Converting Oriental Adventures creatures

[freyar]

How about we go for a desk break DC of 27 --- still supernaturally strong, but not as much as the General. Since you like the rest of the numbers, the weakness SQ should be ready to go.

For the saves, how about this?
Strong Saves (Ex): The Paper Warrior gains a +3 profane bonus to all Fort, Ref, and Will saves.
Or do you prefer to make it untyped or insight to avoid having it removed by antimagic?

An 8th level monk only gets a +1 to AC. That's not enough, and I don't think a Cha-based bonus is good enough either. Would the monk's AC ability, some NA, and maybe a profane bonus work for you?

 

[Cleon]

How about we go for a desk break DC of 27 --- still supernaturally strong, but not as much as the General. Since you like the rest of the numbers, the weakness SQ should be ready to go.

That works for me.

Updating the Paper Warrior Working Draft.

For the saves, how about this?

Strong Saves (Ex): The Paper Warrior gains a +3 profane bonus to all Fort, Ref, and Will saves.
Or do you prefer to make it untyped or insight to avoid having it removed by antimagic?

Erm, if it's an Extraordinary ability why are you worrying about antimagic?

Not that there's much likelihood of antimagic being a factor at the likely PC level it'll be facing.

An 8th level monk only gets a +1 to AC. That's not enough, and I don't think a Cha-based bonus is good enough either. Would the monk's AC ability, some NA, and maybe a profane bonus work for you?

I think some kind of combination will have to be the way to go.

How about we agree on a target AC and work backwards from there?

 

[freyar]

Eh, for some reason I thought profane/divine bonus types are cancelled by antimagic. Maybe I'm misremembering. But you're certainly right about Ex abilities.

While I'm looking at this, I'd suggest Unholy Toughness. I think we're giving it to the Seven Swords, or most of them anyway.

I'd think AC around 18 would be reasonable since the higher HD ones we've already done are about AC 20. What do you say?

 

[Cleon]

Eh, for some reason I thought profane/divine bonus types are cancelled by antimagic. Maybe I'm misremembering. But you're certainly right about Ex abilities.

Well many profane/divine bonuses come from Supernatural abilities so I guess that's where the misunderstanding might have come from.

I have no objection to changing it to (Su) like a blackguard's Dark Blessing ability if you prefer.

While I'm looking at this, I'd suggest Unholy Toughness. I think we're giving it to the Seven Swords, or most of them anyway.

Yeah, I was expecting we'd add Unholy Toughness. As a solo undead monster it'll need the hit points to survive long enough to be noticed.

I'd think AC around 18 would be reasonable since the higher HD ones we've already done are about AC 20. What do you say?

Hmm… that reminds me, I put "It gains an dodge bonus to AC equal to its Intelligence bonus" as a placeholder in the Martial Training description but didn't include it in the AC.

The original creature's Armour Class compares to the other Sword as follows:

The Reaper: 3 points better
The Veiled Maidens: 3 points worse (!)
The General: 3 points better
The Shadow Walker: 5 points better
The Screaming Child: 5 points worse (the kid has no armour at all!)
The Keeper: 2 points better

Hmm… how about retaining the "General has 3 points better AC" relationship and giving it AC 17?

That way it's an odd number like the original's AC 5.

Which would mean we need to give it a total of +4 in AC bonuses.

We could give it a Monk's AC bonus ability based on its HD? That'd give it +3 for Wisdom plus the +1 it gains at 5 HD, for +4 in total.

We have several martial artist-type critters with that kind of ability already, most pertinently:

Martial Artistry (Ex): The Veiled Maidens possesses the bonus feats, evasion, fast movement and unarmed strike abilities of a 3rd-level monk. Furthermore, the Veiled Maidens possesses the base attack bonus and base saving throw bonuses of a monk of a level equal to its Hit Dice.

Martial Artistry (Ex): The Shadow Walker possesses the bonus feats, AC bonus, flurry of blows and unarmed strike abilities of a 6th-level monk. It adds its inherent monklike abilities to any monk levels it might acquire. Thus, a 3th-level Shadow Walker monk possesses the AC bonus, flurry of blows and unarmed strike of a 9th-level monk.

Although we also have:

Monklike (Ex): A sea bonze possesses the AC bonus, base attack bonus, base saving throw bonuses, flurry of blows, ki strike, and unarmed strike damage of a 6th-level monk. A sea bonze that later takes monk levels adds its inherent monklike abilities to those of a true monk. Thus, a 4th-level sea bonze monk possesses the AC bonus, base attack bonus, base saving throw bonuses, flurry of blows, ki strike, and unarmed strike damage of a 10th-level monk.

…

Come to think of it, the pseudo-Monk approach would also help account for some of the original's martial maneuvers in the form of monk bonus feats, like pain touch (Stunning Fist) and missile deflection (Deflect Arrows).

Instead of Martial Training, we give it:

Martial Artistry (Ex): The Paper Warrior possesses the base attack bonus, bonus feats, AC bonus, slow fall and flurry of blows abilities of an 8th-level monk. It adds its inherent monklike abilities to any monk levels it might acquire. Thus, a 2nd-level Paper Warrior monk possesses the bonus feats, AC bonus, slow fall and flurry of blows of a 10th-level monk.

Alternatively, we could just tweak the existing Martial Training for an AC 18 version by adding a Wisdom-based bonus to the pencilled-in Intelligence-based one:

Martial Training (Ex): The Paper Warrior was a master martial artist in life, and retains the martial skills it once possessed. The Paper Warrior possesses the base attack bonus of a cleric of a level equal to its Hit Dice, and qualifies for fighter feats as if had fighter levels equal to its BAB.

In addition, when the Paper Warrior is unarmored and unencumbered its armor class is improved by a dodge bonus equal to its Intelligence bonus plus an insight bonus equal to its Wisdom bonus.

 

[Cleon]

Incidentally, regarding the original martial abilities

Yes, Chomei has some martial special abilities:

Chomei’s martial arts special maneuvers are: pain touch, prone fighting, one finger, fall, missile deflection, iron skin and speed.

For reference, here are the original descriptions of those abilities:

Pain Touch: Simply by pressing his finger against specific points of the body, the character can cause great pain in his victim. This can be done in place of a normal attack. It causes no damage, but if the to hit roll is successful, the victim feels as if he is on fire. Thereafter, he will be -2 on his chance to hit and +2 on chance of being hit. The effect lasts for 1-3 rounds. There is no adverse effect on the victim if the to hit roll is failed.

Prone Fighting: Prepared for any circumstance, the character is able to fight effectively even when lying on the ground. This special maneuver is constant—it applies any time the character is knocked from his feet. The only limitation is that the character can perform no other special maneuver (except Instant Stand) when prone.

One Finger: This skill requires long and difficult practice. It is said that the student first learns to push a heavy bell with the touch of a single finger. He concentrates then on touching it lighter and lighter while making the bell swing even more. Finally, he reaches the point where he can make the bell move without actually touching it. His inner power extends from his finger and pushes the bell. At this point he has mastered One Finger.

One Finger gives the character the power of Concentrated Push without having to touch the target. The character simply concentrates and points his finger at the victim. The range is equal to one foot per character level. One Finger requires great concentration and is the only action that can be taken in the melee round regardless of the number of attacks the character has. A normal to hit roll must be made. If successful, the victim is affected as if hit by a Concentrated Push. If unsuccessful, the attack misses and has no effect.

Note: 'Concentrated Push' is
Concentrated Push: The character focuses his inner energy into his hands, giving him great results even from a gentle push. On a successful to hit roll the opponent is knocked back one foot per level of the character. If the distance is greater than three feet, the victim must make a successful saving throw vs. paralyzation to remain on his feet. If the victim hits a solid object, he suffers damage as if he had fallen the same distance. Note that those with Immovability can resist being knocked back. If the Concentrated Push attack is unsuccessful, all attacks made against the character for the remainder of the round have a + 2 on their chance to hit.
​

Fall: The first maneuver any student of this style learns is how to fall correctly. He learns to fall and roll, taking the impact of the fall on the safest areas of his body. Once learned this maneuver is constantly in effect. Thereafter he suffers only 1/2 the normal amount of damage from any fall.

Missile Deflection: Relying on the speed of his reflexes and the nimbleness of his footwork, the character is sometimes able to avoid non-magical missile attacks (including magical arrows and bolts). This ability is constant although the character must be aware of the attack. The character is allowed a saving throw vs. paralyzation against each attack. If the save is successful, the character has dodged the missile; if not, the missile hits normally.

lronskin: Rigorous physical training has toughened the character’s muscles to the point where he can harden them like iron. The armor class of the character is improved by 2, but only when he is not wearing any other type of armor.

Speed: The character has developed lightning-fast reflexes and powerful muscles mainly by concentrating and learning how his body controls its movements. The character gains twice the normal amount of melee attacks he is normally allowed (both with the martial arts and normal combat) and moves at double the normal combat movement rate (only). The increase in movement rate does not apply to normal movement nor can the movement speed be maintained for more than five rounds. This special maneuver is difficult and tiring. It can only be done once per day and can only be maintained for five rounds. At the end of this time, the character must rest for 1-3 rounds.

 

[freyar]

Hmmm. I think Martial Artistry seems like the best fit. And that would fix the AC.

Let's make the Strong Saves (Su) and maybe call it something more magic sounding.

Would that wrap up the special abilities as far as you are concerned?

 

[Cleon]

Hmmm. I think Martial Artistry seems like the best fit. And that would fix the AC.

Updating the Paper Warrior Working Draft.

Do you prefer Improved Disarm or Improved Trip for its 6th level monk bonus feat?

Let's make the Strong Saves (Su) and maybe call it something more magic sounding.

We gave the Shadow Walker the following:

Martial Resilience (Ex): The Shadow Walker has all good saves.

So if you want a supernatural "more magic sounding" version how about:

Unholy Resilience (Su): The Paper Warrior gains a +3 profane bonus to all Fort, Ref, and Will saves.

Would that wrap up the special abilities as far as you are concerned?

Not quite, assuming we use Pain Touch = Stunning Fist, Missile Deflection = Deflect Arrows that still leaves the martial maneuvers Prone Fighting, One Finger, Fall, Ironskin and Speed to write up.

Speaking of Fall, for some reason I thought that was the Monk's slow fall ability so included that in Martial Artistry but reading the original it's obviously more of a "how to roll on landing after a wrestling throw" ability. I'd be OK cutting the Slow Fall SA from the writeup.

I think we can consider the Ironskin covered by a monk's AC bonus.

There ought to be a feat for Prone Fighting somewhere but it's not in the SRD…

Ah, here's the Prone Combat feat. Shall we just make that a SQ?

Prone Fighting (Ex): The Paper Warrior can fight from a prone position without penalty.

The One Finger / Concentrated Push ability is pretty straightforward. How about this:

Ki Push (Ex): As a standard action, the Paper Warrior can point a finger and direct ki power at a single opponent within a range of 10 feet. The Paper Warrior makes a +8 ranged touch attack, and if the ki power hits the opponent must succeed at a DC 16 Fortitude save or be hurled 10 feet away from the Paper Warrior and fall prone, taking 1d6 points of damage.

That leaves Speed, which is pretty much 5 rounds of being hasted.

Ki Speed (Ex): Once per day as a swift action the Paper Warrior can muster its inner power to move with superhuman speed, gaining all the benefits of a haste spell for up to 5 rounds. This ability modifies the Paper Warrior's statistics to the following:

Speed: 60 ft. (12 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (+3 Dex, +4 monk bonus, +1 dodge), touch 18, flat-footed 14
Attack: +1 kiseru +10 melee (1d4+3) or quill pen +9 touch (special)
Full Attack: +1 kiseru +10/+10/+5 melee (1d4+3) or quill pen +9/+9/+4 touch (special)
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +12

The Paper Warrior can cancel its ki speed as a free action.

 

[freyar]

Let's go with Improved Disarm. Not too many monsters with that.

Oh, we can just go with Martial Resilience (Ex). There's nothing about magic for the +3 to saves, and I'm ok with switching to all good saves. But I guess Unholy Resilience works if you want to stick to a +3 bonus.

We can cut Slow Fall.
Prone Fighting, Ki Push, and Ki Speed seem fine.

OK, he gets 3 feats and 66 skill points (6 at max 11 ranks). We already have two skills listed, and flavor-wise we should max them out, I think. Spot and Listen seem appropriate. Maybe also Jump and Tumble? For the feats, is TWF supposed to be a bonus? Anyway, Weapon Finesse would be useful and seems appropriate. Maybe Combat Reflexes or Blind Fight for further feats, too.

 

[Cleon]

Let's go with Improved Disarm. Not too many monsters with that.

Oh, we can just go with Martial Resilience (Ex). There's nothing about magic for the +3 to saves, and I'm ok with switching to all good saves. But I guess Unholy Resilience works if you want to stick to a +3 bonus.

We can cut Slow Fall.
Prone Fighting, Ki Push, and Ki Speed seem fine.

I'm inclined to give it both all good saves AND the +3 profane bonus but will cut out the unholy resilience if you're adamant. These solo monsters need all the help we can give them.

Updating the Paper Warrior Working Draft.

OK, he gets 3 feats and 66 skill points (6 at max 11 ranks). We already have two skills listed, and flavor-wise we should max them out, I think. Spot and Listen seem appropriate. Maybe also Jump and Tumble? For the feats, is TWF supposed to be a bonus? Anyway, Weapon Finesse would be useful and seems appropriate. Maybe Combat Reflexes or Blind Fight for further feats, too.

I wouldn't both with Jump but the others look OK. I'd go for either Concentration for the remaining max skill.

i.e.:

Skills: Concentration +11, Craft (origami) +13, Craft (papermaking) +13, Listen +14, Spot +14, Tumble +14

Combat Reflexes, Two-Weapon Fighting and Weapon Finesse for its three skills sounds fine to me. I hadn't decided on what to do with the Two-Weapon FIghting except that it needed it. We can make it a bonus feat if you'd like to squeeze another feat in.

 

[freyar]

I'm fine with the good saves and Unholy Resilience. I don't usually have much problem with making a monster tougher within reason.

Skills look good. I'm also fine with those three feats. If you want to make TWF a bonus, we could always go with Weapon Focus or something.

PS. Was just going to see the next thing to add and realized that the full attack should probably be kiseru and quill pen what with TWF.

Tactics: starts at range folding origami, then uses both kiseru and quill in melee?