Showing posts with label water. Show all posts
Showing posts with label water. Show all posts

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Snake with legs discovered on the shore.

Hi. Here is another one! This time with a bit of surroundings, though in a classical stylized manner of sorts. I guess style will change as these proceed, if for no better reason than to make the work more enjoyable (for me) :-) . I hope that works for you as well, since it will likely make for more interesting work in the long run.

Thanks for checking in once again! I can see the number of followers are increasing, which hopefully means that some people enjoy this site. Please tell your friends to come visit. The more the merrier, as they say! It might get my creature factory going, as I can see an increased reason to prioritize this bestiary, before other work. Now for a refreshing early autumn swim. Take care!




≡NEN'GUAN≡




------GENERAL-----------------------------------------
CATEGORY: Reptile
TERRAIN: Any water, and land close to water
FOOD: Carnivore
AGGRESSION: Calm to high
SIZE: 30 feet (10 meters) long. Manlike part: 7 feet (2,1 meters) high
NUMBERS: 1-4


------CHARACTERISTICS-----------------------------
STRENGTH: 17-23
AGILITY: 13-16
ENDURANCE: 14-18
INTELLIGENCE: 2-5
MENTAL RESILIENCE: 5-8
CHARM: 1-(?)
(If stats of a human ranges from 3 to 18)

SPEED: Swimming x 4, Crawling x 1,5, Running x 0,5
(Multiple is times human speed)

MAGIC POWER: 0
(Ranges from 0-100)

HIT POINTS: 25-35
(If a human commoner has about 11 hit points)


------PROTECTION-------------------------------------
AVERAGE: 3
HEAD: 4
UPPER ARMS: 3
LOWER ARMS: 4
LEGS: 3
BODY: 3
TAIL(S): 3
(If Full Plate Armour is 10)

The skin of the Nen'guan is smooth and slippery, but still rather thick. The arms and face are harder and scaly.


------ATTACKS/DAMAGE---------------------------
1 TUSK BITE: 2-4
2 CLAWS: 1-6
2 SABRE CLAWS: 1-8
2 TAIL LASHES: 1-8
2 STINGING ANTENNAE: 1 (+ nerve poison, see 'Powers')
(If a Long Sword makes a damage of 1-8)

The Nen'guan has a large arsenal of natural weapons, but uses mainly its double pair of arms when fighting human-sized foes, and similar prey. If it can safely get close with its head it also attacks with the mouth and its poisonous stinging antennae (See 'Powers'). The split tail of the creature is mainly used for swimming, hypnotizing, and to ward off pursuers in the case of retreat.


------POWERS/EFFECT-------------------------------
HYPNOTIC MOVES: The Nen'guan can combine its intense stare with wave-like movements of its many body parts to hypnotize a victim. This takes one round. If a saving throw against mental resilience fails the being thus hypnotized suffers a 50% minus to all throws while the Nen'guan stays close.

POISONOUS STING: Upon the Nen'guan head are two antennae with purple, leaf-like ends. These inflict a paralyzing effect that can be lethal. If a saving throw against poison (or endurance) is failed the victim is instantly and fully paralyzed for 5-50 minutes. If the saving throw failure is complete (5% risk) the victim is paralyzed at once, and death follows within two minutes.


------DESCRIPTION------------------------------------
The Nen'guan is a long and powerful reptilian creature, who's front-most part has humanoid protrusions. It can drag its long body while stumbling upon the man-like legs, but usually moves like a legless sea serpent, lifting the humanoid part up into the air when necessary. In water it swims swiftly, with little use of its limbs.

While most of its day is spent idle upon the bottom, stunning and eating small prey close at hand, it submerges at dusk to hunt for larger meals. The Nen'guan is fiercely aggressive while on land, and seeks to kill and consume any kind of large beasts or beings. Stories say that the creature was once an ordinary snake of the water, that one day ate the egg of a demon queen. Thus, according to folk-lore, the serpent eats the fish of the lake, while the demonic progeny takes over by nightfall, to slay and to still its unnatural hunger.

The Nen'guan live alone or in small families. The female and the young are not as powerful, but look similar to the male. While the young have a greenish skin the adults turn brown or black, except for the brighter and more vivid head and upper limbs. The scales on the Nen'guan arms can shimmer like gold. Treasure hunters have been known to vanish while walking along the shores of great lakes, attracted to glimmering of discarded scales. These can be used for jewelry and usually fetch a good price. Some warn that the creatures tear off these scales willingly, to leave them dazzling on the shoreline as bait.

In the winter of cold regions the Nen'guans turns pale. They take on a life-less look and their eyes become dark like the deep of night. Though they remain submerged most of the snowy season, they occasionally push through the ice to feed. At such seasons the hypnotizing power is gone, but the dreadful zombie-like look of the beast can be equally unsettling. Single Nen'guans have been spotted far away from any lake, moving ghoulishly through the woods, or even in the streets of snowy towns. These occasions, of seemingly lost and aimless behavior, are a mystery even to the best of zoologists.

Some claim to have heard the Nen'guan speak, or whisper, but there are no recollections of actual words. The post-traumatic nightmares of surviving hypnotized beings seem to be very disturbing. Many of them describe the creature in terms suiting a much more intelligent and charming beast. Though the majority of witnesses tell of a monstrous creature, these insist on mysterious qualities. Poetic terms like 'sensual', 'divine dancing' and 'starlight fury' have been recorded more than once.

The Nen'guan live to be about 60 years old, and have no known aims but feeding and reproduction. It breaths through gills in water, and on land through lunges situated between the lower set of arms. It smells like the sediments of muddy lakes, and is fairly silent but for low hissing sounds when excited.



© Copyright 2010 - Nicholas Cloister

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

2nd creature is here... and swimming.

So, here is another one. Hopefully I can do yet one more before a short Christmas break. I see six followers here already. Welcome, guys! Help me to spread the word about this blog, and I shall feel even more enthusiastic about summoning these creatures… and as I said in the first post, all suggestions and comments are welcome!

I intend to stay focused on fantasy creatures, even if some might be usable in sci-fi or horror settings. Fantasy is what I primarily desire and all creatures that I post here are such as I‘d like to see in a fantasy game world of my own. When I was a game/dungeon master I made campaigns mainly for ‘AD&D’, ‘Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay’, the Swedish 'Drakar och Demoner’ and ‘Drakar och Demoner Expert’, but also a few adventures of ‘MERP’ and ‘Skyrealms of Jorune’ etc. Enough talk, here is a sea creature for you!



≡MON'THORIS≡




------GENERAL-----------------------------------------
CATEGORY: Mammal
TERRAIN: Any salty or brackish water
FOOD: Omnivore
AGGRESSION: Normal
SIZE: 26 feet long (about 8 meters)
NUMBERS: 1


------CHARACTERISTICS-----------------------------
STRENGTH: 35-45
AGILITY: 15-24
ENDURANCE: 15-24
INTELLIGENCE: 7-8
MENTAL RESILIENCE: 18-24
CHARM: 2-5
(If stats of human ranges from 3 to 18)

SPEED: Swimming x 10, Crawling x 1
(Multiple is times human speed)

MAGIC POWER: 0
(Ranges from 0-100)

HIT POINTS: 42-52
(If a human commoner has about 11 hit points)


------PROTECTION-------------------------------------
AVERAGE: 6
HEAD: 7
BELLY: 5
BACK: 6
FIN LIMBS: 3
TAIL FIN: 4
CLAWS: 6
(If Full Plate Armour is 10)


------ATTACKS/DAMAGE---------------------------
1 TAIL: 2-12
1 BITE: 2-6
2 FINS: 1-6
4 CLAWS: 1-6
(If a Long Sword makes a damage of 1-8)

The Mon’thoris will try to keep enemies off by using its powerful tail. Only when necessary will it fight with its fins, claws and teeth. The claws are normally used for cutting seaweed, opening great clams etc, and the mouth for eating, rather than fighting.


------POWERS/EFFECT-------------------------------
TELEPATHIC RAY: The Mon’thoris has the ability to invoke fear into an enemy, by using its telepathic abilities. If there is a spell called fear in your game, it could be used to determine this power. Otherwise it should lessen the player’s chance of succeeding with any attack or action against the Mon’thoris by 10%-30%, depending on the outcome of the saving throw against mental attacks or psychic powers. The effect lasts for as long as the creature is within the range of any sense perception. The telepathic power of the Mon’thoris can also be used to bring a great joy or delight to any intelligent being. This will increase by 20% the chance of succeeding in all throws that is dependent on confidence or morale.


------DESCRIPTION------------------------------------
The Mon’thoris is a rare creature that spends most of its life underwater, in the great seas of the world. It is intelligent and can communicate by telepathic suggestions and images, thus getting across simple messages like “come with me”, “stay where you are”, and “leave this place”. Normally it lives a very solitary life and mates only at a full solar eclipse. It can live for several centuries, and feeds mainly on fish and various types of seaweed.

Being a mammal the Mon’thoris breathes air and must surface regularly. It can hold its breath for up to an hour if need be, but will drown if trapped under water. They can crawl slowly across land, but will not leave the water unless in great peril. Male and female look essentially the same, and act alike when encountered. Usually the Mon’thoris will avoid contact with human beings, but at times they could become curious of those who venture into the depths. On rare occasions these creatures have been known to join forces with other intelligent powers of the sea. They would do a great job as guardian creatures, but are far too clever to be trained like dogs. Rather, they should be treated kindly, or a fierce foe is to be reckoned with.

The brain of the Mon’thoris is protected by hard bone, but is highly valuable to those who know how to treat it. Great potions of various effects can be produced from extracting the interiors of the Mon’thoris’s skull. The creature has the power of reading the mind of any intelligent being (no saving throw allowed), but it can only see long-term plans, dreams etc. It therefore has no use for this ability when fighting. Also, this water beast is sensitive to vibrations, warmth, and electrical fields in the surrounding water, so there is really no way of surprising it.

When inactive the Mon’thoris might rest near the surface hidden by seaweed, but the perfect place for this mammal to make its “home” is in a cave filled to the half with water – a great cave accessible only by the sea. When dying the Mon’thoris takes a deep breath and heads willingly towards the dark depths. They use no sounds for communication, but at this rare event they are said to sing, much like the whales of the old world.



© Copyright 2009 - Nicholas Cloister