Obliviax

[Shade]

Skills: Spellcraft 4 (Thanks to blindsight, it needn't make Spot or Listen checks, and since it can't move, it doesn't need many of the other skills)
Feats: Ability Focus (memory theft)

CR 1? It may have good resistances, but it can't move, and its save DCs aren't too difficult.

Weighs less than a pound?.

I like "An obliviax does not speak, but can understand whatever languages it has stolen."

 

[BOZ]

good call on "memory theft" vs. "steal memories". Spellcraft is fine, but it does have an Int penalty - want to give it a racial bonus or just leave it at +3?

 

[Shade]

good call on "memory theft" vs. "steal memories". Spellcraft is fine, but it does have an Int penalty - want to give it a racial bonus or just leave it at +3?

Heh. I wasn't trying to rename it...I just forgot what it was called!

Honestly, it doesn't really need to rely on any skills, so I'm fine with sticking with the penalty. In all honesty, it should probably gain use of the skill ranks of the victim whose memories it steals, but that opens another whole can of worms...

 

[BOZ]

... which i really don't feel like opening just now.

a few issues that do remain, however:

should it have vulnerability to cold? (i prefer not)

CR - 1?

"A creature can regain its stolen memories, or gain the memories stolen from someone else, by eating the living obliviax that stole them. As a full-round action, a creature can scrape the obliviax up, and ingest the entire moss while it is still alive. The eater must succeed on a DC X Fortitude save or take (1d3?) points of Constitution damage and be sickened for 3d6 minutes. If the eater succeeds on his saving throw, he gains all the memories and whatever uncast spells the obliviax had remaining, both for the next 24 hours. If the eater was not the person who had lost the spells in the first place, the remaining spells (are considered temporary bonus spells and are cast at the same DC and caster level as the original caster? see mossling entry below)."

1d3 Con damage fine? DC for Fort save - 15? how about that last sentence?


caster level for detect thoughts?

should the caster level for stolen spells be same as the original caster, or change to a set value (such as...) ?

 

[Aspect of BOZ]

also...

i was looking at the ToH version of the memory moss, and it had a couple of bits we could gain inspiration from.

for one thing, it set the caster level for stolen spells as a sorcerer of the minimum level necessary to cast the stolen spell (save DC 10 + spell level). isn't that basically what potions and/or scrolls do?

also, it has a mechanic for someone who ate a memory moss and gained someone else's spells: Any non-spellcaster that attempts to cast a spell gained in this way must succeed at a Concentration check (DC 10 + spell level) or the spell fizzles away. we don't need to use that specific mechanic, but something similarly simple might be a good idea.

 

[Mortis]

One thought - how does Obliviax interact with psionics and psionic characters? Not at all? maybe a psionic variant?

Regards
Mortis

 

[Shade]

One thought - how does Obliviax interact with psionics and psionic characters? Not at all? maybe a psionic variant?is

Oooh.....excellent question!

I think we definitely need an "if you're using psionics" sidebar. I figure just replace detect spellcaster with detect manifester, replace spellcasting with manifesting, spells with powers, etc., and we should be good to go.

 

[Aspect of BOZ]

i think that should do it. if necessary, we can refer to Monsters of the Mind for inspiration on how to handle that.

posts #64 & 65 await attention...

 

[dhaga]

I like the way this guy turned out. Was going to say more, but turns out that's really all I had!

 

[demiurge1138]

I like the idea of minimum caster level. Keeps the bookkeeping tidy. Not sure of how to model someone eating moss with spells from another spellcaster would work. The Concentration check's kind of nice, but I don't want to steal it all out. How about Spellcraft? They have to decipher another mage's mental shortcuts, or something like that. And we might as well make Spellcraft useful for something

Demiurge out.