d-Infinity

View Original

Xenogenesis in Fantasy Settings (Basic D&D/Labyrinth Lord)

Hildegard_von_Bingen_Liber_Divinorum_Operum_0.jpg

Following is bonus content tying in the Derek Holland's article "Xenogenesis in Fantasy Settings," which appears in in d-Infinity Volume #3: Children of the Night. Where spontaneous generation produces life from lifeless material, xenogenesis is where one species gives rise to another. There are several types of xenogenesis. "Will" is where the creature causes its flesh to mold or spawn another creature, "Alchemy" is where the process requires chemicals, "Natural Laws" is where the laws of the universe cause the creation of new life from old, and "Blood Auras" is where one creature causes another to give birth to a third; extra creatures from two of these categories appear below. More will follow, and we have just added an entirely new sort of creature type, "Dragonflesh," so keep your eye on this spot for more!

ALCHEMY
Red Scale

No. Enc.: d4 (d8)
Alignment: Variable
Movement: 150' (50')
AC: Armor -2
HD: 4+
Attacks: 2 (bite and weapon)
Damage: d6 and by weapon
Save: F4+
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: Variable

Red scales (and blue scales, and white scales, and so on) are the offspring of humans treated with alchemically-altered dragon blood. They have magic running through their veins and all can cast magic as a 1st-level magic user. They have small crests similar to their dragon donors and fine scales on their torsos and limbs. Scales are as diverse in personality as humans and do not necessarily take the alignment of their dragon donor so an encounter with one could result in just about anything. 

DRAGONFLESH
Dragon Worm

No. Enc. 1 (d8)
Alignment Neutral
Movement 3' (1')
AC 9
HD 1/8
Attacks 1 (touch)
Damage poison
Save 0 level
Morale 12
Hoard Class none

Dragon worms are internal parasites. They squirm inside the muscles and make the meat dangerous to those who hunt dragons for food. The worms are actually 1' long flatworms, bone white and slimy. They produce a poison that doesn’t harm their parent but can cripple others. Those who fail a save versus poison after touching a worm take 6d6 points of damage. After the dragon dies, the worms eat as much flesh as possible and then emerge and die within a few hours. They can’t move very fast but sometimes someone blunders into one or a predator attempts to eat one.

Dragon Mite
No. Enc. swarm
Alignment Neutral
Movement 10' (3')
AC 8
HD 10
Attacks contact
Damage 3d6
Save F2
Morale 12
Hoard Class none

Because of their magical flesh and blood, dragons are known to have creatures spawn directly from their flesh. Mites and worms are but two of many different kinds. Mites are small lizards that chew on their parent, though this causes minimal damage. They hide under the scales and only come out in the dark or when the parent dies. Very old dragons, those that can barely lift their heads, can have huge mite swarms that crawl overat night. Thought the parents do destroy their parasites regularly, they can never be rid of them because of their origin. After a dragon dies, its mites turn into a swarm that lives in its hoard for d4 days and then starves to death.

NATURAL LAWS
Earth Ram

No. Enc.: 2d4 (0)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120' (40')
AC: 7
HD: 6
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 2d6
Save: F4
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: None

Earth rams are bison sized pigs that will dig as deep as 100' to find magical fungus found in some forests. They are mutated by the fungus, which uses the wild boars to spread their spores. The damage the rams do is astounding, it looks like a tornado has passed in their wake. They are bred by dwarves to assist in their shallow mines and escapes provide a lot of friction with other races in the area. Rams do not like being underground and prefer to sleep under the stars. Dwarven owners are forced to have surface corals, otherwise the pigs go mad and attempt to burrow through or under any fence keeping them from the sky. 

Echo Child
No. Enc. 1 (1)
Alignment variable
Movement 120' (40')
AC by armor
HD variable
Attacks 1 (weapon)
Damage by weapon
Save variable
Morale 10
Hoard Class variable

Echo children are the offspring of humans that have survived the trip to the Black Canyon and been exposed to its reverberations. Both parents have to be exposed to produce an echo child. The children themselves also need to reproduce with other echo children otherwise the line ends with them. In almost every way an echo child is human. Only their voice gives them away and it is their ability to manipulate sound that makes the children so powerful. They have access to 2 sound based spells selected at the time of character creation. This may include plant growth. They can cast the spells 3 times per day each and if level makes a difference, it is at 1/2 their class level.