Rules/Crunch of Eyros

[domino]

Well, I now see the advice you guys gave. Yeah, I missed the boost to Int, when I first looked it over.

And yeah, he now turns into a giant, ninja T-rex, if only because I had nowhere to put the rest of his skills. So, he can theoretically sneak right up on the PCs.

But now, it's late, and I'm tired, so if you'd like to edit him down, or up as you see fit, go ahead. I'm abed.

And I decided to not give him the claw attacks, because unlike a human, he did have claws, they weren't the problems. It was hit stubby little arms. If there's a big desire for it, I can go ahead and add them back in tomorrow.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Hmmm...if you don't give him claws or at least iterative bites, he is going to really really suck for his CR. Also, 6 Toughness feats is kind of a cop-out . He's already going to be very very weak for his CR, so he needs to have good feat selection.

Edit: Actually, I made him pretty scary even with one attack: see below

 

[Rystil Arden]

Here's my take on Vil (Oh, and we may have a lot to worry about Vil's Blasphemy effect, since it has a caster level of 40, so everything dies immediately). Assuming we cap Blasphemy at Caster Level 20, so that he only auto-kills level 10 things, his strategy will probably be to charge a dangerous-looking foe while using large amounts of Combat Expertise to keep himself alive and attempt to swallow. Then he will either keep up his Combat Expertise or Power-Attack 30ish Whilrwind Attack, which probably hits all the adventurers thanks to 15-ft reach (and thanks to Combat Brute, this attack will deal about 137 damage), also attempting to swallow all of them. Another possibility is to Spring Attack and resort on his Reach to produce Attacks of Opportunity:


Vildaxaranthus
Gargantuan Outsider
Hit Dice: 50d8+600 (825 hp)
Initiative: +8
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares) / fly 40 ft. (8 squares) (manoeuvrability Average)
Armor Class: 20 (–4 size, +4 Dex, +10 natural) touch 10, flat-footed 16 (AC 21 vs Dodge target)
Base Attack/Grapple: +37/+71
Attack: Bite +56 melee (4d6+33)
Full Attack: Bite +56 melee (4d6+33) and Tail Slap +50 melee (2d6+22)
Space/Reach: 20 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, swallow whole
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent, SR 35, Darkvision 60ft, Immunity to Poison, Resistance to acid 10, cold 10, electricity 10, and fire 10, DR 15/epic
Saves: Fort +38, Ref +31, Will +20
Abilities: Str 54, Dex 18, Con 32, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 14
Skills: Hide +45, Intimidate +55, Knowledge [the planes] +14, Knowledge [nature] +11, Knowledge [local] +11, Knowledge [religion] +11, Knowledge [geography] +6, Knowledge [history] +6, Listen +57, Move Silently +57, Search +54, Sense Motive +55, Spot +57, Survival +55
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Improved Natural Attack (bite), Improved Critical (bite), Power Attack, Improved Initiative, Combat Expertise, Improved Combat Expertise, Dodge, Mobility, Elusive Target, Improved Sunder, Combat Brute, Improved Toughness, Weapon Focus (bite), Iron Will, Spring Attack, Whirlwind Attack
Environment: Forest
Organization: Unique
Challenge Rating: 21
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Other special abilities.
Smite Good (Su): Once per day the creature can make a normal melee attack to deal extra damage equal to its HD (maximum of +20) against a good foe
Aura of Tyranny (Su): As a result of his worship by the Falgyr, Vildaxaranthus exudes an aura in a 100-ft radius that suppresses any Freedom of Movement effects or similar abilities unless the effect's caster level is at least 30. Additionally, any living creature that is not an outsider within the radius who does not serve Vildaxaranthus must succeed at a DC 37 Will Save. On a failure, creatures with 4 or less Hit Dice become panicked for as long as they remain with the radius and for 4d6 rounds thereafter, and those with 5 Hit Dice or more become shaken for as long as they remain within the radius and for 4d6 rounds thereafter. A successful save renders a creature immune to the Fear portion of Vildaxaranthus's Aura of Tyranny for 24 hours, but the creature still loses any Freedom of Movement effect it may have, regardless of the save.
Darkness, Poison, Unholy Aura 3/day, Desecrate, Unholy Blight, Contagion, Blasphemy, Horrid Wilting, Summon Monster IX, Unhallow, Destruction, 1/day

 

[Abisashi]

Aura of Tyranny (Su): As a result of his worship by the Falgyr, Vildaxaranthus exudes an aura in a 100-ft radius that suppresses any Freedom of Movement effects or similar abilities unless the effect's caster level is at least 30.

I like the worship manifesting as an aura (in fact, I'll make my next contribution based on this, because it reminds me of another really cool idea that really fits this setting), and this fits well, but it's not as imposing as I might like; perhaps a second effect, such as:

Any creature in the area of Vildaxaranthus's aura of tyranny must make a will save (DC 37, cha based) or be shaken any time while within the aura in the next day. A successful save makes the creature immune to the shaken effect of the aura for one day.


Is there an "Awe" condition? I'm using shaken in its place, because he's just so incredible and imposing.


Shouldn't Vildaxaranthus have epic feats?

 

[Rystil Arden]

I like the worship manifesting as an aura (in fact, I'll make my next contribution based on this, because it reminds me of another really cool idea that really fits this setting), and this fits well, but it's not as imposing as I might like; perhaps a second effect, such as:

Any creature in the area of Vildaxaranthus's aura of tyranny must make a will save (DC 37, cha based) or be shaken any time while within the aura in the next day. A successful save makes the creature immune to the shaken effect of the aura for one day.


Is there an "Awe" condition? I'm using shaken in its place, because he's just so incredible and imposing.


Shouldn't Vildaxaranthus have epic feats?

Sure, I'll add in some fear. I just picked the effect I did because those damned level 21 PCs will all have Rings of Freedom of Movement and be immune to being eaten, so not anymore! The fear shouldn't make him any harder against opponents, since most are immune to fear, but it'll definitely be cool for roleplaying encounters with him.

 

[Abisashi]

Sure, I'll add in some fear. I just picked the effect I did because those damned level 21 PCs will all have Rings of Freedom of Movement and be immune to being eaten, so not anymore! The fear shouldn't make him any harder against opponents, since most are immune to fear, but it'll definitely be cool for roleplaying encounters with him.

I was going to ramble on, but it would have just been a long way of saying, "I completely agree." Looks good

 

[Rystil Arden]

Oh, and while Vil has enough Hit Dice to qualify for Epic Feats, he doesn't have any in order to keep him non-epic, since his CR is low enough for non-epic opponents to fight him and win with heavy losses (and also so DMs who don't have the ELH can use him more easily). The tarrasque has 48 HD and also has no epic feats. Don't worry though, since some of the Complete Warrior feats I gave him are almost as good or better than epic feats.

 

[Abisashi]

Dark Druids

What should we do with the dark druids mentioned by hero4hire? This setting has room for some cool mechanics I think. Perhaps druidic spells cast on sacred (which is to say, blood-soaked) ground gain some sort of template (ala Arcana Unearthed; if you don't have that, then just a metamagic effect). Probably something minor, but something that can be improved with some feats.



Oh, and I'll be doing physics for a while, but I'll check in once more before I go to sleep.

 

[Rystil Arden]

What should we do with the dark druids mentioned by hero4hire? This setting has room for some cool mechanics I think. Perhaps druidic spells cast on sacred (which is to say, blood-soaked) ground gain some sort of template (ala Arcana Unearthed; if you don't have that, then just a metamagic effect). Probably something minor, but something that can be improved with some feats.



Oh, and I'll be doing physics for a while, but I'll check in once more before I go to sleep.

Heh, I'm doing 6.041 (Probability) myself, so we're even there (I subscribed to the threads so I can know when to go back on here and talk some more). I do indeed have Arcana Unearthed, and the spell template idea is cool, and sounds just right for both the flavour and power issues. Also, physical signs of corruption among the druids like I mentioned in the other thread would be cool.

 

[Rystil Arden]

How's this?

Bloodsoaked Spell:
Prerequisites: Iron Will
When you select this feat, you may apply the Bloodsoaked Template to your druidic spells. Any spell with the Bloodsoaked Template gains the [Evil] subtype. Spells with the Bloodsoaked Template do not function properly when cast outside the bloodstained land of Eyros, suffering a -2 penalty to caster level and DCs (if this would reduce the caster level to 0 or below, the spell simply fizzles). Within Eyros, a Bloodsoaked spell appears as a bloody and horrifying version of its former self, causing the victims blood to anticoagulate and become runny. Any victim of the Bloodsoaked spell who has suffered any damage (including damage from the Bloodsoaked spell itaelf) must make a Fortitude save at the spell's original DC or suffer an 1 additional damage per round from bleeding for a number of rounds equal to the spell's level unless a DC 15 Heal check is made to staunch the wound.

Greater Bloodsoaked Spell:
Prerequisites: Ability to cast Contagion, Bloodsoaked Spell
When you select this feat, you may apply the Greater Bloodsoaked Template to your druidic spells. Any spell with the Greater Bloodsoaked Template gains the [Evil] subtype. Spells with the Greater Bloodsoaked Template do not function properly when cast outside the bloodstained land of Eyros, suffering a -4 penalty to caster level and DCs (if this would reduce the caster level to 0 or below, the spell simply fizzles). Within Eyros, a Greater Bloodsoaked spell appears as a bloody and horrifying version of its former self, a sanguine spirit of nature whirling in sadistic glee as it sucks the lifeblood from the victim's arteries and feeds the hungry ground around it with that crimson pap. Any victim of the Greater Bloodsoaked spell who has suffered damage (including damage from the Greater Bloodsoaked spell) must make a Fortitude save at the spell's original DC or take 1d2 temporary Constitution damage as the spell draws the lifeblood from their veins. If the save is successful, the victim instead suffers an 1 additional damage per round from bleeding for a number of rounds equal to the spell's level unless a DC 15 Heal check is made to staunch the wound.