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Darkkwalker
2009-11-10, 10:37 PM
Ok, so this is my first time homebrewing and I need some help with this monster.
Here's what I have so far.

Octorat
Tiny Aberration
HD 1d8 (4)
Speed 15 ft. (3 squares); 20ft climb ; 30ft swim
Init: +3
AC 16; touch 15; flat-footed 13; (+2 size, +3 Dex, +1 nat)
BAB +0; Grp +4
Attack ?
Full-Attack ?
Space 2 1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks Improved Grab, Poison Cloud/Spit
Special Qualities Darkvision 60ft, Jet, Scent
Saves Fort +0 Ref +5 Will +3
Abilities Str 5, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 3, Wis 12, Cha 3
Skills Balance +12, Climb +12, Escape Artist +14, Hide +20, Move Silently +14, Swim +12
Feats Stealthy
Environment Any except Desert and Arctic
Organization Pod (4-20)
Challenge Rating ????
Alignment Neutral
Advancement ???;

Out of the dark, dank sewer; an endless squelching noise has plagued the town every night. Ever since the mad alchemist's lab had been opened.

Octorats look like rats with 8 octopus tentacles coming out of their backsides instead of tails.

Combat
Octorats like to hang from the ceiling of a room and spit poison at their enemies or drop down on them from above.
If in an aquatic environment, octorats tend to flee rather than fight.

Skills
Octorats have a +4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks, and a +8 racial bonus on Balance, Climb, and Swim checks. An octorat can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened. An octorat uses its Dexterity modifier instead of its Strength modifier for Climb and Swim checks. An octorat has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line. An octorat also can squeeze and contort its body, giving it a +10 racial bonus on Escape Artist checks.

Improved Grab (Ex):To use this ability, an octorat must hit an opponent of any size with its tentacle attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and automatically deals bite damage.

Jet (Ex):An octorat can jet backward once per round as a full-round action, at a speed of 200 feet. It must move in a straight line, but does not provoke attacks of opportunity while jetting.

Poison Cloud/Spit (Ex): An octorat can emit a cloud, (if in water), or spit a stream, (if not in water), of poison. DC12 (1d4 Dex). Spit is a ranged touch attack. Cloud fills the square occupied by the octorat

Tentacles and Suckers (Ex): As a result of having the tentacles and suction cups of an octopus, an octorat has a +15 grapple bonus.

Go for a Stroll (Ex): Also due to the nature of their extra appendages, an octorat may use its tentacles to move along the ceiling of a room at their climb speed.
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Any ideas?

DracoDei
2009-11-10, 11:14 PM
5' radius cloud maybe? Or maybe just filling the square it currently occupies.

TabletopNuke
2009-11-10, 11:14 PM
Congratulations on homebrewing your first monster. I like this idea (I have a soft spot for both rats and octopi). You should try adding some more flavor to it.

The biggest tip I can give you is to start off by modifying existing creatures. This is much, much easier than making one from scratch. For example, you could tweak the regular rat (or a dire rat, if you wanted a greater threat). Bump it's intelligence up to 3, give it a swim speed, ect. If you find a template similar to what you have in mind for a finished product, you could tweak that before applying it.

Do you have a copy of the Monster Manual? It will explain much of what you need. For example, aberrations have an average BAB, so octorats would have a BAB of +0.

As far as combat ability goes, an octorat isn't going to be very impressive. As a tiny creature, it has a large penalty to grapple checks (although you might give it a racial bonus since it has 4 legs and 8 tentacles). If you intend for these guys to be a threat in melee, you could make a swarm of them (most likely by modifying a rat swarm).

Darkkwalker
2009-11-11, 01:46 AM
Thanks for the ideas, Tabletop and Draco. Added some. Worked out skills. I do need to work on flavour yes.
The idea for me was to work out a base creature. Then do a swarm, and then an advanced version of the base that would be bigger (possibly large or huge) and much smarter, as well as more deadly (more poison and stronger attacks).

TabletopNuke
2009-11-11, 02:16 AM
Looks like you're getting there. How ever, you need to explain why the poison DC is 12. The usual DC formula is 10 + 1/2 racial HD + Con mod, in which case the octorat poison DC would be 10. Does it have a racial bonus to the poison DC or Ability Focus (Poison) as a bonus feat?