Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Faolyn" data-source="post: 9271327" data-attributes="member: 6915329">OK, so at some point between Monday and today I accidentally deleted my preface for this monster. So here's me writing on the fly.The next few monsters are adapted from Planescape: Torment, a game I own but have barely gotten anywhere in. I'm outside the Mortuary and in Sigil proper, and kind of at a loss as to what I should do next. It's a cool game, I'm just not particularly good at it, at least not without a walkthrough. Anyway, this particular creature is the gronk. It's an aggressive creature, yet more scavenger than predator, but what really makes it interesting is that the article goes into depth as to its life cycle. In fact, all the monsters in this article have a lot of detail given to them that didn't make it into the game, and that's all the more interesting because the article's writer, Chris Avellone, was apparently one of Tormet's devs. Whether he came up with these ideas while working on the game or afterwards, while writing the article—kudos to you, Chris. You made these creatures feel very alien in a very Planescapian way.The article lists an artist as well, but the pictures are all screen grabs. I have no idea if the credited Eric Campanella in fact just took images from the game or if he actually worked on the game's animation. Either way, the picture used for the gronk is extremely muddied--quite possibly an artifact of it being in a magazine—so I'm using a better image I found online. [ATTACH=full]347969[/ATTACH]GronkDragon’s Bestiary, Dragon Magazine #262Creature by Chris Avellone; art by Eric CampanellaGronks are large, squat beasts that look something like stone-scaled toads, which is what gives them their nickname of “hopping rocks” or “stone frogs.” They’re known for being extremely aggressive creatures and will attack nearly anything—only truly large foes, such as dragons or giants, give it pause. If the gronk is in a bad mood and there’s another creature around, they will simply headbutt it to death—but they won’t chase fleeing prey, as, despite their large, frightening-looking teeth, they’re omnivores, leaning towards herbivores. They’ll eat a creature they kill and carrion they come across, but almost never actually hunt for meat.Photophobic. Although they aren’t harmed by bright light, gronks are greatly irritated upon seeing one, and if targeted by an attack or spell that relies on bright light, they go into a violent frenzy. Even a simple light spell is enough to drive a gronk into a rage—so much so that they may even attack each other out of sheer anger.Spawned From Anger. While a gronk is willing to attack anything, they creatures they fight the most are each other. In large part, this is because fighting is how they reproduce. Their reproductive organs are in the spikes that cover their heads, and when they headbutt each other, these spikes break off and lodge in the other gronk’s head, where they're fertilized and begins to develop into a fetus. Eventually, this spike drops to the ground and corkscrews its way into the dirt or sand. A few months later, a baby gronks emerges and quickly grows to its adult size. Eventually, enough spikes break off that the entire headplate cracks and flakes off, exposing the creature’s brain, which quickly kills it. Most gronks only live a few years.Climate/Terrain: subarctic, temperate; desert, plain, hill, mountainLegends and LoreWith an Arcana check, the characters can learn the following:DC 10. Also called “hopping rocks,” gronks are easily irritated, aggressive creatures. They attack by headbutting its target to death.DC 15. Gronks have special glands along their necks. When they headbutt, these glands activate, producing a violent bang! that can knock the target back.DC 20. Gronks are nearly deaf and dislike bright lights, which can drive them into a frenzy wherein they blindly attack anything nearby.Gronk EncountersChallenge Rating 1-2 1 gronkChallenge Rating 3-4 2 gronksChallenge Rating 5-10 3-5 gronksSigns1-2. Loud “gronking” noises nearby3. With a DC 15 Perception or Nature check, strange horn-like objects half-buried in the ground. If unearthed, it squirms slightly and is revealed to be a keratinous, tadpole-like creature—an infant gronk3. A mortally wounded gronk with a cracked headplate; it is incapable of taking any actions.Behavior1-2. Sparring with one another for dominance or over the scraps of a meal3-4. Irritable; will attack on sight.GronkMedium beast; Challenge 2 (450 XP)AC 14 (natural armor)HP 45 (6d8+18; bloodied 22)Speed 30 ft.STR 18 (+4) DEX 10 (+0) CON 16 (+3)INT 2 (-4) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 4 (-3)Proficiency +2; Maneuver DC 14Skills Perception +3Damage Resistances thunder; bludgeoningCondition Immunities frightened, deafenedSenses passive PerceptionLanguages —Poor Senses. The gronk has disadvantage on Perception checks that rely on hearing and on saving throws to avoid being blinded.ActionsBite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d4+4) piercing damageHeadbutt. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4+4) bludgeoning damage plus 5 (2d4) thunder damage. If the target is a creature and the gronk moves at least 20 feet strait towards that target before the attack, the target takes an additional 5 (2d4) bludgeoning damage and must make a DC 14 Strength saving throw, falling prone on a failure.Vaulting Leap. The gronk jumps up to 20 feet horizontally and 10 feet vertically. If it is within 5 feet of a creature, it can make a headbutt attack against that creature with advantage.Bonus ActionsOpportune Bite. The gronk makes a bite attack against a prone target.ReactionsPhotophobic. If the gronk is targeted by a spell from the prismatic or radiant schools or takes radiant damage, it may move up to its speed straight towards a creature it can see. At the end of that movement, it makes a bite attack at advantage.CombatGronks fight without tactics and don’t retreat.</blockquote>

Verification