New Monster: Beast in the Woods

“Please master wizard, the woods are dangerous.” The innkeeper warned. “If you must go, go at dawn, and stick to the road. If you leave now, you won’t make it to the village.”

“We’ve traveled dangerous roads before, but thank you for your concern.”

“Please...” the innkeeper pleaded. “Heed my words. The King rode out to face the monster, and he never returned! People don’t make it through unscathed when they make it at all. Those who have made it tell of meeting with giants!”

“Giants?” Nimble asked, looking over the saddle of his horse.

“If you’re lucky it’s giants. It you encounter the monster, you’re doomed.”

“Has anyone ever seen the monster?” Rathgar grumbled.

“None that have lived to tell of it, but we’ve all heard it out in the woods, and everyone that’s gone hunting it has never been seen again.”

“Mount up” Rathgar called out. “Innkeeper, we’ll be back in 3 days, and if we see this 'monster' of yours, we’ll take care of it on the way.”

The Beast in the Woods
AC: 3
Hit Dice: 7* (L)
Move: 150’ (50’)
flying: 60’ (20’)
Attacks: claw/claw/tail
Damage: 1d6+2/1d6+2/2d4+special
No. Appearing: 1 (1)
Save As: F7
Morale: 11
Treasure Type: D
Intelligence: 7
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: 850

Monster Type: Enchanted, Unique
The Beast is terrifying to behold. This chimera has a lion's head crowned with antlers, a furry snake's body, wings and skinny, gangly scaled claws, and causes fear (as per the spell) to all natural animals, and all creatures of 2HD or less that view it.

In combat it will use its bulk and speed to separate opponents. Any attack that causes minimum damage will throw the target 2d10 feet in the direction of the beast’s choosing. Anyone human sized or smaller hit by the tail must make a saving throw or be knocked prone.

Around the Beast’s neck is a magical silver necklace with a crescent moon pendant upon it. This cursed talisman transforms lawful individuals into the Beast, under the control of whoever possesses the matching necklace. It also allows the Beast to regenerate 1hp per round, and freezes the aging process.

Image Source: Nate Fredenburg

Sunday Inspirational Image: Pyrhonen

She looks like she'd fit in Vornheim pretty well.

Source

Quick Movie Reviews: Les Mis, Reacher, Lincoln, Skyfall

Les Miserables

I’ve never seen the stage show, but I was familiar with the story and the music going into it. The scenes that worked best were either lifted straight from the stage production or those that took advantage of the fact that this is a movie with access to modern tech. The all too brief grand views of France were fantastic. Too much time was spent in extreme close-ups. Russell Crowe was seriously lacking. Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter stole every scene they were in, and they were perfect! Totally worth seeing just for their performance.
 
This review pretty much covers my thoughts on it, except for their opinion of Hugh Jackman.


Jack Reacher

Apparently based on a series of books, I found it a workable action flick. While I’m not a big fan of Tom Cruise, I thought he did a pretty good job of playing the ex-military cop, off the grid, believes in justice but not law type. The other actors did fairly serviceable jobs.

There was an odd mix of slapstick with serious action, which didn’t seem to mesh together well. I almost felt like there were 2 directors, and they didn’t completely agree what type of movie they were making.

It was enjoyable fluff, but unless you really liked the series you can wait for it on Netflix/DVD.


Lincoln

Wow... Seriously well done. Usually there’s something I can criticize a movie for, but everything here worked. Everything. A must see.


Skyfall

James Bond, awesome as always. I rather liked the new Q. Also, got some nifty ideas from the casino scene. I’d try to catch this while it’s still in the theater.

A long long adventure with The Hobbit

I went to see The Hobbit in 3-D 48fps again on Sunday. Loved it even more the second time around. I kind of want to see it again every weekend while I still can, because even when it comes out on DVD, it's not going to be in the format Peter Jackson made it.

A long long adventure with hobbit by breathing2004

Sunday Inspirational Image: Shenron Rising

I can't find the original source...

New Magic Item: Wand of Marking

"Which way?" Feris asked.

Rathgar lifted his torch above his head and looked booth ways at the intersection. The dungeon walls glistened with moisture and the flickering light. "Left" he said finally.

"Are you sure?" Feris asked.

"No, but we've got to find a place to hole up until Nimble and Allianora find us, and this corridor isn't it."

"Ok, left it is." Feris pulled a silver wand from his belt. In the air, about an inch from the wall, he made a glowing mark. "Let's go."

Wand of Marking
This magical stick will leave a glowing mark upon any surface, even water and air. When used on a solid surface, the mark is permanent. On air or liquid, it will dissipate based on the movement of the substances. Still water or stagnant air will hold the mark much longer than even a slowly flowing stream.

Looking Ahead - 2013

2013 is going to be an interesting year. I've been in college for the entire life of the blog, and in just a couple of months I'll finish my final class and earn my Masters degree. I expect that my free time is going to expand in ways that are hard to comprehend. Yet at exactly the same time a large box is going to arrive on my doorstep bringing me hundreds of new miniatures from the Reaper Bones kickstarter. I predict that when I look back in 12 months, 2013 will be the year of the mini. I'm hoping that I can make it as interesting for you as it will be for me. 

Another project I've been thinking about, and have been for a while, is my catalog of monsters and magic items. I've created 95 magic items, and 82 monsters. I find myself wanting to collect them as PDFs, but while I could just grab each page and slap it together, I want to do something... more.

Looking back over the last year I'd say the Tower is doing pretty well. I'm averaging over 16,000 page views a month, I'm up to 199 followers, and I posted 249 posts last year.

I plan on continuing my Monday monsters, Thursday Thaumaturgy, and Sunday Inspirational Image posts. I'll probably participate in the A to Z challenge again this year. Additionally I plan on getting in more gaming. Most likely it'll be on G+, though I wouldn't mind an in-person group.

May 2013 bring you good gaming!