Advancing Monsters

[Mercury]

I am trying to advance a rust monster in my current adventure, but I am not sure I did evereything right, paticularly the BAB an the size..... Here is what I came up with. If you could pease check it, I would greatly appreciate it. It has been advanced to 9HD..

Rust Monster, advanced: CR 3; Large-size aberation; HD 9d8+14; hp 54; Init +2; Spd 40 ft.; AC 18 (touch 16, falt-footed 16); Atk +9/+1 melee touch (rust touch) or +1 melee (1d3+4, bite); SA Rust; SQ Scent; AL N; SV Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +7; Str 18, Dex 15, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 8

So that is what I got, please let me know if you find any discrepancies. Thanks alot.

Mercury

 

[Piratecat]

I'll slide this over to Rules. Do you have a copy of the "How to design a monster" article that was published in Dragon and included on cd?

 

[Fast Learner]

This is one of the places where eTools really helps out and saves a ton of work.

Rust Monster advanced to 9 HD:
CR: (not 3 anymore, no guess from eTools, maybe 9); Large Aberration ; HD 9d8+27 (Aberration) ; hp 49; Init + 2; Spd 40; AC 18; Atk + 9 base melee, + 7 base ranged; +9/+4 ( +4, Antennae touch; 1d4+2, Bite ); SA: Rust (Ex); SQ: Scent (Ex); AL N; SV Fort + 6, Ref + 5, Will + 7; STR 18, DEX 15, CON 17, INT 2, WIS 13, CHA 8.

You also have 8 additional skill points and 2 additional feats to spend. I suggest skills related to it managing to survive up to 9 HD such as Spot, Hide, Search, Move Silent, and Hide. Alertness and Blind-Fight might be good Feats.

 

[EricNoah]

The rule that I have pencilled in my MM about CR is that for every 50% increase in HD, add 1 to the CR. Or another way of putting it -- HDx2 = CR +2, HDx3 = CR +4, etc.

Rust monster starts with 5 (at CR 3) and ends up with 9. That's not quite double its HD but close. So you could go with CR 4 or CR 5 and be fairly accurate.

 

[Mercury]

Ok, I am not quiet sure how I got different numbers, but I would trust e-tools before I would trust me. As for the experience, don't you just multiply the actual experiance by the same amount as you did the hit dice? One last question, since no stores have E-tools in Duluth, MN, could you perchance post the advancement for two more creatures? They are:

Chaos Beast, advanced to 13 HD

Gorgon, advanced to 15 HD

Also, what does advancing a creature do to the save DCs of their special abilities, such as the rust monsters rust attack, or the gorgons breath weapon?

 

[Crothian]

Also, what does advancing a creature do to the save DCs of their special abilities, such as the rust monsters rust attack, or the gorgons breath weapon?

THe DC is ussually 10 +1/2 HD + Con modifier

Sometimes they do use another attribute

 

[Grazzt]

THe DC is ussually 10 +1/2 HD + Con modifier

Sometimes they do use another attribute

Yeppers- Crothian is correct. The other attribute most often used is Charisma and that is for fear attacks, gaze weapons, beguiling or charming attacks, etc.

 

[Mercury]

Would the Rust Monster get a second attack with it's antennae attack now? At minus 6? Or am I mistaken?

Also, would it now get reach with its antannae due to is size?

 

[Fast Learner]

Yes, but it looks like at a -5 (see where it says +9/+4).

 

[Mercury]

I thought the +4 part of +9/ +4 was for the bite attack, or is that the +4 in Parenthesis?