Let’s Parody the Fiend Folio: The Lesser Slaadi

When I was younger, every year Dragon (or The Dragon, should we go back far enough) would include some content which was relatively silly, or which parodies the normal magazine content. A lot of this was, frankly, unusable in a regular game. But every so often there would be content that, while clearly meant to take the piss out of serious gaming, could also be used in a serious game. This, to me, is the holy grail of gaming parody. It may be funny, but, even so, it also works.

My friends can hardly be alone, back in the 80’s, in noting that Slaad and Salad are pretty close. If no one in your gaming group ever made a joke about “ordering the Slaad” that is your loss; it certainly was not ours.

So here I provide you with five additional Slaadi – Lesser Slaadi – for your Dungeon Crawl Classics game. And the important thing is that, if you change the names and adjust a little bit of the content, these creatures are perfectly usable. I did warn you that I was considering a whole secondary hierarchy of Slaadi running parallel to those in the Fiend Folio, and here we are. Instead of running parallel, though, these Lesser Slaadi hope to reincarnate into true Slaadi.

Hold on tight to your dreams!

 

 

Lesser Slaadi

Smaller than the main slaadi, the lesser slaadi are also extra-planar frog-like monsters resembling batrachians humanoids. Like the slaadi, these creatures are from the plane of Limbo, and worship/obey the same dread masters. Like slaadi, the lesser slaadi believe that, if they act according to the principles of their masters, they will be reincarnated after death into the next rank of slaadi. After progressing through all the lesser ranks, a lesser slaad hopes to become a red slaad in its next life.

Lesser slaadi have the following common abilities:

Communication: Speech in their own language, understanding all languages, and telepathic communication to a range of 50’.

Magic Resistance: All slaadi have a chance of ignoring a spell (or other magical effect) as though it did not exist. This is rolled as a percentile chance before any applicable save is made.

Spellcasting:  Some lesser slaadi can cast spells, using their Hit Dice as a bonus to the spell check. Lesser slaadi do not suffer corruptions, disapproval, or patron taint, but lose access to any spell for 24 hours if they roll a spell check of 10 or less on that spell. Their spells are psionic in nature, requiring no words, motions, or material components.

Summoning: Lesser slaadi can be summoned using monster summoning.

Slaadi Symbols: All slaadi, including lesser slaadi, have a magical symbol of rank in the form of a jewel encased in the creature's skull beneath the skin of the forehead. These are artificial devices which encase the slaad's life-force; they may be removed when a salad is held immobile by any spell. On threat of destruction of the gem, an intelligent being may force the monster to fulfill three tasks, if they are within the creature’s capacity. However, when released and the gem replaced, a salad that is not very well rewarded (usually by human slaves to take back to its own plane of existence) turns on its would-be controller with lethal intent. The same occurs immediately upon a fourth task being requested, and a controller who is slow to destroy the stone usually does not survive to learn from their mistake. These jewels are typically valued at 10 gp per Hit Die of the linked salad, but any slaad seeing a symbol held by a non-slaad attack with berserk fury. Each symbol is unique and readily identifiable by any other slaad.

Garden Slaad

Garden Slaad: Init +3; Atk Claw +0 melee (1d3); AC 10; HD 1d12; MV 10’ or swim 20’; Act 1d20; SP Lesser slaadi traits (5% magic resistance); SV Fort +0, Ref +3, Will +0; AL C.

The least of the lesser slaadi, the garden slaad stands only 1’ tall, and is greenish in color with occasional bits of red. They are found lurking in gardens, consuming slugs, beetles, and other pests as commanded by their masters. These slaad may be dressed in various styles, but their statistics are not affected by this.

 

Greek Slaad

Greek Slaad: Init +2; Atk Claw +0 melee (1d3); AC 11; HD 2d12; MV 10’ or swim 20’; Act 1d20; SP Lesser slaadi traits (5% magic resistance), hard to grasp, death throes; SV Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +1; AL C.

At a mere 2’ tall, this is the second rank of lesser slaadi. Their appearance is similar to that of the garden slaadi, but with spots of darker hue and of white. Their bodies exude olive oil, which makes them difficult to grasp, and a Greek slaad can escape any form of hold or bond with a DC 10 Reflex save. When slain, a Greek slaad collapses into a pile of dark olives and feta cheese sufficient to feed 1d4 individuals.

 

Gelatin Slaad

Gelatin Slaad: Init +0; Atk Claw +1 melee (1d4) or projectile +3 ranged (1d3); AC 12; HD 3d12; MV 20’ or swim 30’; Act 1d20; SP Lesser slaadi traits (10% magic resistance), projectiles, half damage from blunt weapons; SV Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +2; AL C.

Gelatin slaadi come in a variety of colors. Roll 1d5: (1) lime green, (2) lemon yellow, (3) orange, (4) purple, or (5) red. They are semi-translucent, and their inner organs can be faintly seen floating within their bodies, like pieces of fruit. These lesser slaadi stand 3’ tall, and have interior organs which manufacture projectiles they can exude with great force, striking targets 60’ away. As the projectiles must pass through their bodies, each time a gelatin slaad fires a projectile, it takes 1 hp damage.

Gelatin slaadi are wibbly, their bodies being comprised largely of gelatin-like material. As a result, they take half damage from blunt weapons.

Gelatin slaadi are able to cast mirror image. It sometimes seems as though everyone brings a gelatin slaad.

Gelatin slaadi are the third rank of lesser slaadi.

 

Potato Slaad

Potato Slaad: Init +0; Atk Claw +2 melee (1d4) or bite +0 melee (1d6); AC 15; HD 4d12; MV 20’ or swim 30’; Act 2d20; SP Lesser slaadi traits (10% magic resistance), half damage from non-magical weapons, immune to cold-based damage; SV Fort +4, Ref +0, Will +2; AL C.

The lumpy potato slaad is pale in color, and stands a 4’ tall. They are cool to the touch, and completely immune to cold. These slaadi can cast chill touch and enlarge. These creature comprise the fourth rank of lesser slaadi.

 

Caesar Slaad

Caesar Slaad: Init +3; Atk Claw +4 melee (1d5 plus grab) or bite +0 melee (1d7); AC 14; HD 5d12; MV 30’ or swim 40’; Act 2d20; SP Lesser slaadi traits (15% magic resistance), half damage from non-magical weapons, gate; SV Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +4; AL C.

Greatest of the lesser slaadi, the Caesar slaadi stand a full 5’ tall. Their claw attacks allow them to grab an opponent, who must make an opposed Strength check (vs. +0) to break free. A Caesar slaad has a 1 in 3 chance of opening a gate to Limbo with an action. If they succeed, they may use a move to carry a seized victim into Limbo, to become slaves or food for the true slaadi.

They may cast paralysis, which assists them in capturing victims.

 

Let’s Convert the Fiend Folio: Grey Slaad and Red Slaad

This post sees the final mainline Slaadi converted to Dungeon Crawl Classics, which will aid in the conversion of most adventures using these creatures. The Slaadi Masters will each get their own post, giving them a partial patron write-up as well as statistics for their avatars. The Slaadi available to you now can be summoned by the PCs, or sent on nefarious missions by NPC wizards and elves. If you do decide to use them, as always, I would love to hear about your experiences!

The astute reader will again notice that I toned down the Slaadi somewhat, while trying to maintain the essential elements of the creatures from the Fiend Folio. The Red Slaadi pellets didn’t describe how they killed, and I had a bit of fun with that. I again attempted to determine what magical powers were essential, and allow each type of Slaadi to have some unique attribute, hopefully with some degree of success.

If you are enjoying this series of posts, and want to tip, please consider supporting my Patreon. If you are looking for even more monsters, encounters, or adventures, this month the material I am working on explores the fey.

 

 

Slaadi

The slaadi are a group of extra-planar frog-like monstrosities whose natural form resembles large batrachians humanoids. Their heads are huge, their claws extremely sharp and long, and their voices form a croaking language which is all they deign to speak. Although beings of chaos and woe, which dwell where the winds of Limbo roar, slaadi are extremely hierarchical by type, from the lowest red slaad to their dreaded masters. All slaadi have names, and those who learn them may attempt to summon and compel them using demon summoning.

Slaadi are ranked as follows: red slaad, blue slaad, green slaad, grey slaad, death slaad, slaad master. Slaadi believe that, by following the orders of their superior types, they can reincarnate upon death as a higher slaad rank, while those who fail to live up to their caste duties are reborn as red slaadi.

The relationship between the slaadi, the slaad lords, and Bobugbubilz is a matter for some debate among those learned in the Toadfiend’s lore, but is unlikely to be unraveled by mortal folk any time soon. Certainly, there were many foul beings spawned in the primordial pools where Bobugbubilz first emerged, and few if any of them considered their spawn-mates to be anything more than rivals and potential meals.

All slaadi have the following common abilities:

Communication: Speech in their own language, understanding all languages, and telepathic communication to a range of 100’.

Magic Resistance: All slaadi have a chance of ignoring a spell (or other magical effect) as though it did not exist. This is rolled as a percentile chance before any applicable save is made.

Spellcasting:  All slaadi have a number of spells they can cast, using their Hit Dice as a bonus to the spell check. Slaadi do not suffer corruptions, disapproval, or patron taint, but lose access to any spell for 24 hours if they roll a spell check of 10 or less on that spell. Slaadi spells are psionic in nature, requiring no words, motions, or material components.

Slaadi Symbols: All slaadi have a magical symbol of rank in the form of a jewel encased in the creature's skull beneath the skin of the forehead. These are artificial devices which encase the slaad's life-force; they may be removed when a salad is held immobile by any spell. On threat of destruction of the gem, an intelligent being may force the monster to fulfill three tasks, if they are within the creature’s capacity. However, when released and the gem replaced, a salad that is not very well rewarded (usually by human slaves to take back to its own plane of existence) turns on its would-be controller with lethal intent. The same occurs immediately upon a fourth task being requested, and a controller who is slow to destroy the stone usually does not survive to learn from their mistake. These jewels are typically valued at 10 gp per Hit Die of the linked salad, but any slaad seeing a symbol held by a non-slaad attack with berserk fury. Each symbol is unique and readily identifiable by any other slaad.

 

Grey Slaad

Grey Slaad: Init +0; Atk By weapon +5 melee (by weapon +2) or Claw +5 melee (1d7+3) or bite +3 melee (2d8); AC 19; HD 8d12; MV 30’ or swim 40’; Act 2d20; SP Slaadi traits (55% magic resistance), half damage from non-magical weapons, shift to human form, immune to cold, cause blindness, gate, planar travel, enchant items; SV Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +6; AL C.

These creatures, also known as the Executioners, are most often found in the Lands We Know carrying out not the injunctions of mortal wizards, but the will of the slaadi masters, and this makes them the most feared by those versed in slaadi lore. They are the height of a normal human, and are able to shift into human form or back using an action. Most often, they are encountered in human form, which affects only their available attacks in game terms.

Grey slaadi can be summoned as Type VI demons. They have access to the following spells: darkness, fireball (ball lightning manifestation), flaming hands, invisibility, and scare. Once per day they can blind an opponent within 100’ with a single word (Will DC 15 negates). Also once per day, they may attempt to open a gate allowing 1d3 additional grey slaadi to enter the Lands We Know; there is a 60% chance of success when this is attempted.

Unless otherwise bound, grey slaadi may travel the planes at will. Given the time and the equipment, they can enchant an item as though they had access to whatever spells are necessary to do so. Because of this, when travelling in human form, grey slaadi will usually have 1d3+1 choice magic items; most often this includes an enchanted weapon of some sort.

 

Red Slaad

Red Slaad: Init +4; Atk Claw +2 melee (1d4 plus implantation) or bite +0 melee (1d5+1); AC 14; HD 3d12; MV 20’ or swim 30’ hop 30’; Act 2d20; SP Slaadi traits (35% magic resistance), hop, implantation, regeneration 3 hp/round; SV Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +10; AL C.

The lowest rank of slaadi, these 8’ tall creatures are the commonest of the slaadi, both in the Lands We Know and their home plane, and are regularly sent to our world in search of human slaves. There intelligence is dull, and they are easily fooled, but they are nonetheless powerful foes. Red slaadi regenerate 3 hp every round until they reach 0 hp; they do not regenerate past death. A red slaad can also use an action die to hop 30’ in any direction; combined with an attack, this should be treated as a charge (+2 to hit, but -2 to AC until the slaad’s next action).

Red slaadi have a gland near their claws which implants a small pellet with each successful claw attack unless the victim succeeds in a Luck check. Once a pellet is implanted, the victim must succeed in a DC 20 Fort save or die within 3d12 hours, when a new red slaadi explodes outward from the site of the wound. Anything which neutralizes poison or disease can also neutralize the pellet, which then becomes inert. The pellet worms itself into the flesh, so digging it out causes 1d6 damage per round that it has been implanted, but this does not neutralize the pellet, so that it may be used as a power component, adding a +4 bonus to any spell check against a spell specifically being used to target slaadi. The pellet is destroyed in this process. When a red slaad is slain, any pellets remaining in its claw gland are instantly neutralized. If captured and made helpless, 1d4+1 pellets can be recovered from a red slaad with a DC 10 Handle Poison check.

Red slaadi may be summoned as Type I demons. The only spell they can use is unique: with a spell check of 12+, they stun all non-slaadi targets within 30’ for 1d4 rounds (Will save equal to spell check result negates). This power is used both the capture potential slaves and to escape from danger.

Let’s Convert the Fiend Folio: Blue Slaad, Death Slaad, and Green Slaad

I imagine that there were at least a couple of people waiting for this post, eager to throw a few Slaadi into their Dungeon Crawl Classics campaign! Well, the wait is at least partially over, because it is going to take more than one post to get through all the types of Slaadi, as well as their Masters.

The astute reader will immediately notice that I toned down the Slaadi somewhat, while trying to maintain the essential elements of the creatures. I made a few other changes. The original creatures in the Fiend Folio didn’t have a listed swim speed. This seemed absurd to me, so I gave them one. I attempted to determine what magical powers were essential, and allow each type of Slaadi to have some unique attribute.

Make no mistake: Slaadi are fun to use in a game. But, because they are essentially a listing of different powers/power levels stuck onto the same chassis, they are not as much fun to convert as some other monsters in this project. There is not much of a requirement for creativity, unless one were to create a whole secondary hierarchy of Slaadi running parallel to that of the Fiend Folio. Which I am strongly tempted to do.

 

Slaadi

The slaadi are a group of extra-planar frog-like monstrosities whose natural form resembles large batrachians humanoids. Their heads are huge, their claws extremely sharp and long, and their voices form a croaking language which is all they deign to speak. Although beings of chaos and woe, which dwell where the winds of Limbo roar, slaadi are extremely hierarchical by type, from the lowest red slaad to their dreaded masters. All slaadi have names, and those who learn them may attempt to summon and compel them using demon summoning.

Slaadi are ranked as follows: red slaad, blue slaad, green slaad, grey slaad, death slaad, slaad master. Slaadi believe that, by following the orders of their superior types, they can reincarnate upon death as a higher slaad rank, while those who fail to live up to their caste duties are reborn as red slaadi.

The relationship between the slaadi, the slaad lords, and Bobugbubilz is a matter for some debate among those learned in the Toadfiend’s lore, but is unlikely to be unraveled by mortal folk any time soon. Certainly, there were many foul beings spawned in the primordial pools where Bobugbubilz first emerged, and few if any of them considered their spawn-mates to be anything more than rivals and potential meals.

All slaadi have the following common abilities:

• Communication: Speech in their own language, understanding all languages, and telepathic communication to a range of 100’.

• Magic Resistance: All slaadi have a chance of ignoring a spell (or other magical effect) as though it did not exist. This is rolled as a percentile chance before any applicable save is made.

• Spellcasting:  All slaadi have a number of spells they can cast, using their Hit Dice as a bonus to the spell check. Slaadi do not suffer corruptions, disapproval, or patron taint, but lose access to any spell for 24 hours if they roll a spell check of 10 or less on that spell. Slaadi spells are psionic in nature, requiring no words, motions, or material components.

• Slaadi Symbols: All slaadi have a magical symbol of rank in the form of a jewel encased in the creature's skull beneath the skin of the forehead. These are artificial devices which encase the slaad's life-force; they may be removed when a salad is held immobile by any spell. On threat of destruction of the gem, an intelligent being may force the monster to fulfill three tasks, if they are within the creature’s capacity. However, when released and the gem replaced, a salad that is not very well rewarded (usually by human slaves to take back to its own plane of existence) turns on its would-be controller with lethal intent. The same occurs immediately upon a fourth task being requested, and a controller who is slow to destroy the stone usually does not survive to learn from their mistake. These jewels are typically valued at 10 gp per Hit Die of the linked salad, but any slaad seeing a symbol held by a non-slaad attack with berserk fury. Each symbol is unique and readily identifiable by any other slaad.

 

Blue Slaad

Blue Slaad: Init +0; Atk Claw +3 melee (2d6) or bite +1 melee (2d8); AC 15; HD 5d12; MV 20’ or swim 30’; Act 3d20; SP Slaadi traits (40% magic resistance); SV Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +3; AL C.

The second rank of slaadi, the blue variety is more often encountered running errands or missions for the slaadi masters than for anything else, although they can be summoned as Type II Demons. They are 10’ tall, with a light electric blue hue broken by streaks of grey, and two scimitar-like blades growing from the end of each limb. Their rivalry with the red slaadi (whose caste they believe was their own in their last lives) is legendary; neither type will help the other except in direst emergency.

Blue slaadi have access to the following spells: Paralysis. With a successful spell check, they can also move an item weighing up to 100 lbs by telekinesis (up to 10’), or pass up to 10’ through a solid wall.

 

 

Death Slaad

Death Slaad: Init +4; Atk By weapon +8 melee (by weapon +4) or claw +8 melee (3d6) or bite +6 melee (2d10 plus XP drain); AC 24; HD 12d12; MV 30’ or swim 40’; Act 2d20; SP Slaadi traits (75% magic resistance), half damage from non-magical weapons, shift into human form, XP drain, planar travel, death throes; SV Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +10; AL C.

There are said to be only four of these beings, also known as the Lesser Masters by the slaadi, to exist. They are no larger than a tall human, and are able to shift into human form or back as an action. This does not affect their statistics, except that a human-form slaad cannot use claw or bite attacks, and a slaadi-form slaad cannot use weapons. Death slaadi taking human form are often equipped with magical weapons of fearsome aspect. In slaadi form, the bite of a death slaad also permanently drains 2d10 XP. This will not lower a target’s level, but must be regained before the victim can advance once more.

Death slaadi may be summoned as Type VI demons. They have access to the following spells: Choking cloud, detect invisible, detect magic, ESP, flaming hands, invisibility, locate object, and phantasm. Death slaadi may travel to and from Limbo using an action, unless otherwise bound. Upon death, these slaadi explode in a fireball, causing 8d6 damage to all within 30’ (Reflex DC 18 for half).

 

 

 

 

Green Slaad

Green Slaad: Init +2; Atk Claw +6 melee (1d6+2) or bite +4 melee (2d8); AC 17; HD 8d12; MV 20’ or swim 30’; Act 1d20; SP Slaadi traits (50% magic resistance), shift into human form, half damage from non-magical weapons, gate; SV Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +7; AL C.

Green slaadi are pale in hue, with streaks of gray on their light green skin. This creature is pale green in colour with streaks of grey. Although a green slaad can shift into human or slaadi form using an action, the creature always resumes its native aspect when in combat.

Green slaadi may be summoned as Type V demons. They have access to the following spells: darkness, detect invisible, detect magic, ESP, locate object, scare, and flaming hands. Once per hour a green slaad may attempt to gate in another slaad. Roll 1d10 to determine success: (1-5) failure, (6-7) red slaad, (8-9) blue slaad, or (10) green slaad.