Converting monsters from First Edition modules

[Aspect of BOZ]

I'd rather not...turtles (which probably inspired the vulnerability) and other similar creatures don't have a game mechanic for this type of vulnerabilty.

If anything, I'd give them a penalty on opposed rolls to avoid being tripped.

so if you trip them, they're flipped over?

did they give the flumph a vulnerability like that when it appeared in Dungeon mag last year?

 

[Shade]

By George, you're right! I forgot about ol' flumphy.

Helplessness (Ex): A flumph that is flipped over becomes helpless, disoriented, and falls to the ground. While flipped over, a flumph cannot exude acid from its tentacles--it can barely move and talk. It can attempt to right itself once per day by making a successful DC 20 Escape Artist check, but otherwise the creature is stuck until an ally flips it back over. A flumph can be flipped with a successful trip attack, or by failing its Fortitude save when exposed to high wind.

And people say the flumph is useless. Look how helpful he was here!

 

[Mortis]

And people say the flumph is useless. Look how helpful he was here!

I would add that an overturned bozorg loses its Dex to AC (which is covered under 'being helpless' ?) as well as any Natural Armor (to reflect the unarmoured underbelly).

Regards
Mortis

 

[Shade]

Losing (or reducing) the nat armor bonus is a good idea.

 

[dhaga]

I'd vote for reducing the nat armor bonus rather than flat out losing it. I'd expect the underside to be underarmored, but not entirely unarmored. Say the underside has just 50% of the nat armor? 25%? Am I getting too complicated? Probably.

 

[Aspect of BOZ]

eh?

Helplessness (Ex): A maschin-i-bozorg that is flipped over becomes helpless. While flipped over, a bozorg cannot move, and loses its natural armor bonus. The bozorg is stuck until an ally flips it back over. A bozorg can be flipped with a successful trip attack, or (with a successful opposed grapple check?).

i think the bozorg, however, should get a bonus to resist a trip attack, such as how quadrupeds have one.

 

[dhaga]

Losing the nat armor bonus is much easier to document, isn't it? +4 bonus to resist trip attacks?

And for the darts -- I would say the larger ones would have larger darts, delivering a larger payload of poison, say increase the save DC by 2 for each size category larger than small? (medium DC would be 14, large DC would be 16, etc). Should the initial dart damage be increased, too, since they'll be heavier? d4 for small / med, d6 for large?

 

[Shade]

+4 is absolutely correct.

The defender gets a +4 bonus on his check if he has more than two legs or is otherwise more stable than a normal humanoid.

The rest looks good. I'd say rather than a grapple check, successfully pinning it could do the trick.

 

[BOZ]

And for the darts -- I would say the larger ones would have larger darts, delivering a larger payload of poison, say increase the save DC by 2 for each size category larger than small? (medium DC would be 14, large DC would be 16, etc). Should the initial dart damage be increased, too, since they'll be heavier? d4 for small / med, d6 for large?

definitely right on the increasing dart damage - i have already figured that in. i may want to increase the poison DCs more than that; i'll give it some thought.


taking something that dhaga wrote earlier and modifying. how does it look?

Crush (Ex): A bozorg can roll over a prone or helpless creature of up to one size larger than itself as a standard action, using its weight to crush the opponent. The victim must succeed on a DC X Reflex save or be pinned, automatically taking 1d4 points of bludgeoning damage. The save DC is (Constitution? Strength?)-based. Thereafter, if the bozorg chooses to maintain the pin, treat it as a normal grapple attack. While pinned, the opponent takes crush damage each round. A bozorg can use its other attack forms as normal while conducting a grapple.


The damage dealt varies according to the bozorg's size:
Small (4 ft): 1d4 damage (+Str mod)
Medium (8 ft): 1d8 damage (+Str mod)
Large (12 ft): 2d6 damage (+Str mod)

 

[Shade]

That looks good. I'd go with Str-based, like trample.