Castles & Crusades Monsters & ...

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Monsters & Treasure
by
Robert Doyel & Stephen Chenault
With Davis Chenault, Todd Gray, Mac Golden & Christian Harris
Cover art, interior art, logos and logo designs by Peter “20 Dollar” Bradley,
Sarah Walker-D’Avanzo, Jason Walton, Erik Wilson, Bryan Swartz, Mark Allen, Daniele Bigliardo
& Clayton Bunce
Cover Design and Layout
Peter Bradley
Edited by
Casey Canfield, James Mishler, Tami Key, Christopher TenWolde & Matt Finch
For more information on Castles & Crusades and related products or
to Join the Castles & Crusades Society, please contact us at,
Troll Lord Games PO Box 251171, Little Rock, AR 72225
On the web at www.trolllord.com or email at troll@trolllord.com or
www.castlesandcrusades.com
©2005 Troll Lord Games. All Rights Reserved. Castles & Crusades® is a Registered Trademark (pending) of Troll Lord Games. All Rights Reserved.
C&C, Castle Keeper, SIEGE engine,Troll Lord Games, and the Castles & Crusades, SIEGE engine, and Troll Lord Games logos are Trademarks of
Troll Lord Games. All Rights Reserved. Bracers of Deflection © Todd Gray.
Castles & Crusades
Table Of Contents
FOREWORD
3
Table 3.3: Worn & Ceremonial Items
95
MONSTERS
4
Table 3.4: Hand Crafted Items
95
INTRODUCTION
4
Table 3.5: Antiquities
96
What are They and How to Play Them
4
Table 3.6: Value
96
Monster Characteristics
4
Table 4.0: Magic Item Generation
96
Experience Points
6
Table 4.1: Potions
97
Monster Creation
6
Table 4.2: Scrolls
97
A
8-10
Table 4.3: Weapons
97
B
11-15
Table 4.3a: Swords
97
C
15-17
Table 4.3b: Weapon Bonus
97
D
17-29
Table 4.3c: Special Swords*
98
E
29-34
Table 4.3d: Miscellaneous Weapons
98
F
34-35
Table 4.3e: Special Miscellaneous Weapons*
98
G
36-45
Table 4.4: Armor And Shields*
98
H
45-51
Table 4.4a: Armor Bonus
98
I
51
Table 4.4b: Random Armor Type
99
J
51-52
Table 4.5: Miscellaneous Magic
99
K
52-53
Table 4.5a
99
L
53-58
Table 4.5b
99
M
58-60
Table 4.5c
99
N
60-63
Table 4.5d
100
O
63-65
Table 4.5e
100
P
66-68
Table 4.6: Rings
100
Q
68-69
Table 4.7: Rods, Staves, Wands
101
R
69-71
Table 4.8: Cursed Items*
101
S
71-78
Table 4.9: Artifacts*
101
T
78-81
MAGICAL TREASURE
102
U
81
Potions
102
V
81-82
Scrolls
102
W
82-84
Weapons
102
X
84-85
— Power
102-103
Y
85
Miscellaneous Weapons
103-104
Z
85
Armor & Shields
104-105
TREASURE
86
Miscellaneous Magic
105-115
Coin, Extraordinary Items, Jewelry
86
Rings
115-117
Unworked Precious Metals & Stones
86
Rods
117-119
Magic Items
86-87
Staves
119-120
Creating Magic Items
87
Wands
120
Creating Scrolls
87
Cursed Items
120-122
Creating Potions
87-88
Artifacts
122-125
Creating Unusual Items
88
EXPERIENCE
125-126
Cost
88
APPENDIX A: POISON
126
Unusual Materials
88-89
Cost of Poison
126
Destroying Magic Items
89
Making Poison
126
Sentient Magic Items
89
Special
126
Land & Title
91
Table 1: Poison Type
127
Services
92
Table 2 : Poison Hit Point Damage
127
How & When to Award Treasure
93
Table 2a: Poison Multiplier
127
TREASURE TABLES
93-102
Table 3: Poison Hit Point Damage
127
Table 1.0: Treasure
94
Table 3a: Reaction Duration
127
Table 2.0: Gems
94
Table 4: Attribute Damage
127
Table 3.0: Extraordinary Items
94
Table 4a: Affected Attribute
127
Table 3.1: Expert Weapons
95
Table 5: Save Effects
127
Table 3.2: Jewelry
95
OGL
128
2
Monsters & Treasure
Upon the Edge of Battle Lie the Spoils of Glory
U
pon wind-swept battlefields, they seek their glory. With weapons of steel, stout shields, and sorcery, they drive ever onward, seeking the grandeur of
conflict with creatures of terrible wrath or beasts of legend. In all hours of every day, they gird themselves for war and struggle, to drive those evil
beings of foul intent to doom and oblivion. But before glory can be obtained, before fame and riches can be won by these heroes of renown, they must
face and overcome those that would oppose them - monsters.
The great hosts of creatures lurking in fantasy worlds are as numerous as the stars in the sky. Some are foul and evil, while others are wondrous and
wise, and earn the respect of all good folk. But they are all creatures that have their own wills and serve their own interests, beyond the ken of the noble
adventurer. Adventurers must contend with the self-determination of monsters, and either overcome them or adapt to them. Dragons that sleep upon
mounds of gold, orcs living in the squalor of their plunder, a sphinx guarding the magics of ancients armed with enigmas; all of these are classified as
monsters.
After the battles have ended, and the deeds of valor and renown have been performed, there is often wealth found at the feet of victory. All creatures
hold certain things dear, and beasts, overcome in battle, yield the fruit of their lives to those bold and skilled enough to take them. Ancient scrolls,
magic swords, shields of wonder, potions, rings, magic wands, and untold wealth in coins, gems, and jewels … all of these things are a salve to ease the
sting of wounds suffered in hard-won battles.
What Lies Herein
Castles & Crusades Monsters and Treasure
is a core rule book for the
Castles & Crusades Role Playing Game
. It is designed to be used with the
Castles &
Crusades Players Handbook
. In it, you will find a wealth of information about roleplaying monsters, handling combat with monsters, creating monsters
and defining and awarding treasures. Monsters & Treasure is divided into two parts.
Part One brings to you, the Castle Keeper, a host of monsters that you can use to populate your adventures and your campaign world. Listed alphabetically,
they include monsters like the ever popular dragons, orcs, and giants, as well as unusual creatures like the chimera, the lamia, and the shambling mound.
Each monster is fully described, complete with important statistics, for your ease of use.
Part Two deals with the adventurer’s favorite topic: treasure. For your reference, this section discusses specific treasures that can be found by brave and
enterprising adventurers, and provides advice about how to award them. This section also contains a discussion about the mundane or extraordinary
items that can comprise treasure, rules for the creation of magic items in Castles & Crusades, and random treasure charts to serve as an aid for the
Castle Keeper.
3
Castles & Crusades
MONSTERS
T
he monsters that populate worlds of adventure are drawn from a
and large is any height over 7 feet. Castle Keepers should take note that
those creatures who have the ability to swallow a victim whole, such as the
tyrannosaurus rex and the purple worm, are not going to be able to swallow all
creatures. Circumstances must dictate the action and Castle Keepers should
use their best judgment.
multitude of sources. Mythological stories, books of fantasy and science
fiction, poems, lays, and sagas all supply the imaginative gamer with source
material for new and ever more wonderful monsters. We have tried to include
some of the more popular versions of monsters in this book, but sprinkled
throughout are a number of obscure and rare beasts as well.
HIT DICE (HD)
is a creature’s hit dice. The hit dice is the equivalent of the
monster’s level. The hit dice represents the number (and type) of die rolled
for the creature’s hit points. For example, a monster with 2 (d8) hit dice has
2d8 hit points. A monster’s hit dice is also equivalent to the monster’s base
attack roll modifier. For example, a 3 hit dice creature receives a base bonus
of +3 to all attacks.
WHAT ARE THEY & HOW TO PLAY THEM
Monsters serve two key roles in Castles & Crusades. One is that they can be
used as background material. For example, Umladen Stonebrow has gathered
his cousins to plunder the long abandoned mines of Dwarfhole. Within are
many creatures, including trolls and orcs, but even naga and other creatures
more strange and twisted. In this instance, the implied presence of monsters
serves to heighten the perceived and real dangers of Dwarfhole, and lends a
particular mood to the setting.
MOVE (MOVE)
represents the monster’s base movement rate. A creature’s
movement rate represents the number of feet an unencumbered and
unimpeded monster can move in any given round, at a walking pace.
ARMOR CLASS (AC)
is a creature’s normal armor class. It is an abstract
representation of the difficulty of striking a monster in combat and inflicting
damage. An attacker’s roll must be equal to or greater than a defender’s armor
class to cause damage. All creatures have an armor class. In most cases, it is
determined by the type of armor being worn, but in the case of many monsters
it represents their natural hides or skins.
Alternatively, a monster may be the goal of the adventure. For example, Beorn
stalks a trackless waste to search for the dragon that lies at the roots of the
great mountain, Uji. Beorn’s intent is to slay the beast and free the mountain
of its dominance. Once this deed is finished, he will be accounted a great
hero, and will earn the wealth of history’s remembrance. In this instance, the
monster itself is the entire purpose of the adventure.
ATTACKS (ATTACKS)
list the variety of weapons, both natural and
manufactured, that monsters may use in battle. All of the monster’s physical
attack forms are listed here. The number of attacks is listed first. If there is
no number, then only one attack per round is assumed. The form of attack
is listed next. Damage from each form of attack is included in the adjacent
parentheses. An attack listing of 2 Claw (1d6); Bite (1d8) would mean that
the creature can attack three times per round: twice with claws, for 1d6 points
of damage each, and once with a bite, for 1d8 points of damage.
Depending on their race, alignment, and the Castle Keeper’s designs,
monsters can either impede or aid adventurers. Whatever their purpose,
monsters should be treated as creatures that have lives separate from the
adventure. They have goals and motivations, their own homes and routines,
and they often value their own lives as much as a stalwart adventurer values
his own. As often as not, an orc that raids a camp at night does not want to fall
at the hands of a savage elf any more than said elf wants his life cut short by
the orc’s curved scimitar. Monsters act in their own best interests, most of the
time, and the intelligent monsters are capable of making rational decisions.
SPECIAL
(SPECIAL)
refers to all of a creature’s special abilities: offensive,
defensive, and miscellaneous. Generally, specific descriptions for each monster
are provided in the monster’s listing. The exceptions to this are as follows:
Playing monsters like characters is a good way to give an adventure more
plausibility, accentuating the experience for all involved. Further, it is the best
way to make a game challenging and memorable. A kobold band that blindly
attacks an adventuring party and dies within a few rounds is not compelling
when compared to kobolds that sneak through the dark, harassing a party
with crossbow bolts and sling bullets, driving the characters into combat, but
on their own terms, refusing to give battle in open ground.
Deepvision:
Ages spent beneath the earth, and in the dark and quiet
places of the world have imbued certain creatures with the ability to see into
darkness that a human would find impenetrable with the naked eye. This
vision extends up to 120 feet in even the darkest of nights and deepest of
tunnels. Colors tend to erode with deepvision, and objects appear in many
shades of gray. It is otherwise like normal sight, and creatures can function
well with no light at all. Bright lights, such as from a lantern or other light
source, spoil deepvision. A creature requires one turn to adjust his or her eyes
when a light source is extinguished before gaining full use of deepvision.
Dragons deserve special attention. They are old creatures that speak their
own tongues and live from an ageless perspective in which the concerns
of elves and men are little more than distant murmurs. Behind them are
memories of lifetimes, histories, deeds, and marvels beyond the scope of those
who would plunder their hard-earned hoards. It is useful to consider the
perspectives of any and all monsters while preparing for play, so that nuances
like this can add flavor and dimension to the game.
Darkvision:
In a similar manner to deepvision, some creatures can see in
complete darkness for up to 60 feet. Darkvision produces images that are
in shades of gray, but it is otherwise like normal sight. These creatures can
function well with no light at all. Bright lights, such as from a lantern or other
light source, spoil darkvision. A creature requires one turn to adjust his or her
eyes when a light source is extinguished before gaining full use of darkvision.
MONSTER CHARACTERISTICS
Duskvision:
Some creatures can see in starlight and moonlight just as
others can at dusk. They retain the ability to distinguish color and some detail
under these conditions, though everything is cast in shadows. They have no
enhanced vision underground, under torchlight, or in similar conditions of
poor illumination.
Number Encountered (No. Encountered)
reflects the average number of
creatures encountered. There may be several listings that reflect different
encounter areas. For instance, an orc is listed as 2-12, 10-100. These represent
a raiding party and the entire tribe or clan, respectively. Some monsters are
not assigned exact numbers, such as bison or other herd animals. These herds
can range from small groups of 3 to 5 members, to huge herds of 10,000 or
more. The Castle Keeper should always manage the number of monsters while
considering the plot of the adventure and the relative power of the party.
Immunity/Resistance
describes any innate immunity that a monster
possesses. The type of immunity is listed, followed by a bracketed damage
descriptor that indicates the limits of the immunity. For instance, “Immune:
Acid (half damage, quarter damage save)” means that the creature always
takes half damage from any acid-based attack, but if it makes a successful
saving throw, it suffers only one fourth of the normal damage.
SIZE (SIZE)
is the approximate height of a creature. There are three sizes of
monster in Castles & Crusades: small, medium and large. Small represents
any height less than 5 feet, medium is any height between 5 and 7 feet,
4
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