BoneLord's Dungeon #1: Blackwater [Archive] - Wizards Community

BoneLord's Dungeon #1: Blackwater [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
BoneLord_of_Skullthrone
12-21-06, 07:33 PM Blackwater ; CR: 5
Align/Size/Type: N Large Undead (water)
Init: +1; Senses: Blindsight 60'
----------
AC: 10 (+1 Dex; -1 Siz), touch: 10, flat footed: 9
HP: 32 (5d12); DR 5/magic
Immune: Undead Immunities, Flanking
Fort +1, Ref +2, Will -1
----------
Speed: 10' land or 10' swim
Melee: +5 Slam (1d8+6)
Space: 10', Reach: 5'
BAB: +2; Grapple: +10
Atk Options: Improved Grab, Engulf, Drain Water
----------
Abilities: Str 19, Dex 12, Con -, Int -, Wis 1, Cha 1
SQ: Fast Healing 1/round, Ooze Traits, Undead Traits
Feats: -
Skills: Climb +4, Swim +4 (Blackwaters may always take 10 on swim checks to move at their normal swim speed.)
Advancement: 6-10 Large, 11-22 Huge, 23-46 Gargantuan

Improved Grab (Ex): If a large or smaller creature is hit by a Blackwater's slam attack, the Blackwater may make a grapple check as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. A Blackwater gains a +4 bonus on its grapple checks against opponents who occupy one of its squares, or whose square it occupies.

Engulf(Ex): If a Blackwater succeeds in pinning an opponent with a grapple check, it engulfs the victim, preventing breathing, and immediately begins to drain water. While engulfed, the victim is pinned, and the Blackwater is in a grapple. Since the Blackwater and its victim are also in the same space, the Blackwater has a +4 bonus to grapple checks as long as it and its enemy share the same square. This is the same as, and so does not stack with, the bonus mentioned in the Improved Grab entry.

If the intended victim beats the Blackwater on a subsequent grapple check, he bursts free and the ooze is considered prone and not threatening any squares until the start of its next turn. Regathering itself is considered a move equivalent action which does provoke an attack of opportunity. Anyone who pins the Blackwater at any time with a grapple check can be automatically engulfed on the ooze's turn, and water drainage can begin.

Drain Water (Su): If a Black Water engulfs an opponent, either by establishing a pin with a grapple check or by being pinned itself, it will immediately begin to leech it's opponent's bodily fluids, dealing 1d6 Con damage in the first round and every round thereafter that the pin is maintained on its turn. Every time it uses this ability, it gains 5 temporary hit points that it loses at a rate of one per hour. Anytime a target has its constitution score reduced to zero by the Blackwater's attack, the blackwater gains one permanant hit die, and the victim cannot be ressurected by any means as long as the Blackwater survives.

Warforged and other living constructs are affected normally by this attack, as they still contain wooden components with cellular water, and alchemical ichors as blood within their bodies.

Strategies and Tactics: Blackwaters are known to lie in wait for prey when they have found a comfortable spot. They appear to be murky, opaque pools of water. They almost always come to rest near natural sources of water. They will immediately attack anything that gets close, preffering to have the target standing in the Blackwater's own body first. Blackwaters have been known to pursue prey that entered their field of awareness and left without approaching.

Ecology: The the existence of undead oozes known descriptively as "Blackwater" was first recorded in Khorvaire by the Dhakaani goblinoids, millennia before humans reached the continent. Many of them believed that the creatures spawned from puddles of water gone bad. Jhazaal Dhakaan, a Dirge Singer who once united the goblinoid tribes into an empire, had her own name for them: duur'okaan. This came to be the common name for Blackwaters in the Dhakaani era.

Blackwaters appear as large pools of murky or opaque black water. They often place themselves near sources of real water, and may have dried out, dessicated husks of corpses laying around nearby. They are never more than an inch thick when layed out, and feel like cold water to the touch. Their bodies are composed of mostly water, but they are held together by a poorly understood force. The spiritual energy of their victims also helps add consistancy to Blackwaters. When they move, they appear to flow like a slow moving wave.

In fact, they are reanimated oozes, often thought to have been gray oozes in their former life, which were exposed to negative energy of the plane of Mabar. Their entire unlife is spent in the never ending search for water to absorb from living creatures. They can absorb ambient moisture from the air, and even liquid water, but their prefered means of nourishment seems to be attacking living creatures. When none are available, the Blackwater will move to a spot where it is provided with a steady supply of water and simply stay there until prey approaches.

Black Waters are almost unheard of outside of manifest zones, and are not uncommon in manifest zones to Mabar. Karrnathi necomancers studdied them in a secret research program called Project: Blackwater. The now common name was given to them during these secret projects which were ended after being exposed by an unnamed pair - a spy and a defector within the Karrnathi military.

Khaazma Vemin, a Karrnathi expatriate wizard, teaches at Morgrave University now. He has the first half of the Journal of Galliram, a tome that is filled with information and dark secrets about the plane of Mabar. Galliram was either a lich or a vampire (Khaazma does not like telling the story) who Khaazma had a hand in detroying. One of the few things known about the contents of the journal is that it mentions a vast sea of black water somewhere in Mabar - a living sea of death that reaches out and steals the life of any living thing which approaches it.

Society: Blackwaters never "reproduce," though they have been known to apparently merge and speperate again at a later time. Many necromancers and adventurers believe that this "merging" is actually just two Blackwaters flowing around each other. Given their watery consistencey, this might appear to be a merging of two Blackwaters.

Treasure: Blackwaters do not collect treasures. They do, however, leave dried-out, dessicated corpse-husks in their wake along with anything the victim might have been carrying.

Hooks:

Count Vedim ir'Omik, Karrnath's chief necromancer has the other half of the Tome of Galliram, and Khaazma Vemin wants to get it away from him before its dark secrets can be put to evil purposes.
Count Vedim ir'Omik, Karrnath's chief necromancer has the other half of the Tome of Galliram, and Khaazma Vemin wants to get it away from him so he can put its dark secrets to his own evil purposes.
Khaazma Vemin needs help convincing the Gnomes of Zilargo to build for him, or let him use, an airship capable of interplanar travel. He wants to go to the Blackwater sea in Mabar himself and possibly run an experiment with it.
Blackwater Lake, on the border of Droam and the Shadow Marches, has a forgotten island in its center with a dimensional seal buried on the island. If the seal is broken, the local manifest zone to Mabar will reassert itself and the Blackwater Sea on that plane will pour over into Eberron! Now who would want to do such a thing...?
ieattrollsforbreakfast
12-21-06, 08:45 PM Nice work, the ecology section especially adds life (unlife?) to the creature!
There are a few mechanical issues, though, I'll point out those I can find (with a few other comments for good measure):

Blackwater ; CR: 5? 5 is probably about right.
Align/Size/Type: N Large Undead Ooze (water) A creature can only have one type, so I'd make it just Undead (water)
Init: +1; Senses: Blindsight 60'
----------
AC: 10 (+1 Dex; -1 Siz), touch: 10, flat footed: 9
HP: 32 (5d12); DR 5/magic or fire fire always bypasses DR, so it should just be DR 5/magic
Immune undead immunities, flanking
Fort +1, Ref +2, Will -1 Undead only have good Will saves, and you forgot to factor in Wisdom penalty.
----------
Speed: 10' land or 10' swim
Melee: +5 Slam (1d6+6) +4 Str (also *1.5 damage since only natural attack), +2 BAB, -1 size
Space: 10', Reach: 5'
BAB: +2; Grapple: +10 Undead have poor BAB, which modifies grapple
Atk Options: Improved Grab, Drain Water
----------
Abilities: Str 19, Dex 12, Con -, Int -, Wis 1, Cha 1
SQ: Fast Healing 1/round, Ooze Traits, Undead Traits
Feats: -
Skills: Climb +4, Spot +0, Swim +4* you might want to mention the racial bonus to swim from having a swim speed with the other abilities below. Oh, and there's no need to list the Spot (which would be -5 anyway, not 0), since blind creatures can't use it.
Advancement: 6-10 Large, 11-22 Huge, 23-46 Gargantuan

Improved Grab (Ex): If a large or smaller creature is hit by a Blackwater's slam attack, the Blackwater may make a grapple check as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. When an opponent walks into a Blackwater, it may take a +4 bonus on its grab attempt against that opponent. The last sentence is confusing...do you mean the ooze gets a +4 bonus to an attack of opportunity when a creature enters its square? Or is the bonus to a grapple check made with that attack of opportunity?

Drain Water (Su): If a Black Water engulfs an opponent, either by establishing a pin with a grapple check or by being pinned itself, it will immediately begin to leech it's opponent's bodily fluids, dealing 1d6 Con damage in the first round and every round thereafter that the pin is maintained on its turn. Every time it uses this ability drain, it gains 5 temporary hit points that it loses at a rate of one per hour. Anytime a target has its constitution score reduced to zero by the Blackwater's attack, the blackwater gains one permanant hit die, and the victim cannot be ressurected by any means as long as the Blackwater survives.

Warforged and other living constructs are affected normally by this attack, as they still contain wooden components with cellular water, and alchemical ichors as blood within thier bodies.

Strategies and Tactics: Blackwaters are known to lie in wait for prey when they have found a comfortable spot. They appear to be murky, opaque pools of water. They almost always come to rest They will immediately attack anything that gets close, preffering to have the target standing in the Blackwater's own body first. Blackwaters have been known to pursue prey that entered their field of awareness and left without approaching.

If it succeeds in pinning an opponent with a grapple check, it engulfs the victim and immediately begins to drain water. If the victim beats the Blackwater on a subsequent grapple check, he bursts free and the ooze is considered prone and not threatening any squares until the start of its next turn. Regathering itself is considered a move equivalent action which does provoke an attack of opportunity. Anyone who pins the Blackwater at any time with a grapple check can be automatically engulfed on the ooze's turn, and water drainage can begin. This bit should be incorporated into the drain water ability so it's not overlooked.

That's everything I can see :)
BoneLord_of_Skullthrone
12-21-06, 10:16 PM Thanks, Trolls. When I made this monster one year ago today (according to the sheet I wrote it down on) I must have made an ooze, then decided to make it undead but forgot to write in the changes. It is a complete undead now, and I added four adventure hooks at the bottom of the post. :)
Dracomortis
12-26-06, 03:44 PM Reminds me of that movie Dark Water. Hmm...I feel an evil campaign plot coming on :evillaugh
Quasidork
12-27-06, 09:51 AM Reminds me of that old cartoon show "Pirates of Dark Water" .... I think I just showed my age:shifty:
valkeriesmurf
12-29-06, 08:50 PM Reminds me of that old cartoon show "Pirates of Dark Water" .... I think I just showed my age:shifty:

And I've gotten inspired too for an encounter or two in my next eberron adventure.
turalisj
05-26-07, 04:40 PM Reminds me of that old cartoon show "Pirates of Dark Water" .... I think I just showed my age:shifty:

It was a good cartoon though.... Not like the crap they show these days.:D

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
BoneLord_of_Skullthrone 12-21-06, 07:33 PM	Blackwater ; CR: 5 Align/Size/Type: N Large Undead (water) Init: +1; Senses: Blindsight 60' ---------- AC: 10 (+1 Dex; -1 Siz), touch: 10, flat footed: 9 HP: 32 (5d12); DR 5/magic Immune: Undead Immunities, Flanking Fort +1, Ref +2, Will -1 ---------- Speed: 10' land or 10' swim Melee: +5 Slam (1d8+6) Space: 10', Reach: 5' BAB: +2; Grapple: +10 Atk Options: Improved Grab, Engulf, Drain Water ---------- Abilities: Str 19, Dex 12, Con -, Int -, Wis 1, Cha 1 SQ: Fast Healing 1/round, Ooze Traits, Undead Traits Feats: - Skills: Climb +4, Swim +4 (Blackwaters may always take 10 on swim checks to move at their normal swim speed.) Advancement: 6-10 Large, 11-22 Huge, 23-46 Gargantuan Improved Grab (Ex): If a large or smaller creature is hit by a Blackwater's slam attack, the Blackwater may make a grapple check as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. A Blackwater gains a +4 bonus on its grapple checks against opponents who occupy one of its squares, or whose square it occupies. Engulf(Ex): If a Blackwater succeeds in pinning an opponent with a grapple check, it engulfs the victim, preventing breathing, and immediately begins to drain water. While engulfed, the victim is pinned, and the Blackwater is in a grapple. Since the Blackwater and its victim are also in the same space, the Blackwater has a +4 bonus to grapple checks as long as it and its enemy share the same square. This is the same as, and so does not stack with, the bonus mentioned in the Improved Grab entry. If the intended victim beats the Blackwater on a subsequent grapple check, he bursts free and the ooze is considered prone and not threatening any squares until the start of its next turn. Regathering itself is considered a move equivalent action which does provoke an attack of opportunity. Anyone who pins the Blackwater at any time with a grapple check can be automatically engulfed on the ooze's turn, and water drainage can begin. Drain Water (Su): If a Black Water engulfs an opponent, either by establishing a pin with a grapple check or by being pinned itself, it will immediately begin to leech it's opponent's bodily fluids, dealing 1d6 Con damage in the first round and every round thereafter that the pin is maintained on its turn. Every time it uses this ability, it gains 5 temporary hit points that it loses at a rate of one per hour. Anytime a target has its constitution score reduced to zero by the Blackwater's attack, the blackwater gains one permanant hit die, and the victim cannot be ressurected by any means as long as the Blackwater survives. Warforged and other living constructs are affected normally by this attack, as they still contain wooden components with cellular water, and alchemical ichors as blood within their bodies. Strategies and Tactics: Blackwaters are known to lie in wait for prey when they have found a comfortable spot. They appear to be murky, opaque pools of water. They almost always come to rest near natural sources of water. They will immediately attack anything that gets close, preffering to have the target standing in the Blackwater's own body first. Blackwaters have been known to pursue prey that entered their field of awareness and left without approaching. Ecology: The the existence of undead oozes known descriptively as "Blackwater" was first recorded in Khorvaire by the Dhakaani goblinoids, millennia before humans reached the continent. Many of them believed that the creatures spawned from puddles of water gone bad. Jhazaal Dhakaan, a Dirge Singer who once united the goblinoid tribes into an empire, had her own name for them: duur'okaan. This came to be the common name for Blackwaters in the Dhakaani era. Blackwaters appear as large pools of murky or opaque black water. They often place themselves near sources of real water, and may have dried out, dessicated husks of corpses laying around nearby. They are never more than an inch thick when layed out, and feel like cold water to the touch. Their bodies are composed of mostly water, but they are held together by a poorly understood force. The spiritual energy of their victims also helps add consistancy to Blackwaters. When they move, they appear to flow like a slow moving wave. In fact, they are reanimated oozes, often thought to have been gray oozes in their former life, which were exposed to negative energy of the plane of Mabar. Their entire unlife is spent in the never ending search for water to absorb from living creatures. They can absorb ambient moisture from the air, and even liquid water, but their prefered means of nourishment seems to be attacking living creatures. When none are available, the Blackwater will move to a spot where it is provided with a steady supply of water and simply stay there until prey approaches. Black Waters are almost unheard of outside of manifest zones, and are not uncommon in manifest zones to Mabar. Karrnathi necomancers studdied them in a secret research program called Project: Blackwater. The now common name was given to them during these secret projects which were ended after being exposed by an unnamed pair - a spy and a defector within the Karrnathi military. Khaazma Vemin, a Karrnathi expatriate wizard, teaches at Morgrave University now. He has the first half of the Journal of Galliram, a tome that is filled with information and dark secrets about the plane of Mabar. Galliram was either a lich or a vampire (Khaazma does not like telling the story) who Khaazma had a hand in detroying. One of the few things known about the contents of the journal is that it mentions a vast sea of black water somewhere in Mabar - a living sea of death that reaches out and steals the life of any living thing which approaches it. Society: Blackwaters never "reproduce," though they have been known to apparently merge and speperate again at a later time. Many necromancers and adventurers believe that this "merging" is actually just two Blackwaters flowing around each other. Given their watery consistencey, this might appear to be a merging of two Blackwaters. Treasure: Blackwaters do not collect treasures. They do, however, leave dried-out, dessicated corpse-husks in their wake along with anything the victim might have been carrying. Hooks: Count Vedim ir'Omik, Karrnath's chief necromancer has the other half of the Tome of Galliram, and Khaazma Vemin wants to get it away from him before its dark secrets can be put to evil purposes. Count Vedim ir'Omik, Karrnath's chief necromancer has the other half of the Tome of Galliram, and Khaazma Vemin wants to get it away from him so he can put its dark secrets to his own evil purposes. Khaazma Vemin needs help convincing the Gnomes of Zilargo to build for him, or let him use, an airship capable of interplanar travel. He wants to go to the Blackwater sea in Mabar himself and possibly run an experiment with it. Blackwater Lake, on the border of Droam and the Shadow Marches, has a forgotten island in its center with a dimensional seal buried on the island. If the seal is broken, the local manifest zone to Mabar will reassert itself and the Blackwater Sea on that plane will pour over into Eberron! Now who would want to do such a thing...?
ieattrollsforbreakfast 12-21-06, 08:45 PM	Nice work, the ecology section especially adds life (unlife?) to the creature! There are a few mechanical issues, though, I'll point out those I can find (with a few other comments for good measure): Blackwater ; CR: 5? 5 is probably about right. Align/Size/Type: N Large Undead Ooze (water) A creature can only have one type, so I'd make it just Undead (water) Init: +1; Senses: Blindsight 60' ---------- AC: 10 (+1 Dex; -1 Siz), touch: 10, flat footed: 9 HP: 32 (5d12); DR 5/magic or fire fire always bypasses DR, so it should just be DR 5/magic Immune undead immunities, flanking Fort +1, Ref +2, Will -1 Undead only have good Will saves, and you forgot to factor in Wisdom penalty. ---------- Speed: 10' land or 10' swim Melee: +5 Slam (1d6+6) +4 Str (also 1.5 damage since only natural attack), +2 BAB, -1 size Space: 10', Reach: 5' BAB: +2; Grapple: +10 Undead have poor BAB, which modifies grapple Atk Options: Improved Grab, Drain Water ---------- Abilities: Str 19, Dex 12, Con -, Int -, Wis 1, Cha 1 SQ: Fast Healing 1/round, Ooze Traits, Undead Traits Feats: - Skills: Climb +4, Spot +0, Swim +4 you might want to mention the racial bonus to swim from having a swim speed with the other abilities below. Oh, and there's no need to list the Spot (which would be -5 anyway, not 0), since blind creatures can't use it. Advancement: 6-10 Large, 11-22 Huge, 23-46 Gargantuan Improved Grab (Ex): If a large or smaller creature is hit by a Blackwater's slam attack, the Blackwater may make a grapple check as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. When an opponent walks into a Blackwater, it may take a +4 bonus on its grab attempt against that opponent. The last sentence is confusing...do you mean the ooze gets a +4 bonus to an attack of opportunity when a creature enters its square? Or is the bonus to a grapple check made with that attack of opportunity? Drain Water (Su): If a Black Water engulfs an opponent, either by establishing a pin with a grapple check or by being pinned itself, it will immediately begin to leech it's opponent's bodily fluids, dealing 1d6 Con damage in the first round and every round thereafter that the pin is maintained on its turn. Every time it uses this ability drain, it gains 5 temporary hit points that it loses at a rate of one per hour. Anytime a target has its constitution score reduced to zero by the Blackwater's attack, the blackwater gains one permanant hit die, and the victim cannot be ressurected by any means as long as the Blackwater survives. Warforged and other living constructs are affected normally by this attack, as they still contain wooden components with cellular water, and alchemical ichors as blood within thier bodies. Strategies and Tactics: Blackwaters are known to lie in wait for prey when they have found a comfortable spot. They appear to be murky, opaque pools of water. They almost always come to rest They will immediately attack anything that gets close, preffering to have the target standing in the Blackwater's own body first. Blackwaters have been known to pursue prey that entered their field of awareness and left without approaching. If it succeeds in pinning an opponent with a grapple check, it engulfs the victim and immediately begins to drain water. If the victim beats the Blackwater on a subsequent grapple check, he bursts free and the ooze is considered prone and not threatening any squares until the start of its next turn. Regathering itself is considered a move equivalent action which does provoke an attack of opportunity. Anyone who pins the Blackwater at any time with a grapple check can be automatically engulfed on the ooze's turn, and water drainage can begin. This bit should be incorporated into the drain water ability so it's not overlooked. That's everything I can see :)
BoneLord_of_Skullthrone 12-21-06, 10:16 PM	Thanks, Trolls. When I made this monster one year ago today (according to the sheet I wrote it down on) I must have made an ooze, then decided to make it undead but forgot to write in the changes. It is a complete undead now, and I added four adventure hooks at the bottom of the post. :)
Dracomortis 12-26-06, 03:44 PM	Reminds me of that movie Dark Water. Hmm...I feel an evil campaign plot coming on :evillaugh
Quasidork 12-27-06, 09:51 AM	Reminds me of that old cartoon show "Pirates of Dark Water" .... I think I just showed my age:shifty:
valkeriesmurf 12-29-06, 08:50 PM	Reminds me of that old cartoon show "Pirates of Dark Water" .... I think I just showed my age:shifty: And I've gotten inspired too for an encounter or two in my next eberron adventure.
turalisj 05-26-07, 04:40 PM	Reminds me of that old cartoon show "Pirates of Dark Water" .... I think I just showed my age:shifty: It was a good cartoon though.... Not like the crap they show these days.:D