Fiend Factory (White Dwarf) conversions

[Dr Simon]

I'll happily clone it for DnDbeyond too once finalised (if that's ok with Dr Simon)

Yeah that's fine with me!

The flat rider for poison damage was just a straight conversion from the original - I think there are some 5E creatures that do something similar without needing a Con save. I'm not going to die on that hill, but it just seemed like an extra level of mechanical complication to add in a save.

 

[Cleon]

Yeah that's fine with me!

The flat rider for poison damage was just a straight conversion from the original - I think there are some 5E creatures that do something similar without needing a Con save. I'm not going to die on that hill, but it just seemed like an extra level of mechanical complication to add in a save.

Yes, I remembered there are some that just do straight poison damage without a save-for-half or the like. For example, the 5E Basilisk.

Checking through the 5E Monster Manual there are 14 monsters and two animals that do poison damage without a save plus 14 monsters and 11 animals (plus an NPC, the Assassin) that do poison damage with a save to reduce the effects.

So there's plenty of precedent for leaving the Spinescale's poison bite saveless as it is.

 

[Dr Simon]

How odd, I could have sworn that I posted the Death Snake last week.

In which case, here it is (again). As monsters go, it's pretty straightforward, just a kind of undead giant snake that causes necrotic energy drain damage instead of poison. But there aren't many options in Issue 4, and I think this one has some good utility.

Issue 4: Death Snake

White Dwarf 3 again has no monster statistics, and the first true “new monsters” column can be found in WD4, an article title “Monsters Mild and Malign” edited by that master of the prolix, Don Turnbull.

To begin his column, Don trawls through other magazines such as Paul Jaquays’ Dungeoneer, and White Dwarf’s predecessor Owl and Weasel, and picks out a few of his favourite creatures. Most of these don’t have any stats at all apart from the “Black Monk”, which is kind of like a shadowdancer in terms of its abilities, and the Death Snake, which thankfully is pretty good and is the one that I chose.

There isn’t a lot to go on, but there’s enough.

“The Death Snake, which looks like a normal Giant Snake in mourning. It has 4d8+1 [Hit Dice] (one pip more than the Giant Snake), AC 7 and moves 50’ per turn. It can be turned away as a Wraith. It has no poison but, like the Giant Snake, attacks in two ways each round – a bite (1-6 plus drain level) and a constriction (2-8 plus drain level). This makes is Monstermark 89.8 – not quite as high as the giant snake because of the poorer armour, but an interesting and surprising beast to meet all the same.”

There are a few interesting little nuggets of early D&D style in there – the reference to “turned away” undead implies that the ability is still a little in flux as to nomenclature, and the overall looseness of all of the definitions. The “Monstermark” system was designed by Don Turnbull and features over the first three issues of White Dwarf – essentially a way of deriving a challenge rating (which was not yet a thing) to one or two decimal places. Interesting here that the weaker defensive ability of the Death Snake compared to the Giant Snake is weighted more than two level-draining attacks which, less we forget, would have been permanent and required the hapless adventurer to start accumulating XP all over again.

The most obvious thing to do here is to take a giant snake, and turn it into an undead. The original Death Snake is 4HD with “one pip more than the regular giant snake”. However, the 5th Ed giant constrictor snake is 8HD; even the 1st Edition Monster Manual giant constrictor snake is 6HD. First Edition giant snake is Large, 5th Edition is Huge.

I think the easiest option is just to take a straight 5th Edition giant constrictor snake and start from there. I’ll bump the Constitution up a couple of points to mimic the “one pip more” effect.

I basically used the Wight as a source for the resistances, and also used the 5th Edition equivalent of level drain, which is a reduction in hit point maximum. I removed this effect from the constriction and gave it only to the bite attack (as if it replaced poison), but the snake does get advantage against grappled opponents when biting them. This could be added back easily enough, it just seemed like overkill to me.

One could bump up the number of hit dice for a tougher snake, and I pondered giving it immunity to necrotic energy. However, not all undead have that, so I left it.

Death Snake
Huge undead, neutral evil
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 64 (8d12 + 16)
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.

STR​	DEX​	CON​	INT​	WIS​	CHA​
19 (+4)​	14 (+2)​	14 (+2)​	1 (-5)​	10 (+0)​	3 (–4)​

Skills Perception +2
Saving Throws Wis +2
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities exhaustion, poisoned
Senses blindsight 10 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages –
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2

Undead Fortitude: If damage reduces the snake to 0 hit points, it must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 5 + the damage taken, unless the damage is radiant or from a critical hit. On a success, the snake drops to 1 hit point instead.

Actions

Multiattack. The death snake makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its constrict.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) piercing damage, plus 9 (2d8) necrotic damage. The target must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or its hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken. This reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.

Constrict. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 16). Until the grapple ends, the target is restrained and the snake can’t constrict another target. The snake can bite at advantage on a grappled creature.

Description
The Death Snake looks like a giant snake in mourning.

 Subsection. ???.
 ???.
 Subsection. ???.
 ???.

(Originally creator unkown; appeared in White Dwarf Magazine #4 (Dec/Jan 1977) as part of "Monsters Mild and Malign", edited by Don Turnbull.)

Edit: Forgot to add the link to the blog post for pictures and more on the other creatures in the issue.

Fiend Factory 5E: Issue 3 and 4 Death Snake

Dungeons and Dragons, Bible, Qur'an, Bhagavad Gita, Dhammpada, Atheist, Role-Playing, Fiction

drsimonreads.blogspot.com

 

[Cleon]

Told you this one would be more straightforward!

The most obvious thing to do here is to take a giant snake, and turn it into an undead. The original Death Snake is 4HD with “one pip more than the regular giant snake”. However, the 5th Ed giant constrictor snake is 8HD; even the 1st Edition Monster Manual giant constrictor snake is 6HD. First Edition giant snake is Large, 5th Edition is Huge.

What's odd is that Original D&D doesn't give Giant Snakes set Hit Dice. In the white box Monsters & Treasures (1974) they fall under LARGE INSECTS OR ANIMALS which have "Hit Dice should range from 2 to anywhere near 20, let us say, for a Tyrannasaurus Rex."

So the Death Snake's "4D8+1 (one pip more than the Giant Snake)" doesn't mean much apart from it has a one hit point boost over a snake with the same number of HD, but it was perfectly possible to encounter Giant Snakes with 2 HD or 20 HD going by pre-AD&D rules.

The Supplement 1: Greyhawk (1975) booklet gave Giant Snakes a 1d6 bite and 2d4 constriction but the only mention of Giant Snake HD I could find in an official OD&D publication of that era was in the sample dungeon of Supplement 2: Blackmoor (1975), and I quote:

Room 14: Contains six (5 die) giant snakes. They prey upon the giant rats and trolls which enter the corridors leading to rooms 12-15, and also into the same, and up to the door of room 16. The chances of encountering one of these snakes is 15%.​

So those examples have 5 HD not 4 HD.

Oddly, Blackmoor has a Monsters & Treasures stat table which includes eleven giant creatures, including some squamous ones (crocodiles, toads & frogs) but snakes are not among them.

Later editions of Basic D&D specify the standard Giant Snake is the Rock Python, which is a 20-foot constrictor with AC 5, 5 HD, a 1d4 bite and 2d4 constriction. So it's pretty close to the AD&D Giant Constrictor Snake (30-foot, 6+1 HD) apart from being somewhat smaller.

EDIT: Found another Giant Snake in the Holmes version of the Basic Set (1977). Don't know how I forgot to check that one!

  S — Spiral Staircase. The spiral staircase begins at floor level at the north wall and winds around up to the roof 25 feet above, making 1 full turn. The stair ends in a closed trap door in the ceiling, leading up to room S1.​

  The room contains a giant snake, armor class 6 (leather and shield), 2 hit dice ( 1 3 hit points), and moves 100 feet per turn.​

At least we've got some numbers for this one, although it's surprisingly low in HD.

Indeed, 2 HD is lower than many regular-sized Snakes in later editions of Basic as well as AD&D, let alone giant ones.

 

[Cleon]

“The Death Snake, which looks like a normal Giant Snake in mourning. It has 4d8+1 [Hit Dice] (one pip more than the Giant Snake), AC 7 and moves 50’ per turn. It can be turned away as a Wraith. It has no poison but, like the Giant Snake, attacks in two ways each round – a bite (1-6 plus drain level) and a constriction (2-8 plus drain level). This makes is Monstermark 89.8 – not quite as high as the giant snake because of the poorer armour, but an interesting and surprising beast to meet all the same.”

As mentioned earlier, as far as I can tell the Giant Snake wasn't given set stats in the D&D core books of 1974-1977 apart from the bite & constrict damage in Greyhawk (1975). So I don't have an AC or Move for them.

However, the slightly later Basic D&D and 1E AD&D Monster Manual give Giant Constrictors AC 5 and move 90' (or the equivalent 9" in AD&D) which suggests the Death Snake is easier to hit and slower than a living Snake.

Since the 5E Constrictor Snakes don't have any armour, the lower AC suggests the Death Snake has a worse DEX than a Giant Constrictor's 14 (+2). Maybe 10 (+0) to make it 2 points worse as that's the difference in OD&D?

The original Death Snake's speed of 50' indicates a 5E version might move/swim at, say, 20 ft. rather than the 30 ft. of a mortal serpent.

If it is slower and clumsier than the living version that makes me think of something "Zombie Like" so would you consider adding a Zombie's Undead Fortitude trait?

Undead Fortitude: If damage reduces the zombie death snake to 0 hit points, it must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 5 + the damage taken, unless the damage is radiant or from a critical hit. On a success, the zombie death snake drops to 1 hit point instead.​

 

[Dr Simon]

Sure that makes sense for making them slower and clumsier, and having the Undead Fortitude trait would partly offset the lowered armour class. It's not indicated in the original description that they are especially resilient, but as the description is so brief that there's plenty of room to play around with other ideas.

I don't know what the flavour text would be for these things; whether they're the result of a particular kind of necromancy spell or even if they're somewhat self-replicating (because I used the energy drain of a wight I did originally keep the undead-creating effect, but that didn't really make sense for this creature). There's something about them that to me suggests that they're related somehow to Kyuss (wormy, snaky type things, I guess), but I tend towards the non-specific so that creatures can be adapted to any campaign.

 

[Cleon]

Sure that makes sense for making them slower and clumsier, and having the Undead Fortitude trait would partly offset the lowered armour class. It's not indicated in the original description that they are especially resilient, but as the description is so brief that there's plenty of room to play around with other ideas.

Can we do anything with the "turned away as a Wraith" in the original text?

In 5E, turning involves a Wisdom saving throw by the target undead, which suggest the Death Snake has the same modifier against turning as a 5E Wraith which uses… WIS 14 (+2).

How about giving it Proficiency on WIS saves?

I don't know what the flavour text would be for these things; whether they're the result of a particular kind of necromancy spell or even if they're somewhat self-replicating (because I used the energy drain of a wight I did originally keep the undead-creating effect, but that didn't really make sense for this creature). There's something about them that to me suggests that they're related somehow to Kyuss (wormy, snaky type things, I guess), but I tend towards the non-specific so that creatures can be adapted to any campaign.

Yes, it'd seem weird if this thing kills some guy and they turn into an undead snake!

Would be inclined to leave out the background stuff as an exercise for the DM. Although I'd lean more towards them being some abominable invention of the Yuan-ti than blame Kyuss.

They're SNAKES dang it, not WORMS!

 

[Dr Simon]

Can we do anything with the "turned away as a Wraith" in the original text?

In 5E, turning involves a Wisdom saving throw by the target undead, which suggest the Death Snake has the same modifier against turning as a 5E Wraith which uses… WIS 14 (+2).

How about giving it Proficiency on WIS saves?



Yes, it'd seem weird if this thing kills some guy and they turn into an undead snake!

Would be inclined to leave out the background stuff as an exercise for the DM. Although I'd lean more towards them being some abominable invention of the Yuan-ti than blame Kyuss.

They're SNAKES dang it, not WORMS!

I hadn't thought of the turning resistance in that fashion, but seems good to me, I've edited the entry with the suggestions given above.

 

[Dr Simon]

Issue 5: The Bogy

White Dwarf issue 5 includes part 2 of Don Turnbull’s “Monsters Mild and Malign” article, which picks some of his favourite creatures published in the earlier magazines Dungeoneer (edited by Paul Jaquays) and Alarums and Excursions (edited by Lee Gold). Rather charmingly, Don assumes that the reader has already read these publications, which sort of suggests a kind of small-group cosy hobbyist feel to the early days of D&D.

The one this issue that stood out to me was the Bogy, partly because I quite liked the illustration, and partly because all of the other monsters had some kind of flaw. I rather like the simplicity of this creature.

“The Bogy is an unusual humanoid with the head, horns and legs of a goat; it has four arms, two of which hold weapons. Perhaps it started off with ambitions to be a Demon III [glabrezu] but didn’t make the grade. It has 3d8+1, AC4 and moves 90’ per turn. In melee it strikes with both 1-8 weapons on the same opponent, giving it a Monstermark of 38.7”

I’m going to ignore the demon thing since, aside from having four arms, they’re nothing like a glabrezu. One could perhaps give them some kind of demonic heritage as flavour text (they’re not a million miles away from Orcus in superficial appearance). More than anything, though, these guys reminded me of the Broos from RuneQuest, and I’d probably use them in a similar fashion, as marauding beastmen.

Secondly, although I kind of saw these as an alternative to bugbears (for reasons see below), I took note of the Monstermark – 38.7 puts it somewhere between an ogre and a minotaur according to Don Turnbull’s system and, although they don’t have the physical resilience of these Large creatures, their multiple attacks bumps them up a bit. I think they probably fall about where they should in terms of challenge. And rather than the brutal attack of a bugbear, they have multiattack; roughly equivalent.

I wasn’t sure what type to give it – fey, perhaps, or monstrosity due to the four-arms and bestial nature. But then, the text refers to it as a “humanoid”, and thri-kreen are classed as humanoids despite being insectoids, and so humanoid it is.

Obviously these things have the same etymology as the bogeyman, bogles and other similar creatures, but interestingly they seemed to be linked to the term “goblin” (from “bogle-men”). And in folklore, the concept of the bogeyman is much the same as a hobgoblin or a bugbear – a frightening monster in the dark. So I was tempted to make them part of the goblinoid family. I think, on balance, the bogy is just too different in appearance for that to work, but if you wanted to, go for it. I gave them fluency in the Goblin language though, just ‘cos.

The four-armed thing could have been tricky, but looking at other multi-armed creatures (eg Thri-Kreen, Marilith), it’s just a matter of giving them one attack per arm. I went with the armaments of the pictured bogy, a flail and a whip (the three-headed flail looks cool, but mechanically it may as well just be a flail). Bogies could be armed however you wish, and even unarmed that have claws and a head-butt. I also added in the charge ability based on the statistics for a goat.

Finally, what do bogeymen do? They hide in the darkness. And so I gave them a double-proficiency Stealth skill plus the Lurker in Shadows bonus giving the creature advantage to hide in dim lighting. And if it’s going to hide in shadows, it perhaps ought to be able to see in them, so darkvision was inevitable. These aren’t mentioned in the original text, but it gives the bogy a little bit of a flavour ability that helps define how it behaves.

And there we have it, the bogy. Or bogle (except that’s another monster later).

Bogy
Medium humanoid (bogy), chaotic evil
Armor Class 12 (natural armour)
Hit Points 16 (3d8 + 3)
Speed 30 ft.

STR​	DEX​	CON​	INT​	WIS​	CHA​
14 (+2)​	12 (+1)​	12 (+1)​	9 (-1)​	10 (+0)​	8 (–1)​

Skills Stealth +5
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages Common, Goblin
Challenge 1 (200 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2

Charge. If the bogy moves 20 feet straight towards a target and then hits it with a ram attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 12 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Lurker in Shadows. The bogy has advantage to Dexterity (Stealth) checks to hide in areas of dim light and darkness.


Actions

Multiattack. The bogy can make five attacks on its turn; four with its arms, using weapons or claws, and a ram attack.

Flail. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) bludgeoning damage.

Whip. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) slashing damage.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) slashing damage.

Ram. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) bludgeoning damage.

Description
The bogy is a four-armed humanoid creature with goat-like head and legs. It is covered in filthy matted fur, with yellowed teeth and curved horns.

Subsection. ???.
 ???.
 Subsection. ???.
 ???.

(Original creator unknown; appeared in White Dwarf Magazine #5 (Feb/Mar 1978) as part of "Monsters Mild and Malign", edited by Don Turnbull.)

(Original blog post with illustrations and discussion of other monsters in this issue can be found here

https://drsimonreads.blogspot.com/2022/01/fiend-factory-53-issue-5-bogy.html)

 

[Cleon]

Secondly, although I kind of saw these as an alternative to bugbears (for reasons see below), I took note of the Monstermark – 38.7 puts it somewhere between an ogre and a minotaur according to Don Turnbull’s system and, although they don’t have the physical resilience of these Large creatures, their multiple attacks bumps them up a bit. I think they probably fall about where they should in terms of challenge.

Well they've got a point better AC than a 1E AD&D ogre (4 vs 5) and do 163% the damage (2d8 vs 1d10) which presumably accounts for them having a higher Monstermark despite the lower Hit Dice (3d8+1 vs 4d8+1).

The four-armed thing could have been tricky, but looking at other multi-armed creatures (eg Thri-Kreen, Marilith), it’s just a matter of giving them one attack per arm. I went with the armaments of the pictured bogy, a flail and a whip (the three-headed flail looks cool, but mechanically it may as well just be a flail). Bogies could be armed however you wish, and even unarmed that have claws and a head-butt. I also added in the charge ability based on the statistics for a goat.

Huh? In Fifth Edition a Thri-kreen attacks twice with Multiattack: one weapon plus one bite. It doesn't have four attacks due to its four arms.

Plus the text specifically says the Bogy makes two 1d8 attacks with weapons. There's no mention of it using its horns to attack with as well.

Admittedly, Glabrezu have horns and use them in combat in their Original D&D Eldritch Wizardry and BECMI incarnations (which gives them a five attack pincer/pincer/horn/horn/bite routine), but it also says they didn't "make the grade" as compared to glabrezus. Incidentally, in 2E and 3E that changes to pincer/pincer/clawed hand/clawed hand/bite. The 1977 Monster Manual doesn't say what the Type III demon's five attacks actually are, but most likely it's the OD&D version with the horns.

Personally, I'd just follow the original White Dwarf #5 text and have the Bogy Multiattack with weapons alone.

In any event, their AC and Hit Dice seem too low. A 0E/1E Bugbear has a worse AC and the same HD as a Bogy, but bugbears are Armor Class 16, Hit Points 27 (5d8 + 5) in 5E.

Plus if the Monstermark is between an Ogre (CR 2) and Minotaur (CR 3), that suggests a Bogy is Challenge 2 or 3 and they need a bit of beefing up from CR 1.