Anyone not using fiendish dire axiomatic half-celestial undead half-pixie owlbears?
- Thread starter Gnarlo
- Start date
Flyspeck23
First Post
Any way that keeps the players on their toes: hit dice advancement, class levels (core+prestige), templates... really, there's no limit.
That said, I won't go overboard with templates. No fiendish dire axiomatic half-celestial undead half-pixie owlbears in my campaign. Although fiendish axiomatic owlbears would be fine, I guess.
That said, I won't go overboard with templates. No fiendish dire axiomatic half-celestial undead half-pixie owlbears in my campaign. Although fiendish axiomatic owlbears would be fine, I guess.
Inconsequenti-AL
Breaks Games
I think it's alright, as long as you don't end up with an DM intro like this -
Looking into the room you can see 3 fiendish dire axiomatic half-celestial undead half-pixie owlbears staring at you.
And is 'Axiomatic' some kind of unpleasant skin condition
As behind the scenes tools for DMs I can definitely see the use of them. As long as the players don't get to see them. Would spoil 'the mystery' (TM).
I personally prefer to make up the stats I want and rate the CR accordingly. It probably isn't quite balanced, but has been quite satisfactory so far...
I'm a big fan of mining the templates for ideas. Just don't like applying them 'as is' because I often end up with a load of minor abilities that don't fit with my vision of the monster.
All in all I don't think there can be too many. If I don't like one then I'll ignore it.
Looking into the room you can see 3 fiendish dire axiomatic half-celestial undead half-pixie owlbears staring at you.
And is 'Axiomatic' some kind of unpleasant skin condition
As behind the scenes tools for DMs I can definitely see the use of them. As long as the players don't get to see them. Would spoil 'the mystery' (TM).
I personally prefer to make up the stats I want and rate the CR accordingly. It probably isn't quite balanced, but has been quite satisfactory so far...
I'm a big fan of mining the templates for ideas. Just don't like applying them 'as is' because I often end up with a load of minor abilities that don't fit with my vision of the monster.
All in all I don't think there can be too many. If I don't like one then I'll ignore it.
Aeolius
Adventurer
In my undersea campaign, the main baddie just became a demi-lich (from being a lich), so she is now a sea hag demi-lich witch fiend of blasphemy. She rules over four coveys, making thirteen hags in all. The newest covey, replacing one that had been completely decimated, is comprised of three feral sea hag bards. They ride upon a sunken galleon captained by a spellstiched dread pirate bone creature.
I suppose that answers your query?
I suppose that answers your query?
Psion
Adventurer
I've never used a fiendish dire axiomatic half-celestial undead half-pixie owlbear. Not onece. What a goofy combination!
Of course, I do use templates. Even multiple templates. A lot. The above seems to me to be a dragonsfootesque prejudicial example, but it ultimately meaningless because nobody would use such a combination ever.
Most templates I use in my campaign are one at a time, thank you. Mostly for undead creatures like liches and vampires.
I occasionally use multiple templates, mostly undead creatures, though occasionally not. I used the abberation template on lizardfolk in a recent adventure to make mutant lizardfolk that dark elf transmuters had been making. For one creature, I wanted to make a really out there mutation that would be really scary. Instead of starting with a lizardfolk, I started with an ettin and made him lizardlike by means of the reptilian template, then added abberation to add in that mutant quality and dreadnaught to add a little combat challenge to a party that is several levels higher than he is.
Another combination that I will be using in the coming weeks are the blood lich (aka Sangrolu) and elder vampire template (which is applied to a vampire), creations of my own. One of them is also spellstitched, so yup, that's 4 templates, but 3 of them are sort of designed to work together (both blood lich and elder vampire are templates that can be applied to vampires, and I never make blood liches that aren't old enough to qualify for elder vampire.)
I am running an epic level game right now, and I occasionally use the paragon template to scale up encounters. My first use of the paragon template was a plot-driving danaanshee I needed to make. Most recently I made a paragon night touched controller... I also spellstitched him.
I used to use fiendish and half fiend quite a bit, but not so much recently. I had a roving band of planar fiendish elves who got in the player's hair, and a half-fiend drow bounty hunter party nemesis.
Half-dragon I don't use as much as I gather some people do. I had a plot that revolved around them that never reached fruition, and in my game I have a society of magically engineered half dragons, but those have been more PCs than NPCs. Generally, I am not a big fan of the idea that any dragon can breed with anything, much less want to. For that matter, I don't dig the idea of most half-templates as bred instead of made.
So, in short, I do use templates, occasionally multiple ones, if I feel it is appropriate. But if I do, I always have a reason to.
Of course, I do use templates. Even multiple templates. A lot. The above seems to me to be a dragonsfootesque prejudicial example, but it ultimately meaningless because nobody would use such a combination ever.
Most templates I use in my campaign are one at a time, thank you. Mostly for undead creatures like liches and vampires.
I occasionally use multiple templates, mostly undead creatures, though occasionally not. I used the abberation template on lizardfolk in a recent adventure to make mutant lizardfolk that dark elf transmuters had been making. For one creature, I wanted to make a really out there mutation that would be really scary. Instead of starting with a lizardfolk, I started with an ettin and made him lizardlike by means of the reptilian template, then added abberation to add in that mutant quality and dreadnaught to add a little combat challenge to a party that is several levels higher than he is.
Another combination that I will be using in the coming weeks are the blood lich (aka Sangrolu) and elder vampire template (which is applied to a vampire), creations of my own. One of them is also spellstitched, so yup, that's 4 templates, but 3 of them are sort of designed to work together (both blood lich and elder vampire are templates that can be applied to vampires, and I never make blood liches that aren't old enough to qualify for elder vampire.)
I am running an epic level game right now, and I occasionally use the paragon template to scale up encounters. My first use of the paragon template was a plot-driving danaanshee I needed to make. Most recently I made a paragon night touched controller... I also spellstitched him.
I used to use fiendish and half fiend quite a bit, but not so much recently. I had a roving band of planar fiendish elves who got in the player's hair, and a half-fiend drow bounty hunter party nemesis.
Half-dragon I don't use as much as I gather some people do. I had a plot that revolved around them that never reached fruition, and in my game I have a society of magically engineered half dragons, but those have been more PCs than NPCs. Generally, I am not a big fan of the idea that any dragon can breed with anything, much less want to. For that matter, I don't dig the idea of most half-templates as bred instead of made.
So, in short, I do use templates, occasionally multiple ones, if I feel it is appropriate. But if I do, I always have a reason to.
Brown Jenkin
First Post
The odd thing for me is in all my years of gaming I have never encountered an Owlbear at all, fiendish dire axiomatic half-celestial undead half-pixie or not.
Desdichado
Hero
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there seems to be an implication that templates are bad here?
I like it conceptually. In practice, I rarely want to go to the trouble of applying them. But sometimes I do anyway. It adds a lot of character to both the monsters/NPCs in question but also the campaign itself, IMO.
I like it conceptually. In practice, I rarely want to go to the trouble of applying them. But sometimes I do anyway. It adds a lot of character to both the monsters/NPCs in question but also the campaign itself, IMO.
Joshua Dyal said:
Correcting
I have used templates myself, never more than one at a time that I can think of, and the example in my title is, of course, absurd (although I'm starting to get the desire to stat it out...).I'm just curious how people handle them in their own game, and whether they use them as freely as some of the stuff available out there, and some of the anectdotes in those "listen to this gaming night" stories, would suggest. And I was curious how many people still used just the good ol' fashion kick-yer-butt-and-call-ya-a-sissy high level monsters without slapping a couple of templates on them.
KB9JMQ
First Post
Brown Jenkin said:
I hadnt either until yesterday when a normal owlbear rambled out of nowhere and nearly killed by 3rd level Dwarven Cleric.
On Topic: I havent used any templates yet but may do so. I like most creatures stock but I am thinking about throwing a mix of something into the game someday. I am more inclined to use a template or classes than to use a half of anything though.
