Dog Moon's Creatures [Updated 10-05-13]

Jdvn1 · Mar 14, 2007

Dog Moon said:
Feats: Fearless

~~Where is this feat from?~~
Found it: Player's Guide to Faerun.

Dog Moon said:
Random Action (Su): As if attempting to spread their own nature upon their surroundings, any creature within 10 feet of the Maniac must make a DC 10 Will save or be affected as with the Confusion, Lesser spell. The effect, as with the spell, lasts for a single round, but if the character begins his next round within the area, he must make the same save again or be inflicted as with the Confusion, Lesser spell.

Characters have to make the save in any turn they start in the aura?

Dog Moon · Mar 14, 2007

Jdvn1 said:
~~Where is this feat from?~~
Found it: Player's Guide to Faerun.

Hrm, I guess I should label miscellaneous feats or items which are not found in the PH. Sorry about that. Not sure if I was doing that before or not, but I'll start now.

P.S. I think Swarmfighting and Phalanx Fighting are both in Complete Warrior. Would have to doublecheck when I get home though.

Jdvn1 said:
Characters have to make the save in any turn they start in the aura?

You think that's bad? The thing is, I didn't want it to be as strong as the normal Confusion which, I believe has a longer duration [lesser is a single round], but I didn't want to do the 'If you pass, you are no longer affected until the next day' thing because that kinda trivializes it. One round of confusion or nothing just didn't seem as fitting for me.

If you think it's bad or think it's good but makes the creature strong enough to bump up the CR, please let me know. I like feedback, good or bad.

[I noticed that with Fru gone, you seem to be the only person checking this thread. Hrm. :\ ]

Jdvn1 · Mar 14, 2007

Dog Moon said:
Hrm, I guess I should label miscellaneous feats or items which are not found in the PH. Sorry about that. Not sure if I was doing that before or not, but I'll start now.

P.S. I think Swarmfighting and Phalanx Fighting are both in Complete Warrior. Would have to doublecheck when I get home though.

I decided to just use the consolidated lists. So, the only problem would be if material was from 3rd party stuff. Thanks, though!

Dog Moon said:
You think that's bad? The thing is, I didn't want it to be as strong as the normal Confusion which, I believe has a longer duration [lesser is a single round], but I didn't want to do the 'If you pass, you are no longer affected until the next day' thing because that kinda trivializes it. One round of confusion or nothing just didn't seem as fitting for me.

If you think it's bad or think it's good but makes the creature strong enough to bump up the CR, please let me know. I like feedback, good or bad.

I was just making sure. I'm running one or two of these tonight, and I wanted to make sure that the characters can move into the 10' to attack without having the Confusion effect interrupt their round. The only have to save against it at the start of their next turn.

Dog Moon · Mar 15, 2007

Jdvn1 said:
I was just making sure. I'm running one or two of these tonight, and I wanted to make sure that the characters can move into the 10' to attack without having the Confusion effect interrupt their round. The only have to save against it at the start of their next turn.

Ahhhhh, gotcha. Now I fully understand what you were talking about. Actually, that wasn't the original intent, but I do kind of like that better than *step, bam!, confusion*. It does, however, make them a little weaker because it is not instantaneous.

I edited the Maniac to reflect this and explain it in better detail.

Jdvn1 · Mar 15, 2007

What confused me, I think, was the line:

The effect, as with the spell, lasts for a single round, but if the character begins his next round within the area, he must make the same save again or be inflicted as with the Confusion, Lesser spell.

It sounds like you should've phrased your intent as

The aura affects the character while he is in range, and the character is no longer affected as soon as he exits the aura. Should he return to the aura, however, he must attempt the save again.

... But if you like it how you have it now, that's just fine.

Also, I'm not sure where you got 16 hp from.

Anyway, I ran him as the introduction to the campaign--sort of a 'you meet in a tavern' but with a twist.

Each of the (2) characters had backstories that ended up in, "... And so I decided to leave my home, traveling around the countryside." So, of course, they each ended up in a seedy port town from Map Folio I and I chose an equally seedy tavern from an older EN World thread to fit the town the characters were in. Of course, they didn't like it either, but they were each just passing through while wandering the countryside. And, I used the tavern tile from Dungeon Tiles 1.

Anyway, I set up the situation for them, showed them the tavern tile, and told them to place their characters where they wanted to sit. One close to the fireplace, the other in a corner, facing the doorway. Then, I littered the tavern with NPCs, a barkeep, and the performer (Yay!).

I gave the Maniac 20 hp (max plus a couple to draw out what I planned to be a defensive but lively encounter on his part).

So, the Maniac performed (quite well) but the crowd, being a seedy sailor sort of crowd, paid him no attention. So, the Maniac walked around the tavern, performing, trying to get the audience involved. Of course, they still had none of that, so a fight was picked.

Patrons started to blabber, or run around, and whatnot, and the PCs sat there, trying not to get involved, trying to figure out exactly what was happening. Until I rolled "attack nearest person." The Half-Orc Greatsword-wielding Paladin would have none of that. He went around nonlethal-damaging all of the NPCs who rolled "attack nearest person." The Maniac tried to stay out of combat, satified with only making a ruckus. Chairs were thrown, tables broken, windows shattered, the Paladin only went after the Maniac after the Maniac successfully targeted him with Maniacal Laughter. This is where the Halfling Sorcerer, previously just defending himself with a Confused crossbow versus a grappling sailor (whom the paladin knocked on a table), decided to also target the Maniac.

After the Paladin then also got Confused, he eventually was able to knock the Maniac out with a crit after the Sorcerer was able to successfully Daze him.

I felt the Maniac was not a powerful CR 2, but definitely above a CR1. But, maybe my impression of a CR 2 is a little off. I'd give him a little better stats and 5' more on the aura, but only because his 'created minions' so to speak are one of his greatest assets.

Thanks for a fun encounter, though. My players and I loved it.

Gothenem · Mar 15, 2007

Dog Moon said:
Okay so apparently, what I would have SWORN was called Random Action was pretty much just the Confusion spell. The Random Action Ability has been modified based on this.

Sorry about the, ah, confusion.

Heh, Random Action is the 3.0 name for the spell Lesser Confusion IIRC.

Dog Moon · Mar 15, 2007

Jdvn1 said:
What confused me, I think, was the line: It sounds like you should've phrased your intent as
... But if you like it how you have it now, that's just fine.

Well, I originally had it worded well, I thought, until I realized that the spell last but a single round. Then I tried to work that in there and the confusion of wording started.

Jdvn1 said:
Also, I'm not sure where you got 16 hp from.

This is how I do hp: Max HD at first level [like PCs] and then about .75 of the HD [so 1d8 would give 6, d6 gives 4, etc] because it seems that creatures never have enough hp, especially when PCs always aim to deal more damage.

Jdvn1 said:
Anyway, I ran him as the introduction to the campaign--sort of a 'you meet in a tavern' but with a twist.

Each of the (2) characters had backstories that ended up in, "... And so I decided to leave my home, traveling around the countryside." So, of course, they each ended up in a seedy port town from Map Folio I and I chose an equally seedy tavern from an older EN World thread to fit the town the characters were in. Of course, they didn't like it either, but they were each just passing through while wandering the countryside. And, I used the tavern tile from Dungeon Tiles 1.

Anyway, I set up the situation for them, showed them the tavern tile, and told them to place their characters where they wanted to sit. One close to the fireplace, the other in a corner, facing the doorway. Then, I littered the tavern with NPCs, a barkeep, and the performer (Yay!).

I gave the Maniac 20 hp (max plus a couple to draw out what I planned to be a defensive but lively encounter on his part).

So, the Maniac performed (quite well) but the crowd, being a seedy sailor sort of crowd, paid him no attention. So, the Maniac walked around the tavern, performing, trying to get the audience involved. Of course, they still had none of that, so a fight was picked.

Patrons started to blabber, or run around, and whatnot, and the PCs sat there, trying not to get involved, trying to figure out exactly what was happening. Until I rolled "attack nearest person." The Half-Orc Greatsword-wielding Paladin would have none of that. He went around nonlethal-damaging all of the NPCs who rolled "attack nearest person." The Maniac tried to stay out of combat, satified with only making a ruckus. Chairs were thrown, tables broken, windows shattered, the Paladin only went after the Maniac after the Maniac successfully targeted him with Maniacal Laughter. This is where the Halfling Sorcerer, previously just defending himself with a Confused crossbow versus a grappling sailor (whom the paladin knocked on a table), decided to also target the Maniac.

After the Paladin then also got Confused, he eventually was able to knock the Maniac out with a crit after the Sorcerer was able to successfully Daze him.

I felt the Maniac was not a powerful CR 2, but definitely above a CR1. But, maybe my impression of a CR 2 is a little off. I'd give him a little better stats and 5' more on the aura, but only because his 'created minions' so to speak are one of his greatest assets.

Thanks for a fun encounter, though. My players and I loved it.

Man, that does sound like a fun time. This story just made my day.

Dog Moon · Mar 15, 2007

Gothenem said:
Heh, Random Action is the 3.0 name for the spell Lesser Confusion IIRC.

After being unable to find the spell and coming up with Lesser Confusion, that was the conclusion I went with, though I don't have a 3.0 PH anymore to check it out.

Jdvn1 · Mar 16, 2007

Dog Moon said:
This is how I do hp: Max HD at first level [like PCs] and then about .75 of the HD [so 1d8 would give 6, d6 gives 4, etc] because it seems that creatures never have enough hp, especially when PCs always aim to deal more damage.

Ah, okay. I usually assume the parentheses is average hp and I scale up the hp because PCs always aim to deal more damage. I just didn't know you did my work for me!

Dog Moon said:
Man, that does sound like a fun time. This story just made my day.

It was. I'm glad! And, the last living (standing) NPC served as the hook for Scourge of the Howling Horde! Which features Goblins, which will have those nifty templates you provided me.