Converting Greyhawk monsters

[freyar]

Haha, well, yes, though at the time you were at the time talking about creating monarch scorpions, too.

I'd be fine with Enchant Scorpions as you propose. Would that be an Su, I guess?

 

[freyar]

Haha, well, yes, though at the time you were at the time talking about creating monarch scorpions, too.

I'd be fine with Enchant Scorpions as you propose. Would that be an Su, I guess?

 

[Cleon]

Haha, well, yes, though at the time you were at the time talking about creating monarch scorpions, too.

I'd be fine with Enchant Scorpions as you propose. Would that be an Su, I guess?

As written it covers all fields of ability, since it allows a Master Scorpion to use its Intimidate skill to demoralize a Monstrous Scorpion as well as use its spells on them.

Hmm... that makes me wonder about adding "It also allows the master scorpion to affect any scorpion with Charisma-based skill checks" to the list of allowed powers, maybe with a +4 racial bonus thrown on for good measure à la the Animal Empathy ability of standard lycanthropes.

 

[Cleon]

I've restored the Monarch Scorpion Working Draft to pretty close to where it was before Enworld had its Sept 2016 database crash.

Unfortunately we've lost the Tactics entry of the Master Scorpion so I'm going to have to rewrite it from what I remember of the original.

From what I remember, it was basically similar to the Monarch's tactics except for the addition of it using its retinue of scorpion followers as a front line from behind which it can use its psionic attacks, plus saying it's not as "viciously fight to the death" as the Monarch.

 

[freyar]

Yes, I think you're right about the tactics. Let's just tweak the Monarch's. Here's a go, with changes from the Monarch in red:

The master scorpion is an ambush hunter, hiding beneath the sand to attack victims who wander too close. An active master scorpion normally casts alarm, blur and detect magic every minute or two; its copious use of silent alarms means it often knows potential victims are nearby long before the creatures notice the scorpion. Given time, it will cast spell resistance on itself before combat - especially if it detect magics on its opponents.

A master scorpion typically attacks from behind its retinue of scorpion followers, using them as protection while it uses its psionic abilities. They typically open combat with a psychic blast or greater shout, trying to stun as many opponents as possible, even if that would affect some of their followers. Over the next rounds, it attacks with its natural weapons or a psionic power as the circumstances dictate. A master scorpion's favorite psionic combat tactics are using vampiric touch on grappled opponents to absorb damage from attacks, dominating enemies and ordering them to kill their own allies or submit to being eaten, or releasing another psychic blast or its greater shout.

A master scorpion is more likely to flee from superior opponents than a monarch scorpion, since they are more cunning and selfish. On the occasions it decides to retreat, a master scorpion usually just runs away as fast as it can.

 

[Cleon]

Yes, I think you're right about the tactics. Let's just tweak the Monarch's. Here's a go, with changes from the Monarch in red:

The master scorpion is an ambush hunter, hiding beneath the sand to attack victims who wander too close. An active master scorpion normally casts alarm, blur and detect magic every minute or two; its copious use of silent alarms means it often knows potential victims are nearby long before the creatures notice the scorpion. Given time, it will cast spell resistance on itself before combat - especially if it detect magics on its opponents.

A master scorpion typically attacks from behind its retinue of scorpion followers, using them as protection while it uses its psionic abilities. They typically open combat with a psychic blast or greater shout, trying to stun as many opponents as possible, even if that would affect some of their followers. Over the next rounds, it attacks with its natural weapons or a psionic power as the circumstances dictate. A master scorpion's favorite psionic combat tactics are using vampiric touch on grappled opponents to absorb damage from attacks, dominating enemies and ordering them to kill their own allies or submit to being eaten, or releasing another psychic blast or its greater shout.

A master scorpion is more likely to flee from superior opponents than a monarch scorpion, since they are more cunning and selfish. On the occasions it decides to retreat, a master scorpion usually just runs away as fast as it can.

Well for a start the master scorpion has a different set of SLAs for psionics so some of those ought to change. i.e displacement instead of blur.

Hmm… how about:

A solitary master scorpions is an ambush hunter, hiding beneath the sand to attack victims who wander too close. However, master scorpions are seldom encountered without a retinue of assorted scorpion creatures under their control. Normally the master scorpion will send its minions in to engage the enemy while making psionic attacks from behind their ranks.

An active master scorpion normally casts alarm, stoneskin and detect thought or detect magic every minute or two; its copious use of silent alarms means it often knows potential victims are nearby long before the creatures notice the scorpion. Given time, it will cast spell resistance, displacement and lesser globe of invulnerability on itself before combat.

They typically open combat with a psychic blastt or greater shout, trying to stun as many opponents as possible - they like to psychic blast opponents fighting monstrous scorpion minions since vermin are immune to the effects of the blast. Over the next rounds, the master scorpion attacks with its natural weapons or a psionic power as the circumstances dictate. It's favorite psionic combat tactics are using vampiric touch on grappled opponents to absorb damage from attacks, dominating enemies and ordering them to kill their own allies or submit to being eaten, telekinesis to violently reposition an enemy, or releasing another psychic blast or its greater shout. Master scorpions usually reserve enervation for a particularly threatening opponent.

A master scorpion is more likely to flee an unfavorable combat than a monarch scorpion, since its cunning and selfishness usually outweigh its bloodlust. If it does decide to retreat, the master normally flies off in gaseous form or simply runs away as fast as it can. In either cases it leaves any surviving minions to cover its withdrawal.

While writing the above I realized we've lost an important SQ that was added to the master scorpion:

Scorpion Master (Su): A master scorpion can communicate with any scorpion or scorpionlike creature and has a +4 racial bonus on Charisma-based checks and mind-affecting powers against scorpions and scorpionlike creatures. For the purposes of this power "scorpionlike" includes magical beasts and monstrous humanoids who are part scorpion, such as a scorpionfolk, skorpio or stinger.

Furthermore, a master scorpion can choose to have its mind-affecting abilities affect mindless scorpion creatures such as monstrous scorpions despite such vermin normally being immune to mind-affecting powers. It can elect not to affect mindless scorpion creatures with a mind-affecting ability if it wishes to, allowing it use an area-effect power like psionic blast on monstrous scorpions fighting its enemies without harming its minions with the attack.

That's a bit wordier than I think the original was, but I can't recall the precise phrasing and I like the added detail.

 

[freyar]

That all works for me!

Which of the colored notes do you want to sort through next?

 

[Cleon]

That all works for me!

Updating the Monarch Scorpion Working Draft.

Which of the colored notes do you want to sort through next?

It matters naught to me, so shall we just go through them in order?

Assuming you're OK with the expanded "court & palace" Organization and Double Treasure in the stat block that puts the Poison question at the head.

Giving them both 2d6/2d6 Con poison works. If we do go for having the master's venom be deadlier I'd be willing to consider reducing the damage of the Monarch's poison rather than increase the Master's still more. Regular Monstrous Scorpions only do 1d6/1d6 Con at Huge, 1d8/1d8 at Gargantuan and 1d10/1d10 at Colossal, so giving the regular Monarch 1d8/1d8 or 1d10/1d10 might be enough.

However, the original Monarch's venom is very nasty for an AD&D poison. There are very few poisons nastier than a -4 save vs. death.

So maybe make the master 2d8/2d8 Con? Or keep the 2d6/2d6 and give it a racial bonus to the DC?

Contrariwise I'm equally happy leaving it at 2d6/2d6.

 

[freyar]

Org and Treasure are fine by me.

I don't see anything in the original write up to suggest that the master has nastier poison. Let's leave it at 2d6/2d6.

I can't believe we've been working on these for so long! Are we ready to de-color everything and move to the flavor?

 

[Cleon]

Org and Treasure are fine by me.

I don't see anything in the original write up to suggest that the master has nastier poison. Let's leave it at 2d6/2d6.

I can't believe we've been working on these for so long! Are we ready to de-color everything and move to the flavor?

That'd be fine by me - just moving this conversion on will be a relief.

Does that mean you in favour of increasing the level-equivalence of the Master's psychic blast to 5th-level over the monarch's 3rd-level?

I'll de-color all the rest of it save the end notes.