APPENDIX II: Creatures
of the Inner Planes
The inner planes are
natural environments to their inhabitants,
much like the various regions of the PMPs.
There
are elemental herbivores that take their
sustenance from their
surroundings, and elemental carnivores
that prey on other elemental
(and nonnative) life.
In running encounters
in the inner planes, the DM can use
modified stats for creatures from the
MM, MM2, and FF books.
The following creatures
do not have elemental analogues:
* Creatures native to
the Ethereal, Astral, or outer planes, such as slaad, githyanki, and devils.
* There are no elemental
undead (though there may be Prime planar undead found in the inner planes).
* Humanoids such as
humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, orcs, and their mixed breeds
(in other words, the PC races). There are no elemental wizards, though
there are elemental creatures that can cast spells.
The following modifications
should be made to Prime planar
monster statistics for their elemental
counterparts.
FREQUENCY: Unchanged
NO. APPEARING: Unchanged
ARMOR CLASS: Unchanged, unless specifically
noted
MOVEMENT: Triple the listed speed for
creatures of the planes of Air, Smoke, or Steam. Double the listed speed
for creatures of Water. Unchanged for all others. This is the physical
distance the creatures can MOVE in the inner planes. They may MOVE through
the inner planes normally from point to point as Prime planar travellers
can in the Ethereal plane.
% IN LAIR: Elemental creatures in their
native planes are 10% less likely to be in lair than Prime creatures. Those
inhabiting pockets of their native element in other planes are 10% more
likely to be in lair.
TREASURE TYPE: See next page
NO. OF ATTACKS: Unchanged
DAMAGE/ATTACK: Unchanged
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Unchanged, but see following
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Unchanged, but see following
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Unchanged
ALIGNMENT: Unchanged or neutral (with
tendencies toward the standard alignment of the creature)
SIZE: See Appearances
PSIONIC ABILITY: None--unless specifically
noted for that creature.
Abilities
All elemental creatures have these abilities
in the inner planes:
* They can move through their plane and
those that directly
adjoin it (the para- and quasi-planes
for a creature from a major
elemental plane) as Prime planar travellers
move through the
Ethereal plane.
* They can see into the Border Ethereal.
* They can enter the Ethereal plane from
the inner planes.
Unless otherwise noted, these creatures
cannot travel from the
Ethereal into a Prime Material, or even
into the Border Ethereal of
a Prime Material plane, without outside
help.
The general abilities
of creatures from the inner planes are listed
in the Encounter Section of each plane.
The following is a quick summary.
Air: Immune to
wind, weather, lightning, spells using clouds. Can be affected by vacuum.
Fire: Immune
to heat and flames. Can be affected by cold- and water-based spells.
Earth: Immune
to earth-modifying spells. AC is improved by one factor. Can passwall.
Water: Immune
to water-control spells. Can be affected by fire. Can breathe water and
blend with surroundings.
Smoke: Immune
to air- and fire- based attacks, asphyxiation.
Magma: Immune
to the effects of fire and earth. Can passwall.
Ooze: Immune
to the effects of earth- and water-based spells. Can passwall.
Ice: Immune
to effects of cold-, air-, and water-based attacks. Can passwall through
ice.
Lightning: Immune
to air and weather spells, electricity.
Radiance: Unaffected
by fire-, heat-, and light-based attacks. Vulnerable to darkness, water,
and cold.
Minerals: Unaffected
by spells that affect solid matter. Can passwall.
Steam: Immune
to heat-, cold-, air-, and water-based magic.
Vacuum: Immune
to vacuum, negative energy. Vulnerable to air.
Ash: Immune
to cold, negative energy. Vulnerable to warmth.
Dust: Immune
to earth-affecting spells, negative energy.
Salt: Unaffected
by fire and heat. Vulnerable to water.
In cases where a Prime planar creature's
immunity is a vulnerability
for the analogue (an elemental fire giant
in the plane of Ash),
the analogue retains that immunity.
Appearances
The greatest danger of encountering an
elemental analogue to
a Prime planar creature is that it does
not necessarily look like the
Prime creature. The DM is free to make
up the appearance of a
particular creature in the elemental plane.
What follows is a guide
to creating appearances of monsters on
the spur of the moment.
<cf. Flame
Snake , Fire Snake>
Size Change
| Size Change |
Air
(smoke, dust, vacuum, ash, steam) |
Fire
(lightning, radiance, salt) |
Earth
(minerals, ice) |
Water
(magma, ooze) |
| Smaller by 2 |
- |
1-10 |
1-30 |
1-5 |
| Smaller by 1 |
1-10 |
11-25 |
31-60 |
6-10 |
| Same |
11-40 |
26-75 |
61-90 |
11-90 |
| Larger by 1 |
41-90 |
76-90 |
91-00 |
91-95 |
| Larger by 2 |
91-00 |
91-00 |
- |
96-00 |
Size Change Effects:
Smaller by 1 or 2: Reduce the size
of the creature by one or
two factors (from L to M, or M to S).
Creatures of size S that are
reduced are halved in size again. If the
elemental equivalent of a
small being (say three feet tall) is "smaller
by 2," it is only nine
inches high (cut the original 36 inches
in half two times).
Larger by 1 or 2: Increase the size
of the creature by one or
two factors (from S to M, or M to L).
Creatures of size L that are
increased in size are doubled and if necessary,
doubled again. A
15-foot-tall giant might have a 60-foot-tall
elemental equivalent.
Creature Appearances
Plane of Air
Ninety percent of
air creatures encountered are
invisible, but
can be detected
by spell use or high intelligence.
| Die Roll |
Appearance |
| 1-10 |
Amorphous and cloud-like.
Grasping members issue from a churning center. |
| 11-15 |
Streamlined shape,
like an ellipsoid or arrow head. Arms extend from the center. |
| 16-75 |
Similar to Prime
counterpart, but narrow and streamlined with stubby fins. |
| 76-90 |
Similar in form
to Prime counterpart, but has long, thin wings. |
| 91-00 |
Humanoid avian with
huge wings that may be feathered, insectoid, cloth,
or metallic, at DM's choice. |
Plane of Fire
| Die Roll |
Appearance |
| 1-30 |
Sharply defined
flaming solid (cube, tetrahedron, octahedron, etc.). Flaming arms extend
from center. |
| 31-35 |
Collection of 2d6
small geometric solids orbiting a center solid. Removal of the orbiting
solids inflicts no damage to the creature. |
| 36-45 |
Flaming humanoid
form with the general facial features of the Prime planar counterpart. |
| 46-50 |
Flaming humanoid
form with humanoid features. |
| 51-90 |
Flaming form resembling
the Prime planar counterpart. |
| 91-00 |
Solid and fiery
form resembling the Prime planar counterpart. Elemental creature appears
to have a shining, metallic hide that radiates the color of the nearby
flames. |
Plane of Earth
| Die Roll |
Appearance |
| 1-10 |
Roughly spherical,
similar to a boulder. Appendages ooze out of the main form. |
| 11-30 |
Stone statue resembling
the Prime planar counterpart. Stone material ranges from a polished black
or amber to a roughly-hewn grey or brown. |
| 31-35 |
Stone statue as
above, but with humanoid shape and features of the Prime planar counterpart
(a man with a beholder's head for example). |
| 36-70 |
Tripedal form (similar
in appearance to a xorn). Three or more arms and legs, jaws at top of body. |
| 71-90 |
Crystalline form
of the Prime planar counterpart. Upon death, the creature shatters into
useless shards. |
| 91-95 |
Crystalline form
as above, with humanoid shape and features of the Prime planar counterpart. |
| 96-00 |
Rough mass of crystals
without form. Appendages stick out from the center. |
Plane of Water
Creatures from the
plane of Water tend to blend with their aquatic surroundings.
| Die Roll |
Appearance |
| 01-10 |
Amoeboid blob. Appendages
ooze off the main body. |
| 11-25 |
Serpentine form
with general features of the Prime planar counterpart. |
| 26-90 |
Fish-like form,
a mer-creature that resembles the Prime planar counterpart. Usu. has the
forearms of the creature and hind parts of a fish, such as the triton. |
| 91-00 |
Entirely fish-like.
Additional features apparent only if they have some specific effect on
the creature's powers. |
Para-Elemental Creatures
Creatures from the para-elemental
planes tend to fall into
two categories: those that look humanoid
and those that resemble
their Prime planar counterparts to some
degree.
| - |
Smoke |
Magma |
Ooze |
Ice |
| Elemental Humanoid |
1-20 |
1-25 |
1-40 |
1-10 |
| Elemental Creature |
21-00 |
26-00 |
41-00 |
11-00 |
Quasi-Elemental Creatures
Lightning quasi-elementals appear
as balls and oblong
spheres of energy with leg-like bolts
jutting in all directions.
Radiance quasi-elementals are colored
spheres of force.
Mineral quasi-elementals are delicate
insectoid versions of
their Prime planar counterparts.
Steam quasi-elementals appear as
Smoke para-elementals,
with the same variety of humanoid and
creature-like forms.
Vacuum quasi-elementals are spheres
of invisible force.
Ash quasi-elementals appear as grey
duplicates of their Prime
planar counterparts. When slain they collapse
into piles of ash.
Dust quasi-elementals appear either
as dust clouds resembling the
Prime planar counterparts or as spirals
or whirlwinds of dust.
Salt quasi-elementals resemble white,
salt-encrusted versions
of their Prime planar counterparts.
Treasure of Elemental Creatures
The lairs of elemental
creatures contain treasure as noted for
their counterparts in the monster books.
The exact nature of the
treasure found varies from plane to plane.
Air: There
is only a 10% chance that the lair of a creature of
elemental Air in
its home plane contains coinage. If one of these
treasure types is
called for, replace with containers of perfumes
and other interesting
scents of rare value.
Fire: There
is a 20% chance of coinage in being found in this
realm. Coins are
melted into solid blobs of equivalent weight and
value. If coinage
is not found, then the treasure is in rare woods,
coal, textiles,
and other burnables, protected from the flames.
Earth: Lairs
in the plane of elemental Earth collect more metallic
treasure than gems
and jewelry. If jewelry is indicated, replace
that with a similar
number of gems.
Water: Coinage
and treasure as normal. Double the amount of
potions found in
such lairs.
The para-elemental planes are treated as
one of the two major
planes that they border on (50% chance
of each). Of the quasi-elementals,
seven of the eight have treasure according
to their major aligned plane. Vacuum
quasi-elementals are the exception--they
have normal treasure.
If the type of treasure can be harmed by
the surrounding area
(for example, magical scrolls in the plane
of Fire), they are protected
if the creature has at least low Intelligence.
Finally, lairs located in elemental pockets
|| other regions that
duplicate the effects of other inner planes
should be treated as if
they were in those planes for treasure
type.
STRANGLE-STEAM WEED
WILD FIRECAT
GIANT FIRE DRAGONFLY
<Giant Fire Wasp?>
ASH GALLTRIT
WATER DRYAD
DARK MAGMA STALKER
<change to Magma Doppleganger: Magmaganger?>
<or, perhaps, Magma Mind Flayer>
Lightning Yeth Hound
Wild Air Horse
Fire Galeb Duhr
Smoke Dryad
<maybe use this one for the druid spell
smoke ghost>
