They're back: Return of the Slivers. [Updated 24/8-2005: Beware the Overlord!]

[demiurge1138]

All of this looks good, Krish, but I have one question (it may have been covered before above, though). The undead slivers don't grant any shared abilities, but can they benefit from them? They still have the sliver subtype, after all.

Demiurge out.

 

[Krishnath]

All of this looks good, Krish, but I have one question (it may have been covered before above, though). The undead slivers don't grant any shared abilities, but can they benefit from them? They still have the sliver subtype, after all.

Demiurge out.

Yes, they benefit.

 

[Krishnath]

And now, the first of the Noble slivers, and the only way for a sliver hive to grow outside of having a queen: The Brood Sliver.

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Sliver, Brood
Large Aberration (Extraplanar, Sliver)
Hit Dice: 12d8+48 (102 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30’, climb 30’,
Armor Class: 22 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +12 natural)
Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+23 (+4 grapple bonus)
Attack: Claw +14 melee (1d8+9 plus implant)
Full Attack: Claw +14 melee (1d8+9 plus implant) and bite +9 (1d6+3)
Space/Reach: 10’/10’
Special Attacks: Implant, Spell-like abilities,
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/magic, shared ability, spell resistance 18,
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +12,
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 14,
Skills: Balance +9, Climb +15, Concentration +16, Escape Artist +9, Jump +12, Listen +12, Move Silently +7, Spot +12, Swim +12, Tumble +7,
Feats: Ability Focus: Implant, Alertness, Agile, Combat Reflexes, Lightning Reflexes,
Environment: Any
Organization: Swarm (20-80) or Hive (several thousand slivers of various types and one queen)
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always Neutral
Advancement: -

‘I met a very interesting sliver type today; apparently the queen is not the only sliver able to produce offspring. These ‘brood slivers’ seem to use unborn slivers as weapons, infecting their opponents to produce new young.’ – Lanariel Shadowwing, Research Notes.

A Brood sliver is a highly specialized type of sliver used to swell the slivers ranks in combat.
A brood sliver looks much like other slivers, but have golden brown skin and an oversized claw at the end of their arm. The sliver usually has a length of about 12’

Combat:
Brood slivers relish combat, using the oversized claw to infect as many opponents as possible.
Spell-like Abilities: At will – Detect Magic, Endure Elements, Light, and Resistance; 3/day – Bless, Greater Magic Fang, and Pass without Trace. These are as the spells cast by a 6th level sorcerer.
Implant (Ex): If a brood sliver deals damage with its claw to a living creature it may attempt to infect the creature with a baby sliver. The creature must make a fortitude save (DC: 22) or become infected. An infected creature 1d6 points of damage per round for 2d4 rounds, after which a proto sliver bursts from their body dealing an additional 2d6 points of damage. A creature cannot be infected by more than one baby sliver at a time. If a Remove Disease is cast on the affected creature before the proto sliver emerges, the proto sliver is instantly slain and the infected creature must make another fortitude save (DC: 22) or take 1d4 points of con damage as the baby sliver decomposes.
The saves are Con-based.
Shared Ability (Ex): All slivers within 60’ of the Brood Sliver gains access to its implant ability.

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Comments? Critique? Snackrifices? Questions?

 

[Cheiromancer]

Ewwww!

 

[Colonelpuddinhead]

**vigorously waves white flag**

I give up! I give up!

Ewwww!

You said it....

CP

BTW: I offer Krish 500 A&W Teen burgers as snackrifices.

 

[Solarious]

Whoa! This makes slivers extra deadly. o,O; Slivers... begetting proto-slivers... who become more mama slivers because they also gain the Implant ability... I like it!

Pray tell, what happens if a host dies before the incubation period is over? Does the baby sliver continue to grow and burst out of the dead body? Can they implant baby slivers into dead bodies to bolster their numbers in an emergency? Do they sometimes implant slivers into themselves/other slivers with victual slivers present in order to skyrocket hive populations in case of high-powered adventurer incurrsion? Please tell me oh creator/stater of the slivers, it would make life more difficult for my wonderful players.

And when I say wonderful, I mean poor, poor, and when I say players, I mean victims being prepared for you as a snackrafice. Because I like sacrificing people and listening to their screams.

Speaking of snackrifices, here's a crate of yellow, fluffy, real duckies. Enjoy.

 

[Krishnath]

Mmm....burgers.

*eats the burgers, then the ducks*

*burp*

Solarius: I would say that it is up to the indevidual DM, me I wouldn't allow the implant ability to work on non-living creatures and if the "host" should die, the unborn protosliver would die after 1d4+it's con mod rounds unless it would burst out of the body before that. Also, I would not put it past slivers to implant other slivers if it means boosting the hives defenses in an emergency...

 

[Wolf72]

sooo ... if you want more slivers quickly, the brood sliver gets a bunch of the fast healing guys together and implants them all since they'll heal any damage a baby sliver creates ... at the same time they'll be able to implant ... sliver begets sliver begets sliver.

would creatures immune to disease be affected at all (paladins and the like)?

my only criticism would be is that these guys get so powerful so fast they're only really useful [edit: err usable against] for very powerful parties ... and they just rock!

what's next?

 

[Krishnath]

sooo ... if you want more slivers quickly, the brood sliver gets a bunch of the fast healing guys together and implants them all since they'll heal any damage a baby sliver creates ... at the same time they'll be able to implant ... sliver begets sliver begets sliver.

would creatures immune to disease be affected at all (paladins and the like)?

my only criticism would be is that these guys get so powerful so fast they're only really useful [edit: err usable against] for very powerful parties ... and they just rock!

what's next?

Well... since a remove disease kills the baby sliver before it has a time to hatch, I would say that paladins, although not immune, are quite capable of getting rid of the fetus. But I would leave it up to the indevidual DM to decide wether or not a paladin is immune.

As for what is next, the ultimate medic of the sliver hive of course. The essence sliver. If all goes as planned, I'll post it tomorrow.

 

[Krishnath]

And now, the essence sliver.

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Sliver, Essence
Large Aberration (Extraplanar, Sliver)
Hit Dice: 12d8+48 (102 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30’ (6 squares); climb 30’
Armor Class: 22 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +12 natural)
Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+23 (+4 grapple bonus)
Attack: Claw +14 melee (2d6+9 plus life drain)
Full Attack: Claw +14 melee (2d6+9 plus life drain) and bite +9 (1d6+3)
Space/Reach: 10’/10’
Special Attacks: Life drain, spell-like abilities,
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/magic, shared ability, spell resistance 18,
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +12,
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 14,
Skills: Balance +9, Climb +15, Concentration +16, Escape Artist +9, Jump +12, Listen +12, Move Silently +7, Spot +12, Swim +12, Tumble +7,
Feats: Alertness, Agile, Combat Reflexes, Improved Natural Attack: Claw, Lightning Reflexes,
Environment: Any
Organization: Swarm (20-80) or Hive (several thousand slivers of various types and one queen)
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always Neutral
Advancement: -

‘Essence Slivers fill a very specific function in the slivers society, they are the ultimate combat medic, transferring the damage they deal into healing for themselves and the slivers around them. Oh, to be able to harness that power...’ – Lanariel Shadowwing, Research Notes.

Essence slivers are the healers among slivers.
An essence sliver looks much like other slivers, but have a pinkish white, opaque crystalline structure to their bodies. An essence sliver reaches a length of about 9’.

Combat:
Essence slivers hit hard and fast, relying on their healing ability and the abilities they share with other slivers. They are not dumb however, and will lead a superior foe into ambushes if able.
Spell-like Abilities: At will – Detect Magic, Endure Elements, Light, and Resistance; 3/day – cure moderate wounds (2d8+6, DC 14), neutralize poison, and remove disease. These are as the spells cast by a 6th level sorcerer.
Life Drain (Su): Whenever an essence sliver deals combat damage to a corporeal creature that is neither a construct, elemental, or undead. It heals the same amount of damage to itself. Any hit points thus gained that would exceed the essence slivers maximum total are gained as temporary hit points that disappear after one hour.
Shared Ability (Ex): All slivers within 60’ of the essence sliver gain access to the essence slivers life drain ability.

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Comments? Critique? Snackrifices? Questions?