Southland: Desert Denizens

THE SOUTHLAND

A Fantasy Core Setting

© Jerry Harris 2014

Published here as Open Game Content.

(This link will take you to the Fantasy Core Index.)

Southland Index

Monster Territories Index

Desert Denizens

There are two other persistent denizens of the desert that bear explicit mentioning.

Sand Worm

HD 16 (d10), Hp 160, AC 19 (Natural)

Fort +17, Ref +8, Will +4

Melee: Bite +16 to hit and Stinger Tail +8 to hit 2d6+6 + Poison DC 12 Fort Sv or Incap. 1 hr

Swallow: On a Natural Bite hit, victim is pinned in mouth, DC 18 Str or Escape Artist check to escape.  Any hit will also cause the Worm to drop the victim.  Otherwise, swallowed next rd, 2d8+8 dam each rd.  A swallowed creature can cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 15 points of damage to the gizzard (AC 12).

These gigantic worms were not an Ancient creation.  Rather, the magical devastation of the Civil War, opened up accidental portals that allowed them in from another desert world.  They dwell beneath the surface.  Detecting slight vibrations from those traveling above, they rise and attack.  Normally, those above get plenty of warning from the shaking ground of the worm’s imminent arrival.  Water and rock seem to be the only surfaces they actively avoid.  Thankfully, these creatures confine themselves to only the sandiest areas to the west. 

Stalker (Feral Vampire)

HD 4, Hp 29, AC 15* (Magic or silver to hit)    

Fort +1, Ref +5, Will +5

Melee: Claw +5 to hit 1d8 + Energy Drain DC 12 Will Sv or lose 1d4 Negative Hp.  A hit on a Natural hit, the Stalker has also grappled, DC 18 Str or Escape Artist check to break.  Next rd, victim is helpless, automatic hit (1d8) and possible Energy Drain.  Stalker is helpless while feeding and will usually disengage themselves if they can’t kill their held victim within two rds.

Stealth +5

Can crawl on walls and ceilings

Metaconcert: Can work together with a group mind

Minor Telepathy: DC 12 Will Sv from them to successful fool a victim with a voice, a distraction, or an illusion for 1 rd.

These animalistic-looking humanoid undead are from another world, also brought in via an accidental portal.  (They’ve also been encountered by an expedition to the Doomed Peaks ***link***, which is somewhere in within the Commonwealth homeland.  I guess.)  As per their name, packs stalk their prey in the desert for energy draining.  They do not exhibit more intelligence beyond feeding themselves, but they’re pretty clever at that.  They are capable of luring and fooling victims into traps, as they have some small telepathic sending ability.  Packs then tightly coordinate their attacks with feints and infiltration.

There are rumors that they operate out of a ruined city deep in the desert.  It has not been discovered as it exists in an area of tenuous reality.  They take captives, making them thralls, and imprisoning them there as a steady food supply in between hunts, even using them as decoys for traps.  These creatures seemed to be confined to the northern end of the desert.