Converting First Edition monsters from DRAGON magazine

[BOZ]

maybe it could be similar to the effect from the confusion spell, except that you attack each other every round?

 

[Shade]

That sounds like a good mechanic.

 

[BOZ]

i decided to keep it simple and just rework the power slightly like this:

Discord (Sp): Once per day, an utukku can cause all creatures within 60 feet to immediately fall to loud bickering and arguing, allowing them to take no other actions. If affected creatures are of different alignments, there is a 50% probability that they attack each other. The bickering lasts for 5d4 rounds, any fighting for 2d4 rounds. A successful Will save (DC X) negates the effect. This is a mind-affecting, compulsion effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

-How do we want to work this: "Utukku are immune to any sort of mental probing, such as ESP and telepathy."

let's see, this is the closest i could find:

Immunities (Ex): A golden ammonite's alien thought processes render it immune to all magical and psionic mind-influencing effects, detections, and illusions.

 

[Shade]

i decided to keep it simple and just rework the power slightly like this:

Discord (Sp): Once per day, an utukku can cause all creatures within 60 feet to immediately fall to loud bickering and arguing, allowing them to take no other actions. If affected creatures are of different alignments, there is a 50% probability that they attack each other. The bickering lasts for 5d4 rounds, any fighting for 2d4 rounds. A successful Will save (DC X) negates the effect. This is a mind-affecting, compulsion effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

That'll work!

let's see, this is the closest i could find:

Immunities (Ex): A golden ammonite's alien thought processes render it immune to all magical and psionic mind-influencing effects, detections, and illusions.

Maybe we could rewrite it a bit to avoid the "alien thought process" bit? Perhaps "An utukku's powerful mental capabilities..." instead?

Also, I almost missed it, but the utukku has psionic abilities. Any ideas on how they should work? I know very little about either 1E or 3E psionics.

 

[BOZ]

/me casts "summon (psi)severed head"

how about:
Iron Mind (Ex): An utukku is immune to all magical and psionic mind-affecting divination effects, including telepathy.

 

[Shade]

Great name! That should work.

 

[BOZ]

hey, i can't access the Wizards boards at work... anyone feel like going into the PsiHB forum and advertising the utukku in this thread?

 

[Shade]

Done.

http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=155845

 

[BOZ]

somehow i was able to open that link. that's certainly cool. usually they block anything from the WotC site.

 

[DarkTouch]

There was a fairly significant paradigm shift between 1st Edition and 2nd Edition psionics. You'll notice that while the utukku has psionic abilities, it doesn't have any disciplines. This was fairly common in 1st edition where the main thrust of having psionics was the ability to engadge in psionic combat. Having other abilities was just a perk, not the point.

As of 2nd edition's psionics handbook a psionicist was much more like a spellcaster, although they were really more like having feats.. not quite so flashy as spells but still useful. 3E shifted psionics all the way over to the spell paradigm.

Honestly, most 1st Ed. Demons were psionic to one level or another. The utukku seems not much more powerful that way than most other demons.. I would probably drop it. Immunity to [Mind-Affecting] effects should be enough to cover the immunity to psionic Telepathy.

Two options you might consider:
1. Add in a toned down version of the Mind Flayer's Mind Blast to replicate a psionic attack form.

2. The names of the Psionic attack and defense modes having changed since 1st ed. The BE / FH line refers to specific attack and defense modes the creature has. I don't know them off the top of my head though. You could just give it those 4 combat modes available at will.


One final thing to keep in mind is that Psionics aren't 3.5 yet. The 3.5 Psionics book should be coming out in about 3 months and anything that I suggest here might well be subject to change then.