Thursday, April 26, 2012

A-to-Z Challenge, W: Whipwhirl (New Oe/BX/1E Monster)

Today's A-to-Z monster is inspired by (or is that "is an interpretation of"?) the Japanese creature the "itten momen." Like the "L" day's lithopede, the whipwhirl is a bit of a nuisance. I'm feeling like I need to create a "Conjure Whipwhirls" spell to go along with this creature.

Whipwhirl

DESCRIPTION

Whipwhirls are a form of elemental conjured into the prime material plane from the elemental planes. At first glance, whipwhirls appear as harmless lengths of white cotton cloth ranging from 5-25’ in length. They are, however, semi-intelligent and, though quite weak individually, are capable of a number of disabling attacks.

All of a whipwhirl’s attacks are based on its ability to wrap itself around the specific area of its target (on a successful “to hit” roll.) The duration for each form of whipwhirl attack lasts until that whipwhirl is killed.

Head (blind/suffocate): When a whipwhirl successfully attacks a target’s head, there is a 50% chance that whipwhirl will “blind” the opponent by coverings the creature’s eyes. There is a separate 50% chance that the whipwhirl will cover the opponent’s mouth and nose, which will kill the victim in 3-8 melee rounds unless the whipwhirl is killed.

Wrists (bind): On a successful attack by a whipwhirl to bind an opponent’s wrist, there is a possibility the victim will “fumble” and drop anything it might be holding in its hands. The base chance of a fumble from a whipwhirl wrist attack is 100%, minus 5% per point of dexterity of the affected target (e.g., a character with a dexterity of 18 would have a 10% chance of fumbling on this type of attack.)

Ankles (trip): On a successful attack by a whipwhirl to a target’s ankles, there is a possibility for the victim to trip and fall. The base chance of a trip from from a whipwhirl is 100%, minus 5% per point of strength of an affected target (e.g., a character with a strength of 9 would have a 55% chance of tripping on this type of attack.)

Whipwhirls are immune to the effects of bashing weapons (magical or otherwise), and if struck by an edged weapon (magical or otherwise) will separate into two smaller whipwhirls, each with half the hit points of the original. Each whipwhirl has 1 hit point per five feet in length. When reduced to lengths shorter than 2’, a whipwhirl’s attacks become ineffective as they become innocuous at that length.

Whipwhirls are also immune to all forms of magical attacks except for fire or flame. Any successful flame-based attack against a whipwhirl immediately consumes the entire whipwhirl with fire, reducing it to ash in 1 melee round. If wrapped around a victim while successfully attacked with flame, a whipwirl will do 1 hit point of damage for every foot in length (e.g., a 30’ whipwhirl would do 30 points of damage when inflamed.)
Oe/1E STATS
FREQUENCY: Very rare
NO. APPEARING: 20-200
ARMOR CLASS: 7
MOVE: //24”
HIT DICE: 1 pt. per 5’ length
% IN LAIR: Nil
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: See below
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
INTELLIGENCE: Low
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: M-L (5-35’ long)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil


BX STATS
ARMOR CLASS: 7
HIT DICE: 1 pt./5’
MOVE: //240’
ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE: See below
NO. APPEARING: 20-200
SAVE AS: Normal Man
MORALE: 10
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Neutral

1 comment:

  1. Hi! Glad to see someone with a chance of finishing the RPG A2Z... I'm internetless from tomorrow, and only up to S....

    I've got Japanese in-laws, and the consensus is that ittan-momen are Tsukumogami, objects that have reached their 100th birthday and have become self aware - imagine THAT in an RPG setting...

    ReplyDelete