Converting Maztica and Horde monsters

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.

In his true form, Ambuchar resembles a pair of disembodied golden eyes. These eyes are all that is visible of the shadow which he projects onto the prime material plane from his true home in an unknown plane of darkness.

Extraplanar subtype?

Combat. Although he fights as a 12 HD monster and inflicts only 1d10 points of damage, the side effects of being hit by the raja are deadly. Any creature hit by Ambuchar Devayam must immediately make two saves, the first one vs. paralyzation and the second one vs. spell. Those failing the first save are paralyzed with fright for 1d4 rounds (and are not required to make the second save). Those failing the second save flee in fear for 1d4 rounds.

How's this?

Frightful Strike (Su): Any creature struck by the incorporeal touch of Ambuchar Devayam must succeed on a DC X Will save or cower for 1d4 rounds. Even on a successful save, the victim must make a second DC X Will save or be panicked for 1d4 rounds. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

In addition, any creature struck by the raja suffers a loss of one life (experience) level, and all scores (THAC0, hp, saving throws, etc.) are immediately adjusted.

Energy drain for a single negative level?

Also, anyone creature in combat with the raja is subject to a gaze attack. Devayam rolls to hit the creature normally. If the attack is successful, the victim locks eyes with the raja's golden orbs, and must make a successful Constitution check or lose one point of Constitution (permanently). Beings reduced to zero Constitution points die.

Draining Gaze (Su): 1 point of Constitution drain, range 30 feet, Fortitude DC x negates. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Look OK?

Ambuchar Devayam/Tan Chin can be hit only by +1 or better magical weapons. He is immune to charm, sleep, enfeeblement, polymorph, and all cold-based, insanity, and death spells. He can only be turned by a cleric of level 15 or higher, and then only on a roll of 20.

Damage reduction 15/magic? Or go with something more interesting, like good or silver?

Immunity to cold?

The raja can cast any spell he wishes from the necromancy school of magic.

Sorcerer spellcasting or cast any spell from the necromancy school 1/day as a SLA? Or something else entirely?

He has the innate power to animate and control any creature that was marked with the Stamp of Tan Chin when it died.

We'll have to revisit the dowagu to see what we did with the Stamp.l

 

[freyar]

Extraplanar subtype?

Well, definitely incorporeal subtype. I guess extraplanar due to the line about "maintaining his ties to the Material Plane," but mostly I see him like a ghost, kind of half-here, half-not. Might want to write something up about that.

How's this?

Frightful Strike (Su): Any creature struck by the incorporeal touch of Ambuchar Devayam must succeed on a DC X Will save or cower for 1d4 rounds. Even on a successful save, the victim must make a second DC X Will save or be panicked for 1d4 rounds. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

Energy drain for a single negative level?

Draining Gaze (Su): 1 point of Constitution drain, range 30 feet, Fortitude DC x negates. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Look OK?

I like all that.

Damage reduction 15/magic? Or go with something more interesting, like good or silver?

Immunity to cold?

Magic and silver DR? Yes on cold immunity

Sorcerer spellcasting or cast any spell from the necromancy school 1/day as a SLA? Or something else entirely?

I'd lean toward the SLA, but I don't know if 1/day is enough. What if we do sorc spellcasting with whatever advanced learning thing we did for LGZ.

We'll have to revisit the dowagu to see what we did with the Stamp.l

Agreed.

 

[Shade]

You know, since he's incorporeal, the "magic" part of damage reduction would already be implied, right? So DR/silver would probably suffice?

Here's what we gave the dowagu:

Stamp of Tan Chin (Su): As a full round action, a dowagu may place a dark tattoo upon a helpless creature. This mark cannot be removed through anything short of divine intervention or the destruction of the dowagu's master, the Raja Ambuchar Devayam. Attempts to conceal the mark always fail--it is clearly visible even through armor, clothing, and makeup. Even spells, such as shapechange or alter self, cannot conceal the mark. The victim still gains the benefits of these spells, but the mark is always present in their current form. Upon the marked victim's death, it becomes a zombie (or greater undead, at the DMs discretion) under the control of the Raja Ambuchar Devayam. The new undead will immediately seek out the Raja to receive orders.

 

[freyar]

Since his DR is probably an Su ability, his possessed body should get it too (the way I wrote Possession). So let's include the magic DR.

For the stamp:

Slaves of Tan Chin (Su): Any creature that has been marked with the Stamp of Tan Chin (see the dowagu) becomes a zombie (or greater undead, at the DM's discretion) immediately upon its death. The victim is now under the completely control of Ambuchar Devayam and will seek him out immediately to receive orders. Undead marked by the Stamp of Tan Chin are so completely controlled by Ambuchar Devayam that they may not be rebuked, commanded, or otherwise magically controlled by any other creature.

 

[Shade]

Looks good. Should he also be able to "stamp" creatures?

 

[freyar]

Yes, good idea! But I think only if he's possessing someone since it might be hard to stamp something if you're incorporeal.

 

[Shade]

Updated.

Skills: 8 at 19 ranks

Feats: 6

 

[freyar]

Actually, I meant that he could stamp creatures he isn't possessing, but only when he has a material body.

I'd like to deal with the following before we get into skills and feats:

He can only be turned by a cleric of level 15 or higher, and then only on a roll of 20. The raja is also spared the effects of the Prism of Krushk; if trapped by its effects, he simply destroys the body he is inhabiting at the time, then returns to his phylactery.
Ambuchar now uses Imaskari magic to store his life force upon the prime material plane in a phylactery inside the Ebony Temple (see Part III, Event 22). The only way to permanently destroy the raja is to collect the four Ebony Artifacts of the Imaskari from the various dimensions inside the Ebony Temple and throw them into the Bottomless Pit of Fire located there. Otherwise, the raja's crystal phylactery simply reforms 24 hours after being destroyed. (Throwing the four Ebony Artifacts into the Bottomless Pit of Fire severs the connection between the raja's dimension and the prime material plane.)

Immune to turning or just some insanely high turn resistance?
Given the odd conditions for his destruction, I'd say that he has a phylactery like a lich, but the phylactery is an artifact that reforms in 24 hours after its destruction unless it is destroyed in some special way pre-determined by the DM (something like we did with the ghazneths, I guess.)

We were also discussing his ability to cast all necromancy spells. Did we want to go with SLAs or sorc spellcasting with some kind of advanced learning?

 

[Shade]

I'll revise the stamp ability.

I vote insanely high turn resistance (truer to the spirit of the original).

Agreed on the phylactery.

I think I prefer any spell from the necromancy school 1/day as a SLA. Anyone else have an opinion?

 

[freyar]

I'm agreed with all that. Do you think +8 on the turn resistance is enough? Here's a shot at the phylactery:

Crystal Phylactery (Su): The raja Ambuchar Devayam's soul is tied to the Material Plane through a phylactery, like a lich's, which is apparently made of crystal. If he is ever destroyed, his phylactery regenerates his incorporeal "body" in one hour. In addition, if the crystal phylactery is destroyed by normal means, it reforms itself in 24 hours. (If Ambuchar Devayam is destroyed while his crystal phylactery is destroyed, he does not reform until the phylactery does.) The phylactery should be considered an artifact, and the means of its permanent destruction should be determined by the DM.