TV to Tabletop is a new series where we take ideas from popular fantasy TV and movies and translate them to D&D terms. Use them in your own game as is, rename them to hide your sources, or get inspiration for your own new ideas!

First up is Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones is a 2011 TV show based on a series of novels written by George R.R. Martin. In the central conflict of the show, various people and their noble houses contend for the throne of the continent. Though the world of Game of Thrones is a magical and dangerous place, many of the dangers lie in treachery between ordinary people.

Luckily, there are still plenty of dangers around for other purposes.

Creatures

Aside from the dragons and hordes of undead, the setting is fairly low-magic setting. A few fantastic creatures lurk around the edges, however.

Manticore Scorpion

In Game of Thrones, a manticore is a type of deadly scorpion. The Warlocks of Qarth attempt to assassinate Daenerys using a manticore hidden inside of a hollow wooden sphere. 

Manticore Scorpion 

Tiny Monstrosity, Unaligned
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 10 (4d4)
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
4 (−3)	14 (+2)	10 (+0)	3 (−4)	8 (−1)	2 (−4)

Skills Stealth +4
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses blindsight 10 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages –
Challenge 1 (200 XP)                        Proficiency Bonus +2

ACTIONS

Sting. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature: Hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become affected by manticore venom. (see Poisons below for details.)

BONUS ACTIONS

Sudden Rush (Recharge 6). The manticore takes the Dash action.

Stone Man

Victims of the horrible disease known as greyscale, stone men have had their flesh and some internal organs turned to a gray, flaky, stone-like consistency. The condition is agonizing and highly contagious. As it spreads to the brain, it sometimes leads to uncontrollable violent behavior. For all of these reasons, stone men are shunned, not allowed to live among the unafflicted.

Stone Man 

Medium Humanoid (Any Race), Unaligned
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 19 (3d8 + 6)
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
15 (+2)	12 (+1)	14 (+2)	8 (−1)	8 (−1)	7 (−2)

Skills Stealth +3
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities frightened, poisoned
Senses passive Perception 9
Languages the languages it knew it life, but cannot speak
Challenge 1 (200 XP)                        Proficiency Bonus +2

ACTIONS

Multiattack. The stone man makes two Claw attacks.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature: Hit: (1d8 + 2) slashing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw, or it contracts greyscale. 

Diseases

Greyscale is a disease passed by merely touching a stone man. It causes a victim’s skin to become gray, hard, and scaly. Princess Shireen Baratheon contracted this disease as an infant and survived, but the disease left her face scarred for life. Jorah Mormont contracts the disease after an encounter with some stone men.

Greyscale

This disease is highly contagious and easily transferred by touching the skin of an afflicted creature. Every 24 hours after contracting it, the victim must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or the disease progresses to an additional 10 percent of the its body. If the entire creature’s body is covered by greyscale, that creature loses its sense of self and becomes a stone man. 

A creature can attempt to cure a victim by making three DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) checks. If all three checks are successful, the infected creature is cured. If any check fails, the infected creature is not cured and the creature making the check contracts greyscale.

In a higher-magic setting such as standard D&D, a greater restoration spell can completely cure a victim.

Poisons

Spoiler alert! Characters have a tendency to die in Game of Thrones. Among all the battles and wars, a handful of iconic deaths occur through egregious poisoning. Expand your list of memorable poisonings with these concoctions.

Milk of the Poppy (Ingested). This liquid medicine is made from crushed poppy flowers. It can be used as a painkiller and an anesthetic in low doses and induce unconsciousness in high doses. 

• Low Dose. A creature subjected to this poison must succeed on a DC 8 Consitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 hour. The creature gains 1d4 + 4 temporary hit points. 
• High Dose. A creature subjected to this poison must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 hour. The poisoned creature is unconscious and cannot be awoken by damage or shaking. 

Tears of Lys (Ingested). This poison is clear, tasteless, odorless, and leaves no trace, making it ideal for assassinations. A creature subjected to the poison must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned. The creature must repeat the saving throw every hour, taking 42 (12d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. On a successful saving throw by 5 or more, the creature regurgitates the poison and is no longer poisoned. 

Essence of Nightshade (Ingested). In small doses, this poison can calm the nerves of an anxious subject. In large doses, it is frequently fatal.

• Low Dose (1 drop). A creature subjected to this poison must succeed on a DC 8 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 hour. The creature has advantage on saving throws to avoid being frightened.
• Medium Dose (3 drops). A creature subjected to this poison must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 hour. The poisoned creature is unconscious. The creature wakes up if it takes damage or if another creature takes an action to shake it awake.
• High Dose (10 drops). A creature subjected to this poison must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the creature drops to 0 hit points and is poisoned for 1 hour. On a success, the creature takes 21 (6d6) poison damage and suffers no other effects.

Basilisk Blood (Ingested). This poison induces savage insanity. A creature subjected to the poison must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 minute. The poisoned creature must use its action and movement on each of its turns to approach and attack the nearest creature. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on a success.

Manticore Venom (Injury). This poison must be harvested from a dead or incapacitated manticore scorpion. A victim must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 28 (8d6) poison damage and is poisoned until cured. While poisoned, the wound putrefies. After 24 hours, the limb that was struck by the poison is lost (see below). If the lost limb is the creature’s chest or head, the creature dies. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and isn’t poisoned.

To determine a limb struck by the poison, roll d8. On a 1–2 the right arm was struck, on a 3–4, the left arm, on a 5 the right leg, on a 6 the left leg, on a 7 the chest, on an 8 the head.

Long Farewell (Contact). This poison is highly lethal but has a known antidote. A creature subjected to the poison must make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the target must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw every hour or drop to 0 hit points. On a successful saving throw, there is no effect. 

Strangler (Ingested). A creature subjected to this poison must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned until cured. While poisoned, the creature cannot breathe (see Suffocating in Chapter 8 of the core rules).

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