Taking on the catoblepas/gorgon again

I’m treating the catoblepas and MM gorgon as variations on the same thing, so don’t get confused later. The catoblepas has received a few variations in 3pp because the monster is public domain but was never included in the SRD. I’m gonna simplify all that into a series of random generation tables.

Melee attack, roll 1d4

1. Gore attack, roll to determine damage

2. Tail strike, roll to determine damage

3. Mane of snakes, deal special attack damage

4. Long neck doubles melee reach, roll 1d3 to determine attack from the above list

Gore attack damage, roll 1d3

1. Curling horns, bludgeoning damage

2. Pointed, antlers and/or tusks, piercing damage

3. Mix, bludgeoning & piercing damage

Tail damage, roll 1d4

1. Mace tail, bludgeoning damage

2. Spiked tail, piercing damage

3. Spiked mace tail, bludgeoning & piercing damage

4. Long tail doubles melee reach, roll 1d3 to determine attack from the above list

Defenses, roll 1d4

1. Thick hairy hide and/or bony plates, no additional effect

2. Metallic scales, adds vulnerability to electricity/lightning damage

3. Horrible stench, opponents must hold breath to avoid taking psychic/poison damage

4. Defensive spines, deal piercing damage if an opponent successfully hits in melee

Special attack, roll 1d3

1. Gaze attack*

2. Breath weapon

3. Eye ray attack*

(Roll on following table to determine damage)

*Cannot be used if the catoblepas’ eyes are covered or damaged. This include the eyes provided by the mane of serpents.

Special attack damage, roll 1d6

1. Poison damage, and resistant to poison damage; has violet pigmentation

2. Necrotic damage, and immune to necrotic damage but vulnerable to radiant damage; has black pigmentation

3. Acid damage, and resistant to acid damage; has green pigmentation

4. Petrifaction, and immune to petrifaction; has gray/silvery pigmentation

5. Fire damage, and immune to fire damage but vulnerable to cold damage; has red/orange/yellow pigmentation

6. Cold damage, and immune to cold damage but vulnerable to fire damage; has blue/white pigmentation

Throw spikes attack, roll 1d4

(If the catoblepas has spikes/spines from its tail or defense then roll this table, otherwise ignore)

1. No additional effect

2. Can throw spikes as a ranged attack, like manticore

3. Spines deal special attack damage

4. Spines can be thrown & deal special attack damage

Spit venom attack, role 1d2

(If the catoblepas has a mane of serpents then roll this table, otherwise ignore)

1. No additional effect

2. The snakes can spit venom as a ranged attack, dealing special attack damage

If desired, roll multiple times on single tables, ignoring nonsensical results.

Reimagining the barrow-wight

So I was thinking about how there are a few different depictions of barrow-wights in folklore and fantasy fiction. That inspired to write this post imagining different variations on the basic concept. Sorry, no rules for now.

At its most basic, a barrow-wight is a tomb guardian. But what is it and where did it come from? Is it the ghost of the interred? A spirit purposely bound to guard it? A spontaneous genius loci that jealousy guards it?

Here are a few ideas:

The Angry Dead

"You can't take it with you" goes the proverb, but that didn't stop these guys from trying. Whenever a grave robbing adventurer tries to plunder this tomb, the spirits of the interred awaken and attack. The spirits will keep attacking, using whatever means at their disposal, until the robbers flee or are dead. If the robbers took anything with them, then the spirits may be able to follow or the stolen treasure will be cursed until returned. These barrow-wights are unlikely to reanimate slain intruders on a permanent basis, though they may use the bodies as gruesome warnings and puppets to attack future intruders.

The Bound Guardian

When this barrow was constructed, the priests of the local religion summoned and bound a spirit to defend the tomb from grave robbers. The exact nature of such spirits is variable, as there are many kinds of spirits to summon that would be useful as tomb guardians. These spirits will generally not be able to wander far from the barrow due to the bindings, which will probably not allow them to recover stolen treasure either. However, these spirits are more likely to unintentionally reanimate victims as free-willed self-sufficient undead. While the barrow-wight won't hesitate to destroy any such "offspring" that remain close to the barrow, it can't pursue those who manage to escape.

The Jealous Hoarder

This spirit was neither interred nor summoned: it came to haunt the barrow of its own accord and feels entitled to the treasure therein. This spirit has no limitations on its movements and will able to pursue thieves across the world, although they're unlikely to leave their barrows unguarded for long. The nature of these spirits are easily the most variable, with draconic forms being a popular manifestation. They will likely be prone to adding more trinkets to the hoard, which can attract unwanted attention if they aren't careful to cover their tracks.

Phylacteries are antisemitic now

Apparently D&D's phylactery is now recognized as anti-Semitic.

Paizo has renamed theirs to "soul cage" and ThinkDM.org invented this handy rename table:

I would've renamed it to horcrux. It's a neologism invented specifically to refer to that concept, not that I mind the rename table because I imagine everyone would want to invent their own flowery name for it.

Now all we need to do is rename the lich to a koschie and we're golden. Which publishers will probably need to do soon anyway since Hasbro has gone full Games Workshop with its new OGL. Oh well.