Creatures For The Crypt

[Cleon]

This thread is for discovering Creature Catalog entries http://creaturecatalog.enworld.org/cc/converted/index.phpthat have official 3E conversions so should be move to the Creature Crypt.

If any such a creature, I hope to add it here on a "Suspect List" so we can decide whether to consign it to the Crypt.

I'm not sure how easy it is to return an "Encrypted" Creature from the Crypt to the main Catalog, so I'd rather we're sure that a monster is officially represented before incarcerating it.

To get us started:

Suspect List
Lizardfolk, Malpheggi appears in Children of Ka from Dragon Magazine #318 (2004).

Convicted List
None so far.

 

[Cleon]

Here's our first suspect, to get us started.

The Malpheggi Lzardfolk are accused of being the primary membership of the Druid terrorist group The Children of Ka, appearing as a Monster Class in Dragon Magazine #318 (2004).

 

[freyar]

Whooo boy, I'm not sure when the creature crypt was last updated. But didn't we do the Malpheggi conversion more recently than 2004?

 

[Cleon]

Whooo boy, I'm not sure when the creature crypt was last updated. But didn't we do the Malpheggi conversion more recently than 2004?

Yes, we did the Malpheggi Lizard Man conversion in 2008. If we'd noticed the Dragon magazine article I suspect we wouldn't have bothered with the conversion.

The most recent incarcerations in the Creature Crypt are from 2005 - which is before I signed on the Enworld!

I remember noticing a few other creatures that had official 3E entries, but I can't recall what they are.

We could go through the Conversion list and compare them to Echohawk's index, but that seems too much like work.

 

[freyar]

What's exactly the info in the Dragon 318 article? Could it be different enough to count as a different monster, etc?

 

[freyar]

Actually, let's ask [MENTION=9849]Echohawk[/MENTION] about this too.

 

[Echohawk]

This thread is for discovering Creature Catalog entries http://creaturecatalog.enworld.org/cc/converted/index.phpthat have official 3E conversions so should be move to the Creature Crypt.

What's the criteria for moving something into the Crypt? Just that there needs to be an official WotC-published version of the creature? Is that limited to 3.X WotC books, or could a monster tome for D&D Next also trigger a mass extinction and dramatic expansion to the Crypt?

We could go through the Conversion list and compare them to Echohawk's index, but that seems too much like work.

There might be an easier way for me to generate a list of suspects from some meta-data not included in the published version of the index. Depends a little on what's supposed to trigger a move to the crypt.

Yes, we did the Malpheggi Lizard Man conversion in 2008. If we'd noticed the Dragon magazine article I suspect we wouldn't have bothered with the conversion.

What's exactly the info in the Dragon 318 article? Could it be different enough to count as a different monster, etc?

I think all three malpheggis are the same creature. In the Hollow World boxed set, they're presented as a race. The CC version is a creature (with an "As characters" block). The Dragon 318 version is a monster class.

I'm not sure about moving this one to the Crypt. The official version doesn't include a monster stat block, which makes it less useful for DMs wanting to use a band of malpheggi as opponents. I'd favor just adding an appropriate note to the CC version drawing attention to the Dragon 318 monster class.

Unless of course, there's some legal requirement in the original agreement under which the CC was set-up that requires removal to the Crypt even if the official version isn't presented as a standard monster...?

 

[freyar]

So the Dragon 318 version isn't in your index because it's a monster class? As for this monster, I think the difference between a class and a monster is enough to keep our version out of the crypt.

Anyway, we don't really have any way of knowing what the agreement with WotC is, as BOZ doesn't recall it and Scott Greene has never answered my questions about it. Frankly, I think WotC is pretty much ignoring the CC, so I wouldn't worry too much one way or the other. I don't think BOZ or Shade ever moved any critters to the crypt.

 

[Echohawk]

So the Dragon 318 version isn't in your index because it's a monster class? As for this monster, I think the difference between a class and a monster is enough to keep our version out of the crypt.

The Dragon 318 version is in my index .

Anyway, we don't really have any way of knowing what the agreement with WotC is, as BOZ doesn't recall it and Scott Greene has never answered my questions about it. Frankly, I think WotC is pretty much ignoring the CC, so I wouldn't worry too much one way or the other. I don't think BOZ or Shade ever moved any critters to the crypt.

I concur -- I don't recall anyone moving anything into the Crypt in all the years I've been visiting the CC forums.

 

[freyar]

The Dragon 318 version is in my index .

Oh, are they listed as plain "lizardfolk"? That would explain why I didn't see them when searching for "Malpheggi."

I concur -- I don't recall anyone moving anything into the Crypt in all the years I've been visiting the CC forums.

BOZ and Shade never updated the OGL section 15, either, which really should have been done (I don't know if we even have the capability to edit it any more, given the hacks that have been done to the CC database over the years). But, like I said, WotC hasn't complained...