demiurge1138
Inventor of Super-Toast
Increasing the damage is fine by me.
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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
Actually, 1st edition AD&D did have something like 3.X edition's rake, e.g. the bonus rear claw attacks big cats got if they hit with both front paws, or the 'hug' that bears did if they did the same. Indeed, I suspect it was those attacks that inspired the 3E special attacks.
Increasing the claw damage is a good idea.
Anyhow, the girl's looking pretty close to being complete. I like the idea of a lamia-like gang - maybe one made up of mixed types of female supernatural monsters. I have a horrible temptation to call it a "sorority".
Shade
Monster Junkie
Anyhow, the girl's looking pretty close to being complete. I like the idea of a lamia-like gang - maybe one made up of mixed types of female supernatural monsters. I have a horrible temptation to call it a "sorority".
I like the idea of a mixed gang of lamias, lamia nobles, and harpies, all in the name of Graz'zt.
Updated.
Shade
Monster Junkie
Greek mythology is not the only traditional source for a horde of ghosts cursed to eternal wandering. Gaelic (Scottish Highlands) mythology has tales of the sluagh (pronounced "slooa"), who are known as "the host of the unforgiven dead" or, more simply "the host". Descriptions of the sluagh vary, but most correspond closely to that given by Alexander Carmichael in the Carmina Gadelica (volume II, page 357). He noted that the .hosts. are the spirits of dead mortals. One informant told Carmichal that these spirits fly about in great clouds like starlings and return to the scenes of their earthly transgressions. On bad nights, say others, the hosts shelter themselves under russet docken stems and yellow ragwort stalks (two types of plants found in the Highlands). They fight aerial battles as men do on the earth, and may be heard and seen on lear frosty nights, advancing and retreating. After a battle, their crimson blood may be seen upon the rocks and stones. These spirits use poisonous darts to kill cats, dogs, sheep, and cattle. They can command men to follow them, and men obey, having no alternative. Such human victims slay and maim at the bidding of their spirit-masters, who in return treat them badly and without pity.
The picture of the sluagh that emerges is certainly full of horror. On a chill frosty night, one might see the host advance in the bright moonlight. Like fast-moving, low-lying storm clouds, boiling with iridescent blues and greens and reds as if the aurora borealis was trapped within, the host would wash across the night sky. Sometimes the rolling clouds would clash together and, when they did, bloody crimson rain would fall to stain the earth. As the sluagh got closer, it could be seen that the .clouds. were actually masses of malignant bird-sized spirits. Each creature would look much like the negative photographic image of a sprite, with a dark shadowy body and iridescent wings. Each would be armed with a tiny bow with an equally tiny broad sword strapped to its waist. Trapped deep within the cloudlike host would be numerous zombies, magically born aloft and forced to obey every whim of the sluagh host.
Sluagh
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Cold or temperate/mountainous
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Large roving bands
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Nocturnal
DIET: Living beings
INTELLIGENCE: Average
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Neutral evil
NO. APPEARING: 10-100 in wilderness
ARMOR CLASS: 5
MOVEMENT: 3, F1 24 (B)
HIT DICE: 2
THAC0: 19
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Spell-casting, poisoned missiles
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Control of zombies
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Special
SIZE: S (2’ tall)
MORALE: Fearless (20)
XP VALUE: 975
The sluagh (also known as “the host”) are undead spirits who roam the night in packs, warring with each other and preying on the living. A member of the sluagh looks much like a black sprite, with a dark shadowy body and gauzy iridescent wings. Seen at a distance at twilight, a group of sluagh looks like a roiling thundercloud.
Combat: The sluagh fire tiny bows with poisonous arrows, having a maximum range of 75 yards. A victim hit by an arrow must save vs. poison or die in 2-5 rounds (unless the poison is slowed or neutralized). The save need be made but once only; any character who survives such a poison attack is thereafter immune to sluagh poison. The sluagh can also fight with tiny swords that do damage equal to daggers.
The sluagh can cast the spells animate dead and fly, one spell per round, as often as they wish. Any character slain by the sluagh is turned into a zombie and is then taken along when the sluagh fly away. The sluagh are usually accompanied by 3-24 zombies already under their control. The sluagh need not make normal morale checks. At the DM’s discretion, any time the sluagh turn a victim into a zombie they may choose to fly away.
The sluagh exist in a state of barely controlled rage. When not tormenting the living, they are likely to fight among themselves. Tales are told of great aerial battles fought between divisions of the sluagh host. Characters can often turn this animosity to their advantage, as large numbers of the sluagh are easily tricked into fighting each other and leaving the characters alone.
The sluagh are not affected by sleep, charm, hold; or cold-based spells, nor by poison or paralyzation. They take 2-8 hp each per vial of holy water and are destroyed by raise dead or resurrection spells. A cleric has the same chance to turn the sluagh as he has to turn ghouls. In the same round, allow the cleric a chance to turn the zombie accompanying the sluagh.
Habitat/Society: Sluagh always travel in large war bands, being the undead forms of warlike elves who turned on their fellow elves and were slain in battle. They appear only in the wilderness, never in dungeon settings. The sluagh never appear during the day and always flee sunlight. Their preferred habitat is any terrain similar to the Scottish Highlands.
The sluagh are sometimes led by other types of undead. For every 20 sluagh there is one wraith lieutenant. For every 40 sluagh there is an additional vampire captain. If 80 or more sluagh are encountered, their commander will be a lich. Note that special undead leaders make an encounter with the sluagh more deadly and should be used only if the characters are of an appropriately high level (with at least some chance of a cleric of their level turning the leader).
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #162 (1990).
Sluagh
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Cerilia, near populated areas
FREQUENCY: Rare
ORGANIZATION: Host
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Nocturnal, near midnight
DIET: Nil
INTELLIGENCE: Very (11–12)
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
NO. APPEARING: 1–20
ARMOR CLASS: 0
MOVEMENT: Fl 24 (B)
HIT DICE: 8
THAC0: 13
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d6/1d6
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Domination, poison
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Range
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: L (10' tall
MORALE: Elite (13–14)
BLOODLINE: None
BLOOD ABILITIES: None
PERCEPTION/SEEMING: None/None
XP VALUE: 4,000
The Sluagh (SLOO-ah), or the Host of the Unforgiven Dead, are the spirits of Cerilians who have died with unspeakable crimes on their consciences. Rejected in the afterlife by their gods for their transgressions, the Sluagh become trapped on Aebrynis.
Physical Description
The Sluagh appear as vaporous apparitions. Their heads and upper bodies, though composed of gray mist, retain a human shape—indeed, their facial features might be faintly recognizable to those who knew them well. Their expressions still hold the malice and cruelty they did in life. Below the waist, the figures taper off into foggy tendrils.
Role in the Campaign
Were the spirits that comprise the Sluagh capable of remorse, they would not be sentenced to such a lousy way to spend eternity. The gods, after all, were once themselves mortal—they understand mortal weakness, and they understand forgiveness. But when death is the only reason an evil person stopped committing heinous acts, the gods feel quite justified in withholding the compassion the deceased never showed.
The unforgiven dead are sentenced to walk the earth until they have made up for their crimes. Unfortunately, those who make up the Host just never get it. They find fault with the gods for rejecting them instead of looking inward with a critical eye. They use their extended time on Ceriliaas an opportunity to continue the plots and vendettas they began while alive. And they enslave the living into abetting their causes.
Habitat/Society
The Sluagh live in the great gray clouds that drift across Cerilia’s night skies. From there, they launch their attacks on the living. The newly dead tend to focus their ire on enemies they had as mortals — particularly if their deaths occurred at the hands of such enemies. As time passes, however, this focused hatred expands to encompass all the living, from powerful kings to simple farmers to dumb animals. Those caught outdoors at midnight, be they men or beasts, risk dropping dead—the victim of an invisible dart. When someone dies unexpectedly, f rom no apparent cause, the victim is said to have caught the eye of the Host.
Ecology
The Sluagh not only interfere in the affairs of the living, but also fight among themselves. Folk wisdom says that particularly violent storms indicate mighty clashes going on between factions of the Sluagh. Occasionally, the morning after such an event, their blood stains rocks and stones. The phenomenon is called shegh nan sluagh,or “blood of the Host.”
Combat and Other Encounters
Though the Host of the Unforgiven Dead can be deadly in missile combat, they prove even more sinister in personal encounters.
Combat
Typically, the only sign of an impending Sluagh attack are gathering cumulonimbus clouds with high vertical development. The Host can easily hide themselves in these clouds to gain surprise.
The Sluagh attack from the sky, hurling their invisible darts at those below. Each dart inflicts 1d6 points of damage. Two to three minutes after being hit, victims feel a burning poison (class B) enter their veins and must attempt a saving throw vs. poison for each hit. Failure means they suffer an additional 20 points of damage from the poison; success reduces the damage to 1d3 points.
Because the Sluagh attack from such a distance (clouds tend to be at least half a mile—880 yards—in elevation), they are out of range for nonmagical weapons and many offensive spells. Dungeon Masters may allow characters to use battle spells (as described in The Book of Magecraft and The Book of Priestcra)ft during combat with the Host.
Peaceful Encounters
By far the most insidious encounters with the Sluagh come when they attempt to dominate (per the domination spell) a character’s will. Driven by vengeance, a member of the Host sometimes descends from the clouds to speak to its victim. The malevolent being addresses the character in hypnotic, soothing tones to lower the victim’s guard, then subjugates his or her will. The master then uses the character to carry out acts of vengeance against its old enemies. Should the victim avoid being killed by those enemies for his or her actions, and live long enough for the effects of the dominationto wear off, the character must succeed at a system shock roll or die.
Perception and/or Seeming
The Host of the Unforgiven Dead is a threat native to Cerilia, and therefore has no Seeming score. Even if members of the Sluagh adventured in the Shadow World while alive, upon death they lose any perception score they attained.
Originally appeared in Blood Spawn (2002).
Sluagh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The picture of the sluagh that emerges is certainly full of horror. On a chill frosty night, one might see the host advance in the bright moonlight. Like fast-moving, low-lying storm clouds, boiling with iridescent blues and greens and reds as if the aurora borealis was trapped within, the host would wash across the night sky. Sometimes the rolling clouds would clash together and, when they did, bloody crimson rain would fall to stain the earth. As the sluagh got closer, it could be seen that the .clouds. were actually masses of malignant bird-sized spirits. Each creature would look much like the negative photographic image of a sprite, with a dark shadowy body and iridescent wings. Each would be armed with a tiny bow with an equally tiny broad sword strapped to its waist. Trapped deep within the cloudlike host would be numerous zombies, magically born aloft and forced to obey every whim of the sluagh host.
Sluagh
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Cold or temperate/mountainous
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Large roving bands
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Nocturnal
DIET: Living beings
INTELLIGENCE: Average
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Neutral evil
NO. APPEARING: 10-100 in wilderness
ARMOR CLASS: 5
MOVEMENT: 3, F1 24 (B)
HIT DICE: 2
THAC0: 19
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Spell-casting, poisoned missiles
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Control of zombies
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Special
SIZE: S (2’ tall)
MORALE: Fearless (20)
XP VALUE: 975
The sluagh (also known as “the host”) are undead spirits who roam the night in packs, warring with each other and preying on the living. A member of the sluagh looks much like a black sprite, with a dark shadowy body and gauzy iridescent wings. Seen at a distance at twilight, a group of sluagh looks like a roiling thundercloud.
Combat: The sluagh fire tiny bows with poisonous arrows, having a maximum range of 75 yards. A victim hit by an arrow must save vs. poison or die in 2-5 rounds (unless the poison is slowed or neutralized). The save need be made but once only; any character who survives such a poison attack is thereafter immune to sluagh poison. The sluagh can also fight with tiny swords that do damage equal to daggers.
The sluagh can cast the spells animate dead and fly, one spell per round, as often as they wish. Any character slain by the sluagh is turned into a zombie and is then taken along when the sluagh fly away. The sluagh are usually accompanied by 3-24 zombies already under their control. The sluagh need not make normal morale checks. At the DM’s discretion, any time the sluagh turn a victim into a zombie they may choose to fly away.
The sluagh exist in a state of barely controlled rage. When not tormenting the living, they are likely to fight among themselves. Tales are told of great aerial battles fought between divisions of the sluagh host. Characters can often turn this animosity to their advantage, as large numbers of the sluagh are easily tricked into fighting each other and leaving the characters alone.
The sluagh are not affected by sleep, charm, hold; or cold-based spells, nor by poison or paralyzation. They take 2-8 hp each per vial of holy water and are destroyed by raise dead or resurrection spells. A cleric has the same chance to turn the sluagh as he has to turn ghouls. In the same round, allow the cleric a chance to turn the zombie accompanying the sluagh.
Habitat/Society: Sluagh always travel in large war bands, being the undead forms of warlike elves who turned on their fellow elves and were slain in battle. They appear only in the wilderness, never in dungeon settings. The sluagh never appear during the day and always flee sunlight. Their preferred habitat is any terrain similar to the Scottish Highlands.
The sluagh are sometimes led by other types of undead. For every 20 sluagh there is one wraith lieutenant. For every 40 sluagh there is an additional vampire captain. If 80 or more sluagh are encountered, their commander will be a lich. Note that special undead leaders make an encounter with the sluagh more deadly and should be used only if the characters are of an appropriately high level (with at least some chance of a cleric of their level turning the leader).
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #162 (1990).
Sluagh
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Cerilia, near populated areas
FREQUENCY: Rare
ORGANIZATION: Host
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Nocturnal, near midnight
DIET: Nil
INTELLIGENCE: Very (11–12)
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
NO. APPEARING: 1–20
ARMOR CLASS: 0
MOVEMENT: Fl 24 (B)
HIT DICE: 8
THAC0: 13
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d6/1d6
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Domination, poison
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Range
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: L (10' tall
MORALE: Elite (13–14)
BLOODLINE: None
BLOOD ABILITIES: None
PERCEPTION/SEEMING: None/None
XP VALUE: 4,000
The Sluagh (SLOO-ah), or the Host of the Unforgiven Dead, are the spirits of Cerilians who have died with unspeakable crimes on their consciences. Rejected in the afterlife by their gods for their transgressions, the Sluagh become trapped on Aebrynis.
Physical Description
The Sluagh appear as vaporous apparitions. Their heads and upper bodies, though composed of gray mist, retain a human shape—indeed, their facial features might be faintly recognizable to those who knew them well. Their expressions still hold the malice and cruelty they did in life. Below the waist, the figures taper off into foggy tendrils.
Role in the Campaign
Were the spirits that comprise the Sluagh capable of remorse, they would not be sentenced to such a lousy way to spend eternity. The gods, after all, were once themselves mortal—they understand mortal weakness, and they understand forgiveness. But when death is the only reason an evil person stopped committing heinous acts, the gods feel quite justified in withholding the compassion the deceased never showed.
The unforgiven dead are sentenced to walk the earth until they have made up for their crimes. Unfortunately, those who make up the Host just never get it. They find fault with the gods for rejecting them instead of looking inward with a critical eye. They use their extended time on Ceriliaas an opportunity to continue the plots and vendettas they began while alive. And they enslave the living into abetting their causes.
Habitat/Society
The Sluagh live in the great gray clouds that drift across Cerilia’s night skies. From there, they launch their attacks on the living. The newly dead tend to focus their ire on enemies they had as mortals — particularly if their deaths occurred at the hands of such enemies. As time passes, however, this focused hatred expands to encompass all the living, from powerful kings to simple farmers to dumb animals. Those caught outdoors at midnight, be they men or beasts, risk dropping dead—the victim of an invisible dart. When someone dies unexpectedly, f rom no apparent cause, the victim is said to have caught the eye of the Host.
Ecology
The Sluagh not only interfere in the affairs of the living, but also fight among themselves. Folk wisdom says that particularly violent storms indicate mighty clashes going on between factions of the Sluagh. Occasionally, the morning after such an event, their blood stains rocks and stones. The phenomenon is called shegh nan sluagh,or “blood of the Host.”
Combat and Other Encounters
Though the Host of the Unforgiven Dead can be deadly in missile combat, they prove even more sinister in personal encounters.
Combat
Typically, the only sign of an impending Sluagh attack are gathering cumulonimbus clouds with high vertical development. The Host can easily hide themselves in these clouds to gain surprise.
The Sluagh attack from the sky, hurling their invisible darts at those below. Each dart inflicts 1d6 points of damage. Two to three minutes after being hit, victims feel a burning poison (class B) enter their veins and must attempt a saving throw vs. poison for each hit. Failure means they suffer an additional 20 points of damage from the poison; success reduces the damage to 1d3 points.
Because the Sluagh attack from such a distance (clouds tend to be at least half a mile—880 yards—in elevation), they are out of range for nonmagical weapons and many offensive spells. Dungeon Masters may allow characters to use battle spells (as described in The Book of Magecraft and The Book of Priestcra)ft during combat with the Host.
Peaceful Encounters
By far the most insidious encounters with the Sluagh come when they attempt to dominate (per the domination spell) a character’s will. Driven by vengeance, a member of the Host sometimes descends from the clouds to speak to its victim. The malevolent being addresses the character in hypnotic, soothing tones to lower the victim’s guard, then subjugates his or her will. The master then uses the character to carry out acts of vengeance against its old enemies. Should the victim avoid being killed by those enemies for his or her actions, and live long enough for the effects of the dominationto wear off, the character must succeed at a system shock roll or die.
Perception and/or Seeming
The Host of the Unforgiven Dead is a threat native to Cerilia, and therefore has no Seeming score. Even if members of the Sluagh adventured in the Shadow World while alive, upon death they lose any perception score they attained.
Originally appeared in Blood Spawn (2002).
Sluagh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
freyar
Extradimensional Explorer
I guess these are stats for the individual monsters. The description of a cloud of them, though, reminds me in some ways of the danse macabre from Paizo's Skeletons of Scarwall (Pathfinder #11, I think). There's also a big difference in HD in the Moldvay and Birthright versions. I'm kind of a mind to do an individual at 2HD or so and a "cloud" of them as something like a mob or swarm. What do you think?
Also, they read like they're incorporeal, but they have material attacks. What do we want to do about that?
Also, they read like they're incorporeal, but they have material attacks. What do we want to do about that?
Shade
Monster Junkie
I see a couple of options, including the "phantom strike" ability of the phantom (and similar "ghost touch" attacks of other creatures), or we can go with the gaseous quality of some creatures, where they are corporeal but are essentially in gaseous form.
I really like the idea of these things as a swarm that drops zombies.
I really like the idea of these things as a swarm that drops zombies.
demiurge1138
Inventor of Super-Toast
I really like them as a swarm too.
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