Converting "Real World" Animals and Vermin

[freyar]

Looks like special abilities are done.

I'm not sure I like Weapon Focus as the feat, since the attack bonus (and AC) is already pretty good for the damage and hp. What about Iron Will?

3 ranks each in Hide and Move Silently?

 

[Cleon]

Looks like special abilities are done.

I'm not sure I like Weapon Focus as the feat, since the attack bonus (and AC) is already pretty good for the damage and hp. What about Iron Will?

Yes, I wasn't sure about what its other feat should be either.

Iron Will is OK by me. It goes with their bloody-mindedness.

3 ranks each in Hide and Move Silently?

I'd nix the Move Silently. They won't need it when lurking motionless in their lair, and I imagine they're pretty noisy while rushing out at prey.

How about Hide and Spot?

Give them a racial bonus in Hide? Maybe only when lurking amid coral?

 

[Shade]

Yes, I wasn't sure about what its other feat should be either.

Iron Will is OK by me. It goes with their bloody-mindedness.

I'd nix the Move Silently. They won't need it when lurking motionless in their lair, and I imagine they're pretty noisy while rushing out at prey.

How about Hide and Spot?

I'm OK with all that. If we're dropping Move Silently, let's change Stealthy to Skill Focus (Hide).

Give them a racial bonus in Hide? Maybe only when lurking amid coral?

You already gave 'em this:

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

Are you proposing to change "reefs and caves" to "coral"?

 

[Cleon]

I'm OK with all that. If we're dropping Move Silently, let's change Stealthy to Skill Focus (Hide).

You already gave 'em this:

That's good.

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

Are you proposing to change "reefs and caves" to "coral"?

No, I'd just forgotten I'd already covered it.

Updated with Hide & Spot, Iron Will and SF (Hide).

Hmm, that gives them Hide +21 and Spot +4. Seems an awfully high Hide.

I'll switch the SF (Hide) to something else. I'm provisionally putting in Fleet of Foot since they're good at zigzagging.

That's still a mighty impressive +18 Hide score so I'll shift a couple of points from Hide to Spot to make it Hide +16, Spot +6.

Re-Updated with the above changes.

 

[Shade]

Where are you getting Hide +21? I get 3 ranks +4 size +3 Dex +3 Skill Focus = +13

 

[freyar]

And there's that +8 racial bonus.

Fleet of Foot is good, but then we need to swap Iron Will for Run to meet the prereqs.

 

[Cleon]

And there's that +8 racial bonus.

Fleet of Foot is good, but then we need to swap Iron Will for Run to meet the prereqs.

I'd rather give it Run as a bonus feat.

 

[freyar]

Fair enough.

 

[Cleon]

Fair enough.

Updated with Run.

Organization: ?
Challenge Rating: 2?
Advancement: ?

The original's NA is 1-4, so we need a collective noun for them.

Organization: Solitary or [name] (2-4)

A mauling of morena? A savagery of morena? A writhing of morena?

Challenge Rating 2 looks fair to me.

I feel they should be at the upper limit of the Small scale, so how about 4-6 HD (Medium); 7-9 HD (Large) for the Advancement?

Alternatively, we could spread the range to 4 times their base Hit Dice and make it 4 HD (Small); 5-8 HD (Medium); 9-12 HD (Large)?

 

[freyar]

Various sites give the following collective nouns for eels: swarm, pipe, bed, array, seething, cell. Personally, I prefer either seething or savagery.

Since they should be able to lock on pretty easily with that +8 to grapple, so I think they're probably worth CR 3. They look pretty much better all-round than a choker, which has a similar shtick.

Go for advancement to 12HD.