The Ustilagor

Shade · Feb 14, 2005

Aha! Sure enough. They're even in the index.

Knight Otu · Feb 14, 2005

Energy Adaption, as the name implies, helps against energy damage only.

Fungal immunity - reminds me of the burbur conversions, but beyond that...

BOZ · Feb 14, 2005

Fungus (Ex): (more for this later) An ustilagor is immune to the debilitating effects of cerebral parasites.

Knight Otu said:
Fungal immunity - reminds me of the burbur conversions, but beyond that...

please, do share with us.

would gems be useable with energy adaptation in any way? Like to store energy or something?

What exactly is a power that “reads or affects an aura”?

Knight Otu · Feb 14, 2005

Linky.

Gems (or components in general) do not really figure into psionics much, though crystals do have some connection to psionics.

I believe aura has been used as an alternative term for alignment a lot, so that would be the detect x spells.

BOZ · Feb 14, 2005

Knight Otu said:
Linky.

dhaga said:
Burburs are immune to the attacks of all slimes, mosses, and molds, including oblivax (memory moss). They are also unaffected by yellow musk creepers, zygoms, and violet fungi, though the burbur find those creatures inedible. Burburs are affected normally by oozes, puddings, and jellies, as well as by other creatures.

Knight Otu said:
Burburs are immune to the special attacks of oozes and of plants with an Intelligence score of 3 or less.

I know the “Intelligence score of 3 or less” pretty neatly wraps thing up, but like I said previously in that “linky” thread, it doesn’t sound right at all.

Knight Otu said:
Gems (or components in general) do not really figure into psionics much, though crystals do have some connection to psionics.

OK, what then, would a small collection of crystals do for the benefit of psionic powers?

Knight Otu said:
I believe aura has been used as an alternative term for alignment a lot, so that would be the detect x spells.

So then would it suffice to say that its alignment cannot be detected (aura – like a cleric gives off an aura of what their god is?) or would the “aura” have more to do with it? If so, I think we can ditch this since it is a mindless creature with a neutral alignment.

or we could just say it keeps divinations like detect thoughts from working.

Shade · Feb 15, 2005

BOZ said:
OK, what then, would a small collection of crystals do for the benefit of psionic powers?

Perhaps we could just say that they sometimes mistake gems for psicrystals?

Knight Otu · Feb 15, 2005

BOZ said:
I know the “Intelligence score of 3 or less” pretty neatly wraps thing up, but like I said previously in that “linky” thread, it doesn’t sound right at all.

I was actually referring more to dhaga's conversion. I'm not that egoistic.

Shade · Feb 15, 2005

Why not just simplify it to this.

Fungal Immunity (Ex): Ustilagors are immune to all detrimental effects of molds and fungi. This includes fungus-based diseases (such as cerebral parasites), hazards (such as brown mold), and the attacks of fungoid creatures (such as the poison of violet fungus). This immunity does not extend to oozes, slimes, or jellies.

BOZ · Feb 15, 2005

Shade said:
Perhaps we could just say that they sometimes mistake gems for psicrystals?

if that’s all it is, then we could say they collect all gems they find, thinking them to be psicrystals. With an Int of 0, they might not even know why they’re doing it at all – sort of a programmed response.

Shade said:
Why not just simplify it to this.

Fungal Immunity (Ex): Ustilagors are immune to all detrimental effects of molds and fungi. This includes fungus-based diseases (such as cerebral parasites), hazards (such as brown mold), and the attacks of fungoid creatures (such as the poison of violet fungus). This immunity does not extend to oozes, slimes, or jellies.

LOL! I had written up my own description before I saw yours:

Fungus (Ex): An ustilagor is covered with a symbiotic fungal growth that keeps the creature from drying out and masks its psionic aura from detection. This fungus makes an ustilagor immune to the debilitating effects of cerebral parasites, and to special attacks from fungus creatures, such as spore or seed-based attacks, poison, and disease.

You know, if a cerebral parasite counts as a fungal disease, then we don’t even need to mention it by name.

“they can jump and dart with amazing agility” so, shall we say that its Dex mod is used for Jump checks then?

and, I wrote up some flavor text:

This creature is about the same size and shape as a human brain, and covered with a mossy, gray fungal growth. It scuttles and darts about on a set of spindly coral-like legs. On the front of this brain-thing is a long, ribbon-like tendril dripping caustic fluid.

The ustilagor is the larval form of the deadly intellect devourer (see the Expanded Psionics Handbook). It is essentially mindless, but endowed with psionic powers nonetheless. It hoards gems of all sorts, thinking them to be psicrystals, and will attack a creature carrying gems or jewelry.

Mind flayers farm ustilagors, viewing their soft, moist bodies as culinary delights. They will sometimes raise an ustilagor to adulthood, to use the intellect devourer as a watchdog.

Combat
An ustilagor attacks physically by flicking out its flexible tendril, which secretes an alkaline substance. It prefers to use its psionic powers, to cause opponents to desert the battle.

Shade · Feb 15, 2005

BOZ said:
if that’s all it is, then we could say they collect all gems they find, thinking them to be psicrystals. With an Int of 0, they might not even know why they’re doing it at all – sort of a programmed response.