Converting monsters from Second Edition Monstrous Compendiums

[Shade]

Here are the stats of the equally-sized, elephant-like bipedal outsider from the Fiend Folion, the maelephant:

Str 22, Dex 11, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 19, Cha 15

And while I'm looking at it, at 9 feet tall, it weighs 800 pounds.

 

[freyar]

That could work, too, probably a little less powerful in melee. I'll have to look up the maelephant to see how this should compare...

 

[demiurge1138]

I say we switch Wisdom and Charisma, and give it a bit of a Str boost.

Demiurge out.

 

[freyar]

So how about Str 25, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 19? (Mixing hill giant with maelephant, changed Int to average, rejiggered to get the correct number of odd abilities.)

Three times per day, it can use suggestion and steam breath, as per the spells. It can envelope itself in a stinking cloud three times per day, extending to a radius of 10 feet. Once per month it can place an victim in temporal stasis (suspended animation) by touching the victim with its hand. There is no saving throw. The effects last until the magic is removed by dispel magic or the temporal reinstatement (the reverse of temporal stasis).

So it should get suggestion as an SLA 3/day (nothing for steam breath in the SRD, maybe we should write an Su ability?) and temporal stasis (no save?) 1/month. Stinking cloud has medium range and a 20 ft spread in 3.5; do you want to modify it as an Su ability or just give it as a 3/day SLA?

 

[demiurge1138]

I agree that steam breath and the stinking cloud should go to Su -> a nauseating aura and a breath weapon, perhaps?

Demiurge out.

 

[freyar]

How about this?

Nauseating aura (Su): Three times per day as a standard action, a kaluk can exude a noxious cloud of gas in a 10 ft radius centered on itself, which moves with the kaluk and disperses in X rounds. Any creature within the cloud (except for a kaluk), must make a DC X Fortitude save or become nauseated for as long as it remains in the cloud and 1d6 rounds afterwards. A successful save means that the creature is immune to the nauseating aura of that kaluk for 24 hours. This is the equivalent of a 3rd level spell (CL X).

 

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.

 

[demiurge1138]

Nauseating aura looks good to me.

Demiurge out.

 

[freyar]

Ok, then, I meant to look up steam breath, but I'll just try this:

Breath Weapon (Su): A kaluk may use a breath weapon three times per day as a standard action, and it must wait 1d4 rounds between uses. A kaluk's breath weapon is a 30 ft cone of steam, which does 4d6 ? points of fire damage. A DC X Reflex save halves the damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.

 

[Shade]

Updated.

The kaluk speaks the languages of all animals. It also speaks the trade language, and the languages of any humans common to the area it inhabits.

A kaluk speaks Common and often knows regional languages of its territory.

Does this suffice?

Speak with Animals (Su): A kaluk continually speaks with animals (as the spell).

Humans can bribe a kaluk to leave them alone by presenting an offering of joss-paper. Joss-paper is a piece of parchment about 4 inches square, made from bamboo wood pulp and imbedded with pieces of gold leaf. If a kaluk who has ambushed a human is offered a section of joss-paper, the beast will accept the joss-paper and attach it to his cape. The kaluk then immediately loses all interest in the human and seeks out a stream or other reflective surface so that he can admire the new addition to his cape. Joss-paper is extremely difficult to manufacture; only characters with the paper-maker proficiency are able to make joss-paper of a quality that is acceptable to kaluk.

Thoughts?

A kaluk’s arm or leg bone can serve as a club +2. If any tree branch is rubbed in the powdered tusk of a kaluk, it will function as a divining rod as per the spell for the next 1-4 days. A kaluk’s golden cape may fetch as much as 10,000 ch’ien from collectors.

How do we want to handle that?