Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Colonel_Bragg 01-30-08, 04:09 PM	I'm new to creating creatures, well trying to get it right anyway. I'm trying to get better at it, so here is a new one I started to work on, comments and suggestions are welcome... A large human-like creature stands before you; its dark charcoal skin seems to half meld with the shadows themselves. Its forearms are made up of a mass of writhing tentacles, each going its own way, while the upper arm and chest is filled with muscle. Its featureless face stares at you blankly, waiting as if for you to make the first move, but you can tell it has a menacing mind behind it. Laquatus's Champion CR 10? hp 85 (10 HD); regeneration 10; DR 10/Good Always NE Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Aquatic) Init +8; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +14, Spot +16 Languages Common, Abyssal, Aquan, Undercommon ________________________________________ AC 24, touch 14, flat-footed 20; (+4 Dex, +10 natural) Immune Fear, sleep, poison SR 23 Fort +10, Ref +7, Will +8 ________________________________________ Speed 40 ft. (8 squares), Swim 80ft. Melee 2 tentacles +15 (1d8+6 plus energy drain) Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Base Atk +10; Grp +15 Atk Options Power attack, cleave Special Actions Energy Drain, Rend ________________________________________ Abilities Str 19, Dex 18, Con 17, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 12 SQ Spell Resistance 23, Regeneration 10, DR 10/Good, Amphibious Feats Power Attack, cleave, ability focus (energy drain), improved initiative, improved toughness Skills climb +17, hide +17, intimidate +14, listen +12, move silently +17, search +14, spot +12 ________________________________________ Energy Drain (Su): Creatures hit by a Laquatus’s Champion receive one negative level. With each negative level bestowed this way, Laquatus’s Champion gains 5 temporary hit points which dissipate after 1 hour. The DC is 18 to remove the negative level. The save DC is charisma based. Rend (Ex): If a Laquatus’s Champion hits with both of its tentacle attacks, it latches onto its opponents body and tears at the flesh. This attack automatically deals an additional 2d6+6 points of damage. Regeneration: A Laquatus’s Champion takes damage from good-aligned weapons and spells and spell-like abilities with the good-aligned descriptor. If a Laquatus's Champion looses a limb or body part, the lost portion regrows in 3d6 minutes. The creature can reattach a severed member immediately by holding it to the stump. Laquatus's Champions can breathe both underwater and above water. If you see any problems, let me know.
Rohano 01-31-08, 02:59 AM	It has no ranged abilities? I don't recall much of Laquatus' history from the novels. How does it fight spellcasters in melee if it's not especially stealthy? If it's supposed to be CR 10, the AC is horrendously low for a melee tank, and I worry that its attack bonus may be a smidgen too low, while its damage is really nothing compared to what a level 10 fighter could probably do (average melee damage dealt per round by a level 10 fighter is something like 30 or 40, isn't it? A big sword, a high strength, and two or three magical upgrades, plus nigh-hundreds of feats... 20 damage in one blow is probably average, if not below average, for a level 10 melee tank - and don't even get me started on what a crusader could do). If you aren't aiming for a specific CR, a rule of thumb is to find an average fighter build for the CR that you think the creature is. Compare the creature's AC to the fighter's first attack bonus. If the fighter hits the creature on a roll of 10, it's probably about right, but if the fighter hits with anything less than10 on his first attack, the AC is too low. As for the creature's damage, you ought to compare it a similar way. Look at a level 10 barbarian's damage, while raging. To compensate for a lack of ranged ability, a high speed is good, which I see the creature has, but it's probably going to need to be an even bigger tank. The high DR is good, but a paladin or cleric will easily bypass it (but just the cleric and paladin, unless the party is specifically good-flavored). Regeneration is going to help only if the creature can get out of combat long enough to recuperate. The energy drain is going to help to gradually depower tough combatants, but it won't be much help if the most damaging character in a party is the ranged shooter or the caster and the creature can't push past the party's tank to get to them. The way around this, of course, is to give the creature just enough oomph to disable the party tanks and still have enough HP left to give the casters/shooters a few new scars and an exciting run for their money. I realize it has a good SR for its CR, considering that many casters by that level with have a penetration feat or two. The regeneration rating is probably going to a bit high for its CR, but I don't work with regenerating creatures very often. I like seeing MTG creatures. And I like seeing ones from the older MTG eras. I especially like this one. Does it breathe? I would think that a minion of Laquatus would be aquatic. There's a collection of MTG monsters and other creations here (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=565461), if you want to slap a link to your champion or find other inspiration. I like it. :)
Colonel_Bragg 01-31-08, 02:32 PM	I did some changes to it. Here they are- -Upped the Natural AC from 7 to 10 -Upped Dex to 18, raising its armor and reflex as well as some of its skills -Upped its damage die for its tentacle attacks -Took away its ability focus for its energy drain ability, figured that by the time it was done with the PCs that would be the least of their worries. -Gave it weapon focus (tentacle) -Took away Infernal and gave it Aquan I also thought about increasing its reach, don't know about that though