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Absol197
2011-06-03, 02:40 PM
NEMEAN CREATURE

A nemean creature is one that as been infused with powerful defensive magic, making it nearly invulnerable to physical attack. Usually, nemean creatures are created by a powerful spellcaster to serve as warriors or guards, but sometimes, extraordinary individuals of nearly any species can be born with this protection. These natural nemean creatures are rightfully feared, because they have no natural enemies, and most people are powerless to stop them.

SAMPLE NEMEAN CREATURE
Nemean Dire Lion
N Large magical beast (augmented animal)
Init +2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +0
DEFENSE
AC 25, touch 11, flat-footed 23; (–1 size, +2 Dex, +14 natural)
hp 74 (8d8+38)
Fort +9, Ref +8, Will +3
DR 20/bludgeoning and magic; Defensive Abilities light fortification; Resist acid 10, electricity 10, fire 10
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft.
Melee 2 claws +13 (1d6+7), bite +12 (1d8+7 plus grab)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks grab, pounce, rake 1d6+3
STATISTICS
Str 25, Dex 15, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 10
Base Atk +6; CMB +14; CMD 26 (30 vs. trip)
Feats Skill Focus (Perception, Stealth), Run, Weapon Focus (claw)
Skills Acrobatics +7, Perception +10, Stealth +11 (+15 tall grass); Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth

CREATING A NEMEAN CREATURE
“Nemean” is a template that can be added to any corporeal animal, aberration, construct, dragon, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, plant, undead, or vermin (referred to hereafter as the base creature).

A nemean creature uses all the base creature’s statistics and abilities except as noted here. Do not recalculate the creature’s Hit Dice, base attack bonus, saves, or skill points if its type changes.

Size and Type: Animals and vermin with this template become magical beasts, but otherwise type is unchanged. Size is unchanged.

Armor Class: Natural armor improves by +10.

Defensive Abilities: A nemean creature retains all the defensive abilties of the base creature and also gains the following qualities:

—Damage reduction (see the table below).
—Resistance to acid, electricity, and fire (see the table below).
—Fortification (see the table below).
—A nemean creature’s natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
{table=head]Hit Dice|Resistances|Damage Reduction|Fortification
1–3|—|10/bludgeoning or magic|—
4–7|5|15/magic|—
8–12|10| 20/bludgeoning and magic|Light
13 or more|15|25/bludgeoning and magic|Moderate[/table]

Fortification (Su): The powerful protective magic that infuses a nemean creature’s hide protects its vital areas very effectively. When a critical hit or sneak attack is scored on the nemean creature, there is a chance that the critical hit or sneak attack is negated and damage is instead rolled normally.

{table=head]Fortification Type|Chance for Normal Damage
Light|25%
Moderate|50%[/table]
If the base creature already has one or more of these special qualities, use the better value.

Challenge Rating: +?

Level Adjustment: +4

So, obviously this template is based on Heracles' fight against the nemean lion. I built in along the ines of the celestial/fiendish templates, as can be seen. What I'm looking for, if you could so kindly give some advice, is:

1: In general, what do you think?

2: Challenge rating modifier? How high do you think it should be. I'm thinking somewhere around +5; it adds considerable defensive capabilities, but at a certain point the lack of hit points and saving throws is going to overpower that defense. Related to that, does the LA seem okay?

3: How much/how long should a hypothetical ritual cost to transform a normal creature into a nemean one? In the fluff, as well as the lore of the campaign I'm using this in, powerful spellcasters, including dragons, enchant their guards (or themselves) into nemean creatures. There needs to be some cost associated with that.

4: Any other comments you might have!