Pursuing the AD&D Monster Manual back in 1979 I could not help to notice that while most of the monsters were obviously mythology in origin, one stood out. There are on the next to last entry stood tall and proud, the Yeti.
Now you have to remember what the late 70s were like. Bigfoot fever was all over the place then, there were no less than a dozen movies about Bigfoot in the 70s alone. Only the 2010s exceed it. So seeing a Yeti, who I knew was a relative, was very interesting. At first I didn't want to use him, it seemed so "off" to me. But over the years I have changed my mind and now I use all sorts of hominid cryptozoological creatures. But one of my favorites might just be the Almas.
The Almas featured in my first Ghosts of Albion adventure, Almasti, found in the Ghosts RPG core rule book. I spent a lot of time with them and decided I needed to port them over to D&D. This version is different than the Ghosts version, but still compatible.
Medium Humanoid (Cold)
Frequency: Very Rare
Number Appearing: 1d4 (1d8)
Alignment: Neutral [True Neutral]
Movement: 120' (40') [12"]
Fly: 240' (80') [24"]
Armor Class: 7 [12]
Hit Dice: 3d8+6** (20 hp)
THAC0: 11 (+8)
Attacks: 2 fists or by weapon
Damage: 1d6+2 x2 or by weapon type +2
Special: Fly, immune to cold, spells
Save: Monster 3
Morale: 8 (10)
Treasure Hoard Class: None
XP: 100 (OSE) 135 (LL)
Str: 16 (+2) Dex: 14 (+1) Con: 16 (+2) Int: 13 (+1) Wis: 15 (+1) Cha: 11 (0)
Almas are the smaller, more intelligent cousins of the Yeti. Due to their smaller size, they do not have the yeti’s hug attack. For every group of six Almas, one will be a shaman who has the spellcasting ability of a 2nd level winter witch.
With the aid of the shaman, an Almas can fly on the boreal winds, but only after the sun has gone down.
They are immune to normal and magical cold. Almas speak their own language and that of giants.
Almas are usually found in lower parts of the same mountain ranges one will find the yeti. The two groups will avoid each other, mostly due to the fact that interactions between them have caught the attention of humans and that is a far worse out for them.
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Simple monster with plenty of role-playing power. Plus they are fun to pull out when the players are expecting a yeti and these guys just fly away.
1 comment:
I do like the idea of a yeti that flies on the wind.
Black and White: Y for Yuwara Ul Sahd
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