Converting original D&D and Mystara monsters

[demiurge1138]

We should mention in the flavor text that the greedy vampire vine often accidentally drinks its victims dry, thus necessitating new catches.

Perhaps it should gain temp hp from draining blood? We could even make it tomb-tainted, to further differentiate it from the assassin vine.

 

[freyar]

I like the flavor text and temp hp, but I'm not so sure about tomb-tainted. Seems to be a lot less call for that than some other cases we've had.

 

[Shade]

Good suggestions on the temp hps and "greediness".

Updated.

 

[freyar]

Should we add that it's a relative of the assassin vine? Otherwise, it looks pretty good.

 

[Shade]

Since worms are all the rage at the moment...

Slime Worm
Armor Class: 5 No. Appearing: 1
Hit Dice: 10 Save As: Fighter 5
Movement: 60 (20) Morale: 9
Attacks: 1 bite Treasure Type: D
Damage: 2-12 Alignment: Neutral

Slime worms are giant-sized worms that secrete a sticky substance that coats their backs. They roll in treasure hordes so that their backs are covered with coins, jewels, weapons, armor, etc. The slime does not affect attacks. There is a chance (a roll of 1-5 on ld6) that a slime worm will be indistinguishable from a large pile of treasure. Slime worms attack with surprise whenever possible. They swallow their prey whole on an unmodified to hit roll of 18 or more. Swallowed prey will take 2-12 points of damage per round until dead or free (similar to a purple worm).

Originally appeared in X2 Castle Amber (1981).

Mystara Monstrous Compendium version...

Slime Worm
Climate/Terrain: Subterranean
Frequency: Very rare
Organization: Solitary
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Carnivore
Intelligence: Non- (0)
Treasure: D
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 5
Move: 6
Hit Dice: 10
THAC0: 11
No. Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 2d6 (bite)
Special Attacks: Swallow
Special Defenses: Nil
Magic Resisance: Nil
Size: G (30’ long)
Morale: Average (10)
XP Value: 2,000

These giant worms are a pale, mottled gray. They excrete a sticky slime that coats their backs and sides. Small objects such as coins and other treasure stick to the slime, making the creature indistinguishable from a large pile of treasure.

When camouflaged, there is only a 15% chance that anyone will recognize a slime worm as anything but a pile of objects. If its victims are unaware of the slime worm, it attacks from ambush. On a successful unadjusted attack roll of 18 or-better, slime worms can swallow creatures of up to large (L) size (an unmodified attack roll of 20 always indicates that the target has been swallowed). Once inside, a victim suffers 2d6 points of damage each round until he or she escapes or the slime worm is killed. The victim can escape unaided only if he or she was holding a small piercing or slashing weapon when swallowed. A slime worm has an internal Armor Class of 8 and the victim must inflict 10 points of damage to cut a way out. He or she suffers the same combat penalties as victims of great annelids.

A slime worm's gullet can hold one large creature, two human-sized creatures, four small creatures, or eight tiny creatures. If a slime worm fills its gullet during a fight, it continues to attack but cannot swallow additional victims.

 

[freyar]

Sticky stuff that does nothing in combat?

I'll be traveling some tomorrow, so might not be posting much. The next week may or may not be slow for me, too.

 

[Cleon]

Nice idea for a "pretend to be something else" monster, simple but effective.

I don't much care for the "Slime Worm" name, maybe add in a mention that it has alternative names like "Horde Worm" or "Treasure Worm"?

Statswise, it looks like we'll want to modify the Purple Worm.

Huge Magical Beast (It's under half as long as the Gargantuan Purple)
Hit Dice: 10d10+50 (105) (straightforward)
Speed: 20 ft. (no burrow or swim, unlike a Purple)
AC: 21 (-2 size, -2 Dex, +15 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 21
(It has a better AC than a purple, if we give it the same NA it ends up AC21 since it only has a -2 size penalty. Although I'm tempted to give it a +12 NA and +3 armour from all the coins, gems & assorted junk sticking to its skin which makes AC: 21 (-2 size, -2 Dex, +12 natural, +3 armour))
Attacks: Bite +16 melee (2d6+12)
Special Attacks: Improved grab, swallow whole
(Can swallow up to one size smaller than itself, 1 Large / 4 Medium / 16 Small et cetera)
Special Qualities: Mimic horde, tremorsense 60 ft.
Abilities: Str 27, Dex 6, Con 21, Int 1, Wis 8, Cha 8
(Downsized Purple Worm. I know the original is Int 0, but I like the idea of it having at least animal-level intelligence. It fits its behaviour better. Maybe tweak the Dexterity up a few points and lower its natural armour a bit? I was tempted to increase its Cha to help its Disguise and to reflect that it's covered in shinies, but decided against it.)
Skills: 13 points?
(All in Disguise? Give it a hefty racial bonus to Disguise?)
Feats: 4? (Pick some of a Purple Worm's feats?)
Environment: Underground
Organization: Solitary
Treasure: Triple coins, double goods, 50% items?
(Needs lots of loot to cover itself with, but I don't want them to be excessively valuable)

That looks like a good start to me.

 

[demiurge1138]

The similar carcass crab from the Eberron Campaign Setting has both a natural armor bonus and an armor bonus, from being covered with junk. I think Hide is more appropriate than Disguise to model the camo (although there's the mimic precedent).

 

[freyar]

I like the idea of armor as well as natural armor. Like Cleon, I'm thinking up to +3 from treasure. Cleon, did that AC come from the downsized purple worm? Wouldn't a downsized purple worm have natural AC +11? I'd be willing to go with natural +8, junk armor +3, even.

Hide vs Disguise, I'm not sure. I'm also not sure about Int 1 vs Int -.

 

[demiurge1138]

I'd be fine with either Int 1 or -. Int 1 does give the advantage of giving them access to feats and skills.