Converting First Edition Monsters

[Casimir Liber]

Good move (on taking a chill on the kindred) and yeah I'll see what you come up with with Mandie-bear and go from there.

There are no troglodydtes on Open Game Content and Dnd Beyond only has a hefy Champion of Laogzed as a well-buffed monster (CR 3 HP 59 (7d8 +28) here

I found a 3HD one on homebrew with only a few errors.

My rationale is that when I use DNDbeyond to make encounters, it's good if they are just tehre as needed with no mods needed. Also thinking about biology (tangent coming here), warm blooded critters (mammals, birds, dinosaurs) grow to a size, reach it at sexual maturity and then remain at roughly that size, wherreas cold-blooded critters (fish, other reptiles) can often keep growing so there can be considerable size variation, hence I am liking idea of making larger ones (though none were recorded as anything but size M in 1e...unlike sahuagin). Anyway, am just doing one 4HD leader type, which is very useful for me presentyl and I hope for some others

So I've whipped up a 4HD leader here

 

[Cleon]

So I've whipped up a 4HD leader here

I'm getting "Page Not Found" for that link.

In happier news, I've finished the Acid Archer.

 

[Cleon]

Pedipalp, Giant (Acid Archer)
Small beast, unaligned
Armor Class 13
Hit Points 9 (2d6 + 2)
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.

STR​	DEX​	CON​	INT​	WIS​	CHA​
11 (+0)​	16 (+3)​	12 (+1)​	3 (−4)​	12 (+1)​	3 (−4)​

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +5
Damage Resistances acid, poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages —
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2

Spider Climb. The acid archer can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.

Actions

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d8) bludgeoning damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 10). The acid archer can grapple only one target at a time.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit (with Advantage if target grappled), reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing damage.

Acid Squirt (Recharge 4-6). Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 40/120 ft., one target. Hit: 2d6 acid damage and the target must make a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw, failure results in blindness for 1d6 rounds, on a success the target is only blinded for 1 round and takes half damage. Acid archers are immune to this attack.


Description
Also called acid-shooting vinegaroons, acid archer pedipalps were not created by nature but by the drow magically combining multiple different arachnids. An acid archer giant pedipalp resembles a slender long-legged giant schizomid with a body up to 4 feet long. It has eight eyes like a jumping spider, including two binocular-like eyes in the front of its head. Like a normal schizomid, its segmented abdomen ends in a short tail and can curl over its body like a scorpion. Acid archer pedipalps have the same love of darkness and humidity as the amblypygids, uropygids and schizomids they are descended from.

An acid archer has abdominal glands near its tail able to shoot a jet of corrosive fluid powerful enough to dissolve flesh and corrode bone. The fumes from this fluid are so irritating they cause temporary blindness. Although the drow incorporated scorpions and spiders in their ancestry, acid archers do not have venomous fangs or a sting. They prefer to use their acid spray from a distance, then dash into melee once their opponent is blinded and wounded.

Unlike most arachnids, acid archers are social creatures who often hunt in packs. Many drow enclaves keep tame acid-shooting giant vinegaroons as watchbugs and hunting beasts' these are trained to identify drow elves as being other acid archers, so will only attack dark elves they were raised with if the acid archer is so starved it resorts to cannibalism. Wild populations of these giant pedipalps live in the underdark, jungles and tropical forests, descendants of feral acid archers who escaped drow control.

Acid archers can be any color possible for an arachnid, including white, black, tan or brown, green, blue and red. The drow delighted in creating "show breeds" of acid archer and a dark elf spidermaster can identify what clan or house an acid archer belongs to from its coloration and pattern, whether it's as colorful as a peacock or ghostly white. A feral population of acid archers can vary wildly in appearance from one another, but wild acid-shooting vinegaroons will have camouflage colors that match their surroundings.

(Inspired by the Giant Pedipalps from Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits (1980) by Gary Gygax and David C. Sutherland III, the original author was Sutherland)

 

[Casimir Liber]

I'm getting "Page Not Found" for that link.

In happier news, I've finished the Acid Archer.

I forgot....I haven't published it. Got distracted...

 

[Casimir Liber]

Acid archer looks good!

grammatical error in " acid archers do not have venomous sting or fangs."

"Escaped acid archers form wild populations" --> "Escaped acid archers form feral populations"

could also give them a colour scheme ....for us lazy DMs

 

[Cleon]

grammatical error in " acid archers do not have venomous sting or fangs."

I fiddled around with that sentence a lot, the original version was "acid archers are not venomous and lack a scorpion's sting or a spider's fangs" but the grammar got kludged up when I compacted the sentence.

I've changed it to "acid archers do not have venomous fangs or a sting" which is what I was aiming for.

"Escaped acid archers form wild populations" --> "Escaped acid archers form feral populations"

I prefer "wild populations" since I was imagining some populations are "fully wild" like, say, a dingo (which may be descended from the domestic dog but is not considered "feral").

Although, that "escaped" start implies recently turned feral, as does the "bred" bit…

Better tweak that paragraph.

Unlike most arachnids, acid archers are social creatures who often hunt in packs. They are bred to identify drow elves as being other acid archers, so will only attack dark elves they were raised with if the acid archer is so starved it resorts to cannibalism. Many drow enclaves keep trained acid-shooting giant vinegaroons as watchbugs and hunting beasts. Escaped acid archers form wild populations in the underdark, jungles and tropical forests. Acid archer pedipalps have the same love of darkness and humidity as the amblypygids, uropygids and schizomids they are descended from.

[move to 1st paragraph] Acid archer pedipalps have the same love of darkness and humidity as the amblypygids, uropygids and schizomids they are descended from.

Unlike most arachnids, acid archers are social creatures who often hunt in packs. Many drow enclaves keep tame acid-shooting giant vinegaroons as watchbugs and hunting beasts' these are trained to identify drow elves as being other acid archers, so will only attack dark elves they were raised with if the acid archer is so starved it resorts to cannibalism. Wild populations of these giant pedipalps live in the underdark, jungles and tropical forests, descendants of feral acid archers who escaped drow control.

 

[Cleon]

could also give them a colour scheme ....for us lazy DMs

Use your imagination!

Since you insist, I'll add.

Acid archers can be any color possible for an arachnid, including white, black, tan or brown, green, blue and red. The drow delighted in creating "show breeds" of acid archer and a dark elf spidermaster can identify what clan or house an acid archer belongs to from its coloration and pattern, whether it's as colorful as a peacock or ghostly white. A feral population of acid archers can vary wildly in appearance from one another, but wild acid-shooting vinegaroons will have camouflage colors that match their surroundings.

 

[Cleon]

I forgot....I haven't published it. Got distracted...

Why has it got a CON lower than a regular Troglodyte's 14 (+2) especially when its Hit Points indicate a +4 CON modifier?

Shouldn't it be proficient in Stealth like a regular Trog?

Giving it a Greatclub seems a bit pointless as it does way better damage with Multiattack (3d4+9 vs 1d8+3). More than twice as much in fact.

Finally, I like the giant dart the old Troglodytes used and feel it could benefit from a ranged weapon.

I think I'll have a go at my own version(s)…

 

[Casimir Liber]

Use your imagination!

Since you insist, I'll add.

Acid archers can be any color possible for an arachnid, including white, black, tan or brown, green, blue and red. The drow delighted in creating "show breeds" of acid archer and a dark elf spidermaster can identify what clan or house an acid archer belongs to from its coloration and pattern, whether it's as colorful as a peacock or ghostly white. A feral population of acid archers can vary wildly in appearance from one another, but wild acid-shooting vinegaroons will have camouflage colors that match their surroundings.

Brilliant - ultimately it gives flavour and allows a DM to pick it up and describe it vividly to players in 2 seconds.

Goig to bed in a sec. CON was a glitch - used gnoll template when creating as for some annoying reason would not let me use troglodyte monster as a template...weird..go for thy life

 

[Cleon]

Troglodyte Guard
Medium humanoid (troglodyte), chaotic evil
Armor Class 12 (natural armor)
Hit Points 26 (4d8 + 8)
Speed 30 ft.

STR​	DEX​	CON​	INT​	WIS​	CHA​
16 (+3)​	12 (+1)​	14 (+2)​	6 (−2)​	12 (+1)​	8 (−1)​

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +3
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Troglodyte
Challenge 1 (200 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2

Chameleon Skin. The troglodyte has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide.

Stench. Any creature other than a troglodyte that starts its turn within 5 feet of the troglodyte must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the start of the creature's next turn. On a successful saving throw, the creature is immune to the stench of all troglodytes for 1 hour.

Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the troglodyte has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Actions

Multiattack. The troglodyte makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) slashing damage.

Cave Dart. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d10 + 5) piercing damage.

Alarm Stink. A troglodyte guard can release a powerful stench as a free action. Any creature other than a troglodyte that starts its turn within 20 feet of the guard must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns. On a successful saving throw, the creature gains temporary immunity to the stink attacks of all troglodytes with the same or fewer Hit Dice than the troglodyte guard. This immunity lasts until 1 hour after the encounter ends.

The alarm stink alerts any nearby troglodytes and can convey one simple word's worth of information (such as "intruders!", "food!" or "DRAGON!!"). In still air other troglodytes can smell it from 80 feet away, but wind currents can increase or decrease this distance.


Description
Troglodyte guards are elite warriors who lead small bands of normal troglodytes or act as bodyguards to the tribe's leaders.

They are easily identified by the weapon they carry; the troglodyte cave dart. Made from wood, bone and stone these missile weapons are heavy and fragile, more akin to a harpoon or massive javelin than a dart. Like arrows, they usually break once they make a ranged attack and must be repaired or replaced once used. A guard typically carries 1d4 + 2 cave darts in a crude quiver or bandolier.