Converting Epic Level Creatures

[Shade]

Part Two.

Original thread closed due to exceeding 1,000 post count.

[Shade]

Siragle
Climate/Terrain: Abyss
Freq: Unique (very rare)
Org: Solitary
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Carnivore
Int: Genius
Treasure: S, U, Y
# App: 1
AC: -3
Movement: 12
HD: 85 hp (18 HD)
THAC0: 5
# Att: 4
Dmg/Att: 2d4+7/2d4+7/2d2/3 (see below)
SA: Magic use, stinger (See below)
SD: +2 or better weapon to hit; half damage from cold, electricity, fire, and gas
MR: 50%
Size: L (8-1/2 feet tall)
Morale: 19
XP Value: 21,000

Siragle is a major Abyssal fiend whose form is an unsettling humanoid/reptile blend. He stands 8-1/2' tall and has the head of a crocodile crowned with sharp black antlers. His body is that of a huge, muscular human, a full 3' wide. His eyes are a solid blood-red, his numerous teeth are black as soot, and his 5'-long tail trails behind him, ending in a daggerlike yellowed ivory stinger. His feet and hands sport vicious claws, and his leathery, muscled body is a blackish-green.

Skilled at magic, Siragle can perform the following spell-like abilities as a 20th-level caster. At will: detect magic, detect invisible, darkness 10' radius, infravision, know alignment, fly, dispel magic; three times/day: invisibility, polymorph self, shout, suggestion, plane shift, teleport; once/day: chaos, gate 2-4 chasmes (45% chance); once/week: mass charm, forcecage. He is also able to utilize wizard scrolls and frequently has some in his possession, but not at this time.

Siragle has a strength of 19 (+3 to hit, +7 to damage). If he hits with both claw attacks (2-8/2-8 hp damage plus Str bonus), his bite (2-12 hp damage) and tail stinger (3 hp damage) hit automatically. Under such circumstances, the stinger has a 45% chance of draining 1 life level from the victim and transferring a corresponding number of hit points to Siragle (dice type determined by the victim's character class), though Siragle can never recieve more than his original number of hit points. He is capable of wielding a weapon rather than using his claw attacks, but has not brought a weapon with him.

Siragle saves as a 16th-level fighter or wizard, whichever is better. If a battle goes poorly for him and he is reduced to one-quarter his original hp, he will try to use his plane shift spell to escape or use whatever other means are available to get him to safety. If Siragle is driven off by the adventureres, he will definitely hold a grudge. If slain, he will re-form on his home plane in one year, whereupon he will do all he can to make life unpleasant for his slayers.

Originally appeared in Dungeon Magazine #28 (1991).

[Shade]

And from Fiendish Codex I, we've got his layer and nickname:

493 - The Steeping Isle, realm of Siragle the Ineffable.

[freyar]

So how many HD does this translate to? And target CR?

[Shade]

It actually translates to 18 HD, so I suppose he isn't truly epic. Although he does have CL 20 for his SLAs.

I guess he's more of a "unique fiend" like Kerzit than an actual demon lord.

Str 19 translates to 24 in 3e.

Genius intelligence equals 17-18.

Ability scores of other 18-HD demons:
Myrmyxicus: Str 33, Dex 15, Con 24, Int 22, Wis 24, Cha 21
Sorrowsworn: Str 29, Dex 17, Con 32, Int 20, Wis 22, Cha 21

[freyar]

Well, we can pretend he's epic.

Seems like he's going to be a bit less challenging than the myryxicus and sorrowsworn, at least judging by abilities (unless his SLAs make up for them). He's smaller than a myrmyxicus, I think, so maybe go with a slightly higher Dex. What do you think of Str 24, Dex 19, Con 24, Int 17, Wis 22, Cha 21? Should we decrease the other stats also?

[Shade]

Let's increase Int to 18, and I'm fine with those other abilities.

[freyar]

He should have 3 odd ability scores, so maybe Con 25?

Siragle has a strength of 19 (+3 to hit, +7 to damage). If he hits with both claw attacks (2-8/2-8 hp damage plus Str bonus), his bite (2-12 hp damage) and tail stinger (3 hp damage) hit automatically. Under such circumstances, the stinger has a 45% chance of draining 1 life level from the victim and transferring a corresponding number of hit points to Siragle (dice type determined by the victim's character class), though Siragle can never recieve more than his original number of hit points. He is capable of wielding a weapon rather than using his claw attacks, but has not brought a weapon with him.

Based on this, he should get improved grab and energy drain. Do you agree?

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.

[freyar]

Hmmm, looking at the summon tanar'ri, I wonder if we forgot to say what Ilsidahur summons if you don't have FC1. Maybe vrocks? Not sure what Siragle should summon.

[Shade]

Originally Posted by freyar

Hmmm, looking at the summon tanar'ri, I wonder if we forgot to say what Ilsidahur summons if you don't have FC1. Maybe vrocks? Not sure what Siragle should summon.

We used babaus in place of bar-lguras for Ilsidahur. Since chasmes are CR 10, and vrocks are CR 9, we could probably use vrocks as the alternative for Siragle.

[freyar]

Ahh, ok, you'd already changed some of that. Yes, I think chasmes and vrocks will work pretty well.

What did you think about improved grab and energy drain?

[Shade]

Updated to add both.

Spell-Like Abilities: At will--deeper darkness, detect good, detect magic, dispel magic, fly, see invisibility; 3/day--greater teleport, invisibility, shout, suggestion, plane shift; 1/day--word of chaos; 1/week--forcecage, mass charm. Caster level 20th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

I'd suggest we move the 1/week abilities to 1/day, as they aren't that powerful.

I'd also suggest adding some common demon SLAs, like unholy blight and unholy aura.

And I think dispel magic should be upgraded to greater.

[freyar]

I'd agree with all of that. Given this

He is also able to utilize wizard scrolls and frequently has some in his possession, but not at this time.

should we add an ability that he can use arcane scrolls of any spell without a failure chance?

[Shade]

Originally Posted by freyar

should we add an ability that he can use arcane scrolls of any spell without a failure chance?

Sure. We can modify the item master ability:

Item Master (Ex): Demogorgon can use any magic item, even spell completion items such as wands or scrolls. He can also create any item or construct as though he had the necessary feats and prerequisite spells or other requirements.

How about...

Scroll Master (Ex): Siragle can use use or create any scroll as though he had the necessary feats and prerequisite spells or other requirements.

[freyar]

Ok, are we down to skills & feats? For skills, how about Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (the planes), Spellcraft, Intimidate, Concentration, Diplomacy, Use Magic Device, Spot, Listen, Search, Jump, and Swim?

If slain, he will re-form on his home plane in one year, whereupon he will do all he can to make life unpleasant for his slayers.

We need some kind of rejuvenation ability, like the lie in state from Adimarchus, I think.

[demiurge1138]

I agree with Freyar that a rejuvenation ability would be good. There should also be some way to prevent this from happening (slay him on his home plane? cast holy word and dispel evil on his corpse within 1d4 rounds?)

Feats-wise, Power Attack seems like a given for a bruiser like this. Cleave's nice, but not really required. Quicken Spell-like Ability could be good for either fly or suggestion. Improved Initiative, Multiattack are both solid. I'm tempted to give him Improved Bull's Rush + Awesome Blow + Combat Reflexes, so he can smack people who are in melee with him, then grab them with his tail when they try to close.

My vote for final feats? Awesome Blow, Combat Reflexes, Imp. Bull's Rush, Imp. Initiative, Multiattack, Power Attack, Quicken SLA (either fly or suggestion).

Demiurge out.

[freyar]

I like that feat selection. I think I'd quicken fly, if we're going for a melee theme. On the caster side (this guy is so versatile! ), I'd prefer suggestion, though. Depends on the focus you want to have.

How about this for the rejuvenation?

Rejuvenation (Su): If Siragle dies, he reforms on the Steeping Isle, his home layer of the Abyss, in one year. Any equipment Siragle was wearing or carrying at the moment of his death, such as a weapon or scroll, however, is left behind. If Siragle is slain on his home plane, he is dead forever.

[Shade]

Hey there, Demiurge! <waves>

The skill and feat selections look pretty good. I mixed up some of the ranks to add Bluff and Sense Motive. We'll need to bump his Str to 25 to meet the prereqs for Awesome Blow, but that's not a problem since he's already at 24.

Updated.

[freyar]

Looking good. For some Xs:

DR 15/cold iron & good ?
Telepathy 100 ft? or drop it to 60 since he's not quite as epic?

His original natural attack damage is pretty low. So how about 2d6 for claws, 1d8 for bite, and 1d6 for the stinger? That's a little better than the original version.