AS ABOVE... PART TWO: ASTRAL WAYLAYERS

This series always comes in two parts: AS ABOVE... (Planes) mirrored by ...SO BELOW (Earth). This particular set has to do with the Astral plane so the earthbound monsters will be more planar than usual. 

   The Astral Plane is a highway to the beyond. Like any highway, it has its share of “highwaymen.” (Most of the following beings have no relation to each other but are loosely grouped under this heading for convenience.)

 

MINE MAIDEN (Dungeon Siren)

FREQUENCY: Rare
ARMOR CLASS: 5
HIT DICE: 5
% IN LAIR: 5%
NO. APPEARING: 1-3
MOVE: 12 feet/36 feet
TREASURE TYPE: Z
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
SPECIAL ATTACKS : See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 30%
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-3/1-3/1-4 or by weapon
INTELLIGENCE: Average
ALIGNMENT: Neutral evil
SIZE: M
PSlONIC ABILITY: 100
   Attack/defense modes: C, E/F, G
X.P. VALUE: 280 + 5/hp

 

 These creatures appear as beautiful women and may be distantly related to nymphs. Although fairy-like in form they are of darkest evil. They originate from planes of evil but they are seldom found there. They are abroad usually in the prima materia and lead the unwary to their doom, lost in the Astral Plane. They are found in the darkest places of the earth like caverns, dungeons, mines, rifts, sewers, and sometimes in the deepest waters of the blackest seas.

    They are golden-haired and are of unearthly beauty. When they first appear they are aglow in a shaft of golden solar radiance emanating from what appears to be a clear path to the outside world. This path is a portal to the Astral Plane. The light is produced by an astral phenomenon known as a “death door,” which is usually “guarded“ by other beings (see apollyon q.v. or other death-type creatures). These beings can only open these “death doors” in the darkest places, mentioned above, because of the scarcity of living beings in these areas, hence the lack of security. The mine maidens dance and frolic gaily, throwing petals at and around the victim. If any petals touch the skin of the victim they must save versus spells or be enchanted with a false sense of rejuvenation (wounds seem healed, ailments and disease seem cured, quests fulfilled, worries melting away, etc.). When the victim enters the door the maidens seem to catch them from falling into an endless sea of stars. All the while they are picking the victim’s pockets as a 5^th level thief with a 10% “race bonus“ (60%). Once something is procured from the victim and/or the light of the “death door” goes out (closing and disappearing in 2-3 rounds) the victim is dropped into the endless stars. From there they may never return. Continued resistance may result in melee. If this occurs the maidens will reveal their true facial features as hag-like, pulling +1 daggers from scabbards nicely disguised as a nosegay of flowers on their person.

   They can gate once per day.

   

HELLMOUTH (Dragon Daemon)

FREQUENCY: Very rare or uncommon
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: Head, tail (2); vortex body (-8)
MOVE: As per humanoid type
HIT DICE: 11
% IN LAIR: 80%
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 75%
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-20
INTELLIGENCE: Very
ALIGNMENT: Neutral evil
SIZE: L
PSlONIC ABILITY: 95
  Attack/defense modes: A, D/G, H
X.P. VALUE: 4550 + 16/hp

  The hellmouth, or “dragon daemon,” is an ultra-dimensional vortex to the underworld that is actually a being of the lower planes. It appears in the prima materia as a twenty-foot-high grotesque face with a gaping maw well over ten feet in height when extended. It breathes hellfire out of its mouth, targeting the hellmouth’s sole intended target. This breath weapon works similarly to the spiritwrack spell (1^st save vs. spells or held, 2^nd round loss of 1 hp per hit die, 3^rd round the victim loses 50% of hp and is pulled into the maw of the hellmouth.). Victims taken (eaten) are channeled to whomever the creature serves, which usually is a nether being of at least “gentle” standing. The creature is usually sent by a nether lord to collect a reluctant, damned soul. This is usually “approved” by the forces of good so the hellmouth is limited in activities on terra firma. However, nothing stops it from wreaking havoc in the Astral and the various planes of the netherworld, where they hunt the unwary for sport, sending victims down to be trifled with by their current master.

   The hellmouth’s body, usually translucent, never enters prima materia. On the Astral or the planes of the underworld it appears as a channel of negative energy that has seemingly no end. Its “tail” permanently resides in the underworld. Those “damned” collected by a hellmouth will be ejected from the creature’s “tail end”. If there is activity in the vicinity of its endless body the head will eventually know and arrive in 1-20 turns.

 

 

MOON MEN (Moon Monster)

FREQUENCY: Very Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1 or 3-30
ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 12 feet/40 feet
HIT DICE: 12
% IN LAIR: 80%
TREASURE TYPE: H, A, Z
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 4-16 or by weapon
INTELLIGENCE: Average
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: L (12 feet or 50-foot diameter)
PSlONIC ABILITY: 150
Attack/defense modes: A, B, C/G, H
X.P. VALUE: 3700 + 16/hp

   Moon men, also known as “moon monsters,” haunt the Astral Plane and appear there as creatures with lunar characteristics. They have two forms: one is a nightmarish crescent moon on a glistening black humanoid body, while the other a massive face on moon-like sphere. They sometimes appear in the prima materia in sphere form when the moon “contacts” the earth in a reflective surface, usually a large body of water. They often toy with sea-going vessels, sometimes bringing them to their accursed realm in the Astral. In sphere form, they project a massive sheet of darkness (100 yard radius by 1 foot thickness), blotting out the actual moon. They also project a star field of the same dimensions. They will then consternate attempts at nighttime navigation. Sometimes (5% chance) they will attempt to seize entire vessels by bringing them to the “moon.” (This effect is like a gate spell, but the “gate“ appears as a moon setting on the horizon.). In the Astral Plane, there is a mystical reflection of the actual moon. It is there that these and other entities reside: in a vast city of white that disappears and reappears piecemeal as the moon waxes and wanes. Stairs and entrances lead to nowhere during these “phases.” The more humanoid “crescent moon” form is what they prefer to “wear” in the endless swirling crescent streets of the city. They carry weaponry appearing much like lunar-patterned +3  guisarmes or +3 scimitars. Most victims will be brought to a vast arena to be eaten by various lycanthropes for the populace of moon monsters viewing pleasure or some other cruel fate.

   In addition to the above they have the following powers: detect invisibility, detect magic, levitate, and stinking cloud.