Special Conversion Thread: Moldvay's Undead

[demiurge1138]

I think just dropping the DR would suffice for "easier to destroy".

 

[freyar]

Agreed to just dropping DR.

I guess facing only matters in how I visualize the trail forming. So we can do with a trail or aura, either way.

 

[Shade]

So, should we write this up as a variant of the existing skeleton template, with a sample skeleton?

 

[demiurge1138]

Yeah, this looks like one of the mini-templates, like in Libris Mortis or the Pathfinder Bestiary.

 

[Cleon]

Yeah, this looks like one of the mini-templates, like in Libris Mortis or the Pathfinder Bestiary.

I was just going to do it as an ordinary monster, but I'd be game for a template.

So, take the SRD skeleton template and do something like the following:

Reduce Hit Dice of base creature or leave it the same?

Remove DR?

Reduce skeleton-template's natural armour by 2?
(+1 for Huge, +4 for Gargantuan, +10 for Colossal)

Reduce claw damage by 2 steps?
(1 point for Diminutive to Small, 1d2 for Medium, 1d3 for Large, 1d4 for Huge, 1d6 for Gargantuan and 1d8 for Colossal).

That's less than the 1 point the original does, but it's still less than a standard humanoid's Unarmed Strike, so its hardly devastating.

Add the "Dust Aura" and "Death Throes" special attacks, whatever we decide those will be.

If we're making it a template I suggest making the area of effect of the SAs be proportional to the size of the creature rather than some fixed quantity - say, two or three times its space, (e.g. 20 or 30 feet for a Large Dust Skeleton).

 

[freyar]

I like the variant as in the Pathfinder bestiary. Nice.

Let's do HD the same as regular skeleton template, remove DR, reduce natural armor and claw damage as suggested. Agreed to that. I can also see increasing the aura/trail and death throes areas by size or HD.

 

[Cleon]

I like the variant as in the Pathfinder bestiary. Nice.

Let's do HD the same as regular skeleton template, remove DR, reduce natural armor and claw damage as suggested. Agreed to that. I can also see increasing the aura/trail and death throes areas by size or HD.

Well I'd cut the Hit Dice to roughly half or three-quarters the original, but if no one else fancies that additional complexity we can just use the regular HD.

I'd rather key the aura/trail dimensions to size and leave the HD to just affect the DC. Here's a rough draft:

Aura of Dust (Ex): A dust skeleton constantly emits a cloud of irritating dust, which spreads out to a distance equal to twice its Space (e.g. a Small or Medium sized dust skeleton has a 10 foot radius Aura of Dust). All living creatures which enter this cloud of dust must make a DC X (Fort? Reflex?) save or be dazzled for Y rounds. The save DC is (Strength?)-based.

Death Throes (Ex): If a dust skeleton is slain its body explodes into a burst of toxic dust, affecting all living creatures within a radius equal to twice the skeleton's Space (e.g. a Small of Medium sized dust skeleton's Death Throes affects a 10 foot radius burst). Creatures within the area must make a DC X Fort save or be nauseated for Y rounds and then sickened for Z rounds, creatures that make their save are sickened for A rounds and then dazzled for B rounds. The save DC is (Strength?)-based.

Trail of Dust (Ex): A dust skeleton leaves a trail of dust wherever it goes. Any creature attempting to track a dust skeleton by sight receive a +X circumstance bonus on their Survival checks to track the skeleton. This dust trail is a strong irritant, so creatures attempting to track its trail by scent are affected as if they were exposed to the skeleton's Aura of Dust (see above).

The bits in red are where I think it needs work. If we make it Strength-based it would have a rather low DC, so it may require a racial bonus on Death Throes.

I'm not sure about the effects of the Death Throes. Nauseated for 2d6 rounds on a failed save or just 1 round on a successful save would be closer to the original description, but I don't like the 1 round of nausea even on a failed save. Maybe nauseated 1d6 rounds and sickened 1d6 rounds on a failed save, sickened 1d3 round on a successful save? That's nasty, but not automatically incapacitating.

 

[demiurge1138]

I would rather not cut down on the HD of the dust skeletons--like I said earlier, removing the DR will make them much easier to destroy on its own.

I would prefer nauseated 2d6 rounds on a failed save, sickened 1 round on a passed save. Makes it somewhat akin to the level of "passing still hurts" as a fear spell.

 

[freyar]

These suggestions are all pretty good.

The game-world logic for Str-based DCs escapes me, but I do agree that those numbers work better. I don't actually see much of a problem with the DCs being too low if we take Str-based. Given how low CR skeletons are, they might actually be high enough to justify a CR boost over regular skeletons!

 

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.