Lesser Known Monsters - Add a Scenario

[howandwhy99]

Certain monsters conjure up iconic adventure locations and even whole dungeons devoted to them. Who doesn't associate Tomb of Horrors with the lich? (archlich?) A vampire's castle done well inspired an entire campaign setting. And who hasn't heard of a mountain side red dragon lair looking not just a bit like a stolen dwarf hold? Or dwarves in a dwarf hold for that matter? Or even simply a stinky cave for an owlbear or ogre?

This thread is for all the monsters that don't necessarily conjure up iconic locations or adventures. It's for the Black Unicorns, Shedu, Giant Owls, Crimson Death, and even Flumphs of the D&D world. (And if anyone could do one of those, that'd be awesome). You could be the one to define a monster like steadings define hill giants.

The idea is:
Post the name of your monster and then a short paragraph (or more) describing what you believe would be an iconic scenario for it. With any luck we will all get a few interesting uses for those lesser known D&D monsters or even inspire a whole monster themed adventure.

 

[howandwhy99]

Leucrotta (from mythical Crocotta)

Haunters of villages and towns, these scavengers are as intelligent as humans. Many gather in packs in places where the dead dwell, like animal burial grounds and ancient battlefields, and enjoy haunting creatures that stumble into their territory, at least when it is daylight. Leucrotta are smart, avoiding undead and sneaking into populated areas at night. There they use their voice mimicry power to lure innocents to secluded areas before devouring them. Other times they enjoy whispering to the sleeping to provoke nightmares and spread lies amongst the populace. Leucrotta enjoy fooling creatures to gain power, like forming gangs of brigands and thieves or starting secret cults. Then they slowly feed off the town and devour their allies before leaving for another town.

A seaside sahara (small town) in Nagaland is finally finding a semblance of peace after a battle was fought on its borders. After many days the cremations of the dead were done and the ashes scattered upon the holy river. The field of jute where the battle took place was left to grow. But unknown to the townsfolk a Leucrotta arrived in the night and is hiding within the tall, unharvested crop. During the day it prowls near to the field workers and listens to their talk, sometimes playing with them by mimicking their voices. But at night it has begun to slip into town and stalk its prey with similar trickery. The first death is a brutal mess and a likely hook for any heroes in the area. More grisly deaths are likely to follow as the PCs investigate the townsfolk looking for the cause. Entering the unharvested field is a Encounter with concealment, trickery, and death at the hands of a very fast, powerful, and sneaky beast. Not exploring there though means being toyed with by the Leucrotta. Given enough time the creature recruits from in hiding unsavory members of the town, leading them to perform crimes and perhaps even framing them with the murders.

 

[Celebrim]

I don't have time right now to right full scenarios, but:

Giant Owls: Owls are iconicly the keepers of secret lore, particularly of things that happen in darkness or in the spirit world. I would use a Giant Owl (probably with some templates) whenever I wanted a scenario that featured an unusual seer or sage. For example, I might have a swamp were the top predators were giant owls, only to reveal to the player that the NPC they are looking for is also an owl. Examples of Giant Owls used in this iconic role are the 'Great Owl' in 'Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM' (from the prespective of the PC) and the Spirit Librarian in book two of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'.

Crimson Death: Although I've never used one directly, this has always been one of my favorite monsters - a variation on the blood drinking ghost/demon/spirit. Essentially this is a vampire elemental. One was referenced indirectly in my current campaign as a scenario in the current adventures past. A group of quarry men working in the catacombs accidently broke into an older section and released a Crimson Death. When the workers were found, they all had been drained completely of blood. You can use this monster any where you want a variant vampire, especially one in a more pre-Dracula ancient/medieval role of plague/gluttony spirit rather than in its more modern conception as sexual object.

Black Unicorn: Use it any time you want to invert the normal iconics around a Sylvan wood. The Black Unicorn serves as the protector of evil fairy woods, the Unseelie Court, and places you daren't go tramping for fear of little men. Any scenario where you want to invert the normal perception of good guys/bad guys works. For example, I might consider a Black Unicorn as a steed in 'Help, my helpless innocent daughter has been kidnapped!' adventure, where the 'innocent daughter' turns out to be far from helpless or innocent. This might work particularly well when the PC's didn't realize OOC that black unicorns were evil, but still makes for enough of a twist even if they don't. I might also do this sort of thing with town being threatened by goblins, where it turns out that the goblin tribe is basically innocent is being harassed by evil fairies and also needs the PC's help.

Flumph: Granted, this monster is really narrow in its application, but I'd use one whenever I wanted to put together truly alien ecology - probably for a demi-plane or alternate prime material world. I'd make it part of a speculative non-vertebrate non-seed bearing plant ecology. The really interesting thing to me about such a creature in such a setting is that it would likely not be immediately recognized by anyone but the most lore savvy players, and would therefore be very unlikely to be recognized as the sentient/civilized member of the ecology.

 

[MJS]

Obscure monster: VOLT (Fiend Folio, p.94-95)

"Iconic" location: ambushing parties on crashed alien spaceships.

The party enters a metallic room, full of blackened consoles, torn out metal cables, and dead little green men in different colored jumpsuits. An occasional spark bursts forth from some of the consoles and wires.
Determine individual PC surprise upon entering the room as a pack of Volts(who are not surprised) will come out of the ceiling and swarm the party, stabbing and electrocuting them most viciously.