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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Special Conversion Thread: Moldvay's Undead
- Thread starter Shade
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Cleon
Legend
Let's split the difference and go with 575.
575 is fine by me, look like the old girl's finished then.
Last edited:
demiurge1138
Inventor of Super-Toast
Yeah, I think so too.
Shade
Monster Junkie
In Greek legends, the gelloudes are a kind of female demon that steals and then devours young children. The prototype for the gelloudes was the maiden Gello whose ghost, according to the ancient poetess Sappho, returned after her untimely death and was said by the people of the isle of Lesbos to have caused the early deaths of children. By the 10th century A.D., Gello had become a demon of the Greek Orthodox Church. Her various minions were the gelloudes.
Just as a ghoul is the personification of the wilderness and the fear of cannibalism, the gelloudes are the personification of the fear of infant mortality. In cultures without modern medical techniques, infant mortality can result in a 20% death rate. With one out of five children being born dead or dying soon after birth, it is not surprising that the cause was attributed to demons.
In Greek folklore, gelloudes have 12½ secret names. The names (transliterated from the Greek) are: 1) Guloy - a form of Gello; 2) Mora - a kind of lamia; 3) Budzoy - a sucker of blood; 4) Marmaroy – “heart of stone”; 5) Petasis – “fly like a bird”; 6) Pelagia – “.swim like a fish”.; 7) Bordona – “swoop like a hawk”; 8) Apletoy – “insatiable”; 9) Khamodrakaina – “lurk like a snake”; 10) Anabardalaia – “soar like a hawk”; 11) Psychanaspastria – “snatcher of souls”; 12) Paidopniktria – “strangler of children”; and 12½) Strigla – a kind of stirge.
Gelloudes are related to lamias, stirges, type V demons, and succubi (all from MM1). While their prime purpose is to prey upon children, they are not limited to that function and are likely to attack anyone when the man-eating urge becomes too great.
GELLOUDES
FREQUENCY: Very rare
NO. APPEARING: 1-6
ARMOR CLASS: 7
MOVE: 6./18.//12"
HIT DICE: 5
% IN LAIR: 5%
TREASURE TYPE: 1
NO. OF ATTACKS: 4
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4/1-4/1-6/1-6
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Energy drain
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 50%
INTELLIGENCE: Average
ALIGNMENT. Chaotic evil
SIZE: L (7. tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 100
Attack/Defense Modes: E/F/G
A gelloudes is a kind of demon, with the lower body of a giant serpent and the upper body of a woman. The serpent body has a pair of scaley legs with webbed talons. The woman.s hands end in claws; she has vampirelike canines. A gelloudes has dragonlike wings that aid both flying and swimming.
Gelloudes attack with hand claws (1-6 hp damage each) and foot talons (1-8 hp damage each). If any attack succeeds, the victim is pulled close to the demon but is not held. On the next round, if it gains the initiative, the gelloudes can bite its victim (roll to hit at +2) and drain an energy level every round thereafter unless the victim breaks free of its bite, requiring an open doors strength roll. If the roll is not made, the victim can be struck on following rounds at +2 to hit with claws and talons (and automatically by the bite) until he breaks free. The victim gains no saving throw against the energy drain. As the victim loses energy levels, he seems to grow younger. When the victim has no levels or hit dice left, he dies. This reverse aging is something of an illusion and is not necessarily permanent. If the victim dies from the attack, then the corpse will be that of a young child. If the victim can be freed before death from energy draining, he will immediately return to his normal age (the life-level loss is permanent).
As minor demons, the gelloudes rank in the “special” category when being turned by clerics.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #138 (1988).
Just as a ghoul is the personification of the wilderness and the fear of cannibalism, the gelloudes are the personification of the fear of infant mortality. In cultures without modern medical techniques, infant mortality can result in a 20% death rate. With one out of five children being born dead or dying soon after birth, it is not surprising that the cause was attributed to demons.
In Greek folklore, gelloudes have 12½ secret names. The names (transliterated from the Greek) are: 1) Guloy - a form of Gello; 2) Mora - a kind of lamia; 3) Budzoy - a sucker of blood; 4) Marmaroy – “heart of stone”; 5) Petasis – “fly like a bird”; 6) Pelagia – “.swim like a fish”.; 7) Bordona – “swoop like a hawk”; 8) Apletoy – “insatiable”; 9) Khamodrakaina – “lurk like a snake”; 10) Anabardalaia – “soar like a hawk”; 11) Psychanaspastria – “snatcher of souls”; 12) Paidopniktria – “strangler of children”; and 12½) Strigla – a kind of stirge.
Gelloudes are related to lamias, stirges, type V demons, and succubi (all from MM1). While their prime purpose is to prey upon children, they are not limited to that function and are likely to attack anyone when the man-eating urge becomes too great.
GELLOUDES
FREQUENCY: Very rare
NO. APPEARING: 1-6
ARMOR CLASS: 7
MOVE: 6./18.//12"
HIT DICE: 5
% IN LAIR: 5%
TREASURE TYPE: 1
NO. OF ATTACKS: 4
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4/1-4/1-6/1-6
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Energy drain
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 50%
INTELLIGENCE: Average
ALIGNMENT. Chaotic evil
SIZE: L (7. tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 100
Attack/Defense Modes: E/F/G
A gelloudes is a kind of demon, with the lower body of a giant serpent and the upper body of a woman. The serpent body has a pair of scaley legs with webbed talons. The woman.s hands end in claws; she has vampirelike canines. A gelloudes has dragonlike wings that aid both flying and swimming.
Gelloudes attack with hand claws (1-6 hp damage each) and foot talons (1-8 hp damage each). If any attack succeeds, the victim is pulled close to the demon but is not held. On the next round, if it gains the initiative, the gelloudes can bite its victim (roll to hit at +2) and drain an energy level every round thereafter unless the victim breaks free of its bite, requiring an open doors strength roll. If the roll is not made, the victim can be struck on following rounds at +2 to hit with claws and talons (and automatically by the bite) until he breaks free. The victim gains no saving throw against the energy drain. As the victim loses energy levels, he seems to grow younger. When the victim has no levels or hit dice left, he dies. This reverse aging is something of an illusion and is not necessarily permanent. If the victim dies from the attack, then the corpse will be that of a young child. If the victim can be freed before death from energy draining, he will immediately return to his normal age (the life-level loss is permanent).
As minor demons, the gelloudes rank in the “special” category when being turned by clerics.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #138 (1988).
demiurge1138
Inventor of Super-Toast
I say magical beast (extraplanar).
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