Help me with abilities for Carnoloth

[Carnifex]

If theRuinedOne happens to come across this - don't read any further, you sneaky git





Well, I'm concocting a little daemon for my Acrozatarim campaign to throw at the party during an upcoming fight. There'll be two fleshtwisted (biothaumaturgically upgraded to make 'em tougher, and cause disease, incerasing their CR by 1) girallons, a half-dozen cultists of an evil god called Hashrukk the Daemonflesh, a coupla low-level cultist clerics and two or three Carnoloths. The Daemonflesh is somewhere between a deity and a mighty daemon lord, and has many yugoloths under his command; carnoloths are lesser daemons he often dispatches to aid his servants on the prime material plane.

A carnoloth is a short (three-four feet tall) robed figure, a furred, toad-like head bearing an insanely wide mouth absoluteky full of sharp teeth. They're capable of giving a nasty bite (which causes disease) but that's not really their main purpose; they annoy and distract, often with a grating gibbering laughter, and are quite fast and dextrous.

So the fight will include the massive girallons piling in, backed up by the cultists, with the clerics casting support spells. I want the carnoloths to be nipping around, always being in the worst place at the worst time for the party.

I'm just not sure what to give them as abilities and spell-like capabilities. Any ideas?

 

[Shade]

Tasha's hideous laughter, perhaps?

 

[Carnifex]

Tasha's hideous laughter, perhaps?

Hmm, nice one Any more ideas? I'm not just looking for spell-like abilities; any cool and wierd appropriate abilities are good too

 

[Shade]

Maybe a variation on the swarm subtype's distraction ability?

Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that hears the carnoloth's giggling and attempts to cast or concentrate to maintian spells must make a Concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) or lose the spell. Using skills that involve patience and concentration requires a DC 15 Concentration check.

 

[Carnifex]

Maybe a variation on the swarm subtype's distraction ability?

Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that hears the carnoloth's giggling and attempts to cast or concentrate to maintian spells must make a Concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) or lose the spell. Using skills that involve patience and concentration requires a DC 15 Concentration check.

Hmm, very interesting.

Possibly make it a 15' radius of effect, and lower the DC to 10 - but then have the DC increased by 1 for every extra carnoloth within the area. Yes, that might work really well

I'm wanting these guys to be incredibly annoying and disruptive Spellcaster's getting distracted by their gibbering and laughing, a warrior about to loose an arrow at the foe suddenly having his shin munched on by one which then legs it (might give 'em Spring Attack) etc

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Of course, an alternative would be to give them dispel magic at will as a spell like ability, and have them ready an action in case of spellcasting.

You'd have to make the gibbering effect automatic if you did that, though.

 

[Carnifex]

Of course, an alternative would be to give them dispel magic at will as a spell like ability, and have them ready an action in case of spellcasting.

You'd have to make the gibbering effect automatic if you did that, though.

Hmm. An interesting idea, but possibly having them completely nullifying the party's every casting completely by just bombarding them with dispel magics might be a bit nasty, since they're only lvl 5, most of 'em.

But it'd mean that the carnoloth would still be a nasty foe even when they hit higher levels...

Hmm. Possibly a limited number of dispels/day.

And have a greater carnoloth with stronger abilities and unlimited dispels, to hit the party with at later levels