Inktober2016: Snails & Stats

Though I'm running the snail dungeon thing using FrankenFourth, I figure I could also write it up for Dungeon World, so here are some stat blocks.

(I should note that I'm adding a medium tag for human-sized things, ditching Instinct because no one was able to justify its existence back when I made this post on modding monsters, and specifying example moves so if you think of another move the monster could do it's fine. I'd also like to change how HP is calculated, because kinda-sorta basing it on frequency doesn't make sense.)

The Golden Spiral
Within the tunnels of the Golden Spiral, snails and snail cultists wearing shell armor gain the stealthy tag because they can blend in with the walls Aliens style.

Giant Snail
Medium, Group
Defense: 6 HP 2 Armor
Bite: Close; d8 damage
Special Qualities: Moves at a Snail's Pace, Thick Shell, Trail of Slime
Example Moves:

• Hide in its shell
• Spit a strand of adhesive slime (near and entangling tags)
• Spit a glob of corrosive slime (near and corrosive tags)

Basically a human-sized snail that eats intruders. Typically found with snail cultists: it understands them and will do what they tell it to, but they aren't particularly smart.

Rocket Snail
Medium, Group
Defense: 6 HP 2 Armor
Headbutt: Close; d8 damage (1 piercing)
Special Qualities: Rocket Pack, Thick Shell, Trail of Slime
Example Moves:

• Hide in its shell
• Rocket-propelled headbutt into an enemy (add +2 damage and forceful tag)
• Spit a strand of adhesive slime (near and entangling tags)
• Spit a glob of corrosive slime (near and corrosive tags)

A giant snail with a rocket pack to help it get around faster (and also headbutt intruders really hard).

Snail Mage
Tiny, Solitary, Intelligent, Magical, Organized
Defense: 12 HP 4 Armor (1 Armor if its magic is dispelled/suppressed)
Slime Bolt: Near, Corrosive; d10 damage (1 piercing)
Special Qualities: Moves at a Snail's Pace, Shell, Trail of Slime
Example Moves:

• Mentally control a creature whose head it's sitting on
• Coat a surface in sticky or slippery slime
• Encase in slime
• Transform into slime and flow away

Snail mages are smaller than giant snail, but still much larger than a normal snail. It's shell is covered in runes, and it typically takes possession of a snail mage vassal to make it more powerful: when a snail mage is attached to a snail mage vassal, the vassal gains access to its magic, which includes its better slime bolt attack, 4 armor (because it stems from the snail mage's magic), and magic moves.

Snail Mage Vassal
Medium, Group, Intelligent, Organized
Defense: 12 HP 0 Armor
Slime Bolt: Near, Corrosive; 1d8 damage (1 piercing)
Example Moves:

• Sustain a snail mage's spell
• Empower a snail mage's spell
• Cast another spell in tandem with the snail mage

These are magical adepts that are often used by snail mages for a power boost.

Malleable
Medium, Solitary, Intelligent, Amorphous, Organized
Defense: 17 HP 1 Armor
Spiked Limbs: Close, Reach, Messy; b[2d8] +2 damage (1 piercing)
Special Qualities: Malleable Shape
Example Moves:

• Shrug off an attack with its rubbery body
• Flow through a small opening
• Twist and wrap around a creature's legs or limbs

Snail cultists that have used too much malleoil: their bodies have only vague facial features, and are flexible and rubbery (to the point where they can compress themselves to fit through tiny openings). They attack with their whip-like arms, which can extend hundreds of needle-like teeth.

Titan Whelk
Huge, Solitary
Defense: 24 HP 3 Armor
Bite: Reach, Forceful; d10+5 damage (3 piercing)
Special Qualities: Moves at a Snail's Pace, Thick Shell, Trail of Slime
Example Moves:

• Hide in its shell
• Force its way through an obstacle
• Swallow a medium creature whole

The largest of the snails, they sometimes carry snail knights into battle.

Announcements

If you're curious about FrankenFourth and/or Dungeons & Delvers, you can find public alpha documents here and here respectively.

A Sundered World: Player Fragments, the first supplement for A Sundered World, is finally out!

If you're looking for a class that lets you play almost any were-thing you want (plus a bunch of related extra content), then check out The Therianthrope. There's also The Dragon, a class that lets you play almost any dragon-ish thing you could think of.

By fan demand, we've mashed all of our 10+ Treasure volumes into one big magic item book, making it cheaper and more convenient to buy in print (which you can now do).