Raven Crowking's Nest: April 2021

Titan Electric Eel: Init +5; Atk slam +14 melee (2d30) or bite +12 melee (5d8 and swallow whole) or twin lightning bolts +16 ranged (4d24 plus melt and burn); AC 26; HD 20d20+40; MV 40’ or swim 100'; Act 3d20; SP immune to electricity, hull point damage, swallow whole, melt, burn, death throes; SV Fort +20, Ref +12, Will +14; AL C.

The titan electric eel is a horrible and, thankfully, extremely rare monster that haunts warm seas in the worlds of Dungeon Crawl Classics and Terra A.D. If using a naval combat system using hull points (or their equivalent), the titan electric eel does damage to ships (and similar) using hull points.

Should the creature strike a human-sized opponent with its bite attack, it automatically swallows them whole. This does 5d8 damage to the swallowed creature on the eel's initiative each round, but the interior of the creature is so vast that the swallowed victim's attacks are not otherwise impeded. This damage is wholly from digestive acids, so creatures immune to such attacks may pass through the titan electric eel uninjured in a matter of 4d6 days if they cannot cut themselves out sooner.

The twin lightning bolts that streak from the titan electric eel do massive damage, and cause metal to melt and flammable materials to burn. Living beings struck by these attacks must succeed in a DC 10 Reflex save to avoid catching fire. If they are wearing metal armor or have metal weapons, a DC 15 Reflex save is required to avoid having these melt into uselessness. A character wearing metal armor when it melts takes 1d12 damage for each point of AC bonus the armor provides. Chainmail, for instance, would cause 5d12 damage.

Finally, if a titan electric eel is actually slain, its death throes cause it to thrash about, creating enormous waves that have a chance of capsizing even the largest of ocean-going vessels. Every vessel in the area takes 2d20 hull points of damage, potentially being capsized or destroyed. If not using a hull point system, there is a 75% chance for the largest of vessels being destroyed, and the odds become worse from there, until a dinghy or canoe-like vessel has a 99% chance of destruction.

There is a good chance that even a high-level party will face a TPK if they face one of these malevolent creatures. Even if they somehow slay the titan electric eel, being wrecked at sea is almost certainly a death sentence. Perhaps there is an island or a coast nearby which they can reach.... After a while, there will certainly be sharks.

Thanks to James Mishler for providing the image. The Monster Museum was a common entry in the Gold Key comics of the past. They had a "Gold Key Kids Club," and part of it was a "Draw Your Own Monster" entry, which was only for the subscriber copies. They were also used multiple times in multiple titles, but this image (along with the Giant Walking Eye, the Mammoth Mummy, and the Monster Moth) appeared in The Lone Ranger #9 and probably other Gold Key issues.

If you use this creature in your game - or, really, any of the ones posted here - please drop me a line and let me know how it went! If you have any other interesting images that you would like stats supplied for - including work of your own! - please send them along. I will try to get to most of them, in any event!

Alternative Attack

With thanks to Aaron Talley, there are titan electric eels whose lightning bolts are also "lightening" bolts (see the spelling on the image). These reduce the weight of objects and creatures struck by 10 lbs. per point of damage done, possibly resulting in a negative weight. This effect lasts for 1d4 rounds. An object or creature with a negative weight "falls" 30' upwards each round. Once the effect wears off, normal gravity asserts itself and normal falling damage applies.

Saturday, 24 April 2021

Seeking These Titles

As you probably know, I also write the DCC Trove of Treasures.

In a (probably vain) attempt to be complete, I need to obtain a few items. I would prefer to gain them physically, but pdf copies will work. If you know where I can obtain any of these, please pass it on!

~~Demon Cult Classics~~ Obtained! (Thank you, James!)

~~Dismal Cubicle Crawl~~ Obtained!

Escape From Catastrophe Island

~~Flammable Hospital~~ Obtained! (Thank you, James!)

Hobbs & Friends Zine

~~Pamphlet Crawl Classics #1: The Black Wastes~~ Obtained

Punjar 50,000

Monster Moth Picks its Victims from Open Fields

Monster Moth: Init +0; Atk snatch +7 melee (no damage) or bite +4 melee (2d8); AC 16; HD 4d16+8; MV 10’ or fly 60'; Act 1d20; SP snatch, drop; SV Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +4; AL C.

The monster moth is rare creature suitable for both DCC and MCC campaign milieus. It prefers open areas, such as fields and plains, where it is able to detect prey. Although not particularly stealthy, the monster moth can fly faster than most humanoids can run, which again makes open fields a suitable hunting ground for the creatures.

A monster moth attacks first with a snatch attack, which allows it to grab a creature and bear it aloft when it is next able to move. The victim can use an Action Die to attempt a DC 15 Strength or Agility check to break free, but once aloft normal falling damage applies. The monster moth then bears its victim to some remote location to devour it privately. If the victim fails a Luck check, the monster moth begins its feast by dropping the victim 1d6 x 10', with appropriate falling damage, both to take the fight out of the creature and to tenderize its prey.

The monster moth itself is an unholy amalgam of an enormous humanoid and a colossal moth, and it is both intelligent and malign. It might have been created by a mad scientist of the Ancients, mutation, a wizard's presumptuous experiments, or even a rain of tiny dead monsters.

Thanks to James Mishler, I learned that the Monster Museum was a common entry in the Gold Key comics of the past. They had a "Gold Key Kids Club," and part of it was a "Draw Your Own Monster" entry, which was only for the subscriber copies. They were also used multiple times in multiple titles, but this image (along with the Giant Walking Eye and the Mammoth Mummy) appeared in The Lone Ranger #9 and probably other Gold Key issues.

Discerning readers will note that I gave the monster moth only 4 HD, but made them d16s, with a +8 bonus. This gives the creature a range of hit points between 12 and 72, with an average of 40 hp. That works for the creature in the illustration, to my mind at least, without allowing it the massive critical effects that higher Hit Dice would grant. This is intentional, as a snatch attack could still result in a critical hit, and I didn't want that attack to result in a PC death. There are still some nasty critical effects that could occur, but nothing out of line with how I envisioned the creature. This blog post has more information on my rationale for creature design.

If you use this creature in your game - or, really, any of the ones posted here - please drop me a line and let me know how it went!

Friday, 23 April 2021

Mammoth Mummy Emerges From Its Museum

Thanks to James Mishler, I learned that the Monster Museum was a common entry in the Gold Key comics of the past. They had a "Gold Key Kids Club," and part of it was a "Draw Your Own Monster" entry, which was only for the subscriber copies. They were also used multiple times in multiple titles, but this image (along with the Giant Walking Eye) appeared in The Lone Ranger #9 and probably others.

So, that's all kind of exciting. Thank you, James, for tracking this down!

Here we have a Mammoth Mummy. Let's assume that this mummy is roughly the size of a hill giant and stat it up from there!

Mammoth Mummy : Init -1; Atk fist +8 melee

(1d8+8) or choke +8 melee (1d6/2d6/3d6/etc.) or hurled object +6 ranged (1d8+6, range 100’);

AC 14; HD 14d12+14; hp 99; MV 30’; Act 1d24; SP un-dead, infravision, crit on 20-24, damage reduction 7, vulnerable to fire; SV Fort +12, Ref +5, Will +16; AL C.

Most mummies are ponderous and slow, but the Mammoth Mummy is not. It stands at 12’ tall and weights 700 lbs., its shriveled flesh being lighter than that of a living creature of its size. Unlike normal mummies, the Mammoth Mummy does not carry the dreaded mummy rot.

Indeed, left on its own, it will merely haunt the city streets at night, returning to its museum home during the day.

(In a DCC game, this will be a private museum, but in an MCC game, it may be a museum of the Ancients, and the city the Mammoth Mummy haunts may be no more than a ruin.)

The other special abilities are very much like those of standard mummies, save they are written on a larger scale! The Mammoth Mummy has been known to stop at taverns during its nightly haunts, and although it has no money, it is peaceful enough if served. It's name is Ptahhotep, and it knows many things about the world as it once was (in ancient or Ancient times, depending upon the game).

The Mammoth Mummy can be used as a quest giver, a source of information that the PCs can use to Quest For It, a curiosity, an opponent, or even a rescuer coming out of the dark night and the fog. Visited in the museum, Ptahhotep is unmoving unless threatened or attacked.

Thursday, 22 April 2021

Rex Finds the Beast's Wind-Pipe

The Beast: Init +3; Atk bite +5 melee (1d6+2); AC 12; HD 2d6; MV 30’; Act 1d20; SP +5 stealth, swallow small creature whole; SV Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +1; AL N.

The so-called Beast is just a goofy-looking critter with a single tooth that is no longer than a short sword. It is intelligent, and not particularly malevolent. It is, instead, good at sneaking around settled areas looking for livestock to feed on.

If it succeeds in an attack roll by more than 4 points, the Beast can make an opposed Strength check (vs. +2) to swallow a creature no larger than a halfling whole. Swallowed creatures have a -2d penalty to any rolls, and can only use small weapons already to hand or spells. Swallowed creatures take 1d6 damage each round. If the Beast is damaged while a creature is swallowed, the swallowed creature normally takes half damage.

Rex the Strangler: Init +1; Atk by weapon +4 melee (by weapon+2) or grasp +4 melee (choke); AC 11; HD 3d12+6; hp 25; MV 30’; Act 1d20; SP choke; SV Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +2; AL L.

Rex the Strangler will certainly use weapons, but his grasp attack is feared throughout the land. When Rex succeeds with a grasp attack, he grips his opponent's windpipe and begins to choke it to death. Each round of choking (including the first) requires a Fort save. When the first Fort save fails, the opponent is unconscious. When the third Fort save fails, the opponent dies. The initial DC is 10, but the save DC increases by +4 for every additional round Rex the Strangler maintains his grip.

Escaping Rex's mighty grip requires either an opposed Strength check (vs. +4) of a Mighty Deed result of 5+. Rex is not that strong overall, but his wrists and iron-muscled fingers are superhumanly powerful.

Luckily, Rex the Strangler practices his art only upon those creatures that he views - correctly or not - as real threats to his community!

Tuesday, 20 April 2021

Giant Walking Eye...Relays What It Sees

Giant Walking Eye: Init +0; Atk bite +3 melee (2d6); AC 15; HD 4d12; MV 40’; Act 1d20; SP relay to body; SV Fort +4, Ref -2, Will +8; AL C.

The Giant Walking Eye roams the world of Terra A.D. (or DCC), as a gigantic red thing a good 8' tall. It relays all that it sees to the rest of its body, which hides in a nearby cave. It can transmit up to 5 miles, but usually stays much closer to the rest of it.

If the Giant Walking Eye sees something that interests it, it can summon the rest of its body. If it is attacked, its body is either automatically summoned or warned, depending upon the nature of the attacker. If the attacker is weak enough to do the Giant Walking Eye no lasting harm, it is often simply consumed.

Body of the Giant Walking Eye: Init -5; Atk grasp +8 melee (2d12 plus grab) or swat +9 melee (3d12) or kick +10 melee (4d12); AC 25; HD 10d20; MV 80’; Act 2d24; SP crit as giant on 20-24; SV Fort +14, Ref -8, Will +8; AL C.

If the eye itself is an 8' tall thing, imagine the size of the creature it belongs to. Even when you take into account that the actual "eye" portion is only about 4' in diameter, and that it is a great goggly-eyed thing, the monster itself is easily over 80' tall....and that eye is really large in proportion to its body! In fact, those stats are extremely generous to the PCs who might encounter this thing. It could easily be much, much worse.

Also, it has two eyes, and the other one is probably around here somewhere.

Also, there is probably also a giant wandering nose....with a disgusting special attack!

Saturday, 3 April 2021

Virtual Gary con Recap

Ethereal Gary Con XIII ran from March 25th to 28th, and - not surprisingly - it was a virtual event. The advantage of virtual events is that, in addition to people in North America, I got to play with individuals in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Serbia. The disadvantage is that I am not just rolling out of bed at the Timber Ridge Lodge to jump into games. I am using an area that I share with my family, and that means trying to balance home and play in a way that I don't have to worry about at a physical convention.

Of course, that is all just a long-winded way of saying that I miss physical conventions.

On Thursday, I got to play Stephen Newton's Shadow Under Devil's Reef hosted by Judge Julian Bernick of Spellburn fame. I have run games for Julian twice before, but this was the first time that I got to play an adventure he was running. With enormous luck, I left the adventure virtually unscathed!

Also on Thursday, I played Slowly the sloth in Dan Steeby's The Big Bop Back to Brooklyn, using the Bronx Beasts rules, and that was a load of fun. I can't really talk about the adventure, as it isn't out yet, but I can say that the rules and action really did catch the feel of an 80s Saturday Morning cartoon. The rules for various beasts trying to be the dominant member of the pack came into play several times, and they were definitely fun to use.

On Friday, I played in Michael Curtis' To Free the King of Elfland, a sequel to the most excellent The Queen of Elfland's Son. Again, as this adventure is unpublished (and still in the playtest stage), there is little I can say. One experience along the way was both charming and fantastic. Although Michael Curtis' vision of Elfland has many points of contact with Lord Dunsany's, it is even more a thing that bears his own stamp.

(If I had been at the Con physically, I would have tried to get 3+ games in from Thursday to Saturday, so you can see how being at a virtual Con is more limiting, for me at least, than being at a physical Con. I am really, really hoping to see people in meatspace next year!)

On Saturday, I switched hats from player to judge, and ran The Fence's Fortuitous Folly (DCC Lankhmar) for Martin Saunders, Paul Gyugyi, Adrian Hermann, and Mihailo Tešić. As became a theme for the convention, the players finished with time to space, so we also did a little carousing and a second expedition.

Later that day, I ran The Dread God Al-Khazadar for Eric Rollins, Adrian Hermann, Scott McKinley, and Geoff Knox. I used these special characters, so the party consisted of Prospero, Conan, Princess Ariel, and Bilbo Baggins. To start the game, I had to get the previous tenants of WA_1 to decamp, and it was not at all easy. This was the first time something like that had occurred at a virtual convention for me, and as it was repeated on Sunday, I think I will stick to my own Discord for virtual gaming hereafter. Of course, when I ran games at AlbaCon, either they had more courteous attendees or they monitored their servers better, because the same problems did not occur.

On Sunday, I ran Apotheosis in Green and Gold, an 8th level playtest, for Chris Zank, Randall Harris, Adrian Hermann, and Jason Menard. Again I had to remove the current inhabitants of the Discord room, but, unlike the first case, the previous inhabitants were polite about it. Because this was a playtest, I won't say much about it, but fun was had,

Overall, I enjoyed the convention, but I really miss physical cons. Whether your beverage of choice is a Spotted Cow, black coffee, Mountain Dew, or just water, it is nice to share that directly while the dice roll. It is also nice to have the Con be a thing unto itself, rather than feeling like you are interrupting the weekend for your family.

Thank you to all the awesome folks who played in my games, and those who ran the games I played in, or put up with me as a player in those games! DCC folks really are the best folks.