Happy Father's Day!

[Raven_Crowking]

In the epic poem Beowulf, the monster Grendel and his unnamed mother are prominent. Details about these monsters are scanty. Although Grendel appears in The Nexus of Yule, the second adventure in Perils of the Cinder Claws, this is just one interpretation of the monster. Being Father's Day, I thought I might take a stab at creating a version of "Grendel's Father" that fits both with the epic poem, and which could be used in a Dungeon Crawl Classics game.

Angar, son of Ormgeld, is a descendent of the Biblical Cain, Nigh-immortal, save for injury, he is the father of not only Grendel, but many other quasi-humanoid, quasi-giant monsters. Grendel is the child of his dalliance with a fallen Valkyrie of the Warrior Horde of the Einherjar. Like Grendel, Angar is a "creature of darkness, exiled from happiness and accursed of God, the destroyer and devourer of our human kind". Unlike Grendel, Angar gains no joy from culling the unworthy from the ranks of living warriors; Grendel gets that aspect from his mother. Angar wanders the world, siring new monsters and seeking the grace of a death he has long been denied. Although death-seeking, the son of Ormgeld is not suicidal, and will use all of his might and cunning to bring his foes low. If he is eventually slain, though, it is with a smile. The Father of Grendel laughs with joy upon receiving the death-blow.

The Father of Grendel is a giant of a man, standing 12 feet tall and covered with thick horny scales as strong as steel. He has a Deed Die, like that of a warrior, which is used primarily to throw opponents. If wounded, he goes berserk, gaining an extra Action Die and increasing his attack rolls and damage by +2. He regenerates 3 hp per round so long as he has even 1 hp left. His Action Dice are d24s, and he gains a critical hit on a roll of 20-24, using Table G.

Angar, Son of Ormgeld, Father of Grendel: Init +3; Atk giant club +1d7+4 melee (1d8+1d7+4) or buffet +1d7+4 melee (1d4+1d7+4); AC 20; HD 5d16+10; hp 50; MV 40’; Act 1d24 (or 2d24); SP infravision 60', Deed Die, berserk when wounded, regenerate 3/round, crit as giant; SV Fort +8, Ref +3, Will +5; AL C.

https://ravencrowking.blogspot.com/2021 ... ather.html

[serendipitous]

Happy Father's Day to you! Man, your Father's Day entry is so cool. thanks!

[Raven_Crowking]

Happy Father's Day to you! Man, your Father's Day entry is so cool. thanks!

My pleasure!

& Thank you!

[dustle]

Love it! I'm not going to use this exact monster, but you've inspired me. I've never thought to give monster a deed die before, for instance. My PbP players just rolled for initiative this morning against a monster that was mentioned in the very first part of the campaign eighteen months ago or so, and though I had some stats planned out, it's not too late to change things as they haven't seen the monster in action yet. Thanks!

[Raven_Crowking]

Love it! I'm not going to use this exact monster, but you've inspired me. I've never thought to give monster a deed die before, for instance. My PbP players just rolled for initiative this morning against a monster that was mentioned in the very first part of the campaign eighteen months ago or so, and though I had some stats planned out, it's not too late to change things as they haven't seen the monster in action yet. Thanks!

My pleasure!