Converting monsters from the second edition Monstrous Compendiums

[Shade]

Let's go 2...really thick carapace.

 

[BOZ]

heh... updating again one more time...

 

[Shade]

Looks good.

 

[BOZ]

great!

 

[BOZ]

OK, time to restart another one!

Ruins of Zhentil Keep

Ondonti

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any land
FREQUENCY: Rare
ORGANIZATION: Tribe
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Omnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Average (8-10)
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Lawful good

NO. APPEARING: 10-60
ARMOR CLASS: 10 (6 with barkskin)
MOVEMENT: 12
HIT DICE: 1 (clerics to 7th level)
THACO: 19
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 (see below)
DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Sanctuary, barkskin, free, immune to charm, + 1 save vs. poison (priest spells)
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: M (6' tall)
MORALE: Average (8-10)
XP VALUE: 120
Cleric, 1st 175
Cleric, 2nd 270
Cleric, 3rd 420
Cleric, 4th 650
Cleric, 5th 975
Cleric, 6th 1,400
Cleric, 7th 2,000

North of The Ride, in a secluded part of the Tortured Lands, dwells a race known as the ondonti, a close cousin of the orc. This race lives as peaceful farmers and gatherers, taking only what they need from the land to survive. In outward appearances, ondontis resemble orcs.

Scattered tribes of ondontis lived peaceful lives until a scouting party from Zhentil Keep stumbled across them in 1340 DR. Because ondontis live by a peaceful and collaborative philosophy, they were not prepared for treachery, and shortly after the initial meeting between Zhents and ondontis, the majority of the ondonti population, with the exception of one isolated tribe, was betrayed by the Zhents and kidnapped into slavery. Very few ondontis have since then escaped further raids. The greedy lords of Zhentil Keep view ondontis as superior slaves because their strength and nonviolent attitude make them superbly suited to lightly supervised manual labor.

Combat: Traditional ondonti culture is peaceful and contemplative. Most would sooner die than take another sentient creature's life, and they kill other creatures only as needed for food (or if the creatures are deemed insane or incurably diseased). However, the Zhentarim have brought up several young ondontis in an orcish environment, training them to be skilled killers (alignment LN to LE). These ondontis are still not as violent or abusive as orcs, but a few generations of violently indoctrinated ondontis could bring into being a deadly race of humanoids under the influence of the Zhentarim.

All ondontis can use the following spell-like abilities: sanctuary (on themselves) three times a day, barkskin once a day, purify food & drink three times a day, and tree once a week. Ondontis also gain a + 1 bonus to their saving throws vs. poison and are immune to charm-type spells and spell-like abilities.

Adult ondontis (male and female) have Strength scores ranging from 17 to 19 and Constitution scores from 16 to 18. Ondontis, trained by the Zhentilar usually fight with either a bastard or two-handed sword, and can easily fight with either weapon and a shield. They dislike metal armor and don leather or studded leather when not using their natural barkskin ability. Since the first group of ondonti warriors is still learning its craft, it is uncertain how far they will progress as fighters.

Especially wise ondontis can become clerics of up to 7th level. Spells memorized by ondonti clerics are almost always curative and defensive in nature, as harmful spells are taboo. Priest ondontis have a minimum Wisdom of 16.

Habitat/Society: Ondontis revere Eldath, the Goddess of Peace and Quiet Places, and their culture attempts to embody the pacifist teachings of Eldath. Ondonti oral history recounts that "the Founders" brought 30 young ondontis to the lands they still consider theirs long ago, and laid down the teachings that provide the foundations of ondonti society in a cycle of tales called Tarek-Passar (the Way of Peace). One sage has theorized that the original ondontis were in fact infant orc orphans, brought from their lands and taught by a reclusive group of priests of Eldath.

Ondontis are nearly the opposite of ores: peaceful, land, and dependable. To the ondontis, peace, harmony with one's environment, and a full family life are what is important in life. Ondonti priests are revered and their guidance is followed because of their majestic wisdom and close relationship to Eldath.

Fourteen of the 15 ondonti tribes have been captured by raiding Zhentilar and taken to the Citadel of the Raven for use as slave labor and as breeding stock for an army of superior humanoids. The remaining ondonti tribe lives in extreme seclusion, employing the spells of several ondonti clerics to hide its members from further enslavement. It is rumored that a extraplanar servant sent by Eldath herself guards over her remaining children, while another seeks to free those who have been wrongly seized from their homeland.

Ecology. Ondontis reproduce at the same rate as orcs, but have attained a longer lifespan than orcs (60 years) as a result of internal cultural harmony and applied curative priestly magic. The mortality rate of infant ondontis is nearly nonexistent, due to close monitoring of pregnant ondontis and infants by the priesthood.


MCA3

Orc, Ondonti

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any land
FREQUENCY: Rare
ORGANIZATION: Tribe
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Omnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Average (8-10)
TREASURE: Nil (Ox5)
ALIGNMENT: Lawful good

NO. APPEARING: 10-60
ARMOR CLASS: 10 (6 with barkskin)
MOVEMENT: 12
HIT DICE: 1 (clerics to 7th level)
THACO: 19
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 (see below)
DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Sanctuary, barkskin, tree, immune to charm, +1 save vs. poison
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: M (6' tall)
MORALE: Average (8-10)
XP VALUE: 120
Cleric, 1st 175
Cleric, 2nd 270
Cleric, 3rd 420
Cleric, 4th 650
Cleric, 5th 975
Cleric, 6th 975
Cleric, 7th 2,000

The members of the race known as the ondonti are close cousins to the orcs. However, the ondontis live as peaceful farmers and gatherers, taking only what they need from the land to survive. In outward appearance, they resemble orcs, but they speak the common tongue and knowledge of the orc language is rare among them.

Combat: Traditional ondonti culture is peaceful and contemplative. Most would sooner die than take another sentient creature's life, and they kill other creatures only as needed for food (or if the creatures are deemed insane or incurably diseased).

All adult ondontis can use the following spell-like abilities: sanctuary (on themselves) three times a day, barkskin once a day, purify food & drink three times a day, and tree once a week. Ondontis also gain a +1 bonus to their saving throws vs. poison and are immune to charm-type spells and spell-like abilities.

Adult ondontis (male and female) have Strength scores ranging from 17 to 19 and Constitution scores from 16 to 18. Ondontis trained by the Zhentilar usually fight with either a bastard or two-handed sword, and can easily fight with either weapon and a shield. They dislike metal armor and don leather or studded leather when not using their natural barkskin ability.

Habitat/Society: Ondontis are nearly the opposite of orcs: peaceful, kind, and dependable. To the ondontis, peace, harmony with one's environment, and a full family life are what is important in life. Ondonti priests are revered and their guidance is followed because of their majestic wisdom and close relationship to their deity.

Especially wise ondontis can become clerics of up to 7th level. Spells memorized by ondonti clerics are almost always curative and defensive in nature, as harmful spells are taboo. Priest ondontis have a minimum Wisdom of 16.

In the world of Toril, ondontis dwell north of The Ride, in a secluded part of the Tortured Lands. They revere Eldath, the Goddess of Peace and Quiet Places, and their culture attempts to embody the pacifist teachings of that deity. Ondonti oral history recounts that "the Founders" brought 30 young ondontis to the lands they still consider theirs long ago, and laid down the teachings that provide the foundations of ondonti society in a cycle of tales called Tarek-Passar (the Way of Peace). One sage has theorized that the original ondontis were in fact infant orc orphans, brought from their lands and taught by a reclusive group of priests of Eldath.

Fourteen of the 15 ondonti tribes have been captured by raiding Zhentilar and taken to the Citadel of the Raven for use as slave labor and as breeding stock for an army of superior humanoids. The remaining ondonti tribe lives in extreme seclusion, employing the spells of several ondonti clerics to hide its members from further enslavement. It is rumored that a extraplanar servant sent by Eldath herself guards over her remaining children, while another seeks to free those who have been wrongly seized from their homeland.

In the meantime, the Zhentarim have brought up several young ondontis in an orcish environment, training them to be skilled killers (alignment LN to LE). These ondontis are still not as violent or abusive as orcs, but a few generations of violently indoctrinated ondontis could bring into being a deadly race of humanoids under the influence of the Zhentarim. Since the first group of ondonti warriors is still learning its craft, it is uncertain how far they will progress as fighters.

Ecology: Ondontis reproduce at the same rate as orcs, but have attained a longer lifespan (60 years) as a result of internal cultural harmony and applied curative priestly magic. The mortality rate of infant ondontis is nearly nonexistent, due to close monitoring of mother ondontis and infants by the priesthood.

Scattered tribes of ondontis lived peaceful lives until a scouting party from Zhentil Keep stumbled across them in 1340 DR. Because ondontis live by a peaceful and collaborative philosophy, they were not prepared for treachery, and shortly after the initial meeting between Zhents and ondontis, the majority of the ondonti population, with the exception of one isolated tribe, was betrayed by the Zhents and kidnapped into slavery. Very few ondontis have since then escaped further raids. The greedy lords of Zhentil Keep view ondontis as superior slaves because their strength and nonviolent attitude make them superbly suited to lightly supervised manual labor.

 

[BOZ]

as far as i can tell, this is the last thread which i had actually printed out, so the discussion is preserved. after this one, we're starting from scratch.

Maybe give them a favoured class of Cleric, with Domains of Healing and Community. Ondonti Clerics might be variants: Poor BAB and proficiency only with simple weapons, in return for the Plant domain as an extra domain.

What of the following should we retain?
Orc Traits (Ex) : Orcs possess the following racial traits.

+4 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma.
An orc's base land speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision out to 60 feet.
Light Sensitivity: Orcs are dazzled in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.
Automatic Languages: Common, Orc. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin,
Undercommon.
Favored Class: Barbarian.

Light sensitivity doesn't make much sense, since they dwell on the surface. The favored class will obviously change, and the language selection most likely will as well.

If the ondonti's favored class is cleric, obviously not -2 Wisdom.

True. In fact, 1 can see a +2 Wisdom for them.

Since they're pacifists, the ondonti probably shouldn't get as much Strength as regular orcs (if we drop the Wisdom penalty, it should balance out). We can probably keep -2 Intelligence; they aren't any smarter than standard orcs.

not so sure about that.
Quote:

Adult ondontis (male and female) have Strength scores ranging from 1 7 to 1 9 and Constitution scores from 16 to 18.

I compared this to what orcs had in the 2E Monstrous Compendium, and ondontis are actually stronger than most orcs!

so let it be written; so let it be done.

And its OK if their ability scores end up unbalanced...they'll already have at least a +1 level adjustment due to those spell-like abilities.

yep. backspin and sanctuary are pretty sweet, even if the times per day is limited!

If our standard ondonti is to be a let-level warrior, it should be the Zhent variety, wearing studded leather and wielding a bastard sword. If we go with the peaceful ondonti, the standard ondonti should be a let-level cleric, with no armor and wielding something with non-warlike purposes, like a staff or sickle.

if they are using any weapons at all, i could definitely see farm tools as appropriate...

Maybe give them a favoured class of Cleric, with Domains of Healing and Community. Ondonti clerics might be variants: Poor BAB and proficiency only with simple weapons, in return for the Plant domain as an extra domain.

i definitely agree on the favored class. the domains can be left for debate at the moment.

What of the following should we retain?

Orc Traits (Ex): Orcs possess the following racial traits.

+4 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma.
An orc's base land speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision out to 60 feet.
Light Sensitivity: Orcs are dazzled in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.
Automatic Languages.. Common, Orc. Bonus Languages.. Dwarven, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin,
Undercommon.
Favored Class: Barbarian.

Light sensitivity doesn 't make much sense, since they dwell on the surface. The favored class will obviously change, and the language selection most likely will as well.

are we still debating the ability scores? speed is fine, darkvision is fine as far as i know. agreed on killing light sensitivity and changing languages.

If our standard ondonti is to be a let-level warrior, it should be the Zhent variety, wearing studded leather and wielding a bastard sword. If we go with the peaceful ondonti the standard ondonti should be a let-level cleric, with no armor and wielding f something with non-warlike purposes, like a staff or sickle.

i'm thinking that the Zhent variety is the variant, while the pacifist is the standard.

i definitely agree on the favored class. the domains can be left for debate at the moment.

Agreed.

are be still debating the ability scores? speed is fine, darkvision is fine as far as i know. agreed on killing light sensitivity and changing languages.

I don't think we're debating the ability scores, but that was a few days ago.

i m thinking that the Zhent variety is the variant, while the pacifist is the standard.

Agreed. Unfortunately, the others don't make very good 1st-level warriors.

perhaps not. but then, this is a pacifistic people so what do you expect?

So....

Ondonti, 1st-Level Warrior
Medium Humanoid (Orc)
Hit Dice: 1d8+X (X hp)
Initiative: +X
Speed : 30 ft (6 squares)
Armor Class: X (+X Dex), touch X, flat-footed X
Base Attack/Grapple : + 1/+X
Attack: ''farm implement'' +X melee (X+X)
Full Attack: ''farm implement'' +X melee (X+X)
Space/Reach : 5 ft/5 ft
Special Attacks: X
Special Qualities: immune to charm, poison resistance, spell-like abilities
Saves: Fort +X (+X vs. poisons), Ref +X, Will +X
Abilities: Str 17-19, Dex X, Con 16-18, Int 10, Wis X, Cha X
Skills: X
Feats: 1
Environment: Any land
Organization: 10-60 tribe
Challenge Rating: X
Treasure: Standard coins; no goods; no items
Alignment: Usually lawful good
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +X

An ondonti is 6 feet tall and weighs about X pounds.

Ondonti speak Common, Orc, and X.

Dex should be average, as should Cha. Wis might be 12-14.
As for the ''farm implement'', either a scythe or a pitchfork (as trident). Or maybe just give him a quarterstaff.

I think quarterstaff is most appropriate, or any simple weapon commoners would be likely to use, such as a dagger, club, or sling.

IIRC, they are pictured with a scythe in MCA3.

 

[Shade]

Let's give 'em a scythe, if for no other reason than that they are rarely used.

Suggested Skills: Concentration 1, Diplomacy 1, Escape Artist 1, Hide 1, Knowledge (religion) 1, Profession (farmer) 2, Sense Motive 1.

Suggested Feats: Great Fortitude, Iron Will, Negotiator, or Stealthy

 

[Aspect of BOZ]

and, well, scythes are wicked badass with that x4 crit multiplier.

 

[Mortis]

and, well, scythes are wicked badass with that x4 crit multiplier.

Too true, shame the 'maiming' magical enhancement is not in the SRD.

Regards
Mortis

 

[BOZ]

taking it OT for a second... would you beleive that one character in our group actually had a maiming scythe? good god, that thing was ridiculous.