Converting Monsters from Polyhedron Magazine

[Cleon]

Switching to Lightning Reflexes and keeping the rest sounds good to me.

Let's do skills then!

A regular treant has 30 skill points the following ranks:

Skills: Diplomacy 0, Hide 0, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (nature) 5, Listen 5, Sense Motive 5, Spot 5, Survival 5

Those skills look pretty apt, but we'll have to shave off 10 ranks. How about cutting out the Knowledge and Sense Motive? I could see dropping Intimidate instead of Knowledge, but would like to keep them ignorant and menacing!

Skills: Hide 0, Intimidate 5, Listen 5, Spot 5, Survival 5

 

[freyar]

Sounds just fine to me.

 

[Shade]

Updated.

Challenge Rating: 8?

Alignment: Usually neutral evil?

Advancement: 8–16 HD (Huge); 17–21 HD (Gargantuan)?

Level Adjustment: +5?

Frost treants speak Treant, Common, and Sylvan?

 

[Cleon]

Updated.

Challenge Rating: 8?

I'd think their CR should be lower than a regular treant since they don't have Animate Trees, which effectively triples a treant's damage dealing capacity.

Challenge Rating 7? Maybe even 6?

Alignment: Usually neutral evil?

Advancement: 8–16 HD (Huge); 17–21 HD (Gargantuan)?

Sounds good.

Level Adjustment: +5?

Again, not having Animate Trees should lower their LA a bit.

Frost treants speak Treant, Common, and Sylvan?

Sounds good (again!).

 

[Shade]

Updated.

We just need flavor text and tactics.

 

[freyar]

Actually, weren't we going to give them an ability to move unhindered through snow? Or do we think icewalking covers it?

Frost treants typically open battle with a volley of needles. Upon closing to melee range, they shed snow, making use of their reach and their opponents' limited mobility.

 

[Shade]

Something like this?

Snow Striding (Ex): A frost treant never suffers movement penalties in snow-covered spaces.

 

[Mortis]

Something like this?

Snow Striding (Ex):

I see a couple of options

1. Snow Striding - by using its 'feet' like snow shoes

or

2. Root Skiing (Ex): A frost treant can uproot itself as a standard action and use its roots to ski on. (Could even treat it as if it had the run feat for this).

Regards
Mortis

 

[freyar]

Hmm, root skiing is intriguing, but I think snow striding is easier.

 

[Cleon]

Actually, weren't we going to give them an ability to move unhindered through snow? Or do we think icewalking covers it?

I'm wondering whether icewalking isn't too much, I was thinking it could cover snow and icy slopes without penalty, not walk upside down from the ceiling if glacial caves!

Something like:

Snowcrossing (Ex): A frost treant's movement is never slowed or hampered by snowy or icy terrain.

Slopewalking (Ex): A frost treant's rootlike feet have a remarkable grip, allowing it to walk across steep slopes without penalty It must make Climb checks to cross sheer cliffs and other places a pine tree would not be able to take root.

Frost treants typically open battle with a volley of needles. Upon closing to melee range, they shed snow, making use of their reach and their opponents' limited mobility.

That looks good.