Converting Al-Qadim creatures

[freyar]

Wiz option it is. What do these need next?

 

[Cleon]

Wiz option it is.

Putting it all together it should look something like this. Does that meet your approval?

Empower Host (Su): A vizier's turban can boost a living host's magical abilities. These benefits are divided into 10 ranks. When a host first bonds with the turban they gain its 1st rank benefits. The host increases the benefits by 1 rank whenever it gains a level in a spellcaster class or sacrifices life-force to the vizier's turban to strengthen the bond, this sacrifice costs 1000 XP per (current) rank of benefits. A vizier's turban can not grant a rank higher than the arcane spellcasting level of its host.

The vizier's turban grants its host a spell resistance equal to 6 plus its benefit rank. In addition, the host gains a bonus arcane spell at each even rank, of a level equal to half the rank (e.g. a 1st level spell at rank 2, 2nd level at rank 4, etc). If the host is unable to cast spells of that level, they can use the bonus spell to cast a lower-level spell with metamagic feats that add up to the bonus spell level.

The vizier's turban feeds off its host life-force to power these benefits, imposing a penalty is -2 Con if the turban grants 1 to 6 benefit ranks and -4 Con for 7 to 10 ranks. The penalty lasts as long as the host wears the turban, if the turban is removed the penalty lingers for 1 day per rank benefit. A vizier's turban can not empower a host (or feed of their Con) if the host is immune to Constitution damage.

What do these need next?

They original monster could heal a host, but at a permanent cost of HP from their host. What (if anything) should we do to represent that?

 

[freyar]

Yes, that seems fine.

Hmm, the original has

If the vizier’s turban has more than 1 hit point left at any time that its host wizard is badly injured (i.e., reduced to half or less of his hit points total), it can return all but 1 of its hit points to its host. These regained hit points function just as if a healing spell had been used on the wizard and had restored that many hit points. Once the wizard is restored to full hit points, he or she must return these hit points to the symbiote. One hit point is always lost permanently in this exchange, reducing the wizard’s total by 1, so this exchange is not made frivolously. Furthermore, returning the hit points to his or her symbiote wounds the wizard for that many points of damage – damage that can only be healed magically. The 1 hit point lost in this exchange cannot be restored by any means short of a wish.

That's quite fiddly and seems like it has to do with temporarily reversing the penalty for using the ranks. So, maybe something like turning off the Con penalty for some price?

 

[Shade]

That's quite fiddly and seems like it has to do with temporarily reversing the penalty for using the ranks. So, maybe something like turning off the Con penalty for some price?

Sweet merciful aberrant ancestors YES! This thing is already among the fiddliest of the fiddlies.

 

[Cleon]

Yes, that seems fine.

Hmm, the original has

That's quite fiddly and seems like it has to do with temporarily reversing the penalty for using the ranks. So, maybe something like turning off the Con penalty for some price?

I'd rather it just provide hit points healing with a daily limit, like a Paladin Lay on Hands, but with a cost of somekind.

Experience points I suppose, but it ought to be pretty expensive compared to standard healing items like potions or wands.

 

[freyar]

What about temporary hp at the cost of a day-long negative level when the temp hp wear off?

 

[Cleon]

What about temporary hp at the cost of a day-long negative level when the temp hp wear off?

I would like it to be true healing rather than temporary hit points, but I like the idea of the temporary negative levels. I'd allow it to be cumulative. (i.e. it can heal a host twice, but the host is -2 levels, recovering 1 level per day).

Although I'd be happy to allow "excess healing" to become temporary hit points.

 

[freyar]

This is a good plan, including excess as temporary. The only question is how much healing? The original returns the hp it borrows from the host, but it doesn't have its own HD to begin with. What do you think? Do we need to figure out how this thing gets hp?

 

[Cleon]

This is a good plan, including excess as temporary. The only question is how much healing? The original returns the hp it borrows from the host, but it doesn't have its own HD to begin with. What do you think? Do we need to figure out how this thing gets hp?

Ugh, I have an ill-boding that this is going to take a long time to agree on.

I suppose we could let it take Con damage or temporary negative levels itself when it heals a host.

Do we want it to gain HD as it gains ranks? Presumably minimum HD = rank. While I guess it makes sense that it requires a more powerful (i.e. higher HD) turban to offer more potent benefits, can we be bothered with it?

 

[freyar]

I'd be happy with just assigning it some number of HD and being done with it. We can give it some penalty when healing the host if we like. You know, we don't have even a basic write-up for these. Would it help to get a basic statblock written down?