Converting monsters from Dragon magazine

[freyar]

Hold on, we seem to have forgotten something.



Cut the Poison Special Attack from the Working Draft?

Looks like it! Good catch.

 

[Shade]

Looks like it! Good catch.

Yeah, nice save!

 

[Cleon]

Yeah, nice save!

Updating Working Draft.

 

[freyar]

Does it need more than small changes to the flavor text?

 

[Cleon]

Does it need more than small changes to the flavor text?

the bite in the regular Attack line should be +5, not +0.

Updating Working Draft.

Apart from that it's just polishing the fluff.

 

[Shade]

Apart from that it's just polishing the fluff.

It looks like what's there is a direct port from the drop spider.

Giving it a go...

This shield-sized spider has a sleek, hairy black body, striped, with dark brown fur. Its legs end in bladelike chitinous plates.

The Xakhun breeding programs have modified the subterranean sword spider into a smaller, nonvenomous variety capable of incredible leaps.

Leaping sword spiders are ill-tempered and difficult to train. Occasionally, one goes berserk, attacking both crew and vessel. When situations like this arise, it is generally left to the rigging spider to regain control, by slaying the offending sword spider.

The Xakhun drow sail the skies in windships in groups known as Xan Krabans. Lolth created the various Xakhun spiders to bolster the fighting capability of the Xan Krabans, although some can be found in traditional subterranean drow cities, serving priestesses of the Spider Queen. Xakhun spiders normally hide in the crew compartment of the windship until called upon to attack nearby ships and enemies. Drop spiders and the Xakhun's leaping sword spider instinctively attack each other, so they are never kept in the same ship or building.

A typical leaping sword spider has a body x feet in diameter and weighs about x pounds.

 

[Shade]

Also...

The leaping spider’s bite is not poisonous, but it can bite its victim in the same round it jabs with its sword-like legs.

Did we discuss possibly giving it gnaw?

Although sword spiders are ill-tempered and pose an obvious threat to the delicate Xakhun windships, they are inordinately stealthy, always moving carefully about deck without slashing the ship’s rigging.

Methinks we need a hefty racial bonus to Move Silently and possibly a greater Hide bonus.

 

[Cleon]

Did we discuss possibly giving it gnaw?

That reads like it can bite and leg-stab in the same round and at the same target, which is covered by a normal full attack.

Methinks we need a hefty racial bonus to Move Silently and possibly a greater Hide bonus.

I'd proposed giving them an extra +4 racial bonus on each, but I don't think I got any response.

 

[Cleon]

It looks like what's there is a direct port from the drop spider.

The base creature was the Drop Spider, since they're both Medium Magical Beasts. I simply redded the stuff we needed to change.

Giving it a go...

This shield-sized spider has a sleek, hairy black body, striped, with dark brown fur. Its legs end in bladelike chitinous plates.

Don't like "shield-sized" - what if it's a buckler?

I'd make it either "tower-shield sized" or "hog-sized".

The Xakhun breeding programs have modified the subterranean sword spider into a smaller, nonvenomous variety capable of incredible leaps.

Leaping sword spiders are ill-tempered and difficult to train. Occasionally, one goes berserk, attacking both crew and vessel. When situations like this arise, it is generally left to the rigging spider to regain control, by slaying the offending sword spider.

The Xakhun drow sail the skies in windships in groups known as Xan Krabans. Lolth created the various Xakhun spiders to bolster the fighting capability of the Xan Krabans, although some can be found in traditional subterranean drow cities, serving priestesses of the Spider Queen. Xakhun spiders normally hide in the crew compartment of the windship until called upon to attack nearby ships and enemies. Drop spiders and the Xakhun's leaping sword spider instinctively attack each other, so they are never kept in the same ship or building.

I'd swap around the spiders in the last sentence, e.g. "Leaping sword spiders and and the Xakhun's drop spiders...".

A typical leaping sword spider has a body x feet in diameter and weighs about x pounds.

I'd go for "A typical leaping sword spider has a body 6 feet long and weighs about 300 pounds."

 

[freyar]

I say no to gnaw (or whatever the rend-equivalent is; I think gnaw is like constrict) but yes to the racial skill bonuses. Cleon, go ahead and edit Shade's fluff as you like.