Here are the first couple revised epic monsters. I've made numerous changes based on both UK's rules and my own, but these are still 3.5 stats. I'll explain the changes below.
AC: This uses the AC rules from v5 - natural armor, and deflection = Cha bonus for outsiders and undead. Since the SRD divine rules have no divine bonus of any kind for Rank 0 deities, they don't gain a divine AC bonus.
HD: As you can see from the table below, I adjusted Strength and HD scores, and lowered damage - ELH abominations deal damage as a creature 3 sizes larger, which I thought was too much, so I lowered it to 2 sizes larger (using UK's damage rules).
I also use a slightly different system for determining HD based on size, which I can post here if anyone's interested. It results in abominations getting quite a few fewer HD, but I think they're a bit more balanced.
Skills: I wrote these statblocks in Project Phoenix format, then converted them over to 3.5, so there might be a few mistakes. PP uses the 1:1 skill point system, which is MUCH easier - take the base number and add the Int modifier - that gives you the number of skills; HD +3 is the base bonus for each skill, then just add stat modifiers. Bada bing bada boom, done.
Feats: Creatures are limited to their Int score in feats, no matter how many HD they have.
VSCs: A creature gaining one or more VSCs gains only HD, not Strength or Con. A creature that acquires a VSC from immense strength getting even more strength from the VSC is illogical and sets up a recursive loop. Likewise, gaining more Con when you're already getting extra HD is silly - the extra HD represent a greater body mass, but more mass does not necessarily = greater health or resistance to disease and poison.
Fast Healing and Regeneration: I didn't really see the point in abominations having both, so the living ones get regen, and constructs/undead get fast healing.
SLAs: There are no real guidelines for setting CL; UK uses HD = CL, but these things have tons of HD, so I went with 2/3 HD = CL instead.
Immunities: I changed all the immunities to resistances, except where they're gained as a consequence of type (undead being immune to ability drain, e.g.). If you prefer immunities, feel free to change them back.
Anything else is covered after each entry. If you guys are interested in seeing the rest, I'll put them into an rtf file - translating all this stuff to BBCode is a big PITA.
Abominations are a subgrouping of the outsider type, much like celestials and fiends. The accompanying table indicates the average values an abomination of a given size has for its basic physical scores. Abominations also share several other characteristics. Abominations are always size Small or larger.
All abominations are born directly (or indirectly) from a god and some lesser creature (or idea), but none are favored, wanted, or loved. Still, they all share a tiny spark of deific energy, which grants them the qualities described in below. Abominations are treated as rank 0 deities. All of the abilites gained from divine status are included below.
Immunities (Ex): Abominations have a +10 bonus to saves vs. polymorphing, petrification, or any form-altering attack, mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects), and ability damage/drain or energy drain.
Resistances (Ex): Abominations have fire and cold resistance 20, and damage reduction of at least 20/magic (certain abominations have higher damage reduction, or DR of another type), and have significant spell resistance. They resist detection, and are all treated as if affected by a [i]nondetection[i] spell of a caster level equal to the abomination's HD.
Special Qualities (Ex): All abominations have the spell-like ability to use [i]true seeing[i] at will. They have maximum hit points per Hit Die and the blindsight extraordinary ability to a range of 100 feet.
Fast Healing and Regeneration: Most abominations have some measure of fast healing or regeneration, ranging from 5 to 55 for both abilities. Higher HD abominations generally have higher values for fast healing and regeneration. If an abomination has regeneration, it is usually subject to normal damage from at least two sources, one of which is the antithesis for their subtype, and the other of which is somehow tied to some unique feature of the abomination.
Spell Resistance: Most abominations have spell resistance equal to their HD + 12.
Spell-Like Abilities: All abominations have access to a variety of spells in the form of spell-like abilities, which they can use as 20th- or higher-level casters (caster level is generally 2/3 the creature's HD).
Summon Creature (Sp): Abominations can summon creatures associated either with the portfolio of their godly progenitor or with their imprisonment. Summoned creatures serve the abomination without question. Summoned creatures automatically return whence they came after 1 hour, or sooner if slain. See specific abomination entries for additional details on summoning.
Telepathy (Su): Abominations can communicate telepathically with any creature within 1,000 feet that has a language.
Unique Abilities: All abominations have one or more unique abilities tied to their godly parent's portfolio, or to the manner of their incarceration.
Abominations speak Abyssal, Celestial, Infernal, and often a language associated with their imprisonment.
Anaxim
Large Construct (Abomination, Extraplanar, Lawful) Hit Dice: 33d10+20 (320 hp) Initiative: +8 Speed: 60 ft. (12 squares), fly 120 ft. (24 squares) (average) Armor Class: 40 (-1 size, +4 Dex, +27 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 36 Base Attack/Grapple: +21/+37 Attack: Spinning blade +32 melee (2d6+12/19-20 x3) or electricity ray +25 ranged (10d6 electricity, 160 ft. range) Full Attack: 2 spinning blades +32 melee (2d6+12/19-20 x3) and 2 slams +30 melee (2d6+6+1d6 electrical), or electricity ray +25 ranged (10d6 electricity, 160 ft. range) or 6 spikes +25 ranged (2d6+12, 120 ft. range increment) Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft. Special Attacks: Rend 4d6+18, sonic blast, spell-like abilities, summon iron golem Special Qualities: Blindsight 100 ft., construct traits, DR 20/chaotic and adamantine and magic, fast healing 15, magic immunity, telepathy Skills: Climb +46, Craft (any one) +39, Intimidate +39, Jump +46, Knowledge (the planes) +39, Listen +39, Spot +39 Feats: Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Flyby Attack, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (blade), Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Multiattack, Overwhelming Critical (blade), Power Attack, Weapon Focus (blade) Saves: Fort +13, Ref +17, Will +18 Abilities: Str 35, Dex 19, Con —, Int 20, Wis 20, Cha 20 Environment: Any Organization: Solitary, binary (pair), or command line (2–5 anaxims and 5–12 iron golems) ECL: ?? Treasure: Standard Alignment: Always lawful neutral Advancement: 34–60 HD (Huge); 61–99 HD (Gargantuan)
An anaxim's natural weapons are treated as magic and lawful-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. Due to their higher-than average strength and dense construction, anaxim have 1 virtual size category.
Combat
Rend (Ex): If the anaxim hits with both spinning blades, it slices particularly well. This attack automatically deals an additional 4d6+18 points of damage.
Sonic Blast (Ex): As a standard action, an anaxim can emit a 30-foot cone of sonic energy that deals 20d6 points of sonic damage to all creatures that fail a DC 29 Reflex save; those that succeed take half damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will — greater dispel magic, displacement (DC 17), greater invisibility (DC 21), ethereal jaunt. Caster level 22nd. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
Summon Iron Golem (Sp): An anaxim can summon an iron golem up to four times per day.
[Since the description didn't say how big an anaxim was, I had to guess - I figured it was about 10 feet tall and weighed somewhere around 750 pounds, so that made it Large. I determined starting HD from the stats - they had 50 extra points, so it ended up being 25 base HD; Strength was 15 over the base 20 for Large, which gave it a VSC and extra HD - 8, to be precise.]
Atropal
Huge Undead (Abomination, Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful) Hit Dice: 43d12+3 (519 hp) Initiative: +6 Speed: 5 ft. (1 square), fly 100 ft. (20 squares)(good) Armor Class: 50 (–2 size, +2 Dex, +12 natural, +1 dodge, +16 deflection), touch 38, flat-footed 47 Base Attack/Grapple: +21/+39 Attack: Touch +35 melee (2d6 Con drain/19-20) Full Attack: 2 touches +35 melee (2d6 Con drain/19-20) and eye ray +22 ranged (energy drain/19-20) Space/Reach: 15 ft/15 ft. Special Attacks: Constitution drain, energy drain, spell-like abilities, summon nightcrawler Special Qualities: Abomination traits, blindsight 100 ft., command/rebuke undead 19/day, DR 25/good and silver and magic, divine SR, fast healing 20, negative energy aura, turn resistance 22, undead traits Saves: Fort +18, Ref +22, Will +31 Abilities: Str 43, Dex 15, Con –, Int 28, Wis 22, Cha 42 Skills: Bluff +62, Concentration +62, Diplomacy +62, Intimidate +62, Knowledge (arcana, religion, the planes) +55, Listen +27, Search +55, Sense Motive +52, Spellcraft +55, Spot +28 Feats: Combat Casting, Dodge, Improved Critical (touch), Improved Critical (eye ray), Improved Initiative, Improved Turning, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Quicken Spell-Like Ability ([i]finger of death[i]), Toughness, Undead Mastery, Weapon Focus (touch), Weapon Focus (eye ray), Zone of Animation Environment: Any Organization: Solitary ECL: ?? Treasure: Standard Alignment: Always lawful evil Advancement: 44–72 HD (Huge); 73–108 HD (Gargantuan); 109-129 (Colossal)
[b]Combat[b]
An atropal's natural weapons are treated as magic and evil- and lawful-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Command/Rebuke Undead (Su): An atropal can command or rebuke undead as a cleric with a level equal to its HD + 1, 3 + Cha bonus times per day.
Constitution Drain (Su): When the atropal hits a living opponent with a touch attack, the opponent takes 2d6 points of Constitution drain. The atropal heals 5 hit points of damage for each point of Con it drains, gaining any excess as temporary hit points. The attack allows a DC 47 Fortitude save. The DC is Charisma-based.
Energy Drain (Su): The atropal can shoot a a ray of darkness from one eye to a range of 200 feet. If it hits a living being, the target must make a DC 47 Fort save or gain 2d4 negative levels, as the [i]energy drain[i] spell (4d4 on a critical hit). For each negative level bestowed, the atropal heals 5 points of damage, or 10 on a critical hit, gaining any excess as temporary hit points. After 24 hours have passed, the afflicted opponent must attempt a DC 47 Fort save for each negative level (the DC is Charisma-based). If the save is successful, it regains the lost level.
Negative Energy Aura (Su): An atropal radiates negative energy in a 30-foot-radius. All undead in the field (including the atropal) are treated as having turn resistance +20 and fast healing 20. Living creatures in the aura are treated as gaining 10 negative levels (as if they were energy drained, but the lost levels immediately return upon leaving the field) unless they have some sort of negative energy protection or protection from evil. Creatures with 10 or fewer HD or levels instantly die (and, at the atropal's option, rise as spectres under its command 1 minute later).
Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): At will - animate dead, blasphemy, create undead, cone of cold, desecrate, finger of death, greater dispel magic, greater invisibility, greater teleport, plane shift, spectral hand, unholy aura; 3/day — create greater undead, haste, project image, speak with dead, weird. Caster level 28th; save DC 26 + spell level. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
Summon Nightcrawler (Su): An atropal can summon a nightcrawler four times per day.
[I reverse-engineered the HD by assigning starting stats, then figuring the extra stat points - there were 86 extra, so it became 43 HD, which felt a lot closer to the mark than 66, IMO. Undead can't regenerate (you need a Con score), so that went; likewise, I ditched a bunch of the combat-related feats (the atropal's arms are atrophied and it has only touch attacks, so the Power Attack chain made little sense). Since I lowered the HD, I could also drop a lot of the feats, which left me with a good selection of logical ones.]
Agamemnon: "Their process of building each edition atop the previous ones has resulted in 3.5 being the Michael Jackson of RPGs, desperately improving itself to ward off obsolescence but attaining only a kind of perverse lichlike state as a mockery of healthier games."
Last edited by Kerrick; 8th March 2009 at 06:02 PM..
Reason: Fixed atropal's ABs
Agamemnon: "Their process of building each edition atop the previous ones has resulted in 3.5 being the Michael Jackson of RPGs, desperately improving itself to ward off obsolescence but attaining only a kind of perverse lichlike state as a mockery of healthier games."
I wasn't going to post this, but I figured what the hell. I actually converted all the monsters a couple years ago, back when I hung out on the ELH forum on the Wizards boards. It's some mistakes in it, because I didn't have as good a grasp of the mechanics as I do now, but it's a lot better than the SRD.
Agamemnon: "Their process of building each edition atop the previous ones has resulted in 3.5 being the Michael Jackson of RPGs, desperately improving itself to ward off obsolescence but attaining only a kind of perverse lichlike state as a mockery of healthier games."
I wasn't going to post this, but I figured what the hell. I actually converted all the monsters a couple years ago, back when I hung out on the ELH forum on the Wizards boards. It's some mistakes in it, because I didn't have as good a grasp of the mechanics as I do now, but it's a lot better than the SRD.
It is a lot nicer than the SRD, thanx. It'll be really helpful till you finish up the updates.
Regarding the worm that walks...is there any reason it doesn't have swarm traits other than the fact that it's 3.0 originally?
I've always thought it needed to be redone. Same with the pseudonatural template. It also needs a complete overhaul to make it match the minor pseudonatural template from Lords of Madness better.
Also, the undead should have all been templates, even the Atropal would make a nice template. Although you would have to break it down something like this.
Atropal
Special Attacks: Atropal Specific Attacks (sans Divine Template)
Special Qualities: Atropal Specific Qualities (sans Divine Template)
etc.
Basically, just removing the Quasi-Deity template would be sufficient to render it into a template.
Abomination Traits would remain of course, but wouldn't include the quasi-deity template, although the quasi-deity (or higher) template would definitely be a prerequisite.
Truthfully, I'd love to just turn Abomination into a template. Especially since it would be so very easy to do.
Regarding the worm that walks...is there any reason it doesn't have swarm traits other than the fact that it's 3.0 originally?
Umm... because I didn't think of it? Now that you bring it up, it's not a half-bad idea.
Quote:
I've always thought it needed to be redone. Same with the pseudonatural template. It also needs a complete overhaul to make it match the minor pseudonatural template from Lords of Madness better.
I don't have Lords of Madness, but I'll see what I can do. The conversion I did back then was just that - a straight conversion, with attempts to correct mistakes. I didn't do any real improvements.
Quote:
Also, the undead should have all been templates, even the Atropal would make a nice template. Although you would have to break it down something like this.
Atropal
Special Attacks: Atropal Specific Attacks (sans Divine Template)
Special Qualities: Atropal Specific Qualities (sans Divine Template)
etc.
Eh. The arguments for making all undead into templates could really go both ways, but I (and I'm sure a lot of DMs) find it a lot easier to simply grab an undead and go, instead of screwing around applying templates. I honestly don't see why an atropal should be a template - it's a specific creature, born of specific circumstances. It's not something that gets applied, because an existing creature can't be turned into one.
Quote:
Truthfully, I'd love to just turn Abomination into a template. Especially since it would be so very easy to do.
There are already rules for creating abominations. And, as I said above, abominations are "born", not made.
Agamemnon: "Their process of building each edition atop the previous ones has resulted in 3.5 being the Michael Jackson of RPGs, desperately improving itself to ward off obsolescence but attaining only a kind of perverse lichlike state as a mockery of healthier games."
Umm... because I didn't think of it? Now that you bring it up, it's not a half-bad idea.
=^.^= Sorry bout that, what I meant to ask was...
Why didn't WOTC give it swarm traits. It's essentially a sentient swarm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kerrick
I don't have Lords of Madness, but I'll see what I can do. The conversion I did back then was just that - a straight conversion, with attempts to correct mistakes. I didn't do any real improvements.
I could post it for you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kerrick
Eh. The arguments for making all undead into templates could really go both ways, but I (and I'm sure a lot of DMs) find it a lot easier to simply grab an undead and go, instead of screwing around applying templates. I honestly don't see why an atropal should be a template - it's a specific creature, born of specific circumstances. It's not something that gets applied, because an existing creature can't be turned into one.
Perhaps, but it's nice having the option of being able to create atropals (and undead in general) from scratch, so you can customize them more readily.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kerrick
There are already rules for creating abominations. And, as I said above, abominations are "born", not made.
Some actually are made. In fact there was an article in dragon detailing an Infernal that was once a mortal man...Lascer, Lord of the Shadow Shoal. Dragon #297 I think.
On a similar note I'm wondering what a half-abomination would be.
Last edited by dante58701; 9th March 2009 at 07:58 AM..
Why didn't WOTC give it swarm traits. It's essentially a sentient swarm.
Good question. But then, we didn't have swarms in 3.0, so that's probably why.
Quote:
I could post it for you.
I'll let you know when I get that far. I'm only down to the colossi right now.
Quote:
Perhaps, but it's nice having the option of being able to create atropals (and undead in general) from scratch, so you can customize them more readily.
Yeah... like I said, it could go either way. Atropals, though, are really a special case - they're aborted godlings, something that's "born the way it is", not "made from a base creature". This, of course, doesn't stop you from doing the template yourself, but I'm not going to bother.
Quote:
Some actually are made. In fact there was an article in dragon detailing an Infernal that was once a mortal man...Lascer, Lord of the Shadow Shoal. Dragon #297 I think.
Infernals are an odd case - they're the offspring of gods and demons. I suppose a half-fiend mortal who gained divinity (Rank 0) could become an infernal, though it should be a very (VERY) rare occurrence.
Quote:
On a similar note I'm wondering what a half-abomination would be.
.... How would you be a half-abomination? That's like being kind of pregnant or really dead. Or half-undead (and don't go trotting out that half-vampire thing... they're not undead, just living beings with a special template).
Agamemnon: "Their process of building each edition atop the previous ones has resulted in 3.5 being the Michael Jackson of RPGs, desperately improving itself to ward off obsolescence but attaining only a kind of perverse lichlike state as a mockery of healthier games."
I just finished the stone colossus, using UK's rules. This thing is insane:
[b]Stone Colossus[b]
Titanic Construct Hit Dice: 120d10+110 (770 hp) Initiative: -3 Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)(can't run) Armor Class: 87 (–12 size, –3 Dex, +102 natural), touch 0, flat-footed 90 Base Attack/Grapple: +90/+146 Attack: Slam +114 melee (4d6+36) Full Attack: 2 slams +114 melee (4d6+36) Space/Reach: 45 ft./70 ft. Special Attacks: Shatter Special Qualities: Construct traits, DR 30/adamantine, magic immunity Saves: Fort +56, Ref +53, Will +56 Abilities: Str 72, Dex 5, Con –, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1 Skills: -- Feats: Awesome Blow(B) Environment: Any Organization: Solitary ECL: Treasure: None Alignment: Usually neutral Advancement: 121–240 HD (Titanic); 241-360 HD (Macro-Fine)
A stone colossus cannot speak or make any vocal noise. It stands about 70 feet tall and weighs about 1,500 tons.
Combat
Shatter (Su): A stone colossus can use shatter (DC 7) as a free action once every 2 rounds against an opponent's weapon or other item as a 30th-level caster. The DC is Charisma-based.
Magic Immunity (Ex): A stone colossus is immune to any spell or spell-like ability that allows spell resistance. In addition, certain spells and effects function differently against the creature, as noted below.
A transmute rock to mud spell slows it (as the slow spell) for 1 round, with no save, while transmute mud to rock heals all its lost hit points. A stone to flesh spell has no effect on a stone colossus.
Construction
A stone colossus's body is chiseled from a single block of high-quality hard stone, such as granite, weighing at least 3,750 tons, which costs around 6,000,000 gp. Assembling the body requires a successful DC 60 Craft (sculpting) or Craft (stonemasonry) check.
CL Godlike; Geas/quest, wish, polymorph any object, shatter. Price Who the hell knows?? gp
A few notes:
You may notice I dropped the antimagic field. I felt that was serious overkill, and really contradictory - if it's in the center of an antimagic field, NO spells can affect it. Not to mention that constructs being immune to all spells except those that bypass SR is balanced; making them immune to all spells period is too much - all the PCs' magic items suddenly become dead weight, making them less than useless against a creature with 100+ HD and a 70-ft. reach.
I used the density of granite to determine its weight. I found this handy website years ago when I was looking for material densities for some reason; by UK's 100/30/15 rule for humanoid size, that makes a golem 70 feet tall weigh 1,500 tons (this baby's solid, unlike the iron colossus). I tacked on 25% for the base size of the rock you'd need, then extrapolated the cost from the existing numbers - 375,000 pounds at 100K gp, which ended up being 7.5 million - and dropped 20%.
The Craft DC for the MM golems appears to be around HD + 15%, but that would make this around DC 130, which is absurd. I'm sure it's a sliding scale (I'll sit down and figure it out some other time; I have plans to do clay, flesh, iron, and stone for all the UK golem sizes), but I guessed 50% would work.
One thing I don't agree with is UK's DR rule for constructs. This would have DR 8/-, which is a little silly for such a huge being. Another thing I need to do: come up with a sliding scale for DR based on HD.
The caster level is based on 1/4 HD. Normally it's 3/4 HD, but since the golem is unintelligent, it gets only 1/4. If you go with spell DCs as 10 + 1/2 CL + spell level, it becomes DC 27 - fairly respectable.
Agamemnon: "Their process of building each edition atop the previous ones has resulted in 3.5 being the Michael Jackson of RPGs, desperately improving itself to ward off obsolescence but attaining only a kind of perverse lichlike state as a mockery of healthier games."
One thing I don't agree with is UK's DR rule for constructs. This would have DR 8/-, which is a little silly for such a huge being. Another thing I need to do: come up with a sliding scale for DR based on HD.
8/ - makes perfect sense actually. It's made of stone, not diamond. But, it's DR could be increased via magical means.
One thing I don't agree with is UK's DR rule for constructs. This would have DR 8/-, which is a little silly for such a huge being. Another thing I need to do: come up with a sliding scale for DR based on HD.
DR 8/- makes perfect sense. Also take into consideration that DR 30/Adamantine is going to be all but useless at epic levels.
The Stone Colossi is made from stone, not diamond (as noted by Dante).
DR 8/- makes perfect sense. Also take into consideration that DR 30/Adamantine is going to be all but useless at epic levels.
I can see the logic behind it - I mean, it's essentially a huge block of stone. But really, DR 8/- is just about as pointless as DR 30; a 20th-level fighter with a longsword +5 would be dealing at least a couple points of damage per strike. Sure, if the sword were adamantine, it would bypass all the DR, but then you get into some oddities at higher materials - mithril and adamantine golems, frex. An adamantine weapon won't bypass all the DR, which violates the DR rules.
BUT, I redid the DR rules for Project Phoenix; I took a page from Monte Cook and used a graded system, whereby a +2 weapon bypasses DR /silver, +3 is /cold iron, +4 is /alignment, and +5 is /adamantine. Under this system, a magic weapon bypasses only 5 points of DR /magic per plus - a +3 weapon will not completely bypass DR 25/magic (part of the reason I want a scaled DR system). So, with this system, your golem DR thing would work.
But, uh... shouldn't the more powerful golems (i.e., gargants, colossi, etc.) get more DR to reflect the greater strength of the PCs? DR 8/- is huge at low levels, but not that much of a roadblock at the higher ones, especially considering at least one person is likely to have an adamantine weapon. You could justify it by stating that they're magically enhanced via the rituals used to create them. The increase wouldn't have to be that large, either - maybe 2-3 points per size.
Quote:
The Stone Colossi is made from stone, not diamond (as noted by Dante).
Well yeah... that's why it's 30/adamantine, not 30/-.
Quote:
Good job though!
Thanks. And thanks for the creation rules - they made this a lot easier.
Agamemnon: "Their process of building each edition atop the previous ones has resulted in 3.5 being the Michael Jackson of RPGs, desperately improving itself to ward off obsolescence but attaining only a kind of perverse lichlike state as a mockery of healthier games."
Blach. I realized how much the 3.5 skill system sucked after I tried to convert this thing from PP stats back to 3.5. I ended up having to cut several skills to make room for the ones that were split up (Stealth into Hide/MS, and Perception into Listen/Spot), and even then it doesn't have them at the same level as before (+20 each vs. +27). I'm SO glad I came up with that new system...
Anyway, here's the gloom:
[b]Gloom[b]
Large Outsider Hit Dice: 24d8+120 (228 hp) Initiative: +18 Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares) Armor Class: 28 (-1 size, +10 Dex, +3 natural, +3 deflection, +3 insight), touch 25, flat-footed 15 Base Attack/Grapple: +22/+28 Attack: Large //+5 keen human bane dagger// +37 melee (1d6+10/17-20) Full Attack: Large //+5 keen human bane dagger// +37/+32/+27/+22 melee (1d6+10/17-20) Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Special Attacks: Fear gaze, sneak attack +12d6 Special Qualities: Blindsight 60 ft., cloak of shadows, DR 10/magic, SR 36, opportunist, quiescence, spell-like abilities Saves: Fort +19, Ref +24, Will +17 Abilities: Str 20, Dex 30, Con 20, Int 18, Wis 16, Cha 16 Skills: Climb +25, Hide +51, Intimidate +23, Jump +25, Listen +23, Move Silently +51, Search +24, Spot +23 Feats: Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Improved Critical (dagger), Mobility, Spring Attack, Superior Initiative, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (dagger) Environment: Any urban or Plane of Shadow Organization: Solitary ECL: ?? Treasure: Nonstandard (just its dagger) Alignment: Usually lawful evil Advancement: 25-72 HD (Huge)
In the hand of any other creature but a gloom, the dagger is a //+3 keen dagger//. A gloom's natural weapons are treated as magical for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Glooms stand 8 feet tall and weigh around 400 pounds.
Combat
Cloak of Shadows (Su): The shadows naturally gather around a gloom, hiding it from all eyes. It gains a +20 racial bonus on Hide checks. This ability works even in bright light (though a clump of moving shadows would be rather obvious) but not in direct sunlight. It can lower this effect at will.
Fear Gaze (Su): Viewing the gloom's face inspires terror. Creatures that meet the gloom's gaze must succeed at a Will save (DC 23) or suffer the effect of a //fear// spell as cast by a 20th-level caster. The DC is Charisma-based.
Opportunist (Ex): This ability functions like the rogue class feature of the same name.
Quiescence (Su): A gloom is constantly silent, as the //silence// spell, although the area does not extend beyond the creature itself. This quality gives it a +20 racial bonus on Move Silently checks (it is still possible for a gloom to create noise, such as by bumping into something that scrapes on the floor or by sounding a chime). It can lower this effect at will.
Shadow Walk (Su): At will as a move action, a gloom can travel through the shadows as the spell //shadow walk//.
Sneak Attack (Ex): A gloom can sneak attack as a 24th-level rogue, dealing 12d6 extra Damage.
[This thing's stats were WAY too high, and it had too many HD. I decided to make it an outsider, as that fit it better and enabled me to keep the HD, though I still had to make it Large. The dagger was far too powerful for a 24-HD creature; technically, it should only have a +6 total, but I fudged it a bit (it's +7 market value). Shadow walk became cloak of shadows, as it also fit better (instead of it having to cast a spell each round). The end result is a creature with much lower stats, but with its assassin abilities, huge sneak attack bonus, and innate abilities, this thing can still be a really nasty opponent. Tack on some class levels and let it loose.]
Agamemnon: "Their process of building each edition atop the previous ones has resulted in 3.5 being the Michael Jackson of RPGs, desperately improving itself to ward off obsolescence but attaining only a kind of perverse lichlike state as a mockery of healthier games."
Here are the hoary hunter and his steed. As with the gloom, I ran into the problem of them having far too many HD for their size/type. I think, though, that the designers gave them a crapload of class levels that somehow translated over to racial HD (not sure how that works, though). The gloom would thus be a monstrous humanoid with 25 rogue levels and no racial HD; the hoary hunter would have 20+ fighter levels and some racial HD (because fey always have racial HD); I'm thinking somewhere around 4-5 HD, and 30 or so levels of fighter. I could easily revise the stats to reflect that, but I wanted to get some input first.
[b]Hoary Hunter[b]
Medium Fey (Cold) Hit Dice: 32d6+384 (496 hp) Initiative: +15 Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares) Armor Class: 33 (+11 Dex, +4 natural, +8 deflection), touch 29, flat-footed 22 Base Attack/Grapple: +16/+29 Attack: //+6 keen longsword of binding// +27 melee (1d8+19/17-20 plus binding) Full Attack: //+6 keen longsword of binding// +27/+22/+17 melee (1d8+19/17–20 plus binding) Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities Special Qualities: Cold resistance 25, DR 15/cold iron and magic, fire vulnerability, full SR Saves: Fort +25, Ref +29, Will +24 Abilities: Str 36, Dex 33, Con 34, Int 21, Wis 23, Cha 26 Skills: Diplomacy +43, Intimidate +43, Knowledge (geography, nature, the planes) +40, Perception +41, Ride +46, Search +40, Sense Motive +41, Stealth +46, Survival +41 Feats: Cleave, Dire Charge, Great Cleave, Improved Critical (longsword), Improved Initiative, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Spirited Charge, Superior Initiative, Track, Trample, Weapon Focus (longsword) Environment: Any cold Organization: Solitary or company (2–5) ECL: ?? Treasure: None Alignment: Always neutral evil Advancement: By character class
A hoary hunter's natural weapons are treated as cold iron and magical for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Combat
A critical hit (or the blow that would kill or render a foe unconscious) from the hoary hunter's blade does not wound the hunter's prey. Instead, the victim is bodily transported as per a //trap the soul// spell heightened to 16th level (DC 30) into a diamond in the sword's hilt.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will — //discern location, true strike, fog cloud, hold monster, plane shift//; 3/day — //dimensional anchor, dominate monster, greater dispel magic//; 1/day — //disjunction, contingent recall and resurrection//*. Caster level 23rd; save DC 18 + spell level. *//Contingent recall and resurrection// is a variation on an epic spell. When slain, the hoary hunter is actually transported, with its mount, back to the fey realm, where it is resurrected. The only way to truly slay the hoary hunter is to defeat it in its home realm after this epic spell has been exhausted for the day.
[b]Hoary Steed[b]
Large Magical Beast (Cold) Hit Dice: 12d10+36 (102 hp) Initiative: +8 Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares), fly 90 ft. (16 squares) (good) Armor Class: 21 (–1 size, +4 Dex, +8 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 17 Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+19 Attack: Hoof +17 melee (1d8+6) Full Attack: 2 hooves +17 melee (1d8+6) and bite +15 melee (1d6+3) Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft. Special Attacks: -- Special Qualities: Air walk, astral projection and etherealness, cold resistance 15, DR 5/cold iron and magic, fire vulnerability, immunities, magic circle against good, misty breath, moderate SR Saves: Fort +11, Ref +12, Will +5 Abilities: Str 22, Dex 18, Con 17, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 12 Skills: Jump +12, Perception +7 Feats: Endurance, Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Run Environment: Any cold Organization: Solitary (with rider) ECL: ?? Treasure: None Alignment: Always neutral evil Advancement: 13–16 HD (Large); 17–36 HD (Huge)
A hoary steed's natural weapons are treated as cold iron and magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Combat
Air Walk (Su): A hoary steed can ride through the air as well as on the ground, as though affected by a permanent air walk spell.
Astral Projection and Etherealness (Su): These abilities function just like the spells of the same names as cast by a 20th-level caster.
Immunities (Ex): A hoary steed is immune to all charm and hold spells or abilities.
Magic Circle Against Good (Su): This ability continuously duplicates the effects of the spell. A hoary steed cannot suppress this ability.
Misty Breath (Su): The breath of a hoary steed functions like a constant obscuring mist spell.
Agamemnon: "Their process of building each edition atop the previous ones has resulted in 3.5 being the Michael Jackson of RPGs, desperately improving itself to ward off obsolescence but attaining only a kind of perverse lichlike state as a mockery of healthier games."
Here's my version of the leShay. I put it up on my site because it's in a table and it was easier to format it that way, rather than post it here and make a mess of things.
When I got to the leShay, I decided to simply give them some racial HD and class levels, like I'd mentioned before. The LeShay entry says that they all have class levels anyway, so this made sense (I can't imagine a 50 HD creature with class levels too...). Thus, I started with 10 HD and ruled that they'd all have at least 20 levels of various classes. I scaled SR, DR, and fast healing (I figured DR is HD/9, round down to the nearest 5), and having the power of their weapons scale also makes more sense.
The example has the base fey and a L20 fighter. The base fey doesn't require much conversion beyond changing SR back to a number and splitting the Stealth skill. I wouldn't recommend using the fighter unless you want to playtest Project Phoenix; it's just there to illustrate what a leShay with class levels looks like (powerful).
Agamemnon: "Their process of building each edition atop the previous ones has resulted in 3.5 being the Michael Jackson of RPGs, desperately improving itself to ward off obsolescence but attaining only a kind of perverse lichlike state as a mockery of healthier games."
Now that you bring it up, it's not a half-bad idea.
Linear Mode
And yet another word from our sponsors
