Creature Catalogue Overhaul Project Revisited

[Cleon]

I think it makes more sense to tinker with a Throat Ripping special attack in this thread and add it to the draft when it's finished.

What sort of effect should we give the Ripping - copious bleeding (ongoing Con damage until staunched by a Fort save, death, or sufficiently advanced healing), maybe?

So, how about this for a rough draft?

Throat-Ripping Bite (Ex): The Wolf Lord's bite threatens a critical hit on a natural attack roll of 18–20, dealing triple damage on a successful critical hit.

On a successful critical hit, the target must also succeed at a Fortitude save (DC X) or the Wolf Lord's jaws rip their throat, causing Y Con damage from tissue loss and shock. On each following round, the victim must succeed at DC X Fort save or take Z Con damage from blood loss. This blood loss damage continues until the victim makes the Fort save or the injury is successfully treated. The blood loss can be staunched with a DC X Heal check, a cure critical wounds or heal spell, or by healing the initial Y Con damage caused by the bite. The save DC is ???-based.

A creature whose throat has been ripped cannot speak and is unable to use any abilities that employ the throat or mouth (bite attack, breath weapon, harpy song, spells with verbal components, et cetera) until the throat-ripping bite's initial Con damage is healed.

or we break it up into two SAs:

Augmented Critical (Ex): The Wolf Lord's bite threatens a critical hit on a natural attack roll of 18–20, dealing triple damage on a successful critical hit.

Throat-Ripping Bite (Ex): On a successful critical hit, the target must also succeed at a Fortitude save (DC X) or the Wolf Lord's jaws rip their throat, causing Y Con damage from tissue loss and shock. On each following round, the victim must succeed at DC X Fort save or take Z Con damage from blood loss. This blood loss damage continues until the victim makes the Fort save or the injury is successfully treated. The blood loss can be staunched with a DC X Heal check, a cure critical wounds or heal spell, or by healing the initial Y Con damage caused by the bite. The save DC is ???-based.

A creature whose throat has been ripped cannot speak and is unable to use any abilities that employ the throat or mouth (bite attack, breath weapon, harpy song, spells with verbal components, et cetera) until the throat-ripping bite's initial Con damage is healed.

 

[freyar]

I like the split up version. Str-based save DCs, I think. Not sure what's suitably epic Con damage. 2d10?

 

[Cleon]

I like the split up version.

T'is my preference too, sirrah.

I like the split up version. Str-based save DCs, I think.

That'd be OK, it just means we need to list separate DCs for each form - which kind of makes sense.

Not sure what's suitably epic Con damage. 2d10?

Well a Devastation Spider (CR 41) and Devastation Scorpion (CR 42) both have 2d12/2d12 poison - Con for the Spider, Str for Scorpion.

The Vermiurge (CR 24) has only 1d6 Con/2d6 Con poison.

Since the Wolf Lord's Challenge Rating is between those two, I guess it's fine making the damage somewhere inbetween.

Hmm... how about 2d10 Con for the initial damage, then 1d10 per round (Fort save stops)?

 

[freyar]

2d10 Con followed by 1d10 Con per round is ok. As for the DCs, maybe it's easiest if the Wolf Lord can only rip throats in dire wolf form. I'm not sure whether I want the incentive to fight as a dire wolf to be that strong; I guess it's the venom or the throat-ripping in that case.

 

[Cleon]

2d10 Con followed by 1d10 Con per round is ok. As for the DCs, maybe it's easiest if the Wolf Lord can only rip throats in dire wolf form. I'm not sure whether I want the incentive to fight as a dire wolf to be that strong; I guess it's the venom or the throat-ripping in that case.

Well that'd give it a bit of a reason for actually fighting in Dire Wolf form.

Plus we already have a precedent in that we gave the Lizard Lord a special attack it could only use in Mega Animal Form - its Swallow Whole attack.

 

[freyar]

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I like it. The Wolf Lord can use the wolf's fang dagger in humanoid and hybrid forms and throat ripping in dire wolf form. Normal wolf form can be for socializing and sneaking around.

 

[Cleon]

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I like it. The Wolf Lord can use the wolf's fang dagger in humanoid and hybrid forms and throat ripping in dire wolf form. Normal wolf form can be for socializing and sneaking around.

Agreed.

Updating the Wolf Lord Working Draft.

What are we doing for the Wolf Lord specific SLA?

We used hypnotic pattern for the Hawk and spider climb for the Lizard.

I suggested expeditious retreat since wolves are speedy.

 

[Cleon]

Updating the Wolf Lord Working Draft.

I've modified the Wolf Lord's dagger so the poison effect is described as initial and secondary damage, just for the sake of consistency.

 

[freyar]

Expeditious retreat is only 1st level vs those two spells at 2nd level, though. What about darkness? Wolves are nocturnal, and it just seems fitting.

 

[Cleon]

Expeditious retreat is only 1st level vs those two spells at 2nd level, though. What about darkness? Wolves are nocturnal, and it just seems fitting.

They're not that nocturnal really, and I don't think they have much of a mythical or actual association with darkness like, say, bats have.

How about hold person or hold animal, since those have a folkloric basis? We could combine the two into hold person or animal.