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Dire Penguin
2006-12-18, 06:26 PM
this was origonally posted on the "YOUR D&D Moneter" thread, but i'm moving it here for the sake of "the gift" contest. This has some modifications from my origonal homebrew post. This entry can be used in a D&D 3.5 game, as long as the world being run has the 9 Hells of Baator.

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Sock Monster


Tiny Construct (Baatezu, lawful)

Hit Dice: 1d10+10
Initiative: + 7
Speed: 15 (3 squares)
Armor Class: 19 (+ 4 Dex, + 3 Natural, + 2 size)
Base Attack/Grapple: + 4/+ 4
Attack: Bite +8 melee (1d4 + draining bite) OR Slam +6 melee (1d6)
Space/Reach: 2ft./2ft.
Special Attacks: Draining Bite, attach
Special Qualities: Overpowering Stench, Construct Traits, Darkvision 120ft., spell immunity, plane jump, resistance to bludgeoning
Saves: Fort + 0, Ref + 4
Abilities: Str 6, Dex 18, Con -, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 8
Skills: Spot + 8, Search + 8, Move Silently +6, Hide + 6
Feats: Improved initiative, Weapon Finesse, dodge, Improved Grapple
Environment: Any on material plane, or the 9 hells.
Organization: Pair (2), Gang (3-6), Band (7-30, with 1-5 leaders)
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: smelly sock, leaders carry construction materials 50% of the time.
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: Band leaders are level 5 wizards. Sock monster overlord is a lvl 20 Wizard, lvl 8 rogue. (stats presented here are for 1st levl fighter. Simply add the levels as if it were a multiclassing character.)
Level Adjustment: -

Upon its approach a horrifying smell consumes the air around you. This creature looks like a common sock the height of a housecat. It has gleaming red eyes, tiny fangs, and stands up so its toe is made out to be a snout.

History

Sock Monsters were once an old retired witch’s gift to her Warlock grandson. Knitted from some old bleached Erinyes hairs the found in her attic, she went to work stitching them into a pair of socks. Upon finishing them, she enchanted them with intelligence. Why she did this nobody knows, but when the socks arrived at her grandson’s door, both socks leaped out and suffocated the boy. From then on, they decided to strike out on their own and found a home in the 9 Hells of Baator, although their lair always changes periodically to keep secrecy. New Sock Monsters were created through puppetry, as the Master socks developed into great wizards of dark magic. They bewitched motal beings to perform the rituals required to build up an army. Many hundreds of years ago, the Great elf Prince Damaltra slew one of the master socks, but was killed before he could vanquish the other. This sock slaying crusade was led to stop the sock army from emerging, as many rumors had told. The remaining sock lord has been continuing to build up his army for the right moment...

Society

Sock Monsters are social in among themselves. They form simple hierarchies and even have their own government system. The system isn’t much besides obey the leader, and if the leader kicks the bucket, the sock that killed him is leader. The only leaders which have been killed were one of the great socks, and lower ranking figures of authority. The great socks promoted trusted ones to positions of slight power to draw away the attention they are in full power. These lower leaders are usually wizards in among themselves, and create their own groups to find mortals and will them into making more socks. they usually carry the raw materials around with them. The minio socks in the bands of Sock Monsters sometimes become confused when a creature besides a Sock Monster kills their current leader, and will fight amongst themselves, but only after an enemy has been vanquished. Sockmonsters speak their own language, and about half of them speak abbysal. Band leaders also speak common and one other language of the DM's choice. The sock monster leader however (if ever found/met) knows every language (except secret ones), as he has studied for centuries.

Relations

The sock monster leader has made many deals and alliances with defferent species over the centuries. They ae particular friends of the Ruling figures of the 9 Hells (this may vary depending on the DM's personal game setting), but are enemies of the Erinyes (mostly becasue they don't like the socks stealing their hair). They have particular treaties of protection and aid with the Githyanki, and will seek shelter from them if they have to. Sock Monsters are enemies of almost any good aligned creatures, but will gladly help out for an evil casue of another creature. They offer aid to thoes who can create more of them, and give them rewards of favors or precious items.

Combat

Sock monsters work as a team to bring down their enemies. They use their attach ability to suffocate an opponent, and to suck down their hit points. Sock monsters usually attack the biggest, meanest looking thing, since they have partial immunity to many spells.
Leaders will usually cast offensive spells from the back of the band, but will not engage into mele. They will flee if they are caught without their meatsheilds in front of them.
The sockmonster overlord will not risk a fair fight, and a chance of losing. He has his best guards fight off intruders, while he uses greater invisibility to attack foes. He uses metal caps on is fangs with deadly poision (1d2 con and str per round & 10 damage per round ~ DC30 Fort save.), but this will be consumed by to bites. He then goes to his most powerful spells, which he usually uses with one of his 5 Sudden Maximize feats (complete arcane, but essentially is maximize spell free once per day). He will cast plane shift to the astral plane if losing to seek help from the Githyanki, whom he is allies with. Many of the Sock overlord's guard are clerics however, and will heal and buff him to their deaths be attacks of opportunity.

Draining Bite: When a Sock Monster hits with a successful bite attack, they drain 1d2 additional pints of damage. This damage is transferred into the Sock Monsters Hit points, but cannot exceed its starting total. When attached, a Sock Monster can drain once per round.

Attach: When a Sock Monster hits with a successful bite attack, it may make a free grapple check. If it succeeds, it may stay attached and continue to drain its victim. A victim can attempt to remove a sock monster’s Grapple once per round.

Overpowering stench: A Sock Monster smells so bad, that all creatures that breath within 30 feet must succeed a DC 17 Fortitude save, or be nauseated until they are no longer 30 feet from a Sock Monster. If a creature makes the save, it doesn’t need to make another one until it leaves the stench radius and then enters it again. If a Sock Monster is grappling an opponent, he cannot draw breath.

Spell Immunity: A Sock Monster is immune to any spell or spell like ability that allows spell resistance. There is a 10% chance however that the Sock Monster can be affected normally by a spell. Sock Monsters CAN be subject to mind affecting spells, but there is only the 10% chance it will work.

Resistance to Bludgeoning: A Sock Monster has Damage resistance 5 against all bludgeoning weapons, and spells that deal bludgeoning damage.

Plane Jump: Sock Monsters can jump from the material plane to any of the 9 layers of hell or from the Hells to the material plane. A sock monster can use this ability twice per day. The process however, requires 30 seconds of silent concentration. If interrupted, the ability fails, and one of the sock monster's uses per day is wasted. This prevents it from chickening out of combat.

When slain, a Sock Monster’s eyes and fangs vanish, and it turns into an ordinary sock the stench is reduced greatly, so . The effect of the stench is still there but can be purged, unlike when the Sock Monster is alive. The socks left behind can be worn as normal socks, but when put on they give the wearer 1d2 points of temporary ability damage to ALL attributes. The effect remains until the socks are removed, and the socks CANNOT be removed except by a Remove Curse spell. Sock Monster socks fetch up a market price of about 500gp per pair but are worth nothing for a single sock, as two must be worn for the curse effect to take place. These socks are outlawed in almost every good aligned city or town, but can be found in blackmarket dealings.

Construction

The following process can construct sock Monsters:
Items needed: Hairs of an Erinyes, crushed Rubies, adamantine knitting needles
Spells needed: animate object

A pair of socks must be knitted with a pair of adamantine knitting needles. This requires the DC 15 Craft check, and about 3 hours of knitting. There is also a ceremony involved. This is required to give the socks their malicious intelligence. This requires an 8-hour period or chanting and concentration, as well as 500 gold worth of crushed rubies per sock in ceremony. When created the Sock Monsters instantly attempt to use their Plane Jump Ability to go seek out the master socks on the Hells. Sock Monsters can only be created in pairs.

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Thus ends my entry of "the gift". This is not copyright information, so please feel free to be silly and use it. Just don't go around saying "Ooohhh!!! This is my idea!!!"
Okay Roland St. Jude (that's the name, right?), Tell me I won silliest award in "The Gift"!

Dire Penguin
2006-12-18, 06:31 PM
mods: please kill this thread. It was posted here in the wrong place, but I have taken care to repost if in the right spot!