Converting monsters from Dragon magazine (Part Two)

[demiurge1138]

Sounds good to me too. Helps differentiate them more.

 

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.

 

[freyar]

Despite their long years of divergence, the two kinds of dogs have a number of features on common. Both have the senses of their canine ancestors, so that a gith dog gains a 20% bonus to its chances of detecting otherwise hidden creatures by scent, and a 20% bonus for its keen hearing (see page 60 of the DMG). These bonuses are cumulative where they are applicable, and either may be halved or doubled as conditions warrant. Gith dogs can also track as an onyx dog can (DMG, page 144). They gain a 50% bonus to their chances of detecting or tracking illithids by smell. In addition to this, gith dogs can see invisible, astral, and ethereal creatures and objects. Alert and silent, they surprise opponents on a 1-4 and are themselves surprised only on a 1.

Racial Spot (+4?), Listen (+4?), and Move Silently (+8?) bonuses. Track as a bonus feat, and an extra racial bonus tracking mind flayers. Continual see invisibility (or an Su that also allows for seeing astral?).

 

[Shade]

I agree with all that, and there no longer appears to be a "see astral" need.

How's this for a start?

Bred Flayer-Foe (Ex): Gith hounds are bred to hunt and kill illithids. As a result, gith hounds gain a +x racial bonus on attack rolls against mind flayers, and a +x racial bonus on opposed grapple checks vs. illithids or Escape Artist checks made to escape an illithid's grapple. Gith hounds also gain a +x racial bonus on Survival checks made to follow an illithid's tracks. DMs should consider extending these bonuses to illithidkin such as illithidae, neothelids, and elder brains.

Also, these two features of the spectral hound may be appropriate...

Astral Tracking (Su): A spectral hound can attempt to track normally even through the featureless wastes of the Astral Plane (base DC 25). A spectral hound can use this ability to track quarry that uses a teleportation spell to travel, by entering the Astral Plane at the departure point, following the trail of the teleportation through the Astral Plane, and returning to the plane of departure at its quarry's destination.

Skills: *Spectral hounds receive a +10 racial bonus on Survival checks when tracking by scent (including tracking on the Astral Plane).

 

[freyar]

I like Bred Flayer-foe and Astral Tracking. Since we have Mindtracking, maybe we don't need the racial skill bonus to Survival, though.

 

[demiurge1138]

The bonus from flayer-foe should be +4, methinks.

And astral tracking looks good.

 

[Shade]

Updated.

 

[Shade]

Shall we work on this now?

Each gith dog has a latent degree of psionic power which can be tapped under certain conditions. The githyanki and githzerai magic-users have a spell similar to find familiar which they may cast either for themselves or for other individuals. A dog that is bound to a psionically endowed master by this spell may serve as a storehouse of psionic energy, holding up to 20 psionic strength points in the manner of an ioun stone (DMG, page 147). These are added to the master’s strength total and may be released to him or her so long as the dog remains within 12”.

 

[demiurge1138]

20 pp is huge these days--it costs vast sums of gold to get a cognizance crystal that holds 20 pp. Maybe we should cut it down to something more reasonable, like, say, 5.

 

[Shade]

I'm wondering if the gith hound should take the place of a psicrystal...in other words, the psionic character must select one or the other. Sort of like an Improved Familiar.