RMA: Mermen

 RMA: Mermen

I've held forth in the past about aquatic encounters, but the majority of water creatures in BX are monstrous or mythical animals: Things like giant fish or water termites. There are very few sentient sea creatures apart from dragon-kin or fairy types. The one notable exception to this in BX is the Merman.

Mermen are not fae. They are a mortal race of half-man, half-fish that live in undersea communities. Usually coastal waters. 

(YOU know, Unda the... ocean!)

Mermen (which includes mermaids, I presume) are quite rare as a random encounter, only occurring as a single entry on one wilderness encounter sub-sub-table (Swimmers: Ocean). Typically found in small hunting parties averaging a dozen or so. But we'll get to that. First, the stats:

(from Cook)

Mermen

AC: 6

HD: 1-4

Move: 120'(40')

Att: 1

Damage: 1d6 or by weapon

# App: 0 (1-20)

Save: F1

Morale: 8

TT: A

AL: N

Okay! So first off, not terribly imposing. The rank and file merman has ONE whole hit die, so an average of 4-5 hit points. No real armor protection (though swimming in armor is its own problem), and a pretty skittish morale. This paints a picture of a fairly unintimidating foe. But one must remember that the threat from mermen isn't their toughness, it's the environment!

A player character in the water should be at a major disadvantage. There are not a lot of rules in the books about how to deal with swimming/underwater PCs. Some options for a DM may include things like slowed movement, reduced attack and defense (maybe no DEX adjustment for AC) and wearing heavy armor and/or carrying a lot of gear could mean sinking instead of swimming. Not to mention the challenge of breathing if you go under the waves.

Mermen face none of these issues. If a PC has to strip off his armor and shield, then once they dive in find that their mobility and fighting ability is reduced might revisit just how "dangerous" that 1HD fish-man with a trident really is!

Another issue to keep in mind is that Mermen may keep trained sea beasts as guard animals. DMs should feel free to get creative with this. Maybe it's a shark, maybe a whale, or it could be a giant squid!

Mermen parties often have a 2HD leader type with them. Larger groups might have a 4HD chieftain type. These individuals are probably not tipping the balance of a fight where the fact that there are dozens of mermen already in the mix, but it is worth keeping note of. 

I think the real value of mermen in a campaign or setting isn't as a foe, but as an exotic race that the characters can meet and interact with. I'm not saying they need to be friendly, but as they are Neutral and described in hunter-gatherer terms, treating them like a "native tribe" might not be a bad angle to take. Perhaps they could be enticed to guide the PCs to that nasty dragon turtle's lair. Or maybe they can retrieve something from a sunken ship for a price?

RMA: Giant...Fish?

Now this is an interesting one. Well, several really. I've talked before about aquatic encounters of various types, but it seems that whole topic is incomplete without discussing this listing. 

Giant fish covers unusually large versions of more or less real-world fish; including piranha, rockfish, catfish, and sturgeon. When the books says "giant", it means it! These are some big guppies! Unsurprisingly, none of these are found wandering in dungeons, they are either wilderness or placed encounters only.

Let's put the stat table up for a peek, shall we?

Giant Fish (from Cook)

Just looking at things like AC, HD, and damage, these are not trivial encounters. Especially when the added challenge of most such confrontations would be in or under the water.

Giant Piranha: Let's just take a moment to appreciate the fact that the "wimpy" one on this list is a GIANT PIRANHA which, by the by, are five feet long! Growing up in the 70s, I was personally convinced the three most likely ways nature would take me out would be: Shark, Piranha, or Killer Bees. And those piranha were less than a foot long! Moving on, these monsters aren't unstoppable brutes, but even 3+ HD means they aren't something you just one-hit away. Couple that with their morale-less frenzy and up to eight of them on a single target dealing 1d8 each, that's a bad time for their fella that gets ganged up on. 

Giant Spiny Rockfish: While the listing doesn't specify how big this fish is, given that it has more HD than the piranha and is sometimes mistaken for boulders, at least 6' seems not unreasonable. It's size isn't really the issue. The fact that one might not recognize it and get to close is the problem. Not only does it have a poison attack, it had FOUR of these per round! The spines do 1d4 regardless, so up to 16 damage is still a cause for concern. The spines are melee only, but if you don't realize what your dealing with there in the shallows and actually step on or grab hold of that "rock", the fish automatically hits all four times! And yes, that means FOUR save or die rolls. It's also worth noting that the poison gives no "time until effect" meaning an insta-kill. It's AC isn't great, though, so it's not exactly unkillable. It also has a skittish morale, as befits a creature that relies on camouflage. What's odd about the listing in Cook is that it has no asterisk next to the HD denoting bonus XP for extra abilities. 4 attacks with poison would seem to merit that in my opinion.

Giant Catfish: Now things are getting serious. Fifteen feet long! Eight-plus hit dice! 2d8 bite damage! The giant cat's big guns are its feelers, though. Those bring it up to FIVE attacks and up to 32hp damage dealt in one round! Again, not a great morale score, but a markedly better AC than the earlier entries.

Giant Sturgeon: Oof! This thing approaches dragon levels of difficulty. 30' long, 10+ HD, and AC 0! What's more, they swallow whole 10% of the time and the victim stands a fair chance of being immobilized while taking 2d6 damage per round in the fish's gullet. And that's after taking 2d10 damage from the bite! 

 

What's the worst thing about all of these encounters, you ask? It's not the damage per round, or the fact that you're probably fighting them in their element (and out of yours), it's the treasure! Rather, the lack thereof. Imagine having to battle your way clear from a school of piranha, or kill a rockfish after it poisoned a party member, or gut a PC's corpse out of a sturgeon gut, only to get not a single copper piece from the monster toward the raise dead fund! talk about a poor ROI.

Looking at these creatures less as monstrous foes and more like dangerous, fantastic animals that are part of your game-world probably casts them in a more accurate light for the PCs. It's like encountering a bear in the woods. Chances are, he's not why you're there. Be careful, keep your distance, and things will probably be fine. Act recklessly or be inattentive, and there could be consequences.

Moldvay Musings XVI, Part 2: Beat to Quarters!

The HMS Suckerfish, a small sailing warship equipped with a catapult, sets sail from her home port. The ship has a trained crew of 10 sailors, a navigator, and a full complement of 25 marines. Her destination is 450 miles away, a journey of 5 days (90 miles per day base speed) with favorable wind & weather. A roll of 2d6 is made for each day.

Day 1: Roll result = 9 A strong breeze. 120 miles covered (+1/3 move)
Day 2: Roll result = 2 Becalmed. No movement.
Day 3: Roll result = 5 Moderate breeze or broad reaching. 60 miles covered (2/3 move). 180 total miles traveled. But the Ocean wandering encounter roll came up as a 5. A d8 says its a Swimmer. A 9 on the subtable roll says its a Sea Snake. This is really a non-encounter, unless someone goes swimming/overboard. Moving on...
Day 4: Roll result = 3 Ext. light breeze or beating before the wind. Only 30 miles covered. 210 total.
Day 5: Roll result = Normal winds. Normal (90 miles) movement. 300 miles total. But another encounter. This one comes up Men. To simplify, this is our ship to ship encounter.

Normal winds will be simplified to normal weather. Regular visibility is 24 miles and a full crew means it's reasonable that the Suckerfish has a lookout. No surprise is possible under such conditions. (X64) Ship encounters are considered to start at 300 yards (the other ship can be positively identified). Rolling for direction (a d6 for the hex faces) a 1 says the other ship appears off the starboard bow (ahead and to the right). It's an enemy ship! A small galley fitted with a ram and catapult. Why is a galley way out here away from the coast? Who knows?

The Suckerfish has the weather gage (they are upwind) and the ships move at the same encounter speeds. Still, the galley has a 50% chance of staying clear (01-50 = success). An 87! The Suckerfish closes the gap and initiative is rolled. 5 for the Suckerfish, 1 for the galley.

At 300 yards, the catapult is fired with flaming pitch. Four marines man the weapon, meaning it fires every 5 rounds and attacks as a 4th level fighter (X64). The galley has AC 8 and the attack roll is a 16, a hit! The flames deal 2 hull points of damage. Dropping the galley from 80 to 78, but the fire continues to burn. The sailors (10) abandon their posts to put out the flames. It will take them 2 turns to put out the fire and during that time flames will continue to spread and damage the ship. The galley is using the rowers anyway for the encounter, so the sailors can be spared.

Next the galley fires its catapult back. This time it's a rock. An 18 hits handily (AC 8), dealing 11 points of (3d6) damage to the Suckerfish's hull. She is now at 69 hull points. Both ships move toward each other, even with the Suckerfish's reduction in speed (-10%) due to damage, the ships will be too close to use their catapults next round.

Initiative comes up a 2 and 2. Simultaneous actions! The galley is attempting to ram and the Suckerfish is trying to grapple. The galley needs an 11 to hit. 15! The ram deals 50 hull points (1d4+4 x 10. Rolling a 1). The galley would rather not grapple and tries to evade (so as to ram again). The Suckerfish needs a 1 or 2 on a d6 to tie onto the galley. A 1! The lines snake out and the ships are grappled. At this point melee ensues. The crew and marines of the Suckerfish are at a -2 in the first round as they board the galley. After that it's just a large combat.

In the end, assuming the Suckerfish is victorious, she still suffered 61 points of damage out of her 80 total hull points. Nearly 80%! Her speed is drastically reduced (18 miles per day instead of 90) and the best the crew can do for repairs at sea will only get the ship back to 50% for a speed of 45 mpd. Licking her wounds, she limps to the nearest friendly port of call for proper refitting.

Moldvay Musings XVI, Part 1: The Briny Deep

'The sea is an awesome place, the home of terrible monsters, the source of unpredictable currents and strange mists, and the scene of terrible storms that can smash the strongest ship to splinters. Perhaps the most deadly of the sea's hazards, however, is the lack of landmarks. Once out of sight of land, there is little to steer by. A small mistake in navigation or a sudden storm can drive a ship hopelessly off course until a familiar shore is sighted. Only the bravest and most hardy adventurers dare challenge the sea!'

-X63 

                      

I've talked a lot about aquatic encounters but so far haven't discussed water travel itself. You can find most of what you need rules-wise in Cook's section "Part 9: Special Adventures." It really could have been named "Adventures at Sea", since the only topic really covered is waterborne adventuring.

It seems that things like ocean travel are somewhat uncommon in many D&D games. Or if it does happen, it's mostly just getting from point A to B a la Isle of Dread so that the "real" adventure can start. I'm not saying it never happens, but it's far from the norm.

That's a shame, since Part 9 includes nearly everything one needs (with a little common sense interpretation) to run a full-on nautical campaign. Granted, it doesn't include "Sea Machine" style rules for huge naval battles, but that's true of BX for land battles as well. Let's take a look at what rules a DM would realistically need to have an oceangoing-based campaign, and how Moldvay/Cook addresses those needs.

It seems to me that nautically specific rules would need to include:

• Ships and their stats: things like capacity, speed, toughness.
• Wind and weather
• Navigation
• Monster/animal encounters
• Ship to ship combat: maneuvering, attacking, and ship damage.
• In the water: fighting, swimming, and drowning.

Rather than regurgitate every rule from the books, I'm simply going to cite the relevant sections for now. Later, we'll show some examples of the rules in action.

1. Ship stats: This one is pretty obvious. There is a fairly comprehensive list of waterborne vehicles on page X63, from rafts to warships, along with most of the relevant figures. In addition, the purchase costs are in the equipment section on page X9. Obviously the ship names are fairly generic here, but that's a benefit really. For instance, it wouldn't take much imagination to use the river boat listing for a chinese sampan.
2. Wind and weather: To my thinking, the weather section on X63-64 is one of the most impressive examples of BX's ability to provide detail without sacrificing brevity or clarity. In less than one column of text, it offers both "basic" and "expert" rules (see what I did there?) to choose from. A DM can use the simple rules, which address everything from being becalmed to wrecked in a storm with a roll. Or one can use the optional Weather Modification chart for more granularity while staying consistent with the original mechanic. 
3. Navigation: Navigators are nicely covered under the specialists section of the Expert rules.  
4. Encounters: X57's wilderness encounters charts offer options for swamps, rivers, and oceans. I use the rivers table for freshwater lakes as well.
5. Ship combat: I confess to never having used the BX ship combat rules on X64 in play. Not because they are bad, but it simply hasn't come up. The last game I ran where a ship was attacked, a barge was attacked from the riverbank then boarded. The rules here cover visibility on clear or poor weather, surprise, evasion, and the fighting itself. There are rules for ramming, catapults, burning ships, repairing damage, grappling/boarding, and sinking. [SIDE NOTE: It always bothered me, the idea of sailing vessels having catapults. Logically the rigging (sails/ropes/masts) would interfere with the arc of the projectiles. In re-reading the section for this post, I see that this was actually taken into account. Only warships (which cost extra) can have catapults. The conceit being that their decks are modified to allow a clear field of fire.]
6. In the water: BX keeps rules for things like swimming simple. By default, PCs know how to swim. Metal armor or heavy loads will drag you down. Fighting in the water is difficult. Pages X51 and 63 give you enough to make intelligent rulings from. 

In part two of this topic (next post), I'll put up a sample ocean voyage, complete with weather, encounters, and an enemy ship! 

RMA: Crocodile Rock

I think any discussion of crocodilians and their ability to intimidate is best summed up by the World's Greatest Secret Agent, Sterling Archer:

"Maybe deep down I'm afraid of any apex predator that lived through the K-T extinction. Physically unchanged for a hundred million years, because it's the perfect killing machine. A half ton of cold-blooded fury, the bite force of 20,000 Newtons, and stomach acid so strong it can dissolve bones and hoofs."

In BX, alligators, crocodiles, caimans, etc. are all basically crocs for stat purposes. Which is fine. The DM can describe the subtle differences in scales and jaw if he wants, but all the players are going to be thinking is:

I don't know how much these critters have gotten used in people's campaigns, but I can certainly see them coming up in swamp or river-themed adventures. Certainly that is where they are most likely on the wandering encounter tables.

Since I looked at these originally as part of the "Lost World" series I started with Neanderthals, we'll begin with the giant croc.

These are described as only appearing in lost world regions or settings and over 50' long. They can and will attack small boats or even ships.

Now, to put fifty feet long into perspective, we will assume that includes the tail (as most of these measurements in the real world do). Here is a photo of a fairly enormous croc (this is real):

That is Lolong, the largest crocodile ever captured (d. 2013). Lolong measured in at 20ft., 3 in. and was a saltwater variety from the Philippines. So imagine more than x2 that long, which means a LOT bigger in terms of mass. The biggest prehistoric "supercroc" known was Sarcosuchus, which came in about 40'.

OK, enough of the Discovery Channel stuff. Onto the stats!

The different sizes are really just for threat scaling (no real changes other than bigger stats). So obviously 15 HD for the giant version is kinda scary (more than dragons). AC is fair and its damage is rough. Even the smallest type would be a nasty surprise while crossing a river or similar.

It's important to note something about these critters (all three types) and this is based on the real-world versions: They can run as fast as they swim. An encumbered character may well not be able to outrun a croc.

Crocs are reptiles, which is to say they aren't super-bright. They are also not super-emotional. This is reflected in their morale score. If a meal is proving too difficult (or pointy), they may well give up and move on. They are great ambush predators, though. So there's always the chance they pop up again when you least expect it. 

As a DM, I would use them tactically. Knocking PCs out of their canoes, etc. or striking from the reeds and shallows. Once the PCs are in the water, they are usually -quite literally- out of their element. A swamp witch with an animal control magic item or spell could turn things ugly real quick. 

Fantasy AGE Homebrew monster: The Sea Dragon

I've written about the Sea Dragon in BX before, but here's a version for Fantasy AGE:

Sea Dragons are an aquatic variant of their more famous cousins. While flightless and somewhat smaller on average than normal wyrms, sea dragons are still formidable opponents, especially in their element.

Sea dragons can breathe water or air. They suffer no ill effects from being on land, but they prefer the open water for maneuverability. They are intelligent and most speak at least one land-dweller language. Their cruelty and hunger makes conversations unlikely, though.

Sea dragons hoard treasure. While some will travel onto land to acquire it, most prefer to sink ships and take from the cargo once it slips beneath the waves. Many sea dragons make their lairs inside the hulls of sunken vessels. Sea dragons tend to prefer stretches of coastline instead of the open water. Perhaps the great ocean wyrms are too much of a risk.

A common tactic is for the beast to lie in wait below the surface until a ship passes overhead, then it bursts upward, destroying the rudder before clambering up onto the decks. Once aboard, the dragon smashes the masts and rigging as it breathes its poison on the crew. When the ship is helpless, the creature dives back into the water and shoves the ship onto the rocks. There it smashes the hull or lets the waves do it. 

ACC 2 (Bite)

COM 0

CON 8 (Stamina)

DEX 2

FTG 4 (Claws, Tail Bash)

INT 0

PER 1 (Seeing, Hearing)

STR 7 (Intimidation, Might)

WIL 4 (Courage)

SPEED HEALTH DEFENSE AR

6(15 swim) 120 12 7

Weapon Attack Roll Damage

Bite +4 2d6+7

Claw +6 1d6+7

Tail Bash +6 1d6+7

FAVORED STUNTS:

Mighty Blow (1SP), Tail Bash (2SP), Lethal Blow (4SP), Pierce Armor (1SP)

• Large & in Charge
• Buffet (minor)
• Deadly (-1 SP Lethal Blow, Mighty Blow, and Pierce Armor)
• Tough Hide (7 AR)
• Aquatic
• Breath Weapon: Twice a day, the sea dragon can breathe a toxic mist in a cloud 8 yards long and 4 yards wide. Anyone caught within the cloud must make a CON (Stamina) TN 15 roll to hold their breath or the poison slows and partially paralyzes them. Victims suffers a –3 penalty to Dexterity, Fighting, and Accuracy until the end of the encounter. The poison works underwater as well, but only on creatures breathing the water. For instance, a submerged PC using magic to breathe is affected, but one using a hollow reed is not.

Ahoy! (Nautical Adventuring in FAGE)

FAGE Ship to Ship (Pirates and sea serpents and storms, oh my!)

Ocean travel and its hazards are something that I've discussed on this blog quite often, albeit usually in terms of monsters. Many games include some rules for traveling and fighting on the water, but Fantasy AGE does not (yet). So, in an effort to fill a gap until some official rules appear, and to amuse myself by tinkering, here are some ideas about handling the perils of the deep in FAGE.

Most threats will either be a straight up combat or a hazard. This means the PCs (and possibly the NPC crew) will simply duke it out with some aquatic beastie or have to deal with things like a storm or shoaling reefs, etc. For the former, it's a combat. GMs will want to keep in mind things like damage to the ship or cargo (or minor NPCs). A lot of that might be handled narratively. The sea serpent lashes out with it tail and breaks the mainmast like a twig. Maybe someone has to jump out of the way or get smashed, but otherwise it won't effect the immediate combat. Later on, the ship may be drastically slowed in its travels, but for now the monster is the problem.  

Hazards could either be addressed with an Ability Test or an Advanced Test. The latter would be for when the danger or challenge lasts for longer than a few minutes. The former is for a sudden crisis: an iceberg looming out of the fog may be a simple Dex (Sailing) check to turn hard to port. Weathering a storm might be an Advanced test vs the captain's skill with a threshold set according to the severity of the threat. Failure in such a test might be represented by a cap on the number of rolls one can make before consequences set in. To use the storm example:

• Success Threshold: 13 (Tough, but not INSANE. A pretty bad storm)
• The captain will make Dex (Sailing) rolls. Each roll represents an hour's time. 
• TN: The storms's intensity is not without its challenges, but well within a competent skipper's normal skills. Let's say 11. 
• Max Rolls: The GM determines the storm lasts 5 hours. That means the captain must make the success threshold within that window (5 rolls) or it means he couldn't weather the storm and –depending on how far short he fell of the target– his ship and crew suffer the consequences. The GM can determine this as appropriate: Maybe they were merely blown off course. Maybe they were dismasted. Maybe the ship founders and sinks.

Another situation that might arise is a ship to ship action. Perhaps pirates attack the merchant vessel that the PCs have booked passage upon. Maybe the PCs are the pirates!

If the goal of each ship is the same but conflicting, i.e. to attack the other, then opposed sailing rolls by the captains will suffice for maneuvering. Modifiers can be given for things like advantageous positioning (the weather gage) or a ship's sea/battle-worthiness. A win in the opposed roll gives the victor some edge that turn in the fight. Maybe stunt points to those who are actually fighting. Gunnery (or catapults, etc.) are their own attack rolls. GMs could also allow the winner to describe some narrative effect based on the degree of success (stunt die result). 

Another tack (Heheh. Get it?) is to use opposed, advanced tests. This could be especially useful if one ship has a different goal from another. e.g. escape vs. attack.

Each captain declares what their goal is and then the GM sets the success thresholds and TNs. The interval between rolls (time) is determined by the nature of the goals, distance from each other, etc. (probably at least several minutes for each roll in a sailing ship scenario).

Each captain rolls –probably Dex (Sailing) or Int (Navigation), but it would depend on the goal– each captain can theoretically succeed in a turn, but the one who succeeds by the greater margin gains an addition +1 toward their threshold. GMs can also enforce a cap on a captain's rolls like in the storm example if it makes sense. Maybe the pursuing ship must catch its quarry before they can reach the harbor. Perhaps one ship is trying to get through a treacherous reef before night falls while the other ship races around through open water to cut them off on the other side. Who knows? 

Whichever ship that reaches its threshold first wins the contest and the results can be handled narratively. Of course, the result may lead to a new contest or conflict. The chase ends in a boarding action and combat.

These types of contests are probably best in situations where the PCs have some say in how things are handled. If the "captain" of the party's ship is an NPC, have one of the players roll for him. You (the GM) may tell them what the captain wants to do ("We can't win a stand-up fight, we have to flee!" or "If we can force them into the shallows, their heavier draft will run them aground!") but the players need some agency. 

Of course, if the party is in command, let them make their choices. They need to appoint one PC as the commander for the contest. Sailing ship actions depend on coherent orders given definitively and carried out obediently. The other players can have their PCs doing things like firing arrows at the other ship. 

They might assist the captain as well. A character with the Com (Morale) focus might inspire the crew to hop to it, or a mage might cast the Wind Blast spell to give the sails a gust of speed. Such actions might grant +1 assist to the captain for a turn or two.

One could fill chart after chart with different variations of wind and currents and turning radiuses, but I'm trying for something a little more abstract here. Likewise I'm not describing multiple ships from various eras or cultures. I'm not trying to quantify hull AR or health points or speeds and so forth. Most of that might be useful in a wargame or a scenario where the point of it was to determine a real naval battle or ship action in terms of crews, armaments, and ships, but I'm just trying for some ideas on how to run an adventure on the open waves.

RMA: Hydra

You know what they say: Seven heads are better than one!

Another mythological classic, the hydra is a fun one. I personally have never used it in an adventure. I can't even think of an adventure where I fought one as a player. It's not only a tough challenge for the party, it's an interesting listing in the rule book.

First, the stats:

Hydra (from Cook)

No. App: 1

AL: N

AC: 5

HD: 5-12

Move: 120' (40')

Att: 5-12

Damage: 1d10 per head

Save: F5-12

Morale: 9

The number of heads are random (1d8+4) and determines HD, Saves, and –obviously– number of attacks. While I think many DMs will assign the -aheh- "head count" to scale the encounter's difficulty, randomness can be fun too. An interesting note: A hydra always has maximum hit points for its HD (8 per die/head).

A minimum of 5 attacks per round is impressive, especially at 1d10 damage. Couple that with decent range of THACOs, and it can get scary to be too close to this thing.

There is a mention of Sea Hydras, which merely adds to the fun. I'm always for anything to spice up aquatic adventures.

Now, instead of the mythological version that grows more heads when one is destroyed, the BtB version just loses one head for every full 8 points of damage. I suppose this is easier on the bookkeeping, but part of me like the regeneration aspect. Of course, there needs to be an out for the PCs; like Heracles burning the neck stumps, there has to be a way to finally stop the thing.

Lastly, there is this marvelous quote from the end of the listing:

"The DM may wish to create special versions of hydra. Special hydras could have poisonous bites or breathe fire (as a dragon, but with a 5' range and only causing 8 points of damage per head). Such creatures should be placed by the DM to guard special treasures."

It just tickles me to have a passage encouraging the DM to muck about and surprise the players with a homebrewed version of a creature. Keep 'em guessing! That's the ticket!


Now, as to fighting them:

1. Their AC and Morale is so-so. Most PCs should be able to hit the thing pretty handily. You might even scare it off. 
2. Unlike dragons, they don't fly and the have no real ranged attack. Pepper them with arrows. Granted, the poisonous or firebreathing variations add some zest, but both are still melee-based.
3. They aren't smart (despite the multiple brains). So some good tactics might fool them or lure them into a trap/ambush.
4. Treasure Type B: Not a king's ransom, but a respectable shot at hard coin and maybe even some magic. If the DM took the book's advice and placed a special hydra, then maybe there is special loot, too!

RSA: Part Water

Let's just get the Heston screen cap out of the way, OK?

An amusing and powerful spell. And, like most RSAs, one I've rarely seen a PC use. It's odd that this is a MU/Elf spell in BX rather than a clerical spell given –like some other spells– its obvious mythological origins, but who am I to blow against the wind?

Its pretty high level (6th), so it's understandable why you don't see it cast all the time. Also, it's really only useful when dealing with a large body of water, which isn't too terribly frequent in most campaigns. 

Part Water (from Cook)
Level: 6 (MU)
Range: 120'
Duration: 6 turns

This spell creates a path through a body of water, enabling creatures to walk on the bottom. The path will be up to 120' long and 10' wide. The spell may be ended at any time by the caster before the duration is over.


The first thing I notice about the spell description is the dimensions/AoE. Why? No depth! It doesn't care whether you are making a path through a fish pond or an ocean, it goes ALL THE WAY DOWN! Obviously it's hard to do the Red Sea Stroll without it reaching the bed, but still!

The second thing about the dimensions is, well, the other dimensions. Only 120' x 10'? That's not getting you very far. One hour duration is nice if it's only for one combat, but you aren't getting a lot of overland travel done in that time. It would be handy for some river crossings and the like, though.

Now, one fun use of this spell that comes to mind is when it comes to a naval battle: Opening a gap in the water right in front of an enemy vessel? Good times! Of course, you'd want to angle it just right to maximize the effect, but I would say even a big ship would stand a real risk of capsizing or dipping its prow low enough to be swamped.

Like many of these higher level, unusual spells, I would be tempted to place a scroll in a campaign just to see what fun the PCs might come up with.

RMA: Sea Dragons

Seriously, has anyone ever used this monster? If not, we're all doing a TERRIBLE job as DMs!

What's more classic than a sea monster? 

...Just don't, okay?

Anyone who has read my RMAs has seen me comment on aquatic encounters and their relative rarity, so I have been kind of avoiding doing more of that theme. This fella deserves a mention, though. So let's get started:

Sea Dragon (from Cook)

No. App: 0 (1d4)

AC: 1

HD: 8

AL: N

Move: 180' (60')

  (Swimming or Flying)

Attacks: 1 (bite or spit)

Damage: 3d8

Save: F8

Morale: 9

Treasure: H

For starters, it doesn't look all that impressive. 8HD is okay,  but not awesome. A decent armor class as well, and the damage from its bite isn't really terrifying, either. So what's so cool about Sea Dragons?

• All the usual reasons fighting at sea is challenging.
• They are intelligent, hence the so-so morale (live to fight another day, etc.). There is a 20% chance they speak. If so, that means they are automatically packing SIX spells (3 @ 1st, 3 @ 2nd level MU/Elf). That's a bit scary.
• Their "breath" attack is a poisonous gob of spit TWENTY FEET in diameter with a range of 100'! (eww!) Don't forget, kids; that's 100 YARDS in the wilderness (p.X19), which is precisely where these fellas are likely to show up! The poison loses effectiveness after 1 round, but it's save or die. By the way, that's a save vs. Dragon Breath, not Poison, which means characters are MORE likely to fail.
• They can pull a "flying fish." They leap out of the water and glide for up to six rounds. They can cover a lot of distance in that time, possibly getting an air-to-surface poison loogy off in the process. 
• They can breathe underwater, so no sense waiting for them to come up for air. Their lairs are underwater too (often at the sea's bottom in a shipwreck or a cave), so even if you beat the thing, finding and getting that sweet, sweet Type H loot is its own challenge.
• I don't even want to talk about the whole "1d4" appearing thing!

Keep in mind also that these are the AVERAGE stats for the Sea Dragon. The book allows for ± up to 3 HD depending on age. 

So give it up for the dragon's wet behind the ears cousin! 

RMA: Whales

Thar be whales here!

I have often remarked on how aquatic encounters are by nature more unusual than land-based ones. Looking over the Cook Expert rules, I'm trying to remember using a whale as an encounter. This seems odd because there is actually a long history of people actively going to sea looking for these creatures.

In the rules, there are three types of whales presented: Killer (Orca), Narwhal, and Sperm whales.

From Cook:

(I'm too lazy to type that out)

Now, there are many more types of whales in the real world than this, but these three give a good selection to start with.

Your Killer Whale pod of 1d6 cetaceans is a frightening mid-level encounter, especially without a large vessel to keep clear of them in. They are a polar/cold water species, so a lovely iceberg-shipwreck-slash-tiny lifeboat scenario can = good times! A d20 damage is nothing to sneeze at either.

Narwhals are a bit more of a macguffin than a foe, IMO. That possibly magical horn worth 1000's of gps should motivate at least some characters to hunt them. They're tough (12HD), but skittish (Morale 8). Considering they are listed as "intelligent" among other whales (not to mention magical), it's safe to assume they'll not just blindly attack or flee without trying to do the smart thing. 

Sperm whales are the juggernauts in the list. 3d20 damage (or 6d6 hull damage) but also more likely to flee than fight (Morale 7). The scariest part of the sperm whale is its swallow whole ability. Instead of succeeding on a 20, it just needs +4 over the minimum to hit. That's a lot of Jonahs!

I think whalers would be an interesting addition to a maritime campaign, or at least having them around ports and as possible ship encounters. (Ambergris as treasure, anyone?)

RMA: Sea Snake

After our recent adventures with snakes, I was reminded of this dilly.

Sea snakes in real life are relatively common only in certain waters. While it is true they are venomous, and some extremely so, deaths from encountering these reptiles are fairly rare.

In classic D&D, sea snakes are an unusual encounter even in an aquatic environment. Their low morale means they aren't going to hang around a fight for long, either. There are a couple things that make this little fella insanely scary, though.

Like all poisonous snakes, you've got a save or die potential. However, with sea snakes, there are a couple of oh-so-fun twists to keep in mind.

1. Half the time, the victim doesn't even necessarily know he's been bitten (tiny teeth).
2. Even if Neutralize Poison is used, 25% of the time the spell fails vs. the venom's potency. That's right. A one in four chance that 4th level clerical spell designed to stop poison from killing you just won't cut it against this stuff!

In the game, sea snakes are aggressive and may even attack a human for food (Moldvay). While I don't know that this makes real-life sense (snakes swallow their prey whole, and a human is a tad big for that), it makes having 1d8 of them swimming toward you more than a bit unnerving.

RMA: Dragon Turtle

Oh boy, oh boy! Do I loves me the DT! Despite it's complete awesomeness, it's a sort of unusual critter. I think that's for two reasons:

1. Aquatic encounters are more unusual because aquatic adventures are more unusual.
2. This fella is the badassedest* thing in the BX books.

*If it wasn't a word before, it is now! Hooray for English!

Take a look at that picture by Steve "the Man" Zieser. That's nearly to scale! This monster eats ships! Let's take a look at the stats:

(From BX)

AC: -2

HD: 30

Attacks: 3 (2 claws/1bite) & Steam breath

Damage: 1d8/1d8/10d6

Save: F15

Morale: 10

OK, first off this is one of the only creatures in Moldvay/Cook with a listed negative AC! So that shell is pretty tough. Thirty HD (30!) means you're capping out at 240 hit points, and averaging about 135. Its bite attack is dealing up to SIXTY points in a go! That's a siege weapon! While it would take several such blows to finish off a large ship, chances are the crew would be long dead before that was an issue.

Most alarming however is that this thing also has a breath weapon. Following BX rules, the cloud of superheated steam it exhales does its current hit points in damage. That's right, so an average dragon turtle does 135 hit points of breath weapon damage to everyone in the area of effect (30' x 90'). To put this in perspective, a maxed out gold dragon is dealing 88 hit points of fire damage in the same area. Even if you make your saving throw against the middling DT's breath weapon, that's still 67 hit points damage! In other words, a 6th level fighter with an 18 CON and maximum hit points (d8 hit die), is automatically killed! Using average HP and no CON bonus, even half damage still kills a 14th level fighter with room to spare. 

Can you say 'eek!' ?

Add in the fact that it's swimming around the ocean and could capsize a good sized ship before you even knew it was there, this is one nasty, nasty encounter.

(*wipes away a tear* "So very beautiful!")

RMA: Octopus, Giant

While octopuses (no, it's not "octopi") and squids feature heavily in fantasy and science fiction, the fact that they are aquatic means they aren't typical encounters. Also, once the party is on or under the waves, there are so many other more interesting creatures to toss at them: things like Sea Hydras, Dragon Turtles, Sharks, etc. Most of the octopus's appeal for a fantasy setting is its alienness. Face it, this tentacled, boneless creature swimming around is kinda creepy. But creepy is only going to get you so far. Can the octopus hold its own in a fight?

umm, yes. Yes, it can.

Let's see that stat block, shall we?: (from Cook Expert)

No. Appearing: 0 (1-2)
Move (swim): 90' (30')
AL: N
HD: 8
AC: 7
Attacks: 9 (8 tentacles/1bite)
Damage: 1-3 (x8)/1-6
Save As: F4
Morale: 7

OK. First off, if you're like me what jumps out at you is the attacks entry. NINE ATTACKS PER FREAKIN' ROUND! Now, that's pretty scary. But wait! There's more!

Once it hits with a tentacle, then it does automatic constriction for the above 1d3 every round per tentacle.  Also, for each one of those you have wrapped around you, there's a cumulative -1 to hit penalty.  So, to do the math: An 8HD creature has a decent THAC0, so if it hits a character with even half its tentacles, then its dealing 4-12 points per round (without having to roll to hit). It can also keep biting for an additional 1d6, and wrapping any of the 4 other tentacles that aren't busy (yet). Meanwhile, you are at -4 to fight back.

Things the characters might have going for them: the G.O. has lousy AC and is skittish (low morale), so it's possible it might flee before finishing off a victim. Octopuses are smart,  though. It will probably take each case as it comes.

While not stated in the book, octopuses can blend like a chameleon, which would make it much easier to surprise a foe. Also, depending on exactly how a character has come to be underwater with this thing, they might be at a severe disadvantage because of the environment (lack of air, etc.). I typically only allow a PC to hold their breath for CON x rounds, they receive no DEX bonus to AC,  movement is slowed, and encumbrance or metal armor can drag a person down. All these factor make the prospect of this thing's embrace very scary indeed.

RMA (Random Monster Assessment): Hawk, Giant (by land or sea)

Today's installment is "Hawk, Giant." The Roc and the Giant Eagle get a lot more play in folklore, fiction, and gaming; but the giant hawk is an interesting critter. In Labyrinth Lord, the only places you'll encounter one of these guys randomly are the desert or the sea (they are slightly more common in B/X). While these things sound contradictory, consider that both terrain types share a couple similarities.

1) They give a flyer lots of room to maneuver.
2) Likewise, there aren't a lot of places for prey to hide.

Personally, I find the idea of giant hawks dive bombing some merchant ship or fishing vessel that strays too close to a seaside eyrie fraught with potential. Let's look at the stat block, shall we? (LL81)

Hawk, Giant

No. Enc.: 0 (1d3)

Alignment: Neutral

Movement, flying: 450' (150') 

Armor Class: 6

Hit Dice: 3+3

Attacks: 1

Damage: 1d6

Save: F2

Morale: 8

Well, right off the bat, did you SEE that movement rate?? One hundred fifty feet per round! And you thought centaurs were fast! Basically, a character is going to get one shot at these suckers before the range penalties kick in (if the birds aren't out of missile or spell range entirely). 

A normal encounter is 1d3 giant hawks together. Probably all riding the same thermals. They might not work together, but birds are greedy, and if one goes after a potential meal, the others will try for it too (or try to take it away from the first bird). Their morale is low enough that they might get scared away, but they might carry something (or someone) off with them. While they cannot carry off a full-sized man, gnomes and hobbits should beware. 

The birds' HD and AC aren't superb, and neither are their attacks/damage, but in the aforementioned sea encounter, their mobility is that much more useful when characters are confined to a ship. If a character is struck by one of these raptors as it dives, and he is up in the rigging or near the side of the ship when it hits, any GM worth his d12 should force a saving throw or ability check to avoid being knocked off. (Sure hope he wasn't wearing plate when he fell in!) If the character is hobbit or gnome sized, a hit should allow for the bird to fly off with him. Personally, if the bird still had movement left that round I'd let him get airborne with his prize (but I'm kind of an SOB). The victim, if still alive, can certainly try to fight the bird off while in its clutches, and the hawk might make a morale check or saving throw to hold onto something that's really hurting it. However, consider that if the hawk has more than a round to get altitude, do you want it to drop you?

I mentioned being stuck on the boat while this is happening. Wizards should note that flinging area of effect spells like Fireball at these creature might cause some nasty collateral damage. (Burning pitch-soaked timbers, anyone?) A circumstantial cover bonus to the flyers is also probably in order for any masts, sails, and rigging between them and any archers on deck.

For the desert encounter, look to your camels. Even if the hawk can't carry it off, most raptors would be fine with killing the beast  and then tearing off a hunk of meat to take with. If a pack animal is laden with provisions, a saving throw might be in order to see if those nasty talons have torn up your waterskins. (see "SOB", above) 

Lastly, I should mention that these are not supernatural creatures, but big animals. They don't attack out of malice, but hunger or self-preservation. Conversely, a mage with Charm Monster or a druid with Animal Companion/Friendship could play merry hob with a few of these following his orders.