The Monster Project

the Jester · Aug 22, 2008

Hodag said:
Jester, you are a deity among humanity! I'm working on converting the entire 2e Al Qadim bestiary to 4e, and you've already done 15 of them. Thank you so very much.

I know nothing about Al-Qadim to speak of... which 15?

Oh, and glad to help!

Hodag · Aug 23, 2008

Al Qadim was the Arabian Nights setting for 2e that TSR put out. There is a thread with the creature list among other things HERE

the Jester · Aug 25, 2008

quindia said:
How about the Aspis - from A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity? I gave them a try, but I'd like to see what you might come up with since I scrapped several other conversions I made for yours!

Ooh, I missed this. Good suggestion!

the Jester · Aug 25, 2008

Rechan said:
Jester, if you could do me a favor. I would appreciate a conversion of Kopru. Preferably 3-4th level-ish?

I put them in at 8th, but it's pretty easy to de-level that to 5thish.

Pennarin · Aug 26, 2008

Alphastream said:
Giant Ant Lion Level 8 Solo Lurker

Cunning Home (no action; encounter)
The ant lion lies in wait at the bottom of a 100’ diameter conical home of loose sand or rock. On the beginning of their turn, any creature standing in the cone must make an Acrobatics check, DC 20. Failure results in falling prone. A creature that falls prone in the cone is pulled 5 squares toward the ant lion. A prone creature may get up with a move action, and may move towards the ant lion as if it were difficult terrain. A climb (Athletics) check, DC 20, is required to move away from the ant lion or to move laterally. Failing by 4 or less results in no movement. Failing by 5 or more results in falling prone and sliding.

Hey there alphastream, I read about this pit and its sliding mechanics in the H3 adventure, so I remodeled this ability accordingly. Hope it helps!:

Deadly Pit
The giant ant lion lives in a pit of loose dirt or sand. The pit has sharply sloped sides that drop 30 feet down to a flat, 10-foot by 10-foot space at the bottom (the pit itself is an 80-foot by 80-foot space). The giant ant lion occupies the flat space at the bottom, hidden underneath a layer of dirt or sand (enemies unaware of the giant ant lion’s presence are surprised when it emerges to attack). Moving up the pit’s slopes costs 3 squares of movement per square. Moving down is easier. A creature that begins its turn on the pit’s slopes slides 1 square toward the bottom. A creature moving on the pit’s slopes has trouble defending against opportunity attacks. Such attacks gain a +2 bonus to hit. Large or bigger creatures ignore the effects of the slope terrain.

Alphastream · Aug 27, 2008

Pennarin said:
Hey there alphastream, I read about this pit and its sliding mechanics in the H3 adventure, so I remodeled this ability accordingly. Hope it helps!

I'm guessing H3 has a lurker in a pit vs. a Giant Ant Lion, right?

The only thing about the version you presented is that it is important that people slide downwards so as to get within its threatening reach. That's the tenacious bit. And this monster was really designed to be the only thing you meet in a day (I mean, it is a desert creature), so it is supposed to be darn hard. The pit is meant to make it very difficult not to slip, fall, and slide towards the creature. This works in tandem with the ranged attack it has, which causes someone to fall and slide closer.

I am sure the pit part could use better wording, but I would like to keep those aspects in play.

Thanks!

Rechan · Aug 27, 2008

Personally I think the pit would be better served as a hazard, rather than attached to the monster, but the monster itself looks fine. I like the whirl foe ability too - bonk the surrounding people.

This would be great if you had say, the door to a dungeon actually beneath the pit.

Kunimatyu · Aug 27, 2008

I ran an Ant Lion encounter in 3.5 where the Ant Lion would cause foes adjacent to its burrow to fall in. Once inside, the PCs had to dig their way out of the sand and fend off the undead remnants of other folks the ant lion had snacked on...and then when all the PCs were in the pit, the ant lion came down to finish the job. Lots of fun!

By the way, there are 3 Large-sized ant lion miniatures being sold here, if anyone's interested. I have one and it's pretty sweet.

Alphastream · Aug 28, 2008

Rechan said:
Personally I think the pit would be better served as a hazard, rather than attached to the monster, but the monster itself looks fine. I like the whirl foe ability too - bonk the surrounding people.

Glad you guys like it, and thanks to Kunimatyu for sharing the story. You never know how many people dig the same monster until you post something!

The DMG is not very clear on what value terrain should have, and even the designers confess to adding advantageous terrain to an encounter without adjusting difficulty. Hazards have a level, but it is easy to place non-damaging terrain as a low level vs. really accounting for the difficulty based on the monsters. Thus, I kind of felt like it should be the same difficulty regardless of whether the ant lion's terrain is part of it or not. And you aren't going to find an ant lion outside of this terrain. Therefore, I was either going to design a hazard and then lower the level of the ant lion or make it one of its powers.

I have recycled my draft list of ideas, but I had a number of powers I was going to use. One of the ones that I almost used was the idea that the Bugbear Strangler has - you use the grabbed opponent as a shield, interrupting an attack and causing it to hit the grabbed foe. That's just an awesome power from an RP perspective. I also thought of having some sort of 'stomp' power where the ant lion could cause the whole cone to vibrate, causing everyone in it and within 5' of the edge to make a skill check or fall prone (and slide). In the end I went with the pit being part of the monster, for the mentioned reasons. You could substitute one of these instead if you prefer to make the terrain a hazard. However, you should probably then increase the XP value/level of the encounter.

Thanks for the positive feedback. I hope to make some more soon.

Teos

the Jester · Sep 4, 2008

Alphastream said:
Thanks for the positive feedback. I hope to make some more soon.

I really like your ant lion and have linked it in the 8th-level list.

Feel free to post in any of the threads in question if you'd like to put some monsters in there; I'm happy to link them.