(Psi)SeveredHead
Adventurer
So I’m running CotSQ, at a much higher level than intended (15th instead of 10th) and it was designed for 3.0. As a result, I’ve had quite a bit of work to do. I’ve found that I often can’t just advance creatures present in the adventure – not only is it a lot of work, but I’ve found it creates problems as well. Often the newly-advanced creature has incredible phsysical attacks and physical save DCs, but weak AC and spell-like abilities. Some stats, such as saving throws and damage may either rise too much, not rise enough, or be just right. I’ll give an example here:
Barbed Devil, CR 11, Medium Outsider (Baatezu, Extraplanar, Evil, Lawful), HD 12d8+72 (126 hp), Init +6, Spd 30 ft., AC 29 (+6 Dex, +13 natural), Atk 2 claws +18 melee (2d8+6 and fear), S/R 5 ft./5 ft., SA fear, improved grab, impale 3d8+9, spell-like abilities, summon devil, SQ barbed defense 1d8+6, DR 10/good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison, resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, see in darkness, spell resistance 23, telepathy 100 ft.; Saves: Fort +14, Ref +14, Will +12, Abilities: Str 23, Dex 23, Con 23, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 18; Skills: Concentration +21, Diplomacy +6, Hide +21, Intimidate +19, Knowledge (any one) +16, Listen +19, Move Silently +21, Search +16, Sense Motive +17, Spot +19, Survival +2 (+4 following tracks); Feats: Alertness, Cleave, Improved Grapple, Iron Will, Power Attack
Fear (Su): A creature hit by a barbed devil must succeed on a DC 20 Will save or be affected as though by fear (caster level 9th).
Whether or not the save is successful, that creature cannot be affected by that same barbed devil’s fear ability for 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Impale (Ex): A barbed devil deals 3d8+9 points of piercing damage to a grabbed opponent with a successful grapple check.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a barbed devil must hit with a claw attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can impale the opponent on its barbed body.
Summon Devil (Sp): Once per day a barbed devil can attempt to summon 1d6 bearded devils or another barbed devil with a 35% chance of success. This ability is the equivalent of a 4th-level spell.
Barbed Defense (Su): Any creature striking a barbed devil with handheld weapons or natural weapons takes 1d8+6 points of piercing and slashing damage from the devil’s barbs. Note that weapons with exceptional reach, such as longspears, do not endanger their users in this way.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will—greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), hold person (DC 16), major image (DC 17), scorching ray (2 rays only). 1/day—order’s wrath (DC 18), unholy blight (DC 18). Caster level 12th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
A typical barbed devil, advanced to CR 15:
Barbed Devil, Advanced, CR 15, Medium Outsider (Baatezu, Extraplanar, Evil, Lawful), HD 20d8+120, hp 210, Init +7, Spd 30 ft., AC 30 (+7 Dex, +13 natural), Atk 2 claws +27 melee (2d8+7 and fear), SA fear (DC 24), improved grab +31, impale 3d8+9, spell-like abilities, summon baatezu, SQ barbed defense 1d8+7, DR 10/good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison, resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, see in darkness, SR 27, telepathy 100 ft., AL LE, SV Fort +26, Ref +27, Will +24; Str 24, Dex 24, Con 23, Init 12, Wis 14, Cha 18; Feats: Alertness, Cleave, Dodge (B), Improved Grapple, Iron Will, Power Atttack, Spell Focus (Enchantment).
Spell-like abilities: at will-greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), hold person (DC 17), major image (DC 17), scorching ray (2 rays only), 1/day-order’s wrath (DC 18), unholy blight (DC 18). Caster level 12th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
Problems: The advanced barbed devil’s AC increased by 1 (since the Dex increased), damage did not improve, and the spell-like abilities (save DCs, caster level, etc) are pretty lame for a CR 15 creature. The saving throws are also so high as to be nearly unbeatable. Basically, this creature is really easy on fighters and really hard on mages, rather than being well-rounded, IMO.
Other problems, more noticeable for less-well-rounded creatures, include incredibly high save DCs for physical abilities (eg an advanced vermin’s poison DC will sky-rocket), the spread of saving throws (good saves get too good, poor saves don’t advance fast enough), and adding a size category means a lot more work for the DM (at least IME – I’m lazy).
I thought of writing a template instead that could simply be applied to a creature to boost it. However, the template can’t cover every problem – at least not without your help.
A barbed devil with the “advancement” template, applied twice:
Advanced
CR: +2 (can be taken up to 3 times, all benefits stack, even if they normally don’t stack).
Size and Type: unchanged.
Hit Dice: unchanged.
Hit Points: the creature gains 25 hit points plus 6 times it’s Con modifier in hit points (this could cause a loss of hit points). If the creature is a construct or undead, it simply gains 50 hit points.
(This is the average of gaining 6 HD, for an average gain of +2 CR.)
Speed: unchanged.
AC: +4 natural.
Attacks: +3 to all attack rolls.
Damage: +3 to all damage rolls. This applies to any sort of hit point damage the creature can inflict, up to an including energy auras, constrict, swallow whole (this would apply to both the crushing and acid damage) and the like.
Space/Reach: unchanged.
Special Attacks: Save DCs for all special attacks, including spell-like abilities, increase by +2. Caster levels improved by +2 as well. If the creature has a supernatural ability that is based on a spell (such as a beholder’s fear eye ray) increase the effective caster level by +2 as well.
If the creature can inflict ability damage, either through a special attack (like a shadow) or through poison, increase the amount of ability damage inflicted by one. A greater shadow that took the “advanced” template three times would inflict 1d8+3 points of Strength damage per successful attack.
Special Qualities:
Fast healing, if any, improves by 3 each time this template is taken. Regeneration does not improve (my players find regeneration annoying).
SR, if any, improves by 2.
Saving Throws: improved all saving throws by 2. (It might be a better idea to boost them by three, to help out creatures with a weak save category.)
Abilities: No change to ability scores.
Skills: The creature gains a +3 advancement bonus to all of it’s skills (but not to skills it does not possess).
Feats: The creature gains one bonus feat each time it takes this template. (It really should gain two, but I found selecting that many feats to be annoying. Plus, I’m lazy )
This template is not intended for creatures that advance primarily through a character class, or that have special rules for advancement (such as dragons). I think it would be okay to apply the template once to a dragon, though.
If a creature is a primary spellcaster, like a rakshaha, it should not gain this template. A secondary spellcaster, like a klurichir (from the Fiend Folio), could benefit from the template, however.
It is not intended for creatures of CR less than 6 or creatures with CR greater than 20. It might work in those areas, I just haven't written any example creatures for myself.
Advanced Barbed Devil, CR 15, Medium Outsider, HD 12d8+72 +116, hp 242, Init +6, Spd 30 ft., AC 37 (+6 Dex, +21 natural), Atk 2 claws +24 melee (2d8+12 and fear), S/R 5 ft./5 ft., SA fear (DC 24), improved grab +28, impale 3d8+15, spell-like abilities, summon baatezu; SQ barbed defense 1d8+12, DR 10/good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison, resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, see in darkness, SR 27, telepathy 100 ft., SV Fort +18, Ref +18, Will +16; Str 23, Dex 23, Con 23, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 18.
Skills: the Survival skill wouldn't improve, since the barbed devil hasn't actually taken ranks in it.
Alertness, Cleave, Heighten Spell-like Ability (Hold Person, 14th)(B), Improved Grapple, Iron Will, Power Attack, Spell Focus (Enchantment).
Spell-like abilities: at will-greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), hold person (DC 22), major image (DC 19), scorching ray (3 rays only), 1/day-order’s wrath (DC 21), unholy blight (DC 21). Caster level 14th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
Problems: The template might apply too many hit points, tends to boost a creature’s strengths a bit too much, doesn’t boost low saves enough in many instances (not obvious here), and it doesn’t change the spell-like abilities (I could only make hold person any good here).
Barbed Devil, CR 11, Medium Outsider (Baatezu, Extraplanar, Evil, Lawful), HD 12d8+72 (126 hp), Init +6, Spd 30 ft., AC 29 (+6 Dex, +13 natural), Atk 2 claws +18 melee (2d8+6 and fear), S/R 5 ft./5 ft., SA fear, improved grab, impale 3d8+9, spell-like abilities, summon devil, SQ barbed defense 1d8+6, DR 10/good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison, resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, see in darkness, spell resistance 23, telepathy 100 ft.; Saves: Fort +14, Ref +14, Will +12, Abilities: Str 23, Dex 23, Con 23, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 18; Skills: Concentration +21, Diplomacy +6, Hide +21, Intimidate +19, Knowledge (any one) +16, Listen +19, Move Silently +21, Search +16, Sense Motive +17, Spot +19, Survival +2 (+4 following tracks); Feats: Alertness, Cleave, Improved Grapple, Iron Will, Power Attack
Fear (Su): A creature hit by a barbed devil must succeed on a DC 20 Will save or be affected as though by fear (caster level 9th).
Whether or not the save is successful, that creature cannot be affected by that same barbed devil’s fear ability for 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Impale (Ex): A barbed devil deals 3d8+9 points of piercing damage to a grabbed opponent with a successful grapple check.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a barbed devil must hit with a claw attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can impale the opponent on its barbed body.
Summon Devil (Sp): Once per day a barbed devil can attempt to summon 1d6 bearded devils or another barbed devil with a 35% chance of success. This ability is the equivalent of a 4th-level spell.
Barbed Defense (Su): Any creature striking a barbed devil with handheld weapons or natural weapons takes 1d8+6 points of piercing and slashing damage from the devil’s barbs. Note that weapons with exceptional reach, such as longspears, do not endanger their users in this way.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will—greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), hold person (DC 16), major image (DC 17), scorching ray (2 rays only). 1/day—order’s wrath (DC 18), unholy blight (DC 18). Caster level 12th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
A typical barbed devil, advanced to CR 15:
Barbed Devil, Advanced, CR 15, Medium Outsider (Baatezu, Extraplanar, Evil, Lawful), HD 20d8+120, hp 210, Init +7, Spd 30 ft., AC 30 (+7 Dex, +13 natural), Atk 2 claws +27 melee (2d8+7 and fear), SA fear (DC 24), improved grab +31, impale 3d8+9, spell-like abilities, summon baatezu, SQ barbed defense 1d8+7, DR 10/good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison, resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, see in darkness, SR 27, telepathy 100 ft., AL LE, SV Fort +26, Ref +27, Will +24; Str 24, Dex 24, Con 23, Init 12, Wis 14, Cha 18; Feats: Alertness, Cleave, Dodge (B), Improved Grapple, Iron Will, Power Atttack, Spell Focus (Enchantment).
Spell-like abilities: at will-greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), hold person (DC 17), major image (DC 17), scorching ray (2 rays only), 1/day-order’s wrath (DC 18), unholy blight (DC 18). Caster level 12th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
Problems: The advanced barbed devil’s AC increased by 1 (since the Dex increased), damage did not improve, and the spell-like abilities (save DCs, caster level, etc) are pretty lame for a CR 15 creature. The saving throws are also so high as to be nearly unbeatable. Basically, this creature is really easy on fighters and really hard on mages, rather than being well-rounded, IMO.
Other problems, more noticeable for less-well-rounded creatures, include incredibly high save DCs for physical abilities (eg an advanced vermin’s poison DC will sky-rocket), the spread of saving throws (good saves get too good, poor saves don’t advance fast enough), and adding a size category means a lot more work for the DM (at least IME – I’m lazy).
I thought of writing a template instead that could simply be applied to a creature to boost it. However, the template can’t cover every problem – at least not without your help.
A barbed devil with the “advancement” template, applied twice:
Advanced
CR: +2 (can be taken up to 3 times, all benefits stack, even if they normally don’t stack).
Size and Type: unchanged.
Hit Dice: unchanged.
Hit Points: the creature gains 25 hit points plus 6 times it’s Con modifier in hit points (this could cause a loss of hit points). If the creature is a construct or undead, it simply gains 50 hit points.
(This is the average of gaining 6 HD, for an average gain of +2 CR.)
Speed: unchanged.
AC: +4 natural.
Attacks: +3 to all attack rolls.
Damage: +3 to all damage rolls. This applies to any sort of hit point damage the creature can inflict, up to an including energy auras, constrict, swallow whole (this would apply to both the crushing and acid damage) and the like.
Space/Reach: unchanged.
Special Attacks: Save DCs for all special attacks, including spell-like abilities, increase by +2. Caster levels improved by +2 as well. If the creature has a supernatural ability that is based on a spell (such as a beholder’s fear eye ray) increase the effective caster level by +2 as well.
If the creature can inflict ability damage, either through a special attack (like a shadow) or through poison, increase the amount of ability damage inflicted by one. A greater shadow that took the “advanced” template three times would inflict 1d8+3 points of Strength damage per successful attack.
Special Qualities:
Fast healing, if any, improves by 3 each time this template is taken. Regeneration does not improve (my players find regeneration annoying).
SR, if any, improves by 2.
Saving Throws: improved all saving throws by 2. (It might be a better idea to boost them by three, to help out creatures with a weak save category.)
Abilities: No change to ability scores.
Skills: The creature gains a +3 advancement bonus to all of it’s skills (but not to skills it does not possess).
Feats: The creature gains one bonus feat each time it takes this template. (It really should gain two, but I found selecting that many feats to be annoying. Plus, I’m lazy )
This template is not intended for creatures that advance primarily through a character class, or that have special rules for advancement (such as dragons). I think it would be okay to apply the template once to a dragon, though.
If a creature is a primary spellcaster, like a rakshaha, it should not gain this template. A secondary spellcaster, like a klurichir (from the Fiend Folio), could benefit from the template, however.
It is not intended for creatures of CR less than 6 or creatures with CR greater than 20. It might work in those areas, I just haven't written any example creatures for myself.
Advanced Barbed Devil, CR 15, Medium Outsider, HD 12d8+72 +116, hp 242, Init +6, Spd 30 ft., AC 37 (+6 Dex, +21 natural), Atk 2 claws +24 melee (2d8+12 and fear), S/R 5 ft./5 ft., SA fear (DC 24), improved grab +28, impale 3d8+15, spell-like abilities, summon baatezu; SQ barbed defense 1d8+12, DR 10/good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison, resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, see in darkness, SR 27, telepathy 100 ft., SV Fort +18, Ref +18, Will +16; Str 23, Dex 23, Con 23, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 18.
Skills: the Survival skill wouldn't improve, since the barbed devil hasn't actually taken ranks in it.
Alertness, Cleave, Heighten Spell-like Ability (Hold Person, 14th)(B), Improved Grapple, Iron Will, Power Attack, Spell Focus (Enchantment).
Spell-like abilities: at will-greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), hold person (DC 22), major image (DC 19), scorching ray (3 rays only), 1/day-order’s wrath (DC 21), unholy blight (DC 21). Caster level 14th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
Problems: The template might apply too many hit points, tends to boost a creature’s strengths a bit too much, doesn’t boost low saves enough in many instances (not obvious here), and it doesn’t change the spell-like abilities (I could only make hold person any good here).
