FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Temperate Civilized Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Temperate Wilderness Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Temperate Freshwater Depths])

FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Tropical Civilized Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Tropical Wilderness Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Tropical Freshwater Depths])

FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Dungeon Level II])

NO. APPEARING: 2-12
ARMOR CLASS: 10
MOVE: 3"
HIT DICE: 2
% IN LAIR: 100%
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: Nil
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Mud-throwing
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Need magical weapons to hit; immune to certain spells (see below)
INTELLIGENCE: Non-
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: S (c. 4')
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: II | 28 + 2

Mud-men are formed in pools of mud where enchanted waters (even mildly enchanted ones,
such as a stream eroding a magical structure) collect and evaporate and concentrate the dweomer.

Physically they are animated mud, taking a stocky humanoid form when
roused. SLOW moving and unable to leave their pool of mud, mud-men
have but one aim in life which is to kill any creature entering the pool
who is more mobile than themselves. Virtually all creatures, and certainly
all humans and demihumans, fall into this category.

In their dormant state, mud-men lie below the surface of their pool with
the substance of their bodies spread throughout, feeding on the dweomer
of the mud. In this state they are immune to attacks with weapons (magical or otherwise).
They are, however, susceptible to spell attacks (see below).

When a character or creature enters the mud pool the mud-men sense
its presence immediately and take 1 round to draw together the substance
of their bodies and rise to a standing position ready to attack the
next round. Once fully formed and standing they may be harmed by
weapons, provided the weapons are magical.

Mud-men attack by hurling and mud at their opponents, who are considered
as armor class 10 (modified by dexterity) for the purposes of determining
hits. The mud hardens on impact and slows the movement of the victim.
At first the mud-men hurl only blobs of mud (maximum range 6"). These
slow the movement rate of the victim by 1" if they hit. However, while
hurling blobs of mud, the mud-men move toward their opponents at
their full movement rate. Once within 1" they will hurl themselves
(literally) rather than a mere blob. A successful hit means the death of
the mud-man but it also slows the victim's movement by 4". A miss
means that the mud-man must spend the next round re-forming to be
ready to attack again.

A victim is unable to move and begins to suffocate once the movement
rate reaches zero <0>, taking 1-8 points of damage per round until the mouth
and/or nose is clear. The victim will die from suffocation after 5 rounds
unless rescued. The hardened mud can be broken away from wholly or
partially immobilized creatures. In this manner movement can be restored
at a rate of 1" per 5 rounds.
<dsg/wsg Hold Breath rules could be used, instead>

Note that mud-men cannot sense creatures outside their pool and will not attack them.
Once there are no living opponents left within the pool,
therefore, the roused mud-men will sink back below the surface, only to
rise again if the pool is re-entered.

Mud-men are affected by all spells which cause damage directly to living
creatures (e.g., [cause light wounds], [magic missile], [fireball], [flame strike]).

Dispel magic && dig act as fireballs cast by a magic-user of the same
level as the caster. Transmute rock to mud kills all mud-men it is able to
affect, allowing no save.

They are immune to poisoning, whether produced magically (e.g. [cloudkill], [poison]) or otherwise,
and similarly unaffected by spells which affect the mind (e.g., charm, [sleep]) or by psionics.
<the reference to cloudkill is interesting: for cloudkill, should that be a poison save, or a magic save?>

So long as mud-men are not fully formed from their pool, the damage
caused by spells cast on them does not have an area of effect (e.g. [magic missile])
and is divided amongst them (fractions rounded down) since the substance of their bodies is evenly spread out in the mud.
 

       by Dave J. Browne, and/or Tom Kirby and/or Graeme Morris

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