Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Hosted Forums
Creature Catalog Forums
Monster Homebrews
Fiend Factory (White Dwarf) conversions
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Cleon" data-source="post: 8636725" data-attributes="member: 57383"><p>Told you this one would be more straightforward!</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>What's odd is that Original D&D doesn't give Giant Snakes set Hit Dice. In the white box <em>Monsters & Treasures</em> (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."</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>The <em>Supplement 1: Greyhawk</em> (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 <em>Supplement 2: Blackmoor</em> (1975), and I quote:</p><p style="text-align: justify"></p><p style="margin-left: 20px">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%.</p> </p><p></p><p>So those examples have 5 HD not 4 HD.</p><p></p><p>Oddly, <em>Blackmoor</em> has a Monsters & Treasures stat table which includes eleven giant creatures, including some squamous ones (crocodiles, toads & frogs) but snakes are not among them.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>EDIT: Found another Giant Snake in the Holmes version of the <em>Basic Set</em> (1977). Don't know how I forgot to check that one!</p><p style="text-align: justify"></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em> S</em> — 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.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> 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.</p> </p><p></p><p>At least we've got some numbers for this one, although it's surprisingly low in HD.</p><p></p><p>Indeed, 2 HD is lower than many regular-sized Snakes in later editions of Basic as well as AD&D, let alone giant ones.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cleon, post: 8636725, member: 57383"] Told you this one would be more straightforward! What's odd is that Original D&D doesn't give Giant Snakes set Hit Dice. In the white box [I]Monsters & Treasures[/I] (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 [I]Supplement 1: Greyhawk[/I] (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 [I]Supplement 2: Blackmoor[/I] (1975), and I quote: [JUSTIFY] [INDENT]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%.[/INDENT][/JUSTIFY] So those examples have 5 HD not 4 HD. Oddly, [I]Blackmoor[/I] 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 [I]Basic Set[/I] (1977). Don't know how I forgot to check that one! [JUSTIFY] [INDENT][I] S[/I] — 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.[/INDENT] [INDENT] 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.[/INDENT][/JUSTIFY] 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. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Hosted Forums
Creature Catalog Forums
Monster Homebrews
Fiend Factory (White Dwarf) conversions
Top