Converting Creatures from Other Campaign Settings

[Shade]

That works for me!

 

[freyar]

Looks good here, too.

So the question remains: does capturing them kill them within days, or is that just flavor text?

 

[Cleon]

Looks good here, too.

So the question remains: does capturing them kill them within days, or is that just flavor text?

I think we can cover that with flavour text, e.g. "A captive shadowsponge refuses to eat or drink, so perishes within a few days."

 

[freyar]

Any other special abilities?

Am I just imagining, or were we talking about giving these a Hide bonus against a starry sky? Maybe that's the al-jahar; I should check.

Anyway, Hide seems like a reasonable skill for these, though I welcome other ideas.

 

[Cleon]

Any other special abilities?

Well we've got the following:

"They drift in space until they sense the approach of an atmosphere, and attack mindlessly, absorbing precious air."

"a sponge can 'smell' air in the void up to three miles away"

So they steal air, which they can sense from up to 3 miles off.

Am I just imagining, or were we talking about giving these a Hide bonus against a starry sky? Maybe that's the al-jahar; I should check.

That was the Space Mimic.

Anyway, Hide seems like a reasonable skill for these, though I welcome other ideas.

I'm not seeing Hide for them. They're enormous grey lumps, which doesn't seem very conducive to hiding.

I was thinking more Spot, since they are "studded with small, keen eyes and sensory patches". Maybe with a +4 or so racial bonus, since their eyes are "keen".

 

[Shade]

So, something like a shark's keen scent for smelling "air"? Expand that to include air-breathing creatures (which presumably have some air in their respiratory system)?

For the "steal air" ability, we could gains some inspiration here...

Steal Breath (Su): As a full-round action, a breathdrinker can attempt to suck the air from the lungs of any helpless creature within reach. The target must make a successful Fortitude saving throw (DC 17) or take 1d6 points of Constitution damage. The target dies when his or her Constitution score reaches 0. The breathdrinker heals 5 points of damage for each point of Constitution the target loses, gaining any excess as temporary hit points. So long as the target remains helpless, the breathdrinker continues to use this attack against that creature every round until it dies.

 

[Cleon]

So, something like a shark's keen scent for smelling "air"? Expand that to include air-breathing creatures (which presumably have some air in their respiratory system)?

It doesn't seem accurate enough to detect the air in an individual's lungs, it just senses an "atmosphere".

Something like:

Sense Air (Ex): A shadowsponge can "smell" breathable air. It can sense the presence and approximate direction of any breathable atmosphere within a range of three miles.

For the "steal air" ability, we could gains some inspiration here...

Steal Breath (Su): As a full-round action, a breathdrinker can attempt to suck the air from the lungs of any helpless creature within reach. The target must make a successful Fortitude saving throw (DC 17) or take 1d6 points of Constitution damage. The target dies when his or her Constitution score reaches 0. The breathdrinker heals 5 points of damage for each point of Constitution the target loses, gaining any excess as temporary hit points. So long as the target remains helpless, the breathdrinker continues to use this attack against that creature every round until it dies.

It doesn't seem to be an individual attack like that, more that the 'sponge simply absorbs the useful gases from an atmosphere very quickly.

Something like this maybe:

Absorb Air (Ex): A shadowsponge can rapidly absorb oxygen and other life-giving gases. Every minute a shadowsponge is in a breathable atmosphere, it absorbs one day's worth of air for every hit dice it possesses (a "day's worth" being as much air as a single Medium-sized creature normally breathes in 24 hours). They can quickly exhaust small volumes of air such as a spelljammer ship's air-envelope, asphyxiating all air-breathing creatures within them. Shadowsponges can store up to 10 day's worth of air for every hit point they possess.

 

[Shade]

Updated.

I added all-around vision due to the many eyes and the suggestion upthread of giving 'em a Spot bonus. I agree with all ranks in Spot, too.

Feats: 3

Challenge Rating: 5? It's tougher than a gel cube, and its toxic fumes seems to put it par with most of the CR 5 oozes.

Advancement: x

A typical shadowsponge is 36 feet long and weighs x pounds.

We still need to fill in all the variables here, right?
Toxic Fumes (Ex): A shadowsponge's interior is filled with corrosive and poisonous vapors. Any creature exposed to these toxic fumes must make a DC 20 Fortitude save each round, or be blinded for Y rounds and take V acid damage and W [Str or Con?] damage. Even with a successful save, a victim is still dazzled for Y rounds and take Z acid damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.

 

[Cleon]

Updated.

I added all-around vision due to the many eyes and the suggestion upthread of giving 'em a Spot bonus. I agree with all ranks in Spot, too.

All-Around Vision is fine by me.

Feats: 3

Challenge Rating: 5? It's tougher than a gel cube, and its toxic fumes seems to put it par with most of the CR 5 oozes.

Advancement: x

Not 100% sure about the CR since it depends on what we decide for the Toxic Fumes, but 5 is certainly in the right ballpark.

Advancement: 8-14 HD (Huge); 15-21 HD (Gargantuan)

A typical shadowsponge is 36 feet long and weighs x pounds.

Since they're now Huge rather than Gargantuan I'd half the dimensions. They're probably pretty lightweight, being mostly air - maybe 2 pounds per cubic feet? That still works out to 6,000 pounds for an 18-foot diameter sphere.

A shadowsponge's spongy body is mostly air, making it remarkably lightweight - a typical shadowsponge is a sphere roughly 18 feet in diameter, weighing around 6,000 pounds.
​

We still need to fill in all the variables here, right?

Toxic Fumes (Ex): A shadowsponge's interior is filled with corrosive and poisonous vapors. Any creature exposed to these toxic fumes must make a DC 20 Fortitude save each round, or be blinded for Y rounds and take V acid damage and W [Str or Con?] damage. Even with a successful save, a victim is still dazzled for Y rounds and take Z acid damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Since it's per round it needn't be terribly nasty since it'll eventually add up.

How about:

Toxic Fumes (Ex): A shadowsponge's interior is filled with corrosive and poisonous vapors. Any creature exposed to these toxic fumes must make a DC 20 Fortitude save each round, or be blinded for 1d4 rounds and take 2d6 acid damage plus 1d4 Str damage and 1d4 Con damage. Even with a successful save, a victim is still dazzled for 1d4 rounds and take 1d6 acid damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.

 

[Shade]

Updated.

We still need to figure out feats.