Converting "Real World" Animals and Vermin

[demiurge1138]

I still like 90 or 100 hp, hardness 7.

 

[Cleon]

I still like 90 or 100 hp, hardness 7.

OK, shall we compromise with 100 hit points (25% worm's hp) and hardness 7?

I'd also say the tube will be over a foot thick, based on the SRD stats for a masonry wall (a 1' thick masonry wall being 90 hp and hardness 8, making 7.5 hp/inch). The 15 hp/inch previously mentioned for stone is for solid rock, and the tube made of bits and pieces glued together so masonry seems a better comparison.

 

[freyar]

That sounds fair to me.

 

[Shade]

Looks good.

Updated.

Organization: Solitary?

Challenge Rating: 16? A purple worm increased to Colossal and 32 HD would be CR 19, but it has magical beast HD and a much deadlier poison.

Another thought. Should we add the usual "severing a tentacle" text from the giant octopus?

 

[freyar]

CR 16 is ok.

Were we going to drop split?

Anyone know if there's reason for another organization? These are so big that only solitary kind of makes sense.

Severing a tentacle makes sense. Let them grow back in 8 hours?

 

[Cleon]

CR 16 is ok.

Were we going to drop split?

Anyone know if there's reason for another organization? These are so big that only solitary kind of makes sense.

Severing a tentacle makes sense. Let them grow back in 8 hours?

I've already said we should drop Split.

In real life, Sabella often live in colonies with a large number of fan worms, in the "hundreds and thousands" kind of large. So, I would think we should allow for encounters with more than one. Say organization solitary or grove (2-12).

Challenge rating 16 seems a bit high to me. Sure, it's got a lot of hit points, but it's an immobile target. Maybe 14-15?

EDIT: The SRD Kraken is Challenge Rating 12 and is roughly comparable (AC 23 vs 20, hp 400 vs 290, 60' reach with tentacles) It's got a much worse BAB & Grapple, but the jump from +28 melee & +44 grapple to +32 touch and +56 grapple isn't going to make much difference, it's most likely to change a 90% hit to a 95% hit or something. More important is that a Kraken is mobile, does damage with its attacks and has a good Will save and some magic.

Comparisonwise, that makes the giant Sabella look more like a 13-14 to me.

Any thoughts? Is it just that the kraken is woefully under-CR'd?
:END EDIT

Finally, I wanted to have a "severing the tentacles" bit, didn't I mention it? Using an adaptation of the Kraken or Giant Squid seems the easy way to go, something like:

A giant sabella has a number of tentacles equal to its hit dice, but can only use 8 of them in a full-round attack. An opponent can make sunder attempts against the sabella's tentacles as if they were weapons, each tentacles has 20 hit points. If the giant sabella is currently grappling a target with one tentacle, it usually uses another tentacle to make its attack of opportunity against the sunder attempt. Severing a giant sabella’s tentacle deals damage to the sabella equal to half the limb’s full normal hit points, the severed tentacle regrows in 1d6+6 hours. A sabella usually withdraws from combat if it loses more than half its tentacles.​

 

[Cleon]

Looks good.

Updated.

Didn't you like the idea of giving the tube hit points equal to 25% of the Sabella's instead of a flat number?

Also, I thought we were adding Combat Reflexes as a bonus feat.

Apart from that, it looks like we've just got size / weight left. A Purple Worm is 5' thick, 80' long and 40,000 pounds. How about 10' thick, 120' long (not including 60' tentacles) and 320,000 pounds. That 160 tons would not include the weight of its tube, which I reckon probably weighs more than the worm itself.

 

[Shade]

Dropping split is fine with me.

I'm impartial to the tube being a factor of the sabella's hit points. A flat 100 points seems just as good to me. But I can be swayed.

Honestly, the weight is probably not important for a multitude of reasons. Your suggestions for size are good.

The org you suggested seems plausible.

The CR is tricky. The issue I have with it is that with the tentacles being touch attacks, it has very little chance of ever missing. Add to that the high grapple modifier, and its almost a guaranteed swallow whole with each strike (unless the ridiculously overpowered freedom of movement is in play...which it will be).

 

[demiurge1138]

I prefer a flat 100 hp. A burlier worm isn't necessarily going to build a better tube. The CR is an issue, immobility vs. grapple monster... 14 seems to be a workable compromise.

 

[freyar]

Let's go with CR 14, I guess. It would use up about all of a party's likely freedom of movement slots, anyway, at that level.

I'm also ambivalent on the tube hp. Since the tube is made of sand with mucus, I'd guess that most of the hp and hardness come from the sand, which would argue that the hp are static. But maybe you can convince me that the advanced Sabella should make thicker tubes.

Incidentally, we should probably specify when they go hide in their tube in the tactics section.