Friday, June 12, 2009

Monster: Hetera

Hetera
Armour Class: 7
Hit Dice: 1+4*
Move: 180’ (60’)
Attacks: 1 tail-lash or 2 claws + 1 bite
Damage: 1-4 + paralysis or 1-3/1-3/1-4
No. Appearing: 2-8 (3-18)
Saves: Normal Man
Morale: 7
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 19

Hetera are unusual animals the size of turkeys; long of hindlimb with spreading claws, their forelimbs are considerably shorter and end in paws suitable for running or grasping, with a wickedly curved talon on a powerful "thumb". With compact bodies, a long slender tail, curved neck and compactly-muzzled head armed with a small beak and four fang-like tusks, hetera are well-armed for being such small beasts. A hetera's hide is covered in soft mink-brown downy fuzz, while its four feet are scaled like a bird's -- and its tail bears a crest of long, poisonous quills running down the final quarter of its length.

Though normally herbivorous, hetera will scavenge or pick up small animals when given the chance. In combat a hetera will lash out with its quilled tail for 1-4 hit points of damage; those wounded by the quills must save vs. poison or be paralyzed for 1-6 turns. If its poison fails, and the hetera feels cornered or is in a large flock, it will begin to attack with thumb-claws and bite for 1-3 and 1-4 hit points of damage respectively until capable of fleeing. If enough adversaries are felled by poison, hetera will begin to scissor out flesh with their beaks and fangs.

3 comments:

Chris said...

Having totally misread their name I was very confused by these odd little creatures. Are they meant to be a kind of synapsid oviraptor?

wv: seebles - that's definitely going in the WV inspiration slushpile

taichara said...

@Chris:

Hehehe. I was wondering if at least one person would have that cross their mind ;3

These aren't oviraptors (for that, see my entry for citipati; but you're on the right track. They're actually heterodontosaurs, with the tail quills borrowed from psittacosaurs.

Swordgleam said...

My first thought was the same as Chris's. Classics and gaming tend to go together as interests.