Bloodbeast
Giant spider leech. A large beast.
Imagine a sand-colored leech as long as a horse. It stands high on six long insectoid legs. Its head is framed by vestigial gills.
Always hungry, it is an ambush predator.
| HD: 3 | Armor: as leather |
| Hit it: normal | Dodge it: normal |
| Move: fast |
It can can hide very well in rocky landscapes, jump 30’ without momentum, and detect nearby movement. However, it can’t see.
Attacks (1/round)
Bite. The bloodbeast makes a melee attack with reach (2D4) and grapples the target. As long as a target is grappled, it cannot use its bite attack.
Drain Blood. The bloodbeast inflicts strength damage (1D4) to a grappled target as it drains its blood.
Bloodgill
Bloodsucking bipedal tadpoles.
Bloodgills are the larval stage of the blood beast. Imagine a rotund spotted leech standing upright on two chubby legs and with fin-like gills sprouting from its flanks.
| HD: 0 | Armor: none |
| Hit it: normal | Dodge it: normal |
| Move: slow, swim normal |
It can can breathe in water, jump 10’ without momentum, and detect nearby movement. However, it can’t see very well.
Attacks (1/round)
Bite. The bloodgill makes a melee attack and attaches itself to the target. As long as it is attached, it cannot use its bite attack.
Drain Blood. The bloodgill inflicts 1 strength damage to a target it is attached to as it drains its blood.
Bloodgill Swarm
| HD: 0 +3D4HP | Armor: none |
| Hit it: easy | Dodge it: special |
| Move: slow, swim normal |
It can can breathe in water, jump 10’ without momentum, and detect nearby movement. However, it can’t see very well.
In a swarm, creatures are immune to being grappled or attacked by single target spells, and resist mind and weapon damage. However, they take double damage from area of effect attacks.
Attacks (1/round)
Bites. To dodge a swarm’s attack, the roll has to beat 10 + the swarm’s HP. On a hit, the target has 1D4 bloodgills (see above) attached to it and the swarm loses as many hit points.
Random Encounter
- Monster: 1 bloodbeast or 1D6 bloodgills or 1 bloodgill swarm.
- Lair: Deep mud pond with mummified animal corpses preserved in it. 2-6 chance there are clusters of reddish eggs.
OR
Omen: The smell of fresh mud. - Spoor: A carcass, sucked dry of its blood.
- Tracks: Small drying mud puddles.
- Trace: A lone, stranded bloodgill.
- Trace: A wounded herbivore, a large lamprey bite on its side.
Salvaging the body
Blood beast meat is a delicacy in certain cultures, and tastes of iron. Its drool can be used to prevent scarring.
Leech Drool. Prevents scarring and pain from an open wound.
D6 Symbolism
In local cultures the bat is a symbol of …
- Medicine
- Eroticism
- Filth
- Vampires
- Nightmares
- Cursed
Credits
The bloodbeast and the bloodgill are original creations of Richard J. Leblanc Jr originally for his* Starmaster* sci-fi game. It’s weird and I love the idea of being sucked dry by a swarm of bipedal tadpoles. — SaltyGoo