Small ankhegs

[trentonjoe]

I wanted to use a small version of the ankheg for my first level game this week and ran into some "downsizing" issues.


Can someone check if these were right?

The ankhegs bite attack does 2d6 damage. I moved the creature down two sizes(2d6-1d8-1d6) so I made the bite attack 1d6.

It also does an additional 1d6 acid damage on bite attacks. I switched this to 1d4.

Lastly it can spit acid for 4d4 points of damage with a reflex save of 14. I changed this to 2d4 with a reflex save of 11. Is the formula for breathe weapons 10 + 1/2 HD+ Con bonus?

 

[Grazzt]

I wanted to use a small version of the ankheg for my first level game this week and ran into some "downsizing" issues.


Can someone check if these were right?

The ankhegs bite attack does 2d6 damage. I moved the creature down two sizes(2d6-1d8-1d6) so I made the bite attack 1d6.

It also does an additional 1d6 acid damage on bite attacks. I switched this to 1d4.

Lastly it can spit acid for 4d4 points of damage with a reflex save of 14. I changed this to 2d4 with a reflex save of 11. Is the formula for breathe weapons 10 + 1/2 HD+ Con bonus?

Looks pretty good to me. Yeppers, breath weapons are 10 + 1/2 HD + Con modifier.

Lemme know how it works out as I am most curious to see "baby ankhegs" in action.

 

[trentonjoe]

I am thinking of throwing two of them at 5 2nd level PCs. I'll post the results tomorrow.

 

[trentonjoe]

Didn't get to them tonight. Will try again next week.

 

[trentonjoe]

Re: Re: Small ankhegs

Lemme know how it works out as I am most curious to see "baby ankhegs" in action.

I ran 2 of these ankhegs vs a 5 member party last night. The party consisted of:

1st level

paladin
fighter (archer)
barbarian
ranger
wizard


Round one

One ankheg engages the ranger and bites for a few points of damage and grapples him. THe barbaian wallops it for 12 (of 13) points of damage. The wizard moves into position and color sprays it. It fails it save, but is uneffected by the blindness.

Round two

The rangers breaks the grapple. The first ankheg misses the barbarian. The second ankheg makes a charge action under ground on the archer (who is away form the party) and bites for a couple damage but does not grapple. The paladin, ranger, and barbarian all miss the first ankheg (it's AC is pretty high 20ish and they were complaining) and the archer hits his ankheg for 4 points of damage.

Round three.

Ankheg one bites the barbarian for a couple points of damage but loses the grapple check. ANkheg two misses the archer. THe paladin and ranger miss again but the barbarina kills Ankheg one. THe archer hits again and the wizard watches to see if more are coming.

Round four

The ankheg and the archer miss each other, but the other three characters charge the ankheg and one hits and kills it.


Analysis:

The ankhegs took on 5 lst level character (they are all ECL's +1 and have very high stats, between +10 and +15 total) and were a decent encounter. I would put them as an ECL 2 or 3. I would have liked to see one grapple and drag a character under ground but they couldn't maintian their grapple.

 

[Cheiromancer]

How many hit dice did they have? Besides the changes you made, did you make all the other ones for size change?

Did you lower any stats because of their immaturity? I know a lot of times a blanket -2 or even -4 is applied to adolescents or children.

 

[trentonjoe]

The only changes I made were based on size. In hindsight, I should have lowered the natural armor bonus 2.



Ankheg
Small Beast
Hit Dice: 3d10 (13 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 20 ft., burrow 15 ft.
AC: 20 (+1 size, +7 natural, +2 dex)
Attacks: Bite +4 melee
Damage: Bite 1d6-1
Face/Reach: 5 ft. 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, acid, spit acid
Special Qualities: Tremorsense
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +2
Abilities: Str 9, Dex 14, Con 11, Int 1, Wis 13, Cha_6
Skills: Listen +4
Climate/Terrain: Temperate and warm plains, forest, and underground
Organization: Solitary or cluster (2-4)
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 4 HD (Large); 5-9 HD (Huge)
Combat
An ankheg usually lies 5 to 10 feet below the surface until its antennae detect the approach of prey. It then burrows up to attack. (Treat this as a charge.)
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the ankheg must hit with its bite attack. If it gets a hold, it deals automatic bite damage each round the hold is maintained. If the ankheg is damaged after grabbing its prey, it retreats backward down its tunnel at burrowing speed, dragging the victim with it.
Acid (Ex): Acidic enzymes drip from an ankheg’s mouth each round it maintains a hold. It automatically deals 1d2 points of acid damage each round in addition to bite damage.
Spit Acid (Ex): Stream of acid 5 feet high, 5 feet wide, and 30 feet long, once every 6 hours; damage 2d4, Reflex half DC 11. One such attack depletes the ankheg’s acid supply for 6 hours. It cannot spit acid or deal acid damage during this time. Ankhegs do not use this ability unless they are desperate or frustrated. They most often spit acid when reduced to fewer than half their hit points or when they have not successfully grabbed an opponent.
Tremorsense (Ex): Ankhegs can automatically sense the location of anything within 60 feet that is in contact with the ground.