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Converting monsters from Second Edition Monstrous Compendiums


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Cleon

Legend
Give me a moment to look through it...

Firstly, the armour class line should mention the +2 enhancement bonus of the mithral plate:

Armor Class:: 22 (+1 Dex, +1 deflection, +10 +2 mithral full plate), touch 12, flat-footed 21

Secondly, at level+13 his spell resistance should be 26, not 27.

Thirdly, we've messed up the feats. With 13 character levels it ought to have five standard feats, not six, and it also has to have Cleave, Improved Sunder and Power Attack because those are prerequisited for the Blackguard prestige class.

We'd better change the feats line. If we remove Stand Still and the mounted combat feats we won't need to change the attack line:

Feats: Cleave, Improved Critical (greatsword), Improved Sunder, Power Attack, Track(B), Two-Weapon Fighting(B), Weapon Focus (greatsword)

Fourthly, it's normal to list the magical items in a Possessions line, not under treasure - which also suggests we ought to modify the template's Treasure line:

Template:
Treasure: Standard (including possessions appropriate for its character level).

Sample Creature:
Treasure: Standard (see possessions).

. . .

Possessions: +2 mithral full plate, +1 adamantine dragon bane greatsword, +1 composite longbow (+5 Str), 40 cold iron arrows, 30 silver arrows, 10 adamantine arrows, boots of speed, ring of protection +1, cloak of resistance +1, wand of inflict light wounds, 134 gp

Fifthly, it has a Advancement by character class and a Level Adjustment of +4.

Sixthly, and finally, we need to spell out the ability array, e.g. add the following after the description:

The undead dragon slayer presented here is a former human with the following base ability scores: Str 16, Dex 8, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 16.
 

Cleon

Legend
Sixthly, and finally, we need to spell out the ability array, e.g. add the following after the description:

That reminds me, the "Its weapons and armor glow with a supernatural light and are decorated with a dragon-scale design and images of dragons or draconic body parts bearing appalling wounds." in the description seems rather ungainly.

How about "Its weapons and armor glow with a supernatural light and are decorated with a dragon-scale design and images of mutilated dragons."
 

Cleon

Legend
Thirdly, we've messed up the feats. With 13 character levels it ought to have five standard feats, not six, and it also has to have Cleave, Improved Sunder and Power Attack because those are prerequisited for the Blackguard prestige class.

We'd better change the feats line. If we remove Stand Still and the mounted combat feats we won't need to change the attack line:

Feats: Cleave, Improved Critical (greatsword), Improved Sunder, Power Attack, Track(B), Two-Weapon Fighting(B), Weapon Focus (greatsword)

Correction. As a Human he gets a bonus feat, so we can give it one back. I'd go for Mounted Combat:

Feats: Cleave, Improved Critical (greatsword), Improved Sunder, Mounted Combat (B), Power Attack, Track(B), Two-Weapon Fighting(B), Weapon Focus (greatsword)
 

freyar

Extradimensional Explorer
Hmm, I had the same numbers as you for the AC but forgot to list "+2" explicitly on the armor. Will add that back....

SR is supposed to be CR+13. At level 13, the sample (before template) is level 13, so CR 13. But then the template adds CR +1. So I get SR of 27, right?

I can go for those feat replacements.

I see what you mean about the description, but I'm a little reluctant to change it since I think Shade wrote it --- I'd like to keep a little more of his work around.

Updated
 

Cleon

Legend
Hmm, I had the same numbers as you for the AC but forgot to list "+2" explicitly on the armor. Will add that back....

SR is supposed to be CR+13. At level 13, the sample (before template) is level 13, so CR 13. But then the template adds CR +1. So I get SR of 27, right?

I was probably thinking it was HD + 13, not CR + 13.

Hmm, perhaps we should change it from Challenge Rating to Hit Dice.

Don't templates that grant spell resistance generally base it on Hit Dice, like the Half-Fiend and Half-Celestial? If for no other reason that you don't have to worry about whether the CR adjustment applies before or after you calculate the SR!

I see what you mean about the description, but I'm a little reluctant to change it since I think Shade wrote it --- I'd like to keep a little more of his work around.

I don't mind leaving the description as it is in memorandum.

I can go for those feat replacements.

Updated

So what have we left now?
 

freyar

Extradimensional Explorer
In the past, the CC has typically used CR, at least by my memory (since you have the database downloaded, presumably you could check some templates).

I think we just have the anti-dragon stats. I'll do that soon!
 

Cleon

Legend
In the past, the CC has typically used CR, at least by my memory (since you have the database downloaded, presumably you could check some templates).

Let me have a quick look...

In no particular order*, the first dozen templates with spell resistance I saw were:

Skeletal Warrior = level-based.
Foo Creature = HD-based.
Warden Beast = CR-based.
Beast of Chaos = flat number.
Lamia Noble = flat number.
False Keraptis = HD-based.
Death Knight: HD-based.
Per = flat number.
Undead Unseelie Faerie = HD-based.
Wraith-King = HD-based.
Shadowrath, Greater = CR-based.
Watch Ghost = HD-based.

So that's two CR-based, three flat numbers and seven HD-based (since the Skeletal Warrior's levels are effectively the same as HD for this purpose).

So I'm still favouring changing it to Hit Dice! :cool:

*well, I ordered the monsters by file size, rather than date or time, to make the selection a bit random.

I think we just have the anti-dragon stats. I'll do that soon!

I take it that's a Freyar "soon" rather than a Cleon "soon". :p
 

freyar

Extradimensional Explorer
I wonder if you chose more recent ones if it would change the statistics... But I'm willing to change to HD-based, I suppose.

It is freyar soon, but I'm pretty motivated to get this one finished. I'll set aside some time.
 

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