Creatures of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

[michael.harrel]

I've been idly statting up some monsters from the video game Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor for use with TOR. Here's the first, the Ghûl. Suggestions and feedback welcome, of course.



Ghûl
Attribute Level: 2
Endurance: 8 Hate: 2
Parry: 3 Armour: 2d
Skills:
Personality: 2 Survival: 2
Movement: 3 Custom: 1
Perception: 2 Vocation: 0
Weapon Skills:
Bite: 2
Vomit: 2
Special Abilities: Craven, Hate Sunlight, Denizen of the Dark

Weapons:
Bite -- Damage: 4, Edge: 10, Injury: 14, CS: Poison
Vomit (Projectile) -- Damage: 2, Edge: EOS, Injury: 12, CS: Poison

[Otaku-sempai]

Is the Ghûl of the game something other than a lesser Wraith as one might assume?

[michael.harrel]

I'm not sure that any specific explanation for the origin of the ghuls is given: they are sort of a combination of the Ghuls of Arabian folklore or H. P. Lovecraft, and more feral, less cunning versions of [film version] Gollum. (For example, their eyes glow and they occasionally make a sort of hacking sound.) They're very quick, individually weak, but tend to swarm in overwhelming numbers.

[michael.harrel]

Caragor
Attribute Level: 5
Endurance: 18 Hate: 5
Parry: 6 Armour: 3d
Skills
Personality: 3 Survival: 2
Movement: 3 Custom: 1
Perception: 2 Vocation: 1
Weapon Skills:
Bite: 3
Rend: 2
Special Abilities: Great Leap, Savage Assault, Sieze Victim

Weapons:
Bite -- Damage: AL, Edge: 10, Injury: 14, CS: Pierce
Rend -- Damage: AL, Edge: Eye, Injury: 14, CS: --

(As the developers have said, a Caragor is to a Lion what a Warg is to a wolf.)

[michael.harrel]

Hell Hawk
Attribute Level: 3
Endurance: 12, Hate: 3
Parry: 5, Armour: 2d
Skills:
Personality: 2, Survival: 2
Movement: 3, Custom: 0
Perception: 3, Vocation: 0
Weapon Skills:
Beak: 2
Claws: 2
Special Abilities: Savage Assault, Fell Speed, Foul Reek

Weapons:
Beak: Damage: 4, Edge: 10, Injury: 16, C.S.: Pierce
Claw: Damage: 3, Edge: (EYE), Injury: 12, C.S.: --

(Hell hawks are bird-sized versions of the Fell Beasts that the Nazgul used as mounts)

[michael.harrel]

Morgul Bats
Attribute Level: 2
Endurance: 5, Hate 2
Parry: 5, Armour: 1d
Skills:
Personality: 1, Survival: 2
Movement: 2, Custom: 0
Perception: 1, Vocation: 0
Weapon Skills:
Bite: 2
Special Abilities: Hate daylight, Fell speed, Poison

Weapon:
Bite -- Damage: 2, Edge: (Eye), Injury: 12, CS: Poison

[Falenthal]

I haven't checked the numbers and stats of the creatures, but I think all (or most) new creatures from the game are firmly based on already existing creatures of the books, and given a huge similarity to the films appareances.
Besides, and I guess that because the developers wanted to give all the protagonism to orcs, they are made wild and aggressive towards humans and orcs alike, instead of making them part of Sauron's army.

Ghûls seem like Goblins: small, fast, coward, dangerous in great numbers, afraid of sunlight, the vomit is a form of poisonous arrow from goblin archers.

Caragors are like Wargs: we see wargs climb in the movies, although none of that is said in the books, and the Caragors are very much like Wargs we see in the ambush by Warg-riders in the Rohan part of The Two Towers film. Also, they can be mounted.

Graugs are like Trolls: huge, strong and mindless.

Maybe another explanation of these creatures is that they are intended as some kind of proto-versions of the goblins, wargs and trolls that we know, as if by the time of the War of the Ring Sauron's armies had been able to domesticate this wild creatures to serve them.

[michael.harrel]

Yes, that's probably a good explanation of why they didn't use the other creatures in the games, needing them to be antagonistic to the Uruk as well. Most the new creatures are depicted as being native to Mordor prior to Sauron's return; so most of them are likely remnants from his previous occupation of the land. Ghuls, especially, may be some corruption of victims of the previous war. However, caragors are much more feline than wargs, so while their role may be similar I don't think they're actually related. Graugs are, I believe, supposed to be larger and even more mindless than trolls -- I believe they're said to eat Trolls in a pinch, IIRC. (They're especially fond of eating Ghuls, also.)

Hell Hawks are the exception to the "native species" rule -- as it states above, they are being specifically created to clear the skies of "free" birds.

[Otaku-sempai]

The Ghûl might represent the creatures that the Hobbits call Mewlips in the poem of the same name. The name is just an unfortunate choice because the more obvious interpretation is that Ghûl should be a form of Wraith (Nazgûl = ring + wraith). But, yes, I am aware of the connection between the Arabic 'Ghûl' and 'ghoul'. And of course there is Ra's al Ghûl, the Head of the Demon.

[Angelalex242]

As long as you're statting things, we might have to stack up good old PJ's 'earth eaters.' Otherwise known as Tremors. Which make tunnels but don't actually eat good guys. Oh well. Legolas probably would've soloed them anyway.