Converting Al-Qadim creatures

[Shade]

Let's go with Bloodroot. Updated.

 

[Shade]

Pasari-Niml, Warrior
Climate/Terrain: Any
Frequency: Uncommon
Organization: Squad
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Special
Intelligence: Average (8-10)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Lawful evil
No. Appearing: 3-12
Armor Class: 4
Movement: 12, Br 3
Hit Dice: 1
THAC0: 19
No. of Attacks: 2
Damage/Attack: 1-2 or by weapon
Special Attacks: Fear aura, burrowing
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: T (4-6”)
Morale: Elite (14)
XP Value: 270

Pasari-Niml, Noble
Climate/Terrain: Any
Frequency: Rare
Organization: Squad
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Special
Intelligence: Very (11-12)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Lawful evil
No. Appearing: 1-2
Armor Class: 4
Movement: 12, Br 3
Hit Dice: 2
THAC0: 19
No. of Attacks: 2
Damage/Attack: 1-3 or by weapon
Special Attacks: Fear aura, burrowing
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: T (6-8”)
Morale: Fanatic (18)
XP Value: 420

Pasari-Niml, Calipha
Climate/Terrain: Any
Frequency: Very Rare
Organization: Colony
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Carnivore
Intelligence: Very (11-12)
Treasure: R,Q×2,S
Alignment: Lawful evil
No. Appearing 1
Armor Class:10
Movement: 1
Hit Dice: 3-6
THAC0: 3-4 HD: 17
5-6 HD: 15
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 1
Special Attacks: Fear aura
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: 25%
Size: T-S (1-4’)
Morale: Unsteady (5)
XP Value: 3 HD: 270
4 HD: 420
5 HD: 650
6 HD: 975

Pasari-nimal (sometimes called mants) are horrid, tool-using, insectoid predators. They appear to be very large black ants with human heads. A pasari-niml’s head has pointed ears, bulging eyes, and a long face distorted by malevolence and evil. The skin on the head is wrinkled and brown. It has six legs, two of which can wield weapons or tools.

Combat: Upon first seeing a pasari-niml, creatures with hit dice equal to or less than that of the pasari-niml seen must roll a saving throw vs. spell. Those failing are frozen in place until attacked. Those who succeed flee at their top movement rate for 1-3 rounds. Creatures of higher hit dice must roll a successful saving throw vs. spell or flee at their top movement rate for 1-2 rounds.

Pasari-nimal always travel in squads of both warriors and nobles. They attack in an organized manner, directed by the nobles, who are in constant mental contact with the colony’s calipha (queen). When a squad sights potential prey, the nobles send a few warriors to test the opponents, analyzing their attacks and defenses. The entire squad then attacks in concert.

Several climb onto a victim, and as many as eight can attack a single man-sized creature. The pasari-nimal burrow rapidly under and around well-armored individuals, creating a pitfall in one round. When the ground collapses, a victim must roll a successful saving throw vs. paralyzation or be trapped in 1 to 3 feet of dirt. A trapped enemy is attacked by several burrowing pasari-nimal. The pasari-nimal cut and pry at armor to make a hole, which takes 1-2 rounds. Afterward, a single pasari-niml attacks the vulnerable area at each hole.

If a squad faces dangerous or numerous opponents, they call for reinforcements; 1d4 additional squads arrive in 1d4+1 rounds. If necessary, the mants pull back and wait.

All warriors and nobles carry two darts and a small knife. Most pasari-nimal also carry tools, such as pry bars and awls.

Pasari-nimal are immune to all spells of the charm or enchantment schools.

Habitat/Society: Pasari-nimal live in large colonies containing 6d4×10 warriors, 1d20+20 nobles, and a calipha. They often live under human cities, burrowing in the ground and in walls of houses, sending out raiding parties at night. In the wild, warriors and nobles dig a burrow for their calipha and then construct an ever more elaborate palace above it. At any time, 1d4 squads patrol the outer reaches of the colony.

The calipha keeps a selama of nobles and reproduces rapidly, each day laying as many eggs as she has Hit Dice. Eggs hatch in three weeks; and approximately one in eight produces a noble. Once a year, a 6-HD calipha can produce a calipha egg. The egg hatches in three weeks, and a squad carries the new calipha several miles away and starts a new colony.

Pasari-nimal worship their calipha, performing rituals and carving her face into burrow and castle walls.

Pasari-nimal stay in contact through telepathy that is generated and received by their antennae only. The telepathy can be used within 1 mile of the calipha.

Ecology: Pasari-nimal are disruptive to a local ecosystem, preying on any animal or monster. Warriors and nobles bring food to the calipha, who digests and regurgitates some of it to feed them. If the calipha dies, the lesser pasari-nimal die in 1-2 days. If all the warriors and nobles die, the calipha can last three days per Hit Die, during which time new warriors or nobles may hatch.

Only very sturdy predators prey on warrior or noble mants.

Calipha
A calipha exists to eat, receive worship, and reproduce. She has a beautiful, if small, female human head with long tresses and large, feathery antennae. Unfortunately, this spark of beauty is situated on an ugly, mottled, wormlike body.

The calipha has only a weak bite to defend herself, and her legs are small and weak. She cannot use tools, and she moves by wriggling. A queen grows 1 HD and 1 foot per year.

Originally appeared in City of Delights (1993).

 

[Cleon]

Let's go with Bloodroot. Updated.

Looks finished. (at long last!)

Pasari-Niml

Oof.

Tiny Aberrations with high Dex and Weapon Finesse for a decent melee attack?

Sure I've seen something very like that burrowing attack. Some kind of "Dirt Devil" monster that pulls its victims into a hole.

If I can't find it we can modify the "Pull-Down" SA I came up with for my Snow Wasset conversion:

Pull-Down (Ex)
A snow wasset can drag a single grappled victim no larger than itself into the snow as a standard action provided it is free to move by burrowing. This requires a standard action and a successful grapple check, which must also beat the grapple checks of any other participants in the grapple. The snow wasset get a +4 bonus on its grapple check to pull a pinned opponent into the snow, but only if no one else is involved in the grapple. If the pull-down succeeds the snow wasset breaks the hold(s) of any other creatures grappling it, since only the chosen victim is pulled under, the other creatures being left upon the surface.

The snow wasset does not necessarily pull the victim completely under the snow, but they are deep enough that the snow wasset has total cover and total concealment against any other opponents on the surface. The wasset has cover and concealment against its snow-buried victim, giving the wasset +4 AC and the victim a 20% miss chance. The confined quarters of the snow-pit the victim is in means they can only wield light slashing or piercing weapons.

The victim, or their allies, can attempt to pull the victim out of the snow using the rules for moving in a grapple.

 

[Number 6]

That Pitfall ability game me some trouble... but I like the looks of Cleon's Pull Down.

(Oooh-er... that sounds a bit rude.)

 

[Cleon]

That Pitfall ability game me some trouble... but I like the looks of Cleon's Pull Down.

(Oooh-er... that sounds a bit rude.)

Flatterer.

So, apart from changing "wasset" to "pasari-niml" and "snow" to "ground", what do we need to do to modify the ability?

Methinks it should use a Reflex save instead of a grapple check, since they're opening a pitfall beneath a victim rather than dragging them under like a Wasset does.

Change the Special Attack's name to "Bury" or "Pitfall"?

 

[freyar]

Something like the ant lion from the Pathfinder Bonus Bestiary would probably work nicely, too, but sped up (I think this may be from the ToH originally):

Sand Trap (Ex)

A giant ant lion can create a 60-foot-diameter trap in any sand or soft earth surface (see below). Creating a sand trap takes 1 hour. A giant ant lion can make an attack of opportunity against any creature that falls to the bottom of its sand trap. These creatures can move across sand traps at their normal speed and are immune to these traps effects.
Ant Lion Sand Trap CR —
Type mechanical; Perception DC 15; Disable Device —
Effects
Trigger location; Reset manual
Effect 20-ft.-deep, 60-ft.-diameter sand trap (creatures slide to the bottom and take no damage); DC 15 Reflex avoids; climbing out of the sand trap requires a DC 20 Climb check.

 

[Cleon]

Something like the ant lion from the Pathfinder Bonus Bestiary would probably work nicely, too, but sped up (I think this may be from the ToH originally):

That doesn't seem that good a fit. It's not a passive trap/hazard, but an active attack by the pasari.

 

[Shade]

Change the Special Attack's name to "Bury" or "Pitfall"?

I vastly prefer the latter in this case.

 

[Cleon]

I vastly prefer the latter in this case.

That's fine by me, modifying Pull-Down give us something like this:

Pitfall (Ex): Pasari-nimal can drag opponents underground by opening a pitfall underneath them. This requires a standard action by the pasari-nimal, who must be free to move by burrowing. If the target succeeds at a DC X Reflex save they will not fall into the pitfall. A single pasari-nimal can create a pitfall big enough for an opponent of Tiny size or smaller; it takes 2 pasari-nimal to create a pitfall for a Small-sized opponent, 4 for a Medium-sized opponent and 16 for a Large-sized opponent. Pasari-nimal are too small to create a pitfall for Huge-sized or larger opponents as a standard action special attack, although they can still excavate standard pit traps for such big creatures.

A pasari-nimal's pitfall collapses as soon as it is created, trapping the opponent in the hole. The pitfall is deep enough that the pasari-nimal has total cover and total concealment against any other opponents on the surface. The pasari-nimal have cover and concealment against its buried victim, giving the pasari-nimal +4 AC and the victim a 20% miss chance. The confined quarters of the pit the victim is in means they can only wield light slashing or piercing weapons. If the victim has a burrow speed they can move and fight normally by burrowing.

The buried victim, or their allies, can attempt to drag the victim from the ground with a DC Y Strength check, or the buried victim can wiggle free with a DC Z Escape Artist check. The pasari-nimal can try to prevent the victim leaving the pit by grappling or other means. The save DCs are Dex-based? and include a +A racial bonus for the Strength and Escape Artist DCs?

 

[Shade]

Lookin' good. I'm leaning toward Str-based for the check and save DCs. Rather than a flat racial bonus, how about a scaling circumstance bonus based upon the number of pasari-niml participating?