I’ve been asked to convert the original Monster Manual in a
manner similar to my conversion of the Fiend Folio. I am going to do this a
bit differently, though, and just try to stick to the essence of creatures
without referring to the text of the original work. This is, in part, because
of my plans to create a monster book in the upcoming year. In this case, we are
dealing with IP that is currently held by Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro, so I
can’t imagine a published version of everything here coming out!
Of the creatures we are looking at today, a number are
covered by the Cyclopedia of Common
Animals, and I intentionally waited for Volume U-V-W to be completed before
tackling this portion, as the three entries under “Boar” are all part of that
volume.
I have never actually used a brain mole in an adventure, and
the psionic system in AD&D was complex enough that I seldom
used psionic-specific creatures. My version retains the general idea of a
psychic attack, but makes leaving the area the best response. Dealing with an
infestation of brain moles in the vicinity of a shrine, treasure vault, or
other area the PCs want to spend time in could make for an interesting
challenge.
Bulettes are another monster that I have seldom used,
although I once owned the toy they were based on. These rubber monsters came
out of vending machines, and I had several different ones, some of which were inspirational
to the authors of the game. Two years ago, one of my players tracked a couple
of these down, and gave them to me, which was lovely. I had no idea what
bulettes were before acquiring the Monster Manual…I do recall some
“silver bulettes won’t slow you down” jokes, and I am sorry that I couldn’t
find a fun way to work that into the entry.
The write-up for brownies was very much based on an earlier blog
post, which was itself based on work I had done when I was writing my
own fantasy hearbreaker. One of the misfortunate things about various
versions of D&D, in my opinion, has been making almost every creature
into a combat challenge. I was working to bring faerie folk back to their
original (often eerie and menacing) aspects. For some, this definitely includes
violence, but for others avoiding combat is part of the creature’s character.
Boar: The
original listing included wild boars, giant boars, and warthogs. See the Cyclopedia of Common Animals for all of
these.
Brain Mole: This creature is similar enough to the thought mole in the Cyclopedia of Common Animals that it doesn't require alternative statistics.
Brownie: Init +4;
Atk miniature tool +4 melee (1d3+4); AC 16; HD 2d5; MV 20’; Act 1d20; SP stealth
+12, attach to household, work of 10 people, easily offended, curse, turn
boggart; SV Fort +0, Ref +8, Will +5; AL N.
A brownie appears to be a three-foot tall, hairy man,
frequently with only nasal slits instead of a nose. They are shy and retiring, preferring not to
be seen by those of mortal races. Despite their size they are fantastically
strong.
Brownies attach themselves to individuals or households,
performing work in exchange for a bit of bread and a small bowl of the best
cream. Like many fey, brownies are easy to offend, so that gifts (including
food) left for a brownie must be placed for the brownie to find – they should
not be obviously gifts. Some few (10%)
brownies have been known to accept other gifts without offence, such as a linen
shirt once a year, but this practice is perilous because, should the value of
the gift diminish or grow, the brownie will certainly take offence.
A brownie that is happy with its household can do the work
of ten people, and will help with such tasks as harvesting, reaping, threshing,
cleaning, keeping animals safe, spinning wool into thread, making shoes, baking
bread, brewing, or any of a thousand other tasks that can be done while the
household is asleep or is busy elsewhere.
Brownies do not like to be observed at their work, and intentionally
watching them can cause them to be offended (50% chance).
Most brownies stay hidden during the day, and most
households with brownies know – and avoid – the spot where their brownie likes
to hide. This may be a dark corner of
the house, a cellar or attic, somewhere in the barn, or even in a nearby hollow
tree or ruined building. A brownie who
is disturbed in its hiding spot is 75% likely to take offence.
A brownie will also take offence if its work is criticized
by a member of the household. A brownie
is intimately familiar with its household, however, and does not take offence
against the household due to the actions of outsiders, so long as the response
of the household is appropriate. Such a
brownie might well take offence against the outsider, though, and work some
mischief to plague him.
A brownie that takes offence will (1d3): (1) desert the household, (2) desert the
household, and curse it at the same time, or (3) become a boggart to plague the
household. Typical brownie curses do not
allow a save, causing a –1d6 penalty to all skill checks performed in a
household. The curse lasts until the household somehow makes amends, it is
magically lifted (remove curse, spell
check 24+), or all the members of the household die. Sometimes abandoning a household will work to
avoid a boggart or a brownie’s curse, but there is a 25% chance that the
boggart or curse will follow people who move to avoid them, regardless of how
far, how fast, or how often they move.
Special types of brownies include:
Billy Blind: A billy blind is a special type of brownie
that usually dwells in or near the fireplace or chimney. It is blind, but has the ability to
prophesy. Questions may be whispered up
the chimney, and if the billy blind knows the answer, it will whisper it back
down.
A billy blind has a chance of knowing the answer to any
question as follows: 100% if it pertains
to the household (“Where did I lose my keys?”), 75% if it pertains to the area
within 15 miles of the household (“Have any of my neighbours found my keys?”), 25%
if it pertains to a more distant area within 100 miles (“Would my keys fit the
locks in the Duke’s treasury?”), and 5% if the question pertains to an area
more distant, or is truly esoteric (“Can you teach me the ritual to make a love
potion?”).
If the question concerns the future, the chance of the billy
blink knowing the answer is reduced by –10% if it pertains to the immediate
future (“Will I find my keys today?”), –25% if it pertains to the future within
one year (“Will the weather be good this harvest time?”), and –50% if it
pertains to an even more distant future than that (“Who will my youngest
daughter marry when she has grown?”).
Boggart: An offended brownie becomes a boggart. It can be difficult to tell one from the
other initially – stories tell of brownies who only reveal themselves to be
boggarts when it becomes obvious that all the good luck of their household is
at the expense of the (infuriated) neighbors.
In general, while brownies have only slits for nostrils, boggarts have
sharply pointed noses.
Boggarts can be (1-3) mischievous, (4-5) malicious, or (6)
even deadly.
A mischievous boggart performs pranks meant to annoy rather
than to cause real damage. It might hide
important pieces of equipment, spook the livestock, clog the chimney, or
rearrange the furniture while the household is asleep or out. In many ways, the behaviour of such a boggart
resembles that of a gentle poltergeist.
Any reasonable attempt to make amends with the boggart has a 50% chance
of being successful.
A malicious boggart uses its abilities to harm the
household, but isn’t seeking anyone’s death.
Such a boggart will ruin crops, lame animals, steal equipment outright
(and it will seldom, if ever, be found again).
It will ruin materials, cut straps, put holes in pots, and otherwise
prevent the household from prospering.
All skill checks made in the household suffer a –4 penalty due to the
boggart’s sabotage. Any reasonable
attempt to make amends with the boggart has a 25% chance of downgrading it to a
mischievous boggart.
A deadly boggart means to see its household dead. It saws partly through saddle straps,
balances blades over doorways, carefully places items near the top of stairways
to cause falls, and so on. In such a
household, all skill checks suffer a –4 penalty due to the boggart’s sabotage,
and each member of the household over the age of nine must make a Luck check
each day or suffer 1d6 points of damage due to a boggart-inspired
accident. If the Luck check fails by 10
or more, the individual takes 2d6 points of damage instead. Any reasonable attempt to make amends with
the boggart has a 5% chance of downgrading it to a malicious boggart.
Brown Man: A brown man, sometimes called a Buckawn or
Bucca, is a type of brownie that protects natural regions. Unlike most brownies, the brown men often
travel in groups of 2d6 individuals and are not shy of being seen. Often a single brown man will appear to
mortals travelling in an area they protect, warning them not to harm beast or
fowl in their lands, and to do no damage.
Those who attack the brown man, or violate his prohibitions, find
themselves losing Luck, and possibly feathered with stone-tipped arrows sped by
unseen hands.
Fenodyree: The fenodyree is a large brownie, taller and
bulkier than a man, and hideously ugly.
Like most brownies, it is shy around mortals. The fenodyree aids in reaping, mowing,
threshing, and herding during the hours between dusk and dawn.
Killmoulis: A killmoulis is a tiny brownie with an
enormous nose, but no mouth. It lives in
mills, where it aids the miller by grinding grain during the night and keeping
the mill free of mice and rats. It
attacks using a poisoned needle. The
needle does a single point of damage, plus poison (1d6 Stamina damage, Fort
save DC 15 for half damage, rodents have a – 4 penalty to the save and take
double damage). Killmoulis apparently
eat by stuffing grain up their noses, and can communicate by telepathy with a
whispery-sounding voice at a range of 30 feet.
For another take on the killmoulis, see this
post.
Victorian Brownie: Compared to the traditional brownie, the
brownie of the Victorian Era was smaller (as with the killmoulis), and formed
more similarly to a human or elf. They
have normal noses, pointed ears, and are not exceptionally hairy. A Victorian brownie never becomes a boggart
or curses its household. If offended, it
simply leaves.
Buffalo: See
the Cyclopedia of Common Animals.
Bugbear: See
the core rulebook, page 397.
Bulette: Init +0;
Atk bite +6 melee (4d12) or claw +8 melee (3d6); AC 20; HD 9d8+18; MV 40’ or
burrow 10’; Act 2d20; SP leap attack; SV Fort +6; Ref +3; Will +0; AL N.
These large animals, also known as “landsharks” can reach 9 feet at the
shoulder and are 1d5+10 feet long. They typically burrow underground, hunting
prey by vibrations, although their armored crest has a 50% chance of breaking
through the earth and warning their victims 1d3 rounds before an attack. Once
surfaced, a bulette that foregoes any other action or movement that round can
make a leaping attack, leaping high into the air and coming down on a single
opponent within 10 feet. The bulette makes four claw attacks (+4 melee, 3d6
damage per hit), and, if any hit the opponent must succeed in a DC 10 Reflex
save or take an additional 3d6 crushing damage as the monster comes down upon
them.
Because bulettes are primarily predatory animals, they
prefer to attack the largest game animals they can reasonably hope to take
down. This means that livestock or horses are at greater risk than humanoids.
Bull: See
the Cyclopedia of Common Animals.
