The Manticore and the Xorn

August 17th, 2010

Joshua Zaback

Grave Plots Archive

            Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting Grave Plots, where we endeavor to bring you new and interesting plot hooks and adventure ideas each and every week.  This week we will be looking into the strange and mysterious world of another pair of under-sung creatures, both bizarre and fantastic.  This time, we turn our attention to the manticore and the xorn. 

Manticore Mating Madness

            The manticore is one of the most visually impressive and conceptually frightening of all monsters found in the Monster Manual and Bestiary, yet it’s also one of least utilized in a typical game.  This is perhaps because not much is known about the manticore, save that it is a man-eating monster with the body of a lion, the face of a man, and the tail of a scorpion.  A quick glance at the manticore in the Bestiary reveals another unique feature: a table for manticore mates, an odd thing to find.  At first glance the table appears to be a cool feature, yet upon close examination, the table basically says that when a manticore breeds with another monster you get either a manticore, or a copy of the breeding partner (often an interesting monster on its own; you may see future articles on those subjects, so stay tuned) with the spikes special attack.  I don’t know about you, but personally I feel there’s some room to play with more interesting ideas.  So, expanding on this potential goldmine, this idea is designed to encourage you to use the manticore as a focal point of one of your future endeavors.

A Mate for Xanos

            Xanos is an unusual manticore, in that he has devoted the majority of his long life to the pursuit of excellence in wizardry.  He is a noted scholar and diplomat, and is considered to be a force for good in the city of Mallana, a thriving capital in the desert nation of the same name.  He maintains a residence outside this city in a long abandoned mining complex, where he lives with his apprentice, a young orphan from Mallana.  As Xanos has been getting older, he has been contemplating the prospect of mating and passing on his legacy.  Looking to create the strongest possible offspring and abhorring the mating practices typical to manticores, Xanos is in bad need of a matchmaker, preferably one (or more) capable of facing the perils provided by potential mates, and Xanos believes the PCs are the perfect choice to aid in his quest.

            When Xanos first approaches the PCs while they are traveling in Mallana, he makes a great effort to explain that he comes in peace and that he merely wishes to discuss a business proposition with them.  Xanos then offers the PCs a vast treasure if they will travel the world and find him the perfect mate, explaining that he would go himself but he doesn’t want to leave his apprentice alone.  If the PCs are interested, then Xanos goes on to explain his criteria and his list of potential prospects for mating.

Xanos’ Criteria

Xanos makes it clear to the PCs that he will not mate with any creature that fails to meet all of the following criteria.

• Mate must be willing
• Mate must be intelligent
• Mate must be healthy
• Mate must be between medium size and huge size.
• Mate must not be evil (and yes, he will check)
• Mate must be willing to travel to his cave

Xanos’ Mating Suggestions
            Xanos has made a study of cross-species mating for the past several years and has the following suggestions for possible breeding partners:

• Gorgon
• Wyvern
• Giant scorpion
• Great reef crab
• Sphinx
• Chimera

            Of all the creatures he could potentially mate with, the one he is most interested in is a griffon, a pairing never attempted by manticores before, and due to the half-lion nature of the griffon Xanos is convinced that a superior offspring could be created.

            The next step of the adventure is hunting down a mate for Xanos, and making sure that the creature in question is up to Xanos’ standards (which might be quite a task) and then escorting her back to Mallana.  Xanos is grateful for the PCs’ help in finding the perfect mate and grants them the agreed-upon treasure.  He also offers to keep them posted on the pairing, inviting them back to witness the birthing of his child in the future.  

For more information on some cool mating combinations, check out the following table.     

Mate	Offspring
Dragonne	Scaled manticore; +4 natural armor; gains roar and pounce special attacks
Griffon	Manticore with 11HD; 80 ft fly speed (average maneuverability); pounce, grab, and rake special attacks
Giant Scorpion	Manticore with sting attack and poison on sting and bite (Sting or Bite—injury; save Fort; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Strength damage; cure 1 save. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +2 racial bonus.); loses spikes special attack
Lammasu	LG Masticore; outsider hit dice instead of magical beast; +4 to all mental ability scores; rake special attack; 20% chance of being able to cast spells as a 7th level cleric
Great Reef Crab	Giant manticore with +7 natural armor (due to exoskeleton); water breathing; grab on claws and constrict special attack
Wyvern	Fly improves to poor; spikes are now poisonous (Spikes - injury; Save Fort; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d4 Constitution damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Constitution-based)
Hell Hound	Manticore with immunity to fire; cold vulnerability; and breath weapon, 15 ft cone of fire (3d6 fire damage; Reflex negates)

 

All Xorn Out

            The xorn is an interesting creature who unfortunately suffers from being a little too unusual, and those of us who reach ‘X’ in the Monster Manual (or Bestiary if you prefer) often find ourselves asking, “Um, what the heck is that?” when we come across the xorn.  After reading their entry, the xorn typically feels like one of those monsters that just don’t have a place in your game.  Their weird mannerisms and general lack of interest in the world’s affairs might make you feel that there just isn’t any way to create a fun encounter with one for your PCs.  Well, this hook aims to change all that, and get you thinking about fun ways to include this unusual creature in your game.

            The vast empire of Mercana has been experiencing a series of odd robberies: over thirty of the empire’s greatest public art works, in the form of gold and silver statuary, have vanished without a trace over the past few months.  Regardless of improved security throughout the empire, the thefts continue unimpeded.  To make matters worse, fine tapestries and various valuable pieces of jewelry have been stolen from several wealthy manor houses.  The royal family of Mercana has posted a handsome reward for the head of the thief, but even with the reward and the finest adventurers in the kingdom helping, no headway has been made in the case.  In desperation, the royal family has reached out to the PCs, due to their reputation for getting the job done.  After they accept (the royal family offers staggering incentives for them to do so), the empress makes an announcement to the public that she has some true heroes on the case and the thief would do well to turn himself in, lest the likes of the PCs catch up with him.  The thief is indeed intimidated by the PCs’ heroic stature, and sends them a message offering them a deal: if they bring him the one thing he’s always wanted, the royal gem of House Mercana, he will leave the empire, never to return again.  He even offers to put another thief into the hands of the PCs, so that they can turn him into the empress and collect their reward.

            Should the PCs agree to the thief’s plan, he leaves it up to the PCs to figure out how to get the gem and bring it to him.  If the PCs decide to hunt down the crook instead, they find him attempting to steal the gem one night and can attempt to capture him.  Either way, at their first face-to-face meeting the PCs might well be surprised that the thief of Mercana, a near legendary figure in the underground, was just a hungry xorn with a taste for the finer things in life.

            Well, that’s all for another installment of Grave Plots.  If you would like to suggest a topic for a future article, then please send me an email, and you may see your suggestion in the near future.  Until then, I wish you all the best in your gaming endeavors.