5E Retriever (from Pathfinder) conversion

[InkwellIdeas]

Again, looking for 2nd opinions, thank you!

Retriever
Huge construct, chaotic evil

Armor Class 21 (natural armor)
Hit Points 115 (12d10+60)
Speed 50 ft.

Str 26 (+8) Dex 16 (+3) Con 20 (+5)
Int 3 (-4) Wis 11 (+0) Cha 1 (-5)

Damage Immunities fire, poison, psychic; bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from nonmagical weapons that aren't adamantine
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 120ft., passive Perception 18
Languages Abyssal but can't speak
Challenge 11 (7,200 XP)

Discern Location. At any time, a retriever may discern the location of a creature as the Locate Creature spell, except the range is unlimited and nothing short of a Mind Blank spell may circumvent it.
Relentless. A retriever is constantly under the effects of spider climb and water walk; these abilities cannot be dispelled.
Regeneration. The retriever regains 5 hit points at the start of its turn, unless it is reduced to 0 hit points or less.

Actions
Multiattack. The retriever makes a bite attack, 4 claw attacks and an Eye Ray attack.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (1d8 + 8) piercing damage and the target must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw and be restrained on a failed save.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d8 + 8) slashing damage.
Eye Ray. A retriever's eyes can produce four different magical rays, each with a range of 90 feet. Each round, it can fire one ray. A particular ray is usable only once every 4 rounds. The eye ray effects are the following:
Fire: Deals 42 (12d6) fire damage (DC 15 Dexterity half).
Cold: Deals 42 (12d6) cold damage (DC 15 Dexterity half).
Electricity: Deals 42 (12d6) electricity damage (DC 15 Dexterity half).
Petrification: Target must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity save or turn to stone permanently.

 

[Redthistle]

OMG. This has the combined flavor of a hybrid beholder/invisible stalker stuffed into armor. I would hate to be a player in your higher level adventures (unless, of course, we PCs actually managed to beat this nightmare, in which case I'd be bragging about it for years!).

 

[epithet]

I made a few tweaks to bring it more into line with 5e standards.

 

[jaelis]

Pretty cool, but I would try to tighten up the regeneration ability. How about something like:

Indestructible: The retriever regenerates 5 hp at the start of its turn. While the retriever is at 0 hp, keep track of any damage dealt to it, including left-over damage from the attack that reduced it to 0 hp. If this damage total reaches 50 hp before the retriever is able to regenerate, then it is destroyed and can no longer regenerate.

Adjust the 50 hp number higher if you like, bearing in mind that its damage resistances and immunities still apply.

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Also I might revise locator to an action:

Locate: The retriever can determine the location of an object or creature. A creature must be one that the retriever has seen, or else the retriever must possess a part of the creature or an item formerly belonging to it. An object must be one that the retriever has previously touched. This ability ignores normal protections against divination, and can be blocked only by a mind blank spell or divine intervention. If the target and retriever are on the same plane, it learns the exact distance and direction to the target. If they are on different planes, the retriever learns the identity of the target's plane.

Seems to me that a retriever wouldn't know or care about the country or shop name where its target is located.

Perhaps you could give it a plane shift ability, that can only be used to shift to the plane containing the target of its locate ability?

 

[epithet]

The plane shift would make a lot of sense, but it isn't an ability that the retriever has previously had so I didn't add it. I think the intention might have been to require the controller of the retriever to send it to the right plane, I don't know. What do you think... 2/day? Go and come back?

The locator ability is just a restatement of the 3.5 discern location spell, but you're right - the retriever lacks the int to know the city, state, and zip code. I'll amend the ability to remove the sentence "This ability ... target lies." and it should make a lot more sense.

The reason the regeneration ability is worded the way it is has more to do with Fantasy Grounds than anything else. If it isn't called regeneration and doesn't have the specific language of that trait, then I don't think FG will automatically add the hp for me, and I'm a lazy dungeon master if ever there was one. My plan is to use this mostly as an rp element, and pretty much anything the party does to keep the terminator down (that makes sense) will work--I don't really plan to track hp below zero.

 

[epithet]

As revised.

Retriever
Huge construct (demon), chaotic evil

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Armor Class 20 (natural armor)
Hit Points 207 (18d12 + 90)
Speed 50 ft., climb 50 ft., swim 30 ft.

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STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
24 (+7)	14 (+2)	20 (+5)	3 (-4)	11 (+0)	1 (-5)

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Skills Perception +5
Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning
Damage Immunities poison, psychic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons that aren't adamantine
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages Understands Abyssal but can't speak
Challenge 16 (15,000 XP)

---

Immutable Form. The retriever is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form.

Locator. Nothing short of a mind blank spell or the direct intervention of a deity keeps the retriever from learning the exact location of a single individual or object. The retriever circumvents normal means of protection from scrying or location. To find a creature, the retriever must have seen the creature or have some item that once belonged to it. To find an object, it must have touched it at least once.

Magic Resistance. The retriever has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Magic Weapons. The retriever’s weapon attacks are magical.

Regeneration. The retriever regains 5 hit points at the start of its turn. The retriever is destroyed only by extraordinary measures, such as incineration or complete dismemberment.

Spider Climb. The retriever can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.

Innate Spellcasting. The retriever can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
2/day each: plane shift

ACTIONS

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Multiattack. The retriever makes two Claw attacks and one Bite attack.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: If the target is Large or smaller, it is Grappled (escape DC 19) and Restrained until the grapple ends. The retriever can only grapple one target.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d8 + 7) slashing damage.

Swallow. The retriever makes one bite attack against a Large or smaller creature it is grappling. If the attack hits, the target is swallowed, and the grapple ends. While swallowed, the creature is Blinded and Restrained, and it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the retriever. If the retriever is Stunned, Unconscious, or otherwise Incapacitated, a swallowed creature is no longer Restrained by it and can escape from the retriever by using 10 feet of movement, exiting Prone.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS

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Options. A retriever’s eyes can produce four different magical rays, each with a range of 100 feet. Each round, it can fire one ray. A particular ray is usable only once every 4 rounds.

Fire Ray. The targeted creature must make a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw, taking 42 (12d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Cold Ray. The targeted creature must make a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw, taking 42 (12d6) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Lightning Ray. The targeted creature must make a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw, taking 42 (12d6) lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Petrification Ray. The targeted creature must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature begins to turn to stone and is restrained. It must repeat the saving throw at the end of its next turn. On a success, the effect ends. On a failure, the creature is petrified until freed by the greater restoration spell or other magic.
​

 

[Luz]

This looks great and I will definitely use this in my current HL underdark campaign. The only modifications I'd add are "(self only)" with its plane shift ability, and under Legendary Actions it should read: "Each round, it can fire one ray at a single target."

Great stuff

 

[Azzy]

For the curious, here the original stats as they appeared in the 1e Fiend Folio:

RETRIEVER
FREQUENCY: Very rare
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOUR CLASS: −2
MOVE: 18"
HIT DICE: 10
% IN LAIR: 10%
TREASURE TYPE: Z
NO. OF ATTACKS: 4
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3-18/3-18/3-18/3-18
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Eye rays
SPECIAL DEFENCES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Low
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
SIZE: L (12' tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Attack/Defence Modes: Nil
LEVE L/X.P. VALUE: VII/4,950 + 14 per hit point

Retrievers are constructed by Demogorgon (see ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, MONSTER MANUAL — Demon, Demogorgon) in his laboratories in the Abyss; in doing so, Demogorgon deliberately constructs the creatures so as to strike maximum terror into their victims. They will rarely be found on the Prime Material Plane except when engaged on a specific mission to retrieve (usually dead or alive) one who has offended Demogorgon or one of the more powerful denizens of the Abyss.

Retrievers are giant spider-like creatures whose front four limbs end in huge cleavers. Though they are large — approximately the size of a mammoth — they are very fast and nimble in the open, where they have room to manoeuvre. They each have six eyes, two for vision and four which project rays (up to 2 of the latter may function each round — determine which at random). These rays are, respectively, fire, cold, lightning and transmutation. Once used, a particular eye cannot be used again for 6 rounds, at which time it will have re-charged. These rays can only hit one target within a range of 60'.

The rays of fire, cold and lightning each do damage equal to the current hit points of the retriever, a save (against dragon breath) indicating half damage. Magic items must also save against these attacks if their Owner fails to save. The transmutation ray transmutes the victim into mud, stone, gold or lead (determine which of the four at random). A successful save against petrifaction indicates no effect. A stone to flesh spell will restore a petrified character to normal but only a philosopher's stone can restore a lead or gold, figure. Characters turned to mud can only be revived by the use of mud to rock followed by stone to flesh, both spells being cast within one turn of the transmutation.

Retrievers can attack with all four cleavers simultaneously on the same victim, each inflicting 3-18 hit points of damage. However they cannot use the eye rays when attacking with their cleavers. Generally speaking, they will use their eye rays first then, when the eyes are recharging, use the cleavers.

Demons sometimes mount howdahs on the back of a retriever and ride on the creature to the hunt.

Creatures of lower order will flee in panic on sight of a retriever, and even an adventurer of 5th experience level or lower (or a monster of less than 6 hit dice) will do so unless he saves against magic when a retriever comes within 30' of him.

 

[Luz]

[MENTION=6796566]epithet[/MENTION]: just out of curiosity, why the swallow whole ability? Everything else about your retriever is a bang-on conversion from the original (with the exception of the plane shift.) Was it just to make it a little more dangerous? Swallow whole just seems like an odd choice for a giant spider creature.

Regardless, of all the 5e retrievers I've seen I prefer yours. There is another in the Planar Bestiary by Chris "Goober" Ramsley that is almost identicle; his is a CR15 creature with 230 hp, two claw attacks and one eye ray per round (all damage is the same as yours). I do prefer his description of the 'retrieve' feature, it's a little more concise:

Find Target. When ordered to find an item or a creature, the retriever does so unerringly, as though guided by a locate creature or locate object spell, with no limit on the range. The being giving the order must have seen (or have an item belonging to) the creature to be found, or have touched the object to be located.

On a side note, I love the transmutation effects of the original (transmutes target to mud, stone, gold, or lead) and the added difficulty of restoring a creature who has been petrified to mud, gold, or lead. I think I'll keep that when I throw this at my group, they have a transmuter wizard with a transmuter's stone which will suffice as a philosopher's stone substitute. It will be fun watching them figure it out.

 

[Elon Tusk]

Clicked to find golden retriever stats.
Stayed for something a little more interesting.