Special Conversion Thread: Sheens

[Shade]

This thread will focus on converting the sheens found in Dragon Magazine #258 and #270. Some of these have already been converted in 3e, but I think it would be best to start from scratch.

Here's the overview...

Originally Posted by Dragon Magazine #258

Living Machines
With infinite Prime Planes and the means to traverse them, elements of one Plane sometimes infect another. On many Planes, clockwork lore advanced well beyond iron springs and gears. Constructs that unlock energy from matter and sunlight were developed as tools on some Planes. The lore of the machine builders is vast, and some of their mechanisms serve as remote servants for mighty exploratory vessels.

Some of these vessels foundered in the tide pools of the universe, “sinking” on planes where technology is subservient to magic. In some cases, the living crew and their machine servants survived the catastrophe; in others, only the machines survived. A few damaged but functioning machines—without the guidance of their living masters—bypassed safeguards and mimicked life, replicating themselves to insure survival.

In every case of unsupervised machine cyst formation documented by the Vital League, self-replicating machines are inimical to the ecosystem because their single goal is their own expansion—at the expense of local resources. Machine life regards living creatures as dispensable and easily eradicated competitors.

Even more frightening is a truncated report describing biological masters of the machines. Apperently, they are Wizards who long ago embraced both magic and technology. The goals of these “sheenmasters” are a source of much debate within League and Coalition circles, but they remain enigmas.

An Abridged Apparatiary
To catalogue the reported incidents of machine life, the Vital League has created a machinery bestiary or—as they call it—the Apparatiary. The Apparatiary is updated as Sheenchasers discover new cysts from different origins.

At least two points of origin for machine life cysts are currently known, the Barrier Peaks and the Rael cysts. Many more are suspected to exist, but they are as yet undiscovered. Each of the confirmed sites includes several different types of free-roaming machines. Worse, it’s not uncommon for each machine type to modify itself and its “progeny” to become better equipped to deal with their environment.

There are currently over one hundred entries in the Apparatiary, but this record relates only the four most common forms of machine life encountered by Sheenchasers. These are the forms that most often leave the cyst to probe for new resources. As yet, no Sheenchaser has found and entered a machine cyst and returned to tell the tale.

Machine Healing
All forms of machine life possess self-repair subroutines. Thus, a machine left for dead might eventually repair itself. Sheens effect internal repairs at a rate of 1d4 hit points per twenty-four hours. Moreover, sheens continue to effect repairs even when brought below 0 hit points. Self-repair subroutines are scrambled if a sheen is brought below -10 hit points, at which time it is truly “dead.”

[Shade]

And here's the first one...

Walkers
Walkers number among the simplest sheens observed outside a machine cyst. A walker’s body is composed mostly of a lumpy metallic obloid. Dim lights flicker across the surface of a sphere in different patterns, depending on the walker’s situation. The main body is supported by two slender metal legs, each ending in a wide, hooflike iron pad. Another limb, called a sampler arm, emerges from beneath the sphere. The sampler arm contains small metal teeth, perfect for gripping samples but also useful in defending the walker from threats it can’t escape.

The Vital League believes that walkers serve as advance scouts for an expanding machine cyst. Cysts require a specialized mix of resources, which walkers are suited to locate. When a walker finds the appropriate mineral and environmental conditions, it returns to its cyst with the report. Teams of up to six walkers usually work together.

Walkers must return to their machine cyst once per month to replenish their energy. If a walker’s energy is depleted and not replenished, it becomes inert. Sheenchasers have had some success in “recharging” walkers with finely focused shocking grasp spells, then following the walker back to its home cyst.

Note: Stronger variants of the walker have been sighted. Additionally, walkers specialized for ore recovery (called miners) are common in areas rich in the mineral resources sought by a growing cyst. Miner sheens possess digger arms instead of sampler arms, as well as a “plasma shovel” in the form of a focused plasma burst that can unearth soil and stone quickly. The plasma shovel can also be directed at organic nuisances. (Variant statistics appear with the standard walker stats.)

Walker, machine life form (1d6): AC 6 (metallic foil); MV 9; HD 1+1; hp 9; THAC0 19; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6 (sampler arm); SA Electrical discharge; SD Grade 1 defensive field, immune to all mind-affecting spells, spells that affect life force, and psionics; SW Magic susceptibility; SZ S (3’ diameter); ML Champion (16); AL N; XP 175; Str 9, Dex 9, Con 16, Int 5, Wis 5 Cha 0.
SA – Electrical discharge. Walkers store electrical energy in their outer carapace. Up to three times per day, a walker can release this energy as a powerful electrical shock. When a walker does so, the next foe struck in melee with the sampler arm suffers and additional 2d4 points of electrical damage in addition to physical damage. Alternatively, if an attacker strikes the walker with a metallic weapon while the walker contains an excess charge in its carapace, the foe also receives 2d4 points of electrical damage. Each excess electrical build-up depletes the walker’s energy stores, forcing it to return to its cyst one day sooner than it otherwise would to replenish its energy.
SD – Grade 1 defensive field. Walkers automatically generate a physical protective field from virtual particles. Though generally invisible, the defensive field drains 1 point of damage from every successful attack directed at the walker, to a maximum of 6 hit points/day. For example, a longsword that would inflict 3 points of damage actually inflicts only 2 points of damage on the walker, while depleting the defensive field by 1 point. (The field can absorb only 5 more hit points that day, 1 hit point at a time.) Magical attacks that deliver direct damage, such as fireball, lightning bolt, etc., are also affected by the defensive field, but only after respective saving throws are made (see Magic Susceptibility).
SW - Magic Susceptibility. All forms of machine life are unsuited to resist magic, except for mind-affecting magic. (Machine “minds” work differently from organic minds.) Walkers save against all spells with a -3 penalty. Against spells that cause physical harm, sheens always suffer one additional point of damage per die of damage delivered. Thus, a 6d6 fireball affects a sheen as a 6d6+6 fireball.

Walker, Strong Variant: AC 0 (reinforced metallic foil + Dex); MV 12; HD 4+1; hp 36; THAC0 15; #AT 2; Dmg 1d6/1d6 (sampler arms); SA Electrical discharge; SD Grade 1 defensive field, immune to all mind-affecting spells, spells that affect life force, and psionics; SW Magic susceptibility; SZ M (4’ diameter); ML Champion (16); AL N; XP 975; Str 16, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 5, Wis 5 Cha 0.

Ore Recovery Walker (Miner): AC 6 (metallic foil); MV 9; HD 1+1; hp 9; THAC0 19; #AT 1 or 1; Dmg 1d6 (digger arm); SA Electrical discharge, plasma shovel; SD Grade 1 defensive field, immune to all mind-affecting spells, spells that affect life force, and psionics; SW Magic susceptibility; SZ S (3’ diameter); ML Champion (16); AL N; XP 420; Str 9, Dex 9, Con 16, Int 5, Wis 5 Cha 0.
SA – Plasma Shovel. Three times per day, the miner can vent superheated plasma from the tip of its digger arm. The plasma is a searing cone of superheated particles (although the orientation is the opposite of the cone of plasma “breath” of a render) 30 feet long, 3 feet wide at the origin and gradually narrowing to an inch or less at the terminus. Soil and earth melts away from the skilled touch of the plasma shovel, revealing the minerals sought by miners. Creatures struck by the plasma must make a successful saving throw vs. breath weapon or suffer 4d10 points of damage; creatures that successfully save still suffer half damage. Treat the plasma as fire for purposes of invulnerabilities and protective magics.

Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #258 (1999).

[freyar]

First off, plain constructs or something fancier like living constructs?

[Shade]

I think they are regular constructs, but should have some sort of self-repair similar to the maug.


Rapid Repair (Ex): A maug that rests for 1 full hour repairs 1 point of damage, so long as it has at least 1 hit point. Rapid repair does not allow a maug to regrow or reattach lost body parts.

A character can assist a maug's self-repair with a Craft (stonemasonry) check (DC 15). If the check is successful, the the maug repairs 2 hit points per hour of rest. Providing assistance to the maug counts as light activity for the assisting character, and a character can assist only one maug at a time. A maug cannot assist its own repair.

[demiurge1138]

They have a Con score, and there's not many living constructs that aren't warforged. Let's make them living constructs.

How do we want to handle magic susceptibility?

[freyar]

Living construct with a maug's rapid repair? (Or does it need that? I forget if warforged can "heal" with rest.)

I think magic susceptibility almost works as is. Maybe 50% extra damage instead of an extra point per die. I think the save penalty is fine, though maybe -3 is too harsh. Dunno.

[demiurge1138]

Warforged can repair themselves with Craft checks. I think we should go for rapid repair, but note that Craft (metalworking) can treat a sheen like a Heal check.

[freyar]

I'll agree to that.

[Shade]

Agreed to living construct w/rapid repair and Craft (metalworking) as Heal.

I like the idea of just giving them vulnerability (+50% damage) to damaging magic, and leave off a save penalty. The combo seems a tad harsh.

[demiurge1138]

Agreed. One or the other, not both.

[freyar]

Sure. Let's do the +50% damage.

[Shade]

Looking through the living construct traits, I see a few problems...

Unlike other constructs, a living construct is not immune to mind-influencing effects.

Unlike other constructs, living constructs are subject to critical hits, effects requiring a Fort save, death from massive damage, nonlethal damage, stunning, ability damage, ability drain, and death effects or necromancy effects.

Sheens are "immune to all mind-affecting spells, spells that affect life force..."


So...do we make 'em living constructs and note the exceptions, or make them standard constructs and note the exceptions?

[demiurge1138]

We make 'em living constructs and note the exceptions.

Sheens, unlike other living constructs, are immune to death effects and mind-influencing effects.

[freyar]

Works for me.

[Shade]

Fair enough.

Stick with the listed ability scores for the walker, but increase Cha to 1?

[demiurge1138]

Sure! Poor guys, though. Str and Dex of 9? We're looking at fractional CRs here.

[Shade]

Yeah, for miners you'd think they'd at least not have a penalty. Hmmm....

[freyar]

Missed part of that conversation...

Seems like the miners just use their plasma shovels and don't need much Str. You'd think they'd want better Dex to aim, but I guess they're not so good at that, either. We should list what happens to a character that gets in the way of a plasma shovel.

[demiurge1138]

I agree that miners should get a better Dexterity score. Plasma shovel based on flame blade, but typeless and ignores up to 10 points of hardness?

[freyar]

Originally Posted by demiurge1138

I agree that miners should get a better Dexterity score. Plasma shovel based on flame blade, but typeless and ignores up to 10 points of hardness?

Sure! And 30 ft long...

Dex 12?