Bloodrot Sparrow
Bloodrot Sparrow
Among the forests and hills flock birds of rich earthen colors; innocuous, similar to brown sparrows or finches. They flit deftly about, gorging on insects or hiding within branches until they spot better prey. If warm-blooded and unaware creatures venture nearby, they seek to hide their nature until they are able to peck and claw at their flesh, implanting spores of a foul, necrotic fungus. Once their prey is filled with their deadly filth they will follow their quarry until the spores do their work and bring them down. They will lurk on the periphery, disassembling their birdlike forms to assume the shapes of moss or flowers, nearly indistinguishable from the real thing, awaiting their feast.
Bloodrot Sparrow Armor 14, Move 80′, 0 Hit Dice, 3hp, Peck 1d4 damage, Morale 5. An attack dealing 3 or more damage forces a save versus Poison or be infected with spores. Those infected suffer wasting of the flesh over a number of days equal to the total damage dealt to them. Victims lose 1d4 points of Constitution per day, dying if reduced to zero. Only bloodletting by leech can cleanse the spores and restore the lost Constitution, even after the infection has run its course.
Art by Helen Ahpornsiri.
Well, that's a pretty awesome monster. I think I'd like to advertise their spore-y-ness or mossiness or whatever by virtue of their appearance if I run them though.
ReplyDeleteAs you should! Of course the weirdness of all monsters should be front and center, at least once they're given at least a bit of scrutiny.
DeleteAt a glance, nothing would necessarily look weird, posing a danger to the careless party. But yeah, the point of making weird monsters is to make sure they come off as weird!