Converting Al-Qadim and Oriental Adventures creatures

[Cleon]

It looks like a variant wight with a variation on the following ability...

Beguiling Song (Su): A rusalka can attempt to beguile creatures with its song. The rusalka sings, targeting a single creature it can see within 300 feet of her body of water (see water symbiosis, below). This is a sonic, mind-affecting ability, and the creature must be able to hear the rusalka for it to take effect. The targeted creature must make a DC 17 Will saving throw. If the save is successful, that creature cannot be affected by that rusalka's song for one day.*SNIP*

They remind me more of a Vampire with the claws and teeth of a ghoul - the life-feeding, charm, immunity to non-magical weapons and human appearance all say "Vampire" to me

I'm not seeing where the beguiling song comes from, it just looks like a standard charm to me. They may entice victims with their charm power, but there's no mention of it being a harpy-like song, and how would it allow them to convince people to find & bury their remains?

Despite them having some vampire-like traits I would prefer to do them as a base creature rather than a template.

Anyway, these things look pretty straightforward.

They're 9 HD Medium Undead, pretty obviously.

I'm thinking they are not incorporeal, despite having their remains separate from their bodies and becoming Wraiths if they don't feed enough. They're in a bit of a grey area, corporeality wise.

A Ghast's ability scores strike me as good fit:

Ghast: Str 17, Dex 17, Con -, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 16. Natural Armour +4.

An AD&D Ghast has AC4, just like an Amiq Rasol, so I wouldn't fiddle with the NA to make its 3E armour class exactly match AC16.

These things are fast (18" swim 9"), so Speed: 40 ft., swim 20 ft.

Two 1d4 claws and a 1d6 bite.

Their SA/SQs don't look very complicated.

+2 weapons to hit
-> DR 10/magic and silver, like a vampire? Maybe bump it up to DR 15, since vampires only need +1 weapons to hit in AD&D.

Beguilement
-> I'd just make it a 3/day charm with a long range.

Living Appearance
-> A permanent alter self type effect? I don't think it's a glamer like disguise self. There's no mention that anti-illusion spells counter it.

Energy Drain
-> 1 negative level per bite, with a note about them wraithifying if they starve.

 

[Shade]

It looks like most of what you suggested matches what we've got in Homebrews, so I think we're basically on the same page.

I like your recommended DR 10/magic and silver better than just /magic.

I kind of fancy the less standard beguile rather than plain ol' charm. What do the rest of you think about the charm?

For the living appearance, either of those approaches could work, or simply a bonus on supernatural bonus on Disguise checks (thwarted by true seeing).

 

[demiurge1138]

If it can be seen through with true seeing, why not go for the disguise self?

 

[Cleon]

If it can be seen through with true seeing, why not go for the disguise self?

Well disguise self just a lot easier to see - they still feel, smell and sound like a walking corpse, touching them gives you a save to detect the imposture, a detect illusion would make you suspicious.

I think alter self is a better fit to the description.

Oh, and I still like Vampire-style beguilement 3/day.

 

[Shade]

The problem with alter self, is "You assume the form of a creature of the same type as your normal form." That allows them to impersonate other undead, but not the living.

My idea of just giving them a racial bonus on Disguise checks won't work, either, since true seeing doesn't penetrate mundane disguises.

So that leaves disguise self, which allows the Will save for interaction. I don't see a "detect illusion" spell. Is there a lesser spell that allows you to see through illusions in 3.5?

How about something like this?

Living Disguise (Su): An amiq rasol is continually affected by a disguise self effect to appear as a living creature. This grants it a +10 bonus on Disguise checks to appear as a living creature. A creature that interacts with the amiq rasol may make a DC X Will save to recognize that the amiq rasol is undead, but does not dispel the illusion nor reveal its true appearance. Only a true seeing effect can see the amiq rasol's true appearance. The save DC is Charisma-based.

 

[freyar]

I'm a bit torn about the beguiling, but I think it's ok.

Living Disguise works for me.

 

[demiurge1138]

Living disguise looks good. And I prefer beguilement to charm.

 

[Shade]

Updated.

It looks like 2 for beguile, 1 for charm, 1 undecided, so the beguile's have it...for now.

Amiq rasol can be turned as vampires, except in the actual place of their death, where they cannot be turned at all.

+4 turn resistance and turn immunity within x feet of the place of its death?

A raise dead spell will slay an amiq rasol permanently, and a resurrection spell will restore the being to life. If slain by other magics or by weapons, it reconstitutes and forms another body within 24 hours.

Rejuvenation, like a ghost?

Habitat/Society: Amiq rasol are found only near the site of their deaths. They are not tied to the exact spot, particularly if they died at sea, but are always found on islands or on the sea coast near the actual site.

Whenever an amiq rasol travels more than 100 miles from its place of death, however, it fades away and returns to the spot of its demise. They are partly creatures of the Negative Material Plane and must therefore maintain some contact with it through their habitat.

Something akin to the dryad's tree dependence?

 

[demiurge1138]

Rejuvenation and a tweaked tree dependence both sound sensible to me.

 

[Shade]

How's this?

Death Site Dependent (Su): An amiq rasol is mystically bound to the site of its demise. If it ever strays more than 100 miles from it, it is immediately returned to the spot of its death, as if a word of recall had been used. An amiq rasol gains turn immunity while at its death site.

Rejuvenation (Su): An amiq rasol cannot be permanetly destroyed through simple combat: The “destroyed” spirit will restore itself in 24 hours. Even the most powerful spells are usually only temporary solutions. An amiq rasol that would otherwise be destroyed returns to its old haunts with a successful level check (1d20 + amiq rasol's HD) against DC 16. As a rule, the only way to get rid of an amiq rasol for sure is to locate its remains and give them a proper burial.