Leaping Slime

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Everyone knows about goblins and worgs. Going all the way back to Tolkien, the goblin/worg raiding party has been a staple of sword and sorcery fantasy. Giving the goblins an iconic mount to ride makes them that much scarier, and also that much more usable. No longer confined to their underground lairs, a mounted group of goblins can range far across the countryside, strike at numerous towns and villages, and generally wreak havoc.

But why should the goblins have all the fun? The poor, abused kobolds lack that traditional iconic mount creature, and while they do enjoy their traps, without mounts they are a much more stationary threat. With Crown of the Kobold King, we decided to change that.

Enter the slurk.

Long ago, dwarves dragged giant forest toads beneath the earth and altered their physiology with powerful magic in hopes of creating powerful underground beasts of burden that would be perfect mounts. The slurk is the disgusting result of their aborted efforts. The creature's unappealing slime and foul reek caused the dwarves to drive away their creation in disgust. Kobolds, on the other hand, are less picky.

Slurks are oozy abominations resembling pale, slime-slick toads. Their backs drip viscous mucus while their bellies are coated with a thick film of greasy slime. They use their slime as an offensive weapon, coating their opponents with the glue-like phlegm and making it easier to bring their gigantic, walrus-like tusks to bear on their hapless victims. Their sticky back-slime makes them ideal mounts for the kobolds, who can adhere to their backs without the need for a saddle. The slurks are powerful leapers, and are capable of moving along the walls and floor of rough underground tunnels at incredible speed. They are not the brightest of beasts, however, and more that one kobold has had his skull crushed when his mount smashed his head into the cavern ceiling with a mistimed jump.

Jeremy Walker
Assistant Editor, GameMastery