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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Converting monsters from Dragon magazine (Part Two)
- Thread starter Shade
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demiurge1138
Inventor of Super-Toast
I like putting skills into Climb. Good mental image of these guys skulking in trees or on cliffs to shoot down at the unsuspecting.
demiurge1138
Inventor of Super-Toast
I think we're done here. That was easy.
Shade
Monster Junkie
Gith Dog, Kaoulgrim (Canis astri)
FREQUENCY Very rare
NO. APPEARING: Varies with masters
ARMOR CLASS: 4
MOVE: 15.//9”
HIT DICE: 5 + 5
% IN LAIR: Varies with masters
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Hold
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See text
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Semi-
ALIGNMENT! Neutral
SIZE: M
PSIONIC ABILITY: See text
Attack/Defense Modes: See text
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: IV/225 + 6 per hp
Gith dogs
In the years immediately following their emancipation from the illithids, or mindflayers, the followers of Gith (the githyanki and githzerai) acquired dogs from the Prime Material Plane and began to apply to them the same breeding techniques that they had so painfully learned from their former masters. The object of this project was to produce a breed of dog that would serve in a war of extermination on the illithid race. Great importance was attached to the production of these dogs, so much so that when the githyanki/githzerai split came, some called it the War of Dogs. The two factions had already diverged to the extent that they had separate breeding programs, and each side adopted the line it had bred as a symbol.
After the series of conflicts that sundered the two races forever, the githyanki and githzerai clans continued their breeding programs, each claiming to follow the precepts laid down by Gith, and each reviling the other’s perversion of doctrine.
Despite their long years of divergence, the two kinds of dogs have a number of features on common. Both have the senses of their canine ancestors, so that a gith dog gains a 20% bonus to its chances of detecting otherwise hidden creatures by scent, and a 20% bonus for its keen hearing (see page 60 of the DMG). These bonuses are cumulative where they are applicable, and either may be halved or doubled as conditions warrant. Gith dogs can also track as an onyx dog can (DMG, page 144). They gain a 50% bonus to their chances of detecting or tracking illithids by smell. In addition to this, gith dogs can see invisible, astral, and ethereal creatures and objects. Alert and silent, they surprise opponents on a 1-4 and are themselves surprised only on a 1.
Each gith dog has a latent degree of psionic power which can be tapped under certain conditions. The githyanki and githzerai magic-users have a spell similar to find familiar which they may cast either for themselves or for other individuals. A dog that is bound to a psionically endowed master by this spell may serve as a storehouse of psionic energy, holding up to 20 psionic strength points in the manner of an ioun stone (DMG, page 147). These are added to the master’s strength total and may be released to him or her so long as the dog remains within 12”.
The bond has several other effects as well within the 12” range. It allows telepathic communication between hound and master, including the transfer of sensory information. The canine member of the team is immune to mental attacks, including charm, confusion, sleep, and hold spells, as well as the effects of a psionic blast. If the master succumbs to psionic attack, though, the dog is also affected. The two travel at the master’s rate on the Astral Plane, and the dog is included if its master so desires when the psionic disciplines of astral projection or psionic travel are exercised, or when the master projects onto the Prime Material Plane. Beyond this 12’ range, either member of the team is aware of the direction (but not the distance) of the other, regardless of the separation between the two, as long as they are on the same plane. However, the stored ability points are not available to the master in this case. If the dog is killed, its master loses 40 psionic ability points immediately; if the score is reduced to a negative number, the master becomes comatose until a positive total is reached (strength points are regained in the normal ways).
When they encounter illithids or other psionically endowed foes, githyanki and githzerai send their dogs into physical combat while they batter down the psionic defenses of the foe. Gith dogs are particularly effective against illithids because their heads are not so positioned that an illithid can comfortably attack with its tentacles (-4 on to-hit scores). The mindflayers hate and fear these beasts, and always retreat from them unless the illithids have servants of their own who can occupy the dogs.
Both kaoulgrim and szarkel (see below) are taught to grasp their enemies and hold on if so commanded. A hold is inflicted on a successful attack roll of 4 or more over the number needed to hit, and the victim is thereafter considered to be held by one leg, with combat penalties as given on page 67 of the DMG. The dog inflicts half its normal biting damage on each round thereafter, with no “to hit” roll required for the attack.
Gith dogs are relatively rare even among the githyanki and gifhzerai, each of which is only 1% likely per level of experience to have acquired one.
Kaoulgrim
The ultimate development of the githyanki breeding pens was the kaoulgrim, a massive, bearish dog with a shaggy coat, powerful jaws, and a compact build. Precisely what went into the making of the breed is unknown, but it is strongly suspected that the blood of creatures from the Lower Planes flows in its veins. It stands about 3’ tall at the shoulder and weighs 200-300 pounds. Kaoulgrim are usually black, though golden-colored specimens are not unknown. The heavy fur forms a lionlike mane about the shoulders, and it is often clipped in some decorative pattern. The tongue and lips are black, and the small black eyes reflect a reddish light. The powerful voice is audible over distances of more than a mile.
Kaoulgrim have a strong, musky, salty odor. These dogs may be outfitted with ornamental spiked collars if they have served well, or with plate armor in the ornate githyanki style. This armor confers AC 2 but limits the movement rate to 12”.
Kaoulgrim are raised in githyanki colonies on the Prime Material Plane, since the nature of the Astral Plane does not allow conception or growth. Weak or otherwise unsatisfactory members of the litter are killed as soon as their deficiencies become apparent, and the remainder are pitted against various creatures in savage public contests at the end of their first year. The survivors are matched to githyanki warriors, and, after the bonding ceremony, receive rigorous training over the course of the next two years, by which time they are mature. They then project with their masters onto the Astral Plane, where they serve indefinitely as guard and war dogs, aging only when they project with their masters onto some other plane. Unbonded dogs may serve as guards and breeding stock in the githyanki colonies.
Adult kaoulgrim are without exception vicious and mistrustful of strangers, though among themselves they are gregarious. They are tormented as pups by non githyanki slaves as part of a program to instill this behavior. Githyanki warriors have boasted that their kaoulgrim are fed on the flesh of illithids as well as on that of various humans and demi-human races, and there is reason to believe that the latter claim at least is true. What one of these dogs would be like if it were brought up away from githyanki influence is unknown, since no thief has succeeded in stealing a pup and lived to carry out the experiment.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #117 (1986).
FREQUENCY Very rare
NO. APPEARING: Varies with masters
ARMOR CLASS: 4
MOVE: 15.//9”
HIT DICE: 5 + 5
% IN LAIR: Varies with masters
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Hold
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See text
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Semi-
ALIGNMENT! Neutral
SIZE: M
PSIONIC ABILITY: See text
Attack/Defense Modes: See text
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: IV/225 + 6 per hp
Gith dogs
In the years immediately following their emancipation from the illithids, or mindflayers, the followers of Gith (the githyanki and githzerai) acquired dogs from the Prime Material Plane and began to apply to them the same breeding techniques that they had so painfully learned from their former masters. The object of this project was to produce a breed of dog that would serve in a war of extermination on the illithid race. Great importance was attached to the production of these dogs, so much so that when the githyanki/githzerai split came, some called it the War of Dogs. The two factions had already diverged to the extent that they had separate breeding programs, and each side adopted the line it had bred as a symbol.
After the series of conflicts that sundered the two races forever, the githyanki and githzerai clans continued their breeding programs, each claiming to follow the precepts laid down by Gith, and each reviling the other’s perversion of doctrine.
Despite their long years of divergence, the two kinds of dogs have a number of features on common. Both have the senses of their canine ancestors, so that a gith dog gains a 20% bonus to its chances of detecting otherwise hidden creatures by scent, and a 20% bonus for its keen hearing (see page 60 of the DMG). These bonuses are cumulative where they are applicable, and either may be halved or doubled as conditions warrant. Gith dogs can also track as an onyx dog can (DMG, page 144). They gain a 50% bonus to their chances of detecting or tracking illithids by smell. In addition to this, gith dogs can see invisible, astral, and ethereal creatures and objects. Alert and silent, they surprise opponents on a 1-4 and are themselves surprised only on a 1.
Each gith dog has a latent degree of psionic power which can be tapped under certain conditions. The githyanki and githzerai magic-users have a spell similar to find familiar which they may cast either for themselves or for other individuals. A dog that is bound to a psionically endowed master by this spell may serve as a storehouse of psionic energy, holding up to 20 psionic strength points in the manner of an ioun stone (DMG, page 147). These are added to the master’s strength total and may be released to him or her so long as the dog remains within 12”.
The bond has several other effects as well within the 12” range. It allows telepathic communication between hound and master, including the transfer of sensory information. The canine member of the team is immune to mental attacks, including charm, confusion, sleep, and hold spells, as well as the effects of a psionic blast. If the master succumbs to psionic attack, though, the dog is also affected. The two travel at the master’s rate on the Astral Plane, and the dog is included if its master so desires when the psionic disciplines of astral projection or psionic travel are exercised, or when the master projects onto the Prime Material Plane. Beyond this 12’ range, either member of the team is aware of the direction (but not the distance) of the other, regardless of the separation between the two, as long as they are on the same plane. However, the stored ability points are not available to the master in this case. If the dog is killed, its master loses 40 psionic ability points immediately; if the score is reduced to a negative number, the master becomes comatose until a positive total is reached (strength points are regained in the normal ways).
When they encounter illithids or other psionically endowed foes, githyanki and githzerai send their dogs into physical combat while they batter down the psionic defenses of the foe. Gith dogs are particularly effective against illithids because their heads are not so positioned that an illithid can comfortably attack with its tentacles (-4 on to-hit scores). The mindflayers hate and fear these beasts, and always retreat from them unless the illithids have servants of their own who can occupy the dogs.
Both kaoulgrim and szarkel (see below) are taught to grasp their enemies and hold on if so commanded. A hold is inflicted on a successful attack roll of 4 or more over the number needed to hit, and the victim is thereafter considered to be held by one leg, with combat penalties as given on page 67 of the DMG. The dog inflicts half its normal biting damage on each round thereafter, with no “to hit” roll required for the attack.
Gith dogs are relatively rare even among the githyanki and gifhzerai, each of which is only 1% likely per level of experience to have acquired one.
Kaoulgrim
The ultimate development of the githyanki breeding pens was the kaoulgrim, a massive, bearish dog with a shaggy coat, powerful jaws, and a compact build. Precisely what went into the making of the breed is unknown, but it is strongly suspected that the blood of creatures from the Lower Planes flows in its veins. It stands about 3’ tall at the shoulder and weighs 200-300 pounds. Kaoulgrim are usually black, though golden-colored specimens are not unknown. The heavy fur forms a lionlike mane about the shoulders, and it is often clipped in some decorative pattern. The tongue and lips are black, and the small black eyes reflect a reddish light. The powerful voice is audible over distances of more than a mile.
Kaoulgrim have a strong, musky, salty odor. These dogs may be outfitted with ornamental spiked collars if they have served well, or with plate armor in the ornate githyanki style. This armor confers AC 2 but limits the movement rate to 12”.
Kaoulgrim are raised in githyanki colonies on the Prime Material Plane, since the nature of the Astral Plane does not allow conception or growth. Weak or otherwise unsatisfactory members of the litter are killed as soon as their deficiencies become apparent, and the remainder are pitted against various creatures in savage public contests at the end of their first year. The survivors are matched to githyanki warriors, and, after the bonding ceremony, receive rigorous training over the course of the next two years, by which time they are mature. They then project with their masters onto the Astral Plane, where they serve indefinitely as guard and war dogs, aging only when they project with their masters onto some other plane. Unbonded dogs may serve as guards and breeding stock in the githyanki colonies.
Adult kaoulgrim are without exception vicious and mistrustful of strangers, though among themselves they are gregarious. They are tormented as pups by non githyanki slaves as part of a program to instill this behavior. Githyanki warriors have boasted that their kaoulgrim are fed on the flesh of illithids as well as on that of various humans and demi-human races, and there is reason to believe that the latter claim at least is true. What one of these dogs would be like if it were brought up away from githyanki influence is unknown, since no thief has succeeded in stealing a pup and lived to carry out the experiment.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #117 (1986).
demiurge1138
Inventor of Super-Toast
So... they have no special attacks other than those of all gith-dogs? The kaoulgrim-specific text seems to be all flavor.
So, 5 HD magical beast, high Str and Con, improved grab, Track, scent, bonuses to Hide and Move Silently, act as a power point resivoir, immunity to mind-influencing effects, grants its psi-bonded master a bonus to those effects? Do we want to make it psionics-only, or all mind-influencing effects?
So, 5 HD magical beast, high Str and Con, improved grab, Track, scent, bonuses to Hide and Move Silently, act as a power point resivoir, immunity to mind-influencing effects, grants its psi-bonded master a bonus to those effects? Do we want to make it psionics-only, or all mind-influencing effects?
freyar
Extradimensional Explorer
That sounds like a pretty good assessment, though it might help to have the githzerai version for comparison. They also seem to have a special form of see invisibility that lets them see into the Ethereal plane and Astral plane (though I'd think they are usually Astral themselves). Worth thinking about.
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