Monday, September 27, 2010

Morrowind Monsters: The Kwama

I'm beginning a series of monster conversions from The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind – one of my all-time favourite CRPGs – to Labyrinth Lord. One of the game's strengths is it's strange selection of creatures, so I think they're well worth spreading around. I've taken some liberties: the stats are converted by "feel" and gameplay experience instead of a strict formula, and I've added some things that weren't in the game to flesh them out.

Images are from the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages.

KWAMA

Kwama are a species that make colonies in cave networks. They hatch from eggs laid by their queen. These eggs are found in clutches throughout the colony, and are edible and nutritious to humanoids, with a very strong flavour and odd texture. Some subspecies of the kwama (foragers and warriors) are hostile and aggressive to any beings not of their colony, but a peculiar trait is that they identify this purely by scent. Humanoids who spend about a week in an outer part of the colony (near to the non-hostile kwama) take on the scent, and then the whole colony treats them as one of their own kind, allowing them to move around the colony safely.

There are very different subspecies of kwama:

Scrib
Scribs are small (up to two feet long) hard-shelled kwama larva, often found scuttling around within the colony or nearby on the surface. They are not hostile unless provoked.
No. Enc: 1d3 (1d10)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 90' (30')
Armour Class: 5
Hit Dice: ½ (1d4 HP)
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d2 + paralysis
Save: F1
Morale: 6
Hoard Class: None
XP: 6
Special: Scribs have a poison bite that causes paralysis for 1d3 rounds unless a saving throw is made to resist. Only the first successful bite in any combat has poison.

Kwama Forager
These wormlike foragers hunt for the colony. They prefer small prey but are unintelligent enough to attack humanoids despite being much smaller (similar size to scribs).
No. Enc: 1d3 (1d8)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120' (40')
Armour Class: 7
Hit Dice: 1
Attacks: 1 (pouncing bite)
Damage: 1d4
Save: F1
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: None
XP: 10

Kwama Worker
Workers are passive four-legged drones that toil away within the colony (they are rarely seen outside). They are not aggressive, but can be dangerous if provoked.
No. Enc: 1d2 (1d10)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 90' (30')
Armour Class: 6
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d6
Save: F2
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: None
XP: 20

Kwama Warrior
Looking much like upright workers, these are never found outside the colony, and attack fearlessly as soon as they detect a foreign being. Their sole role is defence of the colony and the queen.
No. Enc: 0 (1d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120' (40')
Armour Class: 4
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: 3 (bite, claw, claw)
Damage: 1d8, 1d6, 1d6
Save: F3
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: None
XP: 65
Special: Kwama warriors have a magical power to generate an electrical strike. This has 30' range and does 3d6 damage (save for half) to a single target. It is usable once per turn.

Kwama Queen
The largest of kwama, the queen has a large egg sac at the rear. Kwama queens are strong, but cannot move so they are dependent on the warriors for their protection.
No. Enc: 0 (1)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: None
Armour Class: 4
Hit Dice: 6
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 4d6
Save: F6
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: XII
XP: Nil (the queen's immobility usually makes her no challenge, but if this isn't the case, her XP value is 320).

Special Notes: In Morrowind, the locals operate “egg mines”, in which workers lurk in the fringes of the colony to take their scent, then help the kwama out so that the queen's egg production increases. These eggs become a local staple, and some can be exported.
In other campaign settings, an enterprising person might have worked out how to “egg mine” a kwama colony, and the eggs could become a highly prized rare delicacy in the nearest big city. An adventure could be based on finding (or hiding) the secret of the eggs' origin. For a short adventure, perhaps a clever fugitive is hiding in a kwama lair, and adventurers who want to claim the price on his head have to also deal with the kwama who think he is one of the colony and fight in his defence.

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