D&D General Killer klowns from outer space?

abe ray · Jun 15, 2019

How would you fine people create the killer klowns from outer space? All that I really remember from the movie is that they have a verity of shapes & technology & that the only weak point is their big red nose, which when pop instantly kills them in a shower of confetti! 1 of their weapons was a popcorn gun & they could create living balloon dogs. Would it work better as a template?

Dave Goff · Jun 15, 2019

Following, because of awesome.

Years ago I met a lady through friends that didn't balk when I suggested we stop in at comic book store. While there, I found out her comic book collection was cooler than mine and her favorite movie was Killer Klowns from Outer Space.

Fast-forward, we're 14 years married and we just happened to move to Santa Cruz, CA, the area that KKfOS was filmed.

Life is good.

Cleon · Jun 15, 2019

Ah yes, the Killer Klowns are a classic. It's a crying shame it's taking so long for the Chiodos to produce a sequel but there still seems to be hope.

I guess the first question to ask is are you sure about 3.5 for them? Surely the setting of the film is more d20 Modern…

Personally I wouldn't do a template but just make them a Monstrous Humanoid or Aberration that can advance by Hit Dice or class levels. (With the big ones and their giant "leader" being Klowns who've advanced by HD).

Many of their "powers" appear to be due to special equipment (weird science and/or magical technology) rather than qualities intrinsic to the Klowns and those that aren't explicitly created by items could be (i.e. gloves of shadow monsters for the "shadow Tyrannosaurus").

You'd probably want to stat up a few "minion" creatures as well, like the flesh-eating popcorn that became the Klown worms/larvae.

abe ray · Jun 15, 2019

Cleon said:
Ah yes, the Killer Klowns are a classic. It's a crying shame it's taking so long for the Chiodos to produce a sequel but there still seems to be hope.

I guess the first question to ask is are you sure about 3.5 for them? Surely the setting of the film is more d20 Modern…

Personally I wouldn't do a template but just make them a Monstrous Humanoid or Aberration that can advance by Hit Dice or class levels. (With the big ones and their giant "leader" being Klowns who've advanced by HD).

Many of their "powers" appear to be due to special equipment (weird science and/or magical technology) rather than qualities intrinsic to the Klowns and those that aren't explicitly created by items could be (i.e. gloves of shadow monsters for the "shadow Tyrannosaurus").

You'd probably want to stat up a few "minion" creatures as well, like the flesh-eating popcorn that became the Klown worms/larvae.

How would you stat the balloon dogs?

Cleon · Jun 16, 2019

abe ray said:
How would you stat the balloon dogs?

Well the balloon dog in the movie never actually attack anything. All it did was bark and follow a scent trail.

So the balloon animal could have been a single-use "track creature" magic item. It just needs a land speed, scent and a hefty modifier to Survival (track by scent). Indeed, maybe there should be a series of balloons of klowning that are a combination of figurines of wondrous power and feather tokens.

If I remember the movie correctly, there were other types of balloon too - I'm sure there were capture balloons to hold victims and I think there might have been some kind of deadly acid-spraying balloon (although I suspect I might be imagining that one).

Should stats be necessary just give a balloon dog the stats of a Dog or Tiny Animated Object with a "balloon" special quality that makes sharp weapons lethal to them.

abe ray · Jun 16, 2019

Cleon said:
Well the balloon dog in the movie never actually attack anything. All it did was bark and follow a scent trail.

So the balloon animal could have been a single-use "track creature" magic item. It just needs a land speed, scent and a hefty modifier to Survival (track by scent). Indeed, maybe there should be a series of balloons of klowning that are a combination of figurines of wondrous power and feather tokens.

If I remember the movie correctly, there were other types of balloon too - I'm sure there were capture balloons to hold victims and I think there might have been some kind of deadly acid-spraying balloon (although I suspect I might be imagining that one).

Should stats be necessary just give a balloon dog the stats of a Dog or Tiny Animated Object with a "balloon" special quality that makes sharp weapons lethal to them.

There’s also the cotton candy capture device & you might be thinking of the cream pies that they threw at the security guard.

Cleon · Jun 19, 2019

abe ray said:
There’s also the cotton candy capture device & you might be thinking of the cream pies that they threw at the security guard.

Ah yes, it was acid cream pies rather than corrosive glitter balloons. It's been a while since I've watched the movie.

Still, in 3.5 terms the pies could just be flasks of acid mechanically. Most of the humans are probably just 1st level commoners after all.

abe ray · Jun 30, 2019

What about their main(if not their only) weakness?

Cleon · Jul 2, 2019

abe ray said:
What about their main(if not their only) weakness?

Well there are a number of approaches to doing a "Vital Spot" like the Killer Klown's red nose.

The simplest would be that if the Klown is struck by a roll of natural 20 it must succeed at a Fortitude save of, say, DC 20 or 10 plus the damage rolled (whichever is higher), or its nose "pops" and the Klown dies. From what I remember of the film they used sharp objects to pop the nose, so it might only be piercing and slashing damage that can trigger the vulnerability.

Some sort of Called Shot rule might work but those tend to be discouraged in vanilla 3.5E D&D.