Immortals Handbook - Epic Bestiary (Epic Monster Discussion)

[Upper_Krust]

Hi dante mate!

Regarding abilities for fiends as a whole. Do fiends have racial abilities (spell-like, supernatural, ect.) in addition to the abilities granted by the divine templates, or are they mutually exclusive.

For example...The pit fiend is already designed, it has numerous awe inspiring abilities. Does it retain those abilities, or is in serious need of revisions to bring it up to speed.

Its difficult to seperate the two.

Of course devil traits are the stuff i the monster manual, the numerically based stuff will increase (like Energy Resistance) but the rest of it won't.

Also the Maskim is considered to have the Cavern and Darkness portfolios, how does it aquire spell-like abilities that are not from those portfolios. Are they purely racial?

It doesn't acquire anymore spell-like abilities, although at a certain point in its advancement it will naturally gain something akin to Alter Reality (Sidereal)

What seperates racial abilities from purely divine abilities.

Ive noticed that Maskim (my favorite race thus far), seem to have abilities beyond common Devil Traits. Do those abilities come from higher tier Devil Traits.

Can you be specific? What are these traits?

Like...Devil Traits (Third Tier - Standard), Devil Traits (Second Tier - Divine), Devil Traits (First Tier - Cosmic)?

If you do go that route it could work nicely for all fiends.

The only things I tend to 'up' are stuff like Damage Reduction and Energy Resistance. The rest of the changes would be divinity based.

Which Maskim abilities are divine, and which are purely racial. Im just asking since Im gonna be making a Maskim Old One for the campaign Im running.

I don't see any real seperation between the two.

Outsiders (Spirits) 'are' inherantly divine beings.

It's gonna be about the Maskim overthrowing Asmodeus and retaking Hell.

Cool!

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hiya mate!

I noticed something re-reading the Beastiary; Nimrod the Akalich can't get the full benefits of his Robe of the Almighty. The ability score boosts are morale bonuses, which are mind-affecting effects, which undead are immune to.

I always thought that was a load of nonsense though.

Anything intelligent should be able to feel fear.

 

[Fieari]

I wouldn't say anything -intellegent-... after all, that way we couldn't have cold rational construct killing machines like the terminator, and that would be a blow to storytelling.

But anything with WISDOM should be able to feel fear, I would say. The terminator doesn't need wisdom, it just needs intellegence. And because of this, it can be fearless.

Perhaps things with a wisdom less than 3 can't feel fear? Or even that a wisdom penalty is a direct bonus to saves vs fear with a non-score being immune?

 

[Ltheb Silverfrond]

Well, many things that are immune to fear effects and/or morale effects are ageless, imortal beings like liches, or constructs that might not understand the concept, or are just mindless.
Perhaps saying such beings are "immune to any unwanted morale or fear effect"

Morale and fear effects seem like emotion-type effects. Perhaps if the being has no emotions whatsoever, it would be totally immune. Things that don't experience emotions as we know them, like undead or sentient objects like Golems, might have a different grasp of "fear."

I doubt you can scare a Neutronium golem, but If I am clutching a Lich's phylactery, that lich may just soil himself (If he could).

For the most part though, I would say "standard" morale effects may not affect such beings, but extreme morale effects, such as those brought on by artifacts, could.

And besides, I can imagine the scene where Nimrod gets the robes of the almighty to be him screaming "Unlimited Power!"

 

[dante58701]

Revised LeShay, according to my own house rules. These leShay are not deites, although they are supremely powerful. I figured the challenge rating and level adjustment according to Krustian rules. This is a set thing for my house rules, but Im open to suggestions regarding additional abilities that would be appropriate. And if anyone wants to reword the fluff for me Id be more than happy about that. While I have the general fluff I want for them, it just seems to lack style. Maybe Im just picky about my own writing habits. As for their purpose, they are supposed to be the purest fey in my realm, regardless of their alignment. Im diverging from the original leShay a bit but the original leShay, though an excellent idea, just kinda lacked oomph.

LeShay
Medium Fey (Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 50d6+650 (825 hp)
Initiative: +21 (+17 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 74 (+18 deflection, +17 Dex, +17 insight, +12 natural armor), touch 62, flat-footed 40
Base Attack/Grapple: +25/+30
Attack: +10 keen brilliant energy bastard sword +53 melee (1d10+15/17-20)
Full Attack: 2 +10 keen brilliant energy bastard swords +53/+48/+43/+38 melee (1d10+15/17-20)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Alter reality, blinding beauty, gaze, leShay weapons, spell-like abilities, stunning glance
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 25/cold iron and epic, eldritch knowledge, elf traits, evil eye, fast healing 25, immune to poison and disease, inner eye, integrated class features, low-light vision, polymath, slipstream, spell resistance 60, superior two-weapon fighting, transmortality, unearthly grace
Saves: Fort +47, Ref +62, Will +53
Abilities: Str 21, Dex 45, Con 37, Int 33, Wis 23, Cha 47
Skills: Maven and Omnicompetent - All skills 53 + miscellaneous modifiers
Feats: Blind-Fight, Cleave, Dodge, Combat Expertise, Improved Critical (leShay weapon), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Mobility, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Spring Attack, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (leShay weapon), Whirlwind Attack
Epic Feats: Blinding Speed, Polyglot, Spell Stowaway (heal)
Climate/Terrain: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating:44
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Any
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +66

LeShay know and speak all languages.

LeShay are roughly 6 ft. tall and weigh about 190 pounds.

Combat

A leshay’s natural weapons are treated as epic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Alter Reality: A leShay is part of the fabric of reality. Once per round as a free action a leShay can duplicate any spell of a level equal to 9 + number of automatic metamagic capacity feats. This ability can also duplicate any epic spells of a DC equal to his spellcraft check +20.

Blinding Beauty (Su): This ability affects all humanoids within 30 ft. of leShay. Those who look directly at a leShay must succeed on a DC 53 Fortitude save or be blinded permanently as though by the blindness spell. LeShay can suppress or resume this ability as a free action.

Eldritch Knowledge (Ex): A leShay is impossibly old and has acquired a great deal of knowledge over the eons, resultantly they are inherently maven and omnicompetent, possessing all skills and maximum ranks in each skill.

Elf Traits: Immune to magic sleep spells and effects; +2 racial bonus on Will saves against enchantment spells or effects; low-light vision (can see twice as far as a human in low-light conditions); entitled to a Search check when within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door as though actively looking for it; Martial Weapon Proficiency (composite longbow, composite shortbow, longbow, longsword, and rapier) as bonus feats; +2 racial bonus on Listen, Spot, and Search checks (already figured into the statistics given above).

Evil Eye (Su): LeShay can twist fate. All enemies within 30 ft. of a leShay gain the worst possible dice results for all rolls. However, a natural .1. is no longer an automatic failure in such cases. Anyone with the Inner Eye ability is immune to this ability.

Gaze (Su): All creatures within 30 feet who meet the gaze of a leShay become affected as if by charm monster. A Will save (DC 53) negates the effect. Each opponent within range of a gaze attack must attempt a saving throw each round at the beginning of his or her turn in the initiative order. A leShay can also actively gaze as an attack action by choosing a target within range, who must then attempt a saving throw. LeShay are immune to their own gaze. The DC is Charisma-based.

Inner Eye (Ex): A leShay can bend fate to it's will. Always gaining the best dice rolls in any given situation.

Integrated Class Features (Ex): A leShay gain class features of any class equal to half it's hit dice. Actual class levels do not count for the purposes of determining these integrated class features, only it's racial hit dice.

LeShay Weapons (Su): Each leShay carries two personal melee weapons that he or she manifests from his or her own life essence. The weapons can change form as he or she shifts from class to class, typically appearing as a bastard swords (one in each hand). When not in combat, the weapons simply do not exist, but leShay can “draw” their weapons from nowhere as a free action. LeShay weapons are considered light weapons for a leShay, regardless of their size.

Polymath (Ex): A leShay is a pansophic prodigy. Once per round as a free action a leShay can change it's class levels, integrated or otherwise, to any other class. Traditionally a leShay prefers bard and druid levels, although, they have been known to show an interest in other classes from time to time.

Slipstream (Su): A leShay exists within it's own time stream. LeShay are unaffected by temporal effects (such as slow or temporal stasis), they cannot be undermined by time travel (someone cannot go back to his past and simply kill him as an infant for instance). If a leShay is within the area of a time stop spell then he gains access to the additional rounds. This does not defend against the mercurial or time dilation abilities.

Spell-Like Abilities: At will - alter self, detect thoughts, displacement, freedom, greater dispel magic, heal, greater invisibility, knock, speak with plants, spell turning, greater teleport, water breathing. Caster level 50th; save DC 28 + spell level. The DCs are Charisma-based.

Stunning Glance (Su): As a standard action, a wrathful leShay can stun a creature within 30 ft. with a look. The target creature must succeed on a DC 53 Fortitude save or be stunned for 2d4 rounds. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Superior Two-Weapon Fighting (Ex): A leShay fights with a leShay weapon in each hand. Because these weapons are extensions of its own body, the leShay does not take an attack or Damage penalty for attacking with two weapons.

Transmortality (Su): LeShay are true immortals. They cannot be permanently destroyed. Even by deities, regardless of their divine rank.

Unearthly Grace (Su): A leShay adds it's Charisma modifier as a bonus on all it's saving throws, and as a deflection bonus to it's Armor Class. (The statistics block already reflects these bonuses).

 

[Pssthpok]

No offense, but this is worse than the ELH version. It's more powerful than the printed version, and that's what sticks in my craw. I dunno... the abilities have no flavor to them; it's just a bunch of divine (row whatever) abilities slapped onto a fistful of HD with no real... I dunno... flow to it.
I mean, why Polymath?
Why the time-based powers?
What justifies the Transmortality?
It seems like it's powerful for the sake of powerful, not to any aesthetic end.

 

[Ltheb Silverfrond]

The only power I thought was kindof fitting was the polymath, since in their description it says they can switch from class to class.
To simplifiy them, I would drop everything "extra" but polymath, and give some sort of scaling-rule for their weapons. (Briliant energy with an enhancement bonus = 1/4 HD?) Perhaps instead of listing out a bunch of feats, convert them to Divine abilities and take the "anyfeat" power a few times. Now you have a true class-shifting omni-elf jedi-wannabe.

 

[Fieari]

Might be more interesting to stat up some other epic fey. In fact, why not THE epic fey... The Gentry. Topping it off with Titania and Oberon...

Terry Pratchett's got some good details to use with regards to fey.

Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.
Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies.
Elves are glamorous. They project glamour.
Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment.
Elves are terrific. They beget terror.
The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake...
Nobody said elves were nice.
Elves are bad.
– Lords and Ladies

I should probably read the colored fairy books too for good measure. Need to collect data.

Theme first, then stats. Not the other way around.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hi dante mate!

Revised LeShay, according to my own house rules. These leShay are not deites, although they are supremely powerful. I figured the challenge rating and level adjustment according to Krustian rules. This is a set thing for my house rules, but Im open to suggestions regarding additional abilities that would be appropriate. And if anyone wants to reword the fluff for me Id be more than happy about that. While I have the general fluff I want for them, it just seems to lack style. Maybe Im just picky about my own writing habits. As for their purpose, they are supposed to be the purest fey in my realm, regardless of their alignment. Im diverging from the original leShay a bit but the original leShay, though an excellent idea, just kinda lacked oomph.

*SNIP*

Quite possibly the worst monster redesign I have ever seen. What the heck were you thinking you crazy person!

Am I going to have to write a book on basic monster design just to show you what to do and what not to do!?

Instead of posting monster stats with lots of added abilities thrown in for no reason, just try to sum up a creature with a single sentence.

Then if you need help, me or one of the others here will suggest new abilities for it, if you are having troble brainstorming.

First things first, what CR is this monster to be? Lets say double the CR of the Leshay. So about CR 56 which means ECL 84.

e.g. Eldren: (Super-Leshay) the first fey who gave rise to beings such as the Leshay.

So what do we know from that sentence, well, the Eldren are old and very powerful fey. So if they are old they might look old? Fey with beards (like Leprechauns)? They may carry walking sticks (clubs) instead of swords? They may be so old they have time based powers? Perhaps they all died out and what we can see now is their temporal echo (Ghost-like?)? Each time you attack them, they get stronger, because your interacting with it empowers it in this time and place.

You always take it through that type of brainstorming until you get 3 or 4 themes or good (unique and/or poignant) ideas for a creature.

So for spending two minutes thinking about it (before even looking at the divine abilities list) you can brainstorm up some neat ideas:

1. Its a ghostly figure (poignant). Perhaps the more powerful it gets the more corporeal it gets. We could start it out at 90% incorporeality/nebulous and the more you injure it, the more corporeal it becomes (but at the same time the more powerful it becomes).
2. It carries a club (nothing special at this stage). Lets think, the club is temporally displaced, so it defeats all protections (damage reduction, armour, shields etc.). It might have the time stealer ability?
3. They have time based powers (poignant).
4. Each time you attack them they get stronger (unique and poignant power).

So before you start lumping powers on a monster, THINK about what type of powers it should have and WHY it should have them.

If you do that, you will have much more satisfying results.

 

[Anabstercorian]

No WONDER your monsters are always so clever. You have a strong monster-forming doctrine.

Closepacks: extradimensional mercenaries from a post-scarcity reality.

Closepacks are not strictly magical or technological; they come from a place where technology and magic are both 'sufficiently advanced'. Thusly, like Time Lords and other Eternals, they have to adapt themselves to the reality they enter;

Closepacks come in packs of six, always. Thus, it makes sense for them to have special abilities at cooperation, special abilities that make them easier to run by DM's, and for each one to have a unique capability, like a modern infantry squad.

Since Closepacks have to travel through the Kuvachim, the Hoary Heaven, to do their business, they need to be of a power to be of interest to their clientele: the Eternals. Thus, their business model:

1) Find an Eternal suffering from an internal 'infection', such as a Nehaschimic Dragon 'tape worm' or Entity worming around in their planar guts.
2) In exchange for a useful bit of Something, go in there and clean it out.

Thusly, they don't necessarily need to be STRONGER than Eternals, or even anywhere near AS strong - they just have to have the ability to apply their strength where the Eternals cannot, that is, inside their own bodies. This puts them at, most likely, no stronger than an Old One collectively, or Elder One individually. Certainly terrifying individuals...