The Monstruous Vermin
Armour Class: as plate
Hit Dice: 3
Move: as dwarf
Attacks: oversized rapier (1d8), crush (1d12), dung ball (special)
No. Appearing: 1
Save as: dwarf 3
Morale: 4
Treasure: assorted keepsakes
Alignment: Neutral
Why did it find itself transformed into a monstruous vermin?
- Punishment for unnameable sins.
- Debauched and debased itself to what it is now.
- Slowly changed into what it was treated as.
- Troubled dreams spilled over into the waking world.
- The cold, uncaring and meaningless hands of fate.
- An unknowable mystery, forever lost.
In this sorry state, it is nevertheless forced to provide for its former family. To this end, it has taken up adventuring. However, it never was particularly resolute, and will hopelessly carouse everything away.
It is as much a captive of its helpless kin as of its own ravenous hunger, aggravated by a distaste for all fresh food. It can only bring itself to eat moldy bread, rotten vegetables, carrion, and other tainted food.
It finds vile pleasure in scurrying on the floor silently and hanging from the ceiling, faintly swinging while waiting to fall on its armoured back over prey (1d12 damage).
The Monstruous Vermin always rolls in front of it a ball of pressed dung, soil and assorted trash as big as it is, which it uses to spring traps, clear shallow pits, as sustenance source, and to safekeep mementos. Additionally, when on top of a slope or cliff, it will throw the ball down to crush any unfortunates below (damage as if the victim fell from that height, halved on a successful save).
It will diligently roll the ball up any slope. Are we, then, to imagine him happy?
What can be found inside the dung ball?
- 1d6 gold buttons (1 gp each).
- A collection of textile samples.
- An bone-rattlingly loud alarm clock.
- An officer's sword.
- A letter to a father.
- A suitcase of textile samples.
Released for the Harry Clarke Bestiary under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.
