Converting Al-Qadim and Oriental Adventures creatures

[Shade]

Since I can't find any favored weapons for Ragarra, let's go with falchions or glaives. I kinda like the suggestion of using glaives for reach and bites for adjacent.

Updated.

 

[freyar]

I like that pretty well.

Skill ranks: Listen 6, Spot 6, Swim 4?

Feats: Power Attack and Cleave?

 

[Shade]

Updated.

When slain, they return to their original (human or baby crocodile) form.

Should true seeing reveal the original form as well?

 

[demiurge1138]

Sure! Is there some way to break the curse on them to restore them to their original form non-fatally?

 

[freyar]

Sure! Is there some way to break the curse on them to restore them to their original form non-fatally?

That probably depends on how we want them to be created. We know that greater segarrans are created by 12th or higher level clerics, so lesser segarrans might be created by 7th or higher level clerics. In that case, maybe break enchantment with a CL check vs some reasonable DC could change a lesser segarran back. What do you think?

 

[demiurge1138]

That sounds good to me.

 

[Shade]

Agreed.

Challenge Rating: 3?

Treasure: None? (It was "nil" in 2e)

Advancement: By character class?

A lesser segarran stands 6 feet tall and weighs x pounds.

Lesser segarrans speak x.

 

[freyar]

Well, they're not quite as good as a 5th level NPC fighter, but could they be as high as CR 4?

I'd say speak Common (and Midani?). 200 lb. Advancement and treasure are good.

Here's the SQ:

Magic Form (Ex): Lesser segarrans are magical creatures, created from humans or baby crocodiles by a ritual carried out by clerics of Ragarra of at least 7th level. A true seeing spell reveals a lesser segarran's original form, and lesser segarrans return to their original form on death. In addition, a break enchantment spell will return a lesser segarran to its original form if the caster succeeds on a DC X caster level check.

(I'd say maybe DC 21-2, which is the DC for a 4th level spell plus the segarran's SR. But I'm not sure of the number; this should probably be pretty tough.)

 

[Big Mac]

I'm late joining in with this one. I'm loving your work, but have a few questions and comments.

It is a shame that the two types of Segarran didn't have different names, as they are essentially different things. The Lesser version is more like the hybrid stage of a lycanthrope, but the greater version works like a lycanthrope that changes at will (but can't turn into the animal).

The bat wings are a bit bizzare on a reptile (considering that bats are mammals). I would have thought that dragon-like wings would have been better.

The greater version definately changes as it "levels up". I don't think you are going to be able to do it with one set of stats.

Segarran, Lesser
<snip>
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
<snip>
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Fight and save as 5th-level warriors
<snip>

...and...

Lesser segarrans are usually created from devoted followers, but they also can he created from infant crocodiles using a spell granted only to Ragarra's priestesses. These lesser servants have average human intelligence and can communicate in Midani or any of the dead tongues of the Ruined Kingdoms.

Combat: Lesser segarrans fight using the tactics and weapons of 5th-level human warriors, though their supernatural strength lends them a +2 bonus on damage. If unarmed, they attack by biting for 2-16 (2d8) points of damage. All lesser segarrans have 10% magic resistance.

Hmm. There are two different ways to create these creatures, but both seem to work as a 5th level fighter. I suggest that we pair up one 5th level fighter (who worships Ragarra) with a baby crocodile to create two lesser segarrans.

Rather than have an advancement section for these beasties, maybe we could allow them to be created from 5th or higher level fighter.

Hmm. Sounds like I'm pushing this back towards a template. But maybe a Prestige Class (for any worshipers of Ragarra with a BAB of X) could do the job.

I wonder if the chaotic evil alignment is a requirement. With the 3rd edition rules clerics can be one step away from the alignment of their deity and worshipers can be further away than that. Maybe these guys are supposed to be Ragarra's version of paladins.

Segarran, Greater
<snip>
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
<snip>
MOVEMENT: 12 (as human), or 9, Sw 12 (Fl 18, D)
HIT DICE: 9+18
THAC0: As priest
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 (as human) or 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon type +6 or 3d6 (bite)/2d10 (tail)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 20%
SIZE: M (6' tall) or H (30' long)

...and...

Only Ragarra's most favored high-level priestesses become greater segarrans as a result of powerful magic. Once transformed, they retain their original human form. Furthermore, they can also assume a towering reptilian shape at will, with the transformation taking but a single round. This reptilian form depends on the personality or whim of the priestess, but usually includes at least the head and tail of a giant crocodile, At 16th level, a greater segarran's reptile form can also include a pair of giant bat wings, permitting her to fly at a rate of 18.

Combat: While in human form, Ragarra's chosen fight using the tactics, magical items, and weapons of priests, though their supernatural strength lends them a +6 bonus on damage. They never wear armor, though they may use magical Items (such as a ring of protection) to enhance their Armor Class.

Again we have willing people getting transformed. This time they are female clerics. I wonder if the warriors above are male or both male and female. Is there anything else that explains more about the culture?

As the abilities of the beastie improve as the cleric goes up in levels (wings at 16th level) I wonder if a Prestige Class might be a better way to handle this.

The 9 hit dice is a bit confusing. It would make mewonder if the Greater Segarran is created from a 9th level cleric, but lower down the text, we get told that they are created from 12th level clerics. So what happens to the other 3 hit dice? I thought the +18 was hit points Is the +18 actually another 18 hit dice? If it is 18 hit dice, then I'd say that the stats were for an 18th level cleric.

Segarrans are special minions of Ragarra, an ancient, evil goddess of the jungle, typhoons, and revenge, once openly worshipped in the Ruined Kingdoms.

Do we need to do a 3rd edition conversion of Ragarra (as a religion - not an avatar)?

Unless someone can find something else about this religion in the Kara-Tur product line, I'd say we can already work out some stuff about her and could cobble together a conversion to get the priestesses to work.

Ragarra seems to only allow female clerics, but has male servants (the warriors) who also serve her. I'd say we should assume that all clerics of Ragarra should refrain from wearing armor (unless we make that a requirement of the greater segarran). The religion seems to have dropped down from a big religion to a smaller cult, so maybe she should now be a lesser deity or a demigod.

Seeing as both of these monsters are listed as chaotic evil, I'd suggest that Ragarra should be CE herself.

I think we should consider if clerics who are NE or CN should be able to transform into Segarran without changing alignment (unless, as I said before, we want to make these creatures Ragarra's answer to paladins).

Ragarra, herself, should be able to take on crocodile form and crocs should be part of her "Portfolio".

Habitat/Society: Once, when the powers of Ragarra were great, even her lesser servants could assume human form and walk the city streets unnoticed; now they are limited to their half-reptile form.

I think this should somehow feature in the conversion. If the segarran can open some sort of doorway to Ragarra this ability should return. Alternatively we could offer it as an advancement option (especially if this monster got turned into a Prestige Class).

They are found primarily in the Ruined Kingdoms and Zakhara's earten jungles, but they sometimes can he encountered mingling with human society at night, when they can hide their monstrosity through careful disguise. More oftenn they are used as defenders for Ragarra's few shrines or as protectors for her chosen few.

Perhaps the Organization section of the Greater Segarran should include an escort of Lesser Segarran.

Ecology: All segarrans are voracious carnivores. Though they usually subsist on animal meat, they ritually devour their enemies' remains at the end of every battle. When slain, they return to their original (human or baby crocodile) form.

Looks like killing a segarran and using spells to bring them back from the dead would make them human. But as they go into this process willingly, I'm not sure they would want that to happen.

...and if my evil plan to turn these into Prestige Classes is suceessful, it would be a one way process. Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!

Although they retain most of their priest spells from before the transformation, greater segarrans cannot memorize the highest level spells to which they are normally allowed (for instance, a 13th-level priestess, while a greater segarran, cannot memorize or cast her 6th-level spells).

This is looking more and more like it should be a PrC to me.

Standard spellcasting rules allow a cleric (or any other spellcaster) to cast lower level spells in spell slots, so I'd say that a 13th level cleric (who gets 7th level spells in 3rd edition) should be able to use the 7th level slots for 6th level spells.

In her reptilian form, a greater segarran can attack with her massive jaws (3d6 points of damage) and swipe up to 3 opponents standing beside or behind her with her powerful tail (2d10 points of damage). At 16th level, a segarran's bat wings can also be used for two wing buffets instead of flight, each inflicting 2d6 points of damage. All victims of a tail swipe or wing buffet must save vs. paralyzation or be stunned for 1-4 rounds.

Would the tail affect flanking (i.e. can't be flanked)?

Should we swap the bat wings for dragon-like wings (to make them more reptillian)? If there is nothing in the blurb of Ruined Kingdoms that associates Ragarra with bats, I say we should make the swap.

Habitat/Society: In addition to the loss of her most powerful spell, a priestess of Ragarra must have a Wisdom of 17 and be at least 12th level to complete the exhausting ceremony that transforms her into a greater segarran.

If that isn't PrC requirements, I don't know what is!

In return for such power, the priestess must swear to undertake a difficult quest or perform a dangerous service for her goddess. Those few who disappoint Ragarra are punished with a painful demise and suffer an eternity of undeath.

Should we explain this quest or ritual? It sounds similar to the Test of High Sorcery that wizards in Dragonlance take to qualify as a Wizard of High Sorcery. Although wizards are arcane spellcasters, The Wizards of High Sorcery are ruled by three gods of magic, so if we are going to explain the ritual maybe we could look at The Test for inspiration.

In DL wizards who fail the test just die. The painful demise that leads to an eternity of undeath sounds a lot harsher.

I'd say this spell/quest/ritual thing is necromantic in nature. How about having a cleric willingly accept some sort of curse that kills them unless the suceed in a quest?

More details about the cult of Ragnarra can be found in Chapter Three of the Campaign Guide.

I think we might need some extracts from Chapter 3.

Ecology: Greater segarrans can easily infiltrate human society. The only clue to their monstrous nature is their craving for raw meat. They must eat the flesh of their fallen enemies as a tribute to Ragarra.

This could be a bit problematic if a cleric kills several creatures at one time or if they kill creatures known to be poisonous. Maybe this could be cut down a bit. Maybe they could just eat humanoid creatures who are enemies. Maybe they could just eat the hearts. Maybe they could just eat worshipers of religions opposed to Ragarra.

 

[Big Mac]

Monstrous humanoid, I guess? Also, I think at least the greater version, if not both, should be a template.

...and...

I'm thinking monster for lesser, template for greater.

I could see one or both of these done as PrCs.

And monstrous humanoid seems appropriate.

I'd say monstrous humanoid works for both. Do we need the shapechanger subtype? Even the lesser version is a "disabled shapechanger", so I wonder if it could have the shapechanger subtype too.

Yes to swim speed. Maybe hold breath as well?

I agree with the hold breath. Why not go the whole way and give them the crocodile's other abilities too? Improved grab (with their bite attack) and the skill check bonuses would help these creatures hide underwater, ambush people and drag them underwater.

If it looks like a croc, it should fight like a croc.

I'm trying to find details on Ragarra (to determine if she has a favored weapon). All I've found so far:

Ragarra: Goddess of the jungle and its violent denizens, passion, chaos and revenge

Hmm. Sounds like you have the portfolio sorted out (in case we want to convert the goddess). Have you found any cultural information that might explain what worshipers of Ragarra are like?

Sure! Is there some way to break the curse on them to restore them to their original form non-fatally?

I'm not sure this is a curse. It might technically be a curse, but not one that I think would want lifted. Both the fighters and the clerics seem to be willing participants.

That probably depends on how we want them to be created. We know that greater segarrans are created by 12th or higher level clerics, so lesser segarrans might be created by 7th or higher level clerics. In that case, maybe break enchantment with a CL check vs some reasonable DC could change a lesser segarran back. What do you think?

Hmm. I'm not sure that 12th level clerics actually create greater segarrans. They might count as the "material component", although I already said that I think a PrC is a better match.

I think that the process for Creating a Segarran is more complex than one spell.

Firstly we have the fact that lesser versions can be created using fighters (who worship Ragarra) or baby crocodiles. Second we have the fact that greater versions can be created using clerics. Third we have the fact that both types were once shapechangers (but the lesser type has now lost that power). Forthly we have the fact that the greater type involves a quest and an exausting ceremony. Finally we have the connection with necromancy and undeath (for the greater type).

That doesn't really look like monster creation to me. It looks more like creature transformation. I'm reminded of the Divine Disciple PrC (from FRCS) that works towards Transcendence from Humanoid form to Native Outsider form.

Well, they're not quite as good as a 5th level NPC fighter, but could they be as high as CR 4?

How about if they were a 5th level fighter who multiclassed as a crocodile? (Although, that doesn't cover the baby croc version. )

I'd say speak Common (and Midani?). 200 lb. Advancement and treasure are good.

I don't see advancement and treasure yet. I agree with them having both languages.

Here's the SQ:

Magic Form (Ex): Lesser segarrans are magical creatures, created from humans or baby crocodiles by a ritual carried out by clerics of Ragarra of at least 7th level. A true seeing spell reveals a lesser segarran's original form, and lesser segarrans return to their original form on death. In addition, a break enchantment spell will return a lesser segarran to its original form if the caster succeeds on a DC X caster level check.

(I'd say maybe DC 21-2, which is the DC for a 4th level spell plus the segarran's SR. But I'm not sure of the number; this should probably be pretty tough.)

I may have said before that I didn't think this was a curse, but I think that being able to reverse the process could be interesting.

If we say this is shapechanging magic and that people can temporarily reverse the process by doing X, then there would be a 50 percent chance that PCs would be facing a baby crocodile (that they could kill) and a 50 percent chance that they would be facing a 5th level fighter (who was a fanatical follower of Ragarra).

I think that running these as shapechangers and letting PCs reverse the segarran form would be fun, because the greater types could probably resume their altered form as a free action and the lesser types could be forced to fight in their original form for a period of time (X rounds, until they can get the spell dispelled, until the next morning or whatever).