Converting Monsters from D&D Official Video Games

[Echohawk]

Chopped from the unconverted list then

 

[Shade]

In the interest of finishing off the Dark Sun unconverted...

Soul Shards
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Only in the presence of the broken Chandelier of Ancestry
FREQUENCY: Unique
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Any sentient
INTELLIGENCE: That of the victim
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Evil
NO. APPEARING: 6
ARMOR CLASS: That of the victim
MOVEMENT: 12
HIT DICE: Victim’s maximum hit points, doubles with every death
THACØ: Same as victim
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1–8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Cannot be killed permanently while victim is conscious
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: M
MORALE: Fanatic (17)
XP VALUE: 30,000

Combat: When the broken Chandelier activates, it takes a living victim (chosen randomly) and splits his or her consciousness into 6 shards. The victim is paralyzed while the shards attack the party. Every shard that dies adds the victim’s hit points to each of its remaining friends. When all the shards are destroyed, the victim loses a permanent attribute point and the shards reform at full strength. This continues until either the Chandelier is repaired or the victim dies. The shards are immune to sleep and charm spells.

Originally appeared in Dark Sun: Wake of the Ravager Rule Book (1994).

 

[demiurge1138]

That looks... awful. No wonder they've never been converted. Any idea of where to start?

 

[freyar]

Yeah, yuck. Is the Chandelier itself a creature? Because these read more as an Su or Sp effect of the Chandelier rather than monsters. I could see making this some kind of hazard, like Paizo's haunts. Hmmm.

 

[Shade]

Your guess is as good as mine. I've never actually played the game in question, and the rulebook offered little information the Chandelier (unless I missed it).

I'm fine with skipping these entirely as "too niche to convert", or a complete reimagining using the source material as a springboard to something more widely useful.

 

[demiurge1138]

Too niche is my vote.

 

[freyar]

Oof, I'd had to leave something unconverted. I'd vote for writing it as a haunt without the turning aspect, but it's your call whether it's convertible. I certainly don't think it works as is.

 

[Echohawk]

What was the consensus on this one? Drop from the unconverted list?

 

[Shade]

Yes, it seemed unconvertable.

 

[Shade]

Spider Queens
AC: 1; HD: 9; Mv: 15; Int: Low; Size: L; Align: CE;
THACO: 11; Att: 1; Dmg: 2d8
Spec Attack: Poison (death); Spec Def: None; EXP: 892

A fearsome leader of arachnids, a spider queen sometimes appears with
large numbers of lesser spiders.

Originally appeared in Treasures of the Savage Frontier Adventure Journal (1992).


These aren't terribly exciting, but since they are smart enough to become magical beasts, we might jazz 'em up a bit.