THE IRON HEROES BESTIARY Table of Contents
A MONSTER BOOK BY MIKE MEARLS
Requires the use of Iron Heroes, published by Fiery Dragon Productions Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons® Third Edition Core Books, published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This book utilizes updated material from the v. 3.5 revision.
ADDITIONAL CREDITS Editing: Ray Vallese • Development and Creative Direction: Monte Cook Cover Art: Jeremy Jarvis • Interior Art: Kev Crossley Cover Design and Interior Page Design: Lisa Chido Production and Proofreading: Sue Weinlein Cook Playtesters: Mark Barazzuol, Chris Cumming, Matt Cumming, Kelly Graham, Melinda Lau, Kevin MacQuarrie, Jim McArthur, SampleGeoffrey Nelson, Del Shand, Nicolas Shand, Apis Teicher, Dave Turner, and Adam Windsor.file For supplemental material, visit the Iron Heroes Website: www.fierydragon.com/ironheroes 2 THE IRON HEROES BESTIARY Table of Contents
Introduction: Welcome to the Bestiary Demon Knight ...... 25 What’s in This Book?...... 4 Class Abilities...... 26 Using This Bestiary ...... 4 Demon Knight Appearance and Details ...... 27 Reading the Monster Entries...... 5 Chapter Three: Here Be Monsters! Chapter One: Using Monsters in Iron Heroes Blade Ooze ...... 28 Monster Abilities ...... 6 Creating a Blade Ooze ...... 30 Damage Reduction...... 6 Blade Tyrant...... 30 Movement Modes ...... 7 Blade Tyrant Society...... 31 Instant Kill Attacks ...... 7 Bone Machine...... 32 Natural Armor and Base Defense Bonus ...... 8 Improved Natural Attack...... 34 Poison and Ability Damage...... 8 Clawing Dark ...... 34 Monsters and Character Death...... 8 The Book of Silver Chains...... 36 Death Is at Hand...... 9 Cliff Ogre ...... 37 Fates Other Than Death...... 9 Cliff Ogre Society ...... 38 Monster Criteria...... 10 Cliff Ogre Action Zones ...... 38 Analyzing Monsters...... 10 Colossus of Thard...... 39 Monster Ability Scores...... 12 Climbing the Colossus ...... 40 Monsters and Feats ...... 12 Dimensional Prowler ...... 41 New Mastery Feat Descriptions ...... 12 Dire Gloom...... 43 Dire Gloom Characters ...... 44 Chapter Two: Villain Classes Emerald Serpent ...... 45 Champion...... 16 Adventure Idea...... 46 Class Abilities...... 20 Emerald Serpent Guardians ...... 46 Other Uses of This Villain Class ...... 20 Emerald Serpent Hide Armor...... 46 Demonic Minion...... 21 Flesh Flayer...... 47 Class Abilities ...... 22 Flesh Flayer Characters ...... 48 Demonic Minion Appearance and Details ...... 24 Glitterwing ...... 49
All content is ©2007 Adam Windsor. The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned. This book is compatible with 3rd Edition and Revised 3rd Edition rules. This edition of the Iron Heroes Bestiary is produced under version 1.0a and/or draft versions of the Open Game License and the System Reference Document by per- mission of Wizards of the Coast. Subsequent versions of this product will incorporate later versions of the license and document. Designation of Product Identity: The following items are hereby designated as Product Identity in accordance with Section 1(e) of the Open Game License, version 1.0a: Any and all Fiery Dragon logos and identifying marks and trade dress, such as all product and product line names including but not limited to Iron Heroes, Mastering Iron Heroes, and The Iron Heroes Bestiary; any specific characters and places; capitalized names and original names of places, artifacts, characters, races, countries, geographic locations, gods, historic events, and organizations; any and all stories, storylines, histories, plots, thematicSample elements, and dialogue; and all artwork, symbols, designs, depictions, illustrations, maps, and cartography, likenesses, poses, logos, or graphic designs,file except such elements that already appear in final or draft versions of the d20 System Reference Document or as Open Game Content below and are already open by virtue of appearing there. The above Product Identity is not Open Game Content. Check out Fiery Dragon online at
Uses for Glitterwings...... 50 Piprisug Characters ...... 74 Gossamer Wyrm...... 50 Plague Giant...... 75 Gossamer Wyrm Realms...... 52 The Giant’s Heart...... 76 Grey Troll ...... 52 Sand Homunculus ...... 76 Hundoon...... 54 Adventure Idea ...... 78 Hundoon Society...... 54 Selvrin ...... 78 Hundoon Settlements and Organization ...... 55 Selvrin Society ...... 79 Hundoon Attitudes...... 55 The Great Feast...... 79 Hundoon Traits ...... 55 Selvrin Characters ...... 80 Hundoon, Worker Caste ...... 56 Selvrin Weapons ...... 80 Hundoon, Warrior Caste...... 57 Shellback...... 80 Hundoon, Overseer Caste ...... 58 Skaerrim...... 82 Hundoon, Royal Caste...... 59 Advancement...... 84 Hunting Spirit...... 60 Skaerrim and Humanity ...... 84 Incarnation...... 62 Skaerrim Bargains ...... 84 Incarnation Cults...... 63 Trondar ...... 84 Sample Cults ...... 63 Trondar Society ...... 86 Iron Devil...... 65 The Great Transformation...... 86 Diabolic Weapons...... 66 Ungulak...... 86 Kuhl’ani...... 66 Ungulak Tunnels ...... 87 Moss Troll...... 68 Vardrag...... 88 Necrophage...... 69 Paeldrem...... 70 Appendix: Paeldrem Society ...... 71 Open Game License ...... 90 True History of the Paeldrem...... 72 Paeldrem NPCs...... 72 Piprisug ...... 72 Piprisug Society ...... 74
Designation of Open Game Content: Subject to the Product Identity designation above, the following portions of The Iron Heroes Bestiary are designated as Open Game Content: the feats in their entirety in Chapter One; the class advancement tables and “Class Abilities” sections of Chapter Two; the “Combat” sections and statistics for the monsters in Chapter Three; and anything else con- tained herein which is already Open Game Content by virtue of appearing in the System Reference Document or some other Open Game Content source. Some portions of this book which are Open Game Content originate from the System Reference Document and are ©1999–2006 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. The remainder of these Open Game Content portions of this book are hereby added to Open Game Content and if so used, should bear the COPYRIGHT NOTICE “The Iron Heroes Bestiary ©2007 Adam Windsor.” This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction, retransmission, or unauthorized use of the artwork or non-Open Game Content herein is prohibited without expressSample written permission from Adam Windsor, except for purposes of review or use of Open Game Content consistent with the Open Game License. The originalfile purchaser may print or photocopy copies for his or her own personal use only. This document is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental. 4 THE IRON HEROES BESTIARY
INTRODUCTION: Welcome to the Bestiary
Mighty heroes need powerful monsters to battle. Without Grendel, who would remember Beowulf? Monsters are a critical part of any roleplaying game, and Iron Heroes is no different.
WHAT’S IN THIS BOOK? The Iron Heroes Bestiary is divided into three chapters and one appendix. Here’s what you’ll find in each: Chapter One: Using Monsters in Iron Heroes. This chap- ter covers basic advice on designing and using monsters in Iron Heroes campaigns. It includes a few mathematical meth- ods you can use to judge whether a creature offers the proper threat to the party or will hold out against the heroes’ might for long. It also includes new feats designed to work with sev- eral monster abilities, such as improved grab. Chapter Two: Villain Classes. This chapter includes a number of new villain classes, a concept introduced in Mastering Iron Heroes. Villain classes allow you to generate an NPC villain or opponent for the characters quickly. Chapter Three: Here Be Monsters! This chapter intro- duces over 30 new beasts to set against the characters. From the vicious necrophage to the daunting colossus of Thard, the adventurers face a wide variety of new threats and enemies.
ard and Smaug. Odysseus and Polyphemus, greatest of USING THIS BESTIARY B the cyclopes. Perseus and the Medusa. King Pellinore Bonus source material and ideas to augment the information and the Questing Beast. St. George and the dragon. in this book appear on Monte Cook’s website. Find the links Even Jonah and the whale—the list goes on and on. As mon- to these free web enhancements at the book’s product page sters populate the classics, epic fantasy literature, and the online at
READING THE MONSTER ENTRIES The monster entries in Chapter Three are arranged just like ABOUT THE AUTHOR the standard monsters in the MM, with a few exceptions: • Defense. Rather than the familiar Armor Class listing, Mike Mearls has worked as a freelance roleplaying game designer the monsters in this book follow the standard Iron since 1999. This prolific writer maintains a high volume of work with- out compromising quality, which has won him a place on many gamers’ Heroes rules for defense. Thus their statistics block lists of favorite designers. Buoyed by positive reaction to his first d20 lists “Defense” ratings. A monster’s defense value works, he went on to produce material for leading RPG publishers, includes both active and passive defense; the defense including AEG, Atlas Games, Decipher, Fantasy Flight, Fiery Dragon, components are broken down in the stat block for Goodman Games, Mongoose Publishing, Necromancer Games, and ease of use. others. His previous Fiery Dragon titles include Swords Through The Ice Gate and Swords Against Deception. His previous Malhavoc Press titles As a reminder, you keep passive bonuses when flat include Legacy of the Dragons and Book of Hallowed Might II: Portents footed. Active bonuses you lose when flat footed. and Visions (both with Monte Cook), Mystic Secrets: The Lore of Word and Rune, The Book of Iron Might, Ruins of Intrigue, Transcendence, Iron Passive Active Heroes, and Mastering Iron Heroes. His work also appears regularly in Natural armor Base defense Dragon® Magazine. He has recently joined Wizards of the Coast as a Shield* Shield* roleplaying game developer. Size Dexterity Some feats Some feats ABOUT THE ARTISTS
* The physical barrier a shield provides is a passive bonus. Your Cover artist Jeremy Jarvis attended New York’s Pratt Institute as a Fine ability to use a shield (such as that granted by various feats or Arts major, intending to work in comics upon graduation. He did sur- vive Pratt, but the desire to pencil comics had been slapped from his class abilities) is an active bonus. hand by his dark, demanding mistress: watercolor. Jeremy is known for his tongue-in-cheek attitude, his eye for detail, and the tragic ability to • Damage Reduction. Because armor provides damage render that detail in unforgiving watercolor. He has illustrated widely in reduction in Iron Heroes campaigns, DR is broken out the fantasy and gaming industry, and his work has been included in as a separate statistic for all monsters instead of sim- The Spectrum Awards and The Society of Illustrators’ prestigious Annual Exhibition. Visit his website at
In a fantasy adventure game, the monsters play a critical role in the action. Heroes are defined by the adversaries they defeat and the dangers they brave. It’s hard to become a hero without powerful foes to battle.
MONSTER ABILITIES In most cases, a monster’s abilities define what it can do and provide its most memorable aspects. A dragon can breathe fire or bolts of lightning. A giant can hurl boulders at the party. A deadly crocodile can grab a victim in its jaws and pull him below the swamp’s murky waters. This section takes a look at several creature abilities and gives advice on how to use them.
DAMAGE REDUCTION Damage reduction plays an important, consistent role in Iron Heroes. It’s almost impossible for typical Iron Heroes charac- ters to defeat damage reduction based on magic and align- ment types. Depending on your campaign, it might be easier for them to overcome DR based on weapon materials, such as adamantine and silver. As the DM, of course, you control the characters’ access to adamantine and mithral. Neither is so common that the characters can simply waltz to the nearest market and purchase them. On the other hand, silver is likely ron Heroes makes a number of changes to the d20 System to show up in coins and valuables. It makes sense for the I core rules that you may have used to run other cam- characters to convert such items to weapons to battle lycan- paigns. This chapter looks at those changes and address- thropes and similar creatures. es how they alter the use and design of monsters. When looking at a monster, consider its damage reduction One of the strengths of Iron Heroes is that it allows you to in terms of its Challenge Rating. Consult the following table: use monsters from almost any source compatible with the core rules. While the mechanics might work out fine, it helps Party Level DR to highlight and consider the key factors that make or break 1–5 5 a monster for Iron Heroes. 6–15 10 This chapter is broken down into various topics, such as 16 + 15 damage reduction, poison, Challenge Ratings, and so on. Think of it as a basic manual on using monsters in Iron These values are not absolutes. Some core monsters are Heroes, whether from the core rules or similar sources, or specifically designed with high damage reduction values. For ones you design yourself. It covers a variety of topics that example, the grick is pathetically weak without its DR. If a might come up in play and gives practical advice on what monster’s damage reduction looks too high, consider its sortsSample of monsters make the best match for your game from other abilities and think about howfile well the monster would a mechanical and story-based perspective. fare without its DR.