Converting First Edition monsters from DRAGON magazine

[Shade]

When we pitched this creature to Dragon, we used the following query:

Colfel (Magical Beast, CR 6-10): A 6-foot-long, 3-foot-high at the shoulder quadruped with black, slimy, furless skin that appears very much like gangrenous flesh. Its eyes are midnight black with star-white pupils, and the nose is tipped by a pair of sharp prongs. A row of spikes runs down its knobby back. Colfels are native to the Negative Energy Plane. They are immune to cold, vulnerable to fire, and take damage from natural light and light-based spells. They can spear enemies with horns on a charge, and then claw/claw/bite. They have a low-level energy drain.

 

[freyar]

Looks like a good place to start. Magical Beast (Extraplanar), 7HD?

 

[Shade]

Sounds good. The thing somewhat resembles a beetle. For physical ability score comparisons, here are some similarly-sized beetles:

Giant Bombardier Beetle: Str 13, Dex 10, Con 14, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 9
Lesser Knell Beetle: Str 18, Dex 12, Con 18, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 11

High int translates to 13-14.

Maybe Str 15, Dex 11, Con 17, Int 13, Wis 11, Cha 13?

 

[freyar]

Looks reasonable. Standard energy drain dealing 1 negative level per melee touch (Cha-based Fort save after 24 hours) and 5 hp per negative level dealt?

 

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Saving throws as 21st-level magic-user

Grant it a racial bonus on all saving throws?

The colfel, a native of the Negative Material plane, has appeared on the Prime Material only rarely in the recent past, probably due to summonings by powerful magicians desiring greater and more powerful servants.

We'll want to include the summon monster level for these creatures.

Colfel usually attack first by charging into a melee and spearing with their horns. The second and subsequent attacks are claw/claw/bite routines.

Powerful charge ability (like triceratops)?

(Colfel consider brown mold excellent food, and if they find a patch they will nurture it carefully. There is a 5% chance on any encounter with colfel that a bed of brown mold will be nearby.)

Flavor text?

Colfel also have several weaknesses which, like their strengths, are related to their association with the Negative Material plane. In direct sunlight or its equivalent, they suffer 1 point of damage per round they are exposed. For this reason they venture out of doors only at night, and are always found underground or in the deepest, darkest jungles or forests.

Vulnerability to Sunlight (Ex): A colfel takes 1 point of damage per round of exposure to natural sunlight.

They take one and a half times normal damage from all kinds of fire.

That sure sounds like vulnerability to fire, eh?

Colfel also suffer damage directly from the following spells: light (3 hit points); continual light (6 HP); faerie fire (1 HP per level of caster); pyrotechnics, fireworks form (12 HP); dancing lights (1d4 HP); co/or spray (2d8 HP); prismatic spray (4d6HP additional damage); sunburst, as from a wand of illumination (6d6HP); and prismatic sphere (or wall) (1 HP per segment if within 10”). Each spell except the prismatic sphere or prismatic wall is absorbed and negated when a colfel enters its area of effect.

How about simplifying it to 1d6 points of damage per spell level from spells or effects with the light descriptor? Combine this with vulnerability to sunlight, above?

Proximity to normal fires is also damaging to these creatures; torches (2 HP each), lanterns (4 HP each), and bonfires (3d4 + 3 HP) are quenched and simultaneously injure a colfel when it approaches within 5 feet of one.

How's this?

Fire Antithesis (Ex?): If a colfel approaches within 5 feet of a nonmagical flame, the fire is immediately extinguished and the colfel suffers damage based upon the size category of the fire: Fine (1), Diminutive (1d2), Tiny (1d3), Small (1d4), Medium (1d6), Large (2d6), Huge (3d6), Gargantuan (4d6), Colossal (6d6).

 

[freyar]

Magic Resistance: I could see converting to SR, but I guess a racial bonus on all saving throws is reasonable. Do you think +2 or +4?

I'm not positive if they should have powerful charge or if that should just be a "tactics" issue. Let me think about it.

The rest sounds good, though Fire Antithesis should probably be Su, don't you think?

 

[Shade]

Yeah, fire antithesis should probably be Su.

+4 bonus on saves sounds good.

I combined and rewrote the various light vulnerabilities for clarity. How's it look?

Vulnerability to Light (Ex): A colfel takes 1 point of damage per round of exposure to natural sunlight. It also takes 1d6 points of damage per spell level from spells or effects with the light descriptor. It always suffer the greater amount of damage versus light spells that deal greater damage to certain creature types (such as searing light or sunburst).

I think they should also have this ability...

Negative Energy Affinity (Ex): A colfel is affected by cure spells and inflict spells as if it were an undead creature.

 

[freyar]

I like that. 3 skills at 10 ranks? Intimidate, Listen, and Spot? For feats, maybe Power Attack, Weapon Focus (claw), Improved Natural Attack (gore)? I'm open to suggestions, though.

 

[Shade]

I like the feats. Combining Improved Natural Attack with the powerful charge ability allows the gore attack to deal almost exactly what it was intended to deal.

Let's work in Tumble, too, since they seem to like to flank based on the original text.

Maybe Intimidate 10, Listen 5, Spot 5, Tumble 10.

We could replace Weapon Focus (claw) with Alertness if you'd like to improve Listen and Spot.

 

[freyar]

Tumble sounds good. I'm not so particular about Alertness vs Weapon Focus; I was just trying to think of good melee skills...