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[Let's Read] The Nightmares Underneath: 2nd Edition
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<blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 8078679" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Gta6sUZ.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><strong>A Bestiary of Monsters</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Edition Changes:</strong> This bestiary was only in 1st Edition.</p><p></p><p>While the Nightmares Underneath is compatible with plenty of existing old-school bestiaries, the unique flair of its world mandates the creation of some new monsters. And we have 37 entries, even more if we count stat blocks which have stronger versions of said monsters and/or monstrous servants dependent on the main monster. For the sake of brevity I’m not going to cover every single one, instead opting to highlight the creatures I find most noteworthy.</p><p></p><p><strong>Abductors</strong> are winged nightmares that look like birds with the faces of bearded men. They specialize in carrying off people in their talons to take into the nightmare realms, and if they’re the crown monster they kidnap locals once per week.</p><p></p><p><strong>Adepts of the Flame</strong> are the nightmares formed from the fearful memories of pagan fire worshipers slaughtered with the coming of Law. They take the forms of faceless humans with blood-colored flesh and wield swords made of fire.</p><p></p><p><strong>Beastmen</strong> are humans with animalistic features, either from human magic or nightmare influence. They live in the wilds under a strongman with bodyguards, and are viewed as savages by human society.</p><p></p><p><strong>Cavemurdered</strong> are nightmares formed from the memories of those who died underground. They look like mangled humans with fleshless skull faces (which can be used to create Death spell-related formulas at a cheaper rate), and their mere presence makes objects weigh heavier and thus can easily Encumber adventuring parties. They hold a bundle of snakes in their hands which they use as weapons.</p><p></p><p><strong>Changelings</strong> belong to the Seelie Court and possess a wide variety of magic. They are fond of the ephemeral flow of reality and can change the physical forms and personalities of others. They demand esoteric services as payment, such as giving up one’s newborn child, servitude in Faerie, or the destruction of Lawful institutions.</p><p></p><p><strong>Dragons</strong> are the gods of Faerie. Unlike the gods of humanity they walk among their worshipers in physical form. But those are beyond game statistics; the ones given stat blocks represent those banished to the material plane. The mortal world is poisonous to them, its planar makeup reducing their power and mental faculties over time. Still, dragons are very formidable opponents, having a wide assortment of automatic powers and a table of special powers to choose from. Their breath weapons are versatile, including not just the typical energy types but other options such as life draining, confusing clouds, blinding light, and Dexterity-draining slime.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/MJrODZV.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><strong>The Eclipse Wolf</strong> is a unique creature capable of traversing realities. It is a horse-sized canine of amazing physical and mental acumen, and its presence causes the sun to be blotted via a solar eclipse along with emitting air vibrations that hinder human senses. It manifests in supernaturally-attuned areas when visiting the material plane, and its body parts can be harvested into valuable components for alchemy and magic (advantage on the casting of Illusion spells).</p><p></p><p><strong>Faerie Nobles</strong> use the stats of 3 existing types (Changelings, Frostlings, Sun Court Fey) but have a much greater chance at carrying some unique treasure or magic item.</p><p></p><p><strong>False Children</strong> are nightmares that take the forms of children they kidnap and/or kill near or inside nightmare incursions. They can sprout deadly monstrous body parts (claws, spider legs, stingers, etc) and attack with them, and those who kill them automatically fail the next roll they make. Observers are magically compelled to mock the unfortunate soul when this happens.</p><p></p><p><strong>Frostlings</strong> are unseelie fey who delve too deep into the nightmare world and become...well, more evil than usual. Their faces take the form of loved ones who gaze upon them and emit a paralyzing cold around their bodies. Their flesh can be harvested to gain advantage on controlling cold-based spells. Sadly they don’t have much more creativity beyond this.</p><p></p><p><strong>Glass Thieves</strong> are nightmares formed from members of a thieves’ guild destroyed in infighting as its members succumbed to greed. They look like people dipped in now-dried molten glass and wield extremely sharp knives as weapons. They can automatically steal one piece of equipment with every attack they make. Their crystal knives can be sold as treasure, but anyone who owns one for more than a day risks developing a nightmare curse (PCs are immune) as though being in an incursion for an hour and can spawn a new incursion over time.</p><p></p><p>The glass thieves’ treasure is problematic in the sense that it can heavily discourage players from selling treasure in the future, which is the main means of generating wealth and thus Experience in the game.</p><p></p><p><strong>Goblins</strong> are faeries who mine and toil, and their blood can infect items and deal damage to their wielders (and Willpower if at 0 Disposition) from sheer mental repulsion.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/gL7A6eC.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><strong>Hive Mothers</strong> are nightmares taking the forms of women with gigantic wings. They can conjure imps to attack at range, and those who engage a hive mother in close combat are encircled by their wings which reduce Speed and initiative ratings.</p><p></p><p><strong>Humans</strong> are a catch-all category of 5 common stat blocks for the types of people PCs are likely to meet. Peasants, Proles, Scholars, and Servants are the hapless noncombatants who represent the common folk, while Bandits and Mercenaries are more martial (but not very bright) level 1 people. Nobles are usually accompanied by 1d6 servants and/or guards, and Cultists know one random spell per level. With the exception of Cultists, each of them are level 1. Humans who have Professions (no stats here) have the benefits of said class features, but all non-Professional humans are considered to be level 1.</p><p></p><p><strong>Iridescent Globes</strong> are floating bits of protoplasm from some alien world. They have no quarrel with inhabitants of the material plane or nightmare realms, but their mere presence causes the land to change. Their attacks are random magical effects ranging from unpredictable teleportation, having effects happen twice due to time manipulation to curses, and the expected energy attacks. If left to roam for a month or more in an area, the very landscape becomes incomprehensible to human perception.</p><p></p><p><strong>Lamprey Golems</strong> are one of the only golem monsters in this bestiary. They’re created by wizards to guard aquatic locations, and can bite, constrict, and/or squeeze through extremely small spaces depending on the material they’re made from.</p><p></p><p><strong>Locust Butchers</strong> are nightmares spawned from the famine-causing bugs of the same name. When the nobility sent out their soldiers to forcefully take and hoard what little food remained, the death and hatred spawned in their wake became ample fuel for the nightmares to form such monsters. Locust Butchers can force targets struck by their swords to give up their most prized possessions on a failed Willpower save, can summon sense-impairing smoke, and explode into a cloud of locusts when they reach 0 Disposition.</p><p></p><p><strong>Revenants</strong> are one the few undead creatures in this book, animated by the nightmare realms by the souls of those who died violently. Revenants are murderously jealous of the living who do not have to suffer like they do, and when in packs have increased Morale when in the presence of a leader (same stats but max Disposition).</p><p></p><p><strong>Rittersnakes</strong> are beastlings formed from the bodies of foreign crusaders who disturbed nests of parasites in the Vale of Serpents. They transformed into snakemen, their plate armor and weapons the last vestiges of their human origins. Rittersnakes can lob burning spittle as a ranged attack, their lairs smell terrible and impose disadvantage to non-Health based rolls, and they can hijack the bodies of freshly-slain human and animal corpses by beheading them.</p><p></p><p><strong>Shadows of Pain</strong> are formed from the memories of childhood fears and abuse, from schoolyard bullies to violent parents to doctors with syringes. They wield weapons in line with said torments, and deal their own damage types and certain debuffs. Syringes can cause paralyzing cold, for instance.</p><p></p><p><strong>The Simurgh</strong> is the only good-aligned monster in this entire bestiary, save for randomly-generated Human alignments. It is a legendary bird with a human face. It knows many spells and can offer words of wisdom and even minor services if a character succeeds on a 2d6 social roll, with modifiers based on alignment. Simurgh are foes of nightmares and are more inclined to defend people from them even on a lower social result.</p><p></p><p><strong>Skull-Faced Fiends</strong> strike at adventuring parties at their weakest links: their hirelings! If they are able to sneak up on a party, they whisper in the ears of said people, instilling fear and paranoia to get them to abandon their patrons in exchange for safe passage out of the nightmare incursion. A promise that is never honored.</p><p></p><p><strong>Sun Court Fey</strong> are lawful seelie faeries. They are skilled artists and hunters, and carry bronze muskets which fire angry wasps. Their courtiers, paladins, and visionweavers (better attribute scores, and armour in the case of paladins) are their peoples’ front line of defense against the nightmares, but they have no patience for humans that do not respect their authority.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/nfSUazO.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><strong>Thaumaturgists</strong> are Scholars that specialize in magical alchemy. They belong to a Guild of the same name, and ones that are Chaotic in alignment have been corrupted by nightmares and may be allied with monsters and/or nightmares if found in an incursion. They have exotic components on their persons as treasure, and higher-level members among their number know more spells.</p><p></p><p><strong>Thorn Priests</strong> are nightmares formed from the genocide of pagans carried out by soldiers of the Law. The last surviving members of a particular sect who practiced flagellation cried out for revenge upon their dying breaths, and the nightmares granted their wish. Thorn priests are plantlike humanoid entities who have thorny tentacle attacks that can force those struck to attack random targets on a failed Willpower save. Their bodies brim with a certain spell that is automatically cast upon their enemies once killed. Incursions formed by them are full of sharp metal blades, rocks, and thorns which makes the environment deal damage under certain circumstances (being pushed into a wall, having to go through a tight passage, etc).</p><p></p><p><strong>The Underfolk</strong> are human beastlings who live in underground caves and abandoned cities, away from the light of day. The alien depths of their subterranean homes are at higher risks of nightmare incursions, and as such they are valuable sources of knowledge to adventuring parties that make nonviolent contact with them. Underfolk have been known to ally with the lowest social classes of humans (more due to closer living space) against such dangers and the more mundane threats of living in the streets.</p><p></p><p><strong>Wasp Riders</strong> are two monsters in one: alchemically-grown giant wasps with a mounted golem rider wielding a magic-infused whip. Nobody knows who invented such beings, but the golems’ evil intentions point to minds inimical to social harmony.</p><p></p><p><strong>Wound Men</strong> are nightmares given form by the PTSD of war survivors. They look like mutilated people with enough weapons sticking out from their bodies that would kill a normal person. Manufactured non-magical weapons that strike their bodies have a chance of being absorbed into their forms and cannot be taken out until combat’s end. They can rise again as weaker forms unless at least two of their limbs are amputated, and weapons stuck in their bodies that are not removed from an incursion in 1d4 Turns can combine together into an artificial human-shaped conglomeration of metal implements.</p><p></p><p><strong>Monsters by Type:</strong> 8 Beastlings, 5 Dwellers in the Deep, 10 Faeries (11 if we count Faerie Nobles as separate entry), 4 Golems, 8 Humans, 16 Nightmares, 3 Undead. This includes sub-entries for stronger versions of the same creature type. As you can tell, the bestiary is appropriately Nightmare-heavy, with quite a bit of Beastlings and Faeries. Humans are the next most common type, but barring Thaumaturgists they don’t have much variety of special abilities. There’s a surprisingly low amount of Undead which are the rarest creature type, and we don’t have many Golems either.</p><p></p><p><strong>Monsters by Level:</strong> For monsters that have specific level entries we have 15 1st Level, 14 2nd Level, 12 3rd Level, 4 4th Level, 2 5th Level, 1 6th Level, 1 7th Level, 0 8th Level, and 0 9th Level. We have 5 creatures of variable level: Changelings 1-6, Cultists 1+, Dragons 1-9, Thaumaturgy Mentor 1d4+2, and Underfolk 1-4. The bestiary is heavily weighted towards lower-level encounters, but after 4th level we start to see a dearth in material.</p><p></p><p><strong>Thoughts So Far:</strong> Although nowhere near as big as some other OSR bestiaries, the monsters provided in the Nightmares Underneath are original and depart from the standard fantasy faire enough to make things feel quite different. The material is rather front-loaded level wise, and the GM will need to do more work and/or conversion for higher-level parties.</p><p></p><p>I do like how dragons are faerie gods and don’t correspond to the chromatic/metallic flavor, and a lot of the nightmares correspond strongly to some rather common traumas and misdeeds. Entries such as the Cavemurdered and Skull-Faced Fiends have abilities that are tailor-made to take advantage of adventuring parties in ways that wouldn’t make sense for an “organic dungeon ecology,” but fits in well with the themes of nightmare incursions. The few Dwellers in the Deep monsters (Eclipse Wolf and Iridescent Globes among others) feel appropriately alien and indecipherable, and the Adepts of the Flame and Thorn Priests show that the rise of Law was not a golden age for all. Groups like the Sun Court Fey, Simurgh, and Underfolk are some neat choices in that while two of them aren’t necessarily Good (Underfolk are actually Evil) the fluff of their entries imply that they can be used as allies of convenience when fighting nightmare incursions. That’s not something you see in a lot of D&D/OSR products and adventures by default, whose monsters are often always hostile or set up in a manner that they don’t have much incentive to work with the PCs against a greater evil.</p><p></p><p>There are a few weak points in this bestiary. There are criminally few undead creatures in a “horror-themed” retroclone. While I understand that the PCs are intended to be a world above the common folk, the non-Thaumaturgist and non-Cultist human stat blocks felt a bit too weak overall in being universally Level 1. Although in this case increasing their levels is trivial by boosting their attack and skill bonuses, so I don’t think I can knock them too hard for this. The faeries are heavily geared towards European folklore, and I was a bit surprised to see no mention of genies in spite of being iconic Middle Eastern monsters.</p><p></p><p><strong>Join us next time as we cover a Slight Appendix of Additional Material!</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Libertad, post: 8078679, member: 6750502"] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Gta6sUZ.png[/img] [b]A Bestiary of Monsters[/b][/center] [b]Edition Changes:[/b] This bestiary was only in 1st Edition. While the Nightmares Underneath is compatible with plenty of existing old-school bestiaries, the unique flair of its world mandates the creation of some new monsters. And we have 37 entries, even more if we count stat blocks which have stronger versions of said monsters and/or monstrous servants dependent on the main monster. For the sake of brevity I’m not going to cover every single one, instead opting to highlight the creatures I find most noteworthy. [b]Abductors[/b] are winged nightmares that look like birds with the faces of bearded men. They specialize in carrying off people in their talons to take into the nightmare realms, and if they’re the crown monster they kidnap locals once per week. [b]Adepts of the Flame[/b] are the nightmares formed from the fearful memories of pagan fire worshipers slaughtered with the coming of Law. They take the forms of faceless humans with blood-colored flesh and wield swords made of fire. [b]Beastmen[/b] are humans with animalistic features, either from human magic or nightmare influence. They live in the wilds under a strongman with bodyguards, and are viewed as savages by human society. [b]Cavemurdered[/b] are nightmares formed from the memories of those who died underground. They look like mangled humans with fleshless skull faces (which can be used to create Death spell-related formulas at a cheaper rate), and their mere presence makes objects weigh heavier and thus can easily Encumber adventuring parties. They hold a bundle of snakes in their hands which they use as weapons. [b]Changelings[/b] belong to the Seelie Court and possess a wide variety of magic. They are fond of the ephemeral flow of reality and can change the physical forms and personalities of others. They demand esoteric services as payment, such as giving up one’s newborn child, servitude in Faerie, or the destruction of Lawful institutions. [b]Dragons[/b] are the gods of Faerie. Unlike the gods of humanity they walk among their worshipers in physical form. But those are beyond game statistics; the ones given stat blocks represent those banished to the material plane. The mortal world is poisonous to them, its planar makeup reducing their power and mental faculties over time. Still, dragons are very formidable opponents, having a wide assortment of automatic powers and a table of special powers to choose from. Their breath weapons are versatile, including not just the typical energy types but other options such as life draining, confusing clouds, blinding light, and Dexterity-draining slime. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/MJrODZV.png[/img][/center] [b]The Eclipse Wolf[/b] is a unique creature capable of traversing realities. It is a horse-sized canine of amazing physical and mental acumen, and its presence causes the sun to be blotted via a solar eclipse along with emitting air vibrations that hinder human senses. It manifests in supernaturally-attuned areas when visiting the material plane, and its body parts can be harvested into valuable components for alchemy and magic (advantage on the casting of Illusion spells). [b]Faerie Nobles[/b] use the stats of 3 existing types (Changelings, Frostlings, Sun Court Fey) but have a much greater chance at carrying some unique treasure or magic item. [b]False Children[/b] are nightmares that take the forms of children they kidnap and/or kill near or inside nightmare incursions. They can sprout deadly monstrous body parts (claws, spider legs, stingers, etc) and attack with them, and those who kill them automatically fail the next roll they make. Observers are magically compelled to mock the unfortunate soul when this happens. [b]Frostlings[/b] are unseelie fey who delve too deep into the nightmare world and become...well, more evil than usual. Their faces take the form of loved ones who gaze upon them and emit a paralyzing cold around their bodies. Their flesh can be harvested to gain advantage on controlling cold-based spells. Sadly they don’t have much more creativity beyond this. [b]Glass Thieves[/b] are nightmares formed from members of a thieves’ guild destroyed in infighting as its members succumbed to greed. They look like people dipped in now-dried molten glass and wield extremely sharp knives as weapons. They can automatically steal one piece of equipment with every attack they make. Their crystal knives can be sold as treasure, but anyone who owns one for more than a day risks developing a nightmare curse (PCs are immune) as though being in an incursion for an hour and can spawn a new incursion over time. The glass thieves’ treasure is problematic in the sense that it can heavily discourage players from selling treasure in the future, which is the main means of generating wealth and thus Experience in the game. [b]Goblins[/b] are faeries who mine and toil, and their blood can infect items and deal damage to their wielders (and Willpower if at 0 Disposition) from sheer mental repulsion. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/gL7A6eC.png[/img][/center] [b]Hive Mothers[/b] are nightmares taking the forms of women with gigantic wings. They can conjure imps to attack at range, and those who engage a hive mother in close combat are encircled by their wings which reduce Speed and initiative ratings. [b]Humans[/b] are a catch-all category of 5 common stat blocks for the types of people PCs are likely to meet. Peasants, Proles, Scholars, and Servants are the hapless noncombatants who represent the common folk, while Bandits and Mercenaries are more martial (but not very bright) level 1 people. Nobles are usually accompanied by 1d6 servants and/or guards, and Cultists know one random spell per level. With the exception of Cultists, each of them are level 1. Humans who have Professions (no stats here) have the benefits of said class features, but all non-Professional humans are considered to be level 1. [b]Iridescent Globes[/b] are floating bits of protoplasm from some alien world. They have no quarrel with inhabitants of the material plane or nightmare realms, but their mere presence causes the land to change. Their attacks are random magical effects ranging from unpredictable teleportation, having effects happen twice due to time manipulation to curses, and the expected energy attacks. If left to roam for a month or more in an area, the very landscape becomes incomprehensible to human perception. [b]Lamprey Golems[/b] are one of the only golem monsters in this bestiary. They’re created by wizards to guard aquatic locations, and can bite, constrict, and/or squeeze through extremely small spaces depending on the material they’re made from. [b]Locust Butchers[/b] are nightmares spawned from the famine-causing bugs of the same name. When the nobility sent out their soldiers to forcefully take and hoard what little food remained, the death and hatred spawned in their wake became ample fuel for the nightmares to form such monsters. Locust Butchers can force targets struck by their swords to give up their most prized possessions on a failed Willpower save, can summon sense-impairing smoke, and explode into a cloud of locusts when they reach 0 Disposition. [b]Revenants[/b] are one the few undead creatures in this book, animated by the nightmare realms by the souls of those who died violently. Revenants are murderously jealous of the living who do not have to suffer like they do, and when in packs have increased Morale when in the presence of a leader (same stats but max Disposition). [b]Rittersnakes[/b] are beastlings formed from the bodies of foreign crusaders who disturbed nests of parasites in the Vale of Serpents. They transformed into snakemen, their plate armor and weapons the last vestiges of their human origins. Rittersnakes can lob burning spittle as a ranged attack, their lairs smell terrible and impose disadvantage to non-Health based rolls, and they can hijack the bodies of freshly-slain human and animal corpses by beheading them. [b]Shadows of Pain[/b] are formed from the memories of childhood fears and abuse, from schoolyard bullies to violent parents to doctors with syringes. They wield weapons in line with said torments, and deal their own damage types and certain debuffs. Syringes can cause paralyzing cold, for instance. [b]The Simurgh[/b] is the only good-aligned monster in this entire bestiary, save for randomly-generated Human alignments. It is a legendary bird with a human face. It knows many spells and can offer words of wisdom and even minor services if a character succeeds on a 2d6 social roll, with modifiers based on alignment. Simurgh are foes of nightmares and are more inclined to defend people from them even on a lower social result. [b]Skull-Faced Fiends[/b] strike at adventuring parties at their weakest links: their hirelings! If they are able to sneak up on a party, they whisper in the ears of said people, instilling fear and paranoia to get them to abandon their patrons in exchange for safe passage out of the nightmare incursion. A promise that is never honored. [b]Sun Court Fey[/b] are lawful seelie faeries. They are skilled artists and hunters, and carry bronze muskets which fire angry wasps. Their courtiers, paladins, and visionweavers (better attribute scores, and armour in the case of paladins) are their peoples’ front line of defense against the nightmares, but they have no patience for humans that do not respect their authority. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/nfSUazO.png[/img][/center] [b]Thaumaturgists[/b] are Scholars that specialize in magical alchemy. They belong to a Guild of the same name, and ones that are Chaotic in alignment have been corrupted by nightmares and may be allied with monsters and/or nightmares if found in an incursion. They have exotic components on their persons as treasure, and higher-level members among their number know more spells. [b]Thorn Priests[/b] are nightmares formed from the genocide of pagans carried out by soldiers of the Law. The last surviving members of a particular sect who practiced flagellation cried out for revenge upon their dying breaths, and the nightmares granted their wish. Thorn priests are plantlike humanoid entities who have thorny tentacle attacks that can force those struck to attack random targets on a failed Willpower save. Their bodies brim with a certain spell that is automatically cast upon their enemies once killed. Incursions formed by them are full of sharp metal blades, rocks, and thorns which makes the environment deal damage under certain circumstances (being pushed into a wall, having to go through a tight passage, etc). [b]The Underfolk[/b] are human beastlings who live in underground caves and abandoned cities, away from the light of day. The alien depths of their subterranean homes are at higher risks of nightmare incursions, and as such they are valuable sources of knowledge to adventuring parties that make nonviolent contact with them. Underfolk have been known to ally with the lowest social classes of humans (more due to closer living space) against such dangers and the more mundane threats of living in the streets. [b]Wasp Riders[/b] are two monsters in one: alchemically-grown giant wasps with a mounted golem rider wielding a magic-infused whip. Nobody knows who invented such beings, but the golems’ evil intentions point to minds inimical to social harmony. [b]Wound Men[/b] are nightmares given form by the PTSD of war survivors. They look like mutilated people with enough weapons sticking out from their bodies that would kill a normal person. Manufactured non-magical weapons that strike their bodies have a chance of being absorbed into their forms and cannot be taken out until combat’s end. They can rise again as weaker forms unless at least two of their limbs are amputated, and weapons stuck in their bodies that are not removed from an incursion in 1d4 Turns can combine together into an artificial human-shaped conglomeration of metal implements. [b]Monsters by Type:[/b] 8 Beastlings, 5 Dwellers in the Deep, 10 Faeries (11 if we count Faerie Nobles as separate entry), 4 Golems, 8 Humans, 16 Nightmares, 3 Undead. This includes sub-entries for stronger versions of the same creature type. As you can tell, the bestiary is appropriately Nightmare-heavy, with quite a bit of Beastlings and Faeries. Humans are the next most common type, but barring Thaumaturgists they don’t have much variety of special abilities. There’s a surprisingly low amount of Undead which are the rarest creature type, and we don’t have many Golems either. [b]Monsters by Level:[/b] For monsters that have specific level entries we have 15 1st Level, 14 2nd Level, 12 3rd Level, 4 4th Level, 2 5th Level, 1 6th Level, 1 7th Level, 0 8th Level, and 0 9th Level. We have 5 creatures of variable level: Changelings 1-6, Cultists 1+, Dragons 1-9, Thaumaturgy Mentor 1d4+2, and Underfolk 1-4. The bestiary is heavily weighted towards lower-level encounters, but after 4th level we start to see a dearth in material. [b]Thoughts So Far:[/b] Although nowhere near as big as some other OSR bestiaries, the monsters provided in the Nightmares Underneath are original and depart from the standard fantasy faire enough to make things feel quite different. The material is rather front-loaded level wise, and the GM will need to do more work and/or conversion for higher-level parties. I do like how dragons are faerie gods and don’t correspond to the chromatic/metallic flavor, and a lot of the nightmares correspond strongly to some rather common traumas and misdeeds. Entries such as the Cavemurdered and Skull-Faced Fiends have abilities that are tailor-made to take advantage of adventuring parties in ways that wouldn’t make sense for an “organic dungeon ecology,” but fits in well with the themes of nightmare incursions. The few Dwellers in the Deep monsters (Eclipse Wolf and Iridescent Globes among others) feel appropriately alien and indecipherable, and the Adepts of the Flame and Thorn Priests show that the rise of Law was not a golden age for all. Groups like the Sun Court Fey, Simurgh, and Underfolk are some neat choices in that while two of them aren’t necessarily Good (Underfolk are actually Evil) the fluff of their entries imply that they can be used as allies of convenience when fighting nightmare incursions. That’s not something you see in a lot of D&D/OSR products and adventures by default, whose monsters are often always hostile or set up in a manner that they don’t have much incentive to work with the PCs against a greater evil. There are a few weak points in this bestiary. There are criminally few undead creatures in a “horror-themed” retroclone. While I understand that the PCs are intended to be a world above the common folk, the non-Thaumaturgist and non-Cultist human stat blocks felt a bit too weak overall in being universally Level 1. Although in this case increasing their levels is trivial by boosting their attack and skill bonuses, so I don’t think I can knock them too hard for this. The faeries are heavily geared towards European folklore, and I was a bit surprised to see no mention of genies in spite of being iconic Middle Eastern monsters. [b]Join us next time as we cover a Slight Appendix of Additional Material![/b] [/QUOTE]
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[Let's Read] The Nightmares Underneath: 2nd Edition
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