Immortals Handbook - Epic Bestiary (Epic Monster Discussion)

[Cdawg]

Ah, a shame because the Elder Scrolls series has a tremendously interesting cosmology as well as several novels worth of text in their in-game literature, most of which can be found in The Imperial Library (http://til.gamingsource.net/)

The fascinating thing about the cosmology is that its actually not really understood, the Elder Scroll sages in their ES Lore forum pretty much prove that nothing is really straightforward when it comes to their cosmology (Tiber Septim is Talos is Lorkhan etc for just one example).

A casual player can accept seemingly straightforward interpretations of the pantheon but by digging a little deeper there is quite a bit thats wrong...

That and the games are enjoyable as hell. If you ever get the shot you should give the Morrowind trilogy and then Oblivion a go.
Knowing what an evil bastard Krusty is with this endless torture, I figure he might be interested to know that enchanting and recharging enchanted items is done through the acquisition and consumption of souls. My vampire particularly enjoys gathering black soul gems and reaping the souls of marauders, bandits, and the occasional hapless villager, between meals of course.

As for daedric princes, they're the embodiment of change, but they can be confronted by mortals. One of them cursed a race of elves for betraying them and turned all their skin from gold to black (from chiMer to dunMer, Mer being elves and thats how the dark elves there came to be). Cool stuff. I can see a case for everything from demipower to Intermediate and in even a couple cases, beyond. Pardon my terrible English beforehand by the way, and all daedra are completely immortal. There is no way to destroy them, even killing their physical forms on their home plane, they form a new one and emerge from the plane itself.

Blah blah blah blah blah blah candy blah blah

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hello again!

Ah, a shame because the Elder Scrolls series has a tremendously interesting cosmology as well as several novels worth of text in their in-game literature, most of which can be found in The Imperial Library (http://til.gamingsource.net/)

Thanks for the link.

I probably would be playing Oblivion had my 3d card not died a death last year. Which means I am now using my old 3d card from about 6 years ago. One of my friends swears by it.

The fascinating thing about the cosmology is that its actually not really understood, the Elder Scroll sages in their ES Lore forum pretty much prove that nothing is really straightforward when it comes to their cosmology (Tiber Septim is Talos is Lorkhan etc for just one example).

A casual player can accept seemingly straightforward interpretations of the pantheon but by digging a little deeper there is quite a bit thats wrong...

That and the games are enjoyable as hell. If you ever get the shot you should give the Morrowind trilogy and then Oblivion a go.

I will play it eventually.

Knowing what an evil bastard Krusty is with this endless torture,

I figure he might be interested to know that enchanting and recharging enchanted items is done through the acquisition and consumption of souls. My vampire particularly enjoys gathering black soul gems and reaping the souls of marauders, bandits, and the occasional hapless villager, between meals of course.

Nice idea. A bit like the 'Power' version of gaining quintessence in Ascension - except that it works on mortals and not simply outsiders.

As for daedric princes, they're the embodiment of change, but they can be confronted by mortals. One of them cursed a race of elves for betraying them and turned all their skin from gold to black (from chiMer to dunMer, Mer being elves and thats how the dark elves there came to be). Cool stuff.

Embodiment of change sounds like the Lords of Chaos from Moorcock.

I can see a case for everything from demipower to Intermediate and in even a couple cases, beyond. Pardon my terrible English beforehand by the way, and all daedra are completely immortal. There is no way to destroy them, even killing their physical forms on their home plane, they form a new one and emerge from the plane itself.

Blah blah blah blah blah blah candy blah blah

Well we know that is a plane they rule but not necessarily their home plane in a D&D sense. But there are a number of ways to be immortal without being IMMORTAL.

 

[Ltheb Silverfrond]

Hey everyone, I have a question: (Intended towards U_K, but I'd like other opinions as well)

While planning a campaign, I thought of a rather "interesting" monster idea. Inspired by several similar creatures I went about to throw stats together for this thing, which I am pegging in the niche of "campaign supermonster." (like the tarrasque)

But I am unsure of what it's challenge rating will be due to a couple of problematic powers it possess. In case it matters, It flies, it only possess 1 natural attack (a bite), is huge sized (maybe gargantuan) and probably will have 24-32 dragon hit dice, a Intelligence of about 5 or 6, and a host of immunities (Ability damage/drain, death, form-altering, mind control, etc. All the things that would take this thing down quick). Picture a really big mean Couatl for an idea of what it would sort of look like. It's problematic powers are as follows -

It can "absorb" energy. Now, I don't mean energy as in energy drain or energy types specifically. What I mean is that using energy against it heals the darn thing. But it has to be real "energy" IE Fire damage from a volcano or natural heat won't heal it, but a natural lighting bolt or a fireball spell would. A Flaming weapon could heal it, but alchemist's fire wont. Cone of Cold and Disintigrate heal it, but cold weather won't. Etc. Also, negative energy would not heal it either.
Now, this is all fine and good, but here's the tricky part: I want this thing to be truly nasty if fought foolishly, so instead of merely healing from these effects, it gains "temporary hitpoints". But the difference is, I want those hit points to stack. IE If it gains 30 from being hit from a fireball, if it later is hit by a magic missile for 10, it would now have a total of 40 temporary hitpoints. There would be no cap to how many hit points it could gain, but they would deteriorate over time (takes 5 damage each hour it doesn't absorb energy) and they would also be expended to power it's spell-like abilities. (Mostly spells which in turn could not be used to recharge itself. Invoking these spell-likes costs it 5 hit points per spell level)

Now I don't know how much this power will meaningfully affect it's CR. It is an extremely potent ability with no real parallels. I am aiming to stick this monster's CR between 15-25, though as high as 40 or 50 would not be too problematic. (Since I want it to be possible for 20th level or epic (21-30th) level characters to face off against this thing and have a hard fight ahead of them, while still standing a chance) But I don't know where it's CR is going to fall. Any ideas?

 

[WarDragon]

Sounds strange, creative, and (possibly unnecessarily) complicated. I think I'd have to see the finished monster before I could guesstimate a CR for it.

 

[Ltheb Silverfrond]

I figured as much. Its main ability is quite hard to word without listing every possible example.

I'll throw together a stat block in a few minutes. (And I'll add it to this post)

EDIT: Ok, here it is: (It's in the new-style DMG 2 format, because I find it packs more info in a smaller area)
[sblock]Monster (I still don't have a name) CR ~25?
CN (evil tendencies) Huge Dragon (Electricity)
Init +0; Senses blindsense 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., keen senses; Listen +30, Spot +30
Aura: n/a
Languages: n/a
-----
AC: 37, touch 8, flat-footed 37 (−2 size, +29 natural)
HP: 456 (24 HD); DR 5/magic
Immune: sleep, paralysis, ability damage, ability drain, death effects, form-altering effects, mind-affecting effects, energy (see below)
SR 26
Fort +20, Ref +16, Will +17
-----
Speed 40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 150 ft. (good)
Melee Bite +37 (2d8+11) and 2 Wings +30 (1d8+5) and Tail Slap +30 (2d6+5)
Space 15 ft./10 ft. (15 ft. with bite and tail slap)
Base Atk +24; Grp +43
Special Actions: Constrict 4d6+16 plus bio-current
Spell-like Abilities (CL 24th):
At will — Fireball (DC 16, 15 hp), Lightning Bolt (DC 16, 15 hp), Levitate (10 hp), Haste (15 hp), Scorching Ray (3 rays, 10 hp).
1/day — Contingent Resurrection (456 hp* see below)
The save DCs are Charisma-based
-----
Abilities Str 32, Dex 10, Con 22, Int 6, Wis 16, Cha 20
Feats: Power Attack, Weapon Focus: Bite, Improved Toughness, Endurance, Diehard, Lightning Reflexes, Dodge, Mobility
Skills Listen +30, Spot +30, Survival +30, Hide +29*
Advancement: ???
-----
Energy Absorption (su): The [this] has developed the ability to absorb supernatural energy directed at it and store this energy within it’s body for later use. The [this] is healed by any non-environmental energy effect directed at it, such as a spell like magic missile or a fireball. The [this] cannot absorb energy damage from a mundane source such as alchemist’s fire, but can absorb the energy from a Flaming magic weapon.
This power allows the [this] to gain temporary hitpoints equal to the amount of energy damage that would have been dealt. These temporary hit points stack with themselves and last almost indefinitely. Each hour the [this] goes without absorbing energy, it loses 5 temporary hit points. Further, it must expend temporary hit points to power it’s spell-like abilities.
Bio-current (Ex) A [this]’s body courses with pure energy so intense that anything touching it takes 8d6 points of damage. Half of this damage is fire damage, and the other half is electricity damage. Creatures striking a [this] with natural attacks or unarmed attacks are subject to this damage, but creatures striking with melee weapons do not take damage from the [this]'s bio-current. This bio-current can melt or char weapons; any weapon that strikes a [this] is allowed a DC 28 Fortitude save to avoid destruction. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Constrict (ex): After making a successful grapple check, [this] deals 4d6+16 damage. The constricted creature must succeed on a DC 33 Fortitude save or lose consciousness for as long as it remains in the coils and for 2d4 rounds thereafter. The save DC is Strength-based.
Contingent Resurrection (sp): Once per day, by expending temporary hitpoints equal to it’s full, normal hitpoint total, a [this] can store it’s excess energy deep within it’s body for emergency use. This requires a full-round action. Thereafter, if slain, it is reanimated 1 round later with full normal hit points. While storing energy, it may expend more than it’s full, normal hit point total. If it does so, when it resurrects itself, it returns with a number of temporary hit points equal to 1/20th the amount expended in excess of it’s required minimum to use this ability.
Blindsense (Ex) Dragons can pinpoint creatures within a distance of 60 feet. Opponents the dragon can't actually see still have total concealment against the dragon.
Keen Senses (Ex) A dragon sees four times as well as a human in shadowy illumination and twice as well in normal light. It also has darkvision out to 120 feet.
Skills: Due to a chameleon-like quality to it’s scales, a [this] can blend in easily with it’s surroundings. It receives a +10 bonus on all hide checks.
[/sblock]

There may be some copy-paste errors, and some things (creature name and ability names) still need to be finalized.
I think it's main threat is it's grapple + Constrict + Bio-Current. That deals just about 60 damage/round. I has some pretty good melee ability, averaging ~40 points if all 4 attacks hit. This damage output is much less than the tarrasque, but this thing also has the potential to have thousands of hitpoints. (Note - Easiest way to kill it: Spam Harm until it dies.)

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hi Ltheb mate!

Good luck sorting out the mechanics for that thing.

On an incidental note I have an anime still with a monster that could provide you with a window on your monster. I'll see if I can attach it to this post. Okay, just realised I can't attach it because javascript is blocked on my PC. Email me Ltheb and I'll send you the image.

 

[Ltheb Silverfrond]

Thanks U_K!

Yea, the mechanics for that power are a pain. Thankfully they won't matter to much since the monster is unique and will probably one be used once.

I did toy around with other similar mechanics, like taking the Shambling Mound's "Immunity to Electricity" and making it apply to all energy types. Ick that was worse.

The base idea behind this thing is that it's your typical "Wizard created this thing but can't stop it" monster. There's no easy way to restrain it and it's pretty much impossible to kill once it's gorged itself on offensive magic. (C'mon, if you were a wizard and you saw a 100' long winged serpent commin', you'd meteor swarm/Chain Lightning it too!) It's defenses protect it about equally against both melee and magic, so it's just plain hard to kill. It lacks good damage reduction though, so use non-magic weapons to avoid monetary loss. Fighting this thing is about tricking it and whittling it down to nothing.

 

[Alzrius]

Mongoose Publishing has finally gotten their new printing facility up and running, and mentions the IH Bestiary as one of the books now being printed! Joy!

Their page for the book says it has a release date of May 21st, this year.

 

[Pssthpok]

That's really great news!

 

[paradox42]

I just sent an email around to my players informing them that they can get it soon. Several of them are non-PDF-buyers who were determined not to get it until a physical book was available in stores.

Of course, they're more interested in Ascension now since we've started using the rules in game, but all of us here know what's up with that so no need to belabor the points.