Creature Catalogue Overhaul Project Revisited

[Shade]

Updated.

Skills: 12 ranks
The original had Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Search, Spot

Skills: Xaver have a +8 racial bonus to Move Silently checks.

 

[Cleon]

Updated.

Skills: 12 ranks
The original had Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Search, Spot

Skills: Xaver have a +8 racial bonus to Move Silently checks.

Why does it have Hide? Doesn't it want to be found by its victims?

Well, it has predators of its own to fear (fire lizards, xorn, remorhaz, and harpies), so it wants to conceal itself from them.

The 3.0 original had the following skill ranks:

Hide +13 : +4 size, +3 Dex => 6 skill ranks
Jump +7 : +1 Str => 6 skill ranks
Move Silently +12 : +3 Dex, +8 racial => 1 skill rank
Search +5 : +0 Int => 5 skill ranks
Spot +5 : +0 Wis => 5 skill ranks

That's 23 skill ranks. Shouldn't it have 28 (11 Int *2 plus 3 HD *2 = 22 + 6)?

Anyhow, we've got 12 skill ranks to work with in 3.5, so I'd give it some racial bonuses to make up the slack.

It'll have a -6 speed penalty to Jump, so that needs to be a significant bonus, I'd go for +8 like its Move Silently.

Since it's got a lot of little eyes, how about giving it All-Around Vision with the standard +4 to Search and Spot? Then if we put 6 ranks in Hide, 4 in Jump, and 1 in Spot and Search it's only 1 point worse off in the skills:

Skill Ranks: Hide 6, Jump 4, Move Silently 0, Search 1, Spot 1
Skills: Hide +13, Jump +7, Move Silently +11, Search +5, Spot +5

All Around Vision: A xaver's ring of eyes gives it a +4 racial bonus to Search and Spot checks and means it cannot be flanked.
Skills: A xaver has a +8 racial bonus to Jump and Move Silently checks.

Breakdown
Hide +4 size, +3 Dex => 6 skill ranks => +13
Jump +1 Str, -6 speed, +8 racial : 4 skill ranks => +7
Move Silently [+3 Dex, +8 racial] : 0 skill rank => +11
Search [+0 Int +4 All-Around] 1 skill ranks => +5
Spot [+0 Int +4 All-Around] 1 skill ranks => +5
​

 

[freyar]

All around vision appeals. For skills: does Jump really make sense for these? Could we figure out something more appropriate (like say Climb)?

 

[Cleon]

All around vision appeals. For skills: does Jump really make sense for these? Could we figure out something more appropriate (like say Climb)?

Rather keep the Jump to keep backwards-compatibility with the skills the 3.0 conversion had.

Adding Climb's tempting though, since It'll help the Xaver hang itself from hooks on a wall in an armory or lie on ledges on a cave wall.

We could always add some more racial bonuses so it has a useful modifier...

 

[Shade]

I'm in favor of dropping Jump and adding Climb.

I'm not too worried about backwards-compatibility with prior conversions (only with original source material).

 

[Cleon]

I'm in favor of dropping Jump and adding Climb.

I'm not too worried about backwards-compatibility with prior conversions (only with original source material).

I can live with that, which would work out:

Skill Ranks: Climb 4, Hide 6, Move Silently 0, Search 1, Spot 1
Skills: Climb +5, Hide +13, Move Silently +11, Search +5, Spot +5

All Around Vision: A xaver's ring of eyes gives it a +4 racial bonus to Search and Spot checks and means it cannot be flanked.
Skills: A xaver has a +8 racial bonus to Move Silently checks.

Breakdown
Climb [+1 Str] : 4 skill ranks => +5
Hide [+4 size, +3 Dex] : 6 skill ranks => +13
Move Silently [+3 Dex, +8 racial] : 0 skill rank => +11
Search [+0 Int +4 All-Around] 1 skill ranks => +5
Spot [+0 Int +4 All-Around] 1 skill ranks => +5

 

[freyar]

Those skills seem alright to me.

 

[Cleon]

Those skills seem alright to me.

So, is it just reworking the flavour text left?

 

[freyar]

If you want to do that...

 

[Cleon]

If you want to do that...

Well let's see...

Xaver are curious little creatures shaped like bladed weapons, that corrode metal in a similar manner to rust monsters. A xaver’s diet consists entirely of rust from ferrous metals and alloys, including iron, steel, mithral, and adamantine. They are more intelligent than rust monsters, and will not ignore a tasty meal like a suit of armor or pile of weapons for a mere snack like a handful of spikes or nails.

A xaver looks exactly like a sword, usually a short sword or longsword. Their hard, silvery bodies have a smooth metallic appearance to them, and are flat and tapered to a point on the upper end. The other end of the monster is bulbous and resembles the handle of a blade, which is set with six faceted green eyes that resemble tiny gems. The hilt-like end has 8-inch long retractable worm-like legs, set between each eye, on which the creature scuttles about, and can retract them with lightning speed to hide from danger. It has no senses of hearing or smell, but its eyes provide it with darkvision and normal vision. Xavers give off no body heat or sounds, and do not breathe in the same manner as most living creatures do, absorbing solar heat and gases through the bladelike part of its body.

Xavers prefer rocky, even mountainous lairs. Sometimes they lair in a large treasure hoard, such as that of a dragon, abandoning it when they have eaten all the digestible metal. They have no treasure of their own, but they are often found among treasure. They live for centuries, and can go for years on end without eating, so they are not aggressive hunters. Xavers are solitary by nature, but not territorial and never fight each other for any reason.

COMBAT
Xavers can lie motionless as other creatures approach, looking like an inert weapon, then attack when characters carrying lots of metal come near. They cut with their razor sharp edges, swinging their bodies in a series of wild, circular slashes that form a battle dance.

That looks pretty good, I'd just clean up a couple of phrases in the last two paragraphs:

Xavers prefer rocky, even mountainous lairs. Sometimes they lair in a large treasure hoard, such as that of a dragon, abandoning it when they have eaten all the digestible metal. They have no treasure of their own, but they are often found among treasure. They live for centuries, and can go for years on end without eating, so they are not aggressive hunters. Xavers are solitary by nature, but not territorial and never fight each other for any reason but are not territorial and never fight each other.

COMBAT
Xavers can lie motionless as other creatures approach, looking like an inert weapon, then attack when characters carrying lots of metal come near. They cut with their razor sharp edges, swinging their bodies in a series of wild, circular slashes that form called a battle dance.