OSE Encounter Activities - Gorgon

Today we have a hundred activities for the Gorgon. I remember being a bit puzzled by the presence of both Medusae and Gorgons as a lad who had voraciously devoured Bulfinch's at a tender age, but now I don’t mind them as a distinctive “D&D-ism,” a quaint combination of Catoblepas and the Khalkotauroi perhaps.

During early days, after exhausting the more common literary authorities, many monsters were strip-mined from whatever sources one could lay their paws on (the Rust Monster, Bulette, and Owlbear “Chinasaurs” being another excellent example of this), and the point of origin for this one could very well be the Bestiary pictured below:

The existence of a Save category for Petrification seems to drive the special abilities of several Monsters, but I do occasionally enjoy working them in together as a thematic motif. Plus, it’s always a bonus when a Player’s stumble across one of those “extremely lifelike” statues that seem to dot fantasy landscapes and aren’t quite sure if it was Basilisk, Cockatrice, Medusa, Gorgon, a powerful Wizard, or even potentially something more “gotcha” like a Gargoyle, Living Statue, or a lonely Caryatid Column (I always picture those in pairs for some strange reason).

See some of the other stone-to-flesh critters above for more information on how to handle their Petrification abilities in novel ways.

OSE Encounter Activities - Mummy

More Undead Undertakings! This time we take a stab at the Mummy. Their frightening presence is formidable, as is the mystical ailment they inflict. Does this profane disease sever one’s connections to the Divine in order to halt all Magical Healing? I think this is mostly inspired by the fabled Curse unleashed with the opening of King Tutankhamun's Tomb, but the rotting flavor imparted is pretty juicy and dire for ratcheting up tension as Characters race for some kind of mystical cure. If you want to really make them squirm, don't settle for a simple Cure Disease Spell 😊.

To me, mummification rituals almost always seem to imply an ancient, antediluvian culture with very particular burial practices and concepts of the afterlife. This can unleash all sorts of forgotten Languages, Foul Magics, and Tainted Technologies of course, and more than once I’ve made all my Mummies reptilian remnants of that aforementioned Saurian Civilization. The appearance of the Mummy is easily re-skinned, and any sufficiently large Mummy’s Tomb is going to also have all sorts of Mummified (and even maybe Animate) animals. If you’re feeling particularly wicked about their intrusion, you can even just use the same statistics for these.

I stumbled across some very flavorful Egyptian/Mesopotamian/Grecian Spells that I like to sprinkle among their Grave Goods, or even house within their hollow heads. Sadly, the blog was deleted so all we have are artifacts preserved in the Internet Archive’s cache.

Another type of Mummy I often like to employ are the taut and tannin stained Bog Born, replete with garroted necks and bound, gnarled hands. A great change of pace from your typical linen wrapped Lurchers, their touch usually inflicts a more desiccating disease, and their often-found leading powerful Druid cabals, etc.

OSE Encounter Activities - Sea Serpent (Lesser)

Another critter that doesn’t seem to have survived the transition to BECMI from B/X: The Lesser Sea Serpent.

For me, there’s more than a little cognitive overlap between these and Sea Dragons (although the Serpents don’t have Breath, Gliding, or Spells by default), but I’m more inclined to populate the waves with Sea Serpentsrather then their Draconic counterparts (I’ve already professed my love for Dragon Turtles, and they really handle that “Aquatic Dragon” niche nicely). I suppose the Sea Dragon could make for a nice change of pace to break with player expectations.

I tend to vary my Sea Serpents greatly in appearance and tactics, but the basic Stat Block is serviceable for most. Giving them an unexpected feature (horns, a sting, electricity, etc) can make for a nice surprise occasionally. It might even be fun to have their coils contain some kind of valuable or special substance and have them hunted by foolhardy Serpenteers. Perhaps this is where all that Dungeon Lantern Lamp Oil comes from?

Of course, the tantalizing implication is that since this is only the Lesser, something even more menacing might be waiting for your Players ‘neath the foreboding foam 😊.

OSE Encounter Activities - Troglodyte

Today’s table is for Troglodytes. I usually use these malodorous Monsters in dungeons and deep underground caverns (with their relatives, the Lizard Man more likely to be found in Swamps and on the surface). I’ve always enjoyed the trope of a once great and powerful Saurian Civilization where Lizard-based lifeforms ruled the world, and these creatures can represent the degenerate remnants of these once mighty kingdoms (along with Ophidians, Naga, and of course the various Dinosaurs).

Should you need some inspiration for describing the pungent bouquet brought about by their musky secretions, I highly recommend giving a glance to the Bad and Ugly columns of my Three Hundred Smells & Scents table.

OSE Encounter Activities - Golem

Golems! While a few of my favorites are conspicuously absent from the source (I’m particularly fond of the Clay, Flesh, and Stone ones), here are four tables to cover the ones that ended up making the cut: The feline Amber Golems, Cleric-fooling Bone Golems, Bronze Golems with their burning blood, and the rather crude, but almost pitiable Wood Golems.

There’s always room for a few more here, and it looks like the others might darken our corridors in the upcoming OSE Advanced Fantasy Monsters supplement!

OSE Encounter Activities - Shadow

With this entry, we’ve slinked past sixty percent!

Shadows share some pretty outrageous Surprise chances with another Monster I’m puzzling over how to handle (the Invisible Stalker), but on the odd chance they you don’t simply spring them on the players, this might provide some inspiration for what these quizzical creatures are up to. They may be most often observed shedding their stealthiness to attack something or someone else.

In this version of the game, they’re not yet consolidated or classified by creature clade as Undead, and this could serve as a rude awakening to some given the traits they share (Incorporeality, Ability Drain, Spell Immunity). I’ve always personally preferred to play them up as something extra-planar or extraordinarily strange:

• Elemental Darkness (I wonder what kind of special Summoning Device they use?)
• Unfettered Vampire Reflections (a bit too close to Undead for my liking but still intriguing)
• Life-starved, Famished Shards of The Elf Psyhopomp (or how they’re playfully portrayed in Peter Pan if you prefer)
• Primal Childhood Fears Manifest (we were right to be scared of the Dark)
• Or simply something else, shrouded in mystery and deliciously unknowable (they spontaneously generate in atramentous nether found only in the Mythic Underworld)

Whichever way you decide to interpret them, they’re sure to strike fear in the heart of the hardiest Fighter as they watch their sacred Strength shrink away with each successive strike!

OSE Encounter Activities - Noble

As a campaign moves out of the Dungeon Exploration Tier, Nobles can serve as powerful patrons or formidable foils. This table might be useful to add a little courtly intrigue or political background noise to a local kingdom. It could even be worth revisiting if characters make it all the way to the Domain/Stronghold stage to add some color or complications.

This entry brings up a house rule that seems worth mentioning: Social Status. When the seventh 3d6 in order is rolled for Character Generation (the one that is typically multiplied by ten for coin), one can use this almost as an Ability Score or Rating to roughly gauge what station or social standing for a character. “High rollers” on this bell-curve could even be of Noble birth (and you could roll on this table to see what sort of things their family is getting up to). Ages ago, I mapped the results from this roll onto a matrix for all the Classes to provide some optional “archetypes” as well, perhaps I’ll revisit that table someday.