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

[Cleon]

Will combine those ideas into a new Necrotic Sap power and add it to the Thane and Jarl…

…Eventually.

Eventually has come!

I've updated the Thane and Jarl with Necrotic Sap Infusion.

That'll do for now. Will either add some Description to the Pine Kindred or start on the Jarl's Initiation ceremony next.

 

[Cleon]

Necrotic Sap Infusion. The sap that pine kindred use for blood contains a necrotic toxin they call the Gift of Nidhogg (see Pine Kindred) whose outre energy has various necromantic uses. Pine kindred must bleed sap to use this power.

A pine kindred thane's blood contains four doses of this gift and it can spend up to two doses per round.

Self-Infusion: The pine kindred regains 1d6 hit points per dose it spends, its wounds cry resinous tears as they close.

Touch Infusion: A pine kindred touches one or more targets to infuse their circulation with sap from its own veins. Treat this as a touch attack spell, the kindred does not need to spend any doses if its attack misses. The kindred takes 1d6 damage per dose from the blood-sap it sacrifices. If the target is an undead, it regains 1d6 hit points plus 1d6 per dose. If the target is a living creature, it takes 1d6 necrotic damage and 1d6 poison damage plus an additional 1d6 necrotic damage and 1d6 poison damage per dose.

A thane can infuse one or two targets with single doses, or infuse one target with a single or double dose.

Support Infusion: A thane can also use Necrotic Sap Infusion to assist a pine kindred jarl with Pine Kindred Initiation. This always take place in a sacrificial grove (see below).

If a pine kindred performs Necrotic Sap Infusion in a sacrificial grove (see Groves of Death in Pine Kindred Jarl), it takes half damage from any sap sacrifice it makes (round down). If it used Self-Infusion it regains an additional 1d6 hit points.

If a pine kindred wishes to conserve its health, it can bleed only a few drops when it uses a dose (but not multiple doses). It takes half damage from sap sacrifice, or only 1 hit point of damage if it's also in a sacrificial grove. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of the dose it used is also halved (half damage, half healing, counts as a "half dose" towards the doses of a Pine Kindred Initiation, et cetera).

Necrotic Sap Infusion. The sap that pine kindred use for blood contains a necrotic toxin they call the Gift of Nidhogg (see Pine Kindred) whose outre energy has various necromantic uses. Pine kindred must bleed sap to use this power.

A pine kindred jarl's blood contains eight doses of this gift and it can spend up to three doses per round.

Self-Infusion: The pine kindred regains 1d6 hit points per dose it spends, its wounds cry resinous tears as they close.

Touch Infusion: A pine kindred touches one or more targets to infuse their circulation with sap from its own veins. Treat this as a touch attack spell, the kindred does not need to spend any doses if its attack misses. The kindred takes 1d6 damage per dose from the blood-sap it sacrifices. If the target is an undead, it regains 1d6 hit points plus 1d6 per dose. If the target is a living creature, it takes 1d6 necrotic damage and 1d6 poison damage plus an additional 1d6 necrotic damage and 1d6 poison damage per dose.

A jarl can infuse one, two or three targets with single doses, or infuse one target with a single, double, or triple dose.

Support Infusion: A jarl can also use Necrotic Sap Infusion to assist another pine kindred jarl with Pine Kindred Initiation, but it normally prefers to perform a separate Initiation. These rituals always take place in a sacrificial grove (see below).

If a pine kindred performs Necrotic Sap Infusion in a sacrificial grove (see Groves of Death in Pine Kindred Jarl), it takes half damage from any sap sacrifice it makes (round down). If it used Self-Infusion it regains an additional 1d6 hit points.

If a pine kindred wishes to conserve its health, it can bleed only a few drops when it uses a dose (but not multiple doses). It takes half damage from sap sacrifice, or only 1 hit point of damage if it's also in a sacrificial grove. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of the dose it used is also halved (half damage, half healing, counts as a "half dose" towards the doses of a Pine Kindred Initiation, et cetera).

Upon reflection, that is way too complicated.

Simplifying…

Necrotic Sap Infusion. Pine Kindred blood-sap contains a necrotic toxin they call the Gift of Nidhogg. A pine kindred thane has four doses of this gift and can spend up to two doses per round.

A pine kindred can touch a target to infuse their circulation with sap from its own veins. Treat this as a touch attack spell, the kindred need not spend doses if its misses. The kindred takes 1d6 damage per dose from the blood-sap it sacrifices. If the target is an undead, it regains 1d6 hit points plus 1d6 per dose (so 3d6 for two doses). If the target is a living creature, it takes 1d6 necrotic damage plus 1d6 per dose and 1d6 poison damage plus 1d6 per dose.

Pine kindred thanes also use Necrotic Sap Infusion for various necromantic practices, such as assisting a Jarl with Pine Kindred Initiation.

If a pine kindred performs Necrotic Sap Infusion in a sacrificial grove (see Groves of Death in Pine Kindred Jarl), it takes half damage from sap sacrifices it makes (round down).

Should a kindred wish to conserve its health, it can bleed only a few drops when it spends a dose and take half damage (no multiple doses); if it's in a sacrificial grove it only takes 1 damage from sap sacrifice. However, the effectiveness of the dose is also halved (half damage, half healing, counts as a "half dose" towards the doses of a Pine Kindred Initiation, et cetera).

 

[Casimir Liber]

I like this. this monster is getting quite complex/detailed..almost warrants a scenario...heh we could continue doing all the One-Eye Canyon monsters from that Fiend Factory

It also had Chthon (evil mineral intellect), Enslaver (did this one but might need some fine tuning), Micemen (not a bad tribal monster), Dragon warriors, grey squaargs and cyclops....all actually potentially quite quirky and interesting

Hmmm..."micemen" needs a non-gendered name but "micefolk" not alliterative....pondering...

 

[Cleon]

I like this. this monster is getting quite complex/detailed..almost warrants a scenario...heh we could continue doing all the One-Eye Canyon monsters from that Fiend Factory

Yes, once you've hung around on this forum for a while it'll become sadly obvious that I have a tendency to over-complicate conversions, especially when I have too much spare time on my hands and keep on coming up with ideas for additions and variations.

It also had Chthon (evil mineral intellect), Enslaver (did this one but might need some fine tuning), Micemen (not a bad tribal monster), Dragon warriors, grey squaargs and cyclops....all actually potentially quite quirky and interesting

You don't have to tell me, I've read the module too!

The Enslaver and Squaarg are the most problematic to convert to 5E due to their powers.

"Life-long domination" and "Strength up to 40" are hard to balance to a Challenge Rating!

Hmmm..."micemen" needs a non-gendered name but "micefolk" not alliterative....pondering...

Hmm, well they're a cross between brownies and orcs, so maybe "micenies" or "miceorcs"?

Nah, that's clunky.

"Micegoblins?" But they orcs.

"Micebrorc" perhaps?

 

[Cleon]

Hmm, well they're a cross between brownies and orcs, so maybe "micenies" or "miceorcs"?

Nah, that's clunky.

"Micegoblins?" But they orcs.

"Micebrorc" perhaps?

Although you were hoping for something alliterative.

The best I could come up with was "micemite".

Had the idea of switching rodents for "ratorc" but that's too different from the original name.

 

[Casimir Liber]

Although you were hoping for something alliterative.

The best I could come up with was "micemite".

Had the idea of switching rodents for "ratorc" but that's too different from the original name.

I guess the other problem is that to date, brownies have yet to enter 5e....

 

[Cleon]

I guess the other problem is that to date, brownies have yet to enter 5e....

Well I'll leave that to someone else. Still got hundreds of creatures to convert to 3E for the Creature Catalog.

The Micemen seem the least interesting of the One-Eye Canyon monsters. Statwise they're yet another weak mob small human-like monster, of which their are PILES in AD&D, such as the Xvart.

We'd want to work out what makes them distinct from, say, a Goblin in light armour. Their backstory has some RPG hooks in it but it doesn't mean anything mechanically.

Suppose we could give them a "spook people into a trap" ability and make them unusually stealthy. Brownies are so stealthy they're (literally and I mean literally) practically invisible in forests, so it makes sense for a half-brownie to be sneaky, especially with the mention they like to "silently surround their intended victim".

Presumably they're pretty small, since they've got "mice" in the name. Brownies are 2 feet tall in AD&D, so I guess they might be between that and a Kobold's 3 feet? An Orc is 6 feet, but I wouldn't average that with a Brownie's height to make them 4 feet as that's the same as a Goblin, who they are already uncomfortable close to in their stats.

Anyhow, I'd better not get too carried away since we have Pine Kindred to finish first!

Oh, but I will add that after a night's sleep "Micemite" is definitely my favourite of the proposed names.

 

[Casimir Liber]

Agree about micemen being least interesting, and micemites being best name - mites have been introduced in the Fiendish Folio charity pack with a new background. My main impetus for converting the Enslaver was that I was updating the module (Embertrees) and I couldn't find any other monster to fill the niche, so wrote it up. Also Pine Kindred and Argorian Wormkin are used in it (and spooked my players!).

If you could look over Enslaver to see what needs to be done that would be great to put it away in between musing on Pine Kindred description if you are blocked.

 

[Cleon]

While

Agree about micemen being least interesting, and micemites being best name - mites have been introduced in the Fiendish Folio charity pack with a new background. My main impetus for converting the Enslaver was that I was updating the module (Embertrees) and I couldn't find any other monster to fill the niche, so wrote it up. Also Pine Kindred and Argorian Wormkin are used in it (and spooked my players!).

If you could look over Enslaver to see what needs to be done that would be great to put it away in between musing on Pine Kindred description if you are blocked.

I've just posted a first draft of the Pine Kindred Initiation, but re-reading it the thing's way way too over-complicated.

I can see numerous ways to tighten the text.

Anyhow, I could do with something else to think about while some Pine Kindred ideas percolate (together with a pot of coffee), so will have a look at the Enslaver…

… … …

…okay, the main problem with the Enslaver from a 5E point of view is that it's a physically very fragile "Save or Suck" monster with a high-DC permanent domination-by-touch ability.

Its opponents either easily kill it or one of them gets dominated in the first round or two making it the fight against their pal that matters, not the struggle against Enslavement.

How about making the Enslaver a bit more combat capable - faster perhaps, somewhat tougher, et cetera and, instead of an "enslaved or nothing" attack it has the following:

---

Actions

Dominating Touch. Melee Spell Attack, +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: ## (#d#+4) psychic damage, if the damage reduces the target to 0 hit points or less they are Enslaved (see Reactions).

Reactions

Enslave. If an enslaver is in contact with a target reduced to 0 hit points or less by Dominating Touch, the target must succeed at a DC 16 Wisdom check or be dominated for as long as the enslaver remains in contact with them. When an enslaver dominates a target, its new slave immediately regains any hit points of psychic damage they took from Dominating Touch. If the target makes the save, they must save again every round the enslaver is in contact with them.

---

That way, the PCs will actually have a fight with the nasty ball of slime that's trying to mindrape one of them. Plus if it uses actual damage rather than a save-or-suck, you can set the Dominating Touch damage to something appropriate for whatever Challenge you want the critter to be, rather just hope the Wisdom save DC is high enough.

It seems a bit more "Fifth Edition like" to me.

Have you seen the 1994 version of The Puppet Masters? While not a very good movie and a poor adaptation of Heinlein's novel (which I've read a few times, but not recently), the brainslugs in that film could jump about to land on people's backs rather than only be capable of slowly slithering like in the book. I also vaguely recall the movie aliens could shoot their "mind-control stinger" out on the end of a mucus-coated tentacle that was far longer than their bodies would actually be able to contain, and they could use that mucus-string to swing and rappel about as it they were tiny invertebrate versions of Batman.

Might not want to go that far with the Enslaver, but it's an idea!

 

[Cleon]

Pine Kindred Initiation. A pine kindred jarl knows a special ritual spell that transforms Medium humanoids (living or dead) into pine kindred. This spell can only be cast in a sacrificial grove (see Groves of Death).

Other pine kindred can assist the jarl by taking a spellcasting action on the first round of the ritual. If a ritual assistant's participation is interrupted (to fight intruders, for example) the spell does not break.

The ritual requires vast amounts of fresh, liquid pine sap. At least one gallon per humanoid to be "Initiated" must be prepared in the grove's ceremonial vessels before the spellcasting starts.

It takes 20 minutes to cast Pine Kindred Initiation and the casting time must end during the hour of midnight. Being a ritual, the jarl can cast the spell two or three times per night provided all the castings finish within the midnight hour. (Note it could start the ritual 19 minutes and 9 rounds before midnight and complete it on the first round of midnight).

The ritual can create any combination of pine kindred, pine kindred fircarls, and pine kindred resin-thralls the jarl desires. During the ceremony, humanoid bodies and corpses are drained of blood and their empty veins filled with pine sap. The jarl and its assistants can use bonus actions to perform Necrotic Sap Infusion during the ceremony, but they can only use it to infuse necrotic sap in either each other and the "candidates" for Initiation. They can do this while a victim is still alive. The necrotic sap donor only takes half of the 1d6 damage per dose of using Infusion since they are in a sacrificial grove.

A pine kindred who uses a single dose of Necrotic Sap Infusion during the ritual can split it between two recipients to give them half a dose apiece.

To turn an "initiate" into a particular type of pine kindred, they must receive sufficient doses of Necrotic Sap Infusion. It takes one dose to initiate a resin-thrall (half it the victim was alive), two doses to initiate a fircarl, and four doses to initiate a living victim into a full-blooded pine kindred. A pine kindred initiate must receive at least one dose from a jarl, a fircarl initiate needs half a dose of jarl's sap if it's created from a corpse. If an initiate receives insufficient necrotic sap, it becomes the strongest type of pine kindred it qualifies for (three doses would create a fircarl, for example) or just a corpse.

Further details are as follows:

Pine Kindred can only be created from living humanoids. They are slowly bled to death over the course of the ritual, usually dying shortly after the halfway point 10 to 15 minutes into the ritual, but may cling to life for longer.* On the final round of the ritual, the jarl or an assistant uses their bonus action to sacrifice each victim with a ceremonial weapon, killing them if they're still alive. If multiple living creatures are to be turned into pine kindred, each requires a separate pine kindred to perform this sacrificial act.

Living victims need to be completely nonresistant, usually they are securely bound with leather straps, but they may be immobilized or rendered cooperative by any means (paralysis, dominated, brainwashing, being buried neck-deep and so on). If a victim put up any resistance on the final sacrificial round, their initiation is damaged and they become fircarls rather than pine kindred. A single action can bind a victim's cut and stop the bleeding. If they live past the end of the ritual they will not rise as a pine kindred, even if they die the very next round.

*Should the time of death is important, each living victim normally dies after bleeding for 1d8+8 minutes plus 2d6+8 rounds (10-15 minutes), but if they succeed at a DC 13 Con save with Disadvantage they die after bleeding for 2d8+12 minutes plus 4d6+6 rounds (15-30 minutes) so may be killed by sacrifice.​

Fircarls can be created from living victims and recently dead corpses in a good state of preservation (no more than three days dead and still intact). A living victim is slowly killed as described for the full-blooded pine kindred. A corpse can be drained of blood before the ceremony.

Resin-thralls can be created from a living humanoid or any humanoid corpse, although limbless thralls are of little use.

Okay, that's definitely overly complicated!

Have a plan to how to trim it down a lot, but I'm not in the mood for writing in up at the moment.

For a start, let's drop the idea of the victim making a Con save to see when they die. If they're helpless or compliant the jarl will just cut them a bit more or less so they bleed out at the appropriate time regardless of their state of health. Presumably the evil undead murder-druid will be quite practiced at this!

Will likely increase the "time of death" to 12-18 minutes, which could be rolled as 2d6×5 + 2d6 + 108 rounds (2d6×5 is 10-60, plus 2d6 is 12-72 plus 108 is 120-180 rounds and there's 10 rounds to a minute) or more simply 2d4 + 10 minutes. Either way, an average of 15 minutes. Gives a rescue party a little longer to arrive at the scene.

Might write more later today, but just not feeling inspired at the moment.