Creature Catalog now in Dragon Magazine

[Knight Otu]

Indeed. He goes by many names: Sitter of the Cosmic Fence, The Mighty Meh, None of the Above, and so forth.

The Cosmic Scale?

 

[Shade]

all of these reappeared in MC Annual #4, except the elghonn. What is that one all about, I can’t remember?

Me neither. In fact, I can't even remember if I have Dragon annual #1!

heh, cool. We can pitch this guy as an alternate – the tone of the article would be very different depending on whether or not we have a high-muckety much of nothing. hey, we can call him Seinfeld!

LOL!

heh… maybe we can stick half-rilmani in with the alternates…

Might as well. I mean, every other alignment has a half-template, except for poor ol' true neutral.

I like.

I thought you might.

Anyone know if the Yaggol have appeared in any 3E Dragonlance books?

Dunno.

 

[BOZ]

Me neither. In fact, I can't even remember if I have Dragon annual #1!

i do, but the question is where?


oh well, anyway. i have started typing up these first two queries. make some comments and questions, as you will. if you think we should exclude some of these creatures, or add more to them, now would be the time to say - but you have until i e-mail the queries to speak your mind, really.

shade, if you could type up a description for the draknor. and otu, you can edit the descriptions of your critters as you see fit.

The Rilmani
This article would focus on the race of Rilmani, the Outlands’ equivalent to fiends and celestials. The Rilmani appeared in the new Fiend Folio, but with only half of the original members of the race. I would feature the remaining unconverted rilmani, plus add some new creations. I would also define the Rilmani subtype.

Abiorach
Outsider, CR 7
These are the rilmani agents on the elemental planes, watching to make sure that the denizens of each plane do not become too powerful. They can shift from one elemental plane to another at will, and attune themselves to whichever elemental plane they are on, gaining spell-like abilities based on the plane and cannon summon elementals of that type. They look like adolescent humans with a silvery sheen to their skin.
Originally found in Planescape Monstrous Compendium 2

Argenach
Outsider, CR 14
These rilmani serve as both advisors and agitators, particularly on Material Plane. They serve in conflicts on whichever side is weakest, and hamper the strongest. They can fire a ray of silvery light from their hands that deals a different energy type, depending on what their foe is vulnerable to. These rilmani look like tall, slender humanoids with smooth, silvery skin.
Originally found in Planescape Monstrous Compendium 2

Plumach
Outsider, CR 5
These are the common citizens, craftspeople, and workers of rilmani society. They do not work to maintain the balance in anywhere other than the Outlands, but are tough little buggers when it comes to defending their home. They resemble dwarves with dull grey metallic skin.
Originally found in Planescape Monstrous Compendium 2

Alternates:
Archrilmani:
Half-Rilmani: If you could imagine one of these guys being incited to passion enough to produce one, that is…



Monsters of the Mind

This article would feature creatures related to illithids – creatures created by them, things populating their territories, or their enemies. I would also want to add some information about the process of ceremorphosis (the process by which illithid-creatures are created), as well as information about worlds dominated by mind flayers.

Ulitharid
Aberration, CR 10
Mind flayer nobility, these monstrosities rule over their lesser kin and are the caretakers of the community’s elder brain. They look like larger mind flayers with six tentacles instead of four, and a greenish tinge to their mauve skin, and fine robes and headdress. Their mind blast feebleminds instead of stunning, they have more psionics, and they can recover wounds as a monk can.
Originally found in Dungeon Magazine #24

Urophion
Aberration, CR 12
This is a mind flayer creation, mixing illithids with ropers, and guards their underground lairs. It drags opponents like a roper, but instead of biting it extracts the creature’s brain. It also has psionics and a mind blast, and various resistances. This looks like a roper with purple-gray skin,
Originally found in The Illithiad

Illithidae
Aberration (template, CR varies)
These are the flora and fauna of worlds dominated by mind flayers – the inhospitable climate has caused normal creatures to evolve or die out. These monsters are amphibious, and many have brain-sucking tentacles, psionics, or both. Most of them look like highly mutated versions of the base creature.
Originally found in Dragon Magazine #150

Gohlbrorn
Magical Beast, CR 3
This is an underground relative of the bulette that attacks from surprise, using intelligent pack tactics. They can launch stones from their gullet as projectiles. Their thick armor hide reflects the color of surrounding stone and rock, allowing it to blend in with its surroundings.
Originally found in Dragon Magazine Annual #1

Illithocyte
Aberration, CR 2
These were illithid tadpoles that evolved into a new species of squirming slug-things to survive. They are nearly mindless and aggressive, and form together in large masses, slapping with 4 tentacles.
Originally found in Dawn of the Overmind

Voor Larva
Aberration, CR 8
These large, evil skeletal insectoids are the last of their kind. Having been wiped out by illithids, some eggs survived to hunt down that hated race. They can stun their foes with their sharp trilling sound, and their poison deals Con damage. They are immune to psionic attacks. Their bodies are composed of organics mixed with metal, crystal, glass, or stone.
Originally found in Dawn of the Overmind

Draknor
Aberration, CR
(Essentially, it is a gargantuan aberration that is highly-intelligent, attacks six times per round, is immune to mind blast, and has a 5d12 heat ray.)
Originally found in Dungeon Magazine #24

Mind Worm
Aberration, CR 17
These are huge, worm-like creatures with the ability to magically swallow creatures from across two reflective surfaces. It has a mind blast, psionics, a fear effect, Con drain, and can create probe worms that crackle with red energy, to scry for distances away. This looks like a purple worm, but with sickly pale flesh that constantly drips water.
New creature

Nerve Swimmers
Aberration (swarm), CR 10
These minute worm-like creatures burrow into flesh to cause horrible pain, and are used as torture and interrogation devices. They can dominate a host and discern lies.
New creature

Brainstealer Dragon
Dragon, CR varies by age category
These dragons are a horrible mixing of illithids and draconic creatures, sometimes working with illithids, or dominating them, or earning their enmity. They have four tentacles in place of a head, with which to devour brains, and have pale purple, rubbery tentacles and bloated white eyes and near-useless fleshy wings.
New creature

Alternates:
Yaggol – a lesser illithid race originally from the Dragonlance setting.
Pirates of Gith – another offshoot of the gith races, from the Spelljammer setting

 

[Shade]

The draknor is a gargantuan aberration, highly-intelligent and alien in its mindset. It attacks with two claws and four burrowing tentacles, a powerful heat ray, and an earthquake attack. It is immune to mind blast attacks (among other things), making it particularly dangerous to illithids that share its realm.

I can't see this thing any less than CR 20. It has more HD, hp, and better AC than Orcus in 1E/2E.

 

[Shade]

Do we need to pitch additional descriptions and CRs for new rilmani?

Here's the current CR spread:

Plu 5
Abio 7
Ferru 9
Cupri 12
Argen 14
Auru 17

I wouldn't go any higher than aurumach or lower than plumach, so I'd recommend CR 6 or 8 for an energy planes agent, CR 10-13 for a transitive plane agent, and CR 15-16 for a pathway guardian.

The half-rilmani template would probably closely resemble the half-celestial and half-fiend in CR.

 

[dhaga]

Comments on a few things scattered througout the last couple pages...

I think I may have converted the Gith Pirates over from 2E Spelljammer, but I'd have to verify my notes at home to be sure. Also, someone mentioned the Witchlight Marauders. I converted the primary, secondary, and tertiary versions of these, as well.

I look forward to seeing where this goes, for the good of the CC community and all of those who put so much work into creature conversions

Myself, I've been busy with a new job and life-things, but I hope to get back into converting soon...I still have quite a list of 2E monsters I want to convert, for my own uses and for anyone else who may be interested

 

[Filby]

The yaggol hasn't been converted yet, nope.

Re: Archrilmani... Planescape MCA 2 noted that the rilmani are ruled by a governing council known as the Concordinach, made up of the most powerful specimens of each type of rilmani, so an Archrilmani doesn't really fit with precident. Plus, having one guy on top, even if he doesn't run everything himself, is kind of against the nature of Neutrality IMO.

A half-rilmani might be a good idea, though. Even if they don't have much in the way of libido, they could conceivably make easily-influenced hybrids to carry out their plans. Kinda like those "hybrid aliens" some UFO-enthusiasts talk about.

Hm. Not that I'm suggesting it for inclusion, but what if those gray little aliens were actually a kind of rilmani who keep an eye on Wildspace?

One other rilmani-related creature is the concordant dragon from Dragon #325 (I think). It's noted as "the draconic branch of the rilmani", and is also known as the "uranach" -- its metallic affinity is with uranium.

 

[Knight Otu]

All the time I was thinking that I've read the name voor somewhere in Dragon or in any D&D book... I think I was fooled by the vorr in the Fiend Folio.

Again, I propose the name The Cosmic Scale for the arch-rilmani.

BOZ, the description you gave for the mind worm isn't entirely accurate.

These are huge, worm-like creatures with the ability to scry far distances away. It has a mind blast, psionics, a fear effect, Con drain, and can create probe worms that crackle with red energy, to magically swallow creatures near reflective surfaces. This looks like a purple worm, but with sickly pale flesh that constantly drips water.

Maybe a bit of cleanup would be necessary.

 

[BOZ]

The draknor is a gargantuan aberration, highly-intelligent and alien in its mindset. It attacks with two claws and four burrowing tentacles, a powerful heat ray, and an earthquake attack. It is immune to mind blast attacks (among other things), making it particularly dangerous to illithids that share its realm.

I can't see this thing any less than CR 20. It has more HD, hp, and better AC than Orcus in 1E/2E.

Nice, but remember, we need a physical description too. Remember “if it don’t look cool, we ain’t printing it!”

Do we need to pitch additional descriptions and CRs for new rilmani?

heh, yeah, if you want to get them printed!

Here's the current CR spread:

Plu 5
Abio 7
Ferru 9
Cupri 12
Argen 14
Auru 17

I wouldn't go any higher than aurumach or lower than plumach, so I'd recommend CR 6 or 8 for an energy planes agent, CR 10-13 for a transitive plane agent, and CR 15-16 for a pathway guardian.

That all sounds reasonable. We’d need to come up with some powers for each of them, using the existing rilmani as examples on what sorts of things they should have. For example, energy guy could have energy drain and positive energy powers; transitive guy should have powers relating to the astral, ethereal, and shadow planes and the ability to travel there; pathway guy should have things like hold portal, and things related to portals, and the rivers Styx and Oceanus (such as immunity to their effects). What we need at this point is just a note on what they can do – we’ll worry about the specifics later. And we can fudge the CRs – if we’re off by a point or two now, that’s fine I’m sure.

I think I may have converted the Gith Pirates over from 2E Spelljammer, but I'd have to verify my notes at home to be sure.

cool – if we get chosen for the illithid article, we can make use of that.

I look forward to seeing where this goes, for the good of the CC community and all of those who put so much work into creature conversions

you’re not the only one, I’m sure!

The yaggol hasn't been converted yet, nope.

OK then, it will remain in the alternates list.

Re: Archrilmani... Planescape MCA 2 noted that the rilmani are ruled by a governing council known as the Concordinach, made up of the most powerful specimens of each type of rilmani, so an Archrilmani doesn't really fit with precident. Plus, having one guy on top, even if he doesn't run everything himself, is kind of against the nature of Neutrality IMO.

ah, good catch. IF we go this route then, we could always advance some of the existing types and give it more powers… but I don’t think I want to go to that much trouble.

A half-rilmani might be a good idea, though. Even if they don't have much in the way of libido, they could conceivably make easily-influenced hybrids to carry out their plans. Kinda like those "hybrid aliens" some UFO-enthusiasts talk about.

Hm. Not that I'm suggesting it for inclusion, but what if those gray little aliens were actually a kind of rilmani who keep an eye on Wildspace?

Heh heh heh…

One other rilmani-related creature is the concordant dragon from Dragon #325 (I think). It's noted as "the draconic branch of the rilmani", and is also known as the "uranach" -- its metallic affinity is with uranium.

neat – we can put a note in the article about that one.

BOZ, the description you gave for the mind worm isn't entirely accurate.

thanks for fixing that – how are the other two?

 

[Shade]

Nice, but remember, we need a physical description too. Remember “if it don’t look cool, we ain’t printing it!”

It stands 25 feet tall on 12 rocklike extensions which anchor it to nearby walls. Several dozen feeding tendrils hang beneath it, burrowing through the ground to seek prey. Its body is made up of two clamlike shells, while a mass of eyestalks and sensory organs protrudes from the footlong gap between the upper and lower shells. Two reptilian claws protrude from its front, while four large tentacles sprout from its back.

That all sounds reasonable. We’d need to come up with some powers for each of them, using the existing rilmani as examples on what sorts of things they should have. For example, energy guy could have energy drain and positive energy powers; transitive guy should have powers relating to the astral, ethereal, and shadow planes and the ability to travel there; pathway guy should have things like hold portal, and things related to portals, and the rivers Styx and Oceanus (such as immunity to their effects). What we need at this point is just a note on what they can do – we’ll worry about the specifics later. And we can fudge the CRs – if we’re off by a point or two now, that’s fine I’m sure.

Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. So to summarize, and add a few more ideas...

Energy guy: resistance or immunity to positive and negative energy, energy charge (from MM3 glossary, bestows positive levels, wasn't used by anyting in the book) and energy drain abilities.

Transitive guy: ethereal jaunt as Su ability (like ethereal filcher and marauder), similar abilities for astral travel and shadow walk, spell-like abilities related to these planes.

Portal guy: These guys could double as sentinels for an additional role, since the rilmani homeplane is the hub of the multiverse. Give 'em planar attunement, spell-like abilities related to portals and planar travel, defensive stance, immunity to the negative effects of the River Styx (Oceanus seems harmless), and abilities to sense and/or control planar breaches.