30 Day OD&D Challenge - Sahuagin and Other Creatures -(Part Three)- Day Twenty-Two

Today's Topic is "Sahuagin and Other Creatures, Part Three" as we continue our celebration of International Original Dungeons and Dragons Month! Today we will look further into the Blackmoor Supplement for OD&D at some of the other monsters provided.

Here we see an array of creatures with Giant in front of their names:

Giant Octopus 

Giant Squid 

Giant Crocodile

Giant Toad

Giant Frog

Giant Leech

Giant Beaver

Giant Otter

Giant Wasp

Giant Beetle - five types

• Stag
• Rhinoceros
• Bombardier
• Fire
• Boring

Giant Shark

Giant Eel

There are some oddities here, for example Giant Crocodile show up in numbers of 12-60, but Giant Beetles only 1-12 or Giant Leeches 2-12. So I tend to tweak the various numbers quite a bit. One thing not mentioned here are Giant Ants and a number of other insects that I have always found to be great fun. In addition, almost any of the extinct mega-fauna do show up IMC from time to time. 

The giant squid is noted to be more vicious and more mobile than the giant octopus. The giant toads are "relatively harmless" but will defend themselves, not so harmless then. Where giant frogs are described as "man-eaters" and truly vicious.

The wasp and beetles give ideas that can be applied or tweaked for other giant insects. 

Then we get into Fire Lizards and Minotaur Lizards which sound like fun and the fire lizard looks like a dragon without wings. 

For dinosaur fans (I am one) we have:

Elasmosaurus

Mosasaurus

Plesiosaurus

I and other people I know use a longer list of dinosaurs both land and sea. These above are giant marine animals, the first sometimes grabs sailors off ships (keep your guard up) and the last is the sea serpent.

More sea creatures:

Whales

LAMPREY: Similar to very mobile leeches, they range from 1 hit point to 18 hit points. They drain blood very quickly (2-5 turns), at a rate of one level per hit point. Evolutionarily primitive, they are hard to kill.

Sea Horse

PORTUGESE MAN-OF-WAR: Possesses 10-60 deadly tentacles, up to 100' long. Body is about 10' across. Big advantages are protective coloration (tentacles indistinguishable from weeds), complete silence and lack of brain waves to detect. Tentacles can paralyze (save vs. same), but only sustain 1 point each, then are severed. Only destruction of the body sac will kill it.

PUNGI RAY: Often mistaken as a piece of low weed or sea grass on the bottom, the Pungi Ray is deadly. Each of the seemingly innocent green stalks is really an iron hard spike full of deadly nerve poison. Their protective coloration is excellent (treat as invisible outside 10'). There is a 50% chance that there will be 1-10 gems inside the carcass. Each square foot of a body that lands on a ray will suffer a separate poison attack. (Ex. — walking on one would be two attacks — one for each foot. Landing on one would be 20-30 attacks.) Treat the spines as poisoned daggers (if saving throw vs. poison is made, still suffer dagger damage.) If the ray is able to cover the victim, treat it like a Giant Leech.

MANTA RAY: This giant-as much as 75' across — is best known for its 15' mouth which is capable of devouring virtually any non giant species in a single gulp. It has a great stinger in its tail which is treated as a mace with a saving throw vs. paralyzation needed if it hits. Normally a solitary predator, it blends with the sea floor. Due to its lightning speed, the first rush is nearly impossible to dodge. Its indiscriminate feeding habits label it neutral. There is a 75% chance that the stomach will hold 2-20 gems.

Water Spider

Weed Eel

Eye of the Deep

IXITXACHITL: A race of Chaotic Clerical Philosophers...

Locathah

MORKOTH or MORLOCK: The shrouded wraith of the deep

Masher

There are a number of others listed as well and these are a rich source of ideas for an ocean going campaign. I have had parties that sailed about for years of game time and it was a blast, they were almost sad when they reached their destination.

Tomorrow we will start our look at the monsters of the Eldritch Wizardry Supplement.