Chapter Five: Monsters of Athas

Life is a mysterious and resilient thing. Even in the starkest wastes of Athas, the careful observer finds it clinging to the horns of sand dunes, peeking out from beneath wind-raked boulders, and creeping along the cracked plains of sun-baked clay.

To survive, almost every form of life has become a monster. On the increasingly infertile world of Athas, these adaptations have taken an almost diabolical turn. The land is so barren that every form of life, to one extent or another, is both predator and prey. Some of the more notable of these monsters are described in the pages that follow.

Over the course of the next few pages, you will learn a little about the most common, interesting, or dangerous creatures that I have encountered in my travels. Again, I must caution the would-be adventurer that even the most passive beast or sweetest flower is often deadly on Athas.

Animals, Domestic

Kank

Erdlu

Tablelands

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Tablelands

or Hinterlands

or Hinterlands

Common

FREQUENCY

Common

Hive

ORGANIZATION:

Flock

ACTIVITY CYCLE:

Any

Day

Omnivore

D I E T

Omnivore

Animal (1)

INTELLIGENCE:

Animal (1)

Nil

Nil

TRE ASURE :

Neutral

ALIGNMENT:

Neutral

NO. APPEARING:

50-500

50-500

(5d10x10)

(5d10x10)

ARMOR CLASS :

MOVEMENT

HIT DICE: THAC0:

2 "

NO. OF ATTACKS:

1d6

1d6/1d4

DAMAGE/ATTACK: N i l

See below

SPECIAL ATTACKS: N i l

Nil

SPECIAL DEFENSES:

Nil

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil

L (8' long)

M (7' tall)

SIZE:

Elite (14)

Average (10)

MORALE : XP VALUE:

Nil

Nil

PSIONICS:

There are numerous domesticated animals on Athas. Some of

the most common ones, at least in the Hinter and Tablelands, are

described here.

Erdlu

Erdlus are flightless, featherless birds covered with flaky gray-to-

red scales. They weigh as much as 200 pounds and stand up to

seven feet tall. They have powerful, lanky legs ending in four-toed

feet with razor-sharp claws, and can run at great speeds over short

distances (no more than half-a-mile). Their bodies are massive and

round, with a pair of useless wings folded at their sides. Attached to

their yellow, snake-like necks are small round heads with huge

wedge-shaped beaks.

Erdlus makeidealherd animals, as they can eat many forms of

tough vegetation, as well as snakes, lizards, and other small reptiles.

They instinctively band together in flocks for protection. When

threatened, their first impulse is to flee. If this is not possible, the

entire flock will turn and give battle as a group. When they fight,

they strike at their attackers with their sharp beaks and then rake

them with their claws.

Erdlu eggs are an excellent food, containing all the nutrients that

a human or demihuman needs to survive for months at a time. If

eaten raw, they can even substitute for water (1 gallon per egg) for

periods of up to one week. In addition, the hard scales of their wings

make excellent shields or armor (AC 6), their beaks can be used to

make fine spearheads, and their claws are often crafted into dag-

gers or tools.

Kank

Kanks are large docile insects. Their bodies have a black chitin-

ous exoskeleton, and are divided into three sections: head, thorax,

Inix

Mekillot

Tablelands

Tablelands

or Hinterlands

or Hinterlands

Uncommon

Rare

Solitary

Solitary

Day

Day

Herbivore

Omnivore

Animal (1)

Animal (1)

Nil

Nil

Neutral

Neutral

1 or 2

1 or 2

7 (underside 9)

1d6/1d8

1d6

Crush

Swallow or crush

Nil

Nil

Nil

Nil

H (16 + ' long)

G (30' long)

Elite (14)

Steady (12)

6,000

Nil

Nil

and abdomen. Kanks often weigh as much as 400 pounds and

stand up to four feet tall at the back, with bodies as long as eight

feet from head to abdomen. Around their mouths, they have a pair

of multi-jointed pincers which they use to carry objects, to feed

themselves, and occasionally to fight with. On their thoraxes, they

have six lanky legs ending in a single flexible claw with which the

kank can grip the surfaces it walks upon. Their bulbous abdomens

have no appendages, and are simply carried above the ground.

Kanks are often used as caravan mounts, as they can travel for a

full day at their top speed, carrying a two-hundred pound passen-

gerandtwo-hundred pounds of cargo. They also make decent herd

animals and are especially valued by elves. Because they can digest

nearly any sort of organic matter, these hardy beasts will thrive in

almost any environment. In addition, they require little attention,

for a kank hive instinctively organizes itself intofood producers,

soldiers,andbrood queens.

The food producers secrete melon-sized globules of green honey

that they store on the their abdomens to feed the young and, when

food is scarce, the rest of the hive. Humans and demihumans can

live on this nectar alone for periods of up to three weeks, but must

supplement their diets with meat and/or vegetation after longer

periods. The sweet taste of this nectar makes it very valuable, and it

is this that has caused the kank to be domesticated. It should be

noted that wild kanks produce far fewer globules than their careful-

ly breed cousins.

When the tribe stops in an area that looks as though there is a

considerable amount of vegetation, the brood queens lay a clutch of

twenty to fifty eggs. The soldier kanks, along with the rest of the

hive, ferociously defend this area from all predators, and will not

leave until the eggs hatch. Herders must delay their migrations or

abandon their hives when this conflicts with their plans.

In a fight, the soldiers attack first, striking with their pincers for

I. [^] Animals, Domestic

1d6points of damage. In addition, any victim hit by a soldier is

injected with ClassOpoison (save vs. poison or be paralyzed in

2d12 rounds). If pressed, the food producers will also fight, but

they lack the poison of the soldiers. The brood queen never attacks,

even in self defense.

Although predators may attack kanks for the food producers'

honey globules, only the foulest carrion eaters will eat kank flesh.

As soon as a kank dies, its meat emits a foul-smelling odor that not

even a starving man can stomach. The chitinous exoskeleton of

kanks can be scraped and cut into solid plates of armor (AC5), but

it is somewhat brittle and each time it is hit there is a 20% chance

that it will shatter.

Mekillot

Mekillots are mighty lizards weighing up to six-tons, with huge,

mound-shaped bodies as long as 30 feet. Their backs and heads are

covered with a thick shell that serves as both a sunshade and protec-

tion from attacks by other large creatures. Their undersides are

covered with much softer scales (AC 8).

Despite their vicious dispositions, mekillots are often used as car-

avan beasts. A hitched pair can pull a wagon weighing 10-20 tons

at a slow, plodding pace. Mekillots are never truly tame, however;

even when they are hitched to a wagon, the stubborn creatures have

been known to turn off the road and go wandering off for days --

without any apparent reason. They are also noted for making

snacks of their handlers. Because of the difficulties of controlling

these beasts, most caravans rely on psionicists with the appropriate

powers to drive them.

In a fight, mekillots attack with their long tongues, striking for

1d6 damage. On a natural roll of 20, the tongue grasps the victim

DS1

DS1

and tries to draw him into his mouth. He must save vs. paralyzation

to avoid being swallowed and slowly killed by the great beast's di-

gestive system. Swallowed individuals are helpless to employ any

form of attack other than psionics on the mekillot that consumed

them.

Mekillots protect their vulnerable undersides by instinctively

dropping to their bellies when anything crawls beneath them. This

causes 2d12 points of damage to the creature they drop upon and

may injure the mekillot, depending on what it is trying to flatten.

Inix

The inix is a large lizard midway in size between a kank and

mekillot. It weighs about two tons and grows up to sixteen feet long.

Its back is protected by a thick shell, while its belly is covered with a

layer of flexible scales.

Inix make spirited mounts, and are capable of carrying up to a

seven-hundred and fifty pounds. They move at steady pace for

hours on end, and over short distances, their charge is as fast as

that of a kank. Inix riders often travel in howdahs, small box-like

carriages that are strapped to the beast's back.

The one major drawback to traveling by inix is that these large

herbivores need vast amounts of forage. If they don't get enough to

eat they are nearly impossible to control. Thus, they are seldom

used in regions where forage is at a premium.

In combat, inix slap with their immense tail (1d6 damage) and

bite (1d8 damage). On a natural biting attack roll of 20, they grasp

man-sized or smaller opponents and do an additional 1d20 points

of crushing damage. Their shells are useful for making armor (AC

5), and their scaly underbellies can be used to make a type of fine

leather armor (AC7).

II. [^] Belgoi

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Tablelands

Uncommon

FREQUENCY:

Tribe

ORGANIZATION:

ACTIVITY CYCLE:

Any

Omnivore

DIET: INTELLIGENCE:

TREASURE:

M,(I)

Lawful evil

ALIGNMENT:

1-10

NO. APPEARING: ARMOR CLASS: MOVEMENT: HIT DICE: THAC0: NO. OF ATTACKS:

1 d 4 + 2

DAMAGE/ATTACK:

Constitution drain

SPECIAL ATTACKS:

SPECIAL DEFENSES : N i l

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil

M (6' tell)

SIZE:

Average (8-10)

MOR A L E : XP VALUE:

PSIONICS SUMMARY:

PS Ps

Dis/Sci/Dev Attack/Defense Score

Level

2/1/5

E W , P B / M --12

Telepathy --Sciences:domination;Devotions:attraction, ego whip,

psionic blast, mind blank, contact.

Note:These psionics are common to most belgoi. It is not unusual

for individuals of higher status to have more powerful psionics,

however.

At first sight, the belgoi appear human -- end then you notice the

long clews on the end of their fingers, their puckered, toothless

mouths, and their webbed, three-toed feet. They are a race of igno-

rent demihumans who dwell in the most forlorn wastes of Athas.

They have a taste for the flesh of intelligent races and no ruler will

tolerate them within five day's travel of his city.

Combat:Belgoi usually attack by sneaking up on their victim's

camp and selecting a juicy looking target. Each belgoi rings a smell

bell that allows it to make contact with its victim, then attempts to

usedominationto take over the victim's body end have him leave

camp, orattractionto lure the victim into the darkness. If the be-

lgoi'scontactis successful, only the victim can hear the bell, but if it

fails, then the entire party hears it.

Once the victim is lured out of camp, the belgoi caresses and

touches the victim, temporarily draining 1d6 points of Constitution

per round (duration: 1d4 turns, victim loses all bonuses due to high

Constitution). Upon reaching 0 Constitution points, the victim

fells unconscious, and the belgoi sits down to feast.

If forced into melee combat, the belgoi strike with their wicked

claws, inflicting en 1d4+2 points of damage. Each time they hit,

the victim must save vs. poison or lose 1d6 points of Constitution

(es described above).

When a battle starts to go against the belgoi, they will flee and

fetch replacements for any of their fallen comrades, then return a

short time later to attack again. Therefore, battles with belgoi often

turn into long, running fights that last for many days. The only wey

to prevent the belgoi from returning time after time is to kill them all

before they have a chance to escape.

Habitat/Society:Basically, the belgoi form huge raiding tribes end

behave as such. They tend to make their homes in forlorn parts of

the desert, but journey forth in greet numbers to harass the trading

routes, settled villages, end anywhere else they can find a plentiful

supply of poorly defended people.

Belgoi hosts tend to move in small parties of 1-10 individuals.

When they encounter likely-looking prey, the scouting party usually

attacks, looking to its own dinner first. If they have stumbled across

a large group, however, they will fetch other members of their tribe

end return to attack with greeter numbers.

Ecology:Belgoi often leave the lend barren and desolate behind

them, stripped of all animal and vegetable life. They are second

only to the foulest of defilers in the destruction they cause to the

world about them.

Braxat

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Tablelands, Mountains, and Hinter-

lands

FREQUENCY:

R are

ORGANIZATION:

Solitary

ACTIVITY CYCLE:

Night

DIET:

Carnivore

INTELLIGENCE:

High (13-14)

TRE AS U R E :

R, V

ALIGNMENT:

Neutral evil

1 or 2

NO. APPEARING: ARMOR CLASS: MOVEMENT: HIT DICE: THAC0: NO. OF ATTACKS:

DAMAGE/ATTACK:

by weapon +10

SPECIAL ATTACKS:

Breath Weapon

SPECIAL DEFENSES: Hitonly bymagical or steel weapons

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil

SIZE:

H

MORAL E :

Fanatic (18-13)

5,000

XP VALUE:

PSIONICS SUMMARY:

Level

Dis/Sci/Dev Attack/Defense Score

PS Ps

1/2/10

M T , P B , P s C / 15

IF,MB,M --

T S , T W

Telepathy--Sciences:psychic crush, tower of iron will.Devotions:

mind thrust, psionic blast, intellect fortress, mental barrier,

mind blank, thought shield, awe, contact, inflict pain, invincible

foes.

It is difficult to tell whether the braxat are of mammalian or reptil-

ian stock. Their backs are covered with thick, articulated shells,

their heads have a squarish lizard-like shape giving them a reptilian

appearance, and the crowns of their heads are defended by three to

five horny protrusions. At the same time, they walk upright on two

feet, can speak with a human-like voice, have a fully opposable

thumb, and are warm-blooded.

Combat:Braxat are hunters by nature, and their fighting tactics

reflect this. They will often use psionic attacks(inflict painorinvin-

cible foes)in an attempt to disable their opponents and reduce the

risk to themselves.

After attacking psionically, the braxat wade into hand-to-hand

combat, usually carrying a massive spiked club that inflicts 2d4

points of damage.

They use their breath weapon only as a last resort, for it tends to

render the prey unsuitable for consumption. This cone of acid is

one foot in diameter at the base and extends for ten-feet, where it is

five feet in diameter. It does 2d10 points of damage to anything it

touches (save vs. breath weapon for½damage).

Braxat suffer damage only when hit by steel weapons or those

with a magical enchantment upon them. All other weapons glance

off of them harmlessly, although they may be knocked prone or

otherwise affected by them.

Habitat/Society:Braxats are found throughout Athas, wandering

the forlorn wastes in search of prey. They are usually solitary crea-

tures, but may rarely be found in mated pairs (in this case. the

young are usually safely hidden away in a remote cavern).

Ecology:Braxat are true terrors of the desert, usually attacking at

night in search of fresh meat. Although they will eat caravan

mounts on occasion (with the exception of kanks), they prefer intel-

ligent races.

Braxat shells make excellent shields and armor plates (AC2).

Because of this, they are sometimes hunted by other creatures living

near them. Because of the power of the braxat, however, would-be

hunters often find the tables turned upon them and end up the

targets of a deadly ambush.

III. [^] Dragon of Tyr

CLIMATE / TERRAIN : A n y

Unique

FREQUENCY

Solitary

ORGANIZATION:

ACTIVITY CYCLE:

Any

Omnivore

D I E T

Supra-genius (20)

INTELLIGENCE:

TR EASURE :

(H)

Lawful evil

ALIGNMENT

NO. APPEARING: ARMOR CLASS :

-10

MOVEMENT

15, Fl 45 (A), Jp 5, Br 6

32 (250 hit points)

HIT DICE:

-3

THAC0: 4 + breath weapon or spell&psionic NO. OF ATTACKS:

2d10+15/2d10+15/4d12/5d10

DAMAGE/ATTACK:

Breath weapon (25d12)

SPECIAL ATTACKS: SPECIAL DEFENSES:

See below

MAGIC RESISTANCE: 80%

G (40' tall)

SIZE:

Fearless (20)

MORALE :

42,000

XP VALUE:

PSIONICS SUMMARY:

PS Ps

Attack / Defense Score

Level Dis/Sci/Dev

Varies

E W , I I , M T , P B , P s C / 19

6/12/28

( usually

IF,MB,M -- ,TS,TW

200 + )

Clairsentience --Sciences:clairvoyance, precognition;Devotions:

combat mind, danger sense, poison sense.

Psychokinesis --Sciences:detonate, disintegrate, telekinesis;Devo-

tions:animate shadow, ballistic attack, molecular agitation,

soften.

Psychometabolism --Sciences:death field, life draining;Devotions:

body equilibrium, cause decay, chameleon power, ectoplasmic

form, heightened senses, reduction, suspend animation.

Psychoportation --Sciences:teleport;Devotions:dimensional door,

dimension walk, teleport trigger, time shift.

Telepathy --Sciences:psychic crush, tower of iron will;Devotions:

contact, ego whip, id insinuation, intellect fortress, mental barri-

er, mind blank, mind thrust, mindlink, psionic blast, thought

shield.

Metapsionics --Sciences:ultrablast.

Defiler Spells:1)charm person, friends, hypnotism, sleep, chill

touch; 2) bind, forget, ray of enfeeblement, scare, spectral

hand; 3) hold person, suggestion, feign death, hold undead,

vampiric touch; 4) confusion, emotion, fumble, contagion, ener-

vation;5) chaos, domination, feeblemind,animate dead,magic

jar;6)eyebite, mass suggestion, death spell, reincarnation; 7)

shadow walk, control undead, finger of death; 8) binding, mass

charm, sink; 9) mordenkainen's disjunction, energy drain.

Fortunately, there is only one dragon in the Tyr Region, and per-

haps in the entire world of Athas. It is tall and thin, with a gnarled

bone structure and swollen, bulbous joints. Its appearance is reptil-

ian in many ways: it has a long, snake-like neck, whip-like tail, and

scaly hide. Yet it walks on two legs, its hands have long, well-

developed fingers and thumbs, its bone structure seems faintly hu-

manoid, and its head is long and narrow, with a distinctly

mammalian appearance.

Combat:The dragon is a terror in combat. It can attack simultane-

ously with its massive claws (2d10+15), its fang-filled mouth

(4d12), and its whip-like tail (5d10). In addition to its melee at-

tacks, the dragon can use one psionic powerandcast one magical

spell per round. For purposes of determining psionic power and

spell effects, it is treated as 20th level psionicist and a 20th level

defiler. The dragon's saving throw numbers are always "2".

Three times a day, the dragon can breath a cone of superheated

sand during a round instead of using its psionic powers and casting

a spell. This cone is five-feet wide at the base, fifty-feet long, and a

hundred feet in diameter at its far end. The cone does 25d12 of

damage, which is treated as both heat and abrasive damage.

The dragon can be hit only by +2 or better magical weapons. If

these are not made of metal, the dragon suffers only½damage from

the attack. Each round, the dragon automatically regenerates 10 hp.

The dragon has an 80% magic resistance to all spells cast against it.

The dragon usually attacks like a hunter, first stalking and then

chasing down its prey. Next, if its opponent consists of a large

group of individuals, it attacks with itsdeath fieldpsionic power,

but if the opponent is only a handful of individuals, it attacks them

individually with itslife drainingpower.

The dragon uses its breath weapon only as a last resort, for it is so

destructive that nothing usually remains of any prey that it hits.

Habitat/Society:The dragon wanders over all parts of Athas, usu-

ally alone. Occasionally, it visits a sorcerer-king, leaving disaster

and chaos in its wake.

IV. [^] Dune Freak (Anakore)

Any sandy region

CLIMATE/TERRAIN:

Uncommon

FREQUENCY:

Small Tribes

ORGANIZATION:

Night

ACTIVITY CYCLE:

Omnivore

DIET: INTELLIGENCE:

Low (5-7)

P

TRE AS U R E :

Neutral evil

ALIGNMENT:

2-12 (2d6)

NO. APPEARING: ARMOR CLASS: 9, 15 Br MOVEMENT: HIT DICE: THAC0: NO. OF ATTACKS:

1d4/ld4

DAMAGE/ATTACK:

Surprise bonus, Paralyzation, suffo-

SPECIAL ATTACK:

cation

SPECIAL DEFENSES: Burrow

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil

M (6' tall)

SIZE:

Steady (11-12)

MORALE : XP VALUE:

Nil

PSIONICS:

The anakore are a race of dimwitted humanoids with bony, wedge-

like heads, small ears pressed close to the sides of their heads, and

sunken, beady eyes covered by clear membranes to prevent sand

from scratching these delicate tissues.

The bright light of Athas' sun blinds the anakore during the

day, but at night they can see as clearly as most beings do during

the day. The anakore do not have infravision, however; they do not

see body heat. In complete darkness, they are as blind as any hu-

man. But if there is even the tiniest amount of light, such as from a

star, they see very well.

The anakore have an unusual dorsal ridge running along their

spine. This fin is actually a sensitive organ which picks up minute

vibrations traveling through the sand. With it, they can locate a

solitary creature walking on the sand from as far away as five miles.

Combat:Anakore usually attack their foes by burrowing under-

neath them, then striking from beneath the victim with their sharp

claws. Such victims suffer a -3 penalty to their surprise rolls. The

anakore continue to fight from within the sand for as long as possi-

ble, imposing a -2 penalty to their opponents' attack rolls.

When an anakore hits a victim with both claws, it holds the indi-

vidual motionless for a moment and bites with its short, sharp teeth.

While this bite inflicts no damage in itself, it does inject poisonous

saliva into the wound. The victim must immediately save vs. paraly-

zation or be completely unable to move for 1d4 rounds. On the

round following paralyzation, the victim is dragged under the

sound, suffering an additional 1d4 per round suffocation damage.

Habitat/Society:The anakore live within any sandy heap, such as

sand dunes or the alluvial fans at the mouths of the canyons. Nor-

mally, they travel and hunt in small packs of two to twelve individ-

uals, with the largest, most aggressive acting as leader. They are

rarely found outside of sandy areas, but they can walk upright

across various kinds of terrain-though they are unusually vulnera-

ble in this state and will avoid fighting at all costs.

Ecology:The anakore are nomadic burrowers who are constantly

moving through the sandy wastes of Athas. It is often possible to

identify an area through which anakores have passed by the dead

plants found there -- the anakores chew the roots away, leaving the

upper stalks exposed. In addition to their diet of plant roots, the

anakores also eat meat -- mekillot, inix, erdlu, elf, dwarf, halfling,

and nearly anything except kank.

Gaj

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Sands, stony barrens, rocky badlands, and islands FREQUENCY: Very Rare ORGANIZATION: Solitary ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any DIET: Carnivore INTELLIGENCE: Very (11-12) TR EASURE : Z ALIGNMENT: Neutral evil NO. APPEARING: 1-2 ARMOR CLASS : MOVEMENT:

HIT DICE: THAC0: NO. OF ATTACKS: 1d6 DAMAGE/ATTACK: SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil L (6' diameter) SIZE: MORALE : Champion (15) XP VALUE: 2,000 PSIONICS SUMMARY:

Attack/Defense Level Dis/Sci/Dev Score PS Ps II, EW, PB/ 1/4/13 IF, MB, M -- , TW

Telepathy --Sciences:domination, mass domination, probe, tower of iron will;Devotions:aversion, contact, ego whip, esp, false sensory input, id insinuation, inflict pain, intellect fortress, life detection, mental barrier, mind blank, psionic blast, send thoughts.

The gaj is a psionic horror. Physically, it appears as a large reptile resembling a beetle in appearance. Its body is covered by a scaly, rust-orange shell about six feet in diameter. From beneath this shell protrude six four-jointed legs which end in webbed feet with long, sharp claws. Its head is a spongy white globe about two feet in diameter. Spaced at even intervals around the head are six compound eyes. A pair of barbed mandibles as long as a man's arms flank six fingerlike appendages that hang over its mouth, and three feathery stalks rise from the top of the head.

Combat:The gaj strikes with its psionic attack modes first, trying to disable its opponents before moving in for the kill. If this fails, or once the opponents are disabled, the gal tries to kill its prey with its two huge mandibles. Whenever the gaj makes a successful hit, the victim must save vs. paralyzation or be held by the mandibles until he breaks the hold (as if wrestling;see Punching and WrestlinginChapter 9: Combat of the DMG). While held, the victim suffers five points of damage per round. More importantly, the gaj wraps its feathery antenna around the victim's head and psionicallyprobeshis innermost thoughts. Unlike the standard psionicprobe,however, this is a painful, destructive process. The victim loses 1d4 points of Intelligence or Wisdom (distributed randomly on a point by point basis) each round he is held. This loss is permanent, and once the victim's Intelligence or Wisdom drops to 0, he becomes a mindless husk and will soon die of starvation and thirst. The hard shell covering the gaj's body reduces the damage that all non-metallic weapons cause it. Thus, all non-metal weapons inflict half their normal damage to these monsters. In melee, it can also protect its vulnerable head by pulling it beneath its shell. This leaves the dangerous mandibles exposed, and does not reduce its combat effectiveness at all.

Habitat/Society:The gaj are solitary hunters that prey on other intelligent life forms. They prefer to live in rocky areas where their shells serve as camouflage, or in sandy areas where they can hide themselves from predators in a shallow burrow. Most often, they are found alone, but occasionally mated pairs are encountered.

Ecology:Like all carnivores, the gaj eat flesh to provide their bodies with physical energy. Unlike most other animals, however, the gaj derive their mental energy from the thoughts of other beings -through the effects of their probe powers. No matter where they live, the gaj are constantly using their feathery antennas to search the horizon with their psioniclife detectionpowers for signs of their favorite prey-other intelligent races. After a week without consuming the thoughts of an intelligent creature, the gaj starts losing PSPs at the rate of 1d10 per day. The lost PSPs are fully recovered once the gaj feeds, but if his total number of PSPs ever drops to 0, he loses his psionic powers and his will to live. Within a week, the creature will die.

V. [^] Giant, Athasian

Sea of Silt Islands, Tablelands

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Uncommon FREQUENCY: Clans ORGANIZATION:

ACTIVITY CYCLE: Day Omnivore DIET: Low (5-7) INTELLIGENCE:

TRE ASU R E : Y (I) Varies by individual ALIGNMENT:

1-20 NO. APPEARING: ARMOR CLASS: MOVEMENT: HIT DICE: THAC0: NO. OF ATTACKS:

2 -16 + 14 DAMAGE/ATTACK: Hurl rocks SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below SPECIAL DEFENSES:

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil H (20-30') SIZE: Champion (16-17) MORALE : 9,000 XP VALUE:

PSIONICS SUMMARY:

Humanoid giantsare not capable of employing psionic powers. Because of their huge brain mass, humanoid giants are resistant to all forms of psionics. When any form of psionics is used against them, they are allowed to save vs. spells to negate it. In addition, in psionic combat, they are treated as if they have all five defense modes. Manybeast-headedgiants are intelligent enough to make good psionicists, however. Although they lack the general immunity to psionics that their humanoid cousins possess, they have the following statistics:

P S Ps Dis/Sci/Dev Attack/Defense Score Level Varies/3 2/3/10 Their disciplines, sciences, and devotions vary too widely to make generalizing possible or practical.

Athasian giants come in only two basic varieties: humanoid and beast-headed. Humanoid giants resemble massive humans standing between 20 and 30 feet tall, and weighing between four and eight tons. They have exaggerated and sometimes comical features, such as huge noses, ears, mouths, and so forth. Their skin is usually dark red to black in color, and their hair is coarse and sturdy (giant hair ropes are the best on Athas). Most humanoid giants have a Strength scores of 25. Beast-headed giants resemble humanoid giants in many respects, save that they are slightly smaller (15-20 feet). In place of the head of a man or woman, they have the head of some beast, and their skin is usually an extremely pale color, like pink or alabaster. Beast-headed giants are rarely seen in the Tablelands, for they are just short enough to make wading through the Sea of Silt hazardous to their safety.

Combat:Giants fight in two basic modes: defensively or offensively. When fighting defensively, such as when protecting their island homes from uninvited guests, their favorite tactic is to hurl boulders at the enemy from as great a range as possible (up to 250 yards), doing 2d10 damage to anyone or anything they hit. Offensively, giants like to get to the heart of the matter, melee, as quickly as possible. They will charge into the fray swinging their huge clubs. When hit by a giant, any being of man-size of smaller must save vs. paralysis or be knocked off his feet and fly 1 yard per point of damage inflicted.

Habitat/Society:Generally, humanoid giants are only destructive when they want something, or when a stranger has landed on their island uninvited. Otherwise, they are quite congenial and friendly. Beast-headed giants tend to be more hostile, and treat all nongiants as vermin. They are magical mutations of normal giants, and are treated by their brethren as inferior beings. Since beast-headed giants are on the whole somewhat wiser and more intelligent than humanoid giants, this makes them understandably bitter.

Ecology:Most giants feed themselves through herding sheep, kanks, erdlus, and other animals. They often supplement this simple lifestyle through raiding, simple forms of commerce (such as by selling their hair to rope-makers), and occasionally by hiring themselves out as mercenaries (though this is considered quite dishonorable by most giants).

Gith

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Tablelands, Mountains FREQUENCY: Uncommon ORGANIZATION: Tribal ACTIVITY CYCLE: Day/Night DIET: Carnivore INTELLIGENCE: Average (10) TREASURE : M (Individual), I (Lair) Chaotic ALIGNMENT:

10-100 NO. APPEARING: ARMOR CLASS : MOVEMENT:

HIT DICE: THAC0: NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 or 2 by weapon or 1d4/1d4 DAMAGE/ATTACK: Springing SPECIAL ATTACKS: SPECIAL DEFENSES : Nil MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil SIZE: MORALE : Steady (12) XP VALUE:

PSIONICS SUMMARY:

PS Ps Level Dis/Sci/Dev Attack/Defense Score 2/3/10 I I , M T / M -- , 16 TW, MB

Telepathy --Sciences:tower of iron will, project force;Devotions:id insinuation, mind thrust, contact, mind blank, mental barrier. Psychokinesis --Sciences:telekinesis;Devotions:animate object, animate shadow, ballistic attack, control body, control flames.

Note:Only leaders commanding 25 or more gith have psionic powers. The psionics listed above are representative of these leaders, but their powers do vary greatly. Gith with more hit dice have correspondingly greater powers.

The gith are a race of grotesque humanoids that appear to be a peculiar mixture of elf and reptile. They are extremely gaunt and lanky, with long gangling arms and spindly legs. Their hands have three fingers with no opposable thumb, yet they are able to use tools and wield weapons. Both their fingers and toes end in sharp claws. If one could get a gith to stand up straight, he would measure close to seven feet tall. However, most gith appear to be no more than five feet tall, for they stand hunched over at the shoulders.

Combat:If possible, the gith attack in mass, usually starting with a psionic attack from one of their leaders. Then the entire party moves in quickly to melee. They oft en accomplish this byspringing up to twenty feet in one giant leap to close with their enemies. When they employ this spring, it gives them a +2 THAC0 bonus on the first round of combat. The gith are generally armed with large, wicked-looking spears with giant, razor-sharp heads of obsidian (1d6-1 damage). Although these spears look like thrusting weapons, they are used primarily to slash or chop. The gith oft en armor themselves, especially their vulnerable backs, with inix-shell armor (AC 6).

Habitat/Society:The gith live in tribal organizations. The individual with the most powerful psionics generally acts as the leader. All other social positions are distributed at his pleasure. For every twenty-five gith, there will be a five HD leader, for every fifty, a six HD leader, and for every tribe of 100 or more, a seven HD leader. In addition to having hit points and THAC0 numbers appropriate to their HD, these leaders will have psionic powers approximately equal to a psionicist of an equivalent level.

Ecology:Mountain gith live in underground lairs, claiming a particular canyon or valley as their territory. Gith inhabiting the Tablelands tend to organize their society more along the lines of a nomadic hunting clan, going wherever the game takes them. They do not hesitate to attack human or demihuman groups.

Jozhal

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Tablelands and Hinterlands FREQUENCY: Rare ORGANIZATION: Family ACTIVITY CYCLE: Nocturnal DIET: Omnivore INTELLIGENCE: Very (14-15) TRE ASU R E : U ALIGNMENT: Chaotic neutral NO. APPEARING: 5-10 (1d6+4) ARMOR CLASS: MOVEMENT:

HIT DICE: THAC0: NO. OF ATTACKS:

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d6 or by weapon -2 or 1d4/1d4 SPECIAL ATTACKS: Uses magical items & spells SPECIAL DEFENSES: Camouflage MAGIC RESISTANCE: 10% SIZE: S (4' tall) MORAL E : Steady (11-12) XP VALUE: 1,400 PSIONICS SUMMARY:

Level Dis/Sci/Dev Attack/Defense Score PSPs 2/2/9 E W , P B / I F , T S 14

Psychoportation --Sciences:banishment.Devotions:dimensional door, time shift, time/space anchor, teleport trigger. Telepathy --Sciences:contact.Devotions:ego whip, psionic blast, intellect fortress, thought shield, mind bar. Spells-1)detect magic, cure light wounds, detect poison, locate animals or plants, magical stone;2)silence15'radius, hold person, flame blade; 3) locate object, dispel magic.

Standing about four feet tall, the jozhal is a small, two-legged reptile with a skinny tail, a long flexible neck, and a narrow, elongated snout. Its mouth is filled with needle sharp teeth, and its lanky arms end in small, three-fingered hands with an opposable thumb. Although the lozhal's hide is covered with scales, they are so small as to be unnoticeable at first, and it appears to more akin to a man's skin or a baazrag's rough hide. The jozhal can change the hue of its skin at will, either to match the color of its environment, or to stand out against it.

Combat:Generally, the jozhal prefers to avoid combat. It attempts to flee, then use its ability to change skin color to hide from pursuers (they must roll their Wisdom or less on 1d20 to find the jozhal). Should the pursuer get too close to the jozhal without actually seeing it, the jozhal will attack. The victim must make a surprise check with a -2 penalty.

During the actual fight, the lozhal attempts to defend itself first with psionics and magic, then with any magical items it currently possesses (roll on Table 88 in DMG, results calling for armor, shields, or weapons count as no magical item in iozhal's possession). If that fails, it will bite with its teeth for 1d8 points of damage, or strike with any weapon available to it (with a -2 damage modifier.)

Habitat/Society:The jozhal live in small family groups of four to five creatures. They are extremely intelligent and cunning, but regard humans or demihumans as foolish, dangerous creatures and will rarely tolerate them. Jozhals are attracted to magic of all sorts, and whenever they see humans or demihumans passing they track the party down and attempt to cast adetect magicspell on the group. If the spell reveals any magical items, they will try to sneak into camp and steal them.

Ecology:Jozhals forage for food (roots and tubers), and eat almost any sort of small reptile, snake, or insect. Their magic is akin to that of elemental clerics, and is therefore not destructive to the environment around them. The jozhal clan's intellect is best reflect in its relationship to the world around it. They are very careful never to destroy the lifegiving world in which they live, always making use of every bit of scrap and refuse that they find. They carry this to extremes, even practicing cannibalism and using the bones of their dead to construct weapons and tools.

VI. [^] Silk Wyrm

CLI M A T E /T E R RA I N: Badl an ds

Uncommon

FREQUENCY:

Solitary

ORGANIZATION:

ACTIVITY CYCLE:

Any

Carnivore

DIET:

Low (5-7)

INTELLIGENCE:

TRE ASURE :

(W)

Neutral

ALIGNMENT:

N O . APPEARING : 1

ARMOR CLASS :

12, Fl 12 (C)

MOVEMENT:

HIT DICE: T H A C 0 : NO. OF ATTACKS:

1d6

DAMAGE / ATTACK :

See below

SPECIAL ATTACKS:

SPECIAL DEFENSES : N i l

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil

L (501 long)

SIZE:

Steady (11-12)

MORALE :

1,400

XP VALUE:

PSIONICS SUMMARY:

PS Ps

Dis/Sci/Dev Attack/Defense Score

Level

Nil/Nil

1/1/0

Psychometabolism --Sciences:shadow-form.

The silk wyrm is a snake with a hard, chitinous shell that mea-

sures over 50' in length. They are commonly seen flying through

the air during the day searching for prey, but rarely attack until

dusk, when they assume theirshadow formand sneak into a camp

to attack.

Any creature bitten by a silk wyrm must save vs. poison or be

paralyzed for 1d4 days (arestoreorremove cursewill reverse this

effect). Psionic powers can still be used while in this state, as long as

the body itself is not required to move.

The silk wyrm will drag its paralyzed prey away and encase it in a

sheath of silk, inside which the unfortunate victim will linger for up

to two weeks. During this time, the silk wyrm will occasionally stick

its head into the protective cocoon and bite the victim's neck, drain-

ing a little bit of blood and paralyzing him for another 1d4 days.

Each time this occurs, the victim loses one point of Constitution.

When his constitution reaches 0, all of his blood has been drained

and he dies.

The silk casing manufactured by the silk wyrm is valued in many

cities for use in expensive clothing. It is flame resistant (+4 bonus

on any saves vs. normal fires, +2 bonus vs. magical fires) and very

tough. Cutting a captured victim free can be quite time consuming.

VII. [^] Tembo

Tablelands and mountains CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Uncommon FREQUENCY; ORGANIZATION : Pack Night ACTIVITY CYCLE: Carnivore DIET: High (13-14) INTELLIGENCE: TRE ASU R E : Chaotic evil ALIGNMENT:

1-6 NO. APPEARING: ARMOR CLASS : MOVEMENT: HIT DICE: THAC0: NO. OF ATTACKS:

1d4 (x2)/ 1d6 (x2)/ 1d8 DAMAGE/ATTACK: Level drain SPECIAL ATTACK: Dodge missiles SPECIAL DEFENSES:

MAGIC RESISTANCE: 10% SIZE: Fearless (20) MORALE : XP VALUE:

PSIONICS SUMMARY:

P S Ps Dis/Sci/Dev Attack/Defense Score Level -- /IF, M-10 1/2/5 Psychometabolism --Sciences:death field, life draining, shadow form;Devotions:chameleon power, displacement, ectoplasmic form, heightened senses, immovability.

The tembo is a despicable, furless, tawny-colored beast covered with loose folds of scaly hide. Varying between three and six feet in length, they usually stand about as high as a man's thigh. All four of their lithe feet end in long sharp claws, and huge canine fangs protrude from beneath the flappy lips of their squarish snouts. The tembo has huge, squarish ears which it can turn in any direction, independently of each other.

Combat:Though all tembo love to fight, their battle tactics are as unpredictable as these vicious beasts themselves. Some attack by stealth from a short distance away, sneaking as close as possible to their victims and trying to destroy them with adeath field.Others prefer to play with their victims, batting them from one paw to another, usinglife drainingeach time the paw lands. Still other tembos like to leap into the fray immediately, meleeing their victims from the first round. In such physical confrontations, the tembo are true horrors. Their favorite tactic is to leap at their victim, attacking with all four feet and their bite at once. The front claws cause only 1d4 damage, but the back claws have a greater tendency to sink into softer flesh, ripping through important tendons and organs (which is why they do more damage). The greatest danger of the tembo comes from its horrid mouth, however. When the tembo successfully hits with its powerful jaws, the victim must make a saving throw vs. death magic or lose one life level. This loss is permanent, and a save must be made each time the tembo lands a successful bite. When attacked from a distance, the dexterous tembo have a 40% chance of dodging any non-magical missile fire directed at them. Tembo display no fear, and will always fight to the death rather than run.

Habitat/Society:Tembo prowl the desert in small packs that seem to have no real social organization or cohesiveness. Each tembo does more or less as it pleases, not sharing any prey it downs with the others. The tembo's one concession to social life is that if one of them is attacked, the entire pack will join to fight the enemy.

Ecology:The favorite food of the tembo is the young of any other race. Tembo are famous for sneaking into a nomadic camps to drag off elven children, for skulking about dwarven villages prowling for untended toddlers, even for sneaking into populated cities to snatch noble babes from their cradles. Needless to say, this makes these despicable beasts universal objects of hatred. Even feuding elf tribes, the most dedicated of enemies, have been known to call a truce for the purposing of hunting down a tembo pack that has appeared in the area.