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Sunday, March 18, 2012

Holmes MONSTER REFERENCE TABLE

Screenshot of MONSTER REFERENCE TABLE (download link below)



I've put together a one-page sheet (in pdf format) listing the stats for all of monsters from the 2nd/3rd edition Holmes rulebook. The monsters are listed by HD from lowest to highest; there are 79 80 entries (the various Dragons, Giants, Lycanthropes and Spiders are listed separately; only the various Horses are combined on one line). The Nixie found only in the 1st print was left out for lack of space. The next-to-last column lists habits of the creatures, most taken directly from the Holmes descriptions; for a few I went either to the Holmes version of B2 (e.g. kobolds) or the Monster Manual (e.g. the various dragons). The second page of the pdf has suggestions for using the sheet, which I've reproduced below. If you find any typos let me know and I'll correct the sheet. Hope this is useful!

Download link:

3/24 update: Table has been revised to add Nixies, giving an even 80 monsters.

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USING THE MONSTER REFERENCE TABLE
1. Print the table for reference during the game, possibly as part of a custom DM screen.

2. Use the last column to randomly select monsters for wandering monsters or for dungeon stocking. The monsters are ordered by Hit Dice, with roughly 12 monsters per level. For a completely random selection, roll a d8 (re-roll 8s) and a d12. For low-level monsters, roll a d3 (or d4) and a d12. For # appearing, the total HD of monsters should roughly equal the total levels of the party.

3. Generate new monsters by rolling independently in each column. Use the results for inspiration; change or re-roll anything that doesn’t fit the others.


Example

Column: Roll = Result  

Type: 5-7 = Mummy/Undead  
HD: 6-11 = 9
DMG × AT: 3-1 = 1-6 × 1 [I doubled the damage below]
AC: 5-6 = 3
MV: 2-11 = 120
AL: 4-4 = LE
TT: 1-11 = Q [I added B below]
Characteristics: (roll twice; pick one from each. Re-roll if it doesn’t make sense):
3-8 = Shrieking  

6-1 = Silver/magic to hit 
Habits (roll twice, take 1st listed and then 2nd listed, if applicable):
6-7 = fierce; 1-1 = rushes

Caterwauling Corpse-worm

Move: 120 feet/turn
Hit Dice: 9
Armor Class: 3
Treasure Type: Q, B
Alignment: lawful evil
Attacks: 1 bite
Damage: 2-12

The undead corpse of a purple worm animated by evil spirits of the deep. The lower hit dice than a living worm reflects desiccation and decay. When a corpse-worm spots a living creature it will burst forward at unnatural speed (triple movement), producing a hideous sound as air rushes through small holes in its body. A character who hears this must Save vs. Turned to Stone or be frozen with fear. As with living worms, a victim is swallowed by any hit that is 2 over the minimum required. However, the lack of a working digestive system means the victim is not further harmed but is trapped inside the worm. Escape is not possible without a silver or magic weapon (requiring three successful attack rolls by the victim) or unless the worm is killed. They are filled with the bones and possessions of victims who were swallowed and could not escape. The tail stinger has atrophied and is not used for attack. Turned as a vampire; only damaged by silver or magic weapons.

5 comments:

  1. Cool concept, and I like the example monster you created.

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  2. Very nice. The unit of useful D&D information really is the single page or two facing pages. This can be seen with tables like this and the one-page dungeon format.

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  3. That looks really good, very concise.

    ReplyDelete