Let’s Convert the Fiend Folio: Blindheim, Blood Hawk, and Giant Bloodworm

I was in high school when the Fiend Folio came out. There were different schools of thought on the artwork then. It was very different from what we’d seen in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons before. Some thought it was amazing (myself among them), and others had a harder time wrapping their heads around it. For me, it was my first experience with Russ Nicholson’s artwork.

That was 1981. Jump ahead 35 years to 2016, and my first stand-alone title for Goodman Games is being published. On top of the amazing thrill of having Doug Kovacs produce a cover for something I wrote, imagine my immense thrill upon opening it to see that Russ Nicholson had produced illustrations for some of the creatures therein! This is a thrill that took me right back in time, and you can find the illustrations in The Dread God Al-Khazadar. Now, if I can get an Erol Otus illustration of something I write, I think my teenage self will be retroactively complete!

(None of which is to take away from any of the other fine illustrators I have had the pleasure of working with over the years. I have managed to write an adventure with a Clyde Caldwell cover, and a Ken Kelly. As of this Saturday’s DCC Day I will have a cover by Stefan Poag. But it is something else to see artist you have gushed over before you ever imagine you might be published illustrating your work. Especially those you loved as a kid. There is a kind of joy in that!)

Blindheim

Blindheim: Init +3; Atk bite +1 melee (1d5) or eyebeams +4 ranged (3d6, 2d6, or 1d6); AC 14; HD 4d8; MV 25’ or climb 15’ or swim 50’; Act 1d20; SP: Infravision 120’, eyebeams; SV Fort +2; Ref +4; Will +1; AL C.

A blindheim is a humanoid amphibian whose large, froglike eyes reflect even the smallest amount of light to devastating effect. They dwell deep underground, in damp caverns where blind fish and crustaceans provide them food. Blindheims live in small family groups, gathering together semi-annually only to spawn. How these groups know when to gather for spawning is a mystery, but is probably tied into the creature’s biology. Skin colouration and pattern varies widely by family group.

When a blindheim is exposed to light – even as little as candlelight – its eyes can absorb, focus, and transmit that light to deadly effect.  Three rounds after exposure, the blindheim can attack with a beam of cohesive light which does damage dependent upon the distance of the target. At a 40-foot range, the beams do 3d6 damage.  They begin to lose focus after this distance, doing only 2d6 damage up to a range of 50 feet, and 1d6 damage to a range of 60 feet. The creature has a nictitating membrane that allows it to withhold its eye beams if it desires to.  When not emitting eyebeams, a blindheim’s eyes glitter with a golden-yellow hue.

Young blindheims are born from a gelatinous mass of 4d20 eggs.  The strongest and first born eat the weakest until only 1d6+2 blindheims remain; at this time they become a new family group.  Newborn blindheims look rather like pale yellow fish with large, goggling, eyes.  They grow rapidly, attaining adulthood over a period of six months.  They gain the ability to use their eyebeams when they develop limbs, at about 4 months of growth – these juveniles have only 2d8 Hit Dice and bite for 1 point of damage, but their eyebeams are fully developed.

Blindheims need to survive until their eyebeams charge, after which they are still best off attacking from range.  As a result, blindheims are likely to first be seen from a distance, their eyes shining in the dark.  Once a blindheim’s eyebeams are charged, they are likely to remain charged so long as the blindheim remains in combat with light-bearing creatures. Blindheims will therefore use their ability to climb and swim to stay away from opponents. Blindheims seldom fight to the death, except in their spawning grounds.

 

 

Blood Hawk

Blood Hawk: Init +4; Atk Beak or claw +1 melee (1d3); AC 13 HD 1d4; MV 10’ or fly 60’; Act 1d20; SV Fort +0; Ref +4; Will +2; AL N.

Blood hawks are about 2 feet long, with a 6 foot wingspread. They resemble other hawks, but are particularly aggressive. Some claim that they are particularly fond of human flesh, but they are instinctively driven to line their nests with shiny pebbles and objects, and gems, buckles, and bits of other polished bits of metal worn by travelers may easily provoke an attack. 

Their nests are sometimes sought out in hopes of finding such treasures.

 

 

 

Giant Bloodworm

Giant Bloodworm:  Init +0; Atk Bite +2 melee (1d8 plus blood drain); AC 16; HD 6d8+12; MV 15’; Act 1d20; SP Camouflage (+5), blood drain, fire vulnerability (x2 damage); SV Fort +5; Ref +1; Will +0; AL N.

Giant bloodworms are usually found in the shallow pools of underground caverns. They cannot swim, but propel themselves along the bottom of such pools or on nearby firm ground. Their underbelly is a dark slimy brown while their upper surface is mottled green. Lying half in, half out of a pool, a giant bloodworm is easily mistaken in dim light for a moss-covered boulder (+5 bonus to opposed rolls to recognize it as alive).

A giant bloodworm only attacks when hungry (and they need only eat once weekly) or if trodden on. When it successfully bites a victim, it holds on until dead, or until a Mighty Deed of 5+ or opposed Strength check (vs. +5) has dislodged it. A successful attack with a flaming brand (or other source of fire) will also make it release its grip. A bitten victim suffers an automatic 1d6 damage per round until released. It takes only one human-sized victim to satisfy a giant bloodworm, but this includes the creature subsequently swallowing the body, making recovery difficult or impossible.