Converting Al-Qadim creatures

[freyar]

I'll go there, but only if it stops at the normal hp max of the caster (ie, no temp hp beyond that). The original monster is very clear that "turban healing" has a high cost, so I definitely don't want to make it too good.

 

[Cleon]

I'll go there, but only if it stops at the normal hp max of the caster (ie, no temp hp beyond that). The original monster is very clear that "turban healing" has a high cost, so I definitely don't want to make it too good.

Sure, I'd be happy with that. The excess healing as temporary hit points was a bit of a kludge.

 

[Shade]

Wow! You guys are STILL on this ability?

This monster turned out to be a %*#&$! nightmare!

 

[Cleon]

Wow! You guys are STILL on this ability?

This monster turned out to be a %*#&$! nightmare!

Oh, did I mention we're going to make the sample creature wearing a Vizier's Turban a False Keraptis Transient Golem Vampire Wizard/Druid Mystic Theurge?

 

[freyar]

Wow! You guys are STILL on this ability?

This monster turned out to be a %*#&$! nightmare!

We're just arguing a bunch, but I'm sure you could help.

Oh, did I mention we're going to make the sample creature wearing a Vizier's Turban a False Keraptis Transient Golem Vampire Wizard/Druid Mystic Theurge?

Thank goodness we don't need a sample.

Ok, though I don't prefer it, can we agree on 1d8 healing (a la cure light wounds), one negative level that wears off after 24 hours automatically? Any penalty on the turban?

 

[Cleon]

We're just arguing a bunch, but I'm sure you could help.

We don't need help arguing, we're good enough at it already!

Thank goodness we don't need a sample.

Sometimes you're no fun at all...

Ok, though I don't prefer it, can we agree on 1d8 healing (a la cure light wounds), one negative level that wears off after 24 hours automatically? Any penalty on the turban?

Let's leave off any penalty to the turban. The original didn't penalize the turban did it?

Do we give the "cure light wounds" something like the +1 hp / CL the actual spell does. I would.

How's this:

Heal Host (Su): A vizier's turban with at least 2 ranks in its host bond (see Empower Host, above) can draw upon it's host's lifeforce to heal its host's wounds. The host is healed of 1d8 hit points plus 1 hit point per rank in the turban's host bond, but gains 1 temporary negative level. Note that the host does not suffer the normal -5 hit point penalty from the negative level (it's included in the healing). A vizier's turban can use heal host multiple times, but the number of negative levels it imposes must be lower than the host's current level or the turban's host bond rank. The host recovers these temporary negative levels at a rate of 1 level every 24 hours.

 

[freyar]

Well, in the original text, the turban loses hp to the host, only getting them returned once the host is back to full hp.

I just don't like having to put the bit about removing the hp penalty from the negative level. I think I'd prefer that the negative level only "kicks in" sometime later. The idea in the original monster is that the turban provides emergency healing, but it has to be paid back. How about this?

Heal Host (Su): A vizier's turban with at least 2 ranks in its host bond (see Empower Host, above) can draw upon it's host's lifeforce to heal its host's wounds. The host is healed of 1d8 hit points plus 1 hit point per rank in the turban's host bond. One hour later, the host gains a negative level. A vizier's turban can use heal host multiple times, but the number of negative levels it imposes must be lower than the host's current level or the turban's host bond rank. The host recovers these temporary negative levels at a rate of 1 level every 24 hours.

 

[Cleon]

Well, in the original text, the turban loses hp to the host, only getting them returned once the host is back to full hp.

I just don't like having to put the bit about removing the hp penalty from the negative level. I think I'd prefer that the negative level only "kicks in" sometime later. The idea in the original monster is that the turban provides emergency healing, but it has to be paid back. How about this?

Heal Host (Su): A vizier's turban with at least 2 ranks in its host bond (see Empower Host, above) can draw upon it's host's lifeforce to heal its host's wounds. The host is healed of 1d8 hit points plus 1 hit point per rank in the turban's host bond. One hour later, the host gains a negative level. A vizier's turban can use heal host multiple times, but the number of negative levels it imposes must be lower than the host's current level or the turban's host bond rank. The host recovers these temporary negative levels at a rate of 1 level every 24 hours.

Hmm, come to think of it, if we're giving the turban boosted hit points equal to a familiar (= half host's hp), then it would have enough hit points for us to do a "transfer hp" type healing.

To be honest, I'm going against the idea of using negative levels. Besides from being very fiddly to keep track of, the original turban didn't lower its host's level.

Let's recheck the original text...

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.

Hmm, so the cost is that the Wizard must repay the transferred hit points at the cost of damage that can only be healed naturally, plus a permanent cost of 1 hit point.

I still don't like the permanent HP cost, so I suggested an XP cost instead.

Heal Host (Su): In desperate circumstances, a vizier's turban can heal its host's wounds by transferring some of its own life force to its host. The turban sacrifices 1 hit point for every point of damage it heals, and it cannot reduce its own hit points to 1 or less when healing a host. The only way the turban can regain these sacrificed hit points is by the host returning them. The host can restore hit points to the turban at a 1:1 ratio by sacrificing X experience points per hit point damage they take. The damage a host takes restoring the turban's hit points can only be healed magically, no spell or supernatural agency can heal it. The host can restore as many hit points as they wish, but must restore at least 1 hit point every 24 hours. The host and turban are bonded together as long as the host "owes" the turban for healing. Until the debt is paid, the only way to remove the turban is to kill the host or destroy the turban. Destroying the turban does X damage to the host.

 

[freyar]

Uggh, now we are getting farther apart.

The original turban didn't lower its host's XP, either, and you're already doing that for the bonding. Hmmmm. Besides, this gets fiddly, too, like the restriction that you can't drop XP below the minimum for current character level. And the "debt bonding" seems a bit fiddly to me, too. Negative levels are at least a standard mechanic. We clearly need to think about this more.

 

[Number 6]

Perhaps this would be a good time to take a pause from the Vizier's Turban... if not to do a new monster, then to consider what's next on the agenda.