Special Conversion Thread: Moldvay's Undead

[Cleon]

I really like them as a swarm too.

I was thinking swarm of grave-touched Fey myself. We can always stat up an individual as well.

 

[Cleon]

So, let's start with the basics - size and type.

Fey or Undead? Do we want Incorporeal?

Tiny or Small?

I fancy Tiny Fey, from the description of them as being the size of birds and the mention of their "tiny weapons". It also lets us make a Swarm of them, while they'd have to be a Mob if they were Small.

I'm thinking a Grig would be a good basis for statting an individual, and would vote against the Incorporeal subtype - although I could be persuaded to give them gaseous form as an at-will supernatural ability.

 

[Shade]

I thought fey at first, too, but I feel the evidence, both from the D&D source and original mythology, more strongly supports undead.

I'll bow to the majority, though.

I could see Tiny or Small. I think Tiny makes for a better swarm, though.

 

[Cleon]

I thought fey at first, too, but I feel the evidence, both from the D&D source and original mythology, more strongly supports undead.

I'll bow to the majority, though.

I could see Tiny or Small. I think Tiny makes for a better swarm, though.

Yes, I am divided on the Fey/Undead question since they're they're basically undead fey. Undead is probably a little closer to what's described, so I'm fine with that.

I do prefer Tiny though.

Celtic mythology can get rather confused as to the nature of some of these creatures, some switch between nature spirits, ancestral ghosts, corporeal foreigners, otherworldly sprites or hellish demons depending on who (and when) you ask.

So, an 8 hit dice swarm of Tiny Undead?

 

[Shade]

That sounds about right, and I think the grig stats you mentioned upthread are a good fit: Str 5, Dex 18, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 14.

 

[Cleon]

That sounds about right, and I think the grig stats you mentioned upthread are a good fit: Str 5, Dex 18, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 14.

That suits me, we'll have to zero the Con stat of course, it being an Undead.

We can modify the Grig's longsword & longbow attacks for the individual version. Not sure how we'll represent a swarm of little undead fey all shooting away with their little longbows, though.

I'm thinking we should aim for the high AC of the Cerilian version. An AD&D AC 0 is around AC20 in 3rd edition terms.

Size +2, Dex +4 leaves it 4 points short - shall we give them natural armour or wee little chainshirts, or a combination of natural and artificial armour?

I remember reading a folktale about clouds of limedust and splinters raining down from the sky from their shields during one of their perpetual wars, so how about Large wooden shields and the same +2 NA as a Grig?

Armour Class: 20 (+2 size, +4 Dex, +2 natural, +2 shield), touch 16, flat 20

It's got some pretty nasty special abilities.

Magical Flight (which it can impart to its zombies)

Create Spawn (slain Humanoids become zombies, do slain Fey become more Sluagh?)

Elfshot (deadly poison arrows)

Domination

I'm also thinking DR/cold iron and turn resistance would be appropriate.

Should it have low-light vision as well as darkvision?

 

[freyar]

Tiny undead swarm sounds good to me. I kind of like some sort of incorporeal ranged touch or ghost touch arrows, but I think the ranged attack may actually make more sense as an area effect (due to the large number of arrows). In any case, I guess you can tell I'm thinking incorporeal for these.

 

[demiurge1138]

Tiny incorporeal undead. I too like the arrows as an area of effect thing, either a cone or a burst emanating from the swarm.

 

[Shade]

It sounds like we have a plan, then. I'll start 'em up in Homebrews.

 

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.