Converting Oriental Adventures creatures

[Cleon]

Yes, that looks good.

Updating Shadow Walker Working Draft.

What do you want to tackle next on this?

Since I'm not really bothered one way or t'other, let's just do them in alphabetical order.

That puts All-Around Sight next, the Shadow Walker gains this ability as a special martial art ability. The original Oriental Adventures text is:

All-around Sight: The character’s training makes him more attuned to his immediate surroundings. He is able to detect opponents on all sides of him, provided they are not invisible. The character can never be struck from behind or suffer a penalty from a back attack. This maneuver is constantly in effect.

I assume we're going to adapt one of the standard versions, e.g.:

All-Around Vision (Ex): Beholders are exceptionally alert and circumspect. Their many eyes give them a +4 racial bonus to Spot and Search checks, and they can't be flanked.

All-Around Vision (Ex): An aurotyugh's flexible eyestalk allows it to look in any direction, providing a +4 racial bonus on Spot and Search checks. An aurotyugh can't be flanked.

A simple conversion would be:

All-Around Vision (Ex): The Shadow Walker is trained in secret techniques that make it exceptionally alert and circumspect, providing a +4 racial bonus to Spot and Search checks. The Shadow Walker can't be flanked.

If we wanted to emphasize it's due to special training we could make it a competence bonus instead of a racial one.

I suppose we could modify it further to include the "provided they are not invisible" proviso of the 1E version, but I'm not inclined to bother - there's nothing about invisibility affecting flanking or the regular All-Around Vision SQ, after all.

 

[freyar]

Yes, I'd keep to the regular All-Around Vision, though I guess I'd switch it to a competence bonus. I also see no need to mention invisibility.

 

[Cleon]

Yes, I'd keep to the regular All-Around Vision, though I guess I'd switch it to a competence bonus. I also see no need to mention invisibility.

Updating Shadow Walker Working Draft.

Okay, next alphabetically is Blending. The OA2 write-up for this is:

Blending: By shutting his eyes and not moving, the Shadow Walker has a 48% chance of becoming effectively invisible.

I think the Ninja Shadow Warrior's Hide in Plain Sight power will cover that with a bit of tweaking, say taking:

Hide in Plain Sight (Su): A ninja spirit shadow can use the Hide skill even while being observed. As long as it is within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, a ninja spirit shadow can hide itself from view in the open without anything to actually hide behind. It cannot, however, hide in its own shadow.

and making it:

Hide in Plain Sight (Su): The Shadow Walker can use the Hide skill even while being observed. As long as it is within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, even the shadow cast by its own body, the Shadow Walker can hide itself from view in the open without anything to actually hide behind.

What thinks thee?

 

[freyar]

Yup, looks good to me!

Next is Blur. The original text says
"Blur: While in shadow, the first attack of each round against him always misses. The second attack suffers a -2 penalty and all others are made at normal chances."
I'd be happy with just using displacement for this. It's a bit fiddly otherwise.

 

[Cleon]

Yup, looks good to me!

Next is Blur. The original text says
"Blur: While in shadow, the first attack of each round against him always misses. The second attack suffers a -2 penalty and all others are made at normal chances."
I'd be happy with just using displacement for this. It's a bit fiddly otherwise.

Mechanically it's the same as a Displacer Beast's displacement, so we could just use that modified so it only works in shadowy areas.

Something like:

Shadow Displacement (Su): A light-bending glamer surround the Shadow Walker whenever it is in a shadowy or dark area, making it difficult to surmise the creature’s true location. Any melee or ranged attack directed at it has a 50% miss chance unless the attacker can locate the Shadow Walker by some means other than sight. A true seeing effect allows the user to see the creature’s position, but see invisibility has no effect.

 

[freyar]

That'll do!

Alphabetically, the next special ability is Hurl, which appears to be a martial arts special maneuver (from the ninja class, I guess). Do you have the text for that?

 

[Cleon]

That'll do!

Updating Shadow Walker Working Draft.

Alphabetically, the next special ability is Hurl, which appears to be a martial arts special maneuver (from the ninja class, I guess). Do you have the text for that?

If I remember my 1E Oriental Adventures correctly, it's not a ninja class ability but is a standard manoeuvre from that books chapter on Martial Arts.

I'll have to pull out my copy and transcribe the text...

 

[Cleon]

If I remember my 1E Oriental Adventures correctly, it's not a ninja class ability but is a standard manoeuvre from that books chapter on Martial Arts.

I'll have to pull out my copy and transcribe the text...

Here you go...

From Oriental Adventures (1985)
Hurl: This type of throw relies a great deal on strength and less on leverage. The character can attempt to pick up an opponent and throw him to the ground 1d4 feet away. The victim suffers double damage from the throw. Characters with Immovability can resist this maneuver. A successful to hit roll must be made for the Hurl to work. If the roll is failed, the character loses all remaining attacks for the round and automatically loses initiative for the next round.

 

[freyar]

Pretty cool. That's a little bit like a mini-snatch feat, I guess. In fact, it feels like it almost ought to be a regular combat special attack with an improved version as a fighter bonus feat! But what it seems closest to is just a trip, maybe with some damage on top. Could we emulate this just with Improved Trip as a bonus feat?

 

[Cleon]

Pretty cool. That's a little bit like a mini-snatch feat, I guess. In fact, it feels like it almost ought to be a regular combat special attack with an improved version as a fighter bonus feat! But what it seems closest to is just a trip, maybe with some damage on top. Could we emulate this just with Improved Trip as a bonus feat?

In 3E terms, it would be a full-round attack that does double unarmed strike damage and throws the opponent one 5 ft. square away.

The most significant difference from Improved Trip is that feat allows you to immediately melee attack the tripped opponent as if you hadn't used your trip attack. The Hurl description says it uses up ALL your remaining attacks.