Special Conversion Thread: Finishing off the oozes

[freyar]

Looking at this more carefully, isn't it just a slug advanced to Colossal and given extra attacks? I'd think we could handle that just by changing the advancement.

 

[Cleon]

Looking at this more carefully, isn't it just a slug advanced to Colossal and given extra attacks? I'd think we could handle that just by changing the advancement.

The wording is rather confusing, but it does call it "an extra life-cycle stage" and its AC and move are better than the normal Slug.

The basic Megalium is "elephant sized", which suggests Huge. They should be able to advance to Colossal size "about 100 feet in diameter" for eating ships.

As well as additional attacks, they appear to have stronger acid - since regular Silver Slimes didn't have an acid touch in the original adventure, that was something we added to represent "cleaning fluids" they created for their maintenance duties.

 

[Cleon]

The wording is rather confusing, but it does call it "an extra life-cycle stage" and its AC and move are better than the normal Slug.

Speaking of the Megalium's move, I just realized the original Silver Slime only had move 1.

Shouldn't we give the 3E conversion a speed of "5 ft., climb 5 ft." instead of the "20 ft., climb 10 ft." it currently has?

I suspect that was a copy-paste from a previous Ooze we used as template, and nobody noticed the speeds don't match.

 

[Cleon]

The basic Megalium is "elephant sized", which suggests Huge. They should be able to advance to Colossal size "about 100 feet in diameter" for eating ships.

Anyhow, the writeup says to treat the "anti-personal" Megaliums as single Dun Puddings. Since a Dun Pudding is basically a Black Pudding with a palette swap, I suggest we use the Black Pudding as a basis for this "combat form" Silver Slime.

As this creature appears at the climax of the adventure, I suggest we make it quite nasty.

I'm thinking it should have lots of attacks which it can use simultaneously as a standard action, like a Hydra. If can only target a single attack against an opponent up to man sized, though. The attacks should do the same damage as a 3E Black Pudding's 2d6+4 plus 2d6 acid, but it can also use "devices" like blowtorches, acid-sprays and so forth.

Come to think of it, it'd be simpler if it has a multiple "devices" attacks that do the same damage - e.g. it has:

Attack: 8 pseudopod-tools +X touch (4d8 damage, see text)

And the Combat entry explains its pseudopods can do a number of different damage types by becoming different tools - blow torches, acid-jets, smashing hammers, impaling rods and so forth - and the silver slime can produce any combination of tools it requires.

I'm thinking we should have bludgeoning, slashing, piercing, fire and acid damage at a minimum, and I'd consider sonic ("harmonic cutting beam") or electrical ("arc-lance") attacks as well.

 

[freyar]

I'll agree to the reduced speed for the normal silver slimes.

Hmm, I'd thought the Huge description was just a part of the megalium dealing with the PCs. But I guess you're right.

And I'll agree to the many "tool attacks." You don't mean all those types of damage at once, though, do you? Am I understanding correctly that you want to give it a special ability that the tool attack can use any of those types of damage for each attack (maybe with a short delay to change each tool damage type)?

 

[Cleon]

I'll agree to the reduced speed for the normal silver slimes.

Shall I edit the CC entry then?

Hmm, I'd thought the Huge description was just a part of the megalium dealing with the PCs. But I guess you're right.

And I'll agree to the many "tool attacks." You don't mean all those types of damage at once, though, do you? Am I understanding correctly that you want to give it a special ability that the tool attack can use any of those types of damage for each attack (maybe with a short delay to change each tool damage type)?

Well I don't want it to have multiple weapon-types with the the same tool attack, but I can see little reason it couldn't have "blowtorches" tipping some pseudopods and "pneumatic drills" tipping other pseudopods.

It is a number of slugs fused together, after all, and the original description says the damage should be staged as "torches and other devices".

 

[freyar]

You could edit the CC entry now or just wait until the megailum is ready to go.

I'm not sure the pseudopod tools should be a touch attack, either. But I'd be happy to have a special attack entry like

Tool Attacks (Ex): A megalium can form its pseudopodia into various tool-weapons. Each pseudopod takes one of the following attack forms: hammer (bludgeoning damage, melee), screwdriver (piercing, melee), saw (slashing, melee), blowtorch (fire, ray), cleaning spray (acid, ray), harmonic drill (sonic, ray), arc welder (electrical, ray). The ray attacks are ranged touch attacks with a range of X ft (no range increment).

Of course, the Str for the slug is much higher than the Dex, so it's highly incentivized to use the melee attacks at the moment....

 

[Cleon]

You could edit the CC entry now or just wait until the megailum is ready to go.

I know I could do it, the question was shall I do it.

Since you don't appear to mind I might as well...

I'm not sure the pseudopod tools should be a touch attack, either. But I'd be happy to have a special attack entry like

Tool Attacks (Ex): A megalium can form its pseudopodia into various tool-weapons. Each pseudopod takes one of the following attack forms: hammer (bludgeoning damage, melee), screwdriver (piercing, melee), saw (slashing, melee), blowtorch (fire, ray), cleaning spray (acid, ray), harmonic drill (sonic, ray), arc welder (electrical, ray). The ray attacks are ranged touch attacks with a range of X ft (no range increment).

Of course, the Str for the slug is much higher than the Dex, so it's highly incentivized to use the melee attacks at the moment....

It just seemed easier to have all the "tools" use the same attack values. We could easily rationalize it that it's some weaponized tool that does bludgeoning, slashing, or piercing damage as a touch attack by projecting a "cutting beam", blast of superdense air, or whatever.

 

[freyar]

So they should all be ranged? I'd kind of like some difference between the normal and energy attacks.

 

[Cleon]

So they should all be ranged? I'd kind of like some difference between the normal and energy attacks.

Well I'd be OK if we followed the Silver Slime slug in giving it melee "normal" attacks and line "energy" attacks.

It'd be a bit trickier to write up, though. I'll rough out a working draft with some ideas...