#gravorg

day 13

day 14: snack time!

Image by Raven Mimura, © Wizards of the Coast

[Here’s the corner case I mentioned. Although the gravorg never appeared in another D&D product, it did show up in the Gamma World expansion Legion of Gold. Which is as good a place as any for an anti-gravity lemur. The gravorg is probably the most different, mechanically and flavorfully, from the original of this suite of conversions. Although it’s one trick is a good one, I gave it more gravity themed abilities. I also boosted its Intelligence score. In a game with roughly 50,000 magical ambush predators, why not have one more you can chat with?]

Gravorg CR 8 CN Aberration This faintly comical creature resembles an enormous black and white striped lemur. Its yellow eyes are wide and owlish, and its tail long and prehensile.

Gravorgs are curious subterranean carnivores that hunt by manipulating gravity into a weapon. Despite their seemingly flamboyant coloration, they can shift their fur’s stripes into a mottled grey suitable for camouflage among rocks and cave walls. When they come across a suitable prey item, they repeatedly use their reverse gravity ability to batter it to death, bouncing it repeatedly from ceiling to floor. Creatures that manage to get close to a gravorg must deal with its claws and teeth, and flying creatures that escape its gravity traps are instead blasted by pinpoint bursts of intense gravity.

Despite their bestial appearances, gravorgs are intelligent and can speak, but they rarely have anything to say to creatures they consider being food. Most gravorgs will feign a lack of intelligence to trick opponents into underestimating them. When interacting with creatures that recognize their intelligence, gravorgs will often weave half-truths and riddles into a befuddling tapestry that convinces many that talking to a gravorg just isn’t worth it.

Gravorgs move ponderously on the ground, but are capable of manipulating their personal gravity to allow short periods of incredibly precise flight. Although a gravorg will use this in combat, they typically save a few rounds of this ability to facilitate escape—gravorgs are cowardly creatures that dislike fighting opponents that can fight back. A gravorg grows to twelve feet long, but half of this length is made up of its long prehensile tail. Although gravorgs rarely use weapons or tools, this tail is almost as dexterous as a human hand.

CARBUNCLE

LEVEL: 3 (out of 35 possible)

TYPE: Fey Beast

SIZE: Tiny  

ENVIRONMENT: Forests (Feywild)

SPECIAL POWERS and ABILITIES:

- Sense Emotions (It can locate and track any emotion they sense in a wide area)

- Stimulate Emotions (The gem on their forehead can change and worsen certain emotions in other creatures, turning joy in anger or anger into joy.)

- Imbue Greed (The gem on a Carbuncles tiny head doesn’t only have to power to change emotions it also has the power to infuse a victim with extreme greed that only wants the gem and nothing else, the Carbuncle sometimes uses this to lure victims out of large groups.)

- Drain Emotions (These creatures feed on Emotions, truly evil Carbuncles often drain a victim of all emotions, leaving behind an emotionless husk of depression, and even that emotion is sometimes drained even though the Carbuncle dislikes feeding on bad emotions.)

CHANGES FROM REAL D&D CREATURE I MADE: Carbuncles never made it past 1st edition Monster Manuals, but I like these monsters from Mythology a lot. I made them emotion-controlling horrors that could function perfectly as familiars or pets of wizards, Wood Elves or even Drow. These creatures look extremely cute like a combination of armadillo, rabbit and fairy.

VARIANTS: Gravorg (second picture)

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GRAVORG

LEVEL: 14 (out of 35 possible)

TYPE: Fey Beast

SIZE: Small

ENVIRONMENT: Underdark & Underground (Feywild)

SPECIAL POWERS and ABILITIES:

- Sense Emotions (It can locate and track any emotion they sense in a wide area)

- Reverse Gravity (Gravorgs are famous for controlling gravity on their prey, they often take the gravity away from prey to smash them to the ceiling and then increase it again to make the prey smash on the ground into a pudding. Killing a Gravorg and stealing the gem from their forehead will give the wielder of the gem the same powers.)