Converting original D&D and Mystara monsters

Shade · Apr 19, 2011

Gurrash
Climate/Terrain: Bayou
Frequency: Rare
Organization: Village
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Carnivore
Intelligence: Low (5-7))
Treasure: M
Alignment: Chaotic evil
No. Appearing: 1d6
Armor Class: 5
Movement: 12, Sw 18
Hit Dice: 3
THAC0: 17
No. of Attacks: 3
Damage/Attack: 1d4/1d4/2d4 (or by weapon)
Special Attacks: Tail slap, drown
Special Defenses: Nil
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: L (8’ tall)
Morale: Elite (13-14)
XP Value: 420
Leader: 650

Gurrash
The savage gurrash stand about 8 feet tall and weigh almost 300 pounds. They have deep green scales and heads like alligators, with prominent sharp teeth and slitted red eyes.

Gurrash consider themselves the mortal enemies of shazaks, usually attacking them on sight in an effort to drive the shazaks away from gurrash homeland.

Habitat/Society: Gurrash hunt and make war; they are survivors in an unforgiving environment. They refuse to negotiate with strangers, preferring instead to attack unwary parties of humans and demihumans. When their population depletes the available resources, the shamans call for raids to keep the gurrash from feeding on each other.

Gurrash worship the Immortal Goron, the embodiment of gurrash evil and destruction. As the reptilian queen of evil and water, she made the gurrash brutal and bloodthirsty, causing them to revolt against the Herathians. For the gurrash, Goron is the patron of victory.

Ecology: Not originally a naturally occurring species, gurrash are at the top of the food chain in their bayou homes.

Gurrash subsist on lizards, alligators, fish, and the occasional shazak. Still, raiding parties of gurrash have sometimes been known to make sweeps of isolated settlements for fresh human meat to supplement their diet.

Mortis · Apr 20, 2011

Shade said:
Gurrash worship the Immortal Goron, the embodiment of gurrash evil and destruction. As the reptilian queen of evil and water, she made the gurrash brutal and bloodthirsty, causing them to revolt against the Herathians. For the gurrash, Goron is the patron of victory.

FWIW Goron is an alter ego of Demogorgon.

Mortis

Mortis · Apr 21, 2011

Here's a bit more info on them. Including their tail slap and drowning attacks, plus a berserk attack.

Combat: Gurrash make formidable warriors. The bite of a gurrash causes 2d4 points of damage, and its prodigious strength gives it a +2 bonus on any weapon damage it inflicts. A gurrash can either use its claws to attack or it can wield a weapon; it can even use a weapon and bite in the same round. Gurrash are very warlike, protecting their territories from all trespassers. They are also naturally savage and difficult to control, often (10% chance per melee round) going berserk when crossed or wounded. A berserk gurrash gains an additional attack, a +1 bonus to hit and damage, and can fight to -7 hp.

Gurrash also have several special unarmed combat moves. If an opponent is behind a gurrash, the gurrash can make a tail slap attack in addition to its other attacks, inflicting 1d8 points of damage. To use its special drowning attack, the gurrash must successfully attack with both front claws. If this happens, the gurrash drags its opponent underwater. The victim will then drown in 1d3+1 rounds. The DM should treat this as a wrestling unarmed combat manoeuvre.

In most cases, the village chief will be noticeably larger than the other gurrash in the tribe. Gurrash leaders must show extreme ferocity during their raids or face displacement through ritual challenge. The village chief causes 3d4 points of damage with its bite and possesses a 19 Strength, gaining a +3 bonus to attack rolls and a +7 bonus to damage rolls with a weapon.

So on to the stats then.

Str 16-17 (cuz of the +2 to weapon damage)
Dex 10 (don't see anything to indicate other wise)
Con 13-15 (I see them as slightly hardier than standard lizardfolk)
Int 5-7 (spelled ou in the above stat block)
Wis 10 (same as standard lizardfolk?)
Cha 10 (same as standard lizardfolk?)

Large size but same Hit Dice as Shazak?

Faster than the shazak - 40 ft? and get a swim speed of 30 ft? (although the original was higher I can't see them swimming faster than a crocodile)

Looking at the crocodile entry of the SRD, a tail slap is a standard attack. And I guess if we give them Improved Grab that will do for the drowning attack.

Berserk - rage, ferocity, or a combo of both.

All I've got time for for now.

Regards
Mortis

Shade · Apr 21, 2011

Mortis said:
FWIW Goron is an alter ego of Demogorgon.

Cool.

Mortis said:
So on to the stats then.

Str 16-17 (cuz of the +2 to weapon damage)
Dex 10 (don't see anything to indicate other wise)
Con 13-15 (I see them as slightly hardier than standard lizardfolk)
Int 5-7 (spelled ou in the above stat block)
Wis 10 (same as standard lizardfolk?)
Cha 10 (same as standard lizardfolk?)

Large size but same Hit Dice as Shazak?

Faster than the shazak - 40 ft? and get a swim speed of 30 ft? (although the original was higher I can't see them swimming faster than a crocodile)

Looking at the crocodile entry of the SRD, a tail slap is a standard attack. And I guess if we give them Improved Grab that will do for the drowning attack.

Agreed to all that.

Mortis said:
Berserk - rage, ferocity, or a combo of both.

I'll have to think more on that.

Cleon · Apr 22, 2011

Mortis said:
Str 16-17 (cuz of the +2 to weapon damage)
Dex 10 (don't see anything to indicate other wise)
Con 13-15 (I see them as slightly hardier than standard lizardfolk)
Int 5-7 (spelled ou in the above stat block)
Wis 10 (same as standard lizardfolk?)
Cha 10 (same as standard lizardfolk?)

Large size but same Hit Dice as Shazak?

The stats look in the right ballpark, but I'd rather make them Medium.

Mortis said:
Faster than the shazak - 40 ft? and get a swim speed of 30 ft? (although the original was higher I can't see them swimming faster than a crocodile)

30 ft. Land speed and 40 or 50 ft. Swim speed, surely?

Mortis said:
Looking at the crocodile entry of the SRD, a tail slap is a standard attack. And I guess if we give them Improved Grab that will do for the drowning attack.

In principle I have nothing against a 2 claws = Improved Grab. However, "The DM should treat this as a wrestling unarmed combat manoeuvre" suggests it may just be normal grappling, perhaps with the Improved Grapple feat?

Mortis said:
Berserk - rage, ferocity, or a combo of both.

Let them Rage for the Swamp!

freyar · Apr 24, 2011

8 ft tall is pretty tall for Medium but I guess short for Large. What if we start them at Medium but allow some HD advancement to Large?

Imp Grapple would need to be a bonus feat because of the IUS prereq. Grrr. In which case, we might as well use Imp Grab.

Mortis · Apr 26, 2011

Cleon said:
...but I'd rather make them Medium.

Freyar said:
8 ft tall is pretty tall for Medium but I guess short for Large.

Owlbears are 8 ft tall and Large - but I guess they're rather 'heftier' than a Gurrash. Thena again the ogre is 9-10 ft tall and Large.

Cleon said:
30 ft. Land speed and 40 or 50 ft. Swim speed, surely?

Their original speeds would convert to 40 ft and 60 ft swim, but I thought that having a swim speed double that of a croc was a bit high, so I lowered it. They are the fastest of the 4 Savage Coast Lizardkin

In principle I have nothing against a 2 claws = Improved Grab. However, "The DM should treat this as a wrestling unarmed combat manoeuvre" suggests it may just be normal grappling, perhaps with the Improved Grapple feat?

I see your point but would still prefer Improved Grab OD&D didn't have any of those pesky Attacks of Opportunity to worry about. I noticed in the SRD owlbear entry that that creature only had to hit with 1 claw to use its Imp Grab.

Let them Rage for the Swamp!

I'd like both but could settle for just Rage.

Regards
Mortis

freyar · Apr 26, 2011

So: are we agreed on Medium?

I'd definitely prefer Imp Grab on further reflection. Not bothered about 1 or 2 claws to trigger it.

Cleon · Apr 26, 2011

Mortis said:
Their original speeds would convert to 40 ft and 60 ft swim, but I thought that having a swim speed double that of a croc was a bit high, so I lowered it. They are the fastest of the 4 Savage Coast Lizardkin

How do you reckon it converts to a 40 ft. land speed?

The AD&D base speed for an unarmoured human is 12", so Gurrash should have a 30 ft. land speed (and 40-50 ft Swim).