Saturday, July 7, 2012

Monster: Mask

Mask
Armour Class: 4
Hit Dice: 1+2**
Move: 90' (30')
Attacks: 2
Damage: 1-6/1-6
No. Appearing: 1-4 (2-20)
Save As: MU3
Morale: 7
Treasure Type: G
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: 23

 A mask (called vek in the creature's native tongue) a small, gangly-limbed humanoid roughly the size and shape of a goblin, its flaky-scaled rust body concealed under all-enveloping robes of bruise-purple, ash grey or blood-brown.  The creatures' epynomous chalky mask, featureless and yet somehow faintly demonic, never leaves its gnarled face and yet somehow does not obstruct the basic necessities of life.

Each mask wields a ragged shard of some unknown phosphorescent crystal as a personal focus.  This shard is not used to attack directly, but to direct bolts of magical energy (flames, electricity, stunning cold or stranger things) at opponents up to 40' away twice per round.  Each such bolt inflicts 1-6 hit points of damage.

A mask cabal is led by a 3HD great mask with the spellcasting ability of a 4th-level MU, attended by 2-7 underlings of 2HD and the spellcasting talents of 1st-2nd level MUs.  Occasionally a mask or cabal of masks may lead a warren of goblins -- or, more rarely, kobolds -- to much more threatening heights than those minor humanoids usually reach.

Masks take damage only from magic or silver weapons.

7 comments:

Chris said...

"And that's when the oni-masked goblin dudes started zapping us with bolts of concentrated ennui. It all got very French..."

Nicked!

taichara said...

@Chris:

Excellent *grins*

Elber of Torou said...

...and now I have the perfect race of skulking underground denizens to kill my PCs with... Very Gothic and cool.

Jonas said...

This makes me think of my fave comic as kid (Gaspard de la nuit) and uses for these critters, may they are the goblins and goblins are made out of people by putting a goblin mask on them.

Matthew Schmeer said...

I need to add this to the file I sent you this morning. No problem.

taichara said...

@Elber:

*grins* Glad you like them ;3


@Jonas:

I may need to look up that comic now!


@mwschmeer:

Oops. Apologies :3;;

cturnitsa said...

Very nice critter. Looking forward to including it in an adventure.

Chuck