No. Enc.: 1 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral (Evil)
Movement: 30'
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: 2 (beak, petrify)
Damage: 1d4, petrify
Save: F1
Morale: 12
Despicable little monsters, Pearl Hoarders were originally created by saturating the eggs of poisonous serpents with ichor derived from Cockatrices. The details of the process are explained in the (Expurgated) Journals of Halprink, available in most decent occult libraries and some of the more discriminating book-sellers.
A typical Pearl Hoarder is under 1' in length, often only measuring (1d10) inches, with a serrated ridge running down their back and a vestigial comb upon their head. Their beaks are incredibly sharp, but too small for most people to take them very seriously. Their worst feature, however, is their ability to inflict partial petrification upon their victims by just touching them. Victims must make a Save or the area in contact with the Pearl Hoarder turns to stone for 3d6 minutes. Making the Save results in 2d4 damage and a lingering discoloration of the affected area. Failing the Save inflicts 2d4 damage, causes the victim to writhe in agony for 3d6 minutes, and then inflicts an additional 2d4 damage as the petrification effect wears off. Victims who fail their Save are unable to defend themselves, cast spells or move more than 10' while writhing in agony.
These creatures are most commonly encountered within treasuries, hoards and masses of loot. They prefer pearls, hence the name, but do cozy up to gems, jewelry and especially shiny magic items as well.
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| This creature originated from a Scribble... |
Very cool showing us the scribble --> sketch!
ReplyDeleteWere these creatures created by hoarders to protect their treasures? Just wondering about the process behind their creation, and whether tincture of Cockatrice ichor has other uses as well.
It's a fun process. We're hoping to collect a few more scribbles. Porky sent us one that'll be turning up fairly soon.
ReplyDeleteThe sorts of people who would want such creatures, and who have the means to either design them, breed them, or pay others to do so on their behalf, tend to be collectors of objects that others might be tempted to purloin, hence the desire to discourage such tendencies by the deployment of these vicious little things.
So yeah; hoarders. Definitely hoarders.
There are numerous other uses and applications for tinctures derived from cockatrice ichor, most notably certain off-brand aphrodisiacs...