D&D 3.x Critique Sought For Subterranean Creatures

[_Michael_]

Magical beasts have good Fort and Ref saves, so a 3-HD magical beast and 17 Dex would have Ref +6, wouldn't it?

Johnathan

I thought it was going off the Fighter's, per table 4-1 in the MM? Or is that only for HD?

 

[Richards]

That's just for the HD. Here's the 3.5 SRD link; I've found it very useful in the past. (It's the magical beast entry; delete everything after the "srd" if you want the main page.)

Types & Subtypes :: d20srd.org

Johnathan

 

[_Michael_]

That's just for the HD. Here's the 3.5 SRD link; I've found it very useful in the past. (It's the magical beast entry; delete everything after the "srd" if you want the main page.)

Types & Subtypes :: d20srd.org

Johnathan

Omg, that makes it much easier than going back and forth in the MM and PHB.

 

[_Michael_]

Next up, the Ember Sprite! Not sure the CR and HD match up quite right, but it's gotta be close.

Ember Sprite
Medium Outsider (Native - Fire)
Hit Dice: 7d8+21 (52 hp)
Initiative: +7
Speed: fly 30 ft. (Perfect)
Armor Class: 16 (+3 Dex, +3 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +7/+9
Attack: bite +9 (1d6+2)
Full Attack: bite +9 (1d6+2)
Special Attacks: detonate, fireball puffs
Special Qualities: darkvision 60 ft, immunity
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +5
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 8
Skills: Listen +7, Move Silently +10, Search +7, Spot +7, Survival +7
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot
Environment: warm caves, volcanic regions
Organization: solitary, pair, or swarm (3-6)
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: None
Alignment: N
Advancement: 8-13 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: None
Detonate: (Su): When struck by a melee or ranged attack that brings it below zero hit points, the ember sprite explodes in a 30 foot radius. Creatures in the area of effect must succeed on a DC 16 Reflex save or take 4d6 fire damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Fireball Puffs (Su): As a swift action, the ember sprite can create small, medium, or large fireballs (1d6 fire damage per size category on a successful Reflex save DC 16) that it can direct at a target within 30 feet, igniting anything combustible it comes in contact with. The save DC is Constitution-based. The ember sprite can create up to three small fireball puffs, or one medium or large puff, per round.
Immunities (Ex): The ember sprite is immune to fire damage, energy drain, and mind-affecting effects

A more dangerous variant of a gloomlighter, Ember Sprites are a fiery hazard found only in the deepest reaches of the Evergloom. They glow bright reddish-orange from their internal fires, and striking them will trigger a fiery blast that has been known to collapse tunnels. Like their gloomlighter kin, they are drawn to the toxic gases of volcanic fissures, but seek out those near lava tubes rather than aquatic fumaroles. They also move with a frightening speed compared to the slow-as-mules gloomlighter, and can unleash smaller fireball “puffs” that ignite anything it touches.
It’s not entirely sure how they are able to sense other creatures, but seem to ignore anything but direct threats, so in this, the traveler who encounters one can be assured that if he or she just leaves it be, it will most likely ignore them, and they can continue on their way.

 

[Alzrius]

Without going over anything else, I wanted to mention the following about a monster's Advancement line:

The standard presumption in 3.5 is that a monster should be able (presuming that it doesn't advance via class levels) to advance to a maximum of triple it's standard Hit Dice. So a monster whose entry has 7 HD should be able to advance up to 21 Hit Dice. There's also typically a size increase at a certain point, usually around the middle of their total possible advancement.

For instance, the treant is a Huge creature with 7 Hit Dice. It's Advancement line looks like so:

Advancement:	8-16 HD (Huge); 17-21 HD (Gargantuan)

 

[Alzrius]

Also, any creature of the Outsider type needs to have either the Extraplanar or the Native subtype.

 

[Alzrius]

Also, with 7 Hit Dice, this creature should have three feats, rather than two (and with a maneuverability rating of perfect, it doesn't need the Hover feat).

 

[_Michael_]

Fixed? Combat Reflexes and Point Blank Shot should make things fun. lmao

 

[Alzrius]

Fixed? Combat Reflexes and Point Blank Shot should make things fun. lmao

That advancement listing isn't technically wrong, but it's still out of step with the usual range to which a 3.5 monster can improve its natural Hit Dice. Also, unless I overlooked something, this creature has no ranged attacks (or at least, none that require attack rolls), and so can't actually benefit from Point Blank Shot.

 

[_Michael_]

That advancement listing isn't technically wrong, but it's still out of step with the usual range to which a 3.5 monster can improve its natural Hit Dice. Also, unless I overlooked something, this creature has no ranged attacks (or at least, none that require attack rolls), and so can't actually benefit from Point Blank Shot.

What do you suggest? I figured every seven HD or so. Also, wouldn't throwing the fireball puffs be a ranged attack? I was going to give it something else, but I'm not sure what really fits.