The short one came through first, wiry like a serpent, but unmistakably mammal with whiskers and hair. His eyes darted about, but he failed to notice them.
Then came the brute, wearing a hodgepodge of leather, chain, and plate armor. His broad sword and shield were held at the ready. Following close behind him was clearly the mage they were waiting for. In one hand he held a wand, and in the other a torch.
As he cleared the archway the clutch moved as one. The wiry one dropped and rolled before the net entangled him. The warrior reacted instinctively, bringing his shield up to block the blow, which unfortunately for him did nothing to stop the net. The mage merely startled in surprise, dropping the torch, and falling to the ground. The clutch hissed in excitement, rushing forward with clubs to subdue the wiry one, and put an end to the struggles of the warrior.
One of the Children stood above the mage, his club held high, when he noticed the forth one. It had hair like gold, and a mace of steel. The cracking of ribs confirmed the hardness of the mace.
Children of the Gorgon
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 3 + 1* (M)
Move: 120' (40')
Attacks: 1 weapon or 1 bite
Damage: By weapon + 1 or 1d3 + Poison
No. Appearing: 2d8 (5d4)
Save As: F3
Morale: 9
Treasure Type: (P + Q) B
Intelligence: 10
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: 75
Type: Humanoid (uncommon)
Children of the Gorgon are reptilian humanoids with predominantly serpentine features. They stand on average between 6 and 7 feet tall, but tend toward a more wiry frame. Their skin is scaly, and they do periodically molt.
They are silent hunters, and use the element of surprise as often as possible. They surprise on a roll of 1-3 on a 1d6 due to their naturally stealthy nature. When using weapons they cause an additional point of damage due to their strength.
Their bite is poisonous, and should their victim fail their save they will become paralyzed for 24 hours. In addition the victim must make a second saving throw at the end of the 24 hours or they will suffer a permanent loss of 1 point of charisma as their face retains a bit of stiffness. If the effects of the poison are magically healed prior to the end of the 24 hour period then the victim will avoid the potential loss of charisma.
There can be Children of the Gorgon spell casters. They can learn to be Shamans or Wokans of up to 6th level. Their religion states that they were created by the Serpent God from the hair of the Medusa. Whether this is true or not is unknown, but they are often found in the service of Medusa's and they seem to be immune to the petrification effects of her gaze.
Always cool to see serpent men. Such a staple of fantasy stories, and yet D&D rarely has stats for them in the main books.
ReplyDeleteHoly crap, I like this a lot. Like the guy above me said, the fiction of fantasy literature has so many half-beings, but we get stuck with plain and boring Tolkien races. Oh, wow, another fantasy world with elves, dwarves, halflings, what do you know?
ReplyDeleteBut I digress. I like this a lot, is the point.