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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Garnfellow" data-source="post: 1461613" data-attributes="member: 1223">SpikeheadOK, here’s one to start us out. This monster appeared in the Fiend Factory column of White Dwarf No. 27. The theme was “Near Misses”: monsters that just barely missed the cut for the original Fiend Folio. Albie Fiore’s introduction states that most of these monsters were cut “for copyright reasons, as many were derived from various SF and fantasy novels.”The spikehead is the only monster without an author listed, so I suspect that it may have been designed by Albie himself. I don’t recognize the creature from any work of fiction, but would not be surprised to find out there was an antecedent. The monster description was accompanied by a very cool drawing by Russ Nicholson, who drew many of the most striking illustrations in the old Fiend Folio. (A pity my scanner is on the fritz; it’s a pretty neat picture.) Anyway, here’s the original text:SPIKEHEADNo. Appearing: 1-20Armour Class: 4Movement: 9"Hit Dice: 4d8Treasure: Individuals K, L; O, Q in lairAttack: 2d8 hug plus 1d10 goreAlignment: NeutralIntelligence: LowMonstermark: 108 (level VI in 12 levels)These uncommon creatures are squat, ape-like beasts with powerful limbs (and abnormally long arms) and a wicked bone horn projecting 2' from the centre of the forehead. Spikeheads do not speak and communicate with each other by grunts.These creatures are ferocious fighters and will attack a party of any size A spikehead will charge on a chosen victim and attempt to grapple -- a successful hit indicates that it has delivered a powerful hug for 2d8 damage. In the next round it will automatically hug again for the same damage, and will also attempt to gore its victim, striking at +2 hit probability. A successful hit with the horn inflicts an additional 1d10 points of damage.The spikehead will break off from grappling a victim only if it receives, in a single melee round, damage equal to 60% or more of its remaining hit points. Otherwise it continues to hug and requires no “to hit” roll to inflict the appropriate damage.</blockquote>

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