The Bogeywoman's Cave

Happy Halloween, and a blessed Samhain! In celebration of one of my favorite holidays, I have decided to write up a type of creature that has appeared in the artwork of Halloween cards and picture books for decades; the pumpkin goblin! These little beasties are plant-like relatives of the more common goblinoids, and are rumored to be created by witches sprinkling goblin blood over a pumpkin patch and calling upon the power of the faeries. The end result of this strange ritual is a horde of short-lived pumpkin-headed plant-like humanoids who are loyal to their creator. Pumpkin Goblin Move:  60 feet/turn Hit Dice:  See below Armor Class:  8 Treasure Class: L Alignment:  Lawful Evil Attacks:  1 Damage: 1-6 Pumpkin goblins vary in size dramatically, much like pumpkins. The smallest ones are no larger than a toddler, and possess a mere 1-4 hit points. Most are around half the size of an adult human, and possess 1-6 hit points. Human sized pumpki...

NOTE: The following key requires the use of WGR1: Greyhawk Ruins to be used properly. In order to avoid infringing upon copyright and merely making a helpful tool for a game master, monster statistics and the map for the dungeon level have been purposefully omitted. The module can be purchased here The Tower of War (Level 1) W101 Band of 10 dwarves (1 leader, 2 guards, 7 warriors) guard the tower, with a pet brown bear The leader, Stillguar, takes a 1/3 cut of any gold found in the tower by adventurers Instead of paying the tax, the party can take the great risk, where the dwarves throw 2 hammers into the air, and the orientation of them determines what happens and what is paid Great Risk Table 2: Lose all gold 3: Lose all gold found in the tower 4-9: Lose ½ gold found in the tower 10: Lose 1/10 gold found in the tower 11: Keep all gold 12: Dwarves give the party a gold ingot worth 500 coins W102 Table, stove, and some barrels Barrels...

DISCLAIMER Note that the following is just my opinion on how I like room descriptions to be written, and I do not think that the following writers are incompetent or bad adventure designers. (From WGR1: Greyhawk Ruins) Writing an adventure is technical writing, not a narrative*. Saying what a room is with tons of adjectives and evocative descriptions is the job of the game master, not the adventure writer. This is because if the game master has to read a several paragraph long wall of text whenever the party enters a new room, the game slows down to a crawl. Not to mention, the more descriptive a room is, the more chances there are for the game master to miss something in the heat of the game. For example, lets look at this room's description from S1: Tomb Of Horrors, by Gary Gygax: MAGlCAL SECRET DOOR: This entrance to the remainder of the Tomb is along the stairway which leads down. It can be found by any means, but nothing will enable it to be opened until the a...

Libris Mortis: The Book of the Undead was a supplement for D&D 3.5 that detailed character options, new spells, and new monsters relating to undead monsters. In my opinion it suffered a lot from the rules and writing bloat typical of the era, but there was still a lot of goodness held within. One of the more interesting of the new monsters that was introduced was the Desiccator, an undead water elemental. It took the form of a sickly, salt-encrusted and child-sized humanoid with no facial features other than a mouth, and whose breath sucked up water. They were essentially anti-water elementals. Now, water elementals do not exist in the Holmes Basic set, but they do appear in the Monster Manual for AD&D, which, as explained in the Zenopus Archives , is most compatible with the Holmes rules, not AD&D. So, without further ado, here is my take on the Anti-Water Elemental. Desiccator Move:  80 feet/turn Hit Dice:  4 Armor Class:  6 Treasure Type:  ...

Hey y'all remember this post? Well I'm finally making a follow up to that. The beings that flounder and wander the otherworldly town of Raven Hill do resemble their "normal" counterparts, at least superficially, but they always seem broken and wrong somehow. They are not truly the monsters they resemble, but nightmares spawned from the subconscious of any who wander into the accursed town. Below are some tables to roll on to change the physical appearance of regular monsters to make them like something out of Silent Hill. (The Insane Cancer from Silent Hill 3) Common Traits All (or at least most) of the monsters of Raven Hill have the following characteristics: No eyes Do not speak, or show any signs of intelligence beyond animal instinct Are naked, and have wet, hairless, rubbery skin, but do not possess sex organs Being near them causes a ringing noise in one's ears Subtracting Traits (d6) The following remove physical features from the cre...

Morlocks are originally from H.G. Wells's novel The Time Machine , where they are the descendants of working class humanity, living underground and operating ancient machinery more out of instinct than actual intelligence. Meanwhile the descendants of the bourgeoisie and upper class evolved into the Eloi, a species of short, unintelligent and carefree humanoids that are fed upon by the Morlocks. Pathfinder takes a different approach to these creatures, simply having them be the descendants of humans who delved into the Darklands (the Pathfinder setting's equivalent of the Underdark/Underworld), and evolved to suit their environment. In many ways they are similar to the crawlers from the film Descent. (Image taken from the Pathfinder Bestiary) Morlock Move:  160 feet/turn/climb 120 feet/turn Hit Dice:  2 Armor Class:  9 Treasure Type:  Q Alignment:  Chaotic Evil Attacks:  1 club or bite Damage:  1-6 club, 1-4 bite Morlocks can climb on t...

Serpent Lore This rare tome is bound in snakeskin, with strange runic symbols on the cover, along with its title in the common tongue. It was translated from ancient stone tablets and carvings, found in pre-human ruins to the North. The book details the history and culture of the Serpent-folk, reptilian humanoids who lived in the time of the dinosaurs, before the North froze. Types of Spells Contained Within Any spells relating to snakes or reptiles may be found within this book, at the discretion of the game master. In addition, spells for entering suspended animation, poisoning people, and hypnosis may be present. (Image from Coreychiev on Deviantart, who also runs the Etsy store TheLeatherGeek ) An Account of the End Times This illuminated manuscript would be a work of art, were it not for the horrific things described and illustrated within its pages. It was written by Brother Augustus, a monk who was excommunicated by the church after he began to suffer from prophet...

Now what we're taking control We get what we want We do what you don't Dirt and glitter cover the floor We're pretty and sick We're young and we're bored -Kesha, Blow ( Nymphs Dancing to Pan's Flute  by Joseph Tomanek) Strange, rhythmic drumming comes from the woods, a sound that you more feel than hear. You can tell it is music, pulsing, loud music, but what kind of tune is being played is beyond your comprehension. The heart-like beat of the noise is accompanied by the sounds of screams and laughter. Bright, multicolored lights emanating from the woods are reflected by the clouds, like lightning. You are either curious, or foolish, and begin to creep into the dense mass of brush and trees, desperate to find the source of the lights and sounds. As you get closer, the beat gets louder and the lights get brighter, and the screams of joy and jubilation you heard from afar take on a panicked, feverish quality. Finally, you reach the source of the cacophony, and ...

Camilla: You, sir, should unmask. Stranger: Indeed? Cassilda: Indeed it's time. We have all laid aside disguise but you. Stranger: I wear no mask. Camilla: (Terrified, aside to Cassilda.) No mask? No mask! - The King in Yellow, Act 1, Scene 2 (Image taken from Roger Corman's adaptation of  Masque of the Red Death ) Masked Strangers are demons of entropy and chaos, most commonly found at masquerade balls, harvest festivals, theaters, and other places where people wear masks. They resemble tall, thin humans wearing tattered robes and masks. The color of the robes and masks vary from Stranger to Stranger, though the masks are universally awful to look upon. It is rumored that if one ignores a Masked Stranger, and doesn't acknowledge their hideous features, they will leave you alone. It is not known if this is true. Masked Stranger HD 10 AC Unarmored (can only be hit by silver or magic weapons) ATK 4 Telekinetic Slashes DMG 1d6+1 HDE 20 Remove Mask Once every 1d6 rounds, a Mas...

Vampire HD variable AC unarmored or by armor worn ATK 1 bite or weapon DMG 1d6 or 1d6+2 HDE equal to hit dice plus 2 Whenever a vampire bites someone, they regain a number of hit points equal to the damage they deal. In addition, vampires naturally regenerate 1d3 HP each round. Vampires cannot naturally regenerate any damage dealt by silver weapons, or holy water (being splashed with holy water deals 1d6 damage to vampires). Exposure to direct sunlight causes vampires to take 1d6 damage per round, and be unable to regenerate, even by drinking blood. Young vampires tend to merely resemble human beings, if a bit pale and with sharp teeth. However, the older a vampire gets, the less human they become, taking on aspects of other haemovores. Roll on the table below to determine what animal the vampire takes after: 1. Mosquito: The vampire's nose and mouth fuse into a straw-like feeding organ, and its eyes grow large and black. 2. Flea: The vampire's skin begins ...

Alright, lets make a level 1 dungeon adventure, a medium sized complex with 20 rooms. I don't really have any huge inspiring ideas for a dungeon, so I roll on my random dungeon adventure tables for inspiration. I get a 4, a 6, another 4, and a 3, meaning that my dungeon is a complex of secret tunnels built by pagans, rumored to contain treasure, and people know about it because someone was kidnapped and taken there, but escaped. The beings that currently live there is a group of bandits. That's a pretty decent starting point for an adventure, you can get some role playing with the victim who escaped, and give the PCs a general idea of who they're up against before they even set foot in the dungeon. Lets say the escaped kidnap victim is a man named Ralph, and that he was waylaid by bandits while on his way home from his butcher's shop. He says there is another victim kept there, a mute child dressed in noble's clothing, along with some coins. He says the ban...

What do people know about the dungeon? 1. Things have been coming out of it and raiding nearby settlements 2. Strange sounds and lights have been seen emanating from it 3. It played an important part in local history 4. Someone was captured and taken there, and has come back alive to tell the tale 5. It used to be a popular place for teenagers to explore, up until recently 6. It is rumored to be an unholy place Why do the players care? 1. Someone they know has been kidnapped by whatever lives there 2. An artifact/heirloom that a PC dearly desires is kept there 3. They have been offered payment to investigate 4. One of the PCs has seen visions of the place 5. A piece of information the PCs want is rumored to be contained within the dungeon 6. There's rumors of there being a lot of cash and some magic items there What is the dungeon? 1. A prehuman structure 2. A tomb 3. A castle and its dungeon 4. Secret tunnels built by pagans 5. Sewers ...

I have sort of a love/hate relationship with Pathfinder. I really enjoy parts of the campaign setting, and the bestiaries are fantastic, but everything is just so fiddly on a rules level, so I never would feel confident running a campaign using the system. But, as I said before, the bestiaries really are fantastic, and here is one of the monsters from Bestiary 4 , converted to the blue book's rules. Gholdako Move:  120 feet/turn Hit Dice:  10 Armor Class:  2 Treasure Type:  E + 5000 G.P. Alignment:  Lawful Evil Attacks:  1 bite and 2 claws Damage:  2-16 bite, 3-24 claws Gholdakos are the undead mummies of an ancient race of one eyed giants, that are thought to be extinct in the modern world. They are covered with rags of linen, upon which runic symbols are written. Though the Gholdakos are intelligent and capable of speech, they know no language other than the guttural tongue of giants. Gholdakos can exhale a cloud of dust once every 1-4 rou...

1. The Ecorches It is a rusty brown color, flakes of blood falling off of its feverishly shaky skinless body as it runs towards you, screaming with its clawed hands outstretched towards your throat. (Image from Body Worlds) Ecorche HD 1 AC unarmored ATK 2 claws DMG 1d6-1 each (minimum 1) HDE 2 Ecorches move twice as fast as normal humans. If using a grid based combat system, this means they can move twice as far as humans can. 2. The Boneless The thing slithering towards you originally looks more like a puddle of skin-colored ooze than a corpse, but as it slunk closer to the light, its sightless eyes look up at you with hatred and hunger. (Image taken from Libris Mortis) Boneless HD 2 AC light ATK 1 constrict DMG 1d3 HDE 2 Anyone hit by a Boneless must make a saving throw, otherwise the creature has wrapped itself around its victim, and begins constricting it. The victim then takes 1d6 damage each round they are being constricted, each ro...

(Image from Van Helsing) Monster Hunters You have been charged by the church to hunt down and destroy the foul beasts that plague the lands, delving into their subterranean lairs and bringing back their heads for the glory of your god! Each session/adventure, the party is given an assignment to investigate monster attacks and to hunt down and kill the creature(s) that is responsible. Adventures will tend to be about 1/2 investigation and 1/2 dungeon crawl; with the first part involving examining the evidence, doing research, and tracking the monsters, followed by marching into their lairs and killing them. Pros You get to make great use of any monster manuals you own/get an opportunity to create your own beasts. There is a nice combination of role playing and dungeon crawling. The set-up is episodic, and allows for players to drop in and drop out between sessions. Cons Will get repetitive if there isn't really any overarching plot. May feel somewhat linear unle...