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

this is what I came up with yesterday. meant to post it last night but have been really busy. A cha for the hypnotic gaze. adding the str bonus now...and languages...The picture makes them look a bit more agile and wiry than most giantlike critters, so saw them has having some dexterity

Casimir Liber said:

this is what I came up with yesterday. meant to post it last night but have been really busy. A cha for the hypnotic gaze. adding the str bonus now...and languages...The picture makes them look a bit more agile and wiry than most giantlike critters, so saw them has having some dexterity

Click to expand...

So you've abandoned the Fey concept? I think I rather like that because the original still doesn't strike me as faerie-like, despite disliking the term "Large giant" for a creature that's only 9 ft tall. I went with the Fey concept coz you guys went for it.

I think 10 HD is too much coz its puts them on par with hill giants - even though they have d12 and the number of HD doesn't seem to be as "defining" in 5E as it was in 2E.

I like them being stronger than @Cleon's proposal, though I still think they should be stronger than an ogre.

I also like the term "Monocular Vision" but maybe it should be "more to the point" since it only applies to its resistance to illusions (so far). And doesn't 5E like things to be "to the point" in stat blocks - as opposed to its verbosity otherwise?

I also like the term "Poor Depth Perception", but isn't advantage a bit strong for an 1E -2 save bonus?
Also: I suppose we could not add the illusion resistance to this block because 5E blocks like this tend to describe one effect... erm, do they?
Also: What about the original -1 to hit in melee?

I notice it has only two attacks, having both 1E claw attacks combined into one, something @Cleon also touched upon upthread IIRC. Is that common practice in 5E? Is there a reason for that if so?

Interesting notion to make the Hypnotic Stare a bonus action. Could that lead it attacking one ceature and staring down another at the same time? Does that affect CR?

Also: Very happy that you didn't add darkvision to its senses!

I goofed - dndbeyond can glitch in not saving changes. Is supposed to be Fey.

Claws are often combined into one attack in 5e

PS: cyclops are fey in 4e - where they are servants of fomorians

Casimir Liber said:

I goofed - dndbeyond can glitch in not saving changes. Is supposed to be Fey.

Claws are often combined into one attack in 5e

PS: cyclops are fey in 4e - where they are servants of fomorians

Click to expand...

Understood.

I've been thinking about STR. We've also got the Hypnoclops Leader, which has 1E +2 to hit and +3 damage. So if we would give the regular version STR 20, as I'm suggesting, then the leader will have to be stronger and will therefore end up at least on par with a hill giant, which may or may not be desirable?

Casimir Liber said:

I goofed - dndbeyond can glitch in not saving changes. Is supposed to be Fey.

Claws are often combined into one attack in 5e

PS: cyclops are fey in 4e - where they are servants of fomorians

Click to expand...

That's weird! When I copied your post, I didn't see the PS in it!

I like the fomorian connection as noted earlier, especially since it may well look like the whole Arimaspi connection will end up out of the window because Fey?

Lots of stories about fey creatures interbreeding with humans in folklore (and dnd) so no problem at all. Druidic fey-ancestried arimaspians with animal handling skills. Coherent in my mind.

Just looked up cyclopskin in 1e MM2. Very vanilla. Also ecology of cyclopskin in Dragon 254. A bit more interesting. Has them as sometimes following beholders (can imagine egotistical beholders enjoying this). Not much else in there though.

ilgatto said:

So STR (+4) but +6 to hit is explained by the dreaded Proficiency Bonus?

But: Less or as strong as an ogre? Hmm. I'd still say they'd be stronger than an ogre because of giant connection.

Click to expand...

Not sure I follow you. An Ogre is pretty giantish too, and they're slightly bigger than this Cyclops.

ilgatto said:

Hmm, doesn't the original text suggest that their resistance to illusions has got more to do with the fact that they can't see the 3-D effects of illusions?

"The cyclops’ eye handicaps it in combat so that it strikes at –1. It similarly hurls missiles at –2 but it gains +2 on saves vs illusory magic."

In my mind, this says that it is handicapped because of its single eye (only!) but that it also has the advantage of being able so see through illusions (edit because of it.

As always, I do tend to stick to what (I believe) is said in the original.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure how a lack of depth perception would help you notice the flaws in a visual illusion. I tend to imagine it's cause its galumphing great eye can see details more precisely so it notices flaws more easily, or perhaps it's just 'cause its a supernatural creature and can see things normal mortals can't.

ilgatto said:

So do I have to do that every time[/COLOR=red] or can I just add them to the palette?[/COLOR=blue]

Edit: Well, that didn't work!

Click to expand...

It needs a /COLOR to close the BB Code not /COLOR=hue

Cleon said:

I'm not sure how a lack of depth perception would help you notice the flaws in a visual illusion. I tend to imagine it's cause its galumphing great eye can see details more precisely so it notices flaws more easily, or perhaps it's just 'cause its a supernatural creature and can see things normal mortals can't.

Click to expand...

I like the idea that to create an illusion, a spellcaster creates something that will confuse himself or someone that sees the spectrum like him. And his skill at creating a believable illusion decreases for any opponent that senses things differently - so a cyclops lacks depth perception but has a single honking big eye that maybe 'sees' things differently from lack of depth preception and also has a higher acuity than (say) human eyes, so the spellcasters illusion is less effective. I'd also make all insectoids Resistant to illusions for similar reasons (seeing in UV light, which spellcaster might forget about emulating) - I recall this being a thing in one edition of one RPG but can't recall which.

ilgatto said:

So you've abandoned the Fey concept? I think I rather like that because the original still doesn't strike me as faerie-like, despite disliking the term "Large giant" for a creature that's only 9 ft tall. I went with the Fey concept coz you guys went for it.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I like them as Fey too.

The 95 hp is a bit too much high. That's not much less than a 5E Hill Giant.

ilgatto said:

Interesting notion to make the Hypnotic Stare a bonus action. Could that lead it attacking one ceature and staring down another at the same time? Does that affect CR?

Click to expand...

Yes. To be honest I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out the "Challenge Value" of its hypnogaze. It's one of those effects like a Ghoul's paralysis that could easily go very nasty for a party if they roll a lot of poor saving throws.

I was thinking of making the Hypnotic Stare part of its Multiattack, like the Dreadful Glare of a Mummy, as in "Multiattack. The cyclops can use its Hypnotic Stare and make X attacks, one with its bite and Y with its claws."

Although a Bonus Action works just as well.

Anyhow, at least we seem to have agreed on the languages!

I'll update the Cyclops with that and the ability scores from Casimirs version, except for the CON which I think is too high. Plus Ilgatto and I had more-or-less settled on a +3 CON bonus and 9 Hit Dice.

ilgatto said:

Also: Very happy that you didn't add darkvision to its senses!

Click to expand...

That would make it hard for them to find their way around the caves they live in though.