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zephyrkinetic
2014-01-17, 08:55 AM
Hi, folks. I had this idea for a moderately Discworld-ish monster that I like to use as background flavor/fluff. I figured I'd try and flesh it out, give it proper rules and all that. Would anyone mind having a look at what I've got, and giving me some critique on what stats I've come up with? Do keep in mind, I've got no books with me at the moment (and cannot access the SRD on a work computer), so I'm pulling this from what I remember - if I've mangled some rule or wording, bear with me.

EDIT: Added updated information.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d100/Hrae_svelgr/flyer_zps05b9ddcf.png

Flyer
Tiny ConstructHit Dice: 1/2d10 (2 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: Fly 60 ft. (Good)
Armor Class: 16 (+2 size, +4 Dex), touch 16, flat-footed 10
Base Attack/Grapple: +0/-9
Attack: Tack +6 melee (1)
Full Attack: 4 tacks +6 melee (1)
Space/Reach: 2½ ft./ 0 ft.
Special Attacks: Tack, Post-Up
Special Qualities: Construct Traits, Darkvision 60 ft., Inform, Low-light Vision, Vulnerable to Fire
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +0
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 18 Con --, Int 5, Wis 10, Cha 10
Skills: Forgery +2, Spot +1, Listen +1
Feats: Flyby Attack, Weapon FinesseB
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary, Ream (2-20), Propaganda (25-100)
Challenge Rating: 1/4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always True Neutral
Advancement: Special (See Below)
Level Adjustment: --

Animated parchment, these constructs were originally created by a wizard for a performance troupe as a way to advertise their appearances.
When resting, these constructs look like any other poster or flyer, often advertising popular acts. If provoked (by burning or tearing down a flyer), all flyers in a 5-mile radius will swarm to the area, attempting to tack or post themselves on the provoker’s skin. The tacks or nails at each of a flyer’s corners act as tiny claws, and while individually not much to worry about, they can quickly overwhelm opponents, wrapping themselves around faces and limbs when possible.

Wild flyers have been observed, though most are in the loose “employ” of traveling performers and town guards, who use them for immediate wanted posters. They are gaining popularity as cheap forms of communication over long distances, as well. Any class with a familiar or animal companion and at least one level in Bard may choose a Flyer as a familiar.

A typical flyer resembles a piece of paper or parchment at rest. It takes a Spot check (DC 15) to notice that the flyer is a creature. Flyers weigh less than a pound and are very thin. They can squeeze into narrow passages by folding their wings.

Combat

Flyers don't generally attack unless provoked. They launch themselves at their opponent's vulnerable places such as face and hands.

Inform (Ex): Once a round as standard action, a flyer can cause writing to appear on its body. The writing must be in a language that the flyer knows, unless the message is written and only being copied. Up to 100 words can appear as a message. Creatures must be within 15 feet of the flyer in order to read standard messages. Messages of 25 words or less can be written in a larger font that can be seen from 30 feet. Erasing the writing is a swift action.

Flyers seem to enjoy carrying messages for other creatures and anyone making a successful Diplomacy check (DC 5) can request that a flyer post a message at a specific location. Unfortunately, flyers do not have keen sense of direction and have a 10% chance of going to the wrong location. Due to their limited intelligence, a flyer will post a message for 1d4 minutes before becoming bored and flying off.

Tack (Ex): Flyers use their sharp tacks to make piercing attacks on opponents.

Post-Up (Ex): When flying, and at least 10 feet away from an enemy or surface, a flyer may use its full action to dive in and attack with all four of its tacks simultaneously. When used as an attack, this counts as charging, and provokes attacks of opportunity as normal. Any creature that takes damage Following a successful Post-Up, a Flyer sticks to the surface, and may detach itself as a swift action. Anyone who starts his turn while having a flyer stuck to him takes a -2 penalty to AC and can only move at half speed (no save) until the flyer is removed. Removing a stuck flyer is a standard action and requires a successful DC 8 Strength check.

Variants:
A Note is a miniscule flyer, resembling a small paper butterfly. A note is Diminutive and has the following stat modifiers: +4 Size modifier, -12 Grapple modifier, +12 Hide modifier, Space 1 ft. Reach 0 ft. Can Hover.

A Poster is a Medium-sized flyer. These are larger than the normal Flyer, and their flight abilities are worse (Poor). They often lead a propaganda of flyers, acting as windbreakers and lieutenants. The nails from a poster act as small daggers, doing 1d4 points of damage (plus whatever strength modifier the creature has) and their size modifier to grapple is +0. They have the ability to wrap themselves around an opponent (this gives them the Improved Grab special Ability). Posters have at least 3 HD and have the Improved Flight feat.
A Billboard is a Gargantuan Flyer. These are much larger than the normal Flyer, and their flight abilities are much worse (Clumsy). Billboards have DR 5, they have 6 larger tacks (Damage 1d6) instead of 4, and can fling smaller sized tacks (1d4) as a ranged weapon up to 20 feet.


Advertisement (swarm of flyers)
Tiny Swarm
Hit Die: 2d10 (11 hp)
Speed: Fly 60 ft. (Good)
Armor Class: 16 (+2 size, +4 Dex), touch 16, flat-footed 10
Base Attack/Grapple: +0/--
Attack: Swarm (1d6)
Full Attack: Swarm (1d6)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./ 0 ft.
Special Attacks: Tack, Post-Up
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft. Distraction, Inform, Full Coverage, Saturated Market, Low-light Vision, Swarm Traits, Vulnerable to Fire
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +0
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 18 Con --, Int 5, Wis 10, Cha 10
Skills: Spot +2, Listen +2
Feats: Flyby Attack, Weapon FinesseB
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary, Blitz (2-4 swarms)
Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always True Neutral
Advancement: --
Level Adjustment: --

Distraction (Ex): Any living creature vulnerable to a billboard’s damage that begins its turn with a swarm in its square is nauseated for 1 round; a Fortitude save (DC 11) negates the effect. Spellcasting or concentrating on spells within the area of a swarm requires a Concentration check (DC 20 + spell level). Using skills that involve patience and concentration requires a DC 20 Concentration check.

Full Coverage (Ex): Any creature with 10 or more Flyers Posted to it must succeed on a DC 10 Balance check or be knocked prone.

Saturated Market (Ex) Any creature with 25 or more Flyers Posted to it must succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or be knocked unconscious.

Roland St. Jude
2014-02-05, 03:02 PM
Sheriff: Moved to Homebrew, where you'll probably get more feedback. Good luck!

Debihuman
2014-02-05, 11:32 PM
Not a bad idea but needs a bit of work. BAB is +0. Creatures without Con still make Fort saves (treat it as +0 for this purpose).

3.5 Constructs use d10 so 1/2d10 is 2 hit points not 3.

Hit Dice: 1/2d10 (2 hp)

Constructs usually have darkvision 60 ft. and low-light vision. See Construct traits. If they don't, you should note it.

Int 5 means they have 4 skill ranks to us. Climb is a rather silly skill for them to have since they can fly. Why would they climb anything? Hide is a much better skill for these.


Hide is +2 ranks, +8 size + 4 Dex, Spot and Listen are +1 rank, +0 Wis.

Skills: Hide +14, Listen +1, Spot +1

They have Int 5 so they should have 1 feat. Only mindless creatures have no feats. I recommend Weapon Finesse.

Tiny creatures have a -8 size penalty to grapple. It has a -1 Str modifier. BAB is +0 not +1 same as cleric. See Construct Type.
Base Attack/Grapple: +0/-9.

Melee attack seems to be a pin that does one point of damage. Should it be piercing damage? melee is normally BAB +0, +2 size -1 Str. If you give them Weapon Finesse, melee is BAB +0, +2 size, +4 Dex.

Attack: Pin +6 melee (1)
Full Attack:4 Pins +6 melee (1)

Constructs have no good saves. Base save for this is +0. Con -- is +0. Dex is +4 and Wis is +0.

Saves: Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +0

Here is a sample of how you could make Post Up a special ability. Special abilities should always contain some game mechanics, otherwise it is simply description.

Post Up (Ex): Once a round as standard action, a flyer can cause writing to appear on its body. The writing must be in a language that the flyer knows. Up to 100 words can appear as a message in any language that the flyer knows. Creatures must be within 15 feet of the flyer in order to read standard messages. Messages of 25 words or less can be written in a larger font that can be seen from 30 feet. Erasing the writing is a swift action.

Flyers seem to enjoy carrying messages for other creatures and anyone making a successful Diplomacy check (DC 5) can request that a flyer post a message at a specific location. Unfortunately, flyers do not have keen sense of direction and have a 10% chance of going to the wrong location. Due to their limited intelligence, a flyer will post a message for 1d4 minutes before becoming bored and flying off.

It looks like the Flammable special ability should be Vulnerability to Fire.

Debby

Zaydos
2014-02-06, 12:02 AM
I agree with most of what Debi said, though I want to point out that they don't fulfill the prerequisites for Weapon Finesse (BAB +1) so would either need to get it as a bonus feat or just pick something else.

Also Initiative should be +4 (+4 Dex) not +3, and I think the CR is a tad bit high.

Still neat idea, I can see these being a gnomish creation. Actually gives me some neat ideas for gnomes.

Debihuman
2014-02-06, 01:01 AM
I agree with most of what Debi said, though I want to point out that they don't fulfill the prerequisites for Weapon Finesse (BAB +1) so would either need to get it as a bonus feat or just pick something else.

Also Initiative should be +4 (+4 Dex) not +3, and I think the CR is a tad bit high.

Still neat idea, I can see these being a gnomish creation. Actually gives me some neat ideas for gnomes.

Yeah it should be a bonus feat. I'd forgotten about the BAB +1 requirement. They could have any of a number of regular feats; pick one you like.


Debby

zephyrkinetic
2014-02-06, 07:35 AM
Not a bad idea but needs a bit of work. BAB is +0. Creatures without Con still make Fort saves (treat it as +0 for this purpose).

3.5 Constructs use d10 so 1/2d10 is 2 hit points not 3.

Hit Dice: 1/2d10 (2 hp)

Constructs usually have darkvision 60 ft. and low-light vision. See Construct traits. If they don't, you should note it.

Int 5 means they have 4 skill ranks to us. Climb is a rather silly skill for them to have since they can fly. Why would they climb anything? Hide is a much better skill for these.


Hide is +2 ranks, +8 size + 4 Dex, Spot and Listen are +1 rank, +0 Wis.

Skills: Hide +14, Listen +1, Spot +1

They have Int 5 so they should have 1 feat. Only mindless creatures have no feats. I recommend Weapon Finesse.

Tiny creatures have a -8 size penalty to grapple. It has a -1 Str modifier. BAB is +0 not +1 same as cleric. See Construct Type.
Base Attack/Grapple: +0/-9.

Melee attack seems to be a pin that does one point of damage. Should it be piercing damage? melee is normally BAB +0, +2 size -1 Str. If you give them Weapon Finesse, melee is BAB +0, +2 size, +4 Dex.

Attack: Pin +6 melee (1)
Full Attack:4 Pins +6 melee (1)

Constructs have no good saves. Base save for this is +0. Con -- is +0. Dex is +4 and Wis is +0.

Saves: Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +0

Here is a sample of how you could make Post Up a special ability. Special abilities should always contain some game mechanics, otherwise it is simply description.

Post Up (Ex): Once a round as standard action, a flyer can cause writing to appear on its body. The writing must be in a language that the flyer knows. Up to 100 words can appear as a message in any language that the flyer knows. Creatures must be within 15 feet of the flyer in order to read standard messages. Messages of 25 words or less can be written in a larger font that can be seen from 30 feet. Erasing the writing is a swift action.

Flyers seem to enjoy carrying messages for other creatures and anyone making a successful Diplomacy check (DC 5) can request that a flyer post a message at a specific location. Unfortunately, flyers do not have keen sense of direction and have a 10% chance of going to the wrong location. Due to their limited intelligence, a flyer will post a message for 1d4 minutes before becoming bored and flying off.

It looks like the Flammable special ability should be Vulnerability to Fire.

Debby

Boy, I did a lousy job statting this from memory. xD Thanks for the help.

Do want to defend some points/ask some questions:
Should they have Blindsense, maybe? Darkvision or Low-Light seems wrong; they don't have eyes. But I do imagaine them being able to copy any scene or image they can "see" so... how does that work? I guess there are probably monsters with no eyes who have some vision anyway. Wizards.

I'm vetoing the Hide for Climb idea. They need Climb so they can pin themselves into a wall and hang on. Think of a bat landing, only much better. And Hide seems wrong: these were literally created to be highly visible.

Maybe Grapple was the wrong thing. How would I convey the idea of them wrapping around someone's face, or arms, or what-have-you?

Finally, I think Post-Up was miscommunicated (my fault). That's intended to be the action when a Flyer would "post" itself onto a wall. So, it sort of flies in at full speed, and then "attacks" the wall (or in this case, enemy) with all four tacks at once, and then hangs there. I changed the ability you wrote up to be called "Inform" (though I'm still open to suggestions), and took out the part about flying off. I could see them flitting about from corner to corner, but they are still constructs created for the purpose of advertising; it would be against their "programming" to fly off. The bit about them hitting the wrong area is a pretty funny visual, though. xD

Thanks a ton for cleaning this up for me. +10 Internets for you.

Debihuman
2014-02-06, 09:17 AM
Boy, I did a lousy job statting this from memory. xD Thanks for the help.

You never need to stat from memory. The srd is online here: http://www.d20srd.org



Do want to defend some points/ask some questions:
Should they have Blindsense, maybe? Darkvision or Low-Light seems wrong; they don't have eyes. But I do imagaine them being able to copy any scene or image they can "see" so... how does that work? I guess there are probably monsters with no eyes who have some vision anyway. Wizards.

Undead have no apparent eyes but see normally. Blindsense is only useful for creatures that are actually BLIND. If a creature is blind then you have to add that quality to the stat block. Since this can see (at least the way it is written), adding blindsense to it is not useful. Constructs have darkvision and low-light vision because of their Construct traits; see here:


Traits
A construct possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature’s entry).


No Constitution score.
Low-light vision.
Darkvision out to 60 feet.
Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, and necromancy effects.
Cannot heal damage on their own, but often can be repaired by exposing them to a certain kind of effect (see the creature’s description for details) or through the use of the Craft Construct feat. A construct with the fast healing special quality still benefits from that quality.
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 was never alive, a construct cannot be raised or resurrected.
Because its body is a mass of unliving matter, a construct is hard to destroy. It gains bonus hit points based on size, as shown on the table.
Proficient with its natural weapons only, unless generally humanoid in form, in which case proficient with any weapon mentioned in its entry.
Proficient with no armor.
Constructs do not eat, sleep, or breathe.



I'm vetoing the Hide for Climb idea. They need Climb so they can pin themselves into a wall and hang on. Think of a bat landing, only much better. And Hide seems wrong: these were literally created to be highly visible.

Bats don't have Climb either, they have Hide. Pin is an attack. Flyers would fly up to a target and then use their claws to pin, which makes a lot more sense than climbing up a bigger target. When designing a creature, think that Form follow Function.


Maybe Grapple was the wrong thing. How would I convey the idea of them wrapping around someone's face, or arms, or what-have-you?

You as a designer don't need to convey that at all in the stat block. This belongs in the creature's description.


Finally, I think Post-Up was miscommunicated (my fault). That's intended to be the action when a Flyer would "post" itself onto a wall. So, it sort of flies in at full speed, and then "attacks" the wall (or in this case, enemy) with all four tacks at once, and then hangs there. I changed the ability you wrote up to be called "Inform" (though I'm still open to suggestions), and took out the part about flying off. I could see them flitting about from corner to corner, but they are still constructs created for the purpose of advertising; it would be against their "programming" to fly off. The bit about them hitting the wrong area is a pretty funny visual, though. xD

That's not really an "attack". It creates the message and then then flies off to land. You still need the mechanics for how quickly it can write the message, how long the message lasts, etc.


Thanks a ton for cleaning this up for me. +10 Internets for you.

You are quite welcome. I look forward to seeing the completed version.

Debby

zephyrkinetic
2014-02-06, 09:27 AM
You never need to stat from memory. The srd is online here: http://www.d20srd.org

Oh, I know. I'm on a work computer. Game-related sites are blocked. Gods know why giantitp isn't, but I'm glad for it.



Undead have no apparent eyes but see normally. Blindsense is only useful for creatures that are actually BLIND. If a creature is blind then you have to add that quality to the stat block. Since this can see (at least the way it is written), adding blindsense to it is not useful. Constructs have darkvision and low-light vision because of their Construct traits; see here:

Ah. Ok, thanks, that clears it up for me. I'll go with that, and remove the "sixth sense" placeholder I had.



Bats don't have Climb either, they have Hide. Pin is an attack. Flyers would fly up to a target and then use their claws to pin, which makes a lot more sense than climbing up a bigger target. When designing a creature, think that Form follow Function.

So there's no need to represent their ability to "grab" walls almost unerringly? Well, alright. Still think Hide is a bad choice in this case, though.



You as a designer don't need to convey that at all in the stat block. This belongs in the creature's description.

So it shall be.



That's not really an "attack". It creates the message and then then flies off to land. You still need the mechanics for how quickly it can write the message, how long the message lasts, etc.

Well I mean, it's an attack when they do it on a person's face instead of a wall. :P Like I said, I kept the mechanics for writing the message, etc, it's just under a different name.


You are quite welcome. I look forward to seeing the completed version.

I've edited the OP to reflect suggestions. And thanks again.

Debihuman
2014-02-06, 11:23 AM
Oh, I know. I'm on a work computer. Game-related sites are blocked. Gods know why giantitp isn't, but I'm glad for it.
Technically, GitP is not a game site as it's supporting a comic. I'm surprised the online SRD is blocked though. Unless you are on your lunch hour or after work, your boss might not be too pleased :-)


Ah. Ok, thanks, that clears it up for me. I'll go with that, and remove the "sixth sense" placeholder I had.

While bats have blindsense, they're not blind either. However, they do hunt at night when sight isn't useful. They can see twice as far in dim light (low-light vision) but not in darkness. This is part of the form follows function for game mechanics.

Clearly the flyer isn't nocturnal. If it were nocturnal, then giving it blindsense would be appropriate. However, other creatures could not read their messages in the dark unless they also had Darkvision. If flyers are primarily communicating by writing then you might want to mention it. It's possible that they have no spoken language but can read and write Common (you need to limit their languages since they have such low Intelligence). With Int 5, they'd have ONE language.

When you put Tack in Special Ability, there should be an explanation for it. Tack is really a standard attack so it should have some game mechanic to see why it is listed as a Special Ability.

Tack (Ex): Flyers use their sharp tacks to make piercing attacks on opponents.


So there's no need to represent their ability to "grab" walls almost unerringly? Well, alright. Still think Hide is a bad choice in this case, though.

Their ability to "grab" walls should be in their description. Unless there is a game mechanic to go with this, it's not necessary to represent it.

Why is the Hide skill bad? This makes it harder for them to be noticed and thus attacked by bigger creatures.

Alternatively, you could give them Decipher Script. That would be right up their alley so to speak, though their low Int is a bit of a problem. You could give them a racial bonus to offset this if you wanted.

Another useful skill is Move Silently.

A creature's skills should reflect its nature. When you are designing a creature you should think about how its ecology. Even constructs have to serve a useful purpose and intelligent constructs are free thinking.

Debby

zephyrkinetic
2014-02-06, 11:44 AM
Technically it's not a game site as its supporting a comic. I'm surprised the online SRD is blocked though. Unless you are on your lunch hour or after work, your boss might not be too pleased :-)

Maybe it's blocked because it's Entertainment/Media. Who knows. *shrug*
And as for the boss, I know that. If I have anything come up that I need to address, I handle it, so he stays out of my hair.


While bats have blindsense, they're not blind either. However, they do hunt at night when sight isn't useful. They can see twice as far in dim light (low-light vision) but not in darkness. This is part of the form follows function for game mechanics.

Clearly the flyer isn't nocturnal. If it were nocturnal, then giving it blindsense would be appropriate. However, other creatures could not read their messages in the dark unless they also had Darkvision. If flyers are primarily communicating by writing then you might want to mention it. It's possible that they have no spoken language but can read and write Common (you need to limit their languages since they have such low Intelligence). With Int 5, they'd have ONE language.

When you put Tack in Special Ability, there should be an explanation for it.
Tack is really a standard attack so it should have some game mechanic to see why it is listed as a Special Ability.

Tack (Ex): Flyers use their sharp tacks to make piercing attacks on opponents.

I see what you're saying now about form following function. As for languages... Flyers are essentially copying. They don't necessarily understand what's happening, they're just displaying it. A Chameleon doesn't know it's on a plaid background, it just makes the pattern. Same idea. (And yeah, I know they can't actually turn plaid; I'm just reaching for examples, here.) I don't know that Flyers communicate at all, other than to take instructions. Does a homunculus need to speak Drow to follow instructions in Drow? Or a golem? Etc, etc, ad infinitum. Maybe that one feat needs to be some equivalent to Read/Speak Any Language. Got any suggestions for that?

Added the Tack ability to the list, though I had it under Special Attacks.



Their ability to "grab" walls should be in their description. Unless there is a game mechanic to go with this, it's not necessary to represent it.
Why is the Hide skill bad? This makes it harder for them to be noticed and thus attacked by bigger creatures.

Alternatively, you could give them Decipher Script. That would be right up their alley so to speak, though their low Int is a bit of a problem. You could give them a racial bonus to offset this if you wanted.

Another useful skill is Move Silently.

A creature's skills should reflect its nature. When you are designing a creature you should think about how its ecology. Even constructs have to serve a useful purpose and intelligent constructs are free thinking.

Trying to reflect their nature is why I'm against Hide. They're made for display; I just don't see how that translates into a bonus to Hide. I do kind of like the Decipher Script idea, but that implies that they can read and think, which wasn't my intent either. Maybe an advanced variant, but not the base creature. I just added some points to Listen and Spot, until I come up with a better alternative.

The useful purpose they serve is basically advertising. Maybe some get hijacked as carrier pigeons, but still. They're not meant to go unnoticed.

I know I'm being nitpicky, but I really do appreciate the help. This is turning out to be a lot harder than I initially thought, but you're sticking with it. Thanks. :smallbiggrin:

Debihuman
2014-02-06, 12:36 PM
Corrected Stat Block (so far). Tiny creatures have 2½ ft. Space and 0 ft. Reach. Improved Flight isn't the best feat for this creature since it doesn't really do anything. The base creature has Good maneuverability and it doesn't get to use this as it doesn't advance. The Poster should have this however. In addition, I increased the poster's HD. Tiny flying creatures are usually good fliers. Fly-by attack would be more useful so I added that and made sure that they had Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat. Also, Post-Up needed a game mechanic.

With only 4 skill points 2 each in Listen and Spot. They get no bonuses for Wisdom.

EDIT: Here is the completed flyer, added darkvision 60 ft, low-light vision and construct traits. Also added mechanic for what happens if you start your turn with a flyer stuck to you in Post-Up.

Flyer
Tiny Construct
Hit Dice: 1/2d10 (2 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: Fly 60 ft. (Good)
Armor Class: 16 (+2 size, +4 Dex), touch 16, flat-footed 10
Base Attack/Grapple: +0/-9
Attack: Tack +6 melee (1)
Full Attack: 4 tacks +6 melee (1)
Space/Reach: 2½ ft./ 0 ft.
Special Attacks: Tack, Post-Up
Special Qualities: Construct Traits, Darkvision 60 ft., Inform, Low-light Vision, Vulnerable to Fire
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +0
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 18 Con --, Int 5, Wis 10, Cha 10
Skills: Spot +2, Listen +2
Feats: Flyby Attack, Weapon FinesseB
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary, Ream (2-20), Propaganda (25-100)
Challenge Rating: 1/4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always True Neutral
Advancement: Special (See Below)
Level Adjustment: --

Animated parchment, these constructs were originally created by a wizard for a performance troupe as a way to advertise their appearances.
When resting, these constructs look like any other poster or flyer, often advertising popular acts. If provoked (by burning or tearing down a flyer), all flyers in a 5-mile radius will swarm to the area, attempting to tack or post themselves on the provoker’s skin. The tacks or nails at each of a flyer’s corners act as tiny claws, and while individually not much to worry about, they can quickly overwhelm opponents, wrapping themselves around faces and limbs when possible.

Wild flyers have been observed, though most are in the loose “employ” of traveling performers and town guards, who use them for immediate wanted posters. They are gaining popularity as cheap forms of communication over long distances, as well. Any class with a familiar or animal companion and at least one level in Bard may choose a Flyer as a familiar.

A typical flyer resembles a piece of paper or parchment at rest. It takes a Spot check (DC 15) to notice that the flyer is a creature. Flyers weigh less than a pound and are very thin. They can squeeze into narrow passages by folding their wings.

Combat

Flyers don't generally attack unless provoked. They launch themselves at their opponent's vulnerable places such as face and hands.

Inform (Ex): Once a round as standard action, a flyer can cause writing to appear on its body. The writing must be in a language that the flyer knows, unless the message is written and only being copied. Up to 100 words can appear as a message. Creatures must be within 15 feet of the flyer in order to read standard messages. Messages of 25 words or less can be written in a larger font that can be seen from 30 feet. Erasing the writing is a swift action.

Flyers seem to enjoy carrying messages for other creatures and anyone making a successful Diplomacy check (DC 5) can request that a flyer post a message at a specific location. Unfortunately, flyers do not have keen sense of direction and have a 10% chance of going to the wrong location. Due to their limited intelligence, a flyer will post a message for 1d4 minutes before becoming bored and flying off.

Tack (Ex): Flyers use their sharp tacks to make piercing attacks on opponents.

Post-Up (Ex): When flying, and at least 10 feet away from an enemy or surface, a flyer may use its full action to dive in and attack with all four of its tacks simultaneously. When used as an attack, this counts as charging, and provokes attacks of opportunity as normal. Any creature that takes damage Following a successful Post-Up, a Flyer sticks to the surface, and may detach itself as a swift action. Anyone who starts his turn while having a flyer stuck to him takes a -2 penalty to AC and can only move at half speed (no save) until the flyer is removed. Removing a stuck flyer is a standard action and requires a successful DC 8 Strength check.

Variants: Notes and Posters
A note is a miniscule flyer, resembling a small paper butterfly. A note is Diminutive and has the following stat modifiers: +4 Size modifier, -12 Grapple modifier, +12 Hide modifier, Space 1 ft. Reach 0 ft.

A poster is a Medium-sized flyer. These are great lumbering beasts, and their flight abilities are much worse (Generally would be Poor). They often lead a propaganda of flyers, acting as windbreakers and lieutenants. The nails from a poster act as small daggers, doing 1d4 points of damage (plus whatever strength modifier the creature has) and their size modifier to grapple is +0. They have the ability to wrap themselves around an opponent (this gives them the Improved Grab special Ability). Posters have at least 3 HD, gain the the Improved Flight feat, have Int 10 and have Forgery as a class skill.

A billboard is a Gargantuan flyer. These are much larger than the normal flyer, and their flight abilities are much worse (Clumsy). They get DR, they have 6 large tacks (short-sword damage) instead of 4, and can fling smaller sized tacks as a ranged weapon up to 20 feet.

Debby

zephyrkinetic
2014-02-06, 01:02 PM
Corrected Stat Block (so far). Tiny creatures have 2½ ft. Space and 0 ft. Reach. Improved Flight isn't the best feat for this creature since it doesn't really do anything. The base creature has Good maneuverability and it doesn't get to use this as it doesn't advance. The Poster should have this however. In addition, I increased the poster's HD. Tiny flying creatures are usually good fliers. Fly-by attack would be more useful so I added that and made sure that they had Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat. Also, Post-Up needed a game mechanic.

With only 4 skill points 2 each in Listen and Spot. They get no bonuses for Wisdom.


Jesus Christ, chica. You are the absolute bomb. We're best friends now. I'm sending you a Christmas card. :smallbiggrin:

themourningstar
2014-02-06, 02:30 PM
I'd love to see a Flyer Swarm now. :D And agreed, Debihuman's work on here is usually solid. :)

zephyrkinetic
2014-02-06, 03:22 PM
I'd love to see a Flyer Swarm now. :D And agreed, Debihuman's work on here is usually solid. :)

No, not a swarm. It's a Propaganda of Flyers. Like an Murder Unkindness of Ravens, or a Pride of Lions. Let me have my little bit of cleverness. :smallbiggrin: (Edited because I looked it up, and a group of Ravens is an Unkindness or a Conspiracy. A Murder is crows.)

And yeah, she did a bang-up job.

Debihuman
2014-02-07, 08:01 AM
Lemme address an earlier issue: Flyer's have enough intelligence to know a language. Int 3 is all that is needed for that. This is why Animals can't have have an Intelligence score higher than 2. Giving an Animal Int 3 technically awakens it and should change its Type to Magical Beast. This is why Legendary Animals can have 20 or more HD but still only have Int 2.

However, the flyer has Int 5. Since all that is needed for language is Int 3, this is plenty for a single language. They may understand Common even if they can't speak it. This is why I asked what language you were giving them.

In order to copy a written script exactly in a language it doesn't know, a flyer should have to succeed on a Forgery check, otherwise there'd be a chance the flyer would get the message wrong.

A swarm of flyers would be a billboard (a swarm is technically 1,000 Tiny flying creatures acting as a single creature). Swarms have their own set of rules get familiar with those first. It takes up a 10-foot cube but has Reach 0 ft.

Since flyers in a swarm still wouldn't be tough, I'm giving the swarm 2 HD. Size doesn't change when a creature makes a swarm but its space does. Since they no longer use their tack attack but use a Swarm attack, Post-Up needed a little tweaking. Inform also needed a bit of tweaking since the lot of these act in unison.

Advertisement of Flyers
Tiny Swarm
Hit Die: 3d10 (16 hp)
Speed: Fly 60 ft. (Good)
Armor Class: 16 (+2 size, +4 Dex), touch 16, flat-footed 10
Base Attack/Grapple: +0/--
Attack: Swarm (1d6)
Full Attack: Swarm (1d6)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./ 0 ft.
Special Attacks: Tack, Post-Up
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft. Distraction, Inform, Low-light Vision, Post-Up, Swarm Traits, Vulnerable to Fire
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +0
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 18 Con --, Int 5, Wis 10, Cha 10
Skills: Spot +2, Listen +2
Feats: Flyby Attack, Weapon FinesseB
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary, Advertisement (2-4 swarms)
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always True Neutral
Advancement: --
Level Adjustment: --

Combat

An advertisement of flyers always attacks its opponent's vulnerable places such as face and hands.

Distraction (Ex): Any living creature vulnerable to an advertisement of flyers' swarm damage that begins its turn with the swarm in its square is nauseated for 1 round; a Fortitude save (DC 11) negates the effect. Spellcasting or concentrating on spells within the area of a swarm requires a Concentration check (DC 20 + spell level). Using skills that involve patience and concentration requires a DC 20 Concentration check. The save is Constitution-based.

Inform (Ex): Once a round as standard action, an advertisement of flyers can cause writing to appear on its body. As a collective, the swarm can create gigantic words spreading across its full 10-foot space as a single sign or it can break apart, parts of letters flying haphazardly. An advertisement of flyers is easily visible from 500 feet but anyone attempting to read it when it breaks apart is affected by the billboard's Distraction ability.

Unfortunately, advertisements of flyers do not have keen sense of direction and have a 10% chance of going to the wrong location. Due to its limited intelligence, an advertisement of flyers will post a message for 1d4 minutes before becoming bored and flying off.

Post-Up (Ex): An advertisement of flyers sticks to the surface of any opponent it hits with its swarm attack, and may detach itself as a swift action. Anyone who starts his turn while having an advertisement of flyers stuck to him takes a -2 penalty to AC and can only move at half speed (no save). Removing a stuck advertisement of flyers is a standard action and requires a successful DC 8 Strength check.

Tack (Ex): An advertisement of flyers' swarm attack cause piercing damage to opponents.

Debby

zephyrkinetic
2014-02-07, 08:30 AM
Lemme address an earlier issue: Flyer's have enough intelligence to know a language. Int 3 is all that is needed for that. This is why Animals can't have have Int higher than 2. Giving an Animal Int 3 technically awakens it and should change its Type to Magical Beast. This is why Legendary Animals can have 20 or more HD but still only have Int 2.

However, the flyer has Int 5. Since all that is needed for language is Int 3, this is plenty for a single language. They may understand Common even if they can't speak it. This is why I asked what language you were giving them.

In order to copy a written script exactly in a language it doesn't know, a flyer should have to succeed on a Forgery check, otherwise there'd be a chance the flyer would get the message wrong.

A swarm of flyers would be a billboard (a swarm is technically 1,000 Tiny flying creatures acting as a single creature). Swarms have their own set of rules get familiar with those first. It takes up a 10-foot cube but has Reach 0 ft.

Since flyers in a swarm still wouldn't be tough, I'm giving the swarm 2 HD. Size doesn't change when a creature makes a swarm but its space does.

Billboard (swarm of flyers)
Tiny Swarm
Hit Die: 2d10 (11 hp)
Speed: Fly 60 ft. (Good)
Armor Class: 16 (+2 size, +4 Dex), touch 16, flat-footed 10
Base Attack/Grapple: +0/--
Attack: Swarm (1d6)
Full Attack: Swarm (1d6)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./ 0 ft.
Special Attacks: Tack, Post-Up
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft. Distraction, Inform, Low-light Vision, Swarm Traits, Vulnerable to Fire
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +0
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 18 Con --, Int 5, Wis 10, Cha 10
Skills: Spot +2, Listen +2
Feats: Flyby Attack, Weapon FinesseB
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary, Advertisement (2-4 swarms)
Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always True Neutral
Advancement: --
Level Adjustment: --

Distraction (Ex): Any living creature vulnerable to a billboard’s damage that begins its turn with a swarm in its square is nauseated for 1 round; a Fortitude save (DC 11) negates the effect. Spellcasting or concentrating on spells within the area of a swarm requires a Concentration check (DC 20 + spell level). Using skills that involve patience and concentration requires a DC 20 Concentration check.

Forgery, huh? Y'know, I could buy that. Makes a lot of sense mechanics-wise, and even through the fluff. Would it be horrible to give them a racial bonus to it that makes it a +10 or higher? Alternately, is there a neat way to make the person who is talking to the Flyer have to succeed on a roll to ensure the message is correct?

And I love the billboard. xD I am loosely familiar with the rules for swarm, but never put one in a game I was running, so I don't know all the details. Thanks for sticking with the naming conventions. :smallbiggrin: Just noticed the "advertisement", as well. Makes it even better. I almost want to say a Billboard should be a Gargantuan Flyer, though... being singular makes me want to keep it as a single monster, and RL billboards are often about 48' wide. Maybe the Advertisement could be the swarm, and multiple swarms could be an Ad Campaign, or a Media Blitz.

If a Billboard were a Gargantuan Flyer, I'm thinking it would probably have 6 tacks instead of 4, and numerous smaller tacks it could "Fling" as a ranged attack. May have some DR, too, or at least a higher AC (since something that large, made of parchment, would never work, these might be thicker, or plywood, etc. Thoughts?

Debihuman
2014-02-07, 09:10 AM
The original flyer has been updated. See edits.

Actually swarms retain the sizing of their components. So if a flyer is Tiny, the swarm is also Tiny.

Small and larger creatures use the Mob Template from DMG 2 instead of the Swarm Subtype. I do like the Media Blitz though. I figured if you were using a naming convention, I'd try to be respectful of that.

Forgery is a good skill but the flyers would need a disgusting high racial bonus to be any good at it and giving a +10 racial bonus to a 1/2 HD creature is just not good design. I think this is something best left to bigger and smarter versions of the flyer.

Debby

zephyrkinetic
2014-02-07, 09:21 AM
The original flyer has been updated. See edits.

Actually swarms retain the sizing of their components. So if a flyer is Tiny, the swarm is also Tiny.

Small and larger creatures use the Mob Template from DMG 2 instead of the Swarm Subtype. I do like the Media Blitz though. I figured if you were using a naming convention, I'd try to be respectful of that.

Forgery is a good skill but the flyers would need a disgusting high racial bonus to be any good at it and giving a +10 racial bonus to a 1/2 HD creature is just not good design. I think this is something best left to bigger and smarter versions of the flyer.

Debby

Right, I was saying the Billboard would be a single Gargantuan Flyer, not a collection of Tiny ones. The swarm of tiny ones could be called an Advertisement.

Yeah, the giant racial bonus was my concern as well. Basic intent of the construct is create messages, as dictated, though. So I still need a way that it will work correctly most of the time.

Also, where are the edits to the original? I didn't see the changes. Belay that, found it. Turns out I'm just blind.

Added all changes to original post. Also added "Full coverage" and "Saturated Market" to Advertisement abilities.

Debihuman
2014-02-07, 09:34 AM
Since the flyers are Tiny, how about just adding Forgery as a class skill to the Poster along with Int 10? Okay that's a rhetorical question since I already did that. :smallbiggrin:

You can still design stat blocks for the Poster and a Media Blitz (Mob of Posters).

EDIT: updated swarm to change name to Advertisement.

The only problem with your updated swarm is that it adds mechanics not in the original and removes the mechanics the original had. The swarm subtype doesn't really do that. The original creature and the swarm should be identical in a lot of ways.

I do really like the mechanics you added though so perhaps you could incorporate them in the original creature. You really want to be wary of adding too many special abilities to a creature with low hit dice as they should add to CR. Vorpal Tribble's CR estimator is quite for assessing CR. What you don't want is a glass cannon i.e. high CR and low HD. Again, this is part of thinking about a creature's design.

Otherwise, you could see if you should add those additional abilities when making a poster. More HD so more special abilities. Posters should advance too. I thought the base poster would have 3 HD to start but you don't have to start there.

I recommend that a Billboard be a separate creature not just an advanced version.

Debby

zephyrkinetic
2014-02-07, 09:58 AM
Since the flyers are Tiny, how about just adding Forgery as a class skill to the Poster along with Int 10? Okay that's a rhetorical question since I already did that. :smallbiggrin:

You can still design stat blocks for the Poster and a Media Blitz (Mob of Posters).

Well, because Posters are less common. I want the Flyers to do it. I think I may just add the ability to Speak Any Language at will, and be done with it. In this case, the Diplomacy check is to make the Flyer like you enough to activate this ability.

I'll have to look into that; I would consider something like to be pretty uncommon. Posters are supposed to be rare already (maybe only 100-500 in existence). At that rate, there may only be one or two Billboards in existence. Meanwhile there are thousands of Flyers around. Just wild reams of them, wallpapering random towns, the occasional forest, etc.


The only problem with your updated swarm is that it adds mechanics not in the original and removes the mechanics the original had. The swarm subtype doesn't really do that. The original creature and the swarm should be identical in a lot of ways.

I do really like the mechanics you added though so perhaps you could incorporate them in the original creature. You really want to be wary of adding too many special abilities to a creature with low hit dice as they should add to CR. Vorpal Tribble's CR estimator is quite for assessing CR. What you don't want is a glass cannon i.e. high CR and low HD. Again, this is part of thinking about a creature's design.

Otherwise, you could see if you should add those additional abilities when making a poster. More HD so more special abilities. Posters should advance too. I thought the base poster would have 3 HD to start but you don't have to start there.

I recommend that a Billboard be a separate creature not just an advanced version.

Crap, did I? o_O Didn't mean to remove anything. I was just thinking that a swarm should convey the sense of overhwleming numbers, so I threw in the two new ones. Glad you like them, at least. I thought it sort of went without saying that all Flyers, even when in an Advertisement, are able to Post-Up. I mean, a rat in a swarm can still bite, right? I didn't think I had to explicitly state it. (Again, not very familiar with the swarm rules)

I have always been absolutely horrible at CRs (and Encounter Levels, for that matter), so I'm not surprised if I screwed those up. All things being fair, I should really have different stat blocks for Notes, Posters, and Billboards, but for now I'm just assuming they advance according to the normal size rules.