Short description: - {F0}a sinuous white fishman
Long description: - {F0}A pale humanoid resembling an eel staggers unsteadily on his slimy feet.
Main description: - {F0}What you see is a small humanoid figure covered by a slimy white skin that contrasts creepily with his {80}deep black eyes{F0}. His torso and his limbs are long, slim and sinuous remembering vaguely the body of an eel. He balances himself quite unsteadily on a pair of flabby legs, clearly more accustomed to move and float in the water than to sustaining all the weight of the creature's body. You notice that his hands and feet are webbed, probably to offer a better propulsion while swimming, while when he opens his mouth you notice two lines of tiny squat teeth.
Monster size: - small, like a gnome/halfling
Monster type: - fish!
Preferred terrain: - sea, possibly underground caves
Monster stats: - A little weaker than a human (8?), but more dexterous, same intelligence
Base monster: - Could be a small variant of a kuo-toa
Special abilities: - darkvision, waterbreathing, swimming, perhaps poisonous skin to the touch and an electrical bite?
Monster history: - There is a food cooked on the coastline in Italy, not found so often because fishing of these animals is strictly regulated, it is eaten like pasta, as a first course, and cooked with steam. Where I used to eat them they are called "bianchetti" (literally little whites) and they look like
this or
this. They are actually quite tasty and good, although some people creep out when they realize that they are not pasta and that they have eyes.
So I thought why not to make a little monster out of them? I wonder if the monster background is scarier than the monster itself, perhaps it is.
In truth they are just very young sardines and anchovies.
Short description: - {80}a l{70}y{80}n{70}x{80}r{90}a{80}t
Long description: - {80}A lithe animal covered in {70}white hair {80}bares a set of {90}sharp scarlet claws.
Main description: - {80}This animal is about three feet in lenght and its height does not go over six inches. It is completely covered in {70}white silky hair {80}which appears in comparison to its {90}scarlet {80}claws as {70}snow {80}stained with {90}blood{80}. It stands on four short legs and from the end of its spine departs a long peaked tail, like that of a rat. The head, however, is clearly feline in nature, save for the ears that are flopped like those of a dog. When the creature opens its mouth it reveals a set of sharp teeth of the {90}same brilliant scarlet {80}as the claws.
Monster size: - small
Monster type: - animal
Preferred terrain: - any
Monster stats: - more or less like a lynx
Base monster: - panther?
Special abilities: - just a pair of claws and a bite. Maybe a special effect on the claw, like bleeding, could be cool.
Monster history: - This is an animal described by E. Allan Poe in the Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym and mentioned by Jorge Luis Borges in El libro del los seres imaginarios. I imagine it is likely some kind of predator. Poe does not mention the similarity with the lynx, but I thought it made for a nice name, better than "catrat".
Short description: - {80}a malfera
Long description: - {80}A dark-skinned creature with a horned elephant head clacks two sharp pincers.
Main description: - {80}Gazing at this creature you realize that it appears to be as the abominable fusion of many animals, a beast that could only be borne by nightmare, for even the imagination of the most wicked necromancer could not conceive such a monstrosity. It has {10}crimson eyes {80}and a large head, similar to that of an elephant, with a short prehensile, but flanked by big, sharp fangs and surmounted by a large pair of crescent-shaped ivory horns. Its chest is a mass of slimy tentacles that resembles a mass of writhing worms, while at the end of its robust arms are set a pair of jagged pincers. On the rest of the creature's body a network of {10}red bulging veins {80}crosses its black, leathery skin.
Monster size: - Large?
Monster type: - Outsider
Preferred terrain: - Dimension of Nightmare
Monster stats: - Very strong (20+) and average human intelligence
Base monster: - outsider, maybe demon? Best would be nightmare or illusion, even.
Special abilities: - Can trap victims it pinces within the tentacles of its chest. Once trapped the victim receives acid damage. Can breath a poisonous acid breath. Has darkvision, detect invis permanently, pick lock or pass door. Immune to acid, poison and vulnerable only to magical or red steel weapons (I suppose red steel could be replaced with cold iron).
Monster history: - It is a monster from the dimension of Nightmare, in that dimension it is a kind of jungle predator. On the material plane it is rare and often present only because conjured by a powerful spellcaster or by a deity. This is a classic D&d monster which is unfortunately often overlooked. It was originally introduced in the Basic D&d and then converted to the second edition in the campain setting Red Steel. Here you can find the second edition version, upon which I based myself.
