Converting Creatures from Other Campaign Settings

Shade said:

Good idea.

Click to expand...

So, start with a Vampire Spawn and reduce it to Small I guess, which means Str 12, Dex 16 if we follow standard Advancement.

Maybe lower the SRD Vampire Spawn's Intelligence by 2, since Kender Vamps only have average (8-10) intelligence.

Give its a claw attack with either Int or Wis damage due to "spirit rending"?

Insanity howl 1/day.

Ability to turn into an incorporeal form with the abilities of a poltergeist (presumably the AD&D Monstrous Manual's "throw stuff and terrify" incorporeal version). According to Echohawk's catalog there are 3.5 stats for those in Ravenloft's Denizens of Dread. Are those official, or do we need to convert the noisy ghost too?

They'll need hoopak's (which they're vulnerable to) and presumably have kender racial traits (whatever those are).

The 3e kender can be found here:

In the Works: 3.5 is on the Shelves (But Wait -- There's More!)

(Scroll down)

To summarize:

Kender Racial Traits

+2 Dexterity, -2 Strength, -2 Wisdom: Quick and agile, the small and wiry kender are built for nimbleness rather than brute strength. Driven by insatiable curiosity, kender lack the ability to think things through or to consider the consequences of their actions.

Small: As Small creatures, kender gain a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but they must use smaller weapons than humans use, and their lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of Medium characters.

Kender base land speed is 20 feet.

+1 racial bonus to all saving throws: Perhaps due to their eternal optimism and their inherent belief in the goodness of all people, kender manage to survive and thrive in a world that is often hostile to them.

+2 racial bonus on Spot checks: Kender have remarkable eyesight.

+2 racial bonus on Open Locks and Sleight of Hand checks: All kender have an instinctive curiosity when it comes to finding out what lies behind closed doors and inside pockets and pouches. Kender can use these two abilities as though they were trained, even if they have 0 ranks in the skills.

Lack of focus:Kender have a -4 racial penalty on Concentration checks. Kender don't necessarily lack magical talent, but their general lack of focus discourages them from pursuing careers in magic.

Taunt: Kender have an uncanny insight into the motivations and characteristics of other races. They can use this insight to unleash a verbal barrage of sarcasm, insults, and crude comments that cause the targeted victims to lose their temper. Kender receive a +4 racial bonus on all Bluff checks used to taunt someone.

Fearlessness: Kender are immune to fear, magical and otherwise.

Automatic languages: Kenderspeak and Common. Bonus languages: Dwarven, Ergot, Elven, Goblin, and Solamnic.

Favored class: Rogue.

Here are revised stats from Races of Ansalon:

Kender Racial Traits

• +2 Dexterity, –2 Strength, –2 Wisdom. Quick and agile, the small and wiry kender are built for nimbleness rather than brute strength. Driven by insatiable
  curiosity, kender lack the ability to think things through or to consider the consequences of their actions.
• Small: As Small creatures, kender gain a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks. They must use smaller weapons than humans use, and their lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of Medium characters.
• A kender's base land speed is 30 feet. Kender are faster than their size would suggest.
• Weapon Familiarity: Kender treat any kender exotic weapon as a simple weapon.
• +1 racial bonus on all saving throws. Due to their eternal optimism and inherent belief in the goodness of all people, kender manage to survive and thrive in a world that is often hostile to them.
• +2 racial bonus on Spot checks.
• +2 racial bonus on Open Locks and Sleight of Hand checks. Kender can use these two abilities as though they were trained, even if they have 0 ranks in the skills.
• Lack of Focus: Kender have a –4 racial penalty on Concentration checks. Kender don’t necessarily lack magical talent, but their general lack of focus discourages them from pursuing careers in magic.
• Taunt: Kender have an uncanny insight into the motivations and characteristics of other races. They can use this insight to unleash a verbal barrage of sarcasm, insults, and crude comments that cause the targeted
  victims to lose their temper. Kender receive a +4 racial bonus on all Bluff checks to taunt someone.
• Fearlessness: Kender are immune to fear, magical and otherwise.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Kenderspeak. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Ergot, Elven, Goblin, Solamnic.
• Favored Class: Rogue.

Hoopak: The hoopak is probably the most well known of the kender weapons. It is typically a 3-foot staff made of hard yet supple wood that is forked at one end and has a metal tip at the other. The metal tip can be sharpened and the hoopak can be thrown like a shortspear. The hoopak can also be tuck into the ground so that missiles can be fired from the forked end like a slingshot. It can also be twirled over the head like a sling to launch sling bullets or stones, or it may be used as a traditional sling staff. A hoopak can be used as a double weapon, making one attack with the quarterstaff function and the other as a shortspear.

Occasionally this type of weapon can be hollowed out to hold useful objects, like silk rope or stones for ammunition. As a tool the hoopak can be used to help a kender gather fruit from the lower branches of trees, like an apple picker. As a musical instrument the hoopak can be swung in a circle to
emit a low bullroar.

Function: A hoopak attacks as a quarterstaff, shortspear, or sling (bullets required) of equivalent size (Small for kender).

Weapon Familiarity: Kender.

Cleon said:

Ability to turn into an incorporeal form with the abilities of a poltergeist (presumably the AD&D Monstrous Manual's "throw stuff and terrify" incorporeal version). According to Echohawk's catalog there are 3.5 stats for those in Ravenloft's Denizens of Dread. Are those official, or do we need to convert the noisy ghost too?

Click to expand...

Poltergeists are in Tome of Horrors. Isn't that why the Dragon Magazine poltergeist was renamed?

Those racial traits should be enough to modify the SRD Vampire Spawn.

Time for a Working Draft?

Yes, that's a good place to start. Then we can just go through the special abilities. I'd do some modifications to the vampire's weaknesses too.

Kender Vampire Working Draft

Kender Vampire
Small Undead
Hit Dice: 4d12+3 (29 hp)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares)
Armor Class: 17 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +3 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+0
Attack: Spirit-rending claw +5 melee (1d6+2 plus 1d3 Wisdom damage and paralysis) or hoopak +6 melee (1d4+3) or hoopak (sling) +7 ranged (1d3+2) or hoopak (shortspear) +7 ranged (1d4+2)
Full Attack: Spirit-rending claw +5 melee (1d6+2 plus 1d3 Wisdom damage and paralysis); or hoopak +6 melee (1d4+3); or hoopak +2 melee (1d4+2) and hoopak -2 melee (1d4+1); or hoopak (sling) +7 ranged (1d3+2) or hoopak (shortspear) +7 ranged (1d4+2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Destroy wood, hoopak, insanity howl, spirit-rending claws
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/silver, darkvision 60 ft., fast healing 2, lack of focus, poltergeist form, resistance to cold 10 and electricity 10, spider climb, undead traits
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +4
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 16, Con—, Int 11, Wis 11, Cha 14
Skills: Bluff +6, Climb +6, Hide +15, Jump +0, Listen +10, Move Silently +11, Open Locks +5, Search +4, Sense Motive +4, Sleight of Hand +5, Spot +10
Feats: Alertness (B), Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative (B), Lightning Reflexes (B), Weapon Focus (hoopak)
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary or pack (2–5)
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always evil (any)
Advancement: —
Level Adjustment: —

A being resembling a pale-skinned child with the figure of a gymnast, impish eyes and pointed ears. Its elf-like features have a feral look, with teeth that appear longer and sharper than they should be. A closer look reveals horror; the creature's slender body is wizened, with mummified skin stretched taut over its bones, and it has the wicked claws of a savage beast.

Kender vampires, as their name suggests, are vampiric undead that were once living kender. They share certain characteristics with "normal" vampire spawn, including the inability to create more of their kind. These vile undead were created by cruel magical experimentation that left them bound to the will and domain of their creator. Kender vampires despise their creators, but the twisted magic that created them makes them unable to rebel or act in any way contrary to their masters' interests.

Kender vampires speak Common and Kenderspeak in a hissing whisper. Speaking is very painful for a kender vampire, so they rarely talk.

Kender vampires are the same size and weight they were when alive. An average kender vampire stands 3 foot 7 inches tall and weighs 75 pounds, they can range from 3 to 4 feet in height and usually weigh between 55 and 100 pounds.

Combat
Kender vampire use their inhuman strength when engaging mortals, hammering their foes with powerful blows and dashing them against rocks or walls. They also use their gaseous form and flight abilities to strike where opponents are most vulnerable.

Destroy Wood (Su): Any wooden weapon (except for a kender vampire's hoopak) that strikes a kender vampire must succeed at a DC 14 Fortitude save or take 2d6+6 points of damage. If this damage destroys the weapon it instantly rots away, and the kender vampire takes no damage from the attack. A kender vampire can also destroy wooden objects by touching them as a standard action (a +6 melee touch attack). The save DC is Charisma-based.

Fast Healing (Ex): A kender vampire heals 2 points of damage each round so long as it has at least 1 hit point. Its fast healing does not heal damage from shimmerweed or the kender vampire's own hoopak (see Kender Vampire Weaknesses, below). If reduced to 0 hit points in combat, a kender vampire automatically assumes poltergeist form and attempts to escape. It must reach its coffin home within 2 hours or become permanently trapped in poltergeist form. (It can travel up to nine miles in 2 hours.) Once at rest in its coffin, it is helpless. It regains 1 hit point after 1 hour, then is no longer helpless and resumes healing at the rate of 2 hit points per round.

Hoopak: A hoopak attacks as a quarterstaff, shortspear, or sling (bullets required). The hoopak can be used as a double weapon, making one attack with the quarterstaff function and the other as a shortspear.

Kender vampires are vulnerable to attacks from a kender vampires' hoopak, including their own. See Kender Vampire Weaknesses for details. They have no weakness to hoopaks that don't belong to kender vampires.

Howl of Madness (Su): Once per hour, a kender vampire can unleash a hideous cackling. Anyone within 60 feet who can hear the vampire must succeed on a DC 14 Will save or become insane (as the insanity spell). This is a sonic, mind-affecting enchantment (compulsion) effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Kender Traits: Kender vampires retain a kender's +1 racial bonus to all saving throws and +2 racial bonus on Open Locks, Spot and Sleight of Hands checks. Kender vampires can make Open Locks and Sleight of Hand checks as though they were trained, even if they have 0 ranks in the skills. They also retain a kender's lack of focus and taunt special abilities (see below).

Lack of Focus: Kender have a -4 racial penalty on Concentration checks. Kender don't necessarily lack magical talent, but their general lack of focus discourages them from pursuing careers in magic.

Spirit-Rending Claws (Su): Any creature hit by a kender vampire's claw attack takes 1d3 Wisdom damage and must succeed at a DC 14 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 1 round. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Poltergeist Form (Ex): As a standard action, a kender vampire can transfer itself between the Ethereal Plane and the Material Plane. As an ethereal creature, it cannot affect or be affected by anything in the material world. When a kender vampire is on the Ethereal Plane, any spells is casts cannot affect targets on the Material Plane, but they work normally against ethereal targets. If the kender vampire does not return to the Material Plane within 2 hours it becomes permanently trapped in the Ethereal Plane. A kender vampire that is reduced to 0 hit points while in poltergeist form is permanently destroyed.

Spider Climb (Ex): A kender vampire can climb sheer surfaces as though with a spider climb spell.

Skills: Kender vampire have a +4 racial bonus on Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks. Kender vampire have a +2 racial bonus on Open Locks and Sleight of Hands checks. Kender vampires can make Open Locks and Sleight of Hand checks as though they were trained, even if they have 0 ranks in the skills.

Kender Vampire Weaknesses
Kender vampire have a number of weaknesses.

Repelling a Kender Vampire
Kender vampires cannot abide shimmerweed and recoil from even a fragment of a dead shimmerweed plant. Similarly, they recoil from a strongly presented holy symbol. These things don't harm the vampire—they merely keep it at bay. A recoiling kender vampire must stay at least 5 feet away from a creature holding the shimmerweed or holy symbol and cannot touch or make melee attacks against the creature holding the item for the rest of the encounter. Holding a vampire at bay takes a standard action.

Slaying a Kender Vampire
Reducing a kender vampire's hit points to 0 or lower incapacitates it but doesn't always destroy it (see the note on fast healing and poltergeist form).

The prismatic display of a shimmerweed plant in moonlight does 1d4 hp damage per round to any kender vampire within 60 ft. This damage cannot be healed by the vampire's fast healing.

Kender vampires are always armed with a hoopak. A kender vampire's damage reduction, fast healing and destroy wood special abilities are ineffective against a kender vampire's hoopak (they work normally against other hoopaks). If a kender vampire receives a confirmed critical hit from a kender vampire's hoopak, it must succeed at a DC 15 Fortitude save or the hoopak pierces the vampire's heart, destroying the kender vampire. Removing the hoopak does not restore the kender vampire to unlife.

The foul magics that create kender vampires bind their existence to a domain. This domain is a territory at least 10 miles across, but it can be as large as a country. Any attempt to leave the borders of its domain (willing or unwilling) instantly destroys a kender vampire, its body crumbling to dust within seconds. Even approaching the border is painful to these vampires, who rarely come within a mile of the border.

Let's start on the paralyzing drain. Looks to me like 1 point each of Wis/Int damage (could be drain, but that seems like too much for a 4HD critter) plus 1 round dazed (Fort or maybe Will negates).

The weaknesses are different than a normal vamp's: instead of water and sunlight, it's shimmerweed and being stuck in Sithicus. And I think the hoopak vulnerability probably belongs here.

I would either drop the "stuck in Sithicus" vulnerability or redo it to be campaign neutral.