Converting Psionic Creatures

[Shade]

Dire Toad: Str 10, Dex 14, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 15, Cha 7

 

[freyar]

Assuming that's also medium, why don't we start with these. Reading the text, though, I'd swap Str and Dex. Also, since these will have SLA/PLAs, let's drop Wis to 11 and raise Cha to 13. Also, why not bump Int to 4?

Str 14, Dex 10, Con 15, Int 4, Wis 11, Cha 13?

 

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.

 

[RavinRay]

Int 4 seems a reasonable cap, a scan at the PsiBook shows that only the brain mole among the psionic magical beasts has a Int of 2. I assume freyar the higher Str is for its Jump skill?

 

[freyar]

Yeah, the higher Str is for jumping and because "The hierarchy within a pack is strict with only the strongest daggoran as the leader."

Do we need a special ability for enhanced jumping, or just a big racial bonus?

You guys know much more about psionic ability conversion than I do, so what is this going to need?

 

[Shade]

A racial bonus to Jump is probably fine.

For the psionics, it will probably just have psi-like abilities. Control body and inertial barrier are still around, but we'll need to find replacements for detonate and ballistic attack.

 

[RavinRay]

Combat: Daggorans can opt to jump up to their movement distance. This hop will clear any object up to one-third as high as the length of the leap and requires only a single round to accomplish. A jumping daggoran can attack in midair or at the end of its leap.

Unless Mental Leap is overkill, a daggoran can have this (as a bonus feat).

In the wild, when a daggoran comes upon a potential meal it usually launches an attack with its detonate psionic ability (which originates from the crystalline growth on its back) at the ground near a victim, sometimes killing it with the shrapnel created from the explosion. If the victim survives the initial attack, the daggoran rushes in to attack with its mouth, causing 2-12 (2d6) points of damage per hit.

Detonate can be modeled on either hail of crystals or swarm of crystals, but I favor the former:

Detonate (Ps): A daggoran can detonate the crystalline growth on its back. This is similar to hail of crystals, except that the attack deals ? points of slashing damage in a 5-foot spread centered on itself. This ability is usable every so-and-so rounds or n/day.

 

[Shade]

Nice! 2d6 slashing? 3/day? Or maybe 1/minute?

I think mental leap is a good choice, too.

 

[freyar]

I like mental leap, too!

For detonate, I have no idea how strong it was supposed to be. However, I think it should have some nonzero range because the daggoran uses detonate and then jumps closer (at least the way I read it). I like the way hail of crystals works, but we need to downscale it given the HD.
How about this?

Detonate (Ps): Three times per day, a daggoran can detonate the crystalline growth on its back. This is similar to hail of crystals at manifester level 4, except that the attack deals 2d4 points of bludgeoning damage to a hit target and 4d4 points of slashing damage to creatures caught in the explosion.

 

[Shade]

Updated.

They are often trained and used as trackers by Drajian guards because of the daggorans’ innate ability to “pick up” and track the psionic signature of most intelligent and psionic creatures.

Detect psionics at will? Or an ongoing Su effect?