Converting Dark*Matter Creatures

[freyar]

So: 11 feats, 4 can be epic.

Bebelith has Cleave, Improved Initiative, Improved Grapple, Power Attack, Track, although it doesn't have the prereqs for Imp Grapple (!?!). How do we want to go from there?

 

[demiurge1138]

The MM gives Imp. Grapple to a number of creatures with natural attacks instead of Imp. Unarmed Strike. The hamatula is another example.

 

[Rappy]

The Kwevencha has Improved Damage Threshold and Iron Will, so if we combine those with the bebilith's feats we have 7 out of 11 feats. The obvious route would be to have the other four be epic as you said. How about Penetrate Damage Reduction (not sure what type) and Unholy Strike (and add smite good as a special quality) as two? Other suggestions would be good.

 

[freyar]

The MM gives Imp. Grapple to a number of creatures with natural attacks instead of Imp. Unarmed Strike. The hamatula is another example.

I wish there were a clear reading of whether natural attacks count as IUS or not, since that's come up a few times with CC conversions.

We'll need a D&D replacement for Imp Damage Threshold, I guess. Those two epic feats are ok, though let's note that Baal-phegor should be Evil subtype and therefore all attacks count as evil for penetrating DR. So maybe Unholy Strike wouldn't help. Hmmm.

 

[Rappy]

Hmm...maybe we shouldn't go all epic feats. We could try and work around that with some other feats like Awesome Blow added into the mix. Improved Damage Threshold is easily replaced with Diehard in D&D (since Imp. Damage Threshold is all about keeping on fighting instead of dying from a hard blow), although that requires adding in Endurance either way. Okay then...how's this feat list?

Awesome Blow, Cleave, Endurance, Epic Toughness (Bonus feat), Improved Bull Rush, Improved Damage Threshold (replaced by Diehard in D&D), Improved Initiative, Improved Grapple, Iron Will, Penetrate Damage Reduction (Adamantine? It seems to be a good choice if it should be tangling with other heavy-level epic creatures, some of which are packing around DR/adamantine), Power Attack.

 

[freyar]

Urk, slow servers ate my post! Let's replace Iron Will with Epic Will. Also, if Epic Toughness is really going to be a bonus feat, we have one more feat coming -- Superior Initiative? Adamantine is a fine choice for Penetrate DR, sure. I feel like there should be some better choice than Cleave, and I'm a little wary of Improved Grapple for the reasons given above. Ability Focus (poison) or Ability Focus (hellfire) would make a lot of sense to substitute one (or both) of those.

 

[Rappy]

Urk, slow servers ate my post! Let's replace Iron Will with Epic Will. Also, if Epic Toughness is really going to be a bonus feat, we have one more feat coming -- Superior Initiative? Adamantine is a fine choice for Penetrate DR, sure. I feel like there should be some better choice than Cleave, and I'm a little wary of Improved Grapple for the reasons given above. Ability Focus (poison) or Ability Focus (hellfire) would make a lot of sense to substitute one (or both) of those.

Sounds good.

Updated.

With those feats and some fluff added, it looks about finished. Unless there are any objections, we can finally move on.

 

[freyar]

Well, we still need a CR. I'm not so good at this level, but I'd guess in the 20ish range. Any thoughts?

We also might want to break out the change self SLA into alternate form or change shape like in 3.5. Or we could put that in the underbar.

 

[Rappy]

Duh, I forgot the CR!

Alternate form added, since d20 Modern doesn't have magic beyond 5th-level (excepting incantations).

CR...27, maybe? A calculator system I found listed them as 25 minimum without the SLAs, so I say that would be a fair note.

 

[freyar]

Here's something funny -- I found another Baalphegor, but she's not quite the same.

BTW, alternate form is usually broken out as an Su ability.

Let's compare to some Dukes of Hell we converted for 3.5: Amduscias, Malphas, Nergal. In particular, Nergal has about the same number of hp, similar melee damage output (perhaps better, depending whether you think vile and disease is nastier than poison or not), and a boatload of SLAs. So compared to D&D precedent, I'd have a hard time with Baal-phegor being more than CR 22. But you know modern and I don't -- are d20 modern characters weaker due to lower magic level? This is something we could change in the underbar, I guess.