Special Conversion Thread: Will o' wisps

[freyar]

Agreed to -2 on Int and Wis. Let's do -2 Dex and -1 to natural vs regular wisp, also.

Is the attack going to be a burst or melee touch? Like I said, I favor the burst, like shocker lizards.

 

[Shade]

Burst works for me. Wanna write it up?

Added to Homebrews.

 

[freyar]

Ok, then let's drop that melee attack, too.

Here's the original text:

When in battle, will o'mists attack with a burst of electricity. Will o'mists can strike in this manner every third round, causing 2-16 (2d8) points of damage to anyone within 30' of the attacking creature. A successful saving throw vs. spell reduces this damage by half. Victims wearing metal armor have a +4 bonus to their saving throws due to the exceptional conductivity of metal and its natural grounding effects.

Adapting from the shocker lizard:

Lethal Shock (Su): Every 1d4 rounds, a will-o'-mist can release a lethal shock. This effect has a radius of 30 feet, centered on the will-o'-mist. The shock deals 2d8 points of electricity damage. A Reflex save (DC X) reduces the damage by half. The save DC is Constitution-based.

I've dropped the bit about metal. I think most electric effects that mention it give a penalty, though. I also figured that a 1d4 round recharge is about the right average, but I'm open to changing that.

 

[demiurge1138]

1d4 recharge sounds pretty good.

 

[Shade]

Updated.

a will o’ mist is able to unerringly navigate the swirling vapors of Ravenloft's borders.

Ravenloft flavor only, or can we adapt this to a more generic "navigation" ability?

As with other variants of the will o’ wisp, it appears that will o'mists feed off of the electrical energy generated by human and demihuman brains. It is thought that the will o'mist in particular can only leech such energy from people when they are actually crossing the misty borders of Ravenloft. This may account for reports that some people claim to have been struck by a wave of disorientation and nausea upon stumbling out of the mists.

Since will o'mists are incapable of straying more than a few yards from the mists themselves, they must lure humans and demlhumans into the mists in order to feed It is probable that the specific energy on which will o’ mists feed Is the fear and disorlentatlon felt by many travelers In the mists. It has even been theorized that such creatures are part of a bizarre network that funnels llvlng energy into the Land, helping it to maintain itself and draw more unwitting souls across its dark borders.

To genericise, feeds on the feelings of fear and disorientation when traveling in thick mist?

Do we want to make them "mistbound"? (Great book series, BTW )

 

[freyar]

Did we want to keep the electric slam in the attack line? I'm for dropping it but could be persuaded otherwise.

Maybe a navigation ability like a minotaur. I'm not a Ravenloft expert, but my feeling is that the mists are something like a maze spell.

Yes on feeding.

If by mistbound, you mean tied to areas of mist, like swamps, sounds good! Kind of normal for wisps, but maybe we can make it like dryads.

 

[Shade]

I'm fine either way. Since it's not really aggressive, the limited attack interval probably fits.

Here's the minotaur ability referenced:

Natural Cunning (Ex): Although minotaurs are not especially intelligent, they possess innate cunning and logical ability. This gives them immunity to maze spells, prevents them from ever becoming lost, and enables them to track enemies. Further, they are never caught flat-footed.

And here's the dryad ability:

Tree Dependent (Su): Each dryad is mystically bound to a single, enormous oak tree and must never stray more than 300 yards from it. Any who do become ill and die within 4d6 hours. A dryad’s oak does not radiate magic.

 

[freyar]

The minotaur ability works, but maybe I like something more like a sahaugin's water dependence for the will-o'-mist. See what you think:

Natural Cunning (Ex): Will-o'-mists possess innate cunning and logical ability. This gives them immunity to maze spells, prevents them from ever becoming lost, and enables them to track enemies. Further, they are never caught flat-footed.

Mist Dependent (Su?): Will-o'-mists can survive out of misty areas only for 1 hour (minute?) per 2 points of Constitution. After that, their aberrant bodies' magical energies cease to flow properly; treat this effect using the drowning rules on page 304 of the Dungeon Master ’s Guide.

 

[Shade]

That's great!

Updated.

I think Ex and minute for the question marked areas. Anyone else?

 

[Shade]

Anyone?