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Horrors of the Amedio, part 1
Posted on Sat, June 03, 2006 by Dongul
chatdemon writes "Since the advent of letters of marque and colonial titles being issued by the Despotrix of Hardby in recent years, scores of adventurers have set off from that city to explore the Amedio Jungle. Few have returned, but those who do tell fantastic tales of the strangeness of the land and its inhabitants. One of those strange tales involves a seemingly innocent flower, and the horrors that all too often lurk nearby.

Horrors of the Amedio, part 1
By: chatdemon
Posted with permission. Do not repost without obtaining prior permission from the author.

These three new monsters from the Amedio Jungle are presented in D&D Rules Cyclopedia format.

Kananicte (Sleep Flower)
Small Lowlife (Uncommon)
Armor Class: 9
Hit Dice: 1/2 (1d4 hp)
Move: 0
Attacks: 1
Damage: Special
No Appearing: 1d6
Save As: Normal Man
Morale: -NA-
Treasure Type: Nil
Intelligence: 0
Alignment: Nuetral
XP Value: 8

Kananicte are small, brightly colored flowers with thick stems and delicate leaves, found clumped together around the base of larger plants or trees in wet, muddy terrain. The flowers hide extensive root systems that are extremely sensitive to vibration, allowing the plant to sense the approach of any creature of halfling size or larger within 10 feet of the flower.

When any creature does approach within 10 feet, the flowers release a 20 foot radius cloud of pollen spores which on the first round of contact carry only a delicate aroma and peaceful sensation. Any creature who remains in the cloud (which will disperse after 1d12 rounds, or can be dispersed by use of the Create Air spell or similar magic) after the first round must make a saving throw vs poison or fall asleep (treat as if affected by the Sleep spell, though this effect is a poison and non-magical) for 1d4 hours.

Each flower can spray its pollen only once per hour, and since the plant is unintelligent, all flowers present will spray at once, invoking mulitple saving throws to reflect the higher concentration of spores in the air.

Some intelligent creatures, notably the Olman people and Lizardmen, will plant these flowers in or near patches of Kuumyak (see below), which will attack sleeping characters.

Adventure Ideas:
Some tribes of Olman and Lizardmen believe the dreams one has while sleeping off the effects of Kananicte pollen are prophetic, and the shamans of these tribes jealously guard the plants. PCs who are found destroying the plants will be attacked with the intent to capture them, to be sacrificed later to appease any spirits who may have been offended by the acts. On the other hand, PCs who are discovered asleep from their encounter with the plants may be carried back to the village, to be questioned by the shamans as to the nature of their dreams, providing an opportunity for the DM to introduce new plot hooks or twists.


Kuumyak (Jungle Ooze)
Medium Lowlife (Uncommon)
Armor Class: 8
Hit Dice: 3
Move: 10 (1)
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1d8 + Special
No Appearing: 1
Save As: Fighter 2
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: Nil
Intelligence: 0
Alignment: Nuetral
XP Value: 60

Kuumyak is a disgusting ooze appearing to be made up of mud and rotting vegetation, making it extremely difficult to spot in the wet areas of the jungle. It will attack, by splashing itself up towards any living creature that passes within 3 feet of it. The corrosive nature of the ooze causes an immediate 1d8 points of damage, and in addition, the victim must make a saving throw vs. poison of suffer an additional 1d8 points of damage from the ooze's toxins.

Kuumyak is immune to all fire and heat damage, but suffers double damage from cold based attacks.

Any creature who is killed by a Kuumyak, and not burned (or revived somehow) will rise as a Khalmaak (see below) in 1d4 days.

Adventure Ideas:
Some reclusive folk, human or otherwise, of the jungle will often gather Kuumyak to place around their lairs as makeshift, but effective traps. As noted above, Kananicte flowers are sometimes placed nearby to incapacitate victims, allowing the Kuumyak ooze to easily kill them. This can be a nasty, unusual trap, but take care when placing the monsters, for they can have devastating results against PCs who don't roll well on their saving throws. To avoid a total party kill in such a situation, the DM may wish to invoke a scenario where NPCs find the unfortunate PCs and drag them to safety, but such a favor will almost always result in the party being asked or coerced into performing some deed of repayment, which is an excellent opportunity to introduce a new plothook or prod the players back along the path of the adventure if they have strayed.

Khalmaak (Ooze Man)
Medium Monster (Rare)
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 10
Move: 60 (4)
Attacks: 2
Damage: 2d10
No Appearing: 1
Save As: Dwarf 8
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: Nil
Intelligence: 3
Alignment: Nuetral
XP Value: 2000

Khalmaaks are orc sized humanoid fungus creatures, appearing to have bloated, slimy green skin and hugely muscled bodies. It is well known by the folk of the jungle that creatures who die from wounds taken from, and are consumed by Kuumyak ooze will rise as Khalmaaks within a week's time.

Khalmaaks are, thankfully, fairly stupid creatures, wandering aimlessly through the jungle until they encounter living creatures upon which to feed. A Khalmaak will attack any creature or group of creatures without hesitation, fighting without morale checks until it is destroyed or attacked with cold magic (which causes an immediate morale check). The creature's attacks are slow and crude smashes with its thick, heavy arms, causing 2d10 per successful hit. That slowness, however, causes the Khalmaak to automatically lose initiative each round.

Due to their wet composition, Khalmaaks take only 1/2 damage from heat or fire attacks, but double damage from cold attacks. Although they posess a primitive intelligence, Khalmaaks are immune to Charm, ESP and similar mental magics.

Adventure Ideas:
The natives of a village that has proven non-hostile to the party has been stricken of late with a relative scourge of Khalmaaks. Livestock and even the villagers themselves have been attacked in the jungle near the village, and despite near constant searching, the Kuumyak responsible for creating these beasts has not been found. After being enlisted to fight off a couple of the Khalmaaks, the villagers grow to respect and trust the party enough to share the secret of the origins of the vile creatures and seek the help of the PCs in finding and destroying the Kuumyak.

"
 
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Re: Horrors of the Amedio, part 1 (Score: 1)
by mortellan on Sun, June 04, 2006
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I like this article. Adventure ideas to go along with the monsters is a nice touch. My favorite is the Khalmaak, it gives me an impression of a smaller version of 'swamp thing'.



Re: Horrors of the Amedio, part 1 (Score: 1)
by Wolfsire on Mon, June 05, 2006
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Well done and wecome back to the jungle.  :-)




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