Converting monsters from Dragon magazine

[Cleon]

I've just recreated the Chocolate Golem Working Draft we were working on in this thread when we had the database crash.

Furthermore, I've restored the completed Sa'ir conversion we'd finished before the database "hiccup".

 

[freyar]

Hooray for the Sa'ir! I'm kind of surprised that one was damaged -- I thought that was longer enough ago.

OK, on the chocolate golem, we were talking about variant fillings. I believe we'd settled on entangling, poisonous, and sickening(ly sweet). I think the modification to each should only be to the Spew Filling SA, though it could possibly apply to Scalding Chocolate. I don't recall if we'd settled on a damage value for Scalding Chocolate, either, but 1d4 seems reasonable compared to the rest of the critter.

 

[Cleon]

Hooray for the Sa'ir! I'm kind of surprised that one was damaged -- I thought that was longer enough ago.

OK, on the chocolate golem, we were talking about variant fillings. I believe we'd settled on entangling, poisonous, and sickening(ly sweet). I think the modification to each should only be to the Spew Filling SA, though it could possibly apply to Scalding Chocolate. I don't recall if we'd settled on a damage value for Scalding Chocolate, either, but 1d4 seems reasonable compared to the rest of the critter.

Yes, we did settle for those three variant fillings but we also thought about adding a "nutty" filling that did a small amount of bludgeoning damage.

As for the scalding damage, the original did a fraction of the original fire damage but I think we decided that was too fiddly. I vaguely remember suggesting 1d6 damage but 1d4 is OK. It certainly shouldn't be extremely damaging.

Come to think of it, a direct hit from alchemist's fire does 1d6 (albeit over 2 rounds) and it would feel a bit off having it as hot as that, so 1d4 or maybe even 1d3 would seem appropriate.

 

[freyar]

Let's do 1d4 damage for the Scalding Chocolate.

As for the variants: (1) I'll agree to the nutty bludgeoning version. (2) Stick to the Spew Filling only, or also modify Scalding? I think I'd only modify Scalding for the nutty version.

Entangling: blinded + entangled as a tanglefoot bag (no Ref save) for 1d4 rounds
Sweet: blinded + sickened for 1d4 rounds
Poisonous: some weak poison, maybe no blinding
Nutty: blinding + 1d4 bludgeonding, maybe add 1d4 bludgeoning to Scalding.

 

[Cleon]

Let's do 1d4 damage for the Scalding Chocolate.

That's fine by me.

Updating the Chocolate Golem Working Draft.

As for the variants: (1) I'll agree to the nutty bludgeoning version. (2) Stick to the Spew Filling only, or also modify Scalding? I think I'd only modify Scalding for the nutty version.

I didn't consider having the variant fillings also modify the Scalding effect.

After mulling it over, I think I'd rather stick to it only affecting Spew Fillings only. The Scalding ability is due to fire attacks melting the "outer shell" of the golem so I think it probably wouldn't affect the hollow interior where the filling is.

That said, we could expand the variants to include different sorts of Chocolate which produce alternate Scalding effects, i.e. poisoned chocolate or nutty chocolate.

If we do that then we can have double variants (i.e. nutty chocolate with poisoned filling, or sickly chocolate with sickly filling).

Entangling: blinded + entangled as a tanglefoot bag (no Ref save) for 1d4 rounds
Sweet: blinded + sickened for 1d4 rounds
Poisonous: some weak poison, maybe no blinding
Nutty: blinding + 1d4 bludgeonding, maybe add 1d4 bludgeoning to Scalding.

That looks OK although for the "Sticky Filling" I'd keep the Reflex save of the tanglefoot bag, since it applies to being stuck to the floor, not the entangling effect.

I'm wondering whether we should increase the damage of the "nutty" filling or give is a special effect, since otherwise it's noth that impressive compared to the other special fillings. How about the "nuts" include lots of spiky and sharp bits so it inflicts multiple damage types (i.e. bludgeoning/piercing or bludgeoning/piercing/slashing) and the affected square is treated like it's covered in caltrops?

 

[freyar]

Nah, let's just stick to variant fillings. I don't want these to get too complicated.

I like the bludgeoning/piercing and caltrops ideas for the nutty filling. And that sounds like enough. Shall we write those up?

 

[Cleon]

Nah, let's just stick to variant fillings. I don't want these to get too complicated.

I like the bludgeoning/piercing and caltrops ideas for the nutty filling. And that sounds like enough. Shall we write those up?

That's fine by me!

 

[freyar]

Here's an attempt at it:

Variant Fillings

Chocolate golems, like chocolate truffles, can be created with a variety of fillings. For variant chocolate golems, replace the Spew Filling attack above with one of the following. These variant golems have a higher CR by +1 compared to a standard chocolate golem.

Entangling
Spew Filling (Ex): A chocolate golem can spit out streams of sweet, sticky filling from its hollow interior. If the golem succeeds in a ranged touch attack (30 ft. range, no range increments) its target is coated in the sticky goo and blinded and entangled for 1d4 rounds. The target can end this blindness by spending a full round action to remove the syrupy filling from their eyes; a separate full round action can remove enough filling from their body to end the entanglement. The chocolate golem's hollow interior can hold enough filling for 12 shots, each shot corresponds to a gallon of filling for a standard-sized chocolate golem. A chocolate golem will typically have 1d6+6 shots of filling available when encountered. It is possible to "reload" a chocolate golem's filling with patience and a funnel.

Sickening
Spew Filling (Ex): A chocolate golem can spit out streams of sweet, sticky filling from its hollow interior. If the golem succeeds in a ranged touch attack (30 ft. range, no range increments) its target is coated in the sticky goo and blinded for 1d4 rounds; furthermore, the target must succeed at a DC 16 Fortitude save or be sickened for 1d4 rounds. The target can end the blindness by spending a full round action to remove the syrupy filling from their eyes. The chocolate golem's hollow interior can hold enough filling for 12 shots, each shot corresponds to a gallon of filling for a standard-sized chocolate golem. A chocolate golem will typically have 1d6+6 shots of filling available when encountered. It is possible to "reload" a chocolate golem's filling with patience and a funnel. The save DC is Str-based.

Poisonous
Spew Filling (Ex): A chocolate golem can spit out streams of sweet, sticky filling from its hollow interior. If the golem succeeds in a ranged touch attack (30 ft. range, no range increments) its target is exposed to tarinav root poison. The chocolate golem's hollow interior can hold enough filling for 12 shots, each shot corresponds to a gallon of filling for a standard-sized chocolate golem. A chocolate golem will typically have 1d6+6 shots of filling available when encountered. It is possible to "reload" a chocolate golem's filling with patience and a funnel.

Tarinav Root Poison: Contact, Fortitude DC 16, primary damage 1d6 Dex, secondary damage 2d6 Dex.

Nutty
Spew Filling (Ex): A chocolate golem can spit out streams of sweet, sticky, and nutty filling from its hollow interior. If the golem succeeds in a ranged touch attack (30 ft. range, no range increments) its target takes 1d4 hp bludgeoning and piercing damage and is coated in the sticky goo and blinded for 1d4 rounds. The target can end this blindness by spending a full round action to remove the syrupy filling from their eyes. Also, whether the ranged touch succeeds or not, a 5 foot burst around the target is covered in nut shards (treat as caltrops). The chocolate golem's hollow interior can hold enough filling for 12 shots, each shot corresponds to a gallon of filling for a standard-sized chocolate golem. A chocolate golem will typically have 1d6+6 shots of filling available when encountered. It is possible to "reload" a chocolate golem's filling with patience and a funnel.

 

[CataAttaste]

Yeah the DRAGON part of its name does not make you think of Olympic Jumper - they should change the name to JUMPING KAMIKAZE FISH. They should get along ok, neither fish is none to aggressive more like an Eeyore from Winnie The Pooh.

 

[Cleon]

Here's an attempt at it:

Variant Fillings

Chocolate golems, like chocolate truffles, can be created with a variety of fillings. For variant chocolate golems, replace the Spew Filling attack above with one of the following. These variant golems have a higher CR by +1 compared to a standard chocolate golem.

Entangling
Spew Filling (Ex): A chocolate golem can spit out streams of sweet, sticky filling from its hollow interior. If the golem succeeds in a ranged touch attack (30 ft. range, no range increments) its target is coated in the sticky goo and blinded and entangled for 1d4 rounds. The target can end this blindness by spending a full round action to remove the syrupy filling from their eyes; a separate full round action can remove enough filling from their body to end the entanglement. The chocolate golem's hollow interior can hold enough filling for 12 shots, each shot corresponds to a gallon of filling for a standard-sized chocolate golem. A chocolate golem will typically have 1d6+6 shots of filling available when encountered. It is possible to "reload" a chocolate golem's filling with patience and a funnel.

Sickening
Spew Filling (Ex): A chocolate golem can spit out streams of sweet, sticky filling from its hollow interior. If the golem succeeds in a ranged touch attack (30 ft. range, no range increments) its target is coated in the sticky goo and blinded for 1d4 rounds; furthermore, the target must succeed at a DC 16 Fortitude save or be sickened for 1d4 rounds. The target can end the blindness by spending a full round action to remove the syrupy filling from their eyes. The chocolate golem's hollow interior can hold enough filling for 12 shots, each shot corresponds to a gallon of filling for a standard-sized chocolate golem. A chocolate golem will typically have 1d6+6 shots of filling available when encountered. It is possible to "reload" a chocolate golem's filling with patience and a funnel. The save DC is Str-based.

Poisonous
Spew Filling (Ex): A chocolate golem can spit out streams of sweet, sticky filling from its hollow interior. If the golem succeeds in a ranged touch attack (30 ft. range, no range increments) its target is exposed to tarinav root poison. The chocolate golem's hollow interior can hold enough filling for 12 shots, each shot corresponds to a gallon of filling for a standard-sized chocolate golem. A chocolate golem will typically have 1d6+6 shots of filling available when encountered. It is possible to "reload" a chocolate golem's filling with patience and a funnel.

Tarinav Root Poison: Contact, Fortitude DC 16, primary damage 1d6 Dex, secondary damage 2d6 Dex.

Nutty
Spew Filling (Ex): A chocolate golem can spit out streams of sweet, sticky, and nutty filling from its hollow interior. If the golem succeeds in a ranged touch attack (30 ft. range, no range increments) its target takes 1d4 hp bludgeoning and piercing damage and is coated in the sticky goo and blinded for 1d4 rounds. The target can end this blindness by spending a full round action to remove the syrupy filling from their eyes. Also, whether the ranged touch succeeds or not, a 5 foot burst around the target is covered in nut shards (treat as caltrops). The chocolate golem's hollow interior can hold enough filling for 12 shots, each shot corresponds to a gallon of filling for a standard-sized chocolate golem. A chocolate golem will typically have 1d6+6 shots of filling available when encountered. It is possible to "reload" a chocolate golem's filling with patience and a funnel.

The mechanics look fine except for the entangling one - I'd prefer the escape mechanism to resemble that of a tanglefoot bag.

Apart from that I'd just tweak some of the wording slightly:

Variant Fillings
Chocolate golems, like chocolate truffles, can be created with a variety of fillings. For these variant chocolate golems, increase its Challenge Rating by +1 and replace the Spew Filling attack above with one of the following:

Spew Entangling Filling (Ex): This chocolate golem can spit out streams of sweet and incredibly sticky filling from its hollow interior. If the golem succeeds in a ranged touch attack (30 ft. range, no range increments) its target is coated in the sticky goo and blinded and entangled for 1d4 rounds. The target can end this blindness by spending a full round action to remove the syrupy filling from their eyes. An entangled creature must make a DC 16 Reflex save or be glued to the floor and immobilized; they can break free by making a DC 16 Strength check, by dealing 12 points of damage to the goo with a slashing weapon (hits are automatic), or by applying universal solvent to the filling. The chocolate golem's hollow interior can hold enough filling for 12 shots, each shot corresponds to a gallon of filling for a standard-sized chocolate golem. A chocolate golem will typically have 1d6+6 shots of filling available when encountered. It is possible to "reload" a chocolate golem's filling with patience and a funnel. The DCs are Strength-based.

Spew Sickening Filling (Ex): This chocolate golem can spit out streams of disgustingly sweet, sticky filling from its hollow interior. If the golem succeeds in a ranged touch attack (30 ft. range, no range increments) its target is coated in the sticky goo and blinded for 1d4 rounds; furthermore, the target must succeed at a DC 16 Fortitude save or be sickened for 1d4 rounds. The target can end the blindness by spending a full round action to remove the syrupy filling from their eyes. The chocolate golem's hollow interior can hold enough filling for 12 shots, each shot corresponds to a gallon of filling for a standard-sized chocolate golem. A chocolate golem will typically have 1d6+6 shots of filling available when encountered. It is possible to "reload" a chocolate golem's filling with patience and a funnel. The save DC is Strength-based.

Spew Poisonous Filling (Ex): This chocolate golem can spit out streams of sweet, sticky, and poisoned filling from its hollow interior. If the golem succeeds in a ranged touch attack (30 ft. range, no range increments) its target is exposed to tarinav root poison. The chocolate golem's hollow interior can hold enough filling for 12 shots, each shot corresponds to a gallon of filling for a standard-sized chocolate golem. A chocolate golem will typically have 1d6+6 shots of filling available when encountered. It is possible to "reload" a chocolate golem's filling with patience and a funnel.

Tarinav Root Poison: Contact, Fortitude DC 16, primary damage 1d6 Dex, secondary damage 2d6 Dex.

Spew Nutty Filling (Ex): This chocolate golem can spit out streams of sweet, sticky filling mixed with nuts and nutshell shards from its hollow interior. If the golem succeeds in a ranged touch attack (30 ft. range, no range increments) its target takes 1d4 hp bludgeoning and piercing damage and is coated in the sticky goo and blinded for 1d4 rounds. The target can end this blindness by spending a full round action to remove the syrupy filling from their eyes. Also, whether the ranged touch succeeds or not, a 5 foot burst around the target is covered in nut shards (treat as caltrops). The chocolate golem's hollow interior can hold enough filling for 12 shots, each shot corresponds to a gallon of filling for a standard-sized chocolate golem. A chocolate golem will typically have 1d6+6 shots of filling available when encountered. It is possible to "reload" a chocolate golem's filling with patience and a funnel.