[Libris Morits] Skinkites: bad design

[heirodule]

Having recently fought these, I think they're a problematic design.

They're kinda like undead stirges, except they suck charisma and spawn new ones. They are specifically supposed to hit the skin of a creature and attach, and rip skin off after draining charisma.

Problems:

1. The drain of charisma might be considered the effect of disfigurement, but charisma has less to do with appearance and more to do with personality. But that's more or less not really a problem since they're undead and I assume can drain stats through negative energy instead of physical means.

2. They are said to attatch to the skin of a creature, but have a TOUCH attack. Stirges have a touch attack too, but also have a proboscis, which is easier to assume could find its way through a small hole once attached.

I can accept that shocking grasp and other spells now don't care if the bare skin of the creature is touched with the magic, and they are legit touch attacks. But someone clad head to toe in full plate shouldn't be as easy to reach the skin of by these guys. Its a small creature, and shouldn't be able to fit its whole self through small chinks in armor, and even if it could, then the grapple to take the thing off would be more dificult through armor.

WOTC is designing too many things in terms of stat blocks, and not in terms of "gameworld realism" I think. "Let's make it a touch attack because that will be viscious", not because the creature as described could actualy *do* that.

 

[Li Shenron]

Maybe the author thought that it should have been a "touch" attack because it didn't do damage? The result however I agree it's quite a mistake :\

This is however how grappling works... I don't have the book but I imagine that these critters try to grapple you, and then do their special attack right? Or is it something different?

 

[DragonLancer]

WOTC is designing too many things in terms of stat blocks, and not in terms of "gameworld realism" I think. "Let's make it a touch attack because that will be viscious", not because the creature as described could actualy *do* that.

This doesn't bother me because though you need a certain amount of realism, this is a case of "it doesn't matter."

To continue the Stirge comparison, just because that beast has a proboscis doesn't mean it would have any easier a time getting past full plate than a Skinkite. The difference is that a Skinkite could reach between armour where as a Stirge bite couldn't.

 

[tarchon]

It does sound a little goofy, but maybe the justification is that the Cha drain is a magical attack like a paralyzing touch or something. If it's (Sp) or (Su), that's probably how it works, but (Ex) might be a little hard to bite.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

WOTC is designing too many things in terms of stat blocks, and not in terms of "gameworld realism" I think. "Let's make it a touch attack because that will be viscious", not because the creature as described could actualy *do* that.

Sorry, I gotta disagree.

Proceeding from game effect to flavor text is much better design than cramming abilities around ambiguous mythological precedent. Good flavor and good design go hand in hand. In this case, it sounds like you're just upset that they bypassed yoru high armor class. IIRC, they are the only monster in Libris Mortis with such a design.