Converting monsters from Dragon magazine

[Cleon]

Attach usually goes with something like Blood Drain and with creatures with smaller grapple bonuses. How about Imp Grab and Chew?

That'd be OK by me.

Auto-chew or Grapple-chew?

10 ft land speed?

How about "10 ft. (2 squares, cannot run)"?

 

[freyar]

Grapple chew, I think.

That's a fine land speed.

Is that enough special abilities?

 

[Cleon]

Grapple chew, I think.

I was thinking Auto Chew, but with its Grapple modifier it makes little practical difference.

Hmm, I did a quick search and could only find examples of auto-chew in the CC, e.g. "Each round, a giant echidna deals 3d6+5 points of bludgeoning and piercing damage to any opponent held in its mouth. A giant echidna cannot use its bite attack in any round in which it chews."

We've got a grapple check equivalent in Gnaw, e.g. "An aurotyugh can deal automatic bite damage with a successful grapple check."

Shall I use that text?

That's a fine land speed.

So we're agreed!

Updating Super Otter Working Draft.

Is that enough special abilities?

That's enough as far as I'm concerned.

 

[freyar]

Ahhh, erf. Notice that the giant echidna chew requires the victim to be grappled in the mouth. I think we were misnaming one or the other. Gnaw or chew, whichever we think we should call it, is fine. We had one that worked like rend, but I don't remember what we called that. You can take the Gnaw text, I guess.

Skills and feats then? Put the skills in Spot and Listen, I guess?

 

[Cleon]

Ahhh, erf. Notice that the giant echidna chew requires the victim to be grappled in the mouth. I think we were misnaming one or the other. Gnaw or chew, whichever we think we should call it, is fine. We had one that worked like rend, but I don't remember what we called that. You can take the Gnaw text, I guess.

Updating Super Otter Working Draft with Gnaw.

Skills and feats then? Put the skills in Spot and Listen, I guess?

The Stormwrack Otter has an even Listen and Spot split while its Sea Otter has a SP in Hide and 4 SPs in Spot. The Stormwrack otter also has a +4 racial bonus in Balance and Climb.

Our Potamotherium and Dire Otter homebrews have a point in Escape Artist and the rest evenly split between Listen and Spot.

I like Escape Artist 1, Listen 9, Spot 9 based on the latter.

 

[freyar]

That'll be fine. How much racial bonus for Escape Artist? +6 seem like enough to you?

 

[Cleon]

That'll be fine.

That'll be fine. How much racial bonus for Escape Artist? +6 seem like enough to you?

That'd give them Escape Artist +9, which isn't enough for them to make a "squeeze through tight space" DC of 30 unless we give em Agile (like a Weasel has) or rearrange some skill ranks.

I'd think they'd mainly use Escape Artist to squeeze through rocks and the like, since their Escape Artist is way to low for them to substitute it for Grapple checks to escape holds.

Hmm, although I think they should be able to wriggle out of holds more easily considering their flexible spines.

Hmm...

How about this:

Skills: Escape Artist +13, Listen +11, Spot +11,
Skill Ranks: Escape Artist 3, Listen 8, Spot 8
Feats: Agile, Alertness, Improved Critical (bite), Spring Attack (B), Weapon Focus (bite), plus one

Flexible Spine: a super-otter's flexible spine gives it a +6 racial bonus to Escape Artist checks and a +6 racial bonus to opposed grapple checks to escape a grapple.

Skills: A super otter has a +6 racial bonus to Escape Artist checks because of its flexibility (see Flexible Spine).

Super otters have a +8 racial bonus on Swim checks and can always choose to take 10 on Swim checks, even if distracted or endangered. A super otter can use either its Strength or its Dexterity bonus for Swim checks and can take the Run action while swimming (see Agile Swimmer).​

We still need another feat.

Ru or Snatch? Either of those would be OK by me.

If Swimby Attack was in the SRD I'd give 'em that, but unfortunately it ain't.

 

[freyar]

Wait, how do you get +13 on Escape Artist? I have +2 Dex +3 ranks +6 racial=+11.

Yeah, I hate the absence of simple things like Swimby Attack. Let's give them Run.

 

[Cleon]

Wait, how do you get +13 on Escape Artist? I have +2 Dex +3 ranks +6 racial=+11.

I suggest you look up the effects of the Agile feat.

Yeah, I hate the absence of simple things like Swimby Attack. Let's give them Run.

That's fine by me!

 

[freyar]

Oh, yeah, I missed that one.

CR 7 seems a bit low compared to the remorhaz and purple worm. CR 9 or 10 maybe?
Are these ready for flavor and tactics?