Converting monsters from Imagine Magazine

[freyar]

Definitely creepy.

Abilities? Maybe we can base this off the medium agta and bump the strength (the talisman seems to grant a lot of strength). What do you think?

 

[Shade]

Here's some local folklore about the tikbalang. The presence of the creature is indicated by an unusual bird call. If the bird call sounds close, the tikbalang is far, and if it sounds distant, the tikbalang is near. People who are unaware of this assume the sound to be that of the tikbalang itself and are lulled into a false sense of security; in fact the bird call sounds near when the tikbalang is far because the bird tries to be as far away from the monster as possible, so when the tikbalang is near you the bird is far away from the tikbalang (and you). Trust me, that gives me the creeps!

That is creepy, and we'll have to work it in.

Here's how it looks using Freyar's suggestion of modeling it off a Medium agta:

Medium Fey
Hit Dice: 12d6+48 (90 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), fly 40 ft. (perfect?)
Armor Class: 19 (+1 Dex, +8 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+13
Attack: Bite +13 melee (1d8+7)
Full Attack: Bite +13 melee (1d8+7) and 2 claws +8 melee (1d4+7)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Maze, rake, roar, spell-like abilities
Special Qualities: Damage reduction x/cold iron, immolate, low-light vision, spell resistance 3+CR, sunlight vulnerability, talisman
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +9, Will +9
Abilities: Str 24, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 11
Skills: 6 at 15 ranks
Feats: 5
Environment: Any forests
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: x
Treasure: x
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: x
Level Adjustment: -

 

[freyar]

I think these are actually the large agta stats, but the str is probably about right. Do we have some indication of dex and con? The medium agta has both of these at 15.

 

[Shade]

Oops. You're right, those were the Large stats. Dex and Con would be 15. I could see leaving the Con at 19, though, since these guys are bit deadlier.

 

[freyar]

I agree these are nastier. Let's leave Con at 19.

Do we want to make the talisman 1d8 points of Str (based off of the agta talisman)?

 

[Shade]

Sounds good.

Added to Homebrews.

It is, however, an adroit shapechanger, and commonly takes the form of an old man.

Shall we adapt this?

Change Shape (Su): A doppelganger can assume the shape of any Small or Medium humanoid. In humanoid form, the doppelganger loses its natural attacks. A doppelganger can remain in its humanoid form until it chooses to assume a new one. A change in form cannot be dispelled, but a doppelganger reverts to its natural form when killed. A true seeing spell or ability reveals its natural form.

Skills: *When using its change shape ability, a doppelganger gets an additional +10 circumstance bonus on Disguise checks. If it can read an opponent’s mind, it gets a further +4 circumstance bonus on Bluff and Disguise checks.

When a Tikbalang leads a victim into its thicket, it can cast over the victim a glamer similar to that caused by a maze spell - the victim will be trapped for the same length of time, although the effect does not include travel to another plane.

Here's the maze spell relevant text...

You banish the subject into an extradimensional labyrinth of force planes. Each round on its turn, it may attempt a DC 20 Intelligence check to escape the labyrinth as a full-round action. If the subject doesn’t escape, the maze disappears after 10 minutes, forcing the subject to leave.

On escaping or leaving the maze, the subject reappears where it had been when the maze spell was cast. If this location is filled with a solid object, the subject appears in the nearest open space. Spells and abilities that move a creature within a plane, such as teleport and dimension door, do not help a creature escape a maze spell, although a plane shift spell allows it to exit to whatever plane is designated in that spell. Minotaurs are not affected by this spell.

Apart from these abilities, the Tikbalang can fly at will by walking on air, and can cause blindness, disease, and insanity once each per day. It can use a word of recall once per day, vanishing in a cloud of dust and falling stones similar in effect to the hailstone type of ice storm, which causes 1d6 damage to any within 10 ft. of the spot it vacates (saving throw halves damage).

SLAs: At will (?)--greater teleport; 1/day--blindness/deafness, contagion, insanity.

Deadly Vanishing (Su): When a tikbalang uses its greater teleport ability, a cloud of dust and falling stones appears in a 10-foot-radius centered on a square it exits. This cloud lasts for 1 round and deals 1d6 points of bludgeoning damage. (Should it affect visibility due to dust?)

In its natural form, it can also roar once per turn, causing fear as the spell unless the appropriate saving throw is made.

Covered by great roar ability of agta?

5% of Tikbalangs can also immolate in the same way as a Type VI demon, the flames causing 3d6 damage to any within range.

Let's just make this standard for all tikbalangs. Here's the balor's ability....

Flaming Body (Su): The body of a balor is wreathed in flame. Anyone grappling a balor takes 6d6 points of fire damage each round.

We should modify it so it isn't always active, but is something it can choose to activate. And drop the damage to 3d6, of course.

 

[GrayLinnorm]

I noticed that the original text listed the tikbalang's intelligence as "Very", so I would suggest raising it to 12.

 

[Shade]

Good catch! I raised the Int and skill points accordingly.

 

[Shade]

Also...

Tikbalangs have immense strength, and if pressed throw rocks as a stone giant or uproot trees to use as weapons.

Rock Throwing (Ex): The range increment is 180 feet for a stone giant’s thrown rocks. It uses both hands when throwing a rock.

Stone giant thrown rocks deal 2d8 damage.

 

[freyar]

Shall we adapt this?

Change Shape (Su): A doppelganger can assume the shape of any Small or Medium humanoid. In humanoid form, the doppelganger loses its natural attacks. A doppelganger can remain in its humanoid form until it chooses to assume a new one. A change in form cannot be dispelled, but a doppelganger reverts to its natural form when killed. A true seeing spell or ability reveals its natural form.

Skills: *When using its change shape ability, a doppelganger gets an additional +10 circumstance bonus on Disguise checks. If it can read an opponent’s mind, it gets a further +4 circumstance bonus on Bluff and Disguise checks.

Just replace doppelganger by tikbalang, I guess.

Here's the maze spell relevant text...

You banish the subject into an extradimensional labyrinth of force planes. Each round on its turn, it may attempt a DC 20 Intelligence check to escape the labyrinth as a full-round action. If the subject doesn’t escape, the maze disappears after 10 minutes, forcing the subject to leave.

On escaping or leaving the maze, the subject reappears where it had been when the maze spell was cast. If this location is filled with a solid object, the subject appears in the nearest open space. Spells and abilities that move a creature within a plane, such as teleport and dimension door, do not help a creature escape a maze spell, although a plane shift spell allows it to exit to whatever plane is designated in that spell. Minotaurs are not affected by this spell.

Entrapment (Su): A tikbalang can trap a subject in a mental maze; if the subject fails a DCX Will save (the save DC is Charisma-based), it perceives its surroundings as a maze. Each round on its turn, the subject can take a full round action to make a DC 20 Intelligence check to discern the correct appearance of its surroundings. If the subject fails all its Intelligence checks, this effect ends after 10 minutes.

SLAs: At will (?)--greater teleport; 1/day--blindness/deafness, contagion, insanity.

Deadly Vanishing (Su): When a tikbalang uses its greater teleport ability, a cloud of dust and falling stones appears in a 10-foot-radius centered on a square it exits. This cloud lasts for 1 round and deals 1d6 points of bludgeoning damage. (Should it affect visibility due to dust?)

Yes to both the questions.

Covered by great roar ability of agta?

I think so.

Let's just make this standard for all tikbalangs. Here's the balor's ability....

Flaming Body (Su): The body of a balor is wreathed in flame. Anyone grappling a balor takes 6d6 points of fire damage each round.

We should modify it so it isn't always active, but is something it can choose to activate. And drop the damage to 3d6, of course.

Flaming Body (Su): As a swift action a tikbalang can wreathe its body in flames. Anyone grappling a balor takes 3d6 points of fire damage each round. This effect continues until the tikbalang ends it as a free action. (Should we put in a way to dispel it?)