Random Gnoll Pack Names Table

Following on from yesterday’s post with a table for Orc & Goblin Tribe Names, here is a table for generating some Gnoll Pack names.

Gnoll Pack Name Generator (PDF)

Random Orc & Goblin Tribe Names Table

Realized I had never made up a table for generating tribal names for orcs or goblins. I always gave them bland names like “The Orcs of the Western Hills” or something.

This table should give them some more flavor.

Orc & Goblin Tribe Name Generator (PDF)

The Sons of Jaki and The Sons of Zuwal

Here is something Danarbi-related that I wrote up almost a year ago, but never quite finished. A pair of new monster types with an interrelated history. (What they really need is some random tables of bodily features to make each individual different. Maybe the mutation tables from Mutant Future or Gamma World?)

“The Sons of Jaki and The Sons of Zuwal
(September 9, 2013)

The Sons of Jaki and The Sons of Zuwal are humans that have been corrupted by Chaos. They have been mutated into forms that mix human and animal features, the result of generations of inbreeding and worshipping dark and sinister forces. As an individual grows in power, he changes further and further into a Chaos-spawn, eventually losing the ability of reason and becoming a purely monstrous horror. Although generally referred to as Sons, they may be either male or female. Sons of Jaki and Sons of Zuwal are mutual enemies, and will always attack each other unless some more powerful force prevents them from doing so.

The Sons of Jaki mix human and bat features, while the Sons of Zuwal mix human and snake attributes. There are several general categories of Sons, based upon individual power levels and sharing a certain similarity. At the highest levels, however, the power of Chaos introduces an ever-increasing amount of randomness of appearance, so that two individuals of similar power may differ wildly in numbers of limbs, tails, and even heads.

INITIATE: This lowest category of Son is the result of a ritual performed upon a pure human, or the offspring of an Initiate and a pure human. They appear as humans, except for one or two cosmetic animal traits. They may have large, furry ears; fangs; spindly hands; scaled skin, etc. These features do not grant any special abilities or attacks. 1HD.

FOLLOWER: This second category of Son is the result of a ritual performed upon an Initiate, or the offspring of two Initiates, or the offspring of a Follower and a pure human. They will have one or two major animal features. They may have bat wings instead of normal arms; the head of a snake; the head of a bat; the lower body of a serpent instead of legs; etc. These features will grant some form of special ability or attack. They may gain the power to glide, a bite attack, echolocation, etc. as appropriate. 3HD.

SON OF [JAKI or ZUWAL]: This third category is result of a ritual performed upon a Follower, the offspring of a Follower and an Initiate, or the offspring of a Son Of and a Follower. No longer do they deign to mate with lowly humans. The animal form is dominant at this stage, with one or two human features. They may have a human head; human arms; human legs; or a human torso, but with all other features of an bat or snake. They gain special abilities and attacks as appropriate. Flight; a venomous bite; sonic attack, etc. 5HD.

CHOSEN OF [JAKI or ZUWAL]: This fourth category is result of a ritual performed upon a Son Of, the offspring of two Sons Of, or a Chosen Of and a Son Of. At this category, they appear as huge examples of bats or snakes (mass about twice that of a human), but still maintain human-level intelligence. They have all the abilities and attacks of the animal, with extra effects due to their size. 7HD.

ELDER: This fifth category is normally the offspring of two Chosen Of, although rarely the result a ritual performed upon a Chosen Of. In appearance they retain the basic form of a gigantic (mass about four times that of a human) animal, but Chaos has manifested itself. They may have two heads; an extra pair of wings; several tails, etc. Their ability to reason has fallen to sub-human levels, so they often act on instinct. 9HD.

ANCIENT: This sixth category is almost always the offspring of two Elders, although it is possibly the result of a ritual performed upon an Elder. In appearance they are further mutated, with multiple extra limbs, heads, tails, wings, and at least one feature from some other creature entirely. They may possess certain spell-like abilities. They mass about six to ten times that of a human, and are purely beastial in mind. 11HD.”

Day 23: Least Favorite Monster

Probably not going to make me many friends today.

Least Favorite Monster – Orcs.

They are the “generic evil humanoid.”

Nobody can even agree what orcs look like.

Originally they were black-skinned beast-men.

Then they grew pig snouts.

Then they turned green.

Now they are ogres with the serial numbers filed off?

Every version has been duller than the previous one.

Boring to encounter. Boring to fight.

Day 22: Favorite Monster Overall

Fire-Breathing Phase-Doppleganger Giant Space Hamster.

Just because nobody would ever let me run Spelljammer, even with serious monsters like neogi and mind flayers.

Update: As an aside, it is apparently

Spelljammer Week

over at Hack & Slash blog.