Selected plant-creatures from Out of the Pit converted into Herbal entries

CLONE (#16/31, #290/365) [TTHA]

Appearance: Clones are small pale fungal humanoids with blank eyes that are used to farm edible giant mushrooms on Titan for the consumption of Greater Demons back home in the Pit.

Distribution: Caves, ruins and dungeons across Titan

Effects: When a Clone dies it will dissolve into a coloured pool of liquid, from which a fresh mushroom will sprout after a few minutes. If the liquid is collected in a vial, it can be used later by pouring it on the ground. To see what type of fungi grows from the liquid, roll on the table below:

Roll Fungi Type Effect Reference

1-2 Green-Topped Fungus: gain strength, +4 STAMINA (The Titan Herbal, p. 38)

3-4 Purple-Topped Fungus: shoots spore cloud causing 1-6 STAMINA (The Titan Herbal, p. 55)

5-6 Red-Topped Fungus: poisonous if eaten, -4 STAMINA (The Titan Herbal, p. 56)

Cost: City 4gp, Town 5gp, Village 6gp (per vial)

Availability: Rare

Further Notes: See Out of the Pit (p. 29) for further information.

STRANGLEBUSH (#17/31, #291/365) [TTHA]

Appearance: This bizarre carnivorous plant resembles a dense bushy growth, comprised of many tentacle-like branches.

Distribution: Forests across the Old World.

Effects: The clutching branches of a Stranglebush are extremely strong. Enough branches can be harvested from one slain Stranglebush to fashion a Vine-Rope. This counts as ten metres of excellent quality rope, twice as strong but only half as heavy. It is unfortunately highly flammable, and burns quickly, though this does create the secondary application of being useable as a long and effective length fuse!

Cost: City 20gp, Town 30gp, Village 40gp (per rope)

Availability: Uncommon

Further Notes: See Out of the Pit  (pp. 110-111) for more information. Stranglebush is particularly common in the Verminpit of Kakhabad, where it is often found growing along the trails and paths that lead through the mysterious Forest of Snatta.

STRANGLE WEED(#18/31, #292/365) [TTHA]

Appearance: This voracious plant-creature consists of a four-metre-tall trunk with a rough, bark-like surface, from which sprout up to fifty tendrils, each six metres long and ending in bright, pungent-smelling white and yellow flowers.

Distribution: Forests, jungles and ruins across Titan.

Effects: The flowers of Strangle Weed produce a pollen that is attractive to small forest creatures. Enough pollen can be collected from one slain Strangle Weed to fill a vial. If the contents of the vial are sprinkled on a trap of some sort, the trapper can add a +4 bonus to their Trap Knowledge or Hunting Special Skill roll when testing to see if they catch anything or not.

Cost: City 10gp, Town 15gp, Village 20gp (per vial)

Availability: Common

Further Notes: See Out of the Pit (p. 111) for more information. The woodland known as Tanglewood, in north-western Allansia, is infamous for the abundance of Strangle Weed that flourishes within its dark and gloomy undergrowth.

TANGLEWEED (#19/31, #293/365) [TTHA]

Appearance: This is a strange type of blood-sucking grass whose bunches of blade-like leaves grow up to a metre long and range in colour from pale green, when hungry, to a dullish red when sated.

Distribution: Plains and forests across Titan.

Effects: Perhaps surprisingly, a dried bunch of Tanglweed has some curative properties. It can be applied to a wound during first aid (see Advanced Fighting Fantasy, p. 65), and will allow a healer to deduct one from the dice roll when testing their Healing Special Skill.

Cost: City 5gp, Town 7gp, Village 9gp (per bunch)

Availability: Common

Further Notes: See Out of the Pit (p. 112) for more information. Tangleweed is believed related to River Bloodweed (see The Titan Herbal, p. 57), as well as other similarly motile grass-like plants such as Crab Grass, Pilfer Grass and Tendril Grass.

GIANT VENUS FLY-TRAP (#20/31, #294/365) [TTHA]    

Appearance: This plant-creature consists of a thick trunk-like body up to seven metres tall, from which 2-7 tendrils sprout from the top; each tendril ends in an immense jaw-like leaf. Anyone trapped inside the leaf when it closes will be slowly digested by the Giant Venus Fly-Trap’s powerful digestive acids.

Distribution: Jungles across Allansia and Khul.

Effects: It is possible to collect a Vial of Acid from the leaves of a slain plant. This can be used to dissolve something non-metallic or thrown at an opponent in battle (requiring a successful Test for Skill). Anyone hit by a Vial of Acid must immediately lose 1-6 STAMINA points, and then lose a further 1-6 STAMINA points every Attack Round, unless they spend one Attack Round wiping the acid off their body.

Cost: City 12gp, Town 12gp, Village 16gp (per vial)

Availability: Uncommon

Further Notes: See Out of the Pit (p. 117) for more information.

Here we are now, entertain us...

ENTERTAINER (#15/31, #289/365) [POT]

SKILL: 6

STAMINA : 8

ATTACKS: 1

WEAPON: See below

ARMOUR: None

DAMAGE MODIFIER: None

HABITAT: Towns, Plains, Forests, Ruins

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: See below

TYPE: Humanoid

REACTION: Friendly

INTELLIGENCE: High

An ENTERTAINER is a person who trades on their talent to perform in public, preferably for coin, but sometimes just food, drink or shelter will suffice. They live paradoxical lives, occasionally feted grandly for their abilities but often reduced to virtual penury, performing for the barest hint of a crust. As such this is reflected in their appearance and while their clothes may appear as so much gaudy finery, often they are also tattered and threadbare. All Entertainers will have some kind of basic weapon to defend themselves with; roll on the table below to determine what:

Roll Weapon

1-2 Club

3-4 Dagger

5-6 Shortsword

The number of Entertainers that are encountered can vary widely, from individual solo players to large troupes of performers. Roll on the below table to determine their number:

Roll Number Encountered

1 Solo individual: 1

2-3 Small band: 2-7

4 Minor troupe: 2-12 plus 1-2 wagons, each drawn by 1-3 Horse, 4-6 Ox

5 Major troupe: 3-18 plus 1-3 wagons, each drawn by 1-3 Horse, 4-6 Ox

6 Special. Roll again: 1-2 Circus, 3-4 Menagerie, 5-6 Travelling Players. 4-24 plus 2-7 wagons, each drawn 1-3 Horse, 4-6 Ox

Three-quarters of a Menagerie's Entertainers will be Animal-Handlers while the rest can be determined randomly; each wagon will have a cage housing one monster (which can be rolled for on the appropriate Encounter Table for the current terrain). Three-quarters of a group of Travelling Players will be Actors, with one Playwright, and the rest randomly-determined Entertainers. All of the Circus's performers will be randomly-determined Entertainers.

 To randomly determine the type of Entertainer, roll two dice separately on the table below:

First Roll Second Roll Entertainer Type

1-2 1 Acrobat

1-2 2 Actor

1-2 3 Animal-Handler

1-2 4 Comic 

1-2 5 Escapologist

1-2 6 Fire-Eater

3-4 1 Fortune-Teller

3-4 2 Hypnotist

3-4 3 Juggler

3-4 4 Jester 

3-4 5 Knife-Thrower

3-4 6 Musician

5 1 Playwright 

5 2 Poet 

5 3 Prestidigitator

5 4 Puppeteer 

5 5 Puzzler 

5 6 Singer 

6 1 Stilt-Walker

6 2 Story-Teller 

6 3 Strongman or woman

6 4 Tightrope-Walker 

6 5 Troubadour 

6 6 Ventriloquist 

Numerous groups of travelling Entertainers are known from Titan, including the Carnivale of the Old World, the Circus of Dreams, Oddfellow's Mummers, and the Menagerie of Monsters. It is worth noting that many of these groups do not have the best of reputations however, owing to their vagabond ways or worse. None of them though approach the infamy of the Circus of the Damned, a collection of demonic clowns, jugglers and jesters, who, once summoned from the Pit, took up residence in the third incarnation of Baron Sukumvit's Deathtrap Dungeon, where they tormented any adventurers foolish enough to disturb them.

In some places, such as Ludria (see Adventure Creation System p. 78, p. 158) or Port Blacksand, Entertainers may have settled down to create a more formalized hierarchy of work such as a theatre.  In Port Blacksand there is even a Guild of Entertainers and Artists on Mill Street in the Garden District (see Blacksand, p. 44, p. 56), whose Guildmaster is the noted troubadour Derl Xian, and which is associated with the numerous plays and other productions performed at the Minotaur Inn's theatre.

A Plethora of Potent Potions (Part II)

Potion of Invulnerability to Sword-Strike (#12/31, #286/365) [EA:V2] (Potion)

This is a vial of yellow-green liquid. When consumed, it causes the imbiber to become immune to the first wound they suffer in combat or as a result of a surprise attack, with a bladed weapon. Instead, they take no damage from the attack at all. Subsequent strikes will cause normal damage thereafter. The power of this potion lasts for 10-60 minutes. Legend states this potion could be brewed in the Chamber of Ancient Magical Spells, within the great citadel at Sharrabbas in Kazan, by combining Essence of Eye of Newt with 1000-Fathom Seawater.

30gp

Potion of Madness (#13/31, #287/365) [EA:V2] (Potion)

This is a vial of orange liquid full of red granular particles. When consumed, it causes the imbiber to suffer from insanity. They become a gibbering wreck, unable to do anything other than crouch in a corner and mutter to themselves, shaking and shivering all the while. Unless magically cured, or restrained and force-fed, the imbiber will gradually starve to death as they are unable to eat, drink and otherwise look after themselves. Legend states this potion could be brewed in the Chamber of Ancient Magical Spells, within the great citadel at Sharrabbas in Kazan, by combining Essence of Eye of Newt with Volcano Dust.

Unavailable for Purchase

Potion of Persuasion (#14/31, #288/365) [EA:V2] (Potion)

This is a vial of oozing brownish liquid. When consumed, it causes the imbiber's persuasive powers to increase dramatically. The imbiber gains a +4 bonus to all social Special Skill tests, such as Bargain, Con, Etiquette, Law and Leadership. The effects last for 10-60 minutes. Legend states this potion could be brewed in the Chamber of Ancient Magical Spells, within the great citadel at Sharrabbas in Kazan, by combining Ground Dragon's Claw with Volcano Dust.

50gp

Shriek that horn!

HORNED SHRIEKER (#11/31, #285/365) [OOTP IV]
SKILL: 7
STAMINA: 9
ATTACKS: 2
WEAPON: Large Bite or Claws and Horn (as per Lance)
ARMOUR: Light
DAMAGE MODIFIER: None
HABITAT: Deserts, Wilderness, Plains
NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1-2
TYPE: Reptile
REACTION: Unfriendly-Hostile
INTELLIGENCE: Low

One of the dangers of the Khulian wilderness, particularly among the arid plains and near-inhospitable deserts of the south, is the dreaded HORNED SHRIEKER. These fearsome ambush predators bury themselves in the sand or lurk behind large boulders, ready to ambush any unwary travellers in their constant quest for fresh meat to consume. Revealing themselves at the last moment, the Horned Shrieker will rear up, uttering a terrifying howl and attack!

In appearance, they are fearsome-looking monsters and very tall, with tough, scaly lizard-like skin that ranges in colour from green to yellow to orange. They stand on two legs and have a long spiked tail, while their large hands end in curved claws. Horned Shriekers have an ugly visage, with narrow red eyes and a huge blunt horn sticking out of their forehead, as well as a wide mouth full of razor-sharp pointed teeth.

They attack by lowering their head to point their horn at their victim and charge at full-speed, screaming loudly all the while. Anyone fighting a Horned Shrieker in combat must wear ear plugs or deduct 1 from their SKILL score due to the hideous noise. If the Horned Shrieker wins its first Attack Round it has knocked its victim over and they must spend the following Attack Round attempting to scramble to their feet, unable to defend themselves against the monster's claws and teeth. Should they prevail and slay the beast however, it is always worth inspecting the Horned Shrieker's lair, whether a shallow pit in the sand or a dank hole between the boulders, as they often collect sundry trinkets from the corpses of those unfortunate wayfarers they have previously slain and feasted upon.

Wandering Herb

CALAMUS (#10/31, #284/365) [TTHA]

Appearance: The Calamus is a weird sentient plant-creature resembling a ball of tumbleweed, with various whip-like limbs, and ranges in size from half a metre up to three metres in size.

Distribution: Plains, deserts and arid areas in warmer places across Titan.

Effects: The Calamus is generally hostile, and a slain creature can be harvested for both its thorny whip-fronds (these do damage as per Whips, with +1 to the Damage Roll) and its exploding seedpods. 1-2 of the former can be collected and sell at the same price as regular whips plus 1gp extra. Of the latter, 2-7 can be harvested and they can be thrown in combat at an enemy and explode for 1-3 stamina damage per successful hit.

Cost: City 4gp, Town 6gp, Village 8gp (per seedpod)

Availability: Rare

Further Notes: See Denizens of the Pit (pp. 10-11) for more information.

Buy the ticket, take the ride, man!

EXOTIC VISITOR (#9/31, #283/365) [POT]

SKILL: See below

STAMINA : See below

ATTACKS: 1

WEAPON: See below

ARMOUR: See below

DAMAGE MODIFIER: None

HABITAT: Towns, Ruins, Dungeons

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1

TYPE: Humanoid

REACTION: Friendly

INTELLIGENCE: High

Behold the EXOTIC VISITOR, the tourist of Titan! One minute you are hurrying to market, with wares and goods for sale, and the next, you are standing stock still as a bizarre apparition clothed in outre garb strides forward along your street, babbling in an outland tongue you cannot understand. While Titan may lack an actual tourism industry, certain individuals still travel vast distances for diverse reasons to experience foreign and strange cultures and customs far from the warm and familiar comforts of home. To determine the actual type of Exotic Visitor, their scores and abilities and probable reasons for travel, roll on the table below (it is assumed that they are travelling solo):

First Roll Second Roll Exotic Visitor Type

1-3 1 Adventurer

1-3 2 Agitator

1-3 3 Envoy

1-3 4 Explorer

1-3 5 Mercenary

1-3 6 Merchant

4-6 1 Messenger

4-6 2 Pioneer

4-6 3 Sage

4-6 4 Smuggler

4-6 5 Spell-for-Hire

4-6 6 Spy (and roll again to determine what their disguise is)

To determine from what foreign destination the Exotic Visitor has sprung from, roll on the following table below (Note: the table has been constructed from a north-western Allansian perspective; you may wish to change it if it is not appropriate for your campaign): 

First Roll Second Roll Distant Land

1-2 "The Old World"

1 Analand

2 Brice

3 Femphrey

4 Gallantaria

5 Lendleland

6 Ruddlestone

3-4 "Allansia"

1 Arantis

2 City-state of the Glimmering Sea (Roll 1 Agra, 2 Alkemis, 3 Bei-Han, 4-5 Kallamehr, 6 Merluk)

3 Frostholm

4 Sardath

5 Shabak

6 Vymora

5-6 "Khul"

1 Hachiman

2 City-state of the Inland Sea (Roll 1 Assur/Calah, 2 Kirkuk/Kish, 3 Lagash 4 Marad 5 Shurrupak 6 Tak)

3 City of the North (Roll 1-2 Arion, 3 Ashkyos, 4 Corda, 5 Gundobad, 6 Kalagar/Kalamdar

4 Offshore (Roll 1-2 Arrowhead Archipelago, 3-4 Isles of the Dawn, 5 Mishna, 6 Shining Islands)

5 Southern Lands (Roll 1-2 Kazan, 3-4 Gorak, 5 Zagoula, 6 Zamarra)

6 Ximoran Protectorate

Any Exotic Visitor is likely attired with fantastic and fabulous accoutrements that make them stand out from the drab crowd of locals, in addition to what they may already possess as their original archetype. To determine what these are, roll 2-4 times on the table below, ignoring duplicates:

Roll Exotic Gear

1 Weapon (in addition to whatever else they may have; roll 1 Bastard Sword, 2 Flintlock Pistol, 3 Morning Star, 4 Scimitar, 5 Repeating Crossbow, 6 Whip)

2 Pet (Roll 1 Black Lion 2 Bristle Beast 3 Cheetah, 4 Chest Creature, 5 Familiar, 6 Krell)

3 Armour (Roll 1 Armoured Fist, 2 Banded Armour, 3 Great Helm, 4 Plate Armour, 5 Scale Armour, 6 Tower Shield)

4 Hat/Clothes (whatever is normal in their own land)

5 Steed (Roll 1 Drake, 2 Giant Eagle, 3 Gunderwal, 4 Phororhacos, 5 Pterodactyl, 6 Rhinoceros)

6 Accessories (Roll 1 Smoking Weed and Pipe, 2 Purple Lotus flowers, 3 Bottle of Special Brew, 4 Brass Telescope, 5 Strange Book, 6 Treasure Map)

The Exotic Visitor may have trouble making themselves understood in their new neighbourhood. To determine the level of their current language abilities, roll on the table below:

Roll Languages

1 Own Language 4 only

2 Own Language 4 Local Language 1

3 Own Language 4 Local Language 2

4 Own Language 4 Local Language 3

5 Own Language 4 Local Language 4

6 Own Language 4 Local Language 4 plus 1-3 other Languages at Special Skill levels 1-3

Despite the dangers of travel between the three continents and numerous islands of Titan, people still embark on apparently insane ventures, sojourns and peregrinations. Such professional wanderers include the seer Belisarius, who documented his journeys across southern Allansia in the tome simply titled Travels, the sage Canastus, who traversed the endless steppes of the Flatlands and remains one of the few reliable witnesses as to the devastating power of the Kragon, and Dowrit the Cartographer, whose diary about his voyage to north-eastern Khul was recently published presumably post-humously as Travels in Arion.

A Plethora of Potent Potions (Part I)

Potion of Exploding Death (#6/31, #280/365) [EA:V2] (Potion)

This is a vial of greenish-pink slimey liquid. When consumed, it causes the imbiber's internal organs to make a conscious decision to leave the imbiber's body, resulting in an explosive and agonizing death. The imbiber suffers 6-36 STAMINA points damage, and if this doesn't kill them, will die in 1-6 Attack Rounds unless extremely powerful healing magic, spells or rituals are applied instantly. Legend states this potion could be brewed in the Chamber of Ancient Magical Spells, within the great citadel at Sharrabbas in Kazan, by combining Essence of Viper's Tongue with 1000-Fathom Seawater.

Unavailable for Purchase.

Potion of Great Fortune (#7/31, #281/365) [EA:V2] (Potion)

This is a vial of darkish blue liquid with some granular particulate matter. When consumed, it causes the imbiber to gain the power of great fortune. For 10-60 minutes, the imbiber of this potion is always Lucky when having to Test their Luck, and in addition, does not need to deduct a LUCK point for each test. Legend states this potion could be brewed in the Chamber of Ancient Magical Spells, within the great citadel at Sharrabbas in Kazan, by combining Ground Dragon's Claw with Condensed Mist from Mithrir Forest.

60gp  

Potion of Great Wisdom (#8/31, #282/365) [EA:V2] (Potion)

This is a vial of lumpy purple liquid. When consumed, it causes the imbiber to gain the power of great wisdom. For 10-60 minutes the imbiber of this potion gains a +4 bonus to all Lore Special Skill tests, even for Lore Special Skills they do not possess. Note this only applies to Lore Special Skills such as City Lore, World Lore, Religion Lore and so on. It does not apply to other Knowledge Special Skills such as Languages or Crafting. Legend states this potion could be brewed in the Chamber of Ancient Magical Spells, within the great citadel at Sharrabbas in Kazan, by combining Essence of Viper's Tongue with Volcano Dust. 

100GP