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View Full Version : [3.5] Turned to Gold! The Midas-Touched Template



Frathe
2013-02-27, 11:07 PM
Midas-Touched

Midas-touched are creatures that have been transformed to solid gold. They resemble statues sculpted from gold, in the likeness of the original creature—but unlike a statue, they can move, think and fight. They are less agile than but otherwise similar to typical members of their untransformed races.

Long ago, a magician's attempt to create instant wealth went badly awry, and these cursed creatures were the result when his spell backfired. They roam the land eternally, unable to ever rest, eat, or enjoy any earthly pleasure—they have become living statues, and can never regain the lives they once knew.

Creating A Midas-Touched
"Midas-touched" is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature).

A Midas-touched uses all the base creature’s statistics and abilities except as noted here.

Size and Type
The creature's type changes to construct. Size is unchanged. Weight increases by x8. Do not recalculate Hit Dice, base attack bonus, saves, or skill points.

Armor Class
The creature gains a penalty to natural armor of -4. A Midas-touched retains all armor proficiencies of the base creature.

Attacks

A Midas-touched retains all the natural weapons, manufactured weapon attacks, and weapon proficiencies of the base creature.

Special Qualities
A Midas-touched retains all the special qualities of the base creature and also gains the following special qualities.

No Constitution score.

Low-light vision.

Darkvision out to 60 feet.

Unlike most constructs, no immunity to mind-affecting effects is granted, as Midas-touched creatures that previously had a mind retain it (keep base creature's immunity or lack of immunity).

Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, and necromancy effects.

Cannot heal damage on their own, but can be repaired by exposing them to a certain kind of effect or through the use of the Craft Construct feat.

Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or energy drain.

Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless).

Not at risk of death from massive damage. Immediately destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points or less.

Since it is not alive, a construct cannot be raised or resurrected.

Because its body is a mass of nonliving matter, a construct is hard to destroy. It gains bonus hit points based on size, as shown on the table.

{table=head] Construct Size | Bonus Hit Points

Fine | —

Diminutive | —

Tiny | —

Small | 10

Medium | 20

Large | 30

Huge | 40

Gargantuan | 60

Colossal | 80 [/table]

Constructs do not eat, sleep, or breathe.

Damage reduction 2/bludgeoning

Because of construct type, not affected by spells that target only humanoid creatures, such as enlarge person.

Because of their extra weight, treated as a size larger for bull rush and grapple.

If the base creature already has one or more of these special qualities, use the better value.



Abilities
A Midas-touched has no Constitution score and its Dexterity decreases by -2.

Environment
Same as the base creature.

Challenge Rating
Same as the base creature +1 (minimum 2).

Alignment
Any.

Level Adjustment
Same as the base creature +1.

Rizban
2013-02-28, 12:47 AM
Seems interesting if not particularly strong. Other than the AC penalty, it seems like a simple creature -> construct template.

I assume the -4 AC penalty is due to the softness of gold?

Frathe
2013-02-28, 01:24 AM
Seems interesting if not particularly strong. Other than the AC penalty, it seems like a simple creature -> construct template.

I assume the -4 AC penalty is due to the softness of gold?Glad you find it interesting. [Mechanical] strength's not really the goal.

You're correct about the AC.

sirpercival
2013-02-28, 08:01 AM
That DR is really unwieldy, and doesn't take a lot of exotic materials into account. I think what you really mean is "reduce damage from slashing or piercing wooden weapons by 2"... if so, say that instead.

Frathe
2013-02-28, 03:14 PM
That DR is really unwieldy, and doesn't take a lot of exotic materials into account. I think what you really mean is "reduce damage from slashing or piercing wooden weapons by 2"... if so, say that instead.

What I "really mean"? :smallconfused: You can read my mind? Actually, that was just a holdover from another template. It's a change in logic, but what about DR 2/Bludgeoning? That way, even the sharpest swords sort of sink into the soft gold and do less damage, but a bashing club still hurts them normally.

Frathe
2013-02-28, 09:28 PM
Chrysopoeia

Transmutation (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/spellDescriptions.htm#transmutation)

{table]
Level (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/spellDescriptions.htm#level): | Sor/Wiz 6 (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spellLists/sorcererWizardSpells.htm#fourthLevelSorcererWizard Spells)


Components (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/spellDescriptions.htm#components): | V, S, M


Casting Time (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/spellDescriptions.htm#castingTime): | 1 standard action (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/actionsInCombat.htm#standardActions)


Range (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/spellDescriptions.htm#range): | Touch


Target (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/spellDescriptions.htm#targetorTargets): | One creature


Duration (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/spellDescriptions.htm#duration): | Permanent


Saving Throw (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/spellDescriptions.htm#savingThrow): | Fortitude negates


Spell Resistance (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/spellDescriptions.htm#spellResistance): | Yes [/table]

You transmute the target creature to gold. Its statistics are altered as if the Midas-touched template had been applied.

These changes can be reversed using the spells break enchantment (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/breakEnchantment.htm), limited wish (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/limitedWish.htm), miracle (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/miracle.htm), remove curse (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/removeCurse.htm), or wish (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/wish.htm).

Incorporeal or gaseous creatures are immune to being polymorphed (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#polymorph), and a creature with the shapechanger (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/typesSubtypes.htm#shapechangerSubtype) subtype can revert to its natural form as a standard action (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/actionsInCombat.htm#standardActions).

Material Component
A bar of lead and a vial of powdered philosopher's stone (required).

Arcanist
2013-02-28, 10:00 PM
A bar of lead and a vial of powdered philosopher's stone.

My only problem with this is that you need the powdered remains of a Minor Artifact.

Frathe
2013-02-28, 10:05 PM
My only problem with this is that you need the powdered remains of a Minor Artifact....I didn't want people to actually get to use the spell. I could change that (if you have any suggestions).

LOTRfan
2013-02-28, 10:09 PM
Actually, I sort of like it. The way it currently is, it allows for the spell to be accessed early but it is extremely difficult to actually cast.

Frathe
2013-02-28, 10:10 PM
In the ancient city of Eldorado, hidden deep in the forest of a jungle continent, all was transformed to gold by a long-ago enchantment. Now golden people and golden creatures roam the streets of gold, in a strange and rich display. As a result of their transmuted composition, all objects have hardness 5 and 30 Hit points per inch.

Frathe
2013-02-28, 10:11 PM
Actually, I sort of like it. The way it currently is it allows for the spell to be accessed early but extremely difficult to actually cast.Yeah, that was my thinking. It's limited by the components more than anything else. :smallbiggrin:

Zale
2013-02-28, 10:17 PM
If you don't want people to use the spell, then why make the spell?

Also, you may want to add that the powder can't be ignored, since it has no stated cost.

Frathe
2013-02-28, 10:50 PM
If you don't want people to use the spell, then why make the spell?I didn't want it to seem too commonplace. That doesn't mean I want absolutely no uses, but I didn't intend it as something that could be used every day by a party's wizard, so much as an interesting thing involved in one adventure and used as an explanation.


Also, you may want to add that the powder can't be ignored, since it has no stated cost.Good idea. I didn't give a cost because I don't want people just buying the stuff (it's supposed to be like an artifact--something you have to find or research yourself).

Chilingsworth
2013-02-28, 11:39 PM
So, what happens if you kill one of these things? Can you melt the remains into 8 x wieght of the base creature worth of gold (at a value of 50gp per pound.)

Also, for what it's worth gold actually has a density around 13-14 times that of flesh. (Well, technically, that's the comparison between gold and ballistics gelatin, but since the latter is designed to replicate the characteristics of flesh, it should be similiar.) A human body has a density close to that of water (which has roughly 1/19th the density of gold) but that's largely due to air pockets in the body.

Frathe
2013-03-01, 12:00 AM
So, what happens if you kill one of these things? Can you melt the remains into 8 x wieght of the base creature worth of gold (at a value of 50gp per pound.)

Also, for what it's worth gold actually has a density around 13-14 times that of flesh. (Well, technically, that's the comparison between gold and ballistics gelatin, but since the latter is designed to replicate the characteristics of flesh, it should be similiar.) A human body has a density close to that of water (which has roughly 1/19th the density of gold) but that's largely due to air pockets in the body.Yeah, I was thinking you got some pretty sweet loot if you killed one of these. :smallbiggrin: Although the thought of butchering it and paying someone with, say, a gold liver or arm is kind of disturbing... :smalleek:

I actually went and calculated gold to be about 18x the density of the average human body's density (though admittedly this is relying on Wikipedia for some of the numbers). But that weight increase seems so huge that it kind of breaks the game in terms of size category weight ranges, bull rushing and grappling, the creature crossing rope bridges, and (now I realize) the loot you get. I went with x8 because that keeps it within the weight range of a Large creature if it started as a heavy Medium (which goes with the "up a size category" pluses to bull rush and grapple).

Rizban
2013-03-01, 02:20 AM
I was actually thinking about this template while I was at work today.

What about giving those afflicted by the template a disease spread by touch? The disease slowly transforms any infected creature into gold. When its Con score reaches zero, it fully transforms rather than dying.

Omnicrat
2013-03-01, 03:20 AM
I was actually thinking about this template while I was at work today.

What about giving those afflicted by the template a disease spread by touch? The disease slowly transforms any infected creature into gold. When its Con score reaches zero, it fully transforms rather than dying.

So you basically want to definitely devalue gold in whatever campaign uses this? :smalltongue:

Rizban
2013-03-01, 06:10 AM
So you basically want to definitely devalue gold in whatever campaign uses this? :smalltongue:

You have just given me an excellent idea for a campaign.

Debihuman
2013-03-01, 09:49 AM
The template says the creatures appear gold but it doesn't say that they ARE gold. Big difference.

Debby

Frathe
2013-03-01, 01:18 PM
The template says the creatures appear gold but it doesn't say that they ARE gold. Big difference.

DebbyAppearing like gold is not contradictory with being gold. Gold looks like gold, more than anything else that I know. I suppose I never specifically said that they were turned to literal gold, though (although I'm pretty sure most people could figure it out). Fine, I'll change it.

Frathe
2013-03-01, 01:25 PM
I was actually thinking about this template while I was at work today.

What about giving those afflicted by the template a disease spread by touch? The disease slowly transforms any infected creature into gold. When its Con score reaches zero, it fully transforms rather than dying.I like this idea.


So you basically want to definitely devalue gold in whatever campaign uses this? :smalltongue:But I can see this concern.


Last night, I remembered an important part of my original plan with this template. I originally was just going to have an El Dorado-esque city of gold where, when players left the enchanted area, all the magical gold with them would turn back to whatever it originally was. Of course, that would really PO players, but they shouldn't realistically have expected to be given an entire city's worth of gold to cart away. I could add in a disease that could affect players (does 1d6 Con damage/day or 1 Con damage/hour sound more appropriate?), and then have it automatically cured when they went to a different area (so it's not abusable).

Frathe
2013-03-01, 01:28 PM
The template says the creatures appear gold but it doesn't say that they ARE gold. Big difference.

DebbyOkay, are you happy now? Whiner. :smalltongue:

Debihuman
2013-03-01, 02:21 PM
Not whining; just pointing out the disparity of what you meant and what you actually said. It might appear to be a peacock, but it could be a turkey in disguise.

Reminds me of one of my earliest PCs -- Perach Goldfinger. She was curious about a magical fountain that turned things to gold and dipped her little finger in. It made her memorable if nothing else.

Debby