Monsters that turn people into monsters

"Bryan Derksen" <bryan.derksen.DeleteThis@shaw.ca> wrote in message
news:ei9Aj.53853$pM4.21730@pd7urf1no...
> Ubiquitous wrote:
>> In article <jqtwj.74183$Ly.9003@pd7urf1no>, bryan.derksen.DeleteThis@shaw.ca wrote:
>>> Vargouille - Trigger transformation in their victims by kissing them.
>>
>> Do they exist in 3E or were they renamed/revised?
>
> They're in the SRD: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/vargouille.htm
>
> One of the later monster manuals also has something called the Shrieking
> Terror (IIRC), which is a multi-headed Vargouille that's created by fusing
> together a bunch of individual Vargouilles.

No, it is a magical hybrid between Vargouilles and Hydras.

> That's a case of a monster that turns monsters into even bigger monsters,

Nope. It still only changes its victims into Vargouilles.

> though the exact process by which a bunch of Vargouilles got stuck
> together wasn't mentioned (again IIRC). It can still turn people into
> individual Vargouilles via kissing, too.
>
> Vargouilles seem like one of those sort of monster that, if it were
> "really" released into the world, would very quickly wipe out all of
> humanity. There's not much commoners could do to avoid being kissed and
> then the surviving higher-level characters wind up facing swarms of
> thousands of the things.

I had this issue come up in a recent game. Vargouilles are not strong, nor
are they particularly active during the day. They are thus pretty easy to
hunt down, and reasonably easy to avoid.

--
^v^v^Malachias Invictus^v^v^

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the Master of my fate:
I am the Captain of my soul.

from _Invictus_, by William Ernest Henley
 >> Stay informed about: Monsters that turn people into monsters 

Malachias Invictus wrote:
> "Bryan Derksen" <bryan.derksen RemoveThis @shaw.ca> wrote in message
>> That's a case of a monster that turns monsters into even bigger monsters,
>
> Nope. It still only changes its victims into Vargouilles.

I was referring to the conversion of Vargouilles into Shrieking Terrors.
The description I recall reading gave no indication of how it's done,
though.

>> though the exact process by which a bunch of Vargouilles got stuck
>> together wasn't mentioned (again IIRC). It can still turn people into
>> individual Vargouilles via kissing, too.
>>
>> Vargouilles seem like one of those sort of monster that, if it were
>> "really" released into the world, would very quickly wipe out all of
>> humanity. There's not much commoners could do to avoid being kissed and
>> then the surviving higher-level characters wind up facing swarms of
>> thousands of the things.
>
> I had this issue come up in a recent game. Vargouilles are not strong, nor
> are they particularly active during the day. They are thus pretty easy to
> hunt down, and reasonably easy to avoid.

But they're not _inert_ during the day, they're still going to fight.
The save DC to avoid paralysis from a Vargouille's shriek is 12, so
every standard-issue 1st level commoner within 60 feet has better than
even odds of being paralyzed by a single Vargouille. They run in packs,
though, so the odds go up dramatically. They won't be easy to find in
the first place, either, since they've got hide +11 and move silently +7.

The key to taking over the world will be to pick off isolated and
vulnerable targets first, building up Vargouille numbers, and then
swarming en masse to saturate the area with paralyzing shrieks to make
up for the low save DC. If you've got twenty of them mobbing you odds
are good you're going to roll at least one critical failure.
 >> Stay informed about: Monsters that turn people into monsters 

Bryan Derksen wrote:

> The key to taking over the world will be to pick off isolated and
> vulnerable targets first, building up Vargouille numbers, [...].

See, the simple counter is that they don't do that. Why? No one can
truely know the mind of the hateful undead, but perhaps they hate the
living so much they'd rather not be close enough to kill, and only when
we stray into their favorite hides do they scream.

--
tussock

I'm like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gunna get.
 >> Stay informed about: Monsters that turn people into monsters 

"tussock" <scrub.TakeThisOut@clear.net.nz> wrote in message
news:47d8bc4a@clear.net.nz...
> Bryan Derksen wrote:
>
>> The key to taking over the world will be to pick off isolated and
>> vulnerable targets first, building up Vargouille numbers, [...].
>
> See, the simple counter is that they don't do that. Why? No one can
> truely know the mind of the hateful undead, but perhaps they hate the
> living so much they'd rather not be close enough to kill, and only when
> we stray into their favorite hides do they scream.

Aberrations, not undead. Of course, that opens up all kinds of funky
explanations that work fine. I treat them somewhat like predatory nocturnal
birds/bats. Not a lot of victims out at night.

--
^v^v^Malachias Invictus^v^v^

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the Master of my fate:
I am the Captain of my soul.

from _Invictus_, by William Ernest Henley
 >> Stay informed about: Monsters that turn people into monsters 

Malachias Invictus wrote:
> tussock wrote:
>> Bryan Derksen wrote:
>>
>>> The key to taking over the world will be to pick off isolated and
>>> vulnerable targets first, building up Vargouille numbers, [...].
>>
>> See, the simple counter is that they don't do that. Why? No one can
>> truely know the mind of the hateful undead, but perhaps they hate the
>> living so much they'd rather not be close enough to kill, and only when
>> we stray into their favorite hides do they scream.
>
> Aberrations, not undead.

Hmm? Ah, also, hellspawn, not Aberrations. I was thinking Mohrg.

> Of course, that opens up all kinds of funky explanations that work
> fine. I treat them somewhat like predatory nocturnal birds/bats. Not
> a lot of victims out at night.

Especially not in graveyards. Creepy enough IRL for most folk.

--
tussock

I'm like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gunna get.
 >> Stay informed about: Monsters that turn people into monsters 

"tussock" <scrub.RemoveThis@clear.net.nz> wrote in message
news:47dba616@clear.net.nz...
> Malachias Invictus wrote:
>> tussock wrote:
>>> Bryan Derksen wrote:
>>>
>>>> The key to taking over the world will be to pick off isolated and
>>>> vulnerable targets first, building up Vargouille numbers, [...].
>>>
>>> See, the simple counter is that they don't do that. Why? No one can
>>> truely know the mind of the hateful undead, but perhaps they hate the
>>> living so much they'd rather not be close enough to kill, and only when
>>> we stray into their favorite hides do they scream.
>>
>> Aberrations, not undead.
>
> Hmm? Ah, also, hellspawn, not Aberrations. I was thinking Mohrg.

Funny, those. They even look like aberrations.

>> Of course, that opens up all kinds of funky explanations that work
>> fine. I treat them somewhat like predatory nocturnal birds/bats. Not
>> a lot of victims out at night.
>
> Especially not in graveyards. Creepy enough IRL for most folk.

Yeah. In D&Dland, those places would be avoided like a nuclear testing
site.

--
^v^v^Malachias Invictus^v^v^

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the Master of my fate:
I am the Captain of my soul.

from _Invictus_, by William Ernest Henley
 >> Stay informed about: Monsters that turn people into monsters