Beholders - from Tadpoles to Tyrants

Thought it might be cool if Beholders grew in HD and number of eye-stalks as they age; a 1HD Beholder tadpole would be a have one stalk, a 10HD adult would max out at ten stalks.

I've always played Beholders as having Telekinetic powers, not emanating from a single eye-stalk, but as a full-time Special Ability... having no limbs, this only makes sense, to me.  But since a Beholder just wouldn't seem 'right' without ten eye-stalks, I changed the former Telekinesis stalk to be the Random Stalk, and had a table something like this, making an already terrifying Monster even scarier, with the addition of an unknown ability:

1. Magic Missiles (one per 2HD?)                     6. 'Burning Eye' (Burning Hands)
2. Cone o' Cold                                                   7. Lightning Bolt
3. Blinding Flash                                                8. Ray of Enfeeblement
4. Feeblemind                                                     9. Paralysis
5. Withering/Aging                                            10. Polymorph

So, I'm thinking Beholders start out as Groeningesque single-stalked 'tadpoles', and a new stalk is randomly rolled for each additional HD, from the classic Monster Manual description.  To introduce the 'Random Stalk' element, there is a 1 in 10 chance, cumulative, that the newest stalk is instead the Random (10% at 1HD, 20% at 2HD, etc).

Might also be fun if they also advance in Intelligence as well, only attaining 'Exceptional' Intelligence - or greater(?) - at higher HD.  Imagine encountering a 1HD Beholder on the first level of the dungeon!  It says it has a Death Ray...

            

Chose the Form of the Destructor! (d12)

What did you do, Ray?!!

"Subcreatures!  Gozer the Gozerian, Gozer the Destructor, Volguus, Zildrohar, The Traveler, has come! Choose and perish!"

Well, now you've done it.  Save vs Mental Spells, or Roll a d12 to determine what form pops into your head (from some near-forgotten childhood tale, or elsewhere).  If everyone makes the Save, the Form will be chosen by the DM.

1. The classic Stay-Puft Golem.   Deceptively innocuous looking, massively huge, dangerously viscous, highly flammable (no Save/dbl damage vs. fire)
2. A large and moving Torb.  Much worse than the immobile variety, for obvious reasons
3. A giant Slor, its gullet like a roaring furnace, enough to make a Balrog jealous
4. The last creature which caused a successful Fear among the Party
5. The last creature which slew a Party member
6. The worst Thing on the local Random Encounter table
7. A Shoggoth
8. A Spawn of Shog-Gnargoroth, possessed of odd magic/mutant abilities http://tengoldpiecegems.blogspot.com/2011/01/super-simple-random-beasties.html
9. The goateed Evil Twin of the most powerful Party member
10. Roll on Dungeon Lvl X table
11. http://tengoldpiecegems.blogspot.com/2012/03/gonzo-random-villianidea-generator.html
12. Players get to vote on an entry from this table

This Week's Game; 'Fifty-Five Froglodytes!'

The Party has learned from their Neanderthal friends that the area known as The Cauldron is a roughly circular crater, ringed with five Obelisks, each containing a "path to somewhere else"... so they decide to return to the outer rim of cliffs, and circumnavigate the entire periphery, investigating each for a Gateway out of The Cauldron and back to Gnarth proper.

Dave the Caveman is assigned as a guide, although I doubt even his fearsome strength will keep him alive long in his present company... He leads them to a "shortcut"; a metallic pad in the jungle which Teleports to a similar pad near one of the Obelisks.  The Party is reluctant to take Teleportation advice from a Neanderthal, so Dave agrees to go first, if they promise to follow.  He neglects to mention the transport is one-way only.

Parn Mantises attack, but are dispatched w/o serious incident, and entry to the Obelisk is gained via the Magetti Stone.  Inside, a familiar sight: a glossy black pyramid, allowing transport to... somewhere else... just like the one they encountered when they first arrived.  From the darkness, a shuffle of raggedy zombies, Sleestak and Neanderthal, as per my devious plan, they were deemed beneath wasting valuable Spells upon, and were engaged in melee.  Half were downed in the first round, and then the wave of Ravebones (phosphorescent Skeletons, Hasted!) descended!  Dave manged to protect Rusty the Mage (his German Shepherd, Sarge, knew better than to bite these guys), but things looked iffy, so the Zombies were abandoned in favor of bashing their newer, Skeletal foes, but that meant an extra Zed attack on everyone at the end of each round, plus two hacks/rnd from the Ravebones.  From nowhere, a Stinking Cloud Spell!  The only one to Save is Centauri the Mutant Mastermind, who engages his Alter Mass, Telekinteic Arm, and Hypersight, and takes off into the air, seeking the source of the spell.  The Undead are called off of the incapacitated party (you're welcome!), and race toward their master, an Evil High Priest, Centauri Saves vs Paralysis, and proceeds to pummel the mage to death with his mace before his servants arrive, then, faced with all of them, uses his last few rnds of Mutations for the day to bug out... and the Undead, leaderless, simply disperse into the possible infinite darkness of the Obelisk.

The Gateway proves to lead to a post-apocalyptic ruined city, The Party wisely leaves before nightfall, avoiding the CHUD I had planned...

There aren't any noteworthy encounters en route to the next Oblelisk, and Centauri investigates the pyramidal Gateway, informs The Party that it leads to a cavern beneath the earth...  but which 'earth'?!  Is it their homeworld, or a tunnel complex in some asteroid, somewhere?  ...Knowing they can enter the Gate and return, they figure, Why Not?, and investigate, the subterannean chamber is empty except for the pyramid, and worn steps lead upward... The cave ends at a cliff face, overlooking a gigantic natural vault, the floor sprouting with massive mushrooms of varying shapes, bisected by a swift stream, bridged with mortared stone.  The opposite cavern wall features carved steps leading to a pillared cavern entry.

A massive but simple swing arm/pulley series/gondola, with rotating crank, allows for The Party to be lowered to the mushroom forest, but someone must stay behind and operate it, so Centauri volunteers, then uses Alter Mass Mutation to Feather Fall down to his companions.  Among the shrooms, they are soon surrounded and attacked by the degenerate Froglodytes, crawling out from under nearly all of the giant shroom caps.  Rusty the Mage NPC saves the day by casting Stinky Cloud on one side, and Web on the other, so that the Froglodytes can only approach along the narrow strip between the two hazards, rather than completely surround The Party.

Several rnds later, all usefull Spells, and most of the Party's HP are gone, along with most offensive and defensive Mutaions for the day... In desperation, Rose sounds the Horn of the Valkyrie (only 1 charge left, now!)... a glamorous, gleaming massacre of the final Froggies. Only Rusty escapes w/o injury, having hid in his own Webs.  Fifty-five Froglodytes meet a bloody end, but everyone except the Mage is infected with Froggy!

(In a gracious mood, the Valkyrie does not depart immediately after combat, as usual, but instead flies up to the cliff balcony, lowers the gondola mechanism, hauls up the battered Party, then departs with a wink!)

10GP Gems:
- Undead Swarm + Stinking Cloud Spell (the Undead are not, of course, affected) = Near TPK!

- Stinking Cloud is also useful to avoid being surrounded, and if worse comes to worst, one can always risk the dice and try to ditch enemies by running through it

- 'Evil High Priest" (EHP) Fill a few Spell slots with Magic-User Spells; it freaks out the Players!

Froglodyte:
Batrachian, subterranean humanoids, 4' tall, may either be degenerate savages, or slightly more advanced, speaking, weapon and armor using, a la Lizardmen.  Bite may cause Froggy Mutation.  Cure Disease applied immediately negates, otherwise, only Mutation-reversing tech, or the shroom-brewed antidote of the Froglodytes will reverse, and the smarter ones will use this to advantage.
(AC 7, HD 2, D BW or bite for 1d6, Save vs Poison or gradually develop Froggy Feature(s)(d4) in 1d4 days: 1 = Warty, 2 = Bulgy eyes, 3 = Squat and hoppy, 4 = Compulsive frog tongue)
  

Gonzo (Found) Random Villian/Idea Generator

from short YouTube video, everything from Aliens to Undead, Masterminds to Mutants, NPC's, unassuming, unbelievable, and Orcs. Always with the Orcs.

Movie 'Monster' ABC's (d30)

1. A: Alien
2. B: Beetlejuice
3. C: Chucky
4. D: Dexter
5. E: E.T. ...really?
6. F: Freddy Krueger
7. G: Godzilla
8. H: Hulk
9. I: Incubus
10. J: Jason Voorhees
11. K: King Kong
12. L: Lecter, Hannibal
13. M: Mummy
14. N: Nosferatu
15. O: Octopus ...what?
16. P: Pinhead
17. Q: Queen Of The Dammed
18. R: Razorback
19. S: Satan
20. T: Terminator
21. U: Uruk-Hai (told ya so)
22. V: Vader, Darth
23. W: Werewolf
24. X: X-traterrestrial (I prefer to insert favorite from the X-Files)
25. Y: Yeti
26. Z: Zombie
27. - 29. DM's Pick

30. Roll Twice for bizarre Team-Up, or grotesque Antagonism

"Xoology"

I'm not sure what this website is about... Vulcans and Biblical Figures... I dunno.  Anyhow, here's a list of weird creatures from various sources, have fun.

(my favorite)
"dobermantis: (Doberman + mantis) pale green caninoid hexapod with powerful grasping forelimbs"

Monster Monday 2

ASHANE                     

Undead, always robed and hooded humanoids, faces obscured by Darkness and bearing a Rod topped with a crystal sphere containing a single Eye.  Spell use as Wizard, lvl 12 (Grand Ashane lvl 15).  Body is immune to non-magical damage, magic weapons do a Maximum of 6 HP/hit, although spells cause normal damage.  Mind resides in the Ashane’s staff, and it’s Spells are cast from this staff, Spells not cast upon the staff do not affect it directly, anyone touching the staff of an Ashane currently without a host body must Save or be Possessed, if this Save succeeds, the bearer of the staff can thereafter cast each the Spells currently memorized by the Ashane, but each time a Spell is cast, there is a % chance (Spell lvl x 10%) that the caster will be automatically Possessed (Make ‘em think they have some kind of “Archmagi” staff!)  Any Possessed will go into a coma until midnight the following night, when he reanimates as an Ashane, each following day the victim will be Drained of 1XP lvl, at 0 this can no longer be undone by any means.  Always encountered alone, although a Grand Ashane will always be accompanied by 1 or 2 Ashane apprentices.  Rarely ally with, employ, or otherwise interact with any others, are suspected worshipers of Azathoth.

(AC 4; HD 8-12, AT by Spell, or by Staff, +4, twice/rnd, MV 12")

Monster Monday ...a day late

ASTRAL ZOMBIE 
Undead resulting spontaneously from a fatal spaceship re-entry, or purposely created by Evil Wizards, faintly green-glowing.  Attack by Cold-Flaming Hands doing automatic 10 HP/rnd, which can be split among two opponents, ea doing 5 HP (no saves), or by Wail of the Void, 3x/day, once per 3 rnds, causes Save vs Mind-Affecting Spells or the agonized wail of the Astral Zombie echoes continually in the victim's head, rendering Spellcasting and any form of Mental or Vocal communication impossible, and disorientation resulting in -2 to AC and TH until the creature is destroyed.  May possibly possess advanced tech weaponry or gadget, often clothed in tattered, ruined spacesuits &/or bubble helmets with cracked visors.  Possibility to exhibit Mutation &/or Psionic ability.

(AC 1; HD 6-8; AT/DAM Spcl; SD 1/2 damage from blunt weapons, req. +1 weapon to hit; MV 15")

Monster AC & HD as Average Values

This 10 GP gem has been in the loot bag for so long I'd forgotten to Blog about it! Nothing mind-bogglingly innovative (the Blog is 10 GP - not 1K GP- Gems!), but an easy way to add variance to encounters, and keep the meta-gamers and HP-counters on their toes.
As an example, your "standard" Carnivorous Ape; AC 6, HD 5. When planning an encounter, I roll 1d4 twice, and possibly modify both AC and HD:

1= -1,
2 or 3 = No adjustment,
4 = +1
So, for any group of Carn. Apes, the AC range is from AC 5 to AC 7, and the HD range is from 4 HD to 6 HD. Maybe this group is AC 7, but has 6 HD, maybe the next group has AC 5, but only 4 HD.
You'll know its working when a Player says, "Hey, a standard Ogre can't have more than 33 HP!" Well, this ain't your standard Ogre then, is it?

ONE BAD MUTHER

Here's something really nasty I came up with for a high-lvl/high-power campaign long ago, slightly re-tooled.

The VORPION is an intelligent Gnarthropod resembling a giant scorpion, with one pincer larger than the other,  and a wicked pronged barb instead of a stinger.  It's metallic, glossy black carapace is crisscrossed with scarlet markings resembling a network of veins, and its limbs are ringed with crimson bristles.  This creature can Detect Magic, will attempt to attack Spellcasters in preference to all others, and likes to collect Magic Items... and skulls.  The larger pincer is the Crushing Claw, while the smaller is the even deadlier Vorpal Claw.  The Crusher does 2d8 damage, and once a hit is scored, damage is automatic each rnd  (Bend Bars to escape).  The Vorpal Claw does 2d6 and decapitates opponents on a natural 20 TH, and if this attack is used on a foe already in the clutches of the Crusher, only an 18 or better is req to sever the head.  Note that DEX bonus to AC is negated while in the grip of the Crusher.  The tail barb impales for 2d4, doing an auto 1d4 the next rnd as it is withdrawn.  The tail is controlled by a secondary, lesser brain, which can still function independently if the main brain is affected/influenced somehow.  Although it does not normally attack with its mandibles, it will do so if it has no other choice, for 1d4 dam.  If a head is severed, things get really creepy, as the tail barb ceases to attack and instead impales the severed head and swings it aloft like a lantern.  The head's eyes light up bloody red, and the Vorpion then employs any Mental Powers/Spells/Knowledge stored in it's memory against any remaining attackers, taunting them in the voice of their former compatriot!  (Freak 'em out: have one appear with an already skewered head, cast a nasty Spell, toss the drained head, and advance seeking another!)

# appearing; 1 for God's sake; MV 12"; AC 3; HD 7; AT 3; Crusher 2d8+ crush, Vorpy 2d6+ snip, Tail Barb 2d4+ impale; (Spell use); Size 10' long; and as if all this isn't enough, the Vorpion takes only 1HP/die of Electrical damage (no save), just 'cause; XP; your game; Treasure; see XP, but give 'em a break!

Vorpion carcasses really should be worth something on the Alchemical/Spell research market; possibly their secondary brains are used as an ingredient in some arcane brew, their eyes (four pairs of increasing size -oh, they live underground, so Infravision!) are used in Potions, barbs could be made into (possibly magical) spears, and I'm thinking their claws might be fashioned into cool-looking shields, either small or large.  (NOT Vorpal-edged shields, though!)

UPDATE:  I just figured out why my battered notes on this Party Killin Machine read "Can employ Wands, etc, but not weapons"... the original draft did not have a tail spike, but rather an oversized human-like hand, which performed the same functions as above.  It was orig created as some sort of Wizard-hunting beast...

GNARTIAN FAMILIARS

Always like the idea of PC Familiars, but disliked the original PH handing of the idea. I think that any magic should come with some risk, but the familiars of 1st ed were such easy targets that the spell made no sense to me. Sure, you might (5%) get a Quasit or Pseudodragon, but you'll prob get a 2HP Toad that will die in the next Random Encounter. This version of the spell makes the arrangement a much better deal for the Familiar, which means it might actually be worth it!

THE BINDING of the FAMILIAR

A Spell of Ritual Magic which can be cast by a Wizard of any level, but only during certain alignments/phases of the moons, occurring once every 30 +1d30 days. Type of creature summoned determ randomly. All are no larger than a small house cat, of exceptional, though still animal INT, have 4 HP and AC 7. They have no offensive attacks to speak of, although they can defend themselves as a 1/2HD Monster, doing 1 or 2 HP damage. No extraordinary or magical abilities (venom, if any, is effective against very small animals only). Creature Summoned is magically bound to caster, and the two share an empathic psychic link. When the Familiar is w/in 12", the Wizard may simply concentrate in order to "see" through its eyes, "hear" through its ears, etc. Also, each adds the others' HP to their own total; so both the Familiar and the Wizard will have the Wizard's HP +4. The pair share the same AC, either the Wizard's or the Familiar's, whichever is better. Familiars are rendered immune to Mental Influence/Control, and are extraordinarily lucky, automatically making all Saving Throws. If a Familiar is killed, the Wizard loses the bonus 4 HP, and also permanently loses an additional 1d4 HP, and may not cast the Spell again for one full year.

CREATURE SUMMONED (d20)
1. Archaeopteryx

2. Big-eared Bat

3. Horned Viper

4. Beaded Lizard

5. Your Standard Rat

6. Large Centipede

7. Iridescent Mantis

8. Spider Monkey

9. Small Ocelot

10. Aye-Aye

11. Bristly Tarantula

12. Colorful Constrictor

13. Horned Chameleon

14. Pygmy Hedgehog

15. Naked, Exhibitionist Mole Rat

16-20. No creature responds

10GPgem: Be sure to assign/determine an NPC trait or two to provide a little personality.

THACO = SAVE VS SPELLS

Someone out there has noticed this already... right?

Here's the MONSTER ATTACK MATRIX I'm currently using.  The values are comparable to those in 1ed, Labyrinth Lord, etc; that is, they are generally the same throughout, varying no more than one (or rarely two) points from the standard tables, but weighted slightly in favor of the mid-level Monsters.  I have not included values for Monsters of less than one HD; when it occurs I attach a TH penalty of -1 to -3, a -3 rendering high AC invulnerable to these nuisances.

HD     1      2      3      4      5      6      7      8      9     10
TH0  18     17    16    15     14    13     12    11    10    10

HD    11    12    13    14     15    16     17    18    19    20    21+
TH0    9      9      8      8      7      7       6      5      4     3      2

Why bother?  Its easy for me to use, seems to follow some sort of regular progression, and here's the bonus:
The TH0s are also very, very close to the Fighter Saving Throw vs Spells values, so I can quickly glance at the same Matrix for either value, and when in combat with most creatures, one number does the job for both!
Of course, some Monsters Save as other than Fighters, and this shortcut doesn't work!
Use these Save Modifiers for values nearly identical to 1st ed:
Paral/Pois/Death +3
Petrif/Poly +2
R/S/W +1
Spells (unadjusted)
as for Breath Weapon, this quick and easy system doesn't work... but really, how often is a Monster the one Saving vs BW?

Temple o' the Toad pt 4

The Party had some odd events befall...

A pit in a natural cavern appeared to be a well of some sort. Four equidistant metal rings were secured to the floor along the rim of the 10' diam shaft. From these, a set of four slimy metal chains dangled into dark water 50' below, and a quick Levitating Recon by Borune revealed nothing else. The party debated hauling up one or all of these, separately or simultaneously, and decided to drag on one of the chains, bringing up a metal bucket of blackish water. I was surprised when they left it at that, and went to explore the stairs to lvl III! They didn't even examine or dump out the bucket! It was unremarkable, but that only meant that one of the remaining three buckets was the one which held "a (very) Minor Random Magic, Tech, or useful Mundane Item", which I decided I'd determine on the fly, sunken to the bottom of the bucket... and so they passed on the only piece of unguarded treasure in the place!

A stone table in the center of a large, seemingly empty domed chamber was lit by a feeble "spotlight" from above. This pedestal was inscribed with a Glyph of the Unseen Object, which caused all to Save upon viewing, so that only Borune was able to perceive that their were items of possible interest arranged upon it. As I like surprises, these were also determined when they entered; a Crystal Flask w/stopper (Endless Water), a "faceted metallic egg" (Tech Grenade, "irritant" - like mace), and a shiny aluminum canister (of Scoobies). This proved enough to entice the party to send the unwounded fighters in to examine the table, while the others remained tightly packed in the hallway outside. A few Chupacabra scuttled forth from narrow side tunnels, and were soon dispatched, and then the Duodon* extended its snaky necks through two of the rat-holes, and attacked with two of its most powerful Spells, a Fireball for the majority of the party huddled "safely" in the hall outside, and a Lightning Bolt for Tarkas, who had shown himself to be a powerhouse against the Chupes. Total confusion ensued... were more giant snakes coming out of all the side tunnels, where were spells coming from, should we retreat down the hall and up the ladder, what about the loot on the table (maybe its not even real!), ...and on the following rnd... the Duodon heads, now exposed, revealed that they were the source of the spells by casting Web to block off all retreat, then Magic Missiles to disrupt spell casting. As the fighters took cover behind the table and fired ranged weapons, Rose managed a Silence Spell, which effectively robbed the Duodon of its spells, and so it withdrew its heads into the secret vault which was its lair, but the secret entrance was discovered, and the party either wisely pressed what little advantage they had, or foolishly charged onward despite injuries... anyway, they pursued and slaughtered the beast, which couldn't seem to score any decent damage or catch a break with any of its remaining spells. Such are the dice. The Party discovered a pile of bones and debris which also held assorted coins and jewelry, and also a personal Energy Field Generator harness, the power pack readout revealing 14 charges remaining (determined to be a Displacer emitter, acting as the Cloak)

Also in the Duodon's secret vault was a statue of Hastur, squatting and contemplating his palms. After a few rnds, a sphere of faint grayish radiance appeared in its lap, the party became inexplicably FREAKED OUT by this, snatched up everything, and made their way back upstairs. OK, I'll admit there was a nasty Glyph on the statue which would have affected any approaching it, and the party was depleted, but the radiance was obscuring a Gnartian Artifact, a very powerful legacy of the Elder Races. Once again, I hadn't determined exactly what is was, but it was an Artifact! All they had to do was grab it and pull it out of the radiance! (If they had, I had a scary earth-tremor planned, which would crack the ceiling and dislodge some debris, but not collapse the place) There were NO MORE Wandering Monsters left in the place! This was THE PRIZE from the entire dungeon! I dunno. The "radiance" may appear again, if they go back, or maybe not! Oh, and just so ya know, although powerful, a Gnartian Artifact is not of the caliber of an AD&D Artifact, and often has a limited # of uses, and this particular one was Cursed to summon an angry Byakhee to carry the bearer off when used. I'm not running a "give away"!

SUPER-SIMPLE RANDOM BEASTIES

Easy system for producing weird, random-assembly monsters/mutants.

1. BASIC STRUCTURE Determ creature's body structure & appearance by
combining the features of two or more Random Monsters (d6): 1-3 combine two, 4 or 5 combine three, 6 combine four. Select any features you like, get an idea of appearance, attack forms & damage, movement, abilities. Average combined HD and AC. I like to mix AD&D, Gnarth (my own campaign), Gamma World, and Mutant Future

2. APPEARANCE Modify size and outward appearance, if you like. Size is best
left to discretion; most are Large, while a small number are Medium, Huge, or
even Gigantic.

APPEARANCE/EXTERIOR (d6)
1. Hairy (shaggy, matted, patchy, scruffy, dreaddy)
2. Scaly (reptilian, fishy, overlapping, plated)
3. Skin (leathery, wrinkly, warty, lumpy, bumpy)
4. Spiky (bristly, horny)
5. Exoskeleton (carapace; partial or full, "shell")
6. Slimy (covered, oozing, trailing)

3. SPECIAL ABILITIES Add 1-4 Mutations &/0r Attributes of Interest.
Apply any features already selected toward these totals, or tack on additions

ATTRIBUTES OF INTEREST (d50) Detail as you like

1. Displaced; -2 TH, first AT auto miss 26. Bio-luminescent
2. Plant-like feature(s) 27. Prehensile tongue/tail
3. +1d4 HD 28. +1d4 AC
4. Specific Weakness 29. Contagious/Infectious
5. Ability Score/level Drain 30. Changes color to suit mood or blend
6. +1d24 HP 31. +1d4 Save vs Magic or other
7. Increased/Special/Weird Movement 32. Weird fascination with...
8. Detects Invisibility or other 33. Ultravision/Extra sense
9. Duplicates/Splits when hit 34. Corrodes/Dissolves
10. Spell Casting Ability 35. Random spell, 1d4/day
11. STR bonus, +1d4 36. Berserker!
12. Slime producing 37. Acidic Blood
13. Poison (AT, Contact, Ingested) 38. Wounding, Unhealing
14. Immune or Aura - Heat or Cold 39. 1/2 dam from Blunt weapons
15. - Spells, lvls 1-3, or specific 40. Thief Skill (Backstab, CW, MS, HN)
16. - Lasers, other Energy 41. Vampiric, gains HP by AT
17. - Radiation 42. Specific enmity (Wizards, Mutants, etc)
18. - Mental Influence, general/specific 43. Increased rate or # of AT
19. Highly territorial 44. Odd, disturbing, or scary noise
20. Sticky (weapons, etc adhere) 45. Regenerate 1d4/rnd
21. Magic Resistance 46. Damaged by Magic only
22. Vorpal, Amputating, Withering 47. Takes extra damage from ?
23. Detects &/or Dispels Magic 48. Able to employ weaponry
24. Speaks the tongues of men 49. Ability as Magic Potion, 1d4/day
25. Elongated/retractable neck/limbs 50. Pick One or New Idea

well... they can't all be gems

Been yoinking ideas from everyone else for a while, figure I should post what few ideas I have! Would love to start with a mind-blower, but like the title says... they're just minor treasures, for the most part.

MAGNETIC IRON GOLEMS

As originally conceived, immune to damn near everything but +3 or better weapons, but what if the one fighter with the requisite tool steps up, whacks it for damage, then finds his prized weapon... stuck! I imagine a reaction similar to Fleck in Christmas Story, "Stuck? Stuck! STUCK!!!" Maybe there's a lever on the wall that negates this effect. Possibly healed by electric rather than fire. (I once had an Iron Golem breathe crimson gas which Heated Metal... that was cool.)

Other "Attractive" ideas:
MAGNETIC MONSTER-SUMMONING OBELISK Hematite structure effectively immobilizes PCs in metal armor, then acts as beacon to attract local Wandering beasties
HALL OF MAGNETIC SHIELDS Partway through traversing a long hallway adorned with metal shields, the party is attacked by humanoid (or other) monsters rushing in. Just as they prepare to respond, the magnetized shields "turn on", possibly tearing weapons, etc, from their hands and leaving them unarmed! (Save to avoid being disarmed, and also to pry item off of wall-mounted shield) Possibly blink on/off every few rnds; items attached drop to floor, maybe monsters wait for this opportunity to snatch them up, maybe metal-armored PCs w/in 5' must save or get stuck...
MAGNETIC ANTI-PIT Pit opens in ceiling, floor of which is magnetized, and when party passes, everyone in armor gets snatched up. Hopefully the other PCs will be standing directly beneath this pit when the effect suddenly stops a round or two later.