Alternative Monsters: Different Fluff, Same Crunch
- Thread starter Terwox
- Start date
Dagger75
Epic Commoner
I had these Ash Demons. Basically the came out of fire pits, ovens and burned down houses. I used water elementals for the stats and the only special ability they had that was different was the ability to go into a pile of ashes and come out of another within like a 100' radius.
The party divised a way to beat them I never thought of. They poured water over the pile of ashes to try and stop the demon from jumping around. It sounded like a good idea so I let it work. There reasoning was since ashes came from fire that water shold work on these guys to. I always had a little chuckle inside when I thought how they basically using water to defeat a water elemental.
The party divised a way to beat them I never thought of. They poured water over the pile of ashes to try and stop the demon from jumping around. It sounded like a good idea so I let it work. There reasoning was since ashes came from fire that water shold work on these guys to. I always had a little chuckle inside when I thought how they basically using water to defeat a water elemental.
Terwox
First Post
I'm really enjoying hearing what everybody else has come up with, keep it coming. I find it interesting that so many people have used variations centered on the water elemental -- I spose it does have a neat power though, jumping from bits of your element to another is certainly cool with variations. Anyway, on to the new stuff, and I fixed the prior formatting, thanks for the call.
Bugbear: Barbaric human tribe that runs on all fours, weapons trapped to their backs. Normal looking 7'+ tall humans. (Story: They're barbarians, what else do you need? These are probably going into my game at some point.)
Bulette: A humongous bird made of stone that travels slowly through stone by merging with it, that seeks food only in metal or stone. Cousin to a xorn. The "jump" ability involves fluttering above an enemy and a flurry of claw double attacks.
Carrion Crawler: A sickly ogre clutches his stomach and feigns illness until prey closes, when the tentacles burst from his stomach and he unhinges his jaw, showing a too-big mouth full of sharpened teeth to eat his paralyzed prey. He uses his arms only to grapple foes (no extra attacks, he loses a tenatcle attack for doing this.) Might rarely get a ranged attack w/ a rock/spear, adjust CR if necessary.
Centaur: A race of half-man half-deer exists that the centaurs revile as weak, and occasionally raid (if the centaur tribe nearby is not the average NG.)
Chaos Beast: Appears as a bloody mess of humanoid hands and feet. When struck or grabbed by the beast, hands and feet start crawling out of the wound, quickly pulling the person down into a bloody mess resembling the original beast. The cha check lets the person crawl their way out of the mess and regain momentary control, failure means more limbs burst from the wound to drag them down again. (Story: It's a beast of chaos! It exists outside space and time to cause madness of mayhem!)
Chimera: A slowly levitating three-headed giant: one fanged giant head, one goat head, one dragon head (giant specific, red for fire, blue for storm, etc.) (Story: This is a prior thrall of a chimera that overthrew and devoured its master.) (Note: The bites might be visually cumbersome, might want to replace with a melee weapon.)
Choker: Normal looking halflings with soulless eyes, whose arms shoot out when they attack. (Story: Halflings that murder their families turn into these tortured killers, these are used somewhat as the boogie-man to scare children.)
Chuul: Use this as a Rusalka, although it requires a bit more effort than the others. (A Rusalka is a Russian myth, a woman who was drowned by her lover, who seeks to seduce others, only to drown them too.) Medium size, looks like a gorgeous woman, promises (campaign-specific pleasures like kisses or, well...) if someone draws near, grapples with preternatural strength, kisses them to paralyze them, then drags them underwater to drown them. Simply won't confront many people at once, loses the mandible damage as well. Rusalkas may be tamed with kindness, and permanently put to rest if a broom with a lock of their hair is beaten against their traiterous lover's grave three times, at which point their savior will have to defeat a spectre. (Or just a CR-dependant ghost, but don't tell anyone!) Fun paladin story. If you want to be mechanically sound towards the myth, give them undead traits, too. If you want to be overboard, even change their HD to d12 and that sort of thing. If slain, a Rusalka will rise again in her body of water she was drowned in in a fortnight. (Not sure if I'm true to the myth completely, but I'm going to use one of these in my game soon, I love these... quest for glory 4 nostalgia, I guess.)
Cloaker: This is the result of a 5th level spell that conjures a spirit to inhabit a cloak. (Analog of summon monster V for CR 5 creature, sounds ok.) Tail slap becomes a series of razors in the cloak (that the spirit brings with it,) and the bite is a crack from the collar full of lead. Engulfed creatures wear the cloak, which rips into them with the razors. Perhaps make the spell take at least a minute to cast. Nasty thing to wake up to. The spirit leaves the cloak after attacking for caster level rounds. This is SKETCHY balance, but it has some flavor. Might be better as a 6th level spell, YMMV.
Cockatrice: Part of the fun of these creatures is the legend about them... everyone fears the scary chickens, and a similar looking "innocent" monster could be very deadly -- give the players some warning to fear the "creepy animals" before using it. Anyway, you could use a calf born with two heads, a dog born with two tails, the result of a hawk and a fish combined in a gestalt after a wild magic surge, a sad looking pig with a ram's horns, a sparrow that sounds like a looming violen when it sings, etc. It needs a legend, otherwise the CR shoots up as they're allowed to approach without caution, though.
Coutal: Scene: A score of huge black worms slither over one another in the middle of the fountain in the ruins. When approached, they launch into the air hovering, squirming around one another, before attacking and casting in unison. Might help if they speak infernal to one another.
And, that's all I've got for now! I'll code up everybody's into this format as I go along, and include them as alternatives with credits. Some of these monsters are REALLY challenging, good call on the elder treant for the athach, Ferret. The winged medusa with beholder stats does sound interesting, I wonder if the players knew? Stoning "ray" would be appropriate for sure.
Bugbear: Barbaric human tribe that runs on all fours, weapons trapped to their backs. Normal looking 7'+ tall humans. (Story: They're barbarians, what else do you need? These are probably going into my game at some point.)
Bulette: A humongous bird made of stone that travels slowly through stone by merging with it, that seeks food only in metal or stone. Cousin to a xorn. The "jump" ability involves fluttering above an enemy and a flurry of claw double attacks.
Carrion Crawler: A sickly ogre clutches his stomach and feigns illness until prey closes, when the tentacles burst from his stomach and he unhinges his jaw, showing a too-big mouth full of sharpened teeth to eat his paralyzed prey. He uses his arms only to grapple foes (no extra attacks, he loses a tenatcle attack for doing this.) Might rarely get a ranged attack w/ a rock/spear, adjust CR if necessary.
Centaur: A race of half-man half-deer exists that the centaurs revile as weak, and occasionally raid (if the centaur tribe nearby is not the average NG.)
Chaos Beast: Appears as a bloody mess of humanoid hands and feet. When struck or grabbed by the beast, hands and feet start crawling out of the wound, quickly pulling the person down into a bloody mess resembling the original beast. The cha check lets the person crawl their way out of the mess and regain momentary control, failure means more limbs burst from the wound to drag them down again. (Story: It's a beast of chaos! It exists outside space and time to cause madness of mayhem!)
Chimera: A slowly levitating three-headed giant: one fanged giant head, one goat head, one dragon head (giant specific, red for fire, blue for storm, etc.) (Story: This is a prior thrall of a chimera that overthrew and devoured its master.) (Note: The bites might be visually cumbersome, might want to replace with a melee weapon.)
Choker: Normal looking halflings with soulless eyes, whose arms shoot out when they attack. (Story: Halflings that murder their families turn into these tortured killers, these are used somewhat as the boogie-man to scare children.)
Chuul: Use this as a Rusalka, although it requires a bit more effort than the others. (A Rusalka is a Russian myth, a woman who was drowned by her lover, who seeks to seduce others, only to drown them too.) Medium size, looks like a gorgeous woman, promises (campaign-specific pleasures like kisses or, well...) if someone draws near, grapples with preternatural strength, kisses them to paralyze them, then drags them underwater to drown them. Simply won't confront many people at once, loses the mandible damage as well. Rusalkas may be tamed with kindness, and permanently put to rest if a broom with a lock of their hair is beaten against their traiterous lover's grave three times, at which point their savior will have to defeat a spectre. (Or just a CR-dependant ghost, but don't tell anyone!) Fun paladin story. If you want to be mechanically sound towards the myth, give them undead traits, too. If you want to be overboard, even change their HD to d12 and that sort of thing. If slain, a Rusalka will rise again in her body of water she was drowned in in a fortnight. (Not sure if I'm true to the myth completely, but I'm going to use one of these in my game soon, I love these... quest for glory 4 nostalgia, I guess.)
Cloaker: This is the result of a 5th level spell that conjures a spirit to inhabit a cloak. (Analog of summon monster V for CR 5 creature, sounds ok.) Tail slap becomes a series of razors in the cloak (that the spirit brings with it,) and the bite is a crack from the collar full of lead. Engulfed creatures wear the cloak, which rips into them with the razors. Perhaps make the spell take at least a minute to cast. Nasty thing to wake up to. The spirit leaves the cloak after attacking for caster level rounds. This is SKETCHY balance, but it has some flavor. Might be better as a 6th level spell, YMMV.
Cockatrice: Part of the fun of these creatures is the legend about them... everyone fears the scary chickens, and a similar looking "innocent" monster could be very deadly -- give the players some warning to fear the "creepy animals" before using it. Anyway, you could use a calf born with two heads, a dog born with two tails, the result of a hawk and a fish combined in a gestalt after a wild magic surge, a sad looking pig with a ram's horns, a sparrow that sounds like a looming violen when it sings, etc. It needs a legend, otherwise the CR shoots up as they're allowed to approach without caution, though.
Coutal: Scene: A score of huge black worms slither over one another in the middle of the fountain in the ruins. When approached, they launch into the air hovering, squirming around one another, before attacking and casting in unison. Might help if they speak infernal to one another.
And, that's all I've got for now! I'll code up everybody's into this format as I go along, and include them as alternatives with credits. Some of these monsters are REALLY challenging, good call on the elder treant for the athach, Ferret. The winged medusa with beholder stats does sound interesting, I wonder if the players knew? Stoning "ray" would be appropriate for sure.
shilsen
Adventurer
Specific example from my game today: The PCs ran into a warforged which had been constructed to be unusually strong, immune to fire, have metal claws and fangs grafted onto its fingers and mouth, and had a one-shot "blaster" which fired a cone of flame. Surprised the heck out of them. All I did was slap the mechanical benefits of a half-dragon template on a standard warforged (hence claws, breath attack as blaster), and I had a interesting new version.
fredramsey
First Post
One of those great ideas that is so simple; you wonder why you didn't think of it yourself 
Great Stuff!!!
Great Stuff!!!
Terwox
First Post
Thanks for the encouragement. 
Please add any ideas that you might have or that you've already used!
On to the D's of the Monster Manual:
Darkmantle: Svirfneblin outcasts are subjected to a ritual that causes skin to grow over their eyes, and cast away. A ruthless society of these has adapted, causing flabby wings to grow between their arms and legs, and echolocation slowly becomes used. Their darkness becomes a sorcerous ability, and they cling to cavern ceilings in groups, causing darkness, then latching onto the heads of prey with their flabby bodies while biting them with their sharpened teeth. (Constrict damage results from bites, suffocation, neck-wringing, and constriction of their flabby wings.)
Delver: Drow (or any race, really) terminated by drow society (or another evil race) are sometimes scarred with acid and thrown into large pits, where an appointed hermit will chant over the pile of corpses for a fortnight. This draws the spirit of the cavern into the pile of corpses, which then animates. (Story: This can be done as a last resort to protect a home, or as sort of an intimidating dog guard -- "the soul of our land protects us through the bodies of your slain.") (Another sketchy almost-undead, YMMW, but the spirit is alive, simply incarnate in corpses.)
Demon-Babau: Archon scouts, protective aura of holiness instead of acid. These sometimes serve as forward scouts for angelic armies. 2 Claws are two shortswords, bite is an unarmed attack.
Demon-Balor: Again, negate the alignment, give these stats to a towering flaming angel with skin of platinum, and you have a good Avenging Angel, called forth to punish the wicked. Powers become good instead of evil, just drop insanity, and perhaps change the fire powers to electrical in nature if you want to disguise the stats more.
Demon-Bebilith: A giant that ate a cursed spider awoke one day to find his lower body had transformed into that of a terrible spider, and that he was able to throw webbing and spit venom. Claw attacks are instead club attacks. Sort of a giant-drider hybrid. Plane shift doesn't really fit the concept well -- perhaps the curse only allows the giant to teleport to a plane where he is punished by spider-spirits for a time, before being allowed to return.
Demon-Dretch: A specific curse turns humans from a small village who venture too close to ruins into long-armed, clawed, tusked versions of themselves. (Summoned dretch are humans from within the cursed ruins, who will reveal the nature of their curse if questioned by their summoner.) Those affected by the curse sometimes speak in hushed, sickly (abyssal) tones, and seem to know what each other are thinking. (Curse idea is that a dwarven lord's tomb is underneath the town, and does not appreciate the human filth atop him.)
Yikes, there are too many demons... hah.
Again, thanks for the encouragement, I hope some of these are useful, and post any ideas you have of your own!
Please add any ideas that you might have or that you've already used!On to the D's of the Monster Manual:
Darkmantle: Svirfneblin outcasts are subjected to a ritual that causes skin to grow over their eyes, and cast away. A ruthless society of these has adapted, causing flabby wings to grow between their arms and legs, and echolocation slowly becomes used. Their darkness becomes a sorcerous ability, and they cling to cavern ceilings in groups, causing darkness, then latching onto the heads of prey with their flabby bodies while biting them with their sharpened teeth. (Constrict damage results from bites, suffocation, neck-wringing, and constriction of their flabby wings.)
Delver: Drow (or any race, really) terminated by drow society (or another evil race) are sometimes scarred with acid and thrown into large pits, where an appointed hermit will chant over the pile of corpses for a fortnight. This draws the spirit of the cavern into the pile of corpses, which then animates. (Story: This can be done as a last resort to protect a home, or as sort of an intimidating dog guard -- "the soul of our land protects us through the bodies of your slain.") (Another sketchy almost-undead, YMMW, but the spirit is alive, simply incarnate in corpses.)
Demon-Babau: Archon scouts, protective aura of holiness instead of acid. These sometimes serve as forward scouts for angelic armies. 2 Claws are two shortswords, bite is an unarmed attack.
Demon-Balor: Again, negate the alignment, give these stats to a towering flaming angel with skin of platinum, and you have a good Avenging Angel, called forth to punish the wicked. Powers become good instead of evil, just drop insanity, and perhaps change the fire powers to electrical in nature if you want to disguise the stats more.
Demon-Bebilith: A giant that ate a cursed spider awoke one day to find his lower body had transformed into that of a terrible spider, and that he was able to throw webbing and spit venom. Claw attacks are instead club attacks. Sort of a giant-drider hybrid. Plane shift doesn't really fit the concept well -- perhaps the curse only allows the giant to teleport to a plane where he is punished by spider-spirits for a time, before being allowed to return.
Demon-Dretch: A specific curse turns humans from a small village who venture too close to ruins into long-armed, clawed, tusked versions of themselves. (Summoned dretch are humans from within the cursed ruins, who will reveal the nature of their curse if questioned by their summoner.) Those affected by the curse sometimes speak in hushed, sickly (abyssal) tones, and seem to know what each other are thinking. (Curse idea is that a dwarven lord's tomb is underneath the town, and does not appreciate the human filth atop him.)
Yikes, there are too many demons... hah.
Again, thanks for the encouragement, I hope some of these are useful, and post any ideas you have of your own!
Quasqueton
First Post
My campaign takes place on a newly discovered continent. The monsters of this land are not out of any book. I've bought lots of minis (Reaper, Warhammer, WH40K, Yu Gi Oh!, etc.) and made monsters based on the minis.
Most of my new monsters are just repackagings of core creatures, ususually with one or two little tweeks. For instance, the PCs have recently been fighting a lot of 6-legged wolves. I took just the normal wolf stats and added Spring Attack as a bonus feat.
Quasqueton
Most of my new monsters are just repackagings of core creatures, ususually with one or two little tweeks. For instance, the PCs have recently been fighting a lot of 6-legged wolves. I took just the normal wolf stats and added Spring Attack as a bonus feat.
Quasqueton
Rel
Liquid Awesome
Just recently I used some "Holy Ghosts" in an adventure. Exact same stats and abilities as a Shadow except I replaced their Str Drain with Wis Drain and had them exude a sort of Sanctuary Aura that caused those effected by their Wis Drain to make Will Saves or not be able to attack those bearing the Holy Symbol to which the Holy Ghosts were dedicated (they were Paladins who gave up their lives defending a holy site of their order).
VirgilCaine
First Post
Medusas:
--Prismatic Medusa: Use the prismatic spell effects instead of turn to stone
.
--Charm/Dominate Gaze--by concentrating the Medusa can dominate one of her charmed slaves.
--Contagion instead of turn to stone--Plague Medusas, fitting as high-level clerics of Incabulos OADSTYC (Or another deity specific to your campaign).
Harpys: Peacemake "dove" harpy--a Calm Emotion song instead, and beautiful instead of ugly.
Another for Dryads--statue dryads or stone dryads that exist underground.
You could pair the statue dryad with her own statue--animated by a maedar's glyptar as an odd couple RP encounter!
Fey in general could use a lot more variety--since they can come from a force or place, not just nature. Alignment fey would be a good idea, in addition to the energy fey from WotCs Fey Feature.
--Prismatic Medusa: Use the prismatic spell effects instead of turn to stone
.
--Charm/Dominate Gaze--by concentrating the Medusa can dominate one of her charmed slaves.
--Contagion instead of turn to stone--Plague Medusas, fitting as high-level clerics of Incabulos OADSTYC (Or another deity specific to your campaign).
Harpys: Peacemake "dove" harpy--a Calm Emotion song instead, and beautiful instead of ugly.
Another for Dryads--statue dryads or stone dryads that exist underground.
You could pair the statue dryad with her own statue--animated by a maedar's glyptar as an odd couple RP encounter!
Fey in general could use a lot more variety--since they can come from a force or place, not just nature. Alignment fey would be a good idea, in addition to the energy fey from WotCs Fey Feature.
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