Special Conversion Thread: Unicorns

[Cleon]

These share the lower HD (3+4) and reduced speed of the brown unicorn. They have the same damage as the standard unicorn (except one die smaller for the horn). Int is the same as a standard unicorn.

Unicorn: Str 20, Dex 17, Con 21, Int 10, Wis 21, Cha 24
Brown Unicorn: Str 19, Dex 17, Con 22, Int 12, Wis 21, Cha 24

So...

Str 19, Dex 17, Con 22, Int 10, Wis 21, Cha 24?

That'd work. My first thought was giving it a standard unicorn's Str and downgrading the horn damage 1 step, but I don't much like a 1d6 horn attack for them.

Gray Unicorn: Str 19, Dex 17, Con 22, Int 10, Wis 21, Cha 24.

 

[freyar]

Cleon's abilities sound fine.

I actually like the first retribution SQ better (less messy), though I think we shouldn't call it an aura. I also prefer Cha-based.

 

[Cleon]

Cleon's abilities sound fine.

It was Shade who proposed them, I was just agreeing.

I actually like the first retribution SQ better (less messy), though I think we shouldn't call it an aura. I also prefer Cha-based.

I'm not that bothered either way, so I'll leave it to Shade to decide whether to go "attacker only" or "all enemies within Space/Reach". I think the latter is a better match to the original description, but the former has some advantages balance-wise.

Would the name "Retributive Strike" suit you better?

Revising...

Retributive Strike (Su): Whenever a gray unicorn is struck by a melee attack (including melee touch delivered spells) [the attacker]OR[all enemies within the unicorn's Space or Reach] must succeed at a DC 18 Fortitude save or take damage equal to that inflicted upon the unicorn. The damage dealt to the attacker is not subject to negation or reduction because of resistance, immunity, damage reduction, spell resistance, or the like. The save DC is Charisma-based.

There isn't that much else to do for these chaps.

Cut down its Speed - It has Move 18 instead of the standard AD&D unicorn's 24. Speed 50 ft. would do it for me.

Add a few points of Spell Resistance - 10% magic resistance suggests something like SR13. Call it CR+10?

Change Alignment to Neutral.

Change Environment to Warm Plains.

Change Organization to Solitary, pair, or grace (3-10).

It's got one less Hit Dice, so we need to recalculate the SRD unicorn's stats that derive from it, which means we must decide which skills to knock the 2 fewer ranks off. I'd take them both off Jump, which would bring them down to Jump +15 assuming we give them Speed 50 ft.

Lastly is the question of Challenge Rating. I feel their SR and Retributive Strike are enough to compensate for having one fewer HD, so I'd keep them CR3.

 

[freyar]

Oh, you're right, I thougt you modified them somewhere.

See, I read the original retributive ability as only creatures touching the unicorn, which would seem to generally be just the person who hit it. But it's a little vague.

Your other ideas make a lot of sense.

 

[Cleon]

Oh, you're right, I thougt you modified them somewhere.

Well I don't always want to change things... just most of the time.

Come to think of it, I did propose increasing the Strength to the Standard Unicorn's 20, and I included that in my proposed Jump +15 so I guess I was proposing a change and just forgot to say what it was!

Gray Unicorn: Str 20, Dex 17, Con 22, Int 10, Wis 21, Cha 24

Oh, and I just realized the gray's AC is one better. One point more NA seems the easiest solution.

See, I read the original retributive ability as only creatures touching the unicorn, which would seem to generally be just the person who hit it. But it's a little vague.

Your other ideas make a lot of sense.

Good! Putting it all together gives us:

Unicorn, Gray
Large Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 3d10+18 (34 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (–1 size, +3 Dex, +6 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+12
Attack: Horn +10 melee (1d6+8)
Full Attack: Horn +10 melee (1d6+8) and 2 hooves +3 melee (1d4+2)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Retributive strike
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., immunity to poison, charm, and compulsion, low-light vision, magic-circle against evil, scent, spell-like abilities, spell resistance CR+10, telepathy 60 ft., wild empathy
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +6
Abilities: Str 20, Dex 17, Con 22, Int 10, Wis 21, Cha 24
Skills: Jump +15, Listen +11, Move Silently +9, Spot +11, Survival +8*
Feats: Alertness, Skill Focus (Survival)
Environment: Warm plains
Organization: Solitary, pair, or grace (3–10)
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 4–6 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: +4 (cohort)

COMBAT
Horn is a +3 weapon.

Magic Circle Against Evil (Su): This ability continuously duplicates the effect of the spell. A unicorn cannot suppress this ability.

Retributive Strike (Su): Whenever a gray unicorn is struck by a melee attack (including melee touch delivered spells) [the attacker]OR[all enemies within the unicorn's Space or Reach] must succeed at a DC 18 Fortitude save or take damage equal to that inflicted upon the unicorn. The damage dealt to the attacker is not subject to negation or reduction because of resistance, immunity, damage reduction, spell resistance, or the like. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Spell-Like Abilities: Faerie unicorns can use detect evil at will as a free action. Once per day a faerie unicorn can use greater teleport to move anywhere within its territory (an area of grasslands of up to X square miles). It cannot teleport beyond the boundaries of its territory nor back from outside.

Wild Empathy (Ex): This power works like the druid’s wild empathy class feature, except that a faerie unicorn has a +6 racial bonus on the check.

Skills: Gray unicorns have a +4 racial bonus on Move Silently checks.

 

[Shade]

Add a few points of Spell Resistance - 10% magic resistance suggests something like SR13. Call it CR+10?

Nope. We've been sticking to a consistent formula for the others (50% = CR +11, 40% = CR+9, 30% = CR+7, and so on), so no point in changing it now.

Change Alignment to Neutral.

Yep, and as a result, I'm dropping magic circle against evil since it no longer makes sense.

Based on the original description, the organization should be "herd" rather than "grace".

Everything else looks good.

Added to Homebrews.

 

[freyar]

I think it looks done, unless we want to go crazy and add magic circle against everything.

 

[Cleon]

Nope. We've been sticking to a consistent formula for the others (50% = CR +11, 40% = CR+9, 30% = CR+7, and so on), so no point in changing it now.

If you're not careful I'll start quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson at you.

Yep, and as a result, I'm dropping magic circle against evil since it no longer makes sense.

Blast it, you're right. Come to think of it, standard AD&D unicorns didn't have protection from evil auras either.

Based on the original description, the organization should be "herd" rather than "grace".

Basically I just prefer the ring of "grace". The AD&D unicorn was a "family". If the 3E authors can change that to grace, why can't we.

That said I ain't that bothered about leaving it herd.

 

[Shade]

Let's save "grace" (pun unintentional) for another one of our unicorns.

Palomino Unicorn
CLIMATE: Arctic
TERRAIN: Tundra
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Family
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Day
DIET: Herbiv.
INTELLIGENCE: Low
TREASURE: W
ALIGNMENT: LE
NO. APPEARING: 1-4
ARMOR CLASS: 1
MOVEMENT: 24
HIT DICE: 5+4
THAC0: 15
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE/ATTACK: l-8/1-8/1-10
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See text
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See text
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: L
MORALE: Elite
XP VALUE: 1,400

Palomino unicorns have white to creamy yellow hair. Their eyes are usually gray to brown in color.

Combat: Palomino unicorns (occasionally called “criocorns”) can use the following spells each once per day: ice storm, cone of cold, chill metal. These spells are cast at the 11th level of effect. These spell effects generally emanate from the unicorn’s horn. Criocorns are immune to the effects of cold and exposure, either magical and mundane.

Habitat/Society: Palomino unicorns mate for life, though a few solitary wanderers may be seen. They are found in arctic environments, giving opponents a -6 penalty to their rolls to be surprised in that environment due to coloration (this drops to -2 in other settings, as palomino unicorns will be so unused to non-snowy terrain).

Criocorns may be ridden by exceptionally evil females who have an affinity for cold magic or who worship a god of cold.

Ecology: Palominos live off anything they can find or kill. They do not mark their territory, but will kill any who trespass. A palomino’s horn can be used to create the ink necessary to produce scrolls of protection from cold.

 

[Shade]

This one should be fairly straightforward. It's gone one more HD than a standard unicorn, deals a bit more damage with its hooves (but not its horn, oddly), and its Int is 3 points lower.

It has immunity to cold, but nothing indicates any particular vulnerability to fire, so I'd recommend we avoid the Cold subtype.