Converting Greyhawk monsters

[Cleon]

Nah, I wouldn't go for that unless you both really want it.

Shall we leave this issue on the back burner until we hear from Shade then.

Is there anything else about them we need to figure out?

 

[freyar]

I'd go with CR 10, since I'm not sure it's so much better than a bebelith. Then again, a retreiver is CR 11 and pretty much only has the eye rays going for it.

Are we sticking with gems only for the treasure?

 

[Cleon]

I'd go with CR 10, since I'm not sure it's so much better than a bebelith. Then again, a retreiver is CR 11 and pretty much only has the eye rays going for it.

Challenge Rating 10 is OK by me, I suppose.

Oh, and a Retriever is definitely over-CR'd.

Are we sticking with gems only for the treasure?

We'd agreed on standard coins, standard items, triple goods (gems only), hadn't we?

 

[Cleon]

Might as well update the Working Draft.

 

[freyar]

That treasure is good, so let's drop the ? marks. Do you have a feeling for description, flavor, or tactics?

 

[Cleon]

That treasure is good, so let's drop the ? marks. Do you have a feeling for description, flavor, or tactics?

I'm thinking we should keep it simple, since we have very little information in the original text.

Maybe recycle some of the Mimic flavour, since it occupies a similar niche in the dungeon ecology?

 

[freyar]

That's a good idea, but the standard mimic doesn't have much (that's OGC anyway).

Just noticed: there's still a xorn in all-around vision.

Tactics: Aurotyughs rely on their disguise as a pile of treasure to attract victims, lashing out at surprised adventurers with their tentacles. Once its ability to soften armor makes its opponents vulnerable, an aurotyugh grapples them and begins to gnaw.

 

[Cleon]

That's a good idea, but the standard mimic doesn't have much (that's OGC anyway).

Just noticed: there's still a xorn in all-around vision.

I'm sure I already fixed that.

Oh well, I'll update the Working Draft.

Tactics: Aurotyughs rely on their disguise as a pile of treasure to attract victims, lashing out at surprised adventurers with their tentacles. Once its ability to soften armor makes its opponents vulnerable, an aurotyugh grapples them and begins to gnaw.

I feel that could be improved with a bit of rewording. How about...

Aurotyughs disguise themselves as piles of treasure to attract victims, lashing out at surprised adventurers with their tentacles. An aurotyugh grapples its opponents, uses its ability to soften armor to make them more vulnerable, then begins to gnaw.

What happens if an aurotyugh is losing a fight? There's nothing to indicate its general tactics. Do we leave it up to the DM, since the original monster has no information, or assume it sometimes tries to bribe its foes like the AD&D neo-otyugh?

Either "An outmatched aurotyugh will fight to the death rather than flee, but may offer treasure to bribe it enemies into sparing its life."

Or "An aurotyugh will stubbornly fight to the death rather than flee."

 

[freyar]

Your revision to tactics is fine, and I prefer the bribery option when it's losing. More role-playing opportunity. And anything that gets PCs to interact with otyughs is a good thing. Speaking of which, do aurotyughs enjoy waste as much as normal otyughs? We should figure that out. I say yes: it sits on top of its "true treasure" of filth to hide it from victims.

 

[Echohawk]

It is encountered close to "human remains" in the original text, so it obviously doesn't mind being fairly near decaying matter. I agree with giving it the same filth enjoyment as its kin.