[MONSTER MASH] Rock Monster (2008)

Perennial slacker Jason (Chad Collins) and a trio of university friends are backpacking across Eastern Europe to find the property that was supposedly bequeathed him by a late aunt.

After their bus breaks down, the quartet start walking through the forest and come upon a rusty old sword stuck in a stone. After the others have failed to pull it out, Jason reluctantly tries... and succeeds!

However, once the backpackers make it to the nearby town they discover that in removing the sword Jason has unleashed an imprisoned rock monster that contains the spirit of an evil wizard his ancestor defeated centuries earlier.

Thus begins a battle between the locals and the rock monster, which is controlled by one of their own - Dimitar (David Figlioli) who has become corrupted by an ancient tome of the wizard's spells.

During all this Jason falls for the rather beautiful daughter of the town mayor, Cassandra (Natalie Denise Sperl), who - unsurprisingly - eventually becomes a pawn in Dimitar's machinations.

Solid B-movie fare, Rock Monster turned out to be a lot better than I was expecting. The acting from the main cast is okay (although some of the supporting cast leave a bit to be desired e.g. Jason's "British" friend Warren who is thankfully killed off very quickly and doesn't even merit a mention in the credits), the script - by writer/director Declan O'Brien - is clever and well-crafted, and the special effects hold their own.

It's quite a knowing, tongue-in-cheek, script without slipping into farce that treats its subject matter with seriousness, while acknowledging that it's not the most original B-movie in the world.

GAME MATERIAL:

Alarz Rock Monster

When the powerful dark sorcerer Alarz was slain by the knight Lazar his spirit became trapped in the stones on which he fell, permanently trapped by the magic of the knight's sword that was thrust into the stones.

Removing the sword awakens the long-dead wizard, but in the form of a 20ft high rock creature. Luckily the sword can only be removed by a blood relative of the heroic knight.

In many aspects it resembles a stone golem, composed of multiple boulders with a crude face and head atop its shoulders. However, despite the presence of eye holes, the creature is magically aware of everything around him and therefore whatever angle he is attacked from it counts as an attack from the front.

It also needs to feed and it does this by squeezing the life out of living creatures and absorbing their blood through the porous nature of its rocky body. It needs to kill (and 'eat') at leats two hit die worth of characters per day, or it becomes fatigued - halving its movement, Hit Dice and damage.

The monster is also able to blend itself into rock faces, so it is next to impossible to detect when waiting to ambush someone.

#ENC: Unique
HD: 8
AC: 5 [14]
Atk: punch/stomp (3d8)
ST: 8
Move: 6
Special:

• Damage Immunity: The rock monster can only be harmed by +2 or better magical weapons and spells that affect rock (e.g. rock-to-mud, move earth - which cause 1d6 damage per level of spell caster) and fire magic, which slows it to half speed for a number of combat rounds equal to the damage rolled.
• Throw Boulders: In lieu of its punching or stomping attack, the monster may scoop up and throw - or kick - a random selection of boulders that cause (1d6 x 1d6) damage on a successful hit. The range for this attack is 300ft.
• Immortality: When destroyed the monster will reform (reroll hit points) in 2d12 hours unless it was slain by the Sword Of Lazar (complete with 'keystone').

CL: 12/2,000

TREASURE TROVE:

The Sword Of Lazar - Originally the sword of a famous knight, the weapon - once removed from the rock where it has sat for hundreds of years - now acts as a very simple +2 long sword.

However, when its keystone (a red, ruby kept in a necklace) is fitted back into the pommel the sword gains additional powers:

• The sword is now +3 to hit and damage.
• If it slays the Alarz Rock Monster, the beast stays dead forever.
• Once per day, if thrust into the ground, it can create the effect of an "earthquake" spell (opens a 60ft long, diamond-shaped fissure from the point where it strikes the ground; any creatures within that area - 60ft at widest part - will fall into the flaming magma below and be killed, unless they make a 6d6 vs DEX+LVL STAT check. Check Swords & Wizardry Complete, page 58, for full details of spell).
• A wizard who learns the correct incantation can, at sunrise, and with the rock monster within 20ft, channel the essence of the sorcerer Alarz out of the monster and into his own body. The creature will crumble to dust and the magician will become a powerful force for evil (exact details up to DM). He will also, probably, become a villainous NPC.