BOGGLE

                                          Small Aberration

Hit Dice:                             4d8+4 (22 hp)

Initiative:                           +2 (Dex)

Speed:                               20 ft, climb 10 ft

AC:                                     15 (+1 size, +2 Dex, +2 natural)

Attacks:                              2 claws +5 melee, bite +0 melee

Damage:                            Claw 1d3+1, bite 1d3

Face/Reach:                      5 ft by 5 ft/5 ft (10 ft elongated)

Special Attacks:                 Rake 1d3+1

Special Qualities:              Damage reduction 5/piercing, oily secretion,

                                          scent, elongation, slippery, dimension door,

                                          fire resistance 10, spider climb, darkvision

                                          60 ft

Saves:                                Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +4

Abilities:                            Str 12, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 7, Wis 11, Cha 7

Skills:                                 Climb +9, Escape Artist +26, Hide +10,

Listen +6, Pick Pocket +10, Spot +10

Feats:                                 Alertness

Climate/Terrain:                Temperate forest and underground

Organization:                     Solitary, gang (2-4), or band (5-8)
Challenge Rating:              3

Treasure:                           Standard

Alignment:                         Always chaotic neutral

Advancement:                   5-8 HD (Small); 9-12 HD (Medium-size)

Boggles are 3-foot tall, roughly humanoid creatures. Their rubbery skin varies in color from blackish-blue to dark gray. Boggles have large bulbous heads and the rest of their body parts are disproportionate and vary from individual to individual (arms of different lengths, spindly legs, etc.).

      Boggles organize in tribes. A boggle lair is always well hidden and will be littered with small holes (boggle holes) in the walls. They have no language per se, but tend to whine and gibber when dealing with others. Outside their lairs they are cowardly. Inside their lairs, they are very aggressive, and will not hesitate to attack.

COMBAT

Though low on Intelligence the boggle has a variety of ways they attack. One of their favorite ways, in order to gain surprise on an opponent, is to cling to the ceiling of their lair, and drop on unwary opponents.

      Their second favorite method utilizes theirdimension door power. A boggle can reach into a boggle hole, dimension door his hands, and attack an opponent in another part of the lair.

      Boggles also love to cover the floor with the oil they secrete from their pores and then move in and attack a fallen opponent. A boggle will try and steal (pick pockets) any one item from a fallen character (determine item randomly).

      Rake (Ex): If a boggle drops on its prey from the ceiling during the first round of combat, it can attack with its front and rear claws (+5 melee) for 1d3+1 points of damage each.

      Elongation (Ex): A boggle can stretch its body and limbs up to twice its original size thereby increasing its reach to 10 feet.

      Oily Secretion (Ex): A boggle’s skin constantly secretes oil that acts as a permanent oil of slipperiness (DMG, page 191).

      A boggle may excrete the oil onto the floor in a 5-foot square as a standard action. A creature entering the area or standing in the area must succeed at a Reflex save (DC 15) or slip and fall. A successful save allows movement at half speed across the surface. Creatures remaining in the area covered with this oil must make a new save each round or slip and fall.

      The boggle can move freely across a surface covered with this oil. The oil is non-flammable.

      Slippery (Ex): The oily secretion from their skin makes a boggle difficult to grapple or snare. Webs, magic or otherwise, do not affect boggles, and they can usually wriggle free from most other forms of confinement.
      Dimension Door (Su): Three times per day as the spell cast by an 8th-level sorcerer (to a max range of 30 feet).

      A favorite tactic of the boggle is to use the various holes in the walls of its lair (boggle holes) to dimension door its hands and arms. This allows the boggle to stand in one place, reach into a hole, and attack a creature within 10 feet of any boggle hole and up to 30 feet away from the boggle. Any creature wishing to attack the hands and arms can do so against AC 17.
      Spider Climb (Su): Boggles are affected by a permanent spider climb effect. This is an inherent ability and cannot be dispelled.

      Skills: Boggles receive a +4 racial bonus to Pick Pocket and Spot checks. Their slippery skin grants them a +20 racial bonus on Escape Artist checks.

The Boggle first appeared in module A2 (Harold Johnson and Tom Moldvay, 1981).