19 October 2016

IRAVIAN, THE PROTECTOR OF THE GREAT SECRET

Init +6
Melee Atk
 • Claw +7 (1d6 +1d6 special)
AC 17
HD 6d6 (36 hp)
MV 40
Act 1d20 +1d16
SP un-dead, horrific, alignment defense, max hp
Fort n/a
Ref +6
Will n/a
AL C

The wizard Iravian the Deceiver, as she was then known, discovered the Great Secret half a millennium ago. She was found unworthy of the Secret and the supernatural energies instead turned her into the Protector of the Great Secret, a zombie-like warrior of animal intelligence, steered by the mystic power of the Great Secret itself.

Her claw attack does 2d6 damage, while one of these dice indicates the number of lost hit points that Iravain regains, patching damage to herself by harming others.

Her appearance is swollen and bloated by decay in a disturbing and bone-chilling way. Once she has turned her distorted face to an opponent within 20 feet of her, that opponent must make a Will Save vs. DC 17 or be unable to strike her for the rest of the encounter, due to their revulsion.

Beings of the same alignment as Iravian can do her no harm. If they try, their efforts simply have no discernible effect, pass through her, or are otherwise supernaturally negated.

She can give up an Action Die and discard a wound she has suffered, as if peeling away a garment and dropping it to the ground. The Judge should simply write down each roll of damage done to her, rather than a total, and cross out wounds she discards.

Iravian has maximum hit points for her hit dice. Even so, her animal-level intelligence means she will not easily fight to her own destruction, taking note of escape routes and opportunities, and employing them as needed when called to retreat.

Iravian is activated by the Great Secret when Dzugana attempts to share what he knows with anyone, pursuing those individuals until she destroys them or they destroy her.



Created using Monster Extractor II: The Un-Dead, available on RPGNow and DriveThruRPG.


18 October 2016

DZUGANA THE GHOST WIZARD

Init +9
Ranged Atk
 • Ectoplasmic Spray +7 (20'; see below)
AC 14
HD 7d8
MV 30
Act 1d20 +1d16
SP un-dead, intangible, horrific visage, regeneration, spells, limited recall
Fort n/a
Ref +5
Will n/a
AL N

Dzugana the Wizard stumbled onto the Great Secret two and-a-half centuries ago and was clawed to death by its Protector. But he could not cross over to the afterlife, his obsession to share this secret was so strong.

He appears as a bloodless human with a horrifically damaged face and body. Objects pass through him, and while he tends to move about as if corporeal, he can pass through objects as well. While he was possessed of mighty mental ability in life, being so near to death for so long his thoughts are muddled and vague.

He searches for someone worthy to hear his secret, individuals of strong mien and accomplishment. The PCs (or some of them) are such folk.

Anyone who would attempt to harm Dzugana or dispel him in any way will face his Ectoplasmic Blast. The ectoplasm reduces the Action Dice of anyone hit by it one step down the Dice Chain. It takes 1d3 Action Dice remove enough of the slime to negate the effect. Multiple blasts do not reduce Action Dice further, but do increase the severity of the effect, with each blast adding 1d3 to the number of Action Dice needed to remove the ectoplasmic slime.

Dzugana can be harmed by attacks, even though he is intangible, since the psychic intent of violence can translate into harm for him. However, it requires a DC 15 Will Save to not be distracted by his horrific visage to do this. His own fear of violence and supernatural status grants him a DC 15 Reflex Save to avoid the attack. (Judge and player should roll these checks simultaneously, to see if it's worth rolling the attack roll). Note that damage that might come from acts or outcomes not driven by violent intent only require Dzugana's Reflex Save, and only then if no more than half of his movement rate would be enough to get him out of harm's way.

He regenerates 1d8 hp per hour.

Once per day he may be able to dredge up the memory of a spell. The Judge should choose a few spells that Dzugana might recall and be able to cast. He could also teach these spells to another wizard, though it takes 2d3 weeks of study per spell, which ends with a Personaly check vs. a DC 15 for the learning Wizard. Failing the Personality roll, the Wizard will need another 2d3 weeks of study to learn the spell in question from the un-dead wizard and require another check. Dzugana is woefully poor as a professor.

Anyone that Dzugana shares the location of the Great Secret with will find themselves hunted by Iravian the Protector.



IDEAS FOR THE GREAT SECRET IN YOUR CAMPAIGN

Any one idea I could list as The Definitive Great Secret might not be suitable for your own game, so here is a short list of ideas you can build on, if those of your own devising fall short in your eyes.

1) Worldwide Rewind - A device which can turn time backwards and return reality to a point in the far distant past. This can re-boot a campaign that's gone wrong somehow, or shift the action (permanently?) to another setting altogether (MCC, anyone?).

2) Instant Power - A well of raw power such that the characters making use of it are advanced some fixed number of levels of your choosing, or a random number of levels (1d3+1?). This allows you to simply run higher level adventures with them, or prepares them for a coming cataclysm or impending armegeddon. This power may come with a price, such as aging 1d100% of their current age, or all previous possessions turning to dust, or attracting the attention of demon princes who can drink this infusion of power from the characters to improve themselves (and perhaps return the PCs to their former Level, if desired).

3) The Power of Life & Death - Those who learn the Great Secret have the power to raise the dead back to life with a wave of their hand... The price for using this power should be hefty. If you don't wish to come up with your own price, try this one: each time an individual uses the power, they age. The first time they use it, they age merely a day. The next time, it is a week. The next time, a month. Then six months, then a year, then 5 years, then a decade, half a century, a century, and so on. Those they return to life may be in the full flower of youth, or just as they were when they passed, or some other state of life, as the Judge sees fit. Having this power will probably draw much unwanted attention...



Created using Monster Extractor II: The Un-Dead, available on RPGNow and DriveThruRPG.

12 October 2016

UNDEAD LIZARDMAN

Init +7
Melee Atk
 • Lance +4 (1d12)
 • Claw +3 (1d6)
AC 15
HD 10d6
MV 30
Act 1d20 +1d16
SP un-dead, withering, flesh matters not
Fort n/a
Ref +13
Will n/a
AL L

Undead Lizardmen have pale flesh and scales, red eyes, and are absolutely silent when they and their mounts are motionless. They fight fiercely, charging in on their mounts and making maximum use of their lances.

By touch, they can wither a target, reducing the target's Strength by 1d6 points. They can give up their d16 Action Die to channel this effect through attacks with their lances, as desired.

All successful attacks directed against them are reduced to 1 point of damage per damage die, such is their state of un-death. However, they do not recover from damage, except by the intervention of a corrupt Lizardman Cleric or higher power.


WAR LIZARD MOUNT
Init +3*, Bite +4 (1d8), AC 14, HD 7d8, MV 50, Act 1d20, SP waterwalking, Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +2, AL N

War Lizards use their rider's Initiative when used as a mount.

They can run across water and other such substances by moving at full speed (using their Action Die for Movement) and rising up on their hind legs.


BONUS!
BASIC STATS!

UNDEAD LIZARDMAN
Move: 60 feet per turn
Hit Dice: 5
Armor Class: 5
Treasure Type: I
Alignment: chaotic evil 
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1-6 points

Undead Lizardmen ride War Lizard mounts, employing polearms while mounted and carry short swords for close combat. They may be employed by Wizards of evil disposition as mercenaries, or may vigilantly guard the perimeter of Lizardmen lands. When their attacks score maximum damage, their deathly energies are channeled and the victim loses 1 point of Strength.


WAR LIZARD MOUNT
Move: 120 feet per turn
Hit Dice: 6
Armor Class: 5
Treasure Type: nil
Alignment: neutral
Attacks: 1
Damage: 2-8 points

This is a large, four-legged lizard that some lizardmen use as a mount. It can run on it's hind legs across water, carrying a rider while doing so.



Created using Monster Extractor II: The Un-Dead, available on RPGNow and DriveThruRPG.



06 October 2016

BLOODLESS MERCENARIES

Init +5
Melee Atk
 • foil +8 (1d5+1)
 • spear +8 (1d8)
 • confusion touch +9 (1d14 rounds)
Ranged Atk
 • javelin +6 (1d6; 30/60/90)
AC 17
HD 7d14+5
MV 50
Act 2d20+1d20
SP un-dead, near-invisibility, aversion aura
Fort n/a
Ref +10
Will n/a
AL C

Two generations ago, a band of mercenaries took advance payment for their services — specifically to take and hold a specific, remote keep (or other location of your choice). In the fight, they suffered wounds from a magical weapon that caused them to slowly bleed out over the next two days, as they held the site for their pay-masters (and waiting for the balance of their pay). A year after their deaths, they rose on the site, though their bodies had long since been removed, and resumed their defense of it. They slew the occupants at that time, and have continued to make the site uninhabitable ever since...

The Bloodless Mercenaries' third Action Die can only be used for an attack with their foils. They can't dual-wield their spears and foils at the same time, but they can alternate their confusion attacks with foil attacks.

They are very nearly invisible. To attack them without any means of improving one's perception of them, lowers an attacker's Action Die by two steps. Note: the two-step penalty allows for 'partial' improvement in detecting the Mercenaries, which could improve an attacker's chances by one step back up the Dice Chain.

They also project a strong aversion in anyone attempting to attack them. Anyone targeting a Bloodless Mercenary with an attack must first succeed on a Will Save vs. a DC 15. Failing the Save, no attack can be made that round against the Bloodless. This includes ranged attacks — but does not include area-effect attacks directed at other targets that happen to catch the Mercenaries in the area, or attacks that somehow do not require the attacker to target anyone directly.

The Bloodless Mercenaries can cause an individual to suffer from severe confusion by a touch. This causes the target to become unable to act, overwhelmed by memories, false memories, and other psychic 'noise'. They can push through it and take action within any round that they can make a simple roll-under Personality check (though this does not end the confusion effect).


Created using Monster Extractor II: The Un-Dead, available on RPGNow and DriveThruRPG.


03 October 2016

MAGISTRATES OF LHYR

Init -4
Melee Atk
 • fisticuffs +4 (1d4)
Ranged Atk
 • aging +3 (1d3 years; 20')
AC 13
HD 4d8+8 (40 hp)
MV 20
Act 2d20
SP un-dead,avoid attacks
Fort +11
Ref +7
Will +8
AL C

From the ancient, lost city-state of Lhyr come a small band of her former judges, dead more than 1400 years. The Magistrates of Lhyr lost their skin to those who sacked Lhyr all those years ago. They wear no official robes or other trappings of their office, feeling unworthy of such, until they regain their true lives. They roam the land, and when they encounter a village or travelers, they proceed to pass their judgement upon them. Needless to say, the Magistrates will find guilt wherever they might look. They then exact the only punishment they can: removing the very years of life from the defendant.

Each year they remove from a victim moves them closer back to life. Dead for 1445 years each, they 'reduce' this number by one for each year of life they steal, and they will return to the living once they have reclaimed all 1445 years. Thus far, they have recovered 1d1000 years.

The Magistrates always start with maximum hit points. If they are injured during their travels, each year they claim thereafter restores 1d8 hit points, until they are back at their full total.

They can dodge attacks with startling rapidity, avoiding any attack with a DC 15 Reflex Save.


Created using Monster Extractor II: The Un-Dead, available on RPGNow and DriveThruRPG.