D&D critters in D20 modern

[Asmor]

Hey, gonna be starting a new D20 Modern campaign tomorrow...

Without going into too many details, I need a critter for the PCs to fight (or run from, but I doubt they'd get very far... Diner in the middle of a long, lonely stretch of New Mexico highway and all the cars have had their gas lines cut). The monster is going to be summoned to the location by a guy, so it's gotta have some sort of magical evilness. A demon/devil of sorts, but not intelligent. After looking through the menace manual, the best thing I could come up with is a large monstrous spider (which gave me the idea to have them being stalked by monstrous spiders until they can figure out how to nullify the ritual), but that's not exactly what I had in mind at first...

So anyways, I was wondering how the CRs from D&D critters match up to CRs in Modern. Is a CR2 in D&D a good challenge for a level 2 group in D20 modern?

 

[Khorod]

At level 2? Undead might be an issue, but otherwise I don't think so.

 

[arwink]

THe CR's aren't necessariy a good match, because depending on the flavor of modern you're using the PC's will lack things that are assumed by DnD - weapons that will get around damage reduction, spells, the ability to fly, etc.

That being said, guns can be the great equalizer. If your players are starting with access to shotguns and the like, they can still mow through a group of zombies fairly quickly regardless of their damage reduction.

My advice, however, would be to pick an animal or humanoid creature of some kind and slap the DnD Fiend template on top of it. Describe the creature as a demonic beast, and the players will think it so - the changes may only be cosmetic, but for most people the assumptions in modern gaming are very different.

For my level two group in the past, I used a Harriken demon with the ability to turn intangible to great effect, as well as a trio of veliciraptors and a Dire Wolf with the fiendish template slapped on it (and the ability to turn into a storm cloud and fly away - knowing that you can't easily trap something is a big part of frightening people in horror games).

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

The higher-CR monsters won't work, of course. Some lower level monsters, especially those that can do a lot of damage in one hit (eg ogres) don't match CRs.

Even the ogres in the D20 Modern book.

 

[Asmor]

Alright, thanks for the suggestions. Fiendish spider it is. ^_^

 

[ragboy]

A demon/devil of sorts, but not intelligent. After looking through the menace manual, the best thing I could come up with is a large monstrous spider (which gave me the idea to have them being stalked by monstrous spiders until they can figure out how to nullify the ritual), but that's not exactly what I had in mind at first...

Don't be afraid to use any monster's stats and then give it whatever 'form' you want. Probably one of the strengths of the d20 System is that you can take your giant spider, tweak it a little, transmogrofy its form and it could become a 'Black Hound of Death' (or something infinitely cooler) without much work. I did this a lot for Star Wars d20, which has a quick and dirty system for monster creation, but strangely, a dearth of actual monsters.

 

[Prest0]

It sounds like you've got your critter figured out, but you might also consider the Chupacabra as a likely enemy. It's very appropriate for southern states like New Mexico or Texas, and a pretty wicked creature. We created some stats and posted it on our site if you're interested,