Gez
First Post
Here's an old creature I made in 2001. There was a thread back then in the house rule forum, but there have been several board shuffles since, and as I found it again while trying to sort the mess that is my computer's Documents' subdirectories...
Too bad beholders are "no more" OGC (well, technically, they never were). Bah, we can still place them on the Internet.
Beholder-kin, Spotter
Hit Dice: 4d8+4 (22)
Initiative: +3 (+3 Dex)
Speed: 15 feet, fly 30 feet (average)
AC: 20 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +6 natural)
Attacks: 2 Claws +7 melee, Bite -2 melee
Damage: Claws 1d3-2, Bite 1d4-2
Face/Reach: 5 feet x 5 feet/5 feet (10 feet with claws)
Special Attacks: Magic missiles
Special Qualities: Enhanced vision, fly, force healing, rush (fly 50 feet (good)).
Saves: Fort: +2, Reflex: +4, Will: +5
Abilities: Str: 6, Dex: 16, Con: 12, Int: 10, Wis: 12, Cha: 8
Skills: Hide +12, Intimidate +5, Listen +6, Search +5, Spot +10.
Feats: Flyby Attack, Dodge, Mobility, Weapon Finesse (claw).
Climate/Terrain: Any land or underground
Organization: Solitary or squadron (2-5)
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always lawful (any), usually neutral
Advancement Range: 5-8 HD (Small); 9-12 HD (Medium-size)
Spotters are lesser artificial cousins of Beholders. They are created by powerful wizards seeking obedient and effective servants able to frighten most intruders, and an independant Spotter is a rarity. Most spotters patrol around or in their master’s home.
They have a two feet (60 cm) wide roughly spherical body, with ten tentacled eyes, one big central eye, and a tiny mouth full of sharp teeth. In addition, they have two long arm-like tentacles, ending in dextrous claws, like a Choker's. Like true Beholders, their exact appearance vary wildly. Unlike true Beholders, they don’t have eye ray attacks, nor antimagic cone. They are always lawful, as they are created to serve faithfully their creator.
COMBAT
Spotters patrols where they have been ordained to all days long. When intruders are found, they don’t hesitate to raise the alarm and call reinforcement before attacking. They will make them go out without actual fight if possible. Fast and agile, they try to stay behind cover and shell their opponents with magic missiles. Spotters don’t want to die, but are ready to sacrifice themselves to protect their master. When in group, spotters will spit magic missiles on their wounded brethren to heal them (see Magic Immunity).
Magic Missiles (Su): Spotters have a kind of breath weapon that allow them to shot missiles of pure force to one target up to 150 feet (45 m), dealing 1d4+1 damages. They fire only one missile, but this missile otherwise behave like one fired by a 5th level sorcerer. A spotter’s missile don’t have any effect on himself.
Force Healing (Su): Spotters are healed, rather than damaged, by force effects (other effect than damage affect them normally, they are blocked by a wall of force, for example). Furthermore, missiles spitted by other spotters heal them also. The number of hit points healed is the same that would have been inflicted without this immunity.
Rush (Ex): Spotters can use their long, adhesive arms to help propulsate them when thy’re near walls, ceilings, furniture or other unmoving, tangible, and innocuous to touch things. Otherwise, their flight speed is reduced to 30 (average).
Enhanced Vision (Ex): The primary reason of Spotter’s existence is to spot. A spotter’s eyes looks everywhere around it, and they have an excellent eyesight. This give them a +4 bonus to spot checks, they can’t be flanked (all-around vision), can see twice as far as an human in dim light (low-light vision), and twice as far as a dwarf in absolute darkness (120-ft. darkvision).
CREATION AND EVOLUTION
Spotters are a magically created race, and the formula for their creation still exist.
The first task in creating a Spotter egg is performing alchemical operations on a Choker egg and some numerous Beholder body parts. Finally, a fluid substance is created from the beholder components and the egg is bathed in, after some tiny holes have been pierced ; without breaking the eggshell. This must be done in an alchemist’s laboratory (costing 500 gp to establish). Successfully transmuting the egg requires an Alchemy check, DC 30 ; and 1000 gp worth of other, minor materials. A failure in this operation ruins the egg and half the material, however the beholder substance is reusable. A skilled alchmist will want 3000 gp to prepare an egg, and must be provided with the Choker egg and the Beholder parts, which are not quite easy to found on the market.
The real works of creating a spotter ivolve extended magical rituals that requires a full week to complete. Understanding the rituals requires an arcane spellcaster of 7th level or higher with the Craft Wondrous Item feat ; and able to cast each day cat’s grace, charm monster, darkvision, fly, magic missile and prying eyes each day. The creator must cast these spells personally each days, but they can come from other sources, such as scrolls. The creator must labor for at least 8 hours a day in the laboratory.
When not working on the rituals, the creator must rest and can perform no other activities except eating, sleeping or talking. The rituals must be performed after the egg is ready. If the creator misses a day of rituals, the process fails and must be started again. Money spent is lost, and the egg is no more viable, and another must be prepared. XP spent are not lost. Finishing drains 100 XP from the creator.
Once the egg is ready, it takes one month to hatch. The little creature (Tiny sized) will grow to maturity in one year; but this length can be reduced by frequently casting magic missile or similar on the baby spotter. Each missile speed up growth by one day. Only mature spotters can spit magic missiles. Once adult, a spotter’s growth can no more be accelerated. A mature Spotter can lay an egg per month, if asked for. The offspring of this asexual reproduction will be a biological clone of its sire.
Spotters gain an additional hit dice every five years, up to their maximum of 12. Then, when they reach about 50 years, they begin to age and lose an hit die every 10 years; a Spotter can such hope to live 160 years.
Too bad beholders are "no more" OGC (well, technically, they never were). Bah, we can still place them on the Internet.
Beholder-kin, Spotter
Hit Dice: 4d8+4 (22)
Initiative: +3 (+3 Dex)
Speed: 15 feet, fly 30 feet (average)
AC: 20 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +6 natural)
Attacks: 2 Claws +7 melee, Bite -2 melee
Damage: Claws 1d3-2, Bite 1d4-2
Face/Reach: 5 feet x 5 feet/5 feet (10 feet with claws)
Special Attacks: Magic missiles
Special Qualities: Enhanced vision, fly, force healing, rush (fly 50 feet (good)).
Saves: Fort: +2, Reflex: +4, Will: +5
Abilities: Str: 6, Dex: 16, Con: 12, Int: 10, Wis: 12, Cha: 8
Skills: Hide +12, Intimidate +5, Listen +6, Search +5, Spot +10.
Feats: Flyby Attack, Dodge, Mobility, Weapon Finesse (claw).
Climate/Terrain: Any land or underground
Organization: Solitary or squadron (2-5)
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always lawful (any), usually neutral
Advancement Range: 5-8 HD (Small); 9-12 HD (Medium-size)
Spotters are lesser artificial cousins of Beholders. They are created by powerful wizards seeking obedient and effective servants able to frighten most intruders, and an independant Spotter is a rarity. Most spotters patrol around or in their master’s home.
They have a two feet (60 cm) wide roughly spherical body, with ten tentacled eyes, one big central eye, and a tiny mouth full of sharp teeth. In addition, they have two long arm-like tentacles, ending in dextrous claws, like a Choker's. Like true Beholders, their exact appearance vary wildly. Unlike true Beholders, they don’t have eye ray attacks, nor antimagic cone. They are always lawful, as they are created to serve faithfully their creator.
COMBAT
Spotters patrols where they have been ordained to all days long. When intruders are found, they don’t hesitate to raise the alarm and call reinforcement before attacking. They will make them go out without actual fight if possible. Fast and agile, they try to stay behind cover and shell their opponents with magic missiles. Spotters don’t want to die, but are ready to sacrifice themselves to protect their master. When in group, spotters will spit magic missiles on their wounded brethren to heal them (see Magic Immunity).
Magic Missiles (Su): Spotters have a kind of breath weapon that allow them to shot missiles of pure force to one target up to 150 feet (45 m), dealing 1d4+1 damages. They fire only one missile, but this missile otherwise behave like one fired by a 5th level sorcerer. A spotter’s missile don’t have any effect on himself.
Force Healing (Su): Spotters are healed, rather than damaged, by force effects (other effect than damage affect them normally, they are blocked by a wall of force, for example). Furthermore, missiles spitted by other spotters heal them also. The number of hit points healed is the same that would have been inflicted without this immunity.
Rush (Ex): Spotters can use their long, adhesive arms to help propulsate them when thy’re near walls, ceilings, furniture or other unmoving, tangible, and innocuous to touch things. Otherwise, their flight speed is reduced to 30 (average).
Enhanced Vision (Ex): The primary reason of Spotter’s existence is to spot. A spotter’s eyes looks everywhere around it, and they have an excellent eyesight. This give them a +4 bonus to spot checks, they can’t be flanked (all-around vision), can see twice as far as an human in dim light (low-light vision), and twice as far as a dwarf in absolute darkness (120-ft. darkvision).
CREATION AND EVOLUTION
Spotters are a magically created race, and the formula for their creation still exist.
The first task in creating a Spotter egg is performing alchemical operations on a Choker egg and some numerous Beholder body parts. Finally, a fluid substance is created from the beholder components and the egg is bathed in, after some tiny holes have been pierced ; without breaking the eggshell. This must be done in an alchemist’s laboratory (costing 500 gp to establish). Successfully transmuting the egg requires an Alchemy check, DC 30 ; and 1000 gp worth of other, minor materials. A failure in this operation ruins the egg and half the material, however the beholder substance is reusable. A skilled alchmist will want 3000 gp to prepare an egg, and must be provided with the Choker egg and the Beholder parts, which are not quite easy to found on the market.
The real works of creating a spotter ivolve extended magical rituals that requires a full week to complete. Understanding the rituals requires an arcane spellcaster of 7th level or higher with the Craft Wondrous Item feat ; and able to cast each day cat’s grace, charm monster, darkvision, fly, magic missile and prying eyes each day. The creator must cast these spells personally each days, but they can come from other sources, such as scrolls. The creator must labor for at least 8 hours a day in the laboratory.
When not working on the rituals, the creator must rest and can perform no other activities except eating, sleeping or talking. The rituals must be performed after the egg is ready. If the creator misses a day of rituals, the process fails and must be started again. Money spent is lost, and the egg is no more viable, and another must be prepared. XP spent are not lost. Finishing drains 100 XP from the creator.
Once the egg is ready, it takes one month to hatch. The little creature (Tiny sized) will grow to maturity in one year; but this length can be reduced by frequently casting magic missile or similar on the baby spotter. Each missile speed up growth by one day. Only mature spotters can spit magic missiles. Once adult, a spotter’s growth can no more be accelerated. A mature Spotter can lay an egg per month, if asked for. The offspring of this asexual reproduction will be a biological clone of its sire.
Spotters gain an additional hit dice every five years, up to their maximum of 12. Then, when they reach about 50 years, they begin to age and lose an hit die every 10 years; a Spotter can such hope to live 160 years.
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