• NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.

D&D 3E/3.5 Creature Catalog 3.5 Overhaul Project

i'll make it low-light vision only and keep things consistent. i didn't see any reference to infravision or anything in the original sources (see below). as for the DR, now that i look at it, the description makes it sound more like it should be "slashing and magic" - you'll see, no doubt. :)


X5 – Temple of Death:

Dusanu*

Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 9+2*
Move: 120' (40')
Attacks: 2 claws + special
Damage: 1-8/1-8 + special

No, Appearing: 2-4 (0)
Save As: Fighter: 9
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: B
Alignment: Chaotic

The dusanu, or rot fiend, looks like a mold-encrusted skeleton, dressed in a tattered cloak. Its eyes shine with a flickering blue light. The air near a dusanu is tinged with the spores of its dry rot. Dusanu are intelligent and very cunning. In combat, they attack with their mold-covered claws, At the same time, they release spores that fill a 5’ radius circle. Any player in this radius must save vs. Poison. Those who fail to save suffer 1d8 points of damage and become infected. Players do not show any outward signs of infection for 2-4 days. However, during that time, any cure wounds spells cast on the player have no effect. At the end of this time, mold erupts from the player's skin. Each day the player must save vs. Death. If the character fails to save, the mold covers his entire body. The player dies and in 1-3 days rises again as a dusanu. All memories and abilities are lost. You should control the player. A cure disease kills the spores.

A dusanu has soft, spongy bones and so only takes ½ damage from blunt weapons (maces, hammers, etc.). Other non-magical weapons cause only one point of damage. Magical edged weapons do full damage. Electrical attacks cause no damage.



AC9 – Creature Catalogue:

DUSANU*

Armour Class: 4
Hit Dice: 9,+2**
Move: 120' (40’)
Attacks: 2 claws, + special
Damage: 1-8/ 1 -A + special
No. Appearing: 2-4 (0)

Save As: Fighter: 9
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: B
Intelligence: 10
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: 2500

The dusanu, or rot fiend, look, like a mould-encrusted skeleton dressed in a tattered cloak. Its eyes shine with a flickering, blue light. The air near a dusanu is tinged with the spores of its dry rot. Dusanu are intelligent and very cunning. In combat, they attack with their mould-covered claws. At the same time they release spores that fill a 5' radius circle. Any player in this circle must make a Saving Throw vs. Poison. Those who fail, suffer 1d8 points of damage and become infected. Players do not show any outward signs of infection for 2-4 days. However, during that time, any cure wounds spells have no effect, At the end of this time, mould erupts from the player's skin. Each day the player must make a Saving Throw vs. Death Ray. If the character fails to save, the mould covers his or her entire body rapidly killing the character. A character killed by dusanu spores rises from the dead after 1-3 days as a dusanu. All memories and abilities are lost, and the character becomes an NPC monster. A cure disease spell kills the spores.

A dusanu is protected by its soft, spongy bones and so only takes half damage from blunt weapons (maces, hammers, etc). Other non-magical weapons cause only one point of damage. However, magical edged weapons inflict full damage on a dusanu. Dusanu are immune to electrical attacks.



DMR1 – Creature Catalog.

Dusanu*

Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 9 + 2** (M)
Move: 120' (40')
Attacks : 2 claws+special
Damage: 1d8/1d8+special
No Appearing: 1d3+1 (0)
Save As: Fighter: 9
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: B
Intelligence: 10
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: 2,500

Monster Type: Monster (Very Rare)
The dusanu, or rot fiend looks like a mold-encrusted skeleton in a tattered cloak. Its eyes shine with a flickering blue light. The air near a dusanu is tinged with the spores of its dry rot.

Dusanu are intelligent and very cunning. In combat, they attack with their mold-covered claws. At the same time they release spores that fill a 5-foot radius circle. Any human, demihuman or humanoid in this circle must make a saving throw vs. poison. Those who fail suffer 1d8 points of damage and become infected.

Those infected do not show any outward signs of infection for 1d3+1 days. However, during that time, any cure wounds spells have no effect. At the end of this time, mold erupts from the victim's skin. Each day the victim must make a saving throw vs. death ray. If the victim fails to save, the mold covers his or her entire body rapidly, resulting in death.

Anyone killed by dusanu spores rises from the dead after 1d3 days as a dusanu. All memories and abilities are lost, and the victim becomes an NPC monster. A cure disease spell kills the spores.

A dusanu is protected by its soft, spongy bones and so only takes half damage from blunt weapons (maces, hammers, etc). Other nonmagical weapons cause only one point of damage. However, magical edged weapons inflict full damage on a dusanu. Dusanu are
immune to electrical attacks.

Terrain: Cavern, Ruins, Swamp, Woods.
 

log in or register to remove this ad

and it seems pretty clear to me that the Mystara Monstrous Compendium was used heavily in the original conversion:

Dusanu

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any Temperate to Tropical
FREQUENCY: Very Rare
ORGANIZATION: Pack
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Night
DIET: Scavenger
INTELLIGENCE: Average (10)
TREASURE: W
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral
NO. APPEARING: 1d3+1
ARMOR CLASS: 4
MOVEMENT: 12
HIT DICE: 9 + 2
THAC0: 11
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d8 (claw)/1d8 (claw)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Spores
SPECIAL DEFENCES: See Below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: M (6' tall)
MORALE: Champion (15)
XP VALUE: 3,000

The dusanu, or rot fiend, is a horrifying and intelligent humanoid that shuffles through the deepest wilderness of Mystara, attacking unfortunate humans and humanoids with its deadly spores.

A rot fiend appears as a yellowing, mold-encrusted human (or humanoid) skeleton, often wearing tattered clothing. Its strange eyes flicker with a haunting blue light, and the foul air near a dusanu is tainted with the spores of its terrible dry rot.

There has been no account of any successful communication with a dusanu, although several sages and wizards have made the attempt.

Combat: In battle, dusanu are intelligent and very cunning. The monsters always attack with their moldy claws, each causing 1d8 points of damage. When attacking, a pack often attempts to form a spore-radiating circle around the intended victim(s). As a rot fiend attacks, its spores radiate outward, filling a 5-foot-frame circle around the creature. Any human, demihuman, or humanoid in this circle must roll a saving throw vs. poison. Those who fail suffer an additional 1d8 points of damage and become infected. (See "Habitat/Society.")

A dusanu's mold-infested bones are particularly soft, even spongy. Their ability to absorb impact protects the creature from damage. Nonmagical weapons inflict only 1 point of damage to the rot fiend, while magical blunt weapons (maces, hammers, etc.) cause only half damage. Other magical weapons, however, inflict full damage upon the creature. The dusanu's nonconductive mold makes it immune to all types of electrical attacks.

Habitat/Society: The dusanu is actually a fungal colony inhabiting a human or humanoid skeleton. Its collective "group mind" grants the creature its intelligence and will. Mold inhabits every crevice of the host skeleton save the eye sockets, from which it emits the strange waste fumes that cause the dusanu's eyes to flicker with an eerie blue light.

A rot fiend reproduces by infecting humans and other humanoids with its poisonous spores. Those infected by these spores do not show any outward signs of infection for 1d3+1 days, save for an Achy rash. However, cure wounds spells have no effect on be victim. At the end of this time, yellowish mold begins to erupt from the victim's skin. Each day the victim must make a saving throw vs. death. A victim who fails the saving throw becomes overgrown with mold, resulting in death in less Van two hours. The spores can be destroyed with a cure disease spell cast on the victim any time prior to death.

After a dormant period of 1d3 days, the mold animates the dead body, creating a new dusanu. The character's personality is lost to the new colony now inhabiting the corpse. Alt the person's memories and abilities disappear when the spores animate the body.

Dusanu prefer to travel in small packs of 1d3+1 colonies, so characters hardly ever encounter them alone. Rot fiends appear to communicate through the release of spores and can sense one of their own kind up to 10 miles away. The creatures do not seem to choose any particular lair or hunting ground, but instead adopt a nomadic lifestyle. Adventurers find them most often roaming deep forests or swamps far from regular human habitation.

When not attacking humans and other intelligent creatures, rot fiends avoid civilization.

Ecology: Periodically, a dusanu must renew its mold colony by launching spores onto a carcass, rotting tree limb, or other dead object. The spores rapidly grow into mold that consumes the decaying material, then launches new, revitalized spores that feed on the previous mold colony to build a new one. The mold on the dead material dies after it has used up its food supply. In this way, a rot fiend can consume in entire body or tree trunk the size of itself in less than three hours.
 

also, as non-mindless plant creatures now have skills and feats, the dusanu would have 24 skill points and 4 feats.
 


The shambling mound, which is kinda similar, has the following skills and feats.

Skills: Hide +3*, Listen +8, Move Silently +8
Feats: Iron Will, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (slam)

So maybe for this guy, Hide (6), Listen (6), Move Silently (6), Spot (6)?

Ability Focus (spore cloud), Iron Will, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (claw). Maybe Stealthy instead of Iron Will?
 

yeah, it doesn't need too many skills, as it isn't really that smart. as for feats, i defeinitely like stealthy better than iron will. ;)
 
Last edited:


It looks like it just needs weight and LA. For weight, I'd figure it weighs around the minimum human weight, which is 120 lbs. I don't know about the LA.
 

i'd think a skeleton with just some moss and a tattered cloak would weigh quite a bit less than a human. ;) what does the average human skeleton weigh - like 70 lbs?
 


Into the Woods

Remove ads

Top