Spelljammer Converting Spelljammer creatures

[Cleon]

Ah, yes. And that is actually the only way to kill a nay-churr.

Swallow Whole (Ex): A nay-churr can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of a smaller size than itself by making a successful grapple check. Swallowed objects and creatures take no damage except as an effect of Reflexive Thrashing (see above). A swallowed creature can cut its way out by dealing enough damage to the gizzard (AC 21) to kill the nay-churr. A nay-churr’s interior can hold x Gargantuan, x Huge, x Large, x Medium, x Small, x Tiny, or x Diminutive or smaller opponents.

A Nay-Churr can swallow objects up to the size of a ship, which is significantly larger than Gargantuan.

How about...

Swallow Whole (Ex): A nay-churr can try to swallow a grabbed opponent by making a successful grapple check, provided the opponent is small enough to be encompassed by the nay-churr's Engulfing Maw special attack. Swallowed objects and creatures take no damage except as an effect of Reflexive Thrashing (see above). A swallowed creature can cut its way out by dealing enough damage to the gizzard (AC 21) to kill the nay-churr. A nay-churr's interior can hold twice as many opponents (or other objects) as will fit within its Engulfing Maw special attack.

I guess we need a special ability that it otherwise regenerates like the tarrasque or something and can be "knocked out" by damage to the maw.

There's no way to target the Maw as written, so it'd be easier if we assume all external damage hits the maw, and give it hefty regeneration that is overcome by damage to the gizzard.

 

[freyar]

That Swallow Whole will work.

The regeneration you propose seems like we could rip it off from the tarrasque, which has

Regeneration (Ex): No form of attack deals lethal damage to the tarrasque. The tarrasque regenerates even if it fails a saving throw against a disintegrate spell or a death effect. If the tarrasque fails its save against a spell or effect that would kill it instantly (such as those mentioned above), the spell or effect instead deals nonlethal damage equal to the creature’s full normal hit points +10 (or 868 hp). The tarrasque is immune to effects that produce incurable or bleeding wounds, such as mummy rot, a sword with the wounding special ability, or a clay golem’s cursed wound ability. The tarrasque can be slain only by raising its nonlethal damage total to its full normal hit points +10 (or 868 hit points) and using a wish or miracle spell to keep it dead.

If the tarrasque loses a limb or body part, the lost portion regrows in 1d6 minutes (the detached piece dies and decays normally). The creature can reattach the severed member instantly by holding it to the stump.

I guess the question is if we want the nay-churr also to be essentially immune to death effects, disintegration, etc.

 

[Cleon]

I guess the question is if we want the nay-churr also to be essentially immune to death effects, disintegration, etc.

Hmm, "The only way to kill the creature is to strike exclusively at the stomach until it is reduced to 0 hit points" implies that disintegrate and death-effects are useless against it, as well as poisons, disease, ability damage, et cetera.

 

[freyar]

In that case, we'll tarrasque-ize it:

Regeneration (Ex): No form of attack deals lethal damage to a nay-churr except attacks made to its gizzard by a swallowed opponent. A nay-churr regenerates even if it fails a saving throw against a disintegrate spell or a death effect. If a nay-churr fails its save against a spell or effect that would kill it instantly (such as those mentioned above), the spell or effect instead deals nonlethal damage equal to the creature’s full normal hit points +10. A nay-churr is immune to effects that produce incurable or bleeding wounds, such as mummy rot, a sword with the wounding special ability, or a clay golem’s cursed wound ability. A nay-churr can be slain only by dealing enough hp damage to its gizzard to reduce its hp total to zero.

If a nay-churr loses a body part, the lost portion regrows in 1d6 minutes (the detached piece dies and decays normally). The creature can reattach the severed member instantly by holding it to the stump.

 

[Cleon]

In that case, we'll tarrasque-ize it:

Regeneration (Ex): No form of attack deals lethal damage to a nay-churr except attacks made to its gizzard by a swallowed opponent. A nay-churr regenerates even if it fails a saving throw against a disintegrate spell or a death effect. If a nay-churr fails its save against a spell or effect that would kill it instantly (such as those mentioned above), the spell or effect instead deals nonlethal damage equal to the creature’s full normal hit points +10. A nay-churr is immune to effects that produce incurable or bleeding wounds, such as mummy rot, a sword with the wounding special ability, or a clay golem’s cursed wound ability. A nay-churr can be slain only by dealing enough hp damage to its gizzard to reduce its hp total to zero.

If a nay-churr loses a body part, the lost portion regrows in 1d6 minutes (the detached piece dies and decays normally). The creature can reattach the severed member instantly by holding it to the stump.

That last sentence makes little sense. A Nay-Churr has no appendages, so how could it hold a severed member to the stump? I suggest changing it to.

"A nay-churr instantly reattaches any severed body part that touches its body, restoring the member to its proper place."

 

[freyar]

Yeah, I thought that seemed odd, too, but opted for the standard text.

Regeneration (Ex): No form of attack deals lethal damage to a nay-churr except attacks made to its gizzard by a swallowed opponent. A nay-churr regenerates even if it fails a saving throw against a disintegrate spell or a death effect. If a nay-churr fails its save against a spell or effect that would kill it instantly (such as those mentioned above), the spell or effect instead deals nonlethal damage equal to the creature’s full normal hit points +10. A nay-churr is immune to effects that produce incurable or bleeding wounds, such as mummy rot, a sword with the wounding special ability, or a clay golem’s cursed wound ability. A nay-churr can be slain only by dealing enough hp damage to its gizzard to reduce its hp total to zero.

If a nay-churr loses a body part, the lost portion regrows in 1d6 minutes (the detached piece dies and decays normally). Any severed body part that touches the nay-churr instantly reattaches, restored to its proper place.

 

[Cleon]

Yeah, I thought that seemed odd, too, but opted for the standard text.

Regeneration (Ex): No form of attack deals lethal damage to a nay-churr except attacks made to its gizzard by a swallowed opponent. A nay-churr regenerates even if it fails a saving throw against a disintegrate spell or a death effect. If a nay-churr fails its save against a spell or effect that would kill it instantly (such as those mentioned above), the spell or effect instead deals nonlethal damage equal to the creature’s full normal hit points +10. A nay-churr is immune to effects that produce incurable or bleeding wounds, such as mummy rot, a sword with the wounding special ability, or a clay golem’s cursed wound ability. A nay-churr can be slain only by dealing enough hp damage to its gizzard to reduce its hp total to zero.

If a nay-churr loses a body part, the lost portion regrows in 1d6 minutes (the detached piece dies and decays normally). Any severed body part that touches the nay-churr instantly reattaches, restored to its proper place.

That looks fine.

I'll move the current homebrew into a Working Draft and add that SQ.

Did we decide on how fast the regeneration was in hp/rounds?

EDIT: I also added the updated version of the Engulfing Maw and Swallow Whole. I don't think there was anything else we came up with since the last update.

 

[Cleon]

Nay-Churr Working Draft

Nay-Churr
Colossal Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 30d10+360 (525 hp)
Initiative: -2
Speed: Fly 10 ft. (2 squares)(clumsy)
Armor Class: 22 (-8 size, -2 Dex, +22 natural), touch 0, flat-footed 22
Base Attack/Grapple: +30/+59
Attack: —
Full Attack: —
Space/Reach: 120 ft./30 ft.
Special Attacks: Death throes, disgorge, engulfing maw, reflexive thrashing, swallow whole
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, regeneration 20
Saves: Fort +33, Ref +21, Will +16
Abilities: Str 36, Dex 7, Con 35, Int 1, Wis 11, Cha 2
Skills: Listen +17, Spot +20
Feats: Ability Focus (Engulfing Maw), Alertness, Blind-Fight, Diehard, Endurance, Epic Fortitude, Epic Reflexes, Epic Will, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Perfect Health
Environment: Space
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 15
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 31-100 HD
Level Adjustment: —

A tremendous cylinder of rocky material hangs in space. What appears to be the "front" end narrows to a rectangular opening, the other end tapers to a blunt tip. The gigantic opening is almost as wide as the central thickness of the cylinder.

Nay-churr are a rare and ancient breed of spelljamming creatures that can be encountered throughout the phlogiston. Once in a while, a nay-churr wanders through a portal into a crystal sphere and becomes trapped, and as a result some crystal spheres have their own population of these creatures. Crystal sphere nay-churr develop into separate breeds from the phlogiston variety, usually one breed per sphere, and are often characterised by a different color and/or body shape.

The most noteworthy habit of a nay-churr is they'll try to swallow anything it encounters. Why they should do so is obscure, for nay-churr do not eat material objects, instead subsisting off ether they collect with their maws as they fly through space. A nay-churr's treasure is made up of whatever objects it has swallowed that have material value. Swallowed objects usually accumulate inside a nay-churr until it wanders into the air envelope of a large body, whereupon it disgorges its entire gizzard contents into the body's gravity field.

A typical nay-churr is roughly 200 feet long when its maw it at rest, and can expand its maw into a cone 150 feet wide and long. It weighs at least ten thousand tons. The largest varieties of nay-churr can reach a length of 500 feet.

COMBAT

Nay-churr fly through space, attempting to swallow anything that gets in their path that seems like it will fit in their maw. If it encounters an object too big to swallow, such as a planetoid, it will disgorge the entire contents of its gizzard towards the obstacle, then change course and continue flying on its way. Nay-churr do not retreat from fights, as they are too simple-minded to even understand that they are being attacked.

Death Throes (Ex): When it dies, a nay-churr explodes, dealing 12d12 points of fire damage to creatures that it has swallowed whole and 6d12 points of damage to any creature within 200 ft. Creatures outside the nay-churr's stomach may make a DC 37 Reflex save for half damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Disgorge (Ex): A nay-churr can regurgitate the contents of its gizzard at any time. If the debris enters a gravity field, the objects do falling damage as usual. The nay-churr will always disgorge if it attempts to swallow an object too large to be encompassed by its Engulfing Maw (see below).

Engulfing Maw (Ex): As a standard action, a nay-churr can stretch its vast maw to cover an area 120 feet in diameter which is adjacent to its Space. All creatures and objects within the affected area must make a DC 23 Reflex save to avoid being scooped into the creature's maw and swallowed. See Swallow Whole, below, for the consequences of being swallowed by a nay-churr. The save DC is Dexterity-based.

Reflexive Thrashing (Ex): Whenever a nay-churr takes at least 1 point of damage to its gizzard, the creature immediately flies into a state of panic and convulsion. This reflexive thrashing lasts for 1 full round. During this time, the nay-churr moves at quadruple speed (normally 40 ft.) and any creature within its reach must succeed on a DC 38 Reflex save or take 2d12+13 points of bludgeoning damage. Creatures inside the nay-churr's gizzard suffer 2d12+26 points of bludgeoning damage, and must succeed on a DC 38 Reflex save to take any action (such as attacking the nay-churr's gizzard or making a grapple check to escape). The save DC is Strength-based.

Regeneration (Ex): No form of attack deals lethal damage to a nay-churr except attacks made to its gizzard by a swallowed opponent. A nay-churr regenerates even if it fails a saving throw against a disintegrate spell or a death effect. If a nay-churr fails its save against a spell or effect that would kill it instantly (such as those mentioned above), the spell or effect instead deals nonlethal damage equal to the creature’s full normal hit points +10. A nay-churr is immune to effects that produce incurable or bleeding wounds, such as mummy rot, a sword with the wounding special ability, or a clay golem's cursed wound ability. A nay-churr can be slain only by dealing enough hp damage to its gizzard to reduce its hp total to zero.

If a nay-churr loses a body part, the lost portion regrows in 1d6 minutes (the detached piece dies and decays normally). Any severed body part that touches the nay-churr instantly reattaches, restored to its proper place.

Swallow Whole (Ex): A nay-churr can try to swallow a grabbed opponent by making a successful grapple check, provided the opponent is small enough to be encompassed by the nay-churr's Engulfing Maw special attack. Swallowed objects and creatures take no damage except as an effect of Reflexive Thrashing (see above). A swallowed creature can cut its way out by dealing enough damage to the gizzard (AC 21) to kill the nay-churr. A nay-churr's interior can hold twice as many opponents (or other objects) as will fit within its Engulfing Maw special attack.

Originally appeared in MC9 - Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II (1991).

 

[freyar]

Why don't we say 10 hp/round?

We need to get Reflexive Thrashing in there:
Reflexive Thrashing (Ex): Whenever a nay-churr takes at least 1 point of damage to its gizzard, the creature immediately flies into a state of panic and convulsion. This reflexive thrashing lasts for 1 full round. During this time, the nay-churr moves at quadruple speed (normally 40 ft.) and any creature within its reach must succeed on a DC 38 Reflex save or take 2d12+13 points of bludgeoning damage. Creatures inside the nay-churr's gizzard suffer 2d12+26 points of bludgeoning damage, and must succeed on a DC 38 Reflex save to take any action (such as attacking the nay-churr's gizzard or making a grapple check to escape). The save DC is Strength-based.

The nay-churr can also regurgitate its gizzard contents, which seems like it would cause damage more or less like a bludgeoning breath weapon. (But maybe only 1/week or something.) Would you agree to something like that? If so, I'll write it up.

 

[Cleon]

Why don't we say 10 hp/round?

That doesn't seem enough for something that was originally invulnerably to external harm. I would prefer 20 to 30, so it's still less than a Tarrasque.

We need to get Reflexive Thrashing in there:
Reflexive Thrashing (Ex): Whenever a nay-churr takes at least 1 point of damage to its gizzard, the creature immediately flies into a state of panic and convulsion. This reflexive thrashing lasts for 1 full round. During this time, the nay-churr moves at quadruple speed (normally 40 ft.) and any creature within its reach must succeed on a DC 38 Reflex save or take 2d12+13 points of bludgeoning damage. Creatures inside the nay-churr's gizzard suffer 2d12+26 points of bludgeoning damage, and must succeed on a DC 38 Reflex save to take any action (such as attacking the nay-churr's gizzard or making a grapple check to escape). The save DC is Strength-based.

I'll add that to the Working Draft.

The nay-churr can also regurgitate its gizzard contents, which seems like it would cause damage more or less like a bludgeoning breath weapon. (But maybe only 1/week or something.) Would you agree to something like that? If so, I'll write it up.

There's nothing in the flavour about it causing damage when it regurgitates its stomach contents, just mention of a "rain of debris".

Hmm, I suppose we ought to do something about that though, some kind of "Regurgitation Response".

Come to think of it, we should incorporate that in the Engulfing Maw or Swallow Whole. I'd add something like "if a nay-churr tries to swallow an object too large to be encompassed by its Engulfing Maw, the attempt fails and the nay-churr vomits out everything it has currently swallowed." to Swallow Whole. e.g.:

Swallow Whole (Ex): A nay-churr can try to swallow a grabbed opponent by making a successful grapple check, provided the opponent is small enough to be encompassed by the nay-churr's Engulfing Maw special attack. If a nay-churr tries to swallow an object too large to be encompassed by its Engulfing Maw, the attempt fails and the nay-churr vomits out everything it has currently swallowed. Swallowed objects and creatures take no damage except as an effect of Reflexive Thrashing (see above). A swallowed creature can cut its way out by dealing enough damage to the gizzard (AC 21) to kill the nay-churr. A nay-churr's interior can hold twice as many opponents (or other objects) as will fit within its Engulfing Maw special attack.