With all due credit to all those who have written up sword & sorcery serpent people in past, here are some of the primary movers and shakers in the Forbidden Jungle:
Snake-Men
No. Enc.: 1d8 (3d6)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 90′ (30′)
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Hit Dice: 1
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1d6+1 or by weapon +1 (due to strength)
Save: F2
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: IV (XIX)Snake-men are an ancient race of serpent people that inhabits the heavy, trackless jungle. Whether a cursed mix of human and snake or a part of the natural world, none can say. The more advanced groups of snake-men often inhabit ruins, and relics of what appears to be a lost snake-man civilization are to be found overgrown in the depths of the jungle. Snake-men appear as scaled humanoids, about five and a half feet tall with a tail. They have the heads of snakes, flicking tongues, and clawed hands.
Snake-man claws are formidable weapons, but more civilized tribes make use of weapons and favor curved scimitars and long bows. In melee, a to-hit roll of 20 indicates that the snake-man has also bitten his opponent for an extra 1d6 damage. Some snake-men are said to be poisonous.
Snake-men can be fighters, clerics, magic-users, and thieves. Snake-man women can also be druids and illusionists.
Snake-men are susceptible to all magic which affects normal snakes. Cold does double damage to them, but they get a +1 bonus to saves vs. fire or heat.
Half-Snakes: These appear to be some sort of snake-man/human crossbreed, and might more properly be called “quarter-snakes.” They appear to be more human than snake, and 10% of them can pass for human if they avoid close inspection. They can be assassins, fighters, and thieves.
Snake-Lords: The upper nobility of the snake-men consists of 20′ long snakes with a human-ish upper torso with arms. These fearsome creatures have 4-7 hit dice, venomous bites, and an innate ability to charm person if eye contact is made with a victim. They are 80% likely to be magic-users of 4th-9th level.
Snake people are a staple in so many genres of fiction that it’s tough to nail them down. They’ve been done to death many times over and yet never grow too stale. I wanted a simple archetype snake people for the Forbidden Jungle, and I think this will do the trick.
As our campaign develops, there will no doubt be some alterations to the details. I want something 1HD as we use the mook rules allowing fighters 1 attack per level against 1HD or lower creatures. But I also want a little extra bite (pardon the pun) to differentiate them from orcs. And the fact that classed snake-men will not be uncommon, serving as leaders, spies, and assassins, means that some of the villains will be tough foes, indeed. And there will always be exceptional examples of these beings, snake-men who do not fit any molds or conform to any standard rules.
Tags: Forbidden Jungle
Whippersnapper
No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d4)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 30′ (10′)
Armor Class: 4 [14]
Hit Dice: 1d4+2
Attacks: 1 per HD (whips) / 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d4 subdual (whips) / 2d8
Save: F3-6
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: V (x2)Whippersnappers appear to be smaller cousins of the roper, standing about 6′ tall and easily mistaken for stalagmites in the shadows of the underworld. Each whippersnapper has 1d4+2 20′ tentacles which can whip targets for 1d4 subdual damage. If a target is knocked unconscious, the whippersnapper will attempt to drag it toward its maw at 10′ per round.
Whippersnappers suffer only 50% damage from cold-based attacks, and are immune to electrical-based attacks. However, fire is disagreeable to them and they suffer -4 to save versus fire-based attacks.
“What’s that, Strider? It don’t look like a cloud,” said Sam in a whisper to Aragorn. He made no answer, he was gazing intently at the sky; but before long Sam could see for himself what was approaching. Flocks of birds, flying at great speed, were wheeling and circling, and traversing all the land as if they were searching for something; and they were steadily drawing nearer…
From THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Birds
No. Enc.: 0 (1)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 10 (3)
Fly: 150 (50)
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Hit Dice: N/A
Attacks: 1 per target within area of effect (beaks and claws)
Damage: 1d6
Save: F8 (for the flock)
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: None
XP: N/AThis represents a huge flock of aggressive birds intent on attacking. Every target within the flock’s area of effect (see below) is subject to one attack per round.
The relentless, amorphous nature of the birds can overwhelm those who fall victim to it. Targets within the flock must make ineffective attacks against the birds, allowing only combat movement rate, unless they make a successful save vs. paralyzation. A roll of ‘1′ on this save means the character panics and stops in place and must successfully save to get moving again. A character’s saving throw adjustment for wisdom applies to these rolls.
Area of effect for each size of flock:
Small: 100 + 1d100 (101-200) birds in a flock roughly 50′ across
Medium: 250 + 2d100 (252-450) birds in a flock roughly 100′ across
Large: 500 + 5d100 (505-1000) birds in a flock roughly 300′ across
Huge: 750 + 1d100×10 birds (760-1750) in a flock roughly 500′ across
Gargantuan: 2500 + 1d20×100 (2600-4500) or more birds in a flock roughly 1000′ across or more
Hitchcockian: 5000 + 5d100×100 (5500-55000) birds in a flock a mile across or moreAttacks against the flock will kill some individual birds but have no measurable effect on the flock. Area effect (fireball, cone of cold, breath weapon, etc.) attacks are an exception. The flock is constantly moving with a group mentality, which will make effective combat against it very difficult.
(White Box) The Birds: HD: N/A; AC 5 [14]; Atk Claws and Beaks (1d6); Move 1 (Fly 15); Save 9; XP N/A
You do not want to run into The Birds.
I just pulled the numbers for flock size out of the air. If anyone has suggestions for improvement, chime in.
UPDATE: Get your own flock: Muster The Birds.
“It’s more of those horned devil dogs!” Locklar called. “What should we do?”
Gorlin strained to see, finally making them out in the shadows.
“Run!” he shouted, turning toward the trees a half-mile in the distance.
Pronghorn Jackal
No. Enc.: 1d6 (2d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 150′ (50′)
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Hit Dice: 1+1
Attacks: 1 bite or charge
Damage: 1d4 or 1d6+1
Save: F1
Morale: 6
Hoard Class: NilThese are larger cousins of regular jackals with pronghorns. They are far more aggressive than standard jackals but can quickly scatter if an encounter begins to go badly for them.
They can initially charge and ram with their horns. When biting, a natural ‘to-hit’ roll of 20 indicates that the horns have also gouged the target, causing an extra 1d4 in damage.
Just a low HD encounter with a little something to spice it up a bit.
Now that Knockspell #3 has been out for a while, I’ll post two of my contributions to that fine publication. Originally posted here and here, the giant scorpadillos quickly became a staple in my campaign. As they’ve got a sort of “quasi-official” status due to being published in Knockspell, I’ll update their stats here on the site to match the magazine.
Giant Scorpadillo
No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120′ (40′)
Armor Class: 4 [15]
— Underbelly: 7 [12]
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: 2 (bite, sting)
Damage: 1d4/1+poison
Save: F4 [11]
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: VIIThese creatures seem to be the twisted creation of a demented sorcerer from ages past. Combining the armored body of a huge armadillo with the poisonous sting of a giant scorpion’s tail, these beasts are equally at home in labyrinths or in the wilderness. They are naturally aggressive and do not hesitate to attack.
Anyone stung by the tail of a giant scorpadillo must save vs. poison or immediately go into convulsions and die in 1d6 turns.
The underside of the giant scorpadillo is armor class 7, but the creature is low to the ground and such attacks are difficult at best. If means to strike at the vulnerable underbelly are found, the giant scorpadillo will curl up into a ball to avoid them. This maneuver leaves the tail free to continue attacking anyone within five feet.
Greater Scorpadillo
No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120′ (40′)
Armor Class: 4 [15]
— Underbelly: 7 [12]
Hit Dice: 4
Attacks: 4 (2 claws, bite, sting)
Damage: 1d6/1d6/1d4/1d3+poison
Save: F7 [10]
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: XXThese larger, tougher cousins of the standard giant scorpadillo add two giant scorpion pincers. Any time that a claw successfully strikes, the sting attack receives bonus of +2 to hit the same target.
See the original posts for the mini-stories on these terrifying creatures.
Sammar clung to the barrel, struggling to climb atop of it in the swirling water. He wasn’t having much luck. The hulk of the galley loomed above him at a crazy angle, illuminated for a half moment by a flash of lightning. Its after-image seemed burned into his eye in the darkness, but when the next brilliant blast came, the ship was gone.
“Help me!” a voice cried from nearby, and Sammar looked to see one of the deck hands flailing about, trying to keep his head above the surface. Sammar wondered how the sailor, probably not more than fifteen years old, had managed to get his job without knowing how to swim.
Before he could reflect upon his own inability to last long on the open sea in a raging storm, the deck hand was suddenly vanished below the surface. Horrified, Sammar was certain that it wasn’t merely a case of the man succumbing to the sea, but that he had been pulled below. And though he couldn’t even begin to imagine how it was possible, it had looked as if the man had been illuminated (from within?) by a lightning of his own…
Shocktopus
No. Enc.: 0 (1)
Alignment: Chaotic (Evil)
Movement: Swim: 90 (30)
Armor Class: 6 [13]
Hit Dice: 8
Attacks: 8 (tentacles)
Damage: 1 (per tentacle) plus shock
Save: F8
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: NoneThese solitary creatures are territorial and very aggressive. The size of standard giant octopi, their eight 10-foot arms are, in fact, electric eels. Each bite inflicts one point of damage plus an additional 1d6+1 if a saving throw vs. breath weapon is failed.
The eel arms cannot inflict constriction damage like a standard octopus, but the shocktopus is able to emit a 40′ cloud of ink and flee at three times standard speed if it is losing an encounter.
(White Box) Shocktopus: HD: 8; AC 6 [13]; Atk 8 tentacles (1 + shock); Move 9; Save 10;
“What was that?” asked Korrigan. The tightness of his voice betrayed his nervousness.
“Nothing,” muttered Dorlokk. “Stop jumping at every little sound. This is, after all,” he sneered, “the jungle.”
“There!” Korrigan hissed. “I heard it again!” He clutched at Dorlokk’s robe.
The mage swatted at Korrigan’s hand. “Unhand me, you child,” he commanded. “We paid good gold for this guide. He’ll tell us if there’s anything to worry about.”
Korrigan looked at the guide, a native tribesman who wore little more than a necklace of teeth and carried only a gourd of water and a crude spear. The man, his eyes wide with obvious fear, was looking back behind them. Behind them…and up. Up into the trees above.
Both Korrigan and Dorlokk whirled around, scanning the dense canopy over their heads.
Nothing.
“Come on,” said Dorlokk, his voice also sounding a bit tight. “The sooner we find this marker, the sooner we can–” His words died on his lips.
Korrigan turned to see what had silenced the mage, and he felt the blood drain from his face and the strength fade from his limbs.
Standing ahead of them in their path were a half-dozen man-shaped creatures. But their faces were those of great cats, and the menace was plain in their dark eyes. Tails twitched behind them, and their claw-like hands held weapons of steel…
Cat Warrior
No. Enc.: 1d6 (2d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 150 (50)
Armor Class: 4 [15]
Hit Dice: 2+2
Attacks: 2 claws and 1 bite or 1 weapon
Damage: 1d4/1d4/1d6 or by weapon
Save: F3
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: VIIThese humanoid jaguars favor wooded or jungle settings. In their native environment they gain a +1 bonus to surprise and can track creatures on 1-4 on 1d6.
Due to their otherworldy nature, cat warriors gain a +2 bonus to saving throws vs. spells and magic and are completely immune to visual illusions.
Legend has it that these creatures must be killed nine times before they are permanently slain, but this may be nothing more than an old wives’ tale.
(White Box) Cat Warrior, Jaguar: HD: 2+2; AC 4 [15]; Atk 1 bite (1d6) or 1 weapon; Move 15; Save 13;
I imagine that there are various forms of Cat Warrior (tiger, lion, panther, etc.) with identical base numbers but modified special abilities.
I also suspect that classed Cat Warrior characters are possible for exceptional cases.
“That demon lizard ate Garthus. And the torch-bearer. At the same time…”
Lizard, Giant Two-Headed
No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120 (40)
Armor Class: 4 [15]
Hit Dice: 5+2
Attacks: 2 bites, 1 tail whip
Damage: 1d8/1d8/1d6
Save: F4
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: VII
XP: 460These giant lizards can attack a different target with each head simultaneously, plus another target in the rear flank with a slash from a spiked tail. On a bite ‘to-hit’ roll of ‘20′, they can swallow targets man-sized or smaller.
Giant two-headed lizards generally favor warm, humid climes, but have reportedly been encountered in subterranean labyrinths, as well.
(White Box) Lizard, Giant Two-Headed: HD: 5+2; AC 4 [15]; Atk 2 bites (1d6); Move 9; Save 13; XP 400
