Converting Planescape monsters

[freyar]

So a fire elemental could move 120 ft in how long? Sounds fast.

All set for tactics, description, and background? Tactics-wise, I'd think they prefer melee but will use the blast whenever at range.

 

[Idran]

So a fire elemental could move 120 ft in how long? Sounds fast.

All set for tactics, description, and background? Tactics-wise, I'd think they prefer melee but will use the blast whenever at range.

That was the combat speed; 120 feet per round, or half that and take the equivalent of what you'd call a standard action in 3.x. (Out of combat, it was tens of yards a round, and overland it was twice the movement rating in miles per day.) Humans and other medium-sized races had a movement rating of 12 too, so it would probably be best to use that as the basis. That is, if a monster had a movement of 12 in 2e, it should have a speed of 30 ft. converted to 3e.

 

[Cleon]

So a fire elemental could move 120 ft in how long? Sounds fast.

Not in AD&D it isn't, that's the speed of an unencumbered human.

All set for tactics, description, and background? Tactics-wise, I'd think they prefer melee but will use the blast whenever at range.

Hold your ash quasi-elemental horses! What are we doing about the speed?

Do you still want to increase the speed to 50 ft., the same as an Fire Elemental's speed increases between 2nd edition and 3rd edition, or use an standard humanoid speed of 30 ft.?

Alternatively, we could average the two to to 40 ft.

I'm leaning towards 30 ft. or possibly 40 ft. myself.

 

[freyar]

Frankly, I'd just make them the same as a fire elemental. That seems the intent.

 

[Cleon]

Frankly, I'd just make them the same as a fire elemental. That seems the intent.

That'd be OK by me.

Updating the Ash Quasi-Elemental Working Draft.

 

[freyar]

OK, then. Tactics, description, background now?

 

[Cleon]

OK, then. Tactics, description, background now?

Sure.

Any preferences?

 

[freyar]

Tactics: Ash quasi-elementals are slow to respond to threats, trusting to their chilling aura to protect them. When sufficiently annoyed by attacks, though, they respond by slamming opponents or using their chilling blast on enemies who refuse to close to melee range.

 

[Cleon]

Tactics: Ash quasi-elementals are slow to respond to threats, trusting to their chilling aura to protect them. When sufficiently annoyed by attacks, though, they respond by slamming opponents or using their chilling blast on enemies who refuse to close to melee range.

Let's see, what does the original say...

This monster rarely makes attacks; its mere presence is threat enough. See, the ash quasielemental feeds on heat, forever sucking the warmth from all things around it. *SNIP*

If it so chooses, the ash quasielemental can focus its draining effect into a conelike area *SNIP*

If the ash quasielemental actually touches a sod in combat, its heat drain *SNIP*

That doesn't seem to match that well with the above tactics - they rely on their chilling aura for feeding, not protection, and I'm not seeing anything to suggest they reserve chill blasts for opponents who refuse melee.

How about:

This monster rarely initiates combat, preferring to use their chilling aura to passively feed on other creatures' heat. If threatened, they focus chilling blasts on their opponents or close to make slam attacks.

 

[freyar]

I think it captures the spirit of the original tactics, and I really don't think it's a problem to specify things a bit more than the original monster. Besides, I think the feeding is incidental to its tactics, as the original monster says that "its mere presence is threat enough." How about a compromise? We can talk about how they "eat" in the flavor.

This monster rarely initiates combat, trusting their chilling aura to protect them. If threatened, they focus chilling blasts on their opponents or close to make slam attacks.