Savage Menagerie: Ursine Gobbler

No. Enc.: 2-5 (1d4+1)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120' (40')

Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 7
Attacks: 3 (2 claws, bite)
Damage: 2d6/2d6/3d6
Save: L4
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: VI

An Ursine Gobbler (nicknamed "Turkeybear") is a 10-foot-tall, 500-pound crossbreed of a large land mammal and a large land bird. An Ursine Gobbler has the body, claws, and head of a bear, and the beak and tail of a turkey. Some adventurers have mistakenly referred to it as an "owlbear," having read about these creatures in an Ancient tome titled "Add Monster Manual."

Ursine Gobblers are usually found residing in cave entrances or large Ancient ruins. They are violently protective of their young and their homes and will charge anyone who approaches either of these. They attack with a claw/claw/bite for 2d6/2d6 and 3d6 damage respectively. Ursine Gobblers have a minor form of gigantism, giving them their formidable size. They also receive a damage bonus when attacking (as reflected in the previous stats). However, they also receive a -1 to hit penalty on any target 3 feet tall or smaller.

Ursine Gobblers have developed a mental barrier against mental attacks, giving attackers a -4 penalty when attacking mentally. They can also sense others with a mental mutation and will try to avoid them in combat. Ursine Gobblers can also cause the air around a target to gradually increase to unbearable limits with their temperature control mutation. When triggered, the air will shimmer around a target as the air becomes super-heated. The target will suffer 1d6 points of damage per round until the Ursine Gobbler's concentration is broken or once the target has taken 10d6 points of damage -- whichever comes first.

Ursine Gobbler pelts are highly valued by traders as they are very soft and warm, as well as being nearly impossible to secure due to the dangerous nature of the creature. The meat of an Ursine Gobbler is also quite tasty, and a trader will pay a premium for a good supply of it. (Although eating the flesh of an Ursine Gobbler tends to make the eater a bit sleepy.)

Mutations: gigantism, mental barrier, temperature control (heat)

NOTE: This creature is in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.

In December, Will You "NaBlo" or "NaGa"?

The month of November is always a busy time for me, as I usually participate in the yearly National Novel Writing Month, AKA "NaNoWriMo." My blog posts drop off significantly, and my game design plans are back-burnered as I desperately try to crank out yet-another "Great American Novel." Of course, I could use NaNo as the catalyst to focus on one of my hobbyist projects, but I really do enjoy the challenge of generating a 50,000-word book in a month. So November is filled with great writing productivity, but no RPG-related productivity. However, the month of December, that all changes. This post serves as both an announcement of my intentions as well as a call to other blog-meisters and would-be game designers to join me.

There are two NaNo-similar events that we as RPG enthusiasts can participate in--either one of which will increase our creativity and productivity, ending with something substantial of use to the RPG-playing community.

National Blog Posting Month, AKA "NaBloPoMo," is not held on a regular schedule like other "National Blah-blah Month." Rather, bloggers are encouraged to pick one month of the year and, during that time, post something each and every day. Bloggers from throughout the blogosphere with a wide variety of interests commit to posting something substantial on a daily basis for 30-31 days (or 28 days if you're a February slacker). In December, I challenge all RPG bloggers to commit to a daily post throughout the month. To make this useful for your readers though, I suggest that all entries have some kind of use to the RPG community, ie, new monsters, characters, rules, etc. Or if you'd rather create something more substantial...

National Game Design Month, AKA "NaGa DeMon," was founded by Nathan Russell of Peril Planet. His challenge is for you to create a game within 30 days, whether it's an RPG, boardgame, computer game, or other project. You "win" by actually creating and playing your game within the month. Now, NaGa DeMon is being held in November 2010 (in other words, it's currently underway) and so it collides with NaNo. (Nathan has suggested he may run the next event in February 2011.) Anyway, I plan to tackle NaGa DeMon in December, wrapping up 2010 with one (or two!) RPG projects I've been dragging my feet on. If interested in this challenge, why not try to finally hammer out that rules supplement for your favorite system? Maybe you have an adventure module you'd like to write, produce, and publish. Maybe you'll just come up with that ultimate RPG rule set and, once complete, release it for free to the world. The object is to finally put pen to paper and create that RPG game or supplement you've always planned on writing. (And really, a name like "Naga Demon" just SCREAMS for RPG involvement!)

Anyway, those are the challenges for December. You have two weeks from today to get planning on which you'd like to tackle. I'd really like to see an explosion of blog posts and/or multiple RPG projects coming to fruition during the month. Chime in if you plan on taking up the Gauntlet of either one! And watch for updates throughout the month as to my personal progress on my projects.

NaNo Destroys The Savage AfterWorld

Hey gang,

As in years part, I'm spending the month of November churning out yet another Great American Novel as part of the yearly National Novel Writing Month. I was trying to get back to somewhat regular blog posting, but I'm afraid it's tough to manage three or four money-paying writing assignments and NaNo as well, while still finding time to post the occasional mutant or post-apocalyptic situation with which to vex your Future Mutants. So November's posts will be lean. I'll try to make a effort to give you a few things this month to tide you over until December.

But in December, I may tackle one or two other NaNoWriMo-like events, both of which tie in directly with the RPG community. And I'll be looking for other RPG blog-meisters to join in the fun. Details to come...