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

[Cleon]

Done cyclops here

The Multiattack ends with two morningstar attacks without any rocks, the Amiraspian Cyclops has "or it makes two attacks with its greatclub or rocks".

Which is odd, I remember the D&D Beyond version's Multiattack saying greatclub or rocks in a previous version and the current one has Greatclub and Rock as Actions.

 

[Cleon]

Alignment: Amiraspian hybrids ???.

Undecided on this point. The original text makes no mention of alignment in its very barebones description of the cyclopes's half-human offspring.

Any preferences? I'm thinking it'd be more interesting if they covered as wide a range as humans, which have:

Alignment: Humans tend toward no particular alignment. The best and the worst are found among them.​

Maybe give them a bit of a tendency towards Chaotic or extreme alignments? So a random cyclops is more likely to be Lawful Good or Chaotic Evil than Neutral?

 

[Casimir Liber]

Agree - unrestricted alignments for the hybrids. Cylops fixed to here

 

[Cleon]

Agree - unrestricted alignments for the hybrids.

So are we including a tendency towards chaos and/or evil like their cyclopian parent or keeping it uniform?

How about this:

Alignment: Like humans, amiraspian hybrids can be any alignment and the best and the worst are found among them. They inherit a slight tendency toward chaos from their cyclopean ancestry but sometimes reject this in favor of law. Amiraspian hybrids embrace extreme alignments more often than humans, so are more likely to be chaotic good or lawful evil than neutral. Those hybrids that favor neutrality favor radical neutral philosophies like those of a druid or modron.​

Cylops fixed to here

Looks fine.

Will update the Indexes in due course.

I need to to some minor tweaks to the Cyclops Chief and Young Cyclops to match that final version, but are there any significant additions to the mechanical section you fancy?

 

[Casimir Liber]

(Damn - forgot about these)
The young, nothing really comes to mind
I'd love the chief to have something like this for a fun surprise in combat

Effect Transfer (Recharges 5-6). The chief has Advantage on saving throws against any spell that targets only it (not in an area of effect). In addition, on a successful save the spell has no effect on it and instead targets the caster, using the slot level, spell save DC, attack bonus, and spellcasting ability of the caster.

 

[Cleon]

(Damn - forgot about these)

What about the proposed Description for the Hybrid in post #1494?

The young, nothing really comes to mind

Well the young aren't major combatants so we can keep them mechanically simple.

I'd love the chief to have something like this for a fun surprise in combat

Effect Transfer (Recharges 5-6). The chief has Advantage on saving throws against any spell that targets only it (not in an area of effect). In addition, on a successful save the spell has no effect on it and instead targets the caster, using the slot level, spell save DC, attack bonus, and spellcasting ability of the caster.

There isn't anything in the original monster to support that. The Chief is just a tougher nastier version of the regular adult Amiraspian Cyclops.

Besides, how does that ability match the Cyclops schtick of "staring magically at an enemy"?

If you want to give it a "fun surprise" (by which we obviously mean something rather unpleasant to whichever PC is at the other end of it!) I'd be more supportive of some enhanced gaze attack resembling the Fomorian's Curse of the Evil Eye or Evil Eye abilities. Maybe it can do psychic, necrotic or poison damage simply by giving an enemy the stink eye? Or perhaps its cursed gaze can paralyze a victim like a ghoul, so the unlucky victim doesn't automatically break free from the stupor if they're shaken or take damage?

 

[Casimir Liber]

description for hybrid is ok

Evil eye doing psychic damage might be good.

 

[Cleon]

description for hybrid is ok

Updating the Amiraspian Hybrid.

I've updated the Poor Depth Perception in the Cyclops Chief and Young Cyclops to match the standard Amiraspian Cyclops.

Evil eye doing psychic damage might be good.

I'm thinking it could have some kind of special effect, like perhaps it stuns the target for a round as well as does psychic damage or it does no damage but entrances the target to walk towards the Chief like a Harpy's bewitching song?

Or perhaps the Evil Eye can either do damage or entrance the target depending on what the Chief wants to do?

Hmm, or the target can choose the effect. Like they either spend their Action dashing towards the chief or they take damage from the psychic strain of resisting the pull of its hypnotic gaze?

Actually, I'm more inclined to just drop the idea and have the Chief just be a bulked up version of the standard Cyclops like it was in the original White Dwarf article.

Better yet, we could have a Variant Rule subentry for Chiefs with non-standard Evil Eye attacks?

 

[Casimir Liber]

actually maybe just leave it. a variant rule will distort the CR and I don't feel strongly about it enough. Would rather save energy for other critters

 

[Cleon]

actually maybe just leave it. a variant rule will distort the CR and I don't feel strongly about it enough. Would rather save energy for other critters

Agreed.

Shall I whip up some stats for the "basic" Hybrid. I'm thinking if we take an SRD NPC like a Guard or something and add the Racial Traits we'll be practically there. Maybe with a slight tweak or two to make it more "interesting".

It's the Gryphon Rider that'll need some love, as we're making those some kind of Amiraspian Elite.