Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Return of the Flumph 01-15-07, 07:49 PM	I took substantial liberties (Lovecraft never showed them in combat, so I had to be creative). A few of their abilities are based loosely off of Species 8472 from Star Trek (multilegged semihumanoid freaks from another dimension, thet are kind of the same idea). Lethii Large Aberration Hit Dice: 14d8+140 (175 hp) Initiative: +5 Speed: speed 40 ft./swim 30 ft. Armor Class: 26 (-1 size, +5 dex, +12 natural), touch 16, flat-footed 21 Base Attack/Grapple: +10/+21 Attacks: 3 slams +16 melee (2d6+7) and shock coil bash +16 melee (1d4+10), or shock coil ray +16 ranged touch (4d8 lightning and stun) or shock coil bolt +16/+11 ranged (1d4+1 force) Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft. Special Attacks: Energy Shields, Cloaking Field, Force Interaction, Pounce, Amphibious, Trip, Nonmagical, Shock Coil Special Qualities: telepathy (120), immune to mind effects, SR 25, blindsense (120), regeneration (5/fire or lawful), immune to acid, photosynthetic, skills Saves: Fort +12, Ref +9, Will +11 Abilities: Str 24, Dex 20, Con 26, Int 20, Wis 14, Cha 14 Skills: Spot +14, Listen +14, Use Magic Device +20, Jump +35, Tumble +25, Intuit Direction +12, Hide +10, Knowledge (arcana) +15, Knowledge (the planes) +15, Disable Device +20, Concentration +18 Feats: Power Attack, Combat Reflexes, Point Blank Shot, Cleave, Great Cleave Challenge Rating: 14 Treasure: standard, plus shock coil Alignment: Usually neutral Advancement: by character class (favored class: monk) Twelve feet tall and pulsating like a viscious sea creature, this alien entity looks like something from a lunatic's fantasy. It stands on five, starfish like legs that hold the body up like a spider. The main body is barrel shaped and fleshy, and five longer, thinner tentacles grow out from near the r3ctum (why is that word censored?). The head is a cross between insect and cephalian and lacks any eyes whatsoever. Growing from the creature's back are what appear to be massive, membranous leaves. Combat Energy Shields (Ex): A lethii can generate a field of force-like energy around its body that can absorb up to one hundred points of damage (even from attacks that always hit, such as magic missile). The shields use the lethii’s touch AC. If a lethii goes for six hours without the shields taking any damage, they recharge back to full strength. The shields are not direction specific, and so a lethii that makes a melee attack with its shields up does full damage to the shields as well as to the target. If it uses a ranged weapon with the shields up, the projectile damages the shields but never reaches the target. Raising or lowering the shields is a free action that can be done once per round. The shields cannot be active at the same time as the cloaking field. A lethii that has just lowered its shields must wait a full round before activating the cloaking field. Cloaking Field (Ex): A lethii can bend light around its body, duplicating the effects of an invisibility spell. Activating or deactivating the field is a free action that can be done once per round. A lethii cannot use its cloaking field at the same time as its energy shields. If it has just used the cloaking field, it must wait a full round before using its shields. Glitterdust, faerie fire, see invisibility, and true seeing function as normal against this invisibility, but dispel magic, invisibility purge, mordenkainen‘s disjunction, and antimagic field have no effect. Force Interaction (Ex): A lethii can destroy a wall of force or similar effect by dealing 80 or more damage to it with its slam attacks. Each 80 points destroys a 10x10 foot area of the wall; a hole big enough for the lethii to walk through. Lethii also ignore hardness and deal full damage to objects with their slams. Pounce (Ex): A lethii can make a full attack at the end of a move, provided it moves in a straight line or jumps. Amphibious (Ex): A lethii’s movements, attacks, and equipment are not impaired by water or other fluids. A lethii does not need to breath. Trip (Ex): A lethii that hits with a slam attack can, instead of doing damage, attempt to trip its opponent as a free action without provoking attacks of opportunity. If it fails, it is not at risk of being tripped itself. Nonmagical: A lethii is incapable of taking levels in a spell casting class (although they can use magic devices). They cannot voluntarily lower their spell resistance, even to receive healing or buffing spells. Shock Coil (Su): Shock coils are large, exotic, magical weapons that the lethii are proficient with. The user of a shock coil can pick one of the following to use each round. Shocking Ray: The shock coil can fire a ray of electricity dealing 4d8 points of damage as a ranged touch attack, not prone to spell resistance or spell immunity. The range is sixty feet. Anyone struck by the lightning must succeed at a fortitude save (DC = amount of damage) or be stunned for one round. A shock coil carries three shots, and must spend one hour recharging each shot. After firing, the coil must spend one round cooling down. Shock Coil Butt: The coil also has a plated butt that can be used to make two handed melee attacks that deal bludgeoning damage (1d4+one and a half times strength bonus, critical 20/x2). This is a normal melee attack, and allows the wielder to make his full number of attacks per round. Force Bolt: Finally, a shock coil can fire small force bullets similar to a magic missile that require a ranged (not ranged touch) attack to hit with a sixty foot range. They are not subject to spell resistance or spell immunity. This never runs out of ammunition and can fire every round, unless the weapon is still cooling down from a lightning shot. This type of shot also allows the firer to make his full number of attacks per round. Photosynthetic (Ex): A lethii must have at least one hour of exposure to sunlight or some other source of ultraviolet light each day, or lose 1 point of strength and constitution per day. This ability damage heals at a rate of 2 points each per day once the lethii gets sunlight again. Skills (Ex): A lethii receives a +10 racial bonus to Jump, Tumble, Concentration, and Intuit Direction checks.
TheCrawlingSpleen 01-15-07, 10:55 PM	Dexterity and Constitution seem a bit high for the size category. Also, the Will save bonus should be +11 (+9 base, +2 Wis) not +12, and the Fort save bonus should be +14, not +17 (+4 base, +10 Con), although I may be missing something, not really being a rules guru myself ;). Other than that, the stats look great. :thumbsup: These are more fluff questions, but: I thought the Elder Things could fly, although I might be remembering incorrectly. Also, where'd you find their name, and how did you come up with monk as their favored class?
Return of the Flumph 01-16-07, 12:16 AM	Dexterity and Constitution seem a bit high for the size category. Also, the Will save bonus should be +11 (+9 base, +2 Wis) not +12, and the Fort save bonus should be +14, not +17 (+4 base, +10 Con), although I may be missing something, not really being a rules guru myself ;). Other than that, the stats look great. :thumbsup: These are more fluff questions, but: I thought the Elder Things could fly, although I might be remembering incorrectly. Also, where'd you find their name, and how did you come up with monk as their favored class? Made the stat changes you suggested, thanks. I made up the name because I sincerely doubt that they would refer to themselves as "elder things" (not to mention there are already too many Old Ones and Elder Things and Great Old Ones and Old Elder Ones in Lovecraft). I took away the fly ability because they would look silly flying and, although many disagree with me, I was always pretty sure that they needed spaceships to fly even in the original stories. Monk is their favored class because they can't cast spells (a flavor decision that has nothing to do with Lovecraft) and because it would make a ****ing scary monk.
TheCrawlingSpleen 01-16-07, 12:39 AM	I took away the fly ability because they would look silly flying and, although many disagree with me, I was always pretty sure that they needed spaceships to fly even in the original stories. I have also tried to imagine the Elder Things flying, and the result always seemed to be the image of a pineapple with wings... Perhaps it's better that they can't fly Monk is their favored class because they can't cast spells (a flavor decision that has nothing to do with Lovecraft) and because it would make a ****ing scary monk. Agreed. :88E: + :monk: = :eek: I forgot to mention it before, but the shock coil is a cool idea. I know the Elder Things used some sort of mechanical weapon in Lovecraft's stories (it's briefly mentioned in At the Mountains of Madness). Is the shock coil based on that, or is it from that "Species 8472" thing?
Xylem 01-16-07, 12:57 AM	For what it is worth, in Call of Cthulhu D20, Elder Things are CR 4 monsters that do fly and they cast spells. Their special attacks are Improved Grab, Constrict and Spells, and their special qualities are damage reduction, blindsight and amphibious. Lovecraft's descriptions were, of course, vague enough that vast differences in interpretation were inevitable.
Return of the Flumph 01-16-07, 01:11 AM	I forgot to mention it before, but the shock coil is a cool idea. I know the Elder Things used some sort of mechanical weapon in Lovecraft's stories (it's briefly mentioned in At the Mountains of Madness). Is the shock coil based on that, or is it from that "Species 8472" thing? I just figured that ray guns would go well with them. I mean, if the Grell have them (see Lords of Madness), it makes thematic sense for these guys to have them as well. Since the whole "not casting spells" thing forces them to study magical devices, magitech like supernatural ray guns fit them well. Not sure if I should give them shoggoths...
angryman 01-16-07, 08:02 AM	I just figured that ray guns would go well with them. I mean, if the Grell have them (see Lords of Madness), it makes thematic sense for these guys to have them as well. Since the whole "not casting spells" thing forces them to study magical devices, magitech like supernatural ray guns fit them well. Not sure if I should give them shoggoths... Shoggoths in D20 Cthulhu are flat out terrifying, especially considering the power of the PCs...even in regular D&D, they're nasty as hell and could TPK an unprepared party.
malignor 01-16-07, 11:11 AM	I'll give it one pseudopod up. "Tekelili! Tekelili!" However, without caster levels, how do they craft magic items? You need a caster level just to have craft (alchemy), according to the SRD. If anything, I would make their preferred class Artificer or Wizard or something, and give them a racial bonus on crafting skills and maybe Craft Wonderous Item as a bonus feat. I recall in the Mountains of Madness, even the later, devolved culture was very artistic and creative, even if less sophisticated. Actually, I'd make the "Lethi" from the height of their empire have Artificer as their preferred class, and the later ones would be Barbarians or Rangers, to reflect their degradation over the millenia. But that's just me.
Return of the Flumph 01-16-07, 11:17 AM	I'll give it one pseudopod up. "Tekelili! Tekelili!" However, without caster levels, how do they craft magic items? You need a caster level just to have craft (alchemy), according to the SRD. If anything, I would make their preferred class Artificer or Wizard or something, and give them a racial bonus on crafting skills and maybe Craft Wonderous Item as a bonus feat. I recall in the Mountains of Madness, even the later, devolved culture was very artistic and creative, even if less sophisticated. Actually, I'd make the "Lethi" from the height of their empire have Artificer as their preferred class, and the later ones would be Barbarians or Rangers, to reflect their degradation over the millenia. But that's just me. Been thinking about that myself. I'mk currently toying with the idea of giving them a completely different approach to making magic items, one that circumvents the need for spellcasting and acheives the same results from a more technological angle. I'll post more when I have it worked out. If it doesn't work out, I can always just take away the spellcasting inhibition and say they have lots of artificers, but I'd rather not if I don't have to.