The Voor Larva

[BOZ]

I find it odd that the 2E stat block listed 'em as S (4' long), and then the text goes on to say they are 8-feet long. I agree with your decision to make 'em Large.

editing mistake. it happens.

Yeah, while I was setting up the stat block, I was even setting them up to be Small… until I read that line in the text and said, “yeah, that does make sense!”

Poison: 1d4 Con/1d4 Con?

“10 hp” is a weird damage value. In any edition of D&D, it is uncommon enough to see damage as a non-variable number. Given the size and power of this creature, I’d say your idea should work.

For ability scores, here are some comparable bug-like creatures:

Greater kruthik (MH) Str 25, Dex 20, Con 19, Int 4, Wis 13, Cha 10
Ankheg: Str 21, Dex 10, Con 17, Int 1, Wis 13, Cha 6
Chilblain (FB): Str 28, Dex 17, Con 24, Int 5, Wis 14, Cha 19
Knell Beetle (MM3): Str 26, Dex 10, Con 23, Int --, Wis 11, Cha 11
Giant Ant Queen: Str 16, Dex 9, Con 13, Int —, Wis 13, Cha 11
Giant Stag Beetle: Str 23, Dex 10, Con 17, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 9
Giant Praying Mantis: Str 19, Dex 8, Con 15, Int —, Wis 14, Cha 11

Based on that, I'd recommend the following ranges:
Str 23-26, Dex 10-17, Con 17-21, Int 6, Wis 13-14, Cha 10-11

they must not have a very high Wisdom if they can’t tell a mind flayer from another humanoid-shaped creature.

hmm, how about…
Str 24, Dex 15, Con 20, Int 6, Wis 13, Cha 11

 

[Shade]

That looks good.

Suggested Skill Ranks: Listen 5, Spot 5, Tumble 5. The Tumble ranks would net a +2 synergy on Jump checks.

Suggested Feats: Ability Focus (trill), Diehard, Endurance, Improved Critical (claw), Weapon Focus (claw). If we make Diehard a bonus feat, we can ditch Endurance and pick two more feats. I figured Ability Focus would be a good choice since trill is Cha-based, for which it has no bonus.

 

[BOZ]

Suggested Skill Ranks: Listen 5, Spot 5, Tumble 5. The Tumble ranks would net a +2 synergy on Jump checks.

I’m not so sure I agree with those ranks. While a +2 synergy for Jump sounds nice statistically and all, I really can’t see this creature as much of a tumbler based on its anatomy and description. they’re not too bright, so Listen and Spot may be good enough. I could see adding some ranks to maybe Climb or Move Silently perhaps though.

Suggested Feats: Ability Focus (trill), Diehard, Endurance, Improved Critical (claw), Weapon Focus (claw). If we make Diehard a bonus feat, we can ditch Endurance and pick two more feats. I figured Ability Focus would be a good choice since trill is Cha-based, for which it has no bonus.

I like your choices. Do you have an idea for 2 replacements that would be better for it than diehard and endurance? Anything inspired by the flavor text?

 

[Shade]

I’m not so sure I agree with those ranks. While a +2 synergy for Jump sounds nice statistically and all, I really can’t see this creature as much of a tumbler based on its anatomy and description. they’re not too bright, so Listen and Spot may be good enough. I could see adding some ranks to maybe Climb or Move Silently perhaps though.

Fair enough. I pictured them as skittery, bouncing insectoids. What's funny is that I can't see Move Silently (like you did), since they sounded like straightforward "waltz into melee" types.

So lets just divvy it up between Listen and Spot and call it good.

I like your choices. Do you have an idea for 2 replacements that would be better for it than diehard and endurance? Anything inspired by the flavor text?

Well, Alertness would further support its new skill ranks. Improved Initiative never hurts, either, and Power Attack is a good fit, too.

 

[BOZ]

Fair enough. I pictured them as skittery, bouncing insectoids. What's funny is that I can't see Move Silently (like you did), since they sounded like straightforward "waltz into melee" types. )

So lets just divvy it up between Listen and Spot and call it good.

fair enough indeed.

Well, Alertness would further support its new skill ranks. Improved Initiative never hurts, either, and Power Attack is a good fit, too.

So: Ability Focus (trill), Alertness, Diehard B , Improved Critical (claw), Power Attack, Weapon Focus (claw)

 

[Shade]

Sounds good to me.

CR 10? It's a pretty straightforward melee combatant.

Spell resistance 11 + CR?

By the way, that picture is quite cool.

 

[BOZ]

CR 10? It's a pretty straightforward melee combatant.

definitely bigger than my original estimation of 8. and I definitely wouldn’t want its SR to be any higher than CR +11.

 

[Shade]

Well, by the straight conversion guidelines, its SR would only be 16. If you'd feel more comfortable with that, it works for me.

 

[BOZ]

No, 21 is OK.

 

[BOZ]

OK now, I want to get working on the flavor text. One of the biggest problems here is that this creature was designed with some Spelljammer flavor in mind. Well, SJ is out of the picture now along with the concept that went along with it, so this conversion will require more rewriting than the others.

What needs to be decided is where the “voor dust” would be found and how it is transmitted. No longer floating through space, perhaps now it would be found on the Ethereal or Astral Plane? Or underwater? Or we could keep it underground, and make the dust react only with living creatures or things that move?

Here is some description that I could come up with before deciding on that:

This creature has the appearance of a gigantic skeletal insectoid, with a set of bare, forward-swept wings. Mixed in with its organic structure are a number of unlikely elements such as stone, metal, glass, and minerals.

The murderous voor were once the ancient racial enemies of the illithids. The two races warred for many centuries, until the illithids managed to annihilate all the living voor. All that remains of the voor to this day are their eggs and larva. (more remains to be written here.)

A voor larva is 8 feet long, and weighs X pounds.

Combat
A voor larva’s wings don’t allow the creature to fly, but their tips are razor sharp and are used as claws instead. Usually, a single larva will produce a trill while the others in its group press the attack. Hatred of illithids remains in the voor’s racial memory, and larvae will try to destroy any they find. Unfortunately, a voor larva does not possess the capacity to differentiate a mind flayer from any other humanoid, and will attack when an actual mind flayer is not present.