Today I'm going to take the time to post some new material, that is hopefully inspirational or at least interesting. The monsters I'll be posting don't have stats yet, and are just vague ideas; but I really wanted to get them out there, and make a fresh blog post. Expect proper versions soon, hopefully after I get a chance to research them more, and reference some similar monsters.
First off is a modified cantrip one of my players came up with. I'm not entirely sure what rules or edition cantrips first showed up in, but I personally enjoy using them in my games, and spell caster players feel more useful. I don't begrudge my players the ability to create a small light at will. On to the spell:
Cederic's Deadly Dagger
If the character has the ability cast Mage Hand, or a similar spell (telepathic lifting and movement), the character may throw a dagger (or similar allowed weapon) up to 15ft, and hit automatically with a +1 damage.
You could of course modify this as you see fit. Of course the question is raised as to why anyone would want to do this? Well immediately obvious is that the dagger is one of only two weapons the Magic-User/Wizard class has available to them. Furthermore at lower levels, and even higher ones, the character can only cast Magic-Missile so many times. Consider also that there are a plethora of level one spells, that are often far more useful than Magic-Missile. Finally that towards later levels the Magic-User usually has plenty of money, and can thus buy a large amount of 5gp daggers easily enough.
With all of the above in mind, a character could buy a hand full daggers for 50gp, instead of 100gp (the original rules) per scroll of Magic-Missile, or however much a Rod of Magic-Missile might cost. This is an excellent option for low magic campaigns as well, because it simply looks like the character is throwing a dagger. Hopefully spells like this encourage creative cantrip use.
On to some monsters. I know I don't have any readers yet, but hopefully one day someone will see these and go: "I see what you did there...", and that's kind of my goal with this. Creative and imaginative monster design, from unlikely sources. Hopefully in the near future I'll actually get these statted out, and maybe place some art to them. Of course the eventual goal is to include these in a monster book, or make enough to have a supplement dedicated to them.
Rattlelhead
An undead skeleton type monster which embodies the phrase "see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil". It as an evil creature, that practices black magic, and has the following forms of attack: A blinding flash of colors that can stun or blind opponents; a terrifying scream that can deafen attackers; and finally a form of silence attack. All attacks are against appropriate saving throws. The Rattlhead would be an excellent leader for Skeleton and Zombies.
Head Hunter
An undead zombie type monster which functions similar to a bard. The Head will usually play music backwards, at loud volumes, in a very distorted and screeching manner. Generally the head would have similar abilities and spells to the bard; demoralization, charm, etc...
Static-Mouse, Giant
Similar to the Giant Rat, but slightly smaller, the Static-Mouse has the ability to perform an electric shock attack, similar to shocking grasp. It is neutral good, very friendly, and reacts well to kind individuals or groups. The Static-Mouse is very tenacious, and will usually fight till exhaustion, or near death.
Blue Oyster
A sentient underwater creature, with a very powerful psychic ability. They have the ability to influence those nearby, and can perform psychic attacks. If one is the immediate vicinity of a Blue Oyster they must make an appropriate saving throw or go insane. Blue Oysters are know to be communal, and can develop a hive mind. Some rumor these hive minds can even influence people miles away. Furthermore they have been known to cause nightmares on those nearby as well. There have been cases of cults who worship these creatures, and even act on their bidding.
A relatively short post, but hopefully some food for thought.
No comments:
Post a Comment