Mua ha ha haaaaa

Creatures of the Crypt

The following are some of the horrors encountered in the Crypt of Nine Dooms by characters in my Halloween Creepy Crawl.

GRINDEYLOWS

Number Encountered: 1d4
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 90 (30) Swim 120 (40)
Armor Class: 7
Hit dice: 2
Attacks: Claw/Claw/Bite or by Weapon
Damage: 1d3/1d3/1d4
Save: F2
Morale: 5
Horde: XIII

The grindeylow are dark, shriveled, frog like creatures that dwell anyplace pools of rancid water collect in old crypts or catacombs. While they mostly scavenge for their supper, they're quite willing to ambush the unwary and drag them down to their doom. While generally content to use their teeth that bite and claws that catch, they will occasionally make a weapon out of an old bit of wrought iron or a stout tree root, if they think it can help them get a taste of the sweet blood of those who go about in the sun.

Three times a day, a grindeylow may make a gaze attack with their large luminous eyes, blinding victims who fail a Save vs. Paralysis. The light of the sun in turn blinds them, and daylight will drive them into the safety of the dark deeps. Strange glows from still pools in the depths of the earth can be a warning that these creatures are afoot.

BONE MONKEYS

Number Encountered: 1d4
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 120(40)
Armor Class: 7 or AC of Victim
Hit dice: 1
Attacks: Bite 1d4, Poison Sting
Damage: 1d4. Save vs. Poison or Die
Save: H2
Morale: 9
Horde: None, but often found near type XVI

A horrible little undead construct, bone monkeys are carnival gaffs gone monstrously awry. They take the form of an animate monkey skeleton with a long tail tipped with the fanged skull of a poisonous snake, which they use like a scorpion's sting. Mad wizards and sinister mountebanks will often hide these creatures among their collections of specimens and obscure curios as guardians of their dark secrets. Their small size allows them to secret themselves almost anywhere. The method for binding a bone monkey to one's will is an obscure rite known only to a select few necromancers and carnies.

Bone monkeys are capable of remaining perfectly still until its time to spring. When a group of victims draws near, they will spring forth and grab hold of one of them, clinging tenaciously to the flailing unfortunate and stinging all those within reach with its tail. While a victim is grasped, the bone monkey shares their Armor Class, and half of the damage done to the creature is passed on to their hapless "mount". They will not let go until all those around their victim are dead, at which point they will sting them as well, and then return to their hiding place.

These monsters are hereby designated as Open Game Content via the Open Game License.

New Labyrinth Lord Magic Item: The Belt of the Acrobattlers

This Legendary item from the island nation of Acrobania summons Awesome Forces to the wearer in times of great need.

It takes the form of a wide, white belt adorned with an octagonal buckle device bearing the likeness of a figure wearing a bat winged cloak and black mask with tiny red garnets for eyes.

If the wearer is of Lawful alignment, then once per day they may press a hidden button on the belt's buckle and summon a mighty quintet of 10th. level Handsmen, who will fight on their behalf for 1d4 turns.

When the belt is activated, the garnets on the figure's eyes will begin to flash, and will continue to do so for the duration of the effect.

If any of the Acrobattlers fall in battle, they all will vanish and cannot be summoned again for 1 month.

Once the battle is over, the mighty handsmen will give their summoner a celebratory High Five and then disappear.

Here are the heroes that the belt summons:

THE COMMANDER
HP: 50, HD: 10, AC: 4, DMG: 1d10 punch
Morale: 12, Saves as a 10th. Lvl Dwarf
Clobber: 1-10 on a d20, Knock foe out for 1d4 turns
May cast Charm Person 1/day, Immune to Fear effects

CRASH
HP: 70, HD: 10, AC: 4, DMG: 1d10 punch
Morale: 10, Saves as 10th. Lvl Dwarf
Clobber: 1-10 on a d20, Knock out foe for 1d4 turns
May hurl boulders for 3d6 dmg at 100' range

THE ROBOT
HP: 50 HD: 10, AC: 4, DMG: 1d10 punch
Morale: 8, Saves as 10th. Lvl Dwarf
Clobber: 1-10 on a d20, Knock out foe for 1d4 turns
May launch fist as ranged attack, Range 40/60/80

RICKY
HP: 50, HD:10, AC: 4, Dmg: 1d10 punch
Morale: 8, Saves as 10th. Lvl Dwarf
Clobber: 1-10 on a d20, Knock out foe for 1d4 turns
May cast Haste on self 1/day.

EAGLEBONES FALCONHAWK
HP: 40 HD: 10, AC: 4, DMG: 1d10 punch
Morale: 10, Saves as a 10th. Lvl Dwarf
Clobber: 1-10 on a d20, Knock out foe for 1d4 turns
May cast a 4d6 lightning bolt 1/day.
Invisible Hawk familiar; HP: 4, AC: 8, Save: F1, Morale 7, Dmg: 1d4, Fly: 480'(160')

This magic item is hereby designated as Open Game Content via the Open Game License.

CREEPY CRAWL 2011

So this past Saturday I hosted my third annual Creepy (Dungeon) Crawl in my awesome chamber of gaming. I got four awesome players, and we played for somewhere around 9-10 hours, with a total of three incursions into the horrendous Crypt of Nine Dooms.

Here's the death toll:

Party 1

1 Homanculous level drained by a wraith and finished off by being burned alive in flaming oil/web spell conflagration.

1 Dampyr level drained then gnawed on by giant rats then finished off by his own severed, vengeful, uh... crotch...(It was damn funny but I need to tweak my creepy critical tables a bit...)

1 Grimling Henchman level drained by wraith and burned to death in flaming web spell.
(Flaming web spells were a popular attraction, although this was the same one that got the Homanculous.)

1 Guard dog gnawed to death by giant rats.

Party 2

1 Magic User nearly frozen to death by Kerrictus the Coldwight, then strangled by his own severed, vengeful hand.

1 Cleric flash frozen and zombified by Kerrictus the Coldwight.

1 Henchman Thief lost a leg in flamethrower trap

1 Henchman Fighter lost leg to flaming sword of Blazarkus the Burning Bones.

Party 3

1 Henchman Fighter nearly strangled by his own vengeful guts before finished off by scythe wielding skeleton.

Here's the monster pelts that the PC's collected:

5 Masters of the Crypt defeated:
Rambokk the Requitor
Blazarkus the Burning Bones
Argrim the Iron Wolf
Kerrictus the Coldwight
The Crow Knight

7 Giant Rats
1 Wraith
2.5 Grindeylows
4 Dire Wolves
12 Skeletons
1 Bonemonkey

Plus:
6 Ghouls circumvented by spiking their chambers shut.
1 Green Slime forgotten by GM and thus avoided.

I'd have to say the play of the night was the inimitable Mr. S's stunt wherein' his magic user poured unlit oil onto the edge of a spiked pit, causing an already perforated Crypt Master who was climbing out to lose his grip and fall back into it to his doom.

Stay tuned for more aspects of the terrible Crypt to be revealed...

Hey! Lookit what I got in the mail today!

Proudly endorsed by myself and a rabble of undead horrors!

We command you to go forth and obtain a copy for yourself, right here!

Who Are the Nine Masters of the Crypt?

Fear them...

The Creepy Crawl approaches...

Painting Bee at Paul's

Well, as is our occasional wont to do, a bunch of us got together to hang out and paint miniatures this weekend at my buddy Paul's new place. Mini painting with friends is a great way to hang out, and I recommend it highly to anybody who appreciates the craft.

I was also pleased to get three done today, which is more than I've painted in a dog's age.

This dude was kitbashed from a bunch of Warhammer Imperial troop and Chaos Marauder bits, with some Mordheim equipment thrown in too. He's a general purpose PC fighter type, who can also do duty as a heavy duty henchman as well. He'd been sitting on my "paint me" shelf for too long, I figured he was due.

This sinister fellow is a Reaper mini, whom I've dubbed the Crow Knight. He may turn up in this year's Creepy Crawl.

Finally, we've got this half-orc barbarienne, also a Reaper, whom I have dubbed Bunny due to her nice wooly Ugg boots. Green orcs and half orcs bore me beyond tears, so I decided to give her some frost giant in her heritage instead. Paul was painting a bunch of 10mm figs and she made a pretty convincing giantess next to the little (littler) guys.

So a fine time was had by all and I finally got around to painting some of the little bastards who've been staring resentfully from my yet to be painted shelf for months. Hooray!