Converting prehistoric creatures

[Cleon]

I apologize, but need to interject on the current animal topic and ask the experts a question:

Is there a precedent for stats on a skunk's spray somewhere? I am making a draft of Eomanis (a prehistoric, semi-armored Pangolin) and was trying to bring up the idea of a noxious spray with it on the other forum...

Well they had Skunks and Giant Skunks in AD&D although as far as I know they have no "official" stats in 3rd edition. Still, I'd suspect there's a 3E conversion of them floating around the web somewhere, and in a pinch you can always use a Ghast or Troglodyte's stench abilities.

After a quick internet rummage I found 3E conversions of the giant skunk and regular skunk on the Pandius Mystara website. The stats it gives for skunk spray is nasty - nauseated for 2d6+10 rounds on a failed save! This follows the AD&D version, which also could render its opponents helpless with its stench.

 

[xidoraven]

Oh my, that may be a bit extreme, and certainly not what anyone would call balanced (like I am very good at balancing things to begin with!).... I appreciate that input.
-will

 

[Shade]

Updated.

Suggested swim speed?

Skills: 10

Feats: 3

Oh, and xidoraven, Eomanis sounds like fun!

 

[demiurge1138]

Ability Focus (distraction), Dodge, Mobility?

 

[freyar]

Feats sound good. Does Spot work for their hunting style for skills?

 

[xidoraven]

Oh, and xidoraven, Eomanis sounds like fun!

Good, then I will stick around and contribute to its debate.... Feel free to copy the stats over here to look at and debate them, and you can most certainly add it to the Creature Catalog when finished. There is also the beginnings of a dire version in my Wizards forum posting as well.

 

[Cleon]

Ability Focus (distraction), Dodge, Mobility?

Feats sound good. Does Spot work for their hunting style for skills?

Shouldn't we decide what Feats & Skills a single hagfish has and then add the swarm's on top?

If I recall correctly, a hagfish is almost blind and finds its prey by smell. So I'm thinking it needs Track, Survival & Hide and is more likely to have Listen than Spot.

Although Ability Focus (distraction) and Mobility are excellent choices for the Swarm version.

How about a single hagfish has Track as a bonus feat with a +4 racial bonus like a wolf +4, plus Dodge to help attach itself to victims, 2 skill points in Hide and 1 each in Listen and Survival?

The Swarm could add Ability Focus, Mobility, plus 4 points in Listen and 2 in Survival for 2 in Hide, 6 in Listen & 4 in Survival.

That works out:

Feats: Ability Focus (distraction), Dodge, Mobility, Track (B)
Skills: Hide +10, Listen +7, Survival +5 (+9 tracking)

 

[Cleon]

Suggested swim speed?

Probably pretty slow. Although they will hunt live prey they are cold-blooded scavengers that mainly feed on the sick and the dead.

The best evidence I could find on the net was paper "The notochord of hagfish Myxine glutinosa: visco-elastic properties and mechanical functions during steady swimming" (pdf) which suggest their top cruising speed is about one body length per second. Since a biggish hagfish is about 50 cm long, that translates to about 1.1 mph or somewhere between half to a third human walking pace.

So, I'd suggest Swim speed 15 ft.

EDIT: Just found a Google Book page on The Biology of Hagfishes by Jørgen Mørup Jørgensen which quotes sustainable speeds of 20-30 cm per second, which suggests an even lower swim speed (Swim 10 ft.?)

 

[Rappy]

With that kind of speed, it won't be winning any marathons...then again, it's a hagfish, it doesn't have to.

In other words, swim 10's fine with me.

 

[Shade]

Updated.

Environment: Temperate or warm aquatic?

Organization: Solitary or x (2-x swarms)

Challenge Rating: 5? It's deadlier than a piranha swarm (CR 4), but nowhere near as tough as a death scarab swarm (CR 7).