Special Conversion Thread: Unicorns

[Shade]

Let's go with charm animal, charm person, summon nature's ally I-III.

I kind of like the idea of giving them items only treasure (and maybe Use Magic Device as a skill).

 

[Cleon]

At first glance, it looks like the same base stats as a standard unicorn, with slightly different SLAs.

And they have Magic Resistance, so the conversion should have SR.

Make 'em Medium, or even Small?

That could easily be 3-4 feet tall at the shoulder, since they're equines, the size of a small pony. A pony that size would weigh 300-600 pounds or so, so it's either a "top of Medium" or "bottom of Large" deal.

I'd rather make them Large and cut their Strength by 4 points or so.

 

[Cleon]

Replace animal summoning with summon nature's ally.

Charm person or mammal no longer exists in 3.5; do we want separate charm person and charm animal spells or just charm monster (the original description said four spells).

Charm monster would let them affect many more types of creature.

My preferred solution is making it a Su power like Nixies have, but with
both charm person and charm animal. i.e.:

Charm person or animal (Su): Three times a day a fay unicorn can attempt to charm a single Humanoid or Animal as per the spell charm person or charm animal. Those affected must succeed at a DC X Will save or be charmed for 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Treasure type is Xx2. In 2e treasure type X is any 2 potions. Do we just give it no treasure like a standard unicorn in 3e or just items?

I'd just cut the treasure entirely.

 

[Cleon]

Let's go with charm animal, charm person, summon nature's ally I-III.

I kind of like the idea of giving them items only treasure (and maybe Use Magic Device as a skill).

Well there are lots of magic items it would have difficulty using, since it lacks hands. There's nothing in theory preventing it from using command word operated and most worn items.

I guess in principle I don't mind giving it Treasure: Standard items. It's just that regular SRD Unicorns don't have treasure and these chaps don't seem terribly different.

 

[freyar]

I'd personally prefer Medium, like a pony, since these seem to be pony unicorns.

No strong preference on the charms. I'm also intrigued by the treasure idea. Let's include it.

 

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.

Likening them to ponies suits me. Comparing war ponies to light warhorses, Str and Con are both slightly less, while Dex is unchanged. I lowered both Str and Con similarly. Natural armor is 2 lower, so I made that adjustment as well. Finally, unicorns are the same speed as horses, so I made the faerie unicorn the same speed as a pony.

Faerie unicorns or faerie steeds are seldom seen. This is because they can blend into their backgrounds in a manner similar to a chameleon. They can do this at will, with results identical to a creature wearing a cloak of elvenkind.

Flat +5 bonus on Hide checks (like the 3.5 cloak) and/or a racial bonus on Hide checks in forest environs?

 

[Cleon]

Added to Homebrews.

Likening them to ponies suits me. Comparing war ponies to light warhorses, Str and Con are both slightly less, while Dex is unchanged. I lowered both Str and Con similarly. Natural armor is 2 lower, so I made that adjustment as well. Finally, unicorns are the same speed as horses, so I made the faerie unicorn the same speed as a pony.

Nothing wrong with those stats.

Flat +5 bonus on Hide checks (like the 3.5 cloak) and/or a racial bonus on Hide checks in forest environs?

Do we want to make this an actual "Chameleon" power or just a racial bonus? If the former, is it a Supernatural competence bonus like a cloak of elvenkind or Extraordinary like a chameleon?

 

[freyar]

Basic stats seem good here, too.

The Hide bit sounds like an at will Su that gives them a Hide bonus (flat +5 is ok, like the cloak) and maybe Hide in Plain Sight.

 

[Shade]

I think a flat racial bonus would probably suffice, but I'm willing to go along with a Su ability and either hide in plain sight or the ranger's camouflage ability.

 

[Cleon]

Basic stats seem good here, too.

The Hide bit sounds like an at will Su that gives them a Hide bonus (flat +5 is ok, like the cloak) and maybe Hide in Plain Sight.

Sounds OK. Let's rough something out:

Blend Into Background (Su or Ex?): A faerie unicorn can change its color and pattern to blend into almost any background. This gives it a +5 competence bonus to Hide checks and allows the unicorn to use the Hide skill even while being observed, so long at it is within 10 feet of a surface it can blend with.