Q is for Quibber

"Quib! Quib!"

It is a sound that puzzles those who hear it for the first time, and terrifies those who have heard it before.

"Quib! Quib!"

In the depths of the Devil's Playground, a group of adventurers, secure in their strength and capabilities, entered a strange chamber. Though they were deep underground, they appeared to be in a forest at twilight, trees stretching as far as they could see.

"Quib! Quib!"

Though the walls of the chamber were invisible, they were nevertheless still there, preventing the adventurers from going far into the forest. But they soon discovered that the walls were only barriers to them...

"Quib! Quib!"

Out of the forest they came, misshapen creatures with four legs, long snouts, and dazzling tails that spun around in a strangely hypnotic pattern. Vicious and hungry, the creatures swarmed the adventurers, some of whom were dazzled by their flashing tails and were unable to defend themselves. Before they could be stopped, the creatures dragged one of the adventurers away, into the forest...beyond the walls the men could not see or cross. As they dragged their hapless victim out of sight, the last remnants of his dying screams mingled with the incessant noises of the creatures...

"Quib! Quib!"

Other adventurers have reported seeing these creatures in the depths of the labyrinth; the name 'Quibber' rapidly came into common usage. While they are not individually powerful, they do not attack as individuals; they hunt in packs, and use their flashing tails to gain an advantage over their prey. And now, reports have reached the Royal Rangers that the quibbers are no longer confined to the depths of the Devil's Playground. Deep in the hills and forests of Meterra, travelers sometimes hear the constant refrain, the harbinger of doom...

"Quib! Quib!"

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The quibber was the first new monster I ever created for D&D. I never found it necessary to create new creatures, as there were so many of them in the game already from official and unofficial sources. But when I began the Meterra project several years ago, I decided that I would start creating new creatures. Some would be related to whatever new rules I was adding to the game as I went through its history; some would just be cool ideas I came up with; the third group was to fill in gaps on the encounter tables. The quibber was in both of the last two categories.

As you will see from the gaming stats, the quibber isn't a particularly powerful creature; it was designed as a level II monster for the AD&D encounter tables, a level that is lacking variety. I included quibbers in one of the stories in The Devil's Playground anthology; the outline above loosely follows the plot of that story. And yes, they are the creatures on the cover of the book, as seen below.

My teenage son, who is heavy into fantasy and D&D, read the book last year, and the story that made the biggest impression on him was the one with the quibbers. In fact, he wants to play D&D with me, but is terrified that I'll drop quibbers on him and his friends. So, quibbers are officially my favorite new monster in all of D&D.

If you're an old-school gamer, or you like converting old stuff to newer games, here are the stats for the quibber.

QUIBBER

FREQUENCY: Rare
NO. APPEARING: 2-8
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVE: 12"
HIT DICE: 2
% IN LAIR: 30%
TREASURE TYPE: I
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d6
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Dazzling tail
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Semi-
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: S (4' long)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
  Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
LEVEL/XP VALUE: II/28+2/hp

The quibber is a four-legged beast with a short snout and a long, dazzling tail. The tail spins with a hypnotic pattern, causing any who observe it to make a saving throw vs. paralyzation or be unable to act for one round. Quibbers are carnivorous, and hunt in small packs. Their name refers to the sound they make as they attack, 'Quib! Quib!' They live in underground lairs, most often found in the hills and dungeons.