dungeons and dragons monster: zosk thaumaphage
2017.02.20 (updated : 2024.04.01)
(Photo lifted from somewhere)
My game world doesn't have rust monsters or rot grubs or intellect devourers or other gotcha monsters, but I couldn't resist the idea of something that "eats miracles".
| No. Enc: | 1 |
| Alignment | Sinister agenda |
| Movement | 6m (6m) |
| Armor class | 7 |
| Hit dice | 5 |
| Intelligence | High |
| Attacks | 4 |
| Damage | 2d4 x 4 |
| Save | F5 |
| Morale | 8 |
| Hoard class | None |
| XP | 1,200 |
These appalling aberrations float about the battlefields, cities, and wizard’s towers of Sppang, consuming sources of magic such as magical items. First spotted in the chaos following the sack of the elven city of Zosk by the dragons, the thaumaphages are now turning up wherever magic exists. These floating beasts have an enormous glistening head with two huge eyes and a gaping maw. They have flailing insectoid tentacles with which they grasp for the magical items that sustain them.
The thaumaphage can strike with all four of its loathsome tentacle-like forelimbs per turn, causing 2d4 damage, but also draining any magical item it strikes. A strike causes a loss of 1 magical rating (e.g. a + 2 weapon becomes a + 1 weapon; a – 1 cursed weapon similarly loses its curse). This creature tend to attack one source of magic with each tentacle – even attacking multiple opponents if they are in range.
Every successful “feeding” of magic causes it to spawn on the spot, spawning a miniature copy of itself that bobs in the air and will avoid interaction with others at first. But this hatchling grows quickly. Young zosk are capable of consuming magic within ninety minutes of birth. Zosk thaumaphages are immune to all magical attacks. They take double damage from bronze weapons.
They are strongly attracted to khyber stones, which they can sense from a great distance.