Special Conversion Thread: Moldvay's Undead

[freyar]

Let's make that area effect a cone, maybe 60 ft.

Swarm damage could be justified by the tiny swords n the first description (almost makes me wonder if we should do a different Birthright version). Maybe incorporeal touch for regular hp damage? Or negative energy damage?

 

[Cleon]

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.

Yes, I was thinking of some kind of AoE attack for the arrows too, with a Dexterity-based Reflex save for half damage and tied to a nasty poison-like effect.

 

[Cleon]

Let's make that area effect a cone, maybe 60 ft.

Swarm damage could be justified by the tiny swords n the first description (almost makes me wonder if we should do a different Birthright version). Maybe incorporeal touch for regular hp damage? Or negative energy damage?

The flavour text about them shooting their arrows from the clouds suggests a lot longer range than 60 feet. I was thinking they volley-fire at everything in an area (30 foot radius?) out to the maximum range of a longbow (1000 feet). Maybe with a -1 penalty on the Reflex save DC per 100 foot range increment?

Still not feeling the incorporeal subtype. I prefer them material, maybe with a gaseous form ability like a vampire.

 

[freyar]

Yeah, you're right about the range, but such a long cone seems unbalanced.

I could see a gaseous form, but I don't think it would be an on/off ability, though.

Organization should include options with powerful undead "commanders," too.

 

[Shade]

Rather than a cone, how about a burst? That way, we can preserve the long range without causing a bunch of "collateral damage".

A cone would obviously have the most realistic results (hitting things in between), but a burst's no less realistic in D&D terms than if it shot an arrow from far away.

 

[demiurge1138]

I'm okay with burst. They can do arcing fire.

 

[Cleon]

Rather than a cone, how about a burst? That way, we can preserve the long range without causing a bunch of "collateral damage".

A cone would obviously have the most realistic results (hitting things in between), but a burst's no less realistic in D&D terms than if it shot an arrow from far away.

A 30 foot burst with a range of 1000 feet was what I was thinking of.

Although I see little reason they couldn't do both. A long-range "arching fire" burst (30' radius @ 1000' range) or a shorter-ranged cone (somewhere around 75-100 feet?), to represent spraying arrows at close-by targets?

Also, do we want to limit how many times a day they can use this attack? Presumably they'll only have so many poison arrows.

 

[Shade]

Yep, that seems reasonable.

How about "at will" usage for the arrows, but they can only envenom them 3/day?

So the writeup might look something like this...

Arrow Storm (Ex): A sluagh can release a volley of tiny arrows as an area attack. The sluagh may choose to release either a 30-foot burst to a maximum range of 1,000 feet, or a 100-foot cone. Regardless of the shape, the arrow storm deals xdx points of piercing damage (Reflex DC X half). The save DC is Dexterity-based.

Envenom Arrows (Ex): Three times per day, a sluagh may choose to envenom its arrow storm. Any creature damaged by the arrow storm is exposed to the sluagh's poison.

Sluagh Arrow Poison: Injury, Fortitude DC X, initial damage x Con, secondary damage x Con. The save DC is Charisma-based and includes a +X racial bonus.

 

[Cleon]

Your Arrow Swarm proposals looks good to me. All we've got to do is decide on damage. I suppose the same as the swarm's melee damage (however much that will be), since longbows and longswords do the same damage.

3d6 piercing?

As for the Envenom Arrows, I was wondering whether we could make it Supernatural, since it seems as much curse as venom going by the mythology.

The first AD&D version gives it deadly poison on the arrows.

How about 1d10/1d10 Con, like the poison spell?

 

[demiurge1138]

I like the idea of the poison being cursed somehow. Perhaps initial damage 1d10 Con, secondary damage a bestow curse spell (-4 to attack rolls, saving throws, skill and ability checks)?