Tuesday 21 June 2022

D&D Monsters: Xorns

Xorns are an original creation of D&D, with no particularly obvious antecedents. The name was almost certainly chosen so that the 1E Monster Manual had at least one monster for every letter of the alphabet... the same is probably true of the quasit. Which, other than that it's a monster largely built around defence rather than offence, is about all one can say about the general concept.


1E

The original xorn has a barrel-shaped body covered with scales that basically take the form of roof slates, and are likely made of a similar, if less fragile, material. It is notable for its (mostly) triradial symmetry, something that makes it look particularly alien. It has three legs, which seem to lack knees and are similarly covered in the armoured stone scales - if anything, it's a wonder it doesn't move even more slowly than it does. The arms look to be less heavily armoured, and are clearly more flexible; they're positioned above the spaces between the legs rather than directly above the hips. 

The toes are long and seem to be at least partially prehensile, although how much this would help given the stiff legs is debatable. Both hands and feet have three equal digits each, following the triradial theme. There are three large, slightly bulging eyes positioned around the body, one above each leg. They have horizontal pupils, like those of a goat, and readily apparent eyelids. The only feature that's obviously not triradial is the mouth, which is formed from two parallel jaws similar to those of a vertebrate... except that they're positioned at the apex of the body, which lacks anything you could describe as a head. 

No other orifices or appendages are apparent.

It doesn't seem to be very strong, since its limbs do very little damage, but the bite is impressive for 1E, so the jaws are far more muscular than the arms. This may be to allow it to eat tough minerals, and it's notable that the teeth are flat and, to use the technical term, bunodont, which is exactly what you'd expect of something eating solid, crunchy, matter rather than biting into soft flesh. (We see something similar, for instance, in animals that feed largely on clams or lobsters). The armoured shell is particularly tough; superior to the hide of a red dragon or the coating of an iron golem.

While there's no hint of real society for the things, and they travel in small groups, they are of human-level intelligence and it's implied that they can communicate with at least some humanoids.

2E

The 2E version of the xorn is ovoid, rather than cylindrical, and has much longer, thinner arms than the one in 1E. The armoured scales are still present, but are much smaller and narrower than before, giving quite a different look. The legs are positioned closer to one another than previously, so that there isn't a flat undersurface beneath them. They appear to have ankles, but still no obvious knees, and the prehensile toes have been replaced with short, stubby claws that don't look as if they'd be of much use as either pitons or weapons.

The hands appear to have three fingers and a thumb, in a clear change from the previous look, but the biggest change is in the mouth. This is now triradial, with a high triangular 'jaw' above each eye, creating an overall Y-shape. The teeth are small and sharp and would probably be less effective at crushing up rock than the previous version.

In most other respects, the xorn has not changed in 2E, although we're told that they live in "clans". Whether this is intended to mean anything more than "small group" is debatable, since it may depend on how they are supposed to reproduce, which isn't stated.

3E

The look of the xorn has changed even more drastically in 3E. The body is squat and bulbous and gives the impression of being covered in a highly flexible, warty hide. It has lost its previous ability to camouflage itself against rock and has instead turned green. The legs are shorter than before, and while they do have both knees and ankles now, look rather uncoordinated - presumably they aren't, but the creature does look as if it hauls itself along the ground with some difficulty instead of walking in a stiff-legged gait.

There are only two fingers on each hand, and probably only two toes on each foot; the former have long claws, but the latter are back to their prehensile appearance. The eyes project out from the body on blobby projections, once again giving a very mobile appearance to the body rather than the solid rocky form it previously had. While the 2E version in particular looked like it might at least be passably effective at burrowing through rock (as it's supposed to) it's very hard to see this one doing so. The mouth is back to having bilateral jaws, but retains the small sharp teeth and a fleshy gullet with wide rubbery lips. Which seems a bit odd.

The armour has improved slightly as have the ability to use the claws as weapons - although they're still pretty feeble given the stated high strength. We're told that the xorn can sense its environment by detecting vibrations in the ground, which sounds a lot more useful on the Elemental Plane of Earth than its visual senses would be. 

5E

The shape of the xorn's body in 5E is closer to that in 1E than to either of the other versions. However, the legs are no longer stiff, and the toes are stubby with strong claws. Rather than being positioned radially, as in the first two editions, the toes all point outwards, and there is a declaw facing inwards on the opposite side, as if it had evolved from some four-toed creature. The claws on the hands, which are more effective than in previous editions, are heavy, and the central finger is larger than the two to either side.

The eyes are proportionately smaller than before, and have vertical pupils, rather than horizontal ones. The hide of the creature is pebbly rather than scaled (or slated) and, while the camouflage ability has returned, the one in the picture looks more of a rich earthy brown than a rock-like colour, so perhaps it has emerged from soil or mud... or some kind of ore like limonite or bauxite. The mouth retains the traditional two-jawed shape, but the teeth are sharper and longer than before, looking even less useful for the purpose for which they're intended - great for biting into flesh, less so for grinding rock.

In many respects, the xorn in 5E has been toned down. Its base statistics are broadly similar, but the bite is noticeably weaker than it used to be and the creature has lost most of its ability to resist injury. It's also lost the automatic ability to speak Common that it had in 3E although this isn't really surprising given how rarely xorns are going to interact with humans.

Xorns are earth elementals and, as such, do not necessarily follow the rules of physics and biology that apply in our own universe. Having said that, their appearance, particularly in the form of their eyes, does suggest that they are at least partially biological as we would understand it, and may be composed in a similar fashion (in a way that, say, a regular earth elemental clearly isn't). 

But if so, their internal anatomy is certainly going to be odd.

With the possible exception of the 1E version, the limbs of the xorn appear to be constructed in such a way that they must have an endoskeleton, with muscles attached on the outside, as in vertebrates. Indeed, the structure of the limb is very similar to that of a vertebrate, especially in the later editions. Assuming that that's the case, there's probably a skeleton in the torso, too, but that obviously isn't going to be similar to our own. One possibility is a ribcage with three sterna, one above each leg/between each arm, connected by hoop-like ribs, some of which are modified to function as pectoral and pelvic girdles. The jaws at the top are presumably also bony (except possibly in 3E), but there may not necessarily be bones equivalent to a skull or spinal column.

Perhaps the most significant constraint on the layout of the internal anatomy is the fact that, in the absence of a head, the mouth is at the top of the body, with a centrally located digestive system below it. The anus, most likely, is in between the legs. A starfish is a good parallel here, since that has its mouth in the centre of its underside, from which food passes up into the stomach, and then out through a hole in the top. The xorn, of course, is the other way up, but the principle is much the same.

The xorn, however, has the additional problem that it must have a brain, and the lack of a head is a bit of an issue here. The most plausible solution to this is that the brain is doughnut-shaped, and wrapped around the throat. Most likely, it's somewhat triangular, with a lobe behind each eye and thick nerve cords connecting them, as well as others running down to the legs and across to the arms. There's no single spinal cord which is why I say it doesn't really need a spine (the nerve cords to the legs would be protected by the sterna anyway). This, again, has some resemblance to the neural layout in a starfish, although calling what it has a "brain" is probably stretching the definition a bit. 

There is no evidence of nostrils on any picture of a xorn, but it's worth noting that they're always shown with their mouth open, so possibly they breathe through that - and, per 3E, even most outsiders do need to breathe. Under this theory, the nostrils are located somewhere in the throat; most likely three of them, each connecting to a separate lung rather than there being a single trachea.

Most other organs do not need to be present in triplicate although there's also no reason why they can't be, especially where, such as with kidneys, they are paired in most bilaterally symmetrical animals. The heart is an example of an organ that probably wouldn't be; you really don't need more than one. True, octopuses are often said to have three hearts and this is sort of true, but it's more accurate to say that the parts that make up the vertebrate heart are, in octopuses and squid, spread between three organs: a central one that performs the function of the ventricles, and two accessory ones that act like our atria. 

If a xorn had an arrangement like this, it would actually have four "hearts" in total. This isn't impossible, but a single heart is equally likely, albeit, perhaps with six chambers in total rather than the four of mammals and birds.

On the other hand, it's also possible that it doesn't actually have blood, distributing energy through its body using metallic fibres or something of that sort. We certainly know that its body isn't composed of what we'd normally think of as flesh, even if it may have anatomical structures that are loosely like our own. The absence of blood would, for instance, explain why the 5E version is resistant to cutting and piercing weapons but not to blunt force trauma.

In earlier editions, xorns are also unaffected by extremes of temperature and can't be burned, and they're also resistant to electricity. The latter is probably them earthing themselves effectively, and the former to their alien composition which may be silicon rather than carbon-based. While this resistance is gone in 5E, it remains the case that xorn eat, not carbon-based lifeforms, but rock, much of which is comprised of silicates.

Crystals such as quartz may provide xorn with the basic nutrition needed to build their rocky bodies, but a possible use for the copper, silver, and gold that they crave is that these are what their nerves are made of, conducting electrical signals through the body in a manner that may, in some respects, outperform squishy organic neurons. Gemstones may provide them with rarer elements not commonly found in basic rock - beryllium from emeralds, chromium from some garnets, and so on. These may fulfil a function for xorn similar to that of vitamins in organic lifeforms.

How xorn reproduce is not stated in the core books. If they are sexual beings then telling the difference between males and females is likely tricky at best, but it could well be that they are not, reproducing parthenogenetically. Live birth and egg-laying are equally plausible from the little that we know although, since xorns do have some sort of culture, if only by sharing a common language, parents must raise their young rather than simply depositing them somewhere to do as best they can.

Saturday 18 June 2022

DW Monsters: Axos

Moving on to season 8:

·       Terror of the Autons features one of the key races I covered at the start

·       The Mind of Evil features an alien psychic parasite that’s really more of an effect than a monster

And that brings us to The Claws of Axos. Technically, Axos is a single individual, which could be left out on the same grounds that I’m not attempting to stat up (say) the Master. But it functions as an alien race and it’s at least possible that there are more of its kind out in space somewhere.

Aside from a couple of short stories and comics, Axos only makes a return appearance in a single audio-play, The Feast of Axos, featuring the Sixth Doctor.

Description and Biology

Axos is a space-faring being whose ability to mould its own form extends to creating autonomous lifeforms that it can send out to interact with others. As such, in addition to the primordial matter from which it is constructed, in the course of the story, we see it take on four different forms, all of which are controlled by the same central mind.

Firstly, there are the beings typically referred to as the ‘Axons’ since that’s how they describe themselves when they’re still pretending to be a regular race of aliens. These are golden-skinned humanoids with large pupil-less eyes. Given their need to function in an Earth-like environment and imitate more normal humanoids, they’re likely biologically similar in most respects. Obviously, they don’t need reproductive organs, and it’s also plausible that they obtain sustenance directly from the mothership without the need for regular digestive systems; even if they do eat in a regular manner such systems would be simple, since the food Axos creates for them would already be, in effect, pre-digested. But, otherwise, they may be much as they appear.

Secondly, there are the much larger forms that Axos uses in combat, whether attacking or defending itself. These have a vaguely humanoid shape but are covered with orange tendrils and paired lumpy structures that might be external lungs. They don’t seem to have any eyes or mouth, suggesting that they don’t need to eat and that they interact with their environment using some sense other than vision. They don’t have a name in the TV series, but the audio play refers to them as ‘Axonoids’ so that will do as well as anything else.

The third example is a comparatively amorphous blob of axonite, the cellular material from which Axos is composed. It’s mostly seen taking on other forms and is resistant to damage, probably because it lacks internal organs, which would make it a rather temporary being if we’re using anything like real-world physics (which, admittedly, is debatable, especially considering axonite’s energy absorbing and transforming abilities).

Finally, of course, there’s the space-travelling form that acts as a spaceship from which the other parts are budded as required. This is presumably where Axos’s central brain is located, but it’s sufficiently large that, in game terms, it’s a location rather than a ‘monster’, albeit a mutable organic one that can attack people inside it by growing tentacles from the walls.

Game Attributes

The Axons do not require attributes significantly different from those of humans, since their only function is diplomacy. Having said which, being composed of axonite, an energy-absorbing readily transformable material, probably does make them resistant to damage and likely also gives them a high stamina or resistance to fatigue.

The Axonoids are a different matter, being larger and stronger than regular humans; there would be no point in creating them were they not better at fighting than the humanoid Axons. They are clearly very resistant to damage, at least from purely kinetic attacks, perhaps due to lacking much in the way of vital organs. It seems plausible that they regenerate from damage inflicted on them, although this is probably too slow to affect a regular combat – it’s just that you have to be very sure you’ve destroyed them completely to stop them from regrowing (or trap them in a time loop).

The axonite blob is clearly less effective when it isn’t taking on human form. It’s comparatively slow-moving and probably not very strong, although it would share the same sort of damage resistance that the other forms have.

Axos itself is too large an entity to be described easily in most systems designed for human-level interactions. Even where it can be, the reality is that it primarily functions as a dangerous location, rather than a creature, especially since it can’t move except to fly through space. As such, I won’t be providing its physical stats here.

All these various forms are extensions of the core Axos entity, and thus should have the same mental attributes. In game terms, Axos probably has a high intelligence score, and decent willpower. Its ability to con world leaders in the story implies a good rating in whatever ability or attribute is used to measure that – although it’s helped to a large extent by the greed of the people it’s talking to, so it’s not necessarily extraordinary. The entity must also have the skills necessary to navigate space, and a good understanding of its own biological technology, as well as the ability to observe humans and deduce what will work best on them.

Special Abilities

The axonoids demonstrate the ability to stun people by striking them with their tentacles, but little else beyond their resistance to injury. More generally, the various forms can shapeshift into one another, and can closely imitate humans – and presumably other lifeforms. Other than this, the axonite material itself seems to have a range of powers, transforming and enlarging other creatures it is injected into, and so on, but these are outside the scope of the stats of the regular beings. Similarly, we can assume that Axos is capable of faster-than-light travel and surviving in deep space, but we’re not statting up the core entity.



5E - Axon

Medium aberration, neutral evil

Armour Class: 12 (natural)

Hit Points: 22 (4d8+4)

Speed: 30 ft.

STR 10 (+0)

DEX 10 (+0)

CON 12 (+1)

INT 18 (+4)

WIS 14 (+2)

CHA 14 (+2)

Saving Throws: Wisdom +4, Charisma +4

Skills: Biotechnology +6, Deception +2

Senses: Passive Perception 12

Shapechanger: The axon can use its action to transform into an axonoid.

5E - Axonoid

Large aberration, neutral evil

Armour Class: 18 (natural)

Hit Points: 76 (8d10+32)

Speed: 20 ft.

STR 18 (+4)

DEX 12 (+1)

CON 18 (+4)

INT 18 (+4)

WIS 14 (+2)

CHA 10 (+0)

Saving Throws: Constitution +6, Wisdom +2, Charisma +1

Skills: Biotechnology +6, Deception +2

Combat Skills: Melee Attack +6

Damage Resistances: Bludgeoning, Piercing, Slashing

Senses: Passive Perception 12

Shapechanger: The axonoid can use its action to transform into an axon.

Stunning Tentacle: Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: The target must succeed in a Constitution saving throw against a DC of 12. On a failed save, it is stunned, and must make a further save at the beginning of each turn until it recovers.

Disintegrate (Recharge 5-6): Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5ft., one creature. Hit: 11 (3d6) force damage. 

Challenge: 3 (700 XP)

5E - Axonite Blob

Medium aberration, neutral evil

Armour Class: 15 (natural)

Hit Points: 26 (4d8+8)

Speed: 20 ft.

STR 10 (+0)

DEX 8 (-1)

CON 14 (+2)

INT 18 (+4)

WIS 14 (+2)

CHA 10 (+0)

Saving Throws: Constitution +4, Wisdom +2, Charisma +1

Skills: Biotechnology +6, Deception +2

Combat Skills: Melee Attack +2

Damage Resistances: Bludgeoning, Piercing, Slashing

Senses: Passive Perception 12

Shapechanger: The axonite blob can use its action to take on the appearance of any Small or Medium creature it has previously observed.

Engulf: Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage and the target must make a DC 12 Strength save or be grappled (escape DC 12). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the blob cannot engulf another target.

Challenge: 1 (200 XP)


BRP - Axon

STR 3D6 (10-11)

CON 2D6+6 (13)

SIZ 2D6+6 (13)

INT 18

POW 15

 

DEX 3D6 (10-11)

CHA 2D6+6 (13)

 

Hit Points: 13

Move: 10

 

Base SR: 5

Damage Bonus: 0

 

Armour: 1-point resistant flesh

Skills: Biology 80%, Biotechnology 90%, Chemistry 80%, Craft Axonite 80%, Navigate 70%, Persuade 60%, Physics 80%

Combat Skills: Brawl 25%

Shapechanger: The axon can take one round to transform into an axonoid.

BRP - Axonoid

STR 2D6+12 (19)

CON 3D6+6 (16-17)

SIZ 3D6+12 (22-23)

INT 18

POW 15

 

DEX 2D6+6 (13)

CHA 2D6 (7)

 

Hit Points: 20

Move: 10

 

Base SR: 2

Damage Bonus: +2D6

 

Armour: 8-point resistant flesh

Skills: Biology 80%, Biotechnology 90%, Chemistry 80%, Craft Axonite 80%, Navigate 70%, Persuade 60%, Physics 80%

Combat Skills: Brawl 50%

Shapechanger: The axonoid can take one round to transform into an axon.

Stunning Tentacle: The axonoid can choose to make a Knockout Attack instead of a normal attack, and does so at the Normal success chance, instead of making a Difficult roll.

Disintegrate: If an axonoid reduces an opponent to 0 hit points or less as the result of a Special or Critical success on its Brawling roll, the target is instantly disintegrated.

BRP - Axonite Blob

STR 3D6 (10-11)

CON 2D6+6 (13)

SIZ 2D6+6 (13)

INT 18

POW 15

 

DEX 2D6 (7)

CHA 3D6 (10-11)

 

Hit Points: 13

Move: 8

 

Base SR: 6

Damage Bonus: 0

 

Armour: 5-point amorphous substance

Skills: Biology 80%, Biotechnology 90%, Chemistry 80%, Craft Axonite 80%, Navigate 70%, Persuade 60%, Physics 80%

Combat Skills: Brawl 50%, Grapple 50%

Shapechanger: The axonite blob can use its action to take on the appearance of any creature it has previously observed that has a SIZ between 5 and 18.


GURPS - Axon

ST 10

DX 10

IQ 18

HT 12

Thrust: 1d-2

 

Swing: 1d

 

Speed: 5.5

 

Move: 5

 

Advantages: Alternate Form (axonoid), Attractive, Doesn’t Sleep, Mindlink-3, Reduced Consumption-1

Skills: Acting-17, Bioengineering (tissue engineering)/TL10-16, Biology/TL10-17, Chemistry/TL10-17, Intelligence Analysis/TL10-16, Navigation (space)/TL10-18, Physics/TL10-17

GURPS - Axonoid

ST 18

DX 10

IQ 18

HT 15

Thrust: 1d+2

 

Swing: 3d

 

Speed: 6.25

 

Move: 4

 

SM: +1

Advantages: Alternate Form (axon), Damage Resistance 8, Disintegrate (as the spell; only on the body of a victim already killed), Doesn’t Sleep, Innate Attack-2 (Fatigue, Melee Attack, Reach-1), Mindlink-3, Reduced Consumption-1, Striker

Disadvantages: Cannot Speak, No Fine Manipulators

Skills: Bioengineering (tissue engineering)/TL10-16, Biology/TL10-17, Brawling-13, Chemistry/TL10-17, Intelligence Analysis/TL10-16, Navigation (space)/TL10-18, Physics/TL10-17

GURPS - Axonite Blob

ST 10

DX 8

IQ 18

HT 12

Thrust: 1d-2

 

Swing: 1d

 

Speed: 5

 

Move: 4

 

Advantages: Damage Resistance 3, Doesn’t Sleep, Mindlink-3, Morph (cosmetic, mass conservation), Reduced Consumption-1

Skills: Bioengineering (tissue engineering)/TL10-16, Biology/TL10-17, Brawling-13, Chemistry/TL10-17, Intelligence Analysis/TL10-16, Navigation (space)/TL10-18, Physics/TL10-17


Savage Worlds - Axon

Agility: d6

Smarts: d4

Spirit: d6

Strength: d12

Vigour: d10

 

Skills: Persuasion d8, Repair d10, Science d10

Edges: Attractive

Shapeshifting: As an action, an axon can transform into an axonoid.

Pace: 6                  Parry: 2                 Toughness: 6                      Size: 0

Savage Worlds - Axonoid

Agility: d8

Smarts: d12

Spirit: d10

Strength: d12

Vigour: d12

 

Skills: Fighting d8, Repair d10, Science d10

Edges: Hard to Kill

Hindrances: Mute

Powers: Stun

Shapeshifting: As an action, an axonoid can transform into an axon.

Disintegrate: If the axonoid incapacitates an opponent using its Fighting skill, they are disintegrated if they fail their Vigour roll to resist injury.

Pace: 4                  Parry: 6                Toughness: 11 (3)            Size: 2

Savage Worlds - Axonite Blob

Agility: d4

Smarts: d12

Spirit: d10

Strength: d6

Vigour: d10

 

Skills: Fighting d8, Persuasion d6, Repair d10, Science d10

Edges: Hard to Kill

Shapeshifting: As an action, an axonite blob can take on the appearance of any creature with a Size  of ‑1, 0, or +1 that it has previously observed.

Pace: 4                  Parry: 6                Toughness: 8 (1)               Size: 0


STA - Axon

Control: 9

Fitness: 8

Presence: 10

Daring: 9

Insight: 9

Reason: 12

Command: 2

Security: 0

Science: 3

Conn: 3

Engineering: 3

Medicine: 1

Stress: 8

Resistance: 0

 

Traits: Shapeshift to Axonoid

STA - Axonoid

Control: 9

Fitness: 12

Presence: 8

Daring: 9

Insight: 9

Reason: 12

Command: 1

Security: 3

Science: 3

Conn: 3

Engineering: 3

Medicine: 1

Stress: 15

Resistance: 2

 

Traits: Shapeshift to Axon

Attacks: Stun (Melee, 2^), Disintegrate (3^, Vicious 1)

STA - Axonite Blob

Control: 9

Fitness: 9

Presence: 8

Daring: 9

Insight: 9

Reason: 12

Command: 1

Security: 1

Science: 3

Conn: 3

Engineering: 3

Medicine: 1

Stress: 10

Resistance: 1

 

Traits: Shapeshift to any similarly sized form it has previous observed

Tuesday 14 June 2022

D&D Monsters: Salamanders

Salamanders are, of course, real creatures - long-tailed amphibians with a vaguely lizard-like appearance. The Ancient Greeks and Romans attributed a number of magical abilities to them, some of them related to fire, but it's clear that they were describing the real animal when they did so. In the Middle Ages, however, there's more of a split between the amphibian and the fantastic creature, with the latter taking on more exotic forms and powers. This culminates in the 16th century with Paracelsus adopting the name for what he termed "fire elementals" and it's this that's most likely the inspiration for the D&D monster.


1E

The salamander in 1E is roughly humanoid from the waist up, with the legs replaced by a single tail that keeps the creature in broadly human proportions. A series of narrow frills extends along the back, and also down each of the arms; these are partially erect, but whether they are buoyed aloft by hot air or are self-animated tendrils isn't something we can determine from the picture. The head has a flattened cranium and a triangular jaw with sharp carnivorous teeth. The ears are significantly elongated, with further frills on them and a pair of branching tendrils project out from either side of the nose, which we might suppose to be sensory. The creature has a partly striped and partly mottled pattern, with the background colouration shading from yellow to red along the length of the body.

The salamander is very difficult to injure without the use of magic, being invulnerable to regular weapons (unless wielded by someone with 'great strength', which isn't clarified). Assuming that an attacker can get past this admittedly significant obstacle, the tail of the salamander has the equivalent of plate armour on it, presumably in the form of resilient scales, and even the rest of the body is as tough as mail. 

Salamanders are more intelligent than humans, although there's not much indication of any society. This could well be explained by their chaotic alignments, although it's notable that, in this edition, they are never encountered alone, always travelling as at least a pair. Sociable then, but not hierarchical or inclined to follow any social rules. On the other hand, it's also possible that their inhospitable native environment has prevented anyone from finding out much about how they live their lives.

And inhospitable it certainly is. Salamanders become uncomfortable below 150°C (300°F) although it does take a few hours for temperatures too low for the inside of an oven to actually kill them. Even this level of heat isn't their preference, however, because what they really like is a steady 260°C (500°F). That's hot enough to melt tin, although admittedly it's well short of, say, making iron glow red. But it's impressive for something that at least superficially appears to be organic.

The 2E version has semi-rigid spines instead of the mobile frills and has a pair of large antlers sprouting from its scalp. The tendrils on the face are more bushy than branched and may be more hair-like than anything else, since this salamander also has a beard. The ventral surface of the tail and abdomen have especially heavy scales, not apparent in the earlier version, but suitable for crawling along rough ground like a snake. We're told the creature is seven feet long (215 cm) which, since the tail now makes up about three-quarters of that length, would make the upper body closer in size to a halfling than a human...

3E

The tail is even longer in proportion to the body 3E, despite the fact that the overall creature doesn't seem to have become any larger. The frills are now jagged claw-like projections, sticking out of the lower body more or less at random with far fewer on the arms than before. There is some form of head ornamentation, although it is more palmate than before and doesn't seem to be paired. There's an actual burst of flame where the beard was previously, but otherwise, the salamander is duller in colour, tending more towards brown than orange, and with a black, rather than coppery, face.

There is more information given on salamander society in this edition and it turns out to be fairly sophisticated. That may partly be because they're no longer automatically "chaotic", although they are always cruel to other lifeforms. Having said which, they aren't normally encountered in large groups, and power seems to be based on physical strength and the ability to work magic. The magic they use is, of course, all flame-based, which, when you think about it, must be almost totally useless on their home plane... if probably easy to learn.

The exact temperature range that salamanders prefer is no longer given in this edition. However, it does imply that the salamander's own body heat is sufficient to make their spears glow red, which would put it at at least 460°C (900°F) and implies that their natural habitat is at least somewhere in that ballpark.

5E

The 5E salamander is closer to the original 1E version in some respects, although the colour is comparatively uniform, and the tail is about 90% of the body length. Salamanders are now larger than humans, however, so this doesn't have quite the same implications for how large the humanoid part of the body is. They now have just four fingers on each hand, but it's their head that has changed the most. This is now more reptilian than humanoid, lacking the prominent nose of earlier editions, and with a pair of long, mobile and unbranching tendrils projecting backwards from it. There are no antlers, just a profusion of fleshy frills rising from the top of the head. The text describes these, and the other projections on the body as "spines", which would fit with 2E and 3E, but the illustration shows something much closer to the flexible wafting flaps of skin apparent in 1E.

Salamander intelligence has dropped significantly in this edition, putting them on a par with the average human, although they are physically much stronger (which is fair enough, given that they're also larger). The hide over the whole body is equivalent to mail now, rather than some of it being closer to plate steel. Perhaps to fit in better with the way creatures are described in this edition, we're back to a single alignment for salamanders, which is less chaotic than it was in 1E, although they're still hardly what you'd call companionable.

There is every indication that, unlike efreet, salamanders are physical beings composed of much the same sort of matter as those native to the material plane - for instance, they don't simply vanish in a puff of fire when they die. In this context, it's interesting to note that the Elemental Plane of Fire is usually depicted rather differently than its three regular counterparts. Those consist of an essentially infinite expanse of whatever their element may be, with the odd other thing floating or embedded in it. But the Plane of Fire is typically shown as a blasted landscape, with plains, mountains, and all the other features we'd expect... only burning. 

That is, the Plane of Fire seems to have substantially more earth and air than the other planes have of the equivalent elements there. Which makes it easier to see how salamanders could be composed of something at least analogous to regular matter even though fire itself is more energy than it is a physical substance. Having said which, "analogous" is about as far as we're going to get since it's clear that the basic laws of physics and chemistry can't work in the same way on the Elemental Plane of Fire as they do in the material world.

Nothing organic is going to survive temperatures that will melt tin, let alone those that will make iron red hot. Furthermore, one thing the Plane of Fire does seem to lack is water (except, conceivably, as steam) so salamander biochemistry is not a thing as we'd understand it, or uses some entirely different substrate as a solvent - liquid sulphur is a possibility here. And, at least in 3E, being outsiders, salamanders don't need to eat, perhaps getting their energy directly from the environment (where, to be fair, there's plenty of it).

Anatomically, salamanders appear to have both reptilian and amphibian features, although they're weird enough that their internal organs must at least function differently, even if they aren't in different locations. For instance, the frills of 1E and 5E are reminiscent of the crests of newts - which are, technically speaking, a specific kind of real-world salamander - but the underside of the body in the 5E illustration appears to be scaled like a snake. 

The mix of reptilian and amphibian features is especially clear when it comes to reproduction. The different editions are contradictory as to how this works. 2E states that females exist, and have some humanoid feminine features, although not necessarily to the extent of having a mammalian chest. 3E, however, states that salamanders are sexless and parthenogenetic. 5E is silent on the matter, although the look of the salamander in that edition implies that it might be hard for humans to tell.

Crucially, however, salamanders are said to lay eggs with shells made of volcanic glass. The presence of the shell is reminiscent of reptile eggs (and, for that matter, birds and monotremes) and real-world amphibians are, in part, defined by its absence. It does raise the question of what, besides the embryo, is inside the egg, taking the place of yolk and albumen. Is it liquid sulphur? Some kind of plasma? Or perhaps an organic material that doesn't quite follow the physics and chemistry of our world?

While the egg may appear reptilian, the salamander that hatches out of it is notable for having a snake-like body and lacking any limbs. It is, in effect, a tadpole, although the nature of the Elemental Plane of Fire means that it isn't aquatic or anything equivalent to that. They grow up remarkably quickly, developing their arms and reaching full size in just a year although, to be fair, we don't know how long the adults live. These larval "fire snakes" are unable to speak, which is true enough for humans at that age, too, although they're apparently able to understand the language of their parents without difficulty, which is perhaps less so.

At this point, there are just seven more entries to go in this blog series. So it's as good a time as any to explain what didn't make it in. I used two basic criteria in deciding what to include. Firstly, a creature had to appear in the core Monster Manual books for 1E, 3E, and 5E. This cuts out a lot, keeping the total down. So no Gith, perytons, or tarrasque, among many others.

But there also has to be something to say once the descriptive parts of the post are out of the way. A creature could fail to meet this standard for a couple of reasons. It could be too similar to something else I had already done, so that I'd just be repeating myself. For instance, having done both gorgons and medusae, there was no reason to include cockatrices or basilisks. Others, however, failed to make the grade because there isn't anything much to say that would fit within the themes of the blog. Ogre mages, for instance, are distinctive largely because they use spells and there isn't much to say about that, so out they went. Night hags suffered a similar fate, along with such things as rakshasas and imps. Nor did I feel there was much to say about vampires that hasn't been said elsewhere.

So, seven still to go, although they'll probably slow down again for the next few months. And then we'll see what happens next.




Tuesday 7 June 2022

D&D Monsters: Efreet

Ifrit are a type of demon in Islamic folklore, associated with the jinn, and in some cases having similar powers (such as the ability to grant wishes), although their exact relationship is nebulous. They are associated with the underworld, fire, and smoke, and are generally hostile. This explains many of the attributes of efreet in D&D, which are specifically described as the fiery counterpart to djinn. (The idea that therefore must be watery and earthen versions of the same thing does not appear in the original Monster Manual, although it was introduced later during the 1E era, with the name "marid" being borrowed from another kind of Islamic demon, and "dao" seemingly being original to the game).