The
drake and the sphinx
By
Strega
"Bored,"
said the drake. "Bored, bored, bored."
When
he found the narrow entrance into a section of the castle ruins he
didn't know about he thought that exploring it would be an
entertaining diversion. There were only a few tracks around the
entrance, and none of them recent, so odds were nothing too dangerous
lived in there. Nor was there any reek of rotting flesh or monster
droppings. Anything he ran into would probably be no match fo

The
Sphinx




Size/Type:


Large
Magical
Beast




Hit
Dice:


15d10+75
(158 hp)




Initiative:


+1




Speed:


50
ft. (10 squares), fly
80 ft. (poor)




Armor
Class:


25
(-1 size, +1 Dex, +15 natural), touch 10, flat-footed
24




Base
Attack/Grapple:


+15/+19




Attack:


Claw
+25
melee (2d6+10)
or grapple +29




Full
Attack:

Camille,
Ruby and the Sphinx
By
Strega
In
a dusty corridor of crumbling Castle Greyhawk Ruby the halfling
waited, her drab leather armor blending in with the stones. Her face
and hair were smeared with dust and cobwebs, by art rather than
accident. In the shadowy corner nothing stood out; even the blade of
her dagger was tempered to a black, non-reflective sheen.
A
soft footfall sounded outside the door and Ruby smiled. Her rivalry
with Camille would end tonight.
*****
She
had underestimated

Role
Reversal
A.K.A.
Uvuzi meets Strega
By
Strega
Uvuzi
the skunkette lamia was brushing her tail when she met the weaseless.
Afterward, if you asked, she'd deny ever seeing the big, black and
white six-legged creature -- and not for the usual reason. She often
denied meeting people, because unless you are talking to just the
right sort of folks, admitting that you ate the person they were
looking for was not a good idea. In this case, though, she genuinely
didn't remember, which is curious gi

Ruby
and the sphinx
By
Strega
Later
Ruby the halfling would admit, over a stiff drink, that it was a
cleverly designed trap. At the time she could only curse, but at
least she survived in the end. That was more than could be said for
Kursh.
She
and the Hestan cat-man had worked together on many jobs, and if there
wasn't exactly trust between them there was as close to friendship as
two thieves were likely to share. His brown-red fur was the same
shade as her own curly hair, and his height of twi

Uvuzi and the dragon
By Strega
 
 It was of course Nyoka who asked the question. Uvuzi, smaller and (most would say) prettier of the sisters, was less focused on all things food.
 
"What's the biggest thing I've ever eaten?" Uvuzi sat back , her upper body using her coiled furry-snake lower as a human would a beanbag. "That's hardly fair, sister. I can't compete with you. It's simple mechanics." She gestured at her sister. "Your jaws are much bi

Camille and the sphinx
By Strega
Camille cursed as she slid down the stony chute. The pit trap had been expertly
concealed, and failing to spot it was a mistake that might cost her life. The
only good news was the lack, so far, of a lethal aspect to the trap. No blades, no
spikes, no gelatinous cube waiting to paralyze and absorb her. Not even a simple
vertical drop long enough to shatter bones. Just stone smooth as marble, sloped
too steeply to stop her slide.Then suddenly a curve to the p

The
black and the gold
By Strega
When the guardsman
burst in through the tavern door, sweat running down his face and
naked panic in his eyes, Richard knew what the man was going to say.
He'd seen looks like that before. One or twice he'd had a look like
that on his own face.
"Dragon!" The man shouted. "Dragon
flying south of town!"
"Has it attacked anyone?" his brother
asked, not putting down his cup of mead. Hiram the smith wasn't the
sort to worry readily, an

Hiram and Richard
By Strega
On Freeday afternoon, as was his habit, Hiram the smith kissed his
wife and made his way down the street to the bar. After six
straight days of hammering out horseshoes, plowshares, miscellaneous
ironwork for farmers, and the occasional repair on a bit of armor for
a passing soldier, he was ready for some liquid relaxation. The
wooden sidewalks the little town had installed in the last year made
his trip an easy one; no need to slog through the mud and horse
dropp

Fastpaw
and Myrtle
“Good end” version
By Strega
The raccoon stood a little over four and a half
feet tall, and to Myrtle that was just the right height. She stood
less that that herself, inheriting a slight frame from her elvish
mother. Humans and the other tall races towered over her, but when
she bumped into the praka minstrel in the inn hallway their eyes were
at almost the same level.
It happened that she and he frequented the same
inns; she a saleswoman for spices and he a traveling

Fastpaw
and Myrtle
By Strega
The raccoon stood a little over four and a half
feet tall, and to Myrtle that was just the right height. She stood
less that that herself, inheriting a slight frame from her elvish
mother. Humans and the other tall races towered over her, but when
she bumped into the praka minstrel in the inn hallway their eyes were
at almost the same level.
It happened that she and he frequented the same
inns; she a saleswoman for spices and he a traveling performer. Some
people f

Family
Reunion
By Strega

It was a fine carriage, all oak and gold leaf,
and by all rights it has no business being where it was: in a lonely
wood two miles from the caravan trail. The trail it clattered down
was little more than a deer path, with a few muddy boot-, foot-, and
paw prints. No effort had been made to improve it beyond hacking
back the occasional branch – and that only because they irritated
someone, for they lay rotting where they had fallen on the trail.
The horses sweated

Azel
By Strega
        
Azel was bored. Two days back a band of bugbears had looked the caravan over from a ridge, but there'd only been a few, and with five mounted guards plus a dozen on foot, the humanoids had decided it wasn't worth the risk. That many guards in good armor told the bugbears it was a wealthy caravan and likely to be well-protected, with a mage or two hidden among the civilians.
        
Most of th

Insidious Flatbear
By Strega, creature inspired by Oglaf
Size/Type: Medium Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 6d10+24 (57 HP)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 40 ft (8 squares), glide 60 ft (12 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (+2 Dex, +6 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 16
Base attack/grapple: +6/+18
Attack: Bite +10 melee 1d6+4
Full attack: Bite +10 melee 1d6+4, 2 claws +5 melee 1d4+2
Space/Reach: 5 ft/5 ft
Special attacks: Constrict, Confusion, Swallow Whole
Special Qualities: Damage Reduction 5/slashing, Low-Light Vision

The Foxdragon and the messenger
By Strega       
        
Ty-Tullain the messenger was riding down a forest trail when it happened.
        
He'd spent the night with a group of elves, breaking camp as the sun rose. Thankfully, elvish wine didn't produce a hangover half as bad as Dwarven stout. That might be because what dwarves called ``beer'' had an alcohol content higher than mos

The dragon, the fox and the bard
By Strega
        
Elias knew he was in trouble. In fact, he could hardly imagine how things could get worse. Scratch that, he thought. It could drop me. That would be worse...barely.
        
The dragon's wings thundered as it flapped, then settled down to a long glide. All he could see below was forest. Even the hills were wooded, and it was too misty to make out the Lortmil mountai

The gnoll and the foxtaur

By Strega


A cold, thin rain was falling as Avak entered the town. The low palisade wall would pose little problem for an enemy determined to take the place, but he was here on peaceful business. He shifted the pack on his shoulder and grinned at the guards, but only one of them bothered to smile back, and it a half-hearted smile at best. Even here, in the sphere of influence of Monstertown, gnolls were not the most popular visitors.

Welcome to Wolf Kill, th

Walking the wolverine
By Strega
        
Celicia had only gone three blocks from the General's house before she realized she was being followed.
        
Greyston (Monstertown, to most) was a reasonably safe city. Yes, the humans like her were collectively outnumbered by the goblins, orcs, gnolls, hestan cat-people, ogres, and dozens of other humanoid and nonhumanoid species, but the Guard kept the streets safe...in

The
couatl's tower
By
Strega
Talrik
held the stiletto to the townman's neck and smiled a wicked smile.
“It's all right,” he murmered “If you don't know what I need
to know I will find someone who does. Perhaps in that house there?”
“No!”
The man quivered with fear, but a trace of bravery came back into his
face. His hands were locked on Talrik's wrist; the thief's grip on
his collar made it hard to breathe even without the threat of the
keen-edged blade. “My family...”
�

Uvuzi the skunkette lamia

Large 5th level illusionist lamia noble/anthroskunk hybrid, Neutral Evil.


Str: 28 (+9) Equipment

Con: 18 (+4) Earring of Protection +3

Dex: 16 (+3) Earring of Teleportion

Int: 13 (+1) Armband of Mighty Fists +4

Wis: 12 (+1) Potions (see below)

Cha: 19 (+4) Brush


Hit Dice: 10d10+40+5d4+16, 124 HP Spells (typical)

AC: 22 (-1 size, +7 natural, +3 dex, +3 deflection) 0th level: Mending, Ghost Soun

Ripper the wolverine
15th level human fighter transformed into a wolverine
Size/Type:      
Large Beast (3' at shoulder, 7' nose to rump. 400 pounds)
Hit Dice:       
15d10+5d10+140+3 (253 HP)
Initiative:     
+6
Speed:  
30 ft. (6 squares), climb 10 ft.
Armor Class: 33 (-1 size, +6 Dex, +4 natural, +5 Barkskin, +9 magical), touch 25, flat-footed 27
Base Attack/Grapple: +34/+38
Attack:      

The
Priest, the Barbarian, and the Lion
By Strega.
18 February 2004.
The priest knew his
life was lost. Priests, evil or not, were not popular in this
land of barbarians. Oh, change the label to 'Shaman', and suddenly
all was well, but the thuggish locals had quickly realized that
foreigner priests were just that -- Priests -- regardless of title.
Nothing so complex as being burned at the stake awaited the priests.
No, a simple axe or sword or mace did for them. Gilus was
such a priest, and Thur