Converting monsters from Dragon magazine
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Cleon
Legend
Nope, they look sound to me.
Shade
Monster Junkie
Hurgeon
FREQUENCY: Rare
NO. APPEARING: 8-32
ARMOR CLASS: 5
MOVE: 6.
HIT DICE: 2-5 hp
%. IN LAIR: 40%
TREASURE TYPE: M (x10) and X (in lair)
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 or 2 (weapons)
DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon type
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Missiles; spell use
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Spell use; invisible in natural terrain
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 50%
INTELLIGENCE: Average to exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Neutral good
SIZE: S (1’ tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: II/38 + 1/hp
Hurgeons are small creatures that resemble hedgehogs, though they walk erect on their hind feet and have hands for forepaws. They are dark brown in color and have bright brown eyes. These creatures speak their own language and can speak with any animal naturally. About 20% of them know the elven or Common languages, and 5% know the secret tongue of the druids.
Hurgeons live deep in woodland areas far from civilized places, and they make their burrows in the soil beneath the largest trees. The burrow entrances are so skillfully camouflaged with flowers and leaves that only spells or devices that detect invisible objects will locate them. Hurgeons gather local nuts, fruits, and berries, and several types of edible roots for their meals. Their vegetarian and inoffensive natures allow them to make friends with local woodland creatures and make arrangements for mutual assistance with them in times of need.
Hurgeons are tool-users and construct elaborate underground dwellings with numerous rooms branching off from the main tunnel. Work aprons and belts made from leaves or softened bark are often worn. If attacked, hurgeons use tiny daggers (1-2 hp damage) to defend themselves. Many carry slingshots that have an 80-yard range (with no range penalties) and inflict 1 hp of damage per shot; two shots may be fired per round. They may use animal friendship, invisibility to animals, faerie fire, locate animals and plants, and pass without trace as often as they desire, one spell per melee round, at the 6th level of effect. They may also cast an entangle spell once per day at the 6th level of effect.
Half of the hurgeons encountered in their lair will be male and half will be female. To the casual observer, both sexes are exactly alike; only druids can tell them apart. There will be 4-10 children in the community as well, though they are usually kept indoors or in the immediate vicinity of the burrow. The only contact that hurgeons have with other humans or demi-humans is nearly always through sylvan elves and druids (who love and respect the “hedgehog folk”) or humans lost in the woods. Some wanderers in deep forests claim to have witnessed hurgeons performing a springtime dancing ritual in woodland clearings, forming circular paths that are called “fairie rings”.
If a druid of 12th level or above encounters a hurgeon colony and performs a great service for the members, one of the hurgeons may follow the druid and become a companion to him. Though the hurgeon will not have a telepathic link to the druid, it will help the druid in whatever way it can and act as a guide in unfamiliar territory. The possibility that this will occur in a given situation is left to the Dungeon Master’s discretion.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #94 (1985).
FREQUENCY: Rare
NO. APPEARING: 8-32
ARMOR CLASS: 5
MOVE: 6.
HIT DICE: 2-5 hp
%. IN LAIR: 40%
TREASURE TYPE: M (x10) and X (in lair)
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 or 2 (weapons)
DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon type
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Missiles; spell use
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Spell use; invisible in natural terrain
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 50%
INTELLIGENCE: Average to exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Neutral good
SIZE: S (1’ tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: II/38 + 1/hp
Hurgeons are small creatures that resemble hedgehogs, though they walk erect on their hind feet and have hands for forepaws. They are dark brown in color and have bright brown eyes. These creatures speak their own language and can speak with any animal naturally. About 20% of them know the elven or Common languages, and 5% know the secret tongue of the druids.
Hurgeons live deep in woodland areas far from civilized places, and they make their burrows in the soil beneath the largest trees. The burrow entrances are so skillfully camouflaged with flowers and leaves that only spells or devices that detect invisible objects will locate them. Hurgeons gather local nuts, fruits, and berries, and several types of edible roots for their meals. Their vegetarian and inoffensive natures allow them to make friends with local woodland creatures and make arrangements for mutual assistance with them in times of need.
Hurgeons are tool-users and construct elaborate underground dwellings with numerous rooms branching off from the main tunnel. Work aprons and belts made from leaves or softened bark are often worn. If attacked, hurgeons use tiny daggers (1-2 hp damage) to defend themselves. Many carry slingshots that have an 80-yard range (with no range penalties) and inflict 1 hp of damage per shot; two shots may be fired per round. They may use animal friendship, invisibility to animals, faerie fire, locate animals and plants, and pass without trace as often as they desire, one spell per melee round, at the 6th level of effect. They may also cast an entangle spell once per day at the 6th level of effect.
Half of the hurgeons encountered in their lair will be male and half will be female. To the casual observer, both sexes are exactly alike; only druids can tell them apart. There will be 4-10 children in the community as well, though they are usually kept indoors or in the immediate vicinity of the burrow. The only contact that hurgeons have with other humans or demi-humans is nearly always through sylvan elves and druids (who love and respect the “hedgehog folk”) or humans lost in the woods. Some wanderers in deep forests claim to have witnessed hurgeons performing a springtime dancing ritual in woodland clearings, forming circular paths that are called “fairie rings”.
If a druid of 12th level or above encounters a hurgeon colony and performs a great service for the members, one of the hurgeons may follow the druid and become a companion to him. Though the hurgeon will not have a telepathic link to the druid, it will help the druid in whatever way it can and act as a guide in unfamiliar territory. The possibility that this will occur in a given situation is left to the Dungeon Master’s discretion.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #94 (1985).
GrayLinnorm
Explorer
Fey?
Cleon
Legend
Yes, Fey makes the most sense. They even produce "faerie rings".
Cleon
Legend
Okay, the first question is size.
Their 1-foot height and 1-2 damage daggers clearly says "Tiny".
That suggest basing the abilities on a Grig.
Grig: Str 5, Dex 18, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 14
I'd cut the Dexterity quite a bit (since hedgehogs aren't exactly agile but Grig's are hyperactive hoppers) but the Str and Con looks OK.
They're pretty smart (Average-Exceptional is Int 8-16). That average to 12,
So how about giving them -4 Dex and +2 Int and Wis compared to a Grig?
Hurgeon: Str 5, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 14
As for the rest of it, I'd give them a special "sling of speed" that is only usable by a Hurgeon, kind of like a Grig's fiddle or a Pixie's special arrows. Something like:
Hurgeon Sling: Hurgeons usually carry special enchanted slings. A hurgeon sling functions as a tiny +1 sling of speed in the hands of a hurgeon, but has no special properties when wielded by a non-hurgeon.
The "invisible in natural terrain" in the Special Defences is a bit confusing - I'm thinking it refers to their burrows being invisible, not the Hurgeon, as they only seem to have invisibility to animals as a SLA.
Their 1-foot height and 1-2 damage daggers clearly says "Tiny".
That suggest basing the abilities on a Grig.
Grig: Str 5, Dex 18, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 14
I'd cut the Dexterity quite a bit (since hedgehogs aren't exactly agile but Grig's are hyperactive hoppers) but the Str and Con looks OK.
They're pretty smart (Average-Exceptional is Int 8-16). That average to 12,
So how about giving them -4 Dex and +2 Int and Wis compared to a Grig?
Hurgeon: Str 5, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 14
As for the rest of it, I'd give them a special "sling of speed" that is only usable by a Hurgeon, kind of like a Grig's fiddle or a Pixie's special arrows. Something like:
Hurgeon Sling: Hurgeons usually carry special enchanted slings. A hurgeon sling functions as a tiny +1 sling of speed in the hands of a hurgeon, but has no special properties when wielded by a non-hurgeon.
The "invisible in natural terrain" in the Special Defences is a bit confusing - I'm thinking it refers to their burrows being invisible, not the Hurgeon, as they only seem to have invisibility to animals as a SLA.
freyar
Extradimensional Explorer
This is all pretty reasonable so far. I also think Cleon's right about the invisibility in natural terrain referring to the burrow. We can go two ways on that. Some kind of "Burrow Camouflage" ability vs Spot/Know (nature) or an Su ability that really makes the burrow invisible. What do you all think?
Cleon
Legend
Well detect invisible objects locates the burrow so I'm thinking supernatural. I'm thinking it's most likely a glamer resembling invisibility or hallucinatory terrain.
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