Slayers: First Glimpse

Here is a preview of Slayers. This is a rough of the Elders monster entry. I chose the Elder because it provides a sense of the setting and the mechanics. The two dice attack entry is because the core mechanic is: skill die plus attribute die, take the highest result and compare against target number.


Elders
Attacks: by Weapon or Hands d6/d6
Damage: d6 or Afflict with Ailment
Attributes: AGI d6, DEX d6, STR d6, CON d6, WILL d12, INT d12
Defenses: Dodge 3, Parry 3, Grapple 3, Health 3, Resist 6, Reason 6
Move: 6 yards
HP: 6
Size: Normal
Skills: Ritual d12/d12, Arcane Lore d12/d12
Powers: Perpetual Life, Afflict with Ailment
 
Descriptions
Elders look like crumpled lumps of bone and flesh. They only vague resemble a human being. Usually they are mistaken for a kind of goblin or demon. Their faces are shriveled to the point that it is impossible to read their expressions. Their backs are stooped and twisted like a knotted tree, and their limbs dangle like thin branches from their bodies.

Long ago, the last great emperor of Caelicia made a pact with the Beast. In exchange for eternal life for himself and his people (that is the people inside the empire’s capital), he agreed to cast out the Church of Avoril from its home continent and begin an immediate purge. However the exchange backfired on the empire. The Emperor and the residents of Cael (the capital) found they lived forever, but continued to age. The Beast also made them barren. All this led to the collapse of the Caelician empire and the creation of the Elders.
 
Though they lost their empire, the Elders still dwell in Cael and are in fact its only residents. Time has been their friend and Elders used it wisely, acquiring as much knowledge of magic and as many magical items as they could in order to protect their city. Occasionally an Elder will venture out from Cael in search of a relic or interfere with history (something Elder’s enjoy immensely).
 
Powers
Elders are cursed to live forever. Though their bodies age and decline, their minds remain keen as the years go by. So long as a small fragment, even just a tiny particle, of an Elder’s body remains, he will regenerate after being killed and restored to full HP. This process takes a few days.
 
Afflict with Ailment: The Beast’s curse came with a small gift, they can Afflict foes with ailments by touch. Unlike the ritual or natural Ailments, there is no roll against the target’s health, the ailment is automatic if the Elder succeeds on a Hands attack roll.
 
In addition to these powers, elders are notoriously gifted casters and most know a large number of powerful spells (usually appeals to the Beast).