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Converting original D&D and Mystara monsters

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Shade

Monster Junkie
"A grey philosopher is the undead spirit" = incorporeal

"take on a substance and will of their own" = corporeal.

"but are able to squeeze through the narrowest of gaps in their wanderings" = corporeal

"The philosopher itself appears as a seated, grey, insubstantial, robed figure" = could go either way
 

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Traianus

First Post
In my conversion at the Vaults, I have both as incorporal- it seemed to work better with the intent of the creature.
 

BOZ

Creature Cataloguer
i would almost think that they might be gaseous, but incorporeal might just make more sense.
 

Mortis

First Post
BOZ said:
i would almost think that they might be gaseous, but incorporeal might just make more sense.

I would plump for Incorporeal. For one thing it means they can only damaged by magic weapons and we still have that 50% miss chance.

One reason that I dislike Gaseous is the fact that I cannot see the Grey Philosopher being blown around by gusts of wind etc - it should just sit there.

An idea I had (that goes against what was published) is that the spirit of the dead cleric is actually in the seat and the image of the Grey Philosopher is actually an illusion. It might make an interesting variant though.

Regards
Mortis
 

Shade

Monster Junkie
I agree that incorporeal would work best. It just goes better with the whole "spirits" thing.
 

Mortis

First Post
Hollow World: Were-Sabretooth added to homebrews

I've added a conversion of the Were-Sabretooth from Hollow World to the homebrews. You see it here. I kept it as an attachment to preserve the formatting. ;)

Regards
Mortis
 


Mortis

First Post
To save BOZ a little work here are the stats from DMR2 Creature Catalog and the Mystara Monstrous Compendium.

Regards
Mortis

DMR2 Creature Catalog

Philosopher*
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 9 (M)
Move: Nil
Attacks: Nil
Damage: Nil
No. Appearing: 1 (1)
Save As: Cleric: 0
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: O
Intelligence: 13
Alignment: Chaotic
Alignment: 450

Malice*
Armor Class: 1
Hit Dice: 1* (S)
Move: 150’ (50’)
Attacks: 1 touch
Damage: 1d6, 1d8 or 1d10 (see below)
No. Appearing: Special
Save As: Cleric: 6
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: Nil
Intelligence: Not applicable
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 13

Monster Type: Undead (Very rare)
A gray philosopher is the undead spirit of a chaotic cleric who died with some important philosophical deliberations unresolved in his or her mind. In its undead state, the philosopher does nothing but ponder these weighty matters. However, it seems always unable to reach a conclusion. Over the centuries, the evil notions of the philosopher take on substance and gain a will of their own. These animated thoughts, known as malices, appear as small, luminous, translucent wisps with vaguely human faces, gaping maws, and spindly, clawed hands. They fly through the air, constantly searching for victims on which to vent their petty, bur eternal, spite. Malices do not stray more than 100 feet from their philosopher, but are able to squeeze through the narrowest of gaps in their wanderings. A gray philosopher typically creates 2d4 malices for each century of its deliberations. Clerics turn malices as spectres.
Malices have the same attack rolls as a 9 Hit Dice creature, and the amount of damage done depends on the alignment of the victim: 1d6 points of damage for chaotic characters, 1d8 for neutral characters and 1d10 for lawful characters.
The philosopher itself appears as a seated, gray, insubstantial, robed figure who is deep in thought. It cannot be turned by a cleric, has no attack of its own, and will not defend itself. Until it is actually destroyed, its concentration will not be broken even if it is attacked. When its moment of destruction comes, however, it will look up with an expression of malicious enlightenment on its face and then vanish with a lingering scream of evil delight. All malices vanish instantly when the philosopher is destroyed.
Both the philosopher and the malices are immune to mind-affecting magic (charm, phantasmal force, etc.) and to attacks from nonmagical weapons:
Terrain: Ruins.


Monstrous Compendium

Gray Philosopher
Climate/Terrain: Any ruins
Frequency: Very rare
Organization: Solitary
Activity/cycle: Night
Diet: None
Intelligence: High (13-14)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral evil
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 4
Movement: Nil
Hit Dice: 9
THAC0: Nil
No. Of Attacks: 0
Damage/Attack: Nil
Special Attacks: Shriek of Fear
Special Defences: See below
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: M (5’-6’ tall)
Morale: Fearless (20)
XP Value: 2,000

Malice
Climate/Terrain: Any ruins
Frequency: Very rare
Organization: Cluster
Activity/cycle: Night
Diet: None
Intelligence: None (0)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral evil
No. Appearing: Special
Armor Class: 1
Movement: 15
Hit Dice: 1
THAC0: 11
No. Of Attacks: 1d10, 1d8, or 1d6 (bite)
Special Attacks: Attack as 9 HD creature
Special Defences: See below
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: T (1’-2’ long)
Morale: Champion (15)
XP Value: 120

A gray philosopher is the undead spirit of an evil cleric who died with some important philosophical deliberation yet unresolved in his or her mind. In its undead state, this creature does nothing but ponder these weighty matters.
The gray philosopher appears as a seated, smoke-colored, insubstantial figure swathed in robes. It always seems deep in thought. Flying through the air surrounding the philosopher are a number of tiny, luminous, wispy creatures known as malices. They have vaguely human faces, gaping maws, and spindly clawed hands. These vindictive creatures are actually the philosopher’s evil thoughts, which have taken on substance and a will of their own.

Combat: The gray philosopher cannot be turned by a cleric but has no attacks of its own; it will not defend itself. Both the philosopher and its malices are immune to mind-affecting magic (charm, phantasmal force, etc.) and to attacks from non-magical weapons.
Unlike the philosopher, malices constantly search for victims on which to vent their petty but eternal spite. Malices do not stray more than 100 feet from their philosopher but may pass through the narrowest of openings in their ceaseless flight.
When they find a victim, the malices immediately launch themselves at it. The creatures attack as 9 Hit Dice monsters, and the amount of damage their vicious bite inflicts depends on the victims alignment: 1d10 for good characters (whom the malices especially despise), 1d8 for neutral characters, and 1d6 points of damage for evil characters. Clerics can turn malices as spectres. A malice normally attacks until destroyed or turned. However, all these creatures vanish instantly if their philosopher is destroyed.
Until that moment, the philosopher never breaks its concentration, even if attacked. However, in its final seconds, the philosopher looks up with an expression of malicious enlightenment on its face, then vanishes with a lingering shriek of evil delight. All those hearing this horrifying sound must make a successful saving throw vs. Paralysation or begin shaking with fear. Those characters so affected lose 1 point of Dexterity due to the tremors. This effect lasts until a remove fear or remove curse is cast on the character.

Habitat/Society: A gray philosopher never seems able to reach any sort of conclusion to the conundrum that has become the focus of its existence; instead, over the centuries, its evil thoughts have coalesced into the malices. A philosopher typically creates 2s4 malices for every century of its foul existence. It is unknown whether the philosopher is even aware of these venal children of its mind.
Gray philosophers are always found in isolated locations, especially the ruins of temples, libraries, monasteries, and other places of learning. The philosopher never takes an interest in its surroundings or anything else save its own evil contemplations. It does not even stir from its original place of thought for any reason; only its destruction can “move” a gray philosopher.

Ecology: Certain clerics and academicians speculate that any powerful evil cleric who, at death, becomes a gray philosopher may have been attempting to become one of the Immortals. Such sages theorize that a few of the creatures do manage to resolve the philosphical dilemmas upon which they ponder, which leads them to transcend their mortality finally to become profoundly evil and immortal beings. Although these theories propose that it takes a gray philosopher at least 1,000 years to reach such a terrible understanding, the sages urge those who discover these undead creatures to destroy them immediately, in case this frightening theory has merit.
 



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