Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)
I'm working on a creature for my current campaign, a sort of 'grandaddy'
croc that you can only find in a good fantasy setting. Rambling follows,
after which are some actual questions that you can skip to if your
attention span is short.
When the party is about to go slogging through the river and swamp to get
where they're going, they are warned by the natives of Urugasuchu, the
Grandfather Crocodile, the oldest and largest crocodile in the river. The
crocs, the natives say, never stop growing all their lives, and never die
of aging, they simply eat and grow until something kills them or they
starve. Urugasuchu has lurked in the swamps since the beginning of time,
and has grown so large that he feeds primarily on the largest of the
other crocodiles, letting none approach him in size or power. Even the
monstrous denizens of the jungle, such as hydras, avoid his territory for
fear of being dragged into the murky water and torn asunder.
On the way in, they'll encounter plenty of regular crocodiles that stay
out of their way, and eventually will be ambushed by a giant crocodile,
straight out of the book. There's 6 party members, levels 5-6, so a CR 4
croc will hardly be a speedbump, and they'll probably strut into the
village, full of vim about how easily they killed the granddaddy croc.
It's on the way out, however, that they get ambushed by the real
Urugasuchu. The question is, how should I stat him up? I intend for this
to be a run-or-die encounter; the conflict is going to be in what they
encounter trying to get away.
The encounter will start with a young adult blue dragon that has been
sent to deliver a message by a green wyrm that has pressed him into
service. He lands too near to a deep pool, and Urugasuchu attacks before
he finishes the message. The dragon is dragged under, and all the crocs
in the area swarm in to get a piece of the feast. I'll let the party gawk
at this for a while, but Urugasuchu eventually abandons his prey to chase
them. (They've forgotten by now, but ages ago they incurred the curse of
a dying lizardman druid. This should manifest as an unusual
aggressiveness among the crocs, even before Uru.)
From here, Uru basically serves as a time limit for getting out of the
swamp, which is unfortunate because the villain chooses this moment to
track them down.
What particular traits should Uru have? I've bumped him up to gargantuan
size and 17HD, should he have more? Should he have supernatural powers,
such as damage resistance or some sort or fearful presence? Any other
suggestions to make the scenario exciting?
I'm working on a creature for my current campaign, a sort of 'grandaddy'
croc that you can only find in a good fantasy setting. Rambling follows,
after which are some actual questions that you can skip to if your
attention span is short.
When the party is about to go slogging through the river and swamp to get
where they're going, they are warned by the natives of Urugasuchu, the
Grandfather Crocodile, the oldest and largest crocodile in the river. The
crocs, the natives say, never stop growing all their lives, and never die
of aging, they simply eat and grow until something kills them or they
starve. Urugasuchu has lurked in the swamps since the beginning of time,
and has grown so large that he feeds primarily on the largest of the
other crocodiles, letting none approach him in size or power. Even the
monstrous denizens of the jungle, such as hydras, avoid his territory for
fear of being dragged into the murky water and torn asunder.
On the way in, they'll encounter plenty of regular crocodiles that stay
out of their way, and eventually will be ambushed by a giant crocodile,
straight out of the book. There's 6 party members, levels 5-6, so a CR 4
croc will hardly be a speedbump, and they'll probably strut into the
village, full of vim about how easily they killed the granddaddy croc.
It's on the way out, however, that they get ambushed by the real
Urugasuchu. The question is, how should I stat him up? I intend for this
to be a run-or-die encounter; the conflict is going to be in what they
encounter trying to get away.
The encounter will start with a young adult blue dragon that has been
sent to deliver a message by a green wyrm that has pressed him into
service. He lands too near to a deep pool, and Urugasuchu attacks before
he finishes the message. The dragon is dragged under, and all the crocs
in the area swarm in to get a piece of the feast. I'll let the party gawk
at this for a while, but Urugasuchu eventually abandons his prey to chase
them. (They've forgotten by now, but ages ago they incurred the curse of
a dying lizardman druid. This should manifest as an unusual
aggressiveness among the crocs, even before Uru.)
From here, Uru basically serves as a time limit for getting out of the
swamp, which is unfortunate because the villain chooses this moment to
track them down.
What particular traits should Uru have? I've bumped him up to gargantuan
size and 17HD, should he have more? Should he have supernatural powers,
such as damage resistance or some sort or fearful presence? Any other
suggestions to make the scenario exciting?
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