Chaos Toad

Chaos toads are upright frog-things from the plane of raw chaos, with massive heads, razor claws and a symbol of power set in the brow. Plain tattoos around it log deeds and rank. They have their own language plus limited telepathy that lets them converse with anything. Rank is pragmatic: the strong destroy disobedient underlings.

They crave power and chaos but not armies or intrigue, so strong toads pursue private schemes with weaker kinds as thugs. They seldom join the endless war between demons and devils (though grays have sold intelligence to both sides for magic), preferring to scavenge its battlefields, eating corpses and dragging the wounded to makeshift camps as hosts. After a brood hatches, the organizers drift off toward the next war.

Reds are dim, low-ranking bullies in loincloths. They claw twice (1d4 each) and bite (2d8). Once a day a red's croak stuns every foe within 20 feet for two rounds unless they save vs. petrification. Reds regenerate 2 hp per round and twice daily may gate in 1-2 reds (40%).

A claw hit has a 25% chance to plant an unnoticed egg-pellet from a gland beneath it; an unconscious foe can be implanted deliberately. The pellet migrates to the chest, gestates three months, and becomes a blue that eats its way out, killing the host, who sickens badly a day before. Detect evil finds the pellet; remove curse or similar magic destroys egg or young. Young live on carrion.

Leaner and longer-snouted, blues are battle-line fighters with two bone rakes on the back of each hand: four rakes a round (2d6 each) and a bite (2d8, 10% chance of a mummy-style rotting disease). At will, one per round, they use telekinesis, passwall or hold person on one target, and twice a day may gate in 1-2 blues or 1 green (40%).

Blues also spread a lycanthropy-like sickness among wounded or helpless foes. Over three months a humanoid becomes a red; other creatures die. For the first month only detect evil or similar magic shows it, and cure disease or comparable healing undoes it. Reds and blues hate each other yet each breeds the other color, then ignores its spawn and tends the rival's hosts until 'birth.'

When the host is mighty, a high-level adventurer for instance, a green may emerge instead, and both colors raise it carefully. Greens mature at 10-12, have taller brows and gather many tattoos over a century of life. They gloat even mid-battle. They claw twice (1d6+2) and bite (2d8), favor powers and summons but fight savagely when cornered, can polymorph at will into their original host, and need +1 weapons to hit.

Across the type, greens have shown ESP, fear, telekinesis, produce flame, detect magic, detect invisibility, locate object, darkness 15' radius and a once-daily delayed blast fireball, one per round at will, no individual having all. Twice a day (50%) a green may gate in 1-6 reds, 1-4 blues, 1-2 greens or 1 gray.

Some aged greens vanish into the wilds; a few return a year or more later as grays, obsessed with magic and death-toad longevity. Grays claw twice (2d4+2) and bite (2d8), assume the host's form, often with a magical weapon of the DM's choice, and need +1 weapons to hit. Their combined repertoire, one per round at will: fear, wind walk, invisibility, lightning bolt, flame strike, infravision, know alignment, darkness 15' radius, advanced illusion, plus power word blind and a pain symbol once a day each. Twice daily (60%) one may gate in 1-4 grays; some can enchant items.

Perhaps six death toads exist, near-immortal through evil rituals. Most lead hordes against lower-planar villages for hosts. Each claws twice (3d6, Constitution check or stunned 1-6 rounds) and bites (2d10). In host form, usually a mighty human, it attacks twice a round with Charisma 12 or better and 18/01 Strength (+3 damage). Only +2 weapons harm it.

Recorded powers, one per round at will: fear, ESP, cloudkill, unholy word, flame strike, wind walk, invisibility, astral spell, advanced illusion, detect magic, detect invisibility, locate object, darkness 15' radius, and once a day each fireball, phantasmal killer and a symbol of any kind. Once a turn it gates in 1-8 toads of any lesser type with certain success, and it can enchant items.