Sphinx

Flay the poet and roll them in sand.

Leave them to bake in the sun.

When the vultures come they will drink their blood and borrow their wings.

This is one of the paths a man could walk to leave mortality behind.

HD 4* / AC as Leather / Damage 1d6 

*Supernatural HP

Ents

Amongst woods visited too-often they lurch between their erstwhile siblings.

They have seen one man kill another in anger.

They have watched the hunters.

They stalk.

Trees take a long time to burn.

HD 6* / AC as Leather / Damage 2d6

*Supernatural HP. If set alight, they take 1d6+3 rounds to burn to death.

--

The Ian Miller ents are very firmly lodged in my brain. You should take the time to look at them.

Trolls

To create a troll, take up pliers and empty the head of teeth.

Into each bleeding socket insert a talon of glass. Many will break - this is why most trolls cannot speak, tongues a mess of ruined scraps.

Remove the finger-nails and replace them with blades of glass. Many will break - this is why most trolls cannot use tools, fingers rent apart.

As the glass cuts them, they grow. As they grow, the glass cuts them.

This is why their wounds close in minutes. This is why they always hunger.

This is one of the paths a man could walk to leave mortality behind.

HD 4 / AC as Leather / Damage 1d6

Re-rolls HP at the beginning of each round.

Gnolls

All took the mask willingly. To those not understanding what it entails, the mask is inert. It is made of thick stone. It depicts a snarling dog.

Once donned by the willing, it cannot be removed. One wearing the mask is utterly loyal to the one who offered them the mask. If this chain is broken, they are free but retain their subordinates. All await this day, but are powerless to hasten it.

Domesticated animals and crops despise them, and wither in their captivity.

This is one of the paths a man could take to leave mortality behind.

HD 1* / AC as Armour / Damage as Weapon

*Supernatural HP - the body is as loyal as the mind, unwilling to die despite horrific wounds.

Wraiths

A single stone out of place is all it takes. A tendril of darkness will worm it's way in, and coil itself around the corpse like a lover. Such a tether denies the spirit rest. Beneath the barrows, they forget who they were. The honest mistake of a twisted stone becomes a deliberate betrayal.

Draped in their funeral panoply they emerge under cover of night - seeking those who denied them rest. Sunlight banishes them to their tomb - and opening that to the sky would destroy them utterly.

They are careful to never be seen emerging - and to open all of the barrows is sure to invite more restless dead.

Those they slay are bound to them as thralls, and will rise with them every night - a poor imitation of what they were promised in death.

HD 2* / AC as Unarmoured / Damage as Weapon, applied to Constitution.

*Incorporeal - Cannot be harmed bar by Silver Weapons (Quadruple price, -1 to hit corporeal foes) and Magic.

Giants

The only art left to the giants is self mutilation.

The ruins they haunt are filled with blacksmiths, poets and sculptors, trapped in bronze cages. All eventually starve.

HD 10 / AC as Unarmoured / Damage 2d6

Orcs

There is never an orc.
There are always orcs.

Within the belly of each is a burning nugget of iron. Carve off a limb and embed a slug of iron. Wait a week as muscle forms, cramping in agony around a splinter of white-hot pain.

Their black blood ruins metal, corroding it beyond repair. Arms and armour used against them will be useless in 3 days.

Left in the Sun, they die in hours.       

At night they slink from the mountains for meat and metal.

HD 1 / AC as Armour / Damage as Weapon

Druids

our mouths are full of soil
hands beneath these hills
grasping flint and barrow
worm-sinews

road-breaker
fort-burner
legate-eater

the woods are deeper than
maps and dreams and empires


HD 2 / AC as Unarmoured / Normal Damage - 1 Spell from Vivimancy or Cunning Craft


Spell schools from 'Wonder & Wickedness' and 'Marvels & Malisons' respectively.

Minotaur

To make a minotaur, start with clay. Form a pot in the shape of the head of a bull. The mouth must be wide enough to scrape the temples as it is pushed over the head.  

Once donned, the wearer cannot eat. Their moans of hunger will echo through the pot, distorted into braying and roars. As they grow more emaciated, the remaining flesh becomes harder, turning all but the surest blows. They will be able to tear men in half.

They cannot see through the pot, and so swing their clay heads left to right, listening for you.  

Now loose them into your labyrinth to stumble and squat and hunt in the dark. 

This is one of the paths a man could walk to leave mortality behind.

HD 4* / AC as Unarmoured / Damage with Advantage

*Supernatural HP

A Weapon is not a Tool

fuckin about with a heavily houseruled OD&D for no particular reason.

No thieves, no clerics, magic users powered by Wonder and Wickedness, also stealing this idea b/c it slaps

the issue is this leaves only 2 classes, and only 1 getting unique stuff on a per character basis.

so - give Fighters a reason to not just wear Plate:

Fighters wearing Leather armour add 2 to their saving throw rolls vs Wand/Ray & Breath Weapons

Fighters wearing Plate armour subtract 2 from their saving throw rolls vs Wand/Ray & Breath Weapons

and then give them choices to make with weapons - obviously, this doesn't have to be mechanical, but i think it helps some players. they're all meant to be broadly comparable and useful in different situations.

All weapons deal 1d6 damage - light weapons with disadvantage, heavy weapons with advantage.

Battle-Axe - Medium - May sacrifice 3 damage from an attack to attempt a weapon/shield strip. Roll a second attack - if successful, a weapon or shield can be ripped from the grip of the opponent.
Club - Light - Forgo damage to attempt to stun - after a successful attack, target attempts to save vs paralysis - failure results in them losing their combat round. Further strikes against them are at +2.
Crossbow*- Medium - Ignores armour, 1 round reload
Dagger - Light  -Throwable, usable in grapple situation.
Flail - Medium  - Ignores shields
Greatsword - Heavy - Upon a killing blow, the wielder can roll another attack. This effect can be triggered multiple times.
Hand-Axe - Light - Throwable. If 4+ damage is dealt, the Hand-axe bounces, 'attacking' again.
Polearm*† - Heavy - Grant a nominated adjacent ally -2 AC
Javelin - Medium - Throwable
Longbow* - Medium - +1 to hit per round spent aiming
Mace - Medium - Increases AC of those struck by 1 to a maximum of 7
Quarterstaff* - Light - Opponents must save vs Breath Weapon to approach, failure resulting in an automatic hit with this weapon
Shortbow* - Medium - Can split move and fire (i.e. move fire move)
Shortsword - Light - Riposte twice
Sling - Light - Can be used to launch grenades
Spear† - Medium - Wielder may chose hold their attack until someone tries to approach them - they then roll an attack first.
Sword - Medium - Riposte once
Two-Handed Axe* - Heavy - If a 6 is rolled for damage, roll another d6 and add the result. This effect can be triggered multiple times. Increase the wielders AC by +1.
Warhammer* - Heavy - Those struck are thrown backwards if unable to make a save vs paralysis. Use the damage rolled to determine distance.

† denotes a weapon with reach, being able to strike from behind another
* denotes weapons requiring two hands
Riposte: Attacks against the wielder which score below 7 (before AC is applied) result in the wielder being able to attempt a counter-attack, resolved normally.