Petrification & Podcasts

And portents of the mockery incursion

This Week’s post takes all those monster mechanics you’re afraid to use and puts them to work. We’ve got level drain, instant death, mind control, all that nasty stuff.

Here it is in full:

For this challenge I'm going to revisit a selection of monster abilities that often scare GMs away, and can feel like unfair relics from the era of killer GMs.

These include:

• Equipment Destruction

• Maiming limbs

• Finishing-off downed PCs

• Instant Death

• Level-drain (with a twist where ITO/Bastionland has no levels)

• Petrification

• Mind Control

And the final twist, none of the above effects will grant a Save to avoid them. There might be another way, but not from rolling well. 

The only way this will work is ultra-clear information for the players. They need to know that the scorpion's sting is instantly fatal FOR REAL THIS IS NOT FLUFF. If that touches you, you die. 

We can only give them information, let's see what they do with it!

Reasonably Cruel Monsters

Gun-Runt

STR 6, DEX 9, CHA 3, 1hp

Muck Gun (d6, leaves splat of muck as well as damage)

• Hides under its tortoise-like shell as an instant reaction if anybody gets close, or if threatened from afar. The shell is utterly unbreakable by anything short of a bomb, and forms a tight seal to the ground.

• Surrenders pitifully if they are unable to retract into their shell. They weep and cry but will turn hostile at the first opportunity.

• Live only to serve the Green Beast, and would happily die for him. 

Notes: These things are annoying, but not much trouble on their own. They exist to accompany the more interesting monsters and make them even more annoying. 

Sticky-Runt 

STR 9, DEX 6, CHA 3, 2hp

Claws (d6)

• Resembles a Gun-Runt, but has a mass of tangled fur and tendrils in place of its shell.

• Anything touching its shell is grabbed by a waxy adhesive, only released by a Runt's saliva.

• Their saliva also melts through any material, which they gleefully use to destroy captured items. 

Note: Equipment destruction

Collector Beetle

STR 10, DEX 10, CHA 3, 5hpJaws (d8) Shell (Armour 2)

• On an attack roll of 7+ the Beetle tears a limb from the target. It favours arms, especially those carrying impressive weapons. 

• Torn limbs are attached to the Beetle's hide, animating to grant an extra attack as appropriate.

• If the Beetle is killed then limbs can be reattached, but require a skilled surgeon. 

Note: Maiming limbs

White Vulture

STR 12, DEX 15, CHA 3, 3hp

Rend (d8)

• Has no appetite for combat, but watches on and swoops down onto any helpless victims.

• Before feasting the Vulture spends a whole turn displaying, turning blood red and ruffling its feathers.

• On the next turn the feast is gruesome and quick. The Vulture is back in the air before the last drops hit the ground. 

Note: Downed opponents

Crushing Spirit

STR 10, DEX 15, CHA 13, 6hp

Crush (d10), part-bone part-shadow (ignore normal attacks, takes d4 to d12 damage from light depending on intensity)

• Its touch is unavoidable, freezing the victim in the place. On their next turn the spirit crushes the victim to dust, extracting their soul.

• Even lamplight repels the spirit.

• It's always plotting a way to plunge a victim into darkness. They don't much care who the specific victim is, but they must feed. 

Note: Instant death

Bloody Tearer

STR 7, DEX 6, CHA 5, 10hp

Black Gauntlet (d8, melee or ranged), Bloody Armour (Armour 2)

• Bears trophies from infinite wars on impossible worlds, now a reluctant killer for hire.

• They warn that each death now carries a greater cost.

• If the Tearer causes or takes Melee Critical Damage, a red orb emerges and drains the life from any combatants. They all reroll their Ability Scores on 3d6, keeping any that are lower than their current score. 

Note: "Level drain"

Cloud Rider

STR 15, DEX 18, CHA 10, 11hp

Wind Blast (d6 Blast)

• Extremely fast, lives to spread terror. 

• Their body is fleshy, but always masked by cloud.

• Instead of moving, the Rider can fill a room-sized area with glowing petrification gas. There's enough time to flee the area, but anybody that stays and breathes even a little of the gas becomes permanently petrified.

Note: Petrification

The Green Beast

STR 16, DEX 7, CHA 18, 10hp

Smash (d10 or d6 Blast), Stony Body (Armour 2)

• Wants to amass more servants and punish those who rejected him.

• Uses material bribes before resorting to his mind control. 

• Anybody killed by the Beast, or one of his sworn servants, finds themselves on the threshold of death, faced by his true form, soft and verdant. The Beast offers life in return for an hour of service. If they agree, the victim returns to life but is under the Beast's control for the next hour.

Notes: Mind control

Art by Midjourney

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Elsewhere I was at Grogmeet this weekend, a rapidly growing event surrounding the Grognard Files podcast, a genuine favourite of mine. I played in a rapid-fire rotating-GM Judge Dredd game using Mothership and a game of prog-rock-inspired espionage using Savage Worlds, both a heap of fun.

I also recorded an interview with them, which will show up on their podcast a little down the line.

Speaking of podcasts, I’m also on the latest episode of The Redcaps Podcast if you want to hear my recommended wine pairing for an RPG session.

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Coming Soon

Over on Patreon I went a little bonkers in my post about Parlances in Bastion.

Sure, there are regional dialects. People revel in their local slang, lilts, and drawls. I reckon some ham it up to let you know where they're from. 

If the roof sweeper speaks like they grew up on the Slatefield then you might grant them the assumption of sure-footing and pay them a bit extra. 

But now we're getting into Parlance. 

There’s mockeries involved, and all will (sort of) make sense when the full post drops next week.

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