Post/Author/DateTime	Post
SearcherOmega 09-20-04, 12:17 PM	I've been pondering what the borg would be like in D&D. I haven't had any experience creating monsters, so I'm afraid anything that is (or is similar to) the borg might not be properly balanced. Right now, I'm thinking they'd have immunity to mind control and compulsion effects (Charm Person is futile. You will be assimulated. :D), be lawful evil, have the ability to spread a template to a character just as a werewolf can transmit lycanthropy, only through creepy mecha-tentacles rather than teeth (perhaps limited to a certain number of times per day), get racial bonuses to spot, listen, and search due to mechanically augmented senses, and have a shield that induces DR 20 to the last element they were struck with, but blocks no others. A low Fast Healing might even be applicable, or at least basic damage reduction. Problem is that I don't want them to be too high a CR independently, because they typically do travel and attack in groups of more than one. Type, I'm thinking that Monster Manual III's "Living Construct" type would fit the Borg best. Also, I'm thinking of putting an asterick next to Initiative Mod with the following... *When multiple borg are in an area, all borg in the area use the highest initiative roll of the group. As one consciousness, they respond in unison. Thoughts? How can I pull this off?
Mithral Icesilver 09-20-04, 08:14 PM	Well, it'd be an acquired template. Can't be construct, undead, or plant. Probably not outsider or elemental either. Lessee, abilities: Constructs are already immune to Mind-affecting Effects. Assimilation (Ex): Once per hour, a borg can make a melee touch attack against an opponent of the same type the borg formerly had. This renders the victim unresponsive until rebooted as a borg. The transformation takes one hour (I think that's right). Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. Collective (Ex): All borg within a 100-foot radius use the same initiative. We are the borg. Adaptive Immunity (Ex): A borg is immune to the type of damage it last took (for example, a borg that was hit with a magic missle spell would be immune to damage from force effects until it is hit with a rapier, in which case the borg would be immune to piercing damage instead). Phaser (Su): All borg have an arm-mounted phaser. Treat this as a self-loading hand crossbow (see the Arms & Equipment Guide) that fires magic missles. This also means that a borg has only one hand, and takes a -6 penalty to all skill checks requiring two hands unless another borg is helping (using the aid another action to cancel the penalty instead of adding a bonus). Darkvision 60 and low-light vision. Skills: Due to a borg's enhanced senses, they gain a +4 bonus to Listen, Search, and Spot checks.
Endarire 09-20-04, 11:37 PM	Gotta have Shocking Grasp at will. -EE
SearcherOmega 09-20-04, 11:38 PM	Hey, that's quite helpful. Thank you!