Special Conversion Thread: Moldvay's Undead
- Thread starter Shade
- Start date
Cleon
Legend
They look finished to me.
Cleon
Legend
Sadly, that was the last of the unconverted Moldvay monsters.
What about the Moldvay versions of the Baobhan Sidhe and Dracula?
I believe there's already a 3E Baobhan Sidhe floating around somewhere, but does it resemble the Moldvay version?
The Moldvay take on Vlad Tepes is a little underwhelming, a 3E conversion would work out something like 12th level fighter with a couple of SQ and reduced vampire weaknesses.
Apart from that, there's at least one monster that's mentioned in Moldvay but which doesn't have stats - the "Galley Beggar", a prankish frightful ghost skeleton.
Any of those tickle your fancy?
Shade
Monster Junkie
I'm pretty sure I've seen a conversion (or ten) of Dracula floating around. If we're looking at uniques, though, we could tackle Hacamuli from Dragon #42.
I'll have to compare the baobhan sidhes.
Does the galley beggar have stats, or is it just in the flavor of the article?
I'll have to compare the baobhan sidhes.
Does the galley beggar have stats, or is it just in the flavor of the article?
Cleon
Legend
It says they have the same stats as the MM2 Phantom.
Here's the relevant text:
Monsters with an affinity for skeletons include the bone devil (MM1), eye of fear and flame (FF), babau demon (MM2), and the galley beggar, an unusual ghost found mostly in the north of England. It was first mentioned in Reginald Scot’s book: The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584). A galley beggar is a very thin spirit, often looking like a skeleton. Its main purpose seems to be to terrify anyone it encounters; in fact, the first part of its name, “galley,” means to frighten or scare. Galley beggars have the same game statistics as do phantoms (Monster Manual II, page 100).
Ruth Tongue, in Folklore Society County Publications (vol. VIII), reports a headless galley beggar that used to toboggan on a hurdle down the hill between Over and Nether Stowey, his head tucked firmly under his skeleton arm and shrieking with laughter. It was only on dark nights that he rode, but a strange light surrounded him, and he would slide, yelling with laughter, right down into the street between the two villages.
The galley beggar is a ghost in the traditional sense and bears no relation to the ghost of the AD&D game. The DM can use a galley beggar in an adventure to make the skeleton guards of a treasure more effective (since only those characters who made their saving throws against fear could confront the skeletons).
Galley beggars favor strange, almost zany antics. Their senses of humor are both macabre and frightening. Including them is an easy way to add an unusual element to any adventure.
Cleon
Legend
I don't have either of those sources to hand, so I'm not sure how they differ from the AD&D versions of the Phantom.
Mechanically, the Galley Beggar doesn't look much different from the Monstrous Manual's Phantom - an incorporeal spirit that's hard to banish, which causes fear in those that see it and can speak.
Unlike phantoms, they seem to be sapient creatures rather than "recordings" since they have a zany sense of humour, so I'd give them a human-average intelligence.
They are also able to emit a "strange glow".
Apart from that there's not much to go on. Maybe an internet search will turn up some folklore on them to inspire additional abilities...
Cleon
Legend
Okay, after a bit of rummaging around the internet I found the following:
Derbyshire Ghost Society has:
GALLEY BEGGAR:
This Ghosts appearance is startling, it is skeletal like with little flesh remaining on its bones. It is said to haunt rural areas and country lanes in Northern England. And gets its name from the word Gally which means to frighten or scare. It also has the ability to appear headless.
Parascience.org.uk has:
Galley Beggar
This is an old English ghost, often reported in the North of England and mentioned as far back as 1584, in Reginald Scot's The Discovery of Witchcraft. This fearsome ghost is described as being almost without flesh and bearing it's head under it's arm and emitting a deathly scream. The name is derived from the word 'Gallery', meaning to terrify. This ghost is likely to be encountered on country roads and deserted lanes.
And I found a rather amusing picture of one on the digital devil database. It seems to originate in a Japanese computer RPG, but I think it could serve as inspiration.
So what have we got? The Galley Beggar is a skeletal ghost. It can remove its had and has a "deathly scream".
I'm also wondering about allowing it to manipulate physical objects since it likes playing pranks. Maybe the "tobogganing galley ghost" steals the toboggan it went for a ride on?
Derbyshire Ghost Society has:
GALLEY BEGGAR:
This Ghosts appearance is startling, it is skeletal like with little flesh remaining on its bones. It is said to haunt rural areas and country lanes in Northern England. And gets its name from the word Gally which means to frighten or scare. It also has the ability to appear headless.
Parascience.org.uk has:
Galley Beggar
This is an old English ghost, often reported in the North of England and mentioned as far back as 1584, in Reginald Scot's The Discovery of Witchcraft. This fearsome ghost is described as being almost without flesh and bearing it's head under it's arm and emitting a deathly scream. The name is derived from the word 'Gallery', meaning to terrify. This ghost is likely to be encountered on country roads and deserted lanes.
And I found a rather amusing picture of one on the digital devil database. It seems to originate in a Japanese computer RPG, but I think it could serve as inspiration.
So what have we got? The Galley Beggar is a skeletal ghost. It can remove its had and has a "deathly scream".
I'm also wondering about allowing it to manipulate physical objects since it likes playing pranks. Maybe the "tobogganing galley ghost" steals the toboggan it went for a ride on?
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