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<blockquote data-quote="Dr Simon" data-source="post: 8615478" data-attributes="member: 21938"><p><strong>Issue 2: The Spinescale</strong></p><p></p><p>Issue 1 doesn’t have any monster stats, and barely anything mechanical at all apart from the non-serious (and dubious taste by modern standards) “Pervert” character class.</p><p></p><p>And so I start with Issue 2, in which the Treasure Chest column features a selection of “Wilderness Monsters” all written by the editor Ian Livingstone.</p><p></p><p>Of these, I chose Spinescale, which is a kind of venomous mutant frog caused by alchemical pollution. It’s nice and straightforward, not too silly, simple enough and believable enough within a fantasy setting, and it comes with a nice little backstory.</p><p></p><p>“<em>Spinescales are a frog mutation which were created unknowlingly by the Master Alchemist Vollan. During his experiments to produce a new acid, certain untreated chemical wastes from his laboratory found their way into the drainage system with eventual contamination of nearby streams and ponds. Fortunately, no other forms of life were affected besides the frogs.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>“Within a short period of time, the frogs mutated to become 3 feet in length and had a tough outer skin of leathery scales save for a small area around its underside. They grew razor-sharp teeth and also developed two fangs on their palates with which they could inject poison into their prey. From insects, they developed a taste for human flesh and would sit motionless in the shadows of shallow pools waiting to tear apart the legs of some foolish traveller who unwittingly stepped into the water</em>.”</p><p></p><p>All pretty simple to convert. It’s described as cumbersome on land, which in the original means that it fights as a 1HD creature. I gave it a weak land move compared to a swim speed for simplicity. The description of weapons bouncing off its skin sounds like damage resistance to me (I’ll give it resistance and not immunity, since we can assume that damage that gets through is via the weak spots). I’ll give it advantage to Stealth checks specifically if it’s in the water and the viewer is on land, and finally it causes an extra 1d8 poison damage with its bite, which pretty much writes itself for 5th Edition.</p><p></p><p>And there we are:</p><p></p><p><strong>Spinescale</strong></p><p><em>Small beast, unaligned</em></p><p><strong>Armour Class</strong> 13 (natural armour)</p><p><strong>Hit Points</strong> 9 (2d6 + 2)</p><p><strong>Speed</strong> 10 ft., swim 30 ft.</p><p></p><table style='width: 100%'><tr><td><p style="text-align: center"><strong>STR</strong></p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center"><strong>DEX</strong></p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center"><strong>CON</strong></p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center"><strong>INT</strong></p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center"><strong>WIS</strong></p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center"><strong>CHA</strong></p> </td></tr><tr><td><p style="text-align: center">11 (+0)</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">12 (+1)</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">12 (+1)</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">3 (-4)</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">10 (+0)</p> </td><td><p style="text-align: center">6 (-2)</p> </td></tr></table><p></p><p><strong>Proficiency Bonus</strong> +2</p><p><strong>Damage Resistances</strong> bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from nonmagical attacks</p><p><strong>Senses</strong> passive Perception 10</p><p><strong>Languages</strong> –</p><p><strong>Challenge</strong> 1/4 (50 XP)</p><p></p><table style='width: 100%'><tr><td><strong><em>Amphibious.</em></strong> The spinescale is able to breathe air and water<br /> <strong><em>Camouflage.</em></strong> The spinescale has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks to hide in water, when viewed from land.<br /> <br /> <strong>ACTIONS</strong></td></tr><tr><td><strong><em>Bite.</em></strong><em> Melee Weapon Attack</em>: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. <em>Hit</em>: 4 (1d6 +1) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) poison damage.</td></tr></table><p></p><p>For more details of the other monsters in this issue, including pictures, check out my blog post <a href="https://drsimonreads.blogspot.com/2022/01/fiend-factory-5e-issue-1-and-2.html" target="_blank">Fiend Factory 5E: Issue 1 and 2 Spinescale</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dr Simon, post: 8615478, member: 21938"] [B]Issue 2: The Spinescale[/B] Issue 1 doesn’t have any monster stats, and barely anything mechanical at all apart from the non-serious (and dubious taste by modern standards) “Pervert” character class. And so I start with Issue 2, in which the Treasure Chest column features a selection of “Wilderness Monsters” all written by the editor Ian Livingstone. Of these, I chose Spinescale, which is a kind of venomous mutant frog caused by alchemical pollution. It’s nice and straightforward, not too silly, simple enough and believable enough within a fantasy setting, and it comes with a nice little backstory. “[I]Spinescales are a frog mutation which were created unknowlingly by the Master Alchemist Vollan. During his experiments to produce a new acid, certain untreated chemical wastes from his laboratory found their way into the drainage system with eventual contamination of nearby streams and ponds. Fortunately, no other forms of life were affected besides the frogs. “Within a short period of time, the frogs mutated to become 3 feet in length and had a tough outer skin of leathery scales save for a small area around its underside. They grew razor-sharp teeth and also developed two fangs on their palates with which they could inject poison into their prey. From insects, they developed a taste for human flesh and would sit motionless in the shadows of shallow pools waiting to tear apart the legs of some foolish traveller who unwittingly stepped into the water[/I].” All pretty simple to convert. It’s described as cumbersome on land, which in the original means that it fights as a 1HD creature. I gave it a weak land move compared to a swim speed for simplicity. The description of weapons bouncing off its skin sounds like damage resistance to me (I’ll give it resistance and not immunity, since we can assume that damage that gets through is via the weak spots). I’ll give it advantage to Stealth checks specifically if it’s in the water and the viewer is on land, and finally it causes an extra 1d8 poison damage with its bite, which pretty much writes itself for 5th Edition. And there we are: [B]Spinescale[/B] [I]Small beast, unaligned[/I] [B]Armour Class[/B] 13 (natural armour) [B]Hit Points[/B] 9 (2d6 + 2) [B]Speed[/B] 10 ft., swim 30 ft. [TABLE] [TR] [TD][CENTER][B]STR[/B][/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER][B]DEX[/B][/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER][B]CON[/B][/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER][B]INT[/B][/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER][B]WIS[/B][/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER][B]CHA[/B][/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][CENTER]11 (+0)[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]12 (+1)[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]12 (+1)[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]3 (-4)[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]10 (+0)[/CENTER][/TD] [TD][CENTER]6 (-2)[/CENTER][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [B]Proficiency Bonus[/B] +2 [B]Damage Resistances[/B] bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from nonmagical attacks [B]Senses[/B] passive Perception 10 [B]Languages[/B] – [B]Challenge[/B] 1/4 (50 XP) [TABLE] [TR] [TD][B][I]Amphibious.[/I][/B] The spinescale is able to breathe air and water [B][I]Camouflage.[/I][/B] The spinescale has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks to hide in water, when viewed from land. [B]ACTIONS[/B][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][B][I]Bite.[/I][/B][I] Melee Weapon Attack[/I]: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. [I]Hit[/I]: 4 (1d6 +1) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) poison damage.[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] For more details of the other monsters in this issue, including pictures, check out my blog post [URL='https://drsimonreads.blogspot.com/2022/01/fiend-factory-5e-issue-1-and-2.html']Fiend Factory 5E: Issue 1 and 2 Spinescale[/URL] [/QUOTE]
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