Continuing my series of posts about the conversion of entries from the old-school collection of creatures known as All the Worlds' Monsters, a 3-volume set published by Chaosium back in the late 70s. They're full of gonzo, often-overpowered monsters designed by some of the celebrities of the golden age of gaming. Part 1 goes into more of the history of these books.
They were such a huge part of my gaming past, so when building my stocking tables for the Gwarnath mega-dungeon, I decided to parse through each volume, pick out the best monsters, and convert them to OSRIC. Part 1 handled the Level 1 monsters from Volume I, so this post will discuss the Level 1 monsters from Volume II.
There are substantially more Level 1 monsters in Volume II than there were in Volume I, but the quality and usefulness is of the same degree (low-to-medium). From the index, the Level 1 monsters are:
- Beetle, Fire
- Gangbat
- Glitch
- Gremlin
- Helltide
- Imp
- Lert
- Locust
- Pseudowoman
- Raw'yas
- Slesszoyd
- Tate
Obviously, some of these monsters share the same names as those that appear in the AD&D Monster Manual. ATWM Vol. I and the Monster Manual were both published in 1977, with ATWM Vol. II being published in 1979. Many of the monsters in all three ATWM volumes originated in other, pre-1977 sources, or were from homebrew campaigns that existed between OD&D and AD&D, so it's not surprising that some of them share the same name. Let's have a look...
>>Beetle, Fire
I've always been bothered by the D&D fire beetle. It's basically a harmless, flightless firefly that can act as a lantern in a pinch.
The ATWM version imagines a swarm of tiny, "white-hot" beetles that attack in groups of 10 and do 10 damage if the group hits. They are encountered in numbers of 100d50, so on average a party will encounter 2,550 of them, which would mean 255 attacks with a potential max damage of 2,550 points PER ROUND.
The description states "[t]he group hits like a heavy crossbow fired by a first level fighter with average dexterity." Don't know what this means, but each fire beetle is AC 9 and has 1 hit point, and they are immune to fire, fear, confusion, and mental attacks. Their damage comes from a bite, not their white-hotness, which is disappointing, but I love the idea of a swarm of glowing insects that smother and burn you alive. Seems appropriately sci-fantasy. I think I'll file that one away for development, but I don't know if that spark of an idea qualifies as an "adaptation" of this monster.
Oh, almost forgot, this monster was created by Steve Henderson, who helped develop RuneQuest for Chaosium and also wrote the original Basic Role-Playing ruleset.
>>Gangbat
Another let-down after an evocative title. This creature was designed by Glenn Blacow, who would go on to write an essay about role-playing gamers that eventually informed the GNS Theory.
The illustration reminds me of the Doombat from the Fiend Folio, which came from an earlier version featured in White Dwarf #13's "Fiend Factory" column, but that creature was designed by Julian Lawrence and WD13 wasn't published until 1979. Also of note and easy to miss in the ATWM writeup, the gangbat first appeared in Alarums & Excursions #12. From what I can gather, it would have appeared somewhere in late 1975 to early 1976. Despite its pedigree, I'm going to pass on including this one in my stocking tables.
>>Glitch
Another creature from Alarums & Excursions, this entry by C. Pettus appeared in not only A&E#18, but also White Dwarf #4's "Fiend Factory" column. It's an interesting idea, but ultimately pointless: A 1" diameter, pacifistic ball of fur ("...like a tribble," an all-too-common description of many ATWM creatures, but this *was* the heyday of syndicated Star Trek reruns which inspired lots of early DMs). It is encountered singly and possesses no treasure.
The basic gist of this one is that when it is nearby (within 30'), any combatants must save vs. magic or cease fighting (including spell-casting), presumably each round. This effect could greatly help or hinder a party, depending on how the saving throws roll out (and depending on whether your interpretation of "cease fighting" means dropping all defenses as well). The glitch tries to stay hidden while it watches its effect on the melee (65% Hide in Shadows), meaning your players may not be able to discern why you're telling them they can't attack this round. This rarely goes well in terms of having a good time, but if they do spot the glitch, it can "...teleport away like a blink dog..."
Not very good, but I do like the name and I'm intrigued by the concept of a creature with an aura that causes people to act weird (and/or things to malfunction...perfect for a game with magic and technology). I think I can redesign this idea into something else.
>>Gremlin
I always wondered why there was never a gremlin in AD&D. They seem like the kind of "pest" creature Gygax was so fond of. Maybe their provenance was too modern for his tastes. The pilots and air crews of the RAF invented gremlins to explain the numerous mechanical problems they experienced on a daily basis, and the idea caught on. Even more modern audiences would immediately think of the Joe Dante/Chris Columbus films of the 80s. Those gremlins, though horrifically destructive, bore little resemblance to the original concept.
The gremlin in ATWM Vol. II, as created by R. Schwall, hearkens back to the monster's roots. It is a flying, nearly invisible creature that has the ability "...to render mechanisms inoperative." The rest of the description mentions "device(s)" and "repairs" and "machinery," which I think is strong evidence of how commonplace the merging of magic and technology was in the early game. ATWM is full of mechanical constructs and even explicit "death-ray robots." The creature seems perfect for Gwarnath's setting. so I'll definitely snatch this one.
On a side note, a version of the gremlin appears in White Dwarf #5's "Fiend Factory," but it is very different from this. It is more imp-like and wields a miniature trident, but does feature the caveat that any item (normal or magical) used against the gremlin has a "...50% chance of malfunctioning." I may borrow some of that version's language in adapting my own. This alternate gremlin is credited to Don Turnbull, WD's editor, but most of these creatures were designed by contributors, so it is likely he did not create it. In fairness, he is pretty good about giving credit to the creators, so maybe he did design it. WD #5 was published in 1978, so these two versions were contemporaneous. I'll post my adaptation below.
>>Helltide
Alright, some sort of aquatic menace, right? Well, no, actually. Instead, this monster is "...a swarm of bright green army ants numbering in the thousands." These ants are 3–9" long and encountered in a swarm of 100d100. The swarm can "...devour ten pounds of flesh per turn per thousand ants." The swarm does 2 points of damage (and has 1 hp) PER ANT, and is immune to fear, sleep, and charm. No guidance is provided for how to adjudicate the swarm's attack, but I imagine its something like an ooze monster that has thousands of hp and basically insta-kills anything it comes in contact with. Just a reminder: This is classified as a Level 1 monster. Hard pass.
>>Imp
So here we have an actual AD&D Monster Manual monster in ATWM, but this version first appeared in The Dungeoneer #4, published in March, 1977 by Judges Guild, so it technically beat TSR to the punch.
Each type can also cast a selection of spells, ranging from Sleep and Charm Person at 1 HD, to Fireball and Ice Storm (among others) at 7 HD. Imps of 3 HD and greater can also Gate in other demons.
As is to be expected, the scaling HD means this creature appears on the "Monsters by Level" lists for dungeon levels 1 through 7. There's not much extra here to justify a Gwarnath-imp adaptation, so I'll pass on this one as well. Cool illustration, though.
>>Lert
A lot of the ATWM entries have names that sound like the designer just grunted some phonetic sounds and typed them out. "Lert" is the sound I typically make when I get up from my chair. Another creature designed by Glenn Blacow and appearing first in A&E #13, the lert is described as "...a dog-like animal with a long, pointed nose, large upright ears, and keen eyes." It has "...brown hair with black stripes and a long bushy tail." It's a Lawful creature and hates Chaotics. If it decides to latch on to a party, there is only a 5% chance that they will be surprised (1-in-20). This isn't nearly as devastating in OD&D as it would be in AD&D, given there are no surprise segments in the original rules, only a free turn of movement and maybe an attack.
It will refuse to enter areas with "life-draining undead" and barks an alert if "...really nasty monsters (trolls, hobgoblins, etc.)" are near. A lert will never leave the dungeon nor go below the third level (like a hireling). D'oh...I just got the name... "A lert." Cute, but I'll pass on this one.
>>Locust
This entry is from the legendary Lee Gold, publisher of Alarums & Excursions, and first appeared in issue #12. This isn't a "giant locust," but a normal-sized locust with a single hit point and no attack that appears in a swarm of 20d20 (which seems like a low number, relative to other ATWM swarming monsters). The swarm descends on an area and devours any non-metallic items (leather, wood, cloth, etc.) They do not attack animals, though they will spook horses and the like, and they can be driven off by smoke. If the party tries to strike the swarm, there is a 10% chance they hit another party member. Again, kind of a pointless monster, but a potentially destructive hazard. It's not objectionable, but this is not how I would design a locust swarm and I see no need to convert it to OSRIC.
Well, obviously they couldn't get away with publishing something like this creature today, but the fetching lass below is actually a sentient plant that takes the form of a woman with "extraordinary beauty" and is "highly seductive." As a plant, "...she cannot bear young," but can "...perform the sex act," making pseudowomen "...highly prized as wives for human males."
In fairness to Jeff Pimper who designed this entry, the pseudowoman comes from a 1974 novel by Lin Carter called Warrior of World's End. Despite the cringiness (depending on your personal taste levels), I think it's an interesting idea for a sci-fantasy world: A mutant plant that has evolved a doppelganger-like ability to mimic women, so as to infiltrate and manipulate human societies through consequence-less sex. A honeypot plant. Real-world orchids do something similar.
I won't use this monster verbatim, mainly because it's from a copyrighted source, but she's going on the idea board for possible Adaptation. An interesting sex-bot concept was thoroughly explored in a Rick and Morty episode (NSFW), which could help expand the creature's motivations. I'm nearly sold on this one.
>>Raw'yas
Contributed by R. Schwall, this creature has an appropriately Gamma World-sounding name. It is an ant-sized pest that swarms in groups of 25d100 and has 1 hp each (so many swarms in this volume). It has "...an electro-motive-force sense/send ability." There are no other details as to what this is or does, so make of it what you will. A raw'yas swarm "...accompanies greater monsters when they attack anti-magic users (technos) and scrounge technological treasure." I think this is some Arduin-inspired madness, but I like the sound of it.
"It's lair is protected by technological devices set up so as to be useable (sic) by such a small creature." It attacks with a so-called "electronic charm" that "...mentally activat(es) any electronic machinery in the area and direct(s) the machine to attack the intended victims." This is unusable for my stocking tables, but it is going on the idea board because I think it has weird potential, I just can't put my finger on exactly what yet. I'm thinking nanobots building toy-sized but effective war machines, assembled from their own bodies, maybe?
>>Slesszoyd
Though this sounds like some kind of cool mutant lizard-man-type creature (with another very Gamma World moniker) this monster is, in fact, a "...mated pair of two three inch long worms." Technically, that would mean four worms, but I think the designer intends two worms altogether. That designer would be Steve Marsh, who, as mentioned in the previous post, helped develop AD&D's alignment system and created many of the game's aquatic monsters.
These worms are encountered as "eggs in foodstuffs," and if eaten they grow in the victim's stomach. After a few weeks, the worms mate, the male dies, and the female lays her eggs which are soon excreted by the victim. The female worm then proceeds to travel to the victim's brain and kills them in 12 weeks. During this time, however, the victim "...gains the capabilities of a mind flayer," though their intelligence begins to wane over time as the worm devours their brain at a rate of "...one per cent per day." How percentages affect a 3d6 score is never spelled out, but 12 weeks is only 84 days, so figure it out for yourself, Mr. DM. Cure Disease gets rid of the worms, which makes total rules-sense, but a Cure Serious Wounds spell "...will restore the victim's Intelligence," which does not comport.
This is too much like the Mind Worm and the Mind Maggot from ATWM I, so I'll take a pass on this one. I may steal the name for my lizard-man mutant idea, however. Reminds me of "sleestak" and I like it.
>>Tate
This is another Glenn Blacow creation, so I'm watching out for puns in the creature's name. It's a "...small, monkey-like creature with long white, silky hair." Only one is encountered at a time, most often in the company of a high-level magic-user (with a percentage formula based on the M-U's level and Charisma). It has 1d4 hit points and attacks with a simple bite for 1d2 damage, but it's main power is the ability to Teleport (without error) up to 12 people to any location the tate has ever been, or to any location that one of the recipients has been but the tate has not (with the normal chance for error). It can also Dimension Door this group to any spot within 360 ft., regardless of whether or not the tate or its passengers have been to the location (presumably with the same limitations for Dimension Door-ing into an unseen spot).
While it's possible that the party's magic-user could attract a tate to become their pet (if the DM is crazy enough to permit it), I think the main design idea here was to give the DM's M-U supervillain the ability to quickly dispense with the party whenever they try to foil his plans, by sending them elsewhere without killing them necessarily (a la the Fiend Folio's Crypt Thing). While this could make for an interesting (though dickish) challenge to the players, the tate, otherwise, makes no sense in terms of purpose or game balance. Hard pass, Glenn, but no pun detected this time (though it is mightly close to tater, which would definitely swerve into pun territory).
__________
So that's it for the Level 1 monsters in ATWM Volume II. Not too much of interest here for my stocking tables, but definitely stealing a couple of nuggets I can use in another form (fire beetle, pseudowoman, raw'yas). I've decided to adapt the glitch and the gremlin for my stocking tables, as both of these have strong, thematic hooks for the overall dungeon.
I'm turning the glitch into a will-o'wisp-like entity that gloms onto groups of creatures (like the party), and causes emotional effects and confusion when it is near. The gremlin will be fairly identical to this version, a D&D "pest" with a fetish for tech-items and machinery. (I have a never-published post somewhere in my drafts folder about all the various pest monsters that exist throughout AD&D. There are a lot!)
Let's take a look at the original entries and then figure out how to stat them up for OSRIC...
>>Glitch
The original glitch isn't much to look at...
For my version, I improved the glitch's AC to '0' and gave it a will-o-the-wisp's movement speed. I also changed its core effect from a cessation of combat to a more-appropriate reaction. The 4th-level illusionist spell, Emotion, was a perfect fit for this. I also gave a bit more definition to how long the effect lasts if a save is failed. Its abilities, however, bump it to a Level 3 monster.
One major concern I have about the glitch is its potential to turn large fights into not only a slog of save rolling, but also a major bookkeeping challenge to keep track of who has which emotional state running (and for how long).
Also of note, I used a specific word to describe this version, calling it an "anomaly." This is a concept I'm toying around with for this campaign: A monster classification to describe creatures with no "proper" attack or defense, but which create more of a living hazard that is overcome by means other than combat. Green slime and yellow mold would certainly fit into this category. The glitch seems suited for that as well, as it has no actual physical means of harming the characters, but does have a significant environmental effect.
The word "anomaly" also fits well with the sci-fantasy setting, differentiating between the classical "monster" and the weird organisms seeping out of the city's depths. I've been re-playing ADACA recently, which has a ton of really neat anomalies (and would make a great post-apoc rpg setting in its own right), and I'm still in awe of the SCP Foundation. I want to breathe some of that air into Gwarnath.
>>Gremlin
The ATWM version of this creature isn't described, but many original images depict them as cartoonish little people, often wearing work clothes and armed with tiny tools. Some versions give them a slightly more devilish appearance. In all of them, the gremlins harry poor factory workers and aircraft maintenance crews, typically with wicked smiles on their faces.
Don Turnbull's version in White Dwarf #5 gives them a more fiendish appearance (more like the 80's cinematic gremlins), so I decided to keep this look so as to throw a little confusion into the ranks of the party as to what type of creature they're dealing with. As another nod to TSR UK, I connected this version of the gremlin to the booka from the Fiend Folio as they share similar attributes and impulses for mischief. Russ Nicholson's illustration of the booka strongly resemble some of the early real-world images of gremlins as well, so it seemed an appropriate link.
The big changes come in the description, which here clarifies their appearance, identifies their type (faerie), and provides game mechanics for their primary effect: the destruction of machinery. I also indicate that the term "mechanism" applies to even simple machines like crossbows and bows. A pedant might insist that any object is a mechanism, but I would limit it to items with multiple elements that work together to produce a mechanical effet (a simple crowbar lever, for example, wouldn't qualify). This applies to dungeon traps, as well, making gremlins an attractive target for a Charm Monster spell.
These creatures will fit in perfectly with the sci-fantasy setting of Gwarnath which features lots of mechanisms and machinery. Based on the "technologies" I'm developing for this campaign, I suspect I'll need to clarify what effect gremlins will have on "magical-machines," as these hybrids exist in the game world. Since gremlins have no real physical attack, I'll probably end up classifying them as another "anomaly," meaning they would be part of a "Random Hazards" table rather than found on the "Wandering Monster" tables (which is fine, just a distinction).
__________
Those are my conversions of the Level 1 monsters I want to use from ATWM II. Just the two, one of which got bumped to a higher dungeon level, and both of which may not appear on the monster tables at all.
On to the Level 1 monsters in ATWM Vol. III, including such interesting-sounding creatures as the Cuddler, the Death Seed, the Four-Eyed Hig, the Hush Puppy, and the Titterer.
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