Converting Al-Qadim creatures

[Cleon]

How's this?

Feather Garment (Su): All bird maidens possess an enchanted feather garment which allows them to assume bird form (see Bird Shape, above), low-light vision, damage reduction, and evasion. Should another creature steal this garment, a bird maiden is unable to attack them unless the thief attacks the bird maiden first (as per the affect of the sanctuary spell). Furthermore, the silkie has a -4 penalty to resist all Charisma-based skills and saves against enchantment spells performed by the garment-thief.

If a bird maiden's feather garment is destroyed, the bird maiden dies.

Looks a good start. I'm inclined to drop the penalty to Cha-skills and enchantments, as there's nothing like it in the original.

The mention of evasion needs tweaking as only more experienced maidens have it.

Finally, I'd like a bit more info in the "destroying the garment kills the maiden" bit.

How hard is it to destroy the garment?
Presumably it can't be damaged while the maiden wears it (like a symbiont) and only has a few hit points with no hardness when seperated. I'd suspect it's also rather flammable.

How quickly does the maiden die?
Is it immediate, at the end of the round, gradual (Con damage per round or a constantly increasing Fort save vs death?)

What happens if they're raised or ressurected?
My guess is a raise dead returns to life but without the Bird Maiden template. We could have high-powered magic (wish? true resurrection?) restore the garment and return them to life as Bird Maidens.

...which rather begs the question as to how they gain this template in the first place.

 

[freyar]

Aren't they given the template by a ceremony presided over by senior bird maidens at the end of their training?

Here's some info:

3. The power of a bird maiden resides in a shawl, veil, or other significant object of clothing that is made of feathers. This object is given to her at the end of her initial training. If she ever loses it, she loses all her powers as kahina and shapechanger until she recovers it. Unscrupulous men have been known to come into the possession of a bird maiden’s feathered garment, and with the creature helpless, have forced her into marriage.

4. Destruction of the feathered token of the bird maiden always results in the creature’s death with no hope whatsoever of resurrection.

I'd actually say it sounds like there is some kind of Cha penalty, or at least a penalty vs intimidation.

How about this revision?

Feather Garment (Su): All bird maidens possess an enchanted feather garment which allows them to assume bird form (see Bird Shape, above), low-light vision, damage reduction, and evasion (if the bird maiden possesses it from the template). Should another creature steal this garment, a bird maiden is unable to attack them unless the thief attacks the bird maiden first (as per the affect of the sanctuary spell). Furthermore, the silkie has a -4 penalty to resist all Charisma-based skills and saves against enchantment spells performed by the garment-thief.

If a bird maiden's feather garment is destroyed (X hp, no hardness, takes double damage from fire), the bird maiden dies at the end of that round. A bird maiden killed in this way cannot be returned from the dead by any means short of divine intervention.

 

[Cleon]

Aren't they given the template by a ceremony presided over by senior bird maidens at the end of their training?

If I remember the source material correctly, they get the feather garments from a Temple run by Aarakocra.

Let's check...

Rumors tell of a great wooden fortress among the clouds of the high hills, called the Crown of All Feathers, where young bird maidens are taught the rituals and duties of kahinas by the Aarakocra.

So, they get clerical training from Aarakocra, but there's nothing about were there feathered garment comes from.

The Dragon ecology article has this to add:

8. The place of training for bird maidens is said to be a place called the Crown of All Feathers. It is supposedly a great wooden fortress concealed among the clouds in high hills or mountains. There aarakocra teach the rituals, duties, and abilities of the bird maidens. It is rumored that a very special genie of enormous power guards this place and uses powerful illusions to keep it safe from the curious and unsavory. All bird maidens know where this place is, but no sort of magical compulsion or physical abuse can pry the location from them.

The Swanway entry's not any help about how they get their version of the garment. It just says the Swanmays' sorority is extremely secretive, lives in communal "lodges", and only accepts humans by invitation only.

 

[Cleon]

Here's some info:

I'd actually say it sounds like there is some kind of Cha penalty, or at least a penalty vs intimidation.

How about this revision?

The Dragon article says they lose all their clerical powers (A "kahina" is an Al-Qadim cleric class) if they lose their feathered garment and will die if the garment is destroyed. Power of life-or-death would seem to be enough for an evil shawl-napper to extort obedience.

I did consider suggesting adding a proviso that any harmful spell cast on the shawl will affect the Bird Maiden regardless of distance. What do you think of that idea?

Not keen on it being impossible to return a shawl-destroyed Bird Maiden to life "by any means short of divine intervention". I'd rather we use a similar rule to Outsiders or Elementals, e.g.:

Spells that restore souls to their bodies, such as raise dead, reincarnate, and resurrection, don’t work on a bird maiden whose feather garment has been destroyed. It takes a different magical effect, such as limited wish, wish, miracle, or true resurrection, to restore it to life, which also recreates the maiden's feather garment.

 

[freyar]

Well, ok, aarakocra do the training, but it still seems like the garment must come along with that.

How about a compromise? No penalty vs Cha-based stuff but also divine intervention required to resurrect? I could go either way on the "spooky action at a distance" attacks on the garment.

 

[Cleon]

Well, ok, aarakocra do the training, but it still seems like the garment must come along with that.

How about a compromise? No penalty vs Cha-based stuff but also divine intervention required to resurrect? I could go either way on the "spooky action at a distance" attacks on the garment.

If forced to compromise, I'd rather do it the other way round - let wish/miracle/true resurrection return them to life and give them a penalty vs. certain attacks from someone who's stolen their feather garment (maybe Will and Cha-based).

 

[freyar]

Well, how about this? I could drop the penalty vs Cha-based skills perhaps, but I'm now leaning against casting spells on the garment and having them affect the bird maiden.

Feather Garment (Su): All bird maidens possess an enchanted feather garment which allows them to assume bird form (see Bird Shape, above), low-light vision, damage reduction, and evasion (if the bird maiden possesses it from the template). Should another creature steal this garment, a bird maiden is unable to attack them unless the thief attacks the bird maiden first (as per the affect of the sanctuary spell). Furthermore, the bird maiden has a -4 penalty to resist all Charisma-based skills and saves against enchantment spells performed by the garment-thief.

If a bird maiden's feather garment is destroyed (X hp, no hardness, takes double damage from fire), the bird maiden dies at the end of that round. Spells that restore souls to their bodies, such as raise dead, reincarnate, and resurrection, don’t work on a bird maiden whose feather garment has been destroyed. It takes a different magical effect, such as limited wish, wish, miracle, or true resurrection, to restore it to life, which also recreates the maiden's feather garment.

 

[Cleon]

Well, how about this? I could drop the penalty vs Cha-based skills perhaps, but I'm now leaning against casting spells on the garment and having them affect the bird maiden.

Feather Garment (Su): All bird maidens possess an enchanted feather garment which allows them to assume bird form (see Bird Shape, above), low-light vision, damage reduction, and evasion (if the bird maiden possesses it from the template). Should another creature steal this garment, a bird maiden is unable to attack them unless the thief attacks the bird maiden first (as per the affect of the sanctuary spell). Furthermore, the bird maiden has a -4 penalty to resist all Charisma-based skills and saves against enchantment spells performed by the garment-thief.

If a bird maiden's feather garment is destroyed (X hp, no hardness, takes double damage from fire), the bird maiden dies at the end of that round. Spells that restore souls to their bodies, such as raise dead, reincarnate, and resurrection, don’t work on a bird maiden whose feather garment has been destroyed. It takes a different magical effect, such as limited wish, wish, miracle, or true resurrection, to restore it to life, which also recreates the maiden's feather garment.

I'm still against adding the sanctuary effect. There's nothing like that in the original material.

So how about:

Feather Garment (Su): All bird maidens possess an enchanted feather garment which grants them all the other special qualities of this template (bird shape, low-light vision, damage reduction, and possibly evasion). Should another creature steal this garment, the garment-thief gains a +4 bonus when using Charisma-based skills and attacks with Will-based saving throw DCs against the bird maiden.

While a bird maiden wears her feather garment, it cannot be damaged by any form of attack, but should the maiden doff the garment it can be attacked normally. If the feathered garment is destroyed (X hp, no hardness, takes double damage from fire), the bird maiden automatically dies at the end of that round. Spells that restore souls to their bodies, such as raise dead, reincarnate, and resurrection, don't work on a bird maiden whose feather garment has been destroyed. It takes a different magical effect, such as limited wish, wish, miracle, or true resurrection, to restore it to life, which also recreates the maiden's feather garment.

 

[freyar]

Mmmm. I like it all except for the "cannot be damaged at all if worn" bit. How about it takes damage as a magic item if worn (ie, only on saving throw roll of 1)?

 

[Cleon]

Mmmm. I like it all except for the "cannot be damaged at all if worn" bit. How about it takes damage as a magic item if worn (ie, only on saving throw roll of 1)?

Well the original description makes no mention of attackers being able to target a worn feather garment, so I didn't see the need to invent an additional vulnerability. Especially as the feather garment has so few HPs that making it susceptible to damage while worn would significantly increases the Bird Maidens vulnerability.

You might be able to persuade me that some of the rules of a 3E symbiont apply:

Symbiont Traits: While attached to a host, a symbiont acts on its host's turn each round, regardless of its own initiative modifier. It is not flat-footed unless its host is, and it is aware of any danger its host is aware of. If clearly visible, opponents can attack the symbiont instead of the host creature. This works the same way as attacking an object. The symbiont gains the benefit of the host's Dexterity modifier to AC instead of its own, and gains any deflection bonus to AC the host has as well. Its own size modifier and natural armor bonus apply. Attacking a symbiont instead of its host provokes an attack of opportunity from the host.

A symbiont never takes damage from attacks directed at the host. Like a worn magic item, a symbiont is usually unaffected by spells that damage the host, but if the host rolls a 1 on its saving throw, the symbiont is one of the "items" that can be affected by the spell. A symbiont uses its host's base saving throw bonuses if they are better than its own.

Any spell the host creature casts on itself automatically also affects the symbiont. Additionally, the host may cast a spell with a target of "You" on the symbiont instead of on itself. The symbiont may do likewise with any spell or spell-like ability it uses. The host and symbiont can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the host's or the symbiont's type. Spells targeted on the host by another spellcaster do not affect the symbiont, and vice versa.

Care to try convincing me?

Come to think of it, the previous "skin wearer" shapeshifters we've done - the Loup du Noir and Silkie - did not include any rules about how or whether the skin could be targeted/damaged while worn, so we could just leave it out in the same manner.