Grim's Low CR Monster Thread (Updated 7/3)

[Grim]

T’xirix, the Black Widow, Insectile Feral Choker

I like this one a lot. I think I'm staring a theme of "nasty underdark stuff," but you could pretty easily drop T'xirix into any situation.

Ok, so I broke the rules a little to...

While technically one cannot add the feral template to an aberration, I did it anyway, considering the nature of the choker. I replaced her tenticle slaps with claw attacks, but I left the classic choker ability to constrict

I hope you like her.

T’xirix, the Black Widow, Insectile Feral Choker
Small Aberration
Hit Dice: 3d8+3 (16 hp)
Initiative: +5 (+4 Improved Initiative, +1 dex)
Speed: 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
AC: 20 (+1 size, +8 natural, +1 dex)
BAB: +3
Attacks: 2 claws +9 melee
Damage: 2 claws 1d6+5
Face/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Haste, improved grab, constrict 1d6+5
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60ft, fast healing 2, Tremorsense, Wide Vision
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +0, Will +6
Abilities: Str 20, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 17, Cha 7
Skills: Climb +14, Hide +7, Move Silently +4
Feats: Improved Initiative
Climate/Terrain: Any underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: 1/10 coins; 50% goods; 50% items
Alignment: Usually chaotic evil
Advancement: 4-6 HD (Small); 7-12 HD (Medium-size)
Languages: None.

Haste (Su): Although not particularly dexterous, T’xirix is supernaturally quick. It can take an extra partial action each round, as if affected by a haste spell.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, T’xirix must hit an opponent of up to Large size with a claw attack. If it gets a hold, it can constrict.

Constrict (Ex): T’xirix deals 1d6+5 points of damage with a successful grapple check against Large or smaller creatures. Because it seizes victims by the neck, a creature in the choker’s grasp cannot speak or cast spells with verbal components.

Tremorsense (Ex): T’xirix can automatically sense the location of anything within 60ft that is in contact with the ground.

Wide Vision (Ex): Because of its multiple eyes and wide angle of vision, T’xirix has a +4 racial bonus to Spot checks and cannot be flanked.

T’xirix is the culmination of the late drow wizard Nyssus’ magical breeding program. Her name means “Black Widow” in drow. Her father was a choker of exceptional size, and her mother a monstrous spider. Nyssus’ unnatural union of the two killed her father, and her birth took the life of her mother. Angry at the loss of such fine specimines, Nyssus chose not to study T’xirix, but instead to put her in his dungeon and forget such a failed creature ever existed.

All went well for Nyssus, until T’xirix broke out of her prison and rang his neck before retreating into the underdark.

Savage and mindless, T’xirix has become a growing threat to the drow population nearby. More and more warriors have mysteriously dissapeared, and every one she consumes gives her the strength to grow bigger, stronger, and meaner.

A small cult has grown around this seeming avatar of Lolth, and when she chooses to listen, T’xirix can hear the soft chanting of her name echoing through the underdark.

Combat:

T’xirix is caught between her spider-like nature and her feral rage. On one hand, she is naturally inclined to lay in wait, springing traps on the unawares, and devouring them before they have a chance to scream, but on the other hand, the inner fire of pure animal ferocity burns strongly in her. What this amounts to is a haphazard fighting style of surprise attacks, ferocious infighting, and a sudden, halting retreat.

 

[Grim]

Here's the next one: Bloodwind, Umbral Worg. He and his pack would probably work well as some sort big campain threat. But if he was just a single encounter, he's probably just some sort of bitter angry life-hating undead thing. Mmm... undeath.

Bloodwind, Umbral Worg
Medium-Size Undead (Incorporeal)
Hit Dice: 4d12 (26 hp)
Initiative: +3 (Dex)
Speed: 50 ft, fly 40 (perfect)
AC: 13 (+2 Dex, +1 deflection)
Attacks: Incorporeal Touch +3 Melee
Damage: 1d6 points Strength
Face/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Strength Damage
Special Qualities: Create Spawn, Incorporeal Subtype, Turn Resistance, Undead Traits, Darkvision 60 ft
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +3
Abilities: Str -, Dex 17, Con -, Int 2, Wis 16, Cha 12
Skills: Hide +7, Listen +9, Move Silently +7, Spot_+9, Wilderness Lore +3*
Feats: Alertness
Climate/Terrain: Any forest, hill, plains, and mountains
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 5-6 HD (Medium-size); 7-12 HD (Large)

Strength Damage (Su): The touch of an umbral worg deals 1d6 points of Strength damage to a living foe. A creature reduced to 0 strength by such attacks dies.

Create Spawn (Su): Any aberration, animal, dragon, giant, humanoid, magical beast, or monstrous humanoid reduced to Strength 0 by an umbral worg rises as an umbral creature in 1d4 days. Such a spawn is under the command of the umbral worg that created it and remains enslaved until the master’s death. The spawn does not possess any of the abilities it had in life, but gains the umbral template (SS pg 134)

Incorporeal Subtype: An umbral worg can be harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, +1 or better magic weapons, spells, and spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities. The creature has a 50% chance to ignore any damage from a corporeal source, except for force attacks and attacks made with ghost touch weapons. An umbral creature can pass through solid objects , but not force effects, at will. Its attacks ignore natural armor, armor, and shields, but deflection bonuses from force effects work normally against them. An umbral worg always moves silently and cannot be heard with Listen checks if it doesn’t wish to be.

Turn Resistance (Ex): An umbral worg gains turn resistance +2.

Undead Traits: An umbral worg is immune to mind-affecting effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, necromantic effects, and any effect that requires a fortitude save unless it also works against objects. It is not subject to critical hits, subdual damage, ability damage, ability drain, energy drain, or death from massive damage. An umbral worg cannot be raised, and resurrection works only if it is willing.

Skills: A worg receives a +1 racial bonus to Listen, Move Silently, and Spot checks, and a +2 racial bonus to Hide checks. A worg has a +4 racial bonus to Wilderness Lore checks when tracking by scent.

History:

Deep in the heart of the Fog Wood, the worgs gathered. United by thier dark desires, the hundredstrong pack gathered in the Veil of the Moon. What force could draw such jelous creatures together in such great numbers?

A birthing.

Greystreak, the greatest of thier kind, was to become a father. His mate and he had felt called to the Veil, and had run far and hard to reach it. His mate had been marked by the pregnancy. Once a stark white worg, something had turned her black. Black as night, as pitch, as black as her heart. And word spread across the open wilderness, drifting across the moonlit sky, that Greystreak had called the pack together.

Regardless of his evil ways, Greystreak felt at least some pride in having a child. Another worg as strong as he, to mold into his own image. And as to the strange situation with his mate, well, it could only be a sign of the power his child would have.

And so there, on a moonless night, in the center of the Veil, to the howling of hundreds of Worgs, under the watchful eyes of his father, Bloodwind was born, dark, empty, and devoid of life.

It was a horrible birth. Even as he emerged from the womb, his mother shriveled and withered. His very touch was the awful pain of absolute nothing. Such had turned her fur black. Small and dark, Bloodwind circled his mothers corpse, wondering such a pitiful thing could have brought him into the world.

When the pack saw his birth, and heard the screams of his mother as she succumbed to his terrible emptyness, they could not suffer Bloodwind's existance.

Nor could his father, who immediatly growled the Challenge at the dark pup and charged him.

Bloodwind turned on his father.

And did nothing.

Howling retribution for his mate, Greystreak charged his son.

And passed right through him, only to be blasted by the icy emptiness of the void.

Greystreak rounded back on his son, who remained still, and spoke, his growl audible to the pack.

"Abomination! You were not worth my mates life, and you are no son of mine."

He was right. His mate had been the unwitting experiment of the Shadow Sorcerer Valis Mormont, interested in the effects of the Plane of Shadow on mortals. He had been scrying her since her pregnancy began, and even as these events occured, he was studious examining Bloodwind.

Greystreak continued. "You are exiled from the pack. Be gone, monster. Begone."

Bloodwind laughed. Even while in his mothers womb, he had been draining her of her very soul, and incidentally her knowledge, language, and memories. "Foolish father. You do not deserve that living body. You are old, and weak, and foolish. I will take it from you.

Bloodwind advanced. Greystreak called on his pack to help him fight the monster.

No one moved a paw.

Bloodwind laughed as he leaped for his father, and the pack watched with silent eyes as the strongest, keenest of ther number died screeming as his very strength was ripped from his body.

They looked upon thier new leader, Bloodwind, and howled in tribute.

Bloodwind howled back, a horrible howl from beyond eternity. It pained the pack to hear it, but what pained them more was what happened next. Bloodwind hunted every one of them, draining them of life. The pack ended that night, destroyed by a dark force as fast as the wind, able to leap through trees and bushs as if they were nothing. His very touch was enough to kill.

For he was a dark creature of pure evil, and to feed on the life of others was his only pleasure. He could not help but pity mortal life, and was controlled by his undying hunger for its eradication.

Of course, Bloodwind is still controled by his true "creator", the Shadow Sorcerer Valis Mormont. But he does not know this yet, and if Valis has his way, Bloodwind will never know.

Days later, the pack arose again, tainted by the hunger of undeath. They too had become umbral worgs, all under the control of Bloodwind.

And now, they march.

And Valis Mormont, Bloodwind's perverbial sire, laughs.

 

[pogre]

Yep, I'm stealing this one as well.

 

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Can I help?

I've written up many original creatures for my MUD (Multi-User Domain) game and if you guys like I could write up a few but I've not played D&D for very long and am not sure how I would adjust them to Con and HP and such.

Note: None of my creatures are all powerful, self-aware, magical or anything like that. No corny blood drinking, satan spawned hellhounds or mystical phoenixs of light and fire! They are creatures that might could actually exist if evolution went the right way, but are completely original and not really based on anything so far existing outside of mine imagination. They also, not to go too far on the other, wimpy or anything like that.

Several examples include:

Forests: Burl-tortoise/Unihorns (not Unicorns, but Unihorns)
Ocean surface: Brine skimmer
Swamp: Torcrabs
Desert: Sandgliders
Deep ocean: Yuzla's Squids
Underground: Salikaa
Jungle: Necropedes
Canopy: Canopy Scorpion

etc etc.

Btw, are there any campaigns out there where you actually take ocean voyages or has underwater quests?

Just mail me if you'd like me to design a creature for your campaign. Gives me some writing experience.

 

[Grim]

Well, sure you could help. You should probably start your own thread, so that people can differentiate between your monsters and other peoples monsters. As to statting them up, the Monster manual is a start, but Savage Species is the book you really want. You should probably email Blackdirge, as he is the de facto Monster Expert of the boards (at least to my mind). I'm sure he'd be glad to help you, as would I.

As to "underwater quest" campains, I myself have never participated in one, but I'm sure there are quite a few out there.

Oh, and what's a torcrab? Sounds fun.

Grim.

 

[Grim]

I am absolutly obsessed with Reaper Minis, and so here are the minis I think would work well with some of my creations...

The Skrill

This is about as close as i could come to shocker lizards. If you just sort of ignore the Lizardman, the two lizards are pretty awsome looking for the Skrill. [EDIT] I found some of my old Chainmail minis, and the Crested Feldrake works perfectly. So... go crested Feldrake!

For Bloodwind and his pack of umbral worgs, i would suggest:

Bloodwind

For T'xirix, this is about as close as I could come:

T'xirix

And... yah.

 

[Grim]

Here's my lineup for the next few monsters. I'm exploring a fey/forest theme.

Mudman, Psudonatural Bugbear.
His sidekicks, various Wood Element Creatures (all little and of low CR)
Firestarter, his adversary, a Fire Element Nixie
Nibbles, Firestarter's mount, an advanced Thermic Earth Element Dire Rat (somehow only CR 3, despite the name)

I've gotten most of them statted, and am working on the writups. Will post the first one when I'm done with it.

 

[BLACKDIRGE]

Hey Grim,

Consider me impressed. This is some really good stuff and a great compliment to my own thread.

Keep it up and maybe you and I can lure a few more people to the Rogue's Gallery.

Dirge

 

[Grim]

Ok, so you could call him Swampthing, but don't.

Mudman- Psudonatural Bugbear.
Medium-Size Humanoid (Goblinoid)
Hit Dice: 3d8+6 (19 hp)
Initiative: +1 (Dex)
Speed: 30 ft.
AC: 17 (+1 Dex, +3 natural, +2 leather, +1 small shield)
Attacks: Morningstar +4 melee; or javelin +3 ranged
Damage: Morningstar 1d8+2; or javelin 1d6+2
Face/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: True Strike
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, Resistances, Alternate Form
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +3
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 8, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 9
Skills: Climb +2, Hide +2, Listen +3, Move Silently +6, Spot +3
Feats: Alertness
Climate/Terrain: Any underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually chaotic evil
Advancement: By Druid Class or Useelie Fey template (dragon 304, I believe)
Bugbears speak Goblin and Common.

True Strike (Su): Once per day, Mudman can make a normal attack with a +20 insight bonus on a single attack roll. On this attack, the creature is not affected by the miss chance that applies when attacking a concealed target.

Resistances: Mudman has Electricity and Acid resistance of 5 each.

Alternate Form: At will, Mudman can with a standard action assume an alternate form: a rolling mass of wiggling, oozing mud. Other creatures receive a –1 morale penalty on their attack rolls against Mudman.

History

There comes a time when such things have been done to the land that it can do nothing but defend itself. Flowers grow thorns, trees grow thick bark and tall trunks, predators grow big and strong and ruthless. Such was the case with Mudman, once the Bugbear Shaman Mudorg.

As all the bugbears had done before them, the Brown Tree Tribe, Mudorg’s tribe, buried their dead by sinking them into their swampland home. Every so often, one can see a well-preserved corpse surface, wearing nothing but the loincloth they were sunk in.

One could call it a bugbear tradition to strip the dead of their earthly possessions, but it is more out of practicality and greed than anything else. One could call their semi-burial tradition, but again it stems simply from the practicality of body dumping.

In any case, Mudorg died an extremly old, wise, wealthy bugbear. He was, of course, stripped of his possessions and sunk into the swamp, a large rock tied to his withered body.

Years passed, and the bog kept his body as wrinkled and old as it once was, tanning its bones to a hard leathery color, and its skin and muscles to a dark yellow as they slowly peeled away. The Brown Tree tribe had grown over the years, and had attracted the attention of many a hero. As the heroes came, civilization began to encroach on the swamp, and when it was discovered that certain portions of it were rich will oil floating on the water’s surface, and ore one the muddy bottoms, the town of Dark Oak sprang up like a bad weed. When news of the swamp’s mineral richness hit the capitol, humans, dwarves, and halflings swarmed the place like flies on honey.

Each day, the land felt a part of itself die. The trees were cut down, the water drained, the earth raped of its rocks and oil. And so Mudorg rose again, given new life by nature itself. He remained the wet husk the swamp had turned him into, his skin plantlike, his bones leathery, his muscles and organs and blood… mud.

Now, like a dark requiem, he stalks the forest killers, seeking only their destruction. From his first victims he took armor and weapons, and so is properly armed and armored.

Slowly, he has been regaining the memories of his previous life as a shaman, and his primal urge against humans will begin to mix with his former life.

Tactics: Mudman, like any good bugbear, attacks from ambush, using his True Strike ability to its full effect. He then changes into his melting, muddy alternate form in an attempt to keep the upper hand. He will fight all comers, battling to the death. For if the swamp could give him life once, it could certainly do it again.

 

[Grim]

i'm gonna update soon, i swearz. At least as much as Blackdirge does!