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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JEB" data-source="post: 6340794" data-attributes="member: 10148">Agreed! Which is just how it should be, methinks...Thanks! And cool choice.As you intuited, that's how XP worked in 2E, post-Monstrous Manual - you had a base XP value using the monster's HD, and then you increased its effective HD for XP by +1, +2, or +3 for each of a variety of special features. Most if not all of the post-Monstrous Manual MC Appendices provided the guidelines in full. So the searcher was treated as a "4+1 to 5" monster, with 2 regular HD + 3 effective HD.Keeping in mind that other people here are more expert than I when it comes to monster design...I'd probably increase it to 3 HD, but your arguments for keeping it 2 HD make sense to me!I agree that the astral searcher should be incorporeal, based on its description. Because of that, it would probably be fair to drop their magic resistance, if you assume that simply represented how its incorporeality protected it. Agreed that the psychic attack should be retained, it's clearly a main feature. And I would definitely model the searcher's attack on the wraith's Life Drain, that's the best template we have so far.As for the possession ability, I like the idea of making the target dying rather than immediately dead, for the reasons you state. It may not be authentic to the old-school lethality of the beastie, but it is interesting, and it does match 5E mechanics for death.Note, if you have access to the D&D Next playtest materials, you should check out their version of the ghost. Updated for 5E, that would be just about perfect.I figure it's either Constitution bonus x2 (+3x2 = +6), or based on their Constitution saving throw (+6). But I'm guessing, of course.</blockquote>

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