Spes Magna Games

Last week, I presented my version of the hisser queen, inspired by the Gamma World mutant. To recap: “This 3-meter long half-man-half-snake inhabits the more arid regions…, often settling near an oasis or well. … Their society is matriarchal, one female leading a group of…males and young. She, like a queen bee, lays all the eggs for eat settlement, and all of them hatch as males.”

(Nota Bene: I’ve updated the hisser queen’s stats a bit.)

This week, as promised, here’re the hisser drone and the hisser warrior. Enjoy!

Hisser Drone
Frequency: Rare
No. Appearing: 8-35
Armor Class: 5
Move: 12″
Hit Dice: 2
% in Lair: 10%
Treasure Type: Nil
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: by weapon type or 1-4
Special Attacks: Nil
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Average to Very
Alignment: As queen
Size: M (6′ long)
Psionic Ability: 105-150
Attack/Defense Modes: B/FGH
Level/XP Value: II/36 + 2/hp

The hisser drone attacks either with a weapon or else with his bite. Drones are immune to fire/heat and sound-based attacks. The hisser drone is psionic. He has only the telepathy psionic ability. Hissers have no spoken or written language.

If found in their lair, there will be double the number rolled plus 1 hisser warrior for every 5 drones. A hisser lair always has one queen who resides in the lair’s egg chamber. The queen’s treasure is kept here as well. The queen is guarded by 2-20 drones and 2 warriors who fight with special ferocity, gaining a +2 on “to-hit” rolls to defend their queen.

Hisser Warrior
Frequency: Rare
No. Appearing: 1 per 5 hisser drones
Armor Class: 4
Move: 12″
Hit Dice: 6
% in Lair: 75%
Treasure Type: D, Q (x3)
No. of Attacks: 2
Damage/Attack: by weapon type (x2) or by weapon type/1-6
Special Attacks: Paralytic poison
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Average to Very
Alignment: As queen
Size: L (10′ long)
Psionic Ability: 126-175
Attack/Defense Modes: B/FGH
Level/XP Value: V/425 + 6/hp

The hisser warrior attacks either with two weapons or else with one weapon and his bite. If the bite hits, a saving throw versus poison must be made to avoid being paralyzed for 2-12 turns. Warriors are immune to fire/heat and sound-based attacks. The hisser warrior is psionic. He has the clairvoyance and telepathy psionic abilities. Hissers have no spoken or written language.

Tags: AD&D, Gamma World, monsters, ThursdAD&D

This week’s Tuesday Terror is inspired by Anthony Champ, who you can check out on Facebook and Instagram. The two pieces posted below to the right were provided by Mr. Champ and are posted with his kind permission.

The xylomorph is a strange and fierce predatory plant creature. Despite its humanoid form, it prefer to stalk on all fours, attacking by surprise when possible. Its most dreaded attack is its piercing tongue that injects a magical toxin capable of turning flesh and soft organs to wood. The xylomorph feeds on the transformed flesh and organs of its victims, leaving behind the skeletons, which are unaffected by the xylomorph’s bizarre venom.

Xylomorph
Medium plant, unaligned

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 52 (8d8+16)
Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft., swim 30 ft.

STR 16 (+3), DEX 19 (+4), CON 14 (+2), INT 6 (-2), WIS 13 (+1), CHA 11 (+0)

Saving Throws CON +5, INT +1
Skills Perception +4, Stealth +7
Damage Resistances cold; piercing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities blinded, deafened, exhaustion, poisoned
Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 15
Languages —
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

Amphibious. The xylomorph can breathe air and water.

Thorns. The xylomorph is covered with thick growths covered with tough thorns. At the start of its turn, the xylomorph deals 5 (1d10) piercing damage to any creature grappling it.

Tree Stride. As part of its move, the xylomorph may enter a living tree at the same as itself. This costs 5 feet of movement. The xylomorph instantly knows the location of all other living trees of the appropriate size within 80 feet. As part of the move used to enter the tree, the xylomorph can pass to one of those trees or step out of the tree it is in. It appears in a spot of its choice within 5 feet of the destination tree, using another 5 feet of movement. If the xylomorph has no movement left, it appears within 5 feet of the tree it entered. The xylomorph can use this transportation ability once per round.

Actions

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) slashing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 15). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, the xylomorph can automatically hit the target with its claws, and the xylomorph can’t make claws attacks against other targets.

Tongue. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, one creature that grappled by the xylomorph. Hit: 7 (1d6+4) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the creature turns to wood and is instantly petrified. Otherwise, a creature that fails the save begins to turn to wood and is restrained. The restrained creature must repeat the saving throw at the end of its next turn, becoming petrified on a failure or ending the effect on a success. The transformation lasts until the creature is freed by the greater restoration spell or other magic.

Tags: 5E D&D, monsters, Tuesday Terror

I delve further into Gamma World to reach the hisser: “This 3-meter long half-man-half-snake inhabits the more arid regions…, often settling near an oasis or well. … Their society is matriarchal, one female leading a group of…males and young. She, like a queen bee, lays all the eggs for eat settlement, and all of them hatch as males.”

The hisser is a tough monster in Gamma World: AC 3, 18 Hit Dice, some interesting mutations. For my AD&D conversions of mutants, I’ve been scaling back the Hit Dice. Arks, for example, have 8 Hit Dice in Gamma World, but my AD&D ark has 2 Hit Dice. I scaled the 20-HD gren way back to 1+2 HD.

With the hisser, however, I’m drawn to the idea of a hisser matriarch ruling over male hissers, who I envision has a sort of insect-like hivemind complete with drones and warriors.

So, today, we meet the hisser queen. Drones and warriors show up next ThursdAD&D.

Hisser Queen
Frequency: Rare
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 3
Move: 12″
Hit Dice: 10
% in Lair: 75%
Treasure Type: D, Q (x3)
No. of Attacks: 2
Damage/Attack: by weapon type (x2) or 1-6/2-12
Special Attacks: See below
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Exceptional
Alignment: Any
Size: L (10′ long)
Psionic Ability: 151-250
Attack/Defense Modes: B/FGH
Level/XP Value: VII/2,250 + 14/hp

The hisser queen attacks either with melee weapons or else with her powerful bite. If her bite hits, she constricts for 2-12 points of damage per melee round. If several strong creatures (such as 4 humans of 17 or greater strength) can grasp the queen at head and tail, the can uncoil her in 2-5 melee rounds.

Once every four melee rounds, the queen can emit a piercing hiss that causes 3-18 points of damage due to ruptured tissues to all creatures (except the queen) in a 30-foot radius (no saving throw). Creatures damaged by the queen’s hiss are deafened for a number of melee rounds equal to the damage taken (saving throw versus breath weapon halves the duration). She is immune to fire/heat and sound-based attacks.

The hisser queen is psionic. She has the following psionic abilities: clairvoyance, hypnosis, and telepathy. The latter power is the queen’s primary means of communication. Hissers have no spoken or written language.

The hisser queen is guarded by 2-20 drones and 2 warriors who fight with special ferocity, gaining a +2 on “to-hit” rolls to defend their queen.

Hissers are territorial and carnivorous. The alignment of a hisser brood matches that of the queen. Good-aligned queens tend toward benevolence and may aid travelers. Neutral-aligned queens may do likewise, but often only in exchange for goods and services. Evil-aligned queens and their broods cannot be trusted, and they often capture intelligent creatures for use as slaves and food.

Tags: AD&D, Gamma World, monsters, ThursdAD&D

Today’s picture is “Hish” by that uncanny illustrator of the weird Sidney Sime. Sime lived from 1865 to 1941, and he is best known for his iconic illustrations of Lord Dunsany’s tales and poems.

The hish are mysterious creatures, part shadow, part silence, or so it seems. They are seldom seen or heard, even by their victims, for the hish practice assassination as a form of religious devotion to their strange deities.

Hish
Medium fey, any evil

Armor Class 16 (studded leather)
Hit Points 90 (12d8+36)
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.

STR 13 (+1), DEX 18 (+4), CON 16 (+3), INT 15 (+2), WIS 13 (+1), CHA 12 (+1)

Saving Throws DEX +8, INT +6
Skills Acrobatics +8, Deception +5, Perception +5, Stealth +8
Damage Resistances necrotic, poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks not made with silvered weapons
Condition Immunities blinded, deafened, poisoned
Senses darkvision 90 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages Common, Sylvan, plus any two languages
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)

Assassinate. During its first turn, the hish has advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn’t taken a turn. Any hit the hish scores against a surprised creature is a critical hit.

Hish Senses. Magical darkness does not impede the hish’s darkvision. Magical silence does not impeded the hish’s hearing. The hish cannot be blinded or deafened.

Innate Spellcasting. The hish’s innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material or verbal components:

At will: disguise self, invisibility (self only)
2/day each: darkness, silence
1/day each: pass without trace (self only), vampiric touch

Sneak Attack. Once per turn, the hish deals an extra 14 (4d6) damage when it hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of the hish that isn’t incapacitated and the assassin doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.

Spider Climb. The hish can climb difficult surfaces including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.

Actions

Multiattack. The hish makes two shortsword attacks.

Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6+4) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw, taking 24 (7d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Light Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one creature. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw, taking 24 (7d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Reactions

Misty Step. The hish surrounds itself with silvery mist and teleports up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space that it can see.

Tags: 5E D&D, monsters, Tuesday Terror

Today I fight back against a nagging headache that I caught in time before it went migraine on me while offering for your consideration another AD&D conversion of a Gamma World mutant. (Nota Bene: The Gamma World link is an affiliate link. If you click it and buy the book, I get a bit of money.) I’ve already done this with fens, arks, and badders.

Today I bring to you the reclusive, peace-loving grens. To quote their entry in Gamma World: “Grens appear to be completely normal Pure Strain Humans…except for their deep green skin! They are intelligent and live secluded lives in harmony with nature. They inhabit only deep forests, where they cannot be seen or sensed by any creature until they reveal themselves.”

Translating grens to AD&D requires a bit of poetic license. Grens have 20 Hit Dice in Gamma World, which corresponds to a Constitution of 20 in terms of ability scores. Since I don’t want secluded forests full of 20-HD, green-skinned humanoids, I decided on the following:

Gren
Frequency: Very rare
No. Appearing: 15-150
Armor Class: 9 (or better for leader types)
Move: 12″
Hit Dice: 1+2
% in Lair: 40%
Treasure Type: Individuals K; A in lair
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: By weapon type
Special Attacks: Nil
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Mean: very to highly
Alignment: Neutral good
Size: M
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
Level/XP Value: II/28 + 2/hp

In their forest homes, grens are invisible and inaudible unless a gren chooses otherwise or attacks. For every 30 grens encountered, there will be an additional 2nd-level ranger. For every 40 grens, there will be a 3rd-level ranger, and for every 50 grens there will be a 4th-level ranger. Grens will be led by a druid of 5th, 6th, or 7th level — 5th if under 60 in the party, 6th if under 125, or 7th if more than 125. The leader will have 2 assistant druids of 2nd, 3rd, or 4th level as a personal bodyguard. All these characters are in addition to the number of grens indicated by the dice.

For every 50 grens encountered, there is a 15% chance that there will be an illusionist of 5th or 6th level, accompanied by two assistants of 1st or 2nd level in addition to the other members of the group. If more than 100 grens are encountered, the illusionist will be of the higher possible level.

Grens are semi-nomadic, and they build simple villages from native materials. In their lair, there will be females equal to 200% of the males and children equal to 100% of their number. Females are equal to males, but have 1 Hit Die. Children are noncombatants. For every 50 females, there is a 15% chance there will be a female fighter of 3rd to 5th level who is imbued with great determination and skill. She adds 1 to her hit probability and damage dice, and she never checks morale. These warrior women command great respect within gren communities.

Grens shun combat. Most grens use simple weapons and shields for defense. Leader types will be better armed and armored. Grens speak their own language, a strange mixture of Common and the elvish tongue.

Tags: AD&D, Gamma World, monsters, ThursdAD&D