I kicked off this series by going over
the enigmatic Chun the Unavoidable, a singularly horrifying
character in the mythology of the Dying Earth. This article will
focus on one of the most commonly appearing creatures in the setting,
the vicious beastmen known as Deodand. This hungry fellows show up in
nearly every story set within the world, and they are common enough
that every character has seemingly heard of or had first hand
experience with them. I have found some OSR-compatible stats for
Deodand in White Dwarf 58, but I felt that it'd be more fun to
come up with my own for both Basic & 5th Edition. The Dying earth
is overrun with various beastmen, most of whom are given only this
brief description:
"Gid: hybrid of
man, gargoyle, whorl, leaping insect.
Deodand: wolverine, basilisk, man.
Erb: bear, man, lank-lizard, demon,
Grue: man, ocular bat, the unusual hoon.
Leucomorph: unknown
Bazil: felinodore, man, (wasp?)."
Of the six creatures mentioned, only the Gid and the Deodand appear directly at any point, and only the Deodand is featured multiple times. (As an aside, I really love that the writers of Zork straight up stole Grue.) In our reality, deodand is an animal, person or thing responsible for a person's death, and this name is perfect for how they're seen by others. Objects of fear and dread to the non-wizardly inhabitants of the Dying Earth, Deodand are are persistent threat to anyone walking alone at night or in deep woods who is not armed with magic,
“A black figure stole into her sight, creeping
along the ditch. In the light of the fireflies she saw him—a
Deodand, wandered from the forest, a hairless man-thing with
charcoal-black skin, a handsome face, marred and made demoniac by two
fangs gleaming long, sharp and white down his lip. It was clad in a
leather harness, and its long slit eyes were fastened hungrily on
T'sais. He sprang at her with an exulting cry.”
“The Deodand outside
had lingered, and had been watching through the iron-barred window.
Now it knocked at the door.
"Who's there?" called the man in the black hood, twisting about.
"I desire the one who has entered. I hunger for her flesh," said the soft voice of the Deodand. The man in the hood spoke sharply.
"Go, before I speak a spell to burn you with fire. Never return!"
"I go," said the Deodand
"Who's there?" called the man in the black hood, twisting about.
"I desire the one who has entered. I hunger for her flesh," said the soft voice of the Deodand. The man in the hood spoke sharply.
"Go, before I speak a spell to burn you with fire. Never return!"
"I go," said the Deodand
Boogey-man like in approach, the Deodand wishes
nothing more than to devour anything it comes across, and speaks with
the typically erudite style which define all of Vance's characters,
“You have no control over the grisly appetites
of your fellows?” Cugel demanded.
“I have no control over my own,” responded the deodand. “Only
the fact of my broken limbs prevents me from leaping at your throat.”
“Do you wish to live?” asked Cugel, putting
his hand significantly to sword-hilt.
“To a certain extent, though with not so fervent
a yearning as do true men.”
B/X Stats
HD: 3 (HP 21)
Armor: As
Chain
Move: 30'
Attacks:
2 Claws, 1d4+2
Special: Berserk Rage;
when a Deodand has under 50% remaining HP, it gains +1 to Attack and
Damage.
5th Edition Stats
Monstrous Humanoid,
Chaotic Evil
Armor Class: 13
(Natural Armor)
Hit Points: 36
(4d8 + 12)
Speed: 30 ft.,
Climb 30ft.
Abilities: Str
17 (+3), Dex 12 (+1),
Con 16 (+3), Int
12 (+1), Wis 12 (+1),
Cha 7 (-2)
Saving Throws: Str
+5, Con +5
Skills: Athletics
+5, Perception +3, Stealth +5.
Damage Resistances: None
Condition Immunities: None
Senses: Darkvision
120ft., passive Perception 13
Languages: Common
Challenge: 2
(450 XP)
Berserk Rage. While
it has 10 or fewer HP, Deodand have advantage on attack rolls, and
deal an additional +2 damage with their claw attack.
Actions
Multiattack. Deodands
make two claw attacks.
Claw. Melee
Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 +3)
slashing damage.
Seems about right: definitely a challenge 1 on 1, but not insurmountable! I meant to ask you on discord: have you looked at the Dying Earth RPG? The bestiary with the core rules is comprehensive.
ReplyDeleteI honestly wasn't aware of it's existence!
DeleteI have wanted to buy that game for the bestiary alone. It's crazy to me that despite how important Vance, and Dying Earth specifically, was to D&D and fantasy as a whole, that so many of his ideas have utterly failed to penetrate the cultural consciousness of even our niche hobby community, let alone a wider audience.
DeleteIt's been years since I read Dying Earth and I appreciate this reminder. I vaguely remember thinking the Deodand was really cool, but had totally forgotten about them. They're like a slightly more macabre, Wonderland-esque take on an orc, or like the concept of the Big Bad Wolf.
Boxinabox - it was published by Peregrine Press, and had a surprising number of supplements! They really work hard to tie the gameplay into the fiction: GM's actually give out experience when players act like Dying Earth rascals or employ convoluted, archaic language!
DeleteThe bestiary is worth reading because it also has notes on adaptation, highlighting exactly what you mentioned on discord and in your other posts: often Vance's descriptions of monsters are spare.
I've also heard rumours of a Goodman Games version being released, but I can't find anything about that anywhere.
Interesting. Nice to see something a bit different. Must revisit Dying Earth. Only read maybe 1 or 2 books LONG ago and don’t remember much. Unrelated to the content - it’s hard to read the darker blue against the dark background.
ReplyDeleteIt is worth it for the imagery alone. I prefer the first few books to the later ones. I'm not sure if Vance grew more sentimental with age, but the early entries are far more murky in the morality of the characters.
Delete