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Rogues Gallery for Shemmy's Planescape Storyhour #1 (up to date 5-9-06)
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<blockquote data-quote="Shemeska" data-source="post: 3099762" data-attributes="member: 11697"><p>I've never made a CR for any creature I've created. I don't give out numerical XP in my games, so I prefer to simply eyeball any creature with how strong or weak I want the encounter to be. Feel free to make a CR for the critter though.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I only assigned some of the skill points, largely because I rarely write down the skills of any monster beyond possibly spot and move silently, the things immediately applicable to a combat encounter. I usually just wing the social skills entirely, using a bonus that 'seems appropriate at the time'.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The Astraloths require the essence of a greater yugoloth in their creation, and most of their intelligence is derived from that which goes into them. I think the example I used in the storyhour was an arcanaloth being tossed into one of the vats [the nycaloth turned arcanaloth drowning himself willingly in a later scene isn't related to the astraloths, but something else entirely, though they won't be seen till -much- later on in the storyhour].</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>*nodding* Seems appropriate to me. The stats I originally created weren't intensely proofed since I was more keen on the concept rather than a well polished statblock. But I can see your point certainly.</p><p></p><p>Perhaps a 15 Int, 18 Wis, something like that.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>It's a pretty nice selection of appropriate skills. I might add a racial bonus to one or two skills, deriving from their translucency and partial incorporeality.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Works for me, though I did briefly consider giving them access to some of the potentially applicable feats from the BoVD (the vile damage feats etc), but they're already pumped up as is, so it's probably safe to leave such off unless it's an advanced example of the creature.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The bite is the primary attack, though the tentacles are more deadly.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I'd make it silver and good DR to reflect the 'loths original flavor with regards to being harmed by silver.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Yes, the tentacles are touch attacks.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I didn't have it in the statblock very clearly, but the # of tentacles is rolled randomly, and it will then have that many tentacles for attacks. They're not rerolled each round. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I'd give them outright communicative telepathy out to the range of most greater yugoloths, which I don't recall off the top of my head. The other senses I'm less clear on, but I'd likely take a look at giving them something like a racial bonus feat for the one feat that lets you detect minds in a rough sort of location through the use of telepathy, and then extending that telepathy out to several hundred feat, and then giving them equivalent to blindsight at closer ranges of 100 feet or so. Yugoloths, Infernal, Abyssal, Celestial, Planar Common would be on the list.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>They have an at will greater teleport and rather than a true planeshift, they have an ability to transition onto any adjacent transitive plane [or from a transitive plane onto any adjacent plane's 1st layer]. I use the 2e layout of the Astral and Ethereal, rather than the setup in 3e in which the astral touches everything and the ethereal is largely nerfed. If you use the 3e setup, it's probably easier to just give them planeshift 3/day or so.</p><p></p><p>I'd also give them a 'sending' SLA to convey messages across planes, and the locate object/person seems rather appropriate.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Shemeska, post: 3099762, member: 11697"] I've never made a CR for any creature I've created. I don't give out numerical XP in my games, so I prefer to simply eyeball any creature with how strong or weak I want the encounter to be. Feel free to make a CR for the critter though. I only assigned some of the skill points, largely because I rarely write down the skills of any monster beyond possibly spot and move silently, the things immediately applicable to a combat encounter. I usually just wing the social skills entirely, using a bonus that 'seems appropriate at the time'. The Astraloths require the essence of a greater yugoloth in their creation, and most of their intelligence is derived from that which goes into them. I think the example I used in the storyhour was an arcanaloth being tossed into one of the vats [the nycaloth turned arcanaloth drowning himself willingly in a later scene isn't related to the astraloths, but something else entirely, though they won't be seen till -much- later on in the storyhour]. *nodding* Seems appropriate to me. The stats I originally created weren't intensely proofed since I was more keen on the concept rather than a well polished statblock. But I can see your point certainly. Perhaps a 15 Int, 18 Wis, something like that. It's a pretty nice selection of appropriate skills. I might add a racial bonus to one or two skills, deriving from their translucency and partial incorporeality. Works for me, though I did briefly consider giving them access to some of the potentially applicable feats from the BoVD (the vile damage feats etc), but they're already pumped up as is, so it's probably safe to leave such off unless it's an advanced example of the creature. The bite is the primary attack, though the tentacles are more deadly. I'd make it silver and good DR to reflect the 'loths original flavor with regards to being harmed by silver. Yes, the tentacles are touch attacks. I didn't have it in the statblock very clearly, but the # of tentacles is rolled randomly, and it will then have that many tentacles for attacks. They're not rerolled each round. :) I'd give them outright communicative telepathy out to the range of most greater yugoloths, which I don't recall off the top of my head. The other senses I'm less clear on, but I'd likely take a look at giving them something like a racial bonus feat for the one feat that lets you detect minds in a rough sort of location through the use of telepathy, and then extending that telepathy out to several hundred feat, and then giving them equivalent to blindsight at closer ranges of 100 feet or so. Yugoloths, Infernal, Abyssal, Celestial, Planar Common would be on the list. They have an at will greater teleport and rather than a true planeshift, they have an ability to transition onto any adjacent transitive plane [or from a transitive plane onto any adjacent plane's 1st layer]. I use the 2e layout of the Astral and Ethereal, rather than the setup in 3e in which the astral touches everything and the ethereal is largely nerfed. If you use the 3e setup, it's probably easier to just give them planeshift 3/day or so. I'd also give them a 'sending' SLA to convey messages across planes, and the locate object/person seems rather appropriate. [/QUOTE]
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