Converting "Real World" Animals and Vermin

[Shade]

FWIW, here's the moray eel from Dragon #328...

Medium Animal (Aquatic)
Hit Dice: 2d8+2 (11 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: Swim 60 ft. (12 squares)
Armor Class: 14 (+3 Dex, +1 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 11
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+6
Attack: Bite +4 melee (1d6+3/19-20)
Full Attack: Bite +4 melee (1d6+3/19-20)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, powerful bite
Special Qualities: Low-light vision
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +1
Abilities: Str 12, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2
Skills: Hide +10*, Move Silently +5, Swim +9
Feats: Stealthy, Weapon FinesseB
Environment: Any aquatic
Organization: ?
Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: ?
Level Adjustment: -

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a moray eel must hit with its bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold. Moray eels gain a +4 racial bonus on grapple checks.

Powerful Bite (Ex): The moray eel gains a +2 racial bonus on damage rolls with its bite attack, and threatens a critical hit on a 19-20.

Skills: A moray eel has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.

*A moray eel gains a +8 racial bonus on Hide checks when in reefs or caves.


I looked through the polychaetes, but couldn't find such an ability. I did find a few posts where we deemed it unnecessary.

 

[freyar]

Oh, I missed the fast healing the first time through. Although I usually think of it as a magical thing, it's listed as Ex in the rules, so it's not a real barrier to animal type. I sympathize with magical beast for that reason, though.

On the "shoot from burrow," didn't Cleon have a draft ability we could pilfer?

 

[Shade]

Hmm...since the real morena is simply another name for "moray eel", perhaps making a magical beast will be necessary to warrant a conversion.

 

[Cleon]

I looked through the polychaetes, but couldn't find such an ability. I did find a few posts where we deemed it unnecessary.

Ah, I was probably remembering us arguing about it. Anyhow, a 40 ft. lunge ability seems surplus to requirement seeing as how the could probably go further than that with a regular move action.

Anyhow, how's this for a start, based on the Moray:

Morena
Small Magical Beast (Aquatic)
Hit Dice: 3d8+6 (19 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: Swim 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 17 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +3 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+8
Attack: Bite +7 melee (1d4+1/19-20)
Full Attack: Bite +7 melee (1d4+1/19-20)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, lock jaws
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., fast healing 1, low-light vision, undulating displacement
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +4
Abilities: Str 12, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2
Skills: Hide +8* (+16 in reefs or caves), Spot +6, Swim +9
Feats: Fleet of Foot, Iron Will, Run (B), Weapon Finesse (B)
Environment: Warm aquatic
Organization: Solitary or seething (2-4)
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 4 HD (Small); 5-8 HD (Medium); 9-12 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: ---

A grey-green fish resembling a moray eel, it writhes so furiously it's impossible to tell exactly where it is.

A morena is similar to a moray eel, but it is far more aggressive. A morena is so aggressive, in fact, that most aquatic predators, even sharks, avoid it.

Like moray eels, morenas reside in coral reef niches or caves.

A morena is 3 to 5 feet long and weighs up to 100 pounds.

COMBAT

Morena prefer to lie in wait in their lairs, then strike swiftly from ambush.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a morena must hit with its bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can lock jaws. Morenas gain a +8 racial bonus on grapple checks.

Lock Jaws (Ex): A morena can lock its jaws into a creature it is grappling as a standard action, automatically doing 2d4+2 damage each round. A jaw-locked morena can be struck with a weapon or grappled itself. To remove a jaw-locked morena through grappling, the opponent must achieve a pin against the morena.

Undulating Displacement (Su): A swimming morena distorts light around itself, making its apparent position undulate from side to side of its true location when viewed from more than 5 feet away. Any ranged or reach attack against a moving morena has a 50% miss chance, as if the morena had total concealment, although this displacement does not prevent enemies from targeting the morena normally. A true seeing spell reveals its true location.

A morena only gains this miss chance on rounds it spends a move action to swim in. Undulating displacement does not function if the morena is grappled or heavily encumbered.

Skills: A morena has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.

*A morena gains a +8 racial bonus on Hide checks when in reefs or caves.

 

[Cleon]

Updated, you lily-gilders! (Where's that pirate emoticon? )

I happened to be flicking through the Dragonlance Monstrous Compendium and noticed another take on the Porcupine Fish - the Kalothagh or Prickleback.

It's basically a 4+4 HD 12' long fish that can shoot its spines like a manticore.

(The spines are poisoned, of course. )

Has this been converted yet?

If not, it seems a natural follow-up for the Giant Porcupine Fish once we're done with the Morena.

 

[freyar]

It seems to me the Con should be higher for the morena, given that the original has 3+2 HD. Maybe Con 14? Since we're making it a magical beast, perhaps we could boost the Int also, or make Evade Missile Su, or something.

 

[Cleon]

It seems to me the Con should be higher for the morena, given that the original has 3+2 HD. Maybe Con 14? Since we're making it a magical beast, perhaps we could boost the Int also, or make Evade Missile Su, or something.

I'm fine increasing the Con to 14. After all, a Small Dog has Con 15 so it's not that excessive.

I'll edit it into the working draft.

I'd keep the Intelligence to 1 since the description suggests they're stupidly vicious.

As for making Evade Missiles Supernatural, I'm all for that. Having an (Ex) power that infallibly dodges missiles didn't feel right.

How about basing it on displacement, since the mechanics are similar to the AD&D Displacer Beast - first attack misses, subsequent attacks -2 to hit.

How about:

Some Name [Swimming Displacement?] (Su): A swimming morena distorts light around itself, making its apparent position undulate from side to side of its true location when viewed from more than 5 feet away. Any ranged or reach attack against a moving morena has a 50% miss chance, as if the morena had total concealment, although this displacement does not prevent enemies from targeting the morena normally. A true seeing spell reveals its true location.

A morena only gains this miss chance on rounds it spends a move action to swim in. Some Name does not function when the morena is in a grapple or if it is heavily encumbered.

 

[freyar]

I like that ability! The rest is ok, too.

Looking back at Lock Jaws, there should be some mechanism to remove the morena. Like this, taken from the stirge: "An jaw-locked morena can be struck with a weapon or grappled itself. To remove a morena through grappling, the opponent must achieve a pin against the morena."

 

[Cleon]

I like that ability! The rest is ok, too.

Good! I'll put it in.

Not quite sure what to call it, but I'll use "Undulating Displacement" as a placeholder.

Looking back at Lock Jaws, there should be some mechanism to remove the morena. Like this, taken from the stirge: "An jaw-locked morena can be struck with a weapon or grappled itself. To remove a morena through grappling, the opponent must achieve a pin against the morena."

Good idea, I'll add it.

Updated.

 

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.