Xorn for DCC

A xorn is a roughly barrel-shaped creature from the Elemental Plane of Earth.  It has three arms ending with rock-hard claws, and three short legs.  Three eyes surround the gaping maw at the top of its body.  Its skin is made of greyish-brown rock-hard material that is quite difficult to damage.  They are extremely heavy – even a small xorn weighs over 800 pounds – due to their rocky makeup.

Xorns have the ability to teleport from the Elemental Plane of Earth to the material plane and back once every three centuries, and are able to transport up to three willing creatures no larger than themselves when doing so.  They can swim through earth and stone at will, as though it were water, leaving no opening behind them.  

Likewise, they can treat earth and stone as solids whenever it suits them.  This is a natural part of any move action they take, and makes it extremely easy for a xorn to escape almost any conflict that is going poorly, although they cannot transport other creatures through stone or earth in this manner.  In addition to having infravision to a range of 60 feet, xorn can see through solid earth or stone to a range of 30 feet.

Xorn eat precious metals and gems, which they can scent at a range of 120 feet, even through solid earth and stone.  They usually only come into conflict with beings from the material plane over these “tasty treats”.  Often, xorn attacks can be headed off by offering some portion of treasure (typically 50 gp x the xorn’s Hit Dice), and in some cases xorn have carried adventurers to the Elemental Plane of Earth in exchange for precious metals and gems worth 100 gp x the xorn’s Hit Dice, per person carried.

Sometimes, undigested gems may be found within a xorn’s primary stomach.  In addition, it is 20% likely that a xorn on the material plane is encountered within 100 yards of a seam of metallic ore.  Such as seam is able to produce 10d6 x 100 lbs. of refined metal if the labour necessary to follow, extract, and smelt the ore is performed (1d6 days of labour per 10 lbs.).

There is a further 10% chance that, after 2d6 days of labour, another vein is located, intersecting the first.  Determine value and type randomly, as with the first vein.  There is a 5% chance of encountering a third intersecting vein, a 2% chance of a fourth, a 1% chance of a fifth, and a 1% chance of additional veins thereafter until no vein is encountered.

Xorn (small):  Init –4; Atk claw +1 melee (2d6) or bite +0 melee (2d8); AC 20; HD 2d8+8; MV 30' or swim through stone 60'; Act 3d20; SP DR 10/magic, ignore stone at will, transport to Elemental Plane of Earth, infravision 60', see through stone 30'., smell gems and precious metals 120', swim through stone; SV Fort +20, Ref +0, Will +8; AL N.

Xorn (medium):  Init –5; Atk claw +3 melee (2d6) or bite +1 melee (2d8); AC 22; HD 4d8+16; MV 30' or swim through stone 60'; Act 3d20; SP DR 10/magic, ignore stone at will, transport to Elemental Plane of Earth, infravision 60', see through stone 30'., smell gems and precious metals 120', swim through stone; SV Fort +22, Ref –2, Will +10; AL N.

Xorn (large):  Init –7; Atk claw +6 melee (2d6+3) or bite +3 melee (2d8+3); AC 24; HD 8d8+8; MV 30' or swim through stone 60'; Act 3d20; SP DR 10/magic, ignore stone at will, transport to Elemental Plane of Earth, infravision 60', see through stone 30'., smell gems and precious metals 120', swim through stone; SV Fort +25, Ref –4, Will +15; AL N.