Paging Echohawk...

[Shade]

I just compared the Malatran lizard man to the Monstrous Manual lizard man, and they are almost word-for-word the same writeup. Only the Int is different and a small name-drop to a Malatran human tribe and the bit about "wetting themselves" . I'm not sure I'd classify them as a separate creature.

 

[Echohawk]

The Malatran lizard men have been expunged from the "to be converted list". Here are the Malpheggi, please excuse the slight delay:

New Character Race: Malpheggi Lizard Men
If you want to create a Malpheggi lizard man character, here is how you do it:

Racial Ability Modifiers
Malpheggi lizard men receive a +2 bonus to Strength ability scores, and a -2 to Dexterity. (Change all results of 19 or 20 to 18's instead, and results of 1 or 2 to 3's instead.) In spite of popular belief, Malpheggi lizard men do not suffer penalties on Intelligence scores.

Saving Throw Table
Lizard men save as clerics of the same experience level:

Level 1-4 5-8 9-12
Death Ray or Poison 11 9 7
Magic Wands 12 10 8
Paralysis or Turn to Stone 14 12 10
Dragon Breath 16 14 12
Rod/Staff/Spell 15 13 11

Experience Table
Malpheggi lizard men can rise to 12th experience level, according to the following table:

Experience Experience Hit
Level Points Dice
1st 0 1d8
2nd 1,500 2d8
3rd 3,000 3d8
4th 6,000 4d8
5th 12,000 --
6th 25,000 5d8
7th 50,000 6d8
8th 100,000 7d8
9th 200,000 8d8
10th 300,000 --
11th 400,000 9d8
12th 500,000 10d8

Gaining New General Skill Slots
Above 12th level, the ceiling for Malpheggi characters, the lizard men get another general skill slot with every 400,00 points earned.

Prime Requisite
Strength is the prime requisite for Malpheggi lizard men. A lizard man with a Strength score of 15 gets +5% experience bonus; one with a score of 18 gets a +10% bonus.

Minimum Scores
A Malpheggi lizard man must have a score of at least 13 in Strength and 9 in Constitution.

Weapons and Armor
Weapons and armor permitted to Malpheggi lizard men include these:
Cultural Melee Weapons: Axe/battle, axe/hand, dagger, sword/short, sword/normal (broad), sword/bastard, hammer/war, hammer/throwing, spear, javelin, trident, net.
Cultural Missile Weapons: Crossbow/light, crossbow/heavy.
Cultural Armor: Shields only (horned shield, knife shield, sword shield, tusked shield allowed).
Shamans Can Use: Axes and hammers, shields.
Wokani Can Use: Dagger, net.

Shamans and Wokani
Malpheggi lizard men can reach 6th level as shamans and 4th as wokani.

Special Hindrances
Lizard men can wear no armor, though they can carry shields (and thus lower their AC by 1).

Special Abilities
These lizard men have numerous special abilities:
Though they are slow on land than many other races, they aren't as slow as most lizard men. Their land movement rate is 90' (30').
They can breath water, as in the spell of the same name, but with unlimited duration; they swim very well, and have a swimming rate of 120' (40').
Lizard men have a naturally tough hide; they have a basic AC of 5.
Even when unarmed, Malpheggi lizard men still have their claws. When striking barehanded, with their claws, they get two 1d4 attacks.

Languages
Malpheggi lizard men speak their own language, the dragon language, and Common (Neathar).

Alignment
Lizard men may be of any alignment, but most are neutral.

General Skills
Malpheggi lizard men must take the Survival (Swamp) general skill.

 

[Shade]

Thanks.

I had a bit of a delay myself, due to ice storms and illnesses (hmmm...sounds like an idea for a RPG).

 

[Shade]

Hmmm...we might need that flavor text after all. Would you mind posting it, once the scanner is working again?

 

[Echohawk]

Malpheggi Lizard Men

The Malpheggi are a race of swamp-dwelling lizard men. They're sly and cunning survivors, among the most mercenarty sentient races of the Hollow World, and challenge the notion that lizard men are just dumb brutes with scaly hides.

Appearance and Dress
Malpheggi lizard men stand from 6' to 7' tall. They stand like men, walking on two lower legs and manipulating weapons and objects with their forelimbs. But they are very reptilian in appearance, with fine-scaled skin, lizard-like heads, and strong tails. Their hands and feet are clawed and are webbed (to help propel them when they swim) between their digits.
Malpheggi coloration ranges from yellow through all sorts of greens, to pure black; a very few Malpheggi lizard men are albino (pure white, with pink eyes).
Malpheggi lizard men don't wear clothes, but do wear belts and baldrics for their weapon-sheathes and other useful pouches.

Customs
Malpheggi lizard men are cunning and suspicious. They trust one another, and can come to trust representatives of other races who prove their trustworthiness over a period of years, but will otherwise never take someone at face value.
These lizard men are very protective of their young and their swamp. The swamp is theirs, and anyone entering it had best be bringing them gifts or business, or at least be willing to leave by the most direct route when confronted by a lizard man... otherwise, the intruder will find himself chased out or killed as soon as possible.
They're a clever race. They don't care for direct confrontation, they don't stand up in front of intruders in combat lines and allow themselves to be conveniently cut down. Instead, they use the terrain to their advantage, swimming stealthily beneath the black surface of the water, kidnapping stragglers from intruder parties, ambushing scouts, whittling down the numbers of opposition.
They're mercenaries. They hire out their services to anyone willing to pay their price. Their usual services include guiding war-parties through the fringes of the swamps so those parties can launch sneak attacks on nearby enemies, or to accompany war-parties on aquatic expeditions (in order to scout out enemy positions, cut subterranean nets or harbor defenses, etc.).
Most Malpheggi lizard men worship the Immortal Ka, who is their patron.

Names
Malpheggi names are short and sibilant, using many consonants and diphthongs which can easily be hissed: 'f', 'h', 'l', 'r', 's', and 'sh' especially.
Names such as Sliss, Haarss, Hlaar, Shlirt, and so forth are very common.

Roles and Genders
By ancient tradition, the Malpheggi are ruled by a queen. Beyond that tradition, males and females are equal in stature.

Language
The Malpheggi speak their own lizard man tongue, the dragon language, and the Neathar human language.

Allies and Enemies
The Malpheggi sell their services as scouts and warriors to the Azcans and the Schattenalfen, but do not like or trust representatives of either or those races. The Malpheggi help the Azcans against the Schattenalfen, and the Schattenalfen against the Azcans; they lead the Azcans against the Oltecs; and they have no personal interest in any of these struggles.
The Malpheggi do hate one sort of human, the Nithians, whom they remember from their most ancient legends. Though no living Malpheggi lizard man has ever seen a Nithian, were he to see a human matching the description of Nithians, he'd fly into a murderous rage. In ancient times, the Nithians of the outer world brought a fatal plague to the outer-world lizard men and nearly destroyed the race.

 

[Shade]

Thanks again. Illnesses struck again, so I was out for a bit.

 

[Shade]

We've concluded the Filipino monsters, so if your scanner is working again, would you mind throwing some more Imagine Mag creatures this way?

Thanks!

 

[Echohawk]

China Dolls (Image #21, p53)

Propped against the walls of this chamber are 12 large bags tied with red ribbons; one has a label which reads 'Merry Christmas, Billy' in Common. Each bag contains a very pretty, dark-eyed china doll -- these are the dolls that Nurk wanted Santa Claus to deliver. In the darkness of the bags the dolls are silent and harmless. If exposed to light, the dolls will become animated, attacking with their vicious teeth and knife-like nails. The dolls will continue to attack until they are destroyed or returned to a darkened environment. [...]

12 China Dolls: AC 4; MV 6"; HD 3; hp 20 each; #AT 3; D 1-4/1-3/1-3; SD edged and piercing weapons inflict only 1 point of damage, immune to mind-influencing spells; AL N; S S (3' tall); 80 xp each.

 

[Echohawk]

I see that there are also stats for "The Snow Dwarf", "The Turkey", "The Yeti" and "Santa Claus" in that adventure, plus a "Lurker Between" which hides in sandwiches pretending to be luncheon meat (I kid not). I didn't count these as creatures needing converting, but I can post the (minimalist) stats if you are in the mood for some parody conversions .

 

[Echohawk]

From Imagine Magazine #23, February 1985:

HEADLESS HORSEMAN

Rider
Frequency: Very rare
No. Appearing: 1
Armour Class: -1
Move: 9"
Hit Dice: 6
% in Lair: nil
Treasure Type: nil
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage: 3-18 (lance)/2-9 (sword)
Special Attacks: Fear
Special Defences: +2 or better weapon to hit
Magic Resistance: Immune to charm, sleep, hold or cold based attacks
Intelligence: Very
Alignment: LE
Size: M

Mount
Frequency: Very rare
No. Appearing: 1
Armour Class: 4
Move: 15"
Hit Dice: 4+4
% in Lair: nil
Treasure Type: nil
No. of Attacks: 3
Damage: 1-8/1-8/1-3
Special Attacks: none
Special Defences: magic or silver weapons to hit
Magic Resistance: Immune to charm, sleep, hold or cold based attacks
Intelligence: Animal
Alignment: NE
Size: L

Headless Horsemen are the spirits of cavalrymen who have died in violent circumstances - normally beheaded. Very often they were cavaliers or noblemen in life, and retain a sense of purpose into afterlife. They are normally encountered on roadways, heralded by the sound of approaching horses that will cause fear in all creatures of animal intelligence. The horseman will appear as a figure swathed in mist, so that the missing head cannot be detected from distance. Once within twenty yards, this abnormality will be visible, and all who see it must save vs magic or suffer the effects of a fear spell.
Most headless horseman are encountered riding pell-mell, as if to fufil some urgent mission. These will only attack in self-defence. Others, who take upon themselves the specific purpose of guarding a place or object, will offer single combat by word or action, charging with the lance and then using a sword in melee. They will never attack a cleric, except in self-defence, and may be turned as a spectre.

REVENANT-MAGNA

Frequency: Very rare
No. Appearing: 1
Armour Class: 0
Move: 18"
Hit Dice: 10
% in Lair: nil
Treasure Type: nil
No. of Attacks: 2
Damage: 2-12/2-12
Special Attacks: fear, insanity
Special Defences: +1 or better weapons to hit
Magic Resistance: 80%
Intelligence: Exceptional
Alignment: LE
Size: M

Revenant-Magnas are the spirits of innocents slain in an evil fashion. Unlike ordinary revenants, they may only arise from the body of persons too weak to defend themselves in life; a child, or an adult with strength of less than 8. Once reborn, they are enormously strong and are driven by an insane desire for revenge - no trace of their former innocence will remain. As with a normal revenant, they will pursue the individual(s) who slew them, never resting, and never erring in their pursuit. They will ignore all those in their path, unless they seek to halt their pursuit, but all characters that see them must save vs spells or be driven insane.
One last diabolical twist separates these creatures from the normal revenant; their need for revenge is such that, should their quarry be slain by someone else, they will pursue the slayer with equal vigour. It is possible for a 'chain' of responsibility to be built up, and for the revenant-magna to finally achieve its purpose on an entirely blameless individual.