Converting monsters from Dragon magazine

[Cleon]

I understand where you were coming from, but I'm just not feeling the Sense Motive vibe for these things. If you really want it, we can replace Survival, since it offers them no benefit (they lack Track, and as outsiders, don't need to eat).

THUD! THUD!! THUDD!!!

Sorry, that was me just knocking my head on the desk. I put in Survival planning to give them Track as a bonus feat, but forgot to mention it.

There could always be a "Tracker" variety with Survival & Track instead of Flyby Attack & Sense Motive. The skill and feat selection of the "standard chemosit" do not have to be set in stone.

175 pound weight is fine, as is the Advancement.

So it's probably good to go, I'll have a last check of the stats.

 

[Cleon]

5HD magical beast? Here are the 6HD brown beear abilities: Str 27, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6.

Magical Beasts is a no-brainer p) and brown bear stats are a good basis.

But Geteit's are smart - they talk and have average intelligence, so:

Str 27, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 6

I think the brain-eating is just what they do once they kill a victim, not a special attack. I agree with Rend, and was thinking they'd probably have some kind of critical attack bonus with their bite.

 

[freyar]

THUD! THUD!! THUDD!!!

Sorry, that was me just knocking my head on the desk. I put in Survival planning to give them Track as a bonus feat, but forgot to mention it.

There could always be a "Tracker" variety with Survival & Track instead of Flyby Attack & Sense Motive. The skill and feat selection of the "standard chemosit" do not have to be set in stone.

Customization is an underutilized part of 3.X monsters, I think. But I'd be happy to give them Track as a bonus feat and swap Survival in for Sense Motive again.

Magical Beasts is a no-brainer p) and brown bear stats are a good basis.

But Geteit's are smart - they talk and have average intelligence, so:

Str 27, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 6

I think the brain-eating is just what they do once they kill a victim, not a special attack. I agree with Rend, and was thinking they'd probably have some kind of critical attack bonus with their bite.

Those abilities are fine by me! Rend is also good. I'm with Cleon, though; let's leave the brain eating as flavor and give the bite augmented critical.

 

[demiurge1138]

I'm good on augmented critical. Perhaps it's a bonecrushing bite that does 1 point of Con damage on a crit, like one of the creodont conversions we did (I think it was Sarkastodon)?

 

[Cleon]

Customization is an underutilized part of 3.X monsters, I think. But I'd be happy to give them Track as a bonus feat and swap Survival in for Sense Motive again.

That's my thinking too. It makes sense to have set Feats for creatures that operate mainly on instinct (Animals, Oozes etc) or are "engineered" that way (Constructs, some highly Lawful Outsiders) but for sapient creatures, especially Chaotic ones, you'd expect at least some to vary their selection.

Those abilities are fine by me! [*SNIP*]

Here's a possible problem: The Nandi-Bear we're statting up is Medium-sized, right? A brown bear is Large, so isn't the Str a bit high, and maybe the Con?

Perhaps we should give it Str and Con that are the average of the Brown and the Medium-sized Black Bear? That seems about right, since Nandi Bears (4' shoulder, Medium size) seem a bit bigger than Black Bears (2.5-3' shoulder, 150-400 pounds, Medium size) but not as massive as Brown Bears (3-5', up to 1500 pounds, Large size).

That would make it:

Str 23, Dex 13, Con 17, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 6

Probably weight 400-500 pounds?

*SNIP* Rend is also good. I'm with Cleon, though; let's leave the brain eating as flavor and give the bite augmented critical.

I'm good on augmented critical. Perhaps it's a bonecrushing bite that does 1 point of Con damage on a crit, like one of the creodont conversions we did (I think it was Sarkastodon)?

I'm fine with whatever you lot decide - wider critical (18-20?), higher critical (x3?), Con damage or a combination or them.

 

[freyar]

Hmmm, adjusted abilities make sense, and you make a good case. Sure.

If we can find that crit plus Con damage, let use that. Possibly also a x3 multiplier. Hmm.

 

[demiurge1138]

Found it! Not quite what I was thinking, but close:

Bonecrushing Bite (Ex): Sarkastodon's jaws are immensely powerful, and can crush bone to pulp. On a successful critical hit, a Sarkastodon also deals 1d4 points of Strength damage.

 

[freyar]

That could work, but Con does seem more appropriate here. Maybe it does soft-tissue damage?

Or we could go for a vorpal bite. That might fit with the brain-eating.

 

[Cleon]

That could work, but Con does seem more appropriate here. Maybe it does soft-tissue damage?

Or we could go for a vorpal bite. That might fit with the brain-eating.

Vorpal bite would be too much, methinks.

Just to throw out an idea, how about it has a "Brain Eating" special attack that, if it kills a creature with its bite attack (or uses a standard action to chomp a corpse's head) it automatically devours their brains, meaning the body is not complete enough for the raise dead spell?

 

[demiurge1138]

That brain eating sounds appropriate--I think it should be a standard action. Perhaps as a result of eating the brain, it gets some bonuses? Equivalent to a death knell perhaps--temp HP, bonus on attack rolls, that sort of thing.