Converting "generic setting" Second Edition monsters

[Cleon]

Hmm...I suppose the question is whether they are created individually or as a set...

Finishing up some other loose ends...

Organization: Solitary or wall (2–x)

Advancement: x

A tomb warden is 5 feet tall and weighs around x pounds.

I'm wondering whether these fellows aren't CR8. They're about as tough as Flesh Golems, but their rejuvenation, fast healing and ability to hide in a wall and avoid ranged fire would make them harder to kill.

As for their construction it looks like they're created as a set, all linked to the same Heart.

The example given is of a wall with 4 sections, so we could say that's an average value and have the "Wall" range from half that to double that.

Organization: Solitary or wall (2–8)

For Advancement I'd go for around 100-150%, 150-300% HD:

Advancement: 12-15 HD (Medium), 16-33 HD (Large)

Weightwise, a regular Stone Golem scaled down to 5 foot would weigh 342 pounds but I imagine Tomb Wardens would be a lot stockier - they are modelled on dwarves, after all.

Going by the SRD height and weights of dwarves and humans I reckon a dwarf-shaped golem ought to weigh between 100-150% more than a human-shaped one of the same height, or about 700-850 pounds for a 5-foot Stone Golem.

So, 5 feet tall and 700 pounds weight?

EDIT: Hold on, I just noticed the original description says "Most tomb wardens have at least four sections, but could have many more.", meaning the 4-section wall is a minimum, not an average. How about expanding the organization a bit to something like:

Organization: Solitary, buttress (2-4) or wall (4-24)

 

[freyar]

I'd drop solitary from org, since every one should be accompanied by a heart.

Organization: Buttress (2-4 plus 1 tomb warden heart) or wall (4-24 plus 1 tomb warden heart)

or whatever we end up calling the heart precisely.

 

[Shade]

Updated.

Since the numbers of tomb wardens in a "set" can vary, they probably need individual construction rules after all. We'll just have to note that the heart needs to be created first.

How about calling the heart a "Tombheart"?

 

[freyar]

Tombheart is fine with me!

I think we're going with CR 8.

I'm thinking we can steal some construction from the stone golem, but decrease the cost and price. Leaving some things undetermined for now...

Construction

A tomb warden’s body is chiseled from a single block of hard stone, such as granite, weighing at least 1500 pounds. The stone must be of exceptional quality, and costs X gp. Assembling the body requires a DC X Craft (sculpting) check or a DC X Craft (stonemasonry) check.

CL X; Craft Construct, passwall, dispel magic, geas/quest, caster must be at least X level; Price X gp; Cost X gp + X XP.

 

[Cleon]

Tombheart is fine with me!

I think we're going with CR 8.

I'm thinking we can steal some construction from the stone golem, but decrease the cost and price. Leaving some things undetermined for now...

Construction

A tomb warden’s body is chiseled from a single block of hard stone, such as granite, weighing at least 1500 pounds. The stone must be of exceptional quality, and costs X gp. Assembling the body requires a DC X Craft (sculpting) check or a DC X Craft (stonemasonry) check.

CL X; Craft Construct, passwall, dispel magic, geas/quest, caster must be at least X level; Price X gp; Cost X gp + X XP.

I would prefer meld into stone over passwall. It matches their ability to walk through stone better since they don't leave passages behind them and it's a cleric spell, and the flavour text indicates these Golems are made by dwarf priests. How about using greater dispel magic instead of the dispel magic, since their dispelling blows are at least a +11 dispel check?

Caster level 10th?

Shall we use the DM's friend DC 15 for the Craft checks?

30,000 gp seems a fair price. They're about as tough as a Flesh Golem (20,000) as far as their AC and damage goes, but they've got more useful powers. We should also allow for the cost of the wall that the Tomb Wardens are part of.

So, putting it all together I get something like:

Construction
A tomb warden's body is chiseled from a single block of hard stone, such as granite, weighing at least 1500 pounds, and then built into a 5 ft. square stone wall. This stonework must be of exceptional quality, costing at least 1,500 gp. Each additional 5 ft. square of wall increases the cost by another 500 gp. Assembling the body and wall requires a DC 15 Craft (sculpting) check or a DC 15 Craft (stonemasonry) check.

CL 10; Craft Construct, geas/quest, greater dispel magic, meld into stone, caster must be at least 10th level; Price 30,000 gp; Cost 15,750 gp + 1,140 XP.

 

[Shade]

That looks pretty good!

 

[freyar]

Agreed, I like that a lot, including spell changes!

 

[Shade]

Updated.

Should we add "creator must be a dwarf" to the prereqs?

 

[freyar]

Yes, I think I like that requirement. Nicely flavorful.

 

[Shade]

Shall we move onto the tombheart?

A tomb warden has a crystalline heart buried within some portion of the construct. The heart has 25 hit points for each section in the original creature; for example, a tomb warden with four sections has a heart with 100 hit points. Attacking the heart requires digging through solid stone or some magical effect that can expose it. If disturbed, the heart produces four stony tentacles, each 5 feet long and capable of striking once a round, for 2d8 points of damage per blow. If the heart is destroyed, all the construct's sections stop functioning within 3d6 turns.

Some quick thoughts:

Should this be Medium?

Since it's crystalline, rather than stone, I'd recommend different vulnerabilities. Sonic and shatter seem no-brainers. A few others are spelled out:

Transmute mud to rock heals all damage to any section (including the heart) in the area of effect.

Disintegrate renders one section inert for 1d6 rounds and causes 1d12 points of damage. If directed at the heart, a disintegrate spell inflicts 2d12 points of damage but has no other effect.

Passwall makes an opening in the wall containing a tomb warden. Nearby figures can attack creatures entering the passage. A passwall spell cast in the right area exposes a tomb warden's heart to attack.