Converting monsters from Tales From The Infinite Staircase

[freyar]

This works for me, though I think I'd describe the saves as "Will partial and Fortitude partial (see below)" --- the Fort save doesn't prevent all the effects.

 

[Cleon]

This works for me, though I think I'd describe the saves as "Will partial and Fortitude partial (see below)" --- the Fort save doesn't prevent all the effects.

That works for me!

Updating Curse of the Worms.

Updating Worm Magic.

Oh, included the [Death] descriptor from slay living - I forgot to include that in the original rough draft.

 

[Cleon]

Right, we might as well finish off the scraps of Red Text in Worm Magic.

Worm Domain Spells:
5. Curse of the Wormsᴹᴰ: #Living target dies over #d# rounds from being filled with worms#

5. Curse of the Wormsᴹᴰ: Kills living target by filling them with worms.

Worm Domain
Text???.

We don't absolutely need any text here but we could add suggestions for deities that grant access to the Worm Domain. If you can think of any!

How about:

Hanim clerics gain access to the Worm Domain by contemplating the valgoss and their role in the entire ecosystem of Maelost, possibly with the guidance of the dark dweller or master slaiyiths.

Deities: Nature gods associated with soil and the simplest of creatures, including some agricultural deities, plus a few gods of decay. Clerics of the worm god Kyuss do not use this domain since it's for deities concerned with living vermin and natural decomposition, while Kyuss is a deity of undeath.

New Spells
Text???.

Might as well keep it simple.

The following section presents the new spells of the Worm Domain (see above) plus additional worm related spells for druids and arcane spellcasters (such as the hanim worm lord).

Maelost Worm Magic
Brief explanation with references to Hanim, [Slaiyith link!] and Valgoss.

Let's see…

Even the lowliest of creatures can inspire magic. The humble worm's near-universal role in nature's cycle of growth and decay has led to the creation of spells based upon them.

One place such worm magic has arisen is the obscure swampy demiplane its human inhabitants, the Hanim, have named Maelost. Wormlife creatures called valgoss are vital to the survival of all life on that plane and are revered by native creatures known as the slaiyith [fix link!], powerful spellcasters who have developed worm-related magic to a high degree and introduced the Hanim to their wormy arts.

 

[Cleon]

Noticed an issue with burrow the writeup:

Casting Time: 1 [swift or immediate?] action

We need to pick one or the other!

I'm leaning towards immediate since the original 1 segment casting time is the same as the AD&D version of feather fall (unless my memory failed me).

 

[freyar]

OK, your various text options look good to me (for the domain, new spells, and Maelost worm magic).

I also agree with the immediate action.

What's next on this one?

 

[Cleon]

OK, your various text options look good to me (for the domain, new spells, and Maelost worm magic).

I also agree with the immediate action.

Updating Worm Magic.

I tweaked "The following section presents the new spells of the Worm Domain (see above) plus additional worm related spells for druids and arcane spellcasters (such as the hanim worm lord)." to "The following section presents the new spells of the Worm Domain plus additional worm-related spells for druids and arcane spellcasters (such as the hanim worm lord)." since I thought it scanned more smoothly.

What's next on this one?

Finally completing the Hanim Worm Lord!

 

[freyar]

Which part of the worm lord was what I actually meant!

Let's start with the AC. What do you think about a breastplate for the fighter host (and wormlord in fighter host)? I'm thinking no shield. Oh, actually, shouldn't the wormlord in fighter host have the same weapons as the fighter host without personality transplant?

For the "normal" wormlord, should we just stick to magic items for armor? Bracers of armor or similar?

 

[Cleon]

Which part of the worm lord was what I actually meant!

I was expecting to do the Skills & Feats, but AC is fine if you'd rather start there.

Let's start with the AC. What do you think about a breastplate for the fighter host (and wormlord in fighter host)? I'm thinking no shield. Oh, actually, shouldn't the wormlord in fighter host have the same weapons as the fighter host without personality transplant?

For the "normal" wormlord, should we just stick to magic items for armor? Bracers of armor or similar?

Yes, the most logical gear is the standard Hanim Warrior stuff.

Besides, it'd probably be a nonmetal breastplate - Maelost has very little iron remember - and there aren't any suitable special materials in the SRD. I'll just transfer over the Hanim gear for now and substitute a masterwork quarterstaff

I'd think the Worm Lord would forgo armour in a fighter host since it'd impair his spellcasting. How about we have dual stats, with both fighter gear and thaumaturge gear?

Hmm, I suppose he'd have armour if they switched bodies in a hurry and he didn't have time to remove the armour.

For the "normal" wormlord, should we just stick to magic items for armor? Bracers of armor or similar?

Yes, that's what I'd go for.

However, remember what the original character had:

Special equipment: wand of negation (21 charges), folding boat, wings of flying (damaged and no longer functional).

We can ignore the wings (since they're ruined), which leaves a wand of negation, which becomes a rod of negation in 3E (37,000 gp) plus a folding boat (7,200 gp).

However, that adds up to 44,200 gp or practically all our 45,000 gp budget.

We could substitute the considerably cheaper but one-use rod of cancellation (11,000 gp) but that seems wasteful.

I'd rather substitute a wand of dispel magic (2,250 gp per CL) with an advanced CL? If it's CL 9th like the Worm Lord's own spell's it'd be 20,250 gp which is still a bit costly.

Hmm, standard AD&D wands perform at caster level 6 so we could use that instead - that'd be 13,500 gp for a fully charged wand of dispel magic (6th).

How much do part-expended wands sell for anyhow? The original wand of negation has 21 charges instead of the full 50 of a new wand (actually AD&D wands fill up to 100 charges, but that's not particularly relevant).

There should be some official 3E guidelines on the market value of partially charged wands considering how many of them there are in published adventures…

So a 21 charge wand would it be worth 42% as much as a fully charged one, as in 8,505 gp for wand of dispel magic (9th). That doesn't feel right, since it's four CLs higher than the basic CL 5th version but 2,755 gp cheaper. It may has a fraction of the uses, but those uses are pretty valuable!

However, let's use that figure for the sake of argument.

Now bracers of armor are way expensive for what you get out of them. How about a ring of force shield instead for 8,500 gp? Or maybe the ring and a low-bonus bracer?

We could give him gloves of dexterity to increase AC by boosting his Dex modifier. A periapt of wisdom and maybe a headband of intellect to improve his spellcasting DCs would be desirable too.

wand of dispel magic (9th, 21 charges) - 8,505 gp
folding boat - 7,200 gp
gloves of dexterity (+2) - 4,000 gp
periapt of wisdom (+2) - 4,000 gp
headband of intellect (+2) - 4,000 gp
ring of force shield - 8,500 gp
masterwork quarterstaff - 600 gp

That's 37,405 gp, leaving 8,195 gp.

Hmm, how about throwing on the following:

wand of cure light wounds - 750 gp
restorative ointment - 4,000 gp
handy haversack - 2,000 gp

That leaves 1,445 gp, which I'd spend on a couple of scroll spells. Likely:
One 5th-level spell (CL 9th)[1,125 hp] and one 2nd-level spell (CL 6th)[300 gp] -1,425 gp
OR two 4th-level spells (CL 7th)[700 gp] - 1,400 gp

The 20 gp or 45 gp change leftover can be spent on a spell component pouch (5 gp) and maybe a another wizard's spellbook (15gp) plus miscellaneous oddments.

He can prepare 44 pages-worth of wizard spells so can fit a full casting complement of spells in one spellbook and have 56 left of the 100 spell pages so might not need multiple books if he has a smallish spell collection, but will likely want a spare spellbook hidden somewhere as a backup. That wouldn't be listed under equipment though, since he won't be carrying it around with him. For that matter, he can leave his spellbook with a far away Hanim ally and just bodyswitch with them to memorize new wizard's spells.

Nevermind, forget about the second spellbook!

 

[Cleon]

handy haversack - 2,000 gp

I'm having second thoughts about the handy haversack. A lot of our conversions have that wondrous item, simply because it's so cheap for its utility. Maybe we should give the Worm Lord a second masterwork quarterstaff for his host to carry and spend the remaining 1,600 gp budget on some more scrolls, potions and/or a 1st-level wand?

 

[freyar]

I like your suggested gear. We can leave off the haversack --- if you want to add some scrolls or potions, that's fine, but I also think it would be reasonable to leave him with some money or gems.

Regular gear with a masterwork quarterstaff will be fine for the fighter host.