Converting monsters from Dragon magazine

[Cleon]

Sorry, I'm just way behind on these posts! We can do the worry wart and the rest of the symbiotes and parasites next if you like.

Back to the priests, let's go with skill suggestion number 2. All the feat suggestions are good, and I'll go with Imp. Crit. (tentacles) for the last one.

Updating the Priest of Ythog-Nthlei Working Draft.

Advancement: by character class ?
Organization: solitary or chorus ?? (4-8) ?
CR: maybe 11? I think they have more damage potential (esp with spells) than CR 11 barbed devils, but they're not as well defended.

The Advancement and Challenge Rating proposals are fine.

I'm inclined to add "coven" to the organisation.

How about:

Organization: solitary, pair, chorus (3–7) or coven (8–13)

 

[freyar]

That org works for me.

I just noticed that the tongue attacks list "drain sense" as damage, but the SA itself is "sense drain." We should pick one. I'd lean toward "sense drain."

I guess tactics are next. I think normally a priest would buff and largely attack with spells and melee when necessary, while those involved in a chant magic group would instead use melee combat, fighting to the death to protect the last chanter. Any other thoughts?

 

[Cleon]

That org works for me.

I just noticed that the tongue attacks list "drain sense" as damage, but the SA itself is "sense drain." We should pick one. I'd lean toward "sense drain."

Updating the Priest of Ythog-Nthlei Working Draft.

I'm having second thoughts about them being Challenge Rating 11. I could see them being CR 12 like a Kolyarut Inevitable.

As always, CRs are not an exact science.

I guess tactics are next. I think normally a priest would buff and largely attack with spells and melee when necessary, while those involved in a chant magic group would instead use melee combat, fighting to the death to protect the last chanter. Any other thoughts?

That's pretty much what I had in mind.

All we have in the original is "The creatures will, of course, attack the party instantly."

So I guess we could have something about them always being hostile?

 

[freyar]

I'd be ok with CR 12, too. Seems like this is one of those places where the CRs of two different SRD critters just don't quite line up.

Tactics:
Priests of Ythog-Nthlei always begin with a hostile attitude except toward known allies. A solitary priest typically enters combat after having used its spells to improve its own capabilities when it has a chance, attacking primarily attacking with spells. They are, however, unafraid to enter melee when necessary. Priests involved in a chanting chorus, however, enter melee immediately, except for the primary chanter. The other priests in the group fight to the death to protect the last chanting priest until the casting is finished.

 

[Cleon]

I'd be ok with CR 12, too. Seems like this is one of those places where the CRs of two different SRD critters just don't quite line up.

Yes, I'm still not quite decided.

So which Challenge Rating are we going for, 11 or 12?

I'm OK leaving them at CR 11 if you are.

Tactics:
Priests of Ythog-Nthlei always begin with a hostile attitude except toward known allies. A solitary priest typically enters combat after having used its spells to improve its own capabilities when it has a chance, attacking primarily attacking with spells. They are, however, unafraid to enter melee when necessary. Priests involved in a chanting chorus, however, enter melee immediately, except for the primary chanter. The other priests in the group fight to the death to protect the last chanting priest until the casting is finished.

The phrasing could be a bit more elegant and I'm not sure we can categorically say they primarily use spells.

Let's see…

Priests of Ythog-Nthlei are implacably hostile towards any being who does not serve the Dark King they worship. Any allies or slaves they have will be sent into combat first. Given enough time a priest will cast enhancing spells on itself before entering battle. Priests of Ythog-Nthlei do not discriminate between spells or melee, using whichever is likely to do the most harm to their enemies. These fanatical aberrations will gladly die if they believe it benefits the Dark King Ythog-Nthlei but would rather send other servants to their deaths instead.

A group of priests performing Chant Magic cannot cast spells without breaking the ritual so always resort to melee combat. They try to position themselves to ensure at least one priest can survive to finish the chant.

 

[freyar]

Let's just settle on CR 11; CRs are definitely a bit imprecise.

I like those tactics!

For background, I guess we should decide if cultists summon them, they make their way to the material plane by searching for planar rifts, or what. I guess I'd lean toward summoning, since I don't think there was anything in the original. Oooh, or Ythog-Nthlei could dream them into existence or something.

 

[Cleon]

Let's just settle on CR 11; CRs are definitely a bit imprecise.

I like those tactics!

Updating the Priest of Ythog-Nthlei Working Draft.

For background, I guess we should decide if cultists summon them, they make their way to the material plane by searching for planar rifts, or what. I guess I'd lean toward summoning, since I don't think there was anything in the original. Oooh, or Ythog-Nthlei could dream them into existence or something.

I have no objection to mentioning all the above as possibilities and leave the details to the DM.

In the original adventure they were trapped in a buried facility (in some sort of suspended animation, presumably?) and woke up when the facility was breached by priests of Poseidon building a temple on top of it.

So we should add "lurking in eldritch dungeons" to the options.

I don't think they would be summoned by standard methods (planar ally and the like) since they lack the extraplanar subtype. The cultists may have to use other means to call a priest of Ythog-Nthlei to their side.

 

[abe ray]

I guess we are done with this monster, huh?

 

[Cleon]

I guess we are done with this monster, huh?

Welcome back! It's been a while since I've seen you in these parts.

Yes, the Priests are done mechanically. We just have to polish up the flavour text to finish them.

 

[abe ray]

Was the flavor text polished yet?