8/ - makes perfect sense actually. It's made of stone, not diamond. But, it's DR could be increased via magical means.
Kerrick's revised epic monsters
8/ - makes perfect sense actually. It's made of stone, not diamond. But, it's DR could be increased via magical means.
Upper_Krust
Hero
Hiya mate! 
DR 8/- makes perfect sense. Also take into consideration that DR 30/Adamantine is going to be all but useless at epic levels.
The Stone Colossi is made from stone, not diamond (as noted by Dante).
Good job though!
Kerrick said:
DR 8/- makes perfect sense. Also take into consideration that DR 30/Adamantine is going to be all but useless at epic levels.
The Stone Colossi is made from stone, not diamond (as noted by Dante).
Good job though!
Kerrick
First Post
I can see the logic behind it - I mean, it's essentially a huge block of stone. But really, DR 8/- is just about as pointless as DR 30; a 20th-level fighter with a longsword +5 would be dealing at least a couple points of damage per strike. Sure, if the sword were adamantine, it would bypass all the DR, but then you get into some oddities at higher materials - mithril and adamantine golems, frex. An adamantine weapon won't bypass all the DR, which violates the DR rules.Hiya mate!
DR 8/- makes perfect sense. Also take into consideration that DR 30/Adamantine is going to be all but useless at epic levels.
BUT, I redid the DR rules for Project Phoenix; I took a page from Monte Cook and used a graded system, whereby a +2 weapon bypasses DR /silver, +3 is /cold iron, +4 is /alignment, and +5 is /adamantine. Under this system, a magic weapon bypasses only 5 points of DR /magic per plus - a +3 weapon will not completely bypass DR 25/magic (part of the reason I want a scaled DR system). So, with this system, your golem DR thing would work.
But, uh... shouldn't the more powerful golems (i.e., gargants, colossi, etc.) get more DR to reflect the greater strength of the PCs? DR 8/- is huge at low levels, but not that much of a roadblock at the higher ones, especially considering at least one person is likely to have an adamantine weapon. You could justify it by stating that they're magically enhanced via the rituals used to create them. The increase wouldn't have to be that large, either - maybe 2-3 points per size.
Well yeah... that's why it's 30/adamantine, not 30/-.
Thanks. And thanks for the creation rules - they made this a lot easier.Good job though!
Kerrick
First Post
Blach. I realized how much the 3.5 skill system sucked after I tried to convert this thing from PP stats back to 3.5. I ended up having to cut several skills to make room for the ones that were split up (Stealth into Hide/MS, and Perception into Listen/Spot), and even then it doesn't have them at the same level as before (+20 each vs. +27). I'm SO glad I came up with that new system...
Anyway, here's the gloom:
Gloom
Large Outsider
Hit Dice: 24d8+120 (228 hp)
Initiative: +18
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 28 (-1 size, +10 Dex, +3 natural, +3 deflection, +3 insight), touch 25, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +22/+28
Attack: Large //+5 keen human bane dagger// +37 melee (1d6+10/17-20)
Full Attack: Large //+5 keen human bane dagger// +37/+32/+27/+22 melee (1d6+10/17-20)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Fear gaze, sneak attack +12d6
Special Qualities: Blindsight 60 ft., cloak of shadows, DR 10/magic, SR 36, opportunist, quiescence, spell-like abilities
Saves: Fort +19, Ref +24, Will +17
Abilities: Str 20, Dex 30, Con 20, Int 18, Wis 16, Cha 16
Skills: Climb +25, Hide +51, Intimidate +23, Jump +25, Listen +23, Move Silently +51, Search +24, Spot +23
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Improved Critical (dagger), Mobility, Spring Attack, Superior Initiative, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (dagger)
Environment: Any urban or Plane of Shadow
Organization: Solitary
ECL: ??
Treasure: Nonstandard (just its dagger)
Alignment: Usually lawful evil
Advancement: 25-72 HD (Huge)
In the hand of any other creature but a gloom, the dagger is a //+3 keen dagger//. A gloom's natural weapons are treated as magical for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Glooms stand 8 feet tall and weigh around 400 pounds.
Combat
Cloak of Shadows (Su): The shadows naturally gather around a gloom, hiding it from all eyes. It gains a +20 racial bonus on Hide checks. This ability works even in bright light (though a clump of moving shadows would be rather obvious) but not in direct sunlight. It can lower this effect at will.
Fear Gaze (Su): Viewing the gloom's face inspires terror. Creatures that meet the gloom's gaze must succeed at a Will save (DC 23) or suffer the effect of a //fear// spell as cast by a 20th-level caster. The DC is Charisma-based.
Opportunist (Ex): This ability functions like the rogue class feature of the same name.
Quiescence (Su): A gloom is constantly silent, as the //silence// spell, although the area does not extend beyond the creature itself. This quality gives it a +20 racial bonus on Move Silently checks (it is still possible for a gloom to create noise, such as by bumping into something that scrapes on the floor or by sounding a chime). It can lower this effect at will.
Shadow Walk (Su): At will as a move action, a gloom can travel through the shadows as the spell //shadow walk//.
Sneak Attack (Ex): A gloom can sneak attack as a 24th-level rogue, dealing 12d6 extra Damage.
Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day — true strike. Caster level 20th.
[This thing's stats were WAY too high, and it had too many HD. I decided to make it an outsider, as that fit it better and enabled me to keep the HD, though I still had to make it Large. The dagger was far too powerful for a 24-HD creature; technically, it should only have a +6 total, but I fudged it a bit (it's +7 market value). Shadow walk became cloak of shadows, as it also fit better (instead of it having to cast a spell each round). The end result is a creature with much lower stats, but with its assassin abilities, huge sneak attack bonus, and innate abilities, this thing can still be a really nasty opponent. Tack on some class levels and let it loose.]
Anyway, here's the gloom:
Gloom
Large Outsider
Hit Dice: 24d8+120 (228 hp)
Initiative: +18
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 28 (-1 size, +10 Dex, +3 natural, +3 deflection, +3 insight), touch 25, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +22/+28
Attack: Large //+5 keen human bane dagger// +37 melee (1d6+10/17-20)
Full Attack: Large //+5 keen human bane dagger// +37/+32/+27/+22 melee (1d6+10/17-20)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Fear gaze, sneak attack +12d6
Special Qualities: Blindsight 60 ft., cloak of shadows, DR 10/magic, SR 36, opportunist, quiescence, spell-like abilities
Saves: Fort +19, Ref +24, Will +17
Abilities: Str 20, Dex 30, Con 20, Int 18, Wis 16, Cha 16
Skills: Climb +25, Hide +51, Intimidate +23, Jump +25, Listen +23, Move Silently +51, Search +24, Spot +23
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Improved Critical (dagger), Mobility, Spring Attack, Superior Initiative, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (dagger)
Environment: Any urban or Plane of Shadow
Organization: Solitary
ECL: ??
Treasure: Nonstandard (just its dagger)
Alignment: Usually lawful evil
Advancement: 25-72 HD (Huge)
In the hand of any other creature but a gloom, the dagger is a //+3 keen dagger//. A gloom's natural weapons are treated as magical for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Glooms stand 8 feet tall and weigh around 400 pounds.
Combat
Cloak of Shadows (Su): The shadows naturally gather around a gloom, hiding it from all eyes. It gains a +20 racial bonus on Hide checks. This ability works even in bright light (though a clump of moving shadows would be rather obvious) but not in direct sunlight. It can lower this effect at will.
Fear Gaze (Su): Viewing the gloom's face inspires terror. Creatures that meet the gloom's gaze must succeed at a Will save (DC 23) or suffer the effect of a //fear// spell as cast by a 20th-level caster. The DC is Charisma-based.
Opportunist (Ex): This ability functions like the rogue class feature of the same name.
Quiescence (Su): A gloom is constantly silent, as the //silence// spell, although the area does not extend beyond the creature itself. This quality gives it a +20 racial bonus on Move Silently checks (it is still possible for a gloom to create noise, such as by bumping into something that scrapes on the floor or by sounding a chime). It can lower this effect at will.
Shadow Walk (Su): At will as a move action, a gloom can travel through the shadows as the spell //shadow walk//.
Sneak Attack (Ex): A gloom can sneak attack as a 24th-level rogue, dealing 12d6 extra Damage.
Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day — true strike. Caster level 20th.
[This thing's stats were WAY too high, and it had too many HD. I decided to make it an outsider, as that fit it better and enabled me to keep the HD, though I still had to make it Large. The dagger was far too powerful for a 24-HD creature; technically, it should only have a +6 total, but I fudged it a bit (it's +7 market value). Shadow walk became cloak of shadows, as it also fit better (instead of it having to cast a spell each round). The end result is a creature with much lower stats, but with its assassin abilities, huge sneak attack bonus, and innate abilities, this thing can still be a really nasty opponent. Tack on some class levels and let it loose.]
Kerrick
First Post
Here are the hoary hunter and his steed. As with the gloom, I ran into the problem of them having far too many HD for their size/type. I think, though, that the designers gave them a crapload of class levels that somehow translated over to racial HD (not sure how that works, though). The gloom would thus be a monstrous humanoid with 25 rogue levels and no racial HD; the hoary hunter would have 20+ fighter levels and some racial HD (because fey always have racial HD); I'm thinking somewhere around 4-5 HD, and 30 or so levels of fighter. I could easily revise the stats to reflect that, but I wanted to get some input first.
Hoary Hunter
Medium Fey (Cold)
Hit Dice: 32d6+384 (496 hp)
Initiative: +15
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 33 (+11 Dex, +4 natural, +8 deflection), touch 29, flat-footed 22
Base Attack/Grapple: +16/+29
Attack: //+6 keen longsword of binding// +27 melee (1d8+19/17-20 plus binding)
Full Attack: //+6 keen longsword of binding// +27/+22/+17 melee (1d8+19/17–20 plus binding)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities
Special Qualities: Cold resistance 25, DR 15/cold iron and magic, fire vulnerability, full SR
Saves: Fort +25, Ref +29, Will +24
Abilities: Str 36, Dex 33, Con 34, Int 21, Wis 23, Cha 26
Skills: Diplomacy +43, Intimidate +43, Knowledge (geography, nature, the planes) +40, Perception +41, Ride +46, Search +40, Sense Motive +41, Stealth +46, Survival +41
Feats: Cleave, Dire Charge, Great Cleave, Improved Critical (longsword), Improved Initiative, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Spirited Charge, Superior Initiative, Track, Trample, Weapon Focus (longsword)
Environment: Any cold
Organization: Solitary or company (2–5)
ECL: ??
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: By character class
A hoary hunter's natural weapons are treated as cold iron and magical for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Combat
A critical hit (or the blow that would kill or render a foe unconscious) from the hoary hunter's blade does not wound the hunter's prey. Instead, the victim is bodily transported as per a //trap the soul// spell heightened to 16th level (DC 30) into a diamond in the sword's hilt.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will — //discern location, true strike, fog cloud, hold monster, plane shift//; 3/day — //dimensional anchor, dominate monster, greater dispel magic//; 1/day — //disjunction, contingent recall and resurrection//*. Caster level 23rd; save DC 18 + spell level. *//Contingent recall and resurrection// is a variation on an epic spell. When slain, the hoary hunter is actually transported, with its mount, back to the fey realm, where it is resurrected. The only way to truly slay the hoary hunter is to defeat it in its home realm after this epic spell has been exhausted for the day.
Hoary Steed
Large Magical Beast (Cold)
Hit Dice: 12d10+36 (102 hp)
Initiative: +8
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares), fly 90 ft. (16 squares) (good)
Armor Class: 21 (–1 size, +4 Dex, +8 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 17
Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+19
Attack: Hoof +17 melee (1d8+6)
Full Attack: 2 hooves +17 melee (1d8+6) and bite +15 melee (1d6+3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: --
Special Qualities: Air walk, astral projection and etherealness, cold resistance 15, DR 5/cold iron and magic, fire vulnerability, immunities, magic circle against good, misty breath, moderate SR
Saves: Fort +11, Ref +12, Will +5
Abilities: Str 22, Dex 18, Con 17, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 12
Skills: Jump +12, Perception +7
Feats: Endurance, Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Run
Environment: Any cold
Organization: Solitary (with rider)
ECL: ??
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: 13–16 HD (Large); 17–36 HD (Huge)
A hoary steed's natural weapons are treated as cold iron and magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Combat
Air Walk (Su): A hoary steed can ride through the air as well as on the ground, as though affected by a permanent air walk spell.
Astral Projection and Etherealness (Su): These abilities function just like the spells of the same names as cast by a 20th-level caster.
Immunities (Ex): A hoary steed is immune to all charm and hold spells or abilities.
Magic Circle Against Good (Su): This ability continuously duplicates the effects of the spell. A hoary steed cannot suppress this ability.
Misty Breath (Su): The breath of a hoary steed functions like a constant obscuring mist spell.
Hoary Hunter
Medium Fey (Cold)
Hit Dice: 32d6+384 (496 hp)
Initiative: +15
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 33 (+11 Dex, +4 natural, +8 deflection), touch 29, flat-footed 22
Base Attack/Grapple: +16/+29
Attack: //+6 keen longsword of binding// +27 melee (1d8+19/17-20 plus binding)
Full Attack: //+6 keen longsword of binding// +27/+22/+17 melee (1d8+19/17–20 plus binding)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities
Special Qualities: Cold resistance 25, DR 15/cold iron and magic, fire vulnerability, full SR
Saves: Fort +25, Ref +29, Will +24
Abilities: Str 36, Dex 33, Con 34, Int 21, Wis 23, Cha 26
Skills: Diplomacy +43, Intimidate +43, Knowledge (geography, nature, the planes) +40, Perception +41, Ride +46, Search +40, Sense Motive +41, Stealth +46, Survival +41
Feats: Cleave, Dire Charge, Great Cleave, Improved Critical (longsword), Improved Initiative, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Spirited Charge, Superior Initiative, Track, Trample, Weapon Focus (longsword)
Environment: Any cold
Organization: Solitary or company (2–5)
ECL: ??
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: By character class
A hoary hunter's natural weapons are treated as cold iron and magical for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Combat
A critical hit (or the blow that would kill or render a foe unconscious) from the hoary hunter's blade does not wound the hunter's prey. Instead, the victim is bodily transported as per a //trap the soul// spell heightened to 16th level (DC 30) into a diamond in the sword's hilt.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will — //discern location, true strike, fog cloud, hold monster, plane shift//; 3/day — //dimensional anchor, dominate monster, greater dispel magic//; 1/day — //disjunction, contingent recall and resurrection//*. Caster level 23rd; save DC 18 + spell level. *//Contingent recall and resurrection// is a variation on an epic spell. When slain, the hoary hunter is actually transported, with its mount, back to the fey realm, where it is resurrected. The only way to truly slay the hoary hunter is to defeat it in its home realm after this epic spell has been exhausted for the day.
Hoary Steed
Large Magical Beast (Cold)
Hit Dice: 12d10+36 (102 hp)
Initiative: +8
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares), fly 90 ft. (16 squares) (good)
Armor Class: 21 (–1 size, +4 Dex, +8 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 17
Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+19
Attack: Hoof +17 melee (1d8+6)
Full Attack: 2 hooves +17 melee (1d8+6) and bite +15 melee (1d6+3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: --
Special Qualities: Air walk, astral projection and etherealness, cold resistance 15, DR 5/cold iron and magic, fire vulnerability, immunities, magic circle against good, misty breath, moderate SR
Saves: Fort +11, Ref +12, Will +5
Abilities: Str 22, Dex 18, Con 17, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 12
Skills: Jump +12, Perception +7
Feats: Endurance, Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Run
Environment: Any cold
Organization: Solitary (with rider)
ECL: ??
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: 13–16 HD (Large); 17–36 HD (Huge)
A hoary steed's natural weapons are treated as cold iron and magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Combat
Air Walk (Su): A hoary steed can ride through the air as well as on the ground, as though affected by a permanent air walk spell.
Astral Projection and Etherealness (Su): These abilities function just like the spells of the same names as cast by a 20th-level caster.
Immunities (Ex): A hoary steed is immune to all charm and hold spells or abilities.
Magic Circle Against Good (Su): This ability continuously duplicates the effects of the spell. A hoary steed cannot suppress this ability.
Misty Breath (Su): The breath of a hoary steed functions like a constant obscuring mist spell.
Kerrick
First Post
Here's my version of the leShay. I put it up on my site because it's in a table and it was easier to format it that way, rather than post it here and make a mess of things.
When I got to the leShay, I decided to simply give them some racial HD and class levels, like I'd mentioned before. The LeShay entry says that they all have class levels anyway, so this made sense (I can't imagine a 50 HD creature with class levels too...). Thus, I started with 10 HD and ruled that they'd all have at least 20 levels of various classes. I scaled SR, DR, and fast healing (I figured DR is HD/9, round down to the nearest 5), and having the power of their weapons scale also makes more sense.
The example has the base fey and a L20 fighter. The base fey doesn't require much conversion beyond changing SR back to a number and splitting the Stealth skill. I wouldn't recommend using the fighter unless you want to playtest Project Phoenix; it's just there to illustrate what a leShay with class levels looks like (powerful).
When I got to the leShay, I decided to simply give them some racial HD and class levels, like I'd mentioned before. The LeShay entry says that they all have class levels anyway, so this made sense (I can't imagine a 50 HD creature with class levels too...). Thus, I started with 10 HD and ruled that they'd all have at least 20 levels of various classes. I scaled SR, DR, and fast healing (I figured DR is HD/9, round down to the nearest 5), and having the power of their weapons scale also makes more sense.
The example has the base fey and a L20 fighter. The base fey doesn't require much conversion beyond changing SR back to a number and splitting the Stealth skill. I wouldn't recommend using the fighter unless you want to playtest Project Phoenix; it's just there to illustrate what a leShay with class levels looks like (powerful).
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