5E: Converting Monsters from White Dwarf Magazine for Fifth Edition

[Casimir Liber]

Hmm, D&D Beyond says toll the dead isn't SRD but part of Xanathar's Guide to Everything. Perhaps we should swap it back to produce flame or use poison spray instead, as that's definitely SRD.

I can live with that - maybe poison spray as produce flame seems like something they'd avoid at all costs...

I like adding charm person and ditching faerie fire (1st lvl spell)

ok maybe flaming sphere but is a greenish hellfire and deals necrotic rather than fire damage? (especially to confuse rules boffins )

looking at circle of lost now....undead wild shape seems a bit pointless. Spells are good though

 

[Cleon]

I can live with that - maybe poison spray as produce flame seems like something they'd avoid at all costs...

Works for me.

Updating the Pine Kindred Thane.

I like adding charm person and ditching faerie fire (1st lvl spell)

ok maybe flaming sphere but is a greenish hellfire and deals necrotic rather than fire damage? (especially to confuse rules boffins )

looking at circle of lost now....undead wild shape seems a bit pointless. Spells are good though

I'm going to be occupied for the rest of the day so the Jarl is going to have to wait.

 

[Casimir Liber]

Been listening to podcasts bemoaning lack of damage of chonkier monsters...one I'd been meaning to convert for ages (also after seeing Guy Ritchie's King Arthur movie with the demon elephants at the beginning)...so I did this....the Gurgotch from WD12

 

[Cleon]

Been listening to podcasts bemoaning lack of damage of chonkier monsters...one I'd been meaning to convert for ages (also after seeing Guy Ritchie's King Arthur movie with the demon elephants at the beginning)...so I did this....the Gurgotch from WD12

You've got "Gurgotch from WD12" in the text while the Demon Elephant is actually from White Dwarf #14. It's credited correctly in the D&DBeyond version, so that hardly matters.

My immediate impression is the Multiattack. wording is a bit confusing. Its two attacks: "can stomp and gore with its tusks, or use its breath weapon?"

One could interpret that as saying it stomps with its tusks and can make two breath weapon attacks (or two stomps/tusks) when employing Multiattack.

Was that the intention, in which case it needs to be expressed more clearly, or is it supposed to be something like "Multiattack. The gurgotch makes two attacks: one with with its stomp and one with its tusks or breath weapon."

 

[Cleon]

I'm going to be occupied for the rest of the day so the Jarl is going to have to wait.

Before we get too buried into satanic elephants, how about these spells for the Pine Kindred Jarl:

• Cantrips (at will): druidcraft, guidance, chill touch˟, poison spray˟, resistance
• 1st level (4 slots): entangle, faerie fire, inflict wounds˟, protection from evil and good˟, thunderwave
• 2nd level (3 slots): augury˟, enhance ability, hold person, misty step˟, moonbeam
• 3rd level (3 slots): animate dead˟, bestow curse˟, conjure animals, dispel magic, wind wall

˟ Some pine kindred know spells from outside the druid's spell list (see Dark Druidic Mysteries in Pine Kindred).

 

[Casimir Liber]

Yeah - spells are all good - in keeping with dark, wind-y, curse-y, ancient dark druidic shtick. Will update soon (busy IRL RN)

"Demoniac" elephants please!

 

[Cleon]

Yeah - spells are all good - in keeping with dark, wind-y, curse-y, ancient dark druidic shtick. Will update soon (busy IRL RN)

I had to keep on reformatting it because it kept on changing text with asterisks on either side to-and-from italic rather than putting the bleeding * where I wanted them! Ended up using the ˟ symbol instead to stop it doing so.

Did they change how the forum reads asterisks? I had no trouble using * in the Thane's spells!

• Cantrips (at will): druidcraft, mending, poison spray*
• 1st level (4 slots): charm person, entangle, fog cloud, inflict wounds*
• 2nd level (3 slots): enhance ability, misty step*, moonbeam, spike growth

 

[Cleon]

(also after seeing Guy Ritchie's King Arthur movie with the demon elephants at the beginning)

Haven't got around to watching the movie yet, just trailers & reviews, but expect to see it fairly soon.

Those Elephants are definitely bigger than Huge size though!

 

[Casimir Liber]

Haven't got around to watching the movie yet, just trailers & reviews, but expect to see it fairly soon.

Those Elephants are definitely bigger than Huge size though!

I actually enjoyed it rather alot (but have always enjoyed the knockabout characters and plots in Guy Ritchie films so am easy to please).....

Was musing on how big to make these critters - was assuming 1.5x as big as large African Elephant - so 6m tall and 7.5m long.....which (I just figured) places them in Gargantuan category....?

 

[Cleon]

I actually enjoyed it rather alot (but have always enjoyed the knockabout characters and plots in Guy Ritchie films so am easy to please).....

I like some Ritchie films, like the Man from Uncle reboot or his two Sherlock flicks. They may not be "serious movies" but they're certainly entertaining.

The King Arthur one looks a bit silly from what I've seen so far and appears to have a rather casual approach to the original story, but considering some of the horrors Hollywood have produced claiming to be Robin Hood I've probably seen worse!

Was musing on how big to make these critters - was assuming 1.5x as big as large African Elephant - so 6m tall and 7.5m long.....which (I just figured) places them in Gargantuan category....?

Hmm, well how big was the original monster? Better pull out WD14 and check…

It doesn't say, just that it's resembles a "large black elephant". The demon beast has 8D8+3 Hit Dice, which is similar to a wild AD&D Oliphant (8+4 HD, so equal to about 9), but less than both an Asiatic (10 HD) and African (11 HD) elephant in 1E.

The damage output is a lot lower. A Gurgotch starts with a 4d10 charge (22 average) and then switches to two 1d10 tusks (11 average).

A Loxodont (African Elephant) has two 2d8 attacks and three 2d6 attacks in the 1977 Monster Manual, for an average of 39 damage! A First Edition elephant can completely pulp opponents in short order!

That suggests something no larger than a big bull African Bush Elephant - maybe 12 feet tall and 10 tons - which is still Huge.

You could always stat up a standard Gurgotch as being Huge and Great Gurgotch of Gargantuan size to perform castle-toppling and army-squashing duties?

Come to think of it, it'll be helpful to have the original stats posted here so any readers who don't own White Dwarf #14 can follow along!