Converting monsters from First Edition modules

[Shade]

I'll have to page Echohawk, as I don't have the module in question.

 

[demiurge1138]

I like the idea of being immune to time-based spells. Maybe spells with durations affect them differently? Rounds become minutes, minutes become hours, hours become days? This could be a blessing or a curse, depending on what sort of spell's on them.

Demiurge out.

 

[Shade]

I like it. I've paged Echohawk to see what else we can get on these guys.

 

[freyar]

Courtesy of Echohawk:

SPECIAL NOTE: The Mobius Tower is time-trapped. Most of the people and things in the Mobius Tower are in a different time-frame than the PCs. This does not affect the PCs in any way. Everything in the Mobius Tower (except the listed monsters) is moving VERY SLOWLY. A thousand years could pass before the PCs could see any of the people or things in the Tower move. These objects will seem to the PCs to be “frozen” in both time and space. Time-trapped people and things cannot be moved or damaged unless their time-frame is changed to the PCs' time-frame. There are only two ways of doing that:
1. Teleport the object into room L4a.
2. Change the object's time-frame with the Medallion of
Time found in room L3f.

This doesn't give us much, but demiurge's idea about spell durations would make a lot of sense. Maybe even instantaneous spells take a round before they work on them or something.

EDIT: Ooh, or maybe anything takes a while to happen to them. So you chop them with a sword or something, and they take the damage one round later.

 

[demiurge1138]

Delay Damage as a Su quality? I like it!

Demiurge out.

 

[freyar]

Let's give this a whirl. I'm opting for a slightly easier version of the extended spell durations, so see what you think.

Delay Damage (Su): Any effect takes a full round to affect a cryptknight. For example, weapon damage done to a cryptknight applies one round after the successful attack. Similarly, a spell affects a cryptknight one round after it normally would (a fireball targeting an area including a orc and a cryptknight would damage the orc immediately but the cryptknight one round later). This also applies to nondamaging effects.

Spell Extension (Su): Any spell effect with a duration other than concentration, instantaneous, or permanent is doubled (as by the extend spell metamagic feat) in its effect on a cryptknight. That is, a spell with a one round effect would last for two rounds. In addition, the effect of the spell begins one round later than usual (see Delay Damage).

 

[demiurge1138]

I'd say "is doubled in duration" explicitly.

Demiurge out.

 

[freyar]

Oops, you're right, that's what I meant.

Spell Extension (Su): Any spell effect with a duration other than concentration, instantaneous, or permanent is doubled in duration (as by the extend spell metamagic feat) in its effect on a cryptknight. That is, a spell with a one round effect would last for two rounds. In addition, the effect of the spell begins one round later than usual (see Delay Damage).

 

[Shade]

Great ideas! I'll get these guys Homebrewed.

 

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.

Some more random thoughts...

What if these things moved at odd intervals, similar to Samara in The Ring or Lancelot in Monty Python and the Holy Grail? You know what I mean, where they seem to just suddenly blink closer (or further)? Maybe allow them to move as if in time stop every other round?

I think we need to beef them up a bit. For 9 HD undead, they are rather weak. Let's go with the greataxe, and increase the Str a bit to allow for a bit more damage. Say, 17?

AC translates to 20. With no Dex, that's all natural and armor. Since they are skeletal undead, we could stick with the skeleton's +3 natural armor. Since they have no Dex bonus, we could stick 'em in any sort of armor we'd like.

Shall we also give 'em a skeleton's damage reduction 5/bludgeoning and immunity to cold?