Inktober Monstrosities: P for Penanggalan

Eldecrynn Saturday, October 20, 2018 5th edition , Inktober , Monsters No comments

This lovely lady is a penanggalan, a type of female vampire from Malaysian mythology. At night these women (they can only be women apparently) can detach their head and innards from their body, and fly around in search of prey, preferably other young women. After a night of hunting they return to their headless body, but their entrails are so engorged that they have to be soak them in vinegar for about an hour before they can fit within the cavity of the body.

The penanggalan first appeared in the (you guessed it...) Fiend Folio, then again in the second edition Fiend Folio Monstrous Compendium supplement. Then for third edition, because of its far eastern origins, it appeared in the Oriental Adventures source book.

The whole mechanics of the penanggalan is long winded mess, covering a whole page and a half in the original Fiend Folio and two full pages for the second edition version. Converting it to fifth edition was quite the task, and the end result is one large, convoluted and long winded stat block...