Cleon
Legend
Updating the Priest of Ythog-Nthlei Working Draft.
The Advancement and Challenge Rating proposals are fine.
I'm inclined to add "coven" to the organisation.
How about:
Organization: solitary, pair, chorus (3–7) or coven (8–13)
Converting monsters from Dragon magazine
Updating the Priest of Ythog-Nthlei Working Draft.
The Advancement and Challenge Rating proposals are fine.
I'm inclined to add "coven" to the organisation.
How about:
Organization: solitary, pair, chorus (3–7) or coven (8–13)
freyar
Extradimensional Explorer
That org works for me.
I just noticed that the tongue attacks list "drain sense" as damage, but the SA itself is "sense drain." We should pick one. I'd lean toward "sense drain."
I guess tactics are next. I think normally a priest would buff and largely attack with spells and melee when necessary, while those involved in a chant magic group would instead use melee combat, fighting to the death to protect the last chanter. Any other thoughts?
I just noticed that the tongue attacks list "drain sense" as damage, but the SA itself is "sense drain." We should pick one. I'd lean toward "sense drain."
I guess tactics are next. I think normally a priest would buff and largely attack with spells and melee when necessary, while those involved in a chant magic group would instead use melee combat, fighting to the death to protect the last chanter. Any other thoughts?
Cleon
Legend
Updating the Priest of Ythog-Nthlei Working Draft.
I'm having second thoughts about them being Challenge Rating 11. I could see them being CR 12 like a Kolyarut Inevitable.
As always, CRs are not an exact science.
That's pretty much what I had in mind.
All we have in the original is "The creatures will, of course, attack the party instantly."
So I guess we could have something about them always being hostile?
freyar
Extradimensional Explorer
I'd be ok with CR 12, too. Seems like this is one of those places where the CRs of two different SRD critters just don't quite line up.
Tactics:
Priests of Ythog-Nthlei always begin with a hostile attitude except toward known allies. A solitary priest typically enters combat after having used its spells to improve its own capabilities when it has a chance, attacking primarily attacking with spells. They are, however, unafraid to enter melee when necessary. Priests involved in a chanting chorus, however, enter melee immediately, except for the primary chanter. The other priests in the group fight to the death to protect the last chanting priest until the casting is finished.
Tactics:
Priests of Ythog-Nthlei always begin with a hostile attitude except toward known allies. A solitary priest typically enters combat after having used its spells to improve its own capabilities when it has a chance, attacking primarily attacking with spells. They are, however, unafraid to enter melee when necessary. Priests involved in a chanting chorus, however, enter melee immediately, except for the primary chanter. The other priests in the group fight to the death to protect the last chanting priest until the casting is finished.
Cleon
Legend
Yes, I'm still not quite decided.
So which Challenge Rating are we going for, 11 or 12?
I'm OK leaving them at CR 11 if you are.
The phrasing could be a bit more elegant and I'm not sure we can categorically say they primarily use spells.
Let's see…
Priests of Ythog-Nthlei are implacably hostile towards any being who does not serve the Dark King they worship. Any allies or slaves they have will be sent into combat first. Given enough time a priest will cast enhancing spells on itself before entering battle. Priests of Ythog-Nthlei do not discriminate between spells or melee, using whichever is likely to do the most harm to their enemies. These fanatical aberrations will gladly die if they believe it benefits the Dark King Ythog-Nthlei but would rather send other servants to their deaths instead.
A group of priests performing Chant Magic cannot cast spells without breaking the ritual so always resort to melee combat. They try to position themselves to ensure at least one priest can survive to finish the chant.
freyar
Extradimensional Explorer
Let's just settle on CR 11; CRs are definitely a bit imprecise.
I like those tactics!
For background, I guess we should decide if cultists summon them, they make their way to the material plane by searching for planar rifts, or what. I guess I'd lean toward summoning, since I don't think there was anything in the original. Oooh, or Ythog-Nthlei could dream them into existence or something.
I like those tactics!
For background, I guess we should decide if cultists summon them, they make their way to the material plane by searching for planar rifts, or what. I guess I'd lean toward summoning, since I don't think there was anything in the original. Oooh, or Ythog-Nthlei could dream them into existence or something.
Cleon
Legend
Updating the Priest of Ythog-Nthlei Working Draft.
I have no objection to mentioning all the above as possibilities and leave the details to the DM.
In the original adventure they were trapped in a buried facility (in some sort of suspended animation, presumably?) and woke up when the facility was breached by priests of Poseidon building a temple on top of it.
So we should add "lurking in eldritch dungeons" to the options.
I don't think they would be summoned by standard methods (planar ally and the like) since they lack the extraplanar subtype. The cultists may have to use other means to call a priest of Ythog-Nthlei to their side.
Cleon
Legend
Welcome back! It's been a while since I've seen you in these parts.
Yes, the Priests are done mechanically. We just have to polish up the flavour text to finish them.
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