Living "Rolling Hills"! (3.5 Monster, WIP)

[Qwertystop]

Earth Emanation
Large Elemental (Earth)
HD 8d8+56 (92)
Speed 20 ft. (4 squares); Climb 20 ft. (4 squares); Burrow 25 ft. (5 squares)
Init: -1
AC 18; touch 8; flat-footed 18
(-1 size, -1 DEX, +10 Natural Armor)
BAB +6; Grp +16 (+6 BAB, +5 STR, +4 size, +1 feat)
Attack Slam +9 (2d8+5, x2)
Full-Attack 2 Slams +9 melee (2d8+5)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Surround
Special Qualities: Bound to Ground, Size Change, Thin earth
Saves Fort +13 Ref +1 Will +2
Abilities Str 20, Dex 8, Con 24, Int 4, Wis 10, Cha 8
Skills: 6 Listen, 6 Spot
Feats: Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (Grapple)
Environment: Any land
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating 4
Treasure Double Gems
Alignment:: Usually True Neutral (Priority to Good-Evil Neutrality)
Advancement: By Hit Dice: 9-12 (Large), 13-24 (Huge), 25-36 (Gargantuan)

Surround (Ex): To use this ability, an earth emanation must succeed on a slam attack on the target. If it then succeeds on a grapple attempt against the target, the target is held inside the earth animated by the emanation. The emanation can move about normally and keep the engulfed target inside its cavity. Targets held inside the emanation may suffocate. Furthermore, the emanation can choose to grind its prisoner for 1d6 points of bludgeoning and slashing damage each round. The target can attempt to escape if it deals 20 points or more of bludgeoning or acid damage to the interior of the cavity (AC 15). The emanation can only Surround creatures of sizes smaller than it. A Large earth emanation's cavity can hold 2 Medium, 8 Small, 32 Tiny, or 128 Diminutive or smaller opponents. The cavity also holds enough air for a full load of Surrounded creatures to breathe for one round. If it contains less than a full load, or if part of the load does not need to breathe, it holds enough air for (full load/current load) to breathe. Since Surrounding another creature requires its cavity to open for a short time, the air supply refreshes if another creature is Surrounded.

Thin Earth (Ex):
If an Earth Emanation in above ground, the contiguous dirt/stone surface in a 10 foot radius from it is treated as rough terrain as it softens slightly.

Size Change (Ex):
[SPOILER]An Earth Emanation can change its Size Category as a single move action per step of category changed. It cannot go above the maximum granted by its HD (See Advancement), or below Small.

Bound to Ground (Ex):
An Earth Emanation has great difficulty leaving solid earth. If an Earth Emanation ever goes above the surface of the ground and is out of contact with an earth or stone surface, it loses all its mass. It becomes incorporeal, its speed changes to 15 ft. Land and no other speeds, and it cannot affect or be affected by anything without Ghost Touch or similar. Every 5 rounds it spends away from earth or stone, it loses 1 HD temporarially. Which Hit Die (And assorted benefits, such as saves or class abilities) it loses is determined in the following order: First it loses Racial HD until it only has one, then it loses class levels, then it dies by losing its last HD unless it makes a Fortitude Save DC 20, in which case the count to lose that last HD is reset to 5 rounds again. This loss cannot be recovered by any means short of Miracle or Wish. However,if it has lost any, it slowly regains them, in reverse order, at a rate of one per minute when it is back on or in earth or stone. If it spends less than 5 rounds off of solid ground, the count of rounds is kept, and will continue from there if the Emanation leaves the ground again before a minute has passed.


An Earth Emanation appears to be a rough pile of compacted dirt or stone. When it moves, it moves like a wave, dirt lowering in back and rising up in front. It is actually a force that is animating the ground under it, so the ground nearby if it is above ground is thinner, as some dirt is pulled into its mass. It has an internal body cavity, in which it may sometimes carry treasure.
It attacks by jolting a spot of earth under the opponent upward, and follows up by slamming into them with its main mass if it's full-attacking

-----------------------------
Questions, Comments, Clarification-requests?
I still need skills.

[Qwertystop]

Added Size Change and Advancement, changed thread title.

[Silverscale]

So I take it this is kind of a quasi-elemental. I'm not very familiar with oozes as I don't use then myself, but this looks cool I guess.

[Cheesy74]

Looks like you generated this, yeah? You'll want to knock off those decimals, since D&D doesn't use them. As for the rest, well, you'll need to finish it before I can say much, but no other ooze can take class levels. You'll need a compelling reason why something that's just a giant pile of dirt can be smart enough to learn maneuvers.

[Qwertystop]

Looks like you generated this, yeah? You'll want to knock off those decimals, since D&D doesn't use them. As for the rest, well, you'll need to finish it before I can say much, but no other ooze can take class levels. You'll need a compelling reason why something that's just a giant pile of dirt can be smart enough to learn maneuvers.

One: Those decimals are just the result of me not knowing whether it was supposed to round to the nearest integer (in this case upward) or if it was supposed to always round down, so I left them in. Which is it supposed to be?

Two: It's not a pile of dirt, its more of a sentient Animate Object field limited to dirt. I made it an ooze because of the sort-of-amorphous nature of it, but making it an Elemental is an option as well, if that would work better.

[Qwertystop]

Changed from Ooze to Elemental, added Bound to Ground to give it a way to leave the solid ground for a short time.

EDIT: Added ability scores and clarified the way to determine stats at different HD.

EDIT: Added Feats and CR. No clue as to what some good treasure would be. I was figuring just gold and gems, but no idea how many. I also need tips on LA.

[Cheesy74]

Okay, now I have some serious problems with it being able to have a class progression. Even as an elemental, its intelligence is barely above sentience, and it hardly needs maneuvers to be competent. Just have it advance by HD alone instead.

You also have a lot of minor mistakes in the stat block.

You can't take Weapon Focus in its grapple attack, because grappling is not a weapon. You could take Improved Grapple for a +4 to grapple checks instead.

Decimals are always rounded down.

The creature must have a charisma score if it is able to differentiate itself from its environment. The only thing in D&D that doesn't have a charisma score is objects, and you can't have a wisdom score without a charisma score.

Its slam attacks should have a +11 to hit (BAB+strength mod).

Flat-footed AC still includes a dexterity modifier if the creature's dex is negative, so its flat-footed AC is still 18.

Its average HP is 92 (36 base +7*8 (56) from constitution), since constitution is added to every hit die.

Its saves are Fort +13 (adds its con modifier), Ref +1 (adds its dex modifier) and Will +2 (adds its, in this case, nonexistent wisdom modifier).

This creature is emphatically not a good choice for a character race, so you probably shouldn't bother giving it a level adjustment. If you insist on making it one, it should have an int score of at least 6 and be at least a bit more humanoid in shape.

As for treasure, most earth creatures have treasure of either None or double gems. For something that was basically pulled from the earth's heart itself, I'd give it double gems.

[Debihuman]

It's a good start but I'm seeing some novice monster making mistakes. I'll give some advice and try to explain it all as best I can. First, lose the spoilers as they are distracting and unnecessary.

Here's an invaluable link for homebrewing: d20srd.org. This way you don't have to flip through books when you're online.

One rule is that you always round down after calculations have been made. 3.5 + 6.5 = 10 however 3.0 + 6.5 = 9.5 so it is rounded down to 9.

Hit Dice: 8d8+56 (92 hp)

8 X 4.5 (average of 8 is 4.5) = 36. Con bonus applies to all HD. 7x8=56 The Con bonus (and other bonuses) appear after the HD. The total hp is 36+56=92.

Armor Class: 18 (-1 size, -1 Dex, +10 Natural), touch 8, flat-footed 18

First, you don't need to put the base 10 in the parenthesis. Since there is no Dex bonus, there is no adjustment to being flat-footed. You don't get better at being caught flat-footed with a Dex penalty. It is only a Dex bonus that you lose, not the penalty :-)

A melee attack is BAB + Str modifier + size. Natural weapons don't get attacks based on BAB, they get attacks based on how many appendages the creature has. The creature is an elemental but it probably should have 2 slams since it is Large. What does it look like? If it has more than 2 arms, it could have more than one slam. This is one case where function is based on form.

In this case, the melee attack is 6 +5 -2 = 9. Damage is 1½ times Str bonus if the creature only makes a single attack as a full attack. If it makes 2 attacks, you list it as 2 slams in the Full attack line.

Attack: Slam + 9 melee (2d8+5)
Full Attack: 2 slams +9 melee (2d8+5)

Earth Elementals have good Fortitude saves (see under Types and Subtypes). At 8 HD, a base good save is +6 and a base poor save is +2. Then you add ability modifiers: You add Con to Fortitude, Dex to Reflex and Wis to Will.

Saves: Fort +13, Ref +1, Will +2

Abilities: Your creature has a null Charisma which is NOT possible under the 3.5 rules. See Nonabilities under Special Qualities in the SRD here:

Charisma
Any creature capable of telling the difference between itself and things that are not itself has at least 1 point of Charisma. Anything with no Charisma score is an object, not a creature. Anything without a Charisma score also has no Wisdom score.

The standard earth elemental has a Cha of 11 see SRD. How should this compare?

Feats, special abilities and special qualities are listed in alphabetical order not by when they are gained. However, Cheesy is wrong as Weapon Focus (Grapple) is allowable under the feat. See SRD again (underlined relevant portion for clarity)


Weapon Focus [General]
Choose one type of weapon. You can also choose unarmed strike or grapple (or ray, if you are a spellcaster) as your weapon for purposes of this feat.

I'll add more as time allows.

Debby

[Qwertystop]

I fixed the problems you two mentioned. Charisma is now set to 8, as it still has very little sense of self. I mean, it's entire being is whatever dirt is nearby, there's not much self to have a sense of. I'm not sure what skills to use, though.

[Debihuman]

Hit Dice are now missing the bonus points it should read:
Hit Dice: 8d8+56 (92 hp)
Environment: Any Land.

It gets 12 skill points, which isn't a lot. Listen and Spot are probably good ones to give it, so give them 6 points in each. It doesn't have a bonus from wisdom. It would have a -1 Dex penalty to Move Silently or I would have suggested that.

Advancement is always greater than the starting HD. Creatures usually double their size when they double their HD.

Advancement: 9-12 (Large), 13-24 (Huge), 25-36 (Gargantuan)

Debby

[Qwertystop]

Hit Dice are now missing the bonus points it should read:
Hit Dice: 8d8+56 (92 hp)
Environment: Any Land.

It gets 12 skill points, which isn't a lot. Listen and Spot are probably good ones to give it, so give them 6 points in each. It doesn't have a bonus from wisdom. It would have a -1 Dex penalty to Move Silently or I would have suggested that.

Advancement is always greater than the starting HD. Creatures usually double their size when they double their HD.

Advancement: 9-12 (Large), 13-24 (Huge), 25-36 (Gargantuan)

Debby

That's what I was trying to say with the advancement, size increase when HD doubles. The reason I mentioned lower HD was to provide rules for Emanations with less HD than this one.

[Debihuman]

Reductions in size also come with a reduction to Str and an increase in Dex.

Going from Large to Medium is -8 Str, +2 Dex; going from Medium to Small is -4 Str and +2 Dex, and going to Tiny from Small is -4 Str and +2 Dex.

It's a lot easier to go up than down. I'm not sure it makes sense to have a Medium emanation. If it is CR 4 at Large, it is probably CR 2 (maybe even less) at Medium size. Going lower isn't a challenge for anyone.

Debby

[Qwertystop]

Reductions in size also come with a reduction to Str and an increase in Dex.

Going from Large to Medium is -8 Str, +2 Dex; going from Medium to Small is -4 Str and +2 Dex, and going to Tiny from Small is -4 Str and +2 Dex.

This is why you can't just use the same stat block. Reflex saves change, attack and damage changes, etc.

Debby

Oh... Somehow I missed that. I'll fix Advancement now.

Any other glitches I missed, or have I finally brought it to the point where critiquing on the actual material can begin?

[Cheesy74]

However, Cheesy is wrong as Weapon Focus (Grapple) is allowable under the feat.

http://arch.413chan.net/okay-face-(n1299530375611).jpg

I do like the idea of this monster though. A sentient blob of mud intent on devouring passersby seems fun.

[Debihuman]

Geez, now I feel like I kicked your dog or something. :smalleek:

Anyhow, the statistic block is a bit better. The spoilers should be removed as it is a waste of time to have to open them. It isn't like the information is secret.

Here is my suggestion for Surround:

Surround (Ex): To use this ability, an earth emanation must succeed on a slam attack on the target. If it then succeeds on a grapple attempt against the target, the target is held inside the earth animated by the emanation. The emanation can move about normally and keep the engulfed target inside its cavity. Targets held inside the emanation may suffocate. Furthermore, the emanation can choose to grind its prisoner for 1d6 points of bludgeoning and slashing damage each round. The target can attempt to escape if it deals 20 points or more of bludgeoning or acid damage to the interior of the cavity (AC 15). The emanation can only Surround creatures of sizes smaller than it. A Large earth emanation's cavity can hold 2 Medium, 8 Small, 32 Tiny, or 128 Diminutive or smaller opponents.


FYI here are the rules on Suffocation:

Suffocation

A character who has no air to breathe can hold her breath for 2 rounds per point of Constitution. After this period of time, the character must make a DC 10 Constitution check in order to continue holding her breath. The save must be repeated each round, with the DC increasing by +1 for each previous success.

When the character fails one of these Constitution checks, she begins to suffocate. In the first round, she falls unconscious (0 hit points). In the following round, she drops to -1 hit points and is dying. In the third round, she suffocates.

[Qwertystop]

Geez, now I feel like I kicked your dog or something. :smalleek:

Anyhow, the statistic block is a bit better. The spoilers should be removed as it is a waste of time to have to open them. It isn't like the information is secret.

Here is my suggestion for Surround:

Surround (Ex): To use this ability, an earth emanation must succeed on a slam attack on the target. If it then succeeds on a grapple attempt against the target, the target is held inside the earth animated by the emanation. The emanation can move about normally and keep the engulfed target inside its cavity. Targets held inside the emanation may suffocate. Furthermore, the emanation can choose to grind its prisoner for 1d6 points of bludgeoning and slashing damage each round. The target can attempt to escape if it deals 20 points or more of bludgeoning or acid damage to the interior of the cavity (AC 15). The emanation can only Surround creatures of sizes smaller than it. A Large earth emanation's cavity can hold 2 Medium, 8 Small, 32 Tiny, or 128 Diminutive or smaller opponents.


FYI here are the rules on Suffocation:
I assume by your quoting the Suffocation rules that you think I should add something about that to the Surround ability? I would have, but no Swallow Whole has that to the best of my knowledge.

[Debihuman]

Swallow Whole doesn't have suffocation because you are in a creature's stomach that presumably has some air as well as the acid; the area in the earth emanation is full of dirt. Of course, rather than suffocating you could treat it as dust of sneezing and choking , but suffocating seemed more appropriate. It was simply a suggestion as I added the line about Targets may suffocate in the Surround ability.

Debby

[Qwertystop]

Swallow Whole doesn't have suffocation because you are in a creature's stomach that presumably has some air as well as the acid; the area in the earth emanation is full of dirt. Of course, rather than suffocating you could treat it as dust of sneezing and choking , but suffocating seemed more appropriate. It was simply a suggestion as I added the line about Targets may suffocate in the Surround ability.

Debby

Oh. Maybe I phrased it wrong, but the area inside is a hollow cavity.

[Debihuman]

Perhaps you should clarify how much air is in the cavity because creatures with the Elemental type do NOT eat, breathe or sleep.

Debby

[Qwertystop]

Air total clarified.