Converting original D&D and Mystara monsters

[Tzeentch]

But the Rakasta are specialists with one particular, non-natural weapon (the kasa). I think the bonus feat makes sense because it reflects that trained weapon specialization.

-- It's unnecessary to give it to them though. Actual wild animals would certainly get more use of their natural weapons. And as you say, they are not going to be using their claws unless they are somehow disarmed of their more effective constructed weapons.

I agree the Dex should be toned down to 15. But I like Boz's current stats for Strength and Wisdom. Cats are pretty strong and muscular for thier size (which you can really see in a human-size cat like a cougar, for example). And the 12 Wisdom is pretty standard for predatory animals (to reflect thier superior senses).

-- Except at this point the CC Rakasta bears little to no resemblence to the original source material. They happen to be cat-looking humanoids with high Dex and low Wis in the source material. Heck going by the original material they have a much greater claim to getting Pounce then weapon finesse.
-- I'm not going to argue fantasy biomechanics, but it's probably unwise to give PCs all the good parts of a wild animal they resemble and zero of the drawbacks. Especially when it really should be a race directed towards being PCs from the start (preferablly with a sane LA).

 

[Zaster]

It's unnecessary to give it to them though. Actual wild animals would certainly get more use of their natural weapons. And as you say, they are not going to be using their claws unless they are somehow disarmed of their more effective constructed weapons.

Point taken. I'm on the fence on this one now.

Except at this point the CC Rakasta bears little to no resemblence to the original source material. They happen to be cat-looking humanoids with high Dex and low Wis in the source material. Heck going by the original material they have a much greater claim to getting Pounce then weapon finesse.

Conversions that go beyond the strictest possible interpretation are pretty common in the Creature Catalogue, though.

I'm not going to argue fantasy biomechanics, but it's probably unwise to give PCs all the good parts of a wild animal they resemble and zero of the drawbacks. Especially when it really should be a race directed towards being PCs from the start (preferablly with a sane LA).

I don't have much experience assigning LAs to new monsters so I'll have to step back from that issue. You may be right.

 

[BOZ]

hmm, lots of discussion here. will need some time to sort through it...

 

[Kilmore]

I'm all about the Rakasta as much as any other DM, and I'm hoping they will be open game for all campaign worlds, but I'm also interested in seeing the updated Tarantella... the one in the old rules that makes you dance like an idiot when it bites you.

 

[BOZ]

naturally, everything on the Creature Catalog is OGL.

 

[Tzeentch]

Conversions that go beyond the strictest possible interpretation are pretty common in the Creature Catalogue, though

-- The original Rakasta are a bit uhm .. lame in parts (their vulnerability to catnip for example. Yes. Catnip.) I have a no problem beefing them up either. But the suggested abilitity scores are too high IMO. They should be on the same powerlevel as elves and other races (LA+1 at most).

 

[Zaster]

O.K., here for ease of reference are some LA +1 humanoid PC races from the MM:

Gnoll: LA +1, 2HD, Str +4, Con +2, Int -2, Cha -2, +1 natural armor, darkvision

Bugbear: LA +1, 3HD, Str +4, Dex +2, Con +2, Cha -2, +3 natural armor, darkvision, +4 move silently

Lizardfolk: LA +1, 2HD, Str +2, Con +2, Int -2, +5 natural armor, hold breath, +4 balance, jump & swim

Troglodytes: LA +1, 2 HD, Dex -2, Con +4, Int -2, natural weapons, stench, +4 hide (+8 in rocky surroundings)

As you've noted, each of these races does take a -2 hit to some ability score.

As much as part of me wants to envision the rakasta as heavy hitters, I agree that LA +1 is probably where we want to be. Or we could give in to our Thundercats fantasies, beef 'em up to 4 racial HD and then load up on abilities . I think the Yuan-ti pureblood (medium monstrous humanoid) would serve as a good guide to the kind of power you'd expect at LA +2. I lean towards LA +1 humanoid at this point, though.

 

[Krishnath]

I would say that the Drow elf is a better gauge as to what LA +2 is.

As for the Rakasta, as it stands now (str +2, Dex +6, Int +2, Wis +2) it should be LA +2, but if we reduce Dex and give them a -2 penalty to Cha it would be at the upper end of LA +1.

 

[BOZ]

OK, before we get too worked up into a frenzy… nothing is decided yet.

Looking back over all of your posts, it does seem to me that I have overpowered them a bit on stats. How about if we do as Krish says and give them more like: Str 13, Dex 15, Con 11, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 8. sound good?

And as to the out-of-whack skill bonuses… yes, I see now that it was a bit much. I hadn’t even implemented it into my running stat block as I figured it might be too radical. So we’ll tone it down. My reasoning for that was because I had posted several skills and the response I got was along the lines of “yeah those are all good.” However, we’re dealing with more limited skill points than I had to spread around, so I took a look at the common housecat and saw how giving a rakasta the same bonuses would toughen them up quite a bit. But, in retrospect that was a bit much. Not a problem, it’s easy to fix. How about if we lower the bonuses to +4 Hide, Move Silently & Balance, and keep the Dex mod for Climb & Jump? (as Tzeentch suggested). I agree the Craft skill with 1 rank is indeed lame, but the text described how they were good with crafts and I wanted to preserve that. It is not necessary however, and I can just as easily add that to Tumble instead.

Lowering the Dex makes Weapon Finesse much less useful – I’ll remove that as a bonus feat also. Acrobatic is good enough.

Keep in mind – rakasta are more than just “cat-like” humans, and always have been. A 2HD creature has always been more than what a 1HD creature is – even moreso now. more than 1HD implies that an average member of their society is automatically tougher than the average human. it may not seem like that much of a difference to a seasoned adventurer, but how well would a commoner deal with a normal rakasta? (we know that a housecat can kick a commoner’s ass!)

“Conversions that go beyond the strictest possible interpretation are pretty common in the Creature Catalogue, though.” Not sure how to take this one.

catnip? I didn’t see that part anywhere.

 

[Zaster]

OK, before we get too worked up into a frenzy… nothing is decided yet.

No frenzy at all ... I'm learning alot about PC races and level adjustments from this discussion.

Looking back over all of your posts, it does seem to me that I have overpowered them a bit on stats. How about if we do as Krish says and give them more like: Str 13, Dex 15, Con 11, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 8. sound good?.... How about if we lower the bonuses to +4 Hide, Move Silently & Balance, and keep the Dex mod for Climb & Jump? (as Tzeentch suggested).

Looks O.K. from here, but I cede to the more experienced folks. I could even see tweaking Str or Wis down another notch if need be.