Just wanted to let you know that in about 8 hours from now, after work, I'll be posting a new monster for your review, jointly posted on the Monster forum.
It's a tricky one, so I'll need your help.
EDIT: In the two stat blocks below there are no damage expressions, or other numbered stats, and those that are there are stand ins (albeit the levels are correct). I fill out these things later on (takes a lot of care to get the expressions right).
They pursue wild erdlu flocks in lands hedging on their hunting grounds, forcing a lone prey to veer off where they are masters of the terrain - terrain where prey is slower that it is, allowing the kirre to gain ground.
It projects psionic visions at the limits of its prey's sight, maddening it with fear at fleeting glances of fictitious predators. Dashing in for the kill, it takes its diminished prey with it, bringing it bloodied for its cubs to devour.
An encounter with one should always be at night, where the PCs have entered its hunting grounds on their own. The kirre is able to dash in for an attack from outside the range of torches or campfire, for a surprise round, scurrying away with a party member, entering nearby labyrinths of giant boulders. While the group seeks their comrade, the kirre attacks relentlessly its grabbed prey, leaving it to its litter to finish off while going out to pick out lone PCs.
I'm starting to lose faith in you guys.
Other than that, I think it looks fine. It has some interesting powers that give it some tactics. Doesn't 'earth walk', like the Lizardfolks 'swamp walk' cover your Lithe Body trait?
Also, I tend to, for whatever reason (blame 3.e), not like 'grabbers'.
You need to give it a melee basic attack. Right now, youhave your Scissor Bite as a melee basic, but there are restrictions on how it can be used (only when it has combat advantage). Give it a 'claw' or 'bite' power.
I noticed the lack of a working basic attack earlier today, and already gave it a Tail Lash basic melee attack. This kirre has stopped using its claws for attacking, now using its tail more often (which incidentally gives it Melee 2), since it's sole other physical attack is a bite/grab. It uses all eight legs to scurry away with its prey.
Earth walk...might have worked, but only creatures with the earth keyword - or related to elemental earth or the Elemental Chaos - have it.
And I wouldn't hold my breath on receiving comments on new or homebrew material; a couple months ago the board was clamoring about Nibenay being "just" elite, and when I posted a PEACH writeup of a solo version, I think I got like 1 comment
.It's the internet, it's about arguing, not sharing.
"No, please, not actual new material...noooooo!!!"
I'm starting to lose faith in you guys.
You're surprised that something posted the day after Labor Day on one of the quieter subforums here didn't immediately get responses? Really?
I think rollawaythestone covered most things about the adult kirre.
Predatory Figments should probably have the illusion keyword, going by your description of it.
I'd make Camouflage give the kirre concealment rather than just a defense bonus - it is more elegant design to use an existing game mechanic rather than coming up with something unique that does effectively the same thing. It also doesn't make a lot of sense making the defense bonus work against area attacks - how does being hard to accurately pinpoint protect against a 30' diameter fireball?
The bit about leaving no tracks sounds more like it should be in the Lore section rather than the monster's statblock, as it has no impact on combat encounters. I also think it's a bit of a cop-out. A situational bonus to its Stealth modifier to make its tracks harder (but not impossible) to follow would be better, IMO. As it stands, it just looks like a way to frustrate the player who's bothered to maximise his character's Perception and Nature skills to be an expert tracker. Even if the beast itself leaves no tracks, PCs should still have a chance of finding it by other clues, such as blood or skin left by its victims. Making it literally impossible to track cuts off several potential plot hooks, such as the PCs trying to track it down to get back a valuable NPC it's dragged off.
Bolting Run should be a shift. See my comment above about using existing game mechanics when they already do what you want.
Drag Off should be a trait, not a power. As it's written, it technically does nothing by strict RAW. I suggest using the existing Unhindered trait found on, for example, the cloud ray.
Barbed Tail will virtually never use its full range, because of the trigger. How many level 13 PCs can flank from 2 squares away? I suggest giving the kirre a standard action MBA tail attack (with range melee 2) so that it can defend itself effectively when it's grabbed someone, then giving it an immediate reaction power that lets it use that tail attack when a creature flanks it (you don't need to repeat the attack itself).
For the litter, I feel its aura should also deal damage. It seems strange that a swarm of multiple individual beasts can only 'attack' one enemy per round.
Overall, they both look pretty good, though.
I'll see if it still would be better to change some. I've already added a basic melee 2 attack based on its tail, one of the first things I noticed too when I reread the stat block the subsequent day.
I'll see for the rest as well. Tonight for me too
There was a time during 3.5's golden era when there was an enormous volume of homebrew material, the Dark Sun Forum Archive being proof of that. Hopefuly creation will start anew with the recent rerelease of the setting for the new edition.
1. my first observation is that these things seem to have a bit too many abilities for standard monsters. You're risk wasting good design on cannon fodder, and you may end up seeing them dying before they get to show the full breath of their abilities. I can see how to use it all but it's at least "inconsistent" with the standard WotC design. You may want to promote these thingies to elite at least, to give them some room to use all their tricks. Maybe make them elite and then fill the budget with litter? 1 kirre and 2-4 litters or 2 kirre and 1-2 litters for example.
2. Scissor Bite I like a lot, but you should make sure they have a decent shot at holding grabs on "strong" characters. Give em good Str and possible training in the relevant skills. As others noted, remove the bit on combat advantage and read point 3 for how to use it.
3. Predatory figments: good, but what about combat advantage then if we made Scissor bite the basic attack? It's fundamentally wasted like this; give the kirre or even better the litter something to do with combat advantage. "Comboing" is an excellent way to design abilities that will strike fear in the heart of players. Maybe let the kirre do the sustain damage instead of the basic one on a target who grants combat advantage. Or say that the kirre does 1d10 extra damage on a target who grants combat advantage.
4. Bolting run: why not making it a shift?
5. Drag off: it's mostly pointless because monster on monster combat is a rare sight, but you may want to put a size limit on that; I can hardly see a kirre dragging a mekillot around during a bolting run.
6. last note: are they really Lukers, or rather Skirmishers?
I like it, overall; it's a pretty interesting creature, and once you fix the numbers, I'll steal it for my games.
This part would make it a Skirmisher...but its attack pattern is Lurker. Mostly it was due to the camouflage thing...skirmisher it is.
Should I got with skill training in Athetics with a high Str score, or in Acrobatics with a high Dex score?
So, Scissor Bite should have something easier than Sustain Standard, maybe Minor or Move? Move would deprive it of its mobility, but minor would work. I'm trying it. That way it can use Tail Lash while munching away.
I've also given it a psychic damage potential for Figments, considering its ability to recharge it is somewhat circumstantial, as the kirre may never succeed at bloodying a grabbed creature (PCs can free themselves, or teleport).
The kirre's Barbed Tail triggered attack is the one power it has in common with a regular kirre.
Fear as a keyword is IMO better than illusion for what its doing. The illusions are created in the prey's mind through its own fear of predators.
This last version is great: the painful reaction (I would have actually made it recharged on 4 5 6) against enemies that flank is a great way to make this beast "passively skirmishery", if you udnerstand what i mean.
I would suggest reviewing the swarm entry. First of all, it doesn't have the typical "auto-damage enemies in the same squares it occupies", and then it seems a bit strange compared to the base creature.
Another thing, I would like to have a more accurate physical description of this monster, since I was imagining something more like a skinny Umber Hulk...
The Barrens Kirre is like a normal Kirre from the Creature Catalog, but instead of a green pelt for forest camouflage it has a look that helps it hide in its new milieu - barrens.
Like the regular Kirre (a Large big cat) it has a barbed tail, height legs, but has no claw attack(s), instead using its overmuscled neck and jaws to grab prey, and its full eight legs (since it doesn't attack with them) to carry its prey away. It has developed even further the Kirre's tail attack, keeping it but developing a basic melee attack from it.
The Kirre Litter is a swarm of kirre cubs. The mother carries them over her back when she travels long distance, temporarily abandoning them when she hunts.
The Barrens Kirre is like a normal Kirre from the Creature Catalog, but instead of a green pelt for forest camouflage it has a look that helps it hide in its new milieu - barrens.
Like the regular Kirre (a Large big cat) it has a barbed tail, height legs, but has no claw attack(s), instead using its overmuscled neck and jaws to grab prey, and its full eight legs (since it doesn't attack with them) to carry its prey away. It has developed even further the Kirre's tail attack, keeping it but developing a basic melee attack from it.
Shame to me for not remembering the creature from the book.
It sounded familiar and Dark Sun-ish enough, but I thought that maybe you were remaking a monster from an older Dark Sun source.
I'm going to post a truly new creature in a matter of minutes. And I will be asking for a cool and possibly setting-meaningful name for it!
UPDATE: Here it is!