Sunday 18 March 2018

Disapointing Monsters: The Chaos Drake

























Monster Manuals encourage you to recycle stuff. I like old stormbringer game that said lots of monsters should be unique. Grab at least two random animals - mash them up, add chaos features from random table. It is that easy. I'm going to do some unlovable one off monsters that are so unlovable when you kill one it will probably be the last of it's kind. Except the cursed to live ones. They need some local moral issue fixed to have the gods let you off. Monsters are the bitter venom of the gods sent to judge us. They are just Doing their job too. Will do more like this. A book of one hit horrors?

The Great & Terrible Chaos Drakeaka the Horrible Draken aka the Lake Monster aka the Doom Drake
AC 17 HP 137 (28HD) Att Peck 4d6 Wingslap 2d6 save or fall Mov 9" on land 12" water
-Only harmed by magic or silver or cold iron
-Immune to Fire or Cold +1 damage per die from acid
-Great Qack x3/day 3d6 to all in 3" radius STR save or fall over
-Baleful glare is used vs missile attacks, cast curse each round as only attack 12"
-Beings it kills arize as zombies in 24 hours
-Regenerates a d4 each ten minute turn
-Can breathe water
-Any medium creature can be impregnated with its lesser spawn 3d6 damage month later

The nest is in a underwater cave 30 foot deep in rock in middle of the lake. Their are ruins in the lake bottom of the place the gods damned. In the cave are 3d6 Zombies and the Treasure.

Finger of St Braddon cure disease x3/day, bless x3/day, +1 on cleric turning level if used as holy symbol in gold box worth 800gp

36082gp 7467sp 14569cp 7 rubied d6x100gp each diamond ring worth 1000gp
+2 giant slayer sword, ring of protection +3, boots of water walking with feet in them, rotting spell book with xd6 1st Lv, xd4 2nd Lv, d3 3rd Lv and one 4th Lv spell once belonged to a famous wizard, wand casts light spell d100 charges only works for good wizard, dagger +3 that can silence the death cry of any being dispatched

d10 Rumours about the Draken
1 It has killed over a hundred men over the years even many knights sent to fight it!
2 The great Draken is often seen paddling about on the misty waters of lake doooooom!
3 Mo mortal can slay it without the blessing of the gods!
4 A nobleman committed a terrible sin by the lake once and the Drake is the wrath of the gods!
5 The drake is furious and angry and dislikes being taunted or people on it's land!
6 The Drake of doom lives of fish mostly but be sure wicked men will draw it forth!
7 The dead it has slain walk around the bottom of the lake guarding the Drake's nest!
8 if the Drake kills it takes their body, some it eats some it takes to its nest for a terrible purpose!
9 Over the decades the Draken has become uglier and more chaotic, now it's bigger than a cow and has many lesser spawn to replace it one day!
10 A holy man tried to turn the lake monster with the finger of St Braddon but both disapeared

d10 Prophecies of the Beast

1 The monster will spawn offspring one day which will replace the beast at the right time
2 The cult of the beast seek to one day use the flesh of the beast to make chaos mutagen potions
3 Who lands the deathblow on the beast gains the favour of a god and the wrath of another
4 The lost finger of St Braddon will be returned to its' church and there will be healing miracles
5 The spirit of the lake goddess wil anoint one of the heroes who slay the beast and bare them a child
6 The Drake knows it's own spawn will replace it so it usually kills whatever beast or fool it loves
8 Once free of the curse a new village shall be built there and prosper
9 The legendary treasures of the lake will unlock more mysteries
10 When the monster ant all it's spawn are cleansed the foul mists shall depart forever

d10 Strange Locals to Meet on the way (each knows a story)1 Angus McKraken old stern man warns those who sin bring on wrath of the beast
2 Rory Gallagher a drunken old shepherd has heard the Drake and the cries of victims

3 Brother Austin Thule here to see if the holy finger could be recovered 
4 Granny Argus a witch who gives gloomy prophecies and offers medical aid
5 Timmy Strange, local idiot boy plays like small child sometimes gives lucid prophecy
6 Lars Hendrickson local hunter, wants the beast dead because it took his lover
7 Gunter Nickelson wood cutter, parents were murdered on foggy night just like tonight!
8 Widow Olan mother of Timmy, lost her knight lover to the beast and has seen his walking corpse
9 Alder McDougal a chaos cultist offers to help monster hunters and betrays them

10 Hugo Jennings a young lad who wants to watch heroes fight and record their exploits, knows lots of monster lore but never seen it

d12 Local Lake Encounters1 Common zombies once common folk 2d6*
2 Swarm of ungre eels by lake shore 3" across, 2 damage per round HD3 AC 13 Mov 6"
3 Undead Knight now a wight, has remnants of armour and a piece of jewelry d6x100gp

4 Chaos cultists come to throw a victim to the beast 3d6 commoners with d4 HP each
5 Chaos cult elite of coven, priests equal to party in level, come to sacrifice a victim 
6 Witch has come to mate with the Chaos Drake to fulfill a evil prophecy
7 Phantom figure of priest sometimes seen, a spectre of spectral minion or something
8 Lady of the lake, spirit of the lake nymph unable to manifest until the drake curse is gone
9 Young cultist gathering sack of monster dung cult hope to make into a mutation potion
10 Doppelganger pretending to be escaped victim of the cult has rope burned wrists even

11 Doomdrake Spawn a small chaos waterfowl HD2 AC13 Att Peck d8 Move9" 12"water* 
12 Fog becomes thick with visibility only 3" with light and 1" without light
*no more wights total than party members, 100 zombies in total at any one time, 2d6 Doomdrake spawn in total

Running the Chaos Drake Encounter
Don't let on it is a duck, or make spawn too obvious they are ducks
Confuse it with dragon and chaos beast talk if possible, call it the draken or chaos drake
Play for suspense and horror right up till you meet the beast
Make everyone players meet tell a terrible story about the Drake
Spawn might have feathers but are tentacled fleshy stomach like sacs with a few filthy feathers most would not recognise as a duck. Have fleshy wattle covered skin and a orange beak and one red eye and webbed feet the most duck like part of body.

Running the Further Encounter

Some of prophecies are interesting
Killing all the spawn and zombies and wights will help area
Find and destroy the cult who keep at least one spawn in a cage and have treasure and sacrifices in cages

2 comments:

  1. You might want to watch the film "Early Man" if giant, terrifying waterfowl are your bag.

    ReplyDelete

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