Converting Forgotten Realms monsters

[Shade]

Agreed!

Updated.

All done?

[demiurge1138]

Done!

[freyar]

Looks done! Now we need Kazgaroth's corrupting charm ability to make these!

[Shade]

Sha’az
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Arctic glaciers
FREQUENCY: Rare
ORGANIZATION: Feudal hives
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Day
DIET: Carnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Average (8-10)
TREASURE: Nil (G)
ALIGNMENT: Lawful neutral (good)
NO. APPEARING: 2-12 (2d6)
ARMOR CLASS: 5 (4 with shield)
MOVEMENT: 6, Fl 18 (B)
HIT DICE: 1
THAC0: 19
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 bite or weapon
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4 or by weapon
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Poison frost
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Empathy
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: M (6. tall)
MORALE: Fearless (19)
XP VALUE:
Drone: 15
Warrior: 270
Queen: 1,400

These creatures are a race of insect-humanoids that have adapted to arctic temperatures. Sha’az are enemies of the haun (q.v.)

Fluffy white down protects them from the icy weather. The down is thickest at the four hind leg extremities, which are also protected by dense felt-like growth. Although the sha’az torso and head are near-human, its six legs are more insect-like. The chest is rather broad, ending in a thin, muscular waist.

The creature’s six legs allow it easy movement on the snow. It can hold on to sheer surfaces or slippery ice with its strong, retractile hooks at the leg extremities. The two front legs end in a series of smaller, prehensile hooks that enable the sha’az to manipulate objects or weapons. The sha’az often stands on its four hind legs, and keeps the rest of its body erect.

The sha’az warrior is male. It conceals four fragile, translucent wings in the white down of its back. These wings enable flight in all but extreme weather conditions.

Underneath the white down, a sha’az body is quite skinny, and partially covered with chitinous plates on the thorax, back, and shoulders. The remainder of the body displays wiry muscles under a thick gray skin, especially on the abdomen, neck, and legs. Its face displays near-human features: a mouth, a hooked nose, and deep set eyes, with a thick, white mane on the top of its head. Two large, serrated mandibles jut out of its cheeks.

Combat: Sha’az avoid combat if isolated. They prefer fighting in groups, especially when hunting. In the face of great danger, sha’az usually attempt to alert the rest of the hive.
Sha’az are advanced enough to use weapons and shields. They do not wear armor. Warriors commonly use spears, swords, nets, or bows. These warriors are capable of using their bows in midflight, with a -2 attack penalty in addition to other adjustments.

As an alternative to weapons, a sha’az warrior can bite a foe with its venomous mandibles. The poison causes the victim to freeze, inflicting 1-6 points of damage per round, until the victim successfully saves vs. poison. The victim is allowed one saving throw per round, with a cumulative -1 penalty each successive round. At 0 hit points, the victim is frozen and dies. The sha’az warrior can only use its venom once a day. Mandibles alone inflict 1-4 points of damage.

Each hive has a queen that fights like a 10 Hit Dice sha’az with 10th-level clerical spellcasting abilities. Her drone servants which are the female Sha’az, are flightless and fight with a -2 attack penalty. The drones’ mandibles are not poisoned. They fight only if no other choice is available, or if the queen is in some sort of danger. Drones are not normally armed.

For each ten sha’az warriors, one has a limited empathic ability which allows it to communicate with his queen, when it is away from the hive. It is a knight with maximum hit points. The ability can be used at will within 900 feet. Within a mile, the knight has a 10% chance of failure per round of usage, which increases another 1% for each extra mile of distance between the knight and his queen. The maximum chance of failure is limited to 90%, regardless of the distance. When failing an empathic roll, the knight loses its empathic ability for the remainder of the day.

Habitat/Society: Sha’az live in hives dug into arctic glaciers. A hive contains 30-60 sha’az (1d4+2×10). Half are hunter/warriors, while the remainder are drones that tend the hive and serve the queen. A queen lays eight-pound eggs that ensure the survival of the hive. She is the only sha’az capable of casting spells and of making magical objects. Sha’az are literate and use a combination of words, movements, and scents to communicate.

A queen lives several centuries. Occasionally, she engenders another queen who leaves when it is an adult so it may establish another hive. This new hive is a loyal vassal of the motherqueen.

Social status among sha’az depends on how close to the mother-queen one’s hive belongs. There can be many layers of mother-daughter allegiances among sha’az hives. When a queen dies, her drones ritually seal the entrance to her hive. Soon thereafter the mourning hive dies of asphyxiation. Its vassal hives, if any, then become vassals of the oldest related mother-queen.

Ecology: Sha’az hunt for food and feed on polar bear, whale, seal, deer, or haundar (q.v.). They also trade shell pieces with other races. Their enemies are the haun that prey on their eggs. The eggs contain a substance that alters resistance to psionic effects. Haun use it to help maintain control over their giant mounts, the haundars.

Originally appeared in Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix (MC11)(1991).

[Shade]

Monstrous Humanoid?

They seem similar to thri-kreen, which have the following ability scores:
Str 12, Dex 15, Con 11, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 7

[demiurge1138]

We should stat the queen up seperately, methinks.

[freyar]

Ability scores look about right, though maybe we should bump Dex to account for more AC since I didn't see anything about armor. Maybe Str 11, Dex 20, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 9?

Agreed on the queen. Also, at least a sidebar each for the drones and knights (want to give the knights extra HD as opposed to max hp?).

[Shade]

Thri-kreen have +3 natural armor, so we could use that here as well, keeping the Dex at 15.

Since they have only 1 Hit Die, should they be 1st-level warriors instead of racial HD? Or does that apply only to non-monstrous humanoids?

[demiurge1138]

There's a few monstrous humanoids with 1 HD--dromites come to mind. They're 1st level warriors.

[freyar]

Let's do 1st level warriors, then.

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.

[freyar]

Give them a light shield and +3 natural armor?

I was thinking that maybe the telepathy could go to any Sha'az with X number of HD from levels, perhaps.

[demiurge1138]

Sounds good. The gith have similar emergent psionic powers. 4 HD?

[freyar]

Yeah, that's fair.

Should the bite be a secondary natural attack? Poison: injury, DC X, 1d6 hp (cold), 1d6 hp (cold), DC Con-based?

[demiurge1138]

DC should absolutely be Con based.

Do we want to have them only be able to use the poison a set number of times/day, like a thri-kreen, or is it continuous?

[freyar]

The original text is 1/day (which is fine by me).

[Shade]

Updated.

It sounds like the telepathic link is unique to knights.

[freyar]

Right.

For each ten sha’az warriors, one has a limited empathic ability which allows it to communicate with his queen, when it is away from the hive. It is a knight with maximum hit points. The ability can be used at will within 900 feet. Within a mile, the knight has a 10% chance of failure per round of usage, which increases another 1% for each extra mile of distance between the knight and his queen. The maximum chance of failure is limited to 90%, regardless of the distance. When failing an empathic roll, the knight loses its empathic ability for the remainder of the day.

One suggestion was a sidebar for knights. Another suggestion was that all sha'az above some HD threshhold are knights. I could go either way. One thing I'm not sure about is the percent failure chances for the empathic connection based on distance, though. Thoughts about this?

[Shade]

It sounds like knights are different enough to warrant a sidebar.

Fluffy white down protects them from the icy weather. The down is thickest at the four hind leg extremities, which are also protected by dense felt-like growth.

Resistance to cold, or arctic adaptation?

The creature’s six legs allow it easy movement on the snow. It can hold on to sheer surfaces or slippery ice with its strong, retractile hooks at the leg extremities.

Racial bonus on Balance and Climb checks?

Each hive has a queen that fights like a 10 Hit Dice sha’az with 10th-level clerical spellcasting abilities.

We've already decided to stat the queen separately.

Her drone servants which are the female Sha’az, are flightless and fight with a -2 attack penalty. The drones’ mandibles are not poisoned. They fight only if no other choice is available, or if the queen is in some sort of danger. Drones are not normally armed.

Are the drones different enough to warrant a separate statblock? It sounds like, at the very least, that its bite attack should always be considered secondary, even as its only attack.

Sha’az are literate and use a combination of words, movements, and scents to communicate.

Sha'az speak their own language?

[demiurge1138]

Drones could be statted up as 1st level experts or commoners. I like actual cold resistance.