Demon: Grim Reaper

The Grim Reaper is a new Demon for a Magic Realm expansion. 

His vulnerability is one step up from Tremendous: that is, he cannot be killed except perhaps by a lucky missile attack, a poisoned or magical blade, or perhaps a lucky lightning or fiery blast attack.  The Exorcize spell will kill him, but he is immune to Transform and Absorb Essence.

Monty Hall Was Here

Dave Hargrave's Arduin Dungeon adventures read like how-to guides on how not to design modules. 

Arduin Adventure No. 2, "The Howling Tower", is chapter two in that how-to guide.

"The Howling Tower" is an adventure for character levels 1-4.

The Howling Tower adventure consists of three dungeon levels and a tower, from which emanate blood-curdling howls from dusk 'til dawn.

Don't forget your earplugs.

If the illustration above seems passingly familiar, it's only because Dave Hargrave "drew inspiration" from many sources, including Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica.  This fellow looks to be a cross between a Stormtrooper and Cylon.

Arduin was the first multi-genre role-playing game, with Science Fiction and Fantasy co-existing in more or less equal measure.

Erol Otus and Greg Espinoza are the illustrators of The Howling Tower.  Below is the front cover, showing the dungeon entrance to the adventure, with the Howling Tower itself behind and to the left.

The back cover, by Erol Otus, shows an idol and fiery brazier.  Does this not seem faintly reminiscent of the cover of the ADnD Players Handbook?

Here is the map for the tower levels of The Howling Tower.  With only six levels, it seems rather stout, compared to the illustration on the front cover.

And here we have more treasure cards.  Again, if i'm not mistaken, all of these were illustrated by Greg Espinoza.

Stormtrooper Gear, Dragons Orb, Elder Sword, Spartakkons Gear
Heiro's Headband, Heaven Harp, Devouring Shield, Whirling Death

I mentioned earlier that The Howling Tower adventure is rated for 1st to 4th level characters.  Given that rating, there really is no excuse, other than pure monty-hallism, for some of the magic items, above.

Take the Elder Sword.  It is a +4 sword, that drains 1-3 life levels from an opponent as a result of a successful strike.  Or the Devouring Shield: it provides the wielder with an additional shield attack, which, if successful, results in one's opponent being completely devoured within 1-3 rounds.

Hiero's Headband is worth 10,000 gp, and provides the wearier with permanent True Sight, and +6 on all saves versus psychic attack.

Gonzo to be sure, but also seriously overpowered, for a introductory adventure.

Battlebones, Gameron, Skullmonculuous, Triclops
Braineater, Hellhorse, Battlespider, Priestmage of Cthulhulos

Dave Hargrave always had the best monsters.  These would be right at home in the Fiend Folio.

The Sights And Sounds Of Magic Realm

I should probably add smells and treasure sites to that list, as there are multiple sense-evoking clues regarding monsters inhabiting the Magic Realm, as well as eight treasure sites scattered across the kingdom, just waiting to be looted by enterprising characters.

While the valleys in Magic Realm are relatively safe (except for one valley, haunted by a pair of ghosts), the caves and mountains are both dangerous and rewarding.

There are eight treasure sites in Magic Realm, as well as the lost city and lost castle, hidden in the mountains and caves. When setting up the Magic Realm board, the treasure sites are distributed secretly and randomly, so that none of the players, not even the person setting up the board, knows where the treasure sites are at the start of the game.

The above treasure and location chits include both the name of the treasure site and the clearing it will be located in. For example, the Altar is found in clearing 1. You may recall, from my earlier blog on the Magic Realm map, that each clearing on a map tile is numbered. That allows these treasure sites to be placed in a particular clearing of a map tile.

As the characters travel throughout the Magic Realm, they will discover these treasure sites. Some of them are more rewarding than others. For example, the Dragon Hoard and the Pool Of The Octopus each contain nine treasures. Others, like the Altar, Shrine and Statue (guarded by Demons and Imps) have only 3 or 4 treasures each.

The Lost City and Lost Castle are special locations. They signify large concentrations of monsters and treasures, as a map tile with either contains five monster and treasure chits, rather than the usual one chit.

In addition to treasure sites, you're likely to hear strange sounds as you venture through the mountains and caves of the Magic Realm. Those sounds are clues to the types of monsters you will eventually encounter in that map tile. For example, you may here the slithering of a giant serpent, the pattering of goblin feet, or the howl of the giant bats, long before those monsters appear. These sound chits are accompanied by a number, indicating in which clearing the lair of these monsters is located, so it is relatively easy to avoid them, at first.

In addition to the sound chits, there are the above warning chits. They are perhaps more aptly named the no-warning chits, because these chits represent clues indicating monsters are very near. The above chits all have the letter "C" indicating that these are warning chits found in the caves, attracting such monsters as the goblins, trolls and serpents.
And the above warning chits are placed in the mountains, signified by the capital "M" under the warning description. The mountains are where the spiders, giants, and bats are most likely to be found.
While most of the deadliest monsters are found in the mountains and caves, the woods are home to packs of wolves, poisonous snakes, and a pair of unpleasant ogres. It is often wise to hide before ending your turn in the woods, at least until you have determined who inhabits it.

Magic Realm: Anatomy Of A Goblin

Goblins have serious old-school credibility. They have been a staple of fantasy literature and folk-tales, and appear in the earliest Dungeons and Dragons rulebooks. So if I appear to be less than enamoured with the Pathfinder RPG goblins, it is that Paizo neutered them, making them seem less menacing and more cutesy.

Not so for the goblins of Magic Realm. These guys are ugly and dangerous.

There are three goblin tribes in Magic Realm: the axe goblins (above), the spear goblins and the sword goblins. The axe goblins are the least formidable, but because of their move speed (3, 4 when alert) and their numbers (there are six of them), they can easily tie up and overwhelm any character, even heavy hitters like the White Knight and the Dwarf.

The axe goblins are pretty straight-forward. They inflict either medium (light + sharpness star) or heavy (medium + sharpness star) damage, depending on whether they are unready, or alert.

The threat the spear goblins pose is less obvious. Let's have a closer look at the spear goblins.

Every denizen in the Magic Realm is represented by a cardboard counter, printed on both sides. The front side represents the denizen when it is unready. The back of the counter represents the denizen when it is alert.

The above counter is the front (unready) side of the spear goblin. When the spear goblin is front-side up, it poses little threat to the character.

The unready spear goblin can prevent you from running away (with a move speed of 3, very few characters have the necessary move speed of 2 to avoid it). But the spear goblin inflicts no damage while unready (there is no damage information printed on the spear goblin's front, unready side).

When the spear goblin flips to its alerted side (the black bar across the bottom of the counter tells you that the denizen is now alert), it becomes much more dangerous. While the spear goblin's move speed drops from 3 to 5 (making it easier to run away from) the harm it dishes out increases to tremendous (heavy + sharpness star).

Normally, this would be a good time to run from the spear goblin. But not all of the spear goblins will become alert at the same time: some will still be speed 3, preventing you from running away. The entire goblin tribe battles you when you stumble on their den, but only a few of those six goblins will be alert during a particular combat round. So while a few, unready spear goblins prevent you from running away, the rest skewer you with their spears. Not a pretty way to die.

The sword goblins are the most dangerous of the three goblin tribes. On their unready side, above, their move speed of 3 prevents you from running away, and they inflict tremendous (heavy + sharpness) harm when they hit you.

And when they flip to their alerted side, above, they can kill anything, including that armored warhorse you purchased, for a not inconsiderable sum of gold.

No, like the knights of the order, you do not want to tangle with the sword goblins, not unless you are the sorceror, who can scorch them with the fiery blast spell and then fade into mist.

Lords Of Creation: Book Of Foes

The 1983 Lords Of Creation Role-Playing Game has inspired me to return to the Phillip Jose Farmer World Of Tiers book series, starting with The Maker Of Universes.

While I spend the next couple of days re-reading the first four books in the series (my recommendation is that you don't bother with the last two, just imagine your own perfect ending), perhaps you will enjoy these illustrations from the Lords Of Creation RPG Book Of Foes, the LOC equivalent of the 1978 AD&D Monster Manual.

Quite a few NPC's appear in the book of foes, in addition to your typical monster entries.

And where would a bestiary be without naked women sporting animal heads?


Equal treatment demands that we include some cheesecake for the ladies. Who wouldn't be attracted to a bodybuilder with a Rhino-head?

Nearly every famous character from history and fiction is included as an NPC in the Lords Of Creation.

It's cheap wings night at Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, and the entire gang has arrived. Can you identify them all?The final (unpublished) LOC RPG adventure was entitled the Mines Of Voria. You just know we were destined to meet up with a Vorian Death Maggot.

And for absolutely no reason, here's another illustration, of a Drake with two riders.

Magic Realm: Anatomy Of A Monster

I'm mightily impressed with those few souls who comprehended and played Magic Realm using the first edition ruleset. They were a peculiar breed of gamer.

The majority of us struggled through Magic Realm's first edition, playing the game incompletely or not at all. Most of the blame rested with the first edition ruleset, but the Magic Realm counters were also to blame.

Not only did Avalon Hill misprint several of the monster counters during the initial print run, but the counters were incomplete, lacking sufficient information for efficient gameplay. The above counter, representing the tremendous troll, is a case in point.

Only the harm inflicted by the troll's attack -- heavy (H) with an attack speed of 4 -- and the troll's move speed (4), appear on the counter.

The second edition of Magic Realm fixed some of the rules problems, but failed to improve the counters. It would take some dedicated fans to resolve the problems with the counters.

Below is a counter for the tremendous troll, from the electronic version of Magic Realm, called Realmspeak. One of the most valuable innovations of the Magic Realm fanbase is the addition of the vulnerability code, shown in the top right corner of the counter.In this case, the vulnerability code is "T" and is surrounded by a grey circle. The T signifies that you must inflict tremendous damage on this monster to kill it, and the grey circle signifies that the monster is armored.

As I mentioned earlier, armor eliminates one sharpness star from an attack, so any attack on an armored monster loses one sharpness star before damage is determined.

For example, the Black Knight strikes the tremendous armored troll with an axe.The axe does heavy damage (medium weapon plus a sharpness star equals heavy damage) and the Black Knight overswings the medium weapon with his H4** chit, thus increasing the damage to tremendous. However, because the troll is armored, we must deduct one sharpness star. Therefore the Black Knight does only heavy damage, insufficient to kill the tremendous armored troll.

If a monster is unarmored, its vulnerability code is surrounded by a yellow circle, rather than a grey circle. Case in point is the tremendous giant.As you can see, the giant's tremendous vulnerability code of "T" is surrounded by a yellow circle, signifying that he is unarmored. In the case of the giant, the Black Knight's attack, above, would have dispatched the giant, as the tremendous damage inflicted by the overswung axe equals the vulnerability of the unarmored tremendous giant.

Scorpion-tailed Manticore FTW

In a previous post about The Arduin Grimoires, I mentioned my affection for scorpion-tailed Manticores.

I was pleased to see a scorpion-tailed Manticore featured on the front cover of one of my recently-acquired Appendix N books, A Spell For Chameleon, by Piers Anthony.

The idea of a poisonous sting is far more interesting than mere iron spikes flung from the Manticore's tail.

The illustration on the front cover of A Spell For Chameleon almost suggests a sphinx-like role for the Manticore, acting as the gate-keeper into another area of the megadungeon.

The important role of riddle-master has been largely discarded from recent versions of DnD. Players of modern versions of DnD want atmosphere and menace, and monsters that are meant to be vanquished and robbed.

As I mentioned in my earlier post about the Displacer Beast, i'd love to see monster placements that were intended to elicit role-playing, rather than experience point and treasure acquisition.

David Trampier And The Giant Spider

Here is another black and white David Trampier illustration, a full page treatment of an adventuring party and a Giant Spider. This illustration appears in the 1977 Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual.

I love the off-camera character, on the right side of the illustration, pointing at the giant spider, with the halfling beside him displaying a stunned or horrified look.

The rest of the party is clearly oblivious to their imminent doom, instead focused on some other off-camera dungeon feature, and only vaguely interested in the sticky web barring their way, with the fighter lazily attempting to cut through the strands. Or perhaps the magic user and dwarf are cautioning the fighter against or encouraging him into using the torch on the web.

Note that the fighter is not your buff, plated superhero, but looks to be rather modestly furnished with a backpack, sword and scale or chainmail armor. The dwarf seems to be wearing splint mail and has a shield strapped to his back. I think its also interesting that the fighter is the party member carrying the torch. Did it get passed to him just before the events depicted in this picture?

Another fine example of implied narrative from Tramp. How will this scene resolve itself? Will the party be surprised, and the fighter felled by the poison of the Giant Spider? Or will they notice the spider lurking above, and succeed in defeating it and collecting its treasure?

Old School Monsters: Displacer Beast

At the risk of attracting the Hentacle and cosplay crowd, i'm going to post about the tentacled Displacer Beast (apparently the pet of the Dirty Pair), a criminally underutilized Dungeons and Dragons villain.

The Displacer Beast is no ordinary old-school monster. Simply describing the Displacer Beast as a monster fails to do justice to the Displacer Beast's potential.

The Displacer Beast is a fascinating addition to the DnD universe, appearing very early in the bestiaries of the Dungeons and Dragons role playing game. The Displacer Beast dates back to the 1975 Greyhawk D&D supplement and is based on an antagonist created by A. Elton van Vogt in 1939. That creature is the Coeurl, and appears in the story "Black Destroyer". It, along with the Ixtl from van Vogt's "Discord In Scarlet", provided inspiration for the Aliens Movie cycle.

In Dungeons and Dragons, the Displacer Beast is described as a black, six-legged, puma-like creature, with at least two tentacles sprouting from its back. The original 1977 AD&D Monster Manual does not tell us how big it is. However, it has six hit dice, suggesting that it is fairly large.
In the DnD mythology, the Displacer Beast and the Blink Dog are described as mortal enemies, not surprising since Displacer Beasts are evil and Blink Dogs, good. Pictured above is a pack of Blink Dogs, chowing down on a dead Displacer Beast. This looks to be a David Trampier piece, but someone can correct me on that score. The bottom illustration from the 1977 Monster Manual is definitely Trampier.

The image below is from Tony DiTerlizzi's blog. He was the illustrator for the 1994 Monstrous Manual Displacer Beast. In the Monstrous Manual, we discover that the Displacer Beast is eight to 12 feet long. It's notable ability is that it appears to be "displaced" several feet from its actual position. A rather banal ability, which simply makes it more difficult to hit in combat. Yawn.

I say that the Displacer Beast is an underutilized villain, because the creature on which it is based makes for an interesting denizen within the first three levels of a dungeon. To give you a sense of its potential, I give you a passage from a review of Voyage of the Space Beagle, from The Quill & The Keyboard:

"Coeurl (the Displacer Beast) tries to pass himself off to the Earthmen as an animal worthy of study, but his insatiable hunger, criminal nature, and contempt for the primitive visitors exposes him to suspicion after he murders one of the crew. Soon it is a battle of wits as Coeurl keeps the Earthmen guessing while the explorers try to determine the alien's guilt and the extent of its incredible powers."

Not all dungeon denizens are meant to be fought, at least not initially. In the case of the Displacer Beast, this creature is better utilized as a source of adventure hooks.

In Voyage of the Space Beagle, the Coeurl needs to feed off the id of its' prey. What if the id is analogous to hit dice, and the Displacer Beast gets more bang-for-the-buck from those with higher hit dice?

To use a mathematical analogy, suppose that the satisfaction the Displacer Beast derives from feeding is the square of the hit dice. So a player, or monster that the Displacer Beast feeds on, that is 3rd level or three hit dice, provides nine times as much satisfaction to the Displacer Beast as a 1st level or one hit dice monster. He needs to eat nine first-level players to get the same satisfaction as one 3rd level monster.

The Displacer Beast then, rather than killing a party, encourages them to capture high hit dice monsters (say, a couple of Ogres that "stole and item from him") and bring them to him. The Players need not know that the Displacer Beast is using the party to feed his evil hunger.

The Displacer Beast may promise them rewards for doing so, and may be a reliable source of information, so the players acquiesce to the Displacer Beast's requests that they capture and deliver monsters to him. Eventually, however, the players should discover why the Displacer Beast is doing that, or they get to a sufficiently high level that the Displacer Beast views them as a tasty meal.

To protect the Displacer Beast from harm, at least initially, I would suggest that the Displacer Beast be able to create a field of darkness around itself, from which it parlays with the adventurers. Hints as to who is speaking from the darkness may be dropped, by occasionally having a tentacle wave from the darkness, and allow the dispel magic, light or dispel darkness spells to interfere with this creature's field of darkness ability.

Old-School Monsters: Catoblepas

This Dave Trampier illustration appears in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Players Handbook, circa 1978.

It is the Catoblepas, which makes it's first appearance in the 1977 AD&D Monster Manual. The Catoblepas is not an original creation of Gygax and Arneson, as it is referenced by such people as Pliny the Elder and Leonardo da Vinci. Both Pliny and da Vinci report that the Catoblepas is a shaggy beast with a head so heavy that the creature can barely lift it. A good thing too: it's glare turns you to stone, or it's breath poisons you, depending on which ancient or medieval source you believe.

I find this illustration of the Catoblepas notable for a couple of reasons. First, the picture it is illustrated from the viewpoint of the Catoblepas, not the characters who are battling (or fleeing) it. I think you will be hard-pressed to find many modern fantasy rpg illustrations that are framed from this perspective. Most modern fantasy illustrating focuses on the characters, not the monsters they are battling. The alternative perspective employed here diminishes the importance of the party, and puts the Catoblepas in the foreground of the picture frame, elevating it's stature and importance.

The other notable thing about this illustration is the characters look like run-of-the-mill types, not Paladins in gleaming armour, Amazons in scale-mail bikinis, and Wizards bursting with magical energies. No, these are farmers-turned-adventurers, and they are clearly outmatched by the Catoblepas. In modern heroic rpg art, the super-characters would instead be closing in for the kill, not hesitating, fleeing, or screaming non-sensically.

Perhaps i'm simply worshipping at the Altar of Tramp, but to my way of thinking, there is something far more interesting about an illustration where the outcome of a battle is in doubt, where the Mountie doesn't get his man, where the adventurers turn and run away so they can fight another day. Tramp and the other old-school artists got it right, whether it was portraying the adventurers involved in absurd and humorous situations, losing battles, or partaking in mundane adventuring activities.

Old School Monsters: Giant Slug

"The sucking sound increased to an indescribable slithering, gurgling hiss. Even Conan's iron nerves were shaken by the strain of waiting for the unknown source of the sound to appear.

At last, around the corner poured a huge, slimy leprous gray mass. From its front end rose a pair of hornlike projections, at least ten feet long, with a shorter pair below. The long horns bent this way and that, and Conan saw that they bore eyes on their ends.

Momentarily paralysed with astonishment, Conan stared at the vast mass of rubbery flesh bearing down upon him. The slug emitted a sound like that of a man spitting, but magnified many times over.

Galvanized into action at last, the Cimmerian leaped sideways. As he did so, a jet of liquid flashed through the air, right where he had stood. A tiny droplet struck his shoulder and burned like a coal of fire."

(from "Hall of the Dead", by Howard & deCamp, 1966)

Most of us old grognards understand that original Dungeons & Dragons was designed as a swords and sorcery literature emulator. Modern versions of D&D have lost touch with this fundamental fact, and as Chevski has pointed out, have become self-referential. As I venture into the fantastic fiction referenced in Appendix N of the 1979 AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide, I can't help but grin at passages such as the one above, revealing the roots of so many of the game elements that appear in D&D.

Take the Giant Slug (picture above from Otherworld Miniatures). Like the giant slug in the above Conan tale, the D&D version of the giant slug is gray, with a white underbelly, and spits acid with great accuracy. No one should shy away from using giant slugs in their old school D&D games, knowing that this is a bona fide old school monster.

The Original Erol Otus Remorhaz

This Erol Otus Remorhaz illustration appears to be signed in 1976. You can find it, and a reminiscence of the development of the Remorhaz here, at the Lord of the Green Dragons blog. It took a little digging to find this image, as the retrospective was posted WAY BACK on March 4, 2009!

Assuming you have a wealth of time on your hands (and who doesn't), or even if you don't, it is worthwhile reading through some of the back posts at Lord of the Green Dragons.

Another David Trampier Remorhaz

Trey described the Remorhaz as possessing a fu-manchu mustache. A very apt description of this monster's facial appendages.

This is another David Trampier illustration, based on the original Erol Otus concept. While Otus may have conceived of the original design for the Remorhaz, Trampier has added all sorts of layers of interest. This picture appears in G2, The Glacial Rift of The Frost Giant Jarl, published as an AD&D adventure module in 1978.

Check out the back of the Remorhaz: it almost appears to be suckers or anemones sprouting from it.

A nice additional touch to this illustration that simply screams Trampier: look closely inside the mouth, and you'll see the feet of an adventurer, recently swallowed by the beast.

Trampier's Frost Giants

I was surprised to discover two things, as I went hunting for more David Trampier illustrations:

(1) Trampier illustrated the cover of module G2, The Glacial Rift of The Frost Giant Jarl; and

(2) Trampier was not terribly prolific when it came to Dungeons and Dragons module covers.

Trampier did very few module covers: the only one I can recall, other than G2, is T1, The Village of Hommlet.

While Trampier is strongly associated with the AD&D Players Handbook, the Monster Manual, the Dungeon Masters Screen, module T1, The Village of Hommlet and module S1, Tomb of Horrors, Tramp is relegated to back-up and interior artist in many of the other early books and adventures. David Sutherland enjoys more artistic exposure in the AD&D modules, while Erol Otus' art is similarly synonymous with Basic D&D.

I'm saddened by this, since Tramp's style really appeals to me. I wish there was more of his art to appreciate.

There's something special about the cover of module G2. Partly, it's the absolutely non-descript adventurers racing to engage the Frost Giants; this speaks to my image of PCs as average folk, adventuring out of necessity, greed or yearning. And speaking of implied narrative, this is no band of bold and impervious adventurers: we've already got one adventurer down, laying on the ground beside the farthest Frost Giant.

The other thing that I love about this cover is that the Frost Giants appear to be making snowballs: I know it's probably rocks they're preparing to toss, but I laugh that the nearer Frost Giant has a perfectly good sword at his hip. Do the Frost Giants consider mere humans to be pushovers, and are prepared to break into a playful and old-fashioned snowball fight?

David Trampier's Remorhaz

Erol Otus was not the only early Dungeons and Dragons illustrator who was capturing the creepy, unworldly feel of the monsters and situations that so many of us consider representative of the old-school D&D game.

David Trampier drew this picture of the Remorhaz. While the Remorhaz never made an appearance in any of the games I refereed, I was a player in a D&D session of Module G2, Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl. As my son would say ... interesting anecdote: in my younger days, I thought Jarl was the name of the Chief of the Frost Giants, rather than his title. His name was actually Grugnur.

Who knew.

Old School Monsters: Manticore

Here is another illustration from the Arduin Grimoire, this one by Bradley W. Schenck, otherwise know as Morno back in the day. This illustration, of the dreaded Manticore surprising an adventuring party in the depths of Skull Tower, appears on the back cover of Welcome To Skull Tower, the second Arduin rulebook. It is one of 14 black & white illustrations that appear in this book. I love the look on the face of the thief, wielding his dagger and a set of keys, as the Manticore leaps over him, knocking down the axe-armed Dwarf.

The 1977 AD&D Monster Manual describes the Manticore as possessing a tail of iron spikes, which are volleyed at its opponents prior to combat. The above, alternate Arduin Manticore, has a scorpion's tail, which I find far more interesting (and deadly). I also prefer this illustration to the one by Sutherland in the Monster Manual: both are black & white, yet the in medi res nature of this combat scene adds far more tension and excitement to the monster illustration.

Which brings me to another thing I love about the old approach to role-playing fantasy art: the use of multiple artists, and art styles, allowed for a heterogeneous depiction of adventurers, scenes, and monsters. That encouraged a flowering of imagination. My scorpion-tailed Manticore was just as permissible as your iron-spike-tailed version.

Orcus: Ladies Man

Orcus was often depicted, accompanied by Succubi and Type V demons. Here's one illustration, created by Paul Jaquays, that depicts a whole host of demons surrounding him, including the lady-demons.

I guess Orcus just had a way with the ladies.

Fat And Manky Orcus

Tim Brannan of The Other Side blog wrote a recent post on the history of Orcus, along with a conversion to Unisystem. His post is well worth a read.

He also posted the above illustration, which first appears in The Dragon Magazine, Issue 42, October 1980. He was not sure who the artist was, nor when it was published. The illustration is by an artist by the name of Todd Lockwood. This is perhaps my favorite Orcus illustration, showing Orcus sitting lazily on his throne: I can't be sure whether he is snoring or drooling.

Old School Monsters: Orcus, Prince of the Undead

I posted, many months ago, about my then-favorite Orcus miniature figure, produced by Reaper Miniatures. Reaper makes a very nice Orcus miniature (much better than the underwhelming old version of Orcus from the retired D&D minis game). I own a copy of the Reaper version, which is in mid-paint job.

Here's my new favorite Orcus figure. This is being produced by Wizards of the Coast, in limited quantities, and is being distributed some time around June 16, 2010. I found news of the pending release of this Orcus figure here at the maxminis forum, and pre-release ordering details from things from another world (i've never ordered from that site, so I have no idea whether they are reliable or not).

The figure is $75. That's a lot of money, although the figure is supposed to be one of the larger ones they have ever produced.

Old School Monsters: Rust Monster

Here's another Will McLean cartoon from the Dungeon Masters Guide. This time, we have a couple of adventurers encountering a Rust Monster, one of Gary Gygax's unique monster creations. Here's what Gary had to say about the origins of the Rust Monster, from Dragon Magazine, Issue #88 (1984):

"When I picked up a bag of plastic monsters made in Hong Kong at the local dime store to add to the sand table array ... there was the figurine that looked rather like a lobster with a propeller on its tail ... nothing very fearsome came to mind ... Then inspiration struck me. It was a Rust Monster."

Both the Wizard and the Rust Monster have rather bemused looks on their faces. Of course, if I was a Fighter, fully decked in heavy metal armor, I would be fearful of the touch of the Rust Monster too. While the Rust Monster is not a terribly ferocious beast, one touch of its antennae and my armor crumbles to rust. Along with the Carrion Crawler and the Otyugh, the Rust Monster acts as garbage detail in the dungeon, cleaning up all the metallic discards while the other two monsters deal with the dead creatures and other organic waste.