The Gate to Venus

There's a Gate to Venus on the 4th level of the "4-level dungeon" published by Judges Guild (which I happen to be using as the top four levels of the Foulrevel dungeon for Dwarf-Land). I've been thinking of various Awful Things that could have emanated from the Gate; with the encroachments of the Venusians, the S&S-styled Men of the Empire of Zoob, and the odd Chinese warlord, the poor Dwarves' whimsical, dark fairy tale vibe is ultimately doomed, it's just a question of who will strike the death's blow in the setting's future. But I haven't figured out what the Venusians were.

I had settled on a race of weird Lizard Men, but decided they were too much like Glorantha's Dragonewts. I also considered Firenewts, Yellow Musk Creepers, Land Kelpies, and Mind Flayers*, but I'm trying to only centrally feature monsters from OD&D + supplements + Saturday Night Specials. Finally, I considered Green Slime, perhaps in ambulatory form, but that creates a whole set of issues with dungeon doors and fixtures and so on.

I'm more and more fond of the idea that maybe the "Venus" to which the Gate leads isn't the planet after all ...

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* Based solely on the initial description of Mind Flayers in The Strategic Review, there's nothing to suggest that the Flayers are necessarily squidheads. I thought about making them look like Men, with the exception of four flabby waving catfish-type barbels on their chins. Still thinking about it, actually. It's a pretty creepy image.