In order to make E2 compliant with the terms of the open gaming license, I am noding this copy of the said license. All writeups containing d20 open gaming material must contain a link to this writeup. The text of this license is used with the permission of Wizards of the Coast. All italicized text in this writeup is original material by me, and is copyrighted by me. Enjoy.

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With apologies to Stephen King and Gary Gygax...

Large Ooze
Hit Dice: 10d10+60 (115 hp)
Initiative: -4
Speed: 20 ft.
Armor Class: 5
Base Attack/Grapple: +7/+17
Attack: Slam +13 melee (1d8+7 plus 1d4 acid plus slimy doom) or Filth Spray +3 ranged touch (1d4 acid plus slimy doom plus blindness)
Full Attack: Slam +13 melee (1d8+7 plus 1d4 acid plus slimy doom) or Filth Spray +3 ranged touch (1d4 acid plus slimy doom plus blindness)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Stench, Disease, Improved Grab, Constrict (1d8+7 plus 1d4 acid plus slimy doom), Lingering Stink, Filth Spray
Special Qualities: Fire Resistance 15, Lightning Immunity, Immune to Slashing/Piercing Weapons, See Invisibility, Insect Swarm, All-Around Vision, Amorphous
Saves: Fortitude +9, Reflex -1, Will -1
Abilities: Strength 24, Dexterity 2, Constitution 22, Intelligence --, Wisdom 1, Charisma 1
Skills: +15 Spot
Feats: --
Environment Underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 10
Treasure: 1/10th coins, 50% goods (no nonmetal or nonstone), 50% items (no nonmetal or nonstone)
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 11-18 HD (Large); 19-25 HD (Huge)

This huge, amorphous blob reeks of the most foul waste imaginable. Hundreds of filth-streaked eyes continually rise and sink from the surface, looking in all directions at once.

The Pile of Shit With a Thousand Eyes is easily one of the most disgusting creatures ever to inhabit any realm. To describe this creature as a 10 foot high, 1000 pound pile of dung would be considered by most who have encountered one to be a pitifully laughable understatement.

"The Dungheap", as adventurers like to call it, is a conglomaration of the most rank sewage, the most foul offal, and the most infectious biological waste imaginable. The stench from this creature, it is said, could fell a stone giant at sixty paces, and the diseases are said to be able to leave even a God bedridden. Most who survive an encounter with this foul creature are left soiled for life. They are generally encountered in sewers, especially those that are used in part to dispose of the chemicals and brews from a wizard's alchemy lab, although they can survive in any fairly moist underground environment.

Combat

The Dungheap attacks by forming pseudopods of filth with which to strike its opponents. The creature immediately wades into the thick of any melee, seeking to incapacitate as many opponents as possible with its stench and insect swarm. It is a notoriously aggressive predator.

• Stench (Ex): The stench of waste and sewage surrounding these creatures is so powerful that it can overwhelm even the hardiest of adventurers. All living beings within 20 feet must succeed on a DC 18 fortitude save, or become nauseated for 1d4 minutes. Once creatures have saved or gotten over the nausea, they cannot be affected by the same Dungheap's stench for 24 hours.
• Disease (Ex): Any creature struck by this creature's slam or constrict attack must succeed on a DC 14 fortitude save or be inflicted with slimy doom. (1d4 constitution damage, 1 day incubation. If character takes damage from this disease, they must immediately make another saving throw or one point of the constitution drain is permanant.)
• Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the Dungheap must hit with its slam attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can constrict.
• Constrict (Ex): A Dungheap deals automatic slam damage and acid damage with a successful grapple check. The opponent takes a -4 penalty on the constitution check to avoid being infected with slimy doom.
• Lingering Stink (Ex): Any character struck by this creature must make a DC 14 reflex save, or become infused with the creatures stench. This stench causes the character to take a -4 penalty on all charisma checks made to influence others. This may be cured by a remove curse, limited wish, wish or miracle spell.
• Filth Spray (Ex): The Dungheap may spray a burst of burning, filthy goo as a standard action. A creature struck by this spray must make a DC 15 fortitude save or become blinded for 1d4 rounds, and must also make a DC 14 fortitude save to avoid being infected with slimy doom.
• See Invisibility (Su): This creature's multitude of magically keen eyes allow it to detect minor fluctuations in the environment, easily allowing it to locate invisible creatures.
• Insect Swarm (Ex): The Dungheap is constantly surrounded by a swarm of biting, stinging insects. Any creature within 20 feet of the creature takes 1d3 damage per round, and must succeed at a DC 20 concentration check to cast spells.
• All-Around Vision (Ex): This creature's multitude of eyes makes it impossible to flank. It is also not subject to the usual +4 bonus for attacks from the rear.
• Amorphous (Ex): The Dungheap is not subject to critical hits, sneak attacks, or death from massive damage.

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Open Game License Version 1.0a
This original creature writeup is distributed under the Open Gaming License. A copy of this license may be found here.
Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
d20 System rules and Content Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
Material from Myrkabah, Copyright 2004. All rights reserved.
Note: The entirety of this writeup is open gaming content.

Arduin Grimoire was written by David Hargrave in 1977. It was the first book in a trilogy of fantasy role playing books that seemed to inhabit this weird space between unauthorized D&D supplement, stand-alone role playing game, and self-published fan fiction. The other two books in the three book collection were Welcome to Skull Tower (1978) and The Runes of Doom (1978). The series is usually referred to by the first book in the series, that is the Arduin Grimoire. Sometimes it's referred to as the Arduin Trilogy.

On the face of it, the Arduin Grimoire was an RPG highly similar to D&D in terms of mechanics: levels, hit points, armor class, hit dice, etc. While most D&D players would normally turn their nose up at some cheap knock off of D&D, the Arduin Grimoire was something more. It was what Simon's BASIC was to Commodore BASIC. It was what Doctor Who's Tom Baker was to Colin Baker.

Hargrave's ideas and attention to detail won him many, many fans. While few actually played Arduin Grimoire as a stand-alone RPG¹, fans snatched up his booklets to use as alternative rules supplements for D&D. It was extremely popular with the class of gamer who actually likes there being a rule and a theoretically sound probability matrix for a multitude of seemingly mundane things. For example, Hargrave had a rule called the Phumblephactor (the "fumble factor"). Your party is surprised by a gang of trolls. Your wizard character reaches in his pack for his handy dandy wand of fireballs. What's the chance he pulls out the wrong wand or holds it from the wrong end? Well, Hargrave had a rule (50% at level one, less 2% per level, and modified by dexterity…).

The Arduin Grimoire also introduced the concept of the critical hit which found its way, more or less, into the AD&D system². It also introduced dozens of exotic new character classes like the Dream Weaver, the Corsair, the Rune Singer, the Slaver, the Alchemist, and the Barbarian³. Some of Hargrave's material, notably the Alchemist and Barbarian character classes, found their way, word for word, into the various Internet "netbooks" TSR worked hard in the mid-90s to stamp out and suppress.

The Arduin Grimoire's combat system also attempted to ramp up the gore⁴ factor. Hargrave went into considerable detail about determining where hits landed. It was highly similar to Blackmoor's much-hated and little used alternative body location hit system. Hargrave spared few details about what actual visual effects an ax blow to an abdomen would produce. ("Dice roll: 37-38; hit location: crotch/chest; results: genitals/breast torn off".) To complicate matters further, every weapon had 12 different damage stats. Before determining damage you figured out how big your opponent was and then selected the proper damage rating. It's doubtful anyone actually adopted Hargrave's entire combat system. Some looked over Hargrave's combat system and immediate re-titled his works the "Arduous Grimoire".

The Arduin Grimoire's hit point/level system provided a radical departure from the D&D norm. Despite it addressing character levels up to 105 (!), it was actually tilted towards lower level characters. First level characters actually started off with a goodly amount of hit points. This was balanced by characters only acquiring two or three additional hit points per level. Hargrave believed this made the game more fun. Your first level player characters could take more risks. And high level characters couldn't stomp around with 98 hit points, lording it over lower level characters. In Hargrave's system a 1st level character might only be 10-20 hit points below a 10th level character.

Hargrave expanded the player character races. He added rules for running gnoll, giant, and minotaur characters. There was also a nice little random "special ability" twist in his system. Your character, depending on class, could roll for some special ability (like +1 attack bonus when using a spear). All special abilities were balanced out by a deficit (like you got a +1 using spears but a -1 using a bow).

The D&D Vancian or "fire and forget" magic system was replaced by a traditional mana system.⁵ In addition to the D&D-esque system that involved spell components and incantations, Arduin Grimoire also added an intriguing magic system that involved the manipulation of runes. All spell casters also had to check their cast was successful and one didn't fumble his cast.

The initial editions of the Arduin Grimoire was an amateurish self-published job by Hargrave himself. Each booklet was a simple stapled affair. "Typesetting" was done via a typewriter. Each page was photo-reduced to cram more of Hargrave's effulgent, text-heavy ideas into each booklet. Organization was shit and typos abounded. The books sold well and eventually Hargrave formed his own publishing company called Grimoire Games. Several years later Hargrave licensed Dragon Tree Press the right to reprint his books along with several dungeon modules he authored.

Hargrave died in 1988.⁶ These days Emperor's Choice Games and Miniatures has picked up the rights to reprint all of Hargrave's works. It's also released a massive, 800 page text dump of all of Hargrave's writings and notes. There are also some web pages devoted to converting his works to the d20 system.

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¹Many argued the system was so imbalanced and complicated in parts that it was actually unplayable. In fact, it was unplayable without owning the white box D&D set.

² Although not an official part of AD&D critical hits/fumbles were popularized for AD&D in Dragon issue 39 article titled "Good Hits and Bad Misses" by Carl Parlagreco. Arguably critical hits/fumbles is the most popular unauthorized rule addition in the world of D&D.

³ The Barbarian of course was redone for AD&D by Gary Gygax, who seemed to view Conan-esque topics much the same way William Shirer came to view Hitler: it was his personal domain. When AD&D came out, many people noticed several ideas first appearing in the Arduin Grimoire made their way into TSR's new system. It would be wrong to scream plagiarism on the part of TSR as many of the ideas are simply logical additions any competent gamer would arrive at.

⁴ No relation to Al Gore^4.1.

^4.1See below for a more informative footnote.

⁵ I believe Gygax always argued against a mana system as it would add yet another thing a player had to keep track of: err, like hit points plus encumbrance plus wand charges plus the number of oil flasks you had in your backpack, plus, what, now mana points? No way!.

⁶A eulogy published at the beginning of Dragon Tree Press's reprint of Arduin Grimoire VIII:

In Memoriam David A Hargrave died August 29, 1988

Let life triumph whenever and wherever it can, but shirk not death in a good cause and in good company.

David A. Hargrave died in his sleep August 29, 1988 after suffering for many years from a heart disability with diabetic complications. He is survived by his wife, Brigitte, and by a multitude of friends and fans throughout the world.

He will not be forgotten because, somewhere beyond the Ebon Gates atop the Plateau of Forever, somewhere in that oldest and grandest of legendary worlds, somewhere in Arduin, we know that David Crossworlder still resides, walking the streets of Talismonde, sailing the Misty Sea or scaling the heights of the Mickleback Mountains.

And so, until we meet again, Dave we hoist a mug of Fairy Mead and drink to the memory of friendship and adventures shared.

Ben Ezzell--Dragon Tree Press

Yeah pretty gay eulogy but oh well...

Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes was the fourth supplement published for the original "white box" Dungeons & Dragons. It was the only supplement not written or co-written by Gary Gygax or David Arneson. It was written by Robert Kuntz and James Ward (it might not come to many as one of those earth-shattering surprises -- the kind that make nations fall, banks fail, and cows birth five legged steers -- to learn that James Ward and Robert Kuntz also coauthored AD&D's Deities and Demigods).

Conceptually it was supposed to be a manual for cleric characters. Clerics worshiped a god or gods. That was clear. But what god and why? Eldritch Wizardry tackled demons and devils. Why not a god book? The supplement promised to flesh out all this god business. It was, however, something of an empty promise.

It started out well, with arguably the best cover art of the initial D&D supplements. It was a pure white parchment cover with a full color Egyptian tomb painting of Osiris. This was a clue as to the contents and intents. The cleric character up until then had basically been based on the medieval warrior priest of the Crusades. In fact all the D&D character classes were heavily derived from the whole Chainmail days which was firmly set in the dark and medieval European period, a particular favorite time period of Gary Gygax. With the exception of the "out there" work of Dave Hargrave's Arduin Grimoire and the little played Empire of the Petal Throne, early FRP gamers were still pretty much clomping around a Middle Earth-like world populated with hobbits and balrogs which was nonsensically ruled over by the highly familiar Greek pantheon.

But, hey sport, what if your campaign was set in Egypt, China, India, Norway, or even worlds based on other fantasy books that weren't Middle Earth? (You mean there are other fantasy novels besides The Lord of the Rings? Is this what you're telling me, Chuckles? By Crom!) Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes added both the Hyborian gods (as in the gods from the Conan milieu) and Michael Moorcock's Melnibone god set from his Elric series.

However once you cracked the spine and kind of got over the Elric/Conan fanboy stuff, you were left wondering "errr what good is it?" The supplement listed major gods, minor gods, heroes, magic items, and some mythological beings. It gave rather brief descriptions of these gods and supplied gaming details like hit points and what level fighter Odin was.

But, okay, your cleric now worships Odin. Yi ha. How has the game been qualitatively changed by that small new pencil smudge on the purple ink player character sheet your dad the grade school principal mimeographed for you? Well, it hasn't, has it? And maybe herein lies a criticism about religion in the real world itself. The Christian God or Allah? What diff does it make? But that's for another node or Usenet group.

AD&D's Deities & Demigods itself suffered much of the same criticism. Both failed to introduce game effects. What advantage was there to worshiping Apollo over Zeus? What disadvantage was there? Were followers of X god forbidden to do work on the Great Holy Day of Grindabor? Were followers of Y god better at turning zombie rats and bad at turning zombie voles? Deities & Demigods' saving grace (ha ha) was that it at least provided some pretty detailed descriptions of the gods and had many, many pretty pictures. If it failed as a gaming aid, it made excellent bathroom reading material. Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes, in contrast, supplied scant information save for basic descriptions of what the god looked like and some game stats. One might have been better served buying a copy of Bullfinch's Mythology. You know?

In what might have been a bit of an after thought justification, the book was prefaced with a note that Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes at least created a sort of upper bounds to challenge the "Monty Hall" inflation that was taking place. It was kind of, like, saying "look Odin is only a 30th level fighter." In that, it failed as well. Many committed Monty Hall types just used it so much like a hunting ranch menu. "Sure would like to bag me a Thor today and get me that lil hammer of his…"

Upon publication a small controversy erupted almost immediately in the Letters to the Editor section of The Dragon (as it was called at that time, versus their later The-less Dragon). It seemed spooky to some that a god was at all killable. Sure Odin had 300 hit points. But could you really kill the All Father? Remarkably no one seemed to object to the inclusion of Hindu deities. While killing Odin raised half a dozen metaphysical questions, not many people are actually worshipping Odin these days. Making stats available so blood thirsty gamer types can kill off gods actively worshipped by about a billion people had certain ethical issues. Those issues were, however, easily sidestepped in the '70s because not a lot of Hindus played D&D.

The ethical issue did come up a few years later. The March 1980 issues of Dragon (issue 35) ran an article by author William Fawcett that gave AD&D game stats for the entire order of Christian angels (as laid out by St. Gregory the Great): Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Dominations, Throne, Cherubim and Seraphim. It was an extremely well written, well researched article. But now just hold on a second. For months after issue 35, The Dragon ran loads of letters to the editor arguing the merits of publishing angel stats.

See also for additional supplements:

I - Greyhawk, II - Blackmoor, III - Eldritch Wizardry, V - Swords & Spells

Dracoliches are basically dragons who have become liches. Some of the most famous dracoliches are found in D&D Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (which this writeup is about), but skeletal dragons and other types of undead dragons are not specific to D&D by all means (for example, Ultima VII has skeletal dragons). Dracoliches are unquestionably the most powerful kind of undead found in Forgotten Realms.

In the Forgotten Realms, the spells for creating dracoliches were discovered by archmage Sammaster (nowadays a lich himself), the founder of The Cult of the Dragon. This Cult believes that it is inevitable that the dracoliches will one day rule the whole Toril, and works to convince evil dragons to become dracolichs.

Dracoliches are half-skeletal and dried in appearance. They retain most of the abilities they had in life, and are only minorly hampered by being undead in first place. They also have numerous other abilities they didn't have in life, including most of the typical undead or lich special abilities. They are similar to normal liches in that their life force is contained in a phylactery, which is a specially crafted magical object. The spirit of a dracolich whose body is slain can retreat to its phylactery, and possess dead dragon bodies from there - these bodies are then, over time, transformed into new bodies for the dracolich.

As expected, only evil dragons have chance of becoming dracoliches - good ones probably could, but they know that dracoliches themselves are always evil in mind, so they won't dare to do that. There are tales of good dragons attaining immortality in other ways - for example, Eldenser the Lurker, a brass wyrm, has preserved his old body magically and spiritually occupies swords. Yet, good dragons may sometimes become victims of the dracolichs in case they have a sudden need for a new body - undoubtedly, the Cult may also have hand in this.

Sources:
Ed Greenwood, Skip Williams, Sean K. Reynolds and Rob Heinsoo. Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, 6/2001. Wizards of the Coast, Third edition, 6/2001. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.