Friday, May 23, 2014

Hobyahs (Red Bestiary)

ONCE there was an old man and woman and a little girl, and they all lived in a house made of hemp-stalks. -- and one night the Hobyahs came and said; 'Hobyah! Hobyah! Hobyah! Tear down the hemp-stalks, eat up the old man and woman, and carry off the little girl.'



Hobyahs
No. Enc.: 1d4+2
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 60' (30')
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 2+1
Attacks: 1
Damage: 2d4 (bite) or by weapon
Save: F1
Morale: 4

Cowardly and dim-witted, always hungry, but incredibly afraid of even the smallest of dogs, Hobyahs would almost merit some shred of pity upon their plight. Almost. Those who have attempted to show charity towards these wicked little things have almost invariably wound up getting eaten by them.



Inspirational Source: Hobyahs appear in More English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs. Hobyahs are the ancestral enemies of Thumblings and they only rarely deal with Todtenhilzig, whom they fear almost as much as dogs. There is a first-level spell for summoning a clutch of Hobyahs in circulation, but most of the time it is considered somewhat gauche to pass it off when trading for something better, though it can be useful for playing pranks upon the unwary or clueless, especially around dogs...

4 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks! I've been getting back into drawing again, now that I'm feeling better again. I love the little Hobyah illustrations in Jacobs' book. I intend to draw a few more over the weekend. Plus I recently picked-up a cheap wacom tablet that i'm looking forward to testing out shortly. Lots of critters and stuff to draw...

      Delete
  2. For sure! Great image. Wonder how that's pronounced too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I just call them 'Hob-Yah,' but then I was raised by people who called Pneumonia 'ammonia,' so, yeah, I'm not the best judge of that...

      Delete

Thanks for your comment. We value your feedback and appreciate your support of our efforts.