[Adult] Guide to Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, thread 2

[Lily Inverse]

Two things. I played opposite Tanilen with the Recondite, and I made some improvements. Here it is:

Recondite

Huge Outsider (Chaotic)
Hit Dice: 17d8+68 (144 hp)
Initiative: +5
Speed: fly 40 ft. (good)
AC: 24 (+11 Natural, +5 Dex, -2 Size)
Attacks: 6 Slams +22 Melee
Damage: Slam 1d4+5
Face/Reach: 10 ft. by 10 ft. / 20 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved Grab, Mass Grapple, Coital energy Drain, Coital Assimilation, Psionics
Special Qualities: DR 20/+2, SR 25, Tactile Telepathy, fixed shape, archetypical shape
Saves: Fort +14, Ref +15, Will +13
Abilities: Str 20, Dex 21, Con 18, Int 19, Wis 16, Cha 17
Skills: Sexual Prowess +30, Diplomacy +26, Listen +26, Search +25, Spot +26, Hide +20, Bluff +24, Intimidate +24, Move Silently +26, Knowledge (any two) +25
Feats: Skills Focus (Sexual Prowess), Skill focus (Diplomacy), Alertness, Dodge, Mobility, Multiattack
_________________________________________
Climate/Terrain: Any land or underground
Organization: Solitary, cluster (2-4), or thicket (5-12)
Challenge Rating:
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always Chaotic Neutral
Advancement: 18-22 HD (Huge); 23-28 HD (Gargantuan); 29+ HD (Colossal)

Recondite (also called Mystique) are unnatural tentacled creatures from far off realms of dream. They force themselves on others to further their mysterious causes.

Recondite appear as spheres 10 feet in diameter made of thick, sinuous, curling tentacles that are anywhere from an inch to a foot across. Within this shell is an inner form called an epicenter that is the true body of the Recondite. The epicenter has no true form, and often appears as an extremely attractive member of the species it is currently being viewed by. However, the epicenter can appear as anything - something attractive, like a nymph, to something horrid, like a gibbering mouther, to something odd, like a chair.

The causes of the recondite are mysterious, and unknown to lesser creatures, but for some reason they are advanced by the use of depraved rituals of defilement and rape on physical creatures many species and genders. These rituals leave them twisted perversions of their former selves and slaves to the will of the recondite.

The recondite do not speak a language, but commincate through a vast net of their tactile telepathy. Their webs fill their home dimension like vines and allow any given recondite to contact any other given recondite within minutes.

Combat

In combat, a recondite will attempt to snatch one victim and use their psionic powers to shift back to their home place and use their Coital Assimilation on the victim. Because of this, it is almost impossible to defeat a recondite as they almost never remain in place long enough to be a victim of any attack. If prevented from leaving by a dimensional anchor spell, they use their Rainbow Pattern ability to distract as many attackers as they can and Energy Drain the rest, snatching up as many as they can for later use. If somehow prevented from all of these, they grapple to kill. If presented with a situation that seems dangerous or deadly, however, they often will simply leave

Improved Grab: In order to use this ability a recondite must hit an enemy of up to Large size with one of their Slam attacks.

Mass Grapple: For every successful Slam attack against a target in a round, a recondite gains a +1 circumstance bonus to their grapple checks against that target in that round.

Coital Energy Drain: Upon successfullly causing a target that to reach orgasm, a recondite may inflict a negative level upon the target. The Fortitude save to remove these negative levels is 21. Futhermore, this save may only be attempted when the victim has not had contact with a Recondite for 24 hours or if the Recondite permits it. A recondite will not, as a rule, inflict more negative levels than the target has levels, seeking only to reduce the target to an easily manageable opponent.

Coital Assimilation: By, in conjunction with at least three other recondite, bringing a victim to orgasm at least five times within one hour and reducing the victim to 1st level using their Coital Energy Drain, may apply the Recondite Pawn template to the victim if applicable.

Psionics: Recondits can manifest the following powers as a 15th level Psion: At Will – Rainbow Pattern,, Plane Shift (To Etheral and home plane only )1 / Minute – Induce Pleasure, Mind Probe. 3 / Day – Charm Monster, Bliss

Tentacle Adaption: A Recondite is capable of shrinking or expanding its tentacles to be an appropriate size for any potential victim

Tactile Telepathy: A recondite can telepathcially communicate with any creature that has a language that it is touching. In addition, this raises the DC of any Psionic power that the Recondite chooses to manifest against any victim it is in contact with by four.

Hypnotic Epicenter: By shaping their Epicenters into something the individual would find attractive, the creature can implant suggestions as if constantly using a Hypnosis power upon a subdued victim. In order for this to work properly, the victim must either be charmed, exhausted, assimiliated, or (in truly bizarre cases) willing.

Fixed Shape: Recondite cannot polymorph themselves, shapechange themselves, or be changed in shape by others.

Archetypical Shape: No other creatures can polymorph or shapechange themselves (or anyone else) in to a recondites shape, or anything approximating it.


Secondly, I'd like to propose the following mechanic regarding the "Savage Plains" in the post above:

Immediately upon entering the plain, and for every hour spent within it, female humanoids mus make a Willpower saving throw at DC 20 + 1 for each hour. Each failed saving throw has the following effects:

1 failed: Woman has effective Wisdom score reduced by 2(minimum 3), Charisma enhanced by 2, and feels reluctant to take any action if unsupported by someone else (preferably male, but an unaffected woman can help)

2 failed: Woman has effective Wisdom score reduced by 4, Charisma increased by 4, and treats any orders by males as if they had used a Command spell on her.

3 failed: Woman's effective Wisdom reduced by 6, Charisma increased by 6, and begins to feel compelled to move towards the nearest Nymph colony. (More later)

4 failed: Effective Wisdom reduced by 8, Charisma increased by 8, and will obey any non-lethal, non-violent order from any male unless a save against the current plane DC is made.

5 failed: Effective Wisdom reduced by 10, Charisma increased by 10, and she feels compelled to both go naked and is striken with the nymphomania insanity.

6 failed: The woman becomes a Nymph of Eros (Retaining her own modified Wisdom and Charisma scores, and using her old ones as the basis for the remainder of her new base scores), and is permanently bound to the plane. Her identity is lost, and no force short of the Alter Reality sailent abiility can reverse it. (For those without the new Dieties and Demigods, a Miracle spell to summon the god directly, followed by a LONG quest, might do the trick)





Oh, yes, and First Post! ^_^

 

[Lily Inverse]

Nymph Colonies

Within the Savage Plains, there are places of wild beauty, gentleness, and nurturing that seem like small pieces of paradise within the chaotic test that is the domain. Men feel intense disgust (Will Save DC 20 every round or move away at maximum movement rate) upon nearing these places. Women who step within them fall prey to greater peril than outside, as these are the homes of the Nymphs of Eros who populate the Savage Plain.

The Nymph Colonies have a peaceful aura to them that actually reduces the hourly Will save required of women in the outside doman to 10 + 1 per hour. However, upon entering many women feel compelled to enter an enchanted slumber at the normal difficulty for the plains, as if they were outside. If they fall asleep here, they forfeit all subsequent saving throws until nightfall, nearly always bringing them fully under the thrall of the masculine force.

If a woman enters at night, then the few nymphs who always remain behind begin offering her food and comfort, promising shelter from the world. If she believes them, she is also likely to doom herself. Each fruit is infused with the overwhelming masculinity of the plains, and forces her to make a saving throw as if a full hour had just passed. Even if she succeeds at this, she must also make a Fortitude saving throw at DC 20 or fall into an enchanted slumber, with the penalties outlined above.

(For the Nymphs of Eros, use the Oat Nymph, but remove the Intoxicating Beauty trait and add the Lust Creature template)



PS: I posted this really late, so please excuse any rough edges on the two posts above.

 

[Anabstercorian]

Here comes a new challenger!

This is great work, Lily! My compliments, especially on the Recondite. Welcome to the crew.
So, you've play-tested the Recondite? What are your experiences?

 

[Lily Inverse]

*Blush* Gosh, thanks.

Tanilen pretty much summed up the experience before. In the old state I found them to be pretty typical tentacle "Tentacle monsters." They're a bit too powerful for casual gaming, but I can actually see how one of these critters, particularly a "rogue" Recondite, might even become the focus of a serious campaign.

As for the other stuff, I just noticed a wide gap and made something up to fill it ad-hoc. Suggestions, comments, and crticisms welcome.

 

[Sorn]

Welcome to the team! Great job. Really liked it.

On related news, my friend Dave is finally getting the ball rolling on the write-up for the Harem Guild. Also, I got the latest issue of Dragon yesterday, and it includes a Guild-Generator, so once he's done, I'll create the statblock for the guild. (I just glanced over it since I had to head out to stage combat practice, but what I saw looked very promising).

Most of my progress with the magic items has been lost due to a hard-drive crash. I'll have to see what I can recover and then I'll get going full bore on that again.

 

[Zelda Themelin]

Nice to have you here Lily.

Sorn, hopefully you can save something (I know how much headacho those hard-drive crashes can be).

So, Harem Guild will be soon up. Nice, I've been waiting.

 

[Fox Lee]

Eheh... ^^;;

Now witness Fox's ability to completely forget that she posted this message, or to come back to check it ^^;; But, thanks! Glad you like my stuff ^^

 

[Fox Lee]

Fare belated opinions...

Just an opinion - Heated Elven Plate and Black Lacy Underwear. Let 'em work on males too; there's no reason they shouldn't, particularly the armour, since the main point of it seems be that it's skin-tight (though I'd <I>personally</I> vastly prefer to see a guy in black lacy underwear than armour >8D ). I mean, sure, talk about them like they're made for women (which they most probably are), but don't <I>limit</I> their effects to females.

 

[Fox Lee]

Grey areas

The Savage Plains: This vast savannah is the incarnation of masculinity, forcing all who exist there to strive to fight harder, run faster, think quicker, and be stronger than ever before, every day, or fall behind. The environment is fiercely dangerous and dampens magic greatly, but those who survive the trials get the Nymphs every evening... On the downside, this sheer masculinity of this savage landscape imposes itself on any woman unlucky enough to be stranded here, eventually dooming them to eternity as one of the Nymphs.

Hmmm... I'm having sort of sticky gender issues here. The main example I'm thinking of at the moment is Khaira, my elven barbarian; she's at least a little more masculine than the next member of the party, and she must be about fifty times as manly as her two love interests ^^; On the other hand... Lloryn, my elven sorcerer, completely bisexual and quite possibly the most feminine D&D character I've ever seen played. The sort of person who gives you the impression that he was only born with a penis by accident. I just can't imagine that if they both walked onto this plane, Lloryn wouldn't end up being somebody's sex toy while Khaira stuck it out with the worst of the testosterone-charged nutters.

Does the plane identify the gender of somebody on it purely based on their body, or does it consider every level - mental, physical, spiritual, so forth? I tend to think the latter is more likely - and in that case, there would be (albeit only a few, but definitely a few) cases where somebody who was born female would be presumed male, vice-versa.

Perhaps it's sort of an overall thing that I'm hoping for - quite a few things in the book seem to at least partially rely on gender, where in a lot of cases my male characters would fit better with the female effects and females with male effects. Particularly effects on a physical level - Lloryn, for one, was almost inevitably taken to be female on sight, looking FAR more like a girl than a boy.

Perhaps it might be an idea to allow for these anti-stereotype cases; a note somewhere that the "effective" gender may not always be the same as the physical or apparent one.

 

[Lily Inverse]

Erm.....

Since I seem to have largely taken over the "Savage Plains" I'll see if I can't re-work what I wrote to make it work like that....though Anabaster certainly has final say.