Friday, August 31, 2012

Beast of the Week: Humbaba

Going WAY back for this week's beast, we've got one of the oldest known monsters from the Epic of Gilgamesh, Humbaba, the guardian of the Cedar Forest that the hero and his companion Enkidu capture then slay so that they can bring cedar wood back to Gilgamesh's city of Uruk.  Here's a stab at him in D&D terms:

Humbaba*
Armor Class: -1 (21)
Hit Dice: 12***
Move: 120 (40)
Attacks: 2 fists/1 bite + gaze
Damage: 3d6/3d6/3d6/special
No. Appearing: -- (1d4)
Save As: Fighter 12
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Neutral
XP: 3500


Humbabas are lion-faced giants, standing 18' tall.  They serve as protectors and guardians of ancient otherworldly forests, and will violently oppose any who trespass within their domains.  A humbaba is able to communicate with normal animals and plants at will (as the spells), and they can stretch their senses out to a radius of 3 miles through the trees.  They are thus never surprised unless somehow encountered away from their forest homes.  In combat, a humbaba batters opponents with its fists and rends them with its long leonine fangs.  Its gaze is also deadly, and the first time any character meets the gaze (once per encounter), the character must Save vs. Death Ray or die.  Furthermore, each humbaba knows seven Magic-User or Cleric spells of at least 5th level, each of which may be cast once per day.  Each humbaba's spells can be selected as the DM desires, or rolled randomly.


For ease of use, here's a random table to determine spell levels:
Roll 1d8
1: 5th level Magic User spell (roll 1d12 to determine which spell)
2: 5th level Cleric spell (roll 1d8 to determine which spell)
3: 6th level Magic User spell (roll 1d12 to determine which spell)
4: 6th level Cleric spell (roll 1d8 to determine which spell)
5: 7th level Magic User spell (roll 1d12 to determine which spell)
6: 7th level Cleric spell (roll 1d8 to determine which spell)
7: 8th level Magic User spell (roll 1d12 to determine which spell)
8: 9th level Magic User spell (roll 1d12 to determine which spell)

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