Converting monsters from Second Edition Monstrous Compendiums
- Thread starter Shade
- Start date
Cleon
Legend
Some of the description could do with a polish, e.g.:
Mullonga often attempts to insinuate herself into a company of wanderers, using illusions to cast herself as a mage lost in the mists. If she is accepted into a company, she begins to sow false information. She does this in an effort to create fear in the wanderers—fear she can later use in dreams.
Shouldn't this be in Tactics?
Mullonga thrives on fear, and her dream-scapes are sinister, terror-filled locations. She constantly searches for wanderers to fuel her arcane experiments. Mullonga has a number of workshops where she conducts these experiments, which have resulted in the creation of the arcane heads and other terrors that now serve the witch. Of course, her Ghettoes, where she also hides the Dream Web artifact, are also haunted by things that did not turn out the way the witch had planned. In addition to her circlet of arcane heads, Mullonga is often accompanied by night hags, nightmares, ennui, and golems of various varieties.
I find the wording rather confusing. It doesn't explain what a "dream-scape" is or what the Dream Web does, for a start.
How's this:
The aboriginal witch Mullonga may look like an old woman who is so small as to be harmless, but she is powerful, evil and malicious.
Mullonga rules over a nightmare land which she can reshape to her will into various "dreamscapes". Her dreamscapes are sinister, terror-filled places, including many ghettoes populated by imprisoned souls and monsters. Hidden somewhere among these ghettoes is an artefact, the dream web, which grants Mullonga her spellcasting and dreamscape shaping powers.
She constantly searches for wanderers to fuel her arcane experiments. Mullonga has a number of workshops where she conducts these experiments, which have resulted in the creation of the arcane heads and other terrors that now serve the witch. Mullonga is often accompanied by night hags, nightmares, ennui, and golems of various varieties. Her ghettoes are also haunted by things that did not turn out the way the witch had planned.
Mullonga is 5 feet tall and weighs 90 pounds.
Mullonga speaks Abyssal, Celestial, Common, and Infernal in a voice as dry and brittle as a mummy’s wrappings.
Combat
Mullonga often attempts to insinuate herself into a company of wanderers, using illusions to cast herself as a mage lost in the mists. If she is accepted into a company, she begins to sow false information. She does this in an effort to create fear in the wanderers—fear she can later use in dreams.
Mullonga prefers to rely upon her magic, but if forced into melee, Mullonga’s gnarled hands become grotesquely extended claws.
Cleon
Legend
We're probably done then once Shade approves/updates the changes.
I'll likely give it a final read-through, just to be safe.
Last edited:
Cleon
Legend
Shran? I feel like I've been "primelementaled"!
You didn't Cleon Special (TM) me, did you? DID YOU?
Updated.
How do you think I replaced you with a greater doppleganger?
Dang it, I've blown your cover.
Casts ridiculously augmented modify memory on everyone who saw this thread. Edits previous post to obliterate mention of the primelementaled name.
So "Shade", I think we're done with Mullonga.
What creature's next?
Cleon
Legend
Good thing I have ridiculously good saves.
Yes, there's no way I would have modified your memories to think that your Will save modifier was high enough to resist my psionic manipulation.
It's not like you need Immunity To Mind-Affecting Effects to be sure that I haven't moulded your thoughts like putty...
Shade
Monster Junkie
Siren (Ravenloft)
Climate/Terrain: Ocean
Frequency: Rare
Organization: Schools
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Carnivore
Intelligence: High (13-14)
Treasure: C
Alignment: Neutral evil
No. Appearing: 2-8
Armor Class: 6
Movement: 8, Sw 18
Hit Dice: 4
THAC0: 17
No. of Attacks: 2
Damage/Attack: 2d4
Special Attacks: Mass charm, advanced illusion, disease
Special Defenses: Nil
Magic Resistance: 10%
Size: M (5’ tall)
Morale: Steady (11-12)
XP Value: 975
A Ravenloft siren is a hideous, undead creature with the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a fish. Her hair is tangled and entwined with rotting seaweed, and her body is gray and bloated, resembling a corpse that has been in the water for some time. The flesh has rotted back from the finger tips, exposing the bone. The siren sharpens this bone on the rocks on which she reclines, turning each finger into a deadly weapon.
By means of their innate ability to cast advanced illusion spells, Ravenloft sirens present a very different face to the world. They appear to be beautiful mermaids with voluptuous bodies and sleek sea-green hair.
Combat: Ravenloft sirens lure their victims into striking range by means of a song that acts as a mass charm. This song can be heard at great distances over open water: those aboard ships passing within a mile of an islet on which Ravenloft sirens are sunning themselves have been known to fall victim to it. The song can be avoided by plugging the ears with wax or by means of a silence, 15’ radius spell, but these measures must be taken in advance.
Each siren in the school can affect up to 8 Hit Dice worth of victims. Victims must make a successful saving throw vs. spell with a -2 penalty to the roll. Those who fail are compelled to set course with all possible speed toward the singing. Upon sighting the sirens, they feel a compulsion to go ashore and sit down beside them. They may only be prevented from doing so by being physically restrained.
Any character who sights a Ravenloft siren and makes a successful saving throw vs. spell can see her as she really is. Typically this roll will be made in secret by the DM and is made with a -4 penalty.
Those characters who actively attempt to disbelieve the illusion do not suffer the a penalty. Disbelief may not be attempted, however, by characters who have fallen victim to the sirens’ mass charm.
Once their prey is within reach, the sirens attack with their sharpened, bony fingers. Due to the advanced illusion, which includes tactile elements, this attack at first seems to be a gentle caress. During each round that a siren succeeds in inflicting damage, the victim gets to make an additional saving throw vs. spell, (Again, this is typically done in secret by the DM.) A successful roll means that both the illusion and the charm suddenly vanish. The victim sees the siren for what she really is and can begin fighting back. At the DM’s discretion, a fear check may be called for due to the sudden revelation of the creature’s true form.
Those who suffer damage at the hands of a Ravenloft siren must make a saving throw vs. poison. Failure means that the wounds become infected. This infection must be magically healed before natural healing can occur.
Ravenloft sirens can be turned as undead and suffer damage from holy water. When turned, they flee back into the sea, disappearing beneath the waves.
Habitat/Society: Ravenloft sirens can exist on a diet of fish but prefer to dine on sentient creatures. They live in the ocean, traveling in schools like fish, but spend much of their time basking on rocky islets. These are typically surrounded by the rotting corpses of their victims. Because the sirens have no use for the victims’ possessions, valuable treasures or magical items can often be found there.
The sirens are astute enough to realize that this booty can act as a lure. They often lurk just beneath the waves, looking up at the surface for the hull of a visiting ship, then emerging suddenly to sing their song.
The stench of decay that hangs in the air around an islet that is a resting place for Ravenloft sirens is almost overwhelming. This foul taint emanates both from the sirens themselves and from the corpses of their victims. It is masked, however, by the sirens’ ability to cast advanced illusion spells that include an olfactory component.
Ecology: Thus far, Ravenloft sirens have only been sighted along the Jagged Coast of Necropolis. It is likely, however, that they will soon begin spreading south along the coastlines of other Ravenloft domains that border on the Sea of Sorrows.
It is thought that the sirens are merfolk who were transformed by the burst of negative energy that was released when the doomsday device was activated. If this theory is correct, it is possible that male Ravenloft sirens also exist.
Originally appeared in Requiem: The Grim Harvest (1996). This is the Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four version.
Climate/Terrain: Ocean
Frequency: Rare
Organization: Schools
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Carnivore
Intelligence: High (13-14)
Treasure: C
Alignment: Neutral evil
No. Appearing: 2-8
Armor Class: 6
Movement: 8, Sw 18
Hit Dice: 4
THAC0: 17
No. of Attacks: 2
Damage/Attack: 2d4
Special Attacks: Mass charm, advanced illusion, disease
Special Defenses: Nil
Magic Resistance: 10%
Size: M (5’ tall)
Morale: Steady (11-12)
XP Value: 975
A Ravenloft siren is a hideous, undead creature with the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a fish. Her hair is tangled and entwined with rotting seaweed, and her body is gray and bloated, resembling a corpse that has been in the water for some time. The flesh has rotted back from the finger tips, exposing the bone. The siren sharpens this bone on the rocks on which she reclines, turning each finger into a deadly weapon.
By means of their innate ability to cast advanced illusion spells, Ravenloft sirens present a very different face to the world. They appear to be beautiful mermaids with voluptuous bodies and sleek sea-green hair.
Combat: Ravenloft sirens lure their victims into striking range by means of a song that acts as a mass charm. This song can be heard at great distances over open water: those aboard ships passing within a mile of an islet on which Ravenloft sirens are sunning themselves have been known to fall victim to it. The song can be avoided by plugging the ears with wax or by means of a silence, 15’ radius spell, but these measures must be taken in advance.
Each siren in the school can affect up to 8 Hit Dice worth of victims. Victims must make a successful saving throw vs. spell with a -2 penalty to the roll. Those who fail are compelled to set course with all possible speed toward the singing. Upon sighting the sirens, they feel a compulsion to go ashore and sit down beside them. They may only be prevented from doing so by being physically restrained.
Any character who sights a Ravenloft siren and makes a successful saving throw vs. spell can see her as she really is. Typically this roll will be made in secret by the DM and is made with a -4 penalty.
Those characters who actively attempt to disbelieve the illusion do not suffer the a penalty. Disbelief may not be attempted, however, by characters who have fallen victim to the sirens’ mass charm.
Once their prey is within reach, the sirens attack with their sharpened, bony fingers. Due to the advanced illusion, which includes tactile elements, this attack at first seems to be a gentle caress. During each round that a siren succeeds in inflicting damage, the victim gets to make an additional saving throw vs. spell, (Again, this is typically done in secret by the DM.) A successful roll means that both the illusion and the charm suddenly vanish. The victim sees the siren for what she really is and can begin fighting back. At the DM’s discretion, a fear check may be called for due to the sudden revelation of the creature’s true form.
Those who suffer damage at the hands of a Ravenloft siren must make a saving throw vs. poison. Failure means that the wounds become infected. This infection must be magically healed before natural healing can occur.
Ravenloft sirens can be turned as undead and suffer damage from holy water. When turned, they flee back into the sea, disappearing beneath the waves.
Habitat/Society: Ravenloft sirens can exist on a diet of fish but prefer to dine on sentient creatures. They live in the ocean, traveling in schools like fish, but spend much of their time basking on rocky islets. These are typically surrounded by the rotting corpses of their victims. Because the sirens have no use for the victims’ possessions, valuable treasures or magical items can often be found there.
The sirens are astute enough to realize that this booty can act as a lure. They often lurk just beneath the waves, looking up at the surface for the hull of a visiting ship, then emerging suddenly to sing their song.
The stench of decay that hangs in the air around an islet that is a resting place for Ravenloft sirens is almost overwhelming. This foul taint emanates both from the sirens themselves and from the corpses of their victims. It is masked, however, by the sirens’ ability to cast advanced illusion spells that include an olfactory component.
Ecology: Thus far, Ravenloft sirens have only been sighted along the Jagged Coast of Necropolis. It is likely, however, that they will soon begin spreading south along the coastlines of other Ravenloft domains that border on the Sea of Sorrows.
It is thought that the sirens are merfolk who were transformed by the burst of negative energy that was released when the doomsday device was activated. If this theory is correct, it is possible that male Ravenloft sirens also exist.
Originally appeared in Requiem: The Grim Harvest (1996). This is the Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four version.
