Frogsmouth

Secondlina

The City Of Frogsmouth

As your barge poles along the marshland and its swarming piranha-school mosquitos suddenly gives way to a canal city of stuccoed brick tenements, and rickety wood stilt-shacks stacked upon ancient mud-sunk foundations. Bustling, busy footpaths and bateau choked canals leading between all manner of trading houses, music filled cabarets, and elegant mansions. Lamps, liveliness, and old money. All scrawled with the city’s omnipresent frog and crocodile motifs.

The Docks

A bustling, rickety wooden affair of stilt raised clapboard warehouses and narrow boardwalks. Laden barges from upriver and heavy, curving hulled merchant ships from the sea meet and mingle. Crowded with dockworkers, sailors, prostitutes, and fishermen. Spontaneous boat-hook fencing bouts oft break out and many gamblers circulate their way through the crowds keeping track of their favored fighters.

• Tobias Eclair - The paranoid dockmaster, his office is covered in charms, icons, and holy symbology, his ledgers meticulously kept and often hidden, his person guarded by three swaggering bravoes of the Three-Sword School. A stooge of the Lang family, he tips balances and adds fees to rival businesses.
• Foul Henriette - Longshoreman, pugilist, and queen of the docks. Wickedly effective boat-hook fencer, the best of all the dockworkers. Was paid a small fortune by the Black Beast to be smuggled into the city and has been liberally spending it.
• The Fifty Pachyderms - A ladies gang specialized in shoplifting, pickpocketry, and running various dens of sin. Operate pervasively through docks, most locals can point you to a member if you were looking (or more likely tell them people are asking so they can accoust you).

The Foggiest 

Sprawl of slums, all stilt built shacks and trundling board paths, the anti-mosquito wards don’t reach so well out here, and the slum is constantly under the haze of a burning incense that keeps the swarms away. The Fifty Pachyderms have their roots sunken deep here, hard for the constabulary to hunt that which disappears into the hazy maze. 

• Cammie Potchard - Loudly arguing with icebox company workers in the street, demanding to know news of her brother who disappeared while on the job. This close to leveraging her Pachyderm connections to break into the company warehouse.
• Suzette Drim - Leader of the Pachyderms, widower of several bargemen, authoritative, larger than life figure, plotting to use her sister’s love affair to scandalize the Lang family or at least blackmail them. Does not know about their assasination plans. 
• Tammy Obadiah Oberon - Prominent Pachyderm lieutenant. Planning a daring scheme to steal Felecia Cormorant’s fortune. Needs someone with upper class manners to get in the widows’ good graces.

Maxim Icebox Company

A sprawling semi-refrigerated warehouse complex held above the muck of the swamp on thick brick foundations. Receive clockwork shipments from their ice houses upriver, quickly distributed throughout Frogsmouth to their customers. Plagued by infestations of ice mephits which is far more serious than their letting on. 

• Millicent Maxim Jr. - New owner, struggling with the financial and reputational repercussions of his father's ill fated scheme to only employ 'ruggedly handsome' ice deliverymen. Keeps Renard and Simoné on a sufferance but his patience is rapidly wearing thin as problems beset him from every side. At the point of throwing money at any potential solution to his woes.
• Hubert Maxim - Clammy skinned, piercingly-blue eyed man. Chief iceologist. Uncomfortably sympathetic to the ice mephit infestation. Drives his brother mad.
• Beau Renard - The handsomely chiseled model for the Maxim Ice Deliveryman who decorates the company advertisements. Simone's 'assistant' (they both sleep and live in the studio quarters). Taciturn, silent personality well suited for his work.
• Simoné Tabernack (formerly Lang) - Black sheep of the family, abandoning his station for the life of a painter. Friendship with Millicent strained by his vices (cigarettes, laudanum, and more besides) and lackadaisical attitude towards work. Spends his time in the studio or at parties and nightclubs with Renard at his arm. Owes the Pachyderms big time money.

Ice Mephit Incursion

Tiny, spiky, white-blue devil’s in mercury armour with mercury blades (melting within wounds, poisoning) who have conquered several sub-cellars of the warehouse, building frozen barricades and forges. Accidentally summoned by Maxim Senior… still cloyingly feel his power over them (of which he is unaware). Would like to kill him and either establish a devilish foothold or go home.

• Stopholise - Chief sergeant of the mephits, perfidious and wheedling, plotting how to best conquer the warehouse and/or how to slip some assassins out after Maxim Senior. Has been passing notes through the ventilation system with Hubert Maxim, the mephit is manipulating him into freeing their tiny army. 
• David Potchard - One of three workers frozen alive, kept as hostages by the mephits, the company could give half a damn. If thawed he will lead a very angry strike. Handsome. 

Fire Pillar Pool

Wide market pool surrounded by cafes and businesses, at its center is a tall carven stone pillar (out of place among the brick and wood buildings) capped with a fat bellied frog statue belching flame. In the mornings it is crowded with canoes, sampans, and bateau so dense that you can walk across the pool.

• The God-Hunters - Heavily armed, wearing foreign and esoteric clothing, protective wards, maille, hard faces. They have come to hunt Big Moses, the albino crocodile god of the swamp, an unspeakably heretical goal. Looking to purchase guides and boats. Covertelly bankrolled by the Lang family.
• Toothless Catherine - Sells baskets of crayfish from her boat, slurps up crustacean innards whilst talking. Gossipy, loose tongued. Knows a secret route into the mausoleum catacombs where she collects blind crayfish. Recently she's been taking several 'wealthy gentlemen' on trips there (members of the Fibula Lodge buying stolen bones from the mausoleum).
• Loud Lucien - Classic soapbox mad-preacher, rants to an amused crowd about evil conspiracies and whatnot. Secretly an informant of the Pachyderms.

The Glew-Pot Cabaret

A lively dance hall on the pool's edge, slanted, sinking into the swamp, looks to be less made out of bricks so much as hunks of solidified mud. Center of nightlife for the city's more libertine subcultures. Frequented by Millicent Maxim Senior, who likes to watch the pretty boys dance. 

• Sweet René - The innkeeper, an enthusiastic, heavyset, and astoundingly homosexual man. His personal charm is the sole thing keeping the place afloat (perhaps literally if rumored romantic liaisons with certain spirits are to be believed).
• Black Beast (real) - A sworling spirit of soot-ash, brimstone, and steel talons, nocturnal. Comes from a very different land, of chimney stacks and cobblestones. An old lover of René, lodging here while it hunts the rich fuck who is sullying it’s reputation. René does not wish it to kill so blaisly.

Hotel Doré

Finest venue in the city, pillastered, cornice overloaded, gleaming white plaster and spiraling gold decorated seven story manse in an antique style. Reeks of sophistication.

• Harold Luc Pierre - Manager and owner, feuding with René whose “hideous debaucherous eyesore” sits directly across from the hotel. Secretly paying a work gang to slowly undermine the Glewpot.
• Felicia Cormorant - Wealthy widow of suspicious circumstance, holed up on the fifth floor suite with a fortune in cash, antiques, and fine clothes. Paranoid but compulsively gregarious and often invites guests over. 
• Hector Armitage - A wretched scamp of an aristocratic bachelor and none other than the Black Beast who has been terrorizing the town, he’s not really a monster, its all costuming and smoke bombs, a rich boy’s sadistic hobby. Feels hunted, but brushes it off. Is yet to properly hurt anyone but is thiiiis close to becoming a serial killer for fun.

City Courthouses

Languid, stuffy, full of fanning bureaucrats and the terrifically corrupt aldermen, not a man jack of them isn't in someone's pocket.

• Luc D’Vone, Commissioner of the Constabulary - Corpulent, bedecked in jewelry, official truncheon of office. Annoyingly smug. Working with Felicia Mont to steal peoples blood and log it in an effort to trackdown the Pachyderms ringleaders. 
• Amadeus Wit - The people’s lawyer, beloved by the public. Wins most of his cases. Currently high up on the Kovac Twin’s covert disposal list. 

Fibula Lodge 

Local lodge of the Morose Society (a necromantic society of rich fucks), dramatically decorated with all sorts of old skulls, jars full of preserved things. Opulent. Smoking rooms, studies, and laboratories. Mostly a social club for dabbling dilletants.

• Isambard Lang - The lodge's Grandmaster, an indulger in opium dreams and blackmail, runs the family liquor company during the day but leverages his real power via the society's other wealthy members. Has been letting Armitages inane plan run its course, dismissing it. Supportive of his sister’s assasination schemes.
• Millicent Maxim Senior - Slightly doddering with terrible judgment, prone to ill fated schemes and big ideas. Left the public eye after one too many scandals and failed ventures. Has somehow managed to entangle himself as a lynchpin to half the conspiracies in the city. Largely oblivious to all this. 
• Joahanson Armitage - Father of Hector (the false beast), ignores his son’s activities but would be outraged if he found out what he was really doing, building a necromantic war machine with Maxim Senior using bones stolen from the mausoleum. It's ungainly and hasn’t worked yet but there's a glimmer of chaotic potential in there.
• Grand Witch Felicia Mont - Elected head of the mosquito-warding wizard order, she has been using her mosquito minions alongside the commissioner to secretly (and illegally) create a catalog of citizen’s blood. 

The Grand Mausoleum

Massive, domed, stuccoed brick, baroque ornamentations, within thousands of cupboard niches hold human remains. Below are the flooded catacomb vaults, where blind crayfish and an ancient shrine to Big Moses live.

• Sacristan Kovac - A strange little man who knows each niche's inhabitant by name and talks to the bones (some say they talk back). Deeply worried by a recent spate of thefts, fruitlessly harangues the Commissioner about it. Commiserates with Maxim Senior.
• Assistant Sacristan Badeaux - Disgruntled, reedy amateur necromancer with weaselly ambitions and no talent. Is thieving bones and selling them to the Fibula Lodge who he obsessively admires. Uses the catacombs to store his thefts and meet the lodgers.
• Big Moses - Magnificently big albino crocodile, decorated with scars and golden torcs, languid, alien, thinks on a centuries long time scales, can take a hybrid man-animal form, killible, but if you were to screw up he would go upon a godly rampage. Gentle to his lovers.
• Henriette Drim - Sister to the leader of the pachyderms, fiery, lurid, and belligerently kind. Lover of big moses, got permission to use the mausoleum's catacombs as a meeting place from Sacristan Kovac (who thinks she’s just playing around with another ordinary youth).

The Lang Family Residence

Pillared, four storied townhouse all whitewash stucco and curly bits. The Lang family is old money and old prestige descended from the last woman who laid and loved Big Moses, the albino crocodile god of the swamp, and enriched since by their booming distillery and other conniving business stratagems. Their heritage shows in their crocodilian features. Scaly hides and long jaws.

• The Lady Lang - Queen debutante of the town, a beautiful crocodilian headed woman who hosts only the most lavish parties. Wears the hereditary Lang Ruby (gifted by the god himself). Arrogant, has decided to assassinate Big Moses in order to prevent another family ascending in prestige as the god’s new paramour. Yes, she’s that arrogant. 
• Inandorf - Severed head of the familial sorcerer who advises in general, and on matters of dental hygiene in particular. Roundly ignored nowadays. Mostly spends his time muttering about how they're going to get themselves killed trying to off the god. Can control a swarm of teeth round his cushioned reading pedestal. 
• The Mademoiselle Lilly Lang - Younger sister of the current Lady, troublesome, loves to slum it through the unseemly parts of town (crocodilian features hidden by veiled sunhat). Has fallen in love with Tammy Obadiah Oberon, one of the Pachyderms lieutenants.
• Josephine & André Kovac - Twins, identical to the point of confusion, both finely dressed at the Lang's expense, who manage the family's more underhand dealings. Visit their old man at the mausoleum to bring him certain corpses for secreting away. Efficent murderers.

Rumors: Public 

1. "The Black Beast stalks the night!" Say the lurid penny dreadfuls. "Youths viciously murdered and kidnapped! The constabulary are useless!"
2. The Lang Family's secret whiskey recipe has been stolen, and for once the bulbous rump of the law has lifted itself into action.
3. The Maxim Icebox Company has has had several workers go missing, and they're having a hard time covering this up! 
4. Foreigners have come to kill the crocodile god for sport, such an insult to the Lang family!
5. The Queen of the Docks is truly long lost royalty, giving magnificent treasures out left and right. 
6. Swarms of mosquitoes have been seen, assailing people, can’t those wizards do their jobs?

Rumors: Private/Secret

1. The Chosen of Big Moses may not have been the one that was rightfully chosen, and the God Hunters seem to know more than they let on.
2. The Black Beast's modus operandi is completely different, suspiciously sloppy for a force of legend. A copycat, perhaps? 
3. Maxim IceCo's storage basements have been overrun by supernatural pests, and yet they refuse to ask for help or even acknowledge this.
4. The Lang family has their fingers in every business and office in town. But the Fibula Lodge has said nothing. What scheme occupies them so?
5. The Pachyderms have been speaking of a card up their sleeve, and of usurpation. They're just waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
6. Maxim Millicent Sr. seems to be related to every strange happening in this town. Surely, that can't just be a coincidence...?
7. Beneath the Great Masoleum, in long-flooded tunnels full of strange fish, lay long-forgotten gifts from Big Moses himself.
8. The Mosquito Wizard is intentionally weakening the blockers near The Foggiest, to force the people to move into Lang-controlled Slums. 

Encounters: Town 

1. 1d6+1 Drunken Dockworkers, surly and belligerent, are just spoiling for a fight. Out-of-towners seem a pretty good target.
2. 1d4 Pachyderms, camouflagued in the current fashions and oozing charm; looking for an easy pickpocket target.
3. 1d4+1 God-Hunters, casually strolling about town in battle gear, harrassing the locals. Few dare stand up to them.
4. 1d4 Fibula Lodge Initiates, spoiled-rich teens with a disdain for the lower classes. Like to practice their ill magicks on the streets past midnight...
5. AND 6. Bump into major NPC on street. Roll d6 for situation: 1 - In Trouble, 2 - Upset, 3 - In hurry, 4 - Busy, 5 - aptly talkative, 6. Aptly Friendly! 

Encounters: Surroundings 

1. 1d6 God-Hunters, looking around for tracks and signs of movement. Jumpy, nervous, not too happy to have been seen. 
2. 1d6+2 Fibla Lodge Initiates, performing Bog Rituals and seeking new bones. Not too concerned with who those bones are currently attached to.
3. 1d4 Giant Leeches, trailing and ambushing those foolish enough to step into the deeper bogwaters.
4. 1d4 Great Crocs. 30% chance of being accompanied by a Wild Squamous, 80% chance at nighttime. 
5. Firefly Pixie Cloud. May lead travellers to safety, or may lead them into peril, depending on how "local" they look.  
6. The Mosquito Swarm. Run. 

Items: Trinkets and Souveniers

1. A set of Drenchwood Fishhooks, considered a favorite of the local catfish. 

2. Limited Edition Miniature Lang Whiskey bottle, empty. 

3. Seasonal bundle of Reekweeds, said to repel mosquitoes.

4. A little doll made of cork, easy to recover from the water. 

5. A rustic carving made in a large plate of crayfish shell.

6. A tiny soap from the Hotel Doré, a collectible since they stopped making these.

Items: Treasure and Loot 

1. A box of Spirits from many years ago, back before the formulas were changed and watered down. Highly sought after.
2. Scales of Great Moses, extremely valued by the superstitious and the hermetic.
3. A Bogblood Vial on a necklace, can be cracked to keep the mosquitos at bay for 3 days. Why do the Lodge Initiates wear these? 
4. A mint-condition playing card from an Old Master's deck. Family heads would kill to get a complete deck.
5. 1d4+4 Bloodseeker Darts. They never fail to draw blood from their target.
6. The Skeleton Key, lost long ago by the bumbling Comissioner. Opens any door in town older than 5 years. 
7. Page from the Captain's Log, a document whose signer will immediately be pardoned of all animosity. Wonder what happened to this "Captain".
8. The Peeler, a copper knife enchanted to cut a sheer piece out of anything. Seems to be very brittle.

HWG from the Orbital Crypt was wonderfully helpful in making this. 

LEKADS

Long ago upon an irradiated war-torn planet a sorcerer-scientist plotted to save his species, creating from the mutated population a lineage of xenophobic squid-things locked within armored shells. A perfect race in their estimate. And the damned things have stuck around ever since.

Lekad (warrior)

Hovering cone, eye-stalk protruding from dome head, plunger manipulator and ray-gun arms

• Reactionary, xenophobic mutant squid-things locked in sturdy armour.
• Their ray-guns kill or stun at range and preference.
• Plunger manipulator grapples poorly but suffices for interaction.
• Vulnerable to blinding and close range attack.

Subtypes

• Coordinators
• Big spherical head full of stratagems and orthodoxy.
• Ringed with manipulator arms for maximum coordination.
• Individually egotistically though this is a heresy.
• Heavies
• Driven insane by radiation, feared as abominations by the other soldiery.
• No manipulator, only a heavy-duty ray-cannon.
• Bulky, thickly armored shells resistant to most damage.
• Drones
• Dull, nearly mindless, perform rote maintenance tasks.
• Two manipulators instead of a plunger and ray-gun.
• Lose power if taken off their city conduit floors.
• Slaves
• Face shields to hide their 'ugliness' from the masters.
• Psionic dampener helmets make them compliant.
• Considered vulgar if necessary and useful.
• Beasts
• Genemodded mutant critters from their homeworld and the stars.
• Specialized for tracking, guarding, or other capacities.
• Controlled with obvious psionic collars, go feral if removed.

Statblock

5 HD, AC as Plate, 2d6 Ray-Gun Attack

Inner Creature : 1/2 HD, AC as Unarmored, 1d4 Strangle Attack

Running Lekads :

• Reoccurring villain-of-the-week antagonists, let them become a known variable for players to manipulate, occasionally throw some sub-types or such in to mix it up.
• Dangerous but easily thwartible, play up their goofiness but keep them deadly in a straight confrontation.
• They have two modes, elaborate monologuing or amusingly abrupt declarations.
• Shout TERMINATE! a lot.

Lekad Rumours :

1. A distant emperor, arch-coordinator, commands the lekad imperium.
2. Longstanding (and one sided) rivalry with a creed of robot men.
3. In the recent past there was a fanatical civil war dividing the lekads in two, it still echoes on.
4. Travel in teleporting invasion spheres and saucers.
5. Their ancient creator controls them in secret from their laboratory-bunker.
6. Whacking lekad armour at close range will knock it open, exposing the wriggling pilot.
7. They are color coded into different caste-roles. 
8. Brutally factional over petty issues and differences.
9. Hate change and difference to the point of refuting all but the most critical of improvements.
10. Love to gloat, keep them talking to survive.

The Wizards Capsule - Pocket Module

Getcher' weird minimalist module Eight whole pages! Get it right here while its hot! Easily insertable into a game on the fly or in a random table! Featuring weird wizard shit! Extra-dimensional possessions! Sabotage! Bickering familiars! 

You can find it here.

MAGIC IS ITEMS AND THEY ARE EATING YOUR SOUL

Arianod 

For use with 24xx.

***

All magic comes from strange items and artifacts collected by the sorcerous and adventurous who study them and practice with them, learning their secrets. 

Thus all magic is formatted as such... 

ITEM : POWER : COST : DIE

With item being the name and/or descriptor, power being what it grants and does, cost being self explanatory, and die being the die used to represent how skilled the user has gotten (starting usually at a d4). An example...

Flaming Skull of Gorbax : kindle & control flames : body turns to ash : d4

When performing magic small uses of a power (after the first few times using the item) will not require a roll ex: lighting a candle with the flaming skull or swirling a campfires embers about. what counts as 'small' can of course be scaled with the player's skill in wizardry as the group see's fit (or not if you'd prefer). When exercising greater control, power, or such, roll a die as normal to how you make die rolls in 24xx, 1-2 is failure, 3-4 is setback 5+ is success, and scale die size appropriate to skill with item. A setback will generally net you a successful spell, but with the cost. A failure is all cost no effect.

State potential consequences clearly, and definitely. The whole of your left arm will become ash. You'll be unable to speak clearly for the rest of the day. Make sure everyone agrees it is a fair cost. 

Wizards under this system, should become collectors of esoteric items, pillaging as many as possible. 

This system allows players to choose how dangerous they want magic to be, they can play it safe and cautious, or fling it about taking costs as they come. Furthermore, it avoids the 'defined by items, I loot my friends body, what am I now' problem with the bonding/skill die increase, while still allowing some looting. 

Optionals :

• Sacrifices, keeping sacrifices on hand, or choosing them in the moment, to siphon off spell-cost, the more potent the sacrifice the better it works 
• Ex: siphon the cost of your fireball into a last copy of a rare book which burns to cinders. 
• Ex: siphon cost of tongues spell onto a horse, it becomes directionless and confused.

35 Cheap Tricks

In response to Phlox, some cheap refereeing tricks.

1. Have some npcs that are nice, have them invite players to tea, show them hospitality. It'll make the dangerous and duplicitous parts of the world stand out more and endear npcs to players. 
2. Colliery to above, have weird or scary npcs that are nice, nothing makes an encounter memorable like a giant eldritch demon-spider inviting players to a tea party.
3. Seriously just have more tea or coffee or brunch parties. Having discussions over meals keeps conversations with npc's more interesting and can provide some fun setpeices. They can even be tense or hostile.
4. Theatre and plays are fantastic ways to deliver information, world build, and have some fun. Also have your players exploits be turned into comedic theatre once they become sufficiently known.
5. Give items, locations, objects, and such personalities. Perhaps as explicit spirits, or even just in a 'my rusty umbrella can be temperamental when I try to open it'. Anthropomorphizing things quickly fixes them in peoples minds. 
6. Give players a goodly but finite quantity of explosives, it will wreck so many things but its worth it.
7. When I doubt, roll a d6, if the number is higher events are favorable to the players, lower and its bad for the players. Super handy oracle.
8. Overemphasizing things can be good for some levity and to really reinforce an idea. 'It's a really big pig, like really really big, really really really big, this is just a whopping huge pig.' 
9. Sometimes fights should just devolve into cartoonish masses of flailing limbs that resolves when the dust clears.
10. Have crowds gather when players do unusual things in populated areas. Have them heckle and provide un/helpful advice. 
11. Sometimes having the consequences of a fight be being beaten up and robbed of all their belongings is better than death.
12. Travelers on the road might buddy up with players for a while if their going in the same direction, for safety and conversation.
13. Have players overhear npc conversations more often as a way of imparting info, it also helps make npc's feel less like information-kiosks, and can let players in on details about hostile npcs that they might not easily get otherwise (such as that these minions are dissatisfied with their boss).
14. The Men In Black can fit into nearly any game.
15. Have players get stuck, in squeezes, on thorns, in mud, and so on. As consequence, hinderance, and flavor.
16. Throw in little details to spice up combat, instead of the player just successfully hitting their opponent, they press the advantage, causing the brigand to slip on a patch of moss, and surely driving their blade into the brigands heart. And so on.
17. Likewise, let both players and npcs and monster all get caught out in the middle of doing things.....
18. Have npc's who hold grudges and act upon them. That street thug the players slighted is going to jump them with his buds the next time they come into town.
19. Concealed weapons and hidden pockets are excellent fun for both players to have and npc's to use.
20. Secret doors, hidden pockets, and so forth should always have some outward sign in the description letting you find them.
21. Describe what happens to leftover food, or prompt your players to.
22. Giving monsters and npc's a gimmick upon death (like exploding) is good fun, especially if more than one entity has it allowing players to learn it and potential exploit it.
23. Put at least one big buff boisterous man who sounds like Brian Blessed in your game.
24. Hair standing on end is handy for conveying powerful magic... or electricity. 
25. Colors are a quick way to flavor and name things. The Purple Barony. The Greenfolk. So on.
26. In-world lurid or saucy literature and songs are good fun.
27. Weird fish are a great way of adding subtle flavor to the world. Casually describe a fish market full of coelacanths and radiodonta.
28. Slightly uncommon but historical currency names are great for flavor. Get some ducats in there.
29. Give players unreliable information, but let them know its potentially unreliable so they can choose to act on it or not. Out of date information especially is useful as players know its potentially going to be misleading but can they afford, or even get up to date info?
30. Give npc's tics like eating something, chewing on something, fiddling, tapping, pacing, and so on, it characterizes and is easy to remember to include in description.
31. Let npcs be overly enthusiastic and brash, remember that some people are in fact the kind of person who'd join a bunch of strangers in doing something dangerous and stupid.
32. Locales, people, and monsters are almost universally improved by the addition of some incongruous element you wouldn't normally think of. 
33. Don't forget that teeth can be just as useful as hands.
34. Don't forget to describe what languages sound like in addition to what's said (in general terms of course, don't go full conlang).
35. Give players split second moments of reaction and oh shit as things go bad, traps go off, bushes are sprung, wrong levers are flipped, and so on.

Might do some more! They're very fun and also useful. I particularly loved Phlox's number 4, color coding things is just such a useful trick that I do not use enough.

Kamadan - My Edition

Kamadan

Fearsome leopard, a mane of snakes sprouting from its shoulders

• Breathes a sleepy miasma.
• Drags slumbering victims back to its den to feast on dreams.
• Attacks with claws, jaws, and fangs as a last resort.
• Dream-pearls form round particularly indigestible dreams in its stomach. 

Fiend Folio Review R-S

Here we go again! 

Retriever

★★★★☆

A funky fellow, the different eye rays feel cobbled together, I would likely narrow the range of what they do if I reinterpreted, the spider aesthetic is good, cleaver arms used while the ray's are recharging good, all together I warmed up to this one a lot more on second reading. I adore this line, 'demons sometimes mount howdahs on the back of a retriever and ride the creature to the hunt' it pushed me over from being eh, to being yah! The name is odd tho, since it seems to come out from the singular line about being servants of demogorgon.

Revenant 

★★★★★

An undead with a purpose! Besides aimlessly shambling around. Silliness aside its nice to see an undead that comes back for matters of unfinished business, a classic staple of undead in folklore. The particularities about it being driven by sheer will power, and not necessarily being evil (and thus immune to turn undead) are wonderful and suggests that players can perhaps reason with it. Strangulation as method of choice, but being guileful enough to use other tactics. Retainment of some abilities from life. Just a solid entry all around.

Rothé

★★★☆☆

These are really just underground yaks but I like them regardless. Feels like something some medieval travelogueist would write about"'... and in the mountain caves there dwell short, yak like creatures that the locals do call rothé, which are shy beasts with an aversion to the rays of the sun...."

Sandman

★★☆☆☆

I feel like you shouldn't be allowed to write a creature whose whole gist is putting you to sleep and then not have any weird dream adventures or mind eating happen. The Sandman could be great, but sadly falls extremely short here. I would steal its aesthetic and put it to better use.

Scarecrow

★★☆☆☆

Bit of an odd one, but a decent monster. I enjoy that its 'charm' effect is one of fascination. Needs a bit more idea fuel and intractable elements for players.

Screaming Devilkin

★★★☆☆

Is described as looking like a mephit. Art does not look like mephitic art (for the better I think, why have a entry that just looks exactly like another one). The pain howling screaming is rather neat in that it complete drowns out all player voices entirely. Yet another 'always attacks' monster though, disappointing if not crippling since it should provide for a fun one off combat encounter. 

Shadow Demon

★★☆☆☆

It's just a demon themed evil shadow. Normal shadow weaknesses and strengths. Eh I'm just meh on it. Maybe someone else has a more favorable look at it.

Sheet Ghoul

★★★☆☆

.... how does corrosive nose acid tie into an evil bedsheet....

Well its a decent enough sub-monster to go with the sheet ghoul.

Sheet Phantom

★★★★☆

Something tells me this and the scarecrow came from someones halloween one-shot. Its got a good combat gimmick going for it, attacks hurting its victims its draped over is a nice touch. The details about it perhaps being an undead form of cloaked are fascinating though bizarre and not to my tastes at all. Surprisingly I find myself giving this one a four out of five.

Shocker

★★★☆☆

Zap! Nice aesthetic, good abilities, lacking in behavior. I think it should have something more interesting to either do, or drop when dead. Give it an agenda, or a more unique treasure than gems. The 'others postulate the existence of an electromagnetic plane' line is good fun. Reminds me of the dune stalker, similar pulp sci-fi energy (in no small part due to the same artists illustrations).

Skeleton Warrior

★★★★★

Love this sucker, quality design right here. Could use streamlining like most of the entries (all this dross of ranges and what) I love the risk of losing the circlet and having the skeleton warrior straight up attack, as well if the warrior is being used by an opponent it creates further fun (I would be tempted to let the skeleton warrior communicate some way (perhaps writing?) to make for fun ethical dilemmas in controlling it). Their creation is a nice vague hook that could be nicely tied into a setting in some way or another. All in all one of my favorite entries.

Skulk

★★★★☆

Fascinatingly weird entry, cuttlefish human sub species that hide from most society which will kill them if found out. Surprised no one has adopted this one for their edgy loner persecution characters (update: I have been informed they were a player race in 3e (?). This entry feels like it was written by anti-skulk bigots, 'their cowards who murder whole families in their beds!'. Fear-mongering the lot of it.

Slaad

★★★★☆

Chaos frogs chaos frogs chaos frogs. I'm wobbly on the slaadi symbols/head jewels, on one hand it makes for a neat method of control/summoning beyond true names. On the other they shouldn't require specific spells to remove. Unfortunately, though I adore them, the actual slaad entries are a bit lacking in distinction and unique gimmicks being rather same-y. 

(also it bothers me that the entries are not in their hierarchal order but rather alphabetical).

(also also all the dross about different percentage chances of gating in other slaad types is neat but a bit clunky)

Blue Slaad

★★★☆☆

The blue/red rivalry is nice. The blue slaad only having defensive psionic has interesting implications for the other slaad (though not really expounded upon). Besides that there's three meh spell-abilities (which I must say I greatly dislike, an entity should have any abilities shortened to spells be tied into their character, not just pegged on with no discernible ties to their theme/gimmick).

Death Slaad (the lesser masters)

★★☆☆☆

Four is quite a small number! I feel like they should have a more coherent aesthetic (perhaps with individual differentiation (like the nazgûl)) if their so powerful yet small a group. I'd enjoy grabbing onto the detail about swords and expanding upon it since most of the other slaad don't seem to use weapons (except in human form?) and the mental picture of a hulking frog with naught but a loincloth and massive sword (heheh) is a good one. More spell-ability lists... sigh.

Green Slaad

★★☆☆☆

Sadly lacking in unique gimmick or abilities, instead having a pile of a spell list. The illustration makes me think some kind of bureaucrat/consular/merchant-ly sort. The bit about reincarnating as a blue slaad if killed I think should be expanded to all the Slaad reincarnating as a color lower when killed.

Grey Slaad (the executioners)

★☆☆☆☆

Unfortunately not as evocative as the name, pretty eh all around, not much I can even spin off of. Its all essentially just 'they will have spells and maybe some magic items'.

Red Slaad

★★★★☆

Decently set up, has more aesthetic coherency than the bloated spell lists of the others. The pellet bit is weird though evocative, feels like it should either just be venom/poison or you should be able to try and dig out the pellet with a knife or whatnot. Details on a Wish spell allowing for forcing it into obediance but only with other spells is weird but I guess it made sense in the milieu of ad&d's rules.

Ssendam - Lord of the Insane (slaad lord)

★★★☆☆

Giant amoeba with a brain inside. Beautiful. The black sword is interesting (potentially could tie into the death slaadi swords if you went that route). Sadly another spell list. Interesting idea that he always gives his name, very arrogant announcement like I presume. I think this entry has a lack of solid coherency/vibes/personality but the giant amoeba form is neat enough so I'll bump it up to a three star.

Ygorl - Lord of Entropy (slaad lord)

★★☆☆☆

Hrm, aesthetics feel out of wack with rest of slaad and ssendam. Always being in shadow is neat. Sickle is a neat enough signature weapon (though feeling out of place with the rest of the slaad again). Sigh... spell lists.... the dragon steed is cute.

Snyad (pestie)

★★★★☆

Pretty neato, solid behavior, most of the aesthetic draw is owed to Russ Nicholson's art, suggested interaction with mites is fun, feels like you could fit it into a dungeon 'ecology' easily. Small thieving humanoids are rather generic (this could easily just be goblins if this is how you wanted to do goblins) but it sails by with just enough of its own uniqueness. 

Son of Kyuss

★★★★★

Excellent, could use some polish, cutting back of the ad&d dross and percentiles with disease infliction and what (its mostly just the intersection of the monster and ad&d rules which necessitates quantifying elements of the monster, so to be expected), but the base is sturdy as cement. Walking corpses full of worms that jump out at you to turn you into one of them. Probs one of the best undead, pity it doesn't see more use (that I know of). Specially since there's an excellent implied hook with the name.

Stunjelly

★★★☆☆

Ehhh, it's not bad? Its kind of just another tricksy ooze variant but it is sort of unique, disguising itself as a wall and paralyzing then trying to envelope. But its just a variation upon the basic gist of a translucent gelatinous cube  (which is mentioned in the very entries text). I might be being too harsh on it.

Sussurus

★★★★☆

Fascinating entry here, another one with pulp sci-fi vibes. The dronesong effect on undead is neat, unexpected, and potentially very very gamible for players. Attacking oxygen consuming flame is also a nice touch that forces players to figure out how to interact with this beastie. I would love to throw this in as a random encounter in a bit of a gonzo game. It'd feel at home in the ultraviolet grasslands. 

Svirfneblin (deep gnome)

★★★★☆

I found myself liking these fellows surprisingly, the excellent illustration helps, as well as several interesting tidbit such as their stun-gas darts (an excellent mental image there, of short underground folks flinging darts which explode in puffs of colored smoke). I like also, the mention of having to pay hefty bribes to escape earth elementals. But besides bits I can string out into more interesting features, most of the entry is decent at best. Lots of percentiles for things, some okay behaviors, more spell abilities, etc.

Symbiotic Jelly

★★★☆☆

A very d&d monster, existing within the context of treasure hoards and monster killing to acquire them. I personally don't like it, but it's a fairly solid monster as written. With a clear motivation, and some decently interesting tactics to achieve thereof with its charming of monsters and illusions of treasure and weakness.

My analysis so far has been rather slapdash, but if there's one thing Im hitting on it's the importance of a Gimmick for any entity. That being of course a combination of aesthetics, behavior, and abilities all tied up in a core idea of the creature which can be spun out and extrapolated upon. 

The Skeleton Warrior is a good entry because it has a solid gimmick with its control circlet, skeletal demeanor, and desire for freedom. The Green Slaad is a poor entry because it doesn't have solid gimmick, just a generic list of spell abilities. And so on and so forth.

We're getting near the homestretch!

The Grenadier - GLOG Class

Class: The Grenadier

Burly and dexterous. The only two requirements for a grenadier. That and guts enough to be first over the wall hurling explosive death left and right. Just don't cut your fuse too short. It'd be a pity having to pick all your bits up.

Starting Items: Sack Of Grenades, Slowmatch, Buff Coat (as leather), Sidesword, Fancy Cap

Starting Skill: 1) Siege-works 2) Clout 3) Scrambling 4) Parade

A - Lobber, Close-Quarters

B - Perfect Timing

C - Fierce Figure

D - Blast-proof

Lobber

Barring major mishap, hurled projectiles always land more or less where you mean to throw them.

Close Quarters

You are adept at the tussle and grapple of fighting in ditches, tunnels, and battlements. Tight spaces present no challenge to you in combat.

Perfect Timing

Your fuses are cut to the precise second, you know just when to throw that bomb. When it comes to timing things you are flawless.

Fierce Figure

You cut a ferocious look, spark spitting grenade in one hand, wickedly sharp sword in the other, and a smoldering smile beaming out from under powder burns and rubble dust. Common soldiers and such cutthroats must check morale upon your entrance.

Blast-Proof

You can shrug off any explosion with a cough, groan, and minor singeing. What doesn't instantly splatter you makes you tougher after all.

Optional Grenade Rules

Roll on the hand grenade throwing table then roll for damage.

Hand Grenade - (2d6, blast)

Throwing Table - (2d6)

2 : explodes in your hand

3 : drop it in front of you

4 : lands short

5-9 : on target more or less

10 : lands long

11 : gets thrown back

12 : dud/fuse goes out

Miscreated Creatures Review

Today is a review of Nick LS Whelan's Miscreated Creatures (of which I was graciously given a pdf copy) a monster book of some forty seven pages and twenty unique entities. 

How it shall go is that I'll give each entry an x out of five star rating then describe my thoughts...

★ 1 star - abysmal, I detest it

★★ 2 star - meh and lacking 

★★★ 3 star - decent enough but doesn't capture me personally

★★★★ 4 star - quite good but could use some tweaks

★★★★★ 5 star - perfect as is 

With that let's begin! 

Overall Thoughts

The book suffers most (in my opinion, I tend to value conciseness) from the often rather lengthy backstories filled with names that don't really matter or mean anything to the reader and which occasionally make it tricky to fit things into a world. However, the style still has its charms and broadly I found none of the entires to be terrible, at worst they were decently made and I personally just didn't find them inspiring. 

The 'mechanical' segments for each entity which describes its behaviors in various circumstances is one of the strongest elements I find and a readily pillagible template for anyone writing their own monster manual-esq construction.

Piece By Piece Breakdown

Voice of Despair

★★★★★

Starting off strong we've got a necromantic herald. I adore the aesthetics at play here of the slithering femur bone chain construct with stretched leather face flanked by skeletal minions. If one is not inclined to use the dark arbiter its a fairly easy matter of assigning the creature some other overlord. Combat wise things are excellently dynamic, with skeletal minions, and various unique ways the Voice acts (I particularly like that it will burrow and hide in soft soils if it can, emerging later). As well, while the Voice doesn't have too many motivations of its own, its got enough personality to make a decent and enticing social encounter. 

Tungle

★★★★☆

Another strong entry, a bit of a backstory (a running theme we'll see, not exactly superfluous as it lends to understanding the creature, but the players are unlikely it interacts or find out its exact origins) and a wonderfully soldi base. Strange pathetic little tangle of flesh that hates people and attacks them with shadow puppets. The behaviors it employs and the nature of the shadows make for delightfully dynamic combat. I quite like that it defaces corpses, funny, telling of its personality, and an excellent tell for its presence. 

Tribunal

★★★★☆

Aesthetically the Tribunal doesn't quite do it for me and its backstory is a bit convoluted. Normally I would fit a more cosmically strange/ethereal creature in for arbiter of ancient outdated cosmic laws, however my aesthetically predilections aside its well made. Presenting a strongly social encounter players must navigate. Its given a crap toon of abilities that make it a beast in combat because it's supposed to be a titanic lizard thing of death that serves god's will which I think has the pleasant effect of encouraging parley at low levels, much like a dragon. Once again minions are at play, always good those. And I quite enjoy the trio aspect of its personality, makes conversations more fun. Making the tribunal so incredibly hard to kill does feel a might bit overkill in some regards but I think since most of the 'overkill' bits would generate more opportunities for play (like servants of god coming to retrieve and revive its body) it works.

Sweaty Fingers

★★★☆☆

Well that illustration makes me visceral uncomfortable (in a good way) arrogant, self obsessed, greasy essentially just humans. Thematically strong though I would have liked some more social organizations or peculiarities to add some oomph. As it stands they feel like aesthetically/thematically reskinned humans. Good but not great. Needs just a bit more. 

(Minor sidenote: I think the language around 'narcissism' for the entry could change since in reality people with NPD aren't automatically evil terrible people and one does not need to posses empathy to behave like a good person. Some quick language changes should work like swapping empathy for compassion. Since narcissism is more colloquial known I don't think this is the big of showstopper, just a thought) 

Sprat

★★★★★

Now this is a wizard-did-it combination horror done right, I'd honestly put this right up there with owlbears and it fits delightfully in with them, filling a 'pack hunting magical abomination' where owlbears fill a 'giant brute' position. The list of diseases to be inflicted is a delight with each one being quite evocative and creative (though rather terminal at times) and their behavior is well fleshed out with several tantalizing hooks and implications that can be expounded upon in play.

Pacifist

★★★★☆

A good encounter but somewhat tricky to incorporate, I wonder if allowing them to be summoned by wizard types and like would prove more utilitous. Things get interesting looking at the list of potential weapons stuck in it, as it shows a hypocrisy in the creature. As well, I can see a good deal of fun coming out of players and their opponents arguing back and forth trying to convince the creature which side it should fight for.

Muldar

★★★☆☆

These otherworldly game pieces don't really do it for me as an entry, I think you could have fun with them in a game, perhaps as a weird encounter in some gonzo world, but I don't think there's enough interactivity or inspiration to justify a full padded out entry. Would work better as smaller one paragraph thing. That said it's not a bad entry, just not justifying itself in my opine.

Medimisiac

★★★★★

Possibly my favorite, a fucked up possessed corpse in a coffin that drags itself along murdering doctors by sinking them into the ground till they suffocate alive. Amazingly solid vibes, unique combat, I think the only improvement I would suggest is that the medimisiac should ask for doctors in a broken sort of way, to give players a hint of what it's after and generate some interaction (and give em a 'oh shit' moment if they pass the creature and later hear about healers being murdered) All together I love the creature.

Mechanoman

★★★★☆

An excellent one off encounter it does make, arriving in a blaze of chaos with a clear mission. But I have trouble imagining how to use it scenarios beyond showing up, wrecking shit, and then being defeated/leaving without getting rather creative and straying from the text. All together however I can see myself dropping this fellow into a game and just running with it. Chrononauts with missions are always a delight.

Marionetteer

★★★☆☆

A neat backstory (though it could be pared down to 'the lonely, purposeless construction of a wizard') with a strong aesthetic. Behavior is well defined though not particularly generative of hooks on its own (I think it would make for a good encounter when thrown into a dungeon however where its friendly nature would make it an excellent potential ally faction among others). Also I want to give the marionetteer a hug. Poor thing needs friends.

Lizunders

★★★☆☆

I really like the idea here, however it doesn't grab me. Much like with the Muldar the basic premise is good, but much of the entry feels like padding, it could easily be condensed down and maintain evocativeness. 

Giant Tiddy

★★★★☆

What it says on the tin :P Very strong personality and aesthetics. Minions are always great, and the method through which the tiddy tries to make the players dependents makes for some excellent roleplaying potential. Its death effects area nice capstone touch. Might be tricky to incorporate into a setting but if you're building things with the intent of putting this thing in your all good. Solid entry.

Gevono

★★★★☆

The backstory is rather overwrought with specific names and what not, but the premise is solid. A being invisible to god should play delightfully if you can work it into your world. Her interaction with her followers is also excellent, with many simply following her chaos to loot and kill at their whim. Aesthetically I don't quite vibe with her but the spiral of arms is an excellent start, and tearing enemies limb from limb is deliciously brutal. I like her death throes that turns her into a singularity. 

Flip-Face

★★★★☆

Combination personalities are always good fuel for games. The theme of abandoned art is delightful but I don't feel that flip-faces features tie into the subject too well. It would be cool if it like mustard unfinished works of art to attack or it followed its purpose and opened up before clamping onto peoples faces suffocating them. Funnily Flip-Face feels like a pokemon to me.

Faithful Progeny

★★★☆☆

It took me two read-throughs to grasp these fellows, and I do enjoy the premise but eh, feels like another case of a good idea padded out with not a lot of interaction. Funnily enough they feel a fit for UVG, retuning the wisps to be psychic ghosts of these ancient monuments and fitting the progeny's hatred for humans into UVG's whole diversity of peoples makes it work much better I think. 

Dynamite Lady

★★★★★

My favorite after the medimisiac, magically created assassin driven by a sulfurous heat who relentlessly hunts down target and explodes afterward is just such a solid package, and wonderfully easy to drop into a game world. The 'fan cult' that follows the dynamite lady around is also an excellent touch, I know exactly how to characterize those and they add further dynamism to dealing with this entity. Sole critique is that I personally don't particularly like the art for this entry. Otherwise fantastic.

Dave

★★★★☆

Always here for clones, the tables are useful, facilitating easy generation of a bunch of different Dave's. The entry does lack a bit of a coherent hook, leaving matters rather up to the reader but in this case I don't think its to bad since its presented as a more tangible mystery. (perhaps I am biased however, as I find a clone army of Daves funny).

Buzz Swarmington Esquire 

★★★★★

An excellent example of how juxtapositions makes for more memorable, unique, and dynamic entities. Rot, filth, and decay but with the sensibilities of aristocracy. Swarmington is well set up for easy placement as a faction, strong goals, methodology, and personality. It would be quite simple to toss him into a world prime for interaction with players. I particularly like that his goals are transformative, so properly played along he could have substantial impact in a game. (also he feels like a good fit for an electric bastion land game).

Baby Thief

★★★☆☆

A very evocative and rightly creepy creature, but even with the generous backstory I found myself having difficulty imagining using it in play without substantial effort into incorporating it. Theres not much intractability I find. I think that in the hands of someone who 'got' this entry it could make for some good game play, but alas I am not that. The entry is solid in its aesthetics, behavior, and theme however.

Automated People Pruner

★★★☆☆

This is one of the entries that is decently crafted, but rather odd to fit into a world. Its behavior provides for an interesting encounter (made further interesting by its malfunction) but the backstory is an odd fit since it implies much but there's little for players to find out. If one were doing a quite gonzo world it could work decently as a random encounter, but I think it needs some more hooks. Running it with a more alien morality system could be fun.

***

Overall my personal favorites were the Medimisiac, Tungle, Sprat, Dynamite Lady, Voice of Despair, and Buzz Swarmington Esquire. With several runners up. Its a solid book overall definitely worth a look.

Achaierai - My Edition

Achaierai

Devil bird possessing a spherical head-body atop four mighty legs

• Brought up from some infernal realm long ago by onerous summonings. 
• Moves with long, speedy strides.
• Attacks with its clawed legs each one as tough as a bull.
• Its soft head-body is held high above most blows, and its legs are metallic.
• In dire straits it vents a cloud of caustic black smoke and flees.

King Of Cats

King Of Cats

Feline potentate, ruler of all cats domesticated and wild. Your words are law, your declarations fact, your paw iron. Not that that means much, cats being an unruly bunch with little regard for authority.

Meine: Arrogant (moreso than most cats)

Items: Big ol' Fancy Crown 

Loyal Retainers

1. A one eyed calico, cunning in strategy and war, your general.
2. A treasure hoarding hairless, your master of coin.
3. Chubby black cat, your lethargic master of assassins and secrets.
4. Sweet looking tabby cat able to win anyone over, your propaganda minister.
5. The dog, a grinning fool and traitor come to serve you.
6. The human, your long suffering royal advisor.

Grand Agendas

1. Construct a palace of great comfort and many high places to perch. 
2. Bring low the arrogant lions, show them their place beneath your kingship.
3. Wage war on the Lord of Birds and his subjects.
4. Illegalize the foul drug catnip.
5. Destroy your rival, the Rat King.
6. Aquire funds to fuel your decadent lifestyle of belly-rubs and fine fish.

Dark Creeper - My Edition

Dark Creeper

Short, light hating thieves hidden under many-layered cloaks, turbans, and wraps

• Are greatly pained by bright light and will whisper a spell to extinguish all lamps, torches, and fires near them when going about their thievery.
• Kill only when necessary, preferring to 'repossess' desired items by subtler means, if forced into violence they will freely employ hit and run tactics and the numerous magical items they have acquired.
• Hide stolen matchboxes, pilfered magical trinkets, and other items in their copious pockets.
• Violently combust upon death.

An odd people from the far-off City of Dreams. Can be found in small cadres pursuing esoteric agendas for their shadowy masters. Sporadically work with others if it suits their purposes but prone to suddenly abandoning allies. Occasionally one might meet their agents hunting a rogue cadre.

Sword Gremlin

Nathan Dupouy 

Sword Gremlin

You are a short, nay tiny little thing, a child? a goblin? specifics don't matter, what does is that you have a huge fuckoff sword, and a disposition to use it.

Meine: Purposeful & Urchin-y

Items: scrappy clothes, huge sword + scabbard, a memento

What allows you to wield such a massive sword with such ease?

1. Magical enchantments upon its blade.
2. A helpful spirit's hand.
3. Sheer willpower.
4. You're stronger than you look.

Why do you wield this sword?

1. An ancestral mission you must complete.
2. Revenge for a wrong committed.
3. You enjoy fighting a lil' too much.
4. To return it to its original owner, a mighty warrior.

What unique feature sets this sword apart?

1. It speaks to you, consoling and chiding.
2. The blade writhes with flame.
3. It tugs you through the air, almost as if it could fly.
4. Only it can cut your skin.

Fiend Folio Review M-Q

YOU THOUGHT IT HAD BEEN FORGOTTEN BUT ITS BACK

Phew this book is longer than I remember.

Magnesium Spirit

★☆☆☆☆

Seems extremely overpowered, pretty much no means of interaction besides fighting (and tbh it doesn't sound like it make for a good fight) could be much improved if perhaps the spirit still did its whole 'fight to take over a host body' shtick but then has to take time preparing its complex ritual to return it home. Giving players options to disrupt, negotiate, etc...

Mantari

★☆☆☆☆

Its a flying manta ray that murders people... well its not the worst... not very interesting either.

Meazel

★★★☆☆

Solid. A tricksy foe, signposting via 'sacks full of bones' near their lairs, a unique attack (garroting, which suits its sneaky ambush demeanor well). Could use one or two more bits. Maybe a specific item that they go after/want to steal? Or some interaction with another creature/people (besides just 'they want to kill it').

Meenlock

★★★☆☆

Creatures which transform (or try to anyway) characters are always great, and this one's got a strong location to go with it, neat tactics (paralyzation + trying to extinguish light), the hunting is good. Biggest flaws is that 1) why would adventurers go to shaft (besides curiosity) 2) the transformation into meenlock should have more intractability, perhaps proceeding slowly in stages so it could be stopped?

Mephit

★★★★★

I love mephitis, their serve excellently as like 'elemental imps' and their cheerfully vulgar demeanor is wonderful, they'd make a good greek chorus to throw into a game. I particularly love this bit "if they can obtain them... they will wear clothes of the most garish design and colour possible." Oh and of course this "They are often seen puffing upon smoking rolls of exceedingly foul-smelling dried vegetation" (mephit's smoke weed y'all)

Mezzodaemon

★★★★☆

I like Mezzodaemons their a bit messy and lack a strong identity but a kernel of excellence is there, and the bug fella illustration is amazing. Mostly the entry needs focus, I've rewritten it a few times myself choosing to play various abilities. 

Mite

★★☆☆☆

This is just another Meazel but with more traps? The two should just be rolled together.

Necrophidus

★★★★★

Magical dancing skeleton snake that dances you to death love it. Silly and awesome.

Needleman

★★★★☆

Excellent, pulpy creature that's not what you'd expect. I'd run this thing so players assume its some ghoulish zombie thing stumbling through the woods then NEEDLES. Very fun. 

Nilbog

★★★★★

Could be fun to make players carefully think out their actions to get rid of this nuisance, or couple it with some 'normal' goblins who're using this one's abilities to their advantage. Though I would make it so the actions players take are reversed, rather than them being compelled to do things so they retain their agency. Feels very goblin all around. I like it.

Nonafel 

★★★☆☆

Solid beastie if only a combat encounter mostly, you should be able skin it and use its fur to mimic the duplication ability.

Norker

★☆☆☆☆

??? Its just an aesthetically different kind of tough hobgoblin ???

Nycadaemon

★☆☆☆☆

They don't really have anything unique to them. Just a kind of generic higher level demon/devil.

Ogrillon

★☆☆☆☆

What if an ogre but with next to no of an ogres unique traits.

Osquip

★★★★☆

These things are grotesque and I love them. Could use some more interactive bits though. Maybe people train them as attack animals. Maybe they hold vendettas. Something to add some more interaction.

Penanggalan

★★★★☆

Wayyyyy to much text >:P great otherwise, classic monster (seriously though why is there so much text for this one?????).

Pernicon

★★★★☆

Love insects, water finding antenna, pincer attack that sticks fast even when they're dead. All solid.

Phantom Stalker

★★★★☆

The illustration is a bit at odds with the text, looks more like some kind of pulp biotech spaceman rather than an elemental spirit. I'd flavor things more ifrit like (and steal the illustration for other purposes) but otherwise this one's pretty neat. Bound spirit to a wizard, clause that makes it hunt the party down after its masters death. Could use a clear way to communicate this to the players however, maybe the wizard and the spirit have a big glowing sigil on their heads that any wizardly sort could tell is a 'revenge' charm or something like that.

Poltergeist 

★★☆☆☆

Ghosts always have lots of potential though the passage squanders it a bit by just having the ghost 'attack' and drive away any who comes near its haunt. Needs more interactivity.

Protein Polymorph

★★★★☆

This is just a more shoggoth-y mimic.

Quaggoth

★☆☆☆☆

Hairy ape people? Theres really not anything unique here that distinguishes them from any other pulp style hairy ape person. The illustration and name are nice enough I guess.

Quipper

★★☆☆☆

I kinda like these things for some reason, they have a good name. But otherwise they're pretty bland, bitey fish. Meh. 

Qullan

★☆☆☆☆

Insane naked savages (implied to be inhuman as well by the text) who do nothing but attack on sight are... not great to put it lightly :I The confusion ability is kinda of neat, might steal that and build some kind of special magically cursed warrior out of it. Otherwise I'll pass on this one.

Slowly, we are inching towards the end.