the guardian spirit of a sacred river, polluted along with its charge by the meddling of mankind.
2
a dinosaur that wanted to survive the extinction of the rest of its kind so badly it became the ultimate survivor.
3
a wizard’s failed attempt to create a plant-animal hybrid as the perfect crop/livestock.
4
a god that went feral after the extermination of its cult, losing its true immortality and most of its wisdom.
5
an incarnation of death’s inevitability that crawled up from the underworld.
6
a sophistic demon bound to the earth by some mortal clans’ blood feud. So long as the hatred flows through the generations the hydra will return.
D6
This hydra has
1
bones that snap and protrude under its own weight with every step, only to mend moments later.
2
tumours and throbbing scars dappling it from old, mis-healed wounds.
3
colourful frills around its necks.
4
a carpet of ticks covering its hide.
5
translucent flesh. Veins and organs can be seen shifting beneath, devouring each other in a visceral ouroboros.
6
vestigial eyes and limbs dotting its body.
D6
This hydra’s regeneration
1
causes it to bud off swarms of mini-hydras when it’s wounded.
2
can be inverted if it’s exposed to a drug which only the moon-folk know how to produce.
3
can be inhibited by music, which enrages it.
4
will continue even after it’s killed, bringing it back to life unless it’s burned or dissolved.
5
accelerates for 1d6 rounds after it’s eaten about at least a person-sized portion of meat.
6
produces an excess of blood when it’s wounded, turning the battlefield into a slippery mess.
D6
This hydra’s lair
1
is a burrow that opens to the bed of an algae-caked kettle in the midst of a peatland.
2
is a fissure where the mouth of a spring flows.
3
is a ruined palace halfway sunk in a flooded delta, surrounded by the waterlogged remnants of a dead civilization.
4
is a dank ponor where deafening rapids spill.
5
has a mouth curtained by a waterfall.
6
lies on an isle in the middle of an estuary.
D6
Near this hydra’s lair
1
is a young warrior groomed into believing that they’re a demigod and their sycophants-cum-political handlers, hyping themselves up to slay the monster and prove their prowess.
2
a peasant family are dragging a recalcitrant ox to sacrifice to it.
3
is the cabin of a royal gamekeeper tasked with keeping an eye on the hydra and making sure nobody provokes it.
4
is a tricksy talking vulture that eats the hydra’s leftovers.
5
is an old hunter collapsed in the mud, dying from injuries inflicted by the hydra.
6
is a clutch of crab-men who fear and worship it.
D6
Something that can be harvested from this hydra is its
1
scales, which could be made into superlative armour by a master craftsman.
2
sinews, which could be used to make magic rope or bowstrings.
3
liver, which could be used to filter poisons into beneficial elixirs.
4
bones, which could be carved into barbed weapons that grow into the wounds they wreak.
5
feces, which are an unmatched fertilizer.
6
blood, which could be refined into a healing potion.
goat bones replacing some of its missing human ones.
2
metal splints bolted on to reinforce its long bones.
3
ghostly flaming viscera shuddering in its torso.
4
a nest of cockroaches in its skull, scuttling in and out of its eye sockets.
5
scorched black bones, with ash drifting from its clacking jaws.
6
gnaw-marks on its bones.
7
cobwebs dangling from its limbs.
8
a rusty dagger embedded in its left scapula.
9
a caved-in skull, a few shards still rattling within.
10
delicate cranking gears replacing its ligaments.
11
a gold-plated grin.
12
packed dirt onto its bones in a facsimile of flesh.
13
a shaggy carpet of moss clinging to it.
14
burial scenes scrimshawed on its bones.
15
old blood scabbed on it.
16
incense sticks planted in its pelvis.
17
its phalanges and metacarpals partially carved into chess pieces.
18
cancerous bone deformities.
19
a crooked spine.
20
a fancy feathered cap it will not part with under any circumstances.
D20
This skeleton’s special skeleton power
1
is that only crushing its bones to pieces will put it down for good. Otherwise they’ll reassemble themselves.
2
is that after it kills something with a skeleton it can peel off the nasty meat and reanimate a bony friend.
3
is that it’s retained most of its intelligence and personality from life, though it’s gained an overpowering hatred for the living.
4
is that it can push beyond the structural limits of its bones. By shattering an arm or leg it can deliver a terrible blow, or leap an incredible distance.
5
is that it can instantly bury itself in soil to later burst out in ambush.
6
is that its grim visage immediately provokes a morale check in hirelings.
7
is that like a shark’s bones it is mostly cartilage, and so can flex and compress tremendously.
8
is that if it’s damaged it can pull bones from the dead or unconscious to repair itself.
9
is that its screaming spectral skull will haunt its killer, preventing restful sleep for 1d6 nights.
10
is that it carries the quiet of the grave with it, silencing all sound within 10 feet.
11
is that it brings the chill of the grave with it, extinguishing all flames within 10 feet.
12
is that it can shroud itself with the illusion of its living appearance.
13
is that it’s suffused with putrescent energies. Those it wounds must save or contract a random disease.
14
is that it drank lots of milk in life so its bones are harder than normal. Increase its AC by 2 above the normal rating for a skeleton. The skeleton has a milky sheen to it.
15
is that its undead essence will taint its killer, making them take on the vulnerabilities of the undead for a day.
16
is its jaw strength. If it deals max damage with an attack it bites off 1d4 fingers.
17
is that its bones are telescopic. It can extend its reach and/or height by up to 10 ft.
18
is that its killer will become cursed as an enemy of the undead, and be preferentially targeted by the undead until the curse is cleansed.
19
is that its sharp fingers and toes let it climb sheer walls and cling to ceilings.
20
is that it can pinpoint the heartbeats of the living from 50 feet away.
D20
This skeleton might be encountered
1
silently performing funeral rites for itself.
2
dancing wildly to the beat of dripping water.
3
pretending to sleep in a bed made of rags and mushrooms.
4
staring at its reflection in a dirty puddle.
5
covering walls with handprints.
6
assembling trash into vanitas tableaux.
7
standing perfectly straight and still.
8
chewing on a rat.
9
playing its ribcage like it’s a xylophone.
10
applying the paste of squashed bugs to its skull like cosmetics.
11
wandering listlessly.
12
rocking itself back and forth in the fetal position.
13
shuddering as if it is weeping, though it sheds no tears and makes no sound.
14
tapping its fingers rhythmically against its knees.
15
poking its hands through the empty spaces of its ribs, jaw, arms, and pelvis.
16
rapt in observation of a squirming worm.
17
contorting itself into poses no living body could match.
18
spinning around rapidly to enjoy its lack of dizziness.
19
very, very slowly moving through the motions of its former daily life.
20
making angels in the dust.
D20
Something that might be looted from this skeleton is
1
a treasure map scratched onto a slate.
2
a polished obsidian mirror.
3
a half-full skin of sour wine.
4
a scroll tanned from the skeleton’s own skin, covered in scrawled invectives.
5
a pair of lead coins lodged in its eye sockets.
6
a moldering deed to a nearby plot of land.
7
a turquoise death-mask.
8
a doused torch.
9
a bouquet of desiccated roses.
10
a pouch of lamb-gut condoms.
11
a clay jar of mummification spices.
12
an ivory hairbrush.
13
a filigreed scabbard.
14
a corroded key.
15
a cracked porcelain doll.
16
a silver poesy ring.
17
a ratty shawl.
18
a sturdy and comfortable pair of leather boots.
19
a bag of iron nails (which could be quite expensive back in the day when they had to be hammered out by hand).
20
a wooden cross and rosary (or other setting-appropriate holy symbol).
D20
This skeleton wound up in this dungeon
1
because their murderer dumped them here to prevent discovery.
2
because a necromancer raised it to guard their lair within. That necromancer was struck down by old age before they could reach a satisfactory immortality.
3
after following a crunchy-looking bat.
4
after being sealed up here to die like Fortunato.
5
because the dungeon was used as a dump for corpses after a plague.
6
seeking refuge from a storm outside, only to fall victim to the dungeon’s other inhabitants.
7
because it was called from its repose by a cursed treasure within.
8
because in life they were a resurrection man chasing corpses here, only to become a corpse themself.
9
because in life they were an explorer who ended up in over their head.
10
because while they were alive they were press-ganged into excavating part of this dungeon.
11
because they committed suicide here to avoid troubling their loved ones.
12
after being chased by bandits, only to find the inhabitants of the dungeon to be deadlier foes.
13
because the necromancer that raised it sent it in to find valuable treasures.
14
because the necromancer that raised it sent it to attack an enemy of theirs with bad directions.
15
because a band of gnolls dragged it in to serve as a snack.
16
because a noble ran them over with their carriage, and discreetly disposed of their corpse to avoid legal issues.
17
as a sacrifice to mollify the monsters within.
18
because during an old epidemic it was used to quarantine the sick. They died of their sickness huddled in the dark.
19
because in an old war it was used as a holding ground for prisoners taken in battle. They starved before their family could collect enough ransom money.
20
because their friends dared them to enter it. They didn’t make it out alive.
