Issue 5: The Bogy
White Dwarf issue 5 includes part 2 of Don Turnbull’s “
Monsters Mild and Malign” article, which picks some of his favourite creatures published in the earlier magazines
Dungeoneer (edited by Paul Jaquays) and
Alarums and Excursions (edited by Lee Gold). Rather charmingly, Don assumes that the reader has already read these publications, which sort of suggests a kind of small-group cosy hobbyist feel to the early days of D&D.
The one this issue that stood out to me was the
Bogy, partly because I quite liked the illustration, and partly because all of the other monsters had some kind of flaw. I rather like the simplicity of this creature.
“
The Bogy is an unusual humanoid with the head, horns and legs of a goat; it has four arms, two of which hold weapons. Perhaps it started off with ambitions to be a Demon III [glabrezu]
but didn’t make the grade. It has 3d8+1, AC4 and moves 90’ per turn. In melee it strikes with both 1-8 weapons on the same opponent, giving it a Monstermark of 38.7”
I’m going to ignore the demon thing since, aside from having four arms, they’re nothing like a glabrezu. One could perhaps give them some kind of demonic heritage as flavour text (they’re not a million miles away from Orcus in superficial appearance). More than anything, though, these guys reminded me of the Broos from RuneQuest, and I’d probably use them in a similar fashion, as marauding beastmen.
Secondly, although I kind of saw these as an alternative to bugbears (for reasons see below), I took note of the Monstermark – 38.7 puts it somewhere between an ogre and a minotaur according to Don Turnbull’s system and, although they don’t have the physical resilience of these Large creatures, their multiple attacks bumps them up a bit. I think they probably fall about where they should in terms of challenge. And rather than the brutal attack of a bugbear, they have multiattack; roughly equivalent.
I wasn’t sure what type to give it – fey, perhaps, or monstrosity due to the four-arms and bestial nature. But then, the text refers to it as a “humanoid”, and thri-kreen are classed as humanoids despite being insectoids, and so humanoid it is.
Obviously these things have the same etymology as the bogeyman, bogles and other similar creatures, but interestingly they seemed to be linked to the term “goblin” (from “bogle-men”). And in folklore, the concept of the bogeyman is much the same as a hobgoblin or a bugbear – a frightening monster in the dark. So I was tempted to make them part of the goblinoid family. I think, on balance, the bogy is just too different in appearance for that to work, but if you wanted to, go for it. I gave them fluency in the Goblin language though, just ‘cos.
The four-armed thing could have been tricky, but looking at other multi-armed creatures (eg Thri-Kreen, Marilith), it’s just a matter of giving them one attack per arm. I went with the armaments of the pictured bogy, a flail and a whip (the three-headed flail looks cool, but mechanically it may as well just be a flail). Bogies could be armed however you wish, and even unarmed that have claws and a head-butt. I also added in the charge ability based on the statistics for a goat.
Finally, what do bogeymen do? They hide in the darkness. And so I gave them a double-proficiency Stealth skill plus the Lurker in Shadows bonus giving the creature advantage to hide in dim lighting. And if it’s going to hide in shadows, it perhaps ought to be able to see in them, so darkvision was inevitable. These aren’t mentioned in the original text, but it gives the bogy a little bit of a flavour ability that helps define how it behaves.
And there we have it, the bogy. Or bogle (except that’s another monster later).
Bogy
Medium humanoid (bogy), chaotic evil
Armor Class 12 (natural armour)
Hit Points 16 (3d8 + 3)
Speed 30 ft.
STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
14 (+2) | 12 (+1) | 12 (+1) | 9 (-1) | 10 (+0) | 8 (–1) |
Skills Stealth +5
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages Common, Goblin
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2
Charge. If the bogy moves 20 feet straight towards a target and then hits it with a ram attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 12 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Lurker in Shadows. The bogy has advantage to Dexterity (Stealth) checks to hide in areas of dim light and darkness.
Actions
Multiattack. The bogy can make five attacks on its turn; four with its arms, using weapons or claws, and a ram attack.
Flail. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) bludgeoning damage.
Whip. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) slashing damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) slashing damage.
Ram. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) bludgeoning damage.
Description
The bogy is a four-armed humanoid creature with goat-like head and legs. It is covered in filthy matted fur, with yellowed teeth and curved horns.
Subsection. ???.
???.
Subsection. ???.
???.
(Original creator unknown; appeared in
White Dwarf Magazine #5 (Feb/Mar 1978) as part of "Monsters Mild and Malign", edited by Don Turnbull.)
(Original blog post with illustrations and discussion of other monsters in this issue can be found here