Converting Dark*Matter Creatures

[Cleon]

Alright, here we go with the baseline. Also, as an aside, I updated the first post to include creatures from the core rulebook of Dark*Matter (if you're curious, the armodont will almost certainly be our next conversion after this one as a "pets of the Strangers" theme). Working out just how the stench works and what other abilities we could add seems like the next step. Also, should we eschew d20 Modern's "animals and plants get no feats" rule? I never quite understood the point of it.

*SNIP*

It doesn't make any sense to me either. We can always make it a magical beast if we want to keep it within the rules. That would also give it a higher BAB and hps, so make it more suitable for the "War" in its new name.

As for the Stench, I'd be tempted to pinch-and-tweak the SRD Troglodyte version:

Stench (Ex): When a troglodyte is angry or frightened, it secretes an oily, musk-like chemical that nearly every form of animal life finds offensive. All living creatures (except troglodytes) within 30 feet of a troglodyte must succeed on a DC 13 Fortitude Save or be sickened for 10 rounds. The save DC is Constitution-based. Creatures that successfully save cannot be affected by the same troglodyte’s stench for 24 hours. A delay poison or neutralize poison spell removes the effect from the sickened creature. Creatures with immunity to poison are unaffected, and creatures resistant to poison receive their normal bonus on their saving throws.

That's a bit stronger than the "-1 to Hide" of the original, but I'd prefer its stink to be combat-worthy albeit not so strong as to immobilize its foes, like the d20 Mapinguari's Stench attack, which causes foes to become nauseated.

 

[Rappy]

Updated.

Type changed to Magical Beast (it did indeed make it more a more formidable foe), added stench, and added pack loyalty.

I beefed up the time and altered the save for the differing Constitution scores, but the stench ability is mostly the same as the trog's. I also made the Kinori exempt from the stench, since the Kinori war lizard wouldn't be much of an asset if their masters were choking from its fumes.

If the special qualities look alright to y'all, we can move on to skills and feats to wrap up this beast.

 

[Cleon]

Updated.

Type changed to Magical Beast (it did indeed make it more a more formidable foe), added stench, and added pack loyalty.

I beefed up the time and altered the save for the differing Constitution scores, but the stench ability is mostly the same as the trog's. I also made the Kinori exempt from the stench, since the Kinori war lizard wouldn't be much of an asset if their masters were choking from its fumes.

If the special qualities look alright to y'all, we can move on to skills and feats to wrap up this beast.

Giving Kinori immunity to the Stench makes sense. I think we'd better tweak the "A delay poison or neutralize poison spell removes the effect from the sickened creature." to a more general form instead of the D&D trope of spells.

Stench (Ex): When angered of threatened, a Kinori war lizard releases a pungent musk that few creatures can tolerate. All living creatures (except Kinori war lizards and Kinori) within 30 feet of a war lizard must make a Fortitude save (DC 21) or be sickened for 12 rounds. The save DC is Constitution-based. A successful application of the Treat Injury skill (DC 21), an antitoxin or a similar effect can cure a sickened creature, removing the stench's penalties. Creatures with immunity to poison are unaffected, and creatures resistant to poison receive their normal bonus on their saving throws.

 

[Cleon]

If the special qualities look alright to y'all, we can move on to skills and feats to wrap up this beast.

I'd be fine with just giving it a d20 Modern Monitor Lizard's skills with some adjustment for the differences in stats. Since it has Int 2 it won't have skill points based on its HD.

Monitor Lizard: Climb +9, Hide +7 (+11 in overgrown or forested areas), Listen +4, Move Silently +6, Spot +4

Subtracting the relevant attributes & racial bonuses that works out as the following skill ranks.

Monitor Lizard: Climb 6, Hide 1, Listen 3, Move Silently 0, Spot 3

That's 13 Skill Points.

It would strike me as fitting to give the Kinori War Dragon the same racial bonuses as a monitor lizard - +4 Hide and Move Silently, +8 Hide in forested or overgrown areas.

The Kinori War Lizard is much stronger (Str 24) but Clumsier (Dex 10) than a Monitor Lizard (Str 17, Dex 15), so I'd suggest removing 4 points from Climb and put them all in Hide to cancel out the -4 Hide penalty for it being Large. That way their modifiers will be more even.

Kinori War Lizard (13SP): Climb 2, Hide 5, Listen 3, Move Silently 0, Spot 3

Kinori War Lizard: Climb +9, Hide +5 (+9 in overgrown or forested areas), Listen +4, Move Silently +4, Spot +4

As for the feats, the D&D SRD Monitor Lizard has Alertness and Great Fortitude. Alertness would be handy but I'm thinking Stealthy may be more useful to help it ambush prey, since it would give the War Dragon the same sneakiness as a regular monitor lizard.

It doesn't really need any boost to its Fort saves as it already has an impressive +13 Fort save.

I'd fancy something combat-related for the other feats, since it is a "War Dragon".

Multiattack and/or Weapon Focus (bite) to increase its attack bonus?

Power Attack to boost damage?

Iron Will or Lightning Reflexes to compensate for its weakest saves?

Hmm, I think Weapon Focus gives slightly less bang for the buck than Multiattack, and the Kinori would rather their creature not have good Will saves to resist their influence, so I fancy the following:

Kinori War Lizard
Feats: Lightning Reflexes, Multiattack, Power Attack, Stealthy
Skills: Climb +9, Hide +7 (+11 in overgrown or forested areas), Listen +4, Move Silently +6, Spot +4

What reckon you?

 

[Rappy]

I agree with what you suggested; Lightning Reflexes is better than Iron Will since the Outback dragon/war lizard isn't exactly the most perceptive or defiant creature around. So we have that and fluff in an update.

If the CR and fluff look okay, we can move on to the Armodont, which should be an interesting challenge due to its...uniqueness.

 

[freyar]

Well, you two seem to have this one well in hand, no need for me here.

 

[Rappy]

Don't be silly, we love you! And our new creature isn't as forgivingly simple either... As a sidenote before we look downward, I'm shaving off the stuff in the Dark*Matter stat blocks that have no real weight for their d20 Modern conversions.

Armodont
[sblock]STR 12
DEX 12
CON 13
INT 5
WILL 13
PER 5

Durability: 18/18/3/9
Speed: Sprint 26, run 16, walk 6
Reaction Score: Good/2

Attacks
Claws* 18/9/4
Bite 18/9/4

*Death Grip: Once an armodont makes a successful claw attack, no further attack rolls are required for its claws. Roll each round only to determine how much damage the beast inflicts.

Defenses
+1 resistance modifier vs. melee, ranged, and mindwalking (telepathy) attacks
Armor (Ordinary)

Skills
Athletics [12]-jump [14]; Unarmed [12]-brawl [18]; Stealth [12]-shadow [14]; Stamina [13]-endurance [16], resist pain [14]; Awareness [13]-perception [15]; Investigate [13]-track [20]
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A species created from the Grays' gene banks, the armodont serves a very specific function: to destroy the enemies of the Grays' own kind. To that end, the armodont is highly resistant to all forms of psionic attack. As with the Grays, the armodonts' genetic structure is composed of TPA (Teroic Pseudonucleic Acid) rather than DNA.

Description
Physically, the armodont looks like a bear-sized relative of the Grays; it is hairless, with large eyes and an outer layer of protective fat, a little bit like the blubber layer of a whale. This layer of fat gives the armodont a strangely smooth, even rounded appearance. However, the armodont also has strong hind legs and claws that - once fastened onto an opponent - do not release until either it or the victim dies. It is about as intelligent as a highly trained dog, but its vocal chords can form a few strangled words when required.

Encounter
Armodonts are generally encountered singly or in pairs as they hunt enemies among the Grays. While on a hunt, they seek to destroy anything that crosses their path. Despite its fearsome combat prowess, its remarkable ability to withstand fatigue, and its legendary ability to track its prey, the armodont is ultimately fragile in combat. Many Gray stories tell of an armodont that ignored minor wounds only to be felled by a single shot. Any armodont injured enough to be captured is likely to be killed by the wound that brings it down.

Habitat/Society
Armodonts have no true habitat or society. They are used as hunting beasts by the Grays (and by the enemies of the Grays, when they can get their hands on one).[/sblock]
Should this creature by an Aberration like half-Grays? And I'm presuming it's Medium-size, because its Dark*Matter profile matches black bears more than brown or polars.

Ability scores show up as: Strength 16, Dexterity 16, Constitution 17, Intelligence 6, Wisdom 17, Charisma 6.

For comparison, a black bear with the half-Gray template has the following stats: Strength 17, Dexterity 13, Constitution 13, Intelligence 6, Wisdom 16, Charisma 8.

Proposed stats for the d20 Modern armodont: Strength 16, Dexterity 14, Constitution 15, Intelligence 6, Wisdom 15, Charisma 7.

 

[freyar]

Aberration sounds pretty good for this. And the thing about the claws sounds a lot like Improved Grab to me. Before figuring out whether those ability scores sound good, how many HD will this have?

 

[Rappy]

The original creature was described more or less as a resilient but not that healthy beast, with a footnote that it had low numbers of Dark*Matter's equivalent of hit points. Thus, I imagine that this creature will have a relatively high Massive Damage Threshold (its Constitution score, and maybe the Improved Damage Threshold Feat), some damage reduction bypassed by ballistic (firearms) damage, but not that much actual hit point power behind it. So, looking at animals, I'd think we can pin it at 2 hit die; it's the size of a black bear, but it's more in line with a wolf as far as taking hits goes.

 

[Cleon]

I agree with what you suggested; Lightning Reflexes is better than Iron Will since the Outback dragon/war lizard isn't exactly the most perceptive or defiant creature around. So we have that and fluff in an update.

If the CR and fluff look okay, we can move on to the Armodont, which should be an interesting challenge due to its...uniqueness.

Challenge Rating 6 looks good.

I don't have that great a feel for CRs in d20 Modern but CR6 feels right for this beastie in a D&D game and this beastie is probably not that much harder or easier a foe in a Modern game. d20 Modern PCs may not have many spells and magic items, but then D&D PCs don't tend to have many machine guns, so it probably evens out in the end!

As for the fluff, I'd prefer a bit of emphasis that this is a gengineered "War Dragon" rather than a mundane "Outback Dragon".

Maybe change the opening text to:

The giant predator Megalania prisca, more often referred to as either the "Outback dragon" (as a reference to the Komodo dragon they so closely resemble), is a relict from the Pleistocene that survived to the modern day through a combination of sheer tenacity and nurturing by the reptilian Kinori. Some of these giant reptiles have been modified into living weapons by Kinori genetic manipulation, becoming the Kinori war lizards.