Monsters of Spelljammer
Encyclopedia
The Spelljammer
campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons
fantasy
role-playing game
includes numerous monsters not typically found in other settings.
secondary eyes that can move independently like those of a chameleon. Pebbly, metallic-looking muscle fibers are visible at the
joints.
In their humanoid form, bionoids are thin, well-muscled, and fairly tall. They have uniformly calm, even tempers, and are often
contemplative. They move with great economy; useless gestures or movements are very rare.
Even bionoid reproduction is invasive. The eggs of mature bionoids are disc-shaped with a single crystalline “trigger” in
the center. This crystal serves a multiple purpose: it is an attractant to potential victims since it makes the egg look like a magical item, and it is also the young bionoid’s eye. When a potential host touches the crystal eye, the host’s essence marks the egg. The egg bursts, attaches to the host, and grows as a symbiont, eventually separating and becoming a separate, nymph bionoid.
If an orc
touches the egg, the egg explodes in a mass of corrosive filaments causing immediate death. If half-orcs survives this, the half-orc and the bionoid bind in symbiosis. Evil beings can fuse with the bionoid, but suffer the penalties of radical change to the bionoid’s good alignment.
If elves, humans or other humanoid races touch the egg, it infiltrates the victim, creating another adult bionoid. The new
bionoid has the abilities described above, but appears only when danger threatens, whereupon the host “monsters out” into the
bionoid monster form. But the host should only wear normal, easily replaceable clothing, due to the unpredictable nature of his malady.
The crystal eye is worth a lot of GP - but woe betide the buyer. In the crystal eye is the essence of the original owner. If presented with a living body, the crystal reduces and restructures that body in favor of its stored master, resulting in death (of a sort) for the purchaser.
Though rare, a bionoid family can comprise hundreds of members, always led by the individual who started the unit, either the original bionoid or its full-blooded descendants. Bionoid symbionts are welcome to join the unit, but must vow to avoid (and avoid infecting) residents of the outside world.
Though engineered for warfare, the family unit sustains itself primarily through farming. They practice battle skills primarily as a spiritual discipline. Most frontier cities and spelljamming outposts welcome bionoid communities.
gave themselves to be altered into organic fighting machines. After the Wars, they were cast out into the cosmos, to make their own way far from the sight of the elves. Years of ostracism, of living apart from the rest of elvish society like plague victims, has instilled in them a deep distrust of all other elven races.
-like creatures that dwell inside hollow, lifeless asteroids. They are among several races that share the title “scholars of wildspace.”
These gentle, brilliant, inoffensive giants burrow through small planets that contain no sentient life and make their lairs inside. They speak their own tongue, as well as Common and most human, demi-human and humanoid languages.
Although the Fal find combat offensive, considering it the final refuge of the incompetent, they are perfectly capable of defending themselves with a ferocious bite. The Fal does not swallow, until it tries to persuade
the foe to surrender in a peaceful manner. Should the foe agree to surrender, then renege on its word, the Fal attacks with no quarter. To the Fal, a promise is sacred.
All Fal are telekinetic. A Fal can lift 1,000 pounds in this way and, if it acts first, tries to neutralize an opponent by simply lifting and holding it about 30 feet off the floor until the opponent stops fighting. A successful hit on the Fal breaks its concentration, and the victim falls hard.
does not visit often. (To a Fal, more than once a year is “often.“) Any alignment may visit, though the Fal are wary around chaotic evil and lawful good beings. The Fal consider these two alignments too extreme in their philosophies.
The Fal have a well-deserved reputation as some of the best sages in the multiverse
. They answer questions in exchange for gifts worth more than 100 gp, anything from a bottle of fine wine to a book or a painting. Unlike normal sages, however, the Fal do not limit themselves to one or two subjects. This, they say, denies the opportunity to learn all the multiverse has to offer. Hence, any question asked of a Fal may be answered immediately, within several days, in several months, or several years - but, if answerable, it will be answered.
The Fal lair (called a tcha) is surprisingly comfortable. Most Fal decorate the tcha with accurate maps of planets and regions of space, massive bookshelves, and little trinkets that grateful visitors exchange for the answer to a question. Two types of plants usually grow inside a tcha: a phosphorescent fungus
for illumination, and hardy greens that make up the Fal’s diet. Many Fal also enjoy fine wine and keep a well-stocked “cellar.” Predominant in the tcha are books-lots of books, old and new, in different languages. The Fal live at least 2088 years. To them, a year is like a day, so they take things slowly.
Many people mistakenly think the Fal stupid, since the slugs talk so slowly. They believe hasty words
bring bad results. The Fal often associate with the Gonn (q.v.) for discourse and the Arcane for research material and books. The Fal are suspicious of Aperusa (q.v.), but they delight in tinker gnomes
. The Fal venerate three gods above all others: Deneir, Thoth
, and Oghma.
There is no romance in the Fal society. The Fal are hermaphroditic, each Fal responsible for creating a “pupil” at some point, tutoring it, and sending it on its way. No one has ever seen a Fal pupil, however. It is possible that the Fal do not take questions when they are training a pupil.
. Like its terrestrial cousin, it has a voracious appetite and rules the ecosystem
it inhabits. Its unique breeding habits have become the stuff of legends and religious rites in many worlds.
Its only natural prey is the gossamer noble, which it disables by cutting off the tentacles, then attacking with claws and enormous jaws. It may attack spelljamming ships during times of great hunger to get at the soft, tiny morsels inside. However, the metal-and-wood canisters that hold these small feasts do not settle well with the gammaroid’s palate. The lifespans of gammaroids are very long. Specimens with shell growth patterns indicating millennia of moults have been recorded. The shells of dead gammaroids are quite useful as spelljammer hulls, as the lightness and toughness of the shell combine to make a highly maneuverable armored vessel. They can fetch a king’s ransom.
It can also pursue fleeing prey by retracting all its appendages and rotating in its central axis giving it the ability to fly with spelljamming speeds. When this deadly missile hits a ship, the whirling serrated edges of its shell may cut the ship in half or utterly destroy it. In atmosphere, atmospheric friction from its rapid rotation creates an enveloping fireball that causes additional damage.
Tinker gnomes have a strong connection with the giant space hamsters. Hamsters are domesticated, used as both pets and livestock, and are also used to power gnome sidewheelers, an inefficient form of space ship that is powered by a series of gigantic hamster wheels.
In combat, a giant space hamster will attack with its claws, and also attempt to swallow its opponents whole. They are, however, inclined to run away if given a chance.
Giant space hamsters were first discovered among the tinker gnomes, a race of highly technological creatures who primarily inhabit the world of Krynn
. Tinker gnome civilizations are divided into guilds, who each research and develop a different technological field. It was the Animal Breeder's Guild that first bred the giant space hamster.
Characteristically, the tinker gnomes did not stop there, and continued to breed many forms of hamster, including the sabre-toothed giant space hamster, the carnivorous flying giant space hamster ("a regrettable if understandable line of inquiry"), the fire-breathing phase doppelganger giant space hamster, and the miniature giant space hamster (a dwarf variant, indistinguishable from ordinary hamsters).
The most infamous (and to gnomes, most feared) giant space hamster was "Wooly Rupert," the Tyrannohamstersaurus of Ill Omen.
has a pet "miniature giant space hamster", which is the size of a normal hamster, called Boo.
, another RPG by BioWare
, has a souvenir for a "Space Hamster."
campaign setting
in the Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space
campaign setting box, in the Lorebook of the Void booklet (1989). The giff is detailed as a playable character race in the supplement Complete Spacefarer's Handbook (1992). The giff also appears in an adventure in Dungeon
#34 (March 1992).
The giff appears in the Monstrous Manual (1993). The giff is presented as a playable character race in Player's Option: Skills & Powers
(1995).
#339 (January 2006).
They are generally inferior to other races in intelligence, but are far stronger and more resilient. The only factors reducing their power to terrify others are their names (Algernon Kilburne and Ophelia Hadley being typical) and their dress sense, which tends towards extreme ornamentation; giff have been known to cover their armor in campaign ribbons, for example.
campaign setting
in the Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space campaign setting box, in the Lorebook of the Void booklet (1989). The neogi undead old master appears in the supplement Lost Ships (1990).
The neogi, the great old master neogi, and the neogi reaver appear in the Monstrous Manual (1993). The neogi was detailed in Dragon
#214 (February 1995), in the "Ecology of the Neogi".
An extraplanar relative of the neogi, the tso, appears in the Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix II (1995).
(2005). The adult neogi, the neogi defiler, the dwarf neogi, the neogi spawn, the great old master, the neogi slavemaster, and the neogi sorcerer appear in this book.
and an eel
. They have a bloated body and eight limbs, two of which have simple claws, and are covered in light tan fur.
Neogi are slave traders
and they consider everything either a slave or owner. All Neogi have several slaves, usually Umber Hulks
, sometimes even other neogi. These neogi slaves have more slaves, leading to complex ownership hierarchy.
In the Spelljammer universe, the stellar dragon is probably the largest dragon
species in existence. Big, peaceful and highly intelligent, these enormous philosophers of the phlogiston wander the flow in their quest for knowledge.
Two main fins, like the fins of a lionfish
, adorn either side of the main trunk followed by four enormous lace-like wings which provide guidance and stability. Multiple fins of various sizes cover the rest of the dragon’s body. They have no visible arms or legs. A fully grown ancient wyrm ranges in size from 20,000 feet to an amazing 3,000,000 feet in length.
Information is the stellar dragon’s food and drink if anything is, and it is willing to trade in kind. (One rumor has it that the Greyhawk wizard Bigby learned his interposing hand and grasping hand spells from a stellar dragon in exchange for a juicy tidbit of information.) Stellar dragons literally consume their knowledge, transforming it into clear or milky gems of varying size. These gems of wisdom and pearls of knowledge push their way outward to rest embedded in the dragon’s scales. The number of gems and pearls studding its scales mark its status among other dragons. The encrustation also roughly indicates its age; younger dragons have few gems, whereas venerable stellar dragons are literally covered in jewels. The chief, or mikado, is another case entirely (see below).
Though not normally aggressive, the stellar dragon can easily defend itself. Its unique breath weapon is gravitic: rather than emitting breath, it draws things into the dragon’s internally generated sphere of annihilation
. The stellar dragon has three other innate attacks. First, it can randomly teleport an attacker in any direction. Second, its titanic intellect lets it use any wizard spells in the Player's Handbook
without error. It can also modify or create spells to suit its needs; for example, it could merge darkness and fireball to create a shadow flare spell. It can repeat spells as often as needed. Third, it can summon one denizen of another plane once per round for up to seven rounds. Summoned individuals serve the dragon slavishly before they snap back to their home continuum.
Stellar dragon territories are vast, extending into other planes and dimensions. Individuals negotiate boundaries to prevent intrusion on each others space. However, they haggle endlessly to obtain dynamic civilizations to monitor. The dragons deal with attackers handily. However, if a party approaches the dragon with respect and choice information, chances are even that the dragon deigns to talk. Chances are equally good that the dragon is thinking (that is, digesting) and dismisses the interlopers.
The stellar dragon’s ultimate goal is truth. It abhors dishonesty and misinformation. Though its information may be cryptic, it is never false. A lesser being’s misinterpretation is that being’s own fault. Misinformation causes a stellar dragon severe, painful indigestion. And as with its smaller kin, a dragon in pain is dangerous.
. These primeval watchers have seen the rise and fall of many civilizations. Such is the power of this knowledge that according to some texts, the power of artifacts and relics comes from the gems that encrust them. The crystallized everlasting knowledge of thousands of beings, say these legends, provides the power that runs these wonderful objects. How these gems were wrested from the stellar dragons remains unsaid. Gems of wisdom and pearls of knowledge are valuable almost beyond calculation. The information they contain can be liberated and used to gain enormous profit. Sages and wizards do nearly anything to gain one.
universe, witchlight marauders are creatures that were used as weapons-of-mass-destruction, introduced by the orcs
during the first Unhuman War. Thought to be completely destroyed by the elves
, before these living weapons could be used, rumors and legends persist that several primary marauders were preserved.
This land marauders reach the targeted planet by means of a still larger creature, the space marauder. This 1,000+ foot reptilian monster travel wildspace on sails spun by special organs from their bodies. The sails could also be used to focus energy and fire beam weapons. Like their smaller kin, space marauders could virtually eat anything from ships, asteroids and even small moons to produce projectiles and primaries.
Reproduction is initiated by eating a certain amount of food then ejecting either poisonous gas or secondaries for the primary marauder or tertiaries from the secondary marauder.
shamans as a means of countering ruthless elven aggression. Marauders are shock-troops, organic first-strike weapons, meant to devastate whole planets. It does this by consuming all organic matter and even precious minerals leaving nothing behind but a poisonous chunk of rock. Left by itself, it accomplishes this in a few years time.
Supposedly, all specimens were destroyed by the elves
, but there is a possibility that some may have survived, held by time-stop fields in some planet or wandering a forgotten quadrant in wildspace.
Spelljammer
Spelljammer is a campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, which features a fantastical outer space environment....
campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
includes numerous monsters not typically found in other settings.
Bionoid
Bionoids are chitinous, bipedal humanoid insects with a glowing circular gem in the center of their forehead. Though their appearance strikes fear in those who view them, their demeanor belies their looks. They originated as “Living Weapons” during the Unhuman Wars.Description
In their combat form, also called their monster form, they are tall, muscular creatures with iridescent exoskeletons. Hard clawlike blades protrude from both forearms and the head. In addition to the standard pair of compound eyes, they possess foursecondary eyes that can move independently like those of a chameleon. Pebbly, metallic-looking muscle fibers are visible at the
joints.
In their humanoid form, bionoids are thin, well-muscled, and fairly tall. They have uniformly calm, even tempers, and are often
contemplative. They move with great economy; useless gestures or movements are very rare.
Even bionoid reproduction is invasive. The eggs of mature bionoids are disc-shaped with a single crystalline “trigger” in
the center. This crystal serves a multiple purpose: it is an attractant to potential victims since it makes the egg look like a magical item, and it is also the young bionoid’s eye. When a potential host touches the crystal eye, the host’s essence marks the egg. The egg bursts, attaches to the host, and grows as a symbiont, eventually separating and becoming a separate, nymph bionoid.
If an orc
Orc
An orc is one of a race of mythical human-like creatures, generally described as fierce and combative, with grotesque features and often black, grey or greenish skin. This mythology has its origins in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien....
touches the egg, the egg explodes in a mass of corrosive filaments causing immediate death. If half-orcs survives this, the half-orc and the bionoid bind in symbiosis. Evil beings can fuse with the bionoid, but suffer the penalties of radical change to the bionoid’s good alignment.
If elves, humans or other humanoid races touch the egg, it infiltrates the victim, creating another adult bionoid. The new
bionoid has the abilities described above, but appears only when danger threatens, whereupon the host “monsters out” into the
bionoid monster form. But the host should only wear normal, easily replaceable clothing, due to the unpredictable nature of his malady.
The crystal eye is worth a lot of GP - but woe betide the buyer. In the crystal eye is the essence of the original owner. If presented with a living body, the crystal reduces and restructures that body in favor of its stored master, resulting in death (of a sort) for the purchaser.
Society
Although these bionoids were instilled with an instinctive urge for combat without quarter, they are essentially good beings who constantly strive to control the powers of their implanted nature. Though they travel nearly everywhere in wildspace, bionoids prefer to remain alone. Many work as crew members on spelljamming ships across the flow, or they reside in country manors or castles. Still others live as hermits on lonely asteroids far from the normal spelljamming trade routes. In some cases, elvish communities sympathetic to the bionoids’ situation have taken in individual bionoids.Though rare, a bionoid family can comprise hundreds of members, always led by the individual who started the unit, either the original bionoid or its full-blooded descendants. Bionoid symbionts are welcome to join the unit, but must vow to avoid (and avoid infecting) residents of the outside world.
Though engineered for warfare, the family unit sustains itself primarily through farming. They practice battle skills primarily as a spiritual discipline. Most frontier cities and spelljamming outposts welcome bionoid communities.
History
Bionoids were originally tailored as troops in the Unhuman Wars. Volunteer elvesElf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, elves are a fictional humanoid race that is one of the primary races available for play as player characters. Elves are renowned for their grace and mastery of magic and weapons such as the sword and bow...
gave themselves to be altered into organic fighting machines. After the Wars, they were cast out into the cosmos, to make their own way far from the sight of the elves. Years of ostracism, of living apart from the rest of elvish society like plague victims, has instilled in them a deep distrust of all other elven races.
Bionoids in other media
Bionoids also appear as characters in Cloakmaster Cycle series of novels.Fal
The Falmadaraatha (or “Fal” for short) are huge, slugSlug
Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...
-like creatures that dwell inside hollow, lifeless asteroids. They are among several races that share the title “scholars of wildspace.”
Description
The Fal have large, soft, pulpy bodies that change from light tan at birth to jet black at the end of life. At the fore end of their bodies, they have a pair of small sensory antennae, bulbous eyes, a massive mouth filled with sharp teeth ideal for burrowing, and a smaller mouth above it, used for speech.These gentle, brilliant, inoffensive giants burrow through small planets that contain no sentient life and make their lairs inside. They speak their own tongue, as well as Common and most human, demi-human and humanoid languages.
Although the Fal find combat offensive, considering it the final refuge of the incompetent, they are perfectly capable of defending themselves with a ferocious bite. The Fal does not swallow, until it tries to persuade
the foe to surrender in a peaceful manner. Should the foe agree to surrender, then renege on its word, the Fal attacks with no quarter. To the Fal, a promise is sacred.
All Fal are telekinetic. A Fal can lift 1,000 pounds in this way and, if it acts first, tries to neutralize an opponent by simply lifting and holding it about 30 feet off the floor until the opponent stops fighting. A successful hit on the Fal breaks its concentration, and the victim falls hard.
Society
The Fal are solitary, though there is a chance of encountering a group of these massive beings inside one asteroid, chatting away about philosophy, metaphysics, or the state of the multiverse. As a rule, the Fal are peaceful, honest, hospitable geniuses. Despite this solitude, the Fal enjoy polite company, provided itdoes not visit often. (To a Fal, more than once a year is “often.“) Any alignment may visit, though the Fal are wary around chaotic evil and lawful good beings. The Fal consider these two alignments too extreme in their philosophies.
The Fal have a well-deserved reputation as some of the best sages in the multiverse
Multiverse
The multiverse is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes that together comprise all of reality.Multiverse may also refer to:-In fiction:* Multiverse , the fictional multiverse used by DC Comics...
. They answer questions in exchange for gifts worth more than 100 gp, anything from a bottle of fine wine to a book or a painting. Unlike normal sages, however, the Fal do not limit themselves to one or two subjects. This, they say, denies the opportunity to learn all the multiverse has to offer. Hence, any question asked of a Fal may be answered immediately, within several days, in several months, or several years - but, if answerable, it will be answered.
The Fal lair (called a tcha) is surprisingly comfortable. Most Fal decorate the tcha with accurate maps of planets and regions of space, massive bookshelves, and little trinkets that grateful visitors exchange for the answer to a question. Two types of plants usually grow inside a tcha: a phosphorescent fungus
Fungus
A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
for illumination, and hardy greens that make up the Fal’s diet. Many Fal also enjoy fine wine and keep a well-stocked “cellar.” Predominant in the tcha are books-lots of books, old and new, in different languages. The Fal live at least 2088 years. To them, a year is like a day, so they take things slowly.
Many people mistakenly think the Fal stupid, since the slugs talk so slowly. They believe hasty words
bring bad results. The Fal often associate with the Gonn (q.v.) for discourse and the Arcane for research material and books. The Fal are suspicious of Aperusa (q.v.), but they delight in tinker gnomes
Gnome (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, gnomes are one of the core races available for play as player characters. Some speculate that they are closely related to dwarves; however, gnomes are more tolerant of other races and of magic, and are skilled with illusions...
. The Fal venerate three gods above all others: Deneir, Thoth
Thoth
Thoth was considered one of the more important deities of the Egyptian pantheon. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. His feminine counterpart was Seshat...
, and Oghma.
There is no romance in the Fal society. The Fal are hermaphroditic, each Fal responsible for creating a “pupil” at some point, tutoring it, and sending it on its way. No one has ever seen a Fal pupil, however. It is possible that the Fal do not take questions when they are training a pupil.
Gammaroid
A gargantuan variety of snapping turtleSnapping turtle
The common snapping turtle is a large freshwater turtle of the family Chelydridae. Its natural range extends from southeastern Canada, southwest to the edge of the Rocky Mountains, as far east as Nova Scotia and Florida and as far southwest as northeastern Mexico...
. Like its terrestrial cousin, it has a voracious appetite and rules the ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
it inhabits. Its unique breeding habits have become the stuff of legends and religious rites in many worlds.
Description
Resembling a snapping turtle that reaches a size of 2,500 feet in diameter. On land or space, the gammaroid is a fearsome opponent. In space, it masquerades as an asteroid and allows small objects to adhere to its body by gravitic attraction. When prey happens by, the head shoots out, smashing victims with its powerful jaws. The bony ridges of its beak can rip through a ships hull easily.Its only natural prey is the gossamer noble, which it disables by cutting off the tentacles, then attacking with claws and enormous jaws. It may attack spelljamming ships during times of great hunger to get at the soft, tiny morsels inside. However, the metal-and-wood canisters that hold these small feasts do not settle well with the gammaroid’s palate. The lifespans of gammaroids are very long. Specimens with shell growth patterns indicating millennia of moults have been recorded. The shells of dead gammaroids are quite useful as spelljammer hulls, as the lightness and toughness of the shell combine to make a highly maneuverable armored vessel. They can fetch a king’s ransom.
It can also pursue fleeing prey by retracting all its appendages and rotating in its central axis giving it the ability to fly with spelljamming speeds. When this deadly missile hits a ship, the whirling serrated edges of its shell may cut the ship in half or utterly destroy it. In atmosphere, atmospheric friction from its rapid rotation creates an enveloping fireball that causes additional damage.
Society
Gammaroids spawn on planetary bodies of a certain size, usually larger than size A. They land near geologically unstable regions, homing in on areas where the heat is near the surface. The female digs until she reaches magma, then lays 2-8 eggs in the lava pit. When the egg laying is complete, she crawls from the hole, allowing it to collapse behind her. Within 50 years, the young hatch and tunnel upward, usually surfacing far away from the hatchery. This spawning causes great destruction to surface dwellings, and even the largest underground monsters are easy prey to the hungry hatchlings.Giant space hamster
Giant space hamsters have achieved popularity among D&D fans due in part to their basis as such a humorous and ridiculous concept. They are brown-bear-sized rodents with thick fur.Tinker gnomes have a strong connection with the giant space hamsters. Hamsters are domesticated, used as both pets and livestock, and are also used to power gnome sidewheelers, an inefficient form of space ship that is powered by a series of gigantic hamster wheels.
In combat, a giant space hamster will attack with its claws, and also attempt to swallow its opponents whole. They are, however, inclined to run away if given a chance.
Giant space hamsters were first discovered among the tinker gnomes, a race of highly technological creatures who primarily inhabit the world of Krynn
Krynn
Krynn is the fictional world of the Dragonlance novels, co-written by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis. It has also been used in many other books, set in the Dragonlance universe. It is also used as the main setting in the Dragonlance campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing...
. Tinker gnome civilizations are divided into guilds, who each research and develop a different technological field. It was the Animal Breeder's Guild that first bred the giant space hamster.
Characteristically, the tinker gnomes did not stop there, and continued to breed many forms of hamster, including the sabre-toothed giant space hamster, the carnivorous flying giant space hamster ("a regrettable if understandable line of inquiry"), the fire-breathing phase doppelganger giant space hamster, and the miniature giant space hamster (a dwarf variant, indistinguishable from ordinary hamsters).
The most infamous (and to gnomes, most feared) giant space hamster was "Wooly Rupert," the Tyrannohamstersaurus of Ill Omen.
Giant space hamsters in other media
In the Baldur's Gate computer role-playing game, the NPC MinscMinsc
Minsc is a fictional character in the Baldur's Gate series of Dungeons & Dragons computer role-playing games developed by BioWare. Minsc originated in pen and paper Dungeons & Dragons sessions held by Baldur's Gates Lead Designer James Ohlen, and was expanded upon by the game's lead writer, Luke...
has a pet "miniature giant space hamster", which is the size of a normal hamster, called Boo.
Pop culture references
Mass Effect 2Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2 is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on January 26, 2010 and for PlayStation 3 on January 18, 2011...
, another RPG by BioWare
BioWare
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer founded in February 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. BioWare is currently owned by American company Electronic Arts...
, has a souvenir for a "Space Hamster."
Giff
A giff is a cross between a human and a hippopotamus in appearance.Publication history
The giff was introduced to the game in the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
The giff first appeared for the SpelljammerSpelljammer
Spelljammer is a campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, which features a fantastical outer space environment....
campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
in the Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space
Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space
Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space is a boxed set accessory published in 1989 for the Spelljammer campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Contents:...
campaign setting box, in the Lorebook of the Void booklet (1989). The giff is detailed as a playable character race in the supplement Complete Spacefarer's Handbook (1992). The giff also appears in an adventure in Dungeon
Dungeon (magazine)
Dungeon Adventures, or simply Dungeon, was a magazine targeting consumers of role-playing games, particularly Dungeons & Dragons. It was first published by TSR, Inc. in 1986 as a bimonthly periodical. It went monthly in May 2003 and ceased print publication altogether in September 2007 with Issue 150...
#34 (March 1992).
The giff appears in the Monstrous Manual (1993). The giff is presented as a playable character race in Player's Option: Skills & Powers
Player's Option: Skills & Powers
Player's Option: Skills & Powers is a supplemental sourcebook to the core rules of the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. This 192-page book was published by TSR, Inc. in 1995. The book was designed by Douglas Niles and Dale Donovan...
(1995).
Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)
The giff appears as a playable character race for the Spelljammer setting in DragonDragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#339 (January 2006).
Fictional creature description
A giff is usually lawful neutral in alignment. They are a disciplined, militaristic race who live as mercenaries in the strange culture of those who travel between stars and planets. They adore war and battle, and are particularly fascinated with firearms of all types - even in situations where such weapons can be potentially lethal to their users.They are generally inferior to other races in intelligence, but are far stronger and more resilient. The only factors reducing their power to terrify others are their names (Algernon Kilburne and Ophelia Hadley being typical) and their dress sense, which tends towards extreme ornamentation; giff have been known to cover their armor in campaign ribbons, for example.
Neogi
Neogi are described as classic evil "bug-eyed monsters" who patrol the universe in the game as an intelligent race, usually acting as slavers.Publication history
The neogi was introduced to the D&D game in the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
The neogi and the great old master neogi first appear for the SpelljammerSpelljammer
Spelljammer is a campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, which features a fantastical outer space environment....
campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
in the Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space campaign setting box, in the Lorebook of the Void booklet (1989). The neogi undead old master appears in the supplement Lost Ships (1990).
The neogi, the great old master neogi, and the neogi reaver appear in the Monstrous Manual (1993). The neogi was detailed in Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#214 (February 1995), in the "Ecology of the Neogi".
An extraplanar relative of the neogi, the tso, appears in the Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix II (1995).
Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)
The neogi appears in the Monster Manual II (2002) for this edition, including the adult neogi, the great old master neogi, and the neogi spawn.Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)
The neogi receives its own chapter in the book Lords of MadnessLords of Madness
Lords of Madness is an official supplement for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy roleplaying game.-Contents:It includes new content for aberrations including new aberration monsters and monsters related to them, and information on how to hunt aberrations.-What Is an...
(2005). The adult neogi, the neogi defiler, the dwarf neogi, the neogi spawn, the great old master, the neogi slavemaster, and the neogi sorcerer appear in this book.
Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)
The neogi receive a monster write-up in the 4th Edition rulebook Monster Manual 2 (2009).Description
Neogi are unusual creatures who usually look like a cross between a spiderSpider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
and an eel
Eel
Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
. They have a bloated body and eight limbs, two of which have simple claws, and are covered in light tan fur.
Neogi are slave traders
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
and they consider everything either a slave or owner. All Neogi have several slaves, usually Umber Hulks
Umber hulk
An umber hulk is a fictional creature in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. They are large, bipedal, insectoid aberrations with an ape-like build. The creature has the ability to confuse any creature that sees all four of its eyes at once. They are often found in the Underdark, where they are...
, sometimes even other neogi. These neogi slaves have more slaves, leading to complex ownership hierarchy.
Stellar dragon
Stellar dragons were first introduced in Monstrous Compendium: Spelljammer Appendix II.In the Spelljammer universe, the stellar dragon is probably the largest dragon
Dragon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game , dragons are an iconic type of monstrous creature used as adversaries or, less commonly, allies of player characters...
species in existence. Big, peaceful and highly intelligent, these enormous philosophers of the phlogiston wander the flow in their quest for knowledge.
Description
Stellar dragons are described as being an iridescent deep purple color, with a chrome drop at the tip of each scale. Gems of different colors and sizes adorn the scales in random patterns, giving the dragon its name.Two main fins, like the fins of a lionfish
Pterois
Pterois is a genus of venomous marine fish found mostly in the Indo-Pacific, known collectively as the lionfish. Pterois is characterized by red, white and black stripes, showy pectoral fins and venomous spiky tentacles. Pterois are classified into fifteen different species, but Pterois radiata,...
, adorn either side of the main trunk followed by four enormous lace-like wings which provide guidance and stability. Multiple fins of various sizes cover the rest of the dragon’s body. They have no visible arms or legs. A fully grown ancient wyrm ranges in size from 20,000 feet to an amazing 3,000,000 feet in length.
Information is the stellar dragon’s food and drink if anything is, and it is willing to trade in kind. (One rumor has it that the Greyhawk wizard Bigby learned his interposing hand and grasping hand spells from a stellar dragon in exchange for a juicy tidbit of information.) Stellar dragons literally consume their knowledge, transforming it into clear or milky gems of varying size. These gems of wisdom and pearls of knowledge push their way outward to rest embedded in the dragon’s scales. The number of gems and pearls studding its scales mark its status among other dragons. The encrustation also roughly indicates its age; younger dragons have few gems, whereas venerable stellar dragons are literally covered in jewels. The chief, or mikado, is another case entirely (see below).
Though not normally aggressive, the stellar dragon can easily defend itself. Its unique breath weapon is gravitic: rather than emitting breath, it draws things into the dragon’s internally generated sphere of annihilation
Sphere of annihilation
A sphere of annihilation is a fictional magic item in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Publication history:The sphere of annihilation appeared in first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the original 1979 Dungeon Master's Guide...
. The stellar dragon has three other innate attacks. First, it can randomly teleport an attacker in any direction. Second, its titanic intellect lets it use any wizard spells in the Player's Handbook
Player's Handbook
The Player's Handbook is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons . It does not contain the complete set of rules, but only those for use by players of the game...
without error. It can also modify or create spells to suit its needs; for example, it could merge darkness and fireball to create a shadow flare spell. It can repeat spells as often as needed. Third, it can summon one denizen of another plane once per round for up to seven rounds. Summoned individuals serve the dragon slavishly before they snap back to their home continuum.
Alignment
Stellar dragons, unlike their smaller kin, the radiant dragons, are neutral. When they encounter humanoids, stellar dragons prefer to watch rather than involve themselves. However, if one has information previously unknown to the dragon, this may gain its interest and even useful knowledge in trade.Society
The stellar dragons’ range covers the entire cosmos, so their exact numbers are unknown; parties encounter them only rarely. However, once every 500 years, the stellar dragons convene for their mating ceremony. In this ceremony, the most worthy stellar dragons are selected by their tribal head, called the mikado. There is only one mikado at any time. The mikado is distinguished by the single crystal horn on his forehead. Those dragons that the mikado selects as mates each produce a single offspring. This dragon, born fully sentient, leaves to make its own way among the stars.Stellar dragon territories are vast, extending into other planes and dimensions. Individuals negotiate boundaries to prevent intrusion on each others space. However, they haggle endlessly to obtain dynamic civilizations to monitor. The dragons deal with attackers handily. However, if a party approaches the dragon with respect and choice information, chances are even that the dragon deigns to talk. Chances are equally good that the dragon is thinking (that is, digesting) and dismisses the interlopers.
The stellar dragon’s ultimate goal is truth. It abhors dishonesty and misinformation. Though its information may be cryptic, it is never false. A lesser being’s misinterpretation is that being’s own fault. Misinformation causes a stellar dragon severe, painful indigestion. And as with its smaller kin, a dragon in pain is dangerous.
History
The stellar dragon understands the underpinnings of the multiverseMultiverse
The multiverse is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes that together comprise all of reality.Multiverse may also refer to:-In fiction:* Multiverse , the fictional multiverse used by DC Comics...
. These primeval watchers have seen the rise and fall of many civilizations. Such is the power of this knowledge that according to some texts, the power of artifacts and relics comes from the gems that encrust them. The crystallized everlasting knowledge of thousands of beings, say these legends, provides the power that runs these wonderful objects. How these gems were wrested from the stellar dragons remains unsaid. Gems of wisdom and pearls of knowledge are valuable almost beyond calculation. The information they contain can be liberated and used to gain enormous profit. Sages and wizards do nearly anything to gain one.
Witchlight marauder
Within the SpelljammerSpelljammer
Spelljammer is a campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, which features a fantastical outer space environment....
universe, witchlight marauders are creatures that were used as weapons-of-mass-destruction, introduced by the orcs
Orc (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, orcs are a primitive race of savage, bestial, barbaric humanoid.-Publication history:The orc was one of the earliest creatures introduced in the D&D game. The D&D orc is largely based upon the orcs appearing in the works of J.R.R...
during the first Unhuman War. Thought to be completely destroyed by the elves
Elf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, elves are a fictional humanoid race that is one of the primary races available for play as player characters. Elves are renowned for their grace and mastery of magic and weapons such as the sword and bow...
, before these living weapons could be used, rumors and legends persist that several primary marauders were preserved.
Description
Planet-bound marauders exists in three forms; the fourth one is capable of space travel. The three common forms are the primary, secondary and tertiary marauders.- Primaries, the largest land marauder, are 500+ foot slug-like creatures with multiple mouths that can virtually eat anything and produce a miasma of poisonous gas and secondary marauders.
- Secondaries are 20-foot tall humanoids with metallic talons, steel teeth and a sweeping tail with stump-like, multi-toed feet. They appear headless since their faces are situated on their chest. They have the ability to spit acid. They could range the countryside, covering many miles, destroying survivors of the primaries attack.
- Tertiaries are small humanoids about 4 feet tall but have arms each ending in a sword-like blade. They sprout a mass of tentacles from where a neck should be. Uncanny strength and agility make them fearsome combatants.
This land marauders reach the targeted planet by means of a still larger creature, the space marauder. This 1,000+ foot reptilian monster travel wildspace on sails spun by special organs from their bodies. The sails could also be used to focus energy and fire beam weapons. Like their smaller kin, space marauders could virtually eat anything from ships, asteroids and even small moons to produce projectiles and primaries.
- Space marauders sport a multi-eyed crocodilian head filled with thousands of large, sharp teeth. Surrounding the central head were six flexible necks ending in eyeless heads capable of smashing ships. The necks are then connected to a trunk-like central body that ended in a pulsating mass of writhing tentacles. At the center of this squirming nest are three umbilicals, each connected to a primary.
- In addition to primaries, space marauders can give birth to remote marauders, 25-foot flying gullets that engulf matter, digest it and returns to the space marauder to give it additional nourishment.
Society
After a week of foraging a primary burrows underground and establishes a lair. A couple of weeks later, while being guarded by secondaries, it splits into two identical primaries. This cycle continues until the marauders run out of food, whereupon they turn on and destroy each other.Reproduction is initiated by eating a certain amount of food then ejecting either poisonous gas or secondaries for the primary marauder or tertiaries from the secondary marauder.
History
It is an alien creature created by orcishOrc (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, orcs are a primitive race of savage, bestial, barbaric humanoid.-Publication history:The orc was one of the earliest creatures introduced in the D&D game. The D&D orc is largely based upon the orcs appearing in the works of J.R.R...
shamans as a means of countering ruthless elven aggression. Marauders are shock-troops, organic first-strike weapons, meant to devastate whole planets. It does this by consuming all organic matter and even precious minerals leaving nothing behind but a poisonous chunk of rock. Left by itself, it accomplishes this in a few years time.
Supposedly, all specimens were destroyed by the elves
Elf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, elves are a fictional humanoid race that is one of the primary races available for play as player characters. Elves are renowned for their grace and mastery of magic and weapons such as the sword and bow...
, but there is a possibility that some may have survived, held by time-stop fields in some planet or wandering a forgotten quadrant in wildspace.