Gamer ADD: Monster Manual II Part 6

Wandering Monster Table Level 2

For this Wandering Monster Table (WMT), I again used the break-down of Moldvay’s WMT as a template. As happened with the Level 1 WMT, I ran into several problems filling out slots. Oozes and slimes once again proved to be overly powerful. Interestingly, though, the MMII has three different creatures that are all basically the same idea, but with slight variations in powers: olive slime, phycomid and zygom. They are all plants/fungus. All infect a host which is then mentally taken over in order to reproduce and find more hosts. Of these I like the olive slime the best from a descriptive point of view: it's telepathic, it's a slime and the creatures it produces are humanoid slime-things. Unfortunately, they cannot be harmed by normal weapons at all. The least powerful is the zygom, but it does have a fun factor: the attack that infects a host only works with skin contact, otherwise it acts like a super glue that will eventually harden and destroy whatever it is stuck to. Therefore, the zygom makes this list in place of an ooze or a slime.

Another difficulty was the undead entries. As I have stated before, there aren’t many undead in the MMII and those that are not Animal Skeletons are on the more powerful side. The MMII, however, does have a number of mobile plant-like creatures that don’t really fit into any of the categories I used to break down Moldvay’s tables. Therefore I put some of the walking plants (the kamfult and mandragora) in the place of the undead.

Finally, there aren’t any real low-level constructs in the MMII and that is an entry that shows up on the Level 3 WMT. The vilstrak, which is a kind of stone creature that can move through solid rock, kind of fits the bill, but is less than 1 HD. Therefore, I switched out one of the mammal entries in this WMT and put it in the Level 3 WMT. The slot was then replaced with the “construct” and the vilstrak:

1. Scorpion (2+2* HD)
2. Conjurer (3rd level MU)
3. Vilstrak (1-1)
4. Wild Elf (1+2)
5. Kamfult (2)
6. Azer (2+1*)
7. Zygom (3*)
8. Hybsil (1-1)
9. Dinosaur (4+2)
10. Myconid (2)
11. Mudman (2)
12. Warrior (2nd level fighter)
13. Buckawn (1-1*)
14. Giant Fly (3)
15. Vapor Rat (2)
16. Constrictor Snake (3+2)
17. Solifugid (3+3*)
18. Magman (2*)
19. Robber (3rd Level thief)
20. Mandragora (1+1)

This isn’t your father’s D&D. There are fantasy elements that will feel familiar, but there is no sense that the world described here has any kind of foothold in Tolkien or any of the worlds that his imagination inspired. This is stranger and more primordial. This is quickly becoming a world I want to play.