Monstryatnik
(Part 4)
Continued. Start at number 24, 25,
26.
The text below is part of the
more descriptions of monsters AD & D. This
the text is primarily intended lovers
professionals and AD & D. Because text of well-
very large (approximately about two
MB), it is natural that we throw in a newspaper account of its
parts. On the question: "Why this text is not to release
individual disks? I can not answer only one thing: because of
the fear that drives can "Lost in transit can not be said about
the newspaper, which can easily pass through Buddy, Fido, or
the Internet. It is also possible complaints that the text is
in English. However, in my opinion were the days
when the programmer might know
one language. So either learn English,
or find friends who speak English. Also, translation is very
difficult due to his artistry, who tried to translate at least
some text with PTsshnyh translators that understand me. That's
it. Have fun reading and quiet dreams
at night. With all questions please
address 69123 Zaporozhye, ul. Hortitskoe
Highway 18/29. Phone 43-98-60, 49-62-02
(Alexander).
Basilisk
Lesser
CLIMATE / TERRAIN: Any land
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Day
DIET: Carnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Animal (1)
TREASURE: F
ALIGNMENT: Nil
NO. APPEARING: 1-4
ARMOR CLASS: 4
MOVEMENT: 6
HIT DICE: 6 +1
THAC0: 15
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE / ATTACK: 1-10
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Gaze turns to stone
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: M (7 'long)
MORALE: Steady (12)
XP VALUE: 1,400
Greater
CLIMATE / TERRAIN: Any land
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Day
DIET: Carnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Low (5-7)
TREASURE: H
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
NO. APPEARING: 1-7
ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVEMENT: 6
HIT DICE: 10
THAC0: 11
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE / ATTACK: 1-6/1-6/2-16
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Surprised only on a one
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: L (12 'long)
MORALE Champion (16)
XP VALUE: 7,000
Dracolisk
CLIMATE / TERRAIN: Any land
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Day
DIET: Carnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Low to Average (5-10)
TREASURE: C, I
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
NO. APPEARING: 1-2
ARMOR CLASS: 3
MOVEMENT: 9, Fl 15 (E)
HIT DICE: 7 +3
THAC0: 13
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE / ATTACK: 1-6/1-6/3-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: H (15-20 'long)
MORALE: Champion (15)
XP VALUE: 3,000
These reptilian monsters all posses a gaze
that enables them to turn any fleshy creature to stone; their
gaze extends into the Astral and Ethereal planes.
Basilisk
Although it has eight legs, its sluggish
metabolism allows only a slow movement rate. A basilisk is
usually dull brown in color, with a yellowish underbelly. Its
eyes glow pale green.
Combat: While it has strong, toothy jaws,
the basilisk's major weapon is its gaze.
However, if its gaze is reflected, and it
sees its own eyes, it will become petrified itself, but this
requires light at least equal to bright torchlight and a good,
smooth reflector. In the Astral plane its gaze kills; in the
Ethereal plane it turns victims into ethereal stone. These will
only be seen by those in the Ethereal plane or who can see
ethereal objects.
Greater Basilisk
The greater basilisk is a larger cousin of
the more common reptilian horror, the ordinary basilisk. These
monsters are typically used to guard treasure.
Combat: The monster attacks by raising its
upper body, striking with sharp claws, and
biting with its toothy maw. The claws carry Type K poison
(saving throws vs. Poison are made with a +4 bonus). Its foul
breath is also poisonous, and all creatures, coming within five
feet of its mouth, even if just for a moment, must roll
successful saving throws vs. poison (with a +2 bonus)
or die (check each round of exposure).
Even if a polished reflector is used under good lighting
conditions, the chance for a greater basilisk to see its own
gaze and become petrified is only 10%, unless
the reflector is within 10 feet of the
creature. (While its gaze weapon is effective to 50 feet, the
creature's oddly-shaped eyes are nearsighted and it cannot see
its own gaze unless it is within 10 feet.)
Dracolisk
The sages say that the dracolisk is the
offspring of a rogue black dragon and a
basilisk of the largest size.
The result is a deep brown, dragon-like
monster that moves with relative quickness
on six legs. It can fly, but only for
short periods - a turn or two at most.
Combat: This horror can attack with its
taloned forelegs and deliver vicious bites. In addition, it can
spit a stream of acid 5 feet wide and up to 30 feet away.
The acid causes 4d6 points of damage,
half-damage if a successful saving throw
vs. breath weapon is rolled. The dracolisk
can spit up to three times per day.
The eyes of a dracolisk can petrify any
opponent within 20 feet if the monster's
gaze is met. Because its hooded eyes have
nictating membranes, the monster is only
10% likely to be affected by its own gaze.
Opponents in melee with a dracolisk and
seeking to avoid its gaze fight with a -4
penalty to their to attack rolls.
Bear
Black
CLIMATE / TERRAIN: Temperate land
FREQUENCY: Common
ORGANIZATION: Family
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Day
DIET: Omnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Semi-(2-4)
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
NO. APPEARING: 1-3
ARMOR CLASS: 7
MOVEMENT: 12
HIT DICE: 3 +3
THAC0: 17
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE / ATTACK: 1-3/1-3/1-6
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Hug
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: M (6 '+ tall)
MORALE: Average (8-10)
XP VALUE: 175
Brown
CLIMATE / TERRAIN: Temperate land
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
ORGANIZATION: Family
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Day
DIET: Omnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Semi-(2-4)
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
NO. APPEARING: 1-6
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVEMENT: 12
HIT DICE: 5 +5
THAC0: 15
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE / ATTACK: 1-6/1-6/1-8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Hug
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: L (9 '+ tall)
MORALE: Average (8-10)
XP VALUE: 420
Cave
CLIMATE / TERRAIN: Any land
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
ORGANIZATION: Family
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Day
DIET: Omnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Semi-(2-4)
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
NO. APPEARING: 1-2
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVEMENT: 12
HIT DICE: 6 +6
THAC0: 13
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE / ATTACK: 1-8/1-8/1-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Hug
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: H (12 '+ tall)
MORALE: Average (8-10)
XP VALUE: 650
Polar
CLIMATE / TERRAIN: Any cold
FREQUENCY: Rare
ORGANIZATION: Family
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Day
DIET: Omnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Semi-(2-4)
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
NO. APPEARING: 1-6
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVEMENT: 12, Sw 9
HIT DICE: 8 +8
THAC0: 11
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE / ATTACK: 1-10/1-10/2-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Hug
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: H (14 '+ tall)
MORALE: Average (8-10)
XP VALUE: 1,400
A rather common omnivorous mammal, bears
tend to avoid humans unless provoked. Exceptions to this rule
can be a most unfortunate occurrence.
Bears are, in general, large and powerful animals which are
found throughout the world's temperate and cooler climates.
With dense fur protecting them from the
elements and powerful claws protecting
them from other animals, bears are the
true rulers of the animal kingdom in the
areas where they live.
The so-called black bear actually ranges
in color from black to light brown. It is
smaller than the brown bear and the most
widespread species by far.
Combat: Although black bears are usually
not aggressive, they are able fighters
when pressed. If a black bear scores a paw
hit with an 18 or better it also hugs for
2-8 (2d4) points of additional damage.
Habitat / Society: All bears have excellent
senses of hearing and smell but rather poor eyesight. The size
shown is an average for the variety and larger individuals
will, of course, be correspondingly more
powerful.
One common misconception people hold
about bears is that they hibernate during
the winter. In fact, they sleep most of
the time, but their metabolism does not
slow down, and they often wake up and leave their lairs during
warm spells.
Bears live in small family groups. Female bears are very
protective of their young, and more than one individual has
been badly injured when taunting or
playing with seemingly harmless bear cubs.
Ecology: All of these ursoids are omnivorous, although the
gigantic cave bear tends towards a diet of meat.
Bears are fairly intelligent animals
that can be trained to perform in a variety of ways,
particularly if captured as cubs. Bears can thus be found
dancing in circuses or accompanying "mountain men" in
the wilderness.
Brown Bear
The brown bear, of which the infamous
grizzly is the most well known variety, is
a bear of very aggressive disposition.
Brown bears are more carnivorous than their smaller cousins,
the black bears. The grizzly in particular will often bring
down large game such as deer and elk.
Brown bears are aggressive hunters. If a
brown bear scores a paw hit with a roll of
18 or better it will also hug for 2-12
(2d6) points of additional damage. Brown
bears will continue to fight for 1-4 melee
rounds after reaching 0 to -8 hit points.
At -9 or fewer hit points, they are killed
immediately.
Cave Bear
Cave bears are quite aggressive, willing
to attack well-armed parties without provocation. If a cave
bear scores a paw hit with an 18 or better it also hugs for 2-16
(2d8) points of additional damage. Cave
bears will continue to fight for 1-4 melee
rounds after reaching 0 to -8 hit points.
At -9 or fewer hit points, they are killed
immediately.
Polar Bear
These powerful swimmers feed mostly on marine animals. A paw
hit of 18 or better indicates a "hug", which inflicts 3-18
(3d6) points of additional damage. These
aggressive animals will fight for 2-5 rounds after being
brought to 0 to -12 hit points, but beyond that they will die
instantly.
Beetle, Giant
Bombardier Boring
CLIMATE / TERRAIN: Any forest Any land
FREQUENCY: Common Common
ORGANIZATION: Solitary Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Day Night
DIET: Carnivore Omnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Non-(0) Animal (1)
TREASURE: Nil C, R, S, T
ALIGNMENT: Neutral Neutral
NO. APPEARING: 3-12 3-18
ARMOR CLASS: 3 April
MOVEMENT: 9 June
HIT DICE: 2 +2 5
THAC0: 19 15
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 January
DAMAGE / ATTACK: 2-12 5-20
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Acid cloud Nil
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Fire cloud Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil Nil
SIZE: S (4 'long) L (9' long)
MORALE: Elite (13) Elite (14)
XP VALUE: 120,175
Fire Rhinoceros
CLIMATE / TERRAIN: Any land Any jungle
FREQUENCY: Common Uncommon
ORGANIZATION: Solitary Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Night Any
DIET: Omnivore Herbivore
INTELLIGENCE: Non-(0) Non-(0)
TREASURE: Nil Nil
ALIGNMENT: Neutral Neutral
NO. APPEARING: 3-12 1-6
ARMOR CLASS: 4 February
MOVEMENT: June 12
HIT DICE: 1 +2 12
THAC0: 19 September
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 February
DAMAGE / ATTACK: 2-8 3-18/2-16
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil Nil
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil Nil
SIZE: (2 l / 2'long) L (12'long)
MORALE: Steady (12) Elite (14)
XP VALUE: 35 4.000
Stag Water
CLIMATE / TERRAIN: Any forest Freshwater
FREQUENCY: Common Common
ORGANIZATION: Solitary Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any Any
DIET: Herbivore Omnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Non-(0) Non (0)
TREASURE: Nil Nil
ALIGNMENT: Neutral Neutral
NO. APPEARING: 2-12 1-12
ARMOR CLASS: 3 March
MOVEMENT: June 3, Sw 9
HIT DICE: 4 July
THAC0: 13 17
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 March
DAMAGE / ATTACK: 4-16/1-10 / 3-18
1-10
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil Nil
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil Nil
SIZE: L (10 'long) M (6' long)
MORALE: Elite (13) Elite (14)
XP VALUE: 975,120
Giant beetles are similar to their more
ordinary counterparts, but thousands of
times larger - with chewing mandibles and
hard wings that provide substantial armor
protection.
Beetles have two pairs of wings and
three pairs of legs. Fortunately, the
wings of a giant beetle cannot be used to
fly, and in most cases, its six bristly
legs do not enable it to move as fast as a
fleeing man. The hard, chitinous shell of
several varieties of these beetles are
brightly colored, and sometimes have value
to art collectors. While their shells protect beetles as well
as plate mail armor, it is difficult to craft armor from them,
and a skilled alchemist would need to be
brought in on the job.
All beetles are basically unintelligent
and always hungry. They will feed on virtually any form of
organic material, including other sorts of beetles. They taste
matter with their antennae, or feelers; if a substance tasted
is organic, the beetle grasps it with its mandibles, crushes it,
and eats it. Because of the thorough grinding of the mandibles,
nothing eaten by giant beetles can be revived by anything
short of a wish. Beetles do not hear or
see well, and rely primarily on taste and
feel.
Except as noted below, giant beetles are
not really social animals; those that are
found near each other are competitors for
the same biological niche, not part of any
family unit.
Bombardier Beetle
The bombardier beetle is usually found
above ground in wooded areas. It primarily
feeds on offal and carrion, gathering huge
heaps of the stuff in which to lay its
eggs.
Combat: If it is attacked or disturbed,
there is a 50% chance each round that it
will turn its rear toward its attacker and
fire off an eight-foot, spherical cloud of reeking, reddish,
acidic vapor from its abdomen. This cloud causes 3d4 points of
damage per round to any creature within range. Furthermore, the
sound caused by the release of the vapor has a 20% chance of
stunning any creature with a sense of hearing within a 15-foot
radius, and a like chance for deafening any creature that was
not stunned. Stunning lasts for 2d4 rounds, plus an additional
2d4 rounds of deafness afterwards. Deafening lasts 2d6 rounds.
The giant bombardier can fire its vapor cloud every third
round, but no more than twice in eight hours.
Ecology: The bombardier action of this beetle is caused by the
explosive mixture of two substances that are produced
internally and combined in a third organ. If a bombardier is
killed before it has the opportunity to fire off both blasts,
it is possible to cut the creature open and retrieve the
chemicals. These chemicals can then be combined to produce a
small explosive, or fire a projectile, with the proper
equipment.
The chemicals are also of value to alchemists, who can use
them in various preparations. They are worth 50 gp per dose.
Boring Beetle
Boring beetles feed on rotting wood and
similar organic material, so they are usually found
individually inside huge trees or massed in underground tunnel
complexes.
Combat: The large mandibles of the boring
beetle have a powerful bite and will inflict up to 20 points on
damage to the victim.
Habitat / Society: Individually, these creatures are not much
more intelligent than other giant beetles, but it is rumored
that nests of them can develop a communal
intelligence with a level of consciousness
and reasoning that approximates the human
brain. This does not mean that each beetle
has the intelligence of a human, but rather that, collectively,
the entire nest has attained that level. In these cases,
the beetles are likely to collect treasure
and magical items from their victims.
Ecology: In tunnel complexes, boring beetles grow molds,
slimes, and fungi for food, beginning their cultures on various
forms of decaying vegetable and animal matter and wastes.
One frequent fungi grown is the shrieker, which serves a dual
role. Not only is the shrieker a tasty treat for the boring
beetle, but it also functions as an alarm
when visitors have entered the fungi farm.
Boring beetles are quick to react to these
alarms, dispatching the invaders, sometimes eating them, but in
any case gaining fresh organic matter on which to raise
shrieker and other saprophytic plants.
Fire Beetle
The smallest of the giant beetles, fire
beetles are nevertheless capable of delivering serious damage
with their powerful mandibles. They are found both above and
below ground, and are primarily nocturnal.
Combat: Despite its name, the fire beetle
has no fire attacks, relying instead on
its huge mandibles to inflict up to three
times the damage of a dagger in a single
attack.
Ecology: Fire beetles have two special
glands above their eyes and one near the
back of their abdomens. These glands produce a luminous red
glow, and for this reason they are highly prized by miners and
adventurers. This luminosity persists for ld6 days after the
glands are removed from the beetle, and the light shed will
illuminate a radius of 10 feet.
The light from these glands is "cold" -
it produces no heat. Many mages and alchemists are eager to
discover the secret of this cold light, which could be not only
safe, but economical, with no parts to heat up and burn out. In
theory, they say, such a light source could last forever.
Rhinoceros Beetle
This uncommon monster inhabits tropical
and subtropical jungles. They roam the rain forests searching
for fruits and vegetation, and crushing anything in their path.
The horn of a giant rhinoceros beetle extends about 6 feet.
Combat: The mandibles of this giant beetle
inflict 3d6 points of damage on anyone unfortunate enough to be
caught by them; the tremendous horn is capable of causing 2d8
points of damage by itself.
Ecology: The shell of this jungle dweller
is often brightly colored or iridescent.
If retrieved in one piece, these shells
are valuable to clerics of the Egyptian
pantheon, who use them as giant scarabs to
decorate temples and other areas of worship. It is a
representation of this, the largest of all beetles, that serves
as the holy symbol for clerics of Apshai, the
Egyptian god whose sphere of influence is
said to include all insects.
Stag Beetle
These woodland beetles are very fond of
grains and similar growing crops, and they
sometimes become great nuisances when they
raid cultivated lands.
Combat: Like other beetles, they have poor
sight and hearing, but they will fight if
attacked or attack if they encounter organic material they
consider food. The giant stag beetle's two horns are usually not
less than 8 feet long; they inflict up to
10 points of damage each.
Ecology: The worst damage from a stag beetle raid is that done
to crops; they will strip an entire farm in short order.
Livestock suffers too, stampeding in fear and wreaking more
havoc. The beetles may even devour livestock, if they are hungry
enough.
Water Beetle
The giant water beetle is found only in
fresh water no less than 30 feet deep.
Combat: Voracious eaters, these beetles
prey upon virtually any form of animal,
but will eat almost anything. Slow and
ponderous on land, they move very quickly
in water. Giant water beetles hunt food by
scent and by feeling vibrations.
Habitat / Society: Water beetles sometimes
inhabit navigable rivers and lakes, in
which case they can cause considerable damage to shipping,
often attacking and sinking craft to get at the tasty morsels
inside.
Ecology: Although they are air breathers,
water beetles manage to stay underwater
for extended periods of time by catching
and holding a bubble of air beneath their
giant wings. They will carry the bubble
underwater, where it can be placed in a
cave or some other cavity capable of holding an air supply.
Behir
CLIMATE / TERRAIN: Any land
FREQUENCY: Rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVE TIME: Day
DIET: Carnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Low (5-7)
TREASURE: See below
ALIGNMENT: Neutral evil
NO. APPEARING: 1-2
ARMOR CLASS: 4
MOVEMENT: 15
HIT DICE: 12
THAC0: 9
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2 or 7
DAMAGE / ATTACK: 2-8 (2d4) / 2-5 (1d4 +1) or
2-8 (2d4) / 6 x 1-6
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Lightning bolt
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Immune to electricity,
poison
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: G (40 'long)
MORALE: Champion (15)
XP VALUE: 7,000
The behir is a snake-like reptilian monster whose dozen legs
allow it to move with considerable speed and climb at fully half
its normal movement rate. It can fold its
limbs close to its long, narrow body and
slither in snake-fashion if it desires.
The head looks more crocodilian than snake-like, but has no
difficulty in opening its mouth wide enough to swallow prey
whole, the way a snake does.
Behir have band-like scales of great
hardness. Their color ranges from ultramarine to deep blue with
bands of gray-brown. The belly is pale blue. The
two large horns curving back over the head
look dangerous enough but are actually
used for preening the creature's scales
and not for fighting.
Combat: A behir will attack its prey by
first biting and then looping its body
around the victim and squeezing. If the
latter attack succeeds, the victim is subject to six talon
attacks next round.
A behir can discharge a 20-foot long
stroke of electrical energy once every 10
rounds. This lightning bolt will cause 24
points of damage unless a saving throw vs.
breath weapon is made. In the latter case,
the target takes only half damage.
On a natural attack roll of 20 the behir
swallows man-sized prey whole. Any creature swallowed will lose
1 / 6 of its starting Hit Points each round until it dies at the
end of the sixth round. The behir will digest its meal in 12
turns, and at that time the victim is totally gone and cannot
be raised from the dead. Note, however, that a creature
swallowed can try to cut its way out of the behir's stomach. The
inner armor class of the behir is 7, but
each round the creature is in the behir it
subtracts 1 from the damage each of its
attacks does. This subtraction is cumulative, so on the second
melee round there is a -2, on the third a -3, and so on.
Habitat / Society: Behir are solitary creatures, meeting others
of their kind only to mate and hatch a clutch of 1-4 eggs.
The female guards these eggs for eight
months while the male hunts for the pair.
When the young hatch, they are immediately
turned out of the nest to fend for themselves, and the adults
separate.
Newly hatched behir are about 2 feet
long. Behir grow at a rate of 8 feet per
year until fully mature. Interestingly
enough, newly hatched behir do not have
all of their legs, having instead only six
or eight. Additional pairs of legs grow
slowly over time until the creature has
its full complement when it reaches adulthood.
Behir range over a territory of about
400 square miles, often living high up a
cliff face in a cave.
Behir are never friendly with dragonkind, and will never be
found coexisting in the same geographical area with any type of
dragon. If a dragon should enter a behir's territory, the behir
will do everything it can to drive the dragon out. If the behir
fails in this task, it will move off to find a new home. A
behir will never knowingly enter the territory of a dragon.
Ecology: Behir are useful to mages, priests, and alchemists for
a number of concoctions. The horns of a behir can be used to
brew the ink necessary to inscribe a lightning bolt scroll, and
the sharp talons can likewise be used by a cleric to make the
ink for a neutralize poison scroll. The heart of the behir is
one of the more common ingredients for ink for a
protection from poison scroll.
As behir sometimes swallow prey whole,
there is a 10% chance that there will be
some small items of value inside the monster. More often than
not (60%) these will be gems (10 x Q). Otherwise, there is a
30% chance that there will be from 1-8 pieces of jewelry and a
10% chance that a single small magical object of an
indegistible nature may be found. Such objects are never found
in a behir's lair, because the creature expels this waste and
buries it elsewhere.
The scales are valued for their hardness
and color, and are worth up to 500 gp to
an armorer who can use them to fashion a
highly ornate set of scale mail armor.
