An Adventure for Every Monster - Badgers (and Bad Pixies!)

Badger

Frequency Uncommon
No appearing 2-5
AC 4
Move 6” (3” underground)
HD 1+2
% in lair Nil
Treasure type Nil
No of attacks 3
Damage per attack 1-2/1-2/1-3
Special attacks Nil
Special defences Nil
Magic resistance Standard
Intelligence Semi-
Alignment Neutral
Size S
THAC0 18
XP value 20 + 2/hp


Giant Badger

Frequency Uncommon
No appearing 2-5
AC 4
Move 6” (3” underground)
HD 3
% in lair Nil
Treasure type Nil
No of attacks 3
Damage per attack 1-3/1-3/1-6
Special attacks Nil
Special defences Nil
Magic resistance Standard
Intelligence Semi-
Alignment Neutral
Size M
THAC0 16
XP value 35 + 3/hp

This adventure takes place in an area of sylvan forest, thickly wooded and with deep valleys and very difficult terrain for horses.
The party is approached by a druid, who wants to hire them for a spot of investigation. He explains that in his travels, he has been conversing with wildlife to find out what has been going on in this area and has recently encountered the chief of a sett of badgers who reports that several of his animals have gone missing. The druid is concerned because while he has heard of trappers and pelt-hunters in other areas (and has taken part in action against it), he was not aware of such problems in his area and had hoped that his woods would remain free of such intrusions. He will accompany the party into the woods to see if there is any evidence of trapping or killing for pelts and help to put a stop to it.

If the party agrees to the druid’s proposal, he will lead them into the woods. With him acting as their guide, there is a very good chance that they will not be bothered by animal attacks (ignore all hostile encounters on any rolls to which the party are subject).

Druid

S 14
I 15
W 17
D 11
C 9
Ch 17

Level 4

HP 20

AC 6 Leather armour +1 and wooden shield

THAC0 18

Weapons
Staff
Scimitar
2 x Dagger


Spells (WISD bonuses added)

6 x 1st level spells daily
6 x 2nd level spells daily
1 x 3rd level spells daily

If the party has thieves or rangers in its ranks, they will detect no sign of human activity in the woods as they pass. However, the druid tells them that the trappers may well have assistance in concealing their tracks, and to be careful.

When they reach the area of the sett, the druid is horrified to discover that it has been plundered. If the party has anyone with the ability to track, they will find (albeit with some difficulty) that a trail of disturbed vegetation heads off deeper into the woods.

(DMs should not reveal that the tracks show no sign of human involvement unless the party member doing the tracking specifically asks)

After a bit of scouting around, the druid returns to announce that he has found something and asks the party to approach but keep their distance. He leads them a little way off and reveals that he has found a badger who has hidden from the attack on the sett. A conversation between the druid and the badger will reveal a confused tale of animals falling unconscious, arrows, unseen attackers...

DM note – the sett has been attacked, but not by humans. This area of the forest is home to several groups of pixies, and it is about this time of year that they gather for their fair, which is very like the horse fairs of Ireland. Each of the groups uses various animals of the forest as beasts of burden, mounts and such like and they meet to trade them. The badgers have been raided by a gang of pixies who have discovered the joys of strong drink after ambushing a group of trappers who were trying to penetrate the forest. A fair supply of drink for a human will last a gang of pixies quite some time indeed and they have become rather partial to it, with all the bad side effects that this will cause. The gang is trying to acquire more through the sale of pelts to humans and wants to distil its own drink (although they do not yet have the technology although they are make efforts to find it out).

The other pixie groups have mixed opinions on the new developments. Some are disapproving, some keen to try the hard stuff, others scorn it in public but indulge in private. All this is making the pixies, and specifically the gang capturing the badgers into something of a nuisance in this area of the forest.

This has annoyed a satyr who lives in the area who would like to see the forest return to its peaceful state. He will aid the party if they approach him carefully and respectfully.

Pixie

Frequency Very rare
No appearing 5-20 (in this case, 13)
AC 5
Move6”/12”
HD 1-4 hit points
% in lair 5%
Treasure type R,S,T,X
No of attacks 1
Damage per attack by weapon type
Special attacks See below
Special defences See below
Magic resistance 25%
Intelligence Exceptional
Alignment Neutral
Size S (2 ½ feet tall)
THAC0 20
XP value 105 + 1/hp

Pixie swords are equal to daggers, and their arrows are of three types. All have +4 chance to hit. The pixie war arrow inflicts 2-5 hit points of damage. Their second type causes sleep in a comatose state for 1-6 hours to any creature which fails to save versus magic when struck. The third sort which the pixies use causes no harm physically, but being struck causes a complete loss of memory which can only be restored by clerical exorcism unless the victim saves versus magic.
Naturally invisible, pixies can become visible at will, polymorph themselves at will, create illusions with both audible and visual components which last without concentration until magically dispelled once per day each, and know alignment. Pixies can, by touch, cause confusion in any creature which fails its saving throw versus magic. Confusion is permanent unless a remove curse spell is applied. Once per day pixies are able to use dispel magic (at 8th level/ability), dancing lights, ESP, and 1 in 10 can use Otto's Irresistible Dance spells.
Because of their invisibility, they gain the advantage of subtracting 4 from "to hit" dice rolls of all opponents unable to detect invisible objects. Similarly, pixies can attack while invisible.

The pixies have some serious magic with which to make mischief, although their fondness for the hard stuff means that unexpected consequences may well occur as a result. Nevertheless, their attacks, if the party go blundering in may lead to bad things happening; these pixies have gone bad in a serious way and may well veer towards Chaotic Neutral in their dealings with humans. This may involve tying them up and leaving them outside a bear’s cave, dropping wasps’ nests into the middle of them after honey-bombing them, using dung-nuggets to ensure they can be tracked very easily by woodland predators, and such like. The party may well hear the sound of drunken laughter from the depths of the forest when these things happen.

Satyr

Frequency Uncommon
No appearing 2-8
AC 5
Move 18”
HD 5
% in lair 40%
Treasure type I, S, X
No of attacks 1
Damage per attack 2-8
Special attacks See below
Special defences See below
Magic resistance 50%
Intelligence Very
Alignment Neutral
Size M
THAC0 15
XP value 280 + 5/hp

A satyr normally attacks by butting with its two sharp horns. They will occasionally (20%) make use of magical weapons. It is quite likely that a satyr will first play a tune on his pipes, an instrument only a satyr can properly employ. By means of these pipes the satyr can charm, sleep, or cause fear in all within a 6" hearing radius unless they save versus magic.
Only 1 satyr per band is likely to have pipes (and this one has them). Any creature which saves versus any form of piping is not affected by additional music from the same pipes.
Satyrs are very silent and have keen senses. They are surprised only on a 1, and they can blend with foliage so as to be 90% undetectable to creatures not able to see hidden or invisible things.

The satyr will use his abilities to scatter and demoralise the pixies; he has a fair idea of what is causing their mischief and will attempt to locate and destroy any stocks of the hard stuff he can find.

(DM note – it may be an idea to have a gang of moonshiners running grog to the pixies. They will not take kindly to any threat to their little enterprise. They may well be making their way through the woods to the pixie fair to provide a little refreshment at opportune moments)

An Adventure for Every Monster - Baboon

Baboon

Frequency Common
No appearing 10-40
AC 7
Move 12”
HD 1+1
% in lair Nil
Treasure type Nil
No of attacks 1
Damage per attack 1-4
Special attacks Nil
Special defences Climbing
Magic resistance Standard
Intelligence Low
Alignment Neutral
Size S (4’+ tall)
THAC0 18
XP value 20 + 2/hp

This adventure takes place in a part of the dungeon with a high-ceilinged hall that is not prey to the attentions of humanoid raiders or other such creatures. It has a main central area, at least two doors and two balconies, each accessible by spiral staircases. The balconies have balustrades made of carved stone.

The peace and quiet of this area of the dungeon attracted the attention of a magic-user who was seeking solitude for his experiments into a polymorph spell that would allow the transformed creature to retain his personality and memories in the new shape. He began to work but several weeks into his project, an accident occurred. A cauldron of liquid exploded, showering the magic user and most of the laboratory. The liquid itself was an extremely potent contact version of the polymorph potion and whilst it did allow the magic user to retain his personality, it left him in the form of a baboon.

Horrified by his transformation, he set to work to try and reverse the process before he became inexorably an ape in mind as well as body. However, the laboratory had been badly damaged by the explosion that caused his change and time was running out because, although he still had his own mind, the instincts and drives of the baboon body were starting to dominate.

In the intervening weeks, two parties of adventurers passed through the laboratory and decided to search it for any loot or magical treasure that might be there. The transformed magic user lured them into section of the laboratory where they would come into contact with remaining pools of the magical liquid and before long, the number of baboons had increased significantly (they now number between 8 and 14 but the DM can adjust the figures accordingly). Being mostly male, the transformees are keen to acquire more females for their troop and will do their best to draw any female adventurers into areas and situations where they run the risk of being transformed.

They have exceptional climbing skills and will place themselves in high and (to the party) inaccessible places and hurl bits of stone or other missiles at the adventurers until pursuit is given.

An investigating party may well find articles of clothing, armour and weapons left behind when the transformations occurred.

The liquid itself causes the effects of the 4th level spell Polymorph Other to the person touching it, but only if it comes into contact with the skin. There is a saving throw against this, but if it does affect the victim, no system shock roll is required. Whilst the polymorphed person retains their personality and memories at the outset, the mind will slowly become that of the new form in (Original INT – New Int) x 3 days.

The original baboon was an 8th level magic user with INT 17. His cunning prevailed for quite some time and he has managed to use several unbroken flasks to make polymorph bombs by filling them with liquid. He will use them if a party is giving his troop particular trouble.

Littered around the ruined laboratory are pieces of the equipment used to carry out the experiment in the first place. Careful examination of the equipment and consultation of the notes that the magic user made before the explosion will give a character with INT of 16 or higher a good chance of recreating or reversing the process. The notes have been scattered by the explosion and the laboratory will have to be comprehensively searched in order to recover them all. The equipment may, if recovered intact, fetch between 100-400 gold pieces if sold to the right buyer. The notes are of great interest to magic users and, if word of their existence is disseminated wisely, representatives of various magic users or their guilds will contact the party and a bidding war may ensue. However, less scrupulous wizards may decide to take rather than buy.

On each balcony of the room are several runs of shelving, containing, amongst other things (1d30)

1. A jar of soot
2. Thirteen marbles in a jar
3. A jar of powdered corn extract
4. Jar of salt in which is (unseen unless the jar is opened and half-emptied) a human finger wearing a ring that will open a door deeper into the dungeon.
5. A small piece of papyrus with unknown runes on it
6. A brass candlestick in the shape of a nymph
7. Jar of phosphorus
8. The skull of a goat
9. A map of an unknown area of the dungeon with notes in a mysterious alphabet
10. A container of powdered iron
11. A bag half full of feathers
12. A stuffed owl
13. A jar of sand
14. A container of powdered chalk
15. A whetstone that, if used to sharpen a sword or knife, will impart a +1 bonus to hit and damage for the next 1d12 attacks.
16. The head of a bear flayed and made into a hat and facepiece
17. Reels of fine copper wire
18. A jar of dried rose petals
19. A half-eaten forelimb of an unidentified humanoid
20. A ball of string
21. A bag of half-burned candles
22. A necklace made out of human molar teeth
23. Three dead and stuffed bats
24. A jar full of rusty iron nails
25. A child’s doll with no eyes; if touched, it starts to say “help me, please help me” in a girl’s voice
26. A wind-up canary that sings lewd songs about goblins
27. A jar full of glass eyes
28. A nugget of iron pyrite
29. A medallion with an arrow on it; whichever way the arrow is pointing, a voice will state every 30 seconds the compass direction
30. A loop of leather that smells of salty sweat

Carefully hidden somewhere in the room (DM’s discretion) is the magic user’s spellbook. It has

1st level 12 spells
2nd level 9 spells
3rd level 7 spells
4th level 4 spells

inscribed therein. However, it is protected by Explosive Runes which will detonate if opened.

An Adventure for Every Monster - Axe Beak

Axe Beak




Frequency Uncommon
No appearing 1-6
AC 6
Move 18”
HD 3
% in lair Nil
Treasure type Nil
No of attacks 3
Damage per attack 1-3/1-3/2-8
Special attacks Nil
Special defences Nil
Magic resistance Standard
Intelligence Animal
Alignment Neutral
Size L (7’+ tall)
THAC0 16
XP value 35 + 3/hp

This adventure takes place in an area of wilderness that is sparsely inhabited. It should be rocky, forested and with few if any roads. Human hunters, explorers and prospectors have been moving into the area and have reported fleeting encounters with kobolds. The kobolds are hard to engage, fleeing when humans approach and only observing from a distance.

The little menaces are, however, plotting something which is to lure humans further and further into their territory and launch a mass attack using their latest weapon – axe beak cavalry. As axe beaks are faster than anything other than a light riding horse, the kobolds have the advantage of speed and manoeuvrability.

The kobold tactics are to use the axe beaks to close with the enemy, fire their missile weapons, ride out of range, harass and try to break up enemy formations and draw off any stray enemies so that their hidden foot soldiers can then launch surprise attacks. The kobolds ride two to a mount and one will jump off to engage on foot if need be while the other controls his axe beak. If both need to dismount, the axe beak is set loose to cause havoc in the ranks of the enemy with its three attacks.

Unless the humans have trained war-horses (unlikely in this area) their mounts will be spooked by the axe beaks 90% of the time as they will not have encountered them before.

The kobold band has 12 axe beaks as mounts, with 24 kobolds trained to ride them, armed with the weapons mix listed below. Another 24 kobolds are on foot, with a more traditional mix of weapons. They will work in four squads of six kobolds each whose job it is to finish off fallen enemies, ambush those who break away from the main group and cover any retreat.

The DM needs to ensure that the kobolds are played as skilled warriors – they may be small but in this setting, they are fast and they have worked on their tactics. They should be operating as would guerrilla cavalry. With luck, they will give complacent parties a run for their money. If in doubt, read up on Tucker’s Kobolds.

In the kobold lair, there are special chambers where the breeding, raising and training of axe beaks is carried out. A special group of kobolds (20) carry out these tasks; if they are killed on a raid of the lair, there is no real chance that the kobold survivors can rebuild the axe beak cavalry as the expertise will have been lost.

The hatchery will have 3d12 eggs at any one time. The raising area will have 2d12 chicks and the training area 1d12 juvenile axe beaks who are being fed on a mix of carrion which includes human and horse flesh so as to get them used to the taste and encourage them to attack these targets.
There is also a kobold group who work on harness and saddles for the axe beaks. These are mostly females and juveniles (30 and 8 respectively). They will flee if any attack is made on the lair. The saddles they make will have pouches, scabbards and quivers sewn in to the design to hold the weapons that the axe-beak riders need on their attacks.

Because the kobolds are pretty clued up on the subject of breeding, they will use only the males for cavalry attacks, retaining one or two in the lair. An interesting twist on this adventure would be for a group of wild axe beaks to scent out the females and perhaps mount an attack on the kobold lair in order to gain the breedstock, at the same time as the party mounts a raid.


Kobold

Frequency Uncommon
No appearing 40-400
AC 7
Move 6”
HD 1-4 hit points
% in lair 40%
Treasure type Individuals J, O, Qx5 in lair
No of attacks 1
Damage per attack 1-4 or by weapon
Special attacks Nil
Special defences Nil
Magic resistance Standard
Intelligence Average (low)
Alignment Lawful Evil
Size S (3’ tall)
THAC0 20
XP value 5 + 1/hp

Instead of the weapons distribution found in the MM, these kobolds are armed with bows, spears, daggers and primitive bolas, which if it scores a 19 or 20 on the hit die, will entangle its victim, causing them to need to save vs. DEX or fall to the ground. They will need to cut through the thongs and cannot engage in any combat activity until this is done. It should take them two combat rounds to complete this task.


Check this Axe Beak mini out - gotta love that bird!

An Adventure for Every Monster - Ape and Carnivorous Ape

Ape (Gorilla)
Frequency Very rare
No appearing 1-4
AC 6 (but with armour, 4)
Move 12”
HD 4+1
% in lair % Nil
Treasure type Nil
No of attacks 3
Damage per attack 1-3/1-3/1-6
Special attacks Rending
Special defences Nil
Magic resistance Standard
Intelligence Low
Alignment Neutral
Size M (6’ tall, broad)
THAC0 15
XP value 130 + 5/hp

Ape, Carnivorous


Frequency Rare
No appearing 2-8
AC 6 (but with armour, 4)
Move 12”
HD 5
% in lair 10%
Treasure type C
No of attacks 3
Damage per attack 1-4/1-4/1-8
Special attacks Rending
Special defences Nil
Magic resistance Standard
Intelligence Low (upper)
Alignment Neutral
Size L (7’ +, very broad)
THAC0 15
XP value 170 + 5/hp

This adventure takes place within a part of the dungeon that is subject to the movement of military forces. The leader of the force has acquired and trained a group of apes, both gorillas and the carnivorous type to act as shock troops in clearing out troublesome areas of the dungeon where he was not prepared to risk human lives.

(Thanks to Gozzy for the map - it's just a suggestion and you can use or ignore it as you wish)

The main military force came across an ogre and a band of orcs in this section of the dungeon and decided that it was time to test out their ape squad. Sure enough the apes made short work of the humanoids but it was at this point that the human plan went wrong. The carnivorous apes realised that their fighting prowess had equipped them to acquit themselves well in combat and decided to turn the tables on the humans, who had used particularly brutal methods of training to bend the apes to their will. In the confined spaces of the dungeon section, they attacked and wiped out the human follow-up troops (squad of 12) and a search party that came after them (group of 4). Therefore, areas of the dungeon complex will be filled with gnawed human bones, half-eaten limbs and such like. The smell will be particularly nauseous. The military is not prepared to send any more troops to their doom.

There are two possible routes of entry into this adventure – the party may encounter the military force and be hired to go into the dungeon section and take out the apes, or they may wander into this section unaware of what awaits them. That having been said, the military may well not wish the party to know what awaits them, regarding the existence of trained apes as a classified matter. A sadistic DM may well decide to have the military turn on them if they survive the encounter (although a veiled clue or two may well be offered – if the party fail to spot it, bad luck to them)

A cunning party may well try to negotiate with the carnivorous apes, playing to their egos and their dawning realisation of their own power. A careful consideration of the personalities of the carnivorous apes could make for a very interesting role-playing session.

Whilst the apes were not given weapons as such, they were equipped with basic armour, such as breastplates, helmets and the like, which will improve their AC by two (or one if the DM considers two overly generous). However, they have now obtained weapons from the fallen orcs and ogre (so typically large spears, clubs and axes for the ogre, swords, axes, spears and polearms for the orcs)

The apes will be organised into three squads, each with a carnivorous ape at its head. Such is the fear and disposition of the gorillas that if the carnivorous ape heading up their squad is killed, they will either bolt for it (40%) cower in the corner and hope to be left alone (45%) or continue to fight, having come to regard the carnivorous ape as part of their ‘family’ (15%). Whether the party chooses to take advantage of this or go for mass killage is up to them.

The carnivorous apes are cunning and have taken on board the tactics and methods used by their human trainers. They will therefore set their responses for military assault rather than a dungeoneering party attack.

Treasure

The allocation of type C assumes that the carnivorous apes are acting independently and in this case, that does not apply. However, during the occupancy of the orcs and ogre, the small room at the top of the map was used to store loot and this has been discovered by the carnivorous apes. They know that treasure is valued by humans and are also aware that this gives them power but have not yet worked out how to exploit it.

The hoard consists of

Orcs:

2-12 electrum pieces per orc (x 1d20)

Treasure type C – we have already discussed this treasure type in earlier posts.
Treasure type O (low-probability and low-value. The apes may well not have worked out the difference between the values of the various types of coins)
Treasure type Q x 10 (a gems-only treasure type. This will perhaps attract the apes more than coinage)
Treasure type S – a magic-only treasure type, in this case, potions. It should be considered whether the carnivorous apes have the intelligence to work out what the potions are; it would be very unlikely that they would have a way to identify them even if they did deduce their function.

Ogre:

M x 10 (20-80 gold pieces)
Treasure type Q
Treasure type B – a broad-range spread, with the probability weighted towards the lower value coinage.
Treasure type S


DG note – from this week, I’ll be including the THAC0 and XP value to increase the utility of these posts.