Converting monsters from Imagine Magazine

[Shade]

Seems a tough CR 4, but I am sometimes a bad judge of these things.

Oops...I meant to make that CR "x", as the point was to determine CR!

CR 4 is for a standard polar bear. How's this fella compare?

I'd argue that it is better than a CR 7 flesh golem, and is about even with a CR 7 web golem. It's nowhere near as deadly as a CR 8 blood golem of Hextor. So assuming CR 7, freyar's suggestion of +3 looks good in this case.

 

[freyar]

Passwall and transmute rock to mud destroy rock totems (no save?).

These two spells don't allow saves (or spell resistance), since they're not generally used against creatures. (TRtM allows a reflex save to get out from under an avalanche of mud, but that's it.) We could allow a static save DC, but we'd have to explain where it comes from.

I don't get a good idea of how to eyeball the CR of the totem polar bear, unfortunately.

 

[Shade]

These two spells don't allow saves (or spell resistance), since they're not generally used against creatures. (TRtM allows a reflex save to get out from under an avalanche of mud, but that's it.) We could allow a static save DC, but we'd have to explain where it comes from.

We can just state "The rock totem is allowed a save against the spell's level." There's precedent for that.

 

[freyar]

We can just state "The rock totem is allowed a save against the spell's level." There's precedent for that.

Sounds good. So the DC is the usual 10+spell level+caster stat bonus?

 

[Shade]

Sounds good. So the DC is the usual 10+spell level+caster stat bonus?

Yep.

 

[dhaga]

So looks like freyar's CR +3 is right on! Excellent
Save DC using the standard formula sounds good.

 

[Shade]

Updated Homebrews. On to construction...

These are fashioned from rock in the guise of the animal chosen by the creator. They can only be constructed by name-level druids, unless a magical tome is employed. These totems are slightly unusual in the fact that they are intelligent, and can think for themselves and are capable of speech. They are totally loyal to their maker.

The type of animal sculpted can be anything from the range which the druid himself can shapechange into. It takes 1 month to construct such a totem and requires the following spells to be cast: detect poison, shape rock, animate rock, commune with nature, and reincarnate. The only material cost incurred by the druid is the need of 2 jewels (worth 5,000 gp each) for the eyes.

 

[freyar]

Craft (Stonecutting) check DC20?
Spells: Stone Shape, Detect Poison, Commune with Nature, Reincarnate. Animate rock or stone doesn't seem to exist in the SRD, so I'm not sure if we should replace it.
Materials: 2 jewels (with 5000 gp each) and a x lbs of stone (should we have a table with the amount for each size category?)

 

[GrayLinnorm]

We could go with animate object, but that's not a druidic spell. Maybe awaken?

 

[Shade]

Looking at other stone creature construction by size:

Caryatid Column (M): 1,000 lbs.
Stone Golem, Drakestone Golem, Slaughterstone Eviscerator (L): 3,000 lbs.
Spiderstone Golem (L): 5,000 lbs.
Slaughterstone Behemoth (H): 10,000 lbs.
Juggernaut (H): 50,000 lbs.
Blackstone Gigant (G): 50,000 lbs.
Jade Spider (G): 60,000 lbs.

So maybe...

Fine: 1 lb.
Diminutive: 10 lbs.
Tiny: 100 lbs.
Small: 500 lbs.
Medium: 1,000 lbs.
Large: 3,000 lbs.
Huge: 10,000 lbs.
Gargantuan: 50,000 lbs.
Colossal: 100,000 lbs.