Converting Creatures from Other Campaign Settings

[freyar]

Well, that's pretty easy. What do we need to do? Just description, flavor, and construction? CR seems ok.

 

[Cleon]

Well, that's pretty easy. What do we need to do? Just description, flavor, and construction? CR seems ok.

Yes, pretty much.

Any suggestions?

 

[freyar]

Let's start with the size, I guess. 30 ft tall, like a wooden juggernaut. They're like the wooden juggernaut but can fly, so I'd make them a bit lighter, like 15,000 lb? I'd be ok if you wanted to go with 20,000 lb like the wooden one and just say "magical flight" regarding the weight.

 

[Cleon]

Let's start with the size, I guess. 30 ft tall, like a wooden juggernaut. They're like the wooden juggernaut but can fly, so I'd make them a bit lighter, like 15,000 lb? I'd be ok if you wanted to go with 20,000 lb like the wooden one and just say "magical flight" regarding the weight.

Hmm… I go for making it even lighter. Maybe 10,000 pounds?

If we assume the standard Wooden Juggernaut is built from something like Oak or Teak or Mahogany (which have densities of 0.6 to 0.9 kg per litre, call it 0.75 on average) and the Winged Juggernaut uses a lot more lighter materials like Bamboo (0.3 to 0.4 kg/litre) or lighter woods like White Pine, Redwood or Spruce (0.45 to 0.5 kg/litre) it could easily weigh a lot less, especially if it has a thinner, bird-like frame with larger hollow spaces.

Anyhow, how's this for a start:

An enormous statue in the shape of a winged humanoid with clawed hands and feet. It is cunningly fashioned from leather and wood with metal reinforcements at the stronger joints.

Winged juggernauts are a new variant of the wooden juggernaut that are almost always used to create guardian juggernauts (see the guardian juggernaut template). They are relatively expensive and complicated to create, and the few communities that know the secret of their manufacture are reluctant to share them. Winged juggernauts may be far weaker than a true golem of the same size, but their ability to fly offers tactical options unavailable to most constructs.

A typical winged juggernaut stands 30 feet tall and weighs about 10,000 pounds.

COMBAT
These mindless constructs are incapable of developing tactics of their own, but fight according to whatever instructions their masters give them. They are often ordered to make dive attacks with their claws.

CONSTRUCTION
A winged juggernaut is crafted from 10,000 pounds of fine wood, 2,000 pounds of leather, and 500 pounds of steel or bronze with a total materials cost of 1,000 gp. [?]

Crafting and assembling the juggernaut requires a DC 14 Craft (leatherwork) or a DC 14 Craft (leatherwork) for the wings and body plus [?] a DC 14 Craft (armorsmithing) check for the metal reinforcements and joints.

CL 9th; Craft Construct, animate objects, fly, spiritual weapon, caster must be at least 9th level; Price 13,000 gp; Cost 7,000 gp + 480 XP. [?]

* * *

CONSTRUCTION
An enhanced winged guardian juggernaut is crafted from the same materials as the standard version. The materials must be of exceptional quality and cost 2,000 gp. An enhanced winged juggernaut with more than 4 Hit Dice can be created, but each additional Hit Die adds 1,000 gp to the market price. If this increases the size of the creature the price increases by 4,000 gp for a Gargantuan juggernaut and by an additional 7,000 gp for a Colossal one. The higher price includes the cost of the extra materials required to build a larger juggernaut, the total material cost is 4,000 gp for a Gargantuan winged juggernaut and 8,000 gp for a Colossal one.

Crafting and assembling the juggernaut requires a DC 16 Craft (leatherwork) or a DC 16 Craft (leatherwork) for the wings and body plus [?] a DC 16 Craft (armorsmithing) check for the metal reinforcements and joints.

CL 11th; Craft Construct, animate objects, fly, righteous might, spiritual weapon, caster must be at least 11th level; Price 25,000 gp; Cost 13,500 gp + 920 XP.

Gargantuan 11 HD Juggernaut: Price 36,000 gp; Cost 20,000 gp + 1,280 XP.
Colossal 20 HD Juggernaut: Price 52,000 gp; Cost 30,000 gp + 1,760 XP.

 

[Cleon]

I've noticed a minor issue with the Construction entries in the Wicker Juggernaut Working Draft.

Talking of "Carving and assembling the body" doesn't make much sense since you don't carve wicker, you weave it.

I'd either cut the first two words and make if "Assembling the body" or change it to "Weaving the body".

Which do you prefer?

 

[freyar]

Even lighter is fine, and it all looks great! The red question marks can all be removed, too.

Let's "weave" the wicker juggernaut.

Are these about done?

 

[Cleon]

Even lighter is fine, and it all looks great! The red question marks can all be removed, too.

Let's "weave" the wicker juggernaut.

Updating the Wicker Juggernaut Working Draft.

Updating the Winged Juggernaut Working Draft.

Oh, I fixed an error that slipped in. I meant it to be "DC Craft (carpentry) or a DC Craft (leatherwork) for the wings and body", not "DC Craft (leatherwork) or a DC Craft (leatherwork)".

Are these about done?

I think there's still a bit of work to do on the general template but the basic juggernauts look about done.

 

[freyar]

Agreed that the base constructs look pretty good. What do we still need to do on the template?

 

[Cleon]

Agreed that the base constructs look pretty good. What do we still need to do on the template?

Well we've still got placeholders for the description and backgrounds sections, but there's another issue I'd like to sort out first.

Basically, detailing various ways a guardian juggernaut can be animated/constructed.

The construction details we've worked out so far are for the basic juggernaut models that can be turned into a guardian juggernaut, not the actual guardian juggernaut.

The original version in Jakandor - Island of War (1998) was a temporary construct that only animated for a day produced by a special priest spell, create guardian, detailed below.

I suggest we offer rules for the following:

A spell that temporarily animates a guardian juggernaut as per the original approach. We could add a greater version for temporarily animating enhanced juggernauts with more HD or of larger size.

A magic item - maybe a "mask of the juggernaut" that allows the wearer to command a specific juggernaut construct it is linked to. Most likely, its wearer would be able to command the construct normally as its "master" (i.e. "crush that person") and is also able to pilot it as a guardian juggernaut per the template. There may be some duration or usage limit on how often the pilot function can be used.

We may want a series of such control items - the weakest might just allow a 1/month use of a create guardian spell on a linked "basic model" juggernaut. The strongest may allow unlimited piloting of an enhanced juggernaut.

I'd mention the possibility that some juggernauts have the control items built into a pilot's chamber inside them, so they are climbed into operator - cause we obviously have to have Giant Mecha in the game.

I also wondered about having something like a tent of the guardians magic item that allows the owner to cast the create guardian spell(s) with some appropriate usage restrictions but upon reflection that seems surplus to requirements.

Here's the original create guardian spell:

PRIEST SPELLS
FOURTH-LEVEL SPELLS

Create Guardian (Enchantment/Charm)
Sphere: Clan
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M
Duration: 1 day
Casting Time: 1 hr.
Area of Effect: 1 kinsman and 1 guardian juggernaut
Saving Throw: None

This is the spell used to animate a guardian juggernaut with the consciousness of a kinsman. Prior to the casting of this spell, the juggernaut must be constructed over a period of six months, and the clan ritual good will must be performed upon the building materials once a month.

When construction of the juggernaut (see Chapter Five) is completed, the preparations for the casting of this spell can begin. When the kinsman (who will become the helmsman of the juggernaut) has finished equipping the juggernaut with the items it will carry into battle, he enters the tent that will become the site of the circle of control with the wooden replicas of his equipment. At a command from the priest, the kinsman draws a 10-foot-radius circle in the dirt on the floor; this act, defining the circle of control, is how the casting of create guardian is begun.

Then the priest verbally summons the spirit of the guardian in a long invocation that establishes the connection between the helmsman and the totem. At the end of the casting time, the helmsman becomes able to operate the juggernaut from within the circle of control. The spell lasts for 24 hours or until the helmsman must sleep. If the link between the helmsman and the totem is broken but the helmsman does not leave the circle of control, the same priest who cast create guardian originally can reestablish the connection by performing the verbal components of the spell again. If a helmsman is disabled, a priest may create guardian again with another pilot, but the new helmsman will not have access to items carried by the juggernaut unless the ritual of drawing out the wooden replicas and replacing them with their real counterparts is performed.

 

[freyar]

Whew busy week at work, but I'm back!

I have to think about the magic item, so let's just start on the spell.

The main text of the spell is fine, so I think we can just revise it a bit. I guess we could quibble about some details, but I'm not too bothered. But the school doesn't seem right to me. It should be a Transmutation, I think. I'd probably give it a special sort of range to include the pilot and juggernaut.