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I was thinking about what the importance of the PC’s encountering the rhagodessa on board the Blue Nixie. This creature seems to be very deadly with it’s high grapple bonus and bite damage of 1d8+6, your looking at any where from 7-14 points of damage a shot. That’s more than enough to kill a 1st or even 2nd level PC in one attack. I was almost convinced that I would remove or make the rhagodessa easier…almost.
In the end I decided that the rhagodessa was put where it was to send a message to the players. That message is that the Isle of Dread is more than just a new place to adventure and explore. No no friends the Isle is a beautiful, but dreadful place where exotic and extremely deadly creatures not only live, but thrive. A place where even though danger is the norm for adventurers, this place shakes the most hardened adventurers who awake sweating from terrible nightmares at just the thought of exploring this material abyss.
Which brings me to my next point. I noticed that in many of the encounter tables provided in the adventures have exotic and deadly creatures listed as possible encounters while exploring on the isle. For example, on the underdark table there are listed chasm spider’s, ghostbelly spiders, and hornback centipedes. Are there alternate stats for these “Dread” creatures? There should be!
Id be interested to know if anyone has done anything to buff up these ordinary creatures or if there was some kind of dread template that could be applied to them.
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One nice template is the Monstrous Beast template from Savage Species (page 122). It's a CR +1 mod, and can add some very nasty abilities. The next template in that book is the Multi-Headed Creature template...
The Ti-Khana Creature (Fiend Folio, p. 177) might also be good for you, and might foreshadow the Serpents of Scuttlecove.
And if you really want to be a badass, still the corrupted creature template (Book of Vile Darkness) on something like a T-Rex, or several... Although this template's best used on some high-HD creature with lots of attacks, like a dire tiger.
Nice! Im gonna check those templates out. I was thinking of adding some minor specail abilities based on the description of the creature in question. For example the hornback centipede should have horns on its back that could inject its poison when it grapples a foe. Nifty evil sutff like that.
Creative Director
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Putting the rhagodessa in There Is No Honor served two purposes. The first, and most important, is exactly as you've said; it was a great way to foreshadow the dread of the monsters that come from the Isle. When the PCs find out that they're going to the place where the rhagodessa came from, and more to the point, where the rhagodessa is a bottom-feedng scavenger who's one of the LEAST dangerous critters on the island... it's a great way to get some players sweating bullets. (The second reason was because it's an old-school monster from the early Basic set and was in the original Isle of Dread adventure, so updating it seemed like a natural choice.)
As for the other vermin and critters on the Isle of Dread; they're just normal monsters. Giving them names like shrieking spider or treeleg spider's my way of making them feel more exotic and more "real." It never made sense to me that an adventuring group might run into a giant spider and their spider expert would have to yell out, "Lo! Beware my companions! We are set upon by a Huge monstrous spider and several Large monstrous spiders!" More interesting to have him be able to say, "Lo! Beware my companions! We are set upon by a giant tarantual and several shrieking spiders!"
Stat-wise they're the same as the generic-named Monster Manual versions, but changing the names makes them seem cooler and scarier.
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more to the point, where the rhagodessa is a bottom-feedng scavenger who's one of the LEAST dangerous critters on the island... it's a great way to get some players sweating bullets.
As for the other vermin and critters
Stat-wise they're the same as the generic-named Monster Manual versions, but changing the names makes them seem cooler and scarier.
Thats a great point! I'll make sure to emphasize that point to my player's!
as for the second part,while true and neat, I still think some of the creatures beg for added stuff. I mean sawtail scorpions! Come on, why just have regular scorpions when you can have scorpions with fricken poisonous sawlike tails chewing up a characters legs, causing gapping wounds that bleed for an extra point of damage every round!
Im so going to stat out these critters with "Dread" powers!
By the way why did the Rakasta's not make it into the AP? I know that they get wiped out by the skinwalker's, but why was it decided that this was the best way to present them? Sorry if this has been asked already, but I couldnt find a thread about this topic.
I think the point of renaming the monsters is to cause fear and doubt on a metagame level.
If you describe a monstrous spider as being bright green and covered with some kind of semi-tacky fluid, they (the players) are not going to be thinking- "Oh monstropus spider MM pg 289 34 Hp AC 17/12/11"( or whatever); they are going to think its a crazy IoD thing or some freaky homebrew monster.
If you give the description then say "oh thats just my way of describing a large monstrous spider" some of the mojo is lost, IMO.
More power to you if you want to tewak the creature on top of that.---saw tail scorpions, spiders covers with contact poision--- yummy!
good DM's = good liars !!
On another related note, How come we dont see creatures with the savage template on the Ilse? I mean this was the focal point of the original and most devastating savge tide. Shouldnt there be some super evolved species of monsters on the Isle?
That's exactly what I was thinking! But then again maybe the creatures that we see are a result of that, like the dinosaurs,rhagodessas
terror birds,lizard folk,bullywugs and giant and more exotic and deadly versions of normal animals?DAve
On another related note, How come we dont see creatures with the savage template on the Ilse? I mean this was the focal point of the original and most devastating savge tide. Shouldnt there be some super evolved species of monsters on the Isle?
My only guess is given the horrifically twisted semblance of life that savage creatures have left to them, it strikes me as unlikely for them to survive naturally for more than a week. (Pure speculation, I know, but...)
Still, the thought crossed my mind, as well. How perfect would a savage girallon--not to mention all the potential savage dinosaurs--be to put the fear of the raw, untamed jungle into your players? I guess it's like Highlander--in a battle between logic and "coolness", there can be only one (with all respect to Highlander).
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On another related note, How come we dont see creatures with the savage template on the Ilse? I mean this was the focal point of the original and most devastating savge tide. Shouldnt there be some super evolved species of monsters on the Isle?My only guess is given the horrifically twisted semblance of life that savage creatures have left to them, it strikes me as unlikely for them to survive naturally for more than a week. (Pure speculation, I know, but...)
Still, the thought crossed my mind, as well. How perfect would a savage girallon--not to mention all the potential savage dinosaurs--be to put the fear of the raw, untamed jungle into your players? I guess it's like Highlander--in a battle between logic and "coolness", there can be only one (with all respect to Highlander).
I had thought that perhaps nature slowly weeded out the evil of the area and brought a semblance of normality. Perhaps savage creatures cant survive long.If this is the case Sasserine and Cauldron will be safe, if not the s+@%e will hit the fan so or later. I just think we need to revist something thats already been printed before.
The chaos and violence that roils within a savage creature makes it constantly seek out other creatures to attack and slay. You need a bit of a survival instinct to exist for any length of time on a piece of land as deadly as the dreaded isle. Savage creatures have none!
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Creative Director
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Creatures with the savage template don't live long. For those of you who've seen "28 Days Later" you know what I'm talking about. Once a creature gets the savage template, all other things but hunger and violence go away. They're pretty stupid, and probably forget to sleep now and then. It doesn't take long for them to kill each other off. It's not a condition or disease that's self-sustaining, so once an area is hit with a savage tide, it's hell on earth for a few weeks or months, and then it's just depopulated for several months or years. The Isle of Dread has had plenty of time to recover from the one and only Savage Tide that struck it about 1,000 years ago, so there's no real way a savage creature could still be around today.
As for the fate of the rakastas... part of it is personal preference (I'm not a big fan of anthropomorphic races) but most of it is because the Isle of Dread already had enough unique people living on it, between the Olmans, bullywugs, araneas, phanatons, lizardfolk, troglodytes, "cavemen," and koprus. There just wasn't room to do anything with the rakastas. Plus... they don't really fit in with the Isle's current themes of amphibian/reptile/primitive categories that well. And there hasn't been a 3.5 updating of the rakastas so we'd have had to do one and we just didn't really have room, especially since they wouldn't have had the presence in the adventures that would justify such a thing.
So I killed them off, but left it open for rakasta fans by saying that some of them escaped to other shores before then. I'm assuming they all went to the Savage Coast.
Whats the Savage Coast?The region that was the setting for the "Red Steel" campaign setting from about a decade or so ago. It was a swashbuckler type campaign with a lot of weird mutant stuff brought on by crazy magic metal. PC races included aranea, lupins, and rakastas.
I never bought Red Steel, but I remember enjoying the write-ups about it in the Voyage of the Princess Ark in Dragon.
Cinnabryl (I think that was the name of the red metal) was a pretty cool concept.
As for the fate of the rakastas... part of it is personal preference (I'm not a big fan of anthropomorphic races) but most of it is because the Isle of Dread already had enough unique people living on it, between the Olmans, bullywugs, araneas, phanatons, lizardfolk, troglodytes, "cavemen," and koprus. There just wasn't room to do anything with the rakastas. Plus... they don't really fit in with the Isle's current themes of amphibian/reptile/primitive categories that well. And there hasn't been a 3.5 updating of the rakastas so we'd have had to do one
The catfolk in Races of the Wild work as rakastas with a few changes to the flavor text. In fact, when I first saw them, I immediately thought of them as renamed rakastas (to make them more generic).
So I killed them off, but left it open for rakasta fans by saying that some of them escaped to other shores before then. I'm assuming they all went to the Savage Coast.
Of course, per rule #1, the DM can put them in if he wants to rework parts of the adventure (perhaps by swapping out the lizardfolk).
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As for the fate of the rakastas... part of it is personal preference (I'm not a big fan of anthropomorphic races) but most of it is because the Isle of Dread already had enough unique people living on it, between the Olmans, bullywugs, araneas, phanatons, lizardfolk, troglodytes, "cavemen," and koprus. There just wasn't room to do anything with the rakastas. Plus... they don't really fit in with the Isle's current themes of amphibian/reptile/primitive categories that well. And there hasn't been a 3.5 updating of the rakastas so we'd have had to do oneThe catfolk in Races of the Wild work as rakastas with a few changes to the flavor text. In fact, when I first saw them, I immediately thought of them as renamed rakastas (to make them more generic).
So I killed them off, but left it open for rakasta fans by saying that some of them escaped to other shores before then. I'm assuming they all went to the Savage Coast.Of course, per rule #1, the DM can put them in if he wants to rework parts of the adventure (perhaps by swapping out the lizardfolk).
Now there's a good idea. Add the Rakasta as a playable race from a tribe located near Sasserine or in the amedio if a PC gets wacked during the Sea Wyvern's Wake adventure. This tribe once hailed from the Ilse of Dread but escaped long ago. This tribe has no idea that its mother tribe has been wiped out by the skinwalker demons,and there are a few members who wish to return to the home land and reunite with their ancient and long lost brethren.
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So I said that I would stat up those creatures with the cool names presented in the various Isle of Dread random encounter tables and so I spent some time and effort researching and writing and this is what I came up with. I didn’t do a write up for the Blackfang rhagodessas (though I probably should for that one) or the emerald anaconda. I was hoping some of you would be interested in critiquing this and help me figure out what the CRs should be for most of them (only the snakes have appropriate CRs). I also included design notes of what Iwas thinking or where I took certain abilites from.
Dreadful Monsters: Variant Monsters on the Isle of Dread
Island & Peninsula Encounters (Dungeon #143,page 31)
Giant Tarantula (Huge Monstrous Spider)
Shrieking Spider (Large Monstrous Spider)
Quickdeath Mamba (Huge Viper Snake)
Jungle Cobra (Large Viper Snake)
Aquatic Encounters (Dungeon #143,page 32)
Shipbreaker Crab (Gargantuan Monstrous Crab)
Mainland Encounters (Dungeon #143,page 34)
Treeleg Spider (Gargantuan Monstrous Spider)
Emperor Scorpion (Huge Monstrous Scorpion)
Sawtail Scorpion (Large Monstrous Scorpion)
Underdark Encounters (Dungeon #144,page 34)
Chasm Spider (Gargantuan Monstrous Spider)
Ghostbelly Spider (Gargantuan Monstrous Spider)
Pit Scorpion (Huge Monstrous Scorpion)
Hornback Centipede (Gargantuan Monstrous Centipede)
Ribbonweb Spider (Huge Monstrous Spider)
Chasm Spider CR 8
Gargantuan Monstrous Web-spinning Spider
N Gargantuan Vermin
Monster Manual 289
Init +3; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Tremorsense 60 ft.; Listen +0, Spot +12
AC 19, touch 9, flat-footed 16
Hp 104 (16 HD)
Immune vermin immunities (MM 317)
Fort +12, Ref +8, Will +5
Spd 40 ft., Climb 20 ft. (40 ft. on rock walls)
Melee Bite +15 (2d8+10 plus poison)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Base Atk +12; Grp +31
Atk Options web, poison (Injury, Fort DC 16; 1d8 Str/1d8 Str)
Abilities Str 25, Dex 17, Con 14, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 2
SQ Vermin traits (MM 317)
Skills Climb +14, Hide –5 (+5 in rocky areas), Jump +17, Spot +12
Web (Ex) A chasm spider can throw a web up to 8/day. This is similar to an attack with a net but has a range increment of 10 feet, a maximum range of 50 feet and is effective against targets up to targets one size category larger than the chasm spider. The web anchors the target in place, allowing no movement.
An entangled creature can escape with a successful DC 20 Escape Artist check or burst the web with a successful DC 24 Strength check. The Check DCs are Strength-based and include a +4 racial bonus. The web has 14 hit points and hardness 0, and takes double damage from fire.
A chasm spider can create sheets of sticky webbing up to 20 feet square. It usually positions these sheets to trap flying creatures but can also try to trap prey on the ground. Approaching creatures must succeed on a DC 20 Spot check to notice a web; otherwise they stumble into it and become trapped as though by a successful web attack. Each 5-foot section of webbing has 16 hit points and damage reduction 5/-.
A chasm spider can move across its own sheet of web at its rock climbing speed. Tremorsense (Ex) A chasm spider can detect and pin point any creature or object within 60 ft. in contact with the ground or within any range in contact with the ribbonweb spider’s webs.
Skills Chasm spiders gain a +10 racial bonus to Hide when in rocky areas areas due to the natural camouflage provided by its colouration.
Design notes: I’m still trying to come up with something unique for this creature. I see it living underground in caves, or above ground in chasms and huge crevices in the earth. I even picture these guys stringing their webs across small canyons and catching all sorts of other creatures to eat.
Emperor Scorpion CR 7
Huge Monstrous Scorpion
N Huge Vermin
Monster Manual 287
Init +0; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Tremorsense 60 ft.; Listen +0, Spot +4
AC 20 (22*), touch 8 (10*), flat-footed 20
Hp 75 (10 HD)
Immune vermin immunities (MM 317)
Fort +10 (+12*), Ref +3 (+5*), Will +3 (+5*)
Spd 50 ft.
Melee 2 Claws +11 (+13*) (1d8+6) and sting +6 (+8*) (2d4+3 plus poison)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Base Atk +6; Grp +18
Atk Options constrict (1d8+6), defensive stance, poison (Injury, Fort DC 18; 1d6 Con /1d6 Con), rend (2d8+9)
Abilities Str 23, Dex 10, Con 16, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 2
SQ Vermin traits (MM 317)
Skills Climb +10, Hide -4, Spot +4
Constrict (Ex) An emperor scorpion deals automatic claw damage on a successful grapple check.
Defensive Stance* (Ex) When it needs to an emperor scorpion can set itself into a defensive position. As a move action an emperor scorpion can take a defensive stance that leaves it unable to move but improve its combat ability. The emperor scorpion gains a +2 bonus on attack rolls, +2 resistance bonus on all saving throws, and a +4 dodge bonus to AC until it moves. The emperor scorpion’s statistics are shown in brackets with a * above.
Improved Grab (Ex) To use this ability an emperor scorpion must hit with a claw attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check it establishes a hold and can constrict. A emperor scorpion can use its Strength or Dexterity modifier for grapple checks, whichever is better.
Rend (Ex) If an emperor scorpion hits with both claw attacks, it latches onto its opponent body and tears the flesh. This attack automatically deals an additional 2d8+9 points of damage.
Tremorsense (Ex) An emperor scorpion can detect and pin point any creature or object within 60 ft. in contact with the ground.
Design notes:The defensive stance ability was taken from the Armand a creature found on page 10 of the MM3. I’m not sure if I calculated the rend damage properly. When I started working on this guy I kept thinking of a king like scorpion one that is very defensive of its race and territory.
Giant Tarantula CR 5
Huge Monstrous Hunting Spider
N Huge Vermin
Monster Manual 289
Init +3; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Tremorsense 60 ft.; Listen +0, Spot +12
AC 16, touch 11, flat-footed 13
Hp 52 (8 HD)
Immune vermin immunities (MM 317)
Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +2
Spd 40 ft., Climb 20 ft.
Melee Bite +9 (2d6+6 plus poison)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Base Atk +6; Grp +18
Atk Options poison (Injury, Fort DC 16; 1d8 Str/1d8 Str)
Abilities Str 19, Dex 17, Con 14, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 2
SQ Vermin traits (MM 317)
Skills Climb +12, Hide -1, Jump +12, Spot +12
Impale (Ex) A giant tarantula is covered in stiff barbed hair that deals 2d6+4 points of piercing damage to a grabbed opponent with a successful grapple attack. In addition the giant tarantula can inject its poison through these hairs requiring the opponent to make a saving throw to resist its poison attack.
Improved Grab (Ex) To use this ability a giant tarantula must hit with a bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check it establishes a hold and can impale the opponent on its barbed hair.
Barbed Defence (Ex) Any creature striking a giant tarantula with handheld weapons or natural weapons takes 1d6+2 points of piercing and slashing damage from the tarantula’s stiff barbed hair. Weapons with reach, or similar attacks are not affected by this ability. An opponent taking damage in this manner is injected with the giant tarantulas poison and must make a saving throw to resist the poisons effects.
Tremorsense (Ex) A giant tarantula can detect and pin point any creature or object within 60 ft. in contact with the ground or the spider’s webs.
Design notes: additional abilities based on the Barbed Devil (page 51 MM) special abilities. When I saw some of the names of creatures I wasn’t sure what to do for them, so I did a little research on the net and discovered that some types of tarantulas have this kind of barbed hair and that some can even shoot it at their enemies.
Ghostbelly Spider CR 8
Gargantuan Monstrous Hunting Spider
N Gargantuan Vermin
Monster Manual 289
Init +3; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Tremorsense 60 ft.; Listen +0, Spot +12
Aura frightful presence (30 ft., DC 20)
AC 19, touch 9, flat-footed 16
Hp 104 (16 HD)
Immune vermin immunities (MM 317)
Fort +12, Ref +8, Will +5
Spd 40 ft., Climb 20 ft.
Melee Bite +15 (2d8+10 plus poison)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Base Atk +12; Grp +31
Atk Options poison (Injury, Fort DC 16; 1d8 Str/1d8 Str)
Abilities Str 25, Dex 17, Con 14, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 2
SQ Vermin traits (MM 317)
Skills Climb +14, Hide -5, Jump +17, Spot +12
Frightful Presence (Ex) A ghostbelly spider can inspire terror in its opponents by charging or attacking. Creatures affected by this ability must succeed on a DC 20 Will save or become shaken, remaining in that condition as long as they remain within 30 feet of the ghostbelly spider. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected by the same ghostbelly spider’s frightful presence fro 24 hours. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Paralysis (Ex) Any creature that is hit with the ghostbelly spiders bite attack must succeed on a DC 20 Fortitude save or be paralysed for 1d4+1 rounds. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Tremorsense (Ex) A giant tarantula can detect and pin point any creature or object within 60 ft. in contact with the ground or the spider’s webs.
Design notes: This creature’s special ability was based on the paralysis ability of a ghast (MM, page 119), and the Chwidenchas frightful presence ability from the new Drow of the Underdark source book, page 108. I figured that this creature probably has a ghostly white belly, and that combined with its frightful presence ability gave it its name.
Hornback Centipede CR 6
Gargantuan Monstrous Centipede
N Gargantuan Vermin
Monster Manual 286
Init +2; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +0, Spot +4
AC 18, touch 8, flat-footed 16
Hp 66 (12 HD)
Immune vermin immunities (MM 317)
Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +4
Spd 40 ft., Climb 40 ft.
Melee Bite +11 (2d8+9 plus poison)
Ranged 6 horns +12 (1d8+1)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Base Atk +9; Grp +27
Atk Options Poison (Injury, Fort DC 17; 1d8 Dex/1d8 Dex)
Abilities Str 15, Dex 17, Con 12, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 2
SQ Vermin traits (MM 317)
Skills Climb +14, Hide –2, Spot +4
Horns (Ex) By flexing its body a hornback centipede can launch a volley of six spikes as a standard action (make an attack roll for each spike). This attack has a range of 180 feet with no range increment. All targets must be within 30 feet of each other. The hornback centipede can only launch up twenty-four spikes in any 24-hour period.
Design notes: The horns ability was taken from the manticore spikes ability (Page 180 MM). Horns on a creatures back…nuff said.
Jungle Cobra CR 2
Large Viper Snake
N Large Animal
Monster Manual 280
Init +7; Senses scent; Listen +5, Spot +6
AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 12
Hp 13 (3 HD)
Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +2
Spd 20ft. climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee bite +4 (1d4 plus poison)
Ranged spit poison +5 touch (poison)
Space +10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +2; Grp +6
Atk Options Poison (Injury, Fort DC 14; 2d4 Str/1d4 Str, blindness, suffocation)
Abilities Str 10, Dex 17, Con 11, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2
Feats Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse
Skills Balance +10, Climb +11, Hide +8, Listen +5, Move Silently +3, Spot +7, Swim +8
Improved Poison (Ex) A jungle cobra’s poison is harder to resist (+3 racial bonus to poison DC, already calculated into the stats) than normal snake venom and targets the victim’s nervous system. When the victims Strength score reaches 0 as a result of the cobras poison he must make a Constitution check (DC 14). This check is repeated every round, with the DC increasing by +1 for each previous check. Failure on one of these checks means that the victim begins to suffocate. In the first round the victim fall unconscious (0 hit points). In the second round he is dying (-1 hit points). In the third round, he suffocates and dies. A delay poison spell halts the constitution check for the duration of the spell. A successful Heal check (DC 18 made before a character suffocates negates any further need for Constitution checks.
Spit Poison (Ex) A jungle cobra can fire a stream of poison in a 30-foot long line, and requires a ranged touch attack to hit its target. If this attack is successful, the victim must make a normal save against the poison as if the snake bit him. If the victim fails his initial saving throw against the poison he is blinded for 2d6 minutes. The blindness can be healed with a successful Heal check DC 14).
Design notes: The Improved Poison and Spit Poison abilities were taken from appendix C: snakes of the Tome of Horrors (Revised Edition) from Necromancer Games, using the Spitting Cobra statistics line Pages 425-426. Its CR has been adjusted according to that book. Again I did a little research on the net, as well as perused my book shelf for some ideas.
Pit Scorpion CR 7
Huge Monstrous Scorpion
N Huge Vermin
Monster Manual 287
Init +0; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Tremorsense 60 ft.; Listen +0, Spot +4
AC 20, touch 8, flat-footed 20
Hp 75 (10 HD)
Immune vermin immunities (MM 317)
Fort +10, Ref +3, Will +3
Spd 50 ft.
Melee 2 Claws +11 (1d8+6) and sting +6 (2d4+3 plus poison)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Base Atk +6; Grp +18
Atk Options constrict (1d8+6), poison (Injury, Fort DC 18; 1d6 Con /1d6 Con)
Abilities Str 23, Dex 10, Con 16, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 2
SQ Vermin traits (MM 317)
Skills Climb +10, Hide -4, Spot +4
Caustic Blood (Ex) Any creature that successfully hits a pit scorpion with a melee weapon or a natural weapon takes 1d6 points of acid damage from the scorpions highly acidic blood. Weapons with exception reach, such as long spears, do not endanger the user this way.
Constrict (Ex) A pit scorpion deals automatic claw damage on a successful grapple check.
Improved Grab (Ex) To use this ability a pit scorpion must hit with a claw attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check it establishes a hold and can constrict. A pit scorpion can use its Strength or Dexterity modifier for grapple checks whichever is better.
Acid Spray (Ex) A pit scorpion can spray a 20-foot cone of acid that deals 5d8 points of damage to everything tin the area. Once a pit scorpion uses this ability it can’t use it again for 1d4 rounds. The pit scorpion can also produce a concentrated stream of acid that deals 10d8 points of damage to a single target within 5 feet. In either case, a DC 18 Reflex save halves the damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Tremorsense (Ex) A pit scorpion can detect and pin point any creature or object within 60 ft. in contact with the ground.
Design notes: The caustic blood ability came from the bloodstriker dinosaur; page 39 of the MM3 and the acid spray came from the digester page 59 of the MM. While I was doing some research on the net I discovered that scorpions spray an acid onto creatures they kill so they can eat them, so it was only natural that larger monstrous spiders do the same. The acid blood stuff was really just because when ever I think of scorpions I cant help but think of the face huggers from the Aliens movies.
Quickdeath Mamba CR 4
Huge Viper Snake
N Huge Animal
Monster Manual 280
Init +6; Senses scent; Listen +7, Spot +7
AC 15, touch 10, flat-footed 15
Hp 33 (6 HD)
Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +3
Spd 20ft. climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee bite +6 (1d6+4 plus poison)
Space +15 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Base Atk +4; Grp +15
Atk Options Poison (Injury, Fort DC 20; 2d4 Str/1d6 Str, suffocation)
Abilities Str 16, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2
Feats Improved Initiative, Run, Weapon Focus (Bite)
Skills Balance +10, Climb +11, Hide +3, Listen +7, Move Silently +2, Spot +7, Swim +11
Improved Poison (Ex) A quickdeath mamba’s poison is harder to resist (a +6 racial bonus to the save DC, already calculated into the stats) than normal snake venom that begins to attack the victim’s nervous system. When the victims Strength score reaches 0 as a result of the mambas poison he must make a Constitution check (DC 20). This check is repeated every round, with the DC increasing by +1 for each previous check. Failure on one of these checks means that the victim begins to suffocate. In the first round the victim fall unconscious (0 hit points). In the second round he is dying (-1 hit points). In the third round, he suffocates and dies. A delay poison spell halts the constitution check for the duration of the spell. A successful Heal check (DC 24 made before a character suffocates negates any further need for Constitution checks.
Design notes: The Improved Poison ability was taken from appendix C: snakes of the Tome of Horrors (Revised Edition) from Necromancer Games, using the Black Mamba statistics line Pages 425-426. Its CR has been adjusted according to that book. Again did a little research/browsing and this seemed to fit the bill.
Ribbonweb Spider CR 5
Huge Monstrous Web-spinning Spider
N Huge Vermin
Monster Manual 289
Init +3; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Tremorsense 60 ft.; Listen +0, Spot +4
AC 16, touch 11, flat-footed 13
Hp 52 (8 HD)
Immune webs; vermin immunities (MM 317)
Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +2
Spd 30 ft., Climb 20 ft.
Melee Bite +9 (2d6+6 plus poison)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 10ft.
Base Atk +6; Grp +18
Atk Options Poison (Injury, Fort DC 16; 1d8 Str/1d8 Str)
Abilities Str 19, Dex 17, Con 14, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 2
SQ Vermin traits (MM 317)
Skills Climb +12, Hide –1 (+7 with webs), Jump +4, Move Silently +3 (+11 with webs), Spot +4
Immunity to Webs (Ex) A ribbon spider is unaffected by natural and magical webs.
Maddening Webs (Ex) Webbing created by a ribbonweb spider is covered in a powerful psychotropic toxin. Creatures struck by a ribbonwebs web attack or entangled in its sheet webs must succeed on a DC 16 Will save or become confused for 8 rounds as they experience weird hallucinations that leave the befuddled. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Web (Ex) A ribbonweb spider can throw a web up to 8/day. This is similar to an attack with a net but has a range increment of 20feet, and is effective against targets up to two size categories larger than the spider. The web anchors the target in place, allowing no movement.
An entangled creature can escape with a successful DC 22 Escape Artist check or burst the web with a successful DC 22 Strength check. The Check DCs are Strength-based and include a +4 racial bonus. The web has 14 hit points and hardness0, and takes double damage from fire.
A ribbonweb spider can create sheets of sticky webbing up to 20 feet square. It usually positions these sheets to trap flying creatures but can also try to trap prey on the ground. Approaching creatures must succeed on a DC 20 Spot check to notice a web; otherwise they stumble into it and become trapped as though by a successful web attack (Including the maddening webs effect). Each 5-foot section of webbing has 12 hit points and damage reduction 5/-.
A ribbonweb spider can move across its own sheet of web at its climb speed and can determine the exact location of any creature touching the web.
Tremorsense (Ex) A ribbonweb spider can detect and pin point any creature or object within 60 ft. in contact with the ground or within any range in contact with the ribbonweb spider’s webs.
Design notes: This creature’s special abilities are based on the Tangle Terror, Page 142 of the new Drow of the Underdark sourcebook. Not much came to mind when I saw ribbonweb, despite the fact that the name would imply that the spiders webs are rather wide like ribbon. When I saw the entry for the tangle terror I new it was perfect for what I wanted. The tangle terror is a CR 8 and is only medium sized so I think if I want this guy to have lower CR (which I do) I need to make some adjustments somehow.
Sawtail Scorpion CR 3
Large Monstrous Scorpion
N Large Vermin
Monster Manual 287
Init +0; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Tremorsense 60 ft.; Listen +0, Spot +4
AC 16, touch 9, flat-footed 16
Hp 32 (5 HD)
Immune vermin immunities (MM 317)
Fort +6, Ref +1, Will +1
Spd 50 ft.
Melee 2 Claws +6 (1d4+4) and sting +1 (1d6+6/19-20 plus poison)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with sting attack)
Base Atk +3; Grp +11
Atk Options constrict (1d6+4), poison (Injury, Fort DC 14; 1d4 Con /1d4 Con), Spring Attack
Abilities Str 19, Dex 10, Con 14, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 2
SQ Vermin traits (MM 317)
Feats Improved Critical (sting), Spring Attack
Skills Climb +8, Hide +0, Spot +4
Constrict (Ex) A sawtail scorpion deals automatic claw damage on a successful grapple check.
Improved Grab (Ex) To use this ability a sawtail scorpion must hit with a claw attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check it establishes a hold and can constrict. A sawtail scorpion can use its Strength or Dexterity modifier for grapple checks whichever is better.
Powerful Sting (Ex) Because of the powerful muscles in a sawtail scorpions tail it is able to apply 1.5 times its strength modifier to damage rolls with its sting attack.
Reaching Tail (Ex) A sawtail scorpion’s tail can extend 5 feet beyond the normal reach for its size category. Granting a Large sawtail scorpion a reach of 10 feet with its sting attack.
Tremorsense (Ex) A sawtail scorpion can detect and pin point any creature or object within 60 ft. in contact with the ground.
Bonus Feat A sawtail scorpion gains Improved Critical and Spring Attack as bonus feats.
Design notes: I basically wanted to focus on the sawtail aspect of this creature and really emphasise why it’s called a sawtail scorpion.
Shipbreaker Crab CR 10
Gargantuan Monstrous Crab
N Garantuan Vermin (aquatic)
Stormwrack 142
Init +0; Senses low-light vision 60 ft., scent; Listen +0, Spot +4
AC 26, touch 6, flat-footed 26
Hp 159 (24 HD)
Immune vermin immunities (MM 317)
Fort +16, Ref +8, Will +8
Spd 30 ft.
Melee 2 Claws +25 (3d6+11)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 20 ft.
Base Atk +18; Grp +45
Atk Options constrict (6d6+11)
Abilities Str 33, Dex 11, Con 14, Int -, Wis 11, Cha 2
SQ amphibious, vermin traits (MM 317)
Skills Hide -8, Spot +4
Amphibious (Ex) although a shipbreaker crab is aquatic, it can survive indefinitely on land.
Constrict (Ex) A shipbreaker crab deals automatic claw damage on a successful grapple check.
Improved Grab (Ex) To use this ability a shipbreaker crab must hit with a claw attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check it establishes a hold and can constrict.
Design notes: I’m still reading Stormwrack to figure out how to make this guy into an actual ship breaker.
Shrieking Spider CR 2
Large Monstrous Hunting Spider
N Large Vermin
Monster Manual 289
Init +3; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Tremorsense 60 ft.; Listen +0, Spot +12
AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 11
Hp 22 (4 HD)
Immune vermin immunities (MM 317)
Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +1 (+4 against effects involving sound or sonics)
Spd 40 ft., Climb 20 ft.
Melee Bite +4 (1d8+3 plus poison)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +3; Grp +9
Atk Options Poison (Injury, Fort DC 13; 1d6 Str/1d6 Str)
Abilities Str 15, Dex 17, Con 12, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 2
SQ Vermin traits (MM 317)
Skills Climb +11, Hide +3, Jump +12, Spot +12
Protection from Sonics (Ex) While shrieking spiders can be affected by loud noises and sonic spells (such as ghost sound or silence), their anatomical structure makes them less vulnerable to sonic attacks providing a +4 racial bonus on all saving throws that involve the sonic descriptor of rely on sound to be effective.
Shriek (Su) A shrieking spider can emit a cone of sonic energy up to 40 feet long. It can also use this attack to affect any creature of objects within a 30-foot radius. This attack can be tuned to affect different types of targets. All of the save DCs are Constitution-based.
Flesh: Disrupting itssue and rending bone, this attack deals 4d6 points of damage to all within the area (Reflex DC 13 half).
Nerves: A shrieking spider can focus its scream to knock out foes rather than kill them. This attack deals 6d6 points of nonlethal damage to all within the area (Reflex DC 13 half).
Material: When using this method of high pitched keening, a shrieking spider chooses wood, stone, metal, or glass. All objects made of that material within the area must succeed on a DC 13 Fortitude save or shatter. Objects (or portions of objects) that have up to 30 hit points are potentially affected by this attack.
Tremorsense (Ex) A giant tarantula can detect and pin point any creature or object within 60 ft. in contact with the ground or the spider’s webs.
Design notes: additional abilities based on the Destrachans (page 49 MM) destructive harmonics and protection from Sonics abilities. Making it have a sonic attack just seemed the most natural route with this creature.
Treeleg Spider CR 8
Gargantuan Monstrous Hunting Spider
N Gargantuan Vermin
Monster Manual 289
Init +3; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Tremorsense 60 ft.; Listen +0, Spot +12
Aura frightful presence (30 ft., DC 20)
AC 19, touch 9, flat-footed 16
Hp 104 (16 HD)
Immune vermin immunities (MM 317)
Fort +12, Ref +8, Will +5
Spd 40 ft., Climb 20 ft.
Melee Bite +15 (2d8+10 plus poison)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Base Atk +12; Grp +31
Atk Options trample (2d6+10 Reflex DC 25, half), poison (Injury, Fort DC 16; 1d8 Str/1d8 Str)
Abilities Str 25, Dex 17, Con 14, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 2
SQ Vermin traits (MM 317)
Skills Climb +14, Hide –5 (+5 in wooded areas), Jump +17, Spot +12
Trample (Ex) With its tree trunk like legs a treeleg spider can easily mash any opponents smaller than itself into the ground. By taking a full round action the treeleg spider can move up to twice its speed and run over any opponent at least one size category smaller than itself. Any creature that is completely covered by the treeleg spider is affected by the attack.
If a targets space is larger than 5 feet, it is only considered trampled if the treeleg spider moves over all the squares it occupies. If the treeleg spider moves only over some of the targets space, the target can make an attack of opportunity against the treeleg spider at a –4 penalty. If the treeleg spider accidentally ends its movement in an illegal space returns to the last legal position it occupied, or the closest legal position, if there’s a legal position that’s closer.
The trample attack deals 2d6+10 bludgeoning damage
Trampled opponents can attempt attacks of opportunity, but these take a –4 penalty. If they do not make an attack of opportunity, they can instead attempt a DC 25 Reflex save for half damage. The save DC is Strength-based. A treeleg spider can only trample a target once per round, no matter how many times its movement takes it over a target creature.
Tremorsense (Ex) A giant tarantula can detect and pin point any creature or object within 60 ft. in contact with the ground or the spider’s webs.
Skills Treeleg spiders gain a +10 racial bonus to Hide when in wooded areas because their legs are easily confused with tree trunks.
Design notes: I went with a literal translation with this creature. I figured this spider hides in the jungle, and then crushes its prey below, and then picks it up and eats it. Not sure on exactly what the trample damage should be.
Any comments?
Awesome! I particularly LOVE the hornback centipede! He'll be making an appearance on my Isle of Dread for sure! Kudos! And thanks for the hard work!
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Any comments?Awesome! I particularly LOVE the hornback centipede! He'll be making an appearance on my Isle of Dread for sure! Kudos! And thanks for the hard work!
Thanks! The only thing I need to work out is the CRs for some of these guys and then based on that adjust the number that will appear if a random encounter was rolled.
I plan on creating the complete Isle of Dread random encounter booklet that includes all the monsters stat blocks and the tables themselves that I can print out and put into my STAP binder.
I also want to work out what are the best choices for the ranger's favoured enemy.
So far I have made up stat blocks for all the adventures up to Tides of Dread, and formated them so that when I print it all the stat blocks for an encounter are on 1-2 pages for easy reference.
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I'm thinking a +1 CR adjustment should be fine for these badboys. Im still open to ideas for other creature ideas or modifications to the stats.
One thing on the Shreiking Spider... He is a CR2. That seems a bit low considering that he can hit the whole party with a Shreik that averages 14 damage or 21 subdual and can shatter a bunch of their equipment.
I would bump up the CR to 3 and limit the Shreik to once every 1d4 rounds.I picture 3 of these coming out of the forest and hitting a 3rd level party with 3 cones immediately, 1 or 2 moving to engage the group afterwards and then the bunch blasting the party again (everyone in the group would fail 2 of the 6 saves and take around 28 damage...TPK).
I am looking these over to see if I can add to anything you weren't sure about and for balance reasons. I'll post back with more thoughts later.
Great stuff, BTW!
FH
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I'm thinking a +1 CR adjustment should be fine for these badboys. Im still open to ideas for other creature ideas or modifications to the stats.One thing on the Shreiking Spider... He is a CR2. That seems a bit low considering that he can hit the whole party with a Shreik that averages 14 damage or 21 subdual and can shatter a bunch of their equipment.
I would bump up the CR to 3 and limit the Shreik to once every 1d4 rounds.
I picture 3 of these coming out of the forest and hitting a 3rd level party with 3 cones immediately, 1 or 2 moving to engage the group afterwards and then the bunch blasting the party again (everyone in the group would fail 2 of the 6 saves and take around 28 damage...TPK).I am looking these over to see if I can add to anything you weren't sure about and for balance reasons. I'll post back with more thoughts later.
Great stuff, BTW!
FH
Yeah, that makes sense while I was working on this my goal was to provide a sense of surprise and fear in the player's, not to TPK them with random encounters. I also didnt take into account that multiple creatures would be encountered at the same time.If the camapign is played as is though the PCs should be about 7th level at "Here there be monsters" when they really begin to travel on the Isle.
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I just got back from a little camping trip and of course I brought my mags to read! As I was looking over the random encounter tables I also noticed a lot of undead including:
mummies, wights, wraiths, ghouls, and spectres. So what exactly is the logic behind these monsters wandering the Isle? What would they look like? Also the neanderthals I assume that these guys are like the product of regression from the ancient survivors of Thanaclan?
I dont really plan on adding anything to these guys like I did with the named monsters above. More just looking for background info and ideas on how to set up encounters with these creatures specically.
Thats the one thing about random encounters that I find difficult,that is, trying to present them in a fashion that dosent make them appear to be a random encounters.Monsters encountered in a write up have all the 411 you need to run the encounter,not so with random encounters.
Another great template to add is the Horrid animal template from the Eberron campaign setting. Acid damage added to the bite, a massive bonus to natural armor, all those can make any animal quite a bit nastier. I threw a Horrid T-Rex and some Horrid Terror Birds at the party for the beggining of HTBM just to boost the XP they'd get (they were a little light... big party), and found they went a long way making the Isle a more terrifying place.
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Another great template to add is the Horrid animal template from the Eberron campaign setting. Acid damage added to the bite, a massive bonus to natural armor, all those can make any animal quite a bit nastier. I threw a Horrid T-Rex and some Horrid Terror Birds at the party for the beggining of HTBM just to boost the XP they'd get (they were a little light... big party), and found they went a long way making the Isle a more terrifying place.
Wicked! I was going to check out the Eberron book to see what the scientific names of the dinosaurs were changed to, T-Rex and other familiar names will stay the same but Id like to change some of harder to pronounce names to something a little more literal/fanasty sounding.So gonna add this template!
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So as Ive been working on my complete random encounter guide to the Isle of Dread, I came up with these addtional modifications to the anaconda and emerald anaconda. I also gave the shipbreaker crab this special ability taken from the Living Shipwreck monster by Richard Pett (Dungeon #141 page 94):Vessel Attack (Ex) A shipbreaker crab is adept at smashing ships into splinters, so much so that it ignores the first 10 points of hardness of any object it attacks.Let me know what you guys think.
Anaconda CR 6
Huge Constrictor Snake
N Huge Animal
Monster Manual 280
Init +3; Senses scent; Listen +9, Spot +9
AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 12
Hp 63 (11 HD)
Fort +8, Ref +10, Will +4
Spd 20ft. climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee bite +13 (1d8+10)
Space +15 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Base Atk +8; Grp +23
Atk Options Improved Grab (bite), constrict (1d8+10)
Special Actions Swallow whole
Abilities Str 25, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2
Feats Alertness, Endurance, Skill Focus (Hide), Toughness
Skills Balance +11, Climb +17, Hide +10, Listen +9, Move Silently +3, Spot +7, Swim +16
Constrict (Ex) On a successful grapple check, an anaconda deals 1d8+10 points of damage.
Improved Grab (Ex) If the anaconda hits an opponent with its bite attack, it deals normal damage and can start a grapple attempt as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check it establishes a hold and may constrict in the same round, and swallow whole the foe in the following round. Alternatively the anaconda has the option to conduct the grapple normally, or simply use its body to hold the opponent (-20 penalty on grapple check, but the anaconda is not considered grappled). In either case, each successful grapple check it makes during the following rounds automatically deals bludgeoning damage from being constricted.
Swallow Whole (Ex) a anaconda can try and swallow a grabbed opponent up to two size categories smaller than itself by making a successful grapple check. The swallowed creature takes 2d8+8 points of bludgeoning damage and 8 points of acid damage per round. A swallowed creature can try and cut its way free using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 25 points of damage to the gizzard (AC 12). Once the creature exits, muscular action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out.
A Huge anaconda gizzard can hold 1 Medium, 4 small, 16 Tiny, or 64 Diminutive or smaller opponents.
Emerald Anaconda CR 11
Advanced elite giant constrictor snake
N Gargantuan Animal
Monster Manual 280
Init +4; Senses scent; Listen +14, Spot +14
AC 18, touch 10, flat-footed 14
Hp 230 (20 HD)
Fort +18, Ref +16, Will +6
Spd 20ft. climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee bite +25 (3d6+21)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Base Atk +15; Grp +41
Atk Options Improved Grab (bite), Constrict 2d6+21
Abilities Str 38, Dex 19, Con 22, Int 1, Wis 10, Cha 4
Feats Alertness, Endurance, Diehard, Improved Natural Attack (bite), Improved Toughness (+1 hp/HD), Skill Focus (Hide), Stealthy
Skills Balance +12, Climb +22, Hide +8, Listen +14, Move Silently +6, Spot +14, Swim +22
Constrict (Ex) On a successful grapple check, an emerald anaconda deals 2d6+21 points of damage.
Improved Grab (Ex) If the emerald anaconda hits an opponent with its bite attack, it deals normal damage and can start a grapple attempt as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check it establishes a hold and may constrict in the same round, and swallow whole the foe in the following round. Alternatively the emerald anaconda has the option to conduct the grapple normally, or simply use its body to hold the opponent (-20 penalty on grapple check, but the anaconda is not considered grappled). In either case, each successful grapple check it makes during the following rounds automatically deals bludgeoning damage from being constricted.
Swallow Whole (Ex) An emerald anaconda can try and swallow a grabbed opponent up to two size categories smaller than itself by making a successful grapple check, provided the victim is already in its mouth. The swallowed creature takes 2d8+10 points of bludgeoning damage and 1d8+4 points of acid damage per round. A swallowed creature can climb from the snakes gullet to its mouth with a successful grapple check, and then from the mouth to freedom with another successful grapple check. Alternatively the victim may try and cut its way free using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 25 points of damage to the gullet (AC 20). Once the creature exits, muscular action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out.
A Gargantuan emerald anacondas gullet can hold 2 Large, 8 Medium, 32 small, or 128 Tiny or smaller opponents.