Converting monsters from Second Edition Monstrous Compendiums

[Shade]

True. How shall we rewrite the feeding?

 

[freyar]

From looking at all this, I think maybe it needs to feed on 2-3 hp per day, but it can't attach. That means it can only effectively bite a sleeping, unconscious, or dead individual. That's why it does the summoning bit, to get dead critters. (I'd think it also needs to distract the host while it feeds if it is going to remain incognito.) Maybe Anesthetize makes sense still in this case. So maybe the only difference is that it doesn't have to attach to its host and can feed on other critters.

 

[Shade]

I just re-read it, and I'm in complete agreement. It definitely physically feeds on blood, but probably just laps it up from an open wound, rather than latching on.

 

[freyar]

So: leave Anesthetize. Maybe it can get 1hp from a dead creature of at least 1 HD? And needs to feed on 3 hp per day? Should it have a Su ability to distract its host while it feeds on dead creatures?

 

[Shade]

Greater peltasts can be seen feeding: the blood they ingest is visible inside their bodies. They also grow visibly upon draining more than 3 hit points of nutrients (a greater peltast can typically drain up to 12 hit points, half of which are added to its hit point total for a day).

It sounds like they can also gain temporary hit points from "overeating".

 

[demiurge1138]

That logic sounds sound to me. Max of 10 temporary hp above their total?

 

[freyar]

Sure, agreed! Something like this?

Blood Feeding (Ex): A greater peltast must feed on blood each day; it may do so by biting a living creature, in which case it must do 3 hp of damage per day to sustain itself. A greater peltast may also gain sustenance from the blood of dead creatures, and it can lap up the equivalent of 1 hp from each creature of at least 1HD. If a greater peltast is able to feed on more than the equivalent of 3hp per day, it gains the remainder as temporary hp (max 10), which last for 24 hours.

 

[Shade]

Looking good. Should we implicitly state what occurs if it fails to feed on at least 3 hp per day? Maybe it becomes fatigued?

 

[freyar]

Fatigued is good (IIRC, that stacks with itself to become exhausted, etc). Maybe after 2 consecutive days of insufficient feeding, it starts taking Con damage? Should we add something like this to a normal peltast? I think we just left the feeding as flavor text.

Blood Feeding (Ex): A greater peltast must feed on blood each day; it may do so by biting a living creature, in which case it must do 3 hp of damage per day to sustain itself. A greater peltast may also gain sustenance from the blood of dead creatures, and it can lap up the equivalent of 1 hp from each creature of at least 1HD. If a greater peltast is able to feed on more than the equivalent of 3hp per day, it gains the remainder as temporary hp (max 10), which last for 24 hours.

If a greater peltast does not feed sufficiently for a day, it becomes fatigued. Starting on the 3rd consecutive day that it does not feed sufficiently, a greater peltast takes 1 point of Con damage per day, which cannot heal naturally until the greater peltast has fed sufficiently at least one day.

 

[Shade]

Looking good. Updated.

We'll need to increase its damage, for as it stands, it can't deal more than 1 point of damage on a given bite.

I agree with adding the "must feed" bits to the regular peltast, too.