Corrections to Monsters in the CC

Cleon · Aug 30, 2021

So does anyone have an opinion on the previous two tweaks?

Also, I just stumbled upon a minor typo in the Tyrian slime's description, which goes "seeps though the tunnel" - obviously it should be "through". Corrected in the next update.

Cleon · Sep 30, 2021

I'm still waiting to hear if I'm making the Organization / Procreation tweaks to the Cave Lord and how we're adding the correction to the CC.

EDIT: Oh, I noticed that the Organization had a jumble of hyphens and en-dashes in it, so I changed them all to hyphens.

freyar · Oct 23, 2021

Somehow this thread slipped! I think both those changes to the Cave Lord are fine. I think we can just update/replace the Cave Lord entry. No need for a duplicate/revised entry.

Cleon · Oct 25, 2021

freyar said:
Somehow this thread slipped! I think both those changes to the Cave Lord are fine. I think we can just update/replace the Cave Lord entry. No need for a duplicate/revised entry.

Will do that then. Will keep a copy of the old version on my hard drive's just in case…

Okay, I've finished the new version.

I'd better update the Update Queue!

The Gigas and Droid corrections have been performed.

Let's see, we never decided what to do with the Flying Fish Swarm. I'm in favour of splitting that into a separate entry from the Adaro, like we did with the Windigo's Mosquito Swarm.

freyar · Nov 16, 2021

Yeah, let's split it off and put a link to it in the Adaro entry.

Cleon · Nov 17, 2021

freyar said:
Yeah, let's split it off and put a link to it in the Adaro entry.

Okay, how's this for the writeup?

I made a few tweaks since normal flying fish aren't poisonous. Not sure whether I'd rather have their flesh remain poisonous in perpetuity or just have it be a temporary trait imparted by the summoning magic that forms a poisonous flying fish swarm.

What do you think?

Flying Fish Swarm, Poisonous
Tiny Animal (Aquatic, Swarm)
Hit Dice: 8d8+8 (44 hp)
Initiative: +6
Speed: Swim 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 15 (+2 size, +2 Dex, +1 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/—
Attack: Swarm (2d6)
Full Attack: Swarm (2d6)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Distraction (DC 15)
Special Qualities: Half damage from slashing and piercing weapons, leaping glide, low-light vision, poison flesh, swarm traits
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +8, Will +5
Abilities: Str 4, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2
Skills: Jump +22, Listen +3, Spot +3, Swim +12
Feats: Alertness, Improved Initiative, Iron Will
Environment: Warm aquatic
Organization: Solitary or school (2-4 swarms)
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: —

The water boils with hundreds of glittering fish, none longer than a human's forearm. They leap from the water and spread winglike fins to glide in the air before splashing back down.

There are dozens of species of flying fish. They usually use their ability to glide through the air to escape predators. Flying fish normally pose no threat to anything larger than the plankton and fine-sized sea life they feed upon, but powerful magic can compel them to gather into a swarm and harm the magic-user's enemies. The most common example is the summon poisonous flying fish swarms spell-like ability of the adaro, but a few spellcasters possess a 4th-level spell, summon poisonous flying fish swarm, that summons a single poisonous flying fish swarm. This spell is otherwise identical to summon swarm except its arcane material component is the fin of a flying fish.

The flesh of these flying fish is unnaturally poisonous, and may cause damage and unconsciousness to anyone who eats them. Normal flying fish are edible and tasty, although it may require several fish to provide a full meal.

A swarm of poisonous flying fish is made up of unusually large flying fish, each 15 to 18 inches long and weighing 1 or 2 pounds. Most flying fish are smaller, down to as little as 6 inches in length and a few ounces in weight.

Distraction (Ex): Any living creature vulnerable to the poisonous flying fish swarm's damage that begins its turn with a flying fish swarm in its square is nauseated for 1 round; a DC 15 Fortitude save negates the effect. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Leaping Glide (Ex): A flying fish may leap from the water and glide at a speed of 160 feet. If it makes no effort and takes 10 on its Jump check, a flying fish can glide for 1 round and reach a height of up to 10 feet. If it makes a Jump check it can glide for 1 round per 5 DC (DC 5 for 1 round, DC 20 for 4 rounds, et cetera) and reach a height in feet equal to half its Jump check result. A typical poisonous flying fish with Jump +22 can glide for a maximum of 8 rounds (DC 40) and reach a maximum height of 21 feet.

A flying fish flies with clumsy maneuverability while gliding. It cannot ascend during this travel. It may descend, but loses 1 round of gliding duration for every move action it does so.

Poison Flesh (Ex): Ingested, Fort DC 15, 1d4 Con/unconsciousness. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Skills: A poisonous flying fish swarm has a +16 racial bonus on Jump checks, and uses its Dexterity modifier for Jump checks. A flying fish swarm has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.

Cleon · Nov 17, 2021

Cleon said:
Leaping Glide (Ex): A flying fish swarm may leap from the water and glide at a speed of 160 feet for up to 8 rounds. The swarm may reach a height equal to the result of its Jump check, then fly with clumsy manueverability. It may descend, but cannot ascend during this travel.

I'm not that enamored of this Leaping Glide ability.

I'd rather the distance be dependent on the Jump check.

Also it's slightly longer than the record flight duration of a flying fish, which us 45 seconds according to Wikipedia. Eight rounds is 48 seconds, but if we allow for a second or two to launch into the air and splash back down again that's within tolerable boundaries.

What do you think of the following revision:

Leaping Glide (Ex): A flying fish may leap from the water and glide at a speed of 160 feet. If it makes no effort and takes 10 on its Jump check, a flying fish can glide for 1 round and reach a height of up to 10 feet. If it makes a Jump check it can glide for 1 round per 5 DC (DC 5 for 1 round, DC 20 for 4 rounds, et cetera) and reach a height in feet equal to half its Jump check result. A typical poisonous flying fish with Jump +22 can glide for a maximum of 8 rounds (DC 40) and reach a maximum height of 21 feet.

A flying fish flies with clumsy maneuverability while gliding. It cannot ascend during this travel. It may descend, but loses 1 round of gliding duration for every move action it does so.

I was tempted to treat the flying fish as taking a full-round Run action to get its full flight distance, but upon reflection real-life flying fish can glide long distances spontaneously to escape predators, so that makes little sense.

Leaping Glide (Ex) [Running-equivalent for Jump check]: A flying fish may leap from the water and glide at a speed of 160 feet. If it makes no special effort and takes 10 on its Jump check, a flying fish can glide for 1 round and reach a height of up to 10 feet. If it [takes a full-round action?] to makes a Jump check it can glide for 1 round per 5 DC (DC 5 for 1 round, DC 20 for 4 rounds, et cetera) and reach a height in feet equal to half its Jump check result. A typical poisonous flying fish with Jump +22 can glide for a maximum of 8 rounds (DC 40) and reach a maximum height of 21 feet.

Cleon · Nov 17, 2021

Oh, and I guess we'd need to tweak the Adaro SAs to:

Summon Poisonous Flying Fish Swarms (Sp): Once per day, an adaro may automatically summon up to four poisonous flying fish swarms. This is the equivalent of a 4th-level spell.

freyar · Dec 5, 2021

I think I like the permanently poisonous flesh. Why not? And let's go for the first Leaping Glide revision (without the running start).

Cleon · Dec 5, 2021

freyar said:
I think I like the permanently poisonous flesh. Why not? And let's go for the first Leaping Glide revision (without the running start).

Updating Poisonous Flying Fish Swarm Working Draft.

The previous version is reposted below for posterity.

Cleon said:
Flying Fish Swarm, Poisonous
Tiny Animal (Aquatic, Swarm)
Hit Dice: 8d8+8 (44 hp)
Initiative: +6
Speed: Swim 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 15 (+2 size, +2 Dex, +1 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/—
Attack: Swarm (2d6)
Full Attack: Swarm (2d6)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Distraction (DC 15)
Special Qualities: Half damage from slashing and piercing weapons, leaping glide, low-light vision, poison flesh, swarm traits
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +8, Will +5
Abilities: Str 4, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2
Skills: Jump +22, Listen +3, Spot +3, Swim +12
Feats: Alertness, Improved Initiative, Iron Will
Environment: Warm aquatic
Organization: Solitary or school (2-4 swarms)
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: —

The water boils with hundreds of glittering fish, none longer than a human's forearm. They leap from the water and spread winglike fins to glide in the air before splashing back down.

There are dozens of species of flying fish. They usually use their ability to glide through the air to escape predators. Flying fish normally pose no threat to anything larger than the plankton and fine-sized sea life they feed upon, but powerful magic can compel them to gather into a swarm and harm the magic-user's enemies. The most common example is the summon poisonous flying fish swarms spell-like ability of the adaro, but a few spellcasters possess a 4th-level spell, summon poisonous flying fish swarm, that summons a single poisonous flying fish swarm. This spell is otherwise identical to summon swarm except its arcane material component is the fin of a flying fish.

The flesh of these flying fish is unnaturally poisonous, and may cause damage and unconsciousness to anyone who eats them. Normal flying fish are edible and tasty, although it may require several fish to provide a full meal.

A swarm of poisonous flying fish is made up of unusually large flying fish, each 15 to 18 inches long and weighing 1 or 2 pounds. Most flying fish are smaller, down to as little as 6 inches in length and a few ounces in weight.

Distraction (Ex): Any living creature vulnerable to the poisonous flying fish swarm's damage that begins its turn with a flying fish swarm in its square is nauseated for 1 round; a DC 15 Fortitude save negates the effect. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Leaping Glide (Ex): A poisonous flying fish swarm may leap from the water and glide at a speed of 160 feet for up to 8 rounds. The swarm may reach a height equal to the result of its Jump check, then fly with clumsy manueverability. It may descend, but cannot ascend during this travel.

Alternative #1 (original)
Poison Flesh (Ex): Ingested, Fort DC 15, 1d4 Con/unconsciousness. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Alternative #2 (temporary)
Poison Flesh (Su): Ingested, Fort DC 15, 1d4 Con/unconsciousness. The save DC is Constitution-based. The flesh remains poisonous for 6 hours [?] after a poisonous flying fish swarm is summoned.

Skills: A poisonous flying fish swarm has a +16 racial bonus on Jump checks, and uses its Dexterity modifier for Jump checks. A flying fish swarm has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.