D&D 3E/3.5 Converting monsters from Mayfair Games Role Aids product line

[Nookie]

4 spot/ 8 listen seems more in line with a real life spider.

 

[Cleon]

4 spot/ 8 listen seems more in line with a real life spider.

Yes, but 3E spider monsters tend to get more Spot than Listen, for some weird reason best known to the developers. e.g. Phase Spider (Spot +4, no Listen), Monstrous Spiders (Nothing in Listen plus Spot +4, or +8 for Hunting Spiders).

Maybe it's because Monstrous Spiders have tremorsense, suggesting the spiders could automatically "hear" the tremors of anything within 60 ft.?

Of course, SRD Phase Spiders don't have tremorsense, which rather mucks up that theory. More likely they just threw in some numbers and move on, rather than spending a lot of time worrying about what sensory modifiers are appropriate for an arachnid that could grow to the size of a blue whale.

Anyhow, a Dream Monster isn't actually a spider, so I can live with a higher Spot skill than Listen skill.

 

[Nookie]

fine by me. Lets continue.

 

[Cleon]

fine by me. Lets continue.

I'm happy to give them Listen +6, Spot +6 if you prefer it.

If not, I think we can move on to the background & tactics text.

Hold on, we are still missing Treasure and Challenge Rating and have a few other red questions?

I'm OK with most of them, but am not quite sure about the alignment. I wouldn't mind making them Evil.

 

[Nookie]

well if they are intelegent than mind screwing someone till they are dead seems pretty evil to me.

Im ok with the Higher spot skill split.

 

[Cleon]

well if they are intelegent than mind screwing someone till they are dead seems pretty evil to me.

Come to think of it, the original monster had "Alignment: Neutral", suggesting we should keep the current alignment.

Although it also has "They also have ESP and can read their intended victims' minds", which makes me think we should add detect thoughts to their special abilities.

Methinks we can just duplicate the SRD Doppelganger:

Detect Thoughts (Su): A doppelganger can continuously use detect thoughts as the spell (caster level 18th; Will DC 13 negates). It can suppress or resume this ability as a free action. The save DC is Charisma-based.

 

[Nookie]

the dopplganger looks good but this creature does mind mess people in order to just kill them right?

 

[Cleon]

the dopplganger looks good but this creature does mind mess people in order to just kill them right?

Well, I don't think a Dream Monster uses its detect thoughts to help it disguise itself as a humanoid creature like a Doppleganger does, but it seems to use its "ESP" to help make its attacks seem "part of the scenery".

More to the point, ESP is a spell in AD&D which allows the caster to read surface thoughts, which AD&D Dopplegangers could use continuously. That spell became detect thoughts in 3E.

Dream Monsters "have ESP and can read their intended victims' minds" so methinks it makes sense to use the 3E Doppleganger's Detect Thoughts (Su) ability in this case.

 

[freyar]

It seems to me that all the illusions and even detecting thoughts is just to help it hunt. Seems kind of neutral to me.

 

[Cleon]

It seems to me that all the illusions and even detecting thoughts is just to help it hunt. Seems kind of neutral to me.

So you prefer them "Always neutral" like in the Dream Monster Working Draft then?

I ended up leaving them like that since the original has "AL: Neutral".

What about adding the detect evil I proposed?