Converting monsters from Dragon magazine (Part Two)

[Shade]

Aberration it is!

Let's figure out ability scores.

Int is Average (8-10). Other mental scores are probably similar.

Str should be decent or better.

With a converted AC of 18, it either gets alot of natural armor, or has a decent Dex score. Maybe nat armor +5, Dex 16-17?

Con is at least average.

 

[freyar]

Str 18, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 9?

 

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.

These tentacles range from 6-8 feet in length, depending on the creature’s body size.

Extended reach with tentacles?

NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 5-20

The surchur will typically attack first by trying to grab a victim in its tentacles; if an 18 or higher is the result of the monster’s “to hit” roll, the victim is caught and immediately takes 5-20 points of damage.

Single, cluster attack or 5 individual attacks at 1d4 damage each?

During the next two rounds the surchur will attempt to pull the captured victim into its mouth. The victim may attempt to break free in each round, with a base chance of 20% for success, plus 10% for each plus “to hit” the character may have due to high strength.

Drag mechanic like cave fisher?

The mouth of a surchur doesn’t have teeth, but is lined with rows upon rows of sticky cilia that secrete a chemical which digests the flesh of humans and demihumans.

While the surchur is holding a victim it cannot attack another figure. A victim which is dragged into the surchur’s mouth will take 2-8 points of damage per round from the digestive juices until the victim or the monster is dead.

2d4 acid damage?

A surchur cannot put more than one victim in its mouth at one time. However, it prefers fresh food if it has a choice. A second victim can be grabbed and held while the first is in the mouth. When the tentacles have immobilized another victim, the first one will be expelled from the mouth cavity even if it isn’t dead, and the new victim will be engulfed instead.

So improved grab, and maybe something similar to the Multigrab feat?

If the surchur does not succeed in grabbing a victim, it will still do damage to an adversary within range of its tentacles by hitting with the tentacles themselves. A surchur which is not injured will be able to effectively attack with a bunch of five tentacles at once, with each tentacle considered to do 1-4 points of damage on a successful hit. Any blow which is aimed at a tentacle, hits it, and does at least 3 points of damage will sever a tentacle.

Never mind the "cluster attack" idea above.

It looks like we'll be able to once again use the severing text.

A surchur’s lost tentacles will grow back in 3-6 days.

A surchur with fewer than 5 tentacles intact will do correspondingly less damage from a strike, and a surchur with fewer than 4 tentacles will not keep its grip on a victim as easily; the chance to escape per round is increased to 60% against a surchur with 4 tentacles, +10% for every tentacle less than four.

We can borrow the mechanic from the illithid.

 

[freyar]

Extended reach with tentacles?

Absolutely!

Single, cluster attack or 5 individual attacks at 1d4 damage each?

I think I prefer a single attack w/Imp Grab and Constrict (Constrict damage done even on first grapple check).

Drag mechanic like cave fisher?

Maybe. Or maybe just two grapple checks to swallow?

2d4 acid damage?

Yes.

So improved grab, and maybe something similar to the Multigrab feat?

Oooh, what's Multigrab? (I'm gonna feel silly if it's in Lords of Madness.)

Never mind the "cluster attack" idea above.

It looks like we'll be able to once again use the severing text.

We can borrow the mechanic from the illithid.

Yes, you're right. So multiple tentacle attacks, Imp Grab, I think Constrict, some sort of modified Swallow Whole. Sound right?

 

[Shade]

Multigrab is a feat from Serpent Kingdoms, and prior to that, Savage Species.

"Benefit: When grappling an opponent with the part of your body that made the attack, you take only a -10 penalty on grapple checks made to maintain the hold."

There's also Greater Multigrab:

"Benefit: When grappling an opponent with only the part of your body that made the attack, you take no penalty on grapple checks to maintain the hold."

 

[freyar]

Maybe a reduce the penalty for each tentacle it uses to grab?

 

[Shade]

Updated.

Does that work?

 

[freyar]

Looks good. Should we mention the usual -20 penalty for holding but not being considered grappled?

 

[Shade]

Sure. Do we want to keep that penalty, or let it bypass that as well?

 

[freyar]

I think I'm fine with keeping the penalty -- attaching additional tentacles is a way around that. Or we could reduce it to -10, like multigrab. I think I'd lean toward what we have now, though. What do you think?