Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
ShortQuests -- Pocket Sized Adventures! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed for 1-2 game sessions.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="ARandomGod" data-source="post: 2363961" data-attributes="member: 17296">It is certainly different. I really like the flavor of it. Personally I like it better as a semi-mindless swarm, that attacks everyone... but it could indeed be made into essentially a regular animal companion. However the auto hit and immune to most attacks is a big item, and without altering those in some form I don't really see it becoming more like an animal companion. As long as it's basically immune like that it's more of a spell effect than an animal.Dependant on character level, of course, I would reduce the current to d3. It's automatic damage, and 1.5/round of automatic damage is pretty big in the lower levels. As the druid leveled increase the damage some, swarm gets bigger and thicker. I'd probably lessen the DC to cast from 20 to 15, so it would be something casters are more prepared for (they're generally prepared for a DC 15 +spell level concentration check, AND you're adding the automatic damage they're taking each round, so it's going to be higher still, don't forget that). As for the lesser effect in non-combat... That could be overcomed and keep it a swarm if you wanted. It's basically a hive-mind, a group of the higher intelligent director class could form a 5' cube swarm, just remove most combat/damage abilities from that section (they left the 'warrior' caste behind), and allow them tricks, moving independantly, no damage but they could sicken ... (Actually I think moving the ability from nausiated to sickened would be a better idea all around, nauseated is pretty aweful, at least with sicken they can still do things)...Well, the non-warrior swarm being able to 'sicken' is effectively giving the PC a DOOM cast at will... maybe 1/2 the sicken effect? (Similiar to 'aid another') Increase that later if it seems underpowered.   If the directors of the swarm were out on a mission like this, the main swarm would become docile and ineffective (refuse to do anything). So that there's only ever one active bit of the swarm at once. This duality would allow both a swarm that could be effective in non-combat and one effective in combat (when the directors return, you have your mass swarm). That's what I would do as the GM. You'd get both, a ranged companion and a close combat optimized companion... and the ranged one while not combat optimized would still be very effective in combat (granting -1 to basically all the opponent's rolls). I'd also demand that you regularly cast summon swarm spells... well, not 'demand' per se, but I'd think it would certainly fit the character well. I'd possibly also give you other swarm related abilities. (minor)</blockquote>

Verification