Converting Epic Level Beings

[freyar]

I think so!

 

[Shade]

Ilsidahur (Demon Lord)
Freq: Unique
# App: 1
AC: -3
Move: 12"/15"
HP: 131
% in Lair: 55%
Treasure Type: 0, P, R, X
# Att: 5
Dmg/Att: 2-8/2-8/1-10/1-4/1-6
SA: See below
SD: +1 or better weapon to hit; see below
MR: 60%
Int: Genius
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Size: L (8' tall)
Psionics: Nil

Ilsidahur is a demon lord notable mostly for his meddling on the Prime Material plane in ages past. His principal servants are the bar-lgura, and his special lieutenants are Type IV demons. Ilsidahur cannot be called to this Prime Material plane by the utterance of his name, because of enchantments worked by the magician Tselibor. This restriction does not apply to alternate worlds, however, where he continues to spread chaos among mankind.

This demon has the following powers, usable once per round at will, at the 16th level of use unless noted otherwise: animate dead monsters (ape skeletons and zombies only), darkness 20' radius, detect illusion, detect invisiblity, dispel magic, entangle, hallucinatory terrain, levitate, permanent illusion, plant growth, polymorph self, spectral force, telekinesis (2,500 lbs.), teleport without error, and tongues. Ilsidahur may gate in 1-4 bar-lgura (60%) or 1-2 Type IV demons (40%) with a 75% chance of success, in lieu of any other activity for one round. His piercing scream causes fear (per the spell) in all within hearing range (or within one mile outdoors).

Ilsidahur appears as an ape with a ram's spiral horns (of bronze color) and a pink, hairless tail. He attacks with two claws, a bite, his whiplike tail, and his horns (butting, not goring). He is particularly fond of items fashioned of bronze -- and the tast of demi-human flesh.

Originally appeared in Dungeon Magazine #10 (1988).

 

[Shade]

For starters, using the ol' "divide by 4.5" rule of thumb for unique beings, his HD would end up at 29. This would put him at around CR 23 when compared to other unique demons.

Per Fiendish Codex, we know some additional information:

• Called "the Howling King"
• Rules the 90th layer of the Abyss called the Guttering Grove.
• "The Screaming Jungle: Near the city of Lemoriax, the Screaming Jungle meets an immense inland bog populated by troglodytes, lizardfolk, hezrou demons, and the few yuan-ti cultists who manage to survive the natural hazards of the layer. Farther into the interior, the ground hardens and the canopy grows dangerously lush, casting the land in deep shadows. Here enormous dinosaurs battle for territory with dire apes and bar-lguras. A lost plateau deep in the mainland is said to hold a two-way portal to the Guttering Grove, the 90th layer of the Abyss and the realm of Ilsidahur, patron of the bar-lgura. The forest is named for the constantly keening fiendish monkeys, lemurs, and apes that dwell below its leafy canopy."

And from the Demonomicon featuring Demogorgon:

"And one must not discount feral Ilsidahur, the demon lord of the simian bar-lguras, who guards the landward approach to Gaping Maw. Ilsidahur once aided Demogorgon in reopening the Shining Vortex of Mesnar, a portal that once connected the Abyssal woodlands of Morathkian with the Olympian Glades of Arborea, one of many portals used eons ago by the eladrin court to invade the Abyss and finish the job against the obyriths that the Wind Dukes of Aaqa started. Demogorgon and Ilsidahur managed to cause a fair amount of devastation there before their armies clashed with those of Gwynharwyf, an eladrin paragon. Although she pushed them back through the Shining Vortex of Mesnar, Gwynharwyf herself was forced to remain on the Abyssal side to ensure its permanent closing, and was soon thereafter captured by Demogorgon and Ilsidahur. Only the fact that the two demon lords wasted days arguing over how best to desecrate, torture, and ultimately slay Gwynharwyf granted Morwel the time she needed to mount a daring rescue of her missing consort. Ever since, Demogorgon's relations with Ilsidahur have grown strained, and lately the other demon lord has been wracking his mind on how to repair the damage before Demogorgon decides to invade the Guttering Grove and seize it for his own."

 

[Shroomy]

What would the stats of a 29-HD bar-lgura look like?

 

[Shade]

Like so...

Large Outsider (Chaotic, Evil, Extraplanar, Tanar'ri)
Hit Dice: 29d8+174 (304 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares), climb 20 ft.
Armor Class: 23 (+3 Dex, +10 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 20
Base Attack/Grapple: +29/+43
Attack: Claw +38 melee (1d8+6)
Full Attack: 2 claws +38 melee (1d8+6) and bite +33 melee (1d8+3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Abduction, pounce, spell-like abilities, summon tanar'ri
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/cold iron or good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to electricity and poison, resistance to acid 10, cold 10, fire 10, spell resistance 28, telepathy 100 ft., tanar'ri traits
Saves: Fort +20, Ref +17, Will +16
Abilities: Str 30, Dex 17, Con 23, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 12 plus 6 increases
Skills: 288
Feats: Dodge, Mobility, Run, 7 more
Environment: Infinite Layers of the Abyss
Organization: See text
Challenge Rating: 17
Treasure: x
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: -
Level Adjustment: -


This might provide a baseline. We should look at other comparable demon lords for ability score arrays and so forth.

 

[freyar]

Well, we need to do something to bump the CR a bit... Are any of his SLAs particularly powerful?

 

[Shade]

Well, we need to do something to bump the CR a bit... Are any of his SLAs particularly powerful?

This demon has the following powers, usable once per round at will, at the 16th level of use unless noted otherwise: animate dead monsters (ape skeletons and zombies only), darkness 20' radius, detect illusion, detect invisiblity, dispel magic, entangle, hallucinatory terrain, levitate, permanent illusion, plant growth, polymorph self, spectral force, telekinesis (2,500 lbs.), teleport without error, and tongues. Ilsidahur may gate in 1-4 bar-lgura (60%) or 1-2 Type IV demons (40%) with a 75% chance of success, in lieu of any other activity for one round. His piercing scream causes fear (per the spell) in all within hearing range (or within one mile outdoors).

James Jacobs demon lord "template" in the last print Dragon suggests all demon lords have...

Spell-Like Abilities: (Caster level 15th)
At will—astral projection, blasphemy, desecrate, detect good, detect law, greater dispel magic, greater teleport, plane shift, shapechange, telekinesis, unhallow, unholy aura, unholy blight;
3/day—any one symbol.

Each demon lord also possess two additional at-will spell-like abilities, two additional 3/day abilities, and two additional 1/day abilities. These additional spell-like abilities should be chosen to match the demon lord's "theme".

A demon lord's base caster level for spell-like abilities ranges from CL 20th to 25th, based on the demon lord's overall CR (starting at CL 20th and adding +1 to its CL for every 3 points its CR exceeds 18, to a maximum of CL 25th at CR 33).

 

[freyar]

Man, I keep getting logged out and then losing my posts... My thoughts on this were to keep the SLA's from James Jacobs's list and add deeper darkness & entangle (at will), some sort of animate dead & plant growth (3/day), and permanent illusion & telekinetic sphere (1/day). Thoughts?

 

[Shade]

I did a mockup in Homebrews using our advanced bar-lgura, James Jacobs' demon lord template, and ability score comparisons to other demon lords.

I gave it the true seeing ability common to many greater demons and demon lords to replace the detect illusion and detect invisiblity spell-like abilities.

I like your other SLA suggestions, although I think this...

animate dead monsters (ape skeletons and zombies only)

...might make an interesting supernatural ability. Perhaps an aura that animates any dead simian creatures?

We'll also need to add something for this...

His piercing scream causes fear (per the spell) in all within hearing range (or within one mile outdoors).

Perhaps we can use the great roar of the agta as inspiration.

 

[freyar]

I'd agree with the aura for animating dead simians. Then we can give him an extra SLA. More in a bit...