Converting Greyhawk monsters

[freyar]

Yes, that would work. We could borrow text from here:

Marshall Undead (Su): Once a day, a bone tyrant master can call undead to gather towards it. This is resolved like a use of the tyrant's Subjugate Undead ability (see below). Marshal Undead can affect any undead within 20 miles of the master, except for other bone tyrants, and does not require line of effect or line of sight. The marshaled undead count towards the Hit Dice limit of the bone tyrant's Subjugate Undead ability.

Affected undead start walking towards the bone tyrant master, taking the most direct route available. A marshaled undead will try to move around or break through obstacles, and will attack creatures that threaten or obstruct them. If the Subjugate Undead check had a "rebuke" result, the undead will walk towards the master for 1 hour and then revert to normal behavior; undead marshaled by a "command" result will keep walking until they are destroyed or the bone tyrant master instructs them to stop (either in person or via a bone tyrant minion).

 

[Cleon]

Yes, that would work. We could borrow text from here:

Hold on a mo, that ability is build on the Bone Tyrant's ability to Subjugate undead, said power being based on an evil cleric's power to Rebuke Undead.

Are you implying we should give the Master Scorpion a "Rebuke Scorpions" ability to cover their "mastery" of fellow chelicerates?

 

[freyar]

Well, I was thinking of the other text, so I'd simplify to a Will save, I guess. Or we could borrow from the harpy, maybe.

Or just make it automatic.

 

[Cleon]

Well, I was thinking of the other text, so I'd simplify to a Will save, I guess. Or we could borrow from the harpy, maybe.

Or just make it automatic.

Why don't you post a proposed SQ and we'll proceed from that.

 

[freyar]

Hmmmm. I don't have a good ability name, but how about something like this?

Call Scorpions (Su): Once per day, a master scorpion can generate a psychic call to all scorpions within a 20 mile (??) radius. All scorpions, monstrous scorpions, and monarch scorpions in the affected area start walking towards the master scorpion, taking the most direct route available. A called scorpion will try to move around or break through obstacles, and will attack creatures that threaten or obstruct them. A master scorpion can have at most X HD of scorpion-kind called (???)

Pretty basic and gives automatic success.

 

[Cleon]

Hmmmm. I don't have a good ability name, but how about something like this?

Call Scorpions (Su): Once per day, a master scorpion can generate a psychic call to all scorpions within a 20 mile (??) radius. All scorpions, monstrous scorpions, and monarch scorpions in the affected area start walking towards the master scorpion, taking the most direct route available. A called scorpion will try to move around or break through obstacles, and will attack creatures that threaten or obstruct them. A master scorpion can have at most X HD of scorpion-kind called (???)

Pretty basic and gives automatic success.

Hmm… I'd be more inclined to make it a continuous power than one the master scorpion has to make an action to use.

As for the name, I was going to go for "Attract Scorpions". I'd avoid using "Call" since that has a specific meaning as a spell descriptor.

As for how many scorpion-kind are attracted, I guess it ought to be based on the strength of the master scorpion. Maybe something like X dice of scorpions per Y HD?

The original adventure had large numbers of scorpions infesting the ruined palace that was the Master Scorpion's lair.

The greatest concentration of scorpions was in the chamber containing the Master Scorpion, which had 10 Monarch Scorpions, 10 Giant Scorpions, 20 Huge Scorpions, and 15 Manscorpions.

There were five other chambers containing set encounters with scorpions, totaling 1 Monarch Scorpion, 5 Giant Scorpions, 11 Huge Scorpions, 10 Large Scorpions, 6 Manscorpions, and 1 Scorpion Swarm.

Furthermore, there were random encounters with scorpions - on the Upper Levels of the palace these could be either 1 Scorpion Swarm, 1d6 Large Scorpions, 1d4 Huge Scorpions, 1d4 Giant Scorpions or 1d3 Monarch Scorpions. On the Lower Levels (closer to the Master) the numbers became 2d6 Large Scorpions plus 1 Scorpion Swarm*, 2d4 Huge Scorpions plus 1 Swarm*, 2d4 Giant Scorpions plus 1 Swarm* or 2d3 Monarch Scorpions.

*Every non-Monarch random encounter with scorpions on the Lower Levels of the palace was accompanied by a single Scorpion Swarm.

Looking at the numbers, it's noticeable that the main encounter contains roughly twice as many scorpions as all the other set encounters combined, suggesting that maybe the Attract Power works on twice as many scorpions as the Master's Control power does?

Hmm… I'll have to think about this a bit.

 

[freyar]

What about something like this?

Attract Scorpions (Su): Master scorpion continuously generates a psychic call to all scorpions within a 20 mile (??) radius. All scorpions, monstrous scorpions, and monarch scorpions in the affected area start walking towards the master scorpion, taking the most direct route available. An attracted scorpion will try to move around or break through obstacles, and will attack creatures that threaten or obstruct them. A master scorpion can have at most X HD of scorpion-kind called (???)

 

[Cleon]

What about something like this?

Attract Scorpions (Su): Master scorpion continuously generates a psychic call to all scorpions within a 20 mile (??) radius. All scorpions, monstrous scorpions, and monarch scorpions in the affected area start walking towards the master scorpion, taking the most direct route available. An attracted scorpion will try to move around or break through obstacles, and will attack creatures that threaten or obstruct them. A master scorpion can have at most X HD of scorpion-kind called (???)

I don't much care for it, to be honest. I'd prefer something a bit subtler. How about.

Attract Scorpions (Su): A master scorpion continuously generates a psychic call to all scorpions within a radius of X [2 miles per Hit Dice?]. This call attracts scorpions, monstrous scorpions, and monarch scorpions who become far more abundant within the radius of the call than they would normally (meaning random encounters with scorpions should be at least two or three times commoner than is typical for the habitat).

Within the vicinity of the master scorpion's lair - a radius of X feet or so - the scorpion population becomes extraordinarily high. For every ?? Hit Dice the master scorpion possesses, there will be X scorpion swarms, Y monarch scorpions, Z1 Huge monstrous scorpions, Z2 Large monstrous scorpions and Z3 Medium scorpions. The master scorpion will use its Command Scorpions power (see below) to control a personal retinue of scorpions.

The psychic call of the master scorpion prevents scorpions from attacking each other in the vicinity of its lair. When one of these scorpions gets hungry, it leaves the vicinity of the lair to hunt for food and returns once it is sated. Should any of the scorpions be killed, the master's Attract Scorpions ability will cause replacements to arrive in X days.

* * *

Hmm, we could probably cut the first paragraph out and leave that in flavour text if you'd prefer.

 

[freyar]

You know, I think we could just put the scorpions in the org line and the stuff about the psychic call and replacement scorpions in the flavor text. Would that work for you? This doesn't really seem to need to be an SQ.

 

[Cleon]

You know, I think we could just put the scorpions in the org line and the stuff about the psychic call and replacement scorpions in the flavor text. Would that work for you? This doesn't really seem to need to be an SQ.

So we're going back to the flavour approach I was talking about five weeks ago?:

Since we can't agree, I guess we'd better just give it some vague flavour text about there being Monarch and Monstrous Scorpions in its vicinity rather than it actually creating them.

Are we still giving it an ability to control scorpions?

We could simply allow its regular powers to affect Monstrous Scorpions despite the latter's mindlessness.

Something like:

Enchant Scorpions: A master scorpion can affect monstrous scorpions with any charm, compulsion or morale ability it possesses, ignoring the immunity to mind-affecting effects granted by the mindless trait of the monstrous scorpion's vermin type.