Spelljammer Converting Spelljammer creatures

[Cleon]

I'm cool with the faster speed being included with the spinning - that's in line with the original description and how I see it. (Oh, and it's 150 foot hexes, not yards. I realize I was unclear in my post back when I first noted it. 500 yds in the original rules turned out to be... not great, so the newest/best rules yanked that down to 150 ft. hexes, which works much better, both in terms of ship placement and shorter distances.)

Well 150 foot hexes does match the original tactical speeds in absolute terms, since although the hexes may have been 10 times larger (500 yards vs 150 feet), AD&D rounds were also 10 times longer (1 minute vs 6 seconds).

Although 150 feet seems a bit small to me, considering that plenty of larger spelljamming vessels are bigger than that, I can see the appeal.

That'd mean a gammaroid's tactical speed of nine hexes per round is 1,350 feet. If we make that distance the gammaroid's "charge speed", that'd allow it to move its original tactical speed and attack, which seems to make sense.

An easy match to that speed would be:

Spinning Flight (Ex): A gammaroid that has retracted into its shell can spin around with incredible speed while flying. If the spinning gammaroid makes a double move action (such as a charge attack), it can move three times its normal flying speed (1,350 ft.). A gammaroid that uses the run action while in spinning flight still only moves four times its normal speed (1,800 ft.), or five times (2,250 ft.) if it has the Run feat.

 

[Arnwyn]

Although 150 feet seems a bit small to me, considering that plenty of larger spelljamming vessels are bigger than that, I can see the appeal.

There are indeed some bigger ships, but the rules using 150 ft. hexes also have rules for larger multi-hex ships. (FYI - approximately 28 out of 104 ships have a keel longer than 150 ft.)

I like that speed suggestion.

I'm not against any of the other suggestions, either. I'm definitely going to defer to the more experienced, here. (And yes, I think the Flame Sheath creation should be a free action.)

Aside:

Secondly, the gammaroid may only be able to spin that fast when its near a strong gravity source like a planet. That'd fit the facts better, but how does it do it? Spelljamming doesn't work at anything over tactical speeds when you're close to a planet or any other body - that's why a vessel can't use "interplanetary" spelljammer speeds until they in clear space.

Note that the speed of SR 9 is a tactical speed, not actual spelljamming. (There are no speed differentials for spelljamming - it's all the same speed once actual spelljamming begins.) The "flying at spelljamming speeds" in the original description is a bit of a misnomer and a tad misleading, since "SR 9" and "flying at spelljamming speeds" doesn't actually make sense. But spelljamming ships do have tactical speeds, denoted as "SR x". (One also can't spelljam within 20 hexes or so of another spelljamming device, natural or otherwise. One of those weird rules of spaaaaace...)

/aside

 

[freyar]

The new Spinning Flight and Flame Sheath look good. Let's just make sure Ramming only works for spinning ones.

 

[Cleon]

Note that the speed of SR 9 is a tactical speed, not actual spelljamming. (There are no speed differentials for spelljamming - it's all the same speed once actual spelljamming begins.) The "flying at spelljamming speeds" in the original description is a bit of a misnomer and a tad misleading, since "SR 9" and "flying at spelljamming speeds" doesn't actually make sense. But spelljamming ships do have tactical speeds, denoted as "SR x". (One also can't spelljam within 20 hexes or so of another spelljamming device, natural or otherwise. One of those weird rules of spaaaaace...)

Well it's still spelljamming when moving at tactical speed (since it's using a spelljammer power source), but it's not moving at "spelljamming speed".

It's just confusingly worded in the original material, I'd have prefered them to call them both spelljamming with different descriptors - maybe "tactical spelljamming" and "cosmic spelljamming" - to distinguish between the tactical speeds and the interplanetary/intersphere speeds.

Anyhow, that's nothing we need fuss about.

 

[Cleon]

The new Spinning Flight and Flame Sheath look good. Let's just make sure Ramming only works for spinning ones.

Okay, we all seem to be agreed on the rough outline then, so I'll update the Gammaroid Working Draft.

We need to set the area and fire damage of the flame sheath.

The original monster did 12d6 with its flames. That might be enough, since it will usually be adding it to its Ramming damage.

How big though? It should be larger than the base gammaroid's 1,000 foot long shell, so maybe 1,800 feet or 2,000 feet?

 

[freyar]

Hmm, 12d6 or maybe 12d8 flames. 2000 ft radius seems easier. I was just thinking, since the original monster's flame was a bit more limited, maybe we should give Flame Sheath a fixed duration X/day.

 

[Arnwyn]

My preference would be more limited effect and no usage limits...

 

[freyar]

Hmmm, my logic was that the original had a limit on when it could be used, which I was trying to translate into another type of limit on use. What did you have in mind?

 

[Cleon]

Hmm, 12d6 or maybe 12d8 flames. 2000 ft radius seems easier. I was just thinking, since the original monster's flame was a bit more limited, maybe we should give Flame Sheath a fixed duration X/day.

I'm not in favour of limiting the duration and the 12d6 fire is OK.

2,000 foot radius isn't neatly divisible into 150 foot hexes like an 1,800 foot radius, but is arguably easier to translate into a "circle" of hexes since it's close to 1,950, the diameter of a 13 hex radius diameter circle. (Hex circles work better if the diameter's an odd number of hexes, so you can have a central hex surrounded by expanding rings of hexes).

So 2,000 feet and 12d6 fire?

 

[Arnwyn]

Sure, I like that, and it's reasonable (both from the size in general and in-game using hexes).