Converting monsters from Dragon magazine

[Shade]

Ngojama
FREQUENCY: Very rare
No. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVE: 12”
HIT DICE: 4 + 4
% IN LAIR: 10%
TREASURE TYPE: B
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2 claws
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-7/2-7
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Double damage if “to hit” roll is 4 or more over base needed to hit
SPECIAL DEFENSES: As per normal demons
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 20%
INTELLIGENCE: Average-very
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
SIZE: M
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
LEVEL/XP VALUE: V/245 + 5/hp

An aggressive, speech-using, climbing, fearless, man-eating minor demon. Ngojama are difficult to control and are useful to evil spell-casters only as assassins. Their hand claws prohibit the ngojama from using tools of any sort.

Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #122 (1987).

Myths and Legends of the Bantu: Chapter XIII: Of Were-Wolves, Halfmen, Gnomes, Goblins, and Other Monsters

 

[Shade]

It looks like we've got another minor tanar'ri.

We should do something interesting with the iron nail.

Also, the linked article notes that they cannot swim (and possibly expand it to the vampire "can't cross water" weakness?).

 

[freyar]

The iron nail and original stats might make the case for an expanded threat range.

And agreed to minor tanar'ri.

 

[demiurge1138]

Agreed to minor tanar'ri, water weakness like a vampires, and augmented critical (18-20x2)

 

[Shade]

Ability scores of similar Medium, melee-focused, low-HD demons:

Carnage Demon: Str 17, Dex 14, Con 19, Int 16, Wis 13, Cha 18
Wrackspawn: Str 19, Dex 10, Con 22, Int 6, Wis 11, Cha 12
Rutterkin: Str 14, Dex 15, Con 17, Int 9, Wis 12, Cha 10

Int is 8-12.
Con should be fairly decent due to the 4+4 HD.

Maybe Str 18, Dex 15, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 11?

 

[freyar]

Seems reasonable.

 

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews with those scores.

Is the aversion to water too harsh?

An aggressive, speech-using, climbing, fearless, man-eating minor demon.

Climb speed? Immunity to fear?

Ngojama are difficult to control and are useful to evil spell-casters only as assassins.

Do we want to do anything interesting with "difficult to control"?

Their hand claws prohibit the ngojama from using tools of any sort.

Note in tactics that they can never wield weapons?

 

[demiurge1138]

Aversion to water looks good. Didn't we do something similar with a demon recently?

 

[freyar]

Agreed to Aversion to Water. The only semi-similar thing I remember was making it hard for chimps (or gorillas maybe) to swim.

20 ft climb speed, immune to fear, no weapons in tactics all sound good. The difficult to control could be like the guardian yugoloths, always attacking when escaping planar binding spells, etc. Actually, I think we need to revise the planar binding blurb on the guardian yugoloths to say that they nearly always attack when they escape the binding trap.

 

[Cleon]

Updated.

Finished?

CR5 seems a bit high, but not enough to fuss over it.

A Hide bonus of +1 still seems too low, even with a +4 it's still going to fail an ambush against equivalent CR opponents very often. I'd either swap a couple of Spot & Listen points around [Say Hide +5*, Listen +10, Spot +10, Survival +3*] or give it a higher racial bonus [maybe +8 in undergrowth?].

But it does look good, I'd be game for releasing it as-is if no-one else feels the same way about its Hide skill.

'Slaughter' was the first thing that sprang into my head for a collective noun, too. Great minds think alike!