OPEN CALL: Charity PDF for Katrina Victims

[Wulf Ratbane]

Count me in. I'll try to whip something up today.

And may I suggest Cajun Arcana?

 

[Angel Tarragon]

I'll send in some feats I've written up plus a monster I've done.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Monstrous Crawdad
Large Vermin
Hit Dice: 5d8+10 (32 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), swim 50
Armor Class: 16 (–1 size, +7 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+11
Attack: Claw +6 melee (1d6+4; improved critical 19-20 x2)
Full Attack: 2 claws +6 melee (1d6+4; improved critical 19-20 x2)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Constrict 1d6+4, improved grab
Special Qualities: Amphibious, darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft., vermin traits
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +1, Will +1
Abilities: Str 19, Dex 10, Con 14, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2
Skills: Hide +0, Spot +4, Swim +12
Feats: Improved Critical (claws)B
Environment: Warm aquatic
Organization: Solitary and Colony (2–5)
Challenge Rating: 3

The crawdad (or crayfish) is a cousin to the lobster. A normal crawdad reaches adulthood at 1 year, and most live for 2 years at best. A “granddaddy” crawdad that survives for several years can grow indefinitely, molting its exoskeleton many times. The typical monstrous crawdad is 50 years old or older.

Crawdads are generally active beginning at dusk and continue heavy feeding until daybreak. (They may also be encountered on cloudy days.) Crawdads are voracious eaters, feeding on live prey, vegetation, and carrion.

Crawdads typically hide under rocks or vegetation when hunting, and charge out to surprise their victims. They are slow and deliberate on land, but quite agile in the water.

When wounded, a crawdad emits a high whistling noise, which will instantly attract any other crawdads in the area. (A character may make a Knowledge (nature) check (DC15) to mimic this sound.)

Constrict (Ex): A monstrous crawdad deals automatic claw damage on a successful grapple check.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a monstrous crawdad must hit with a claw attack.

Improved Critical: The claws of the monstrous crawdad are extremely sharp and can easily sever limbs with a single snap.

Skills: A crawdad has a +4 racial bonus to Hide and Spot checks. It has a +8 racial bonus to Swim checks. A crawdad can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims backwards in a straight line.

Section 15:
System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich baker, Andy Collins, David noonan, Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

Monstrous Crawdad copyright 2005, Benjamin R. Durbin and Bad Axe Games.

 

[JimAde]

I don't know if I'll be able to put together anything decent as a contributor, but I'm available for editing/proofing duties.

 

[Cathix]

Monstrous Crawdad

The crawdad (or crayfish) is a cousin to the lobster. A normal crawdad reaches adulthood at 1 year, and most live for 2 years at best. A “granddaddy” crawdad that survives for several years can grow indefinitely, molting its exoskeleton many times. The typical monstrous crawdad is 50 years old or older.

Hilarious, Benjamin. Thank you thank you thank you!

A note to everyone, though - please send your contributions (as Ben did) to siretokkor@yahoo.com. Checking these boards five times a day is gonna kill me. Thanks!

 

[Cathix]

I don't know if I'll be able to put together anything decent as a contributor, but I'm available for editing/proofing duties.

We're going to take you up on the proofing, Jim. Deadline is the end of this month, layout will take a week (unless a piano falls on my head or something), then you'll get to check it out.

 

[JimAde]

Great. I should be out from under the boatload of work I have right now by then.

 

[Bretbo]

OK, needed to get some ideas, so I Goggled for the culture/folklores/legends of New Orleans and the general Mississippi area and came up with a partial list. Figured I'd post them here, hopefully they are helpful:

Louisiana/New Orleans Culture: http://gatewayno.com/culture/culture.html

At New Orleans: http://www.atneworleans.com/body/culture.htm

Louisiana Folklife Society.org: http://www.louisianafolklife.org/lafolkloresociety.html#mis

American Folklore: Louisiana: http://www.americanfolklore.net/folktales/la2.html

The Mississippi: River of Song: http://www.pbs.org/riverofsong/music/e3-canebrakes.html

Mississippi Folklife Association: http://www.msfolklifeassn.org/news.htm

Mississippi Bell Witch Legend: http://bellwitch02.tripod.com/mississippi_legends_of_the_bell_witch.htm

Steamboats.org: http://www.steamboats.org/

Now I got to get some ideas brewing...

 

[Varianor Abroad]

I have an idea. I'll send something in.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

I have an idea. I'll send something in.

Me too. But, I'll be honest, it's no crawdad.

In the meantime, this should tide appitites over....

For shrimp and okra gumbo:

3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
3 tablespoons of flour
l large chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
5 or 6 cloves, chopped garlic
1 cup of chopped green pepper
1 can of tomato sauce
1 can of tomatoes ("Rotel" tomatoes for a spicier taste!)
1 pound, fresh sliced okra (or 2 boxes of frozen sliced okra)
2 pounds of fresh shrimp
2 - 3 cups water
salt & pepper to taste
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
1 bay leaf


For seafood gumbo, add to the above:
1 small can of crabmeat or 3 fresh gumbo crabs
1 jar oysters

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Slowly stir the flour into heated oil in a heavy cast iron skillet. Continue to stir until the flour is dark brown. Add the next 4 ingredients; stir until onions are clear.
Add tomato sauce. Stir until it gets crumbly or dry. Fry okra in another skillet until it is no longer sticky or stringy. Add tomatoes and fried okra.
Cook slowly, adding 2 to 3 cups of water--a little at a time. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in one teaspoon of sugar.
Cook for about an hour on a low fire, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking to the bottom of pot; adding water if necessary. Add the shrimp and the bay leaf (and if desired, the oysters and crabmeat).
Cook another 30 minutes to an hour, adding seasoning to taste.
Serve over boiled or steamed rice.