[D&D] "Lost" Gygax Monsters (Part 5)

Continuing with a selection of creatures native to the Outer Planes, all originally described by Gary Gygax in his novels Come Endless Darkness and Dance of Demons (both New Infinities, 1988) and again statted out for AD&D by GT, who has kindly given me permission to share his efforts here:

CACODEMON

FREQUENCY: Uncommon

NO. APPEARING: 1 – 3 or 4 - 16

ARMOR CLASS: 0

MOVE: 9"

HIT DICE: 8 - 10

% IN LAIR: 10%

TREASURE TYPE: D

NO. OF ATTACKS: 3

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1 – 4/1 – 4/2 - 12

SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below

SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below

MAGIC RESISTANCE: 65%

INTELLIGENCE: Very

ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil (neutral)

SIZE: L (6' - 8' tall)

PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VII/ 2375 + 13/HP

Cacodemons are hideous monstrosities, having the worst of demonic features, which appear to have melted in places.  Their flesh seems to writhe and their eyes (of which they have 1 – 6) are lambent.  They roam the howling, distorted landscapes of Pandemonium, where they are the most common denizens.  They attack with their clawed hands and a bite from their wide mouth.  They regenerate three hit points per round starting the round after they are first damaged, reattaching any severed parts and re-growing eyes and other organs.  Only fire-based attacks do permanent damage.

Cacodemons have the following innate abilities, usable at will, one per melee round: cause fear (as wand), detect invisible, detect magic, infravision, polymorph self (3/day), teleport (no error).  Once each turn, they may give vent to a howl which combines the effects of fear and confusion.  They take half damage from acid, cold, gas, and wind attacks; and are immune to attacks of silver or any weapon of under +1 magic bonus.  If a spell directed at them does not overcome the creature’s magic resistance, there is a 50% chance that it will rebound upon the one casting it rather than merely failing to activate.

These creatures will only have treasure in their lairs.

DREGGAL

FREQUENCY: Common

NO. APPEARING: 3 - 30

ARMOR CLASS: 1

MOVE: 12"

HIT DICE: 5

% IN LAIR: 20%

TREASURE TYPE: L (x10), M, O, Q

NO. OF ATTACKS: 2

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6/1-6 or by weapon

SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below

SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below

MAGIC RESISTANCE: 30%

INTELLIGENCE: Average

ALIGNMENT: Neutral evil (lawful)

SIZE: M (5½' tall)

PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: V/ 285 + 5/HP

These beings inhabit the fuming and heat-glowing tiers of Gehenna and are considered by most other netherbeings to be amongst the “dregs” of such creatures, and hence the common appellation¹.  As they are looked down upon by most other creatures, they have a hatred of all those who are more powerful than they are (especially barghests and devils), and are bullies to those (few) that are weaker.

These creatures have the following abilities, usable once per round at will: affect normal fires, burning hands (5 pts. damage), change self, detect good, detect magic, fear (by touch), pyrotechnics, and teleport (no error).  They may be struck by non-magical weapons, but are immune to fire and poison damage.  Cold attacks do double damage to them.

Dreggals appear as rather short humanoids with spidery limbs and hoofed feet.  Their dark skin is pocked and covered with wart-like bumps, their faces are bat-like and their craniums are covered with spikes.  Their voice has a metallic quality to it.  They are sly and prying by nature, and thus very unpopular with other netherbeings.

¹As per Gary Gygax

DUMALDUN

FREQUENCY: Uncommon

NO. APPEARING: 3 - 12

ARMOR CLASS: 0

MOVE: 15"

HIT DICE: 8 (monkey, gibbon, STR: 18/76), 9 (chimp, mandrill, STR: 18/00), 10 (orangutan, gorilla, STR: 19)

% IN LAIR: Nil

TREASURE TYPE: Nil

NO. OF ATTACKS: 3

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2 – 8/2 – 8/3 - 12

SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below

SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below

MAGIC RESISTANCE: 5%/HD

INTELLIGENCE: Low to average

ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil (neutral)

SIZE: L (7' - 9' tall)

PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VIII/ 3000 + 14/HP

The dumalduns roam in packs the chill acid swamp regions of the basalt plains of Tarterus; usually avoiding the tar pits, bubbling slime and quicksand that are the territories of the demodands.  Demodands will sometimes use them as shock troops, but they are too savagely unpredictable to serve in most other capacities.

Dumalduns have the appearance of large, dingy-furred, simian-featured monsters; their faces resembling gibbons, gorillas, mandrills, orangutans, and such.  They have vicious claws and terrible fanged and tusked maws.  Their claws are endowed with venom derived of negative planar material, and any hits scored thus require a save versus poison at –2 or death results.  As they attack they gibber and howl, causing fear (as a wand).  They have infravision and ultravision to 12".  On their native plane they are known to fashion spears from frozen acid and utilize these as weapons (1 – 8 + 2d4 acid damage).

These beasts are immune to acid and poison attacks, and take but half damage from cold attacks.  A +1 or better weapon is required to harm them.

HIPPOKERES

FREQUENCY: Very rare

NO. APPEARING: 2 - 12

ARMOR CLASS: 2

MOVE: 12" (24" charge)

HIT DICE: 8

% IN LAIR: Nil

TREASURE TYPE: Nil

NO. OF ATTACKS: 1

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3 - 12

SPECIAL ATTACKS: Charge, trample

SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard

INTELLIGENCE: Low

ALIGNMENT: Chaotic neutral

SIZE: L (14'+ long)

PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VI/ 725 + 10/HP

Hippokeres appear as huge (7' at the shoulder) creatures with a rhino-like body and legs (of which it has six) and a horse-like head with a long horn set over its nose.  Its skin is extraordinarily tough and damage resistant, and its mouth is filled with sharp and extremely hard teeth.  They are notably ill tempered, even among other demon beasts, and only the most powerful of Lords and Princes can successfully harness them.  They are seldom found above the 400^th level of the Abyss. If they hit an opponent while charging, damage from their horn is doubled, and a trample does 3 – 24 points of damage to any creature of eight-foot height or less.  This attack form requires at least a 2" running start.  Hippokeres take but half damage from cold, fire and poisonous gas attacks.

MAELVI

FREQUENCY: Common

NO. APPEARING: 2 – 8 or 20 -100

ARMOR CLASS: 1 [-1]

MOVE: 15"

HIT DICE: 6+6 [8]

% IN LAIR: 15%

TREASURE TYPE: C

NO. OF ATTACKS: 2

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-5/2-5 or by weapon (+4) x2

SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below

SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below

MAGIC RESISTANCE: 40%

INTELLIGENCE: Low to average [High]

ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil (neutral)

SIZE: M (7' tall)

PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VII/ 1000 + 10/HP

The maelvis make up the largest contingent of those creatures native to the charnel and reeking planes of Acheron, whereon their mighty armies clash.  These beings usually travel about in small groups, but occasionally they will gather into great, regimented hordes under the direction of various leaders [stats are in brackets], who in turn answer to Netherlords.  These hordes meet to do battle with one another.

Maelvis possess the following abilities usable once per melee round: animate dead, cause fear (as wand), detect good, detect magic, stinking cloud.  They may be harmed by non-magical weapons, but are unharmed by acid, alkaline or poison.  They take but half damage from cold or fire attacks.

They are tall and skeletal in appearance, with rather large heads.  They are agile and their tough skin is covered in bony ridges, and they possess sharp-taloned hands, making them dangerous foes.  They generally utilize katana-like swords with saw-edged backs (Dam = d12, 2d4+1 on a backstroke) or pole arms, generally of the glaive or guisarme sort. Leaders will have weapons of +1 or +2 magical bonus.

NETHERLORD

FREQUENCY: Very rare

NO. APPEARING: 1

ARMOR CLASS: -1 or better

MOVE: 15"

HIT DICE: 11 - 15

% IN LAIR: 20%

TREASURE TYPE: A, S

NO. OF ATTACKS: 1

DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon

SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below

SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below

MAGIC RESISTANCE: 55% - 75% (5%/HD)

INTELLIGENCE: Supra-genius

ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil

SIZE: M

PSIONIC ABILITY: Possible

LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: X/variable (13,000 max.)*

The Netherlords are the powerful rulers of Acheron, commanding hordes of maelvis, as well as the zombies and skeletons they have animated.  The most powerful of them is Hafdoligor Kaathbaen (120 hp; AC:  -4), Lord of the Undead, who controls large groups of skeletons, zombies, wights, and wraiths.  It is unknown whether Netherlords are native to Acheron or were powerful necromancers who migrated there from the Prime Material.

All Netherlords appear as tall (6' - 7'), gaunt humans with red-glowing eyes and wearing black armor and helm.  The armor type is variable, but always magical and always at least equal to AC -1.  They will generally wield a mace or staff of great power (such as a +2 staff of withering or +3 mace of life-stealing [as the sword]…) and their 18(00) Strength gives them a +6 bonus to damage.  They are often astride an armored nightmare of maximum hit points (AC:  -5, hit points: 54) when encountered during battle.  They are immune to energy-draining attacks and take half damage from cold attacks.

They wield the following necromantic type spells once/round at will as a 15^th level spellcaster: animate dead, cause serious wounds,  energy drain (as m-u spell, 3/day), slay living (3/day), and speak with dead.  They otherwise cast clerical spells at a level equal to their hit dice.  A Netherlord may also summon 2 – 8 mire wraiths, once each day, and will always have one maelvi leader and at least 2 – 8 regular maelvi nearby.  A few Netherlords are known as “The Lords of Evil” and are allied with the god Hextor.