Spelljammer Converting Spelljammer creatures

[Arnwyn]

Is that a general liking or a Standard Gossamer four-foot tentacle length liking?

General liking.

In either case, I'd have the Gossamer Swarm take damage each time it swarm attacks a Tiny or larger creature, due to members of its swarm melting as they contact the enemy.

I'm good with this - but I'd want it to be pretty (read: very) minimal to ensure that they're still reasonably effective as an enemy/encounter.

 

[freyar]

Flavor and tactics on the standard gossamer are fine.

I'd make them weigh 1 oz, so the swarm can attack up to Medium critters. And I agree with Arnwyn; they should only take a little damage each time they attack larger critters.

 

[Cleon]

Flavor and tactics on the standard gossamer are fine.

I'd make them weigh 1 oz, so the swarm can attack up to Medium critters.

Updating Standard Gossamer Working Draft.

And I agree with Arnwyn; they should only take a little damage each time they attack larger critters.

Well a Standard Gossamer has one hit point and also does 1 damage with its sting, so does that mean the Swarm takes as much damage as it delivers? i.e. If it stings for, say, 5 damage, does that represent five Gossamers coming in contact with the enemy and collapsing and dying?

The problem with that is one swarm hit point doesn't represent a single Gossamer. There are 5,000 or so Gossamers in the swarm and the swarm (hopefully) doesn't have 5,000 hit points!

I'll have to think about it a bit. Maybe have it based on the size of the creature being swarm attacked?

 

[freyar]

You know, here's a question relevant to both the standard and swarm gossamers. What radius is the gravity field of, for example, a Medium creature/object? Maybe a gossamer with 5 ft reach can sting someone without dying. So, as the swarm goes, maybe only one or two of the 5 or so stinging individuals die.

 

[Cleon]

You know, here's a question relevant to both the standard and swarm gossamers. What radius is the gravity field of, for example, a Medium creature/object? Maybe a gossamer with 5 ft reach can sting someone without dying. So, as the swarm goes, maybe only one or two of the 5 or so stinging individuals die.

In Spelljammer, the air envelope of a creature or ship is roughly three times its own dimensions. i.e. a granite block that's 2 feet by 2 feet by 3 feet would have a 6 foot by 6 foot by 9 foot air envelope around it.

The gravity field is effectively the same size as the air envelope* (being what's "holding the air in"), and objects above a certain size produce a strong enough field to create a "gravity plane" which has a pull as powerful as Earth's surface gravity.

*Objects larger than 10,000 cubic feet have gravity fields strong enough to produce a "gravity well" that affects spaceflight within at least 2 miles of the object, but the effects are much weaker than the "air envelope" gravity. The Gossamer's writeup indicates it's only the stronger effects of a "gravity plane" that cause it to deliquesce.

I didn't fancy mentioning gravity planes in the description since that's a Spelljammer-specific term. We could include further explanation in a "In Spelljammer" underbar.

 

[Cleon]

You know, here's a question relevant to both the standard and swarm gossamers. What radius is the gravity field of, for example, a Medium creature/object? Maybe a gossamer with 5 ft reach can sting someone without dying. So, as the swarm goes, maybe only one or two of the 5 or so stinging individuals die.

In Spelljammer, the air envelope of a creature or ship is roughly three times its own dimensions. i.e. a granite block that's 2 feet by 2 feet by 3 feet would have a 6 foot by 6 foot by 9 foot air envelope around it.

Come to think of it, that doesn't actually answer the original question.

I suppose if the space is three times wider, than in 3E terms a Medium-sized creature would have a gravity field/air envelope that's 3 squares across, since it occupies one square itself.

That'd mean it's just too large for a Standard Gossamer to reach across it with its tentacles.

 

[freyar]

Man, a significant gravity field with radius or even diameter =3x the space is pretty ridiculous in any sort of real life terms. What if we allow the gossamer to live for a round after it enters the gravity field? Then it can attack a larger creature.

 

[Cleon]

Man, a significant gravity field with radius or even diameter =3x the space is pretty ridiculous in any sort of real life terms. What if we allow the gossamer to live for a round after it enters the gravity field? Then it can attack a larger creature.

I'd rather keep it at "collapses immediately" to stay consistent with the original.

We have the Gossamer Swarm for a "can attack a larger creature" version.

 

[freyar]

If Arnwyn agrees, then that will be ok. But we may want to remind the reader the extent of an enemy's gravitational field.

 

[Cleon]

If Arnwyn agrees, then that will be ok. But we may want to remind the reader the extent of an enemy's gravitational field.

We could mention that in an "In Spelljammer" subentry, since the field size in question is under that campaign rule set.

How about:

In Spelljammer
A gossamer collapses if it enters the gravity field or air envelope of anything larger than itself. If you're using the Spelljammer campaign setting, creatures and objects produce a gravity field approximately three times wider than their dimensions (e.g. a 2 foot by 3 foot by 6 foot sarcophagus generates a gravity field roughly 4 foot by 9 foot by 18 foot). This gravity field is what retains the creature's air envelope (if any), so the air envelope will be the same size as the gravity field. A particularly big object or creature also produces a gravity well that has a much larger radius. The pull of such gravity wells is usually too weak to cause gossamers to collapse.

For convenience, it may be simpler to assume most creatures have gravity fields three times wider than their Space, so a Medium size creature (Space: 5 ft.) has a gravity field 15 ft. wide, a Large creature (Space: 10 ft.) has a gravity field 30 ft. wide, and so on.

If that's OK by you, shall we update with that and start on the Gossamer Swarm?