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Monster Reskinning
- Thread starter Sound of Azure
- Start date
I reskin monsters constantly and shamelessly.
In the first 4E adventure I ran, the big villain was a cleric of Asmodeus. I reskinned specters as "ash spirits," ephemeral creatures composed of shimmering heat waves, ash, and the stench of brimstone. The only "crunchy" bit I changed was their aura had the Fire keyword instead of Cold. When the characters made their Religion checks, I told them that Asmodeus puts the souls of the damned at the command of his priests and the tension racheted up--all from a simple change in name and description.
The Tower of Yeltroon is haunted by "black bats of Algos," conjured into the world from some nether plane by the archmage Algos in ages past. They appear as bloated, ovoid bats with six spiderlike, baleful green eyes, spined wings, and a hanging tail tipped with a stinger. Arcana checks reveal that the black bats of Algos can decieve the eyes and weaken the body and mind with their venomous sting. The black bats of Algos use the statistics of imps.
In the first 4E adventure I ran, the big villain was a cleric of Asmodeus. I reskinned specters as "ash spirits," ephemeral creatures composed of shimmering heat waves, ash, and the stench of brimstone. The only "crunchy" bit I changed was their aura had the Fire keyword instead of Cold. When the characters made their Religion checks, I told them that Asmodeus puts the souls of the damned at the command of his priests and the tension racheted up--all from a simple change in name and description.
The Tower of Yeltroon is haunted by "black bats of Algos," conjured into the world from some nether plane by the archmage Algos in ages past. They appear as bloated, ovoid bats with six spiderlike, baleful green eyes, spined wings, and a hanging tail tipped with a stinger. Arcana checks reveal that the black bats of Algos can decieve the eyes and weaken the body and mind with their venomous sting. The black bats of Algos use the statistics of imps.
malraux
First Post
I reskinned one of those scorpion creatures from the MM to a kobold dual weapon master. One of his weapons was a barbed spear, the other a sword. Then I added a few things to get him to elite status.
Hey, I figured Irontooth needed fun companion for the second time the party decided to fight him.
Hey, I figured Irontooth needed fun companion for the second time the party decided to fight him.
My group is now level 5. In their last encounter (against a dragon in an old abandoned temple) they retrersted part way through the fight down a narrowish corridor. The dragon brought the door lintel down and moved off to recover from some of its wounds nicely breaking the fight in two.This isn't exactly reskinning...
...but i think i'm going to start shaving some hit points off of Solo Monsters and giving them a bonus power. Fights just seem like they'll take too long, and having an unexpected power pop up will be more frightening than a 20 round slug fest.
Although a 20 round fight is pretty frightening in its own way
The players got to recharge their encounter powers, the dragon got to relocate to a more dangerous part of the complex and when the fight started up again the tension was on.
I am strongly thinking of adopting similar interrupting events in other solo fights.
Asmor
First Post
A fire elemental named Ifrit (yes, ripped off from Final Fantasy, sue me!).
Very well, but only because you seem to think that name is original to Final Fantasy.
Expect a letter from my lawyer soon.
What HAVEN'T I reskinned?
A monster of the Shadowfell, one that stole its victims shadows and controlled them at night: a simple Ettercap Fang Guard + Shadow Stalker template, and a little fluff.
Possessed humans, wielding their own blood as blades and extended claws: Human Guard and Human Bandit.
Demons that possess the body and burst out of the victim when the individual is killed, their bodies are bloody skeletons with bone and hardened blood swirling around them in a vortex: Kuthriks. (And I reskinned the kobold ratmaster as the big bad blood demon boss).
Sentient vomit, yanked out of the characters stomachs via an evil trap: Ochre Jelly.
Harpy zombie: Rotwing zombie with Deadly Screech.
Frog-demons: reskinned (and tinkered) ghouls.
Face-stealing (literally) fey monster: Doppelganger sneak.
Contemplating using Norkers as cannibal-neanderthals lead by the Ghoul King.
A monster of the Shadowfell, one that stole its victims shadows and controlled them at night: a simple Ettercap Fang Guard + Shadow Stalker template, and a little fluff.
Possessed humans, wielding their own blood as blades and extended claws: Human Guard and Human Bandit.
Demons that possess the body and burst out of the victim when the individual is killed, their bodies are bloody skeletons with bone and hardened blood swirling around them in a vortex: Kuthriks. (And I reskinned the kobold ratmaster as the big bad blood demon boss).
Sentient vomit, yanked out of the characters stomachs via an evil trap: Ochre Jelly.
Harpy zombie: Rotwing zombie with Deadly Screech.
Frog-demons: reskinned (and tinkered) ghouls.
Face-stealing (literally) fey monster: Doppelganger sneak.
Contemplating using Norkers as cannibal-neanderthals lead by the Ghoul King.
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