Converting Oriental Adventures creatures

demiurge1138 · Dec 22, 2009

I'm okay with an incorporeal fireball.

Cleon · Dec 22, 2009

freyar said:
Death urge seems like a good idea, and Cleon's write-up is fine.

Edit: An incorporeal fireball might be interesting, but it would be a little strange to have it deal fire damage.

It needn't do any damage at all. If I remember correctly a Chinese ghostfire can be like a ball of St Elmo's Fire or a (folklore, not D&D) Will of the Wisp's mysterious light. It's spooky and might lead you astray, but doesn't do any damage.

Then again, I recall at least one Hong Kong movies where it was a fireball that could ignite things.

So, we could go either way.

Shade · Dec 22, 2009

I suppose precedents exist for incorporeal attacks dealing fire damage (such as the effigy), so we could probably go with the incorporeal fireball. It would require much less work for the DM.

So...

Alternate Form (Su): A suicide spirit can shift between its apparition and spectral fireball forms as a standard action. In apparition form, it cannot use its fiery touch or fireball attacks, but it can use its Constitution drain. In the form of a spectral fireball, it can make fiery touch attacks, and use its fireball ability, but it cannot use its Constitution drain attack.

A suicide spirit remains in one form until it chooses to take the other form. A change in form cannot be dispelled, nor does a suicide spirit revert to any particular form when killed. A true seeing spell reveals both forms simultaneously.

Constitution Drain (Su): Living creatures hit by a suicide spirit's incorporeal touch attack while in its apparition form must succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or take 1 point of Constitution drain. The save DC is Charisma-based. On each such successful attack, the suicide spirit gains 5 temporary hit points.

Fiery Touch (Ex): A suicide spirit in spectral fireball form deals x points of fire damage with an incorporeal touch attack.

Fireball (Su): As a standard action, a suicide spirit in spectral fireball form can explode in a burst of fire. This functions as a fireball spell cast by a sorcerer of a level equal to the suicide spirt's Hit Dice, but the area is centered on the suicide spirit. The suicide spirit reforms in the same space in spectral apparition form 1d4 rounds later.

demiurge1138 · Dec 22, 2009

1d8 points of fire damage per touch?

freyar · Dec 23, 2009

1d8 on the touch is good. Let's specify 5d6 for the fireball for a typical suicide spirit.

Cleon · Dec 23, 2009

Shade said:
I suppose precedents exist for incorporeal attacks dealing fire damage (such as the effigy), so we could probably go with the incorporeal fireball. It would require much less work for the DM.

So...

Alternate Form (Su): A suicide spirit can shift between its apparition and spectral fireball forms as a standard action. In apparition form, it cannot use its fiery touch or fireball attacks, but it can use its Constitution drain. In the form of a spectral fireball, it can make fiery touch attacks, and use its fireball ability, but it cannot use its Constitution drain attack.

A suicide spirit remains in one form until it chooses to take the other form. A change in form cannot be dispelled, nor does a suicide spirit revert to any particular form when killed. A true seeing spell reveals both forms simultaneously.

Constitution Drain (Su): Living creatures hit by a suicide spirit's incorporeal touch attack while in its apparition form must succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or take 1 point of Constitution drain. The save DC is Charisma-based. On each such successful attack, the suicide spirit gains 5 temporary hit points.

Fiery Touch (Ex): A suicide spirit in spectral fireball form deals x points of fire damage with an incorporeal touch attack.

Fireball (Su): As a standard action, a suicide spirit in spectral fireball form can explode in a burst of fire. This functions as a fireball spell cast by a sorcerer of a level equal to the suicide spirt's Hit Dice, but the area is centered on the suicide spirit. The suicide spirit reforms in the same space in spectral apparition form 1d4 rounds later.

That looks alright, except its current stats say its Incorporeal touch does 1d6 Con, not a measly 1.

Maybe limit the fireball SA a bit, maybe 1/hour, or how about it cannot assume its fireball alternate form for a period (10 minutes?) after using it.

I'd have the fiery touch do a fair bit of damage. 1d4 touch + 1 Con (or 1d6 Con) + gains 5 temp hit points is worth quite a bit of fire damage - 2d6 fire or 3d6 fire seems a conservative figure?

Or we could make it a mix of fire and another form of damage (unholy?) so that a simple resist elements doesn't stop most of it - 1d6 fire plus 2d6 unholy?

GrayLinnorm · Dec 23, 2009

If the fireball form is incorporeal, does this mean that other incorporeal creatures don't get the usual miss chance to avoid damage from it?

Edit: OK, I just remembered that the miss chance is to avoid taking damages from corporeal sources. Never mind.