need help with insanely powerful monster

[Somensjev]

ok, for the campaign i'm designing i had an idea for a monster, literaly the biggest thing anyone's ever seen

i'm thinking it would be comparable to a giant flying whale, with the ability to swallow a group of great wyrms whole

it can fly (perfect), swim, climb, walk, burrow, etc, all at the same speed

it has ridiculous stats, it's inteligent, can speak, can speak telepathically to any creature which doesnt know languages

it's a chaotic neutral magical beast

entire civilisations live in the holes it makes when it burrows

it can swallow entire metropolis' in a few mouthfuls

obviously it's not meant to be fought (at least, not for a very long time)

(it's designed for a 3.5 campaign)

any help would be appreciated, and if you state a template, or special ability/quality please tell me what book it's from

[00dlez]

TLDR - If the beast isn't going to be taken down by conventional combat, there's no need to have its stats.

I mean, why bother stating it out at all? It sounds like something that even epic levels would struggle with and would need some sort of "achilles heel" type strategy in order to defeat, and once the PCs have identified the plan that you are okay with, let them put it into action.


Like, say they need to get a magical bomb inside of the whales blow hole - deathstar style. They plan on having a bunch of griffin riders run distraction while the PCs make the attempt. So the DM rolls a bunch of dice behind the screen that just gives the illusion that an acutal battle is being fought and meanwhile the PCs make thier acrobatics checks to leap onto the whale's back from a passing griffin, UMD checks to set the device, balance checks to hold on, etc etc...

[Selenir]

Yeah, this thing doesn't need stats. Beating it would require puzzle-solving and clever out-of-combat-rules thinking, not "roll initiative and make some attacks with that sword of yours."

[wayfare]

I'm not sure the size chart for 3.5 goes that high -- it would be something like Colossal+++++++++++.

D&D doesnt actually do a very good job with really massive monsters. The Tarrasque is kinda dinky.

[Debihuman]

obviously it's not meant to be fought (at least, not for a very long time)

Honestly, these things are better off without stats. You don't need stats until they are actually ready to be fought and then you should specifically design it with the PCs in mind.

The environmental destruction left in its wake should be enough. The thing is you want to keep the PCs guessing as long as possible.

If you need disgustingly high stats and abilities to make it work, you've kinda failed at being a DM. Your PCs aren't going to be equipped to beat Godzilla for a long time. If you can't wait there are these:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/eo/20051109a

or failing that: Milo's Ultimate Tarrasque here:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15100301&postcount=1

Debby

[OzymandiasX]

Give it 100 strength. And it should have the Toughness feat.

[Debihuman]

Or see this: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=284352.

If you use it, tell the guy who made it how it worked out.

Debby

[Somensjev]

ok, i said ridiculously high stats, but i'm actually thinking anywhere between 30-50 for most of them, intelligence would be much higher though

and the only attack it has is swallow whole, and it's tail

the only special things it has is knowledge of as many languages as possible, swallow whole, it's movement, it's telepathy, and it's size.. oh and it's metabolism


but the general thing for this thing is that adventurers will often see it flying over head, or feel it burrowing below them, but it would never bother with them, because to it, nothing under gargantuan size is important, unles they hurt it severaly (so it probably wouldnt atack back until about a quater of it's health was gone)
and the only reason things above gargantuan are interesting is because it needs food

[Debihuman]

Okay, now we can work with this. You want epic but not ridiculous epic.

Why not just go with an Wyrm Red Dragon's stats +10 and revise them to suit your need?

Creature needs a name.

What type of creature? Type and Subtype would help.

Abilities: Str 55 Dex 20, Con 41, Int 36, Wis 37 Con 36

How many HD?

Flight speed could be similar to dragon.

Attacks: Tail Sweep. If it can swallow whole it needs a bite attack. If it can burrow, it should have claws too.

Does it fly with wings or with magic? I'd recommend magic since wings at larger sizes have worse maneuverability. Perfect flight at Colossal size would almost have to be magical in nature.

Special Qualities: Swallow Whole

What else should it have? Any special attacks?

You really haven't given us much to go on to make anything. It could be almost anything.

Form follows function: We need more to go on to make something and since this is your idea you should have a lot more to tell us.

Debby

[Somensjev]

HD: anywhere above 60 or so

i'm not really sure about type/subtype, but probably magical beast

i'll think of a name after i have it's details

ok, so, for attacks it would have bite, tail sweep, and claws

special qualities: swallow whole and telepathy

it's flight speed would, preferably, be slightly faster than dragons, so it ca chase them down to eat

magical flight

[Debihuman]

I hate to say it but it's a really boring monster despite being powerful. :-(

I'd say let this mull around awhile. I want to give you something you'll like so I'd rather you think of ideas (maybe look through some pictures for inspiration). I find that pictures often lead to good ideas.

Debby