Tasmanian Devil
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Climate/Terrain | Any |
| Frequency | Very rare |
| Organization | Solitary |
| Activity Cycle | Day |
| Diet | Omnivore (Carnivore) |
| Intelligence | Low to average (5-10) |
| Treasure | Bx2, H |
| Alignment | Chaotic neutral (evil) |
| No. of Appearing | 1 |
| Armor Class | 8 (-10) |
| Move | 12, special |
| Hit Dice | 10-15 (no 1's) |
| THAC0 | 10, special |
| No. of Attacks | 3 |
| Damage/Attack | 1d6+6/1d6+6/4d10+6, and special |
| Special Attacks | Whirlwind |
| Special Defenses | Whirlwind |
| Magic Resistance | Nil |
| Size | S to M |
| Moral | Fearless (19-20) |
| XP Value | 10 hit dice: 5,000; 11 hit dice: 6,000; 12 hit dice: 7,000; 13 hit dice: 8,000; 14 hit dice: 9,000; 15 hit dice: 10,000 |
Description
The best way to understand the tasmanian devil is to watch The Bugs Bunny and Road Runner Show (TM). In game terms, these creatures can eat any organic matter, though they prefer meat; each devil has 10 to 20 favorites.
Combat
A tasmanian devil's teeth and claws are as hard as +6 adamantite, and consequently, their claw and bite attacks are extremely vicious. Their most powerful attack, however, is the whirlwind.
Any whirlwind attack is preceded by 2 segments of inactivity in which the monster grunts and makes other strange noises. Upon assuming a whirlwind, the tasmanian devil's armor class drops to -10, and it receives five attacks per round at +4 to hit, each inflicting the devil's hit points in damage. Victims can save vs paralyzation at -4 for half damage.
A whirlwinding devil has the following movement rates based on its hit dice, depending on obstruction: Movement is always a sprint.
| Relative hardness | Example | Movement: Hit Dice x |
|---|---|---|
| No obstruction: | Air, light underbrush | 2 |
| Wood: | Trees, wood buildings | 1 |
| Stone, soft metal: | Granite wall | 1/2 |
| Hard metal: | Steel plate, solid rock | 1/4 |
| Very hard metal | Adamantite, magical barriers | 1/8 |
All items touched by the whirlwind must save vs disintegration or be damaged or destroyed. This includes weapons which successfully strike the devil. If a devil tries to bore through an enchanted barrier which makes its save, the devil is stunned for 1-4 rounds. The best tactic when confronted with a whirling devil is to run - the other way - quickly! The whirlwind can be maintained for 1 round per hit die, then the monster must rest for 1 hour before whirlwinding again. Tasmanian devils can fight to -20 hit points (but lose the whirlwind) before they drop dead.
Habitat
Tasmanian devils never use weapons (their own are so good), but can, and often do, make use of simple tools designed for humans. They love to collect items they don't understand, and especially like shiny things. Finding the lair of a defeated tasmanian devil can yield a treasure trove of valuable items.
If a mated pair is found, there is a 20% chance that 2-5 pups will be present (1-4 HD, 1-2, 1-2, 4-16, no whirlwind). Half strength juviniles can be found, but they are rare, as these creatures grow quickly.
These monsters speak their own language, and most (70%) know a smattering of common and perhaps a third language (they can usualy make themselves understood, but their fluency leaves a lot to be desired). Most tasmanian devils are neither bright nor cunning and are easily fooled. They will often leave a party alone (for a while) if offered huge amounts of food (they are almost always hungry), or interesting, shiny objects. While they guard their collections jealously, they can sometimes be convinced to trade one of their posessions if offered a particularly appealing item in exchange.
Ecology
The presance of a tasmanian devil can have a devastating effect on the local ecology. They have an exceptionally fast metabolic rate and can regenerate one point per turn.
Devil teeth, claws and horns are useful to alchemists and some weaponsmiths. The most valuable part of a devil, however, is its extradimensional stomach. This organ is worth 2000 gold pieces or more intact, as it can be used to make exceptionally large bags of holding (and devouring). If edged weapons were used to kill the devil, there is only a 5 to 15% chance (dungeon master's call) that the stomach is usable. Tasmanian devils have a rudimentary ability to detect extradimensional spaces and will not swallow an extradimensional device, spitting it out before it enters the stomach. If asked why, the devil will reply that it tasted "yucky", as they do not understand the concept of extradimensional spaces. Tasmanian devils live for about 40 years.