MONSTROUS MONDAY: My Monster

How is your MONSTROUS MONDAY going so far?

Mine is GREAT!  I love seeing so many cool monsters.  I have not gotten to everyone, but I will.
In fact you can still sign up!  I am sure I am going to spend the next couple of days going to every site and reading what you all posted.  If I am going to run a blog hop and people are going to work to get posts up then you can expect that each and everyone will get my attention.

I wanted to talk about what sort of monsters I like.  I have spent this month posting all sorts of monster stats in preparation of this day.
- Wine Nymphs
- Ruslaka
- The Awakened Golem
- Witch Monsters

I also talk a lot about monsters here as can be seen from my posts tagged Monsters.  Now it is natural to assume that I would want to talk about Witches today. Though honestly I don't see witches as monsters.  Witches are witches.   No in truth my favorite monsters are Vampires.

I have talked more about vampires than pretty much any other monster, maybe even all monsters combined. The vampire is our dark mirror of our times.  He can be plague and pestilence, or smooth killer, or even ersatz super-hero.  While Edward my not look a thing like Dracula or Count Orlock, he does share more than one quality with the likes of Lord Ruthven or Lestat.

My favorite of course is Dracula.  He can be suave, sexy and cool and then in a flash be violent and bloody; a rampaging monster.  He is the best of what is great about vampire literature and film.
I have talked a lot about Dracula and the subject never gets old to me.  Back in the day I had this folder that I had written "Project Dracula" on.  It was one of my first attempts at multi-stating a character for more than one system.  Near the end of the 90s I had worked him out in dozens of systems.

I would later go on to do the same thing for the real life Countess Erzsébet Báthory.  If I have written more about Dracula, Bathory wins in terms of shear number of visits to my site.  She fascinated me and horrified me at the same time.  I could not imagine the scope of her crimes or even how she got away with it all.  I guess in the end she didn't and she got her everlasting youth afterall.

I also spent a lot of time discussing the cheesy horror movie Vampyres. I will not lie, I enjoy the hel lout of this movie.  What I like about it is how the vampire has evolved yet again here to be victim and villain.   Likewise I have felt the same about Carmilla.

Looking around this blog I seem to have stated up more vampires than I have witches.  Oddly enough I have not played all that many games of Vampire. Either the original Vampire the Masquerade or the newer Vampire the Requiem.

If vampires are thing and you also like old-school gaming then might I suggest my free book, The Vampire Class.  You can play a vampire character in Basic Era games and it is 100% free and 100% compatible with my new  book The Witch.

So what about you all?  Do you like vampires? Why or why not? Share your thoughts below!

For me they are the ultimate in Halloween monsters.

Monstrous Monday #4: Witch Monsters

For today I want to do something a little different.

The Witch came out over the weekend and I want to talk about the relationship between witches and monsters and why there are monsters in a "class" book.

There are essentially two types of monsters that come up when talking about witches in myth, legend and fairytales.
1. Monsters that are associated with witches.  These would be things like familiars or created monsters.
2. Monsters that are witches.  The hags and crones of myth, but also some vampires and werewolves.

I'll cover these both with some examples from The Witch.

Monsters Associated with Witches
Witches have a number of "monsters" that are often associated with them.  Familiars and created monsters are the most common.  In The Witch I cover familiars quite a bit as a character option, but I also include a lot of special familiars.  The Brownie, or brown man, is known to many gamers. What many people don't know that the mythology of the brownie is tied to old pagan beliefs.  The Cait Sith, or faerie cat is another type of creature that indicates the presence of a witch, or in the case sometimes is a witch.
Other  creatures pose an interesting problem because of how they are portrayed in myth  is sometimes different from how they are portrayed in the rules.  Gnomes are a good example.  In the games (and SRD) they are a player character race, but in many pagan myths gnomes are creatures of earth, something like an elemental, that can aid a witch. To split the difference I made their magic more witch like than other portrayals.  Witches are often found in the company of trolls since both are fairy tale and fantasy staples. These trolls are not the green, rubbery type, but more of the creatures of earth found in Norway.
For created creatures, I have included the Druther, which is a special form of a wood golem that I created in my games years and years ago.  Another original monster is the Batling, a monster created by witchcraft, but has an ecology of it's own.
Plus we should not forget flying monkeys as a more recent example.

Monsters that Are Witches
Witches in fairy tales are often monstrous looking women and not normal human women with a particular career choice.  These monsters are covered well by the Hag monster in the rules, but there are a lot of different types of hags.  There are swamp hags, hags that live in ginger bread houses at the edge of forests, hags that live under the sea, or rivers, cold wastelands or ones that steal into homes to take your souls, breath or children.  I want to cover as many of these as I could and enhance them with rules I have in the book.
There are other creatures too that often blur the lines between creatures.  The Baobhan Sìth blurs the line between witch, faerie, and vampires. The Strigoi is described as a witch and a vampire.  The Boroka is witch  that under a curse and is also a cannibalistic monster.  The Rusalka is an undead witch.

There are many more, and I still have quite a few on my hard drives.  These though I think represent a good cross section of with related monsters.

For your consideration, the monsters from the Witch.


Baobhan Sìth
Banshee
Batlings
Bendith Ý Mamau
Boroka
Brownie
Cait Sídhe
Druther
Earth Troll
Elf, Gypsy (Ranagwithe)
Fen Witch
Green Jack
Hags
 - Annis
 - Cavern
 - Green
 - Ice
 - Moon
 - Sea
 - Storm
 - Swamp
 - Wood (Makva)
Imp
Jack-O’-Lantern
Night Hag
Rusalka
Scarecrow
Strigoi
Winged Cat
Winged Monkey


The Witch is out now at DriveThruRPG in ebook format.  Print copies are on the way.

The Awakened Golem

Golems are a big part of the D&D game.  Well. Maybe not a *big* part, but they have their part to play.  What is interesting about them though is the varieties of myths that were pulled together to make them.
The word Golem and the Clay Golem monster have their roots in Jewish folklore, horror and film.  The Flesh Golem is an homage to Frankenstein and his monster.
Other Golems come from a variety of places.  The Iron and Stone Golems seem to have basis in tales, but the most likely origin seems to be the films featuring the Ray Harryhausen monsters, in particular the giant statue from Jason and the Argonauts (whose fertile ground also gave us Skeletons).

The one thing that many of these stories have that the RPG monster does not though is the semblance of true life.  After all.  A Golem with no life that does it's business is no big deal.  But give it a spark of true life and suddenly you have horror.

The Awakened Golem then is a Golem that has been "Awakened", it has a spark of true life.  This is either by accident such as a word or letter is mis-coded in a Clay Golem, or the personality of the original body lives on in the Flesh Golem, or the animating spirit in the Druther overrides the witch's control, or even the golem becomes the vessel of some spirit of vengeance.  What ever the cause a living soul is now in procession of a body that it can only see as an abomination.

Different types of Golems have different chance of Awakening.  This percent is rolled when the golem is made or under special circumstance; such as a nearby tragic death, or a bolt of eldritch lighting hits it.
(These Golems have appeared in various editions of the game)

Statue (any golem made to be a statue):  2%
Iron, Stone, Amber, Silver, Mud (any non-living mater): 5%
Clay, Wood, Druther, Bone (formerly living matter): 10%
Flesh, Corpse (formerly a sentient being): 15%  +5% if body parts come a wrongly convicted murderer.
Plush (special Ravenloft golem): Plush golems and stuffed toys are better handled as an  Imaginary Friend or a Boogey.

In most cases the Awakened Golem will be Chaotic, or at best Neutral.  Some rare cases will occur when the awakened Golem will be Lawful.

The changes to the monster will be a greater intelligence (at least Average, often more) and a blinding hate for whomever created it.  The Awakened Golem, even Lawful ones, will be driven to write some percieved wrong.  An Awakened Golem might want to kill their creator, or kill everyone.  Or it might want to discover the killer of some innocent.  What ever  the motivation it should be tied directly to their origin story.

The Awakend Golem gains HD over their non-awakened counterparts. Better AC and attacks.
Despite their origin and/or appearance, Awakened Golmes are not undead.  They are still immune to the effects of mind affecting spells, sleep, charm and hold.  They do not need to eat (but might do it out of habit) and can not be healed.  Awakended Golems regenerate 2 hp per round, even if reduced below 0hp.  Only fire can completely destroy them since they do not regenerate after fire damage.

Awakened Golem (Flesh Golem)

Armor Class:  0 [22]
Hit Dice: 10d8+15* (60 hp)
No. of Attacks: 2 (fistsl)
Damage:  2d8/2d18
Special: immunities, regeneration
Movement: 30’ (90')
No. Appearing: 1
Saves As: Fighter 12
Morale: 12
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 2800

The Creature (as he is know) is an Awakened Flesh golem. He stands over 7 feet tall and has greenish cadaverous skin. Despising what he sees  himself to be he killed his creator and terrified a nearby village. He currently lives in a cave where he prefers to stay in peace, reading books on philosophy.
If he is disturbed though he will fly into a violent rage and kill anyone that disturbs him. He will not though attack children.
The Creature has been killed many times, only regenerate from the smallest scraps.

OGL Section 15 The Awakened Copyright 2012 Timothy S. Brannan.
All text is Open under the terms of the OGL.
Links are not considered part of this entry and are not under the OGL.

Rusalka

This is one of those creatures that has been haunting my hard drive for a number of years, games and editions.  It was the seeing them again in White Dwarf that made me dust them off and put on a fresh coat of paint for Monday.
Enjoy!

Rusalka


Armor Class:  6 [13]  / 2 [17] when incoporeal
Hit Dice: 4d8* (20 hp)
No. of Attacks: 1 (physical)
Damage:  1d6
Special: Charm, drowning
Movement: 30’ (90')
No. Appearing: 1
Saves As: Witch 4
Morale: 9
Treasure: None / See below
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 360


Rusalka is often used, and confused, for a lot of different water creatures.  But the true Rusalka is a fearful undead creature.  In all cases the Rusalka is the undead spirit of a young woman that had drown.  The circumstances of her death vary; some say she drowned with out being baptized first, others again say she died while drowning her own children (which will sometime result in a Navky or Utburd).  But most say the surest way to become a Rusalka is to be a witch.
The Rusalka is most often found near the area where she died.  Often hiding near a tree close to the water where she died.   She can wander away during night, but she must return before sunrise or face complete destruction.  She can move about during the day, but she can't attack.  Also during the light of day she can be seen for what she is; an undead creature.
They may become incorporeal at will, but are forced into it at sunrise. In anycase she can only be hit with weapons of +1 or better.
The Rusalka will attempt to charm her victim into an embrace. She will then attempt lure the victim into her watery grave to drown them as they had been drowned.  The victim she chooses is often tied to her reason for dying. If she comited suicide over love or was spurned by a lover she will go after victims that remind her of her former love.  If she curse for drowning a child, then she preys on children or mothers with small children.  Rusalkas that were drowned for witchcraft will seek out victims that remind her of her captors; men of religion, war or other magic-using characters.
The Rusalka may be turned as a Wraith, but the only way to truly destroy one is to find her corpse and give it a proper funereal. A pyre is usually the preferred choice.
The Rusalka has no need for treasure so she never keeps any. There will be treasure left over from her victims.  Typically this will be a few gems, 2-20 (2d10) of 5 to 20 (1d4 x5) gp each.

OGL Section 15 Rusalka Copyright 2012 Timothy S. Brannan.
All text is Open under the terms of the OGL. Art is in the Public Domain.
Links are not considered part of this entry and are not under the OGL.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusalka

Monster Monday round up

The first unofficial Monstrous Monday just happened (don't worry, you are only required to post on Monday October 29th for the bloghop) and we have some great monsters here at the Other Side and elsewhere!

• Wine Nymphs, http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2012/10/wine-nymphs.html
• Pincushion, http://www.savageafterworld.com/2012/10/mutated-monday-savage-menagerie.html
• Silver Tongued Devil, http://towerofthearchmage.blogspot.com/2012/10/new-monster-silver-tongued-devil.html
• Impundulu, http://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2012/10/witch-monster-impundulu.html
• Corpse Chariot, http://dungeonofsigns.blogspot.com/
• Night Nurse, http://sorcerersskull.blogspot.com/ (not sure if this is a participating monster, but I like it!)
• Wermilok, http://hereticwerks.blogspot.com/2012/10/wermilok.html
• Crocoduck, http://freedomofnonbelief.blogspot.com/2012/10/monstrous-mondays-crocoduck.html
• Tabonga!, http://afieldguidetodoomsday.blogspot.com/2012/10/spawn-of-devastation-drive-in-from-hell.html (stuff of my nightmares as a child)
• Mastermind Monday - Whisper, http://punverse.blogspot.com/2012/10/mastermind-monday-whisper.html (Mutants and Masterminds!!)

Did I miss any?  I thought about trying to pick my favorite, but these are all so good.

I am so pleased with this turn out.   While these are mostly RPG-focused I do want to remind everyone that your post doesn't have to be RPG related to be in the bloghop.

Looking forward to more!

 

Wine Nymphs

This monster comes from the "Play with This" series from Shon Richards, aka Erotiterroist.
 http://erotiterrorist.blogspot.com/2012/09/play-with-this-wine-nymphs.html

Given that this is the time of harvest and the wine should pour, this little fey would be fun for my first October Monday Monster.

Wine Nymph

Armor Class:  9 [10]
Hit Dice: 1d8+1* (5 hp)
No. of Attacks: Special
Damage: nil
Special: intoxication, charm
Movement: 30’
No. Appearing: 2-4
Saves As: Elf 1
Morale: 8
Treasure: None
Alignment: Neutral
XP: NA

Wine Nymphs are a special sort of fae that only live in the bottles of very fine wine.  Not all wines have these nymphs, but the one that do are especially coveted.
The nymph spends her time swimming and frolicking in the bottle of wine.  They appear to be tiny pixie like creatures; exceptionally beautiful but no wings.
As the bottle is drained the nymphs inside shrink.  One the bottle is empty the nymphs are gone as well.
They have no attacks and cause no damage. Their dancing and semi-disrobed flocking though act as a weaker Charm Person spell (victims gain a +2 bonus to their rolls).  Once charmed the victims have only one desire, to drink the bottle of wine.
While the antics and stories of the wine nymphs feature in many tales from bards and skalds, some occult scholars believe that wine nymphs are actually a form of imp or demon, compelling us to drink and partake in wanton revelries.
One thing the scholar and the poet agree on is more, much more, research needs to be done.