Spelljammer Converting Spelljammer creatures

[Arnwyn]

I must say, I did get a lopsided grin when I saw all those d12's for damage...

I'm okay with the 1d12 damage, but I'd be good with 2d12 or even 4d12. To be honest, I'd expect a crew of such high-level/epic adventurers that would take on a gammaroid to be reasonably high in level as well.

I also like 60 hp for cutting out.

And yeah - things like ability damage with no save don't even occur to my (my players play the worst wizards in the universe...).

I must say, I did like this:
Ability Armor #1 (Ex): A gammaroid is so enormous that it ignores the first X points from any ability drain or ability damage attack it receives. (e,g, an attack that would normally do Y Dexterity damage would only inflict Y-Z Dex damage to a gammaroid).

Not sure if you are still interested in going in that direction, but if so... first 5 points?

 

[Cleon]

No, I mean 60 hp. It's not draeden big, but it's probably closer to a draeden than a tarrasque (at least on a log scale ).

Well let's see...

A basic Draeden's central body is about 2 miles across, which is about 7 times longer than our 1500-foot Gammaroid. If you include the feeding tubes it's roughly 20 miles from tip-to-tip, which is 70 times longer.

A Tarrasque is 70 foot, which makes the Gammaroid about 21 times longer.

That puts the Gammaroid closer to the Draeden if you only consider the body size, but it's closer to the Tarrasque if you count the span of its feeding tubes.

Anyhow, I'm fine with 60 hp - and there's naught wrong with only comparing the body size, especially as it's the body that the Swallow Whole victim is inside!

Updating the Gammaroid Working Draft.

 

[Cleon]

I must say, I did like this:
Ability Armor #1 (Ex): A gammaroid is so enormous that it ignores the first X points from any ability drain or ability damage attack it receives. (e,g, an attack that would normally do Y Dexterity damage would only inflict Y-Z Dex damage to a gammaroid).

Not sure if you are still interested in going in that direction, but if so... first 5 points?

Not only were we still interested in it, we've already given it the ability!

We erred on the side of generosity and gave it 10 points of "Hardened Abilities".

 

[Cleon]

I'm okay with the 1d12 damage, but I'd be good with 2d12 or even 4d12. To be honest, I'd expect a crew of such high-level/epic adventurers that would take on a gammaroid to be reasonably high in level as well.

In Spelljammer it's not only epic level people that meet Gammaroids though, they can be encountered by normal sailors just going around their business.

I wanted the numbers to be low enough that if an annoyed Gammaroid rams a ship full of ordinary people there's a chance of their being survivors.*

 

[freyar]

Now I'm curious what that asterisk means, Cleon.

Swallow Whole for the draeden was rather unusual, if I recall. Something like you get bull-rushed down the tube and are essentially just destroyed if you reach the body. Ah, yes, just for sentimental reasons:

Swallow Whole (Ex): By making a successful grapple check, a draeden can try to swallow an opponent it has grappled. Victims of the draeden's Engulfing Maw are automatically swallowed. Once inside, the opponent takes 10d10+45 points of crushing damage plus 8d12 points of acid damage per round and is drawn down the draeden's throat towards a gizzard in its central body. No creature with speed less than 80 ft. can climb out of the draeden's maw by making an opposed grapple check; however, a successful grapple check prevents the victim from progressing farther toward the central gizzard. A swallowed creature can cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 60 points of damage to the interior of the draeden (AC 90); if the damage is not done in a single round, the victim must maintain position by winning opposed grapple checks. Once the creature exits, muscular action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out. A victim will reach the central gizzard if it fails 10 opposed grapple checks in the throat. A victim that reaches the central gizzard takes 50d10+45 bludgeoning and 40d12 acid damage per round. A draeden's interior can hold an effectively limitless number of creatures up to Colossal size.

Well, an individual feeding tube is quite long but only 150 ft in diameter, whereas a gammaroid is more isotropic in dimensions. I'm still comfortable with 60 points of "cutting out" damage.

And I still like 10 points of Hardened Abilities.

 

[Arnwyn]

Doesn't look like there's much left other than Skills and Feats...

 

[freyar]

Doesn't look like there's much left other than Skills and Feats...

Well, potentially quite a bit of text also.

Cleon told me he'll be on holiday for a couple of weeks, so this will slow down a bit, but you and I can sort out the mechanical parts. Do you have any thoughts on skills and feats? (I suspect we'll basically just use every feat that's at all reasonable for it.)

 

[Arnwyn]

I'm mostly interested in the mechanical aspects (my conversion request was for the mechanics to take priority!), so if that can continue, I'm good.

Nothing specific in terms of skills or feats (feats especially - I haven't done a lot of Epic stuff in the past, so I'm not very familiar with it).

For skills - load up on Listen and Spot first, I'd say. Then Survival, then potentially Climb, Jump, maybe Move Silently if needed?

Feats - not sure. As many Epic feats as it's allowed to have... also maybe Improved Initiative, Blind-Fight, Power Attack, Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Overrun, Improved Sunder...

 

[freyar]

Well, it can only get one skill at max ranks. I think I'd probably do Spot if we just picked one, but Spot 52, Listen 51 ranks would also be good. Those are probably the best "bang for the buck" skills we can give it.

I'll take a look at feats later.

 

[Arnwyn]

Just checking in, keeping this thread alive!

(But, admittedly, I was on vacation too - these Manitoba summers are too short to be wasted...)