Converting "generic setting" Second Edition monsters

[Cleon]

"Effectively similar" is more appealing that using legacy mechanics.

Yes, I was starting to like the "take 20" model.

Shall I update it with DC 30/24?

 

[Shade]

Yes, I was starting to like the "take 20" model.

Shall I update it with DC 30/24?

Sounds good.

 

[Cleon]

Sounds good.

Updating Working Draft.

We still need stats for the sprocket.

 

[freyar]

30 hp comes from the original description. It's supposedly only damaged by magic weapons, which would argue for a pretty decent hardness, I guess. Hardness 5? AC is probably not much more than 10, since it's inanimate, though.

 

[Cleon]

30 hp comes from the original description. It's supposedly only damaged by magic weapons, which would argue for a pretty decent hardness, I guess. Hardness 5? AC is probably not much more than 10, since it's inanimate, though.

It ought to be hardness 10 or 12, since it's probably toughened steel of some sort. I was tempted to give it DR X/adamantine, but that seemed extraneous.

 

[freyar]

The general rule is hardness or DR but not both. Anyway, looking over the SRD hardness table, anywhere from hardness 10 to 15 seems ok to me. Is AC 10 ok? Maybe even lower... Give it maybe 30 hp, like a solid inch of iron?

 

[Cleon]

The general rule is hardness or DR but not both.

I did say giving it DR seemed extraneous.

Anyway, looking over the SRD hardness table, anywhere from hardness 10 to 15 seems ok to me. Is AC 10 ok? Maybe even lower... Give it maybe 30 hp, like a solid inch of iron?

So, would hardness 12 suit you?

If I remember the rules rightly, an object's AC is entirely down to its size, with a -5 for having no Dexterity and a -2 penalty: AC 3 for Medium, 4 for Small, 5 for Tiny, 7 for Diminutive and AC 11 for Fine.

I suppose we could give it an armour bonus to justify giving it AC 10.

30 hit points feels a bit too low, although I suppose it could represent "enough damage to jam the mechanism" rather than "enough damage to destroy it".

Still, I'm leaning more towards 60 hp like an Iron Door.

 

[Shade]

AC 10, hardness 12, and 30 hp for the "enough to jam it" appeal.

 

[freyar]

Hmm, how big is the sprocket anyway? I'm not sure it should get an armor bonus, since that's really incorporated in the hardness. What if we just base AC on size as usual (maybe the sprocket is Tiny) and bump the hardness if you want it to be tougher.

 

[Cleon]

Hmm, how big is the sprocket anyway? I'm not sure it should get an armor bonus, since that's really incorporated in the hardness. What if we just base AC on size as usual (maybe the sprocket is Tiny) and bump the hardness if you want it to be tougher.

It doesn't say how big it is, so we can make it whatever size we want.

I don't think it has to be that big. From a mechanical viewpoint, it need be no bigger than the gearing that connects an engine to the gearbox of a small lorry (for the greater version) or a motorbike (for the lesser version). A few inches across would be plenty to prevent distortions from the stress for the Greater Version. Of course, the sprocket might of of much lower quality materials and manufacturing than a modern machine, which would suggest it may be bigger and cruder than that.

It might be better to view it from a different direction: the sprocket is small enough to fit into the sole of the golem's foot. Now, a clockwork warrior is about twice as tall as a human, and probably has big feet (since it's heavy, so would want a wide footprint to keep its ground pressure down). So, I'd guesstimate the Large sized version could fit a cog six inches to a foot across into its heel. However, I'd rather the business end be a cog about three inches across, just small enough to fit into a Lesser Warrior with oversized feet.