DCC Bestiary: Grue


So I'm working on converting a D&D adventure to DCC, and it's apparent to me that it's a parade of monsters for monsters' sake.  DCC is all about the scary, the weird … a lizard man or kuo-toa isn't going to strike the right tone.

But it's dark down there … all alone.  You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

Zork aside, the first reference to a grue was Jack Vance's Dying Earth, so it's perfect for Dungeon Crawl Classics.  I made them stealthy with claws, threw in a little bit of lore of the medieval boggard that spoils food, and here you have a bogeyman for the dark places, that will make a great replacement for a lizard man, kuo-toa, morlock, or other underground tribal creature.

Grue
     An emaciated but nimble creature with cold, reptilian skin and bulbous staring eyes, these creatures live underground in sewers, caves, or under bridges.  They tend to pounce on unsuspecting quarry and rend them with their razor claws and fanged maws. They are cruel and selfish, but willing to wager or bargain for personal gain.
     Init +2, Atk bite +2 melee (1d6) or spear +2 (1d8); AC 13; HD 3d8+4 (18 hp); MV 30’ or swim 30’; Act 2d20; SP degenerate presence, infravision 120’; SV Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +3; Sneak Silently +6; AL L.
     Any food or drink touched by a grue will spoil, becoming inedible, water it touches becomes unpotable, plants wither, and the like (although the grue does not notice or care).  Any wounded creature struck or touched by a grue must make a DC 12 Fort save each time of suffer an additional 1d3 hp of damage from their wounds festering.

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