Converting Monsters from Polyhedron Magazine

[freyar]

Sounds fine with me, but where is the deathless type found?

Let's bump Dex to 18 and Cha to 19. Then we still have room for a +2 sacred bonus to AC. Sound about right?

Do we still need turn resistance now that they are deathless?

Regarding domains: what if we just say 2 domains from its deity's list? We could use Law and Good as the defaults.

 

[demiurge1138]

Deathless is in the Book of Exalted Deeds and the Eberron Campaign Setting. Basically, if you reverse all the references to positive and negative energy, you've got a deathless.

I think the idea is bollocks myself, since Negative Energy is neutral, but undead = evil is, for better or worse, ingrained into the game these days.

 

[Shade]

I wish undead were divorced from negative energy/evil as a default, and instead were powered by either negative or positive energy, depending upon the type. Maybe Pathfinder will go this route.

In the meantime, deathless is our best bet.

Updated.

 

[freyar]

I wish undead were divorced from negative energy/evil as a default, and instead were powered by either negative or positive energy, depending upon the type. Maybe Pathfinder will go this route.

Maybe you should suggest that.

An avenging spirit is struck only by blessed or magical weapons.

Since they're incorporeal, that already takes care of the magical part. Do we also want to give them DR X/evil?

 

[Shade]

Sure. 10/evil?

Shall we make stonebirds a unique spell-like ability?

 

[freyar]

DR 10 sounds ok.

Unique Sp sounds good, too, unless you feel like writing the spell.

 

[Shade]

Here's a rough draft of the ability...

Stonebirds (Sp): Once(?) per day, an avenging spirit can call forth 2d10 birds of living stone. These birds remain for 1 hour or until destroyed. This is the equivalent of a 3rd-level spell. Stonebirds have the following statistics.

Stonebird: Diminuitive Construct; HD 1d10 (5 hp); Init +2; Spd 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (average); AC 17 (touch 16, flat-footed 15); Base Atk +0; Grp -17; Atk bite +0 melee (1d4); Full Atk bite +0 melee (1d4); Space/Reach: 1 ft./0 ft.; SA explode; SQ construct traits; AL N; SV Fort +0, Ref +2, Will +0; Str 10, Dex 15, Con -, Int -, Wis 11, Cha 1.
Explode (Su): A stonebird that successfully hits a target may be commanded to detonate, dealing an additional 1d4 points of piercing damage. This destroys the stonebird.

 

[freyar]

I think that's pretty good. Once a day is probably enough, given the rest of the spell casting.

 

[Shade]

Updated.

SPECIAL ATTACKS: confusion, fear
SPECIAL DEFENSES: invisibility

Avenging spirits are said to be the souls of murder victims whose assailants went unpunished in life. They are bound to a particular place, generally close to where they died. They may appear as far as a mile or two from the scene of their deaths for brief periods (a few minutes), but they can attack only when within 100 yards of their place of death.

We need to reproduce one of those "bound to place" abilities.

With non-threatening strangers, she is likely to appear as a cascade of blonde hair, a disembodied voice singing sad, sweet songs, or occasionally as a swallow or kid goat.

The avenging spirit will appear in one or more of her forms to help strangers in need.

Thoughts on the "alternate forms"?

She will tease mortals with cantrips and use them with invisibility, ventriloquism, or entangle to have fun bedeviling them.

Its preferred method of destruction is the waterspout.

She will use ESP and detect lie to determine the alignment and friendliness of any she meets.

Spells: animal friendship, entangle, speak with animals, heat metal, charm person, continual light, plant growth, detect lie, call woodland creatures, raise/lower water, control winds (specifically a waterspout, winds 55-72 mph), magic font, confusion, sunray, stonebirds*

Since some of those spells aren't on the cleric or her domain lists, I'd suggest making them SLAs.

Anyone encountering an avenging spirit must make a saving throw vs spell or flee in terror for 2d12 rounds before recovering. There is a 50% chance that a fleeing victim will drop whatever he or she carries.

Fear Aura? Frightful presence?

 

[freyar]

We need to reproduce one of those "bound to place" abilities.

Something like a dryad or similar fey? Or there are probably similarly bound undead. (Or is it the Divine Guardian Template in Advanced Bestiary?)

Thoughts on the "alternate forms"?

Since it has invisibility, how about the ability to select how much is invisible? So her hair, say, could be visible? Though that doesn't really work for the animal forms. Could just do alternate form.

Since some of those spells aren't on the cleric or her domain lists, I'd suggest making them SLAs.

Sure.

Fear Aura? Frightful presence?

I think a fear aura. Maybe duplicating the fear spell?