The Warlock of Firetop Mountain - Attempt 1, Part 2

A the end of my last post, I was standing at the edge of an underground river, deep in the stygian bowels of Firetop Mountain.  I had a few options for crossing: a bridge, a raft and a bell I could ring to summon the boatman.  Or I could just try to swim across.  As my good friend Mad Johnny Chairleg had told me to respect the boatman, I decide to ring the bell.  The boatman rowed over from the far side, and offered to take me over for the price of 3 gold pieces.  His sign had said 2 gold, and when I complained he mentioned inflation, which is a weird thing for a subterranean boatman to be talking about.  I could have remonstrated, but instead I just shrugged my shoulders and paid him.  My money problems will vanish when I stab the Warlock to death, you know?

On the far bank I could go north-west, east, or through a door straight ahead.  I went north-west, and found a guy sleeping in an old boat guarded by a seriously harsh-looking dog.

I woke the guy up and tried to talk to him, but he had some serious attitude towards adventurers, so it was time for a bit of the old ultra-violence.  I had to fight the dog first, and the revelation that it was a fire-breathing HELL-HOUND was not altogether surprising.  That the guy was a WEREWOLF was a little more startling, I have to say.  Come on Steve Jackson, you gotta describe the dude as extra-hairy or something!

I would have expected to need a silver weapon to kill the Werewolf, but my regular sword did the trick.  I claimed a set of boat-house keys from him, as well as a jar of pickled eggs from his larder.  Seriously.  The Werewolf has stocked up on pickled eggs.  This dungeon keeps getting weirder.

Back at the river I went east, and came to a heavy door with a barred window.  Looking through I saw a bunch of SKELETONS building boats, and you know what?  It's surprising that more fantasy settings don't feature the undead as a cheap labour force.

I decided not to go this way, and went back to the river and through the door to the north.  This may have been a bad idea, because I was instantly clubbed unconscious.  I awoke in a room with four ZOMBIES, and judging by their armaments they were probably Zombie farmers.

Despite some Vietnam-style traumatic flashbacks from my youth (I used to be seriously unsettled by this encounter), I laid into these guys with my sword and emerged triumphant, without a scratch.  A search of the room was in order, and the most interesting thing I could see was the corpse of another adventurer in the corner.  On his person I found a shield, some armour, a sword and a crucifix.  Already armed with some wooden stakes, I decided to complete my anti-Vampire arsenal, and claimed the crucifix.  I also took the sword, and was delighted to discover that it was enchanted, granting me a +2 bonus to my rolls in combat.

At that point a noise startled me, and I moved on.  I don't know why, because I had just become Death incarnate, but in gamebooks - as in life - your destiny is not entirely your own.  The next room was piled with coffins, and it didn't take me long to do the math: stakes + crucifix + coffins = VAMPIRE.

Yes, a Dracula came rising out of his coffin, and I considered it my duty to do some slaying.  Holding it at bay with my crucifix, I advanced on the Dracula with my stake and mallet.  But then, disaster!  I tripped!  And then a weird thing happened.  It was a serious Inspector Clouseau moment, as a successful Luck test sent my stake flying straight into the vampire's heart, and it shrivelled into a bat and flew away.  I shrugged my shoulders and collected my loot: some gold, another y-shaped stick, and a book.  The book was given no other description at all.  It could be a copy of Warlock of Firetop Mountain, for all I knew.  I took the gold and left the rest behind.

Past a junction I came to a scene of animated tools digging a tunnel and singing Disney tunes.

With nothing to do there but watch, I returned to the junction and headed north.  Soon I found some stairs heading down, and came across three dead bodies.  Time for looting!  The first body I searched had some gold pieces, which I duly tucked away.  The second lashed out at me with claws, also providing an illustration that fuelled my childhood nightmares for years.

It was a GHOUL!  Apparently I would be paralysed if it hit me four times, but with my new enchanted sword it wasn't able to hit me even once before I cleft it in twain.  I searched the remaining body and found a map and a vial of holy water.  Normally I would keep holy water to splash on Draculas, but instead I drank it, and was rewarded with some major healing.  It was apparently blessed by the Overpriest of Kaynlesh-Ma, which is meaningless to me, but I bet it gets referenced later when the Fighting Fantasy books are stitched together into one setting.  The map was for something called the 'Maze of Zagor', but it was quite faded and not very helpful.

I went further north until a portcullis crashed down behind me, blocking my way back.  I was now in the Maze of Zagor, and let me just say that this thing is a bastard.  I've mapped it enough times now that I have it memorised, but as a youngster it used to drive me mad.  It's very well written, though.  You have to pay careful attention to the text, or you can very easily end up going around in circles.  The traps that teleport you to another part of the dungeon aren't helpful, either.  Nor is the option to search for secret doors, which more often than not activates a trap or attracts a wandering monster.

I had three encounters within the maze.  The first was a group of friendly DWARFS.  I talked to them and got some directions through the maze, then left them to their poker game.

The second was a MINOTAUR, an aggressive chap who turned out to be one of the toughest opponents in the dungeon, with a Skill of 9.  I still ganked him with little effort, and claimed his gold pieces and his key numbered '111'.

My third encounter was with the Mazemaster, a bearded old man who I intimidated into giving me directions out of the maze.  As it turns out, his directions are utter bollocks.


Eventually I emerged from the maze, right into the lair of a DRAGON.  Take a look at his eyes, I'm pretty sure I just woke him up from a nap.

 Recalling the spell that I discovered earlier in my quest, I threw up my hands and shouted: 'Ekil Erif, Ekam Erif, Erif Erif, Di Maggio!'  The Dragon tried to breathe fire, but the spell lodged his fireball in the poor bugger's mouth, and it ran off crying like it had just inhaled a whole bottle of Nando's sauce.

I continued on, and in the next room I encountered... the dreaded Warlock!

Zagor seemed pretty confident, but after my encounter with his painting I was pretty sure I knew what to do.  I held up the Eye of the Cyclops, and watched in satisfaction as he shriveled up and disintegrated.  My quest was over!  I turned to section 400 to claim my prize, and... Wait, what?  There's a locked door between me and the treasure?  Never mind, I whipped out two of the keys I found earlier and opened it up.  Wait, the treasure's in a chest with three locks?  And I need to add up the numbers on three of my keys to see if I have the right ones?  I had only found three keys: one under a snake, one inside an Iron Cyclops, and one guarded by a Minotaur.  No problem, they were the right ones, and I claimed the Warlock's treasure for my very own.

The final page of this book is pretty cool.  Not only did I find a whole load of treasure, but also the Warlock's book, which I was assured would give me unlimited power.  It didn't seem to have helped the Warlock any, but never mind that.  The possibility was even raised that I could remain as the master of Firetop Mountain, but no thanks.  You never know when some adventuring bastard is going to break into your house and put a sword through you.  No, I claimed the chest, loaded the treasure into my seemingly bottomless backpack, and headed back to the village, where many a weeping damsel awaited me.

(As in the previous post, some images were taken from fightingfantasyproject.wordpress.com.)

An Apology and Some Credit

You may have noticed the extremely variable picture quality in the last post.  I was able to source a lot of the book's illustrations on-line, but there were some that I was unable to find.  Those are the ones that were taken as photos on my phone.  I am a terrible photographer, and my phone doesn't have a very good camera, but I would rather include the pictures than leave them out.  And I don't have a scanner, which means there will be bad photos popping up from time to time. Try to think of them as charmingly amateur.

As for the images that look very good, I have to give credit where credit is due: I nicked them from the great Fighting Fantasy Project blog, with the owner's permission.  Thank you, bloke from Fighting Fantasy Project whose name I couldn't find!  If you're enjoying my blog in its current form, you ought to go and check it out: he's way better than I am.

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain - Attempt 1, Part 1

As this is the first book of the series, it has a suitably basic premise.  There is a Warlock.  He lives in a mountain, and he has a lot of treasure.  You want to kill him and take it for yourself.  It doesn't really get much more primal than that as far as adventuring motivations go, and we're certainly not mucking about with any moral quandaries.  So into Firetop Mountain I go, sword in hand, and woe betide anything that stands between me and that shiny pile of gold.

But first, the rules.  Fighting Fantasy characters typically have three scores: Skill, Stamina and Luck.  Skill determines how good they are in a fight, and is also used for physical feats and the like.  Stamina is like health, and works pretty much like hit points in D&D.  Luck is exactly what it says on the tin.  It gets used for all sorts of situations in which very bad things might happen.  Skill and Luck are determined by rolling a six-sided die and adding 6 to the roll, Stamina by rolling 2d6 and adding 12.  I rolled an 11 for Skill, 18 for Stamina and 12 for Luck, making for an extremely viable character.  In the early books there's a decent chance of success with low scores, but rolling high makes it a hell of a lot easier.

As for equipment, Fighting Fantasy adventurers travel light: I have a sword, leather armour, a shield, a lantern and a backpack.  I also have ten Provisions, a sort of super-food that restores 4 Stamina points when eaten.  In addition I get to choose one of the following potions: a Potion of Skill, a Potion of Strength, and a Potion of Fortune.  Each of these potions has two doses, and corresponds to one of the three stats.  When used they restore that score to its initial level.  The Potion of Fortune has the added benefit of adding 1 to your initial level as well, which is pretty nifty.  I opted for the Potion of Strength, which restores Stamina.  I don't really know why, because those Provisions are mightily curative all on their own.  I probably ought to have gone with the Potion of Fortune, but what man can explain a decision he made two weeks ago, back in the mists of the past?

After the rules there is a short introduction, in which my character stopped in a village near Firetop Mountain to gather rumours about the Warlock.  Apparently he gets his powers from an enchanted deck of cards, or possibly a black silk glove.  This could be relevant, but of more interest is the fact that after a stay of only a few days, the girls of the village weep when I leave on my mission.  Don't worry ladies, I'll be passin' this way again, oh yeah...

The quest begins!

After entering a cave mouth at the base of Firetop Mountain, I was presented with that most ubiquitous of Fighting Fantasy dilemmas: a t-junction!  Should I turn east or west?  You may scoff, but whole adventures can hinge on this choice.  Fighting Fantasy adventurers do not retrace their steps unless there is no other path forward.  I turned east and came to a door at the end of the corridor, which I promptly charged with my shoulder.  Cue a Skill test, which is done by rolling two dice and trying to get a score equal to or lower than my Skill score.  I did so, and smashed through the door, falling headlong into a shallow pit for my trouble.  The pit isn't described all that vividly, but I imagine it as a rubbish dump for the denizens of the mountain, and also a means by which author Ian Livingstone gets his jollies.  Picking myself up, and cursing the loss of 1 Stamina point, I walked back to the junction and headed west.

The tunnel turned north, but there was someone asleep at a guard post there: a warty-faced ORC!  (Yes, the book capitalises every monster or potential foe you meet.  It's terribly dramatic.)

This is the first Orc I ever encountered in any form of gaming or fiction, so he holds an extra-special place in my heart.  The good vibrations must have extended to my character as well, because I tried to sneak past the Orc instead of just running him through.  This required me to Test My Luck, which is done by rolling two dice and trying to get equal or lower than my Luck score.  Every time you Test Your Luck  your Luck score drops by one point, which means that eventually your good fortune is going to run out.  Anyway, I succeeded, and managed to sneak past without waking him up.

Further up the passage there was a door on the west wall, and inside was a sleeping quarters where another Orc lay asleep.  I sneaked into his room and managed to steal a box containing a single gold piece and the Orc's pet mouse.  Or snack mouse, depending upon your view of Orcs.  I let the mouse go, which really does go to show that this is Book 1 of the series; if this were a later Ian Livingstone book this mouse would have been vital to my success.

I continued north and found another door on the west wall.  This one was unoccupied, and I assume belonged to the first Orc sentry I had encountered, but there was another box.  Which I opened, of course, only to reveal a SNAKE!

This was my first fight of the book, so I'll explain how dead simple the combat rules are.  The enemy's Attack Strength is determined by rolling two dice and adding its Skill score.  I do the same with my own Skill score.  Whoever gets the highest score wins that round, and the loser must subtract 2 Stamina points.  Repeat until someone's Stamina reaches zero, which means they are dead.  Luck can be used to make a hit deal more damage to your foe, or to reduce any damage done to you, but I don't need that here because this Snake only has 2 Stamina points.  I throw the box in the air and chop the Snake in half with a single blow before claiming the key that is hidden in the box.  This key has the number '99' stamped on it, which is a pretty common thing in the Fighting Fantasy world.  Keys, jewelry, dragon teeth, they all have numbers stamped on them for no readily apparent reason other than making it harder for cheating bastards to get to the end of the book.

Further north was yet another door on the west wall, from which I could hear drunken singing.  I burst in to find the following sordid display.

I killed them, because Orcs, and discovered that they had a book called 'The Making and Casting of Dragonfire' by a dude named Farrigo di Maggio.  It contained a spell for defeating dragons, which may or may not come in handy later on I'm sure.  Why do Orcs have a book like this?  This is exactly the sort of thing the Warlock needs to crack down on.

A T-junction!  I turned left, and entered a room where an Orc Chieftain with two left hands was whipping his servant.

Thinking that I might obtain an Orc sidekick who I could push into traps and the like, I attacked the Chieftain, only for the ungrateful bastard I was trying to save to leap to his defence.  Regardless of the odds I carved said Orcs to pieces, and set about opening their treasure chest.  It was trapped, of course, and the poisoned darts knocked off a whole 6 Stamina points.  I fixed this by bandaging my stomach and scoffing some Provisions, which leads me to believe that medical practice in the Fighting Fantasy world is less than ideal.  But it was worth it, because inside the chest were a whole load of gold pieces, a black glove, and a potion of invisibility.  Score!

I headed back to the junction and went east, then east again at the next junction, and came to a kitchen wherein five Orcs were cooking up a storm.  I was feeling pretty cocky by this point, so I calmly strode in and took them on.  Much to my delight they lined up conga-style and fought me one by one, like thugs in a Bruce Lee movie. I slaughtered them, which brought my Orc tally to a respectable nine so far, and in the kitchen I found a bow and silver arrow with a rad mysterious inscription.

A vital utensil for every kitchen.  I turned back to the junction and went north.  A door in the east wall opened into a small cell, with the following dapper gentleman there to greet me:

I let Mad Johnny Chairleg know that I was there to free him, and he calmed down right quick.  It turned out that he was an adventurer who got captured by the Orcs, and he even had some good info for me: I should pull the right lever when I get to the portcullis, and I should pay my respects to the boatman.  At that point I had the temerity to ask Mad Johnny to come with me further into Firetop Mountain, which is seriously bad form.  Dude is traumatised!  Not surprisingly he opts to leave, and I bid him farewell, not bothering to mention that there are still two Orcs loitering around near the entrance.

Further north there was another door in the east wall, this one leading to an armoury.  I took a shield, which makes it harder for foes to damage me, but it was so heavy I had to leave another item behind.  I chose my original, inferior shield; it was an agonising choice.

Further north there was yet another door in the east wall (this is not a dungeon design classic, let's just say that).  Inside was a torture chamber, wherein two GOBLINS were torturing a Dwarf.  At this point the book gave me the option to walk in, poke the Dwarf with my sword and laugh evilly.  I was so tempted, but instead I leaped in and killed the Goblins with gusto.  Sadly, the Dwarf was already dead, but I was rewarded with a lovely piece of delicious cheese.  Delicious, delicious goblin cheese.

I soon came to the portcullis that Mad Johnny Chairleg had told me about, and I pulled the right lever like he told me to.  The portcullis opened, and I went on my way unharmed.  I remember this trap well.  The other lever is a fake, a sword blade covered in wax that will cut your hand if you try to pull it.  Forewarned is fore-armed!

Past the portcullis was a t-junction.  I headed east, and soon came to an inviting chair.

This set-up screamed trap to me, but I sat down anyway and ate some Provisions.  Against all odds the chair was magical, and restored more Stamina than usual to me.  I never would have guessed.

The passage turned north, then I headed east at a junction and east again at yet another junction.  This led to a lovely marble room containing an iron statue of a cyclops, with a bloody great gem set in its eye.

Even as a nine-year-old boy I knew the set-up here, but what self-respecting adventurer could leave that gem behind?  I set to prying that baby out with my sword, and tried to stifle a yawn as the IRON CYCLOPS came predictably to life.

This guy is actually pretty tough, with a Skill of 10, but I still hacked him and his incredibly well-defined buttocks to death.  Again I was well rewarded: the gem was worth 50 gold pieces, and there was another key inside the Cyclops, this one numbered '111'.

I walked back to the junction and went north, only to be attacked by a random BARBARIAN.  No warning, no options, just a fight.  I could have run away, but this guy wasn't so tough.  For reasons unknown he was carrying a wooden mallet and some sharpened stakes.  Camping supplies salesman?  If so, his sales technique was lacking.  Still, what we really have here is Chekhov's Wooden Stake: there be Vampires in this mountain somewhere.

The next room had paintings on the wall, one of which was of the Warlock.

I took a look and learned that his name was Zagor, but I also lost a Stamina point due to fear.  Somewhere in the world, there is a Fighting Fantasy reader who died by looking at that painting.  It's not so embarrassing, though, because there is obviously some magical shenanigans going on, and I was under mental attack.  I looked through my pack for an item to use, and opted for the Eye of the Cyclops over my moldy goblin cheese.  Lo and behold the gem thwarted the Warlock's power, and I was able to continue.

The next room was just full of some random junk, like a rope and some y-shaped sticks.  I checked out the rope, kind of mystified that I wasn't already carrying some, only for it to try and strangle me. I chopped it in half, understanding now why I didnt have any.  The y-shaped sticks were bulky, and I would have had to leave something behind to carry one, so I left them behind.  What could they possibly be for?  Finding water?  Making a slingshot?  Trapping a snake's head?   The possibilities are endless.

Further north I came to an underground river, which I remember as kind of the half-way point of the adventure.  As I understand it, Ian Livingstone wrote everything up to this point, and Steve Jackson did everything after the river.  This feels like a good place to take a break, so I'll tackle the rest of my quest in the next post.

Fighting Fantasy

Before I discovered Dungeons & Dragons, before I even started reading fantasy literature, there was Fighting Fantasy.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the series, here's a brief run-down.  In 1982 Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone (co-founders of Games Workshop and White Dwarf) published The Warlock of Firetop Mountain through Penguin Books.  It was like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, only not crap, and had the added benefit of dice-rolling for combat and other situations.  The series continued until book 59, with various authors contributing, and it had something of a revival about a decade ago.  The books sold millions.  Millions and millions.  I've read that at one point the top 5 UK best-sellers were all Fighting Fantasy books, though I can't locate the source now.  Needless to say, they were a phenomenon in the UK, and they were omnipresent here in Australia as well.

My first encounter with them was in my primary school library, which had the first three: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, The Citadel of Chaos and The Forest of Doom.  I played through those with various levels of cheating involved, and the series remained a constant part of my gaming for years to come.  They were my introduction to D&D-style fantasy, and my perception of that genre is still massively influenced by them.

The 30th anniversary was last year, so I have missed that boat, but I have started playing through the series one by one.  As this blog has lain dormant for a while, and I'm not making much headway on my Ultimate Sandbox project, I thought I might as well write about it here.  So if you will forgive my indulgence, this is going to become a Fighting Fantasy play-through blog for a while.  It's not D&D, but it's still fantasy, innit?  And properly old-school at that.

There are some other FF play-through blogs out there, if the series takes your fancy.  Turnto400 is the funniest of the lot.  Fighting Fantasy Project provides more in-depth reviews.  Fighting for Your Fantasy is another that is rather good.  Or you could just hang around here and read my posts.  Those blogs tend to do a single attempt at a book before moving on to the next one.  My plan is to stick with one book and attempt to complete it without cheating before I continue.  It sounds like a good plan, but things could get tedious when I hit a book I'm not familiar with.  And then there's Crypt of the Sorcerer, which could conceivably take me hundreds of tries...

So, onward!  Next post, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain!

AD&D Monster Manual Part 44

SEA HAG:

Sea hags first appeared in Supplement II: Blackmoor as a kind of reverse dryad.  As the sea hag was so likened to a dryad in its original entry, it's that monster I'm using to compare the sea hag's new stats with.

The sea hag's death stare is still intact, but it's been somewhat nerfed.  Originally it was save vs. spell or die.  Now the sight of a hag requires a save vs. magic or the victim loses half its strength for a few turns.  Three times a day the hag can use a stare that will kill a victim on a failed save.

They were previously said to have all the powers of a dryad, which amounted to a powerful Charm spell, but that's no longer the case.  What it's gained in return is a 50% magic resistance, which seems a fair trade-off to me.

We also learn that sea hags live in salt water shallows, and they eat their victims.  Cannibal witches are rad.

Stat Changes:

Number Appearing: Old - 1-6; New - 1-4
Armor Class: Old - 5; New - 7
Movement: Old - 12; New - 15
Hit Dice: Old - 2; New - 3

So what we have is a monster that is slightly stronger physically, but has lost a good deal of its magical power.  I figure that this all ties in with wherever they gained their magic resistance from, probably some deal with the devil type thing.

SEA HORSE, GIANT:

Sea Horses made their first appearance in Supplement II: Blackmoor.  Here they get some added detail related to their general temperament and habitat, whereas before they were simply steeds for mermen.  Given that the mermen in the Monster Manual have fish tails and are unsuited for riding, sea horses now serve as steeds for aquatic elves and locathah.

Their damage range has been tweaked a bit as well.  Originally all sea horses did 1-6 damage with a headbutt, but now the range is dependent on how many Hit Dice the sea horse has.

Stat Changes:

Movement: Old - 12"; New - 21" (Could this be a typo?)
Hit Dice: Old - 2 to 3; New - 2 to 4

SEA LION:

Sea lions make their first appearance here.  Anything becomes more radical by adding a lion's head (case in point), and fish are no exception - this is basically a fish-lion hybrid that inhabits coastal waters and eats people.  There's a real world animal called a sea lion, but it's just a kind of seal.  Nevertheless, Gary could never resist riffing on a pun, and so we have the much cooler D&D version.

SHADOW:

Shadows were first mentioned in OD&D Vol. 2, and got a full write-up in Supplement I: Greyhawk.  They are still incorporeal, strength-draining shades that can only be struck by magical weapons.  The duration of their Strength-drain has been altered from 8 turns to a range of 2-8.  In addition to their immunities to sleep and charm, they have gained immunity to hold spells and cold-based attacks.  They have also become 90% undetectable, though don't ask me how that meshes with the surprise rules.  There's also a note that they are easily detectable in bright light.

The main point of difference is that in OD&D, shadows are specifically said to not be undead (or at least implied to be a class of undead unto themselves).  Here that distinction is not made, and they are undead like any other.  They do get tied to the Negative Material Plane for the first time.

Stat Changes:

Movement: Old - 9"; New - 12"
Hit Dice: Old - 2+2; New - 3+3
Damage: Old - 1-4; New - 2-5

AD&D Monster Manual Part 43

SALAMANDER:

Salamanders were first rumoured to exist in OD&D Vol. 2, and made their first actual appearance in Supplement I: Greyhawk.  They were originally described as a type of 'free-willed fire elemental', and here it is confirmed that they originate from the Elemental Plane of Fire.  Their offensive capabilities are much the same, but they have gained a bunch of new defenses: they are now immune to all but magical weapons, and cannot be affected by sleep, charm or hold spells. Cold-based attacks do a little more damage to them now.  But basically they are the same monster with some minor cosmetic changes.

Stat Changes:

Hit Dice: Old - 7+3; New - 7+7
Tail Damage: Old - 2-16; New - 2-12

SATYR:

For such a classic mythological creature, satyrs have been mentioned little in D&D before this.  They show up in the Wilderness Encounter tables in Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry, and a more powerful version of them appears in Supplement IV: Gods, Demigods and Heroes.  The info in Supplement IV is sparse, and bears little resemblance to what's shown here, so I'm not going to try and connect the two (or perhaps I can keep that version as a mythological demi-god, or extra-planar satyr).  Satyrs appear as dudes with goat-legs, and they spend all of their time frolicking or 'chasing wood-nymphs'.  They don't like being disturbed, but they can be bribed with superior wine.  If they do get hostile, one of them will usually play its magic pipes, which can charm, cause sleep, or instill fear.  Unsurprisingly, if their are comely females in the group, the satyrs try to charm them.  The fey-folk are pretty much all creepy rapists.

SCORPION, GIANT:

Giant scorpions first appeared in the random dungeon encounter tables in OD&D Vol. 3, then they showed up in Supplement I: Greyhawk on the Monster Attack Damage table, and then again in the Wilderness Encounter tables in Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry.  But this is the first time they get complete stats.  They're exactly what you expect: big bastards, pincers, poisonous tail.  Although this is interesting: "Note that the scorpion's poison kills it if it accidentally stings itself".  At first I wondered if this has ever happened in the entire history of D&D, but then I remembered how often in the old days people used to graft critical hit and fumble tables to the game.  Yeah, it's happened.

AD&D Monster Manual Part 42

RUST MONSTER:

Rust monsters first appeared in Supplement I: Greyhawk.  Their essence remains unchanged, but a lot of detail has been added.  They are now said to dwell only in subterranean places, and have an acute sense of smell when it comes to ferrous metals.  They have also been nerfed a little bit: magical weapons now get a saving throw to avoid the rust effect.  The rust monster is also significantly faster than it used to be, making it even less likely that an armoured fighter can outrun it, but some guidelines have been added for dropping metallic items to distract them.

Also, both mithral and adamantite are said to be steel alloys.  This takes a little of their mystique away, to my mind, but there it is in the book.  I just report it as I see it.

Stat Changes:

Movement: Old - 12"; New - 18"

SAHUAGIN:

Sahuagin first appeared in a mammoth entry in Supplement II: Blackmoor, and much to my chagrin the Monster Manual is equally wordy on the subject.  They remain the same sadistic, predatory fish-men of the sea, but Gary has availed himself of the chance to change a lot of things about them.

Though we already knew they lived in the sea, it is revealed here that they prefer warmer waters, and that they generally stick between 100' and 1500' sea depth.  That they hate ixitchachitl (the rad manta ray vampire philosophers) is also new.  The social structure of the sahuagin is retained, with nine princes all ruled over by a king, but here we discover that this is supposed to mirror the planes of Hell, as sahuagin are devil-worshippers.

The organisation of sahuagin lairs has also been re-jigged, but the general make-up is the same.  The more sahuagin there are, the more tough fighters and clerics they have.  The only real difference is that there are no longer any sahuagin magic-users.  The clerics are all female (shades of the drow, though sahuagin predate them).  We also learn that sahuagin villages are domed, but that's par for the course for underwater villages.  Their numbers have also dropped quite a bit.  Their capital now has 5,000 residents, instead of nearly 100,000.

Previously sahuagin were mostly armed with tridents and barbed nets.  They now add spears, javelins, daggers and special underwater crossbows to their arsenal.

Their physical appearance has changed quite a bit.  A lot less detail is given in the Monster Manual than we got previously, but the main thing to note is that they no longer have tails, and they have clawed hands instead of pincers.  I can see why Gary got rid of the tail, given that it inflicted 2d6 damage (a pretty hefty amount for that stage of OD&D).  And it's probably hard to wield nets and tridents with pincer hands.

In Supplement II, sahuagin were said to have been created by evil gods when the world was flooded.  Gary has retained that idea as a possibility, adding that the gods made them out of a nation of evil humans.  It's also said that the tritons believe sahuagin are related to sea elves, and claim that the drow spawned them.  (It's another early drow sighting, before they have officially appeared anywhere).

Stat Changes:

No. Appearing: Old - 10-60; New - 20-80
Armor Class: Old - 4; New - 5
Movement: Old - 18"/30"; New - 12"/24"
Hit Dice: Old - 2; New - 2+2

So the situation we have is that sahuagin have become less numerous, slightly slower, slightly tougher, and have lost their tails and pincer-hands.  The loss of the tail helps explain the lower speed, but opens a more difficult problem, as the physical changes require a greater explanation.  I keep coming back to the idea that they were created by evil gods; after all, if that's the case there's no reason they can't be recreated.  I can even tie it into the lower population levels: after a series of disastrous wars against tritons and ixitxachitl, the sahuagin turned to their devil masters and were changed into stronger forms.  Their magic-users were offered as sacrifice, and that explains why they're all gone as well.  Voila, problems solved!

AD&D Monster Manual Part 41

I'm back with another post, just to assure everyone that I'm not taking another year-long hiatus.  I've also changed up the format slightly, to make the statistical changes less awkward to write about.  (I may even figure out how to format it properly by the next post.)  Let's have at it!

ROC:

Rocs first appeared in OD&D Vol. 2.  Superficially they are still the same monster (a Bloody Big Bird), but there are some changes that alter it in significant ways.  Probably the biggest is a change in demeanor.  The original Rocs were more likely to attack Chaotic creatures and be friendly towards Lawful types.  Now Rocs are Neutral in alignment and have an animal intelligence.  They really are just big birds now, and further away from the Tolkienesque eagles they resembled before.

OD&D also has notes about the likelihood that young Rocs will be found in a nest, but here that has been dispensed with in favour of a terse note about their nests containing the treasure of former victims.  Young Rocs were previously able to be trained, but that's also been omitted. Instead we learn that Rocs are tamed and used by giants.  Perhaps the giant thing is a recent development?  It could serve to explain the change in their nature: as the giants prey on them and train them, so they become more hostile and animalistic.

It also fits with the stat changes noted below.  The steep drop in Number Appearing indicates that they've been hunted extensively by giants.  The Hit Dice totals listed below are deceptive.  In OD&D, a 6 Hit Dice Roc was standard, but the possibility for larger types with double or triple Hit Dice was given.  In the Monster Manual, only the full 18 Hit Dice variety is listed.  Again, it indicates to me that the giants have hunted out the smaller varieties.

Stat changes:         Old:        New:
Number Appearing: 1-20        1-2
Move:                     6/48         3/30
Hit Dice:                 6              18
Damage:                 4-16/4-24 3-18/4-24

ROPER:

Ropers first appeared in The Strategic Review #2, and like most of the monsters Gary created for the magazines he hasn't revised it much at all.  It's still the same weird creature, with strength-draining tentacles, immunity to lightning, resistance to cold, and a weakness against fire.  And an 80% magic resistance, to top things off.  It still has a gizzard that contains treasure, but the gem count has been dropped from 20-50 to 5-20, and they've picked up a taste for platinum.  (Treasure-gizzards are awesome.)  In OD&D, characters hit by the Roper got a save vs. poison to avoid the strength drain.  In the Monster Manual, it seems that is no longer the case.  They've also lost their immunity to Charm spells.  And their alignment has changed from Chaotic to Chaotic Evil (as per Strategic Review #6).

Stat changes: None

ROT GRUB:

It's the dreaded rot grub, making its first ever appearance in D&D!  They're normal-sized grubs that live in offal and dung, and are appropriately weak.  But if any character touches one, it will burrow into their flesh and kill them in 1-3 turns, unless fire or a cure disease spell are applied to the victim immediately.  Presumably this was Gary's home-grown deterrent for PCs who spend their time searching every nook and cranny of the dungeon.  Hey, you want to stick your hand in a pile of shit looking for treasure?  Good luck with that. 

AD&D Monster Manual Part 40

I'm back, but don't get too excited, unless you happen to like manta rays and rhinos.  It's one more step forward in the interminable slog through the Monster Manual.

MANTA RAY: Manta rays first appeared in Supplement II: Blackmoor.  In their original appearance they could be up to 75' across, but here they are only about half that size. Statistical changes are as follows: Number Appearing has changed from 1-4 to 1; Armor Class changed from 5 to 6; Movement raised from 12 to 18; and Hit Dice lowered from to a range of 8-11.  Their bite attack now deals 3-12 damage instead of 1-6, and the Manta Ray has gained the ability to swallow its victim whole (this ability was mentioned in passing in the original entry, but it is only now concretely defined). It's tail attack has also been changed. In its original form, a PC hit by the tail required a save vs. paralysation, with no damage indicated (although it is said to be treated as a mace, so I guess it does 1-6).  Here the tail has been given a damage range of 2-20, and will stun its victim for 2-8 rounds if the save is failed.  Like many of the monsters from Supplement II this is a case of a hazily defined monster getting a huge dose of clarity.

PUNGI RAY: Speaking of clarity, this entry begins by actually defining what a Pungi Ray is, something Supplement II never bothered to do.  I realise that it would be easy enough to look the creature up in real-world books, but it never hurts to have the info on hand in the Monster Manual. A Pungi Ray is a ray with spines on its back that hides on the sea bottom. Anyone who steps on one might get stabbed by a spine, and must save vs. poison or die. The main difference between the Monster Manual version and the original is a matter of sanity: a character falling on a Pungi Ray in the original version would be subject to 20-30 attacks; now the number is 2-8.  Statistically, Number Appearing has changed from 1-4 to 1-3; Armor Class from 6 to 7; Movement from 6 to 12; and Hit Dice from 6 to 4. It has also lost the ability to attack as a giant leech should it get on top of an adventurer. Gary really nerfed this one.

STING RAY: As far as I can tell, this creature hasn't appeared in D&D before this. It's a much smaller ray, with a tail that can paralyse its victim.  A nice option for lower-level characters.

REMORHAZ: This monster first appeared in The Dragon #2. Statistically it has changed little: originally it could have Hit Dice of 6, 10 or 14, but now it ranges from 7-14. Its bite damage gets a minor tweak, from 3-36 to 6-36.  It retains the same whopping Magic Resistance of 75%, and the ability to melt non-magical weapons that strike its superheated back. Said back is now much deadlier to adventurers, though, as it is now said that any character touching it takes 10-100 points of damage.  The Remorhaz also gains the ability to swallow opponents whole on a natural 20, which incinerates and kills them instantly. Fighting one of these doesn't sound too enticing, but in true Gary fashion he tempts you by giving their eggs a value of 5,000 gp each.

RHINOCEROS: The common Rhinoceros has been mentioned as a possibility to be summoned by the Conjure Animal spell in Supplement I: Greyhawk, and has also appeared in the Wilderness Encounter tables in Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry. It gets stats here for the first time.  I expected them to be tough, but 8-9 Hit Dice is well above what I was thinking. There is a single-horned variety and a two-horned variety, the latter of which deals more damage. Their main form of attack is a charge which deals double damage, and also the ability to trample "any opponent which is low enough for this action",  i.e., Hobbits.

WOOLLY RHINOCEROS: As above, but slightly tougher and significantly woollier. I believe that their only appearance has been in the Wilderness Encounter tables of Supplement III.

Tentative Plans

Hi all.

I haven't updated in a while.  I may not update in a while.  But I have plans to continue.  The blog is not dead!  Watch this space!  THE DEAD WILL RISE AND BLOGS WILL BE WRITTEN!