thus they are born ravenously hungry).
Vampiric mists prey on all warm-blooded creatures. No animals hunt vampiric mist deliberately, though stirges, leeches, and other bloodsuckers are sometimes drawn (fatally) to their smell. Vampiric mists have no known life span. They live until they starve, are slain, or reproduce.

[LennonCook]

Because Memnoch has forgotten about us once already, Im bumping this thread before he does it again!!

[LennonCook]

Because im a just in case sort of person-
BUMP
and memnoch?? PLEASE dont forget about us again!!

[LennonCook]

I think Memnoch has forgotten about us again...
BUT I SAID PLEASE!!!

[Memnoch]

D'oh!!


Banshee

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Night
DIET: Nil
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional (15-16)
TREASURE: (D)
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 0
MOVEMENT: 15
HIT DICE: 7
THAC0: 13
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Death wail
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +1 or better weapon to hit
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 50%
SIZE: M (5'-6' tall)
MORALE: Elite (13)
XP VALUE: 4,000


The banshee or groaning spirit, is the spirit of an evil female elf -- a very rare thing indeed. Banshee hate the living, finding their presence painful, and seek to harm whomever they meet.
Banshees appear as floating, luminous phantasms of their former selves. Their image glows brightly at night, but is transparent in sunlight (60% invisible). Most banshees are old and withered, but a few (10%) who died young retain their former beauty. The hair of a groaning spirit is wild and unkempt. Her dress is usually tattered rags. Her face is a mask of pain and anguish, but hatred and ire burns brightly in her eyes. Banshees frequently cry out in pain -- hence their name.

Combat: Banshees are formidable opponents. The mere sight of one causes fear, unless a successful saving throw vs. spell is rolled. Those who fail must flee in terror for 10 rounds and are 50% likely to drop any items they were carrying in their hands.
A banshee's most dreaded weapon is its wail or keen. Any creature within 30 feet of a groaning spirit when she keens must roll a saving throw vs. death magic. Those who fail die immediately, their faces contorted in horror. Fortunately, groaning spirits can keen just once per day, and then only at night. The touch of a groaning spirit causes 1d8 points of damage.
Banshees are noncorporeal and invulnerable to weapons of less than +1 enchantment. In addition, groaning spirits are highly resistant to magic (50%). They are fully immune to charm, sleep, and hold spells and to cold- and electricity-based attacks. Holy water causes 2d4 points of damage if broken upon them. A dispel evil spell will kill a groaning spirit. A banshee is turned as a "special" undead.
Banshees can sense the presence of living creatures up to five miles away. Any creature that remains within five miles of a groaning spirit lair is sure to be attacked when night falls. The nature of this attack varies with the victim. Beasts and less threatening characters are killed via a touch. Adventurers or demihumans are attacked by keening. Creatures powerful enough to withstand the groaning spirit's keen are left alone.
When attacking adventurers, the groaning spirit attacks at night with her wail. If any characters save successfully, she then retreats to her lair. Thereafter, each night, the groaning spirit returns to wail again. This routine is repeated until all of the victims are dead or have left the groaning spirit's domain, or until the groaning spirit is slain.

Habitat/Society: Banshees loathe all living things and thus make their homes in desolate countryside or ancient ruins. There they hide by day, when they cannot keen, and wander the surrounding countryside by night. The land encircling a groaning spirit's lair is strewn with the bones of beasts who heard the groaning spirit's cry. Once a groaning spirit establishes her lair she will remain there.
The treasure of groaning spirits varies considerably and often reflects what they loved in life. Many hoard gold and fine gems. Other groaning spirits, particularly those that haunt their former homes, show finer tastes, preserving great works of art and sculptures, or powerful magical items.
It is nearly impossible to distinguish the cry of a groaning spirit from that of a human or elf woman in pain. Many a knight gallant has mistaken the two sounds, and then paid for the mistake with his life. Banshees are exceptionally intelligent and speak numerous languages, including common, elvish, and other demihuman languages.
Banshees occasionally use their destructive powers to seek revenge against their former adversaries in life.

Ecology: Banshees are a blight wherever they settle. They kill without discretion, and their only pleasure is the misfortune and misery of others. In addition to slaying both man and beast, a groaning spirit's keen has a powerful effect upon vegetation. Flowers and delicate plants wither and die and trees grow twisted and sickly, while hardier plants, thistles and the like, flourish. After a few years all that remains within five miles of a groaning spirit's lair is a desolate wilderness of warped trees and thorns mixed with the bones of those creatures that dared to cross into the groaning spirit's domain.

[Lifetime]

Woah.. that thing about the Banshee was cool..

[LennonCook]

OK... i have a couple of requests...

• Gold (and yellow) Dragons
• A Mimic

PLease???

[LennonCook]

Sorry it cut off the bottom of my last post (i think i coded it wrong- can someone check for me??>