Terror Birds

While dinosaurs always get the glory, I happen to love all prehistoric creatures especially Terror Birds.

There is something about being stalked and preyed upon by a giant, insane, carnivorous turkey that is both absurd, and terrifying. Then there is the fact that they are basically feathered dinosaurs that flourished in South America right up until the time it merged with North America. The land bridge brought other predators like saber-toothed cats and the reign of the Terror Bird came to an ignoble end.

They don't appear enough in fantasy fiction and rpgs for my likeing. D&D has one, and Pathfinder has the Axe-Beak, but when was the last time you saw one in an adventure supplement?

Terror Bird 
Gamer's Common
Type: Animal, prehistoric. Can be found solitary or in packs (D6). Any environment except Arctic.
Size: Human or larger
Stats: High strength, agility and endurance. Animal, predator intelligence.
Weapons and Armour: Beak (high damage), Kick (high damage), Head Butt (high damage). Wing rake (low damage). Hide provides moderate protection.
Min/Max: Very fast runners. May hunt in packs or have camouflaged plumage in dense jungles/woods.

TWERPS: Terror Birds
ST: 5.
Movement x2.
Attack:
Beak +1 Hit 3 Damage.
Kick: +1 Hit. 2 Damage
Head Butt: -1 Hit. 4 Damage
Armour: 3

Xenomosaurus Rex

When a regular TPK just won't do ....

Oliver Pabilona

This little beauty  gives me a brilliant idea for a campaign.

Xenomorphic Rex - Gamers' Common
-Type: Animal, prehistoric. Alien-parasitic

Size: Very large
Stats: High strength, agility and endurance. Animal, predator intelligence.
Weapons: Bite- Very Powerful. Kick - Very Powerful. Claws-Moderate. Tail swat- Very Powerful. Secondary mouth-moderate
Armour: Very Strong

Min/Max: Fast runners. Acid blood (strong) which sprays when damaged.

TWERPS-Xenomorphic Rex

St: 10

Movement: x2. Two Attacks per round

Attack: 

Bite +3 Hit. 7 Damage

Claw: +1 Hit. 5 Damage

Tail: -2 to Hit. 6 Damage

Armour: 5

Min/Max: When hit, sprays Acid Blood in all adjacent hexes for 2 damage. 

Hive Castle
Just over a month ago, shortly after the Night of the Falling Star, all contact was lost with the remote province of Wayland. Messengers have not returned, and as yet, there has been no word from the armored battalion of knights

Now the Chancellor Iutan is asking the adventures' help. Go to Wayland and find out what happened out there. The chancellor's adviser, a wizard named Kartar Burke, and two royal guard will accompany the party, though Chancellor Iutan will not say why.

It is a week-long journey through the mountains until you come to the remote valley province. The region is volcanic and barren, with some pockets of green. The only human habitation in the region is a medium sized mining community centered around the fortress known as Bishop's Keep (it was once an abbey) which is at the far end of a town called Hadley's Hope.

As the party approaches the town, they see no sign of any villagers. Homes are all abandoned and many show signs of violent struggle.

As they investigate the town, the party begins to encounter the evil star creatures. Shadows at first, perhaps an npc dragged off by something in the night. When they come, in force and it becomes a desperate fight for their lives. The party flees to seek the security of Bishop's Keep. Once there, however, they begin to learn about the star creature's true nature.

They also learn that Kartar's goal has always been the great dungeon below Bishop's Keep, which according to legend, is the prison to the great dragon known as Nostromo,,,

Cooloola Monster

Despite its name, this strange 1 inch creature is actually a distant relative of the cricket. Found in Australia (natch'), it was actually strange enough that they gave it its own family, the Cooloolidae.

It also spends its whole life underground, which makes perfect for diabolical gamemasters. Nothing like telling the player that his 12th level fighter just got munched by a giant, subterranean cricket.

Cave Clowns

You ever wanted to justify having scary clowns, but you're running a 'serious game'? Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal has the answer!

Cave Clows - Gamer's Common

-Type: Humanoid
Size: Human
Stats: Average human.
Weapons: hand to hand human average. Bite strong. Can and will use weapons.
Armour: 1 - Clothing
Min/Max: Can move in aquatic environments. Strong sense of smell and electo-location allows it to inhabit dark and near-dark environs. Some have magical abilities.

TWERPS- Cave Clowns

ST: 4

Can be found in cave and sewer environments. No penalty to aquatic movement. No penalties in darkness.

Attack:

Teeth +2 Hit, 3 Damage

Mallet: +2 Hit. 3 Damage

Armour: Clothing 2

Min/Max: Some may possess magical powers. 

Conflagration Weed

http://io9.com/this-bizarre-aragonite-flower-grows-from-the-damp-cei-1639745761

At first glance, these strange lifeforms appear to be some form of aberrant, darkness dwelling plants. In actuality, they are closer related to sponges and coral. The organisms grow very slowly by leeching minerals from the rocks. They grow in long thin, branches that can be anywhere from 1cm to 1m long. At a certain point, the branch will begin to form a pod surrounded by sharp spikes. These pods are filled with the spores of the creatures. They are also filled with phosphorus and other chemicals, and when touched, the pods will explode, driving the spores into the nearby rocks.

While the pods are generally quite small, they will eventually fill a room. Even a small pod will do d4 (or equivalent damage), a room with thousands can easily become an exploding deathtrap. Delvers also sometimes call them Fireburs, Needleweed or Deathspores.

The Santaur

A little late for Christmas, but holy Krampus would this thing scare the crap out of the players during the annual Holiday themed adventure. 

The Nightmare Chair

Link

The party opens a door to find a small room with only a single only a dusty chair, surrounded by nothing but old bones and dust... surely one of the tired adventurers will want to have a seat?

This cursed artifact was created by ancient Phobicnauts to draw forth the deepest and most terrifying fears of their victims. When seated in the chair, the victim will firmly believe that their greatest nightmare is unfolding in front of them. This nightmare rises in shadow form around the chair, and will torment them endlessly. Those not seated in the chair will only see a change in their companion, changing from sudden rigidness to powerful screams and thrashing, though no amount of conversation will persuade the person in the chair that the shadows are not real. Furthermore, touching bare skin with the victim may cause the would be rescuer to see fearsome shadows of their own.

The person seated in the chair can not, or will not willing stand up and will react with violence if forced. Destroying the chair has a 25% of doing severe physiological trauma to the person seated.

Chickensaurus

Link!

Chickensauruses are giant, unstoppable vegetarian predators that can be found close to civilized regions. They have been known to ravage entire villages in their unending and devastating search for corn and other crops on which to feast. 

If defeated however, they are said to be delicious. 

Chickensaurus

MSG: 8.4.6

Traits

-Giant

Damage

Peek +8

Kick +10

Wing Buffet +5

Armour

Feathers -8

Midas Spiders

Why is this spider encased in gold?

I realized this afternoon that Gold Spiders are very boring and attempting to come up with a semi-plausible explination as to why a spider might be encased in gold was cheeseball at best. So it was tie to get a little more old-school.

Midas Spiders
Thought to have been created by some ancient, avarice witch, the venom of this extremely rare arachnid can transform those it bits into a statue of solid gold! Naturally, it is extemely sought after and even the rumour of a Midas Spider can send adventuerers flooding into the area seeking the prize of a lifetime.

Naturally, finding and keeping a Midas Spider is extremely difficult. They tend to live only in the deepest and darkest reaches of the underworld. They are extremely vicious and will attack almost anything that crosses their path as their venom has been known to bring down (and transmorgify) full grown landsharks, bearowls and even a behemoth.

If captured, the spider will thrash itself against its container until it escapes, or dies. Only a few are said to know the secrets of catching a Midas Spider, and they are most certainly not telling. Still, most adventurers who are successful in searching out this rarest of spiders can usually be content in carrying home a full golden statue of a team-mate or follower.

Grey Riders

http://www.dudeiwantthat.com/style/costumes/alien-mind-control-mask.asp

The otherworldly beings known only as 'Greys' are from a world with much less gravity than our own, and find prolonged walking or movement difficult. To compensate, some will choose a much stronger and larger humanoid to serve as a mount, a process that requires them cutting into the unfortunate's skull and implanting new cybernetic wiring. The victim's head is then encased in a control seat that allows the rider to sit comfortably, and control the mount's body as one might control exo-armour or a power walker. Those who have witnessed the process say that transformation appears to be intensely painful and is ultimately fatal to the mount as much of their head and grey matter is carved away in the process.

The rider has complete control of their mount, and can use it to walk, manipulate objects. They are quite common in grey hivecolonies. If forced to venture outside the colony the mount will usually be hidden under a long cloak and will be wearing at least light armour and armed with a thought-scrambler wand.

The Movie Sucked, but the Monsters Were Cool

Just saw last year's Riddick movie. It was absolutely terrible. Like, really really terrible. And the whole 'Riddick cures lesbianism' thing? I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way. And the 'keep it warm for me' line at the end was so creepy it made me gag and pretty much guaranteed I'll never watch another Riddick film again. Which sucks because I really liked Pitch Black! I could write a lot more about how bad I thought the rest of the movie was, but in the end its really just my opinion. If you liked it, who am I to argue?

Love the Sackhoff! Hated this movie.

Still, the monsters of the riddickverse are interesting. Not the dingos-dongos. They were intensely generic and boring, but they might make a good visual or random encounter in a sci-fi game. Not in one of my games, but maybe in someone else's.  

Yep ... its just a dog. It was like they weren't even trying.

However, the bioraptors from the Pitch Black, and mud-demons from Riddick were actually pretty awesome. Both combined genuinely interesting, and alien (yet describable) characteristics.

Artist Link

Bioraptors / Night Raptors

Warrior Monster (Medium to Hit)

MSG: 5.3.3 (average size)

Traits

-Flight

-Nightvision 

-Omnivorous

-Vulnerable to sunlight, does +5 Damage

Damage

Tail +4

Teeth +4

Armour

-4

*All stats are for an average sized raptor. It can be found in larger and smaller versions. Smaller raptors swarm like locusts and can through their prey in seconds. 

 

Artist Link

Mud Demon

Warrior Monsters (Medium to Hit)

MSG: 5.3.4 (average size)

Traits

-Poison. If the mud demon makes a success hit and damage with its tale, make a Bod roll -2 or suffer a Grievous wound. For immature demons (1m long or less), the Bod roll is -4!

-At close range, gain two attacks per turn

-As their name implies, mud demons prefer to live in shallow water and/or marshy areas. They are never found far from water or deep mud.  

Damage

Stinger +3

Teeth +4

Kick/Claws +3

Armour

Skin -2

*All stats are for average sized demons. Both smaller and larger versions exist. As they grow, their poison becomes less toxic. 

Rutabaga Men

Rutabaga Men are created when crops are planted into cursed soil. The root grows evil and twisted, until finally it bursts forth from the earth and begins to wreck havoc across the countryside. 

Witches have a thousand uses for their cursed, vegetable flesh and will hunt them down to carve up their flesh for potions, elixirs, rituals and a reportedly, very delicious stew.

What is it?!

Terror Bears

Every Teddy Bear that is truly loved by a child becomes his or her guardian against the terrors of the night. 

And as long as the child truly loves the bear, then the bear cannot loose. 

But when a child no longer loves his/her bear, then the poor creature continues its fight against an ever growing foe, but without the power derived from its bond with a child. When the bear finally looses, it is transformed, literally turned inside out, by the terrors of the night into the warped and pathetic creatures known as Terror Bears. 

Terror Bears are usually found in locations once inhabited by children (schools, hospitals etc), where they will sit completely inert for years at a time until they are disturbed. When that occurs, they will latch on to the person who disturbed them (or the nearest child, or child-like person), and begin to terrorize them in their own warped quest for affection. This attention begins with minor scares and can escalate to gruesome murders as the Terror Bear desperately and psychotically attempts to reestablish some sort of bond with a person, even if is only one of absolute fear.   

Kent Rogowski's Bears series 

http://io9.com/photos-of-teddy-bears-turned-inside-out-are-the-stuff-o-1654738604

Elvithid

From Classics Mutliated

The Elvithid are a rare mutation of the aberrant species known as illithid (Mindflayer). Instead of preying on intellect, the Elvithid feast upon the creative talents of bards, troubadours and other performers. As they absorb more power, the larger and more garish their appearance. The most powerful will become bloated and sweating monsters, garbed in elaborate costumes of dyed leather (often humanoid in origin) bedecked in gems, tassels, ascots, half-capes and the terrible, terrible collars.

Bikini Ghoul

Bikini Ghouls are found on the beaches of underground seas, lunging in suplurous lagoons and swimming in warm, piranha invested rivers.

With their faces concealed and in dim light, their curvacious form may fool an adventurer a long way from the warm embrance of the desired sex. Though they do not speak, the may emmit an Aura of Seduction that requires a great willpower to overcome.

If some unfortunate soul falls under their power, they will drag him or her below the waters and drown them, feasting like sharks upon their still living flesh. They are not warriors however, and will quickly scatter or flee once they have their dinner, or are outnumbered.

Bops

Bops are a magical creation similar to golemns or homunculi that were created by an ancient twisted sorcerer to serve as guards and watchmen over his lair and treasures.

After his death, a team of delvers sacked the lair and with heavy looses, finally defeated the guardians and then proceeded to loot the place clean.

That would have been the end of it, but during the looting, the party's mage found the sorcerer's spellbook. It contained instructions on how to create more of the insidious fiends.

The mage then made copies and sold the spell to other sorcerers and bopclowns spread, until they became the scourge to delvers that they are today.

Bops are usually deployed to guard or block access to specific areas, and can remain deflated and dormant for many centuries, long after their original purpose has long since eroded away. For that reason they can be found almost anywhere. When disturbed, they inflate with incredible speed, ready to block trespassers and would-be robbers.

Most are created with a password or are tuned to a biothaumatical signature that allows a person to step past the creatures without incident. Most bops do not attack directly, but anyone not cleared are simply blocked from moving forward. It is only when attacked that the construct displays its true powers.

Anytime the creature is attacked, it immediately responds with equal force back upon its attacker. The harder you hit it, the harder it responds. In addition, most are impervious to blunt weapons and many simply deflate if attacked from a distance. 

Rumours persist of a much more insidious version of the creature, captured here in a grainy iconograph found on the dessicated corpse of some unlucky adventurer.

Mouthchild

A good delver must have the right instincts for sensing when something is not right. Those instints cannot be taught and they must be good from that very first moment. A delver with bad instincts is rarely more than a corpse.

A crying child, all alone definitely does not fit. These hell-spawn lure curious adventurers by weeping loudly. They are then found sitting in a corner, head in their arms and crying for their mother. Between sobs they will tell a tale of abduction, torture and fear, ever luring the kind-hearted fool ever closer.

Be warned, for I have seen this very horror with my own eyes; when the doomed soul gets close enough, the child-thing sits up and opens its eyes ... by the gods in the heavens, its terrible, terrible eyes.

The Giant Earthworm

Linkage for more!

Giant earthworms are harmless enough to delvers and are actually a good source of protien and nourishment when supplies start getting low.

It is that quality that makes the giant earthworm dangerous. Their incredible nutritional value means that where you find giant earthworms, you find other hunters as well.

The Dire Giant Earthworm is another creature altogether. Imagine a slavering, slimey beast that only becomes two slavering, slimey beasts whenever you cut it in half....

The Autospermxtracotron

In an ancient and lost facility, abandoned for a thousand years the party suddenly comes across this strange device.....

Link for Explanation

Would they dare? There is always that one in the group that would dare...

If they do, roll D12 for the Result

1     Nest - The machine is long dead and now a home to a nest of Carrion Spiders. Roll for damage!

2     Stuck! - the apparatus is long dead, dried out and is faulty. Character is now stuck until help arrives with lubricant. Roll for Random encounter.

3     Demonseed! After the character makes his 'deposit' the machine grows a half man, half machine doppelganger that will be birthed within 1d4 weeks.

4     Love - Over the millennium, the machine has gained a kind of sentience and is now hopelessly in love with the character. It will follow him doggedly until destroyed. 

5     Vengeance - Over the millennium, the machine has gained a kind of sentience and feels violated by the character's actions. It will have its vengeance, or be destroyed in the process. 

6     The deposit activates a portal to the Dimension of Lust. Players choice if character goes through, but if he does, the character is gone forever short of a Wish spell. 

7     The deposit sucks the character into the Plane of a Boarded Up Van Down By the River. Returns in 1d4 weeks with severe psychological damage. 

8     The machine is the beloved toy of a Rock Troll. The character's use has driven the monster to raging jealousy and it will track him down and try to kill the character. Also, character has 1 in 4 chance of contracting Troll Herpes.

9       Healing Touch. The character regains all lost hit points, is cured of all disease and/or curses.   

10     A way with the ladies! The character learns a thing or two from the experience. Added bonuses when dealing with gender of greatest attraction. 

11    Its full of jade! The machine is full of jade, worth d100gold pieces

12    The machine itself is fully operational and powered by eldrich energies. To the right buyer, it would be worth thousands. 

Gnomezilla

Link Rampage!

This monster is one of the most feared in all of fairy lore. Once only a simple salamander, it was captured and subjected to terrible experinements on by the great magus, Pollen Buzzelbee. When the experiment failed, the the salamander escaped unnoticed by Buzzlebee who had already turned his warped and fertile mind to another shortlived project involving the domestication and breeding of owlbears. Tortured and lost, the salamander crawled into the great underground ocean known as the Forgotten Sea. There in the lightless depths, still drenched in strange energies, it grew. And it grew and it grew until one day it returned to wreck vengeance upon the race of those that had tortured and enslaved it.

Standing almost two feet tall, the Gnomezilla is completely impervious to fairy magic, has a near impenetrable hide, can shoot fire from its mouth hot enough to melt dragonscale.

However, there are those who claim that Gnomezilla is also a protector of sort, one that will destroy any threat that comes between it and its final goal to eliminate all of gnomekind. A cult of sorts has sprung up, a cult of clerics to claim to be able to call the monster whenever the realm of fairy is threatened in any way. Their claims, though extravagant, have yet to be tested.