Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Thought Dec 18, 2008 10:46:48	These creatures cannot be observed directly; laying eyes on one causes it to turn to stone. You can’t kill stone. Of course, stone can’t kill you either. But then you look away, then you blink, and oh yes it can. While no one, including the creatures, know what they look really look like, there common appearance is that of a polished marble statue of a robed human with wings.
#2 xxquiet_dreamxx_dup Dec 18, 2008 13:31:03	This creature is interesting... but i'm a bit concerned about its Stone Form ability, especially considering that it's a solo monster. There would seem to be precious little to distract a group of adventurers from this creature, thus making it more of less permanently stone. The chance (realistically) of everyone in a group of five adventurers blinking in the same instant would be miniscule. I can see players thinking of ingenious ways of dealing massive damage to a helpless LA, thus shattering its rocky body. More troublesome still is the concept of a -flying- creature that will turn to stone uncontrollably. If anyone spots it while airborn, it is going to plummet and end up prone. I imagine they stick to low altitudes, as a precaution... but i shudder to think what would happen to unfortunate fingers and toes (from a conceptual standpoint, of course). This phrase threw me off just a little: "Creatures sent to the past then live themselves to death..." Erm, don't we all? So basically, this creature doesn't kill, it just displaces people in time. Is that correct?
#3 rikiji Dec 18, 2008 14:34:33	Mechanically, the Stone form and Flesh form powers need to be 'no action' to work as you described. Only one immediate action is allowed per turn. I presume it can hold action when in stone form? Otherwise it's kind of out of luck if nobody blinks during its initiative.
#4 Thought Dec 18, 2008 16:27:39	Thanks for the feedback. While I like the idea of this being a solo monster, I think you're right, Dream, by itself its stone form would make it too easy to defeat. I downgraded it to an Elite Lurker instead so it can have others with it to provide distraction (or for it to distract the party from the others). As for flying, I had envisioned that it would always land before its turn was up, but in retrospect climbing seemed a better way to get the effect I desired. Very mobile but shouldn't have to worry about it falling out of the sky. I also upped its speed to likewise make it more mobile. Possibly too much, I'm not sure yet. And yes, this creature doesn't kill, it sends people into the past. Nice killer ever. Though it would limit its use as not all DMs would want to handle something like that. Still, that could be a quest in itself if a party member was sent to the past and lived to death. Magic can't undo death of old age. Rikiji, I changed the action type of the form abilities (I hadn't realized there was only one immediate interrupt a round). Though I'm not sure what you meant by "hold action." I also gave the creature a few more abilities to help make combat more interesting. Thanks again for the great feedback.
#5 xxquiet_dreamxx_dup Dec 18, 2008 19:46:18	A couple more things i thought of (and i do this a lot, coming back for more. Sorry, i know it's troublesome). Rather than a saving throw to stave off blinking, could we have a fixed Wisdom check? Somewhere around DC 20 might work out alright. I just view saving throws as a mechanic meant to be used when attemping to cast off a persistent effect, like a status or ongoing damage. My other thought was concerning how, upon innitially encountering this odd statue, the players will discern it's true nature. Would it be a Perception check opposed my Stealth (not to nitpick, but you misspelled that one in the entry)? It seems like this kind of thing is normally done with Insight versus Bluff, but the creature actually -is- made of stone, whenever it is viewed. Perhaps a knowledge check would be better, i'm not sure.