Converting monsters from First Edition modules

[BOZ]

Also…

Did we discuss adding something regarding breaking weapons?

Striking it with physical weapons is like hitting a granite boulder. Edged weapons cause only half damage and must roll saving throws vs. crushing blow.

this passage should help illustrate why I don’t think a physical attack is necessary:

The horgar is not an aggressive creature. The main problem is that it does not recognize most living creatures, at all. If unprovoked, it goes its own way, whether or not somebody is in the way. If attacked, it tries to leave.

if we give it anything, it should not be terribly damaging. The slime and heat should take care of most attackers, and if it comes up against something that is immune to acid and fire, then that is its problem.


finally wrote up the flavor text:

This appears to be a cooled-down, oblong lava formation at first. It begins to move, giving it the appearance of a slug made from black granite. Even at a distance, the heat generated by this creature is intense, and its acidic odor of ammonia is powerful.

The horgar is an immense, powerful creature that eats its way through solid rock to create subterranean tunnels, passageways, and caverns. It lives deep within the earth, spending all of its time tunneling through and eating rock.

Some races call this creature a stone-eater, though it is commonly known by its dwarven name of horgar, and its less commonly known gnomish name of storgin (both of which mean “stone-eater”). These mysterious creatures are sometimes worshipped as gods by primitive lesser races. Some races try to tame horgar, to use the creatures to make passageways as they want and to attack enemies. Such captive horgar are kept in glass-lined pits, and their keepers (called horgarin in the Dwarf tongue) slip long, thin spears through the cracks in their skin to prod the sensitive flesh below. Thus, a horgarin may control which direction a horgar moves, though a careless handler is likely to lose his life to his charge.

A horgar’s chitinous skin is made from five-foot thick stone, with great cracks that divide it into large plates. These plates shift and slide while the creature moves, creating small fissures from which the horgar secretes its super-heated slime. A horgar also constantly generates searing heat from its body, reaching between 400 and 500 degrees. As a horgar moves, it grinds against the tunnel walls it makes, as its slime and heat melt the rock and fuse it into new formations. The only exposed part of a horgar is its round head, located at one end, which just seems to be a lump of softer-looking stone.

It is easy to detect a fresh stone-eater tunnel, as it remains hot for many hours. Tunnels and other new formations cut through hard rocks such as granite remain permanent, while passages made in softer stone such as sandstone collapse as the horgar moves through them.

A horgar is at least 30 feet long and can grow up to 100 feet in length, and weighs X tons.

COMBAT
A horgar is not an aggressive creature, by any stretch of the imagination. A horgar does not recognize most organic things as living creatures, and tends to continue moving whether or not something is in the way. If provoked or attacked, a horgar will usually try to leave. If it cannot run away, a horgar will turn to fight. It can squirt acid from its head up to 20 feet away. It will try to flee again at the first available opportunity.

 

[Shade]

On second thought,

and the fact that it is called a “stone-eater” lead me to believe that it probably does digest earthen material.

That makes sense.

hmm, even if we do give it something like that (and I’m not currently in favor of it, though with some thought I may change my mind), I still want to keep the “acid squirt” in the attack line.

Acid squirt alone is fine.

how about as such:

The tunnels created by a horgar’s slime and body heat remain dangerously hot for three hours. Any creature or object touching the walls of such a tunnel (including the floor) takes 2d10 points of fire damage per round. Metal in contact with such a surface is affected as if by a heat metal spell, though it remains searing hot until removed from the wall. After the first three hours, the walls remain hot for a full 24 hours after the horgar has passed, though not hot enough to burn anything.

Sounds good, except heat metal normally allows a save. Is this going to allow a save, and if so, will it need a caster level for the effect?

 

[BOZ]

"Metal in contact with such a surface is affected as if by a heat metal spell, though it remains searing hot until removed from the wall. Such an item may make a Will save (DC X) to avoid this effect, but must make a new save every round it remains in contact with the surface. The save DC is (Constitution?)-based."

should we write anything up for digesting earth and stone, or is a brief note in the flavor text sufficient?

and see the first question in my last post, regarding breaking weapons.

 

[Shade]

"Metal in contact with such a surface is affected as if by a heat metal spell, though it remains searing hot until removed from the wall. Such an item may make a Will save (DC X) to avoid this effect, but must make a new save every round it remains in contact with the surface. The save DC is (Constitution?)-based."

Sounds good, and yes, I think it should be Constitution-based.

should we write anything up for digesting earth and stone, or is a brief note in the flavor text sufficient?

Unless it has an effect on creatures composed of earth (such as earth elementals), I think flavor text is sufficient.

"and see the first question in my last post, regarding breaking weapons.

I don't think we covered this yet. There is a creature that has a similar ability, but I'm drawing a blank at the moment. I'll get back to you on that.

 

[BOZ]

OK, I’ll be waiting.

In the meantime, posting the horgar in homebrews…

(for reference, we currently have 6 ready for the next batch. epimetheus, shimnus, and the house hunter counts as 3. plus, since i've abandoned the april fools thread, might as well toss in the tirapheg. )

 

[Shade]

OK, I’ll be waiting.

Here's one that is vaguely similar:

Reflexive Sunder (Ex): The armor plates that cover a rukanyr shift and rub against each other in combat, creating a jarring sound like that of trees rubbing together in a high wind. Anyone who strikes a rukanyr with a slashing or piercing melee attack must make a Reflex save (DC 11) or the armor plates shift and crush the weapon, dealing 4d6+5 points of damage to the weapon and tearing it from the victim's grasp. The weapon lands at the attacker's feet if it is not broken by the damage.

(for reference, we currently have 6 ready for the next batch. epimetheus, shimnus, and the house hunter counts as 3. plus, since i've abandoned the april fools thread, might as well toss in the tirapheg. )

I pity the (april) fools!

 

[BOZ]

vaguely similar yes, but not quite what i was thinking. what you've got here is something that "grabs" the weapon and grinds it up, while the horgar is more like attacking a boulder with a sword.

 

[Shade]

True, it was a stretch. How about something like this (obviously, it needs work):

Reverse Sunder (Ex): Striking a horgar is like hitting a granite boulder. Any slashing or piercing weapon that strikes a horgar takes X points of damage. The weapon's hardness still applies.

Are we giving this thing DR/bludgeoning? If so, we could have it deal damage to the weapon equal to the amount of damage absorbed by the DR.

 

[BOZ]

close... i posted a thread in the rules forum to see what kind of input we can get: http://65.127.163.19/showthread.php?t=92142

and yes, DR 20/bludgeoning as i mentioned in that thread.

 

[BOZ]

thinking... you know, the last thing shade posted might actually be right on. only thing though, the original text allowed a saving throw for the weapon, so i think we should maintain that. would that be a Reflex save rolled by the attacking character?