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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Special Conversion Thread: Sheens
- Thread starter Shade
- Start date
demiurge1138
Inventor of Super-Toast
Replace "tentacles" with "tentacle" in the Attack entry, and it looks good!
Shade
Monster Junkie
Fixed. Moving on...
Phaser
Among the most recent generation of sheens sporting dangerous new abilities, the phaser is the least noted. The reason: The phaser can skip through solid matter like a flat stone skips on water. Those who’ve had the misfortune to see a phaser in its corporeal phase describe it as a levitating black globe, limned in red, approximately 1 to 2 feet in diameter. Glassy tendrils exude from a single orifice and can reach up to 20 feet from the main sphere. Crimson light pulses down the tendril mass whenever the phaser corporealizes. Though fragile, the tendrils are strong enough to ensnare discrete objects weighing less than 500 pounds. Once ensnared, the sheen changes the object’s phase, then drops said object into solid unphased matter. When a phased object loses contact with the tendrils, the spirited object explosively (messily, if biological) resumes its corporeal state.
The phaser serves the cyst first as a secret observer, but in a pinch, they are also perfect assassins. The ability to phase requires stupendous amounts of energy, and even though phasers draw their electrical nourishment from an arcane “zero-point accumulator,” they must still return to the cyst once per week for maintenance.
Phaser, sheen (1): AC 6 (metallic foil—see SA); MV FL 16; HD 9; hp 72; THAC0 11; #AT 3; Dmg grapple (tendrils, see SA); SA change phase; SD immune to all mind-affecting spells, spells that affect life force, and psionics; SW Magic susceptibility, if somehow kept corporeal for 6 rounds the phaser explodes; SZ S (1-2’ diameter); ML Champion (16); AL N; XP 3,000; Str 12, Dex 9, Con 20, Int 7, Wis 5, Cha 0.
SA – Change Phase. A phaser spends most of its time in a state where it and normal matter cannot interact, although the phaser’s sensors allow it to access sensory data from the corporeal world.
The phaser’s preferred method of attack is to corporealize on its initiative while attacking at the same time with its tendrils, applying all 3 attacks against a single target. IF a target is hit by even one of the tendril attacks, it must make a saving throw vs. paralyzation, or it is grappled. On the phaser’s initiative in the following round, the sheen attempts to phase itself and its victim; the victim makes a saving throw vs. death magic to remain unphased for the round (which also keeps the phaser corporeal for that round, making it vulnerable to normal attacks). Alternatively, the victim could attempt to make a Bend Bars/Lift Gates roll (at a +30% bonus) to break free; however, if unsuccessful, the victim is automatically phased. The victim cannot both choose to resist the phase (with the saving throw) and physically break free (with the Bend Bars/Lift Gates roll). If the victim can resist the phase change for 3 consecutive rounds, the phaser automatically disengages on the fourth round, having spent too much time in a corporeal state. The phaser also releases its victim early and phases if it loses 75% of its hit points.
Should a phaser manage to transition a victim to a phased state, the sheen immediately uses its leverage to fling the victim into the nearest solid matter (often the ground), jettisoning its tendrils if necessary. Inanimate objects must make a saving throw vs. disintegration on the Item Saving Throw table or be destroyed. Animate victims make a saving throw vs. death magic. A successful saving throw still inflicts 6d6 points of damage as the victim corporealizes in partial contact with solid matter. A failed saving throw inflicts 12d6 points of damage.
For every 300 feet the phaser travels, it must “skip” into the corporeal world and spend 1 round there, during which time it is also vulnerable to normal attacks.
SD – Phase Protection: While phased, the phaser can be seen only dimly and cannot be attacked by normal or magical weapons, or magical spells. (Phased is not an ethereal or standard incorporeal state.) A phaser can be attacked only when the phaser itself corporealizes for an attack or when “skipping”.
SW - Magic Susceptibility. Most forms of machines are unsuited to resist mage, with the exception of mind-affecting magic. Sheens make saving throws against all spells with a -3 penalty, and sheens suffer an additional +1 point of damage per die of damage delivered from spells that cause physical harm. Thus, a 6d6 fireball inflicts 6d6+6 points of damage to a sheen.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #270 (2000).
Phaser
Among the most recent generation of sheens sporting dangerous new abilities, the phaser is the least noted. The reason: The phaser can skip through solid matter like a flat stone skips on water. Those who’ve had the misfortune to see a phaser in its corporeal phase describe it as a levitating black globe, limned in red, approximately 1 to 2 feet in diameter. Glassy tendrils exude from a single orifice and can reach up to 20 feet from the main sphere. Crimson light pulses down the tendril mass whenever the phaser corporealizes. Though fragile, the tendrils are strong enough to ensnare discrete objects weighing less than 500 pounds. Once ensnared, the sheen changes the object’s phase, then drops said object into solid unphased matter. When a phased object loses contact with the tendrils, the spirited object explosively (messily, if biological) resumes its corporeal state.
The phaser serves the cyst first as a secret observer, but in a pinch, they are also perfect assassins. The ability to phase requires stupendous amounts of energy, and even though phasers draw their electrical nourishment from an arcane “zero-point accumulator,” they must still return to the cyst once per week for maintenance.
Phaser, sheen (1): AC 6 (metallic foil—see SA); MV FL 16; HD 9; hp 72; THAC0 11; #AT 3; Dmg grapple (tendrils, see SA); SA change phase; SD immune to all mind-affecting spells, spells that affect life force, and psionics; SW Magic susceptibility, if somehow kept corporeal for 6 rounds the phaser explodes; SZ S (1-2’ diameter); ML Champion (16); AL N; XP 3,000; Str 12, Dex 9, Con 20, Int 7, Wis 5, Cha 0.
SA – Change Phase. A phaser spends most of its time in a state where it and normal matter cannot interact, although the phaser’s sensors allow it to access sensory data from the corporeal world.
The phaser’s preferred method of attack is to corporealize on its initiative while attacking at the same time with its tendrils, applying all 3 attacks against a single target. IF a target is hit by even one of the tendril attacks, it must make a saving throw vs. paralyzation, or it is grappled. On the phaser’s initiative in the following round, the sheen attempts to phase itself and its victim; the victim makes a saving throw vs. death magic to remain unphased for the round (which also keeps the phaser corporeal for that round, making it vulnerable to normal attacks). Alternatively, the victim could attempt to make a Bend Bars/Lift Gates roll (at a +30% bonus) to break free; however, if unsuccessful, the victim is automatically phased. The victim cannot both choose to resist the phase (with the saving throw) and physically break free (with the Bend Bars/Lift Gates roll). If the victim can resist the phase change for 3 consecutive rounds, the phaser automatically disengages on the fourth round, having spent too much time in a corporeal state. The phaser also releases its victim early and phases if it loses 75% of its hit points.
Should a phaser manage to transition a victim to a phased state, the sheen immediately uses its leverage to fling the victim into the nearest solid matter (often the ground), jettisoning its tendrils if necessary. Inanimate objects must make a saving throw vs. disintegration on the Item Saving Throw table or be destroyed. Animate victims make a saving throw vs. death magic. A successful saving throw still inflicts 6d6 points of damage as the victim corporealizes in partial contact with solid matter. A failed saving throw inflicts 12d6 points of damage.
For every 300 feet the phaser travels, it must “skip” into the corporeal world and spend 1 round there, during which time it is also vulnerable to normal attacks.
SD – Phase Protection: While phased, the phaser can be seen only dimly and cannot be attacked by normal or magical weapons, or magical spells. (Phased is not an ethereal or standard incorporeal state.) A phaser can be attacked only when the phaser itself corporealizes for an attack or when “skipping”.
SW - Magic Susceptibility. Most forms of machines are unsuited to resist mage, with the exception of mind-affecting magic. Sheens make saving throws against all spells with a -3 penalty, and sheens suffer an additional +1 point of damage per die of damage delivered from spells that cause physical harm. Thus, a 6d6 fireball inflicts 6d6+6 points of damage to a sheen.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #270 (2000).
freyar
Extradimensional Explorer
A bit weird, this one!
Do we want to keep the new "phased" state or revert to standard ethereal or incorporeal? It seems like it grants the benefits of etherealness (plus immune to force?) but still on the Material Plane, like incorporeal critters.
I'm also thinking that we can use charges again for this one, since they have to disengage after 3 rounds of corporeality. Perhaps they have 7 charges (since they can be free for a week) and have to use a charge to stay corporeal each consecutive round past the 3rd? Or use 1 charge/3 round corporeal?
Do we want to keep the new "phased" state or revert to standard ethereal or incorporeal? It seems like it grants the benefits of etherealness (plus immune to force?) but still on the Material Plane, like incorporeal critters.
I'm also thinking that we can use charges again for this one, since they have to disengage after 3 rounds of corporeality. Perhaps they have 7 charges (since they can be free for a week) and have to use a charge to stay corporeal each consecutive round past the 3rd? Or use 1 charge/3 round corporeal?
freyar
Extradimensional Explorer
Someone's going to have to tell me how that works...
demiurge1138
Inventor of Super-Toast
Phantoms are weird. I don't quite get them myself.
How do we want to do the "rephasing the grabbed guy" bit? Damage as per dimension dooring into a solid object, or should we kick it up a notch?
How do we want to do the "rephasing the grabbed guy" bit? Damage as per dimension dooring into a solid object, or should we kick it up a notch?
freyar
Extradimensional Explorer
Hmm, and I just meant I didn't have the book!
Well, I guess I'd vote for kicking things up a notch. The worst damage from dim door is 7d6, I think, and this starts at 6d6 on a successful save!
Shade
Monster Junkie
The main thing I can see taking from the phantom is this:
Incorporeal Jaunt (Su): A phantom can become incorporeal as a swift action. It can become corporeal again as a swift action or a standard action.
Beyond that, I think we should have an ability like this:
Incorporeal Invulnerability (Ex): A phaser sheen is immune to all attacks while incorporeal, even those from other incorporeal creatures, magic weapons, positive energy, negative energy, force effects, and ghost touch weapons.
Incorporeal Jaunt (Su): A phantom can become incorporeal as a swift action. It can become corporeal again as a swift action or a standard action.
Beyond that, I think we should have an ability like this:
Incorporeal Invulnerability (Ex): A phaser sheen is immune to all attacks while incorporeal, even those from other incorporeal creatures, magic weapons, positive energy, negative energy, force effects, and ghost touch weapons.
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